Sampurnanand Sanskrit University is an Asian institution of higher learning located in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India, specialized in the study of Sanskrit and related fields.
History
In 1791, during the British Raj in India, Jonathan Duncan, resident of the East India Company proposed the establishment of a Sanskrit college for the development and preservation of Sanskrit Vangmaya (grammar) to demonstrate British support for Indian education. The initiative was sanctioned by governor general Lord Cornwallis. The first teacher of the institution was Pandit Kashinath and the governor general sanctioned a budget of Rs. 20,000 per annum. The first principal of Government Sanskrit College was J. Myor, followed by James R. Ballantyne, Ralph T. H. Griffith, George Thibaut, Arthur Venis, Sir Ganganath Jha and Gopinath Kaviraj.
In 1857, the college began postgraduate teaching. The examination system was adopted in 1880. In 1894, the famous Saraswati Bhavan Granthalaya building was built, where thousands of manuscripts are preserved to this today. These manuscripts have been edited by the principal of the college and published in book form. More than 400 books have been published in a series known as Sarasvati Bhavana.
In 1958, the efforts of Sampurnanand changed the status of the institution from college to Sanskrit university. In 1974, the name was changed to Sampurnanand Sanskrit University.
In 1937, another effort was made to give it the name and form of a University but it could not materialize until 1956 when Varanaseya Sanskrit University Act was passed. It is remarkable that this college performed all those acts which an all India University is expected to do. Convocations were held between 1947 to 1958 every time in the manner of a University. The Sanskrit Colleges of this country and that of Nepal were affiliated to this college even before this University was founded. The number of affiliated colleges in U.P. alone was 1441. thus this college acted like a University not only for this country but also for other countries. Pt. Kuber Nath Shukla was the last principal of the Govt. Sanskrit College. He was also the first Registrar of the University.
Faculty
Veda-Vedanga
In this faculty there are four departments:
- Department of Veda
- Department of Vyakarna
- Department of Jyotish
- Department of Dharmashastra
Sahitya Sanskriti
In this faculty there are three departments:
- Department of Sahitya
- Department of Puranetihas
- Department of Prachin Rajshastra-Arthashastra
Darshana (Philosophy)
- Department of Vedant
- Department of Sankhyayogtantram
- Department of Comparative Religion and Philosophy
- Department of Nyaya
- Department of Mimansa
Shraman Vidy
- Department of Pali and Thevad
Adhunik Jyan Vigyan
- Department of Modern Language and Linguistics
Ayurveda
In this faculty there are many departments, such as
- Kayachikitsa Tantra (Internal Medicine)
- Shalya Tantra (Surgery)
- Shalakya Tantra (ENT)
- Kaumarabhritya Tantra (Pediatrics)
- Agada Tantra (Toxicology)
- Bajikarana Tantra (Purification of the Genetic organs)
- Rasayana Tantra (Health and Longevity)
A Bhuta Vidya (Spiritual Healing) department is proposed.
Research Institute
When the status of this institution was Sanskrit college, all the research activities was carried by the principal. This includes the work done for manuscripts which were kept in Saraswati Bhavan Granthalaya.
When the institution became a university, the whole research work was supervised by the director, Research Institute. The director is the chief editor of the famous book series Sarasvati Bhavana Granthamala and also the chief editor of the journalSarasvati Susama. He has to supervise all the research activities in the university. The director is the academic head of the University. Famous grammarian Vagish Shastri made valuable contribution towards Sanskrit Journal Sarasvati Susama and edited numerous books of Sarasvati Bhavana Granthamala series.[3]
Affiliation
More than 1200 Sanskrit-medium schools and colleges are affiliated with this university. This is the only university in India which has its widespread affiliation all over the country. The statistics of affiliated colleges are as follows:
| S. No. | State | No. of affiliated colleges |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Uttar Pradesh | 963 |
| 2 | Rajasthan | 7 |
| 3 | Maharastra | 7 |
| 4 | Gujarat | 21 |
| 5 | Delhi | 13 |
| 6 | Kashmir | 2 |
| 7 | Himachal Pradesh | 3 |
| 8 | Sikkim | 4 |
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