Former Vice-Chancellor of Sanskrit University Mallepuram G. Venkatesh has said that the first encyclopaedia in Sanskrit, Abhishashtra Chinthamani, was penned by a Sanskrit scholar Manasullasa hailing from Kalaburagi in the 12th century.
Presiding over a session on Sanskrit on the second day of the Vishwa Sahitya Sammelana at Sharnbasva University on Saturday, Prof. Venkatesh said that a part of the encyclopaedia was translated to Kannada when he was the Vice-Chancellor of Sanskrit University.
The encyclopaedia dealt with varied subjects ranging from Ayurveda to Astrophysics to unique culinary practices of the land.
Terming Sanskrit as a treasure trove of knowledge, Prof. Venkatesh said that the language provided detailed informations in all fields of knowledge.
He said that there was urgent need to protect and preserve Sanskrit.
He said that Ayurveda, the first Indian System of Medicine, needs to be nurtured and supported and said that the current Union government was providing the necessary fillip to it throughout the country.
Sanskrit scholar Suresh Heroor, in his address, said that Sanskrit is not only known for its epics, like the Ramayana, and the Mahabharata and the great works of Kalidasa, but also the religious texts including the Vedas, the Upanishads, and the Bhagavad Gita.
