Pandit Pandharinathacharya Galagali (10 July 1922 — 29 August 2015) was a

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 ...

scholar, author, poet, journalist, and orator.
He has authored over 50 books 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 ...

and

, among which are Shri Shambhu Linga Vijaya Champu (Sanskrit), Raaga Viraga (Kannada), Bharata Swaatantrya Sangramasya Itihasaha (Sanskrit), and Mahabharatada Mahileyaru (Kannada). He was also the editor of five Kannada and Sanskrit newspapers for over four decades. He is the recipient of various awards and honours, including the

Rashtrapati Award Rashtrapati Awards used to be given by the President of India, in some cases the Prime Minister of India, for achievements in the field of sports, art, military, literature, cinema, culture, science and technology, or Scouting. The award-giving ...

(Presidential Award of India) and Dalmia Award. He is also notable for being the first person from the state of

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

to win the

Sahitya Akademi Award The Sahitya Akademi Award is a literary honour in India, which the Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, annually confers on writers of the most outstanding books of literary merit published in any of the 22 languages of the ...

for contributions in

Early life

Pandharinathacharya Galagali was born on 10 July 1922 to Kurmacharya Galagali in a village named Galagali. His formal education was stopped in the first grade, and he began his study of

Vedic upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas ( or ; ), sometimes collectively called the Veda, are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed ...

literature under his father Kurmacharya Galagali and uncle Ramacharya Galagali.

Adulthood

From 1944 to 1960, he worked as a Sanskrit teacher at Shankrappa Sakri High School in

Bagalkot Bagalkote, is a city in the state of Karnataka, India, which is also the headquarters of Bagalkot district. It is situated on branch of River Ghataprabha, The population of the urban agglomeration was 111,933"District Census Handbook – Guntu ...

. In 1961, he moved to

Gadag Gadaga-Betageri is a city municipal council in Gadag district in the state of Karnataka, India. It is the administrative headquarters of Gadag District. The original city of Gadag and its sister city Betageri (or ''Betgeri'') have a combined ...

, where he started a Sanskrit school called Veera Narayana Pathashala. In 1971, Acharya Galagali established the Veda Purana Sahitya Mala to translate and publish the 18 Mahapuranas into

(14 have been translated into 18 volumes so far). For over forty years, Acharya Galagali served as the editor for the following newspapers: * Shri Sudha (Kannada) * Madhura Vani (Sanskrit) * Panchamrutha (Kannada) * Vaijayanti (Sanskrit) * Tatvavada (Kannada) - Published by Akhila Bharat Madhwa Mahamandala.

Style of writing

Pandit Galagali's predominant prose style follows that of Banabhatta while his poetic technique resembles that of

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 ...

.
"He excels in the usage of alankāras like Parisamkhyā, Ullekha, Upamā, Ílesa, Mālopamā and Anuprāsa. Galagali is a versatile author and has covered a vast spectrum of various genres in his writings. He is in fact an epitome of creativity and learning in Sanskrit, and being an excellent orator, has evivedSanskrit culture through his speeches also."

Publications

Over the course of a lifetime, Pandit Galagali has published 22 original Sanskrit works, 21 original Kannada works, and 23 translated works.

Original Sanskrit Works

Original Kannada Works

Translated Kannada Works

Awards and recognition

* "National Award" by

Sahitya Akademi The Sahitya Akademi, India's National Academy of Letters, is an organisation dedicated to the promotion of literature in the languages of India. Founded on 12 March 1954, it is supported by, though independent of the Indian government. Its off ...

for Shambhu Linga Vijaya Champu, a masterpiece in Sanskrit

Champu Champu or Chapu-Kavya (Devanagari: चम्पू-काव्य) is a genre of literary composition in Indian literature. The word 'Champu' means a combination of poetry and prose. A ''champu-kavya'' consists of a mixture of prose (Gadya-Kav ...

(a genre consisting of a combination of prose and poetry) - 1983 *

Ramkrishna Dalmia Dalmia Bharat Limited (DBL) is an Indian conglomerate, which traces its origins to the businesses established by brothers Ramkrishna Dalmia and Jaidayal Dalmia in eastern India in the first half of the 20th century. In the 1930s, the group me ...

's "Sri Vanee Nyaasa" award—Considered the

equivalent of a

Jnanpith Award The Jnanpith Award is the oldest and the highest Indian literary award presented annually by the Bharatiya Jnanpith to an author for their "outstanding contribution towards literature". Instituted in 1961, the award is bestowed only on Indian ...

. - 21 July 2003 * Rashtrapati Award from the first president of India, Dr.

Rajendra Prasad Rajendra Prasad (3 December 1884 – 28 February 1963) was an Indian politician, lawyer, journalist and scholar who served as the first president of India from 1950 to 1962. He joined the Indian National Congress during the Indian independen ...

- 1994 * ''Kannada Kalidasa'' title conferred by

Samyukta Karnataka ''Samyukta Karnataka'' is a major Kannada newspaper which has its headquarters in Hubballi, Karnataka. It is also published from Bengaluru, Mangaluru, Bagalkot, Kalaburgi and Davanagere. The editor is Mahabala Seetalbhavi (Mahabaleshwar V.Bh ...

. * Vice President of

Bijapur Bijapur (officially Vijayapura) is the district headquarters of Bijapur district of the Karnataka state of India. It is also the headquarters for Bijapur Taluk. Bijapur city is well known for its historical monuments of architectural importa ...

's Sanskrit Sahitya Sammelan * Rajya Prashasti from the state of

. * ''Mahamahopadhyaya'' honorary degree of Sri Venkateswara University awarded by Rashtriya Samskrita Vidyapeetha of Tirupathi * Gold medal from Shringeri and Kanchi Kamkoti Math * ''Dhyana Pramoda'' title conferred by Shri

Satyatma Tirtha Sri Satyatma Tirtha () (born 8 March 1973), is an Indian Hindu philosopher, guru, scholar, spiritual leader, saint and the present pontiff of Uttaradi Math. He is the 42nd pontiff of Uttaradi Math since Madhvacharya, the chief proponent and th ...

Uttaradi Math Sri Uttaradi Math (also written as Uttaradi Matha or Uttaradi Mutt) (IAST:''Śrī Uttarādi Maṭha'') (also known as Uttaradi Pitha), is one of the main monasteries (matha) founded by Madhvacharya with Padmanabha Tirtha as its head to pre ...

* ''Raghavendra Anugraha'' from Raghavendra Swami Math in

Mantralayam Mantralayam is a pilgrim village in Kurnool district in Andhra Pradesh, India, on the banks of the Tungabhadra River on the border with neighbouring state of Karnataka. It is known for being the site of the samadhi of Raghavendra Tirtha, a s ...

. * ''Vidvatkula Tilaka'' by

Bangalore Bengaluru, also known as Bangalore (List of renamed places in India#Karnataka, its official name until 1 November 2014), is the Capital city, capital and largest city of the southern States and union territories of India, Indian state of Kar ...

Nagarikaru * ''Vishwesha Tirtha Prashasti'' awarded by

Pejavara Pejavara or Pejawara is a village located in the Mangalore taluk of Dakshina Kannada, formerly known as South Canara or South Kanara, district of Karnataka, India. It houses one of the eight ashta mathas established by Madhvacharya, the great ...

Math - 2003 * ''Kavi Kula Tilaka'' title conferred by Admar Math * ''Sahitya Ratna'' title conferred by Vibhudesha Tirtha of Admar Math * ''Sachastra Pravachana Vichakshana'' title conferred by Palimaru Math * ''Sanskriti vahaka'' title conferred by Dharma Sanskriti Prathisthana * ''Shastra Pravachana Ratna'' and ''Purana Teertha'' titles conferred by Bhandarkere Swamiji * ''Vidyadhi Raja'' title conferred by Mulubagilu Math

References

External links