President Droupadi Murmu conferred the 58th Jnanpith Award on Sanskrit scholar Jagadguru Swami Rambhadracharya in New Delhi on May 16, 2025. Honored for his 240+ works, including four Sanskrit epics, the blind scholar, fluent in 22 languages, also earned acclaim for his 10,000-page Mahabhashya. Urdu poet Gulzar was also awarded.
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President of India confers 58th Jnanpith Award on Sanskrit scholar Jagadguru Rambhadracharya Ji in New Delhi.
It is India’s highest literary honor, celebrating exceptional writers who enrich Indian literature through their creative works. The Bharatiya Jnanpith, a cultural organization founded in 1944 by industrialist Sahu Shanti Prasad Jain and Rama Jain, sponsors this award.
It recognizes outstanding contributions in any of the 22 languages listed in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution, plus English. The award was instituted in 1961, includes a cash prize, a citation plaque, and a bronze replica of Vagdevi (Saraswati).
Only living Indian citizens qualify for the award, and a writer can receive it only once in their lifetime. If a language wins the award in a given year, it becomes ineligible for the next two years to ensure diversity.
The Jnanpith Award Selection Board may also choose not to confer the award in a year if no candidate meets the high standards.
The first recipient, Malayalam poet G. Sankara Kurup, won in 1965 for his poetry collection Odakkuzhal.
On May 16, 2025, President Droupadi Murmu presented the 58th Jnanpith Award to Jagadguru Swami Rambhadracharya, a renowned Sanskrit scholar and spiritual leader, at a grand ceremony in Vigyan Bhavan, New Delhi. She also honors Urdu poet and lyricist Gulzar for the same award, though he cannot attend due to health issues.
Jagadguru Swami Rambhadracharya, the founder of Tulsi Peeth in Chitrakoot, Uttar Pradesh, earns recognition for his monumental contributions to Sanskrit literature and Indian culture.
He has been blind since the age of two months. He has not used Braille or any other aids for learning or composing.
He masters 22 languages and authors over 240 works, including four Sanskrit epics and a 10,000-page commentary on Panini’s Ashtadhyayi, a foundational Sanskrit grammar text.
His Mahabhashya on Ashtadhyayi, released by the Prime Minister in February 2025.
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PRACTICE QUESTION Q. Consider the following statements about the Jnanpith Award;
How many of the above statements are correct? A) Only one B) Only two C) Only three D) All four Answer: C Explanation: Statement 1 is correct: The Jnanpith Award is India's highest literary honor, and it is given to Indian citizens. Statement 2 is correct: The Jnanpith Award recognizes outstanding contributions to Indian literature. Specifically, it is awarded for works written in any of the 22 languages officially recognized in the Eighth Schedule of the Indian Constitution, as well as English. The inclusion of English was made later. Statement 3 is incorrect: The Jnanpith Award was instituted in 1961 by the Bharatiya Jnanpith, a research and cultural foundation founded by the Sahu Jain family. It is not instituted by the Government of India. Statement 4 is correct: The award consists of a cash prize (currently ₹11 lakh), a citation plaque, and a bronze replica of Vagdevi (Saraswati), the goddess of knowledge. |
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