The Contemporary Relevance of the Dharmaśāstra Literature

Prof. Madhusdhan Penna is the officiating Vice-Chancellor of the Kavikulaguru Kalidas Sanskrit University, Ramtek, Maharashtra. A renowned scholar and a prolific multi-lingual author, he is an expert in Indian as well as Western philosophy and is a connoisseur of Vedānta and multiple Śāstra-s. Along with Philosophy, he is well versed in many facets of Sanskrit literature, Language, and Grammar. Being a poet himself, he has composed two Mahākavya-s श्रीकाव्यकण्ठचरितम् (śrīkāvyakaṇṭhacaritam) and प्रज्ञाचाक्षुषम् (prajñācākṣuṣam) and 11 Laghukavya-s. In recognition of his Sanskrit Mahākavya प्रज्ञाचाक्षुषम् (prajñācākṣuṣam), he received the prestigious Sahitya Akademi Award in 2019 and was conferred with a D.Litt by the Central Sanskrit University, Tirupati. He has already completed 14 translations (Sanskrit to Telugu - 8, Sanskrit to English - 5, Marathi to Sanskrit - 1)and participated in 58 conferences (including 14 international ones) in various capacities. With teaching experience of over two dozen years, he has been the research guide for 36 students (6 PhD-s and 30 MPhil-s) and is currently guiding 13 more (8 PhD-s and 5 MPhil-s). Prof. Penna has published scores of books in various languages including Sanskrit, Telugu, Marathi, and English and several research papers in various renowned research journals. His CDs have been released on various subjects such as śrīmadbhagavadgītā (2009), lakṣmī suprabhātam (2014), and yogasūtra (2016), amongst others. Sanskrit Sanskriti Samrakshaka (2022), Shastratnakara (2020), Madhubharati (2020), Somnath Best Sanskrit Scholar Award (2018), Sriman Maringati Rangacharya Puraskar (2018), Pandit Ghatate Memorial Award (2016) Pandit Latkar Shastry Memorial Award (2015), Pandit Satwalekar Memorial Award (2015), Sanskrit Pandit [Sri Vanpipuram Ramanujacharya Sanmaan] (2012), Yuvavipashchit [Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeeth, Tirupati] (2007) are but some of the other recognitions he has received for his multiple contributions.

Megh Kalyanasundaram is an Indian citizen with close to nine years of lived experience in China, an alumnus of ISB and is currently Director Special Projects at INDICA. His post-graduate specialization in Strategy, Leadership and Marketing included a study of research methods. His professional experience includes stints as a Market Leader at a Global Fortune 50 firm, as Head of Business Development at a leading Indian talent development multinational and he has served a term on the Board of a Shanghai-based not-for-profit. His academic research interests and 20+ papers span some aspects of ancient Indian chronology, Indian Knowledge Systems, Landscape in Indic texts, Ancient Indian Jurisprudence, Ideas of India and Philosophy. For his creative contribution to the first edition of the International Day of Yoga, he was invited by the Permanent Mission of India in the United Nations to attend the inaugural event at the UN. Other professional and pro-bono pursuits have included building differentiated digital platforms for Indic texts targeted at specific learning and research needs and music. His research-based compositional Sanskrit album 'Bhārata and her Kāśmīra' has been listed by the Indira Gandhi National Center for the Arts (IGNCA) while his subsequent album 'Indian Knowledge Systems and Yāskācārya's Nirukta' has recently been accepted for listing by the Vedic Heritage Portal. In 2022, Megh was invited by the National Museum Institute (NMI) to contribute content for multiple projects currently underway at NMI, including ones on Jammu Kashmir & Ladakh and Kedarnath.