Travancore Dewaswom Board plans to set up vedic university

Thiruvananthapuram: A vedic university, giving thrust to the studies of ancient traditions of spirituality especially Veda and Tantra, is likely to come up in Kerala soon.

The Travancore Dewaswom Board, which manages a number of shrines in south Kerala, is actively considering a plan to set up a vedic university with an aim to give the younger generation a platform to study the country's rich spiritual tradition and heritage.

A first-round discussion by Board members and experts on the project had been completed and talks are going on to explore various aspects of the project, Board officials said.

A top official said though the main focus of the proposed university would be the studies of Veda and Tantra, there would also be ordinary subjects and courses like in any other general university.

"We are planning the university on the model of foreign varsities like Oxford. Though it had been set up as a theological university, Oxford now offers a variety of courses on various subjects," Dewaswom Commissioner P Venugopal told PTI.

"The proposed Vedic University is also planned on that model. Students can study any science or humanities subject there but its focus will be the spiritual studies," he said.

Discussions were also going on whether the university should be a central varsity or a deemed university, he said.

"Three locations are under our consideration to set up the university. They are Sasthamkotta, Valiyasala and Nilackal. But we are yet to take a final decision in this regard," the official added.

An autonomous body, Travancore Dewaswom Board manages over 1,200 temples in the state.