Rewa Prasad Dwivedi
Encyclopedia
Rewa Prasad Dwivedi is a Sanskrit
scholar and poet. He won the Sahitya Akademi Award for Sanskrit in 1991.
in Madhya Pradesh
, to Pandit Narmada Prasad Dwivedi and Lakshmi Devi. When has about eight years old, his parents died, and he went to Varanasi
for his studies. There, he learnt Sanskrit language and literature in both the traditional and modern education systems: he obtained a Sahityacharya title and a M.A. degree in Sanskrit from Benares Hindu University. He got a PhD from Ravi Shankar University
, Raipur, in 1965, and a D.Litt from Jabalpur University in 1974.
He is an emeritus professor of Sanskrit at the Banaras Hindu University
, where he taught from 1977–1995, and was Dean, Faculty of Sanskrit, for three two-year terms between 1979 and 1989. He is also the founder of Kalidas Samsthan, Varanasi.
and deals with the later life of Sita, but is recast to contemporary times and deals with Indian polity and patriotism. His second epic, Svatantrya-sambhavam, which won the Sahitya Akademi Award
in 1991, portrays the Indian national freedom movement, from the time of Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi to events of post-Independence India. His other Sanskrit works include Pramatah (1988, a collection of poems on the atomic age), Sri Rewa Bhadrapitham (1988, verses in praise of the river Rewa, Narmada), Shatapatram (1987, poems about poetry), and Yuthika (a four-act play).
He has also written commentaries in Hindi on works of Sanskrit poetics, as well as works of his own on poetics, such as Kavyalankarakarika (1976), Natyanusasanam (1974), and Sahityasarirakam. He has also published a Complete works of Kalidasa (1976), and produced critical editions of Ritusamhara and Raghuvamsha by Kalidasa
, published by the Sahitya Akademi in 1993.
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
scholar and poet. He won the Sahitya Akademi Award for Sanskrit in 1991.
Life and career
He was born in Nadner, on the banks of the Narmada riverNarmada River
The Narmada , also called Rewa is a river in central India and the fifth largest river in the Indian subcontinent. It is the third largest river that completely flows within India after Ganges and Godavari...
in Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh
Madhya Pradesh , often called the Heart of India, is a state in central India. Its capital is Bhopal and Indore is the largest city....
, to Pandit Narmada Prasad Dwivedi and Lakshmi Devi. When has about eight years old, his parents died, and he went to Varanasi
Varanasi
-Etymology:The name Varanasi has its origin possibly from the names of the two rivers Varuna and Assi, for the old city lies in the north shores of the Ganga bounded by its two tributaries, the Varuna and the Asi, with the Ganges being to its south...
for his studies. There, he learnt Sanskrit language and literature in both the traditional and modern education systems: he obtained a Sahityacharya title and a M.A. degree in Sanskrit from Benares Hindu University. He got a PhD from Ravi Shankar University
Pandit Ravishankar Shukla University
Pt. Ravishankar Shukla University is Chhattisgarh's largest and oldest institution of higher education, founded in 1964, and named after the first chief minister of erstwhile Madhya Pradesh. The University has a sprawling campus in the western part of the capital of Chhattisgarh, Raipur. The campus...
, Raipur, in 1965, and a D.Litt from Jabalpur University in 1974.
He is an emeritus professor of Sanskrit at the Banaras Hindu University
Banaras Hindu University
Banaras Hindu University is a public university located in Varanasi, India and is one of the Central Universities of India. It is the largest residential university in Asia, with over 24,000 students in its campus. BHU was founded in 1916 by Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya under the Parliamentary...
, where he taught from 1977–1995, and was Dean, Faculty of Sanskrit, for three two-year terms between 1979 and 1989. He is also the founder of Kalidas Samsthan, Varanasi.
Work
His major works are the two Sanskrit epic poems Sitacaritam and Svatantryasambhavam. The first maha kavya (epic poem), Uttara Sita-charitam, composed from 1956 to 1968, is based on the RamayanaRamayana
The Ramayana is an ancient Sanskrit epic. It is ascribed to the Hindu sage Valmiki and forms an important part of the Hindu canon , considered to be itihāsa. The Ramayana is one of the two great epics of India and Nepal, the other being the Mahabharata...
and deals with the later life of Sita, but is recast to contemporary times and deals with Indian polity and patriotism. His second epic, Svatantrya-sambhavam, which won the Sahitya Akademi Award
Sahitya Akademi Award
Sahitya Akademi Award is a literary honor in India which Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, annually confers on writers of outstanding works in one of the following twenty-four major Indian languagesAssamese, Bengali, Bodo, Dogri, English, Gujarati, Hindi, Kannada, Kashmiri,...
in 1991, portrays the Indian national freedom movement, from the time of Rani Lakshmi Bai of Jhansi to events of post-Independence India. His other Sanskrit works include Pramatah (1988, a collection of poems on the atomic age), Sri Rewa Bhadrapitham (1988, verses in praise of the river Rewa, Narmada), Shatapatram (1987, poems about poetry), and Yuthika (a four-act play).
He has also written commentaries in Hindi on works of Sanskrit poetics, as well as works of his own on poetics, such as Kavyalankarakarika (1976), Natyanusasanam (1974), and Sahityasarirakam. He has also published a Complete works of Kalidasa (1976), and produced critical editions of Ritusamhara and Raghuvamsha by Kalidasa
Kalidasa
Kālidāsa was a renowned Classical Sanskrit writer, widely regarded as the greatest poet and dramatist in the Sanskrit language...
, published by the Sahitya Akademi in 1993.
Awards
He has won numerous awards:- Certificate of Honour from the President of India, 1978.
- Four awards for Svatantryasambhava:
- Sahitya Akademi Award for Sanskrit, 1991
- Kalpavalli Award by Bharatiya Bhasha Parishad, Calcutta, 1993
- Vacaspati award by K.K. Birla Foundation, New Delhi, 1997
- Sriveni award by R.J. Dalmiya Sriveni Trust, Delhi, 1999
- Mahamahopadya P. V. Kane medal for poetics
- Nine awards by the governments of Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
- Mitra Puraskara (twice)
- Bhojapuraskara
- Vyasapuraskara by Sanskrit Academy, Bhopal, for Complete works of Kalidasa