Vidya Niwas Mishra (28 January 1926 – 14 February 2005) was an Indian scholar, a Hindi-Sanskrit littérateur, and a journalist. He was honoured with

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "distinguished service ...

Life

He was born on 14 January 1926 at Pakardiha in

Gorakhpur Gorakhpur is a city in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, along the banks of the Rapti river in the Purvanchal region. It is situated 272 kilometers east of the state capital Lucknow. It is the administrative headquarters of Gorakhpur dis ...

district of Uttar Pradesh. He had his education at

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

and

Gorakhpur University DDU Gorakhpur University (simply known as University of Gorakhpur) is located in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh. The University of Gorakhpur is a teaching and residential-cum-affiliating University. It is about . from the downtown to the east and al ...

. After his

M.A. A Master of Arts ( la, Magister Artium or ''Artium Magister''; abbreviated MA, M.A., AM, or A.M.) is the holder of a master's degree awarded by universities in many countries. The degree is usually contrasted with that of Master of Science. Tho ...

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 ...

from

Prayag University Prayag is a historical name of the area near the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna rivers in the modern-day city of Allahabad in northern India. It may also refer to: Places Localities in Allahabad * a locality in the city of Allahabad; t ...

he involved himself in the work of compiling the Hindi dictionary under the direction of the legendary scholar

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 ...

. A scholar of Hindi and Sanskrit languages, he was also a writer. He authored, edited and translated over hundred books in Hindi and English. He also edited several journals and magazines. He twice served as the President of the Hindi Sahitya Sammelan and was also the Chairman of the

Sahitya Parishad Sahitya literally means literature in Sanskrit. It is also used to refer to the lyrics of a Carnatic music Carnatic music, known as or in the South Indian languages, is a system of music commonly associated with South India, including ...

. He was a visiting professor at the California and Washington universities, and Director of the Kulapati Munshi Hindi Vidyapeeth,

Agra Agra (, ) is a city on the banks of the Yamuna river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh, about south-east of the national capital New Delhi and 330 km west of the state capital Lucknow. With a population of roughly 1.6 million, Agra ...

. He was also Vice-Chancellor of the

Kashi Vidyapeeth Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith is a public university located in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. Established in 10 February 1921 as Kashi Vidyapith and later renamed, it is administered under the state legislature of the government of Uttar P ...

and the

Sampurnanand Sanskrit University 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 ...

. For many years, he was the Editor-in-Chief of the leading Hindi daily

Navbharat Times ''Navbharat Times'' (NBT) a Hindi newspaper distributed in Delhi, Mumbai, Lucknow and Kanpur. It is from the stable of Bennett, Coleman & Co. Ltd (BCCL), which also publishes other dailies including '' The Times of India'', '' The Economi ...

. For his invaluable services in the field of literature, he was decorated first with

Padma Shri Padma Shri ( IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is conf ...

and later with

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, ...

. He was the recipient of the Moortidevi Prize instituted by the Bharatiya Jnanpeeth. A senior member of the

Sahitya Akademi The Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, is an organisation dedicated to the promotion of literature in the languages of India. Founded on 12 March 1954, it is supported by, though independent of, the Indian government. Its of ...

, he was the guiding spirit of many a literary and social organisations. He was closely associated with the ambitious project to bring out an

Encyclopedia of Hinduism ''Encyclopedia of Hinduism'', 1st ed., 2012, is a comprehensive, multi-volume, English language encyclopedia of Hinduism, comprising ', a Sanskrit phrase, meaning "the eternal law", or the "eternal way", that is used to refer to Hinduism, Buddhism ...

. The Hindi monthly Sahitya Amrit, of which he was the chief patron, is one of the best literary journals in India. He was a nominated member of

Rajya Sabha The Rajya Sabha, constitutionally the Council of States, is the upper house of the bicameral Parliament of India. , it has a maximum membership of 245, of which 233 are elected by the legislatures of the states and union territories using si ...

. He died 14 February 2005 in a road accident while on his way 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 ...

from Deoria.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Mishra, Vidya Niwas 1926 births 2005 deaths Journalists from Uttar Pradesh Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in literature & education People from Gorakhpur district University of Allahabad alumni Writers from Varanasi Road incident deaths in India Deen Dayal Upadhyay Gorakhpur University alumni Nominated members of the Rajya Sabha Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith Recipients of the Padma Shri in literature & education 20th-century Indian journalists