Rahul Sankrityayan

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Rahul Sankrityayan (9.4.1893 – 14.4.1963) is called the Father of Hindi Travelogue Travel literature because he is the one who played a pivotal role to give travelogue a 'literature form'.

Variants of name

Childhood

He was born as Kedarnath Pandey to a Bhumihar Brahmin[1] family on 9 April 1893 in Pandaha village. His ancestral village was Kanaila Chakrapanpur, Azamgarh district, in Eastern Uttar Pradesh.[2] He went to a local primary school. Later he studied and mastered numerous languages independently, as well as learning the art of photography.

He spent several years in the "Parsa Gadh" village in the Saran district in Bihar. The village's entry gate is named "Rahul Gate".

Became a Buddhist monk

Initially, he was a keen follower of Arya Samaj of Swami Dayananda Saraswati. Then Buddhism changed his life. After taking Diksha in Sri Lanka he became Rahul (son of Buddha) also used his Gotra (Sankritya) with his name and finally called “Rahul Sankrityayan”. He lost faith in God's existence but still retained faith in reincarnation. Later he moved towards Marxist Socialism and rejected the concepts of reincarnation and afterlife. The two volumes of Darshan-Digdarshan, the collected history of the World's philosophy give an indication of his philosophy when we find the second volume much dedicated to Dharmakirti's Pramana Vartika. This he discovered in Tibetan translation from Tibet.

Sankrityayan was also an Indian nationalist, having been arrested and jailed for three years for creating anti-British writings and speeches.

His Travels

He was one of the most widely travelled scholars of India, spending forty-five years of his life on travels away from his home. He travelled many places and wrote many travelogue approximately in the same ratio. He also famously known for his authentic description about his travels experiences, for instance- in his travelogue "Meri Laddakh Yatra" he presents overall regional, historical and cultural specificity of that region judiciously.

Sankrityayan's travels took him to different parts of India including Ladakh, Kinnaur, and Kashmir. He also travelled to several other countries including Nepal, Tibet, Sri Lanka, Iran, China, and the former Soviet Union. While travelling, he mostly used surface transport, and he went to certain countries clandestinely; he entered Tibet as a Buddhist monk. He made several trips to Tibet and brought valuable paintings and Pali and Sanskrit manuscripts back to India. Most of these were a part of the libraries of Vikramshila and Nalanda Universities. These objects had been taken to Tibet by fleeing Buddhist monks during the twelfth and subsequent centuries when the invading Muslim armies had destroyed universities in India. Some accounts state that Rahul Sankrityayan employed twenty-two mules to bring these materials from Tibet to India. Patna Museum, Patna, has a special section of these materials in his honour, where a number of these and other items have been displayed.

His Books

Sankrityayan was a polyglot, well versed in several languages and dialects, including Hindi, Sanskrit, Pali, Bhojpuri, Magahi, Urdu, Persian, Arabic, Tamil, Kannada, Tibetan, Sinhalese, French and Russian. He was also an Indologist, a Marxist theoretician, and a creative writer. He started writing during his twenties and his works, totalling well over 100, covered a variety of subjects, including sociology, history, philosophy, Buddhism, Tibetology, lexicography, grammar, textual editing, folklore, science, drama, and politics. Many of these were unpublished. He translated Majjhima Nikaya from Prakrit into Hindi.[3]

His most important travelogue literature is

  • Tibbat Me Sava Varsha (1933)
  • Meri Europe Yatra(1935)
  • Athato Ghumakkad Jigyasa
  • Volga Se Ganga
  • Asia ke Durgam Bhukhando Mein
  • Yatra Ke Panne
  • Kinnar Desh Mein

Volga Se Ganga: One of his most famous books in Hindi is Volga Se Ganga (A journey from the Volga to the Ganges) – a work of historical fiction concerning the migration of Aryans from the steppes of the Eurasia to regions around the Volga river; then their movements across the Hindukush and the Himalayas and the sub-Himalayan regions; and their spread to the Indo-Gangetic plains of the subcontinent of India. The book begins in 6000 BC and ends in 1942, the year when Mahatma Gandhi, the Indian nationalist leader called for the Quit India movement. It was published in 1942. A translation into English of this work by Victor Kiernan was published in 1947 as From Volga to Ganga.[4]


He maintained daily diaries in Sanskrit which were used fully while writing his autobiography. In spite of profound scholarship, he wrote in very simple Hindi that a common person could follow. He wrote books of varied interest. He was aware of limitations of Hindi literature and singularly made up the loss in no small measure.

The historian Kashi Prasad Jayaswal compared Rahul Sankrityayan with Buddha. Rahul's personality was as impressive and memorable as are his achievements. He travelled widely and wrote in five languages – Hindi, Sanskrit, Bhojpuri, Pāli and Tibetan. His published works span a range of genres, which include autobiography, biography, travelogue, sociology, history, philosophy, Buddhism, Tibetology, lexicography, grammar, text editing, folklore, science, fiction, drama, essays, politics, and pamphleteering.

Works

In Hindi

Novels

  • बाईसवीं सदी (Baaeesween Sadi) – 1923
  • जीने के लिए (Jeeney ke Liye) – 1940
  • सिंह सेनापति (Simha Senapathi) – 1944
  • जय यौधेय (Jai Yaudheya) – 1944
  • भागो नहीं दुनियाँ को बदलो (Bhago Nahin, Duniya ko Badlo) – 1944
  • मधुर स्वप्न (Madhur Swapna) – 1949
  • राजस्थानी रनिवास (Rajasthani Ranivas) – 1953
  • विस्मृत यात्री (Vismrit Yatri) – 1954
  • दोवोदास (Divodas) – 1960
  • विस्मृति के गर्भ में (Vismriti Ke Garbh Me)

Short Stories

  • सतमी के बच्चे (Satmi ke Bachche) – 1935
  • वोल्गा से गंगा (Volga Se Ganga) – 1944
  • बहुरंगी मधुपुरी (Bahurangi Madhupuri) – 1953
  • कन्हैया की कथा (Kanaila ki Katha) – 1955–56

Autobiography

  • मेरी जीवन यात्रा-I Meri Jivan Yatra I – 1944
  • मेरी जीवन यात्रा-II Meri Jivan Yatra II – 1950
  • मेरी जीवन यात्रा-III, IV, V (Meri Jivan Yatra III, IV, V) – published posthumously

Biography

  • सरदार पृथ्वीसिंह (Sardar Prithvi Singh) – 1955
  • नए भारत के नए नेता (Naye Bharat ke Naye Neta (2 volumes)) – 1942
  • बचपन की स्मृतियाँ (Bachpan ki Smritiyan) – 1953
  • अतीत से वर्तमान (Ateet se Vartaman-Vol I) – 1953
  • स्टेलिन (Stalin') – 1954
  • लेनिन (Lenin) – 1954
  • कार्ल मार्क्स (Karl Marx) – 1954
  • माओत्से तुंग Mao-Tse-Tung – 1954
  • घुमक्कड़ स्वामी (Ghumakkar Swami) – 1956
  • मेरे असहयोग के साथी (Mere Asahayog ke Sathi) – 1956
  • जिनका मैं कृतज्ञ (Jinka Main Kritajna) – 1956
  • वीर चन्द्रसिंह गढ़वाली (Vir Chandrasingh Garhwali) – 1956
  • महामानव बुद्ध (Mahamanav Budha) – 1956
  • अकबर (Akbar) – 1956
  • सिंहल घुममकद जयवर्धन (Simhala Ghumakkar Jaivardhan) – 1960
  • कप्तान लाल (Kaptan Lal) – 1961
  • सिंहल के वीर पुरुष (Simhal ke Vir Purush) – 1961


Some of his other books are:-

  • मानसिक गुलामी (Mansik Gulami)
  • ऋग्वेदिक आर्य (Rhigvedic Arya)
  • घुमक्कड़ शास्त्र (Ghumakkar Shastra)
  • किन्नर देश में (Kinnar desh mein)
  • दर्शन दिग्दर्शन (Darshan Digdarshan)
  • दक्खिनी हिन्दी का व्याकरण (Dakkhini Hindi ka Vyaakaran)
  • पुरातत्व निबंधावली (Puratatv Nibandhawali)
  • मानव समाज (Manava Samaj)
  • मध्य एशिया का इतिहास (Madhya Asia ka Itihas)
  • साम्यवाद ही क्यों (Samyavad hi Kyon)

Related to Tibetan

  • तिब्बती बाल शिक्षा (Tibbati Bal-Siksha) – 1933
  • पथवाली (Pathavali) (Vol. 1,2 & 3) – 1933
  • तिब्बती व्याकरण (Tibbati Vyakaran) – 1933
  • तिब्बत में बुध धर्म (Tibbat May Budh Dharm) -1948
  • ल्हासा की ओर (Lhasa ki or)
  • हिमालय परिचय भाग-1 (Himalaya Parichay Bhag 1)
  • हिमालय परिचय भाग-2 (Himalaya Parichay Bhag 2)

In Bhojpuri

Plays

  • Japaniya Rachhachh
  • Des Rachchhak
  • Jarmanwā ke hār nihichay
  • ī hamār laṛāi'"
  • Dhunmum Netā
  • Naiki Duniya
  • Jonk
  • Mehrarun ke Durdasa

Volga Se Ganga

Volga Se Ganga (वोल्गा से गंगा), A journey from the Volga to the Ganges, is a 1943 collection of 20 historical non-fiction short-stories by scholar and travel writer Rahul Sankrityayan. A true vagabond, Sankrityayan traveled to far lands like Russia, Korea, Japan, China and many others, where he mastered the languages of these lands and was an authority on cultural studies.

The stories collectively trace the migration of Aryans from the steppes of the Eurasia to regions around the Volga river; then their movements across the Hindukush and the Himalayas and the sub-Himalayan regions; and their spread to the Indo-Gangetic plains of the subcontinent of India. The book begins in 6000 BC and ends in 1942, the year when Mahatma Gandhi, the Indian nationalist leader called for the quit India movement.

Volga Se Ganga is about the history of Indo–European people who were later known as the Aryans. The 20 stories are woven over a span of 8000 years and a distance of about 10,000 km.

The first story, "Nisha", is about cavemen living in Caucasia (southern Russia) about 6000 BC. The society or its precursor at that time was matriarchal and so the story is named after the leader of the family 'Nisha'. Although all the 20 stories are independent, the sequence in which they are arranged nevertheless serves a very important purpose. Here one can find a gradual transformation from a matriarchal society (the first two stories) to a patriarchal one (the rest), a gradual change from freedom to slavery, from acceptance of slavery to its loathing and the likes. If one is to believe Sankrityayan, then an apprehension for technological advancement is nothing new. People were wary of the newly better armament which was fast replacing the older stone equipment (fourth story – "Puruhoot" (Tajikistan 2500 BC)). The same story tells how an arms race was started during that period and how southerners amassed great wealth at the expense of the northerners.

The sixth story, "Angira" (Taxila 1800 BC), is about a man who wants to save the Aryan race from losing its identity to other races by teaching about their true culture (precursor to Vedic Rishis).

The eighth story (Pravahan (700 BC. Panchala, U.P.). is about the upper class manipulating religion for their own vested interests and conspiring to keep people in dark for at least 2000 years). One can see how easily and frequently the Indians, the mid easterners and the Greeks mingled with each other in the times of Chanakya and Alexander by reading the tenth story Nagdatt, which is about a philosopher classmate of Chanakya who travels to Persia and Greece and learns how Athens fell to Macedonia.

The eleventh story (Prabha, 50 AD) is about the famous (also the first Indian) dramatist Aśvaghoṣa, who adopted the Greek art of drama into Indian culture in a very beautiful and authentic way, and his inspiration.

Baba Noordeen (1300), the 15th story is about the rise of Sufism.

The 17th story Rekha Bhagat (1800 is about the barbarous rule of the East India company and the anarchy it brought to parts of India.

The last story ("Sumer", 1942) is about a man who goes on to fight the Japanese because he wants Soviet Russia to triumph, for this nation according to him is the only hope left for humanity.

Death

Rahul accepted a teaching job at a Sri Lankan University, where he fell seriously ill. Diabetes, high blood pressure and a mild stroke struck him. Most tragic happening was the loss of memory. He died in Darjeeling in 1963. Rahul's Tombstone at Darjeeling.This tombstone is established at a place called "Murda Haati" which is a cremation ground downtown in the lower altitudes of Darjeeling around 25 minutes drive from the Chow-Rasta.The same place also has the tombstone of Sister Nivedita.

Honours and Awards

He is referred to as the 'Greatest Scholar' (Mahapandit) for his scholarship.

Although he had little formal education, in view of his knowledge and command over the subject, University of Leningrad appointed him Professor of Indology in 1937–38 and again in 1947–48.

Many of Rahul's personal collections including the ones he gathered from his multiple trips to Tibet were distributed across to multiple Universities and Museums. Patna Museum has an extensive collection of Buddhist scrolls which he assimilated through his journeys across Tibet. Many of these are considered rare gems of Indian scriptures translated into Tibetan.

He was awarded the Padmabhushan in 1963, and he received the Sahitya Akademi Award in 1958 for his book Madhya Asia Ka Itihas.

राहुल सांकृत्यायन

डॉ. कृष्णा जाखड़[5] ने लिखा है....किसी देश और समाज को सही तरीके से समझने के लिए डॉ. घासीराम वर्मा राहुल सांकृत्यायन का उदाहरण देते हैं. राहुल सांकृत्यायन ने एक पुस्तक लिखी है वोल्गा से गंगा. वोल्गा रूस की एक नदी है तथा गंगा भारत की. इस पुस्तक में कोई 8000 वर्ष पहले लोग कैसे रूस से चले और भारत पहुंचे इसका वर्णन किया है.

वोल्गा से गंगा पुस्तक में 1940 तक का वर्णन है. राहुल ने मार्क्स की पुस्तकें पढ़ी थी, वह कम्युनिस्ट हो गया था. वह गांधी के भी कुछ विचारों से सहमत नहीं थे. प्रारंभ के दो अध्याय में उसने लिखा है कि आदमी भी उस समय पशुओं की तरफ थे. आज की तरह मां, बाप, बेटी, भाई, बहन जैसा कोई सामाजिक रिश्ता नहीं था. मातृ-प्रधान युग था. सबसे ताकतवर स्त्री यह निर्णय करती थी कि वह किस पुरुष के साथ लैंगिक संबंध बनाएगी. पसंद का पुरुष अगर बुड्ढा व असहाय हो जाता था तो उससे अलग हो जाती थी. तथा अन्य लड़का जो सबसे युवा होता था, उसको साथ रखने लगती थी. उसकी बेटियां उसका स्थान लेने के लिए वही पशुवाली सी लड़ाई करती. इस लड़ाई में कभी उसे मार भी दिया जाता. इसी प्रकार बेटे भी अपने बाप का स्थान लेने के लिए आपस में लड़ते व एक दूसरे को मार भी देते थे. अर्थात आदमी और पशुओं में कोई अंतर नहीं था. जब यह पुस्तक लिखी गई तो लोगों ने बड़ी आलोचना की.

डॉ. कृष्णा जाखड़[6] ने लिखा है....राहुल सांकृत्यायन एक रूढ़िवादी ब्राह्मण परिवार में पैदा हुआ था. उसके घरवाले जजमानी का काम करते थे जो उसको अच्छा नहीं लगता था. वह घर छोड़कर साधु बन गया. उसने बौद्ध-धर्म के बारे में पढ़ा तो बहुत प्रभावित हुआ और वह बौद्ध बन गया. रामोदर साधु का 'रा' और 'सा' रख लिया और राहुल बन गया. राहुल बुद्ध के बेटे का नाम था. अपने मित्र भदंत आनंद कौशल्यायन के साथ घूमता-घूमता लंका पहुंच गया. वहां से वह बहुत सारे बौद्ध ग्रंथ लाया. तिब्बत से भी कुछ बौद्ध ग्रंथ लाया.

राहुल सांकृत्यायन ने बहुत सी पुस्तक लिखी. एक पुस्तक घुमक्कड़ शास्त्र के नाम पर है. उसमें किसी ने उससे पूछा कि स्त्री को साथ लेकर घूमा जाए तो कैसा रहे? जवाब था- द्विपद करना ही ठीक है चतुष्पद होने पर षट्पद होने में देर नहीं लगती. उसी पुस्तक में ख्वाजा मीर दर्द का एक शेर है- 'सैर कर दुनिया की गाफिल जिंदगानी फिर कहां?, जिंदगी गर कुछ रही तो यह जवानी फिर कहां?

एक बार बनारस के पंडितों ने राहुल सांकृत्यायन को विद्वान समझकर भाषण के लिए बुलाया था. उसका पहला वाक्य था- 'मैं जब ईरान पहुंचा तो हिंदू धर्म के कुसंस्कारों के कारण गौमांस का आनंद नहीं ले सका.' सुनकर सभी ने कहा- इस म्लेछ को किस ने बुला लिया.

राहुल सांकृत्यायन जैसे लोगों का जिक्र जरूरी हो जाता है. क्योंकि जो पूर्वाग्रह से ग्रसित होकर किसी भी देश में जाते हैं वे वहां कमियां ही ढूंढते हैं, खूबियां नहीं देखते. राहुल सांकृत्यायन वह घुमक्कड़ व्यक्ति था, जो अपनी कुंठाओं से मुक्त होकर दुनिया खोज रहा था. बहुत सारे यात्री इसी तरीके से दुनिया के हर कोने में जाते हैं और वहां की अच्छाइयां खोजते हैं. जब तक हम अपनी कुंठाओं से मुक्त होकर दुनिया की अच्छाइयां कबूल नहीं करते तब तक हम कहां अच्छे हो पाते हैं?

1937-38 के बीच हिन्दी के मूर्धन्य विद्वान राहुल सांकृत्यायन ने किसान आन्दोलन की नींव सिवान में रखी थी। स्वतंत्रता की लड़ाई में यहाँ के मजहरुल हक़, राजेन्द्र प्रसाद, महेन्द्र प्रसाद,रामदास पाण्डेय फूलेना प्रसाद जैसे महान सेनानियों नें समूचे देश में बिहार का नाम ऊँचा किया है। (संदर्भ: सीवान-विकिपीडिया)

महापण्डित राहुल सांकृत्यायन पुरस्कार

मानव संसाधन विकास मंत्रालय (भारत सरकार) की हिन्दी सेवी सम्मान योजना के अंतर्गतगत 19 अप्रैल 2016 डॉ. पूर्ण सिंह डबास को “महापण्डित राहुल सांकृत्यायन” पुरस्कार से महामहिम राष्ट्रपति श्री प्रणव मुर्खी द्वारा राष्ट्रपति भवन में सम्मानित किया गया। यह पुरस्कार उन्हें शोध तथा पर्यटन साहित्य के क्षेत्र में उनके उल्लेखनीय योगदान के लिए प्रदान किया गया। डॉ. डबास अनेक सामजिक, शैक्षिक तथा धार्मिक संस्थाओं से सम्बद्ध हैं। वे दक्षिणी दिल्ली की प्रमुख समाज सेवी संस्था आर्य समाज साकेत के संस्थापक सदस्य हैं तथा पिछले बीस वर्षो से उसके सर्वसम्मतिसे निवाचित प्रधान चले आ रहे हैं।

Jat History

Following Jat clans find mention by Rahul Sankrityayan.

  • Yaudheyas: कैप्टन दलीप सिंह अहलावत[8] ने लेख किया है कि ...जय यौधेय में लेखक राहुल सांकृत्यायन ने पृ. 5 पर लिखते हैं कि - भावलपुर रियासत से मुलतान तक फैला एक इलाका जोहियावार कहा जाता है और बहुसंख्यक निवासी जोहिया (यौधेय) कहे जाते हैं। कराची के कोहिस्तान में जोहियार रहते हैं, बल्कि उनके सरदार को ‘जोहिया-जोजन्म’ कहा जाता है। अलवर और गुड़गांव के मेव अब भी यौधेय भूमि में ही बसते हैं और उनकी वीरगाथायें सुनकर आज भी रोमांच हो उठते हैं।
  • Kuninda - There have been numerous different claims of origin back to the Kunindas, having found coins from the Kuninda period (Kuninda Kingdom). Rahul Sankrityayan traces their ancestry to Sakas, who were in India before the first century BCE; he further identifies these Shakas with the Khashas.[11]
  • Vasati (वसाति)/Vais (वैस) - दलीप सिंह अहलावत[12] लिखते हैं कि....भोगवतीपुरी का शासक नागराज वासुकि नामक सम्राट् था। यह वसाति या वैस गोत्र का था जो कि जाट गोत्र है। इस वंश का राज्य वसाति जनपद पर भी था जो रामायणकाल में पूरी शक्ति पर था। इस वंश का वैभव महाभारतकाल में और भी चमका। द्रोण पर्व में कई स्थानों पर वसाति क्षत्रियों का वर्णन है जिस से यह प्रमाणित है कि ये भी महाभारत युद्ध में सम्मिलित हुये थे[13]। कुछ लेखकों को वसाति के अपभ्रंश शब्द वैस से वैश्य (बनिया) का भ्रम हो गया है। कनिंघम और मिश्रबन्धु द्वारा ऐसे लेखकों का खण्डन किया गया है। (जाटों का उत्कर्ष पृ० 319, लेखक योगेन्द्रपाल शास्त्री, जाट इतिहास उर्दू पृ० 355, लेखक ठा० संसारसिंह)। राहुल सांकृत्यायन ने अपनी पुस्तक ‘वोल्गा से गंगा’ पृ० 243 पर लिखा है कि “हर्षवर्धन का वंश वैस है जो कि क्षत्रिय वंश है। यह वंश वैश्य बनिया नहीं।”

External links

See - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rahul_Sankrityayan

References

  1. ↑ Meree Jeevan Yatra-Vol.1, pp.1-4 and 465-488
  2. ↑ Prabhakar Machwe (1 January 1998). Rahul Sankrityayan (Hindi Writer). Sahitya Akademi. pp. 12–. ISBN 978-81-7201-845-0.
  3. ↑ Sharma, R.S. (2009). Rethinking India's Past. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-569787-2.
  4. ↑ Rahul Sankrityayana From Volga to Ganga, Rahula Publication, Mussorie, 1947.
  5. ↑ समय से संवाद (डॉ घासीराम वर्मा के कुछ पत्र), संपादन डॉ. कृष्णा जाखड़, 2020, एकता प्रकाशन चुरू,pp.58-58
  6. ↑ समय से संवाद (डॉ घासीराम वर्मा के कुछ पत्र), संपादन डॉ. कृष्णा जाखड़, 2020, एकता प्रकाशन चुरू,p.58
  7. ↑ Rishi, Weer Rajendra (1982). India & Russia: linguistic & cultural affinity. Roma Publications. p. 95.
  8. ↑ Jat History Dalip Singh Ahlawat/Chapter III (Page 199)
  9. ↑ Jat History Dalip Singh Ahlawat/Chapter III,p.213
  10. ↑ Madhya Asia Ka Itihas Vol. 1, P. 74, in Hindi by Rahul Sankrityayana.
  11. ↑ Handa, O.C(Omacanda) (2002). History of Uttaranchal. New Delhi: Indus Publishing. pp. 22–26. ISBN 9788173871344.
  12. ↑ जाट वीरों का इतिहास: दलीप सिंह अहलावत, पृष्ठ.243-244
  13. ↑ 1. वसाति क्षत्रिय महाभारत युद्ध में कौरवों की तरफ से लड़े थे। (द्रोण पर्व व भीष्म पर्व 51वां अध्याय)।

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