Acharya Chatursen Shastri (Hindi: आचार्य चतुरसेन शास्त्री) (26 August 1891 – 2 February 1960) was an eminent writer of Hindi, and he wrote many historical fictions.

Contents 1 Biography 2 Career 3 Writings 4 External links

[edit] Biography

Acharya Chatursen Shastri was born in a small village Chandokh (near Sikandarabad) in the Buland Shahar district of Uttar Pradesh state in India on the 26th August, 1891. His father was Punditt Kewal Ram Thakur and mother was Nanhee Devi. His birth name was Chaturbhuj.

Chaturbhuj finished his primary education in a school in Sikandarabad. Then he got admitted to Sanskrit College, Jaipur, Rajasthan. From here he received the degrees of Ayurvedacharya in Ayurveda and Shastri in Sanskrit in the year 1915. He also received the degree of Ayurvedacharya from Ayurveda Vidyapeetha.

After finishing his education he came to Delhi to start his practice as an ayurvedic physician. He opened his own ayurvedic dispensary in Delhi but it did not run well and he had to close it down. He joined a rich man's charitable dispensary at the salary of Rupees 25 per month. Later in 1917, he joined DAV college, Lahore (now in Pakistan) as senior professor of Ayurveda. The management at the DAV college, Lahore was insulting to him, therefore, he resigned and went to Ajmer to help his father-in-law in his dispensary. Working at this dispensary, he started to write and soon became famous as a story writer and novelist.

His first novel Hridaya-Ki-Parakh (Trial of the Heart) was published in 1918. It did not bring him any recognition. His second book, Satyagraha Aur Asahyoga (Civil Resistance and Non-cooperation) was published in 1921. Contrary to the title, this book collided with the ideas of Mahatma Gandhi who was a prominent political figure in India in those days. This brought immense attention to Acharya Chatursen Shastri. These were followed by many historical novels, stories and ayurvedic books.

Acharya Chatursen Shastri took his last breath on the 2nd February, 1960.

[edit] Career

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (July 2006)

His books are historically authentic and give details of life in ancient India. These books can be seen as a logical binding of history and philosophy and are worth recommending to anyone who is looking to know more about India before the advent of Islam and who also wants to see Hinduism in positive light.

He was a friend of Jawaharlal Nehru, India's first Prime Minister, but he opposed Nehru's proposition of secular India. Nehru tried to ban his books after Congress came to power and accused Acharya Chatursen of fuelling tensions between Hindus and Muslims.

[edit] Writings

His works include:

• Vaishali ki Nagarvadhu (वैशाली की नगरवधू)(1948?) ISBN 81-7028-282-9 - based on the historical figure Amrapali
• Vayam Rakshamah (वयं रक्षाम:)
• Goli (गोली)
• Dharamputra (धर्मपुत्र)
• Sona aur Khoon (सोना और ख़ून)
• Neelmani (नीलमणि)
• Narmedh (नरमेध)
• Somnath Mahalay (सोमनाथ)
• Bharat mein Islam (भारत में इस्लाम)
• Achchi Aadatein (अच्छी आदतें)
• Aparajita (अपराजिता)
• Aadarsh Bhojan (आदर्श भोजन)
• Nirog Jivan (नीरोग जीवन)

[edit] External links

• Review (in Hindi) of Dharamputra (धर्मपुत्र) [1]

This article about an Indian writer or poet is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. v • d • e