One place for important Literature Awards and recognition- June 2025

One place for important Literature Awards and recognition- June 2025. Here are important and relevent awards and recognition as well as literary works from the Ancient era to present-day literary works

1. Sanskrit and Ancient Indian Literature

Sanskrit Language

• Mother of many Indian languages.
• Most ancient language of India.
• Included in the Eighth Schedule of the Constitution.
• Rig Veda: Oldest literary heritage in Vedic Sanskrit (1028 hymns).
• Ashtadhyayi by Panini (Father of Sanskrit grammar).

Major Sanskrit Works and Authors

2. Vedic Literature

• Vedas: Rig, Yajur, Sama, Atharva
  • Each Veda includes: Brahmanas, Aranyakas, and Upanishads.
• Upanishads: Spiritual teachings, called Vedanta (end of the Vedas).
• Other Key Texts:
  • Bhagavad Gita (Mahabharata, Bhishma Parva, 18 chapters)
  • First English translation by Charles Wilkins (1785)
  • Ramayana by Valmiki (Adikavya); Valmiki = Adi Kavi
  • Mahabharata by Ved Vyasa
  • Tripitakas (Canonical Buddhist texts): Vinaya, Sutta, Abhidhamma
  • Jatakas (Non-canonical Buddhist texts)

3. Classical Literary Contributions (Gupta Period and Beyond)

4. Southern and Regional Literature

Tamil

• Nayanmars (Shaiva) and Alvars (Vaishnava) devotional poets

Telugu

• Golden Age during Vijayanagara period
• Krishnadevaraya: Amuktamalyada

Kannada

• Pampa (Father of Kannada): Adipurana, Vikramarjuna Vijaya

5. Persian, Urdu, and Hindi Literature

Persian

Urdu

Hindi

6. Bengali, Punjabi, Marathi, and English Literature

7. Modern Indian English Literature

8. Political and Reformist Writings

9. Literary Awards and Honors

(a). Jnanpith Award

• Established: 1961 (First awarded in 1965)
• By: Bharatiya Jnanpith Trust
• For: Outstanding contribution to Indian literature (any of the 22 languages listed in the 8th Schedule of the Constitution)
• First Recipient: G. Sankara Kurup (Malayalam)
• Notable Recipients:
  • Firaq Gorakhpuri (Urdu)
  • Qurratulain Hyder (Urdu)
  • Amrita Pritam (Punjabi)
  • Mahasweta Devi (Bengali)
  • Girish Karnad (Kannada)
  • Krishna Sobti (Hindi)
• 2023 (58th): Jagadguru Swami Rambhadracharya (Sanskrit) & Gulzar (Urdu)
• 2022 (57th): Damodar Mauzo (Konkani)
• 2021 (56th): Nilamani Phookan (Assamese)

(b). Sahitya Akademi Award

• Established: 1954
• By: Sahitya Akademi (India’s National Academy of Letters)
• For: Literary work in any of the 24 recognized Indian languages
• Categories: Poetry, novels, short stories, plays, essays
• Notable Recipients:
  • Amitav Ghosh – The Shadow Lines (English)
  • Ruskin Bond – Lifetime Contribution (English)
  • U.R. Ananthamurthy – Samskara (Kannada)
  • Kamleshwar – Kitne Pakistan (Hindi)

• 2023:
  • Sanjeev for Mujhe Pehchaano (Hindi novel)
  • Neelum Saran Gaur for Requiem in Raga Janki (English poetry)
  • Sadiqua Nawab Saher for Rajdev Ki Amrai (Urdu)
  • Swarnjit Savi for Mann Di Chip (Punjabi poetry)
• 2024: 21 awards across languages—including
  • Gagan Gill (Hindi – poetry, Main Jab Tak Aai Bahar),
  • Easterine Kire (English – novel, Spirit Nights),
  • Sameer Tanti (Assamese – poetry),
  • Dipak Kumar Sharma (Sanskrit – poetry), among others

(c) Yuva & Bal Sahitya Puraskar

• 2023: Yuva Puraskar winners across languages; e.g. Atul Kumar Rai (Hindi), Sandeep (Punjabi), Anirudh Kanisetti (English)
• 2024 Bal Sahitya Puraskar:
  • Dipanwita Roy (English – Mahidadur Antidote)

(d) Sahitya Akademi Fellowship

• For: Highest literary honor by the Sahitya Akademi
• Given to: “Immortals of literature” for lifetime achievement
• Recipients include:
  • Mulk Raj Anand
  • R.K. Narayan
  • Mahasweta Devi

(e). Vyas Samman

• Established: 1991
• By: KK Birla Foundation
• For: Outstanding literary work in Hindi (published in the last 10 years)
• Prize: ₹4 lakhs (approx.)
• Notable Recipients:
  • Ram Vilas Sharma
  • Mannu Bhandari
  • Dr. Narendra Kohli

• 2024: Suryabala (Kaun Des Ko Vasi: Venu Ki Diary)
• 2023: Pushpa Bharati (Yaadein, Yaadein!…Aur Yaadein)
• 2022: Gyan Chaturvedi (Pagalkhana)
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(f) Saraswati Samman

• Established: 1991
• By: KK Birla Foundation
• For: Outstanding literary work in any Indian language
• Prize: ₹15 lakhs
• Notable Recipients:
  • Harivansh Rai Bachchan (Hindi)
  • Sitakant Mahapatra (Odia)
  • Sunil Gangopadhyay (Bengali)

• 2023: Prabha Varma (Roudra Sathwikam, Malayalam verse novel)
• 2022: Sivasankari (Surya Vamsam, Tamil memoir)
• 2021: Ram Darash Mishra (Main to Yahan Hun, Hindi poetry)
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(g). Bharatiya Bhasha Parishad Award

• For: Promotion of Indian language literature
• Covers: Regional languages
• Recipients include: Eminent regional writers across states

(h) . Tagore Literature Award

• By: Sahitya Akademi (in association with Korean Literature Foundation)
• In honor of: Rabindranath Tagore’s 150th Birth Anniversary
• Recipients include: Writers in different Indian languages

International Literary Honors Received by Indian Writers

(a) . Nobel Prize in Literature

• Rabindranath Tagore – 1913 for Gitanjali
  • First Asian and Indian Nobel Laureate in Literature

(b). Booker Prize

• Salman Rushdie – Midnight’s Children (1981)
• Arundhati Roy – The God of Small Things (1997) – First Indian Woman
• Kiran Desai – The Inheritance of Loss (2006)
• Aravind Adiga – The White Tiger (2008)
• Geetanjali Shree – Tomb of Sand (2022) – First Hindi novel to win International Booker

(c). Commonwealth Writers’ Prize

• Amitav Ghosh, Vikram Seth, Jhumpa Lahiri, Rohinton Mistry – Recognized in various years

(d). Sahitya Akademi Translation Award

• For: Translation of major works across Indian languages
• Encourages: Literary unity and linguistic inclusivity

Special Mentions and National Honors