Ganganath Jha


Sir Gaṅgānāth Jhā was a scholar of Sanskrit, Indian philosophy and Buddhist philosophy. He was also a paṇḍit of Nyāya-Śāstra.

Early life

Ganganath Jha was born in a Maithil Brahmin family of the gandhwari village of Madhubani district of Bihar.he He was first taught using the Persian script then, when his family moved to Benares when he was aged seven, he learned Sanskrit. In 1880, he returned to his relatives in Darbhanga and was admitted to an English medium school. In 1886, after completing his school education, he returned to Benares for further studies and was admitted to the Government Sanskrit College there. He received his MAMaster of Arts degree in Sanskrit with first rank in 1892.

Service

At the age of 24, he was appointed a librarian of the Darbhanga state by its Maharaja. In 1902, he was appointed a Professor of Sanskrit at Muir College in Allahabad, which he left in 1918 to become the first Indian principal of the Government Sanskrit College in Benares. Between 1920–1923 he served as a member of the Council of State in the Central British Government of India.
He was vice-chancellor of University of Allahabad during 1923–32. The University of Allahabad established the Ganganath Jha Hostel in his honour.

Honors and awards

Sir GN Jha written numerous books and translated many Sanskrit books into English.

Books authored

In 1945, after his death, his five sons established the Ganganath Jha Research Institute in Allahabad. The institute publishes books and journals on oriental studies, as well as producing a journal. Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan, formerly known as Ganganath Jha Research Institute and Ganganatha Jha Kendriya Sanskrit Vidyapeeth was founded on 17 November 1943 with a view to perpetuate the name and works of M. M. Dr. Sir Ganganatha Jha, an International figure of Orientology and Indology. This is the research training centre of Rashtriya Sanskrit Sansthan from 2016–2017.