Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion ...
: महामहोपाध्याय) is an honorific title given to prestigious scholars by the
Government of India
The Government of India ( ISO: ; often abbreviated as GoI), known as the Union Government or Central Government but often simply as the Centre, is the national government of the Republic of India, a federal democracy located in South Asia, ...
. Prior to 1947, the title was bestowed by the
British Raj
The British Raj (; from Hindi ''rāj'': kingdom, realm, state, or empire) was the rule of the British Crown on the Indian subcontinent;
*
* it is also called Crown rule in India,
*
*
*
*
or Direct rule in India,
* Quote: "Mill, who was him ...
, and before them, by the kings of ancient India. In ancient India, a scholar that wrote works based on topics related to the shastras was granted the title Mahopadhyaya. The title Mahamahopadhyaya was bestowed on the best amongst the Mahopadhyaya scholars.
Some of the notable recipients are:
* Kaviraja Shyamaldas (1836-1893), one of the first modern Indian historian and author of Vir Vinod; Kaviraja and
Dewan
''Dewan'' (also known as ''diwan'', sometimes spelled ''devan'' or ''divan'') designated a powerful government official, minister, or ruler. A ''dewan'' was the head of a state institution of the same name (see Divan). Diwans belonged to the e ...
of Udaipur State
* Kaviraja Murardan (1830-1914), Diwan, Council Member, Judge of the Appellate Court, Officer of the Civil Court, General Superintendent, and the Magistrate of the princely state of
Marwar
Marwar (also called Jodhpur region) is a region of western Rajasthan state in North Western India. It lies partly in the Thar Desert. The word 'maru' is Sanskrit for desert. In Rajasthani languages, "wad" means a particular area. English tra ...
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Rewa Prasad Dwivedi
Rewa Prasad Dwivedi (22 August 1935 - 21 May 2021) was a Sanskrit 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", mea ...
(1935-2021), Sanskrit scholar based in Varanasi, originally from Nadner on the banks of Narmada river in Madhya Pradesh
* Haraprasad Shastri (1853–1931), Sanskrit scholar, archivist and historian of Bengali literature
* Peri Lakshmi Narayana Sastry (1875-1949)
* Pt. Sadashiva Jairam Dehadrai, Rao Bahadur (1861), Sanskrit scholar, Freedom Fighter and Professor of Sanskrit
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Pandurang Vaman Kane
Pandurang Vaman Kane (pronounced ''Kaa-nay'') (7 May 1880 – 18 April 1972) was a notable Indologist and Sanskrit scholar. He received India's highest civilian award Bharat Ratna in 1963 for his scholarly work that spanned more than 40 years ...
(1880–1963), Sanskrit scholar
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Jayamant Mishra
Dr. Jaymant Mishra (15 October 1925 – 7 September 2010) was a renowned Sanskrit scholar of India. He was also a well-known Maithili poet. He had been awarded several prestigious honors including "Mahamahopadhyaya", President Award, "Kalidas Sa ...
(1925–2010), Sanskrit scholar
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Vedam Venkataraya Sastry
Vedam Venkataraya Sastry (21 December 1853 – 18 June 1929) was a Sanskrit and Telugu language poet, critic, Telugu theatre star and dramatist. He is known for providing authoritative editions of Sanskrit and Telugu classics.Vedam Venkataraya ...
(1853–1929), Sanskrit and Telugu poet, critic and dramatist
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Ram Avatar Sharma
Mahamahopadhyaya Pandit Ram Avatar Sharma (1877–1929) was an Indian Sanskrit scholar and academic, apart from being an indologist and historian. He was born in a Bhumihar Brahmin family of scholars and pursued the same path of scholarship, beco ...
(1877–1929), Sanskrit scholar
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Datto Vaman Potdar
Dattatray Vaman Potdar (5 August 1890 – 6 October 1979), better known as Datto Vaman Potdar, was an Indian historian, writer, and orator. He was the Vice-Chancellor of University of Pune during 1961 - 1964.
The British colonial Government of ...
(1890–1979), historian, writer, and orator
* Bishweshwar Nath Reu (1890–1966), historian, epigraphist, numismatist and Sanskritist
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Vasudev Vishnu Mirashi
Vasudev Vishnu Mirashi (1893–1985) was a Sanskrit scholar and a prominent Indologist of the 20th century who hailed from Maharashtra, India. He was an expert of his times on stone and copper inscriptions and the coinage of ancient India. For ...
(1893–1985), Sanskrit scholar, in 1941
* Ramacharya Narsimhacharya Galagali (1892-1981), Sanskrit Scholar, Sanskrit Poet, Author of two incomplete Mahakavyam.
* Pathani Samanta (1835–1904), Sanskrit/Odia astronomer and scholar
* Jagannath Mishra (Puri, Odisha), Sanskrit scholar
* Hathibhai Shastri, Sanskrit scholar, writer, and orator.
High priest
The term "high priest" usually refers either to an individual who holds the office of ruler-priest, or to one who is the head of a religious caste.
Ancient Egypt
In ancient Egypt, a high priest was the chief priest of any of the many gods rev ...
of the Kingdom of Jamnagar.
* T. Ganapati Sastri, Received the Mahamahopadhyaya title in 1918The contribution of Kerala to Sanskrit Literature; K.Kunjunni Raja; University of Madras 1980; page 257
* U Ve Swaminatha Iyer (1855–1942), Tamil scholar
* Pandithamani Kathiresan Chettiar, (1881-1953), Tamil and Sanskrit scholar, translator
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Gopinath Kaviraj
Gopinath Kaviraj (7 September 1887 – 12 June 1976) was an Indian Sanskrit scholar, Indologist and philosopher. First appointed in 1914 a librarian, he was the Principal of Government Sanskrit College, Varanasi from 1923 to 1937. He was also ...
Bhadreshdas Swami
Bhadreshdas Swami is a Sanskrit scholar and an ordained monk of the Bochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS). In 2007 he completed the ''Swaminarayan Bhashyam'', a five-volume classical Sanskrit commentary on the Prasthanat ...
, Sanskrit scholar
* Yogacharya Dr Ashoke Kumar Chatterjee, World Kriyayoga Master, Conferred by Tirupati Sanskrit University with title of Mahamahopadhyaya on 6 March 2013, for His 6 decades of spiritual and literary contribution and inimitable contribution to Indology.
* Bidhushekhar Shastri (1878-1957) Sanskrit scholar and editor
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B. N. Krishnamurti Sharma
Bhavani Narayanrao Krishnamurti Sharma (9 June 1909 – 2 July 2005), commonly known as B. N. K. Sharma or B. N. Krishnamurti Sharma, was an Indian writer, scholar, professor, and Indologist. Sharma was a professor and Head of the Department of ...
(1909 - 2005) renowned Indian
Sanskrit
Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural diffusion ...
scholar, professor,
Indologist
Indology, also known as South Asian studies, is the academic study of the history and cultures, languages, and literature of the Indian subcontinent, and as such is a subset of Asian studies.
The term ''Indology'' (in German, ''Indologie'') i ...
and
Dvaita Vedanta
Dvaita Vedanta (); (originally known as Tattvavada; IAST:Tattvavāda), is a sub-school in the Vedanta tradition of Hindu philosophy. The term Tattvavada literally means "arguments from a realist viewpoint". The Tattvavada (Dvaita) Vedanta s ...
Advaita Vedanta
''Advaita Vedanta'' (; sa, अद्वैत वेदान्त, ) is a Hindu sādhanā, a path of spiritual discipline and experience, and the oldest extant tradition of the orthodox Hindu school Vedānta. The term ''Advaita'' ...
,
Nyaya
(Sanskrit: न्याय, ''nyā-yá''), literally meaning "justice", "rules", "method" or "judgment",Mimamsa and Vyakarana expert
Shivji Upadhayaya Sanskrit scholar and Maha-Mantri of Śrī Kāśī Vidvat Parisad. Sri Viswanatha Gopalakrishna Sanskrit scholar and Advaita Vedanta, Nyaya and Mimamsa expert
* Shridharshatri Pathak
* VasudevShatri Abhyankar
* Kashinathshatrai Abhyankar
* Mahamahopadhyaya Shri Vashishta Tripathi Sanskrit scholar, Nyaya expert and President of Śrī Kāśī Vidvat Parisad.