Maithilisharan Gupt (मैथिलीशरण गुप्त) (1886-1965) was one of the most important modern Hindi poets. He is considered among the pioneers of Khari Boli (plain dialect) poetry and wrote in Khari Boli at a time when most Hindi poets favoured the use of Brijbhasha. An admirer of Hindi literature can eaily estimate the depth of immortal poet by his last lines.. प्राण न पागल हो तुम यों, पृथ्वी पर वह प्रेम कहाँ.. मोहमयी छलना भर है, भटको न अहो अब और यहाँ.. ऊपर को निरखो अब तो बस मिलता है चिरमेल वहाँ.. स्वर्ग वहीं, अपवर्ग वहीं, सुखसर्ग वहीं, निजवर्ग जहाँ.. Hey Life!! Don't get crazy for this mortal world. You can't find true love here. This is a beautiful trap so stop wandering here. Look upward (towards heaven) dear. That's the only place where you can find long lasting relations. There's the heaven, there's the source of ultimate pleasure where you have your own people.
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Early years
Gupt was born Chirgaon, Jhansi in a Gahoi family. His father was Seth Ramcharan Gupta. He disliked school as a child, so his father arranged for his education at their home. As a child, Gupta studied Sanskrit, English and Bengali. Mahavir Prasad Dwivedi was his mentor.
Literary works
Gupt entered the world of Hindi literature by writing poems in various magazines, including Saraswati. In 1910, his first major work, Rang mein Bhang was published. With Bharat Bharati, his nationalist poems became popular among Indians, who were struggling for independence. Most of his poems revolve around plots from Ramayana, Mahabharata, Buddhist stories and the lives of famous religious leaders. His famous work Saket revolves around Urmila, a lesser-known character from Ramayana, while another of his works Yashodhara revolves around Yashodhara, the wife of Gautama Buddha.
Translations
Gupt also translated major works from other language into Hindi. These include Rubaiyats of Omar Khayyám and Swapnavaasavdatta (a Sanskrit play).
Public Office
After India became independent in 1947, he was also made an honorary member of the Rajya Sabha, where he used poetry to put his opinions before the other members. He remained a member of the Rajya Sabha till his death in 1965.
Major works
- Poetry: Rang mein Bhang, Bharat-Bharati, Jayadrath Vadh, Vikat Bhat, Plassey ka Yuddha, Gurukul, Kisan, Panchavati, Siddharaj, Saket, Yashodhara, Arjan-Visarjan, Kaaba-Karbala, Jayabharat, Dwapar, Jahush, Vaitalik, Kunal.
- Drama: Tilottama, Chandrahaas
References
- 301 Shreshtha Hindi Nibandha by Shree Sharan and Rastogi.
Poems: Manavata
