Bannanje Govindacharya (3 August 1936 – 13 December 2020) was an

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

philosopher and

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

scholar versed in Veda Bhashya, Upanishad Bhashya, Mahabharata, Puranas and Ramayana. He wrote Bhashyas (commentaries) on Veda Suktas,

Upanishads The Upanishads (; sa, उपनिषद् ) are late Vedic Sanskrit texts that supplied the basis of later Hindu philosophy.Wendy Doniger (1990), ''Textual Sources for the Study of Hinduism'', 1st Edition, University of Chicago Press, , ...

, ShataRudriya, BrahmaSutra Bhashya, Gita Bhashya and was an orator. He was awarded the

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, ...

by the Government of India in 2009.

Early life

Govindacharya was born on August 3, 1936, in the Bannanje neighborhood of

Udupi Udupi (alternate spelling Udipi; also known as Odipu) is a city in the Indian state of Karnataka. Udupi is situated about north of the educational, commercial and industrial hub of Mangalore and about west of state capital Bangalore by road. ...

, in present-day southern Indian state of

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

. He started his Vedic studies under his father, Tarkakesari S. Narayanacharya, and went on to study under Vidyamanya Tirtha Swamiji of the

Palimar Palimar is a village in the Udupi district of Karnataka, India. It houses one of the Ashta Mathas of Udupi founded by the Dvaita philosopher Madhvacharya. External links The Eight Tulu Monasteries of Udupi by Neria Harish Hebbar, MDaBoloji ...

Matha A ''matha'' (; sa, मठ, ), also written as ''math'', ''muth'', ''mutth'', ''mutt'', or ''mut'', is a Sanskrit word that means 'institute or college', and it also refers to a monastery in Hinduism.

and Vidyasamudra Tirtha Swamiji of the Kaneyur

, both in Udupi. He later studied under

Vishwesha Tirtha Sri Vishwesha Tirtharu, officially known as kn, ಶ್ರೀ ಶ್ರೀ ೧೦೮ ಶ್ರೀ ವಿಶ್ವೇಶತೀರ್ಥ ಶ್ರೀಪಾದಂಗಳವರು (27 April 1931 – 29 December 2019), was an Indian Hindu guru, sain ...

of the

Pejawara Matha Pejavara Matha is one of the Ashta Mathas of Udupi, which was started by Sri Adhokshaja Tirtha, who was a direct disciple of Sri Madhvacharya, the founder of the Dvaita school of Hindu philosophy. Till date, 32 Swamijis have headed this matha. T ...

Career

Vedic studies

Sanskrit scholar versed in Veda Bhashya, Upanishad Bhashya,

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...

Puranas Purana (; sa, , '; literally meaning "ancient, old"Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature (1995 Edition), Article on Puranas, , page 915) is a vast genre of Indian literature about a wide range of topics, particularly about legends an ...

and

Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...

. He wrote Bhashyas or commentaries on Veda Suktas,

, ShataRudriya, BrahmaSutra Bhashya, Gita Bhashya and was an orator. He wrote new Vyakarana Sutras where Panini left and also did vyakhyana for the words written before

Pāṇini , era = ;;6th–5th century BCE , region = Indian philosophy , main_interests = Grammar, linguistics , notable_works = ' (Sanskrit#Classical Sanskrit, Classical Sanskrit) , influenced= , notable_ideas=Descript ...

. He synchronised all the philosophical texts to understand the texts composed by Vedavyasa. He was one of the greatest exponents of Bhaagavata chintana and commented on the philosophical meaning of Bhagavata and other Puranas. Even though by birth he was the follower of Madhvacharya, he had studied Mayavada and other philosophies and then read Madhvacharya's Tattvavaada. He was a well-known philosopher, speaker in Sanskrit and Kannada. He has around 4000 pages of Sanskrit Vyakhyana to his name with 50 odd books and around 150 books, including those in other languages. He wrote screenplay for the Sanskrit film "Bhagavadgita" and Shankaracharya. He hailed from Bannanje locality of

in Karnataka, India. He was born in 1936. He was in particular one of the greatest experts on the ''

Madhvas Madhva Brahmins (also often referred as Madhvas or Sadh-Vaishnavas), are Hindu Brahmin communities in India, who follow Sadh Vaishnavism and Dvaita philosophy propounded by Madhvacharya. They are found mostly in the Indian states of Karnataka, Ma ...

Tattvavada'' or Madhva philosophy. He is best known for his ''pravachanas'' or discourses, which are very popular among

Tuluvas The Tulu people or Tuluvas are an ethno-linguistic group from Southern India. They are native speakers of the Tulu language and the region they traditionally inhabit is known as Tulu Nadu. This region comprises the districts of Dakshina Kannada ...

and

Kannadigas The Kannada people or Kannadigaru IAST">nowiki/>IAST:_Kannadadavaru_or_Kannadigas_(English_term).html" ;"title="IAST.html" ;"title="nowiki/>IAST">nowiki/>IAST: Kannadadavaru or Kannadigas (English term)">IAST.html" ;"title="nowiki/>IAST">nowik ...

all over the world. His speeches have covered almost all the philosophical texts and amount to more than 10,000 hours. His ''pravachanas'' (discourses) have made him a household name among

and

. He is very popular in Kannanda literary world and hailed by Jnaanapeetha awardee Da.Ra.Bendre. He also wrote on this Naaku-Tanti. His literary achievements also include his translation and commentaries of the complete texts of Shri Madhwacharya. He was awarded the

by the Government of India in 2009.

Preservation of manuscripts

In 2005–2006, Professor P.R. Mukund (a disciple of Sri Bannanje) along with his colleague Dr. Roger Easton from the

Rochester Institute of Technology Rochester Institute of Technology (RIT) is a private university, private research university in the town of Henrietta, New York, Henrietta in the Rochester, New York, metropolitan area. The university offers undergraduate and graduate degree ...

in New York and Dr. Keith Knox of the Boeing Corporation in Hawaii, undertook the painstaking process of imaging and preserving the original ''Sarvamoola Granthas'' authored by

Madhvacharya Madhvacharya (; ; CE 1199-1278 or CE 1238–1317), sometimes Anglicisation, anglicised as Madhva Acharya, and also known as Purna Prajna () and Ānanda Tīrtha, was an Indian philosopher, theologian and the chief proponent of the ''Dvaita'' ...

himself. Knox and Easton had earlier imaged fragments of the

Dead Sea scrolls The Dead Sea Scrolls (also the Qumran Caves Scrolls) are ancient Jewish and Hebrew religious manuscripts discovered between 1946 and 1956 at the Qumran Caves in what was then Mandatory Palestine, near Ein Feshkha in the West Bank, on the nor ...

and are on the imaging team for the

Archimedes Palimpsest The Archimedes Palimpsest is a parchment codex palimpsest, originally a Byzantine Greek copy of a compilation of Archimedes and other authors. It contains two works of Archimedes that were thought to have been lost (the ''Ostomachion'' and the ' ...

project. Bannanje suggested this task as a project of enormous importance and was using the images in his studies of the manuscript.

Other contributions

Apart from his voluminous writing, Bannanje also contributed more than 800 articles on various important issues which are published in different books, journals and magazines. He also served as the editor at

Udayavani ''Udayavani'' ("Morning Voice" in Kannada) is a Kannada daily newspaper with editions from Manipal, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Hubballi, Davanagere and Gulbarga. Launched in January 1970 by Mohandas Pai and T. Satish U Pai, Udayavani with a combined ci ...

early in his life. He wrote book on life of Shree Madhwa acharya called Acharya Madhva: Baduku-Bareha published by RastraKavi Govinda Pai Samshodhana Kendra, Udupi. Bannanje Acharyaru also did a lot of work to propagate and preserve the Chaturdasha Bhajans, 14 songs in Sanskrit penned by Acharya Madhwa's direct disciples and prominent followers of his philosophy. This is a great contribution to the Madhwa community. Another notable contribution of his is to the Indian and Kannada film industries. He wrote script in Sanskrit for

G V Iyer Ganapathi Venkataramana Iyer (3 September 1917 – 21 December 2003) was a well-known Indian film director and actor. He was nicknamed "Kannada Bheeshma", and was the only person who made films in Sanskrit. His film ''Adi Shankaracharya'' (19 ...

's movies Bhagavadgeeta, ''

Adi Shankaracharya Adi Shankara ("first Shankara," to distinguish him from other Shankaras)(8th cent. CE), also called Adi Shankaracharya ( sa, आदि शङ्कर, आदि शङ्कराचार्य, Ādi Śaṅkarācāryaḥ, lit=First Shanka ...

'', Shri Madhwacharya, Sri Ramanujacharya. He also wrote the scripts for the

and

Madhwacharya Madhvacharya (; ; CE 1199-1278 or CE 1238–1317), sometimes anglicised as Madhva Acharya, and also known as Purna Prajna () and Ānanda Tīrtha, was an Indian philosopher, theologian and the chief proponent of the ''Dvaita'' (dualism) schoo ...

movies. ''Adi Shankaracharya'' incidentally was the first ever Sanskrit movie.

His works

Shri Bannanje Govindacharya has many contributions to Vedic scholarship to his name. He authored numerous commentaries, translations and original works on the subject. He also contributed hundreds of articles in magazines and journals. He also travelled all over India and around the world giving discourses in Indian philosophy and Hindu scriptures.

Publications edited

Works of Madhwa : This monumental work is a painstakingly crafted reconstruction of the complete commentary on Madhwa's works by Shri Hrishikesha Tirtha, a direct disciple of Shri Madhwacharya of the 13th CE. It comprises 2000 pages in five volumes complete with footnotes and colophons. Two other works of Shri Madhwacharya, ''Tithinirnaya'' and ''Nyasa Paddhathi'' which were unknown were discovered and included in this great work.

Translation of major Sanskrit works into Kannada

Apart from the Vedic texts, Shri Bannanje also translated several other Sanskrit works into

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

. These include, * ''Bana Bhattana kadambari'' - A translation of

Bāṇabhaṭṭa Bāṇabhaṭṭa ( sa, बाणभट्ट) was a 7th-century Sanskrit prose writer and poet of India. He was the ''Asthana Kavi'' in the court of the emperor Harsha, who reigned c. 606–647 CE in north India, first from Sthanvishvara (Than ...

's novel *

Kalidasa Kālidāsa (''fl.'' 4th–5th century CE) was a Classical Sanskrit author who is often considered ancient India's greatest poet and playwright. His plays and poetry are primarily based on the Vedas, the Rāmāyaṇa, the Mahābhārata and ...

Shakuntala Shakuntala (Sanskrit: ''Śakuntalā'') is the wife of Dushyanta and the mother of Emperor Bharata. Her story is told in the '' Adi Parva'' of the ancient Indian epic ''Mahabharata'' and dramatized by many writers, the most famous adaption bein ...

Shudraka Shudraka (IAST: ) was an Indian playwright, to whom three Sanskrit plays are attributed: '' Mrichchhakatika'' (''The Little Clay Cart''), ''Vinavasavadatta'', and a ''bhana'' (short one-act monologue), ''Padmaprabhritaka''.Bhattacharji, Sukumari ...

's Mrichakatika as ''Aaveya Mannina Atada Bandi'', won the

Sahitya Akademi The Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, is an organisation dedicated to the promotion of literature in the languages of India. Founded on 12 March 1954, it is supported by, though independent of, the Indian government. Its of ...

's award for translation in 2001AKADEMI TRANSLATION PRIZES 1989-2005
* Bhavabhuti's Uttaramacharita * Mahashweta's

stories * Several Sanskrit poems.

Short commentaries in Sanskrit

* ''Anandamala'' of shri trivikramarya dasa * ''

Vayu Stuti Vayu STUTI is one of the most famous Stutis (poems) composed by Sri Trivikrama Panditacharya in praise of Sri Madhvacharya, the founder of the Dvaita school of philosophy. Madhvas, or the followers of Sri Madhvacharya, know that Madhvacharya is ...

'' of Shri

Trivikrama Vamana (), also known as Trivikrama (), Urukrama (), Upendra (), Dadhivamana (), and Balibandhana () is an avatar of the Hindu deity Vishnu. He is the fifth avatar of Vishnu, and the first Dashavatara in the Treta Yuga, after Narasimha. ...

Pandita * ''Vishnu Stuti'' of Shri Trivikrama Pandita * ''Chaturdashastotra'' – different stotras in Sanskrit * ''Raghavendra stotra '' * ''Jayathirtha stuti'' * ''Vada ratnavali'' of Shri Vishudasacharya * A philosophical dialectic in

* Short commentaries for six upanishads with commentaries of Trivikramarya Dasa

Detailed commentaries in Sanskrit

Some of Bannanje's detailed commentaries in Sanskrit include, * ''Nirnaya Bhava Chandrika Tippani'' on Mahabharata Tatparya Nirnaya by Shri

* ''Teeka'' (critique) on Mahabharata Tatparya (yamaka bharatha) by Shri

* ''Teeka'' on Shri Madhwavijaya of Narayana Pandita * ''Tippani'' on Bhagavata Tatparya Nirnaya by Shri

Translation of Sanskrit to Kannada

* ''

Purusha sukta Purusha suktam (Sanskrit पुरुषसूक्तम्) is hymn 10.90 of the Rigveda, dedicated to the Purusha, the "Cosmic Being". It is also found in the Shukla Yajurveda Samhita 31.1-16 and Atharva Veda Samhita 19.6. Slightly differe ...

'' * ''

Śrī Sūkta ''Śrī Sūkta'', also called ''Śrī Sūktam'', is evidently the earliest Sanskrit devotional hymn (set of shlokas Śloka-s), revering Śrī as Lakṣmī, the Hindu goddess of wealth, prosperity and fertility. Śrī Sūkta is recited, with ...

'' * ''

Shiva stuti Shiva Stuti (Sanskrit:शिवस्तुति; IAST:Śivastutī), is one of the most famous Sukta, Stutis (poems) composed by Sri Narayana Panditacharya in praise of Lord Shiva written in Prithvi metre. ''Stuti'' means eulogy, singing praise ...

'' * '' Narashimha stuti'' * '' Talavakaropanishad'' ('' Kenopanishad'') * '' Krishnamritamaharnava'' of

* '' Tantra sara sangraha'' of

* '' Sangraha Ramayana'' of Shri

Narayana Panditacharya Sri Narayana Panditacharya (also referred as Narayana Pandita) ( IAST:''Nārāyaṇa Paṇḍitacārya'') (c. 1290 – c. 1370), is an Indian scholar and philosopher in the Dvaita Vedānta tradition. He was the youngest son of Trivikrama Pandi ...

* '' Madhwa Ramayana'' * ''Parashara kanda para tattva'' (

rendering of Shri

Vishnu Purana The Vishnu Purana (IAST:, sa, विष्णुपुराण) is one of the eighteen Puranas#Mahapuranas, Mahapuranas, a genre of ancient and medieval texts of Hinduism. It is an important Pancharatra text in the Vaishnavism literature c ...

) * ''Prameya nava malika'' of Shri Narayana Panditacharya * ''Anu Madhwa Charita'' & ''Sampradaya paddhati'' * ''Mangalashtaka'' of Shri Rajarajeshwara ''yati'' * ''Yajneeya mantropanishat'' (''Ishavasya'') *

Bhagavad Gita The Bhagavad Gita (; sa, श्रीमद्भगवद्गीता, lit=The Song by God, translit=śrīmadbhagavadgītā;), often referred to as the Gita (), is a 700- verse Hindu scripture that is part of the epic ''Mahabharata'' (c ...

* ''Ananda Thirthara Bhakti Geetegalu'' (

rendering of Shri Madhwacharya's

devotional songs)

Upcoming books

*VishnuTattvaNirnaya Tika by Narayana Panditacharya and its vyakhyana by Bannanje Govindacharya

Death

Govindacharya died on December 13, 2020, at his home in Ambalpadi in

. He was aged 85. He died due to a

Heart Attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when blood flow decreases or stops to the coronary artery of the heart, causing damage to the heart muscle. The most common symptom is chest pain or discomfort which may tr ...

Recognition and honours

Bannanje won numerous awards and various titles were conferred on him by esteemed institutions. Some of these include *

, India's fourth highest civilian honour, 2009 * The state award conferred by the

Government of Karnataka The Government of Karnataka, abbreviated as, GoK, or simply Karnataka Government, is a democratically-elected state body with the governor as the ceremonial head to govern the Southwest Indian state of Karnataka. The governor who is appointed ...

for his meritorious service and scholarship in Vedic literature and philosophy. * The

's award for translation in 2001 * ''Vidya Vachaspati - by Shri

Admar Mutt ADMAR, an initialism for the German titleAbgesetzte Darstellung von MADAP Radar data, was the predecessor product of CIMACT. Definition The EUROCONTROL software product ADMAR did combine and merge several civilian surveillance- and military ...

swamiji,

* ''Pratibhambudhi'' - conferred on him by Puttige Mutt and

Palimar Mutt Palimar is a village in the Udupi district of Karnataka, India. It houses one of the Ashta Mathas of Udupi founded by the Dvaita philosopher Madhvacharya. External links The Eight Tulu Monasteries of Udupi by Neria Harish Hebbar, MDaBoloji ...

swamijis * ''Shastra savyasachi'' - a title conferred by ''Akhila Bharata Madhwa Maha Mandala'',

Bengalooru Bangalore (), officially Bengaluru (), is the capital and largest city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It has a population of more than and a metropolitan population of around , making it the third most populous city and fifth most ...

* ''Shri Krishanugraha Prashasthi'' - an award presented by

Pejavara Pejavara is a village located in the Mangalore taluk of Dakshina Kannada, formerly known as South Canara or South Kanara, district of Karnataka, India. It houses one of the eight ashta mathas established by Madhvacharya, the great Tattvavāda ...

Mutt swamiji * ''Sahitya sarvabhouma'' - saraswata maha vishwa vidyalaya,

* ''Samshodhana Vichakshana'' : by Shri Admar & Shri Palimar Mutt * ''Pandita Ratna'' : by Palimar Mutt swamiji * ''Pandita shiromani'' - by Pratibha Ranga,

Shivamogga Shimoga, officially known as Shivamogga, is a city and the district headquarters of Shimoga district in the central part of the state of Karnataka, India. The city lies on the banks of the Tunga River. Being the gateway for the hilly region of ...

* ''Pandita Ratna'' : by H.H. Shrimad Dwarakanath swamiji of Gokarna Mutt, Partagali-

Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to the ...

* ''Vidya Ratnakara'' - title conferred by Shri Palimar Mutt swamiji * The Academy of General Education,

Manipal Manipal is a suburb and university town within Udupi, in coastal Karnataka, India. Manipal is located five kilometres away from the centre of Udupi City, in Udupi District, Karnataka (state) in south western India. It is administered by the Udup ...

presented him with a fellowship for the meritorious service and scholarship in Indian religion and philosophy. * ''Veda Vyasya Sanman'' : by

Sree Ramaseva Mandali Sree Ramaseva Mandali is an 80 years old cultural organisation known for organising Indian Classical Music Festivals as part of its Rama Navami celebrations at Chamrajpet, Bangalore. The organisation was founded in the year 1939 by Sri S.V.Naray ...

, Chamarajapet, Bangalore

Conferences attended

* Brand Ambassador of India in World Conference on Religion & Peace, Princeton, USA in 1979. * Participated in World Sanskrit Conference in Delhi in the 1980s. * Was president to ''Sanskrit Parishat'' of

South Canara South Canara was a district of the Madras Presidency of British India, located at . It comprised the towns of Kassergode and Udipi and adjacent villages, with the capital in Mangalore city. South Canara was one of the most heterogeneous areas o ...

. * Served as President of All India Madhwa Sammelanna in

Chennai Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

in 1995. * Served as President of the Sahitya Sammelanna in

in 2001. * Participated in number of poetic symposiums and debates.

References

External links

("Govindamala : Philosophical Discourse by Dr. Bannañje Govindācārya", is a Facebook Page. An effort to introduce to all Spiritual aspirants, each one of Acharyas, Philosophical discourse. Stay Tuned.... )

TARA PRAKASHANA (contains many articles on Poojya Shri Achaaryaru )

* ttp://www.wie.org/j17/bannanje.asp?page=2 Bannanje Govindacharya Interview, 'Is the Ego an Illusion?'
VNN World - Interview With Sri Bannanje Govindacharya

madhva.net - shrI Bannanje Govindacharya

Pravachana on "Bhagavadgeetha " by Vidyavachaspathi, Padmashree Bannanje Govinda Acharya

Sample Audio clips-1 of Shri Bannanje Govindacharya

Sample Audio clips-2 of Shri Bannanje Govindacharya
{{DEFAULTSORT:Govindacharya, Bannanje 20th-century Hindu religious leaders 21st-century Hindu religious leaders Indian Sanskrit scholars Dvaita Vedanta Recipients of the Padma Shri in literature & education People from Udupi Dvaitin philosophers Mangaloreans 2020 deaths Tulu people 1936 births Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Prize for Translation