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{{Short description|Indian poet (1878-1936)}}
{{Use Indian English|date=June 2019}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=June 2019}}
{{infobox person
| name = Ganapati Muni
| other_names =
| image =
| imagesize =
| caption =
| birth_name = Ayyalasomayajula Surya Ganapati Sastry
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1878|11|17}}
| birth_place = [[Kalavarai]], [[Vizianagaram]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1936|07|25|1878|11|17}}
| death_place = Kharagpur
| death_cause =
| known =
| occupation = scholar, poet
| title =
| term =
| predecessor =
| successor =
| party =
| boards =
| spouse =
| partner =
| children =
| father = Narasimha Sastry
| mother = Narasamamba
| website = http://kavyakantha.arunachala.org
| footnotes =
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| height =
}}
[[File:Ganapathi Mahamuni01.png|thumb|'''Ganapathi Mahamuni Birth place In Logisa Agraharam''']]
'''Ayyalasomayajula Ganapathi Sastry''', also known as '''Ganapati Muni''' (1878–1936), was a disciple of [[Ramana Maharshi]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Nandakumar|first1=Prema|title=The Vedanta Kesari|volume=93|page=43}}</ref> He was also variously known as "Kavyakantha" (one who has poetry in his throat), and "Nayana" by his disciples.<ref name=Pandit>{{cite journal|last1=Pandit|first1=M.P.|title=Prabuddha Bharata|volume=89|page=277}}</ref>

==Biography==
Ganapati Muni was born in [https://archive.org/stream/ganapatimuniabiographykrishnag._202004_995_d/Ganapati%20Muni%20A%20Biography%20%20Krishna%20G.%20_djvu.txt Logisa Agraharam] near [[Gajapathinagaram]] in Andhra Pradesh on 26 November 1878. His parents, Narasimha Sastri and Narasamamba had three sons, Muni being the second. Ganapati, when 18 years old, set out and wandered from one place to another, residing in places like [[Bhuvaneshwar]], where he performed his [[Tapas (Sanskrit)|tapas]]. When Ganapati was staying in [[Varanasi]] he learned of an assembly of [[Sanskrit]] scholars in the city of [[Nabadwip]] in Bengal. He participated in it and on passing the tests in extempore Sanskrit prose and poetry, was conferred the title 'Kavyakantha'. He was then 22 years old. He returned home at the age of 25. From [[Kanchipuram]] he came to [[Arunachala]] (Tiruvannamalai) in 1903 to perform tapas. At that time he visited Ramana Maharshi, who was then known as Brahmanaswami, before he accepted a teaching post in [[Vellore]] in 1904. He wrote his devotional epic hymn "Uma Sahasram," One Thousand Verses on Uma (goddess Parvathi), after accepting Ramana Maharshi as his [[Guru]] on 17 November 1907. He also met [[Sri Aurobindo]] on 15 August 1928. Ganapati Muni died at [[Kharagpur]] on 25 July 1936.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://kavyakantha.arunachala.org/KNatesan.htm |title=Guru Mahaprasadhavan's Tribute to Kavyakantha Ganapati Sastri |publisher=Kavyakantha.arunachala.org |date= |access-date=2014-06-28}}</ref>

==Influence==
Ganapati Muni's teachings are laid out in his magnum opus, 'Uma Sahasram' and other works like 'Mahavidyadi Sutras'. They helped to reduce popular prejudice about the teachings of [[Tantra]].<ref>{{cite journal|last1=Shankarnarayanan|first1=S|title=The Vedanta Kesari|volume=68|page=467}}</ref>

His students include T.V. [[Kapali Sastry]].

==Literary works==
* ''Umasahasram''<ref>{{cite web|url=https://archive.org/details/99999990293176Umasahsatram |title=Umasahasram : Free Download: Internet Archive |date=10 March 2001 |access-date=2014-06-28}}</ref>
* {{cite book|last1=Muni|first1=Gaṇapati|title=Śrīramaṇagītā|date=2004|publisher=Sri Ramanasramam|location=Tiruvannamalai, India|isbn=9788188018185|edition=9}} An anthology of the teachings of [[Ramana Maharshi]], along with English translations.<ref>{{cite journal|title=Prabuddha Bharata|date=August 1955|volume=60|page=352}}</ref>
* Herambopasthaanam - Poem on Lord Ganesha <ref>https://sanskritdocuments.org/doc_ganesha/herambopasthAnam.html?lang=iast</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

===Books===
*Gunturu, Lakshmi Kantam. (1958). NAYANA: Kavyakantha Vasishtha Ganapati Muni : Biography in Telugu. J.V.S.Lakshmi, Chennai. (Latest reprint : 2013).
*{{cite book|last1=Osborne|first1=Arthur|title=Ramana Maharshi and the path of self-knowledge : a biography|date=2008|publisher=Sri Ramanasramam|location=Tiruvannamalai|isbn=978-8188018116|edition=5th|ref=Osborne}}
*Krishna, G. (1978). Nayana: Kavyakantha Vasishtha Ganapati Muni : biography. Madras: Kavyakantha Vasishtha Ganapati Muni Trust.
*Gaṇapatimuni, Vāsiṣṭha [Honoree] (1978), Jayanti: Kavyakanta Ganapati Muni centenary commemoration volume. Kavyakantha Centenary Committee.

== External links ==
* [https://www.scribd.com/collections/3986154/Collected-Works-of-Vasishtha-Ganapati-Muni Collected Works of Vasishtha Ganapati Muni]
* [http://kavyakantha.arunachala.org/KNatesan.htm Biography by Shri. K. Natesan]
* [http://kavyakantha.arunachala.org/ Guru Mahaprasaddhavan's Tribute to Kavyakantha Sri Ganapati Sastri]
* http://kavyakantha.arunachala.org/KNatesan.htm

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Muni, Ganpati}}
[[Category:20th-century Indian philosophers]]
[[Category:1878 births]]
[[Category:1936 deaths]]
[[Category:Indian spiritual teachers]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian writers]]
[[Category:Writers from Andhra Pradesh]]
[[Category:People from Vizianagaram district]]
[[Category:20th-century Indian male writers]]
[[Category:Ramana Maharshi]]

Ganapati Muni - Revision history

Androidsub143 at 21:12, 6 January 2026