| Rahul Sankrityayan | |
|---|---|
A sketch of Sankrityayan
| |
| Born | 9 April 1893 Pandaha Village, Azamgarh District, Uttar Pradesh, British India |
| Died | 14 April 1963 (aged 70) Darjeeling, West Bengal, India |
| Occupation | Writer, essayist, scholar, sociology, indian nationalist, history,Indology, philosophy,Buddhism, Tibetology,Lexicography, Grammar, Textual Editing, Folklore, Science, drama, Politics, Polymath,Polyglot |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Notable awards | 1958: Sahitya Akademi Award 1963: Padma Bhushan |
He was born as Kedarnath Pandey on 9 April 1893 in Azamgarh district, in Eastern Uttar Pradesh. His father, Govardhan Pandey, was a farmer from the village Kanaila of Azamgarh district in Uttar Pradesh. His mother, Kulawanti, often stayed with her parents in the village of Kanaila, and this is where he was born. He was the eldest of four brothers. He spent part of his childhood in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. As both parents died when he was still quite young—his mother died at the age of twenty-eight and his father at the age of forty-five—he was brought up by his grandmother. His earliest memories as recorded by him were of the terrible famine in 1897. At age 9, he ran away from home to see the world, but later returned to his homeland.
He received formal schooling at a local primary school, though he later studied and mastered numerous languages independently, as well as the art of photography.
Travels
His travels took him to different parts of India,& all over the world including Ladakh, Kinnaur, and Kashmir. He also travelled to several other countries including Nepal, Tibet, Sri Lanka, Iran, China, and the former Soviet Union. He spent several years in the "Parsa Gadh" village in the Saran District in Bihar. The village's entry gate is named "Rahul Gate". While travelling, he mostly used surface transport, and he went to certain countries clandestinely; he entered Tibet as a Buddhist monk. He made several trips to Tibet and brought valuable paintings and Pali and Sanskrit manuscripts back to India. Most of these formed a part of the libraries of Vikramshila and Nalanda Universities. These objects had been taken to Tibet by fleeing Buddhist monks during the twelfth and subsequent centuries when the invading Muslim armies had destroyed universities in India. Some accounts state that Rahul Sankrityayan employed twenty-two mules to bring these materials from Tibet to India.He has a grandson named Prakhar Sankrityayan currently living in India. Patna Museum, Patna, has a special section of these materials in his honour, where a number of these and other items have been displayed.
Books
Sankrityayan was a multilingual linguist, well versed in several languages and dialects, including Hindi, Sanskrit, Pali, Bhojpuri,Urdu, Persian, Arabic, Tamil, Kannada, Tibetan, Sinhalese, French and Russian. He was also an Indologist, a Marxisttheoretician, and a creative writer. He started writing during his twenties and his works, totalling well over 100, covered a variety of subjects, including sociology, history, philosophy, Buddhism, Tibetology, lexicography, grammar, textual editing, folklore, science, drama, and politics. Many of these were unpublished. He translated Majjhima Nikaya from Prakrit into Hindi.
One of his most famous books in Hindi is Volga Se Ganga (A journey from the Volga to the Ganges) – a work of historical fiction concerning the migration of Aryansfrom the steppes of the Eurasia to regions around the Volga river; then their movements across the Hindukush and the Himalayas and the sub-Himalayan regions; and their spread to the Indo-Gangetic plains of the subcontinent of India. The book begins in 6000 BC and ends in 1942, the year when Mahatma Gandhi, the Indian nationalist leader called for the quit India movement.
This book was translated by K.N. Muthiya-Tamilputhakalayam in Tamil as Valgavil irundu gangai varai and is still considered a best-seller. The Kannada translation done by B.N Sharma as "Volga Ganga" . The Telugu translation inspired many readers. Volga muthal Ganga vare, the Malayalam translation, became immensely popular among the young intellectuals of Kerala and it continues to be one of the most influential books of its times. The Bengali version is Volga Theke Ganaga[ভোল্গা থেকে গঙ্গা], which is still acclaimed by the critics.
More than ten of his books have been translated and published in Bengali. Mahapandit was awarded the Padmabhushan in 1963 and he received the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1958 for his book Madhya Asia ka Itihaas.
He maintained daily diaries in Sanskrit which were used fully while writing his autobiography. In spite of profound scholarship, he wrote in very simple Hindi that a common person could follow. He wrote books of varied interest. He was aware of limitations of Hindi literature and singularly made up the loss in no small measure.
The historian Kashiprasad Jaisawal compared Rahul Sankrityayan with Buddha. Rahul's personality was as impressive and memorable as are his achievements. He travelled widely and wrote in five languages – Hindi, Sanskrit, Bhojpuri, Pāli and Tibetan. His published works span a range of genres, which include autobiography, biography, travelogue, sociology, history, philosophy, Buddhism, Tibetology, lexicography, grammar, text editing, folklore, science, fiction, drama, essays, politics, and pamphleteering.
Soviet Union
Although he had little formal education, in view of his knowledge and command over the subject, University of Leningrad appointed him Professor of Indology in 1937–38 and again in 1947–48.
Awards[edit]
| Awards | About | Awarded By |
|---|---|---|
| Rahul Sankrityayan National Award | Contribution to Hindi travel Literature (also called Travel Litterateur's Honour). | Kendriya Hindi Sansthan,Government of India |
| Mahapandit Rahul Sankrityayan Paryatan Puraskar | Awarded for contributing significantly in the field of travelogue and Discovery and Research in Hindi, for books written originally in Hindi on Tourism related subjects. | Ministry of Tourism,Government of India |
Gallery
Rahulji's Museum Picture Gallery at his Birthplace Pandaha.
Works
In Hindi
Novels
- Beesween Sadi – 1923
- Jeeney ke Liye – 1940
- Simha Senapathi – 1944
- Jai Yauddheya – 1944
- Bhago Nahin, Duniya ko Badlo – 1944
- Madhur Swapna – 1949
- Rajasthani Ranivas – 1953
- Vismrit Yatri – 1954
- Divodas – 1960
- Vismriti Ke Garbh Me
- Kinner Desh
Shekhar Ek Jeevani Short Stories
- Satmi ke Bachche – 1935
- Volga Se Ganga – 1944
- Bahurangi Madhupuri – 1953
- Kanaila ki Katha – 1955–56
Autobiography
- Meri Jivan Yatra I – 1944
- Meri Jivan Yatra II – 1950
- Meri Jivan Yatra III, IV, V – published posthumously
Biography
- Sardar Prithvi Singh – 1955
- Naye Bharat ke Naye Neta (2 volumes) – 1942
- Bachpan ki Smritiyan – 1953
- Ateet se Vartaman (Vol I) – 1953
- Stalin – 1954
- Lenin – 1954
- Karl Marx – 1954
- Mao-Tse-Tung – 1954
- Ghumakkar Swami – 1956
- Mere Asahayog ke Sathi – 1956
- Jinka Main Kritajna – 1956
- Vir Chandrasingh Garhwali – 1956
- Simhala Ghumakkar Jaivardhan – 1960
- Kaptan Lal – 1961
- Simhal ke Vir Purush – 1961
- Mahamanav Budha – 1956
Some of his other books are:-
- Mansik Gulami
- Rhigvedic Arya
- Ghumakkar Shastra
- Kinnar desh mein
- Darshan Digdarshan
- Dakkhini Hindi ka Vyaakaran
- Puratatv Nibandhawali
- Manava Samaj
In Bhojpuri
- Teen Natak – 1942
- Panch Natak – 1942
In Nepali (Translation)
- Bauddhadharnma Darshan – 1984
Related to Tibetan
- Tibbati Bal-Siksha – 1933
- Pathavali (Vol. 1,2 & 3) – 1933
- Tibbati Vyakaran (Tibetan Grammar) – 1933
- Tibbat May Budh Dharm-1948
- Lhasa ki or
- Himalaya Parichay Bhag 1
- Himalaya Parichay Bhag 2
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