MAHAPANDIT RAHUL SANKRITYAYAN Father of Hindi Travel Literature Death Anniversary Historical Background Full Name Mahapandit Rahul Sankrityayan (Birth name : Kedarnath Pandey) Date of Birth April 9, 1893 – April 14, 1963 Place of Birth Azamgarh District of Uttar Pradesh, India Activity / Profession Scholar, Polymath, Polyglot, Nationalist Nationality Indian Brief History He is widely known as the Father of Hindi Travel literature.   He was one of the most widely-travelled scholars of India, spending forty-five years of his life on travels away from his home.   He is referred to as the 'Greatest Scholar' (Mahapandit) for his scholarship. He is regarded as both a polymath as well as a polyglot.   He became a Buddhist monk (Bauddha Bhikkhu) and eventually took up Marxist Socialism.   He was also an Indian nationalist, and had been arrested and jailed for three years for creating anti-British writings and speeches.   He travelled to different parts of India, including Ladakh, Kinnaur, and Kashmir. He also travelled to several other countries including Nepal, Tibet, Sri Lanka, Iran, China, and the former Soviet Union.   He spent several years in the Saran District in Bihar. The entry gate to this village is named Rahul Gate.   While returning from Tibet, he brought valuable paintings and Pali and Sanskrit manuscripts back to India. Most of these formed a part of the libraries of Vikramshila and Nalanda Universities. These objects had been taken to Tibet by fleeing Buddhist monks during the twelfth and subsequent centuries when the invading Mughal armies had destroyed universities in India. CROSSWORD dedicated to him/her/Event  All answers in the following crossword are the words formed from the letters of SANKRITYAYAN; click on it to play (iPad compatible) Links (to other pages within and outside this site) WIKIPEDIA CROSSWORD QUIZ #1   Video Clips (from Youtube and other sources) Not available   QUIZ - Fill in the blanks out of the given answers       QUIZ ON TODAY's HISTORY     QUOTES of the day