Pandit Pandharinathacharya Galagali (10 July 1922 — 29 August 2015) was a

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, author, poet, journalist, and orator.
He has authored over 50 books 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 ...

and

, among which are Shri Shambhu Linga Vijaya Champu (Sanskrit), Raaga Viraga (Kannada), Bharata Swaatantrya Sangramasya Itihasaha (Sanskrit), and Mahabharatada Mahileyaru (Kannada). He was also the editor of five Kannada and Sanskrit newspapers for over four decades. He is the recipient of various awards and honours, including the

Rashtrapati Award Rashtrapati Awards used to be given by the President of India, in some cases the Prime Minister of India, for achievements in the field of sports, art, military, literature, cinema, culture, science and technology, or Scouting. The award-giving ...

(Presidential Award of India) and Dalmia Award. He is also notable for being the first person from the 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 ...

to win the

Sahitya Akademi Award The Sahitya Akademi Award is a literary honour in India, which the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, annually confers on writers of the most outstanding books of literary merit published in any of the 22 languages of the ...

for contributions in

Early life

Pandharinathacharya Galagali was born on 10 July 1922 to Kurmacharya Galagali in a village named

Galagali Galagali is a village in the southern state of Karnataka, India.Village code= 134300 It is located on the banks of river Krishna in the Bilgi taluk of Bagalkot district in Karnataka. It is the birthplace of the Vedic scholar, poet, and or ...

. His formal education was stopped in the first grade, and he began his study of

Vedic 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 ...

literature under his father Kurmacharya Galagali and uncle Ramacharya Galagali.

Adulthood

From 1944 to 1960, he worked as a Sanskrit teacher at Shankrappa Sakri High School in

Bagalkot Bagalakote, is a city in the state of Karnataka, India, which is also the headquarters of Bagalakote district. It is situated on branch of River Ghataprabha about 481 km (299 mi) northwest of state capital Bengaluru, 410 km (2 ...

. In 1961, he moved to

Gadag Gadag-Betageri is a city municipal council in Gadag district in the state of Karnataka, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Gadag District. The original city of Gadag and its sister city Betageri (or ''Betgeri'') have a combined cit ...

, where he started a Sanskrit school called Veera Narayana Pathashala. In 1971, Acharya Galagali established the Veda Purana Sahitya Mala to translate and publish the 18 Mahapuranas into

(14 have been translated into 18 volumes so far). For over forty years, Acharya Galagali served as the editor for the following newspapers: * Shri Sudha (Kannada) * Madhura Vani (Sanskrit) * Panchamrutha (Kannada) * Vaijayanti (Sanskrit) * Tatvavada (Kannada) - Published by Akhila Bharat Madhwa Mahamandala.

Style of writing

Pandit Galagali's predominant prose style follows that of Banabhatta while his poetic technique resembles that of

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 ...

.
"He excels in the usage of alankāras like Parisamkhyā, Ullekha, Upamā, Ílesa, Mālopamā and Anuprāsa. Galagali is a versatile author and has covered a vast spectrum of various genres in his writings. He is in fact an epitome of creativity and learning in Sanskrit, and being an excellent orator, has evivedSanskrit culture through his speeches also."

Publications

Over the course of a lifetime, Pandit Galagali has published 22 original Sanskrit works, 21 original Kannada works, and 23 translated works.

Original Sanskrit Works

Original Kannada Works

Translated Kannada Works

Awards and recognition

* "National Award" by

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 ...

for Shambhu Linga Vijaya Champu, a masterpiece in Sanskrit

Champu Champu or Chapu-Kavya (Devanagari: चम्पू-काव्य) is a genre of literary composition in Indian literature. The word 'Champu' means a combination of poetry and prose. A ''champu-kavya'' consists of a mixture of prose (Gadya-Kav ...

(a genre consisting of a combination of prose and poetry) - 1983 *

Ramkrishna Dalmia Dalmia Bharat Group, (DBG) is an Indian conglomerate company, which trace their origin to the businesses established by ''Ramkrishna Dalmia'' and Jaidayal Dalmia. The Dalmia brothers established a business conglomerate in eastern India, in th ...

's "Sri Vanee Nyaasa" award—Considered the

equivalent of a

Jnanpith Award The Jnanpith Award is the oldest and the highest Indian literary award presented annually by the Bharatiya Jnanpith to an author for their "outstanding contribution towards literature". Instituted in 1961, the award is bestowed only on Indian w ...

. - 21 July 2003 * Rashtrapati Award from the first president of India, Dr.

Rajendra Prasad Rajendra Prasad (3 December 1884 – 28 February 1963) was an Indian politician, lawyer, Indian independence activist, journalist & scholar who served as the first president of Republic of India from 1950 to 1962. He joined the Indian Nationa ...

- 1994 * ''Kannada Kalidasa'' title conferred by

Samyukta Karnataka ''Samyukta Karnataka'' is a major Kannada newspaper which has its headquarters in Hubballi, Karnataka. It is also published from Bengaluru, Mangaluru, Bagalkot, Kalaburgi and Davanagere. The incumbent editor is Hunasavadi Rajan. The newspaper ...

. * Vice President of

Bijapur Bijapur, officially known as Vijayapura, is the district headquarters of Bijapur district of the Karnataka state of India. It is also the headquarters for Bijapur Taluk. Bijapur city is well known for its historical monuments of architectural ...

's Sanskrit Sahitya Sammelan * Rajya Prashasti from the state of

. * ''Mahamahopadhyaya'' honorary degree of Sri Venkateswara University awarded by Rashtriya Samskrita Vidyapeetha of Tirupathi * Gold medal from Shringeri and Kanchi Kamkoti Math * ''Dhyana Pramoda'' title conferred by Shri

Satyatma Tirtha Sri Satyatma Tirtha () (born 8 March 1973), is an Indian Hindu philosopher, guru, scholar, spiritual leader, saint and the present pontiff of Uttaradi Math. He is the 42nd pontiff of Uttaradi Math since Madhvacharya, the chief proponent and th ...

Uttaradi Math Shri Uttaradi Math (IAST:''Śrī Uttarādi Maṭha'') (also known as Uttaradi Peetha), is one of the main monasteries (matha) founded by Madhvacharya with Padmanabha Tirtha as its head to preserve and propagate Dvaita Vedanta (Tattvavada) outs ...

* ''Raghavendra Anugraha'' from Raghavendra Swami Math in

Mantralayam Mantralayam is a pilgrim village in Kurnool district in Andhra Pradesh, India, on the banks of the Tungabhadra River on the border with neighbouring Karnataka state. It is known for the brundavana of Raghavendra Swami, a saint who lived in 1 ...

. * ''Vidvatkula Tilaka'' by

Bangalore 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 ...

Nagarikaru * ''Vishwesha Tirtha Prashasti'' awarded 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 p ...

Math - 2003 * ''Kavi Kula Tilaka'' title conferred by Admar Math * ''Sahitya Ratna'' title conferred by Vibhudesha Tirtha of Admar Math * ''Sachastra Pravachana Vichakshana'' title conferred by Palimaru Math * ''Sanskriti vahaka'' title conferred by Dharma Sanskriti Prathisthana * ''Shastra Pravachana Ratna'' and ''Purana Teertha'' titles conferred by Bhandarkere Swamiji * ''Vidyadhi Raja'' title conferred by Mulubagilu Math

References

External links