Manmatha Nath Dutt

Manmatha Nath Dutt (Pabna, British India 1855–1912) was a prolific translator of ancient Hindu texts to English. He has translated many ancient Sanskrit texts to English. To this day, his translations remain one of the few or sometimes the only English versions of some Hindu scripture. He translated the Valmiki Ramayana(1892–1894), Markandeya Purana (1896), Bhagavata Purana (1896), Vishnu Purana (1896), Hari Vamsha (1897), Mahabharata (1895–1905), Mahanirvana Tantra (1900), several samhitas and dharmashastra texts (1906, 1908–09), Garuda Purana (1908) and Rig Veda Samhita (1906–1912) which remained incomplete.^[1] He has also translated the Kamandakiya Nitisara (1896) which is an ancient book authored by Kamandhaka based on Kautilya's Artha Shastra.

Manmatha Nath Dutt (Shastri)
Born	1855 Pabna, Bengal Presidency, British India
Died	1912
Occupation	Author & translator of sacred hindu text from Sanskrit to English
Language	English, Sanskrit
Nationality	Indian
Education	MA in English Literature
Alma mater	Scottish Church College, Calcutta University, Sanskrit College, Member of the Royal Asiatic Society (MRAS)
Period	1892-1912
Subject	Hindu literature, religious scriptures, translation of the Ramayana, Mahabharata, Puranas and other ancient Indian texts.
Years active	1892-1912
Notable works	Translation of the Garuda Purana, the Ramayana, the Mahabharata and other ancient Indian texts related to Hinduism and Buddhism, both religious and secular.
Notable awards	Awarded the title of Shastri by Sanskrit College Calcutta in 1901

Apart from his translations of sacred and secular texts on Sanatana and Buddhism, he has also authored some books in English. Among them are his biography of Buddha(1901), and Gleanings from Indian classics (1893) which is a collection of famous stories and anecdotes from classical Sanskrit literature. In the introduction to this book, Manmatha Nath Dutt mentions that it was his attempt to clear western misconception about Hindu religion, literature, and philosophy.

Biography

Manmatha Nath Dutt was born into a Bengali family at Pabna, Bengal Presidency in British India.^[2] He received his formal education in Calcutta University where he earned a MA in English and thereafter was awarded the title of Shastri by the Sanskrit College in Calcutta. He became the rector of the Keshub Academy an institute named after Keshub Chandra Sen. He did most of his translation work while he was a rector at Keshub Academy.^[3] He became the member of the Royal Asiatic Society in 1894.^[4] Manmatha Nath Dutt was the maternal grandfather of the eminent Indian freedom fighter Sucheta Kriplani.^[5][6]

A road in North Kolkata (Manmatha Dutt Road) is named after him.