Kallahalli Sannegowda Bhagawan (born 14 July 1945), known as Prof. K. S. Bhagawan, is an Indian

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 ...

writer, rationalist, translator, critic, scholar and retired professor. In addition to his works on

Hinduism 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 p ...

, Indian culture and history, he has translated the works of

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 26 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

including ''

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (; ; 12 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC), was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in a civil war, and ...

'' and ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

''. He is a recipient of many awards including the

Rajyotsava Award The Rajyotsava Prashasti or Rajyotsava Awards, the second highest civilian honor of the Karnataka state of India are conferred annually by the Government of Karnataka, Karnataka Government on the occasion of the establishment of the state on 1 ...

, Kuvempu Award and the Lokayata Award.

Career

Bhagawan acquired a post-graduate degree in English language from University of Mysore. As a professor, he taught English at Maharaja's College in

Mysore Mysore (), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern part of the state of Karnataka, India. Mysore city is geographically located between 12° 18′ 26″ north latitude and 76° 38′ 59″ east longitude. It is located at an altitude of ...

. At the same time, he worked as a writer and translator. In 1982, his work ''Shankaracharya and Reactionary Philosophy'' (original title: ''ಶಂಕರಾಚಾರ್ಯ ಮತ್ತು ಪ್ರತಿಗಾಮಿತನ''), a collection of essays, on how

Adi Shankara 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 ...

, an 8th-century

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

theologian, advocated the caste system strongly, destroyed Buddhist viharas and was against education for women,

shudras Shudra or ''Shoodra'' (Sanskrit: ') is one of the four '' varnas'' of the Hindu caste system and social order in ancient India. Various sources translate it into English as a caste, or alternatively as a social class. Theoretically, class ser ...

and

dalit Dalit (from sa, दलित, dalita meaning "broken/scattered"), also previously known as untouchable, is the lowest stratum of the Caste system in India, castes in India. Dalits were excluded from the four-fold Varna (Hinduism), varna syste ...

s, was published. It was met with criticism from right-wing

groups who issued threats to his life. His other books in Kannada include ''Badalaavane'', ''Antarya'' and ''Kuvempu Yuga''. As a translator, he translated popular works of

to Kannada. It includes '' Merchant of Venice'' as ''Venisina Vartaka'', and others such as ''

'', ''

'' and ''

Othello ''Othello'' (full title: ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'') is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare, probably in 1603, set in the contemporary Ottoman–Venetian War (1570–1573) fought for the control of the Island of Cypru ...

''.. Bhagawan was chosen for the Karnataka Sahitya Academy Award for Lifetime Achievement for the year 2013.

Controversies

At an event in

on 15 February 2015, Bhagawan said that he would burn certain pages of the Hindu scripture

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 ...

. Police also filed FIR against him for "hurting" religious sentiments. He said that verse 32 and 33 in chapter 9 of the scripture describes women,

vaishya Vaishya (Sanskrit: वैश्य, ''vaiśya'') is one of the four Varna (Hinduism), varnas of the Hinduism, Hindu social order in India. Vaishyas are classed third in the order of caste hierarchy. The occupation of Vaishyas consists mainly ...

s and shudras as "sinners" aapayonaha Following the murder of another Kannada writer and rationalist

M. M. Kalburgi Malleshappa Madivalappa Kalburgi (28 November 1938 – 30 August 2015) was an Indian scholar of Vachana sahitya (Vachana literature) in the Kannada-language and academic who served as the vice-chancellor of Kannada University in Hampi. A noted ...

, a Bajrang Dal activist from Bantawala threatened that Bhagawan would be the next target for "mock ngHinduism", with the arrest of the activist, the security at Bhagwan's residence was tightened.

Selected bibliography

In
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 ...

* ''ಶಂಕರಾಚಾರ್ಯ ಮತ್ತು ಪ್ರತಿಗಾಮಿತನ'' (1982) * ''ಬದಲಾವಣೆ'' (1982) * ''ಅಂತರ್ಯ'' (1978) * ''ಕುವೆಂಪು ಯುಗ'' (1990) * ''ಅನನ್ಯತೆ'' * ''ಭಾಷೆ ಮತ್ತು ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತಿ'' * ''ಇತಿಹಾಸದ ಪಾಠಗಳು'' * ''ಗಾಂಧಿಯನ್ನು ಗೋಡ್ಸೆ ಯಾಕೆ ಕೊಂದ''

Translations

* ''Hindu Saamrajyashahiya Itihasa'' (translation of Swami Dharma Theertha'
''History of Hindu Imperialism''
:Shakespeare's plays: * ''Julius Caesar'' (1975, translation of ''

'') * ''Nimmishta'' (1996, translation of ''

As You Like It ''As You Like It'' is a pastoral comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wilton House in 1603 has b ...

'') * ''Venisina Vartaka'' (1995, translation of ''

The Merchant of Venice ''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan provided by a Jewish moneylender, Shylock. Although classified as ...

'') * ''Othello'' (1997, translation of ''

'') * ''Hamlet'' (1998, translation of ''

'')

In English

* ''Violence in Hinduism''

Awards

* Kavyanand Award (1982) * Kuvempu Prize (1985) *

Rajyotsava Prashasti The Rajyotsava Prashasti or Rajyotsava Awards, the second highest civilian honor of the Karnataka state of India are conferred annually by the Karnataka Government on the occasion of the establishment of the state on 1 November celebrated as t ...

(1999) * Naada Chethana Award (2003) * Poet-laureate Kuvempu Birth centenary Award (2004) * Karnataka Nataka Academy Awards (2007) * Kuvempu Award (2011) * Shoonya Peetha Prashasthi (2011) * Sahitya Kalaratna Award (2011) * Karnataka Sahithya Academy Award (2013) * Lokayata Award (2014) * Karnataka Kranthirathna Award (2015)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bhagawan, K. S. 1945 births Writers from Mysore Kannada-language writers Bandaya writers Living people Academic staff of Maharaja's College, Mysore Indian rationalists 20th-century Indian translators