The The need to expand the Sanskrit Literature

Abstract

It is late, but at least now, we need to develop the Corpus of Sanskrit Literature. We have been seriously engaged in the translations of Sanskrit, Prakrit and Pali texts since the independence, and as a consequence, almost no book is left untranslated. It is good to translate our ancient Indian literature, existing mainly in  Sanskrit, Prakrit and Pali languages. Several Western and foreign scholars could receive excellent knowledge from India through these translations. They could seamlessly understand the great Indic knowledge traditions in Sanskrit, Prakrit and Pali languages. The Dutch translation of Bhartṛhari Subhāşita in 1651 by Abraham Roger gave the acquaintance of the Sanskrit language to the West. Charles Wilkins translated the Bhagavadgītā in 1785 with the name "The Song of the Adorable One". No doubt, these translations need a lot of effort. Sanskrit, Prakrit, and Pali text translations need a lot of patience and dedication. We must appreciate those great scholars who have done remarkable work in Indic translations. Despite this, we are compelled to explore what kind of upliftment the ancient Indian languages, namely Sanskrit, Prakrit and Pali, received from this contribution. Therefore, now we must realise the necessity of translating ancient and modern Indian and foreign literature into Sanskrit. This may look unnatural to many scholars, but this is the present need to expand the corpus of Sanskrit and other ancient Indian languages.