Vidyadhar Shastri

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Vidyadhar Shastri
Born	1901 Sanskrit poet, scholar

Vidyadhar Shastri (1901–1983) was a

during the bulk of his scholarly and academic endeavours. In 1962, he was conferred the honour of Vidyavachaspati by the President of India.

Academic appointments

In 1928 Vidyadhar Shastri was appointed lecturer in Sanskrit at Dungar College in Bikaner and became Head, Department of Sanskrit in 1936. After retiring from Dungar College in 1956, Vidyadhar Shastri served as Head, Department of Sanskrit at Hiralal Barahsaini College, Aligarh. In 1958, he established the Hindi Vishwa Bharati (Bikaner) for the promotion of Sanskrit, Hindi and Rajasthani literature. He served as lifetime head of this institute.

Teaching

In addition to being the Guru for the royal household of Bikaner, Shastri mentored and inspired many students. Prominent names of these students include Swami Narottamdas, Brahmanand Sharma, Kashiram Sharma, Krishna Mehta and Rawat Saraswat.

Authorship

The Sanskrit Mahakavya (epic poem),

, in which the poet illustrates that the spirit of love permeates the work.

The Shiva pushpanjali is the poet's first published work (1915); it does not used a fixed metre and also uses the style of

being the fundamental form.

Purnanandanam

The Sanskrit play Purnanandanam is based on a popular folk tale; the protagonist Purnamala is the son born to the King of Sialkot but due to adverse astrological signs has to be sent away for sixteen years. During this interval the king takes another (younger) wife named Naveena. When Purnamala returns Naveena is attracted to him; however, Purnamala rejects her advances. Miffed, Naveena causes the King to sentence Purnamala to death on charges of attempted rape. Purnamala is taken to the forest to be beheaded, instead the executioners throw him down a well. Guru Gorakhnath and his followers rescue Purnamala from the well. After receiving education from the Guru, Purnamala is instructed to return to Sialkot. On Purnamala's return to the palace, the now aged King breaks down in tears and hugs Purnamala. At the beseeching of Purnamala's mother, Guru Gorakhnath manifests at the palace. He instructs Purnamala to stay in Sialkot until Naveena's son capable of taking the reins of power.

This play celebrates the superiority of leading a spiritual life over the pursuit of material wealth.

Awards and honours

• Felicitated (with other Sanskrit scholars) by the President of India, Dr Rajendra Prasad at the Vishwa Sanskrit Parishad, Varanasi.
• Received the honour of Vidyavaschaspati from
  Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan
  in 1962 at the golden anniversary celebration of the Akhil Bharatiya Sanskrit Sammelan.
• Bestowed the honour of Manishi by the Rajasthan Sahitya Academy, Udaipur.
• Honored as a Sanskrit scholar by the President of India Shri
  V.V. Giri
  in 1972 at the silver anniversary celebration of India's independence.
• Honored as Kavi Smarat by the Akhil Bharatiya Sanskrit Prachar Sabha
• In 1980 received public felicitation at a ceremony under the auspices of the Bharatiya Vidya Mandir in Bikaner
• Honored at the 1982 Harit Rishi memorial felicitation by the Maharana Mewar foundation in recognition of outstanding service to development of culture

Bibliography

Sanskrit Mahakavya

• Haranamamritam
• Vishwamanaviyam

Sanskrit poems

• Vikramabhinnadanam
• Vaichitraya Lahari
• Matta Lahari
• Anand Mandakini
• Himadri Mahatyam
• Shakuntala Vigyanam
• Alidurg Darshanam

Stavanakavya (Songs of praise)

• Shiva pushpanjali
• Surya Stavana
• Lila Lahari

Plays in Sanskrit

• Purnanandanam
• Kalidainyam
• Durbala Balam

Champu Kavya ( a Champu contains both poetry and prose)

• Vikramabhyudayam

Collected works

• Vidyadhar granthavali, introduction by Vishnudutt Sharma, Publisher : Rajasthan Sahitya Akadami, Udaipur 1977

Edited work

• Krishnagitavali (poems about Krishna by Tulsidas), Editors: Narottamdas Swami and Vidyadhar Shastri, Published 1931

Source material

• Sarasvat, Parmanand (1984) Sahityasrashta Shri Vidyadhar Shastri, Ganu Prakashan, Bikaner

External links

• Sahityasrashta at Library of Congress
• Haranamamritam at Library of Congress
• Granthavali at Library of Congress
• Krishnagitavali at Library of Congress