Swaminatha Athreya (also called Swaminathan Athreya or Swaminathan Athreyar or Athreyan) (9 November 1919 – 19 December 2013) was a Vedic scholar and writer of Hindu divine literature 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 ...
and
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
People, culture and language
* Tamils, an ethno-linguistic group native to India, Sri Lanka, and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka
** Myanmar or Burmese Tamils, Tamil people of Ind ...
. He was based out of
Thanjavur
Thanjavur (), also known as Thanjai, previously known as Tanjore, Pletcher 2010, p. 195 is a city in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is the 12th biggest city in Tamil Nadu. Thanjavur is an important center of southern Indian religion, art ...
, a town in the
South India
South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...
n state of
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...
. He was born in Simizhi and had his early tutelage in Sanskrit under his father Simizhi Venkatrama Sasthri. He went on to learn Sanskrit in Annamalai University.
Athreyar associated himself with
Kanchi Mutt, a South Indian monastic institution. His major works include the Tamil translation of ''
Bhagavad Gita
The Bhagavad Gita (; ), often referred to as the Gita (), is a Hindu texts, Hindu scripture, dated to the second or first century BCE, which forms part of the Hindu epic, epic poem Mahabharata. The Gita is a synthesis of various strands of Ind ...
'', ''Thyagaraja Anubavangal'' and ''Samartha Ramadasar''. He was honoured with several awards like "Asukavi Thilagam" and "Veda Sri" for his extensive works in Sanskrit and Tamil. He is considered one of the prominent composers of Sanskrit Nirupanas that include the likes of Jagannatha Pandita, Chitrakavi Sivaramakrishna Bhagavatar, Mangudi Saptarishi Bhagavatar, Harikesavanallur Muthiah Bhagavatar and Thanjavur Sundaresa Sarma. He died on 19 December 2013 in his premises due to ailments related to old age.
Early life
Athreyar was born on 19 November 1919 in Simizhi, a village in the
Thanjavur district
Thanjavur District is one of the Districts of Tamil Nadu, 38 districts of the States and territories of India, state of Tamil Nadu, in southeastern India. Its headquarters is Thanjavur (Tanjore) . The district is located in the delta of the Cauv ...
in the
South India
South India, also known as Southern India or Peninsular India, is the southern part of the Deccan Peninsula in India encompassing the states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Telangana as well as the union territories of ...
n state of
Tamil Nadu
Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is the southernmost States and union territories of India, state of India. The List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of Indi ...
. His father Simizhi Venkatrama Sasthri was a famed Sanskrit scholar and orator. Athreyar started his initial Sanskrit tutelage on
Sastras
''Śāstra'' ( ) is a Sanskrit word that means "precept, rules, manual, compendium, book or treatise" in a general sense.Monier Williams, Monier Williams' Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Oxford University Press, Article on 'zAstra'' The word is ge ...
,
Ramayana
The ''Ramayana'' (; ), also known as ''Valmiki Ramayana'', as traditionally attributed to Valmiki, is a smriti text (also described as a Sanskrit literature, Sanskrit Indian epic poetry, epic) from ancient India, one of the two important epics ...
and historical Puranas under his father. He enhanced his knowledge 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
Annamalai University
The Annamalai University (AU) is a public state university in Chidambaram, Tamil Nadu, India. The sprawling campus offers courses of higher education in arts, science, engineering, management, humanities, agriculture, and physical education. ...
. He translated the works of
Srinivasa Sastri in Sanskrit and got his appreciation. He later associated himself with
Kanchi Mutt under the aegis of the then pontiff
Chandrashekarendra Saraswati
Jagadguru Shri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati Shankaracharya Mahaswamigal (born in a Kannada Smartha family as Swaminathan Shasthri; 20 May 1894 – 8 January 1994) also known as the Sage of Kanchi or Mahaperiyavar (meaning, "The great elder") was ...
. He started his works on various Sanskrit and Tamil literature during the association with the Mutt.
[
]
Works
Swaminatha Athreyar has translated the ''Bhagavat Gita
The Bhagavad Gita (; ), often referred to as the Gita (), is a Hindu scripture, dated to the second or first century BCE, which forms part of the epic poem Mahabharata. The Gita is a synthesis of various strands of Indian religious thought, in ...
'' published by Gita Press. The translation is the first comprehensive translation for Gita in Tamil and has influence of Sanskrit language
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 ...
. His book on Samarth Ramdas
Ramdas (c. 1608 – c. 1682), also known as Samarth Ramdas Swami or Ramdas Swami, was an Indian Hindu saint, philosopher, poet, writer and spiritual master. He was a devotee of the Hindu deities Rama and Hanuman.
Early life
Ramdas or previous ...
is a research publication on Ramdasar and his association with King 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 ...
. In 2004, he compiled ''Narayana Tirthar Charithram'', a book on Narayana Tirthar. He has authored and compiled many works of the Saraswathi Mahal Library
Saraswathi Mahal Library, also called Thanjavur Maharaja Serfoji's Saraswathi Mahal Library is a library located in Thanjavur (Tanjore), Tamil Nadu, India. It is one of the oldest subsisting libraries in Asia established during 16th century by ...
in Thanjavur. ''Sri Tyagaraja Anubhavangal'' is a collection of 12 short stories written over a period of years, that narrates specific incidents that gave birth to different compositions. His other works include ''Bhaktha Rama Samrajyam'', ''Nama Samrajyam'', ''Srirama Mathuri'', ''Ramanamam'', ''Thyagaraja Anubavangal'', ''Athreya Lagu Lega Mala'', ''Jaya Jaya Hanuman'' and translation of ''Siva Leelavarnam''.[
]
Honours
He is considered one of the prominent composers of Sanskrit Nirupanas that include Jagannatha Pandita, Chitrakavi Sivaramakrishna Bhagavatar, Mangudi Saptarishi Bhagavatar, Harikesavanallur Muthiah Bhagavatar and Thanjavur Sundaresa Sarma. As per his views, for historic novels, the author should concentrate on incident and characters rather than putting their personal perspectives.
Athreyar was honoured with "Asukavi Thilagam" by Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham
Sri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham, also called the Sri Kanchi Matham or the Moolamnaya Sarvagnya Peetham, is a Hindu religious center of Vedic learning, located in Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu. It is located near the Kamakshi Amman Temple of the Shaktism ...
during 1963 by the then pontiff Chandrashekarendra Saraswati
Jagadguru Shri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati Shankaracharya Mahaswamigal (born in a Kannada Smartha family as Swaminathan Shasthri; 20 May 1894 – 8 January 1994) also known as the Sage of Kanchi or Mahaperiyavar (meaning, "The great elder") was ...
.[ He was also appointed as the "Asthana Vithuvan" (or chief poet) of the Mutt. Athreyar has been honoured with Agavithilagam award. The Sahitya Parishad honoured him with Sahidi Vallabha award. Krishna Sweets conferred him with Gnana Semmal award on 1 January 2010. The World Veda Foundation conferred him with "Veda Sri"] Based on his works in Sanskrit, the former Minister of Human Resource Development, Dr. Murli Manohar Joshi, conferred Athreyar the "Rashtriya Samskritha Samasthana Moola" award.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Athreya, Swaminatha
Indian Vedic scholars
Indian religious writers
Scholars from Tamil Nadu
2013 deaths