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Rewa Prasad Dwivedi (22 August 1935 - 21 May 2021) 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, poet, writer, teacher, and critic. His original works include poetry as epics and lyrics, plays, and prose. He wrote new literature under the pseudonym "sanatana", meaning 'the eternal'. He is also known as 'Acharya' Dwivedi ('the scholar' or 'the expert' Dwivedi).
Dwivedi's scholarship includes work on literary principles including modern theories in Sanskrit poetics and dramaturgy and preserving (editing, compiling, indexing, and republishing) the works of all major Sanskrit scholars.
Early life and education
Rewa Prasad Dwivedi was born in Nadner (22 August 1935
, on the banks of the
Narmada river in
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh (, ; meaning 'central province') is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal, and the largest city is Indore, with Jabalpur, Ujjain, Gwalior, Sagar, and Rewa being the other major cities. Madhya Pradesh is the seco ...
, to Pandit Narmada Prasad Dwivedi and Lakshmi Devi. He was orphaned when he was about eight years old. After completing basic education in Sanskrit in Madhya Pradesh, he traveled as a teenager to
Varanasi
Varanasi (; ; also Banaras or Benares (; ), and Kashi.) is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world.
*
*
*
* The city has a syncretic t ...
to study Sanskrit at Banaras Hindu University. Despite poverty, he excelled in Sanskrit language and literature in both the traditional system at Faculty of Sanskrit Vidya Dharma Vijnan, and modern system at Faculty of Arts
at Banaras Hindu University. His primary teacher and mentor was Pandit Mahadev Shastri. Dwivedi obtained a ''Sahityacharya'' title and a
M.A. degree in Sanskrit from
Banaras Hindu University
Banaras Hindu University (BHU) IAST: kāśī hindū viśvavidyālaya IPA: /kaːʃiː hɪnd̪uː ʋɪʃwəʋid̪jaːləj/), is a collegiate, central, and research university located in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India, and founded in 1916 ...
. He received a PhD from
Ravi Shankar University Ravi may refer to:
People
* Ravi (name), including a list of people and characters with the name
* Ravi (composer) (1926–2012), Indian music director
* Ravi (Ivar Johansen) (born 1976), Norwegian musical artist
* Ravi (music director) (1926–201 ...
, Raipur, in 1965, and a
D.Litt
Doctor of Letters (D.Litt., Litt.D., Latin: ' or ') is a terminal degree in the humanities that, depending on the country, is a higher doctorate after the Doctor of Philosophy (Ph.D.) degree or equivalent to a higher doctorate, such as the Doctor ...
. from
Jabalpur University
Rani Durgavati Vishwavidyalaya (Rani Durgavati University), also known as University of Jabalpur, is a government university in Jabalpur, Madhya Pradesh, India. It was named after the queen Rani Durgavati. History
The university was constituted ...
in 1974.
[ Encyclopaedic Dictionary of Sanskrit Literature (2003), pp. 427–429]
Dwivedi's main area of work is in Sanskrit ''Sahitya'' (literature), but he was an expert in the Sanskrit language disciplines of ''Navya-nyaya'' (logic)'', Darshana'' (philosophy)'','' and ''Vyakarana'' (grammar), as well as the scripts of ''Brahmi'', ''Sarada'' and ''Nagari''.
Career
Dwivedi was
emeritus professor
''Emeritus'' (; female: ''emerita'') is an adjective used to designate a retired chair, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person who has been "permitted to retain as an honorary title ...
of Sanskrit at the
Banaras Hindu University
Banaras Hindu University (BHU) IAST: kāśī hindū viśvavidyālaya IPA: /kaːʃiː hɪnd̪uː ʋɪʃwəʋid̪jaːləj/), is a collegiate, central, and research university located in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India, and founded in 1916 ...
, Varanasi, India, where he taught Sanskrit Literature from 1969 to 1995. He was Dean, Faculty of Sanskrit Vidya and Dharm Vijnan for three 2-year terms between 1979 and 1989, and multi-term Head of the Sanskrit Literature Department at this faculty. He was also a Member of Banaras Hindu University's Executive Council as well as its Academic Council. Before joining Banaras Hindu University, he taught Sanskrit literature in various roles in India's central state Madhya Pradesh's colleges in Raipur and Indore. Dwivedi has served on various national policy-making bodies for Sanskrit education in India.
In the early 1980s, Dwivedi organized the World Sanskrit Conference at Banaras Hindu University. He traveled to the US, Canada, and Europe to participate in other World Sanskrit Conferences as part of Government of India's delegation, American Oriental Society Meeting, and in personal capacity to conduct manuscript reviews at institutions such as Harvard University's Houghton Library.
Dwivedi was the founder of a non-profit institution Kalidas Sansthan in Varanasi. This institute has published books in Sanskrit literature.
After retiring from official role at Banaras Hindu University, Dwivedi continued to read, research and create literature daily in his personal study and library, where he also taught students from the nearby campus of Banaras Hindu University, or elsewhere, free of charge.
Biographical sketches
Acharya Dwivedi has been the subject of several biographies
and PhD theses,
as part of United States Library of Congress South Asia literary project,
two documentaries by Indian literary institutions and several social media recordings.
*''Sanatanasya kavyavaibhavam ('the glory of sanatana's literature'):'' a Sanskrit monograph on Acharya Dwivedi, published by Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan,
depicting salient nature of his works on Sanskrit poetics.
*''Sanskrit Sahitya ke Vatvriksha ('the banyan tree of sanskrit literature')'': A compilation of various perspectives on Acharya Dwivedi's works, life and contributions. A volume released at a 2018 National Symposium on Acharya Dwivedi, organized by Indira Gandhi National Center for the Arts.
*''Dr. Rewa Prasad Dwivedi, Vyaktitva and Krititva ('personality and creativity of Rewa Prasad Dwivedi')'':
a book on the life and creativity of Acharya Dwivedi's works, basis of a PhD thesis at University of Rajasthan,
Jaipur, India, 1991.
*''Arvācīna Saṃskr̥ta mahākāvya-paramparā meṃ Revāprasāda Dvivedī ke mahākāvya'': a 2016 book describing 'Rewaprasad Dwivedi's epics in the modern tradition of Sanskrit epics'.
* The United States Library of Congress has captured Acharya Dwivedi's works, and recordings on its South Asian Literary Recording Project in 2016.
* Two of India's premier national institutions, Sahitya Akademi and Indira Gandhi National Center for the Arts, have each prepared full-length documentaries on Acharya Dwivedi's life sketch and literary contributions in 2017 and 2018, respectively.
* Social media has several recordings of Acharya Dwivedi's speeches and life, as well as reviews by others, in Sanskrit and Hindi.
Works
Dwivedi's literary efforts fall into three major categories: original literature, new literary principles and theorems, and preservation of past literature for future generations. Dwivedi has written over 13,000 verses in 3 epics and 14 lyrics, 2 plays, and 5 books on his original new theories on Sanskrit literary principles and theorems. No other Sanskrit literature scholar is known to have made more diverse original contributions.
Selected publications
Epics
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Lyrics
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Plays
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New literary concepts
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Preservation of literature
Critical editions, reviews, translations, and commentaries on the works of past scholars of Sanskrit literature:
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Awards and honours
Dwivedi is the youngest winner of Certificate of Honour by President of India (1978), at age 43.
He won the
Sahitya Akademi Award for Sanskrit
The Sahitya Akademi Award is an annual award, given by the Sahitya Akademi (India's National Academy of Letters), to writers in 24 Indian languages. The award was instituted and first awarded in 1955. , the award carries a monetary reward of , ...
,
three Ratna awards and the P.V. Kane Gold Medal from The Asiatic Society of Mumbai.
The Asiatic Society of Mumbai also awarded Dwivedi its Honorary Fellowship.
International awards
*''Mahamahopadhyaya P. V. Kane Gold Medal'', The Asiatic Society of Mumbai, 1983.
*''Honorary Fellowship'' by The Asiatic Society of Mumbai, 1995.
*''Srivani Alamkarana'' by Ramkrishna Jayadayal Dalmia Shrivani Nyas, New Delhi, 1999. Bestowed by the Prime Minister Atal Bihari Bajpayee
*''Vishwabharati Award,'' Uttar Pradesh Sanskrit Sansthan, Lucknow 2005.
National awards
*''Certificate of Honour by President of India'', Honorable Neelam Sanjeev Reddy in 1978: the highest literary award for lifetime achievement in Sanskrit, youngest ever recipient.
*''Sahitya Akademi Award'',
Sahitya Akademi, New Delhi, 1991.
*''Kalpavalli Puraskar,'' by Bharatiya Bhasa Parishad, Calcutta, 1993.
*''Vacaspati Puraskar,'' by K.K. Birla Foundation, New Delhi, 1997.
*''Honorary Emeritus Fellowship,'' by University Grants Commission, New Delhi, 1991-1993.
*''Rashtriya Sanskrit Veda Vyasa Puraskar'' of 2005, conferred by University Grants Commission, New Delhi, 2010.
*''Nana Saheb Peshwa Dharmika and Adhyatmika Puraskara'', Devadeveshvara Sansthana, Pune, 2010.
*''Maharsi Vedavyasa Samman,'' Delhi Sanskrit Academy, New Delhi, 2012.
*''Sauharda Samman,''
Uttar Pradesh Hindi Sansthan
Uttar Pradesh Hindi Sansthan also known as UP Hindi Sansthan is an autonomous organisation in Uttar Pradesh, working for the promotion of Hindi language. It is run under the Department of Languages, Government of Uttar Pradesh.
Apart from organiz ...
, Lucknow, 2015.
*''Kabir Samman'', Highest Literary Honor of Govt. of Madhya Pradesh, Ministry of Culture for outstanding contribution to Indian Poetry, awarded by India's President Mahamahim Ramnath Kovind, Bhopal, 2017.
State and local awards
*Four times ''Sahitya Puraskara'', Uttar Pradesh Sanskrit Sansthan,
Lucknow, 1975, 1979, 1980,1982.
*''Vishista Puraskar,'' Uttar Pradesh Sanskrit Sansthan,
Lucknow, 2002.
*''Valmiki Puraskara,'' Uttar Pradesh Sanskrit Sansthana,
2004.
*''Karpatraswami Puraskar'', Sampoornanand Sanskrit University, Varanasi, 2018.
Honorary titles
*''Sahitya Ratna,'' from Jagadguru Shankaracharya of Kanchi Peetha Swami Jayendra Sarasvati, 2010.
*''Pandita Ratna'', from Shri Ramabhadracharya Vikalanga Vishvavidyalaya, Chitrakuta, 2008.
*''Ratna Sadasya,'' the highest honorary fellowship of Kalidasa Sanskrit Akademi, Ujjain 2007.
*''Mahamahopadhyaya'', by Shri Lalabahadura Shastri Kendriya Sanskrit Vidyapeetha, New Delhi, 2009.
*''Sastrakalanidhi,'' at the Centenary Celebrations of the Madras Sanskrit College, Madras, 2006.
*''Prajnanabharati'' from Shri Satyananad Devayatan, Yadavapur, Kolkata, 2011.
*''Vagyoga Samman'', Vagyoga Chetana Peetham, Varanasi, 2015.
*''Sanskritavidvadgauravam'', BAPS Swaminarayan Shodh Sansthan Akshardham, New Delhi, 2019.
References
External links
* A ''United States Library of Congress'' web-page dedicated to Acharya Rewa Prasad Dwivedi's literature and voice recording of his own literature
LOC Overseas* A national one-day seminar hosted by India's ''Indira Gandhi National Center for the Arts'' on the life and works of Acharya Reva Prasad Dwivedi: http://ignca.gov.in/events/sanskriti-samvaad-shrinkhala-9-varanasi-mahaopadhayay-acharya-reva-prasad-dwivedi/
* ''Encyclopedic Dictionary of Sanskrit Literature'' (pp 427–429), by, J.N. Bhattacharya & Nilanjana Sarkar, , 2nd Edition, 2016; Global Vision Publishing House: http://globalvisionpub.com/globalbooks/index.php?route=product/product&filter_name=sanskrit&product_id=2475
* https://indcat.inflibnet.ac.in/index.php/main/theses: Online catalog of publications, theses, etc. of major Indian Universities.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Dwivedi, Rewa Prasad
1935 births
2021 deaths
Indian Sanskrit scholars
Sanskrit poets
People from Madhya Pradesh
Banaras Hindu University alumni
Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Sanskrit