Rajanikanta Sahityacharya

Rajanikanta Sahityacharya (1869-1929) Sanskrit scholar and poet, was born in Chittagong. His father, Kalikinkar Smrtibhusan, was a sanskrit scholar. Rajanikanta studied at his father';s institution and obtained the title 'Sahityacharya';.

Rajanikanta founded the chattal dharma manndali sabha and the Brahmavidya Balika Vidyalay in Chittagong. He was also one of the executives of the Calcutta Sanskrit Association.

Rajanikanta wrote books in both Bangla and Sanskrit. His Sanskrit books are Bibudhavinodanam, Cattal'a'vil'a'pam, Ma'b'galotsavam and Vidy'a'shatakam. His Bangla books include Brhamayaj'v'a, R'si-sa'b'g'i't, Avas'a'n-sangit, Rajan'i'-sangit and Pr'an'er Kath'a. Chatt'a'lavil'a'pam, published in 1316 BS (1909) is an elegy in 84 stanzas mourning the demise of nabinchandra sen, the renowned poet of Chittagong. The poem depicts the effect of the poet';s death on grief-stricken human beings as well as on sorrowful nature. [Satyanarayan Chakraborty] [Chakraborty, Satyanarayan Professor of Sanskrit, Rabindra Bharati University, Kolkata]