Shardha Ram Phillauri

"Phillauri" redirects here. For the town of Phillaur, see Phillaur. For the 2017 film, see Phillauri (film).

Shardha Ram Phillauri (September 1837^[2] – 24 June 1881) was an Indian writer, poet and social reformer, known for his contributions to Hindi and Punjabi literature. He is best known for his Hindu religious hymn Om Jai Jagdish Hare and Bhagyawati, one of the first novels in Hindi. Phillauri has also been called the "father of modern Punjabi prose".^[3] Born in Phillaur, he visited cities across Punjab and died in Lahore in 1881.^[3]

Pandit Shardha Ram Phillauri Phillauri
Born	Shardha Ram (1837-09-00)September 1837 Phillaur, Dallewalia Misl, Sikh Empire
Died	24 June 1881(1881-06-24) (aged 43) Lahore, Punjab Province, British India
Occupation	Writer, poet, social Reformer
Language	Punjabi, Hindi, Sanskrit
Notable works	Om Jai Jagdish Hare Bhagyawati Sikhan De Raj Di Vithia Punjabi Batcheet Satya Dharm Muktavli Shatopadesh Satyamrit Pravaha
Spouse	Mehtab Kaur[1]

Biography

Shardha Ram was born in September 1837, to a Punjabi Hindu Brahmin family in the town of Phillaur in the Sikh Empire under the reign of Ranjit Singh.^[3][4] His father, Jai Dyalu, was an astrologer. Their gotra was Moudgil.^[3] He did not have any formal education as such.^[3] By age ten, he had studied Hindi, Sanskrit, Persian, astrology, and music.^[3] Later, he was also a missionary of traditional Hinduism (Sanatana dharma).^[3][4][5]

In his books, Shardha Ram documented Punjabi culture and language.^[3][4]

Shardha Ram gave forceful lectures on the Mahabharata, and because of this was charged with conducting propaganda against the British government^[3][4] in 1865.^{[citation needed]} As a result, he was exiled temporarily from his home town, Phillaur.^[3][4]

Sharda Ram often visited Amritsar and adjoining Lahore, especially in connection with astrology.^[3] During this time, he earned a reputation as an astrologer and wrote several books in Hindi.^[3]

In 1886, Sikhan De Raj Di Vithia (Punjabi:The Story of Sikh Rule) he published, an account of Sikh religion and the rule of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.^[4][6] The last of its three chapters documents Punjabi culture and language, including its customs, usages, and folk songs.^[4] The book was often prescribed as a text book.^[4]

Shardha Ram has recently been acknowledged as having written the first novel in Hindi.^[3][4][7] His novel Bhagyawati, believed to have been written mainly in Amritsar, was first published in 1888, after Shardha Ram's death.^[3] The novel's portrayal of women and women's rights was progressive for its day.^[3][4]

Shardha Ram died on 24 June 1881, aged 43, at Lahore.^[3]

Works

Work	Year	Description
Sikhan De Raj Di Vithia (The Story of Sikh Rule)[3][4]	1866	The book is an account of Sikh religion and the rule of Maharaja Ranjit Singh.[4][6] The last of its three chapters documents Punjabi culture and language, including its customs, usages, and folk songs.[4] The book was often prescribed as a text book.[4]
Punjabi Batcheet[3][4]		This book was specifically written to help the British understand the local dialect.[3][4] It may have been the first book transliterated into Roman script from Gurmukhi script.[3][4] The study of this was a requirement for admission into the administrative services.[3][4] The book is taught to this day at schools affiliated with the Punjab School Education Board (PSEB) Mohali.[citation needed]
Om Jai Jagdish Hare[3][4]	1870s[citation needed]	Translated in Punjabi the first time[4]
Bhagyawati[3][4]	published 1888	This book is believed to be the first novel in Hindi.[3][4][7]
Satya Dharm Muktavli[4]
Shatopadesh[4]
Satyamrit Pravaha[4]