Ganga Sahai, also known as Ganga Sahaya, was a late 19th-century

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. He was the Dewan of

Bundi State Bundi State was an India princely state, located in modern-day Rajasthan. It was ruled by Hada Chauhans. It was a princely state in the era of British India. The last ruler of Bundi State signed the accession to join the Dominion of India ...

British India The provinces of India, earlier presidencies of British India and still earlier, presidency towns, were the administrative divisions of British governance on the Indian subcontinent. Collectively, they have been called British India. In one ...

from 1877 to 1913. Ganga Sahai belonged to the

Nyaya (Sanskrit: न्याय, ''nyā-yá''), literally meaning "justice", "rules", "method" or "judgment",Hindu philosophy Hindu philosophy encompasses the philosophies, world views and teachings of Hinduism that emerged in Ancient India which include six systems ('' shad-darśana'') – Samkhya, Yoga, Nyaya, Vaisheshika, Mimamsa and Vedanta.Andrew Nicholson (20 ...

. He transliterated and translated the

Bhagavata Purana The ''Bhagavata Purana'' ( sa, भागवतपुराण; ), also known as the ''Srimad Bhagavatam'', ''Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana'' or simply ''Bhagavata'', is one of Hinduism's eighteen great Puranas (''Mahapuranas''). Composed in Sa ...

from archaic Sanskrit to a more easily understood form of Sanskrit being spoken at that time in the scholarly community. This commentary is known as "Anvitartha Prakashika". His work was published by the Venkateshwara Press in Bombay, India in 1901. In all, he wrote 127 books during his life (1877–1930) including "Vans Prakash" which details the history of Bundi State. Sahai was born in a highly educated family of Brahmins in the village of

Patan Patan may refer to several places in Afghanistan, India and Nepal: Afghanistan *Patan, Afghanistan India * Patan district, in the state of Gujarat * Patan, Gujarat, the main city of the eponymous district * Patan was the ancient capital of Gujara ...

, District Sikar, Rajputana. Originally educated in Patan by his parents and the Pundits of Patana, he eventually was advised by the Pundits to go to Benares, where he would learn all of the Shastras,

Vedas upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...

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

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, , ...

. In a very brief period of just two years, the renowned and most highly respected Acharyas of Kashi declared him to be a Master of the Scriptures and stated that he had become so highly advanced that he was worthy of instructing them further. During a visit to Patan, the

Maharao Maharao is a variation on the Indian (mainly Hinduism, Hindu) royal title Maharaja, also meaning 'great king' in Hindi. It is composed of ''Maha-'' 'great' and the royal title ''Rao'', a variation on Raja. Ruler title in British India Salute state ...

(ruler) of Bundi met Ganga Sahai and sought his advice in administrating the state of Bundi. Ganga Sahai thus became the Dewan of Bundi. Ganga Sahai held the titles "Kamdar" and

Pandit A Pandit ( sa, पण्डित, paṇḍit; hi, पंडित; also spelled Pundit, pronounced ; abbreviated Pt.) is a man with specialised knowledge or a teacher of any field of knowledge whether it is shashtra (Holy Books) or shastra (Wea ...

. He was the author of ''Prabandh Sar'' (1880), one of the oldest codified law books in present-day

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern si ...

. Before that, the local law was primarily based on traditions and customs. One gate in the Bundi city is also in the name of Pandit Ganga Sahai.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sahai, Ganga People from Bundi district Indian Sanskrit scholars 19th-century Indian historians 20th-century Indian historians Scholars from Rajasthan