Report
Under the joint auspices of Shri Shankar Shikshayatan Vedic Research Institute, New Delhi, and the Jnanapravah Centre for Cultural Studies and Research, Varanasi, a one-day National Seminar was organised on Saturday, 29 November 2025, in the auditorium of Gyanpravah at Kashi.
In the inaugural session, Prof. Vijay Shankar Shukla, former Director of the Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts, Varanasi, presided over the programme. He stated that Yajñasarasvatī by Pandit Madhusudan Ojha is extremely significant from a yajña-centered perspective. In Vedic science, doctrines such as sat–asadvāda, rajovāda, and āvaraṇavāda occupy an important place in discussions on the process of creation.
Prof. Sharadindu Tiwari, Professor, Department of Sanskrit, Faculty of Arts, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, delivered the keynote address as the Chief Guest. He observed that Shri Shankar Shikshayatan is continuously engaged, through such seminars, in the promotion and dissemination of Vedic science. The institution honours scholars through the Ṛṣi Samman, and its academic activities are worthy of high appreciation.
Prof. Chandrakant Rai, former Professor, Arya Kanya P.G. College, Varanasi, stated in her inaugural address that the pañca-mahāyajñas constitute a social system that holds an important place in the Sanātana tradition. Through these yajñas, the social structure is strengthened.
Prof. Shrikishor Mishra, former Head of the Faculty of Arts, Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, welcomed the assembled guests. He remarked that Pandit Madhusudan Ojha’s Yajñasarasvatī is a work well worth reading, as it provides an excellent exposition of the yajña procedures of the Śukla Yajurveda.
Representing Shri Shankar Shikshayatan, Dr. Lakshmikant Vimal, while introducing the theme, stated that brahma-vijñāna is of two kinds: veda-vijñāna and yajña-vijñāna. Veda-vijñāna deals with the contemplation of fundamental principles, whereas yajña-vijñāna concerns the contemplation of composite or integrative principles.
In the valedictory session, Prof. Ramamurti Sharma, former Professor, Department of Sanskrit, Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith, Varanasi, in his presidential address, stated that the cognition of a single principle is jñāna, whereas the cognition of multiple principles is vijñāna. Just as clay is knowledge, and all vessels made from clay constitute science.
Prof. Gopal Prasad Sharma, Professor, Department of Veda, Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri National Sanskrit University, delivered his address as the Chief Guest, elucidating the importance of yajña. He stated that the meanings of Vedic words cannot be determined solely through grammar.
Scholars from Banaras Hindu University, including Prof. Abhimanyu, Dr. Thakur Shivlochan Shandilya, and Dr. Raj Kishor Arya, along with many students of Sampurnanand Sanskrit University and various Sanskrit schools, participated in the seminar. Prof. Hanuman Mishra, Dr. Gangadhar Mishra, Dr. Pavan Kumar Pandey, and several other scholars presented their research papers. The seminar was conducted by Dr. Shilpa Singh of Banaras Hindu University.