Vaidyanath Mishra (30 June 1911 – 5 November 1998), better known by his pen name Nagarjun, was a

Hindi Hindi ( Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been ...

and Maithili poet who has also penned a number of novels, short stories, literary biographies and travelogues, and was known as ''Janakavi''- the People's Poet. He is regarded as the most prominent protagonist of modernity in Maithili.

Personal life and biography

Early life and education

Vaidyanath Mishra was born on 30 June 1911, in the village of Tarauni in Darbhanga District of

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West ...

, India, he spent most of his days in his mother's village Satlakha of

Madhubani district Madhubani district is one of the thirty-eight districts of Bihar, India, and is a part of Darbhanga division. Its administrative headquarters are located in Madhubani. The district has an area of and has a population of 4,487,379 (as of 2011 ...

, Bihar. He later converted to

Buddhism Buddhism ( , ), also known as Buddha Dharma and Dharmavinaya (), is an Indian religions, Indian religion or Indian philosophy#Buddhist philosophy, philosophical tradition based on Pre-sectarian Buddhism, teachings attributed to the Buddha. ...

and got the name ''Nagarjun''. His mother died when he was only three, and his father being a

vagabond Vagrancy is the condition of homelessness without regular employment or income. Vagrants (also known as bums, vagabonds, rogues, tramps or drifters) usually live in poverty and support themselves by begging, scavenging, petty theft, temporar ...

himself, couldn't support him so young Vaidyanath thrived on the support of his relatives, and the scholarships he won on the account of him being an exceptional student. Soon he became proficient in

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 ...

Pali Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or '' Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of '' Theravāda'' Buddh ...

and

Prakrit The Prakrits (; sa, prākṛta; psu, 𑀧𑀸𑀉𑀤, ; pka, ) are a group of vernacular Middle Indo-Aryan languages that were used in the Indian subcontinent from around the 3rd century BCE to the 8th century CE. The term Prakrit is usu ...

languages, which he first learnt locally and later at

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 ...

and

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 ...

, where he was also semi-employed, while pursuing his studies. Meanwhile, he married Aparajita Devi and the couple had six children.

Career

He started his literary career with Maithili poems by the pen-name of Yatri (यात्री) in the early 1930s. By the mid-1930s, he started writing poetry in Hindi. His first permanent job of a full-time teacher, took him to

Saharanpur Saharanpur is a city and a municipal corporation in Uttar Pradesh, India. It is also the administrative headquarters of Saharanpur district. Saharanpur city's name was given after the Saint Shah Haroon Chishti. Saharanpur is declared as on ...

(

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh (; , 'Northern Province') is a state in northern India. With over 200 million inhabitants, it is the most populated state in India as well as the most populous country subdivision in the world. It was established in 1950 ...

), though he didn't stay there for long as his urge to delve deeper into Buddhist scriptures, took him to the Buddhist monastery at

Kelaniya Kelaniya ( si, කැලණිය ta, களனி) is a suburb of Colombo in the Western Province, Sri Lanka. It is known for the Buddhist temple built on the banks of the Kelani River, which divides the suburb from Colombo District. The tem ...

, Sri Lanka, where in 1935, he became a Buddhist monk, entered the

monastery A monastery is a building or complex of buildings comprising the domestic quarters and workplaces of monastics, monks or nuns, whether living in communities or alone ( hermits). A monastery generally includes a place reserved for prayer whi ...

and studied the scriptures, just as his mentor,

Rahul Sankrityayan Rahul Sankrityayan (born Kedarnath Pandey; 9 April 1893 – 14 April 1963) was an Indian writer and a polyglot who wrote in Hindi. He played a pivotal role in giving travelogue a 'literary form'. He was one of the most widely travelled scholars ...

had done earlier, and hence took upon the name "Nagarjun". While at the monastery, he also studied Leninism and

Marxism Marxism is a left-wing to far-left method of socioeconomic analysis that uses a materialist interpretation of historical development, better known as historical materialism, to understand class relations and social conflict and a dialectical ...

ideologies, before returning to India in 1938 to join 'Summer School of Politics' organised by noted peasant leader,

Sahajanand Saraswati Sahajanand Saraswati( real name Navrang Rai ) (22 February 1889 – 26 June 1950) was an ascetic, a nationalist and a peasant leader of India. Although born in United Province ( present-day Uttar Pradesh), his social and political activities ...

, founder of Kisan Sabha. A wanderer by nature, Nagarjun spent a considerable amount of his time in the 1930s and the 1940s travelling across India. He also participated in many mass-awakening movements before and after independence. Between 1939 and 1942, He was jailed by the British courts for leading a farmer's agitation in Bihar. For a long time after independence he was involved with journalism. He played an active role in

Jayaprakash Narayan Jayaprakash Narayan (; 11 October 1902 – 8 October 1979), popularly referred to as JP or ''Lok Nayak'' ( Hindi for "People's leader"), was an Indian independence activist, theorist, socialist and political leader. He is remembered for l ...

's movement prior to the Emergency period (1975–1977), and therefore was jailed for eleven months, during the emergency period. He was strongly influenced by Leninist-Marxist ideology. This was one of the reasons that he never found patronage from the mainstream political establishments. He died in 1998 at the age of 87 in Darbhanga.

Works and literature

The subjects of his poetry are varied. Effects of both his wandering tendencies and activism, is evident in his middle and later works. His famous poems like ''Bādal kō Ghiratē Dēkhā hai'' ( hi, बादल को घिरते देखा है), is a travelogue in its own right. He often wrote on contemporary social and political issues. His famous poem ''Mantra Kavita'' (मंत्र कविता), is widely considered the most accurate reflection of a whole generation's mindset in India. Another such poem is ''Āō Rānī Hum Ḍhōēṅgē Pālakī'' ( hi, आओ रानी हम ढोएंगे पालकी), which sarcastically humiliates the then prime minister of India,

Jawaharlal Nehru Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru (; ; ; 14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat— * * * * and author who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20t ...

, for the extravagant welcome thrown by him for Queen Elizabeth. Besides these accepted subjects of poetry, Nagarjun found poetic beauty in unconventional subjects. One of his most astonishing works is a poem based on a show called ''With Sharp Teeth'' (). Another such creation is a series of poems on a full-grown

jackfruit The jackfruit (''Artocarpus heterophyllus''), also known as jack tree, is a species of tree in the fig, mulberry, and breadfruit family ( Moraceae). Its origin is in the region between the Western Ghats of southern India, all of Bangladesh, ...

. Because of the breadth of his poetry, Nagarjun is considered the only Hindi poet after

Tulsidas Tulsidas (; born Rambola Dubey; also known as Goswami Tulsidas; c.1511pp. 23–34.–1623) was a Ramanandi Vaishnava Hindu saint and poet, renowned for his devotion to the deity Rama. He wrote several popular works in Sanskrit and Awadhi, but ...

to have an audience ranging from the rural sections of society to the elite. He effectively freed poetry from the bounds of elitism.

Languages

Maithili was his mother tongue and he authored many poems, essays and novels in Maithili. He was educated in

, and

. Hindi remained the language of the bulk of his literature. The Hindi of his works varies from highly

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 ...

ized to

vernacular A vernacular or vernacular language is in contrast with a "standard language". It refers to the language or dialect that is spoken by people that are inhabiting a particular country or region. The vernacular is typically the native language, n ...

forms. He was a poet of the masses, and preferred to write in the language of immediate local impact. Therefore, he never adhered to specific bounds of languages. He also had good grasp of the

Bengali language Bengali ( ), generally known by its endonym Bangla (, ), is an Indo-Aryan language native to the Bengal region of South Asia. It is the official, national, and most widely spoken language of Bangladesh and the second most widely spoken o ...

and used to write for Bengali newspapers. He was close to the Bengali Hungry generation or ''Bhookhi Peerhi'' poets and helped Kanchan Kumari in translating

Malay Roy Choudhury Malay Roy Choudhury (born 29 October 1939) is an Indian Bengali poet, playwright, short story writer, essayist and novelist who founded the Hungryalist movement in the 1960s. Early life and education Malay Roy Choudhury was born in Patna, ...

's long poem ''Jakham'' and ''Chana Jor Garam'' in Hindi.

Awards

Nagarjun was given 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 ...

in 1968 for his historic book ''Patarheen Nagna Gachh'', and the 'Bharat Bharati Award' by the

government for his literary contributions in 1983. He was also honoured by the Sahitya Akademi Fellowship, India's highest literary award for lifetime achievement, in 1994.

Major literary works

Poetry

* Yugdharao * Kal aur Aaaj * Satrange Pankhon Wali * Talab ki Machhliyan * Khichri Viplava Dekha Humne * Hazar Hazar Bahon Wali * Purani Juliyon Ka Coras * Tumne Kaha Tha * Akhir Aisa Kya Kah Diya Maine * Is Gubare Ki Chhaya Mein. *" Yeh Danturit Muskaan" * Mein Military Ka Boodha Ghoda * Ratnagarbha * Aise bhi hum kya * Bhool jao purane sapne * Apne Khet Mein Chandana * Fasal * Akal aur Uske bad * Harijan Gatha * Badal ko ghirate Dekha hai * Aaj main beej hoon

Novels

* Rati Nath Ki Chachi * Balachnama * Baba Bateshar Nath *Himalaya ki betiya * Nai Paudh * Varun Ke Bete * Dukh Mochan * Ugratara * Jamania Ka Baba * Kumbhi Pak * Paro and Asman Mein Chanda Tare. * Abhinandan * Imaratia * Sita Usko * Navturiya

Essay collections

* Ant Hinam Kriyanam. * Bum Bholenath * Ayodhya ka raja

Maithili works

* Patrahin Nagna Gachh (collection of poems) * Chitra (collection of poems) * Pparo(novel) *Navturiya(novel) *Balchnma(novel) *His work on culture has been published in the form of books entitled ''Desh Dashkam'' and ''Krishak Dashkam''.

Works on Baba Nagarjun

*Poet Kumar Vishwas and channel ABP News aired a video documentary about the life and writings of Nagarjun in their Mahakavi Series.Mahakavi-Episode 6: Watch incredible story of poet Nagarjun
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References

External links

Nagarjun at Gadya Kosh
(his prose work in Devanagari script )
Nagarjun at Kavita Kosh
(Hindi)

;Work online

{{Authority control 1911 births 1998 deaths Maithili poets Writers of Mithila Poets from Bihar Hindi-language poets Hindi-language writers Converts to Buddhism from Hinduism Indian Buddhists Indian Buddhist monks Indian independence activists from Bihar Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Award in Maithili Recipients of the Sahitya Akademi Fellowship 20th-century Indian poets People from Darbhanga district 20th-century Indian novelists 20th-century Indian monks Novelists from Bihar 20th-century Buddhist monks