Vishwanath Kashinath Rajwade (24 July 1863 – 31 December 1926) was an Indian historian, known for his work on the history of the

Maratha Empire The Maratha Empire, also referred to as the Maratha Confederacy, was an early modern India, early modern polity in the Indian subcontinent. It comprised the realms of the Peshwa and four major independent List of Maratha dynasties and states, Ma ...

. He pioneered research into the Empire by visiting hundreds of villages across

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 ...

and gathering thousands of historical documents, especially family records. He also founded the

Bharat Itihas Sanshodhak Mandal Bharat Itihas Sanshodhak Mandal, popularly known as Itihas Sanshodhak Mandal or just 'Mandal', is an Indian institute providing resources and training for historical researchers. It is located at Pune in Maharashtra state. The institute was fou ...

, a research institute, at

Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...

in 1910. His students include historians like Datto Vaman Potdar, Vasudeo Sitaram Bendrey and G. H. Khare. The historian,

Ram Sharan Sharma Ram Sharan Sharma (26 November 1919 – 20 August 2011) was an Indian Marxist historian and Indologist who specialised in the history of Ancient and early Medieval India. He taught at Patna University and Delhi University (1973–85) and was ...

says: "With his unadulterated passion for research, V.K. Rajwade went from village to village in

Maharashtra Maharashtra () is a state in the western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. It is bordered by the Arabian Sea to the west, the Indian states of Karnataka and Goa to the south, Telangana to th ...

in search 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 ...

manuscripts A manuscript (abbreviated MS for singular and MSS for plural) was, traditionally, any document written by hand or typewritten, as opposed to mechanically printed or reproduced in some indirect or automated way. More recently, the term has c ...

and sources of Maratha history; which were published in twenty-two volumes." The

Indian History Congress Indian History Congress is the largest professional and academic body of Indian historians with over 35,000 members. It was established in 1935. The name of any new applicant for membership needs to be proposed and seconded by existing Ordinary or ...

created the Vishwanath Kashinath Rajwade Award for lifelong service and contribution to Indian history.

Early life

Rajwade was born on 24 July 1863 at Varsai,

Raigad district Raigad district (), previously Colaba fort, Colaba district, is a district in the Konkan division of Maharashtra, India. The headquarters of the district is Alibag. Other major cities in the district are Panvel, Karjat, Navi Mumbai, Khopoli, Sh ...

, Bombay Presidency, at a

Chitpavan Brahmin The Chitpavan Brahmin or the Kokanastha Brahmin is a Hindu Maharashtrian Brahmin community inhabiting Konkan, the coastal region of the state of Maharashtra. Initially working as messengers and spies in the late seventeenth century, the commun ...

family. Rajwade's grandfather was the ''

Killedar Qiladar (Urdu: قلعہ‌دار) was a title for the governor of a fort or large town in early modern India. During the Mughal Empire, the title was commonly pronounced 'Killedar' (Persian: کیلدار). The office of ''Qiladar'' had the same func ...

'' of fort Lohagad in the province of

. His father died while he was a child and from then he was brought up by his uncle at Vadgaon near Pune. He matriculated in January 1882 and graduated in 1890 from Deccan College, Pune. During his degree course he came into close contact with the eminent historian Ramkrishna Gopal Bhandarkar, who was then a professor at the college. He was also inspired by the works of the Essayist

Vishnushastri Krushnashastri Chiplunkar Vishnushastri Chiplunkar (20 May 1850 – 17 March 1882) () was a Marathi writer, whose writings have had a decisive influence on modern Marathi prose style. He was the son of the writer and scholar Krushnashastri Chiplunkar. Life Vishnusha ...

lexicographer Lexicography is the study of lexicons and the art of compiling dictionaries. It is divided into two separate academic disciplines: * Practical lexicography is the art or craft of compiling, writing and editing dictionary, dictionaries. * The ...

Parshuram Tatya Godbole and Kavyeitihas Sangrahakar Sane.

Later life

Rajwade married after graduating from college but his wife died young. Thereafter he chose to remain single and dedicate his life to history and research. In 1895 he started a Marathi magazine called ''Bhashantar'' (meaning ‘translation’) through which he brought works of Western historians and scholars such as

Plato Plato ( ; Greek language, Greek: , ; born BC, died 348/347 BC) was an ancient Greek philosopher of the Classical Greece, Classical period who is considered a foundational thinker in Western philosophy and an innovator of the writte ...

Aristotle Aristotle (; 384–322 BC) was an Ancient Greek philosophy, Ancient Greek philosopher and polymath. His writings cover a broad range of subjects spanning the natural sciences, philosophy, linguistics, economics, politics, psychology, a ...

, and

Edward Gibbon Edward Gibbon (; 8 May 173716 January 1794) was an English essayist, historian, and politician. His most important work, ''The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire'', published in six volumes between 1776 and 1789, is known for ...

, and also Indian scholars like

Shankaracharya Shankaracharya (, , " Shankara-''acharya''") is a religious title used by the heads of amnaya monasteries called mathas in the Advaita Vedanta tradition of Hinduism. The title derives from Adi Shankara; teachers from the successive line of te ...

to Marathi speaking readers. Simultaneously, by writing articles and delivering speeches he also started educating Marathi people on several subjects like history of the Marathas, history of the world, history of Marathi literature, grammar of Marathi and Sanskrit languages. In 1910, he founded the

at Pune and kept all his works and historical papers gathered by him in the custody of the Mandal. After his sudden death in 1926, the ‘Rajwade Sanshodhak Mandal’ was founded at

Dhule Dhule is one of the largest cities in Maharashtra, and central region of India. The city located in the Dhule District in the northwestern part of Maharashtra state, India known as West Khandesh. Situated on the banks of Panzara River, Dhule i ...

and the works and collection amassed in the later periods of his life were kept there. Both institutions have since been contributing in the field of history and culture of India to this date.

Works in Marathi

*Marathyanchya Itihasachi Sadhane (Sources of the History of Marathas) – 22 Volumes. He wrote the preface of each of 22 volume very scholarly. *Radha Madhav Vilas Champu (Biography of

Shahaji Shahaji Bhonsale (; 18 March 1594 – 23 January 1664) was a 17th century Indian military leader who served the Ahmadnagar Sultanate, the Bijapur Sultanate, and the Mughal Empire at various points in his career. As a member of the Bhonsle dynas ...

) *Aitihasik Prastavana (Historical Prefaces) *Rajwade Lekhsangraha (Collection of essays) – 3 Volumes *Bharatiya Vivah Sansthecha Itihas (History of Indian matrimony) *

Dnyaneshwari The ''Dnyaneshwari'' () (IAST: Jñānēśvarī), also referred to as ''Jnanesvari'', ''Jnaneshwari'' or ''Bhavartha Deepika'', is a commentary on the ''Bhagavad Gita'' written by the Marathi saint and poet Sant Dnyaneshwar in 1290 CE. Dnyane ...

(Editor) * Mahikavatichi Bakhar (chronicle of Mahikavati aka

Mahim Mahim (, ) is a neighbourhood in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. The Mahim Junction railway station on the Western Railway zone, Western Railway and Harbour line (Mumbai Suburban Railway), Harbour Railway of the Mumbai Suburban Railway, Mumbai Suburb ...

in present-day

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 ...

) - detailed analysis & publication.

References

External links

Historian V K Rajawade's works to hit the stands
at www.indianexpress.com