The Sri V. Krishnaswami Iyer Charitable Trust and Sri V. Krishnaswami Iyer Sanskrit Educational Trust honoured 16 Sanskrit scholars for their contribution to the language and its research.
Swami Dayananda Saraswati, who honoured the scholars at an event organised as part of the 150 birth anniversary celebrations of Sri V. Krishnaswami Iyer — a philanthropist who generously donated to the cause of education — said that at one time Tamil Nadu used to be famous for its Sanskrit scholars.
“But now there are very few of them… and the few there are, are thanks to The Madras Sanskrit College,” he said. He said when scholars were being honoured, it was like honouring oneself and the pursuit of knowledge.
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K. Sampath, former judge of Madras High Court, B. Madhavan, secretary, Sri V. Krishnaswami Iyer Sanskrit Educational Trust, N.V. Devi Prasad, principal, The Madras Sanskrit College, and K.S. Balasubramanian, deputy director, Kuppuswami Sastri Research Centre, also spoke on the occasion.
Four special publications were also launched on the occasion by Swami Dayananda Saraswati. V. Krishnaswami Iyer was born on June 15, 1863, in a village in Thanjavur district. He was made judge of the High Court in 1909 and appointed as a member of the executive council, Madras Presidency, in 1911. He founded The Venkataramana Ayurveda College and Dispensary in 1905 and The Madras Sanskrit College in 1906. He passed away on December 28, 1911.
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Former principal of The Venkataramana Ayurveda College, K.S. Viswanatha Sarma; former director, Adyar Library and Research Centre, S. Sankaranarayanan; founder and director, Surabharati Vidyalayam, S. Ranganatha Sarma; former vice-chancellor of Rastriya Sanskrit Vidyapeeta, Tirupati K.E. Govindan.
Former heads of departments of Sanskrit of various institutions, including N. Veezhinathan, University of Madras; S. Srinivasa Sarma, Annamalai University, Chidambaram; R.N. Sampath, Presidency College; T.V. Savithri, Queen Mary’s College and S. Rajalakshmi, Queen Mary’s College.
Former principal, Guruvayoor Kendriya Sanskrit Vidyapeetha, V. Swaminatha Sarma, and former principal, D.G. Vaishnava College, A. Thiruvenkatathan, and S.V. Radhakrishna Sastri, Vaidya Ayurveda Siromani, Srirangam, were also honoured.
Former principals of The Madras Sanskrit College, V. Srivatsankacharya, L. Narayana Sarma and R. Krishnamurthy Sastrigal and former professor of vyakarana of the college, T.K. Pranatharthihara Sarma, were among those honoured.