BANGKOK, 29 June 2015 (NNT) – Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn presided over the opening ceremony of the 16th World Sanskrit Conference at Renaissance Hotel in Pathuwan District.
The conference was jointly organized by the Sanskrit Study Center, Silpakorn University and the International Association of Sanskrit Studies in honor of Her Royal Highness Princess Maha Chakri Sirindhorn on the occasion of her fifth-cycle birthday on April 2, 2015.
The five-day world conference is the first of its kind ever held in Thailand as well as in Southeast Asia. Over 600 scholars from 60 countries are participating in the academic conference during which they will share their views and exchange experience using Sanskrit as the medium of communication.
One of the guests of honor at the opening ceremony was External Affairs Minister of India Sushma Swaraj, who also gave the inaugural speech. The conference provides a stage for the participants to express their perspectives on the modern world in relation to the two great Sanskrit epic poems, Ramayana and Mahabharata, which offer models in all aspects of life that can be applied to the modern-day life.
The Princess Maha Chakri has had interest in Sanskrit studies since she was very young. She obtained her Master of Arts degree in oriental epigraphy from Silpakorn University and Master of Arts in Pali and Sanskrit from Chulalongkorn University. The Princess has also supported further education in Sanskrit by granting scholarships for university students to study the language abroad, many of whom have become lecturers at Silpakorn University.
