Sanskrit poet (1935–2021)
Rewa Prasad Dwivedi (22 August 1935 – 21 May 2021) was a Sanskrit scholar, poet, writer, teacher, and critic. His original works include poetry as epics and lyrics, plays, and prose. He wrote the new literature under the pseudonym "sanatana", meaning 'the eternal'. He is also known as 'Acharya' Dwivedi ('the scholar' or 'the expert' Dwivedi).
Dwivedi's scholarship includes work on literary principles including modern theories in Sanskrit poetics and dramaturgy and preserving (editing, compiling, indexing, and republishing) the works of all major Sanskrit scholars.
Early life and education.
Rewa Prasad Dwivedi was born in Nadner (22 August 1935);), on the banks of the Narmada River in Madhya Pradesh, to Pandit Narmada Prasad Dwivedi and Lakshmi Devi. He was orphaned when he was about eight years old. After completing basic education in Sanskrit in Madhya Pradesh, he traveled as a teenager to Varanasi to study Sanskrit at Banaras Hindu University. Despite poverty, he excelled in Sanskrit language and literature in both the traditional system at Faculty of Sanskrit Vidya Dharma Vijnan, and modern system at Faculty of Arts at Banaras Hindu University. His primary teacher and mentor was Pandit Mahadev Shastri. Dwivedi obtained a "Sahityacharya" title and a M.A. degree in Sanskrit from Banaras Hindu University. He received a PhD from Ravi Shankar University, Raipur, in 1965, and a D.Litt. from Jabalpur University in 1974.
Dwivedi's main area of work is in Sanskrit "Sahitya" (literature), but he was an expert in the Sanskrit language disciplines of "Navya-nyaya" (logic)", Darshana" (philosophy)"," and "Vyakarana" (grammar), as well as the scripts of "Brahmi", "Sarada" and "Nagari".
Career.
Dwivedi was emeritus professor of Sanskrit at the Banaras Hindu University, Varanasi, India, where he taught Sanskrit Literature from 1969 to 1995. He was Dean, Faculty of Sanskrit Vidya and Dharm Vijnan for three 2-year terms between 1979 and 1989, and multi-term Head of the Sanskrit Literature Department at this faculty. He was also a Member of Banaras Hindu University's Executive Council as well as its Academic Council. Before joining Banaras Hindu University, he taught Sanskrit literature in various roles in India's central state Madhya Pradesh's colleges in Raipur and Indore. Dwivedi has served on various national policy-making bodies for Sanskrit education in India.
In the early 1980s, Dwivedi organized the World Sanskrit Conference at Banaras Hindu University. He traveled to the US, Canada, and Europe to participate in other World Sanskrit Conferences as part of Government of India's delegation, American Oriental Society Meeting, and in personal capacity to conduct manuscript reviews at institutions such as Harvard University's Houghton Library.
Dwivedi was the founder of a non-profit institution Kalidas Sansthan in Varanasi. This institute has published books in Sanskrit literature. After retiring from official role at Banaras Hindu University, Dwivedi continued to read, research and create literature daily in his personal study and library, where he also taught students from the nearby campus of Banaras Hindu University free of charge.
Biographical sketches.
Acharya Dwivedi has been the subject of several biographies and PhD theses, as part of United States Library of Congress South Asia literary project, two documentaries by Indian literary institutions and several social media recordings.
Works.
Dwivedi's literary efforts fall into three major categories: original literature, new literary principles and theorems, and preservation of past literature for future generations. Dwivedi had written over 13,000 verses in 3 epics and 14 lyrics, 2 plays, and 5 books on his original new theories on Sanskrit literary principles and theorems. No other Sanskrit literature scholar is known to have made more original contributions.
Selected publications.
Preservation of literature.
Critical editions, reviews, translations, and commentaries on the works of past scholars of Sanskrit literature:
Awards and honours.
Dwivedi is the youngest winner of Certificate of Honour by President of India (1978), at age 43. He won the Sahitya Akademi Award for Sanskrit, three Ratna awards and the P.V. Kane Gold Medal from The Asiatic Society of Mumbai. The Asiatic Society of Mumbai also awarded Dwivedi its Honorary Fellowship.
References.
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