Shivaji Sawant (31 August 1940 – 18 September 2002) was an Indian novelist in the

Marathi language Marathi (; ''Marāṭhī'', ) is an Indo-Aryan language predominantly spoken by Marathi people in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the official language of Maharashtra, and additional official language in the state of Goa. It is one o ...

. He is known as Mrutyunjaykaar (meaning Author of ''Mrutyunjay'') for writing the famous Marathi novel - ''Mrutyunjay''. He was the first Marathi writer to be awarded with the Moortidevi Award in 1994. He wrote a book '' Mrutyunjay'' (English: ''Victory Over Death'') based on

Karna Karna (Sanskrit: कर्ण, IAST: ''Karṇa''), also known as Vasusena, Anga-raja, and Radheya, is one of the main protagonists of the Hindu epic '' Mahābhārata''. He is the son of the sun god Surya and princess Kunti (mother of the Pa ...

, one of the leading characters of the epic

Mahabharat The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuru ...

. This book was translated into

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of North India, northern, Central India, centr ...

(1974), English (1989),

Kannada Kannada (; ಕನ್ನಡ, ), originally romanised Canarese, is a Dravidian language spoken predominantly by the people of Karnataka in southwestern India, with minorities in all neighbouring states. It has around 47 million native s ...

(1990), Gujarati (1991),

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry ( Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam wa ...

(1995) and received numerous awards and accolades. His novel ''Chhava'', published in 1980, is based on the life of Chhatrapati Sambhaji. He held the post of the vice-president of Maharashtra Sahitya Parishad since 1995. He was president of ''Baroda Sahitya Sammelan'' of 1983. He was not only a historical writer but also a political writer.

Early life

He was born in a small farmer family of Ajara village in

Kolhapur Kolhapur () is a city on the banks of the Panchganga River in the southern part of the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the administrative headquarter of the Kolhapur district. In, around 2 C.E. Kolapur's name was 'Kuntal'. Kolhapur is k ...

district in Maharashtra. He finished his school education in 'Vyankatrao High School Ajara'. He worked with Rajaram Prashala,

as a teacher for 20 years and afterwards as editor with Maharashtra education department's monthly magazine ''Lokshikshan'' for six years in Pune (1974–1980).

Work

Books

* ''Mrityunjay'' (Novel) * ''Chhava'' (Novel) * ''Yugandhar'' (Novel) * ''Kavadase'' * ''Kanchan Kan'' * ''Ladhat'' * ''Ashi Mane Ase Namune'' * ''Krantisihachi Gavran Boli'' (compilation) * ''Purushottamnama''-Annasaheb P.K.Patil

Dramas

* ''Mrityunjay'' * ''Chhava'' * ''Glimpse of the Past''

''Mrityunjay''

''Mrityunjay'' is a novel very famous in the Marathi compositions . It is based on

, one of the great warrior in the epic of

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the '' Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the K ...

. It was awarded with many of the prizes and awards given by the Jnanpith (Moorti Devi Award). ''Mrityujaya'' was translated in many other languages. Dr P K chandran & Dr Jayashree translated the book in to

( Karnan), which won Kendra Sahitya Akademy Award for translation in the year 2001

''Yugandhar''

''Yugandhar'' is another Novel of Shivaji Sawant based on the life of

Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is on ...

, a great hindu god in Mahabharata and other narrative epics as well as the God of the Hindus.Yugandhar is one of the best and most famous Novels of Marathi language and it is awarded with many of the prizes and awards given by the

Sahitya Academy 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 of ...

. And he also wrote Contemplation on Yugandhar. Kadambini Dharap has written an English translation of the book.

Personal life

Sawant was married to Mrinalini. He has a son Amitabh and daughter Kadambini.

Death

On 18 September 2002, Sawant died at the age of 62 of

cardiac arrest Cardiac arrest is when the heart suddenly and unexpectedly stops beating. It is a medical emergency that, without immediate medical intervention, will result in sudden cardiac death within minutes. Cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) and possib ...

Goa Goa () is a state on the southwestern coast of India within the Konkan region, geographically separated from the Deccan highlands by the Western Ghats. It is located between the Indian states of Maharashtra to the north and Karnataka to th ...

. He was campaigning for the post of President of 76th All India Marathi Literary Conference.

References

External links

Rasik Library Index

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sawant, Shivaji Marathi-language writers 1940 births 2002 deaths Indian male novelists People from Kolhapur district Indian schoolteachers Indian magazine editors 20th-century Indian novelists Novelists from Maharashtra Educators from Maharashtra 20th-century Indian male writers Recipients of the Moortidevi Award He can be well known for old generation