Rambhadracharya is the head of Tulsi Peeth, and the lifelong chancellor of the Jagadguru Rambhadracharya Handicapped University.[1][2][3] Rambhadracharya has been blind since the age of two months, but has never used Braille or any other aid to learn or compose.[4] He can speak 22 languages.[5][6] He has authored more than 90 books and 50 papers.[7] He is regarded as one of the greatest authorities on Tulsidas in India,[8] and is the editor of a critical edition of the Ramcharitmanas.[9] He is a Katha artist for the Ramayana and the Bhagavata. His Katha programmes are held regularly in different cities in India and other countries, and are telecast on television channels like Sanskar TV and Sanatan TV.[10]
In 2015, Rambhadracharya was awarded Padma Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian honour.[12] He won the Sahitya Akademi Award for Sanskrit, the Shreevani Alankaran, the Banabhatta award and the Vachaspati award for his epic Śrībhārgavarāghavīyam.[5] He has received eight gold medals in Shastri and Acharya examinations.[13]
Awards and honors bestowed on Rambhadracharya are listed below.
Awards
Before Vairagi initiation
1974. Five gold medals at the Akhila Bharatiya Sanskrit Adhiveshan (All India Sanskrit Conference), New Delhi. Presented by Indira Gandhi, then Prime Minister of India.[14][15]
1974. Gold Medal, Shastri (Bachelor of Arts)[13] examination, awarded by the Sampurnanand Sanskrit University, Varanasi.[16]
1976. Cancellor's Gold Medal, awarded by the Sampurnanand Sanskrit University, Varanasi.[15]
1976. Seven gold medals, Acharya (Master of Arts)[13] examination, awarded by the Sampurnanand Sanskrit University, Varanasi.[15][16]
After Vairagi initiation
1999. Kaviraj Vidya Narayan Shastri Archana-Samman Award, awarded by the Kaviraj Vidya Narayan Shastri Archana-Samman Committee, Bhagalpur, Bihar, for contributions to the Sanskrit language.[18]
2000. Vishishta Puraskar, awarded by the Uttar Pradesh Sanskrit Samsthana, Lucknow.
2003. Rajshekhar Samman, awarded by the Madhya Pradesh Sanskrit Academy, Bhopal, for the Śrīrāghavakṛpābhāṣyam commentary on the Prasthanatrayi.[19][20][21][22]
2003. Bhaurao Deoras Award, awarded by the Bhaurao Deoras Seva Nyas, Lucknow. He was given citations, traditional dresses and an award of Rs 58,000. Awarded at a simple function organised at the Saraswati Kunj in Nirala Nagar on March 17.[1][23][24]
2003. Diwaliben Award for Progress in Religion, awarded by the Dewaliben Mehta Charitable Trust, Mumbai. Presented by P. N. Bhagwati, former Chief Justice of India.
2003. Ativishishta Puraskar, by the Uttar Pradesh Sanskrit Samsthana, Lucknow.[19]
2004. President's Certificate of Honour or Badarayana Puraskar. Presented by A. P. J. Abdul Kalam, then President of India.[1][19]
2011. Tulsi Award 2011, awarded by Morari Bapu on the eve of Tulsi Jayanti, anniversary of the birth of Tulsidas.[26][27]
2011. Dev Bhumi Award, awarded by the Government of Himachal Pradesh, Shimla. Presented by Joseph Kurien, then Chief Justice of Himachal Pradesh High Court.[28]
Honors
1998. Dharmachakravarti, awarded by the World Religious Parliament, New Delhi, in recognition of meritorious contribution to world development.[19][20]
1999. Mahakavi, awarded by the Akhil Bharatiya Hindi Bhasha Sammelan, Bhagalpur, Bihar, for invaluable contributions to the popularisation and enrichment of Hindi language, literature, and culture.[29]
^ abc"Address at the Presentation of the 'Twelfth and Thirteenth Ramkrishna Jaidayal Dalmia Shreevani Alankaran, 2005 & 2006', New Delhi, 18 January 2007". Speeches. The Office of Speaker Lok Sabha. 18 January 2007. Retrieved 8 March 2011. Swami Rambhadracharya ... is a celebrated Sanskrit scholar and educationist of great merit and achievement. ... His academic accomplishments are many and several prestigious Universities have conferred their honorary degrees on him. A polyglot, he has composed poems in many Indian languages. He has also authored about 75 books on diverse themes having a bearing on our culture, heritage, traditions and philosophy which have received appreciation. A builder of several institutions, he started the Vikalanga Vishwavidyalaya at Chitrakoot, of which he is the lifelong Chancellor.
^ abcd"वाचस्पति पुरस्कार २००७" [Vachaspati Award 2007] (PDF) (in Hindi). K. K. Birla Foundation. Archived from the original(PDF) on 13 July 2011. Retrieved 8 March 2011.
^Prasad 1999, p. xiv: "Acharya Giridhar Mishra is responsible for many of my interpretations of the epic. The meticulousness of his profound scholarship and his extraordinary dedication to all aspects of Rama's story have led to his recognition as one of the greatest authorities on Tulasidasa in India today ... that the Acharya's knowledge of the Ramacharitamanasa is vast and breathtaking and that he is one of those rare scholars who know the text of the epic virtually by heart."
NBT News, Ghaziabad (21 January 2011). "मन से भक्ति करो मिलेंगे राम : रामभद्राचार्य" [Perform devotion with the mind, and you will find Ram: Rambhadracharya]. Navbharat Times (in Hindi). Retrieved 24 June 2011.
Correspondent, Rishikesh (7 June 2011). "दु:ख और विपत्ति में धैर्य न खोएं" [Do not lose patience in sorrow and adversity]. Jagran Yahoo (in Hindi). Retrieved 24 June 2011. प्रख्यात राम कथावाचक स्वामी रामभद्राचार्य महाराज ने कहा कि ... [Famous Ramkatha artist Swami Rambhadracharya said that ... ]{{cite news}}: |last= has generic name (help)
"सिंगापुर में भोजपुरी के अलख जगावत कार्यक्रम" [Enrapturing Bhojpuri programme in Singapore]. Anjoria (in Bhojpuri). 26 June 2011. Retrieved 30 June 2011. श्री लक्ष्मी नारायण मन्दिर में सुप्रसिद्ध मानस मर्मज्ञ जगतगुरु रामभद्राचार्य जी राकेश के मानपत्र देके सम्मानित कइले [In the Shri Lakshminarayan temple, the renowned and insightful expert of Ramcharitmanas Jagadguru Rambhadracharya honoured Rakesh with a certificate]
^ abcParauha, Tulsidas (14 January 2011). "महाकविजगद्गुरुस्वामिरामभद्राचार्याणां व्यक्तित्वं कृतित्वञ्च" [The life and works of the great poet Jagadguru Rambhadracharya]. In Rambhadracharya, Svami (ed.). गीतरामायणम् (गीतसीताभिरामं संस्कृतगीतमहाकाव्यम्) [Gītarāmāyaṇam (The Gītasītābhirāmam Sanskrit lyrical epic poem)] (in Sanskrit). Jagadguru Rambhadracharya Handicapped University. pp. 5–9.
^Durg, City Reporter (30 October 2011). "नेत्रहीन आचार्य की भागवत कथा आज से" [Bhagavata Katha by visually impaired preceptor starts today]. Dainik Bhaskar (in Hindi). Bhilai, Chhattisgarh, India. Archived from the original on 29 November 2011. Retrieved 29 November 2011.
^"Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeetha – Convocation". Shri Lal Bahadur Shastri Rashtriya Sanskrit Vidyapeetha. Archived from the original on 27 January 2016. Retrieved 11 June 2011. The Fourth Convocation of the Vidyapeetha was organized on 11th of February, 2000. ... Honorary title of Mahamahopadhyaya was conferred on Shri Swami Rambhadracharya (U.P.), ... by the Chancellor.
^"डिग्री पाकर खिले मेधावियों के चेहरे" [Captured talents' faces bloom after getting degree]. Dainik Jagran (in Hindi). 13 September 2013. Retrieved 3 October 2013.
Aneja, Mukta (2005). "Shri Ram Bhadracharyaji – A Religious Head With A Vision". In Kaul, J. K.; Abraham, George (eds.). Abilities Redefined – Forty Life Stories Of Courage And Accomplishment(PDF). Delhi, India: All India Confederation of the Blind. pp. 66–68. Archived from the original(PDF) on 3 September 2011. Retrieved 25 April 2011.
Chandra, R. (September 2008). "सम्मान और पुरस्कार" [Honours and Awards]. Kranti Bharat Samachar (in Hindi). 8 (11). Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India: Rajesh Chandra Pandey. RNI No. 2000, UPHIN 2638.
Dinkar, Dr. Vagish (2008). श्रीभार्गवराघवीयम् मीमांसा [Investigation into Śrībhārgavarāghavīyam] (in Hindi). Delhi, India: Deshbharti Prakashan. ISBN9788190827669.
Dwivedi, Hazari Prasad (2007) [August 1981]. Dwivedi, Mukund (ed.). हज़ारी प्रसाद द्विवेदी ग्रन्थावली ३ [The Complete Works of Hazari Prasad Dwivedi Volume 3] (in Hindi) (3rd corrected and extended ed.). New Delhi: Rajkamal. ISBN9788126713585.
Mishra, Gita Devi (August 2011). Sushil, Surendra Sharma (ed.). "पूज्यपाद जगद्गुरु जी को तुलसी एवार्ड २०११" [Tulsi Award 2011 to Honorable Jagadguru]. Shri Tulsi Peeth Saurabh (in Hindi). 15 (3). Ghaziabad, Uttar Pradesh, India: Shri Tulsi Peeth Seva Nyas.
Nagar, Shanti Lal (2002). Sharma, Acharya Divakar; Goyal, Siva Kumar; Sushil, Surendra Sharma (eds.). The Holy Journey of a Divine Saint: Being the English Rendering of Swarnayatra Abhinandan Granth (First, Hardback ed.). New Delhi, India: B. R. Publishing Corporation. ISBN8176462888.
Prasad, Ram Chandra (1999) [First published 1991]. Sri Ramacaritamanasa The Holy Lake Of The Acts Of Rama (Illustrated, reprint ed.). Delhi, India: Motilal Banarsidass. ISBN81-208-0762-6.
Sharma, Dharam Veer (30 September 2010a). "Judgment in OOS No. 4 of 1989". Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India: Allahabad High Court (Lucknow Bench). Archived from the original on 27 August 2014. Retrieved 24 April 2011. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
Sharma, Dharam Veer (30 September 2010b). "Annexure V". Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India: Allahabad High Court (Lucknow Bench). Archived from the original on 27 August 2014. Retrieved 24 April 2011. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)