Tarkateertha Lakshman Shastri Joshi | |
|---|---|
| Born | 27 January 1901 Pimpalner,Dhule, India |
| Died | 27 May 1994 (aged 93) Somewhere near the origins of riverKrishna, India |
| Alma mater | Sanskrit College and University |
| Occupations | Independence activist, literary critic, writer |
| Known for | • Compiling 20 volumes ofMarathi Vishwakosh (Marathi Encyclopaedia) • First to be awardedSahitya Akademi Award |
| Works | वैदिक संस्कृतीचा विकास (The Development of Vedic Culture) |
| Spouse | Satyawati Mulherkar |
| Children | 4 |
| Honours | Sahitya Akademi Award (1955) Padma Bhushan (1973) Sahitya Akademi Fellowship (1989) Padma Vibhushan (1992) |
Lakshman Shastri Joshi[note 1] (27 January 1901 – 27 May 1994) was anIndian scholar, ofSanskrit,Hindu Dharma, and aMarathiliterary critic, and supporter ofIndian independence. Joshi was the first recipient ofSahitya Akademi Award in year 1955. He was also awarded with two of the India's highest civilian honoursPadma Bhushan in 1973 andPadma Vibhushan in 1992.
Lakshman Shastri was born in aMarathiDeshastha Brahmin[1] family in 1901 to Balaji and Chandrabhaga Joshi, in the village of Pimpalner,tahsil sakri, Dhule district in the present-day state of Maharashtra. He left home at age 14 after studying to be a priest. He finally settled inWai, a historic temple town on the banks of theKrishna River. In Wai, he studiedSanskrit,Hindudharma and Indianphilosophy at the Pradnya pathshala, a renowned Vedic school. Later in 1923 he earned the degree "Tarkateertha", or literally, "Master of logic" at theGovernment Sanskrit Mahavidyalaya of Calcutta. In 1927, he married Satyawati Mulherkar. They had two sons and two daughters. Their elder son, Madhukar had a distinguished career atIBM in research and management.[2]
Joshi spent all his life in Wai. He was closely associated with Pradnya pathshala all his life. Although aBrahmin, he spent his life going against tradition. In 1932, at the age of 29, he was jailed by theBritish for his role in the freedom movement.[note 2] However while in prison, he quickly gained a reputation as a Hindudharma scholar. Under the tutelage ofVinobha Bhave, he learnedEnglish when Bhave came to Wai to study under Kewalananda Saraswati.[3] It was during one of those internments thatMahatma Gandhi, troubled by respectable Brahmin priests shying away from officiating at the intercaste marriage of his son Devdas, a Vania, or merchant class boy, to Lakshmi, the daughter ofC. Rajagopalachari, a Brahmin, and later the second Governor General of independent India approached the young Joshi for his opinion on whether such a marriage was against Hindu dharma. With his thorough knowledge of theShastras, Joshi not only judged the marriage acceptable but also performed the wedding ceremony.[4][5]
In the 1930s, Joshi came under the influence of radical humanistM. N. Roy[6] and quickly assimilated and embraced western philosophical systems. He questioned whether those that had the knowledge had the wisdom to lead, and recognized those that followed had inadequate knowledge. He was the member of Roy's Radical Democratic party until its dissolution 1948. He wrote a Marathi treatise called Vaidik Sankriti-cha Vikas (Development of Vedic Civilization) in 1951. This treatise was based on six lectures he delivered at theUniversity of Pune, where he traced the evolution of "Vedic" culture and its influence on modern India. He wrote a critique arguing that modern Indians became conflicted between meeting material needs and attaining spiritual enlightenment, thus fostering a collective weakness, disharmony and allowing caste differences to prevail.[7]
In 1954, he presided overMarathi Sahitya Sammelan, which was held inNew Delhi. In 1955, he received aSahitya Akademi Award for his workWaidik Sanskruticha Wikas (वैदिक संस्कृतीचा विकास).[8]
He served as the first president of Maharashtra State Board of Literature and Culture when it was established in 1960, and starting from that year, served for a large number of years as the president of the project of compilingVishwakosh, a 20-volume Marathi encyclopedia under the sponsorship of the above Board. He also spearheaded compilation of Dharmakosha, a Marathi transliteration of the ancient Vedic/Hindu Sanskritic hymns. In Wai, he also opened a hostel for students of the Dalit castes, a factory for making hand-made paper and a printing press.[9]
His first book,Shuddhisarvasvam, is a treatise in Sanskrit on the philosophical basis of religious conversion, published in 1934. In that same year, he edited theDharmakosha, which encompassed twenty-six volumes and 18,000 pages, encoding the basic texts and commentaries on the varied aspects ofdharma anddharma-shastras from 1500 BC to the 18th century. In 1938, he wroteAnand-Mimamsa, a critical commentary on the theory orRas and aesthetics in Marathi literature. Later in 1973, he wroteAdhunik Marathi Sahityachi Samiksha, a study of the tenets of modern Marathi literary criticism. He also wrote Hindu Dharmachi Samiksha, in 1940, critically examining the concepts and foundation of Hinduism, andJadawad, in 1941, a survey of the history and development of materialism in Indian and Western philosophical traditions. He wroteVaidik Sanskriticha Vikas in 1958 to much acclaim. Amongst other works areUpanishadanche Marathi Bhashantar, a translation of the 18 principalUpanishads into Marathi.
Other works include:
For his outstanding contribution, he received theSahitya Akademi award from India's National Academy of Letters in 1955.
In 1973, he received the National Sanskrit Pandit Award, and in 1976, the government of India conferred on him thePadma Bhushan title, India's third highest honour, for excellence in Literature and Education.[10]
He was awarded an honorary doctorate in literature fromBombay University in 1975.[11]
In 1989, Joshi received aSahitya Akademi Fellowship, the highest award for lifetime achievement given by theAkademi, which is India's National Academy of Letters.
In 1992 he was awarded thePadma Vibhushan, India's second-highest civilian honor, in recognition of a lifetime of exceptional and distinguished service to India.[10]
He died at the age of 94, near the birth spring of the Krishna river.
Marathi literature is strewn with Deshastha writers. Some of the luminaries are B. S. Murdhekar, the neo classical poet and critic; the popular dramatists Acharya P. K. Atre, V.V.Shirwadkar; the poet and story writer G.D.Madgulkar popularly known as the "Modern Walmiki" of Maharashtra, Sahitya Akademi Award winners G. T. Deshpande, Laxmanshastri Joshi, S. N. Banhatti, V. K. Gokak and Mugali all belong to this community.
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