Sanskrit is the mother of all languages and it should not be confined to books,” said School and Mass Education Minister Badri Narayan Patra at a State-level Sanskrit Diwas convention organised by the Utkal Sanskruta Shikshak Mahasangh here on Wednesday.
Inaugurating the programme, Patra said there is a need for translation of English works into Sanskrit and urged Sanskrit teachers to make efforts to more and more proficiency in the language.
Former School and Mass Education Minister Debi Prasad Mishra said Sanskrit is an old language that had great influence on people’s life in the country. If Sanskrit is made a means of livelihood, it would help in the development of the country, added Mishra.
Former Minister Arun Sahoo said the society, which has been influenced by culture of other countries, can be reformed by wider use of Sanskrit. Ayurveda and other Indian health systems owe their origin from Sanskrit, he pointed out.
Mahasangh president Prafulla Kumar Sahu presided over the programme while general secretary Pandit Narsingha Jena read out the annual report and Dr Kumar Chandra Mishra offered a vote of thanks.
On the occasion, Pandit Bhagabat Prasad Dash was felicitated for his Sanskrit translations.