Mahavir Prasad Dwivedi (15 May 1864 – 21 December 1938) was an Indian
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 ...
writer and editor. ''Adhunikkaal'', or the Modern period of the
Hindi literature
Hindi literature ( hi, हिन्दी साहित्य, translit=hindī sāhitya) includes literature in the various Hindi language which have writing systems. Earliest forms of Hindi literature are attested in poetry of Apabhraṃ ...
, is divided into four phases, and he represents the second phase, known as the ''Dwivedi Yug'' (1893–1918) after him, which was preceded by the '' Bharatendu Yug'' (1868–1893), followed by the '' Chhayavad Yug'' (1918–1937) and the Contemporary Period (1937–present).Hindi Language ''iloveindia.com'', Retrieved 2 July 2011.
Biography
He was born in
Kanyakubja Brahmin
Kanyakubja Brahmins are a Brahmin community mainly found in northern India. They are classified as one of the Pancha Gauda Brahmin communities native to the north of the Vindhyas.
Kanyakubja Brahmins are also considered most Martial of all ...
family on 5 May 1864 in Daulatpur village, now in
Raebareli District
Raebareli district is a district of Uttar Pradesh state in northern India. The city of Raebareli is the district headquarters. This district is a part of Lucknow Division in Uttar Pradesh state. The total area of Raebareli district is 3,371 S ...
of
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 ...
. His father Ram Sahay Dwivedi was a soldier in
East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Southea ...
's army, later worked in
Bombay
Mumbai (, ; also known as Bombay — the official name until 1995) is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra and the ''de facto'' financial centre of India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Mumbai is the second- ...
as temple priest for the leaders of the
Vallabha sampradaya
Vallabhacharya Mahaprabhu (1479–1531 CE), also known as Vallabha, Mahaprabhuji and Vishnuswami, or Vallabha Acharya, is a Hindu Indian saint and philosopher who founded the Krishna-centered PushtiMarg sect of Vaishnavism in the Braj(Vraj) ...
.
Dwivedi received his early education 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 ...
at his home, and 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 ...
Persian
Persian may refer to:
* People and things from Iran, historically called ''Persia'' in the English language
** Persians, the majority ethnic group in Iran, not to be conflated with the Iranic peoples
** Persian language, an Iranian language of the ...
for one year, and then attended schools in Purva, Fatehpur, and Unao for four years.
Career
During his
Indian Railways
Indian Railways (IR) is a statutory body under the ownership of Ministry of Railways, Government of India that operates India's national railway system. It manages the fourth largest national railway system in the world by size, with a tot ...
service in
Jhansi
Jhansi (; Hindi: झांसी, Urdu: ) is a historic city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It lies in the region of Bundelkhand on the banks of the Pahuj River, in the extreme south of Uttar Pradesh. Jhansi is the administrative hea ...
in the 1880s, Dwivedi earned wide fame as a writer and litterateur. He published his translations and the critical works including'' Sahitya Sandarbh'' and '' Vichar Vimarsh''.
In 1903, Dwivedi joined the Hindi monthly, ''
Saraswati
Saraswati ( sa, सरस्वती, ) is the Hindu goddess of knowledge, music, art, speech, wisdom, and learning. She is one of the Tridevi, along with the goddesses Lakshmi and Parvati.
The earliest known mention of Saraswati as a go ...
'' and was able to edit the journal with a knowledge of both classical and contemporary literature gained from his writing experiences. During his tenure as the editor (1903–20), ''Saraswati'' became most popular Hindi magazine.
He was considered as the mentor of
Maithili Sharan Gupt
Maithili Sharan Gupt (3 August 1886 – 12 December 1964) was one of the most important modern Hindi poets. He is considered one among the pioneers of ''Khari Boli'' (plain dialect) poetry and wrote in Khari Boli dialect, at a time when most Hin ...