श्रुतिसचचनम् : Shrutisachchanam

A Vedic Selection for the students studying in the Post-graduate course has long been a desideratum. While teaching the subject I keenly felt how greatly handicapped the students were without a text-book before them. It was impossible for them to copy out the entire course of the texts prescribed as well as the commentary of Sayana. The only selection of Vedic texts available in this part of the country viz., the Srautaptha of the Calcutta University had long gone out of print, though it was heard that it is being printed over again. I, therefore, felt the urgency of publishing such a selection of Vedic hymns with English translation as well as the commentary not only of Sayana but also of Skandasvamin for the Post-graduate students of our University as well as of the other sister Universities in West Bengal. Generally the first nineteen hymns of the Rgveda are more or less prescribed for the M.A. course in all the Universities as Sayana has given very detailed commentaries on them which every student of Sanskrit going for higher studies should go through. We have also included some hymns to the female deities like Sarasvati, Usas which are considered as 'pearls of lyric poetry' even by Western scholars and also some philosophical hymns which are very profound. This selection, therefore, will not only remove a long-felt want of our University students but will also benefit students of other Universities in West Bengal and elsewhere.

Our esteemed Vice-Chancellor, Dr. Ramaranjan Mukherji is not only a profound scholar in Sanskrit but a great patron of Sanskrit learning and a supreme benefactor of the students studying Sanskrit. He readily took up the proposal for the publication of this Vedic Selection and very kindly encouraged us to print it off as early as possible. But for his kind patronage the book would not have seen the light of the day so soon.

I am grateful to my students, Srimati Purabi Nag, M.A. and Srimati Mridula De, M.A. for kindly copying out the texts with care and also to my student Shri Ramsadhan Mukherjee, M.A. for going through the manuscripts with sincerity. My thanks are due to the Publication Section of our University headed by Sri R. K. Palit who piloted the work through the Press. Sree Saraswaty Press Limited is well-known for their neat execution of printing work and their kind co-operation and help is gratefully acknowledged.

In the next part of our Selection, we propose to incorporate hymns from the Atharva-Veda, Vajasaneyi Samhita as well as detailed notes on the grammatical and liturgical portions by my esteemed colleague, Pandit Ayodhyanath Sanyal, Vyakaranacharya. I hope the next part also will be out very soon so that students who have taken up Veda as their special paper will no longer feel handicapped.