Symposium On Svāmī Vidyāraṇya’s Singular Contributions To Bhāratīya Jñāna Paraṃparā

Nithin Sridhar is a Practising Hindu, Author, and Speaker He is the Director & Chief Curator of INDICA Center for Moksha Studies (Advaita Academy) dedicated to the dissemination of Advaita Vedanta. He has authored six books on various aspects of Hindu culture and practice. His first book “Musings On Hinduism '' provided an overview of various aspects of Hindu philosophy and society. His book ‘Samanya Dharma’ enunciates upon general tenets of ethics as available in Hindu texts. His latest book ‘Isopanishad: An English Commentary’ is an English translation and commentary on one of the prominent Hindu texts. However, his most widely read book is “Menstruation Across Cultures: A Historical Perspective'' which examines menstruation notions and practices prevalent in different cultures & religions from across the world. His upcoming book is a commentary on the opening verses of Manusmriti. He teaches courses on Hinduism for Indica Courses and regularly contributes articles and delivers lectures on religion, spirituality, and culture at various platforms. Earlier, he had also served as the Editor of IndiaFacts- a portal on Indian history and culture. He tweets at @nkgrock.

Dr. Gauri Mahulikar is currently Academic Director of Chinmaya International Foundation, Ernakulam, Kerala, India. She was previously Officiating Vice Chancellor, and Dean of faculty at Chinmaya Vishwavidyapeeth. She is also former Head of Sanskrit Department, Mumbai University and former Head of Gurudev Tagore Chair of Comparative Literature, Mumbai. Her publications include more than 80 research articles, 7 books, more than 10 book chapters, and more than 90 conference papers.

Prof. Madhusudan has been awarded with Sahitya academy award for Mahakavya on Gulabrao maharaj. He has 45 books to his credit and has recently translated the Jnaneshwari of Sant Dnyaneshwar into 9000 Sanskrit verses. Prof. Penna has about 17 awards and honors. He was honoured with honorary D.Litt by National Sanskrit University, Tirupati, AP for his unique contribution in Indian Philosophy. The Tirumala peetham established by Bhagavad Ramanujacharya in the 10th century has conferred Shastraratnakara on him. His areas of interest are Yoga, Advaita and Nyaya philosophy.

Dr Ganesh Ishwar Bhat is the HOD & Professor in Advaita Vedanta Department, Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan(Deemed University) Rajiv Gandhi Campus, SRINGERI. Born in Sirsi, North Kanara Dist. Karnataka. He had his Krishna Yajurveda adhyayana at Swarnavalli Mutt. After studying Advaita Vedanta under HH Sri Gangadharendra Saraswati Swamiji, he has qualified in the title examination Vidwan (M.A) from Karnataka Sanskrit University and M.A. in Sanskrit from Karnataka State Open University, Mysore. He received vidyāvāridhi (Ph.D.) degree from the Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeetha Tirupati, for the thesis namely A Critical Study of Advaita Philosophy in Vishnupurana on the basis of Sridhariya Commentary. He completed his Shikshashastri ( B Ed) in Rajiv Gandhi Campus Sringeri. He has edited 7 books and has written several research articles in Sanskrit and Kannada language. He has delivered lectures in several religious programs & participated in many Vakyarthasabhas and Kavigoshthis in different parts of the country.

Dr. Sammodavardhana Kaundinnyayana (Sammod Acharya) is the Associate Professor, Department of Pharmacology, NAIHS, College of Medicine. He has been trained traditionally in Veda, Vedanga by his father Vidwan Shivaraja Acharya Kaundinnyayana. He has also received training in Vyakarana and Jyotishya.

Dr. Satyan Sharma is a Guest Faculty at the Department of Sanskrit, Panjab University, Chandigarh. His field of specialisation is Darśanaśāstra and he has earned his PhD degree for the thesis titled 'A critical study of Ānandajñāna's Tarkasaṅgraha,' which is based on a rare Vedāntic text from the 12th to 13th centuries CE. Dharmaśāstras and the way they were practised during the ancient and later times is one of his areas of interest.

V.Subrahmanian studied in Bengaluru, worked in the Reserve Bank of India there. Took up study of Advaita Vedanta comprising of the prasthana traya Bhashyams under Acharya Veda Brahma Sri D.S.Subbaramaiya (who authored the two-volume English book on Sri Dakshinamurthy Stotram published by the Sringeri Sharada Peetham). After retirement engaged in study and teaching of Advaita both online and in person. Wordpress Blog: Adbhutam where hundreds of articles on Advaita and allied topics are available.

Vidwan PV Rajaraman is a highly qualified individual with extensive academic and spiritual accomplishments. He holds a Diploma, B.E., and M.E. in Computer Science and has completed research in the field of Natural Language Processing from Anna University, Chennai. Currently, he serves as the Head of the Department of Artificial Intelligence at Adi Shankara Institute of Engineering and Technology in Kalady. In addition to his academic achievements, Rajaraman has also pursued spiritual studies. He has studied Nyaya and Vedanta Sastras under the guidance of BrahmaSri Goda Venkateswara Sastrigal from 2009 to 2013. He has been doing Upanysams since he was 18 years old. His spiritual pursuits have also earned him the prestigious Bhagavatha Bhaswan Brahmasri Anjam Krishnan Naboodiri Memorial Award in 2018 from Sree Ayyappa Bhaktha Sabha in Mahalingapuram, Chennai.

Dr. Janakisharan Acharya, born on 5th August 1985 in Jodhpur, Rajasthan, is a distinguished scholar in the field of Sanskrit and Advaita Vedanta. He completed his education with B.A. honors in Sanskrit in 2007. His academic journey continued with the achievement of a Shastri in Vedanta Darshana in 2010 and an Acharya in Advaita Vedanta in 2012 from Central Sanskrit University (formerly Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan) Sringeri Campus. His academic excellence was further recognized when he secured the UGC NET & JRF in 2011, followed by UGC NET in 2013. He earned his Ph.D. in Advaita Vedanta in 2016, with a thesis titled "An Edition and Critical Study of Kaivalyadeepika with own Prabha Commentary of Krishna" from Shree Somnath Sanskrit University, Veraval (Gujarat) With over a decade of teaching experience at both undergraduate and postgraduate levels, He has been a valuable contributor to the field of Sanskrit studies. He served as a guest lecturer at Central Sanskrit University, Ved Vyas Campus, Balahar. At present, he is working as Assistant Professor at Shree Somnath Sanskrit University, Veraval, Gujarat from 2014. Dr. Acharya has held administrative positions, including Dean of the Faculty of Darshan at Shree Somnath Sanskrit University from 2014 to 2017 & 2023 to till date. Dr. Acharya's contributions extend to research and publications. He has presented 39 research papers at various conferences, seminars, workshops, and symposia. Additionally, he has attended 16 workshops and training programs and organized 23 conferences and seminars. He has authored/edited 13 books and published 22 research papers/articles in Journals and 17 chapters in books. He has also served as the editor of "Somjyoti" and "Shodhjyoti" (the UGC CARE listed research journal) of Shree Somnath Sanskrit University. Furthermore, Dr. Acharya has been actively involved in research projects, guiding M.Phil. and Ph.D. scholars, and delivering 81 invited lectures at conferences, seminars, and workshops. He has received several prestigious awards, including the S. J. Jindal Trust Gold Medal, Lekhan Visharad, and the Bharatgaurava Pandit K. S. Ramaswami Sastri National Award, among others. His dedication and commitment to the field of Sanskrit and Advaita Vedanta make him a renowned scholar.

Dr. Pushkar Deopujari is a Assistant Professor in Vedanta at Calicut Adarsha Sanskrit Vidyapeetha,Kozhikode, Kerala. He completed his Ph.D. from Pondicherry University, Puducherry. He is trained in various systems of Indian Philosophy with special focus on Vedanta and Yoga at Veda Vijnana Gurukulam, Bangalore under the guidance of Prof. Ramachandra Bhat. He has also sucessfully completed the prestigious ‘Tenali’ Exam, conducted by Kanchi Kamakoti Matha under the guidance of Dr. K.S.Maheshwaran. Dr. Deopujari has published more than 10 research articles in various journals and regularly participates in National Seminars and Shastra Training Programmes. He has received many awards including: 'Advaita-Ratnam' title from Kanchi Kamakoti Matha, 'Advaita Vedanta Vidvanmani' title from Indic Academy, 'Vidyanidhi' award from Shri Sringeri Sharada Peetham, and 'Samskruta-Grantha-Puruaskara' award from Karnataka Sanskrit University, Bengaluru

Vidwan Manikandan Iyer, a financial crime specialist by profession, and a sanatani by practice, with Sharada's blessings has had the rare fortune of studying the shastras from a tender age. He also studied and continues to study Vyakarana from Vidwan.Sri.Tilak Rao. He traditionally started his Vedanta study under his Guru Brahmasri Sri Sridhara sharma. He has also had the rare fortune of learning vedanta from the most senior and respected vidwan in the vedanta circle Mahamahopadhyaya Shastra Ratnakara Vidwan Sri Mullaivasal Krishnamurthy shastri while continuing to learn under Brahmasri Sri Sridhara Sharma.He also has the rare fortune of studying tarka shastra from Vidwan Sri.Naveen Holla of sringeri (senior most disciple of the 36th pontiff of Sringeri Saradapeetham Mahasannidhanam Sri Sri Bharatitirtha Mahaswamiji)

Vidwan Shankarararama Sharma, a dedicated researcher pursuing a PhD at IISc, Bangalore, is a proficient Sanskrit scholar. Initiated into the teachings of the Bhagavad Gita at the age of 4 by his mother, he earned the blessings of the Jagadgurus of Sringeri and Kanchi in 2013 for memorizing the entire scripture. Having accomplished the Pravesha exam by Surasaraswathi Sabha of Sringeri, he holds an MA degree in Advaita Vedanta from Karnataka Sanskrit University, guided by his grandfather, Mahamahopadhyaya Dr Krishnamurthi Sastrigal. Currently engaged in writing Shastra Pareekshas in Tenali, he began his Vedadhyana under his paternal grandfather Sri Ramalinga Sarma and continues it under Sri Ananthesha Sarma. Shankarararama Sharma has conducted Ramayana Navahams and Bhagavata Saptahams multiple times, delivering discourses in Tamil, Kannada, and English. His repertoire includes various Parayanams and discourses on spiritual topics. He serves as a techno-linguistic scholar at Vyoma Linguistic Labs. He strives to use technology for the prachara and seva of Samskrita Mata.

Trained in Sanskrit and Advaita Vedanta by his hyper-polyglot, polymath and spiritually accomplished sakala-shaastra-paarangata father, late Sri Paturi Sitaramanjaneyulu garu, Dr Nagaraj Paturi is seriously committed to the transmission of Vedic sciences to the present generation. In his PhD thesis (1998, University of Hyderabad), he developed an Indic Model of Myth Criticism of Literature and in his MPhil (1987, University of Hyderabad), he foregrounded Vakyapadiya as the theoretical foundation of the Ashtadhyayi. In addition to over 50 publications and about 60 conference/seminar/workshop papers, Dr Paturi has designed several courses pertaining to the contemporary applications of Vedic Sciences and has been successfully teaching them and getting them taught. Formerly Senior Professor of Cultural Studies FLAME School of Communication (& FLAME School of Liberal Education) and a Visiting Professor, University of Chicago (USA), Dr Paturi is currently Senior Director and Chief Curator at INDICA, a Distinguished Professor, Curriculum Designer, Executive Committee Member, Board of Studies, MIT School of Vedic Sciences (Pune, Maharashtra), Member, Board of Studies at Kavikulaguru Kalidasa Sanskrit University (Ramtek, Maharashtra) and Rashtram School of Public Leadership (Sonipat, Haryana). He is also the Editor-in-Chief of International Journals of Studies in Public Leadership and is a member of the Advisory Council of Veda Vijnana Shodha Samsthanam (Bengaluru, Karnataka). He has provided consultancy to numerous culture research, theatre, and dance innovation projects. He has authored scores of creative writing works for Classical Dance, Modern Theater, and magazines and has delivered several series of talks and other programs on Radio and Television channels.