Rishi Samman for 2023 was conferred on Acharya Manu Dev Bhattacharya. Acharya Bhattacharya was the former head of Department of Vyakaran, Sampurnanand Sanskrit University, Varanasi. He passed away in 2020.
Acharya Manudeva Bhattacharya (1949-2020) was a renowned expert on vyakaran-shastra (grammar) and a famous poet in Sanskrit. He dedicated his entire life to the study, exploration and propagation of Sanskrit.
His academic journey took him to the well-known Sanskrit centre, Sampurnanand Sanskrit University, Varanasi. He became famous as an acharya in the department of grammar in the university. He was well known for his contributions at Banaras Hindu University. In his long career of 40 years, Acharya Bhattacharya oversaw the dissertation of over 20 doctoral students. His writings on grammar were published in journals in India and abroad. He has written extensively on vyakaran-darshan, mahakavya (great epic),khanda-kavya and theatre. His works include Vishudhavaibhavam Mahakavyam, Vaishnavavaibhava-mahakavyam, Ramakrishnacharitamritam, Panditarajavaibhavam and Raghunathavaibhavam among others. He has been conferred several honours for his contribution to Vedic literature.
