Departments of Sanskrit

The Department of Studies in Sanskrit is one of the oldest departments of the University of Mysore, which was established in the Year 1916. Sanskrit, which is said to be the very breath of Indian Culture and Heritage, has been taught as the second language and optional subject graduate level. Both honors degree and postgraduate coursed in Sanskrit were taught in the celebrated Maharaja’s College till 1960. Then in the Year 1960 Department has sifted to the Manasagngotri Campus

The department started functioning under the able guidance and headship of Prof.M.Hiriyanna, a well-known and learned scholar who is remembered as an erudite scholar in the field of Indian Philosophy. After Prof.Hiriyanna the Department was led by the doyens Narasimha shastry. Prof.M.Laksghminarasimaiah,Prof.N.ShivarmaShastry, prof.S.Ramachandra Rao, Marulasiddiah, and H..Malledevaru.

In the Year 1960, when all the postgraduate courses were shifted to the new campus of Manasagangotri, Prof.S.Ramachandra Rao was the Head of the newly started Postgraduate department and research in Sanskrit. Prof.Ramanchandra Rao encouraged research activities in the Department and as a result as many as fifty scholars have obtained Ph.D degrees. The practice of appointing the Head of the Department of Sanskrit as the ex-officeo director of the Oriental research Institute was started from 1966. Then Dr.H.P.Malledevaru held the Chair of Professor and Head,Department of Sanskrit and Director ORI 1975-91. After his demise Prof.B.A.Dodamani has been appointed as Professor & Head, department of Sanskrit and Director of ORI, University of Mysore in the Year 1994.

In 1968 an annual research journal “ The Mysore orientalist” was launched in joint collaboration with the Department of Studies in Sanskrit and the oriental Research Institute. Totally 17 volumes have been published so far.