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Gita Press
Indian Hindu religious publishing house From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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Gita Press is an Indian books publishing company, headquartered in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, India, and considered to be the world's largest publisher of Hindu religious texts. It was founded in 1923 by Jaya Dayal Goyanka, Hanuman Prasad Poddar, and Ghanshyam Das Jalan with the intention to make sacred texts easily accessible to the general public.
Publication began in 1927 with a monthly Hindi magazine titled Kalyan. Since its establishment, the Gita Press has published over 417 million books in 14 different languages. Gita Press was conferred with the Gandhi Peace Prize of 2021, by the Government of India.[1]
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History
Gita Press was established on 29 April 1923 in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, India by Jaya Dayal Goyanka, Hanuman Prasad Poddar, and Ghanysham Das Jalan.[2][3] The vision of the Gita Press was to provide affordable translations and commentaries of sacred texts for the general public.[2][4] To launch the press, Goyanka worked with fellow businessmen in Gorakhpur.[5][6] Formal publication began in 1927 with a monthly Hindi magazine, Kalyan.[2][7]
Gita Press is a unit of Gobind Bhawan Karyalaya registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 (presently governed by the West Bengal Societies Act, 1961)[8]
In 2019, it was estimated that the Gita Press produced 141 million copies of the Bhagavad Gita, 108 million copies of the Ramcharitmanas, 25 million copies of the Puranas and Upanishads, 5 million copies of the Hanuman Chalisa, and 198 million copies of smaller book, and 160 million copies of various booklets and pamphlets.[9]
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Branches
Gita Press has branches and outlets throughout India and one location in Nepal.[10]
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Gita Press Leela Chitra Mandir
The Gita Press Leela Chitra Mandir, or art gallery, is located at the Gorakhpur Gita Press location, was inaugurated by India's first president, Rajendra Prasad. Around 684 paintings portray the life and teachings of Rama and Krishna. Other paintings, including Mewari style paintings of the Krishna Lila are also on exhibit. Other artifacts, such as letters by Mahatma Gandhi and ancient copies of the Bhagavad Gita, are preserved here.[11][9][12]
Recognitions
In 2021, Gita Press was awarded the Gandhi Peace Prize by India Prime Minister Narendra Modi.[7][3]
See also
References
External links
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