Medak’s Kulcharam gets ready for Telangana’s first Sanskrit University

Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao had announced the establishment of the University, naming it after Mallinatha Suri recently

Medak: Kulcharam village, the birthplace of 14th-century Sanskrit poet and commentator Kolachala Mallinatha Suri, in Medak distinct will become home to the first Sanskrit University in the State.

Chief Minister K Chandrashekhar Rao had announced the establishment of the University, naming it after Mallinatha Suri recently. The Chief Minister had also constituted a three-member committee appointing Naveen Mittal as Chairman and naming as members Prof Penna Madhusudhan, Vice-chancellor of Kavikulaguru Kalidas Sanskrit University, Ramtek, and Prof K Neelakantam, Director of Sanskrit Academy Telangana.

---

As part of identifying suitable land for setting up the university, the two members of the committee along with Telangana State Council for Higher Education (TSCHE) Chairman Prof R Limbadri, Vice-chairman Prof Venkataramana, Collector Rajarshi Shah and Narsapur MLA C Madan Reddy visited Kulcharam on Wednesday. The Collector showed the committee two sites, which were spread over 30 acres and 27 acres respectively. Since the land was located very close to the road, the visiting team members have expressed satisfaction. The team is expected to present a report on their visit to the State government in a couple of days.

The State government is planning to offer three courses- diploma, degree and postgraduation courses in Sanskrit initially in the first year. Despite Kulcharam being the birthplace of Mallinatha Suri, recognition evaded both the village and the writer till the Telangana government came forward with the decision to set up the university in Kulcharam.

MLA Madan Reddy said it was a great honour to the people of Medak district as the Chief Minister decided to set up a University in the name of Mallinatha Suri.

Mallinatha Suri was born in the present Kulcharam village, which was then called Kolichelma, located a couple of kilometres away from Hyderabad-Medak road. Suri was born in 1346 CE and died at the age of 96 in 1440 CE. Based on inscriptions found, he was patronised by Rachakonda King Singa Bhupala, who honoured the Sanskrit writer as Mahamahopadhya for commentary works on Kalidasa writings.

The house site, where Mallinatha Suri lived nearly seven hundred years ago, is still there in Kulcharam. The piece of land was bought by the State government in 1981 from the descendents of Suri with an aim to open a Vedic School in the village. However, nothing materialised so far. A statue of Suri, carved in 1981, was kept idle until 2012. It was finally installed by the villagers on the premises of the new library set up in the village in 2012.