Lankan bags Saraswati Sanskrit Prize 2012

Rohana Seneviratne, lecturer in Sanskrit at the Department of Classical Languages of the University of Peradeniya and a doctoral student in Sanskrit at the University of Oxford, UK won the prestigious Saraswati Sanskrit Prize 2012.

The Saraswati Sanskrit Prize is a biannual award instituted in 2008 by the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (ICCR) in India together with the Department of Cultural and Religious History of South Asia (Classical Indology), University of Heidelberg in Germany to recognise the contribution of students in Europe in promoting the understanding of Sanskrit and to foster deeper appreciation of the Indian heritage.

This is the first time a Sri Lankan won this award. Seneviratne received his prize from ICCR president and titular Maharaja of Jammu and Kashmir Dr Karan Singh at the official award ceremony in New Delhi. The prize also included a 10 day visit to India with all hospitality from the ICCR.