Jaishankar Prasad

2021-07-15T11:29:48Z

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{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2014}}
{{Use Indian English|date=May 2016}}
{{More citations needed|date=September 2011}}
{{Infobox writer
|name = Jaishankar Prasad
|image = Jaishankar Prasad,1889-1937.jpg
|imagesize = 100px
|birth_date = {{birth date|df=yes|1890|1|30}}<ref name="itihas">Hindi sahitya ka brihat itihas, volume-10, editors- Dr. Nagendra and others, Nagari pracharini Sabha, Varanasi, edition 1971, page 145.</ref>
|birth_place = [[Benares]], [[Benares State]], [[British India]]
|death_date = {{death date and age|df=yes|1937|11|15|1890|1|30}}
|death_place = [[Benares]], [[Benares State]], [[British India]]
|occupation = Novelist, playwright, poet
|notable_works = [[Kamayani|Kāmāyanī]] (1936)
}}

'''Jaishankar Prasad''' (30 January 1889<ref name="itihas"/> {{spaced ndash}}15 November 1937)<ref>Vinod Shankar Vyas, ''Antarang sansmarano mein Jaishankar 'Prasad' '', editor- Purushottam Das Modi, Vishwavidyalaya Prakashan, Varanasi, edition- 2001, page 43-44.</ref> was a prominent figure in modern [[Hindi literature]] as well as [[Hindi theatre]]. Prasad was his pen name.<ref>{{harvnb|Dimitrova|2004|page=15}}</ref>

==Poetic style==

Prasad started writing poetry with the pen name of ‘Kaladhar’. The first collection of poem that Jai Shankar Prasad penned, named, Chitradhar, was written in Braj dialect of Hindi but his later works were written in Khadi dialect or Sanskritized Hindi.

Later on Prasad promulgated ‘[[Chhayavad]]’, a literary trend in Hindi literature.

He is considered one of the Four Pillars (''Char Stambh'') of [[Romanticism]] in [[Hindi Literature]] ([[Chhayavad]]), along with [[Sumitranandan Pant]], [[Mahadevi Verma]], and [[Suryakant Tripathi 'Nirala']].

His vocabulary avoids the [[Persian language|Persian]] element of [[Hindi]] and mainly consists of [[Sanskrit]] ([[Tatsama]]) words and words derived from Sanskrit ([[Tadbhava]] words). The subject of his poetry spans the entire horizon of subjects of his era, from romantic to nationalistic.

==Dramas and other writings==
His dramas are considered to be most pioneering ones in [[Hindi]]. Prasad's most famous dramas include ''Skandagupta'', ''Chandragupta'' and ''Dhruvaswamini'' .

The majority of them revolve around historical stories of [[History of India|Ancient India]]. Some of them were also based on mythological plots.

In 1960s, [[Shanta Gandhi]] Professor of Ancient Indian Drama at while at [[National School of Drama]], revived interest in Jaishankar Prasad's plays for modern [[Indian theatre]], by successfully staging his most important play ''Skanda Gupta'' written in 1928, with little changes to the original script.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.thehindu.com/features/friday-review/theatre/article40398.ece|title=Re-discovering Dhruvaswamini|date=29 October 2009|work=The Hindu}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Lal |first=Mohan |title=The Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature – Volume 5 |publisher=Sahitya Akademi|year= 2006|pages=4119|isbn=81-260-1221-8|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KnPoYxrRfc0C&q=Shanta+Gandhi&pg=PA4119}}</ref>

==Major works==

===Poetry===
* Kānan kusum (The Forest Flower)
* Mahārānā kā mahatv (The Maharana's greatness)
* Jharnā (The Waterfall)
* Ānsū (The tear)
* Lahar (The wave)
* [[Kamayani|Kāmāyanī]] (an epic about [[Manu (Hinduism)|Manu]] and the flood)
* Prem pathik (The Love Wanderer)
* Aatmkathya (Autobiography)

===Drama===
* Ek ghunt (A sip)
* Skandagupta (On Emperor [[Skandagupta]])
* Chandragupta (On Emperor [[Chandragupta Maurya]])
* Dhruvasvāminī
* Janmejay kā yagya
* Rajyashrī (Royal Bliss)
* Ajatshatru

===Story collections===
* Andhī
* Pratidhvani (The Echo)
* Akashdip (Internal Lamp)
* Indrajāl (Hypnosis)
* Sandeh (Doubt)
* indrajaal
* chitra mandir

===Novels===
* Kankal (The Skeleton)
* Titli (The Butterfly)
* Iravati ( not completed)

== Legacy ==

===Neo-romanticism in Hindi Literature===
Jaishankar Prasad's Kamayani (Hindi: कामायनी) (1936), a Hindi classic poem is considered as an important magnum opus of this school. The poem belongs to the Chhayavaadi school of Hindi poetry.<ref>[http://www.hindibookspdf.com/kamayani-by-jaishankar-prasad-hindi-book-pdf-download/ Kamayani By Jaishankar Prasad]</ref>

== Critical reception ==
In her glowing tribute to Jai Shankar Prasad, the poet- critic Mahadevi Verma said:

"Whenever I remember our great poet, Prasad a particular image comes to my mind. A fir tree stands on the slope of the Himalaya, straight and tall as the proud mountain peaks themselves. Its lofty head braves the assaults of the snow, the rain, and the blazing heat of the sun. Violent storms shake its spreading branches, while a thin stream of water plays hide-and-seek amongst its root. Even under the most heavy snowfall, the most fierce heat, and the torrential rain, the fir tree holds its head high. Even in the midst of the worst thunderstorm and blizzards, it remains steady and unflinching.”

Regarding his influence in Indian literature, the late scholar [[David Rubin (author)|David Rubin]] wrote in ''The Return of Sarasvati'' (Oxford, 1993):- "To Jayshankar Prasad belongs the credit of making the first successful leap forward in the development of a genuine poetic art in ''khari boli'' Hindi and giving it, in ''Ansu'', its first masterpiece." Rubin felt his lyrics regarding nature and human love helped to define the ''Chhayavad'' movement, and that his reflective nature and deep love of reading and music heavily influenced his work.

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Sources==
* http://www.jaishankarprasad.com/biography/
* {{Cite web|title=Jaishanker Prasad Biography|work=Varanasi Travel and Tourism Guide|publisher=Varanasi.org|url=http://www.varanasi.org.in/jaishanker-prasad}}
* {{Cite book|author=Dimitrova, Diana|year=2004|title=Western Tradition and Naturalistic Hindi Theatre|publisher=Peter Lang|isbn=0-8204-6822-3 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FA9qAKpUtTIC}}

==External links==
* {{Gbooks-author|Jai Shankar Prasad}}
* [https://biographybasedcare.com/jaishankar-prasad-ka-jivan-parichay/ Jaishankar prasad Biography]
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Prasad, Jaishankar}}
[[Category:1889 births]]
[[Category:1937 deaths]]
[[Category:Hindi-language writers]]
[[Category:Hindi-language poets]]
[[Category:Indian male novelists]]
[[Category:Writers from Varanasi]]
[[Category:Hindi dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian novelists]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:Novelists from Uttar Pradesh]]
[[Category:Indian male dramatists and playwrights]]
[[Category:Poets from Uttar Pradesh]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian poets]]
[[Category:Dramatists and playwrights from Uttar Pradesh]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian male writers]]

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Jaishankar Prasad