Swami Prajnanananda (musicologist)

Swami Prajnanananda
Born
Pashupati Banerjee

(1907-08-31)31 August 1907
Prasadpur, Hooghly district, Bengal Presidency, British India
Died8 October 1998(1998-10-08) (aged 91)
EducationUniversity of Calcutta
OccupationsHindu monk, musicologist
OrganizationRamakrishna Vedanta Math
Known forResearch on the history and philosophy of Indian music
Notable workThe Historical Development of Indian Music; A History of Indian Music; Sangit-O-Samskriti
AwardsRabindra Puraskar (1961)
Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship (1963)

Swami Prajnanananda (31 August 1907 – 8 October 1998) was an Indian Hindu monk, musician and musicologist. A disciple of Swami Abhedananda, who was a direct disciple of Ramakrishna Paramahansa, he was associated with the Ramakrishna Vedanta Math in Calcutta (now Kolkata), and served as its president from 1984 until his death in 1998. He was associated with the Faculties of Music of the Calcutta University, Rabindra Bharati University and Visva-Bharati University.

He authored or edited over fifty books in Bengali and English, including multi-volume studies of Indian classical music, Vedanta and Indian philosophy. In 1963, he was awarded the Sangeet Natak Akademi Fellowship , the highest award of the Akademi, for his contributions to musicology.

Early life and education

Born as Pashupati Banerjee on 14.5.1314 (according to the Bengali calendar), 1907, in Prosadpur, in the Hooghly district of present-day West Bengal. His father was Nakurchandra Banerjee and elder brother, Panchakari Banerjee. He graduated (B.A.) from the City College, University of Calcutta.

Career

He received his monkhood initiation (Sannyas diksha) from Swami Abhedananda, a direct disciple of Ramakrishna Paramahansa and a contemporary of Swami Vivekananda.

Prajnanananda later served as president of the Ramakrishna Vedanta Math in Calcutta and of its associated Vedanta ashramas in Darjeeling, Kurseong and Siliguri. He edited the eleven volumes of Complete Works of Swami Abhedananda.

As a scholar of history and philosophy of Indian classical music, his notable books include, Sangeet O Samsktiti (1956) and Historical Development of Indian Music (1960). The latter won him the Rabindra Puraskar, highest honorary literary award given in the State of West Bengal, in 1961. In 1970, he received D.Litt. degree from Rabindra Bharati University. He died on 8 October 1998 at age 91.

Bibliography

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 "Prajnanananda, Swami (2) (1907–1998)". Biographies of the Ramakrishna Order. Retrieved 20 October 2026.
  2. 1 2 Satyamayananda, Swami (April 2007). "Review of Swami Prajnanananda: A Spiritual Biography" (PDF). Prabuddha Bharata. 112 (4). Advaita Ashrama: 306.
  3. 1 2 "P. Sambamoorthy and Swami Prajnanananda: Fellowship Citations" (PDF). Sangeet Natak Akademi. Retrieved 20 October 2026.
  4. 1 2 3 "The Form and Function of Music in Ancient India". Exotic India Art. About the Author. Retrieved 20 October 2026.
  5. ↑ Basu, Anjali, ed. (January 2019). Samsad Bangali Charitabhidhan (in Bengali). Vol. 2. Kolkata: Sahitya Samsad. p. 223. ISBN 9788179552926.
  6. ↑ "Swami Prajnanananda (1907–1998)". Biographies of the Ramakrishna Order. Retrieved 20 October 2026.
  7. ↑ "Research and Contemporary Music, Musicologists" (PDF) (Postgraduate study material). Sri Padmavati Mahila Visvavidyalayam. pp. 38–39. Retrieved 20 October 2026.
  8. ↑ "Rabindra Puraskar". World Literary Awards. Retrieved 20 October 2026.

Further reading