Proceedings of the Seminar on Prakrit Studies 1973

Author(s): K R Chandra, Dalsukh Malvania, Nagin J Shah
Publisher: L D Indology Ahmedabad

Page 38

Brief Report
Seminar on Prakrit Studies
With the aid of the University Grants Commission the Seminar on Prakrit Studies was organised by the Prakrit Department of the School of Languages, Gujarat University, Ahmedabad from 22-3-1973 to 25-3-1973. 45 participants from various other Universities were invited for the Seminar, of which 33 could attend. Besides there were nearly 20 local participants. Out of the eight sessions of the Seminar orginally planned, seven could be actually held. Excepting the first inaugural session all the rest were devoted to paper-reading. In all 36 papers were read and discussed under different heads.
A list of the papers read session-wise along with the names of the participants is already given.
The venue of the Seminar was the Adivasi Samshodhan Kendra of Gujarat Vidyapith. In its premises arrangements for the boarding and lodging of outside participants were also made by the Vice-chancellor of the Gujarat University. At the concluding session, after the paper-reading was over, various recommendations were made by the participants as a result of the dicussions at the Seminar. These recommendations are given below.
Besides the paper-reading and discussions, two extension lectures on 'Literary and Philosophical value of Prakrits' and 'Sounds and Spellings in Prakrit', were delivered by Dr. A. N. Upadhye, Head of the Department of Prakrit and Jainology, Mysore University, Mysore and Dr. P. B. Pandit, Head of the Department of Linguistics, Delhi University, Delhi.
Third Extension lecture was also planned but Dr. B. J. Sandesara, Director, Oriental Institute, Baroda, who was to deliver the lecture, could not attend the Seminar and it was cancelled.
We demanded a sum of Rs. 22000/- from the U. G. C. to meet the entire expenses of the Seminar which included the publication of proceedings of the seminar but the U. G. C. granted Rs. 14000/- for conducting the seminar only. Out of that amount we could utilise a sum of Rs. 11000/- only because instead of five days the seminar lasted four days only and the attendance of outside participants was a little below our expectation. We are quite grateful to the U. G. C. for the grant.
We are also grateful to the authorities of the L. D. Institute of Indology, Ahmedabad, which generously met the expenses of the local participants in the Seminar and arranged a visit of the outside participants to their Institute.