Saraswati Samman
Indian literary award
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The Saraswati Samman is an annual award for outstanding prose or poetry literary works in any of the 23 languages of India listed in Schedule VIII of the Constitution of India.[1][2] It is named after the Hindu goddess of knowledge, Saraswati.[2]
| Saraswati Samman | |
|---|---|
| Sponsored by | K. K. Birla Foundation[1] |
| Date | 1991 |
| Location | Delhi |
| Country | India |
| Reward | ₹15,00,000 |
| Most recent winner | Ramkumar Mukhopadhyay |
| Highlights | |
| Total awarded | 35 |
| First winner | Harivansh Rai Bachchan |
History and selection process
The Saraswati Samman was instituted in 1991 by the K. K. Birla Foundation. It consists of ₹15,00,000,[3] a citation and a plaque.[1][2][4] Candidates are selected from literary works published in the previous ten years by a panel that included scholars and former award winners. The inaugural award was given to Harivansh Rai 'Bachchan' for his four volume autobiography, Kya Bhooloon Kya Yaad Karoon, Needa Ka Nirman Phir, Basere Se Door and Dashdwar se Sopan Tak.[5]
Shankha Ghosh, the 1998 recipient of Saraswati Samman, went on to win India's highest literary honor Jnanpith Award in 2016. Three recipients of Saraswati Samman -- Manubhai Pancholi (1997), Govind Chandra Pande (2003), and Veerappa Moily (2014) -- received Moortidevi Award, considered the second highest after the Jnanpith Award, in 1987, 2000, and 2007, respectively.
Awardees
| Year | Image | Recipient | Work | Language | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 |  | Harivansh Rai Bachchan | Autobiography in four volumes (Autobiography) | Hindi | [2][6] |
| 1992 |  | Ramakant Rath | "Sri Radha" (Poetry) | Odia | [2] |
| 1993 |  | Vijay Tendulkar | "Kanyadaan" (Play) | Marathi | [2] |
| 1994 |  | Harbhajan Singh | "Rukh Te Rishi" (Poetry collection) | Punjabi | [2] |
| 1995 |  | Balamani Amma | "Nivedyam" (Poetry collection) | Malayalam | [2] |
| 1996 |  | Shamsur Rahman Faruqi | "She`r-e Shor-Angez" | Urdu | [2] |
| 1997 | Manubhai Pancholi | "Kurukshetra" | Gujarati | [2] | |
| 1998 |  | Shankha Ghosh | "Gandharba Kabita Guccha" (Poetry collection) | Bengali | [2] |
| 1999 | – | Indira Parthasarathy | "Ramanujar" (Play) | Tamil | [2] |
| 2000 |  | Manoj Das | "Amruta Phala" (Novel) | Odia | [2][7] |
| 2001 |  | Dalip Kaur Tiwana | "Katha Kaho Urvashi" (Novel) | Punjabi | [2][8] |
| 2002 |  | Mahesh Elkunchwar | "Yugant" (Play) | Marathi | [2] |
| 2003 | – | Govind Chandra Pande | "Bhagirathi" (Poetry collection) | Sanskrit | [2] |
| 2004 |  | Sunil Gangopadhyay | "Pratham Alo" (Novel) | Bengali | [2] |
| 2005 |  | K. Ayyappa Panicker | "Ayyappa Panikarude Kritikal" (Poetry collection) | Malayalam | [2][9] |
| 2006 |  | Jagannath Prasad Das | "Parikrama" (Poetry collection) | Odia | [10] |
| 2007 | .jpg) | Naiyer Masud | "Taoos Chaman Ki Myna" (Short stories collection) | Urdu | [11][12] |
| 2008 |  |
Lakshmi Nandan Bora | "Kayakalpa" (Novel) | Assamese | [13] |
| 2009 |  | Surjit Paatar | "Lafzan Di Dargah" | Punjabi | [14] |
| 2010 |  | S. L. Bhyrappa | "Mandra" | Kannada | [4] |
| 2011 | – | A. A. Manavalan | "Irama Kathaiyum Iramayakalum" | Tamil | [15] |
| 2012 |  | Sugathakumari | "Manalezhuthu" (Poetry collection) | Malayalam | Poetry Collection |
| 2013 |  | Govind Mishra | "Dhool Paudho Par" (Novel) | Hindi | Novel |
| 2014 | .jpg) | Veerappa Moily | "Ramayana Mahanveshanam" (Poetry) | Kannada | Poetry |
| 2015 |  | Padma Sachdev | "Chitt-Chete" (Autobiography) | Dogri | [citation needed] |
| 2016 |  | Mahabaleshwar Sail | "Hawthan" (Novel) | Konkani | Novel |
| 2017 |  | Sitanshu Yashaschandra | "Vakhar" (Poetry collection) | Gujarati | Poetry |
| 2018 |  |
K Siva Reddy | "Pakkaki Ottigilite" (Poetry) |
Telugu | Poetry |
| 2019 |  |
Vasdev Mohi | "Chequebook" (Short Story Series) | Sindhi | Short Stories |
| 2020 | Sharankumar Limbale | "Sanatan" (Novel) | Marathi | Novel | |
| 2021 |  | Ram Darash Mishra | "Main to Yahan Hun" (Poetry) | Hindi | Poetry |
| 2022 | Sivasankari | "Surya Vamsam" (Memoir) | Tamil | Memoir | |
| 2023 |  |
Prabha Varma | "Roudra Sathwikam" (Novel in verse) | Malayalam | Verse Novel |
| 2024 |  |
Bhadreshdas Swami | "Swaminarayana Siddhanta Sudha" | Sanskrit | |
| 2025 | Dr. Ramkumar Mukhopadhyay | Hara Parbati Katha | Bengali | Novel | |
Recipients by language
See also
- Jnanpith Award, considered India's highest literary honor that is conferred by the Bharatiya Jnanpith.
- Moortidevi Award, another annual literary honor, regarded as the second highest,[16] and also awarded by the Bharatiya Jnanpith.