International Association Of Sanskrit Studies
Welcome To IASS
In 1971 Professor V.K.R.V. Rao, the then Minister of Education/Ministry of Human Resource Development (Government of India) and Chairman of the Central Sanskrit Board, planned the First International Sanskrit Conference. The two themes he suggested for the proposed Sanskrit Conference were the contribution of the various regions of the world to Sanskrit Studies and the contribution of Sanskrit to the advancement of knowledge in different regions of the world. This first Conference had to be postponed to 1972.
In close cooperation with Professors V. Raghavan, R. N. Dandekar and other scholars, Universities and Sanskrit Institutions, the first postponed International Sanskrit Conference/ Viśva Saṃskṛta Saṃmelana was held at New Delhi in March 1972, under the joint auspices of the Ministry of Education (Government of India) and the Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan.
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Prof. Dipti Sharma Tripathi
Message From President
Dear Colleagues, Friends and Lovers of Sanskrit,
The International Association of Sanskrit Studies initiated in 1972, at the First World Sanskrit Conference held in Delhi, came to fruition at the International Congress of Orientalists in 1973 at Paris. What began over five decades ago as a forum for Sanskrit study from the womb of a mature International Congress of Orientalists has had an impressive trajectory of growth.
The IASS, initially, created as organiser of World Sanskrit Conference at different venues across the world has fulfilled its mandate ably and appreciably by bringing together scholars from different parts of the world in a wide range of subject areas. But now it has reached a stage where it can further provide a rich forum for not only conferencing but as a continuing interconnectivity for Sanskrit studies across world cultures.
It would be my endeavour to strengthen and enrich this convergence of strong tradition and emerging profile:
By developing IASS as an institution equipped to evaluate the different needs across the globe (it being an International Association) for contemporizing and applying Sanskrit knowledge base for the benefit scholars and humankind in general.
In its vision for the future, the IASS may perform the role of helping to decide the course of Sanskrit Studies in the world and its application for the good of all humanity.
The above may be achieved through continuous active interaction with the Universities, Research Institutes, Governments, Other relevant, suitable, and interested organisations and implementers of research led activities across the globe based on Sanskrit Knowledge Systems, being cognisant that such supportive engagement must be based on budgetary and practical realities.
Establishing centres of IASS in interested countries may be the first step towards achieving the larger goals outlined above. The use of modern technology like the internet and selected social media might make the IASS more visible to more societies, countries and language areas while increasing its impact and improving its reach.
I see the future of the IASS as an important, effective and impactful facilitator of research and application of the wisdom and knowledge base contained in Sanskrit for the good of humanity in general, the goal being ‘sarve bhavantu sukhinaḥ, sarve santu nirāmayāḥ, sarve bhadrāṇi paśyantu, mā kaściddukkhabhāgbhavet.
