Sanskrit is a historical Indo-Aryan language; the primary liturgical language of Hinduism and scholarly language in Buddhism and Jainism. Today it is listed as one of the 22 schedule languages of India. Sanskrit holds a prominent position in Indo-European studies.

The contribution of Kashmir to Sanskrit has been rather immense. For centuries Kashmir has been one of the well known homes for Sanskrit learning. The village has produced masterpieces of history, philosophy, poetry, fable and mythology. Kashmir has made the largest Contribution to its poetics. The majority of Alankar Sastris (Rhetoricians) belong to Kashmir.

To promote and preserve the cultural heritage of Kashmir, the department of Sanskrit was established in 1983. The faculty in the Department is obsessed with teaching and research as they believe that good teaching results in good learning for students of all abilities. The department also believes that the maintenance of good Standards is essential for our Students to have the ability to progress to national level and beyond.

In my new role as Head of the Department, my priority is to enhance the quality of our academic programmes. The curriculum for the Master Programme is based on and derived from wide range of Sanskrit texts. Our M.Phil and Ph.D programmes helps students to extend their knowledge, preserve and promote further Sanskrit language and literature. The Department has also started a Certificate Course in Sanskrit for those who don’t have any formal degree in this language but have the inclination to read, speak and write this language.

As Head of the Department, I would like the Department of Sanskrit to excel further to produce Sanskrit scholars of the highest quality.