Acharya Chatursen
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Acharya Chatursen Shastri (26 August 1891 – 2 February 1960) was an Indian writer of
Hindi literature Hindi literature () includes literature in the various Central Indo-Aryan languages, also known as Hindi, some of which have different writing systems. Earliest forms of Hindi literature are attested in poetry of Apabhraṃśa such as Awad ...
. He wrote many
historical fiction Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the Setting (narrative), setting of particular real past events, historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literatur ...
s, including '' Vaishali ki Nagarvadhu'' adapted into a feature film (1948), ''Vayam Rakshamah'' (1951), ''Somnath'' (1954), and ''Dharamputra'' which was adapted into the 1961 feature film of the same name.


Biography

Acharya Chatursen Shastri was born in a small village Aurangabad Chandok (near Anupshahr) in the
Bulandshahr Bulandshahr, formerly Baran, is a city and a municipal board in Bulandshahr district in the state of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Bulandshahr district and part of Delhi NCR region. According to the Governme ...
district of
Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...
state in India on 26 August 1891. His father was Punditt Kewal Ram Thakur and mother was Nanhee Devi. His birth name was Chaturbhuj. Chaturbhuj finished his primary education in a school in Sikandrabad. Then he got admitted to Sanskrit College,
Jaipur Jaipur (; , ) is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the List of cities and towns in Rajasthan, largest city of the north-western States and union territories of India, Indian state of Rajasthan. , the city had ...
,
Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...
. From here he received the degrees of Ayurvedacharya in
Ayurveda Ayurveda (; ) is an alternative medicine system with historical roots in the Indian subcontinent. It is heavily practised throughout India and Nepal, where as much as 80% of the population report using ayurveda. The theory and practice of ayur ...
and Shastri in
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 ...
in the year 1915. He also received the degree of Ayurvedacharya from Ayurveda Vidyapeetha. After finishing his education he came to
Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...
to start his practice as an
ayurvedic Ayurveda (; ) is an alternative medicine system with historical roots in the Indian subcontinent. It is heavily practised throughout India and Nepal, where as much as 80% of the population report using ayurveda. The theory and practice of ayur ...
physician. He opened his own ayurvedic dispensary in Delhi but it did not run well and he had to close it down. He joined a rich man's charitable dispensary at the salary of rupees 25 per month. Later in 1917, he joined DAV College,
Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...
(now in Pakistan) as senior professor of Ayurveda. The management at the DAV college, Lahore was insulting to him, therefore, he resigned and went to
Ajmer Ajmer () is a city in the north-western States and union territories of India, Indian state of Rajasthan. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Ajmer district and Ajmer division. It lies at the centre of Rajasthan, earning it the ...
to help his father-in-law in his dispensary. Working at this dispensary, he started to write and soon became famous as a story writer and novelist. His first novel Hridaya-Ki-Parakh (Trial of the Heart) was published in 1918. It did not bring him any recognition. His second book,
Satyagraha Satyāgraha (from ; ''satya'': "truth", ''āgraha'': "insistence" or "holding firmly to"), or "holding firmly to truth",' or "truth force", is a particular form of nonviolent resistance or civil resistance. Someone who practises satyagraha is ...
Aur Asahyoga (Civil Resistance and Non-cooperation) was published in 1921. This brought immense attention to Acharya Chatursen Shastri. These were followed by many historical novels, stories and ayurvedic books. Acharya Chatursen Shastri took his last breath on 2 February 1960.


Career

His books present an idealistic view of the ancient period as can be seen clearly in his famous book Purnahuti. In this book he gives a eulogical account of Prithiviraj Chauhan's life and the battles fought. They are not historical but give details of life in
ancient India Anatomically modern humans first arrived on the Indian subcontinent between 73,000 and 55,000 years ago. The earliest known human remains in South Asia date to 30,000 years ago. Sedentism, Sedentariness began in South Asia around 7000 BCE; ...
. These books can be seen as a logical binding of
history History is the systematic study of the past, focusing primarily on the Human history, human past. As an academic discipline, it analyses and interprets evidence to construct narratives about what happened and explain why it happened. Some t ...
and
philosophy Philosophy ('love of wisdom' in Ancient Greek) is a systematic study of general and fundamental questions concerning topics like existence, reason, knowledge, Value (ethics and social sciences), value, mind, and language. It is a rational an ...
and are worth recommending to anyone who is looking to know more about India before the advent of
Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
. In his foreword to his book, 'Vaishali ki Nagarvadhu', he declares this is his first book and the ones prior to this one as worthless; the book lives up to this declaration. It is hard to imagine a more readable description of society and politics in India around sixth century BC. He was a friend of
Jawaharlal Nehru Jawaharlal Nehru (14 November 1889 – 27 May 1964) was an Indian anti-colonial nationalist, secular humanist, social democrat, and statesman who was a central figure in India during the middle of the 20th century. Nehru was a pr ...
, India's first
Prime Minister A prime minister or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. A prime minister is not the head of state, but r ...
.


Writings

The bulk of his literary output is almost unparalleled in Hindi. In all, he wrote 72 published books including 8
historical novels Historical fiction is a literary genre in which a fictional plot takes place in the Setting (narrative), setting of particular real past events, historical events. Although the term is commonly used as a synonym for historical fiction literatur ...
, 10 dramas, 4 historical non-fictions, 15 collections of essays on political subjects and an equal number on the subjects of health and medicine. He also published over 250 short stories in various Hindi periodicals over time. His novel Dharamputra was adapted into the Hindi film, ''
Dharmputra ''Dharmputra'' is a 1961 Hindi film directed by Yash Chopra based on a novel of the same name by Acharya Chatursen. This is Yash's second directorial venture. It was the first Hindi film to depict the partition of India, and Hindu fundamentali ...
'' (1961) by
Yash Chopra Yash Raj Chopra (27 September 1932 21 October 2012) was an Indian film director and film producer who worked in Bollywood, Hindi cinema. The founding chairman of the film production and distribution company Yash Raj Films, Chopra was the reci ...
, it won the
National Film Award The National Film Awards are awards for artistic and technical merit given for "Excellence within the Cinema of India, Indian film industry". Established in 1954, it has been administered, along with the International Film Festival of India ...
for Best Feature Film in Hindi. His important works include: * '' Vaishali ki Nagarvadhu'' (वैशाली की नगरवधू) (1948?) - based on the historical figure Amrapali * ''Vayam Rakshamah'' (वयं रक्षाम:) - based on life of character of Ravana (from Ramayana) * ''Sahyadri ki chattanen'' - based on
Shivaji Shivaji I (Shivaji Shahaji Bhonsale, ; 19 February 1630 – 3 April 1680) was an Indian ruler and a member of the Bhonsle dynasty. Shivaji carved out his own independent kingdom from the Sultanate of Bijapur that formed the genesis of the ...
's times and life * ''Goli'' (गोली) * ''Bagule ka pankh'' (बगुले का पंख) * ''
Dharamputra ''Dharmputra'' is a 1961 Hindi film directed by Yash Chopra based on a novel of the same name by Acharya Chatursen. This is Yash's second directorial venture. It was the first Hindi film to depict the partition of India, and Hindu fundamentali ...
'' (धर्मपुत्र) * ''Sona aur Khoon'' (सोना और ख़ून) * ''Neelmani'' (नीलमणि) * ''Narmedh'' (नरमेध) * ''Somnath Mahalay'' (सोमनाथ) - Based on invasion of
Mahmud Ghazni Abu al-Qasim Mahmud ibn Sabuktigin (; 2 November 971 – 30 April 1030), usually known as Mahmud of Ghazni or Mahmud Ghaznavi (), was Sultan of the Ghaznavid Empire, ruling from 998 to 1030. During his reign and in medieval sources, he is usuall ...
and destruction of
Somnath Prabhas Patan, historically named Dev Patan, is a locality in Veraval, Gujarat. As the site of the Somnath temple and its associated Jyotirlinga (an aniconic representation of the god Shiva), it is an important place of Hindu pilgrimage. Pl ...
temple * ''Bharat mein Islam'' (भारत में इस्लाम) * ''Achchi Aadatein'' (अच्छी आदतें) * ''Aparajita'' (अपराजिता) * ''Aadarsh Bhojan'' (आदर्श भोजन) * ''Nirog Jivan'' (नीरोग जीवन) * ''Eedo'' (ईदो) - based on events from The great Depression (1929–1934) and World War II (1939–1945) * ''Hindi Bhasha aur Sahitya Ka Itihas'' (1946) - A History of
Hindi Language Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of the Government of India, alongside English, and is the ''li ...
and its literature * ''Hridaya Ki Parakh'' (1918) * ''Satyagraha Aur Asahyoga'' (1921) - about Civil Resistance and Non-cooperation


References


Bibliography

*


External links


Review (in Hindi) of Dharamputra (धर्मपुत्र)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Chatursen, Acharya Hindi-language writers People from Bulandshahr district 1891 births 1960 deaths Indian male novelists Indian male dramatists and playwrights Indian male essayists Ayurvedacharyas 20th-century Indian novelists 20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights 20th-century Indian essayists Novelists from Uttar Pradesh 20th-century Indian male writers