Pandit Madhusudan Ojha’s Contribution to Vedic Thought
Acharya Jawalant Kumar Shastri Pandit Madhusudan Ojha was a profound scholar in the tradition of veda vijnana, said well-known vedic scholar, Acharya Jawalant Kumar Shastri during his lecture at Pandit Motilal Shastri Memorial Lecture 2023 on September 28,2023. The annual lecture is organised by Shri Shankar Shikshayatan to honour Pandit Motilal Shastri. The topic of the lecture was Pandit Madhusudan Ojha’s Contribution to Vedic Thought.
Dr Jwalant Kumar Shastri took his early learning in guru-shishya parampara and completed his higher studies at Benares Hindu University. In his 35 years of teaching life, Acharya Shastri taught post-graduate students and guided 16 doctoral students. He has authored 15 books and 250 articles. He has edited the publication of a 700-year old manuscript on Rig Veda bhashya. His programmes on dharmashastra have appeared on Astha Channel.
Referring to the great teachers who made stellar contributions to the vedic thought, Acharya Shastri made special mention of Ojhaji, his illustrial disciples Pandit Motilal Shastri and Pandit Giridhar Shastri and Dr Vasudeva Sharan Agarwal.
Ordinary people know that there are four Vedas. Ojhaji has instead shown various layers of vedic thought. He pointed out that each of the Vedas were a combination of text and verses and hence they were veda-trayi. He had quoted Taittiriya Brahman to explore the possibility of elemental Vedas. It is said that all the mortal beings in Creation are forms of Rigveda; all actions in Creation are Yajur Veda and Samaveda was the light in every matter.
Shastriji pointed out the emphasis laid by Ojhaji on understanding the meaning and context of each specific vedic term. He referred in specific to Ojhaji’s explanation of yajna vijnana and said Yajurveda was the foundation of yajna vijnana. There are forty chapters in this Veda and the first 20 contain mantras related to yajna. Yajna, said Ojahji, was the basis of all Creations.
During the meeting, a new publication of Shri Shankar Shikshayatan, Vedic Srishti Prakriya, was released.
The chief guest at the meeting, the Chancellor of Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri Rashtriya Sanskrit University, Prof. Murali Manohar Pathak said he had come across Ojhaji and his works during his student days. He referred to Ojhaji’s Dashavadarahasya as one of the texts he had read during those days. Ojhaji had explained the profound mysteries of Creation as mentioned in Rigveda’s nasadiya sukata. The volume referred to sadasadvada, ahoratravada, avaranavada, vyomavada, rajovada etc.
Prof. Girish Chandra Pant of Jamia Millia Islamia University, Delhi, referred to Ojhaji’s foreign travels and his various conversations with foreign scholars and journalists.
In his speech, former Vice-chancellor of Uttarakhand Sanskrit University, Haridwar, Prof. Devi Prasad Tripathi called Pandit Madhsudan Ojha’s writings as illuminating and profound. He made special mention of Ojhaji’s concept and explanation of the triadic world and how everything emerged and existed in these three worlds.
In his introduction to the lecture and Shri Shankar Shikshayatan, Prof. Santosh Kumar Shukla of Jawaharlal Nehru University and convener, Shikshayatan, said the centre was devoted to the promotion of vedic science through it monthly vedic discussions, annual lectures and various publications. He said Pandit Motilal Shastrij’s disciple, Rishi Kumar Mishra had set up the centre to preserve and promote teachings of his two gurus, Ojhaji and Shastriji.
The meeting was attended by participants from Delhi University, Jamia Millia Islamia University, Rashtriya Sanskrit University, Jawaharlal Nehru University and other institutions.
