S. L. Bhyrappa | |
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| Born | Santeshivara Lingannaiah Bhyrappa (1931-08-20)20 August 1931 Santeshivara,Hassan district,Kingdom of Mysore, India |
| Died | 24 September 2025(2025-09-24) (aged 94) |
| Occupation | Writer, novelist, academic |
| Nationality | Indian |
| Genre | Fiction, history |
| Subject | Philosophy, history, aesthetics |
| Notable awards |
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| Website | |
| slbhyrappa | |
Santeshivara Lingannaiah Bhyrappa (20 August 1931 – 24 September 2025) was an Indian novelist, philosopher and screenwriter who wrote inKannada. His works are popular in the state ofKarnataka and he is widely regarded as one of modern India's popular novelists.[1] His novels are unique in terms of theme, structure, and characterization.[2] He has been among the top-selling authors in the Kannada language and his books have been translated intoHindi andMarathi which have also been bestsellers.[3]
Bhyrappa's works do not fit into any specificgenre of contemporaryKannada literature such asNavodaya,Navya,Bandaya, orDalita, partly because of the range of topics he writes about. His major works have been at the centre of several heated public debates and controversies.[4] He was awarded the 20thSaraswati Samman in 2010.[5] In March 2015, Bhyrappa was awarded theSahitya Akademi Fellowship.[6] The Government of India awarded him the civilian honour of thePadma Shri in 2016 and thePadma Bhushan in 2023.[7][8]
S L Bhyrappa was born into a Hoysala Karnataka Brahmin family on 20 August 1931 in Santeshivara, a village in theChannarayapatnataluk ofHassan district, about 162 kilometres (101 mi) fromBangalore.[9] He lost his mother and brothers toBubonic plague in his early childhood and took on odd jobs to pay for his education. During his childhood, he was influenced by the writings ofA.N. Krishna Rao,kuvempu,Shivaram Karanth,Gorur Ramaswamy Iyengar etc. His date of birth as per school records is 20 August 1931 and he has declared in his autobiographyBhitti that his actual date of birth is different. (Bhitti p. 50 First edition)
Bhyrappa completed his primary education inChannarayapatna taluk before moving toMysore where he completed the rest of his education. In his autobiography,Bhitti (Wall) he wrote that he took a break during his high school education. Bhyrappa impulsively quit school, following his cousin's advice and wandered for a year with him. His sojourn led him toMumbai, where he worked as arailway porter. In Mumbai he met a group ofsadhus and joined them to seek spiritual solace. He wandered with them for a few months before returning to Mysore to resume his education[citation needed].
Bhyrappa attended Navodaya High School,Channarayapatna, Sharada Vilas High School,Mysore. He earned a B.A (Hons) – Philosophy (Major), atMysore University and earned an M.A in Philosophy as well as being awarded thegold medal by Mysore University. Bhyrappa's B.A and M.A degrees in Philosophy, were under the tutelage ofM. Yamunacharya, who was then Professor of Philosophy at University of Mysore. He earned a Doctor of Philosophy –Satya mattu Soundarya (Truth and Beauty) written in English, atMaharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda.[10]
S L Bhyrappa was a lecturer of Logic and Psychology at Sri Kadasiddheshwar College,Hubli;Sardar Patel University inGujarat;NCERT,Delhi; and theRegional College of Education,Mysore from which he retired in 1991. Bhyrappa has two sons and lived with his wife in Mysore.
Bhyrappa's works are published in English, Kannada, and Sanskrit, and taught in Indian Studies and Western Philosophy courses.[10]
Bhyrappa died inBengaluru, Karnataka, India on 24 September 2025, at the age of 94.[11]
Starting withBheemakaya, first published in 1958, Bhyrappa authored twenty four novels in a career spanning more than five decades.Vamshavruksha,Tabbaliyu Neenade Magane,Matadana andNayi Neralu were made into films that received critical acclaim.Vamshavruksha has received theKannada Sahitya Academy Award in 1966 andDaatu (Crossing Over) received both theKannada and theKendra Sahitya Academy awards in 1975.[12]Parva, the most critically acclaimed of all his novels narrates the social structure, values and mortality in the epic ofMahabharata very effectively. Bhyrappa reconstructs the Mahabharatha from sociological and anthropological angle, through metaphors in this novel.[13]Tantu, a Kannada novel was published in 1993.Tantu (meaning 'cord' or 'links') explored relations or links between human emotions. It was translated into English in the year 2010 by Niyogi Books.Tantu was followed bySaartha which was published in 1998.[14] And his recent work,Scion, is a beautiful translation of the Kannada originalVamshvrishka by R Ranganath Prasad, getting published by Niyogi Books in 2023.
Many of Bhyrappa's novels have been translated into other Indian languages and English.[1] Bhyrappa has been one of the best-selling authors in Kannada for the past twenty-five years, and translations of his books have been best sellers for the past eight years inMarathi and in the past five years inHindi.[3]
Most of his novels have been reprinted several times. His recently printed novelAavarana, was sold out even before its release. The novel went on to create a record in Indian literary circles with ten reprints within five months of its publication.[15] His novelYaana (Journey), was released in August 2014. In 2017 his latest novelUttarakaanda based on the Hindu epic Ramayana was published. Bhyrappa announced that this novel would be his last novel and due to advanced age he could not undertake any new ventures.
All of his novels are published by Sahitya Bhandara inBengaluru, Karnataka.
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Bhyrappa was the centre of several controversies because of his themes and positions on sensitive issues.[4] Some of his prominent novels (such asVamshavruksha, Tabbaliyu Neenaade Magane, Parva, andSaartha) have strong roots in ancient Indian philosophical tradition, thus inviting severe criticism fromNavya writers and from others. Bhyrappa supportedN. R. Narayana Murthy when he was criticized by the media and the public regarding the controversy over playing an instrumental version of the national anthem at an important occasion. He also backed N. R. Narayana Murthy regarding theKaveri issue saying riots and protests are not going to solve the problem.[16] Bhyrappa had a debate withGirish Karnad in the publicationVijaya Karnataka regarding the religious tolerance of 18th century Mysore rulerTippu Sultan.[citation needed] In Bhyrappa's novelAavarana, he accuses Tippu Sultan of being a religious fanatic who could not stand Hindus in his court. Bhyrappa has attempted to substantiate his argument based on several historical sources written in India. For example, Bhyrappa has pointed to the usage of theArabic patronymicbin (used in personal names to mean "son of") in governmental records, which Bhyrappa claimed has continued even into modern times in Karnataka. According to Bhyrappa, this practice, initiated under the rule of Tippu Sultan, was one of several methods used to enforce Islamic rule on Hindus.[citation needed] The book discusses other methods used by Tippu Sultan to convert Hindus to Islam. This view was criticized by Girish Karnad, who has portrayed Tippu Sultan as a secular ruler in his plays. Bhyrappa has countered that Karnad portrays Tippu Sultan inaccurately in his plays.
U.R. Ananthamurthy was a prominent critic of Bhyrappa's novels. Bhyrappa has documented his debate with Ananthamurthy inBhitti, as well as in a few essays in his bookNaaneke Bareyuttene. Bhyrappa's more recent novelAavarana brings out historical information about what Islamic rule did to ancient Indian social and cultural life. This stirred a major controversy. There were accusations leveled at Bhyrappa of being a Hindu fundamentalist who wanted to divide society on the basis of history, an allegation which Bhyrappa anticipated and tried to refute by referring to notable sources.[17] Ananthamurthy criticized Bhyrappa and his works, callingAavarana "dangerous". Ananthamurthy accused Bhyrappa of being more of a debater than a storyteller. "He doesn't know what Hindu religion stands for" and "does not know how to write novels".[18] However Bhyrappa claimed that the novel was result of his search for truth and there was no ulterior motive behind the novel. He urged critics to study the reference books mentioned in the novel before arriving at any conclusion about it.[19]
His short story "Avva" was published in theKasthuri magazine and it's considered his maiden short story.
Well-known Kannada writer and Saraswati Samman awardee S. L. Bhyrappa, 94, passed away at a private hospital in Bengaluru on September 24.
