Gyanashree Mahathero

Gyanashree Mahathero (18 November 1925 – 13 November 2025) was a Bangladeshi Buddhist monk. The government of Bangladesh awarded him the Ekushey Padak in 2022 for his significant contribution to social service.

Biography Gyanashree Mahathero was born on 18 November 1925 in the village of Domkhali, North Gujra, Raozan, Chittagong District. He stayed at Nandankanan Buddhist Monastery in the Chittagong Hill Tracts from 1958 onwards.

Mahathero became a samanera in 1944 and a monk in 1949. He studied till the entrance. He took the initiative to spread the economic, social, religious and educational life of the Buddhist common people in the Chittagong Hill Tracts. He established many religious and educational institutions in the hilly and plain areas. In 1974, he set up a monastery, where residential schools were set up to provide general education to poor, orphaned and helpless children in Buddhist communities. He established several Buddhist educational centres at Joypurhat and Rangpur.

Awards Ekushey Padak (2022) Aggamahāpaṇḍita (2023)