BARCELONA, SPAIN, December 21, 2019 (Lavan Guardia, translated from Spanish): The Catalan academic Oscar Pujol has published the first Sanskrit-Spanish dictionary, a work that exceeds 1,500 pages with more than 64,000 translated words, that aspires to be an essential tool for students of the Sanskrit language and “lovers of Indian culture.” In an interview with EFE, Pujol has explained that the fact that it is the first Sanskrit dictionary in the Spanish language reflects “the state of the study of Hindology in Spain, where Sanskrit has not been as cultivated as it has been in countries like France, Kingdom United, Germany, Poland, Russia or Italy.” In the “Sanskrit-Spanish Dictionary, Mythology, Philosophy and Yoga,” a reader interested in the classical culture of India will find articles dedicated to the great characters and Deities of the Sanskrit epics such as the Mahabharata and the Ramayana.
The author, who was invited by Casa Asia and Herder Editorial to Barcelona this week to present the new book, attributes the “lack of study” of Sanskrit to historical and sociological factors that have defined the Spanish territory for decades. “Spain has always been more focused on Latin America and towards the Arab world, Morocco or Europe,” Pujol argues, “and this explains this traditional lack.” Pujol indicates that, although the work is mainly aimed at Sanskrit students, “taught in only five Spanish universities,” it also aims to attract an audience of “lovers of Indian culture,” such as yoga teachers or other people related to the country. “It is an encyclopedia of ancient India and users can consult it without necessarily being great connoisseurs of the Sanskrit language,” says the author.