Anandshankar Bapubhai Dhruv (25 February 1869 – 7 April 1942) was a Gujarati scholar, writer, educationist and editor from Bombay Presidency, British India. His name is revered as "

Acharya In Indian religions and society, an ''acharya'' (Sanskrit: आचार्य, IAST: ; Pali: ''ācariya'') is a religious teacher in Hinduism and Buddhism and a spiritual guide to Hindus and Buddhists. The designation has different meanings i ...

" (a learned person) in Gujarat, and hence generally he is known as Acharya Anandshankar Dhruv.

Life

Dhruv was born in

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ), also spelled Amdavad (), is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 ...

on 25 February 1869. His father was an officer of

Kathiawar Agency The Kathiawar Agency, on the Kathiawar peninsula in the western part of the Indian subcontinent, was a political unit of some 200 small princely states under the suzerainty of the Bombay Presidency of British Raj. The agency's headquarters we ...

and worked as an agent of

Baroda State Baroda State was a kingdom within the Maratha Confederacy and later a princely state in present-day Gujarat. It was ruled by the Gaekwad dynasty from its formation in 1721 until its accession to the newly formed Dominion of India. With th ...

after retirement. He studied in English medium schools and learned Sanskrit at early age. While studying Master of Arts, he started teaching Sanskrit at Gujarat College in 1893. Later he taught at

Elphinstone College Elphinstone College is one of the constituent colleges of Dr. Homi Bhabha State University, a state cluster university. Established in 1856, it is one of the oldest colleges in Mumbai. It played a major role in shaping and developing the edu ...

for some years. He was appointed a Vice Chancellor of

Banaras Hindu University Banaras Hindu University (BHU), formerly Benares Hindu University, is a collegiate, central, and research university located in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India, and founded in 1916. The university incorporated the Central Hindu College, ...

in 1920. He performed the opening ceremony of The Modern School at Sicka Nagar, Bombay in 1936 established by Ramanbhai and Pushpaben Vakil. He was also a chairman of Inter University Board. He died on 7 April 1942.

Works

His pen-names were Mumukshu and ''Hind-hitchintak''. He headed several literary and linguistic organizations including

Gujarati Sahitya Parishad Gujarati Sahitya Parishad () is a literary organisation for the promotion of Gujarati literature located in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. It was founded by Ranjitram Mehta with the aim of creating literature appealing to all classes of society and ...

and Philosophical Congress. Dhruv wrote many books of Indian philosophy and Sanskrit literature as well as western philosophy and culture. Further, he has written several noted essays on religion and philosophy discussing the true essence of Hindu faith. He translated '' Sri Bhasya'', a philosophic work by

Ramanuja Ramanuja ('; Middle Tamil: Rāmāṉujam; Classical Sanskrit: Rāmānuja; 1077 – 1157), also known as Ramanujacharya, was an Indian Hindu philosopher, guru and social reformer. He is one of the most important exponents of the Sri Vaishnavi ...

, and wrote ''Hindu Dharma Ni Balpothi'' (a Primer of Hindu Religion) and ''Nitishikshan''. Dhruv edited for some time '' Sudarshan'', a magazine founded by

Manilal Dwivedi Manilal Nabhubhai Dwivedi (; 26 September 1858 – 1 October 1898) was a Gujarati-language writer, philosopher, and social thinker from British India, commonly referred to as Manilal in literary circles. He was an influential figure in 19th-ce ...

, after Manila's death in 1898. And started his own monthly '' Vasant'' in 1902; which ran for some 36 years. Dhruv's articles published in ''Vasant'' were later edited and collected by Ramnarayan Vishwanath Pathak and

Umashankar Joshi Umashankar Jethalal Joshi () (21 July 1911 – 19 December 1988) was an Indian poet, scholar and writer known for his contributions to Gujarati literature. He wrote most of his works in Gujarati. Biography Early years Umashankar Joshi was b ...

, in five volumes. Of these, '' Apano Dharma'' (Our Religion) comprises his articles on religion and philosophy; ''Kavya Tattva Vichar'' is a collection of his articles on the essentials of poetry; ''Sahitya Vichar'' contains articles on applied criticism and education; ''Digdarshan'' is a collection of his writings on historical subjects; and ''Vichar Madhuri'' includes articles on miscellaneous subjects. ''Anandshankar Dhruva : Lekhasanchay'', a collection of selected writings by Dhruv, compiled and edited by Dhiru Parikh, was published in 2002 by

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 off ...

New Delhi New Delhi (; ) is the Capital city, capital of India and a part of the Delhi, National Capital Territory of Delhi (NCT). New Delhi is the seat of all three branches of the Government of India, hosting the Rashtrapati Bhavan, New Parliament ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Dhruv, Anandshankar 1869 births 1942 deaths Gujarati-language writers Gujarati people Writers from Ahmedabad 19th-century Indian essayists 20th-century Indian essayists Indian magazine founders Indian magazine editors Writers from British India Presidents of the Gujarati Sahitya Parishad

Life

Works

See also

References

External links