Kallahalli Sannegowda Bhagawan (born 14 July 1945), known as Prof. K. S. Bhagawan, is an Indian

Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...

writer, rationalist, translator, critic, scholar and retired professor. In addition to his works on

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Hypernymy and hyponymy, umbrella term for a range of Indian religions, Indian List of religions and spiritual traditions#Indian religions, religious and spiritual traditions (Sampradaya, ''sampradaya''s) that are unified ...

, Indian culture and history, he has translated the works of

William Shakespeare William Shakespeare ( 23 April 1564 – 23 April 1616) was an English playwright, poet and actor. He is widely regarded as the greatest writer in the English language and the world's pre-eminent dramatist. He is often called England's nation ...

including ''

Julius Caesar Gaius Julius Caesar (12 or 13 July 100 BC – 15 March 44 BC) was a Roman general and statesman. A member of the First Triumvirate, Caesar led the Roman armies in the Gallic Wars before defeating his political rival Pompey in Caesar's civil wa ...

'' and ''

Hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play. Set in Denmark, the play (the ...

''. He is a recipient of many awards including the

Rajyotsava Award The Rajyotsava Prashasti or Rajyotsava Award, the second highest civilian honor of the Karnataka state of India are conferred annually by the Karnataka Government on the occasion of the establishment of the state on 1 November, celebrated as th ...

, Kuvempu Award and the Lokayata Award.

Career

Bhagawan acquired a post-graduate degree in English language from

University of Mysore The University of Mysore is a public state university in Mysore, Karnataka, India. The university was founded during the reign of Maharaja Krishnaraja Wadiyar IV and the premiership of Sir M. Visvesvaraya. The university is recognised by t ...

. As a professor, he taught English at Maharaja's College in

Mysore Mysore ( ), officially Mysuru (), is a city in the southern Indian state of Karnataka. It is the headquarters of Mysore district and Mysore division. As the traditional seat of the Wadiyar dynasty, the city functioned as the capital of the ...

. At the same time, he worked as a writer and translator. In 1982, his work ''Shankaracharya and Reactionary Philosophy'' (original title: ''ಶಂಕರಾಚಾರ್ಯ ಮತ್ತು ಪ್ರತಿಗಾಮಿತನ''), a collection of essays, on how

Adi Shankara Adi Shankara (8th c. CE), also called Adi Shankaracharya (, ), was an Indian Vedanga, Vedic scholar, Hindu philosophy, philosopher and teacher (''acharya'') of Advaita Vedanta. Reliable information on Shankara's actual life is scant, and h ...

, an 8th-century

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

theologian, advocated the caste system strongly, destroyed Buddhist viharas and was against education for women,

shudras Shudra or ''Shoodra'' (Sanskrit: ') is one of the four varnas of the Hindu class and social system in ancient India. Some sources translate it into English as a caste, or as a social class. Theoretically, Shudras constituted a class like work ...

and

dalit Dalit ( from meaning "broken/scattered") is a term used for untouchables and outcasts, who represented the lowest stratum of the castes in the Indian subcontinent. They are also called Harijans. Dalits were excluded from the fourfold var ...

s, was published. It was met with criticism from right-wing

groups who issued threats to his life. His other books in Kannada include ''Badalaavane'', ''Antarya'' and ''Kuvempu Yuga''. As a translator, he translated popular works of

to Kannada. It includes ''

Merchant of Venice ''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan taken out on behalf of his dear friend, Bassanio, and provided by a ...

'' as ''Venisina Vartaka'', and others such as ''

'', ''

'' and ''

Othello ''The Tragedy of Othello, the Moor of Venice'', often shortened to ''Othello'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare around 1603. Set in Venice and Cyprus, the play depicts the Moorish military commander Othello as he is manipulat ...

''.. Bhagawan was chosen for the

Karnataka Sahitya Academy Award Karnataka Sahitya Academy Award is an annual literary award given to literary works in Kannada by the Karnataka Sahitya Academy. Karnataka Sahitya Academy Award is given to individual books published in various genres like poetry, novel, short f ...

for Lifetime Achievement for the year 2013.

Controversies

At an event in

on 15 February 2015, Bhagawan said that he would burn certain pages of the Hindu scripture

Bhagavad Gita The Bhagavad Gita (; ), often referred to as the Gita (), is a Hindu texts, Hindu scripture, dated to the second or first century BCE, which forms part of the Hindu epic, epic poem Mahabharata. The Gita is a synthesis of various strands of Ind ...

. Police also filed FIR against him for "hurting" religious sentiments. He said that verse 32 and 33 in chapter 9 of the scripture describes women,

vaishya Vaishya (Sanskrit: वैश्य, ''vaiśya'') is one of the four varnas of the Vedic Hindu social order in India. Vaishyas are classed third in the order of Varna hierarchy. The occupation of Vaishyas consists mainly of agriculture, takin ...

s and

shudra Shudra or ''Shoodra'' (Sanskrit: ') is one of the four varnas of the Hindu class and social system in ancient India. Some sources translate it into English as a caste, or as a social class. Theoretically, Shudras constituted a class like work ...

s as "sinners" aapayonaha Following the murder of another Kannada writer and rationalist M. M. Kalburgi, a Bajrang Dal activist from Bantawala threatened that Bhagawan would be the next target for "mock ngHinduism", with the arrest of the activist, the security at Bhagwan's residence was tightened.

Selected bibliography

In
Kannada Kannada () is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly in the state of Karnataka in southwestern India, and spoken by a minority of the population in all neighbouring states. It has 44 million native speakers, and is additionally a ...

* ''ಶಂಕರಾಚಾರ್ಯ ಮತ್ತು ಪ್ರತಿಗಾಮಿತನ'' (1982) * ''ಬದಲಾವಣೆ'' (1982) * ''ಅಂತರ್ಯ'' (1978) * ''ಕುವೆಂಪು ಯುಗ'' (1990) * ''ಅನನ್ಯತೆ'' * ''ಭಾಷೆ ಮತ್ತು ಸಂಸ್ಕೃತಿ'' * ''ಇತಿಹಾಸದ ಪಾಠಗಳು'' * ''ಗಾಂಧಿಯನ್ನು ಗೋಡ್ಸೆ ಯಾಕೆ ಕೊಂದ''

Translations

* ''Hindu Saamrajyashahiya Itihasa'' (translation of Swami Dharma Theertha'
''History of Hindu Imperialism''
:Shakespeare's plays: * ''Julius Caesar'' (1975, translation of ''

'') * ''Nimmishta'' (1996, translation of ''

As You Like It ''As You Like It'' is a pastoral Shakespearean comedy, comedy by William Shakespeare believed to have been written in 1599 and first published in the First Folio in 1623. The play's first performance is uncertain, though a performance at Wil ...

'') * ''Venisina Vartaka'' (1995, translation of ''

The Merchant of Venice ''The Merchant of Venice'' is a play by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1596 and 1598. A merchant in Venice named Antonio defaults on a large loan taken out on behalf of his dear friend, Bassanio, and provided by a ...

'') * ''Othello'' (1997, translation of ''

'') * ''Hamlet'' (1998, translation of ''

'')

In English

* ''Violence in Hinduism''

Awards

* Kavyanand Award (1982) * Kuvempu Prize (1985) *

Rajyotsava Prashasti The Rajyotsava Prashasti or Rajyotsava Award, the second highest civilian honor of the Karnataka state of India are conferred annually by the Karnataka Government on the occasion of the establishment of the state on 1 November, celebrated as th ...

(1999) * Naada Chethana Award (2003) * Poet-laureate Kuvempu Birth centenary Award (2004) * Karnataka Nataka Academy Awards (2007) * Kuvempu Award (2011) * Shoonya Peetha Prashasthi (2011) * Sahitya Kalaratna Award (2011) * Karnataka Sahithya Academy Award (2013) * Lokayata Award (2014) * Karnataka Kranthirathna Award (2015)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bhagawan, K. S. 1945 births Writers from Mysore Kannada-language writers Bandaya writers Living people Academic staff of Maharaja's College, Mysore Indian rationalists 20th-century Indian translators