National Prakrit
Workshop 2025

The National Prakrit Grammar Workshop was organised under the joint aegis of the Department of Philosophy at the University of Rajasthan, the Samyak Gyan Prachar Prasar Trust, and the Pandit Todarmal Smarak Trust — a tri-institutional partnership uniting academic scholarship with traditional study.

Held from 15 to 25 June 2025 at the Todarmal Digambar Jain Siddhant Mahavidyalaya in Jaipur, the workshop drew eighty trainees from across India. Its study centred on the classical grammar text Prakrit Prakash (प्राकृत प्रकाश) — moving systematically through vowel and consonant change, conjunct consonants, noun and pronoun forms, verb forms, and the regional dialects of Prakrit.

The structure was intensive. Each day brought four sessions across morning and afternoon, with dedicated practice classes through the early days and a written examination near the close. Teaching moved chapter by chapter through Prakrit Prakash, so that participants built their grammar foundations in order rather than in fragments.

Six subject experts led the teaching. Prof. Jagatram Bhattacharya opened the workshop with the history of the Prakrit language and carried the early chapters on vowel and consonant change; Prof. Dinanath Sharma led noun, pronoun and verb forms; Prof. Dharmchand Jain taught the later chapters and the Paishachi and Magadhi dialects; and the workshop's convener and director Shastri Swanubhav Jain carried the chapter on conjunct-consonant change throughout.

The workshop opened and closed with ceremonies graced by Dr. Anubhav Varshney, Head of the Department of Philosophy at the University of Rajasthan, and Prof. Shriyans Jain, retired Senior Professor of Jain Darshan and Prakrit Vidya at the Central Sanskrit University — alongside special guests Shri Sudhanshu Kasliwal, Advocate, and Shri Anil Gangwal.