 | This articleneeds additional citations forverification. Please helpimprove this article byadding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. Find sources: "Gopinath Kaviraj" – news ·newspapers ·books ·scholar ·JSTOR(June 2014) (Learn how and when to remove this message) |
Gopinath Kaviraj | |
|---|---|
 Gopinath Kaviraj on a 1988 stamp of India | |
| Born | 7 September 1887 (1887-09-07) |
| Died | 12 June 1976 (1976-06-13) (aged 88) Varanasi,Uttar Pradesh, India |
| Alma mater | University of Allahabad |
| Occupation(s) | Principal ofGovernment Sanskrit College, Varanasi (1923–1937) Sanskrit scholar, philosopher |
| Father | Vaikunthanath |
Gopinath Kaviraj (7 September 1887 – 12 June 1976) was an IndianSanskrit scholar,Indologist and philosopher. First appointed in 1914 a librarian, he was the Principal ofGovernment Sanskrit College,Varanasi from 1923 to 1937. He was also the editor of theSarasvati Bhavana Granthamala (Sarasvati Bhavana Texts) during that period.
In 1964 he received theSahitya Akademi Award, given by theSahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, for his research treatise onTantra,Tantrik Vangmaya Men Shaktadrishti. In the same year he was awarded thePadma Vibhushan, the second highest civilian honour given by Government of India. In 1971 he was conferred theSahitya Akademi Fellowship, the highest literary honour awarded by the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters.
Kaviraj was the posthumous son of Vaikunthanath, aBengali scholar of philosophy. He was born in villageDhamrai, in the presentDhaka District, capital ofBangladesh. After receiving his early education at Dhamrai and Kanthalia villages, he joined the K. L. Jubilee High School, Dhaka in seventh class, and studied there till tenth class.[1]
In 1906 he moved to Jaipur, where after four years he obtained aBachelor of Arts degree fromMaharaja College, Jaipur.[1] He obtained his master's degree from theUniversity of Allahabad.[2] Here he studied with scholars Madhusudan Ojha, Shasdhar Tarkchudamani and others.[citation needed] In 1910 he moved to Devnathpura, Varanasi, and started his postgraduate studies, passing the M.A. from the University of Allahabad in 1914, with first merit position in the first class.[1]
The final phase of his education started at Varanasi under the guidance of Arthur Venis, who appointed him as a librarian of the Sarasvati Bhavan Library of the Government Sanskrit College, Varanasi, where he worked from 1914 to 1920.[1] This period allowed him to pursue research inTantra. It was at Varanasi that Kaviraj was exposed to various facets of ancient Tantric philosophy. In 1918, he met Vishuddhananda Paramahamsa, a Vedic & Tantrik Sadhu in Kashi who guided him in ancient wisdom of Tantra,Yog, Vigyan. Vishuddhanand Paramhamsa was basically from Bengal, stayed in Varanasi for a long time & belonged to the lineage of Gyanganj which is also called Siddhashram since old times and Shambhala in recent times which is near Tibet. (Reference text : Yogiraj Shri Shri Vishuddhanand Paramhamsa)
In 1924 he became principal of the Government Sanskrit College, laterSampurnanand Sanskrit University inVaranasi. He was the Chief Editor of Sarasvati Bhavana Texts,Sarasvati Bhavana Granthamala. However, being more interested in research and his personal spiritual path, he retired from this position in 1937, after the death of his Guru Vishuddhananda Paramhamsa. In the following years, he pursued both his sadhana and scholarly research in Tantra. He also started looking after his Guru's ashram in Varanasi. He was fond of Kashi (Varanasi) and never left it except to accept hisPadma Vibhushan. In his later years, along with the scholarSri Anirvan, he devoted himself to the study ofKashmir Shaivism. In his later years he became an ardent devotee of mysticAnandamayi Ma, whom he first met in 1928.[1]
In 1934 he was awarded the title ofMahamahopadhyaya in recognition of his service Sanskrit scholarship.[1]
Later in life, he remained Head of newly established Yoga-Tantra Department at the Varanaseya Sanskrit Vishwavidyalaya in Varanasi from 1964 to 1969. However, because of failing health, he left it and shifted to Ma Anandamayi Ashram, Bhadaini locality.[3]
He was married in 1900 to Kusum Kumari, belonging to a family of Sanskrit scholars of East Bengal. The couple had two children, a son named Jitendranath and a daughter named Sudha. He died on 12 June 1976 at his home in Varanasi, survived by his daughter and grandchildren.[1]
{{cite book}}:|work= ignored (help)
