Eminent scholar Arlo Griffiths explores PPRACHIN’s Sarola Mahabharata project

Bhubaneswar: Professor Arlo Griffiths, a distinguished scholar in Southeast Asian History, paid a visit to the SOA Centre for Preservation, Propagation and Restoration of Ancient Culture and Heritage of India (PPRACHIN) on Wednesday. The purpose of the visit was to familiarise himself with the ongoing initiatives at the centre.

During his visit, Prof Griffiths expressed a keen interest in the critical edition of the original Sarola Mahabharata undertaken by PPRACHIN. Currently residing in Indonesia, the professor serves as a faculty member at the French School of Asian Studies and has been dedicatedly researching the Mahabharata for the past two decades. Notably, he has been a frequent visitor to Odisha and is proficient in speaking the Odia language. His presence in the city was associated with his attendance at the recent 1st World Odia Language Conference.

In addition to exploring the cultural and historical endeavours at PPRACHIN, Professor Griffiths also engaged in an exchange of views with SOA founder president Prof (Dr) Manojranjan Nayak. The meeting was attended by SOA vice-chancellor Prof Pradipta Kumar Nanda, Prof Gouranga Charan Das, Prof Pradipta Kumar Panda, and Prof Santosh Rath. The latter three are esteemed members of PPRACHIN’s editorial board for the Sarola Mahabharata project.