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Language plays a central role in all aspects of human connection —introduction, cooperation, harmony, exchange of thoughts and feelings, development of knowledge, preservation of values and traditions, reasoning, dialogue, and so on. What would be the significance of human life without a language? What meaning would life hold without it? We all know the answer.

Currently, more than seven thousand languages are spoken in 195 countries around the world. Almost every country has one major language. In many countries, in addition to the major language, there are one or more languages spoken at the provincial, state, and regional levels. In India, there are more than one hundred twenty known languages, including Hindi. There are more than two hundred and seventy mother tongues in the country. Hindi is recognized as the Rajbhasha (official language) of the country. At the central level, much of the government’s work is conducted in English. In the provinces, official work is primarily carried out in the respective language of the province concerned. The bridge that makes coordination possible between the Centre and states, is linguistic translation. In other words, translation plays a pivotal role in ensuring the smooth implementation of all official functions and communication across the country.

We are all well aware of the role and contribution of translation, both nationally and internationally, since ancient times. Translation has a proven history spanning thousands of years. During the Mesopotamian period (hundreds of years before the birth of Christ), the ‘Epic of Gilgamesh’ (a Sumerian collection of poems that appeared around 2000 BCE) was translated into Akkadian language. Similarly, many Vedic and Buddhist texts of India, including the Patanjali-Sutras and the Tripitaka, were translated from Sanskrit and Pali into Chinese. In the Eighth Century AD, Ibn al-Muqaffa notably translated the ‘Panchatantra’ from Arabic into Persian. This also indicates that an Arabic version of the ‘Panchatantra’ already existed before its translation into Persian language.

This process has continued through the ages. Almost all of our country’s major Samskrit, Pali-Prakrit, and Tamil texts, including the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Shrimadbhagavadgita, the Dhammapada, and the Thirukkural, have been continuously translated into numerous Indian and foreign languages. The contributions of great Indian scholar Dharmarakshita for translating many Samskrit texts into Chinese in the Third Century AD, Pampa for translating the epics into Kannada in the Tenth Century AD, Dara Shikoh for translating the Upanishads into Persian and Abdul Qadir Badayuni for translating the Ramayana and the Mahabharata into Persian are remembered with great respect even today.

Today, the Shrimadbhagavadgita is available in more than seventy-five languages worldwide. Through the Gita, the world is introduced to India’s major spiritual philosophy and the knowledge-action tradition, particularly the Sanatana Dharma-guided way of life. What I mean to say is that the global importance and relevance of translation work in a linguistic context is self-evident.

The medium for global reach of writing is, undoubtedly, language, and its greatest benefits for the greater good opening new avenues of development definitely comes through its translation in other languages. Even if an excellent and creative work emerges that addresses the problems of the common people in the world and has the potential to contribute to a larger public welfare in the socio-political, intellectual, economic, or cultural spheres, its significance remains

limited if it is not promoted and disseminated through its translation in other languages and does not reach people across the country — the entire world as per the need.

Currently, the world is rapidly transforming into a global village. People across the world are constantly coming closer to one another through various means, and gains and losses are increasingly shared. In such a state, the importance of linguistic translation, especially for intellectual-educational, political, and socio-cultural cooperation and benefits, as well as for sharing economic progress and achievements for the greater welfare of humanity becomes even more pronounced. We must remain aware of this truth. In this context, we strongly expect five key responsibilities from translators:

1-Translation work should capture the fundamental spirit of the original source and should not be done merely word for word;

2-The language and words used in translation should be simple, understandable, making the text worth following;

3-Sentences should be short precise, and easy to understand;

4-The translation should, undoubtedly, reflect the intended purpose of the original text, along with authenticity; and

5-A strong sense of responsibility should be paramount in the execution of the task. This characteristic is essential and conducive to the successful execution of any task.

Translation work is not a trivial endeavour. It is a highly responsible task. It should be remembered that many translators in India and the world have achieved high reputations through their translation works, which they carried out with a deep sense of responsibility. Many of them have earned respect equal to, or even surpassing that of the original authors.