Shripad Damodar Satwalekar (19 September 1867 – 31 July 1968) was a Padma Bhushan awardee, great scholar, Arya Samajist, Theosophist, freedom fighter, politician, yoga teacher, social worker, editor, Sanskrit scholar, listener and the author of Sanskrit Swayamshikshak – A much praised book for learning Sanskrit. He was also the founder of Swadhyay Mandal (A Vedic Research Institute) with interests in painting, social health, Ayurveda, Yoga, and Vedic literature.^[1]

Shripad Damodar Satwalekar was born on the sixth day of the Krishna Paksha in the month of Ashwin on vikram samvat 1924 (20th September, 1867) in Kolgaon, Sawantwadi district, Konkan province.  At present, Kolgaon is located in Ahmednagar division of Maharashtra.

His father Damodar Bhatta, grandfather Anant Bhatta and great-grandfather Krishna Bhatta were scholars of the Rigvedic tradition and therefore his family was well respected in the society.  His mother's name was Lakshmibai. His father was a priest by profession and a Joshi. His father also farmed his own land. He had lived in Kolgaon since the age of eight.

For the priesthood, he studied Sanskrit at home upto Patanjali's Mahabhashya. Then he began to recite some Suktas of the Vedas. Thus his Vedic initiation began in childhood.

At the age of eight he went to Sawantwadi for schooling. Acharya Shri Chintamani Shastri Kelkar taught him Sanskrit grammar.

In 1887, the British officer Westrup opened a painting studio in Sawantwadi. He started going there due to lack of money. There, the talent of Acharya Malavankara in painting attracted Satwalekar's attention. He decided to learn this art. His father was also proficient in this art. Soon after two examinations with practice he too became proficient in this art. He also became skilled in the art of sculpture. Later he benefited greatly from these two arts.

He was married in 1889 to Saraswatibai of the Sadhle family. The following year he moved to Mumbai for a better life. After practicing painting there, he studied Sanskrit texts.  He studied the Vedas, Upanishads, yogasana, pranayama and the Bhagavad Gita. He also wrote an article entitled Scientific Terminology of Vedic Verses which was published in the Marathi newspaper Kesari in 1892 and was praised by its editor Lokmanya Tilak.  Shripad was impressed by Tilak and especially by his explanation of the Bhagavad Gita. His Western recordings also show the influence of Tilak. He had met Tilak a few times. He often attended Congress seminars.

In Mumbai, he practiced SuryaNamaskar, yogasana and pranayama every day.  He practiced this habit all his life. Further he preached these with this virtue.

In 1893, He was appointed as a teacher at the famous J.J. School of Arts.  He won the prestigious Mayo Gold Medal twice in painting and sculpture.  His companion in school Shri Balasaheb Pant Pratinidhi, the Prince of Aundh Province, became a lifelong friend. Shripad often traveled from Mumbai to the province of Aundh. There he earned enough money.  He did not want to return to his village for the priesthood.  Because at that time the priesthood would not have allowed the family to come out of poverty. However, when he returned to his village on leave, he helped his father in the priesthood.  However, He was not satisfied with his status at the J.J. School of Arts.

In the late 1900s, he resigned his job in Mumbai and moved to Hyderabad. There he built a painting studio with the help of the famous painter Devaskar. In early 1901, a studio was built there. It soon turned into profitable work. With the help of friends, he established Vivek Vardhini High School in Hyderabad. Shortly thereafter, Sitaram Pant Satavalekar became the principal of the school.

Then he came into contact with Arya Samaj and its leader and joined the Arya Samaj. The Arya Samaj was against animal sacrifice in Yajnas. Shripad also believed that there was no such command in the Vedas. So he took many trips and spoke against this.  Later he began a deep study of the Vedas. He also held discussions with scholars. At the same time he also wrote a Marathi translation of the works of Maharshi Dayananda Saraswati – Satyartha Prakash, Bhashya Bhumika, Rigveda and others, and Yogtattvadarsh.

He then became a member of the Theosophical Society. Everyone there appreciated his knowledge and ideas. Doctor Annie Besant especially respected him.

His connection with the Theosophical Society lasted until 1907. In the same year he wrote Vaidic Rashtrageet ( the Vedic National Anthem) which was a collection of 63 Suktas. The collection was published from Hyderabad and 2000 copies were printed in Mumbai. When the British government learned of the collection, it confiscated and destroyed all the copies. They also confiscated the Hindi translation of which had 3000 copies and blacklisted Shripad. The Nizam (King) of Hyderabad, Mahboob Ali Khan Bahadur, also forced Shripad to leave Hyderabad. He was an admirer of Shripad's art and ordered Shripad to give up all political activities and live peacefully in Hyderabad.  Shripad left Hyderabad. He then stayed in Jaipur for a few months.

He later joined Gurukul Kangri in Haridwar as a teacher of Sanskrit and painting. Its founder was Arya Samajist Swami Shraddhananda. At the Gurukula, Shripad wrote an article in Marathi entitled Brilliance of Vedic Prayers which was published in the March 1908 issue of the ‘Vishwavritta’ of Kolhapur.  It was then that the Kolhapur government, at the instigation of the British government, issued an arrest warrant against Shripad on charges of treason. In response to this action, an article was published in a Mumbai daily called Indu Prakash. Then Shripad left the Gurukula to avoid any adverse repercussions of Gurukula after a discussion with Shraddhananda.

He then decided to face charges in Kolhapur. Along the way he stayed in Ahmednagar, Pune and Belgaum. His well-wishers there advised him not to surrender before the prosecutors. He was therefore forced to remain incognito and peripatetic. He stayed successively at Anagol, Hangirge and Kurundwad in the south respectively. The editor of ‘Vishwavritta’, Shri Bijapurkar, was sentenced after six months for publishing the article. So after deliberation he went to Pithapuram whose ruler gave him an assignment. After completing the assignment, he decided to return to Kangri via Kolkata but the government, with sharp intelligence, arrested him within forty-eight hours of his return and sent him to Bijnor prison. Dr. Annie Besant interceded for him with the Maharaja of Kolhapur. He remained in jail till 1909 when he was released by the court of Kolhapur.

Even later he visited Kangri occasionally. When Mr. Gandhi stayed at the Gurukula several times in 1914 and in 1916, Shripad had long and in-depth discussions with him.

He then decided to go to Lahore on the advice of Shri Shraddhanand as the southern places were considered to be risky. In late 1909s, he established Satwalekar Art Studio in Lahore at Anarkali Road and his residence at Sukhsagar.

The Arya Samaj was well-networked in Lahore.  He received good support from Dr. Saifuddin Kichloo, Lala lajpatrai, Lala hardayal and other activists of the Arya Samaj. They organized many speeches of Shripad in Punjab. He then became famous as a Vedic scholar and artist in every household in India, especially in the Punjab. People admired and even bought the paintings he made. Then he also started taking pictures.

But his political activities and speeches angered the British government. His encouragement of the activists of the Ghadar movement and the Home Rule movement also increased the anger of the British government. His house was now kept under surveillance and the guards watched his and his visitor’s movements in Lahore. So he decided to leave Lahore and give his studio to his student. The Editor of a Urdu Newspaper, Srikrishnaji, announced his upcoming departure. He also wrote several articles in the newspaper to his tribute. His Farewell from Lahore took place at a large conference.  People had also come to pay their respects to him at the Lahore railway station. He therefore left Lahore in October 1917, before the Governor of the Punjab ordered his expulsion. By then his monthly income was ₹1500-1600. He was thinking of using the remaining income to write and publish texts on the Vedas.

Even after his departure, the inspectors followed him upto Delhi. His old companion, Sri Balasaheb Pant Pratinidhi, who was now the king of the province of Aundh, requested him to come and live in Aundh.  So Shripad came to Aundh.

For the first time he did not think of setting up a studio and began a deep study of the Vedas. He wrote translations of the Vedas. Gradually he realized that the Vedas are not just a general collection of mantras but that modern science is embedded in them. Therefore, it is necessary to offer a pure translation and explanation of the Vedas to the people. The work was difficult and required institutional effort. For this purpose he established the Swadhya Mandal in 1918. A printing press was also subsequently setup at Aundh for printing the books.

 It was at this time that he left the Arya Samaj because some of his ideas were different from the Arya Samaj.

Shripad now pursued his goal with vigor. He wrote translations of the Vedas and commentaries on social and political issues. In 1919, he started a monthly magazine in Hindi called Vedic Dharma. The following year he was appointed president of the Satara district Congress Assembly. In 1924, he started a monthly magazine in Marathi called Purushartha. A monthly magazine called Bhagavad Gita was started to publish his great work Purushartha Bodhini Bhagavad Gita in order. Later it was published in Hindi, Marathi, Gujarati and English.

Parallely, he also conducted a public awareness campaign. In 1930, he was appointed president of the Sitara Zilla Parishad. He also worked on programmes of Sutkatai [spinning], Hatmag [handloom], Grampanchayat and Panchayat Raj. The British government became alert to his activities outside Aundh. He thereby forced the ruler of Aundh to expel him. As a result the ruler of Aundh ordered him to leave Aundh within eight days. Shripad then abandoned all political activities and resolved to work only for the welfare of the people. So he also left the Congress party. Thus the matter was calmed down and Shripad was withdrawn from the charge.

The Ruler of Aundh appointed him the Chief Pandit of Aundh Durbar. He then, with the support of the ruler, made many political, constitutional and social reforms. He also tried to revive unity by establishing Praja Parishads (people's assembly)  in the southern provinces.

He had been observing the activities of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh in Quetta, Rawalpindi, Multan, Peshawar, Amritsar, Lahore, Sialkot, Jammu, Hoshiarpur, Patiala, Delhi, Karnataka and Gujarat for a long time. In 1936, he became a volunteer of the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh in Satara district. As the Sanghchalak of the Aundh, he opened several branches. He served the sangh for 16 years.  But his connection with th Sangh remained until his death.

In 1939, he met with advocate Appasaheb Pant and discussed with Mr. Gandhi about constitutional reforms and representative democracy. With the consent of Mr. Gandhi, he returned to the province of Aundh. Thus Aundh became the most progressive province. It is the first province to voluntarily join the Republic of India.  Shripad also helped provide shelter to the activists of the 1942 Quit India Movement. In the same year he became the President of the South States‘ Congress Session and cordially directed the activities of the States. Thus this period was very auspicious to him.

Until then, the Swadhyay Mandala became well known and the books of the Mandala were sold all over the country. After India's independence, when Aundh joined the Republic of India, the power of the ruler of Aundh also weakened and therefore the power of Shripad also weakened.

The assassination of Gandhi in 1948 devastated the political atmosphere in the state of Bombay (then Maharashtra). Because his killer,Nathuram Godse, was a Brahmin by caste. So attacks began on the Brahmins throughout the region. The safety and security of Panditji’s lifelong works, manuscripts, publications, press and property not to speak of himself and his colleagues and staff was threatened. In such atmosphere, with a heavy heart, Panditji was forced to decide to shift lock, stock and barrel elsewhere.

He tried to settle in cities like Mumbai, Nashik, Talegaon, Lonavala, Anand, Baroda and Ahmedabad but to no avail. Eventually the trustees of the Arya Samaj offered to sell their lands. The land measuring 18 acres was situated 2 km from Killa Pardi in Surat district (now Valsad district). The land was formerly owned by the Christian missionaries. They sold it to the Arya Samaj. They demolished the church on the ground and carried away the rubbles. Shripad himself went there and saw the land and decided to buy it. Some people offered financial help but to no avail. Shripad took a loan of ₹1 lakh with interest and bought land for the Swadhyay Mandal. The transfer price was also ₹78000. Thus, Shripad was an 80-year-old man when he owed ₹1.5 lakh to the Swadhyay Mandal.

Before starting work there the necessary Bhushanti [propitiatory rites], Vedapath [recitation of Vedas] and Homa-Havan [Sacrificial rites] were performed on the site. There he established the VedaMandir which he inaugurated in the same year. On the request of Shripad, all Indians chanted 10 million Gayatri Mantras for the Swadhyay Mandal Festival. Then a great Yajna of Gayatri Mantra was held in the Swadhyay Mandal which was attended by many learned saints and spiritual people. Fortunately there were a number of buildings in good condition on the site. The spacious bungalow was used Shripad's residence, work and guests. It was appropriately named ‘Anandashram’ Other buildings were used for office, printing press, godown and staff quarters and all was set to resume the work.

Everyone was hopeful and energetic. He started publishing a monthly magazine in Gujarati called Veda Sandesh. His son Vasantarao carried out all the work here. Shripad devoted himself to his mission of Vedas, Sanskrit, Yoga Asanas, Suryanamaskars, periodical lectures, and meaningful discussions with visiting scholars and leaders from different walks of life. Shripad followed the Vedas and lived a household life for his family and society. He was even-tempered and had sweet relations with leaders of all sects. Shri Baltiwala, who was a Parsi, also became the trustee and then the president of the Swadhya Mandal. Veda Mandir contained texts of all sects. The Parsi head priest Shri Hormus Mirza presented ‘Zend Avesta’ and the Nawabsaheb of Bajana presented ‘Koran’ for display in the Vedamandir. These are the true ideals of the Vedas, as in – आ नो᳚ भ॒द्राः क्रत॑वो यन्तु वि॒श्वतो (Rigveda. 1.089.01).  He lived like a sage.

Shripad was a prolific writer. The number of foolscap sized manuscripts he wrote in his lifetime exceeds 60,000. He wrote and published over 400 books. A significant portion of his writings is yet to be published. The greatest prestige of these is given to his commentaries on the Vedas. After Acharya Sayan's commentaries on the Vedas in Sanskrit, Shripad's commentaries on the Vedas in Hindi are famous.

He also wrote a wonderful book called Sanskrit Swayamshikshak to promote Sanskrit. This book is still very popular. The Swadhyay Mandal also conducted successful programs of Sanskrit examinations.  Following this, Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan, a well-known institution of Kanaiyalal Munshi, also conducted examination programs in Sanskrit.

• Commentaries on Vedas
  • ṛgveda kā subodha bhāṣya (in four volumes; published from Swadhyay Mandal, Pardi)
  • yajurveda kā subodha bhāṣya (in two volumes)
  • sāmaveda kā subodha anuvāda
  • atharvaveda kā subodha bhāṣya (in four volumes)
• vaidikasaṃhitāḥ
  • ṛgveda mūla saṃhitā
  • yajurveda mūla saṃhitā
  • sāmaveda mūla saṃhitā
  • atharvaveda mūla saṃhitā
  • yajurvedīya kāṭhaka saṃhitā
  • yajurvedīya maitrāyaṇī saṃhitā
  • yajurvedīya kāṇva saṃhitā
  • kṛṣṇa yajurvedīya taittirīya saṃhitā
  • vedaviṣayakāḥ anyāḥ granthāḥ
  • vaidika vyākhyānamālā
  • go-jñāna kośa (A compilation of the proofs in the Vedas for the inviolability of cows and bulls and the proper contextual meaning of the mantras related to them and the explanation of the mantras related to cows)
  • vaidika yajña saṃsthā
  • mānavī āyuṣya
  • dīrgha jīvana aura ārogya
  • veda meṃ kṛṣividyā
  • vaidika sarpa-vidyā ((with the assistance of Ramachandra Kashinath Kirloskar)
  • veda-paricaya (for readers to practice Vedic mantras in simplicity)
• Puranic books
  • mahābhārata-gītā
  • mahābhārata (saṭīka) - 18 bhagon mein (Hindi translation of the text of the critical edition published by Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Pune)
  • śrīmadbhagavadgītā (puruṣārthabodhinī hindīṭīkā)^[2]
  • mahābhārata kī samālocanā (Explanation and Discussion of Certain Aspects of the Mahabharata)
• Other books
  • saṃskṛta pāṭhamālā
  • saṃskṛta svayaṃśikṣaka (in two volumes) - Published by Rajpal and Sons, Delhi

The books in print are available for sale at nominal cost at swadhyaymandal.org site. Support the publishing house. Swadhyay Mandal Vedic Research Institute was founded by Brahamarshi, Padmabhushan, Pandit Shripad Damodar Satavlekar established in the year 1918. (Some of the published books are available as scanned PDFs at Links 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.)

• Annual Grant ( by first President of India Rajendra Prasad in 1959 AD)
• Padma Bhushan (awarded by President Zakir Hussain in 1968)^[3]
• Doctor of Literature honours (by the University of Pune)
• Doctor of Law honours (by the University of Mumbai)
• Two Mayo Gold Medals (by JJ School of Arts, Mumbai)
• Mahatma Gandhi Gold Medal and Grant ( by Rashtrabhasha Prachar Samiti, Wardha)
• Grant (by the Government of Gujarat)
• Vidyāmārtaṇḍa (Gurukula Kangri)
• Gītālaṅkāra (by the Gita Dharma Mandal of Amritsar)
• Sāhityavācaspati ( by Prayag Hindi Sammelana)
• Mahāmahopādhyāya (by Jagadguru Shankaracharya)
• Brahmarṣi (by the Hatha Yogi Devaraha Baba)
• Vedamaharṣi and Vedamūrti (unknown)

In 1966, his centenary began. On September19 the same year, a grand programme was held at the premises of the Swadhyay Mandal. Venerable Madhavarao Golavalkar went there and increased the fame of Shripad. He received an honorable mention in the best German-speaking daily newspaper called Die Welt in a special issue on October 30th of the same year. Events were held in his honor in Ahmedabad and Pune. Earlier, events were held in his honor in Bihar, Hyderabad, Mumbai and other places. He was honored by Kanaiyalal Munshi in Mumbai.

He was also invited to the World Religious Conferences in Switzerland, Russia and Japan.

Mohandas Gandhi praised him for promoting Sanskrit. Indira Gandhi also visited Killa Pardi in particular and praised his work. His admirers included Vinoda bhave, Madhavrao Golwalkar, Kaka kalelkar, Chintaman Deshmukh, Arvind Ghosh, Purushottam Mavalankar, Mahadev Desai, Balavant Rai Mehta, Morarji Desai, Hitendra Desai, Sriprakash, Nawab mehdi Nabaj Jang and others.

He believed that people can live hundred years or more simply following the Vedic manner. He set his own example. On June 8, 1969, he suffered a stroke.  He passed away on the third day of the Krishna Paksha in the month of Shravan in the year of Vikrama Samvad 2026 (on 31st July 1969 AD). He lived more than 101 years. He must have lived an ideal life.

Shripad Damodar Satwalekar (19 September 1867 – 31 July 1968) was a polymath with interests in painting, social health, Ayurveda, Yoga, and Vedic literature. He was also the founder of the Swadhyay Mandal - A Vedic Research Institute.^[1][4]

Shripad Damodar Satwalekar was born in the Princely state of Sawantwadi, now part of Sindhudurg district in the Present day Indian state of Maharashtra to Damodar Pant and Lakshmi Bai. He attended J J School of Art in Bombay and worked for six months at the same institute as a tutor. ^[5]

Satwalekar began his career as an artist, painter, and photographer with a studio in the city of Lahore, Punjab State. He mainly painted portraits of Maharajas and other prominent personalities of the day.^[6] In 1900, he opened his own painting studio in South Hyderabad.^[5] He moved to the Princely State of Aundh with a strong patronage offered by the then Maharaja of the State, Bhawanrao Pant Pratinidhi.

Satwalekar was interested in both individual and social health, Ayurveda, Yoga, and Vedas^[7] (particularly in the analysis of the Vedas at the level of adhibhuta) and wrote several books on these subjects, including '

• Vaidika Yajña Saṃsthā,
• Sparśāsparśa,
• Agni-devatā Mantra-saṅgraha,
• Indra-devatā Mantra-saṅgraha, Āgama-nibandha-mālā,
• Yoga-sādhanā-grantha-mālā, the
• Vaidika vyākhyāna-mālā series,
• Subodha Bhāṣya, etc.^[5]
• Marathi translation of Dayanand Saraswati's Satyarth Prakash
• Rigveda Bhaashya Bhoomika by Dayanand Saraswati - Marathi translation
• Rigveda Samhita^[8]
• Atharveda in Hindi.^[9]
• Sanskrit Svayam Shikshak (संस्कृत स्वयं-शिक्षक) - Self-learning book for learners of Sanskrit through the medium of Marathi. These were also available in Hindi and English("Sanskrit Self Teacher").
• Puruṣārtha-Bodhinī-Bhāṣā-Ṭīkā - A four volume Commentary on Bhagavad Gita - S.Rama calls this the best commentary on the Gita by a 20th century author^[10][2]
• Translation of the Mahabharata - The Government of India assigned the task of translating the constituted text of the Mahabharata published by the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute to Satwalekar. After his death, the task was taken up by Shrutisheel Sharma.^[11]

As early as in 1884, he started an institute for Sanskrit enthusiasts, Samskruta Vyaakhyaana Mandala. He established the Vivekavardhini Vidyaalaya, a public lecture hall, a gymnasium for young people, and so forth. For years he was associated with the Arya Samaj and the Theosophical Society. At one point of time, he served as a teacher of Vedas and painting at Kangadi Gurukula in Haridwar.^[5]

Satwalekar was associated with several social service and outreach activities. He was a proponent of yoga and advised Gandhi on the subject. During his stay in Aundh he worked with the Raja Bhawanrao to promote Surya Namaskar.^[12]

Satwalekar's son, Madhav Satwalekar (1915 – 2006) was also a renowned painter and artist in his own right.

Satwalekar was awarded the Padma Bhushan in 1968.^[3] He was conferred the Mayo Award twice, once for painting and once for sculpting.^[5]

Additional References

• श्रीपाददामोदरसातवळेकरः an entry in Sanskrit on https://sa.wikipedia.org/ on which the above article in English is based.
• Maharashtra Nayak महाराष्ट्र नायक श्रीपाद दामोदर सातवळेकर by Vivek Saptahik in Marathi.
• Marathi Vishvakosh मराठी विश्वकोश श्रीपाद दामोदर सातवळेकर in Marathi
• Marathi Wikipedia विकिपीडिया, मुक्‍त ज्ञानकोश in Marathi
• Extended article in Marathi by Avadhut Hardikar in http://thekarhaadaa.org (among articles on many personalities from Karhaad).
• Article Shripad Damodar Satvalekar at https://vediclibrary.in/ along with links to booklets in Hindi.

• Swadhyay Mandal (A Vedic Research Institute) is equipped with a Sanskrit Pathshala, Kamadhenu Gaushala, Devalay, Library, Yagnashala, and online Bookshop