Sir Gaṅgānāth Jhā (25 December 1872 – 9 November 1941) was a scholar of

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 ...

Indian philosophy Indian philosophy refers to philosophical traditions of the Indian subcontinent. A traditional Hindu classification divides āstika and nāstika schools of philosophy, depending on one of three alternate criteria: whether it believes the Veda ...

and

Buddhist philosophy Buddhist philosophy refers to the philosophical investigations and systems of inquiry that developed among various schools of Buddhism in India following the parinirvana of The Buddha and later spread throughout Asia. The Buddhist path combi ...

Service

At the age of 24, he was appointed a librarian of the Darbhanga state by its

Maharaja Mahārāja (; also spelled Maharajah, Maharaj) is a Sanskrit title for a "great ruler", "great king" or " high king". A few ruled states informally called empires, including ruler raja Sri Gupta, founder of the ancient Indian Gupta Empire, an ...

. In 1902, he was appointed a Professor of Sanskrit at

Muir College Muir College is a semi-private English medium high school for boys situated in the suburb of Vanes Estate in Kariega (Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipality) in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. Muir caters for pupils from Grades ...

Allahabad Allahabad (), officially known as Prayagraj, also known as Ilahabad, is a metropolis in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh.The other five cities were: Agra, Kanpur (Cawnpore), Lucknow, Meerut, and Varanasi (Benares). It is the administrat ...

, which he left in 1918 to become the first Indian principal of the

Government Sanskrit College Sampurnanand Sanskrit Vishwavidyalaya (IAST: ; formerly Varanaseya Sanskrit Vishwavidyalaya and Government Sanskrit College, Varanasi) is an Indian university and institution of higher learning located in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, specializing i ...

in Benares. Between 1920 and 1923 he served as a member of the Council of State in the Central British Government of India. He was vice-chancellor of

University of Allahabad , mottoeng = "As Many Branches So Many Trees" , established = , type = Public , chancellor = Ashish Chauhan , vice_chancellor = Sangita Srivastava , head_label ...

(Prayag University) during 1923–32. The University of Allahabad established the Ganganath Jha Hostel in his honour.

Honors and awards

* Honorary Fellow of the Asiatic Society, 1924 * Campbell Memorial Gold Medal, Bombay Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, 1935 * Knight Bachelor, 1941 Birthday Honours List

Literary work

Sir GN Jha written numerous books and translated many Sanskrit books into English.

Books authored

* The Prabhakar school of Purva-Mimansa,

Allahabad University , mottoeng = "As Many Branches So Many Trees" , established = , type = Public , chancellor = Ashish Chauhan , vice_chancellor = Sangita Srivastava , head_label ...

, 1911. * Kavi Rahasya, Hindustan Academy Press, Prayag. * Nyaya Prakash, Nagari Pracharini Sabha,

Benares 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 tr ...

, 1920. * Vaisveshik Darsha, Nagari Pracharini Sabha,

, 1921. * The Philosophical Discipline,

Calcutta University The University of Calcutta (informally known as Calcutta University; CU) is a public collegiate state university in India, located in Kolkata, West Bengal, India. Considered one of best state research university all over India every year, C ...

, 1928. * Sources of Hindu law, Indian Press, Allahabad, 1930. * Hindu Vidhi Ka Srota,

Patna University Patna University is a public state university in Patna, Bihar, India. It was established on 1 October 1917 during the British Raj. It is the first university in Bihar and the seventh oldest university in the Indian subcontinent in the modern er ...

, 1931. * Shankar Vedant,

Allahabad University , mottoeng = "As Many Branches So Many Trees" , established = , type = Public , chancellor = Ashish Chauhan , vice_chancellor = Sangita Srivastava , head_label ...

, 1939. * Purva-Mimansa in its sources,

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 ...

, 1942. * Yoga Darshana, Theosophical Society,

Madras Chennai (, ), formerly known as Madras ( the official name until 1996), is the capital city of Tamil Nadu, the southernmost Indian state. The largest city of the state in area and population, Chennai is located on the Coromandel Coast of th ...

Books translated

* Chandogyopanishad, G.A. Nelson & Co.,

, 1899. * Yoga-Darsana, Theosophical Publication, Bombay, 1907. * Gautam ka Nyaya Sutra, Oriental Book Agency,

Poona Pune (; ; also known as Poona, (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name from 1818 until 1978) is one of the most important industrial and educational hubs of India, with an estimated population of 7.4 million ...

, 1913. * The Purva-Mimansa Sastra of Gemini,

Pāṇini , era = ;;6th–5th century BCE , region = Indian philosophy , main_interests = Grammar, linguistics , notable_works = ' (Sanskrit#Classical Sanskrit, Classical Sanskrit) , influenced= , notable_ideas=Descript ...

office,

, 1916. * Sloka Vartika, Asiatic Society of Bengal,

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

, 1924. * Tantra-Bhasa, Oriental Book Agency,

, 1925. * Manusmriti, in five Volumes,

, 1920–1926. * Yoga Sar Sangrah, Oriental Book Agency,

, 1931. *

Tattvasamgraha The ''Tattva-saṃgraha'' is a text written by the 8th century Indian Buddhist pandit Śāntarakṣita. The text belongs to the 'tenets' (Tib. ''sgrub-mtha'') genre and is an encyclopedic survey of Buddhist and non-Buddhist philosophical systems ...

of Shantarakshita, (in two Volumes), Baroda Oriental Institute, Baroda, 1936. * Shabarbhasya, (in three Voumes), Baroda Oriental Institute, Baroda, 1939.

Books edited

* Memansa Nyaya Prakash, 1904. * Gautam Ka Nyayasutra, Oriental Book Agency,

, 1931. * Nyayadarshana, Coukhamba Sanskrit Series, Benares, 1925. * Jyant Bhatt ki Nyayakalika, Sanskrit Bhavan Texts, Benares, 1925. * Mimansa Paribhasha, Medical Hall Press, Benares, 1905. * Bhavana Vivek, Govt. Press, Allahabad, 1922. * Mimansa Mandan, Coukhamba Sanskrit Series, Benares, 1929. * Manusmriti,

Asiatic Society The Asiatic Society is a government of India organisation founded during the Company rule in India to enhance and further the cause of "Oriental research", in this case, research into India and the surrounding regions. It was founded by the p ...

, Bengal. * Tantra Ratna, Sanskrit Bhavan Texts, Benares, 1930. * Vad vinod, Indian Press, Allahabad, 1915. * Khandan Khanda Khadya, Coukhamba Sanskrit Series, Benares, 1914. * Purush Pariksha, Veledeiyer, Allahabad, 1911. * Kadambari, Sanskrit Bhavan Texts, Benares. * Prasanna Raghav Natan, Sanskrit Bhavan Texts, Benares. * Meghdootam, Sanskrit Bhavan Texts, Benares.

Ganganath Jha Research Institute

Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan (Ganganatha Jha Campus), formerly known as Ganganath Jha Research Institute (from 1943 to 1971) and Ganganatha Jha Kendriya Sanskrit Vidyapeeth (from 1971 to 2002 under the Ministry of HRD, Government of India) was founded on 17 November 1943 with a view to perpetuate the name and works of M. M. Dr. Sir Ganganatha Jha (b. 1871 & d.1941), an International figure of Orientology and Indology. This is the research training centre of

Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan Central Sanskrit University, formerly Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan, is a central university (India), central university located in New Delhi, India, to promote Sanskrit. Established in 1970, it functions under the Ministry of Human Resource Dev ...

from 2016 to 2017.

References

External links

Manusmṛti with the Manubhāṣya of Medhātithi
translation and additional notes by Ganganath Jha. {{DEFAULTSORT:Jha, Ganganath Writers from Gujarat People from Bihar 19th-century Indian translators People from Madhubani district Indian scholars of Buddhism University of Allahabad faculty 19th-century Indian philosophers Indian logicians Nyaya Knights Bachelor Indian Knights Bachelor 1872 births 1941 deaths English-language writers from India 20th-century Indian philosophers 20th-century Indian translators Corresponding Fellows of the British Academy Members of the Council of State (India)