Sanskrit scholar Goda Venkatesawara Sastrigal was conferred a title by Samskrita Sahitya Parishad at its anniversary on Sunday. S. Ravindran, secretary of Saranathan College of Engineering, conferred the title ‘Vedanta Prachara Dhureena’ on Sri Sastrigal and honoured him with a shawl. A citation presented on the occasion referred to Sri Sastrigal’s service for propagating the philosophy contained in Vedas through simple lectures so as make it easily understandable by masses. A former officer of Reserve Bank of India, Sri Sastrigal possessed a sound knowledge of the Rig Veda and the bhashyam in Rig and Yajurveda. He passed the Sahitya, Nyaya, and Mimamsaand Vedanta Siromani degrees, obtained doctorate degree from Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan in recognition of his contribution to Advaita Vedanta. An author of several articles in Tamil, English and Telugu in journals, Sri Sastrigal has been delivering lectures on the Gita, epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharatam. He has been handling classes in the conventional Gurukulam style, teaching Gita, Tarka, Mimamsa, Vedanta and other Sastras.
The title ‘Vedanta Prachara Dhureena’ referred to his proficiency and commitment to spreading and teaching Vedanta, the citation added. N. Kamakodi, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of City Union Bank, was present. Earlier, Sri Sastrigal presided over a ‘vidwat sadas’ during which lectures were delivered on Sanskrit works. Shriramana Sharma from Kanchi Sankara Patasala, Nerur, delivered a lecture on ‘Manoniyamnam’ (controlling the mind), a work by Sri Sadasiva Brahmendral. Anantharaman, a former professor of Tamil Nadu Educational Service, spoke on ‘Sri Krishna Leela Rasamritham’; S. Nagarajan, head of department of Sanskrit, Srimad Andavan College of Arts and Science, spoke on technical and scientific topics contained in Sanskrit literature.
Venkateswara Sastrigal, president of Parishad, S.Krishnamoorthy, vice president, and Balakrishna Sarma, secretary, spoke on the activities of Parishad and its role in spreading Sanskrit. Prizes were given to the winners in competitions held as part of the anniversary celebrations.
