Sanskrit scholar Janardhana Hegde and Kannada scholar Hampa Nagarajaiah were on Thursday chosen for the coveted President's Certificate of Honour for their contribution to the classical languages.
G B Harisha, S Karthik and M Bhyrappa have also been selected for the Maharishi Badrayan Vyas Samman for their contribution to the development of Classical Kannada. The awards are given away by the Ministry of Human Resources Development.
The distinction is conferred once a year on Independence Day in recognition of substantial contribution in the field of Sanskrit, Persian, Arabic, Pali, Prakrit, Classical Odiya, Classical Kannada, Classical Telugu and Classical Malayalam.
Hegde, the founder editor of 'Sambashana Sandesha', is an author of several books on Sanskrit philology and grammar, besides novels and short stories. His books on grammar include Abhyasadarsini and Shuddhikaumudi.
In 2005, he was chosen for the Kendra Sahitya Academy award for translating 'Dharmasri' of Kannada writer S L Bhyrappa.
Nagarajaiah, popularly known as Hampana, is a scholar in Jainism. He was a professor and Dean of Arts faculty in Bengaluru University. Nagarajaiah retired as the Director of Department of Kannada in the Karnataka government in 1996.
Altogether 27 scholars were chosen for Certificates of Honour in Sanskrit, Pali, Prakrit, Arabic, Persian, Classical Telugu, Classical Kannada, Classical Malayalam and Classical Odiya. Eighteen scholars were chosen for the Maharishi Badrayan Vyas Samman.