Nathuram Premi (26 November 1881 â 30 January 1960) was an Indian writer, publisher, poet, editor, and linguist in the field of Jainism as well as Hindi literature. A budding poet, he wrote under the nom de plume of "Premi". Although belonging to the Digambara sect of Jainism, he adopted a non-sectarian attitude and published and translated many Digambara as well as à ÂvetÃÂmbara works. Working as a clerk in a firm in Mumbai he rose to establish his own publishing house and bookstore Hindi Granth RatnÃÂkar KÃÂryÃÂlay which published works of many of the biggest names in Indian literature, including Munshi Premchand, Hajariprasad Dvivedi, Jainendrakumar, Yashpal, Swami Satyabhakta, Sharatchandra Chatterjee and Rabindranath Tagore. The bookshop and publishing house now called Hindi Granth Karyalay is now being managed by his grandson and great-grandson 100 years after its establishment.
Born on 26 November 1881 in Deori, in the district of Sagar in Bundelkhand, Madhya Pradesh, NÃÂthà «rÃÂm Premë was the eldest child of Tundelal Modi, a travelling merchant of modest means, belonging to the ParavÃÂra community of Digambara Jains hailing from Bundelkhand. He studied in grammar school and was the monitor of his class. He cleared his pre-high school exams in 1898 and became a schoolteacher nearby at Rehli. In the late 1890s, he married Rama Devi, who was from the nearby village of Sarkheda, in the district of Sagar.
NÃÂthà «rÃÂm Premë excelled in the field of literature as a poet, editor, writer and publisher earning respect and affection of his contemporaries like Munshi Premchand, Mahaviraprasad Dwivedi, Rahul Sankrityayan, Pandit Sukhlalji, Muni Jinavijayaji, Ganeshprasadji Varni, Pandit Becharadasji Doshi, Pandit Agarchand Nahata and Dr Dalsukh Malvania. Premiji and Munshi Premchand were close friends, and he published the first edition of Munshi Premchand's classic novel, GodÃÂn. He also published Premchand's short story collections entitled Nava Nidhi and Sapta Saroj.
Under the inspiration of his guru Syed Amir Ali Mir, Nathuram became a budding poet, writing in Urdu and Braj under the nom de plume of "Premi". Since then he was affectionately called Premiji by his friends and contemporaries. His poems were published in the literary magazines of the time, Rasika Mitra, Rasika VÃÂtikÃÂ and KÃÂvya SudhÃÂkara.
On 24 September 1912 Premiji founded the publishing house Hindi Granth RatnÃÂkar KÃÂryÃÂlay (now known as Hindi Granth Karyalay) at C.P. Tank, Mumbai. It was to become the foremost Hindi publishing house in India and is also the oldest bookstore of Mumbai. The first publication was a Hindi translation of John Stuart Mill's On Liberty, titled SvÃÂdhënatàtranslated by Mahavira Prasad Dvivedi. He published almost the entire oeuvre of Sharat Chandra Chatterji, the Bengali writer, and some works of Rabindranath Tagore, such as ÃÂnkh kë Kirkirë, and NaukàDà «bë. Premiji also published Hindi translations of the Gujarati writer KM Munshi, such as GujarÃÂt ke NÃÂth and PÃÂtan kàPrabhutva. Other famous works published include Munshi Premchand's classic novel, GodÃÂn and short story collections titled Nava Nidhi and Sapta Saroj. He also published works of then new writers such as Hajariprasad Dvivedi, Jainendrakumar, Yashpal, Acharya Chatursen, and Pandit Sudarshan. He also published the Bengali plays of Dvijendra Lal Rai for the first time in Hindi.
In memory of Seth Manikchandra, Premiji established the Manikacandra Jain GranthamÃÂlàwherein he published Jain scriptures, for the first time systematically edited by philologists. The Manikacandra Jain GranthamÃÂlàpublished over 48 Digambara Jain texts, mostly written in Prakrit, Apabhramà Âa or Sanskrit. He ran the Manikacandra Jain GranthamÃÂlàon an honorary basis between 1915 and the 1950s selling all the books at cost price. When his health began to fail, it was decided to hand over the series to BhÃÂratëya JñÃÂnapëtha in Varanasi.
Premiji was non-sectarian in his attitude and shared a good rapport with many à ÂvetÃÂmbara scholars. Besides many Digambara scriptures, he published and translated many à ÂvetÃÂmbara scriptures. He once remarked to Sukhlalji that he wished that the learned Digambara scholars would give up their sectarian views. During those times there used to be heated debate whether Acarya UmÃÂsvÃÂti (UmÃÂsvÃÂmë) belonged to the à ÂvetÃÂmbara or the Digambara tradition. Premiji, although a Digambara himself, went against views of Digambara community and opined that he was neither, but belonged to the YÃÂpanëya tradition. Pt. Sukhlal Sanghvi, a à ÂvetÃÂmbara Jain scholar observed Premiji's non-sectarian attitude:
Under his tutelage, Hindi Granth RatnÃÂkar KÃÂryÃÂlay became India's No. 1 publishers of Hindi literature. In recognition of his contributions to Indian literature, the acclaimed Hindi novelist Vishnu Prabhakar called Premiji the "Bhësma PitÃÂmaha" of Hindi publishing.
Premiji had suffered from asthma for a long time and died owing to old age on 30 January 1960. He left behind his daughter-in-law and two grandsons, Yashodhar Modi and Vidyadhar Modi. They are continuing his legacy along with their children.
In Premiji's memory, his grandson Yashodhar Modi has started the Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series. This series has published select volumes focusing on subjects as varied as Jainism, philosophy and yoga and published original texts by ancient and medieval Jain ascetics such as Kundakunda, Samantabhadra, Pà «jyapÃÂda, Joindu, PrabhÃÂcandra, VÃÂdirÃÂja, BhÃÂvadeva and many others, usually accompanied by translation in either Hindi or English.
Also, modern scholars such as Premiji himself, Prof. Ludwig Alsdorf, Prof. Maurice Bloomfield, Prof. Willem Bollée and Dr. Jaykumar Jalaj have been and are being published in the Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series.
Jain Studies : Their Present State and Future Tasks By Prof Dr Ludwig Alsdorf English tr. by Bal Patil P {Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series Volume 1} Published in 2006
The Story of Paesi Prakrit text in Roman and Devanagari English tr. by Prof Dr Willem Bollée {Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series Volume 2} Published in 2005
Ratnakaranda Shravakacara Sanskrit text by Acarya Samantabhadra Hindi tr. by Dr Jaykumar Jalaj {Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series Volume 3} Published in 2006, 2006
Vyavahara Bhashya Pithika Prakrit text in Roman English tr. by Prof Dr Willem Bollée {Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series Volume 4} Published in 2006, 2011
Samadhitantra Sanskrit text by Acarya Pujyapada Hindi tr. by Dr Jaykumar Jalaj {Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series Volume 5} Published in 2006, 2006, 2008
Atthapahuda Prakrit text by Acarya Kundakunda Hindi tr. by Dr Jaykumar Jalaj {Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series Volume 6} Published in 2006, 2008
Tattvarthasutra Sanskrit text by Acarya Prabhacandra Hindi tr. by Dr Jaykumar Jalaj {Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series Volume 7} Published in 2008
Yogamrit : Yog Sahaj Jivan Vigyan By Mahavir Sainik {Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series Volume 8} Published in 2006
Paramatmaprakasha Apabhramsa text by Acarya Joindu Hindi tr. by Dr Jaykumar Jalaj {Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series Volume 9} Published in 2007
Yogasara Apabhramsa text by Acarya Joindu Hindi tr. by Dr Jaykumar Jalaj {Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series Volume 10} Published in 2007, 2009
Dhyanastava Sanskrit text by Acarya Bhaskaranandi Hindi tr. by Dr Jaykumar Jalaj {Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series Volume 11} Published in 2007
Dhyanashataka Prakrit text by Jinabhadragani Kshamashramana Hindi tr. by Dr Jaykumar Jalaj Published in 2007, 2009 {Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series Volume 12}
Barasa Anuvekkha Prakrit text by Acarya Kundakunda Sanskrit tr. & Hindi gloss by Pt. Nathuram Premi {Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series Volume 13} Published in 2010
Ishtopadesha Sanskrit text by Acarya Pujyapada Hindi tr. by Dr Jaykumar Jalaj {Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series Volume 14} Published in 2007, 2009
Life and Stories of the Jain Saviour Parshvanatha An English tr. of Acarya Bhavadeva's Parsvacaritram by Prof Dr Maurice Bloomfield {Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series Volume 15} Published in 2008
Tattvasara Prakrit text by Acarya Devasena Sanskrit gloss by Muni Ratnabhanuvijay English tr. by Manish Modi {Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series Volume 16}
The Apabhramsha of Svayambhudeva's Paumacariu By Dr Eva de Clercq {Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series Volume 17} Published in 2010
Jainism and the Definition of Religion By Dr Piotr Balcerowicz {Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series Volume 18} Published in 2009
Dravyasamgraha Prakrit text by Acarya Nemicandra English tr. by Prof Dr Nalini Balbir {Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series Volume 19} Published in 2010
Tattvarthasutra Sanskrit text by Acarya Prabhacandra Hindi tr. by Dr Jaykumar Jalaj, English tr. by Anish Shah {Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series Volume 20}
Rayanasara Prakrit text by Acarya Kundakunda Hindi tr. by Dr Jaykumar Jalaj {Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series Volume 21} .
Jainism : An Eternal Pilgrimage By Bal Patil {Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series Volume 23} Published in 2008, 2011
Dravyasamgraha Prakrit text by Acarya Nemicandra Hindi tr. by Dr Jaykumar Jalaj {Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series Volume 24} Published in 2009
Parshvanathacaritram Sanskrit text by Acarya Vadiraja {Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series Volume 25}
Parshvacaritram : The Life of Parshva Sanskrit text by Acarya Gunabhadra English tr. by Prof Dr Willem Bollée {Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series Volume 26} Published in 2008
Jain Sahitya aur Itihas By Pt. Nathuram Premi {Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series Volume 27} Published in 1942, 1956, 2012
Tales of Atonement Stories from Malayagiri's Commentary on the Vyavahara Bhashya English tr. by Prof Dr Willem Bollée {Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series Volume 28} Published in 2008
Yogashastra : A Handbook on the Three Jewels of Jainism Sanskrit text by Acarya Hemacandra English tr. by Prof Dr Olle Qvarnström {Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series Volume 29}
Samayasara Prakrit text by Acarya Kundakunda Hindi translation by Dr Jaykumar Jalaj {Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series Volume 30} 2012
Dhyanabattisi Braj text by Banarasidasa English tr. by Jerome Petit {Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series Volume 31} Published in 2010
Tattvarthasutra Sanskrit text by Acarya Umasvati English tr. by Prof Dr Duli Chandra Jain {Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series Volume 32}
Svarupa Sambodhana Right Instruction on the Nature of the Soul Sanskrit text by Acarya Akalanka English tr., notes and introduction by Nagin J. Shah {Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series Volume 33} Published in 2011
Shastrasarasamuccaya Sanskrit text by Acarya Maghanandi English tr. by Shreyans Sukhani {Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series Volume 34}
Three Prakrit Grammars By Saartje Verbeke {Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series Volume 35} Published in 2010
Ishtopadesha Sanskrit text by Acarya Pujyapada Gujarati tr. by Pravina Mehta, English tr. by Manish Modi {Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series Volume 36} Published in 2010
Bhaktamara Stotra Sanskrit text by Acarya Manatunga Hindi poetic tr. and gloss by Pt Nathuram Premi, English tr. by Manish Modi {Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series Volume 37}
Mrityu Mahotsava Sanskrit text by an Unknown Writer Hindi tr. by Shreyans Sukhani, Gujarati tr. by Dr Shilpa Vasani, English tr. by Manish Modi {Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series Volume 38} Published in 2010
Aradhanasara Prakrit text by Acarya Devasena English tr. by Prof Dr Nalini Balbir {Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series Volume 39} Published in 2010
Tattvarthasutra : That Which Is Sanskrit text by Acarya Umasvati English tr. by Nathmal Tantia {Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series Volume 40}
Ratnakarandaka Shravakacara Sanskrit text by Acarya Samantabhadra English tr. by Prof Dr Willem Bollée {Pandit Nathuram Premi Research Series Volume 41} 2012