Remembering Vedamurti Pandit Shripad Damodar Satwalekar

Among those devoted to the pursuit of Vedavidya (Vedic scholarship), Panditji’s name alone serves as sufficient introduction. He accomplished the monumental task of bringing Vedic literature and Sanskrit within reach of the common person—fulfilling an aspiration once cherished by Swami Dayananda. By making Hindi the language of Vedabhashya (commentary on the Vedas), Swami Dayananda had ignited a deep attraction toward the Vedas among a populace that had forgotten them. Yet he could complete commentaries on only two of the Vedas. This mission was carried forward by his foremost disciple, Shripad Damodar Satwalekar, who possessed that same indefatigable titiksha (endurance). Satwalekar prepared the 'Subodh Hindi Bhashya' on all four Vedas, making them readily accessible to Hindu society. Even after translating foundational texts of the Arya Samaj, such as Satyarth Prakash and Rigvedadibhashyabhumika, into Marathi, Pandit Satwalekar refused to remain confined within any sectarian stream. Adopting Swami Dayananda’s own spirit of critical refinement, he did not hesitate to refine Dayananda’s tenets where warranted, and single-handedly founded the "Swadhyay Mandal" to dedicate himself to the purushartha (strenuous endeavor) of Vedic commentary.

Drawn to the Indian National Congress through the influence of a thinker like Lokmanya Tilak, he immersed himself in the yajna (sacrificial offering) of the freedom struggle by delivering lectures on Swadeshi. He continuously published periodicals such as "Vedic Dharma" and "Purushartha". During his residence in Hyderabad, his intellectual pursuits, steeped in nationalist fervour, displeased the Nizam, compelling him to leave Hyderabad and relocate to Aundh in Maharashtra. By compiling Vedic mantras invoking the destruction of enemies of the nation under the title "Vedic Rashtrageet" and publishing it in Marathi and Hindi, he struck at the very foundations of foreign rule. In response, orders were issued to seize and destroy every copy. His essay 'Tejasvita', grounded in the Vedas, was likewise deemed seditious, earning him a three-year prison sentence.

An entire pedagogical method of learning Sanskrit is known as the 'Satwalekar method'. It was Satwalekar who pioneered "Sanskrit Swayam Shikshak" (Self-Taught Sanskrit), introducing the concept of mastering Sanskrit from home. The book "Sanskrit Swayam Shikshak" is an institution of Sanskrit instruction in its own right, whose utility will not diminish for decades to come. Panditji was also an accomplished painter and sculptor. Yet even in the depths of poverty, he refused to paint the portrait of a Rai Bahadur who had offered a substantial sum of 1,000 rupees, unwilling to accept even a fraction of wealth accumulated through servitude to British imperial rule.

In 1936, Panditji joined the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh in Satara and became the Sanghchalak of the princely state of Aundh, serving the Sangh for 16 years. Following the assassination of Gandhiji, the disciples of the apostle of non-violence burned down the homes and properties of Maharashtrian Brahmins simply because of Godse’s caste. Satwalekar ji’s Vedic research institute was also burned to ashes. Barely escaping with his life, he arrived at Pardi near Surat, where he restarted the work of "Swadhyay Mandal".

In 1968, the very year the Government of India conferred the Padma Bhushan upon him, this radiant nakshatra (luminary) of Vedavidya set after a long life of 101 years. Throughout his 101-year earthly sadhana of Vedic literature, he not only produced the Subodh Hindi commentary on the Vedas, but also critically edited the original Vedic Samhitas. He authored a commentary on an epic as vast as the Mahabharata. His Purusharthabodhini commentary on the Bhagavad Gita remains in the vanguard of Gita commentaries to this day. In addition, he penned more than 400 works, published by houses such as Swadhyay Mandal Pardi, Rajhans, and Chaukhambha.

To forget such a manishi (sage-scholar) today would be an unpardonable crime against the entire lineage of great souls who consecrated their lives to preserving Vedic culture. It is because they dedicated their lives to Sanatan Dharma and the nation that we can even think of learning and understanding anything from the Vedas today. Countless prostrations to such an exalted soul...

Some of Satwalekar ji's works include:

- Subodh Bhashya on the Four Vedas
- Vedic Vyakhyanmala
- Go-Gyan Kosh (Compendium of Vedic evidence on the inviolability of cows and bulls, along with accurate contextual meanings and an analytical compilation of cow-related mantras)
- Vedic Yajna Sanstha
- Veda-Parichay
- Mahabharata (with commentary) - in 18 volumes
- Shrimad Bhagavad Gita Purusharthabodhini Hindi Commentary
- Mahabharata ki Samalochana (Exposition and critical examination of select themes in the Mahabharata)
- Sanskrit Pathamala
- Sanskrit Swayam Shikshak (in two parts)

Also read:

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