Jaishankar Prasad

Jaishankar Prasad (30 January 1889 was a prominent figure in modern Hindi literature as well as Hindi theatre. Prasad was his pen name. He was also known as Chhayavadi kavi.

Poetic Style

Prasad started writing poetry with the pen name of ‘Kamayani’. The first collection of poem that Prasad penned, named, Chitradhar, was written in Braj, a dialect of Hindi but his later works were written in Khadi dialect or Sanskritized Hindi.

Dramas and other writings His dramas are considered to be most pioneering ones in Hindi. Prasad's most famous dramas include Skanda gupta, Chandra gupta and Dhruva swamini. The majority of them revolve around historical stories of Ancient India. Some of them were also based on mythological plots.

In 1960s, Shanta Gandhi Professor of Ancient Indian Drama while at National School of Drama, revived interest in Jaishankar Prasad's plays for modern Indian theatre, by successfully staging his most important play Skanda Gupta written in 1928, with little changes to the original script.

Major works

Poetry Kānan kuwer)(1913) Mahārānā kā mahatv (The Maharana's greatness)(1914) Jharnā (The War)(1918) Ānsū (The tea)(1925) Lahar (The wave)(1933) Kāmāyanī (an epic about Manu and the flood)(1935/36) Prem pathik (The War)(1914) Aatmkathya (biology)

Drama Ek Ghoont (A sip) Skandagupta (On Emperor Skandagupta) Chandragupta (On Emperor Chandragupta Maurya) Dhruvasvāminī Rajyashrī (Royal Bliss) Ajatashatru

Story collections Aandhī Pratidhvani (The Echo) Indrajāl (Hypnosis) Sandeh (Doubt) Daasi (Maid) Chitra Mandir Rasiya Balam

Critical reception Mahadevi Verma, a poet and critic, described Jai Shankar Prasad by saying:"Whenever I remember our poet, Prasad a particular image comes to my mind. A fir tree stands on the slope of the Himalaya, straight and tall as the mountain peaks themselves. Its head meets the snow, the rain, and the heat of the sun. Storms move its branches, while a thin stream of water moves amongst its roots. Even under heavy snowfall, fierce heat, and torrential rain, the fir tree remains. Even in the midst of thunderstorms and blizzards, it remains steady."Regarding his influence in Indian literature, the late scholar David Rubin wrote in The Return of Sarasvati (Oxford, 1993):- "To Jayshankar Prasad belongs the credit of making the first successful leap forward in the development of a genuine poetic art in khari boli Hindi and giving it, in Ansu, its first masterpiece." Rubin felt his lyrics regarding nature and human love helped to define the Chhayavad movement, and that his reflective nature and deep love of reading and music heavily influenced his work.