Indic Academy Inter-Gurukula-University Centre for Indic Knowledge Studies (IGUC-IKS), Hyderabad, in association with MIT School of Vedic Science Pune and Kalidas Sanskrit University, Ramtek organised a two-day application-and-practice-based 2-credit certification course on Tantrayukti designed and conducted by Dr. Jayaraman Mahadevan, Director, Krishnamachari Yoga Mandiram, Chennai.
Two-Day Course (29-30 June 2019)
Venue: Kavikulaguru Kalidasa Sanskrit University, Ramtek, Nagpur, MH
Introduction:
Ancient India’s scientific / shaastric tradition is so insistent on the coherent and concise expression of thought that it has even codified and classified the various exposition conventions employed in any discourse. These conventions are called Tantrayuktis. While they are used in numerous Indic texts, some have explicitly identified and enlisted them to help readers. Understanding Tantrayuktis and identifying their usage is crucial for correctly interpreting seminal Indic scientific treatises such as Ayurvedic texts and Artha shaastra. About 35-40 yuktis have been identified as most handy. Examples include “enumeration of a taxonomy, term definition, forward / backward reference, extrapolation, etc.).
The word Tantrayukti has multiple meanings. One of them is the “logic/rationale (yukti) that binds a discourse (tantra or shaastra) or its elements together or makes it coherent. Through this workshop, we aimed to revive this glorious tradition for authentic study of Indic knowledge as well as contemporary applications.
The Course Constituted:
- One face-to-face workshop over 2 full days (15 hours total), including theory and tutorial sessions on applying Indic thesis construction tools to critically analyzing modern articles, blogs, discourses etc.
- Optional Course certification (15 additional hours):
- Quizzes, assignments and practice homework over two following weekends (total of 15 hours). They was administered online using an LMS platform.
- Final certification exam: open-book, online exam.
OBJECTIVES & OUTCOMES
The objective of the workshop was to help participants learn and practice India’s systematic approach to scientific discourse and thesis-writing through Tantrayukti, in terms of its content, structure and the language and to learn the attributes of a sound thesis as well as the common defects in thesis construction.
- Understanding the Indian systematic approach to organize thoughts and writing in any subject
- Understanding the significant elements in any systematic exposition of knowledge content
- Understanding the structure of any text – ancient or contemporary
- Reviewing a content on account of its readability – ancient or contemporary
- Enriching readability in one’s own knowledge content writing
- Applying India’s traditional mode of robust thinking in current context
The two-day workshop was inaugurated at the hands of Prof. BVK Shastri, founder Vice Chancellor of Yog Sanskrit University Florida USA. Prof. Madhusudan, coordinator of workshop presided over the function. Dr. Sai Susarla, Dean, MIT School of Vedic Sciences Pune and Dr. Jairaman Mahadevan from Chennai were the special guests.
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