Thursday, August 15, 2013

Sampurnanand Sanskrit University

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.
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 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 J. 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.



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