Dewan Bahadur Dewan Bahadur or Diwan Bahadur was a title of honour awarded during British rule in India. It was awarded to individuals who had performed faithful service or acts of public welfare to the nation. From 1911 the title was accompanied by a special ...

Keshavlal Harshadrai Dhruv (17 October 1859 – 13 March 1938), also spelt as Keshavlal Harshad Dhruva and known by his pen name Vanmali, was a research scholar, philologist, critic, editor of

Middle Middle or The Middle may refer to: * Centre (geometry), the point equally distant from the outer limits. Places * Middle (sheading), a subdivision of the Isle of Man * Middle Bay (disambiguation) * Middle Brook (disambiguation) * Middle Creek ...

and

Old Gujarati Old or OLD may refer to: Places *Old, Baranya, Hungary *Old, Northamptonshire, England * Old Street station, a railway and tube station in London (station code OLD) *OLD, IATA code for Old Town Municipal Airport and Seaplane Base, Old Town, M ...

works, and translator of

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 ...

classic poetry and plays from

India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, seventh-largest country by area; the List of countries by population (United Nations), most populous country since ...

. He was a professor of Gujarati and taught at

Gujarat College Gujarat Arts & Science College, popularly and previously known as Gujarat College, is one of the oldest educational institutions of India and the second arts and science college of Gujarat, near Ellis Bridge, Ahmedabad. It was founded in 1845 a ...

. He headed several literary organizations.

Life

Keshavlal was born on 17 October 1859 in Bahiyel near Dehgam in Gujarat, India. He completed

matriculation Matriculation is the formal process of entering a university, or of becoming eligible to enter by fulfilling certain academic requirements such as a matriculation examination. Australia In Australia, the term ''matriculation'' is seldom used no ...

in 1876 and Bachelor of Arts in 1882. He taught at Premchand Raichand Training College in

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ), also spelled Amdavad (), is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 ...

for a brief period. Later he joined Ranchhodlal Chotalal High School and was appointed a Headmaster in 1908. He retired from there in 1915 and joined Gujarat College as the professor of

Gujarati language Gujarati ( ; , ) is an Indo-Aryan language native to the Indian state of Gujarat and spoken predominantly by the Gujarati people. Gujarati is descended from Old Western Rājasthāni, Old Gujarati (). In India, it is one of the 22 Languages with ...

and

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

. He retired from there in 1934. He headed Gujarat Vidya Sabha from 1920 to 1938. His essay on

philology Philology () is the study of language in Oral tradition, oral and writing, written historical sources. It is the intersection of textual criticism, literary criticism, history, and linguistics with strong ties to etymology. Philology is also de ...

at the first

Gujarati Sahitya Parishad Gujarati Sahitya Parishad () is a literary organisation for the promotion of Gujarati literature located in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. It was founded by Ranjitram Mehta with the aim of creating literature appealing to all classes of society and ...

, held in 1905, won him praise. He also headed the second Gujarati Sahitya Parishad, held in 1907. His brother Harilal Dhruv was a lawyer who authored poetry and edited several books. Keshavlal died on 13 March 1938.

Works

Keshavlal started writing essays on old Sanskrit works such as ''Malayas of Mudrarakshasha'' and ''Age of Vishakhadatta'' when he was 28 years old. His research work on literature and criticism is collected in two volumes of ''Sahitya ane Vivechan'' (1939, 1941). His work on prosody is well known. His five lectures that are part of the Vasanji Madhavji Thakkar Lectures held by the

University of Bombay University of Mumbai is a public university, public List of largest universities and university networks by enrollment, state university in Mumbai. It is one of the List of largest universities and university networks by enrollment, largest univ ...

in 1930-31 are collected in ''Padyarachna ni Aitihasik Alochana'' (1932). They discuss

metres The metre (or meter in US spelling; symbol: m) is the base unit of length in the International System of Units (SI). Since 2019, the metre has been defined as the length of the path travelled by light in vacuum during a time interval of of ...

of vernacular languages and their evolution from Apabramsha,

Prakrit Prakrit ( ) is a group of vernacular classical Middle Indo-Aryan languages that were used in the Indian subcontinent from around the 5th century BCE to the 12th century CE. The term Prakrit is usually applied to the middle period of Middle Ind ...

, and Vedic metres. Keshavlal has written essays and notes on Sanskrit and medieval Gujarati poets, playwrights, and works. He has edited works of several medieval poets and authors, including a translation of '' Kadambari'' by

Bhalan Bhalan (b. 15th century in Patan in the present-day Gujarat state in India), was a famous Gujarati poet of the medieval period. Also a scholar of Sanskrit literature, he is considered a major contributor in Bhakti-kal in Gujarati literature. W ...

(1916, 1927), ''Anubhavbindu'' of

Akha Bhagat Akha Bhagat (commonly known as Akho; ) or Akha Rahiyadas Soni was a mediaeval Gujarati poet who wrote in the tradition of the Bhakti movement. He wrote his poems in a literary form called ''Chhappa'' (six stanza satirical poems). Life His e ...

(1932), and ''Harishchandrakhyan'' of Ratnahas (1927). He compiled 15th-century Gujarati poems under the title ''Pandarma Shatakna Prachin Gurjar Kavyo'' (1927). He translated several Sanskrit plays and poetry into Gujarati. His translated Sanskrit poetry includes ''

Amaru Shataka The ''Amaruśataka'' or ''Amarukaśataka'' (अमरुशतक, "the hundred stanzas of Amaru"), authored by Amaru (also Amaruka), is a collection of poems dated to about the 7thIntroduction in The ''Amaruśataka'' was als as part of the volu ...

'' (1892), '' Geetgovind'' (1895), and ''Chhayaghatakarpar'' (1902). He translated several plays by the early Sanskrit playwright

Bhāsa Bhāsa is one of the earliest Indian playwrights in Sanskrit, predating Kālidasa. Estimates of his floruit range from the 4th century BCE to the 4th century CE; the thirteen plays attributed to him are commonly dated closer to the first or se ...

, including ''Pratijna-Yaugandharayana'' (1915), '' Swapnavāsavadatta'' (1917), '' Madhyamavyayoga'' (1920), and ''Pratima-nataka'' (1928). He also translated

Vishakhadatta Vishakhadatta ( was an Indian Sanskrit poet and playwright. Although Vishakhadatta furnishes the names of his father and grandfather as ''Maharaja'' Bhaskaradatta and ''Maharaja'' Vateshvaradatta in his political drama '' Mudrārākṣasa'', we ...

's ''

Mudrarakshasa The Mudrārākshasa (मुद्राराक्षस, IAST: ''Mudrārākṣasa'', ) is a Sanskrit-language play by Vishakhadatta that narrates the ascent of the Emperor Chandragupta Maurya ( BCE) to power in India. The play is an exampl ...

'' as ''Mel ni Mudrika'' (1889),

Harsha Harshavardhana (Sanskrit: हर्षवर्धन; 4 June 590 – 647) was an emperor of Kannauj from April 606 until his death in 647. He was the king of Thanesar who had defeated the Alchon Huns, and the younger brother of Rajyava ...

's '' Priyadarsika'' as ''Vindhyavan ni Kanyaka'' (1916), and

Kalidasa Kālidāsa (, "Servant of Kali"; 4th–5th century CE) was a Classical Sanskrit author who is often considered ancient India's greatest poet and playwright. His plays and poetry are primarily based on Hindu Puranas and philosophy. His surviv ...

's ''

Vikramōrvaśīyam ''Vikramōrvaśīyam'' () is a five-act Sanskrit play by ancient Indian poet Kālidāsa, who lived in the 4th or 5th Century CE, on the Vedic love story of King Pururavas and an Apsarā (celestial nymph) named Ūrvaśī, known for her beauty ...

'' as ''Parakram ni Prasadi'' (1915).

References

{{Authority control Gujarati-language writers 19th-century Indian translators Indian literary critics Indian editors 1938 deaths 1859 births Writers from Ahmedabad 19th-century Indian educational theorists 20th-century Indian educational theorists 20th-century Indian translators Scholars from Gujarat Translators of Kalidasa Writers from British India Presidents of the Gujarati Sahitya Parishad