Vagish Shastri (born Bhagirath Prasad Tripathi; 15 July 1935 – 11 May 2022) was an Indian scholar known for his work in Sanskrit grammar, linguistics, tantra, and yoga. He developed a system of Sanskrit learning that he termed "Vagyoga", which aimed to simplify the process of learning the language.[2]

In 2018, the Government of India conferred upon him the Padma Shri award in recognition of his contributions to literature and education.[3][4]

Academic career

Vagish Shastri was born in Khurai, a town in the present-day state of Madhya Pradesh, in 1934. He received his early education in Khurai, Vrindavan, and Benaras (now Varanasi). In 1959, he completed a master's degree in Vyākaraṇa Āchārya (Sanskrit grammar) and began teaching at Tikmani Sanskrit Grammar College in Varanasi.

In 1964, he earned a PhD (Vidyāvāridhi) in grammar and historical linguistics.[5] He received a diploma in German in 1966, followed by a D.Litt. (Vāchaspati) in 1969 from Sampurnanand Sanskrit University.

In 1970, he was appointed Director and Professor at the Research Institute of Sampurnanand Sanskrit University, where he served for approximately three decades.[6][7]

Contributions

Shastri began writing essays at the age of 19.[5] His research and essays on Sanskrit grammar, linguistics, and tantric philosophy have been featured in national and international journals.[5] He served as secretary-president at the fifth World Sanskrit conference and was chief editor of the Sarasvati Bhavana Granthamala. He also edited over 300 manuscripts, which were later published as books.[5] Additionally, he was the chief editor of the Sanskrit journal Sarasvati Susama. His writings covered grammatical and philological research, drama, history, poetry, satire, historical research, and metaphysics.[8][9]

Honors and awards

Vagish Shastri
  • Padma Shri (2018) – awarded by Ram Nath Kovind[10]
  • Senior Research Fellowship (1964–67) – University Grants Commission
  • Kālidasa Award (1966–67) – Highest literary Award, Uttar Pradesh
  • Honored 6 times by Uttar Pradesh Sanskrit Academy (1968, 1971, 1981, 1985, 1995 and 1996)
  • Mahāmahopādhyāya, Śri Kashi Pandit Parishad (1982)
  • Bāņa Bhaţţ Award, Uttar Pradesh Sanskrit Academy (1990)
  • Veda-Vedānga Award, Rajasthan Sanskrit Academy (1994)
  • Anusansdhan Puraskāra (Research Award) – Utkal Pāti trust (1995)
  • Swami Vishnu Tirth Sammāna (Spiritual writing Award) – Indore (2002)
  • Special Award – Govt. of Uttar Pradesh Sanskrit Sansthan (2005)
  • Certificate of Honour for Sanskrit (2013) – awarded by the President of India[11]
  • Sauhard Samman – Uttar Pradesh Hindi Sansthan, Lucknow (2014)
  • Yash Bharati Samman – Highest Honour of U. P. Govt, Government of Uttar Pradesh (2015)
  • Vishva Bharati Samman (2013) – Highest Honour in Sanskrit Work, by U. P. Sanskrit Samsthan, Lucknow
  • Mahakavi Kalidas Sanskrit Vrati Samman (2016) – Highest Honour in Sanskrit Work, by Kavikulguru Kalidas Sanskrit University, Nagpur
  • Rashtriya Chatrasal Samman (2017) – by Bundeli Sahitya Parishad, Bhopal
  • Sanskrit Sadhana Samman – "Maharshi Ved Vyas Samman 2017" (2017) – by Delhi Sanskrit Academy, New Delhi
  • Honorary D.Litt., Sampurnanand Sanskrit University, Varanasi (2018)

References

  1. ↑ "Padma Shri Sanskrit Scholar Vagish Shastri Passes Away". The News Agency. The News Agency. 28 December 2024. Retrieved 31 July 2025.
  2. ↑ www.wisdomlib.org (1 July 2020). "Vagyoga, Vāgyoga, Vag-yoga: 3 definitions". www.wisdomlib.org. Retrieved 5 July 2025.
  3. ↑ "Government announces recipients of 2018 Padma awards | India News – Times of India". The Times of India.
  4. ↑ "Sanskrit Scholar And Padma Winner Bhagirath Prasad Tripathi Dies At 86". www.ndtv.com. Retrieved 1 August 2025.
  5. 1 2 3 4 ""In Tantra there are no castes, no gender" – Interview with Vagish Shastry | Wild Yogi – Independent online magazine". wildyogi.info. Retrieved 9 May 2025.
  6. ↑ Danielle Tramard, A Le royaume de la connaissance, Beneras ville sainte retour aux sources de la tradition sanscrite, Le Monde, 28 October 1995, Paris
  7. ↑ "Sanskrit, the Divine Language: Interview with Dr. Vagish Shastri - - English". suprememastertv.com. Retrieved 1 August 2025.
  8. ↑ Sharma, B. D. (2003). Holistic Health Healing and Astrosciences. B. Jain Publishers. ISBN 978-81-8056-304-1.
  9. ↑ Vagish Shastri. Bundelkhand Ki Prachinta Vagish Shastri.
  10. ↑ "Padma Awards 2022 Announced". Press Information Bureau. Government of India. 25 January 2022. Retrieved 31 July 2025.
  11. ↑ "Mukherjee presents Certificate of Honor, Maharshi Badrayan Vyas Samman to scholars on I-Day". Business Standard. 15 August 2013. Retrieved 19 August 2013.
source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Vagish_Shastri