Acharya Balkrishna (born 4 August 1972) is the managing director and primary stakeholder of PatanjaliAyurved, an Indian FMCGcompany.[5] He is a close aide of yoga guru Baba Ramdev,[3] with whom he founded the company in 2006.[6] As of November 2017, he is ranked as the 19th richest person in India by Forbes.[7] Hurun India Rich List 2017 ranked him at 8th position among 617 Indians present in the list.[8] Balkrishna is a scholar of Ayurveda, Sanskrit and the Vedas and hence often referred as Acharya Balkrishna. The Patanjali group claimed that he rediscovered SanjeevaniBooti, a herb which is believed to have the power to cure any malady and was believed to save the life of Lakshmana in the epic Ramayana.[9][10]

1. 1
MAN BEHIND THE SUCCESS OF PATANJALI: Acharya
Balkrishna
VARUN KESAVAN, RESEARCH SCHOLAR, E – MAIL ID –
varunkesavan@yahoo.com
Acharya Balkrishna (born 4 August 1972) is the managing director and primary
stakeholder of PatanjaliAyurved, an Indian FMCGcompany.[5] He is a close aide of yoga
guru Baba Ramdev,[3] with whom he founded the company in 2006.[6]
As of November 2017, he is ranked as the 19th richest person in India
by Forbes.[7] Hurun India Rich List 2017 ranked him at 8th position among 617 Indians
present in the list.[8]
Balkrishna is a scholar of Ayurveda, Sanskrit and the Vedas and hence often referred
as Acharya Balkrishna. The Patanjali group claimed that he rediscovered
SanjeevaniBooti, a herb which is believed to have the power to cure any malady and
was believed to save the life of Lakshmana in the epic Ramayana.[9][10]

2. 2
EARLY LIFE
Balkrishna was born on July 25, 1972 in Haridwar to Sumitra Devi and Jay
Vallabh, both of Baglung, Nepal. He joined KalwaGurukul, Haryana in 1988. Here
he met the yoga guru Swami Ramdev. After Balkrishna completed his post-
graduation from Sampurnanand Sanskrit University in Varanasi, he
independently studied native medicinal plants.[11][12]
DIVYA PHARMACY
In early 1995, Ramdev and Balkrishna set up Divya Pharmacy under the shelter of
Ramdev's guru Swami Shankar Dev's ashram to make ayurvedic and herbal medicines.
As per Ramdev, they didn't have the money for registration. For the initial three years,
till 1998, medicines were distributed for free. Starting from purchasing raw materials to
grinding, mixing and packaging used to be done by both of them. Later in 2003,
Ramdev made Acharya Balkrishna as head of the pharmacy. Today the pharmacy is
run like a business venture having two dozen vaids to inspect patients by minute and
prescribing medicines.

3. 3
PATANJALI AYURVED
PatanjaliAyurved, an FMCG company, was founded by Baba Ramdev and Balkrishna in
2006. Followers of Ramdev, NRIs Sunita and SarwanPoddar, helped kick-start the
business with a loan. According to Balkrishna, he had taken out a ₹50–60 crore loan at
a time when he had never held a personal bank account in his name.[15] In 2012, the
company posted a turnover of ₹450 crore (US$70 million) which by 2015–2016 had
risen to ₹5,000 crore (US$780 million).[3][6]
While Ramdev does not hold any stake in the company, he is the face of the firm and
endorses its products to his followers across his yoga camps and television
programmes.[3]Balkrishna owns a 94% stake in the company and has amassed a
personal fortune worth ₹25,600 crore (US$4.0 billion).[3] His birthday is celebrated
as JadiButi Divas ("Herb Day") in the Patanjali group of companies on August 4.[16]
Balkrishna is involved in nearly all the operations in Patanjali, and makes all the
decisions in production, hiring of senior staff and dealing with advertisers. He does not
take a salary.[9][17]

4. 4
BOARD MEMBERSHIPS
 Vice Chancellor, University of Patanjali[18]
 General Secretary of Divya Yoga Mandir Trust[19]
 General Secretary of PatanjaliYogpeeth Trust[19]
 Managing Director of Vedic Broadcasting Limited (Aastha)[19]
 Managing Director of Patanjali Food & Herbal Park Private Limited[19]
 General Secretary, PatanjaliGramodyog Trust[citation needed]
 Chief Editor, YogSandesh[
AWARDS AND HONOURS
 ‘Bharat Gaurav’ award by Kaptan Singh Solanki, Governor of Haryana and Punjab
in recognition of his amazing work in the field of Ayurveda[21]
 Bloomberg Special Recognition Award[22]
 Ganga Ratan Award[23]
 Spirit & Entrepreneurship Award by ISOL[24]
 Felicitation by Archana Trust Mumbai[25]
 In 2012, “Sujaan Shri” award by Shri Viranjnya Foundation for his contribution in the
field of yoga and medicinal plants

5. 5
SCHOLARLY WORKS
Balkrishna serves as chief editor of YogSandesh, a magazine that promotes yoga and
ayurveda. He, along with his co-authors have written many books and research papers.
All the research papers and books are related to yoga and ayurveda.[27][28] Below is a
partial list.[29]
Books
S.No. Book Title Year Published
1. "DivyaAushadhi, SugandhitAvamSaundaryakaranPaudh" 2004
2.
"Vitality Strengthening Astavarga Plants (For Vitality and
Anti-aging)"
2005
3. "Bhakti Geetanjali" 2006
4. "AushadDarshan" 2007
5. "Ayurveda: its principles and philosophies" 2007
6. "Yoga In Synergy with Medical Science" 2007
7. "Secrets of Indian Herbs" 2008

6. 6
8. "The Four Vedas" 2009
9. "Yoga – Play and Learn" 2010
10. "Let us Learn Yoga - Class III" 2010
11. "Let us Learn Yoga - Class IV" 2010
12. "Let us Learn Yoga - Class V" 2010
13. "VaidikaNityakarmaVidhi" 2010
14. "Secrets of Astavarga Plants" 2012
15. "Vichaarkranti(Nepali Granth)" 2013
16. "Ayurveda Mahodadhi (SushenaNighantu)" 2013
17. "Bhojanakutuhalam" 2013
18. "SiddhasaarSanhita" 2013
19. "AshtangHridayam" 2013
20. "DainandinYogabhyaskram" 2015

7. 7
Research papers
 Effect of a yoga practice session and a yoga theory session on state anxiety.[52]
 Short term health impact of a yoga and diet change program on obesity.[53]
 Serum leptin, cholesterol and blood glucose levels in diabetics following a yoga and
diet change program.[54]
 Heart rate variability changes during high frequency yoga breathing and breath
awareness.[55]
 Effects of high frequency yoga breathing called kapalabhati compared with breath
awareness on the degree of optical illusion perceived.[56]
 Effect of Yoga and Ayurveda on Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy.[57]
 Effect of yoga on different aspects of mental health.[58]
 Blood pressure and Purdue pegboard scores in hypertensives after alternate nostril
breathing, breath awareness, and no intervention.[59]
 Reaction time following yoga bellows type breathing and breath awareness.[60]
 Immediate changes in muscle strength and motor speed following yoga breathing.[61]
 Role of respiration in mind-body practices[62]
 Blood Pressure and Heart Rate Variability during Yoga-Based Alternate Nostril
Breathing Practice and Breath Awareness.[63][64]
 Research on Traditional Medicine[65]
 A comparative controlled trial comparing the effects of yoga and walking for
overweight and obese adults.[66]
 Effect of one week of yoga on function and severity in rheumatoid arthritis.[67]

8. 8
 Implications of Corporate Yoga[68]
 Managing mental health disorders resulting from trauma through yoga[69]
 Optical topography recording of cortical activity during high frequency yoga
breathing and breath awareness.[70]
 Body fat, cholesterol, triglycerides, and adipokines as predictors of waist
circumference in overweight and obese adults.[71]
 Corporate Yoga and Its Implications.[72]
 Post traumatic stress symptoms and heart rate variability in Bihar flood survivors
following yoga: a randomized controlled study.[73]
 Yoga and diet change influence renal functions in the obese.[