Gita Press

Gita Press is the world's largest publisher of Hindu religious texts.[1] It is located in Gorakhpur city of India's Uttar Pradesh state. It was founded in 1923 by Jaya Dayal Goyanka and Ghanshyam Das Jalan for promoting the principles of Sanatana Dharma. Hanuman Prasad Poddar better known as "Bhaiji" was the founding and the lifetime editor of its noted magazine who also wrote articles with his pen name "SHIV", Kalyan.[2] It started publishing in 1927, with a circulation of 1,600 copies and at present its print order had reached 250,000 (in 2012). The Gita Press archives contain over 3,500 manuscripts including over 100 interpretations of the Bhagwad Gita.[3]

Gita Press
Founded29 April 1923 (29 April 1923); 96 years ago in Gorakhpur, India
FounderJay Dayal Goyanka Ghanshyam Das Jalan
Country of originIndia
Headquarters locationGorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh
DistributionWorldwide
Publication typesHindu Religious Books and Kalyan Masik
Nonfiction topicsSanatana Dharma or Hinduism
No. of employees350
Official websitewww.gitapress.org

Seth Jaya Dayal Goyanka, Shri Hanuman Prasad Poddar and Shri Ghanshyam Das Jalan, Gita preachers set up the Gita Press on 29 April 1923, as a unit of Gobind Bhawan Karyalaya registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 (presently governed by the West Bengal Societies Act, 1960). Five months later it acquired its first printing machine for Rs 600. Since its establishment, the Gita Press has published approximately 410 million copies of the Gita (in different editions) and 70.0 million copies of the Ramcharitamanas, at subsidized prices.[3]

Gita Press Gate, with its pillars inspired from the cave temples of Ellora, the gopuram, by Meenakshi temple, Madurai

It temporarily shut down in December 2014 over wage issues,[4] but work resumed a few days later.[5]

Publications

Magazines
  • Kalyan (in Hindi) is a monthly magazine being published since 1927. It has articles devoted to various religious topics promoting uplifting thought and good deeds. Writings by Indian saints and scholars are regularly published in the magazine.
  • Kalyana-Kalpataru (in English) is also a monthly and has been published since 1934. Its contents are similar to Kalyan.

Neither of these magazines runs any advertisements.

Gita Press Gorakhpur outlet at Kanpur Railway Station

Religious texts

These texts are published in Sanskrit, Hindi, Marathi, English, Kannada, Tamil, Telugu, Gujarati, Bengali, Oriya and other languages of India.

Other publications
  • Bhakta-Gathas and Bhajans
  • Small books geared towards children

Branches

Gita Press has the branches and stalls in following locations. Most of the stalls are operated in railway platforms except Churu and Nadiyad. Churu has a stall near Rishikul Brahmacharyashram vedic school and Nadiyad has a stall near Santram Temple.

BranchesAddressStall Operations
Bengaluru7/3, 2nd Cross, Lalbagh Road Bangalore - 560027Bangalore, Yashwantpur, SSPN, Hubli
CoimbatoreGita Press Mansion 8/1 M, Racecourse, Coimbatore - 641018 ( Tamilnadu)NIL
BhilwaraG-7, Aakar Tower, C Block, Opp. Harsh Palace, Gandhi Nagar, Bhilwara (Raj.)- 311001NIL
CuttackBharatiya Towers, Badam Badi, Cuttack-753009Cuttack, Bhubanshwar
Delhi2609, Nayi Sarak, Delhi-110006Delhi, Nijamuddin, New Delhi, Bikaner, Churu
RishikeshGita Bhavan, P.O. Swargashram, Rishikesh-249304NIL
HaridwarSabjimandi, Motibazar, Haridwar-249401Haridwar
Hyderabad41, 4-4-1; Dilshad Plaza, Sultan Bazar, Hyderabad-500095Secunderabad, Vijaywada
IndoreG-5, Shree Vardhan, 4 R.N.T. Marg, Indore-452001Indore
Jalgaon7, Bhim Singh Market, Near Railway Station, Jalgaon-425001Aurangabad
Kanpur24/55, Birhana Road, Kanpur-208001Kanpur, Lucknow, Kota
Kolkata151, Mahatma Gandhi Road, Kolkata-700007Kolkata, Sealdah, Howrah, Dhanbad, Kharagpur
Mumbai282,Samaldas Gandhi Marg (Princess Street), Near Marine Lines Station, Mumbai-400002NIL
NagpurShriji Kripa Complex, 851, New Etawari Road, Nagpur-440002Gondia
PatnaAshok Rajpath, Opposite Women's Hospital, Patna - 800004Patna
RaipurMittal Complex,Ganjpara, Telghani Chowk(Chhattisgarh), Raipur- 492009Raipur
RanchiCart Sarai Road, Upper Bazar, First Floor Birla Gaddi, Ranchi-834001Ranchi
SuratVaibhav Apartment, Opposite Nutan Niwas, Bhatar Road, Surat-395001Ahmedabad, Vadodara, Rajkot, Jamnagar, Bharuch, Nadiyad
Varanasi59/9, Nichibag, Varanasi-221001Mughal Sarai
ChennaiElectro House No. 23, Ramnathan Street, Kilpauk, Chennai-600010 (T.N.)NIL
GorakhpurGita Press, P.O. Gita Press, Gorakhpur - 273005Chapra, Siwan, Muzaffapur, Gorakhpur, Gondia, Jabalpur, Samastipur

The Art Gallery has the lilas ( works or plays ) of Shri Rama and Shri Krishna portrayed in 684 paintings by famed artists of the past and present. Other paintings, including Mewari style paintings of the Shri Krishna Lila are also on exhibit. The entire 700 verses of the Bhagvad Gita are displayed on marble plaques affixed to the walls.

Affiliated organizations
Gita Press outlet, Gita Bhavan, Muni Ki Reti

The Gita Press is part of the Govind Bhawan Karyalaya, Kolkata. Other affiliated institutions are:

  • Gita Bhavan, Muni Ki Reti, Rishikesh
  • Rishikul-Brahmacharya Ashram (Vedic school), Churu, Rajasthan.
  • Ayurved Sansthan (producer of Ayurvedic medicines), Rishikesh.
  • Gita Press Seva Dal (relief organization for natural calamities).
  • Hasta Nirmit Vastra Vibhag (producer of handloom made clothes).
  • Bhartiya Gramodyog Vastra Bhandar (first retailer of Gita Press in Mumbai).

See also

References
  1. Encyclopædia Britannica.
  2. Hanuman Prasad Poddar Archived 2010-02-11 at the Wayback Machine
  3. Holy word India Today, 20 December 2007.
  4. Historic Geeta Press shuts down indefinitely
  5. "Work resumes at Gita Press". The Times of India. 17 December 2014. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
  6. "Thulasidas Ramayana". The Hindu. 21 May 2002. Retrieved 5 July 2018.
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