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{{Use dmy dates|date=March 2023}}
{{Use Indian English|date=March 2023}}
{{Infobox writer
| name = Haricharan Bandopadhyaya
| image = Haricharan Bandopadhyay.jpg
| caption = Indian lexicographer Haricharan Bandyopadhyay
| birth_date = {{Birth date|df=yes|1867|6|23}}
| birth_place = Ramnarayanpur, 24 Parganas
| death_date = {{Death date|df=yes|1959|1|13}}
| death_place =
| occupation = Scholar, dictionary compiler
| nationality = Indian
| notableworks =
| spouse =
| children =
| awards = {{Plainlist|
* Sarojini Basu Gold Medal from [[University of Calcutta|Calcutta University]]
* Sisir Kumar Memorial Prize from [[University of Calcutta|Calcutta University]]
* Desikottama from [[Visva Bharati]]
}}
}}
'''Haricharan Bandopadhayaya''' (23 June 1867 – 13 January 1959) was a scholar and lexicographer best known for his 5-volume ''Bangiya Sabdakosh'' (Bengali dictionary).

==Early life==
The son of Nibaran Chandra Bandopadhyaya, he was born in his maternal grand father's house at Ramnarayanpur in 24-Parganas. He had his early education in the schools at Jasaikati (in Baduria)and in Basirhat High School at Basirhat (now in North 24 Parganas), the ancestral village of the family. He joined the [[Vidyasagar College|Metropolitan Institute]], but his studies were disrupted when he was in BA third year as a result of the discontinuation of student's fund. After teaching assignments in his ancestral village and at [[Narajole]], he moved on to the Tagore estate at [[Naogaon District#Patisar|Patisar]], now in Bangladesh.<ref name = "haricharan">Sengupta, Subodh Chandra and Bose, Anjali (editors), 1976/1998, ''Sansad Bangali Charitabhidhan'' (Biographical dictionary) Vol I, {{in lang|bn}}, p 614, {{ISBN|81-85626-65-0}}</ref>

==Santiniketan==
[[Rabindranath Tagore]] was impressed by his knowledge of Sanskrit and brought him over to [[Santiniketan]]. He taught Sanskrit at Brahmacharya Ashram from 1902 till his retirement in 1932. In 1905, Tagore asked him to compile a Bengali dictionary. He started working on this project, whenever, he could find time and it became an all-absorbing occupation for him. It took him 40 years to complete the project. The dictionary, ''Bangiya Sabdakosh'' was published in 5 volumes by Visva Bharati in 1945.<ref name = "haricharan"/><ref name="visva">{{cite web | url = http://www.visvabharati.ac.in/HaricharanBandopadhyaya.html| title = Haricharan Bandopadhyaya | publisher = Visva Bharati |accessdate = 8 August 2019}}</ref>

==Works==
[[File:Rabindranath Tagore's handwriting, describing the work of Haricharan Bandopadhyay.jpg|thumb|Rabindranath Tagore describing H. Bandopadhyay's contribution as a lexicographer]]
Bandopadhyaya wrote several books, some of them for use in schools: ''Sanskrit Pravesh'', ''Pali Pravesh'', ''Byakaran Koumadi'', ''Hints on Sanskrit Translation and Composition'', ''Kobir Katha'', ''Rabindranather Katha'' etc., He had translated some of the poems of [[Matthew Arnold]].<ref name = "haricharan"/>

==Awards==
He was recipient of the Sarojini Basu Gold Medal and Sisir Kumar Memorial Prize from the University of Calcutta. In 1957, Visva Bharati honoured him with Desikottama.<ref name = "haricharan"/> The Desikottama was conferred on him by the Chancellor, [[Jawaharlal Nehru]], who said, "His unwearied pursuit of knowledge fulfils one of the major aims and ideals of Rabindranath and Visva-Bharati."<ref name="visva"/>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

[[Category:People associated with Santiniketan]]
[[Category:Indian lexicographers]]
[[Category:Sanskrit scholars from Bengal]]
[[Category:1867 births]]
[[Category:1959 deaths]]
[[Category:Scholars from West Bengal]]
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bandopadhayaya, Haricharan}}

Haricharan Bandopadhayaya - Revision history

Paradigmresume at 12:31, 9 September 2025