Special lecture on Dayanand Saraswati held at PU’s Sanskrit deptt.

Chandigarh, March 7, 2024: As a part of the year-long celebrations of Dayanand Saraswati’s 200th birth anniversary, a special lecture was held in the Sanskrit department of the Panjab University today on 7.3.24. The lecture was by Dr. Manish Sharma, an alumnus of the department. Teachers, research scholars and students of the department as well as PU’s Dayanand Chair for Vedic Studies took part in the lecture. 

Dr. Manish Sharma spoke about the contributions of Swami Dayanand in Haryana. Dr. Sharma said, “Swami Dayanand first visited Rewari and from there, the seeds of Arya Samaj were sown.”  He told, “People of Haryana were mainly agriculturists and were strict vegetarians, which aligned with Arya Samaj’s practices.” Dr. Sharma added that people of the Jat community of Haryana believe that Swami Dayanand gave them an esteemed position. Pandit Basti Ram, Yudhishthir Mimansak, Lala Lajpat Rai, Piru Mal, Chandu Lal and such others are prominent personalities who worked for Arya Samaj in Haryana.

Prof. V. K. Alankar gave a vote of thanks to the speaker as well as the audience. Prof. told, “we treat our students as our own sons and daughters.” He said that Panjab has contributed a lot toward Sanskrit. “Swami Dayanand had opened one of the longest functioning Go-shalas in Rewari, Haryana in collaboration with Rao Maan Singh”, added Prof. Alankar.

Along with this, research scholars who are receiving their Ph.D. degrees shared their experiences in the department. Dr. Babbu Ram said, “I stayed here for two years, learned, as well got the opportunity to teach.” Dr. Manish Sharma told that the environment of the department was very encouraging. Dr. Kavita expressed her gratitude to her teachers and supervisors.  Dr. Vijay Bharadwaj, who is also a teacher at the department, shared his experiences.