Sanskrit Knowledge Accessor

About the Project

Introduction

Sanskrit has a vast repository of texts in various knowledge disciplines. The main goal of this project is to develop a computational platform that will facilitate access to this knowledge with some manual effort.

The Department of Sanskrit Studies, as a Consortium leader, developed several Sanskrit computational tools during 2009-13, with funding from the MeitY under its TDIL programme. The Department continued the research further to enhance the quality of the tools so developed. During the last decade, the department successfully improved the quality of these tools and developed a full-fledged Dependency parser for Sanskrit that analyses both prose and verses.

We plan to extend the capabilities of the current computational platform to carry out discourse analysis and by developing a Question Answering system. The specific technology and knowledge base related fall-outs are as follows:

  • Sanskrit-Hindi, Sanskrit-English and Sanskrit-Tamil machine translation system with transparent intermediate results. These intermediate results are helpful for manual intervention that can also act as a safety net. To access these intermediate results, an interactive Language Accessor cum Translator interface for Accessing Sanskrit texts would be developed.
  • A high quality linguistically rich annotated data, needed for Machine Learning techniquesture.
  • We plan to explore the traditional knowledge in Mīmāmsā and other literature on the theories of verbal cognition for understanding the discourse structure

Project Objectives

  • To develop Sanskrit-Hindi, Sanskrit-English and Sanskrit-Tamil accessors, with the following three applications:
    • Ayurveda reading aid for Vaidyas
    • Darshana or classics reading aid for popularization among reading public such    as Upanishadas and Mahābhārata, and
    • Objective-type question-answering system on Bhāvaprakāśa Nighantu (BPN)
  • To generate high quality linguistically rich annotated data semi-automatically
  • To explore the traditional knowledge in Mīmāmsā, and other literature on the theories of verbal cognition for understanding the discourse structure
  • The expected outcome of the project:

    Machine Translation System

    Three Machine Translation System accessors would be developed and deployed on a cloud server.

    Ayurveda Reading Aid

    An Ayurveda reading aid for Vaidyas.

    Classic Reading Aid

    Darśana or classics reading aid for popularization among the reading public such as Mahābhārata.

    Consortium Members



    Project Chief Investigator

    University of Hyderabad



    Project Investigator

    Indira Gandhi Delhi Technical University for Women, Delhi


    Project Investigator

    IIT Kanpur


    Project Investigator

    Manipal Academy of Higher Education, Bengaluru


    Project Co-Investigator

    IIIT-Hyderabad


    Project Investigator

    Samskriti Foundation, Mysore


    Project Investigator

    IIT Roorkee



    Project Investigator

    IIT Kharagpur


    Project Investigator

    IIIT-Hyderabad


    Project Investigator

    IIT BHU


    Our Team

    Dr. Arjuna S R

    Assistant Professor - Senior Scale, Department of Liberal Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (DLHS) and Assistant Director, Department of Student Affairs (DSA); Co-Principal Investigator, Sanskrit Knowledge Accessor, MeitY funded project

    Qualification: MA, PhD

    Arjuna is an Assistant Professor - Senior Scale at the Department of Liberal Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, and Assistant Director, Department of Student Affairs (DSA), Manipal Academy of Higher Education (MAHE), Bengaluru, India. He completed his PhD (2017) in Navya-Nyaya and Sanskrit Computational Linguistics under the guidance of Prof Dr Amba Kulkarni from the Department of Sanskrit Studies, University of Hyderabad (UoH). He pursued a part of his PhD with Prof Dr Gérard Huet at INRIA, Paris, France, with the Raman Charpak Fellowship (2014). He holds two Masters' in Navya-Nyaya and Sanskrit. He was awarded with the Erasmus+ Teaching Mobility Fellowship (2018) at the Metropolitan University Prague, Czechia and holds a couple of publications (journal articles and book chapters) to his credit. He is the General Secretary of Samsaadhanii Welfare Association (SWA). Arjuna's research areas are Sanskrit Computational Linguistics, Indian Philosophy, Indian Epics, and the Sanskrit language. He is interested in Indian and Western Logic, Language Pedagogy, NLP and Translation Studies.

    arjuna.sr@manipal.edu

    Akash Gairola

    Senior Language Editor

    Qualification: Acharya (Vyakaranam)

    Akash is a Sanskrit scholar with a passion for combining traditional studies with modern technology, particularly through computational linguistics. Akash explores applications of computational methods to Sanskrit, bringing a fresh perspective to classical language analysis. A devoted reader of Sānkhya and Vedāntic philosophy, Akash draws on these insights to deepen his understanding of language and cognition. Their technical skills in programming and web development enable them to bridge the worlds of ancient wisdom and modern technology, making them a unique asset in advancing digital tools for Sanskrit scholarship.

    textvyom@gmail.com

    Amritha Pradeep

    Programmer

    Qualification: B.Tech in Artificial Intelligence and Data Science

    Amritha is a dedicated Machine Learning enthusiast with a robust foundation in programming and problem-solving. Focused on NLP, Computer Vision, and Generative AI (GenAI), Amritha is also expanding into web development. Her projects demonstrate expertise in NLP technologies like sentiment analysis, neural machine translation, and machine learning models such as CNNs, RNNs, LSTMs, and deep neural networks. Amritha has also delved into GenAI technologies, leveraging tools like GPT and other transformer-based models to create innovative solutions. Driven by a commitment to ethical AI development, her goal is to ensure that AI solutions are impactful, accessible, and beneficial for all.

    amrithapradeep2001@gmail.com

    Pooja Tripathi

    Post Doctoral Fellow

    Qualification: Masters and pursuing PhD

    Pooja is a PhD Scholar in the Department of Philosophy, Delhi University. Her primary research area covers Indian and Western Philosophies, Sanskrit Studies, Ethics, Linguistics Philosophy and Theology. Her future project envisions an active participation in promoting cross- cultural philosophical dialogues and developing an alternative methodology of doing comparative philosophy with Indian thought systems at the locus. She has authored three research papers and presented various papers in seminars and conferences. She also has qualified Net from IKS and JRF from Philosophy. Her other skills include Morse Code.

    pooja1999tripathi1998@gmail.com

    Saraswath K

    Senior Language Editor

    Qualification: Post Graduate In Sanskrit with Specialization In Sanskrit Grammar.

    Saraswath K is a dedicated scholar with over seven years of experience in the field of Sanskrit, specializing in Vyakarana. They have performed multiple Vakyarthas of the Ashtadyayi Sutras and studied Krishnayajurvedam-Kramnatham. With a strong interest in Vedic grammar, Saraswath K also engages in areas including linguistics, computational linguistics, and Vedic studies. They possess substantial teaching experience in Sanskrit, Vedic literature, and traditional Vedapatham, fostering a deeper understanding of these ancient texts and their significance.

    saraswathmuktheshwar@gmail.com

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