QUẢNG NAM — Sanskrit inscriptions on steles at the Mỹ Sơn Sanctuary in the central province of Quảng Nam will be translated into Vietnamese and English with the help of Indian experts.

Specialists from India will study the steles and translate the inscriptions from Sanskrit, the liturgical language of Hinduism, to Vietnamese and English.

There are 31 steles made of brick and stone, the main materials used to build the sanctuary, with Sanskrit inscriptions engraved on them.

This is part of a project financed by the Indian Government to restore Mỹ Sơn Sanctuary between 2016 and 2021.

It is being jointly carried out by Vietnamese and Indian scientists, the embassy of India in Hà Nội and the Mỹ Sơn Sanctuary management to preserve the relic and learn more about its cultural, historical, religious and architectural heritage.

The biggest challenge is that many of the steles were broken and some pieces have been lost, and so it would take a lot of effort and time, the management has said

Mỹ Sơn Sanctuary was the cultural and religious centre of the Chăm people between the fourth and 13th centuries, and was recognised as a world heritage site by UNESCO in 1999.

Located in Duy Phú Commune some  40 km from Hội An, the complex comprises 71 monuments mainly made of red and brown bricks. — VNS