About us

Our Vision

To be a global leader in imparting authentic knowledge of the Sanskrit language as a treasure trove of deep knowledge base that requires it to be a very important part of modern knowledge-society.

Our Mission

To fulfil the global quest for Sanskrit education by educating people on the benefits of tradition and strong methodologies in imparting the deep knowledge base that is at the heart of this rich language.

To thereby educate people about the rich learnings underlying the language education based on robust traditional methods and values and thereby empower students and support in their overall development.

The Madras Sanskrit College owes its origin to the philanthropy of "Mahapurusha" Sri V. Krishnaswami Iyer (called so by Mahatma Gandhi himself). Krishnaswami Iyer was a leader of the Madras Bar Association and later a judge of the Madras High Court and finally a Member of the Governor's Executive Council till his last day on 28th December 1911. Sri V. Krishnaswami Iyer, noticing the diminishing number of teachers and fast deteriorating standards of Sanskrit during his time, took upon himself the heavy task of founding a place for imparting instruction to the highest standards in the classical works and sastras on the traditional methods of intensive study.

It was thus in December 1905, the concept of the Sanskrit College was mooted, and on February 1, 1906 the college began functioning. Sri V. Krishnaswami Iyer, Rao Bahadur Sri A. Krishnaswami Iyer and Sri A.S. Balasubramania Iyer formed themselves into a Committee, each one contributing to the growth which was steady and spectacular.

On the 27th October 1907, a Trust Deed was executed and registered by Mr. Krishnaswami Iyer and Sir C.P. Ramaswami Iyer which had for its object, the maintenance of a Sanskrit College and also the encouragement and promotion of research and investigation into several departments of Oriental knowledge.

In the year, 1907, the institution was recognized by the Director of public Instruction and was placed in the list of aided Instructions.

The first batch of students was noteworthy on account of the fact that many of the students later distinguished themselves as some of the most eminent scholars and professors in India.

From the beginning of the academic year 1977, the College was selected by the Ministry of Education and Social Welfare, Government of India, for receiving grants under the scheme of Adarsh Sanskrit Pathasala (later Mahavidyalaya).

The College completed a Hundred Years of its purposeful and useful existence on 1st Feb 2006.

Many of our Principals and students of this College have become well known scholars of international repute and have also been awarded prestigious titles like Mahamahopadhyaya and have received Certificates of Merit from the President of India. The College had been able to produce such stalwarts as it had provided opportunities to students to study the Sastras without any compromise in the method of learning and at the same time obtain formal academic recognition.

Looking back, the college is justifiably proud of its achievements; the College hopes to continue its services to the cause of Sanskrit learning beyond the "Hundred Years" which it reached on February 2006 A.D. The institution has the honor of capturing the highest number of medals in All India Sanskrit Elocution Contest, conducted by Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan, New Delhi, annually.