Sudarshan Gadyawali
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''Sudarshan Gadyawali'' () is a 1909 collection of prose writings by Gujarati writer
Manilal Dwivedi Manilal Nabhubhai Dwivedi (; 26 September 1858 – 1 October 1898) was a Gujarati-language writer, philosopher, and social thinker from British India, commonly referred to as Manilal in literary circles. He was an influential figure in 19th-ce ...
(1858–1898), which appeared in his journals ''
Priyamvada ''Priyamvada'' (sometimes written ''Preeyamvadha'' or ''Priyamvadha'') is a 1976 Indian Malayalam film, directed by K. S. Sethumadhavan and produced by T. E. Vasudevan. The film stars Kaviyoor Ponnamma, KPAC Lalitha, Adoor Bhasi and Lakshmi i ...
'' and '' Sudarshan'' from 1885 to 1898. It contains essays on a broad range of subjects, including religion,
ethics Ethics is the philosophy, philosophical study of Morality, moral phenomena. Also called moral philosophy, it investigates Normativity, normative questions about what people ought to do or which behavior is morally right. Its main branches inclu ...
, social reform, education, politics,
nationalism Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, I ...
,
theosophy Theosophy is a religious movement established in the United States in the late 19th century. Founded primarily by the Russian Helena Blavatsky and based largely on her writings, it draws heavily from both older European philosophies such as Neop ...
, women's welfare,
Eastern Eastern or Easterns may refer to: Transportation Airlines *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai * Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 192 ...
and
Western philosophy Western philosophy refers to the Philosophy, philosophical thought, traditions and works of the Western world. Historically, the term refers to the philosophical thinking of Western culture, beginning with the ancient Greek philosophy of the Pre ...
, music, and literature, in addition to a number of book reviews.


Publication history

With the exception of the pieces ''
Siddhantasara ''Siddhantasara'' (; ) is a 1889 Gujarati book on the history of philosophy by Indian writer and philosopher Manilal Dwivedi. It is a historical critique of the world's religious philosophies. The book deals with the evolution of religious se ...
'', ''Pranavinimay'', '' Kanta'', and ''
Nrusinhavatar ''Nrusinhavatar'' () is one of the two Gujarati plays written by Manilal Nabhubhai Dwivedi, the other is ''Kanta''. Written probably in 1896, it recounts the puranic mythological tale of Nrusinhavatar. It was first staged by the Mumbai Guja ...
'', most of Manilal's prose writings and poems were published in his two journals, ''Priyamvada'' and ''Sudarshan''. The works ''
Gulabsinh ''Gulabsinh'' () is an 1897 Gujarati supernatural novel by Manilal Dwivedi (1858–1898), adapted from English writer Edward Bulwer-Lytton's novel '' Zanoni''. It was serialised in ''Priyamvada'' (later '' Sudarshan'') from the magazine's first ...
'', '' Shrimad Bhagvadgita'' (translated from
Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...
), and ''
Atmanimajjan ''Atmanimajjan'' () () is an 1895 collection of poems in Gujarati by Indian writer Manilal Dwivedi. The poems in the collection are heavily influenced by Advaita (non-dual) philosophy, which was at the core of Manilal's philosophical thinking. U ...
'' (a collection of poems) were originally published in installments in his journals. They were later published in book form, during the author's lifetime. Several of Manilal's most important articles from these journals remained unpublished in book form until 1909. In that year, two of his admirers, Himmatlal Chhotalal Pandya and Pranshankar Gaurishankar Joshi, working from
Jambusar Jambusar is a town and a municipality in Bharuch district in the Indian state of Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of ...
, a small town in Gujarat, collected, classified and published the articles as ''Sudarshan Gadyawali'' with the help of
Anandshankar Dhruv Anandshankar Bapubhai Dhruv (25 February 1869 – 7 April 1942) was a Gujarati scholar, writer, educationist and editor from Bombay Presidency, British India. His name is revered as "Acharya" (a learned person) in Gujarat, and hence generally ...
, a Gujarati writer and Manilal's disciple-friend. The book was printed on double crown paper, and consisted of some 1100 pages. It also included two articles on Manilal written by Anandshankar Dhruv. In 1948, when it had gone out of print,
Gujarat Vidya Sabha Gujarat Vidya Sabha, originally called Gujarat Vernacular Society, is a literary institution for the promotion of vernacular Gujarati literature and education, and for the collection of manuscripts and printed books; located in the city of Ahmedab ...
published selected articles from ''Sudarshan Gadyawali'' in two volumes, entitled ''Manilal Ni Vichardhara'' and ''Manilal Na Tran Lekho'', both edited by
Dhirubhai Thaker Dhirubhai Premshankar Thaker (27 June 1918 – 22 January 2014) was an Indian Gujarati writer, who was best known for creating the '' Gujarati Vishwakosh'', a 25-volume encyclopedia of the Gujarati language. Life Thaker was born on 27 June 191 ...
. These were about one third the size of ''Sudarshan Gadyawali''. Later, on the centenary of Manilal's death, all of the essays from ''Sudarshan Gadyawali'' were reprinted in the four-volume ''Manilal N. Dwivedi Sahityashreni'' (Complete Works of Manilal Dwivedi), under the title ''Sudarshan Gadyaguccha''. These collected works were published by
Gujarat Sahitya Akademi The Gujarat Sahitya Akademi () or Gujarat Sahitya Academy, established in 1981, is a government institution dedicated to the development of the languages spoken in Gujarat, India and their literature. Gujarati, an official language of Gujarat, i ...
and edited by Dhirubhai Thaker.


Contents

Manilal's concept of the "ideal essay" is largely based on his study of
Francis Bacon Francis Bacon, 1st Viscount St Alban (; 22 January 1561 – 9 April 1626) was an English philosopher and statesman who served as Attorney General and Lord Chancellor of England under King James I. Bacon argued for the importance of nat ...
and
Ralph Waldo Emerson Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803April 27, 1882), who went by his middle name Waldo, was an American essayist, lecturer, philosopher, minister, abolitionism, abolitionist, and poet who led the Transcendentalism, Transcendentalist movement of th ...
. According to Manilal, an "ideal essay" is one in which each word conveys a concrete image of experience, each sentence presents an orderly arrangement of thought, and each thought is of such living interest and significance that it immediately grips the reader's attention. Among the many subjects covered in ''Sudarshan Gadyawali'' are religion, ethics, social reform, education, politics, nationalism, theosophy, women's welfare, Eastern and Western philosophies, music, and literature. There are articles on various literary topics, including the nature of poetry; the art of communication; and the characteristics of different literary genres, including drama, the novel, lyrical poetry, the essay, and biography. It also contains some 240 book reviews. Manilal considered ''dhvani'' (suggestive meaning) an essential part of poetry, and of all of the arts. He concluded that "
aesthetic Aesthetics (also spelled esthetics) is the branch of philosophy concerned with the nature of beauty and taste, which in a broad sense incorporates the philosophy of art.Slater, B. H.Aesthetics ''Internet Encyclopedia of Philosophy,'' , acces ...
pleasure" and " spiritual ecstasy" were interlaced. Manilal's approach to biography was influenced by
Thomas Carlyle Thomas Carlyle (4 December 17955 February 1881) was a Scottish essayist, historian, and philosopher. Known as the "Sage writing, sage of Chelsea, London, Chelsea", his writings strongly influenced the intellectual and artistic culture of the V ...
's concept of hero-worship.


Reception

The critic Vishwanath Bhatt hailed ''Sudarshan Gadyavali'' as a "great treasure of essays in Gujarati literature", and cited Manilal as one of the best essayists of modern Gujarati literature. Another commentator,
Mansukhlal Jhaveri Mansukhlal Maganlal Jhaveri (1907–1981) was a Gujarati language poet, critic, and literary historian of the Gandhian era. He was deeply interested in classical Sanskrit poetry and authored ''History of Gujarati Literature'' (1978). Jhaveri had ...
, wrote that "Manilal emerges from the pages of the ''Sudarshan Gadyavali'' as a master of Gujarati prose". Dhirubhai Thaker cited it as 'one of the best collection in Gujarati literature'.


References


External links

*
''Sudarshan Gadyawali''
at
Gandhi Heritage Portal The online Gandhi Heritage Portal preserves, protects, and disseminates original writings of Mohandas K. Gandhi and makes available to the world the large corpus of "Fundamental Works" which are useful for any comprehensive study of the life a ...
{{Manilal Nabhubhai Dwivedi 1909 non-fiction books Works by Manilal Dwivedi Gujarati-language books Books published posthumously Indian essay collections