Baldev Mishra

Jyotishacharya Pandit Baldev Mishra was a prolific writer of Maithili literature in the 20th century who wrote extensively on several topics in his mother language Maithili. Besides Maithili, he also wrote few books in Hindi and Sanskrit covering a range of subjects related to mathematics, astrology, philosophy and history.

Early life and education

Baldev Mishra was born in 1890 in Bangaon, Bihar in northern India. His father died when he was five years old. He was raised by his maternal grandfather in Bangaon. Due to his exceptional memory and ability to recite Durgasaptshati at a very young age, he was given a scholarship by the queen of the Baniali state to pursue further studies. In 1910, he went to Benaras to study astrology under the tutelage of pandit Sudhakar Dwivedi. During his Benaras stay, he met with Acharya Narendra Deva whose intellect inspired him to study in English medium. This led him to appear in a combined Bengal-Bihar-Orissa matriculation board exam which he passed in the first division in 1916. Vidyapati Padavali-Bhaag -2 (Edited) Hindi (unpublished books) Vishnupurana Par Vichaar Baudh Sahitya Me Kya Hai Jyotish Ke Nav Ratna Bharteeya Jyotish Shashtra Ki Utpatti Bangaon Ka Itihaas

Makers of Indian literature (Maithili) Recognizing his contributions to the Maithili literature, the Sahitya Akademi of India published a monograph on him under the Makers of Indian Literature (Maithili) series. One of his essays "sangeet" is included in the high school textbook of Maithili in Bihar state board. The monograph on him was written by Mr Visheshwara Mishra, a contemporary scholar of the Maithili literature. Sahitya academy started the series Makers of Indian Literature to recognize the contribution of eminent scholars who have contributed significantly to the literature of different languages spoken in India. The monograph is published in the original language of the writer and its translations are done in various other languages which are also published by the Sahitya Akademi.