Vidyasagar means an ocean of learning . He became a Sanskrit pundit and acquired an extremely high proficiency in this subject. Till his retirement, he worked as a Sanskrit professor in Sanskrit College, Calcutta.
3. EARLY LIFE
• Born on 26 Sep 1820
• Born in a Bengali Hindu Brahmin Family in Birsingha
Vill ( West Midnapore Distt)
• Father was Thakurdas Bandopadhyay and Mother
was Bhagavati Devi (Economically Backward)
• Age of Nine shifted to Calcutta with his Father(Nov
1828)
• He did his studies and earned scholarships
• 1829 to 1841 he studied Vedanta,Vyakran,Literature
,Smrirti and Ethics- Sanskrit college
• The same yr he cleared his Law exam
• 1839- He Earned the Title “Vidyasagar” when he
excelled in competition testing knowledge in Sanskrit
• At the age of 14 he married Dinamani Devi
4. CAREER
• 1841- He joined Fort William College as HoD
Sanskrit deptt
• He picked up proficiency in English and hindi
• 1846- joined Sanskrit College as Astt Secy
• He got into altercation with the Secy over Adm
issues,he resumed his employ in Fort Williams
as a Head Clerk
• 1851- He was called back to Sankrit college on
his terms and later in he became the principal
• 1855- He assumed the responsibilities of
special Inspector and could travel to rural areas
5. EDUCATIONAL REFORMS
• Remodelling medieval scholastic system prevailing and bring
modern insight into the education system
• Included English and Bengali as medium of learning in Sanskrit
College
• He introduced courses of European History,Philosphy and
Science alongside vedic scriptures
• He encouraged students to take away the best from both the
worlds
• He changed the rules of admission by permitting non Brahmins
students
• He introduced concept of tution fee and Admission fee for the
first time
• He introduced a school for teachers to enable uniformity in
teaching methods
• He was ardent advocate of women education
• He lobbied for opening of schools for girls and even outlined
curriculum to ensure self reliance in addition to education
• He went door to door requesting people to allow daughters to
enroll
• He opened 35 Schools
6. SOCIAL REFORMS
• He was always vocal about the oppression of
women
• He challenged Brahminical authorities and
proved that widow remarriage is sanctioned by
vedic scriptures
• He contributed in getting the Hindu Widow
Remarriage Act 1856 decreed by the British
Goverment(Act XV,1856)
• He Campaigned against Kulin Brahmin
polygamy in his journal Gananneshan(Search
for knowledge)
• This led to mass prostitution as these wives
landed up in Brothels
7. LITERATURE
• Pioneer in simplifying Bengali Language – Borno
Parichay
• “Vetala Panchavingsati”- 1847 ,it was a translation
from Sanskrit
• “Banglar Itihas”-1848 from John Marshal’s “ History of
Bengal”
• He started writing in bengali periodicals- 1849
• “Jibana- Charita” -1850 , it was a translation of
Chamber’s Biography
• “ Shakuntala” - 1854 , • “ Sitar Banabas”- 1860
• “ Bhrantibilas” – 1886 , it was translation of
Shakespeare’s “ The Comedy of Errors”
• “ Mahabharata” - 1860 • “ Oti Alpa Hoilo”- 1873
• “Aabaar Oti Alpa Hoilo “1873 • “ Braj Villas”- 1884
• “Bidhobabibaha”- 1855 • “ Bahu Bibaha”- 1871
• “Balya Bibaha”- 1873 • “ Borno Parichoy” -1851
8. Purpose of life
Great people are born to make an impact
on society. One such personality, who was
so humble but lived his complete life with
determination and purpose to fulfill certain
objectives, was Ishwar Chandra
Vidyasagar.
9. Hard Worker
His family was not well off, he used to study
under street lights at night. Because of his
vast knowledge on different subjects, the
title Vidyasagar was given to him by the
people of his village.
Area of Work
Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar strongly
protested against polygamy, child-marriage
and favored widow remarriage and women’s
education in India
10. Girls Education
Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, along with
many other active reformers opened schools
for girls. This was because, for him,
educational reform was much important than
any other reform.
Status of women
He believed that the status of women and all
kinds of injustice and inequalities that they
face could be changed only through
education
11. Education for all
Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar worked
endlessly to provide equal education to all
men and women irrespective of their caste,
religion and gender
Caste System
He allowed people from lower castes in his
Sanskrit college that was meant only for
upper caste men.
12. Women in India
Vidyasagar worked to uplift the status of
women in India especially in his native
Bengal. He was a social reformer and
wanted to change the orthodox Hindu
society from within.
Widow remarriage
Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar introduced the
practice of widow remarriage and worked
against polygamy.
13. Ocean of learning
Vidyasagar means an ocean of learning (“vidya”
– learning, “sagar” – ocean). He became a
Sanskrit pundit and acquired an extremely high
proficiency in this subject. Till his retirement, he
worked as a Sanskrit professor in Sanskrit
College, Calcutta.
As Name as Work
Ishwar Chandra Vidhya Sagar opened and ran
many schools for girls at his own expense. He
was also known as “Daya-r Sagar” or “Karunar
Sagar” ( literally, “ocean of kindness”) because
of his charitable nature and generosity.
14. Contribution towards Society
Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar was indeed a
great personality and a reformer. Today,
India needs such dedicated, humble and
determined personalities who can bring all
sorts of required reforms by working
solely for the betterment of the society
than their own interest.
He was the great social reformer, writer,
educator, entrepreneur and worked
endlessly to transform society. His
contribution towards education and
changing the status of women in India was
remarkable.
