Jaishankar Prasad (30 January 1889 – 15 November 1937) was an Indian poet, dramatist, novelist and short-story writer in Hindi. He was one of the four pillars of Chhayavad, the romantic movement that transformed Hindi poetry in the 1920s and 1930s, and the author of Kamayani, the most admired long poem in modern Hindi. His historical plays gave the language a serious theatre.
Quick Facts
| Full name | Jaishankar Prasad |
| Born | 30 January 1889, Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India |
| Died | 15 November 1937 (aged 48), Varanasi |
| Occupation | Poet, playwright, novelist |
| Language | Hindi |
| Movement | Chhayavad |
| Notable works | Kamayani, Aansu, Lahar, Skandagupta, Chandragupta, Dhruvaswamini, Kankal |
Early Life
Prasad was born in Varanasi into a prosperous family of tobacco and snuff merchants known in the city as Sunghani Sahu, famous for its generosity to scholars and musicians. His father died when he was about eleven, his mother and elder brother within a few years, and at seventeen he was left to manage a business burdened with debt and lawsuits. He had to leave school early and was taught at home by tutors in Sanskrit, Hindi, Urdu and Persian; he read deeply in the Vedas, the Puranas, Buddhist texts and history.
Writing
He began with verse in Braj, the traditional language of Hindi poetry, and then turned to the modern standard form, Khari Boli. From 1909 his family published a magazine, Indu, in which much of his early work appeared. The collection Jharna (1918) is often taken as the beginning of Chhayavad, a poetry of inward feeling, nature and mystery that broke with the moralising verse of the previous generation. Aansu (1925), a long lyric of love and loss, and Lahar (1933) followed.
Kamayani (1936), in fifteen cantos, retells the Vedic story of Manu, the survivor of the great flood, and the two women Shraddha, who represents faith and feeling, and Ida, who represents intellect. It is at once a narrative of the rebirth of civilisation and an allegory of the divided modern mind seeking wholeness.
Prasad wrote about a dozen plays, most of them set in ancient India at moments of crisis. Skandagupta (1928) shows a Gupta prince defending the country against the Huns; Chandragupta (1931) the rise of the Maurya empire under the guidance of Chanakya; Dhruvaswamini (1933) a queen who refuses to be handed over to an enemy by her cowardly husband and asserts her right to leave him. Their poetic language made them hard to stage, but they are central to Hindi drama, and songs from them, such as “Himadri tung shring se”, became patriotic anthems.
His novels Kankal (1929) and Titli (1934) deal with contemporary society, the first with hypocrisy in religious institutions. His short stories, among them “Akashdeep”, “Puraskar” and “Gunda”, are compact and lyrical.
Personal Life
He lived all his life in Varanasi, rarely travelled, avoided public meetings and never accepted money for reciting poetry. He was married three times, his first two wives having died young, and had one son. He died of tuberculosis on 15 November 1937, at forty-eight.
Legacy
With Suryakant Tripathi “Nirala”, Sumitranandan Pant and Mahadevi Varma he is counted among the makers of modern Hindi poetry. Kamayani is taught wherever Hindi literature is studied and has been adapted for stage and dance many times.
Frequently Asked Questions
When and where was Jaishankar Prasad born?
Jaishankar Prasad was born on 30 January 1889 in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India.
When did Jaishankar Prasad die?
Died: 15 November 1937 (aged 48), Varanasi.
What is Jaishankar Prasad’s occupation?
Occupation: Poet, playwright, novelist.
Featured image: Jaishankar Prasad, about 1920. Photo by an unknown photographer, in the public domain, via Wikimedia Commons.
