PANDIT NATHURAM PREMI
(26.11.1881 – 30.1.1960)
~ by Manish Modi
Can a man’s handwriting change his future? Yes it can. It changed Pandit Nathuram Premi’s future and the history of Hindi language publishing in India. It was Pandit Premiji’s handwriting that took him to Bombay, the city where he was to meet his mentor, Pannalal Bakhliwal, and where he was to start his own publishing firm and the first bookshop in Bombay, Hindi Grantha Ratnākara Kāryālaya and where later, in the memory of Seth Manikchandra, he was to start the Manikacandra Jaina Granthamālā. His contribution to Jain and Hindi literature through his own writings, as well as through his work in translation and publishing remains unsurpassed. A man of firm beliefs and strong principles, he used his editorship of the influential magazines Jain Mitra and Jain Hitaiṣī to advocate social reforms in the Digambara Jain community to which he belonged and the publication of the Digambara Jain scriptures.
Born on 26 November 1881 in Devari, in the district of Sagar in Madhya Pradesh, Nathuram Premi was the eldest child of Tundelal Modi, a travelling merchant of modest means, belonging to the Paravār caste of Digambara Jains, hailing from Bundelkhand. Premiji studied in grammar school and was the monitor of his class. He cleared his pre-high school exams in 1898 and became a schoolteacher nearby at Rehli.
Inspired by his guru Syed Amir Ali Mir, Premiji became a budding poet who wrote in Urdu and Braj. Premiji often said that he was not a spontaneous poet. His command of rasa, alaṅkāra and piṅgala gave him the impetus to write poetry, and his mastery of Sanskrit grammar would help him greatly in future as well. Young Nathuram wrote under the nom de plume of “Premi”. His poems were published in the literary magazines of the time, Rasika Mitra, Rasika Vāṭikā and Kāvya Sudhākara, but unfortunately, his poems are no longer available.
In the 1890s, he married Rama Devi, who was from the nearby village of Sarkheda, in the district Sagar. They led a very happy married life. Premiji, a staunch supporter of women’s empowerment, regarded Rama Devi as a close friend and took great interest in educating her.
In 1901, the Digambara Jain Tīrthakṣetra Committee, situated in Bombay, released an advertisement for an office clerk. Premiji sent in an application for the post, and his beautiful handwriting won the job for him. He arrived in Bombay in 1901, and started working for the Digambara Jain Tīrthakṣetra Committee as a clerk. (2) His efficiency and honesty soon ensured that he was running the entire office. From accounts, and
correspondence, to general administration and handling the safe, everything was entrusted to him.
Competence breeds jealousy. The all round competence and hardworking ethics of Premiji made his co-workers insecure. Hence, a false complaint was made against Premiji alleging that he was not completely honest in his bookkeeping. Premiji insisted that his books be audited. When the books and cash where tallied, it was found that there was some cash in excess. This was because Premiji, who had begun taking on translation jobs, would keep his own earnings also in the office safe. Premiji’s name was cleared, but he decided not to work for anyone who would question his honesty. He decided to quit and start out on his own.
The owner of Hirabaug, Seth Manikchandra, had seen Premiji and was impressed by his honesty, diligence and intellect. He asked Premiji to take up rooms at the Hirabaug Dharmashala at the heart of the Bombay market and start his business from there. He accepted the offer and together with Pannalal Bakhliwal started the Jain Grantha Ratnākara Kāryālaya in 1906.
While he was working for the Digambara Jain Tīrthakṣetra Committee, Premiji also edited Jain Mitra, making it one of the most influential Jain magazines of that era. It became known as a progressive magazine, sound on Jain siddhānta but willing the community to change with the times and give up its orthodoxy. Premiji’s editorials on Jain history were much appreciated. In fact, Jain Mitra became a masthead for all those who wanted the Jain community to move forward and who were known as the sudhāravādī as opposed to the conservatives, the rūḍhivādī. Premiji was at the epicentre of this movement for social freedom, universal progress and modern education. He also began advocating the remarriage of Jain widows. This was unheard of in the conservative Jain community of that time and there was much opposition. But other Jain reformers, such as Kṣullaka Ganeshprasadji Varni of Bundelkhand, publicly backed Premiji. In 1914, Premiji and Varniji both addressed a rally at Sonagiri, a Digambara Jain place of pilgrimage in Bundelkhand, where they publicly declared their support for widow remarriage.
Pandit Premiji was the first Jain scholar of the 20th century to carry out a critical study of Jain history. He was the inspiration for the Śvetāmbara stalwarts Pandit Sukhlal Sanghvi and Muni Jinavijaya who carried out immensely important studies on Jainism. Pandit Sukhlalji and Muni Jinavijayaji, along with Pandit Becharadasji Doshi, Pandit Agarchand Nahata and Dr Dalsukh Malvania acknowledged their debt to Premiji in a festschrift dedicated to him.(4)
Premiji’s festschrift, Premī Abhinandana Grantha, edited by the Vedic scholar Dr Vasudev Sharan Aggarwal, was the first such work in the Jain community. An incident during the formal launch of it provides an insight into Premiji’s character. The 1946 Premī Abhinandana Grantha, with messages written by Indian luminaries such as Sir Sarvapalli Radhakrishnan, Purushottamdas Tandon and Kaka Kalelkar, was to be formally launched in Calcutta, and a grand luncheon was to mark the occasion. Premiji opposed the idea of a festschrift in his honour and had to be prevailed upon to go to Calcutta. But when he heard of the luncheon, he refused to attend; in that year, Bengal had suffered a famine and Premiji could not accept the invitation for a grand luncheon when there were thousands of people dying of starvation.
While still the editor of the Jain Mitra, Premiji also started editing classics such as the Banārasāvilāsa, Daulatapadasaṅgraha, Jinaśataka, etc. His work on the Ardha Kathānaka was ready in 1912 – 1913, (5) but the book was not printed until 1943 as it was Premiji’s policy to publish other scholars’ works before his own.
Premiji was adept at several languages. One of his mentors, Pannalal Bakhliwal, taught him Bengali, the language of Tagore, and on his own, he studied and mastered Gujarati and Marathi. His Sanskrit background helped him to learn Prakrit and Apabhramśa, also on his own. Premiji, became known for his command of languages as well as grasp of Jain siddhānta, and was flooded with translation work. At the behest of the Ṣrīmad Rājacandra Granthamālā, he translated from Gujarati into Hindi Śrīmad Rājacandra’s Mokṣamālā. This translation was unique in that he translated the prose segments into prose and the poetry into verse form. He also translated Ācārya Amṛtacandra’s Puruṣārthasiddhyupāya from Sanskrit to Hindi.
All along, Premiji unwaveringly continued to edit the Jain Mitra. In 1912, (6) he founded the Jain Hitaiṣī, a Jain magazine with a reformist and questioning approach. Jain Hitaiṣī was known for the forthright views of its editorials and academically sound articles on Jain history, culture and society. Premiji’s scholarly articles on Jain history were trend setters which paved the path for the academic study of Jainism by lay Indian scholars in the 20th century.
His Jain Sāhitya aur Itihās, a collection of articles that he wrote for Jain Mitra and Jain Hitaiṣī, set the benchmark for scholarly research into Jain history. He later re-edited these articles and produced a compilation, first published in 1942, and a second edition in 1956. His grandson Yashodhar’s wife Vijayalakshmi helped him with the second edition. He had taught her Sanskrit, Bengali and Marathi, and she was to help him greatly by proofreading his writings.
Premiji also edited and published Ardha Kathānaka, Banārasīvilāsa and many other Digambara Jain works, including Kundakunda’s Bārasa Aṇuvekkhā.
On 24 September 1912, Premiji founded the publishing house Hindi Grantha Ratnākara Karyālaya (now known as Hindi Grantha Kāryālaya), which was to become the foremost Hindi publishing house in India and also the oldest bookstore in Bombay. The first publication was a Hindi translation of John Stuart Mill’s Liberty, titled Svādhīnatā. The Hindi translation was by Pandit Mahavir Prasad Dvivedi, whose Hindi magazine Sarasvatī was regarded by Premiji as the benchmark for Hindi quarterly publications. Hindi Granth Karyalay became synonymous with the best Indian literature. He published almost the entire oeuvre of Sharatchandra Chattopadhyaya, the great Bengali writer and some works of Rabindranath Tagore, such as Āṃkh kī Kirkirī, and Naukā Dūbī. Apart from publishing Hindi translations of these Bengali classics, Premiji also published Hindi translations of the Gujarati writer KM Munshi, such as Gujarāt ke Nāth and Pātaṇ kā Prabhutva. Premiji and Munshi Premchand were close friends, and he published the first edition of Munshi Premchand’s classic novel, Godān. Apart from Godān, Premiji published Premchand’s short story collections entitled Nava Nidhi and Sapta Saroj.
Premiji was always keen on publishing the work of new writers including Hajariprasad Dvivedi, Jainendrakumar, Yashpal, Acharya Chatursen, and Pandit Sudarshan. He also published the Bengali plays of Dvijendra Lal Rai for the first time in Hindi.
In memory of Seth Manikchandra, Premiji established the Manikacandra Jaina Granthamālā wherein he published Jain scriptures, for the first time systematically edited by philologists. The Manikacandra Jaina Granthamāla published over 40 Digambara Jain texts, mostly written in Prakrit, Apabhramśa or Sanskrit. Premiji ran the Manikacandra Jaina Granthamālā on an honorary basis between 1915 and the 1950s. All the books were sold at cost. When his health began to fail, it was decided to hand over the series to Bhāratīya Jñānapīṭha in Varanasi. After that, the series came to a halt. None of its books are available today. Even getting photocopies of all the books is difficult in India. A great treasure has been lost through neglect and modern man’s apathy towards religious knowledge.
Premiji lived his life at the vanguard of the Indian Renaissance Movement which began in Bengal and heralded an unprecedented upsurge in education, in the printing and publishing of classical Indian, medieval and modern literature, health care reforms, and the introduction and acceptance of sweeping social changes that awakened India from a sleepy nation rooted in the middle ages into the rapidly growing industrial and economic power that she is today.
Hindi Granth Ratnākar Kāryālay became India’s No. 1 publishers of Hindi literature. At that time, nationalism and patriotism were peaking and Hindi was not merely a non-local language, it was a symbol of Indian patriotism and defiance in the face of British imperialism. Very appropriately then, the acclaimed Hindi novelist Vishnu Prabhakar called Premiji the “Bhīṣma Pitāmaha” of Hindi publishing.
Premiji lived a long life studded with literary and scholarly achievements. He had suffered from asthma for a long time and passed away owing to old age on 30 January, 1960. He left behind his daughter-in-law and two grandsons. His elder grandson Yashodhar Modi is continuing his legacy along with his son Manish Modi.
In Premiji’s memory, his grandson Yashodhar Modi has started the Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series. This series has published select volumes focusing on subjects as varied as Jainism, philosophy and yoga and published scholars such as Premiji himself, Ludwig Alsdorf, Maurice Bloomfield, Padmanabh Jaini, Nalini Balbir, Willem Bollée, Jaykumar Jalaj and Hermann Kuhn. Original texts by ancient and medieval Jain ascetics such as Kundakunda, Samantabhadra, Umāsvāti, Pūjyapāda, Joindu, Prabhācandra, Bhāskaranandi, Jinabhadragani, Vādirāja and many others have been published in this series.
Hindi Granth Karyalay, http://www.hindibooks.8m.com and http://www.gohgk.com, has also published bound volumes of the International Journal of Jaina Studies.
Notes
1. In 1906, the Committee shifted its offices to the beautiful Hirabaug building owned by the philanthropic family of Seth Manikchandra Panachandra. This is where it remains to this day.
2. Please refer to Section l, “Abhinandana”, Premī Abhinandana Grantha, Pages 1- 62
3. Please refer to “Mudraṇa Kathā”, Ardha Kathānaka, pages 5 – 6.
4. Jain Hitaiṣī ran from 1912 to 1921, when it had to be closed down due to lack of funds.
5. Ardha Kathānaka has been being freshly translated into modern Hindi and English by Rohini Chowdhury. It has been published by Penguin India.
Bibliography
1. Aggarwal, Vasudev Sharan (Ed.). Premī Abhinandana Grantha. Tikamgarh: Premī Abhinandana Grantha Samiti, 1946.
2. Premī, Nāthurām. Jain Sāhitya aur Itihās. Second Edition. Mumbai: Samśodhita Sāhitya Mālā Puṣpa 1, 1942/1956.
3. Banārasīdāsa. Ardha Kathānaka. Ed. with a detailed Preface by Nāthurām Premī. Mumbai: Samśodhita Sāhitya Mālā Puṣpa 2, 1946/1957.
4. Amṛtacandra, Ācārya. Puruṣārthasiddhyupāya. Ed. with an Introduction by Nāthurām Premī. Āgās: Śrīmad Rājacandra Āśrama, 1904.
5. Goyaliya, Ayodhyaprasad. Jain Jāgaraṇa ke Agradūta. Varanasi: Bhāratīya Jñānapīṭha, 1952
6. Śāstrī, Phūlcandra (Ed.). Paravāra Jain Samāj kā Itihās. Jabalpur: Śrī Bhāratavarṣīya Digambara Jain Paravāra Sabhā, 1992.
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List of Publications in the Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series
Jaina Studies: Their Present State and Future Tasks
By Prof Dr Ludwig Alsdorf, English tr. by Bal Patil
{Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series Volume 1}.
ISBN 978-81-88769-13-1
The Story of Paesi
Prakrit text; English tr. by Prof Dr Willem Bollée
{Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series Volume 2}.
ISBN 978-81-88769-03-2
Ratnakaranda Sravakacara
Sanskrit text by Acarya Samantabhadra, Hindi tr. by Dr Jaykumar Jalaj
{Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series Volume 3}.
ISBN 978-81-88769-04-9
Vyavahara Bhasya Pithika
Prakrit text, English tr. by Prof Dr Willem Bollée
{Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series Volume 4}.
ISBN 978-81-88769-07-0
Samadhitantra
Sanskrit text by Acarya Pujyapada, Hindi tr. by Dr Jaykumar Jalaj
{Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series Volume 5}.
ISBN 978-81-88769-06-3
Atthapahuda
Prakrit text by Acarya Kundakunda, Hindi tr. by Dr Jaykumar Jalaj
{Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series Volume 6}.
ISBN 978-81-88769-15-5
Tattvarthasutra
Sanskrit text by Acarya Prabhacandra, Hindi tr. by Dr Jaykumar Jalaj
{Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series Volume 7}.
ISBN 978-81-88769-16-2
Yogamrit: Yog Sahaj Jivan Vigyan
By Mahavir Sainik
{Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series Volume 8}.
ISBN 978-81-88769-17-9
Paramatmaprakasa
Apabhramsha text by Acarya Joindu, Hindi tr. by Dr Jaykumar Jalaj
{Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series Volume 9}.
ISBN 978-81-88769-09-4
Yogasara
Apabhramsha text by Acarya Joindu, Hindi tr. by Dr Jaykumar Jalaj
{Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series Volume 10}.
ISBN 978-81-88769-12-4
Dhyanastava
Sanskrit text by Acarya Bhaskaranandi, Hindi tr. by Dr Jaykumar Jalaj {Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series Volume 11}.
ISBN 978-81-88769-20-9
Dhyanasataka
Prakrit text by Jinabhadragani Ksamasramana, Hindi tr. by Dr Jaykumar Jalaj
{Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series Volume 12}.
ISBN 978-81-88769-21-6
Barasa Anuvekkha
Prakrit text by Acarya Kundakunda, Sanskrit and Hindi translations by Pandit Nathuram Premi {Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series Volume 13}.
ISBN 978-81-88769-22-3
Istopadesa
Sanskrit text by Acarya Pujyapada, Hindi tr. by Dr Jaykumar Jalaj
{Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series Volume 14}.
ISBN 978-81-88769-23-0
Life and Stories of the Jaina Saviour Parsvanatha
An English translation of Acarya Bhavadeva’s Parsvacaritram by Prof Dr Maurice Bloomfield {Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series Volume 15}.
ISBN 978-81-88769-24-7
Samadhitantra
Sanskrit text by Acarya Pujyapada, with English tr.
{Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series Volume 16}.
ISBN 978-81-88769-25-4
The Apabhramsa of Svayambhudeva’s Paumacariu
By Dr Eva de Clercq
{Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series Volume 17}.
ISBN 978-81-88769-28-5
Jainism and the Definition of Religion
By Dr Piotr Balcerowicz
{Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series Volume 18}.
ISBN 978-81-88769-29-2
Dravyasamgraha : Compendium of Substances
Prakrit text by Acarya Nemicandra, English tr. by Prof Dr Nalini Balbir {Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series Volume 19}.
ISBN 978-81-88769-30-8
Tattvarthasutra
Sanskrit text by Acarya Prabhacandra, English tr. by Anish Shah
{Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series Volume 20}.
ISBN 978-81-88769-31-5
Rayanasara
Prakrit text by Acarya Kundakunda, Hindi tr. by Dr Jaykumar Jalaj
{Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series Volume 21}.
ISBN 978-81-88769-32-2
Jainism: An Eternal Pilgrimage
By Bal Patil
{Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series Volume 23}.
ISBN 978-81-88769-34-6
Dravyasamgraha
Prakrit text by Acarya Nemicandra, Hindi tr. by Dr Jaykumar Jalaj
{Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series Volume 24}.
ISBN 978-81-88769-37-7
Parsvanathacaritram
Sanskrit text by Acarya Vadiraja
{Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series Volume 25}.
ISBN 978-81-88769-27-8
Parsvacaritram: The Life of Parsva
Sanskrit text by Acarya Gunabhadra, English tr. by Prof Dr Willem Bollée
{Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series Volume 26}.
ISBN 978-81-88769-35-3
Jain Sahitya aur Itihas
By Pandit Nathuram Premi
{Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series Volume 27}.
ISBN 978-81-88769-02-5
Tales of Atonement: Stories from Malayagiri’s Commentary on the Vyavahara Bhasya. English tr. by Prof Dr Willem Bollée
{Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series Volume 28}.
ISBN 978-81-88769-38-4
Yogasastra: A Handbook on the Three Jewels of Jainism
Sanskrit text by Acarya Hemacandra, English tr. by Prof Dr Olle Qvarnstroem
{Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series Volume 29}.
ISBN 978-81-88769-40-7
Istopadesa
Sanskrit text by Acarya Pujyapada
{Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series Volume 30}.
ISBN 978-81-88769-45-2
Dhyanabattisi : 32 Steps of Self-Realisation
Braj text by Banarasidasa, English tr. by Jerome Petit
{Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series Volume 31}.
ISBN 978-81-88769-48-3
Other books on Jainism that we have published:
International Journal of Jaina Studies, Vol. 1- 3
Ed. Dr Peter Fluegel
ISBN 978-81-88769-36-0
Christianity and Jainism: An Interfaith Dialogue
By Prof Dr Padmanabh S. Jaini.
ISBN 978-81-88769-42-1
The Basic Thought of Bhagavan Mahavir
By Dr Jaykumar Jalaj.
ISBN 978-81-88769-41-4
Rebirth of the Karma Doctrine
By Dr Subhash C Jain.
ISBN 978-81-88769-44-5
All these books are available at:
HINDI GRANTH KARYALAY
Publishers Since 1912
9 Hirabaug C P Tank
Mumbai 400004
INDIA
Phone: + 91.22.2382.6739
Email: manishymodi@gmail.com