Hanuman Prasad Poddar (Bhaiji)
If you’ve ever asked which version of Dharmic scriptures to read, and heard the name Gita Press being recommended instantly, you should know the story of the legends behind it!
In the 1920s, a huge wave of Christian missionaries was changing our Bharat’s landscape, with ordinary Hindus having no affordable copies of our own religious texts.
To counter this, Jaydalal Goyandka, a Marwadi trader from Rajasthan, who had left his business to preach the Srimad Bhagavad Gita, decided to set up his own printing press after being disappointed by the poor quality of other publishers in the market.
With the help of his connect, Ghanshyam Das Jalan, he raised a small setup in 1923 in UP’s Gorakhpur city near Lucknow. A larger campus was set up in 1926.
But the real editorial firepower that ignited the wildfire came from his friend Hanuman Prasad Poddar. Poddar had been arrested for supporting missionaries & was looking for his comeback. His network with Tilak, Gandhi & other leaders, who all lovingly called him “Bhaiji,” was also waiting to be tapped.
So not only did he spearhead Gita Press’ publishing machine, but also launched the legendary Kalyan Magazine in 1927, featuring ideological contributions from leaders across the spectrum.
Under his 45-year stint as the Editor, Kalyan’s publication grew from 1600 to 20,000, along with its English counterpart Kalyana Kalpataru, essentially making it the source of truth for Hindus, spreading ideas that inspired thousands of Hindus to serve the cause.
Alongside being a deep Krishna-Radha Devotee, Poddar also served the nation through the RSS & VHP network, publishing their ideas & his vision for a Hindu Bharat frequently.
To understand why Gita Press has impacted your life without you even knowing it, just look at the numbers - with over 1600 titles across 15 regional languages, they’ve sold 162 million copies of the Gita, 117 million of Ramcharitramanas, 26 million of our puranas & Upanishads, and many others of smaller booklets, pamphlets & Hanuman Chalisa.
Their in-house model has kept costs extremely low, as much as 35 bucks, making it accessible to every household in the country. With 22 branch bookshops & 50 railway station bookstalls pan-India, their network is also wide.
Gita Press as an institution doesn’t take any donations nor does it sell ads, making it free from external influence, being run by Marwadi community as a service to Dharma, and unlike other religious publishing houses which are contained within larger sects like ISCKON’s Bhaktivedanta or Chinmaya Mission’s CCMinfluence T, Gita Press serves a larger audience base, making its publications one of the purest, most authentic & unadulterated translations or commentaries you’ll read.
But the influence goes beyond books - Poddar, Jalan, and Goyandka actually ensured that we Hindus have access to our own literature, scripture & culture, shaping entire political movements in the past century. (e.g. Gau Raksha Wave)
Bhaiji’s work is his true legacy & an inspiration to media folks like me who want to continue spreading the Krishna’s word, one fresh copy at a time.