Gita Press is the world's largest publisher of
Hindu religious texts
Hinduism () is an Indian religion or ''dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global pop ...
.
[Encyclopædia Britannica]
It is located in
Gorakhpur
Gorakhpur is a city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, along the banks of the Rapti river in the Purvanchal region. It is situated 272 kilometers east of the state capital Lucknow. It is the administrative headquarters of Gorakhpur dist ...
city of India's
Uttar Pradesh
Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...
state. It was founded in 1923 by Jaya Dayal Goyanka and Ghanshyam Das Jalan for promoting the principles of ''
Sanatana Dharma''.
Hanuman Prasad Poddar
Hanuman Prasad Poddar (1892–1971) was an Indian independence activist, littérateur, magazine editor and philanthropist. He was the founding editor of the spiritual magazine, Kalyan which was published by Gita Press setup by Ghanshyam Jalan a ...
better known as "Bhaiji" was the founding and the lifetime editor of its noted magazine who also wrote articles with his pen name "SHIV", ''Kalyan''. It started publishing in 1927, with a circulation of 1,600 copies and at present its print order had reached 250,000 (in 2012). The Gita Press archives contain over 3,500 manuscripts including over 100 interpretations of the
Bhagwad 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 ...
.
[Holy word]
India Today
''India Today'' is a weekly Indian English-language news magazine published by Living Media India Limited. It is the most widely circulated magazine in India, with a readership of close to 8 million. In 2014, ''India Today'' launched a new onl ...
, 20 December 2007.
Seth Jaya Dayal Goyanka, Shri Hanuman Prasad Poddar and Shri Ghanshyam Das Jalan, Gita preachers set up the Gita Press on 29 April 1923, as a unit of Gobind Bhawan Karyalaya registered under the
Societies Registration Act, 1860
The Societies Registration Act, 1860 is a legislation in India which allows the registration of entities generally involved in the benefit of society – education, health, employment etc.
The British Indian Empire, with a wish to encourage such ...
(presently governed by the West Bengal Societies Act, 1960). Five months later it acquired its first printing machine for Rs 600. Since its establishment, the Gita Press has published approximately 410 million copies of the Gita (in different editions) and 70.0 million copies of the ''
Ramcharitamanas
''Ramcharitmanas'' ( deva, श्रीरामचरितमानस, Rāmacaritamānasa), is an Epic poetry, epic poem in the Awadhi language, based on the ''Ramayana'', and composed by the 16th-century Indian bhakti poet Tulsidas (c. 1532 ...
'', at subsidized prices.
[ Gita Press has completed its hundred years this year. President ]Ram Nath Kovind
Ram Nath Kovind (; born 1 October 1945) is an Indian politician who served as the 14th President of India from 2017 to 2022. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party. He is the second person after K. R. Narayanan, from the Dalit community ...
has started its centenary celebrations on 4th May 2022.
It temporarily shut down in December 2014 over wage issues,
Gi but work resumed a few days later.
Publications
Magazines
*''Kalyan'' (in Hindi
Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...
) is a monthly magazine being published since 1927. It has articles devoted to various religious topics promoting uplifting thought and good deeds. Writings by Indian saints and scholars are regularly published in the magazine.
*''Kalyana-Kalpataru'' (in English) is also a monthly and has been published since 1934. Its contents are similar to Kalyan.
Neither of these magazines runs any advertisements.
Online Kalyana and Kalyana-Kalptaru Subscription
Religious texts
These texts are published in 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 ...
, Hindi, Marathi, English, 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 ...
, Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nativ ...
, Telugu
Telugu may refer to:
* Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India
*Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India
* Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language
** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode
S ...
, Gujarati
Gujarati may refer to:
* something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India
* Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat
* Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them
* Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub- ...
, Bengali
Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to:
*something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia
* Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region
* Bengali language, the language they speak
** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
, Oriya and other languages of India.
*''Shrimad Bhagvad 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 ...
'' (several formats)
*The ''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 ...
''
*''Shri Ramcharitmanas
''Ramcharitmanas'' ( deva, श्रीरामचरितमानस, Rāmacaritamānasa), is an epic poem in the Awadhi language, based on the ''Ramayana'', and composed by the 16th-century Indian bhakti poet Tulsidas (c. 1532–1623). This ...
'' by Tulsidas
Tulsidas (; born Rambola Dubey; also known as Goswami Tulsidas; c.1511pp. 23–34.–1623) was a Ramanandi Vaishnava Hindu saint and poet, renowned for his devotion to the deity Rama. He wrote several popular works in Sanskrit and Awadhi, but ...
(several formats), Telugu version (2002)
*Other works by Tulsidas
*''Valmiki 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 ...
'' (several formats)
*Scriptures (''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 ...
, 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, , ...
'' and others)
*Works by ''Soordas
Surdas (IAST: Sūr, Devanagari: सूर) was a 16th-century blind Hindu devotional poet and singer, who was known for his works written in praise of Krishna, the supreme lord. He was a Vaishnava devotee of Lord Krishna, and he was also a ...
''
*Books by Swami Ramsukhdas
*Books by Hanuman Prasad Poddar
*Books by Jaydayal Goyandaka
Other publications
*''Bhakta-Gathas'' and ''Bhajans
Bhajan refers to any devotional song with a religious theme or spiritual ideas, specifically among Indian religions, in any language. The term bhajanam (Sanskrit: भजनम्) means ''reverence'' and originates from the root word ''bhaj'' ...
''
*Small books geared towards children
Branches
Gita Press has the branches and stalls in following locations. Most of the stalls are operated in railway platforms except Churu and Nadiyad. Churu has a stall near Rishikul Brahmacharyashram vedic school and Nadiyad has a stall near Santram Temple.
Gita Press Art Gallery (''Lila chitra mandir'')
The Art Gallery has the ''lilas'' (works or plays) of ''Shri Rama
Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bein ...
'' and ''Shri Krishna
Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...
'' portrayed in 684 paintings by famed artists of the past and present. Other paintings, including Mewari style paintings of the ''Shri Krishna Lila'' are also on exhibit. The entire 700 verses of the ''Bhagvad Gita'' are displayed on marble plaques affixed to the walls.
Affiliated organizations
The Gita Press is part of the Govind Bhawan Karyalaya, Kolkata
Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...
.
Other affiliated institutions are:
*''Gita Bhavan'', A satsang Bhawan in which tourist live for free and without paying anything Muni Ki Reti
Muni Ki Reti is a town and a municipal council in Tehri Garhwal district in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It lies close to the pilgrimage town of Rishikesh and is known for its ashrams, including the Divine Life Society of Sivananda Saraswat ...
, Rishikesh
Rishikesh, also spelt as Hrishikesh, is a city near Dehradun in Dehradun district of the Indian state Uttarakhand. It is situated on the right bank of the Ganges River and is a pilgrimage town for Hindus, with ancient sages and saints meditati ...
*''Rishikul-Brahmacharya Ashram'' (Vedic school), Churu, Rajasthan
Churu is a city in the desert region of Rajasthan state of India. It is known as the gateway to the Thar Desert of Rajasthan. It is the administrative headquarter of Churu District. It lies in the Thar Desert on the National Highway 52 conn ...
.
*''Ayurved Sansthan'' (producer of Ayurvedic medicines), Rishikesh.
*''Gita Press Seva Dal'' (Philanthropic organization for natural calamities).
*''Hasta Nirmit Vastra Vibhag'' quality cloth shop in Gorakhpur, Rishikesh, Kanpur and Kolkata
See also
*Hanuman Prasad Poddar
Hanuman Prasad Poddar (1892–1971) was an Indian independence activist, littérateur, magazine editor and philanthropist. He was the founding editor of the spiritual magazine, Kalyan which was published by Gita Press setup by Ghanshyam Jalan a ...
* Sri Venkateswar Steam Press
References
External links
Official Book Store Of Gita Press Gorakhpur.
Gita Press Online Store
{{Authority control
Publishing in India
Religious tract publishing companies
Book publishing companies of India
Hindu organizations
Indian literature
Publishing companies established in 1923
Gorakhpur
Religious mass media in India
Hindu mass media
Translators of the Bhagavad Gita
Indian companies established in 1923