Nathuram Premi (26 November 1881 – 30 January 1960) was an Indian writer, publisher, poet, editor, and linguist in the field of

Jainism Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religions, Indian religion whose three main pillars are nonviolence (), asceticism (), and a rejection of all simplistic and one-sided views of truth and reality (). Jainism traces its s ...

as well as

Hindi Modern Standard Hindi (, ), commonly referred to as Hindi, is the Standard language, standardised variety of the Hindustani language written in the Devanagari script. It is an official language of India, official language of the Government ...

literature. A budding poet, he wrote under the nom de plume of "Premi". Although belonging to the

Digambara ''Digambara'' (; "sky-clad") is one of the two major Jain schools and branches, schools of Jainism, the other being ''Śvetāmbara'' (white-clad). The Sanskrit word ''Digambara'' means "sky-clad", referring to their traditional monastic pract ...

sect of

, he adopted a non-sectarian attitude and published and translated many

as well as

Śvetāmbara The Śvetāmbara (; also spelled Shwetambara, Shvetambara, Svetambara or Swetambara) is one of the two main branches of Jainism, the other being the Digambara. ''Śvetāmbara'' in Sanskrit means "white-clad", and refers to its ascetics' practi ...

works. Working as a clerk in a firm in Mumbai he rose to establish his own publishing house and bookstore Hindi Granth Ratnākar Kāryālay which published works of many of the biggest names in Indian literature, including Munshi

Premchand Dhanpat Rai Srivastava (31 July 1880 – 8 October 1936), better known as Munshi Premchand based on his pen name Premchand (), was an Indian writer famous for his modern Hindustani language, Hindustani literature. Premchand was a pioneer ...

, Hajariprasad Dvivedi, Jainendrakumar, Yashpal, Swami Satyabhakta, Sharatchandra Chatterjee and

Rabindranath Tagore Rabindranath Thakur (; anglicised as Rabindranath Tagore ; 7 May 1861 – 7 August 1941) was a Bengalis, Bengali polymath who worked as a poet, writer, playwright, composer, philosopher, social reformer, and painter of the Bengal Renai ...

. The bookshop and publishing house now called

Hindi Granth Karyalay Hindi Granth Karyalay is an Indian publishing house and specialized book store dealing in books pertaining to Jainology and Indology in English, Hindi, Sanskrit, Prakrit and Apabhramsha. It was established in Mumbai, India in 1912 by its founde ...

is now being managed by his grandson and great-grandson 100 years after its establishment.

Early life

Born on 26 November 1881 in Deori, in the district of Sagar in

Bundelkhand Bundelkhand (, ) is a geographical and cultural region and a proposed state and also a mountain range in central and North India. It corresponds to the Post-Vedic Chedi kingdom. The hilly region is now divided between the states of Uttar Prad ...

, Madhya Pradesh, Nāthūrām Premī was the eldest child of Tundelal Modi, a travelling merchant of modest means, belonging to the Paravāra community of

Jains hailing from

. He studied in grammar school and was the monitor of his class. He cleared his pre-high school exams in 1898 and became a schoolteacher nearby at Rehli. In the late 1890s, he married Rama Devi, who was from the nearby village of Sarkheda, in the district of Sagar.

Career in Hindi and Jain literature

Nāthūrām Premī excelled in the field of literature as a poet, editor, writer and publisher earning respect and affection of his contemporaries like Munshi

, Mahaviraprasad Dwivedi, Rahul Sankrityayan, Pandit Sukhlalji, Muni Jinavijayaji, Ganeshprasadji Varni, Pandit Becharadasji Doshi, Pandit Agarchand Nahata and Dr Dalsukh Malvania. Premiji and Munshi Premchand were close friends, and he published the first edition of Munshi Premchand's classic novel, ''Godān''. He also published Premchand's short story collections entitled Nava Nidhi and Sapta Saroj.

A budding poet

Under the inspiration of his guru Syed Amir Ali Mir, Nathuram became a budding poet, writing in Urdu and Braj under the nom de plume of "Premi". Since then he was affectionately called Premiji by his friends and contemporaries. His poems were published in the literary magazines of the time, Rasika Mitra, Rasika Vātikā and Kāvya Sudhākara.

Editor and writer

Establishment of Hindi Granth Karyalay

On 24 September 1912 Premiji founded the publishing house ''Hindi Granth Ratnākar Kāryālay'' (now known as ''Hindi Granth Karyalay'') at C.P. Tank, Mumbai. It was to become the foremost Hindi publishing house in India and is also the oldest bookstore of

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

. The first publication was a Hindi translation of John Stuart Mill's

On Liberty ''On Liberty'' is an essay published in 1859 by the English philosopher John Stuart Mill. It applied Mill's ethical system of utilitarianism to society and state. Mill suggested standards for the relationship between authority and liberty. H ...

, titled ''Svādhīnatā'' translated by Mahavira Prasad Dvivedi. He published almost the entire oeuvre of Sharat Chandra Chatterji, the Bengali writer, and some works of

, such as ''Ānkh kī Kirkirī'', and ''Naukā Dūbī''. Premiji also published Hindi translations of the Gujarati writer KM Munshi, such as ''Gujarāt ke Nāth'' and ''Pātan kā Prabhutva''. Other famous works published include Munshi

's classic novel, ''Godān'' and short story collections titled ''Nava Nidhi'' and ''Sapta Saroj''. He also published works of then new writers such as Hajariprasad Dvivedi, Jainendrakumar, Yashpal, Acharya Chatursen, and Pandit Sudarshan. He also published the Bengali plays of Dvijendra Lal Rai for the first time in Hindi. In memory of Seth Manikchandra, Premiji established the ''Manikacandra Jain Granthamālā'' wherein he published Jain scriptures, for the first time systematically edited by philologists. The ''Manikacandra Jain Granthamālā'' published over 48

Jain texts, mostly written in

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 ...

, Apabhramśa or

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 ...

. He ran the Manikacandra Jain Granthamālā on an honorary basis between 1915 and the 1950s selling all the books at cost price. When his health began to fail, it was decided to hand over the series to ''Bhāratīya Jñānapītha'' in

Varanasi Varanasi (, also Benares, Banaras ) or Kashi, is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world.* * * * The city has a syncretic tradition of I ...

A non-sectarian Jain scholar

Premiji was non-sectarian in his attitude and shared a good rapport with many

scholars. Besides many Digambara scriptures, he published and translated many Śvetāmbara scriptures. He once remarked to Sukhlalji that he wished that the learned

scholars would give up their sectarian views.Jain Study Circular (January–April 2006 Issue) During those times there used to be heated debate whether Acarya Umāsvāti (Umāsvāmī) belonged to the Śvetāmbara or the Digambara tradition. Premiji, although a Digambara himself, went against views of Digambara community and opined that he was neither, but belonged to the Yāpanīya tradition.Premī, Nāthūrām (1956) Pt. Sukhlal Sanghvi, a Śvetāmbara Jain scholar observed Premiji's non-sectarian attitude: :"He was considered to be a Pandit – a scholar of Jain tradition. To me it was a surprise! How could his writings be so impartial and audacious? I had come in contact with many Jain friends and scholars, but until then, excepting a few, I had not come across any scholar who was as non-sectarian or fearless as Premiji. So I had developed the perception that it was impossible to find a Jain scholar who was non-sectarian as well as fearless. Premiji's writings gradually made me realise that I had the wrong notion. This was the foremost reason for me to be attracted towards him. : ..:We had an excellent understanding of traditions of one another but we had no sectarian complicities."

Contribution to other Indian languages

Social reformer

Premiji's legacy

Under his tutelage, Hindi Granth Ratnākar Kāryālay became India's No. 1 publishers of Hindi literature. In recognition of his contributions to Indian literature, the acclaimed Hindi novelist Vishnu Prabhakar called Premiji the ''"Bhīsma Pitāmaha"'' of Hindi publishing. Premiji had suffered from asthma for a long time and died owing to old age on 30 January 1960. He left behind his daughter-in-law and two grandsons, Yashodhar Modi and Vidyadhar Modi. They are continuing his legacy along with their children. In Premiji's memory, his grandson Yashodhar Modi has started the Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series. This series has published select volumes focusing on subjects as varied as Jainism, philosophy and yoga and published original texts by ancient and medieval Jain ascetics such as '' Kundakunda, Samantabhadra, Pūjyapāda, Joindu, Prabhācandra, Vādirāja, Bhāvadeva ''and many others, usually accompanied by translation in either Hindi or English. Also, modern scholars such as Premiji himself, Prof. Ludwig Alsdorf, Prof. Maurice Bloomfield, Prof. Willem Bollée and Dr. Jaykumar Jalaj have been and are being published in the Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series.

Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series

Jain Studies : Their Present State and Future Tasks By Prof Dr Ludwig Alsdorf English tr. by Bal Patil P Published in 2006 The Story of Paesi Prakrit text in Roman and Devanagari English tr. by Prof Dr Willem Bollée Published in 2005 Ratnakaranda Shravakacara Sanskrit text by Acarya Samantabhadra Hindi tr. by Dr Jaykumar Jalaj Published in 2006, 2006 Vyavahara Bhashya Pithika Prakrit text in Roman English tr. by Prof Dr Willem Bollée Published in 2006, 2011 Samadhitantra Sanskrit text by Acarya Pujyapada Hindi tr. by Dr Jaykumar Jalaj Published in 2006, 2006, 2008 Atthapahuda Prakrit text by Acarya Kundakunda Hindi tr. by Dr Jaykumar Jalaj Published in 2006, 2008 Tattvarthasutra Sanskrit text by Acarya Prabhacandra Hindi tr. by Dr Jaykumar Jalaj Published in 2008 Yogamrit : Yog Sahaj Jivan Vigyan By Mahavir Sainik Published in 2006 Paramatmaprakasha Apabhramsa text by Acarya Joindu Hindi tr. by Dr Jaykumar Jalaj Published in 2007 Yogasara Apabhramsa text by Acarya Joindu Hindi tr. by Dr Jaykumar Jalaj Published in 2007, 2009 Dhyanastava Sanskrit text by Acarya Bhaskaranandi Hindi tr. by Dr Jaykumar Jalaj Published in 2007 Dhyanashataka Prakrit text by Jinabhadragani Kshamashramana Hindi tr. by Dr Jaykumar Jalaj Published in 2007, 2009 Barasa Anuvekkha Prakrit text by Acarya Kundakunda Sanskrit tr. & Hindi gloss by Pt. Nathuram Premi Published in 2010 Ishtopadesha Sanskrit text by Acarya Pujyapada Hindi tr. by Dr Jaykumar Jalaj Published in 2007, 2009 Life and Stories of the Jain Saviour Parshvanatha An English tr. of Acarya Bhavadeva's Parsvacaritram by Prof Dr Maurice Bloomfield Published in 2008 Tattvasara Prakrit text by Acarya Devasena Sanskrit gloss by Muni Ratnabhanuvijay English tr. by Manish Modi The Apabhramsha of Svayambhudeva's Paumacariu By Dr Eva de Clercq Published in 2010 Jainism and the Definition of Religion By Dr Piotr Balcerowicz Published in 2009 Dravyasamgraha Prakrit text by Acarya Nemicandra English tr. by Prof Dr Nalini Balbir Published in 2010 Tattvarthasutra Sanskrit text by Acarya Prabhacandra Hindi tr. by Dr Jaykumar Jalaj, English tr. by Anish Shah Rayanasara Prakrit text by Acarya Kundakunda Hindi tr. by Dr Jaykumar Jalaj . Jainism : An Eternal Pilgrimage By Bal Patil Published in 2008, 2011 Dravyasamgraha Prakrit text by Acarya Nemicandra Hindi tr. by Dr Jaykumar Jalaj Published in 2009 Parshvanathacaritram Sanskrit text by Acarya Vadiraja Parshvacaritram : The Life of Parshva Sanskrit text by Acarya Gunabhadra English tr. by Prof Dr Willem Bollée Published in 2008 Jain Sahitya aur Itihas By Pt. Nathuram Premi Published in 1942, 1956, 2012 Tales of Atonement Stories from Malayagiri's Commentary on the Vyavahara Bhashya English tr. by Prof Dr Willem Bollée Published in 2008 Yogashastra : A Handbook on the Three Jewels of Jainism Sanskrit text by Acarya Hemacandra English tr. by Prof Dr Olle Qvarnström Samayasara Prakrit text by Acarya Kundakunda Hindi translation by Dr Jaykumar Jalaj 2012 Dhyanabattisi Braj text by Banarasidasa English tr. by Jerome Petit Published in 2010 Tattvarthasutra Sanskrit text by Acarya Umasvati English tr. by Prof Dr Duli Chandra Jain Svarupa Sambodhana Right Instruction on the Nature of the Soul Sanskrit text by Acarya Akalanka English tr., notes and introduction by Nagin J. Shah Published in 2011 Shastrasarasamuccaya Sanskrit text by Acarya Maghanandi English tr. by Shreyans Sukhani Three Prakrit Grammars By Saartje Verbeke Published in 2010 Ishtopadesha Sanskrit text by Acarya Pujyapada Gujarati tr. by Pravina Mehta, English tr. by Manish Modi Published in 2010 Bhaktamara Stotra Sanskrit text by Acarya Manatunga Hindi poetic tr. and gloss by Pt Nathuram Premi, English tr. by Manish Modi Mrityu Mahotsava Sanskrit text by an Unknown Writer Hindi tr. by Shreyans Sukhani, Gujarati tr. by Dr Shilpa Vasani, English tr. by Manish Modi Published in 2010 Aradhanasara Prakrit text by Acarya Devasena English tr. by Prof Dr Nalini Balbir Published in 2010 Tattvarthasutra : That Which Is Sanskrit text by Acarya Umasvati English tr. by Nathmal Tantia Ratnakarandaka Shravakacara Sanskrit text by Acarya Samantabhadra English tr. by Prof Dr Willem Bollée 2012

Bibliography

#Aggarwal, Vasudev Sharan (Ed.). ''Premī Abhinandana Grantha''. Tikamgarh: Premī Abhinandana Grantha Samiti, 1946. #Premī, Nāthūrām. ''Jain Sāhitya aur Itihās''. Second Edition. Mumbai: Samśodhita Sāhitya Mālā 1, 1942/1956. #Banārasīdāsa. ''Ardha Kathānaka''. Ed. with a detailed Preface by Nāthūrām Premī. Mumbai: Samśodhita Sāhitya Mālā 2, 1946/1957. #Amrtacandra, Ācārya. Ed. with an Introduction by Nāthūrām Premī. Āgās: Śrīmad Rājacandra Āśrama, 1904. #Goyaliya, Ayodhyaprasad. ''Jain Jāgarana ke Agradūta''. Varanasi: Bhāratīya Jñānapītha, 1952 #Śāstrī, Phūlcandra (Ed.). ''Paravāra Jain Samāj kā Itihās''. Jabalpur: Śrī Digambara Jain Paravāra Sabhā, 1992. #

Footnotes and references

External links

*http://www.gohgk.com *https://web.archive.org/web/20151217120702/http://www.hindibooks.8m.com/ *http://www.jainstudy.org *http://www.bombaysamachar.com/frmStoryShow.aspx?sNo=21964 *http://indianexpress.com/article/cities/mumbai/a-publishing-house-thrives-on-a-legacy-of-reform-ushered-in-by-its-founder-2767539/#sthash.4SKmdTxg.dpuf {{DEFAULTSORT:Premi, Nathuram People from Sagar, Madhya Pradesh 1881 births 1960 deaths Scholars of Jainism Indian Sanskrit scholars Writers from Madhya Pradesh 20th-century Indian translators Translators to Hindi Indian social reformers 19th-century Indian Jain writers 20th-century Indian Jain writers Indian religious writers