Vishnushastri Chiplunkar

Vishnushastri Chiplunkar (20 May 1850 – 17 March 1882) (Marathi : विष्णु कृष्ण चिपळूणकर) was a Marathi writer, whose writings have had a decisive influence on modern Marathi prose style. He was the son of the writer and scholar Krushnashastri Chiplunkar.

Vishnushastri was born in Pune in a Chitpavan Brahmin family to the Sankrit scholar Krishnashastri Chiplunkar. He obtained his B.A. from Deccan College, Pune in 1872 and worked as a schoolteacher in government schools during the years 1872-1879. In 1880, he founded (together with Gopal Ganesh Agarkar and Bal Gangadhar Tilak) the newspapers Kesari (केसरी, in Marathi) and Mahratta (in English).He was also a co-founder 'The New English School'in Pune. These institutions intended to provide a more patriotically inclined education as opposed to the schools run by the government in British India.

In 1878, Chiplunkar founded another monthly named Kavyetihas Sangraha (काव्येतिहास संग्रह) with the objective of better familiarizing the readers with the poetry and history of Maharashtra. The same year he established two printing presses, namely Aryabhushan Press (आर्यभूषण छापखाना) and Chitrashala (चित्रशाळा), the latter for the purpose of printing pictures of historical and spiritual figures and deities in Maharashtra. The next year, he opened a bookshop named Kitabkhana (किताबखाना), with the objective of making available inspirational books to Marathi readers.

He died in Pune of typhoid in at an early age of 32 in 1882. An early biography was written by his brother Lakshmanshastri Chiplunkar , and a later appraisal of his career by Madkholkar .

His career as a writer began in 1868, with his articles in the periodical Shalapatrak (शालापत्रक, The School Paper) founded by his father. Notable in this period are the critical appraisals of the Sanskrit poets Kalidas, Bhavabhuti, Bana, Subandhu and Dandin. These articles introduced his readers to the 'Western' tradition of literary criticism. They were later republished as Sanskrit Kavipanchak (संस्कृत कविपंचक ). Eventually he became the editor of this periodical, however some of his articles criticizing the conduct of the British Government and Christian Missionaries proved controversial, and the ensuing repercussions forced the closure of Shalapatrak in 1875.

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