Swami Shambhavananda (1894–1972) was an

Indian Indian or Indians may refer to: Peoples South Asia * Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor ** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country * South Asia ...

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 ...

monk who pioneered beekeeping in Kodagu and secondary education 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 ...

. Born in Halugunda village in the Thelapanda family of Kodagu as Chengappa, Shambhavananda joined the Ramakrishna Order at its

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 ...

center in 1917. He was an initiated disciple of Swami Brahmananda and ordained into

sannyas ''Sannyasa'' (Sanskrit: संन्यास; IAST: ), sometimes spelled Sanyasa (सन्न्यास) or Sanyasi (for the person), is life of renunciation and the fourth stage within the Hindu system of four life stages known as '' A ...

in 1924. Shambhavananda was the first president of the Ramakrishna Saradashrama in Ponnampet, Kodagu. In 1941, he became president of Sri Ramakrishna Ashrama, Mysore, holding that position until he died. He was also a trustee of the

Ramakrishna Math Ramakrishna Math is the administrative legal organization of the Ramakrishna Order, considered part of the Hindu reform movements. It was set up by sanyasin disciples of Ramakrishna Paramhansa headed by Swami Vivekananda at Baranagar Math in Bar ...

and a member of the governing body of the

Ramakrishna Mission Ramakrishna Mission (RKM) is a Hindu religious and spiritual organisation which forms the core of a worldwide spiritual movement known as the ''Ramakrishna Movement'' or the ''Vedanta Movement''. The mission is named after and inspired by th ...

. In

Shambhavananda founded

Sri Ramakrishna Vidyashala Sri Ramakrishna Vidyashala is a residential school for boys run by the Ramakrishna Mission. It is situated in the southern Indian city of Mysore in Karnataka. It offers a comprehensive education from high school to junior college, or grades eig ...

, a renowned residential school for boys. He also established the

Vedanta ''Vedanta'' (; sa, वेदान्त, ), also ''Uttara Mīmāṃsā'', is one of the six (''āstika'') schools of Hindu philosophy. Literally meaning "end of the Vedas", Vedanta reflects ideas that emerged from, or were aligned with, t ...

College or the

Ramakrishna Ramakrishna Paramahansa ( bn, রামকৃষ্ণ পরমহংস, Ramôkṛṣṇo Pôromohôṅso; , 18 February 1836 – 16 August 1886),——— — also spelled Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, born Gadadhar Chattopadhyaya,, was an In ...

Institute of Moral and Spiritual Education (RIMSE). His reputation was that of an efficient administrator, a strict disciplinarian, an enthusiastic colleague, and a visionary

educator A teacher, also called a schoolteacher or formally an educator, is a person who helps students to acquire knowledge, competence, or virtue, via the practice of teaching. ''Informally'' the role of teacher may be taken on by anyone (e.g. whe ...

. In Kodagu Shambhavananda is renowned for his effort to eradicate

malaria Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease that affects humans and other animals. Malaria causes symptoms that typically include fever, tiredness, vomiting, and headaches. In severe cases, it can cause jaundice, seizures, coma, or death. S ...

. Singing ''solle paata'' ("song of the mosquito") in

Kodava Takk The Kodava (''Kodava takk'', meaning 'speech of Kodavas', in the Kodava language, alternate name: Coorgi, Kodagu) is an endangered Dravidian language and it is spoken in Kodagu district in Southern Karnataka, India. The term Kodava has t ...

in the 1930s and 1940s, he walked from village to village to educate illiterate citizens about the cause and eradication of malaria. Shambhavananda pioneered modern

beekeeping Beekeeping (or apiculture) is the maintenance of bee colonies, commonly in man-made beehives. Honey bees in the genus '' Apis'' are the most-commonly-kept species but other honey-producing bees such as ''Melipona'' stingless bees are also kept. ...

in Kodagu in 1928. Beekeeping was eminently suitable to Kodagu and would contribute to the economic strength of the local people. Aided by the

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 ...

government, Shambhavaanda's effort resulted in Kodagu making rapid progress in modern beekeeping from 1931 to 1941. India's first beekeepers' co-operative society was formed in

Virajpet The town of Virajpet also spelled as Virajapete is the second town of the district of Kodagu (Coorg), in Karnataka. It is the main town of the ''Virajpet taluka'', south of the district, in the Kerala-Karnataka border. The name is an abbreviatio ...

in 1936.

Notes

External links

Sri Ramakrishna Vidyashala
*http://wgbis.ces.iisc.ernet.in/biodiversity/pubs/ETR/ETR49/ETR49.pdf {{DEFAULTSORT:Shambhavananda, Swami 1894 births 1972 deaths Indian Hindus Monks of the Ramakrishna Mission Indian beekeepers Kodava people People from Kodagu district