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{{Use Indian English|date=July 2016}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=September 2021}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Vishnushastri Chiplunkar
| image =
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1850|5|20|df=yes}}
| birth_name = Vishnushastri Chiplunkar
| birth_place = [[Pune]], [[Bombay Presidency]], [[British India]]
| death_date = {{Death date and age|1882|03|17|1850|5|20|df=yes}}
| occupation = Writer, reformer
| father = [[Krushnashastri Chiplunkar]]
}}

'''Vishnushastri Chiplunkar''' (20 May 1850 – 17 March 1882) ([[Marathi language|Marathi]] : विष्णुशास्त्री कृष्णाशास्त्री चिपळूणकर) was a [[Marathi people|Marathi]] writer, whose writings have had a decisive influence on modern Marathi prose style. He was the son of the writer and scholar [[Krushnashastri Chiplunkar]].

== Life ==
Vishnushastri was born in [[Pune]] in a [[Chitpavan Brahmin]] family to the Sanskrit scholar Krishnashastri Chiplunkar.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Wolpert|first1=Stanley A.|title=Tilak and Gokhale : revolution and reform in the making of modern India|date=1989|publisher=Oxford University Press|location=Delhi|isbn=9780195623925|page=9|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=De_ftH3bm-MC&q=chiplunkar+chitpavan&pg=PA1}}</ref> He obtained his B.A. from [[Deccan College Post-Graduate and Research Institute|Deccan College]], Pune in 1872 and worked as a schoolteacher in government schools during the years 1872–1879. In 1880, he founded (together with [[Gopal Ganesh Agarkar]] and [[Bal Gangadhar Tilak]]) the newspapers [[Kesari (newspaper)|Kesari]] (केसरी, in Marathi) and Mahratta (in English).He was also a co-founder [[Deccan Education Society|The New English School]] in Pune.
These institutions intended to provide a more patriotically inclined education as opposed to the schools run by the government in [[British India]].{{Citation needed|reason=Your explanation here|date=August 2018}}

In 1878, Chiplunkar founded another monthly named ''Kavyetihas Sangraha'' (काव्येतिहास संग्रह) with the objective of better familiarizing the readers with the poetry and history of Maharashtra. The same year he established two printing presses, namely ''Aryabhushan Press'' (आर्यभूषण छापखाना) and ''Chitrashala'' (चित्रशाळा) press, the latter for the purpose of printing pictures of historical and spiritual figures and deities in Maharashtra.The next year, he opened a bookshop named ''Kitabkhana'' (किताबखाना), with the objective of making available inspirational books to Marathi readers.

He died in Pune of [[typhoid]] at an early age of 32 in 1882. An early biography was written by his brother Lakshmanshastri Chiplunkar, <ref name ="chip">
{{Cite book | last = Chiplunkar | first = L. K.|
title = Kai. Vishnushastri Chiplunkar yaanche charitra (in Marathi) | location = Pune | year = 1894}}
</ref> and a later appraisal of his career by Madkholkar
.<ref name ="madk">
{{Cite book | last = Madkholkar | first = G.T.|
title = Chiplunkar - Kaal ani Kartrutva (in Marathi) | location = Pune | year = 1894}}
</ref>

== Writings ==
His career as a writer began in 1868, with his articles in the periodical ''Shalapatrak'' (शालापत्रक, The School Paper) founded by his father. Notable in this period are the critical appraisals of the [[Sanskrit]] poets [[Kālidāsa|Kalidas]], [[Bhavabhuti]], [[Bāṇabhaṭṭa|Bana]], [[Subandhu]] and [[Daṇḍin|Dandin]]. These articles introduced his readers to the 'Western' tradition of literary criticism. They were later republished as ''Sanskrit Kavipanchak'' (संस्कृत कविपंचक ). Eventually he became the editor of this periodical, however some of his articles criticizing the conduct of the British Government and [[Christian Missionaries]] proved controversial, and the ensuing repercussions forced the closure of ''Shalapatrak'' in 1875.

In 1874, he started the monthly ''Nibandhamala'' (निबंधमाला, A Garland of Essays) for which he is principally remembered. Nearly all of the writing in the 84 issues of this periodical published in 12 years is due to him. His range is wide, and includes subjects such as the contemporary status of the Marathi language contrasted with that of English, Sanskrit and Marathi poetry, and the propriety of using foreign words in Marathi. ''Aamachya Deshachi Sthiti'' (अामच्या देशाची स्थिती, The state of our nation) and ''Mudranasvatantrya'' (मुद्रणस्वातंत्र्य, Freedom of the press) are two of his influential political articles.

He also translated the following works into Marathi in cooperation with his father:
*[[Rasselas]] by [[Samuel Johnson]]
*[[Kadambari]] by [[Banabhatta]]
*The [[Arabian Nights]] (loosely following the translation into English by [[Edward William Lane|Edward Lane]])

A compilation of his selected writings has been edited by Buddhisagar
.<ref name ="budd">
{{Cite book | last = Buddhisagar| first = M. G.|
title = Chiplunkar Lekhasangraha (in Marathi) | location = Delhi | year = 1963}}
</ref>

Vishnushastri's Marathi prose style was moulded on the one hand by his knowledge of Sanskrit, and on the other by his extensive reading into the works of [[Samuel Johnson]], [[Joseph Addison|Addison]] and [[Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay|Macaulay]]. His writing is characteristic of what is usually called the ''अव्वल इंग्रजी'' (high English) period, when Marathi written syntax shows the heavy influence of long, complex sentences incorporating several subordinate clauses, prevalent in 18th and 19th century English.
<ref name ="johi">
{{Cite book | last = Joshi | first = Laxmanshastri|
title = Aadhunik Marathi Sahityachee Sameeksha aani Rasasiddhanta (in Marathi) | location = Pune | year = 1972}}
</ref>
<ref name ="shashree">
{{Cite book | last = Puranik | first = S.S.|
title = Vishnushastri (in Marathi) | location = Pune | year = 2000}}
</ref>

He is also commonly referred to as the [[Shivaji]] of the Marathi language. However, this honorific description was first applied to Vishnushastri by himself, and in fact, was spoken by him in English.

==In popular culture==
In the Marathi film [[Lokmanya: Ek Yug Purush]] on the life of Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Om Raut plays the character of Vishnushastrii.

== References ==
{{Reflist}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Chiplunkar, Vishnushastri Krushnashastri}}
[[Category:Marathi-language writers|Chiplunkar, Vishnusastri]]
[[Category:Indian independence activists from Maharashtra]]
[[Category:1850 births]]
[[Category:1882 deaths]]
[[Category:Founders of Indian schools and colleges]]

Vishnushastri Krushnashastri Chiplunkar - Revision history

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