Gita Press is the world's largest publisher of Hindu religious texts.Encyclopædia Britannica
It is located 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 ...

city of India's

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 ...

state. It was founded in 1923 by Jaya Dayal Goyanka and Ghanshyam Das Jalan for promoting the principles of '' Sanatana Dharma''.

Hanuman Prasad Poddar Hanuman Prasad Poddar (1892–1971) was an Indian independence activist, littérateur, magazine editor and philanthropist. He was the founding editor of the spiritual magazine, Kalyan which was published by Gita Press setup by Ghanshyam Jalan a ...

better known as "Bhaiji" was the founding and the lifetime editor of its noted magazine who also wrote articles with his pen name "SHIV", ''Kalyan''. It started publishing in 1927, with a circulation of 1,600 copies and at present its print order had reached 250,000 (in 2012). The Gita Press archives contain over 3,500 manuscripts including over 100 interpretations of the

Bhagwad Gita The Bhagavad Gita (; sa, श्रीमद्भगवद्गीता, lit=The Song by God, translit=śrīmadbhagavadgītā;), often referred to as the Gita (), is a 700- verse Hindu scripture that is part of the epic ''Mahabharata'' (c ...

.Holy word

India Today ''India Today'' is a weekly Indian English-language news magazine published by Living Media India Limited. It is the most widely circulated magazine in India, with a readership of close to 8 million. In 2014, ''India Today'' launched a new onl ...

, 20 December 2007. Seth Jaya Dayal Goyanka, Shri Hanuman Prasad Poddar and Shri Ghanshyam Das Jalan, Gita preachers set up the Gita Press on 29 April 1923, as a unit of Gobind Bhawan Karyalaya registered under the

Societies Registration Act, 1860 The Societies Registration Act, 1860 is a legislation in India which allows the registration of entities generally involved in the benefit of society – education, health, employment etc. The British Indian Empire, with a wish to encourage such ...

(presently governed by the West Bengal Societies Act, 1960). Five months later it acquired its first printing machine for Rs 600. Since its establishment, the Gita Press has published approximately 410 million copies of the Gita (in different editions) and 70.0 million copies of the ''

Ramcharitamanas ''Ramcharitmanas'' ( deva, श्रीरामचरितमानस, Rāmacaritamānasa), is an Epic poetry, epic poem in the Awadhi language, based on the ''Ramayana'', and composed by the 16th-century Indian bhakti poet Tulsidas (c. 1532� ...

'', at subsidized prices. Gita Press has completed its hundred years this year. President

Ram Nath Kovind Ram Nath Kovind (; born 1 October 1945) is an Indian politician who served as the 14th President of India from 2017 to 2022. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Party. He is the second person after K. R. Narayanan, from the Dalit community ...

has started its centenary celebrations on 4th May 2022. Gita Press, Gorakhpur

It temporarily shut down in December 2014 over wage issues, Gi but work resumed a few days later.

Publications

Magazines

*''Kalyan'' (in

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 de ...

) is a monthly magazine being published since 1927. It has articles devoted to various religious topics promoting uplifting thought and good deeds. Writings by Indian saints and scholars are regularly published in the magazine. *''Kalyana-Kalpataru'' (in English) is also a monthly and has been published since 1934. Its contents are similar to Kalyan. Neither of these magazines runs any advertisements.
Online Kalyana and Kalyana-Kalptaru Subscription
Gita Press Gorakhpur outlet at Kanpur Railway Station

Gita Press Gorakhpur outlet at Kanpur Railway Station

Religious texts

These texts are published 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 ...

, Hindi, Marathi, English,

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

Tamil Tamil may refer to: * Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia **Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils **Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia * Tamil language, nativ ...

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub ...

Bengali Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to: *something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia * Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region * Bengali language, the language they speak ** Bengali alphabet, the w ...

, Oriya and other languages of India. *''Shrimad

Bhagvad Gita The Bhagavad Gita (; sa, श्रीमद्भगवद्गीता, lit=The Song by God, translit=śrīmadbhagavadgītā;), often referred to as the Gita (), is a 700-verse Hindu scripture that is part of the epic '' Mahabharata'' (c ...

'' (several formats) *The ''

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...

'' *''Shri

Ramcharitmanas ''Ramcharitmanas'' ( deva, श्रीरामचरितमानस, Rāmacaritamānasa), is an epic poem in the Awadhi language, based on the ''Ramayana'', and composed by the 16th-century Indian bhakti poet Tulsidas (c. 1532–1623). Thi ...

'' by

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 ...

(several formats), Telugu version (2002) *Other works by Tulsidas *''Valmiki

Ramayana The ''Rāmāyana'' (; sa, रामायणम्, ) is a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic composed over a period of nearly a millennium, with scholars' estimates for the earliest stage of the text ranging from the 8th ...

'' (several formats) *Scriptures (''

Puranas Purana (; sa, , '; literally meaning "ancient, old"Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature (1995 Edition), Article on Puranas, , page 915) is a vast genre of Indian literature about a wide range of topics, particularly about legends an ...

Upanishads The Upanishads (; sa, उपनिषद् ) are late Vedic Sanskrit texts that supplied the basis of later Hindu philosophy.Wendy Doniger (1990), ''Textual Sources for the Study of Hinduism'', 1st Edition, University of Chicago Press, , ...

'' and others) *Works by ''

Soordas Surdas (IAST: Sūr, Devanagari: सूर) was a 16th-century blind Hindu devotional poet and singer, who was known for his works written in praise of Krishna, the supreme lord. He was a Vaishnava devotee of Lord Krishna, and he was also a ...

'' *Books by Swami Ramsukhdas *Books by Hanuman Prasad Poddar *Books by Jaydayal Goyandaka

Other publications

*''Bhakta-Gathas'' and ''

Bhajans Bhajan refers to any devotional song with a religious theme or spiritual ideas, specifically among Indian religions, in any language. The term bhajanam (Sanskrit: भजनम्) means ''reverence'' and originates from the root word ''bhaj'' ...

'' *Small books geared towards children

Branches

Gita Press has the branches and stalls in following locations. Most of the stalls are operated in railway platforms except Churu and Nadiyad. Churu has a stall near Rishikul Brahmacharyashram vedic school and Nadiyad has a stall near Santram Temple.

Gita Press Art Gallery (''Lila chitra mandir'')

An Outlet of Gita Press, Gorakhpur, a religious publisher, Muni Ki Reti

The Art Gallery has the ''lilas'' (works or plays) of ''Shri

Rama Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular '' avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Bein ...

'' and ''Shri

Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...

'' portrayed in 684 paintings by famed artists of the past and present. Other paintings, including Mewari style paintings of the ''Shri Krishna Lila'' are also on exhibit. The entire 700 verses of the ''Bhagvad Gita'' are displayed on marble plaques affixed to the walls.

Affiliated organizations

The Gita Press is part of the Govind Bhawan Karyalaya,

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

. Other affiliated institutions are: *''Gita Bhavan'', A satsang Bhawan in which tourist live for free and without paying anything

Muni Ki Reti Muni Ki Reti is a town and a municipal council in Tehri Garhwal district in the Indian state of Uttarakhand. It lies close to the pilgrimage town of Rishikesh and is known for its ashrams, including the Divine Life Society of Sivananda Saraswat ...

, Rishikesh *''Rishikul-Brahmacharya Ashram'' (Vedic school),

Churu, Rajasthan Churu is a city in the desert region of Rajasthan state of India. It is known as the gateway to the Thar Desert of Rajasthan. It is the administrative headquarter of Churu District. It lies in the Thar Desert on the National Highway 52 conn ...

. *''Ayurved Sansthan'' (producer of Ayurvedic medicines), Rishikesh. *''Gita Press Seva Dal'' (Philanthropic organization for natural calamities). *''Hasta Nirmit Vastra Vibhag'' quality cloth shop in Gorakhpur, Rishikesh, Kanpur and Kolkata

References

External links

Official Book Store Of Gita Press Gorakhpur.

Gita Press Online Store
{{Authority control Publishing in India Religious tract publishing companies Book publishing companies of India Hindu organizations Indian literature Publishing companies established in 1923 Gorakhpur Religious mass media in India Hindu mass media Translators of the Bhagavad Gita Indian companies established in 1923