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GENERAL EDITORIAL [First Edition, 1975)
The Bharatiya Jnanpith is a pre-eminent academic institute of our country. It has achieved, during the last quarter of a century, quite worthy results in the field of learned publications in Sanskrit, Pali, Prakrit, Apabhramsa, Tamil and Kannada. Most of them are equipped with critical introductions embodying original researches which shed abundant light on many a neglected branch of Indian literature. The number of such publications included in its Moortidevi and Manikchand Granthamalas is more than one hundred and fifty (200 in April, 1999). Most of these works are brought to light for the first time and thus some of them are rescued from oblivion. It has also published in its Lokodaya and Rashtra Bharati Series more than four hundred (636 in April, 1999) titles in Hindi (and other languages) comprising almost all the literary forms like novels, poems, short stories, essays, travels, biographies, researches and critical estimates etc. Through these literary pursuits, the Jnanpith aims at giving impetus to creative writings in modern Indian languages. By their equality as well as by their appearance, the Jnanpith publications have won approbation and appreciation everywhere.
The Jnanpith gives, every year, an Award to the outstanding literary work (now the writer, according to the revised rule since the eighteenth award) in the various recognised languages of India, which is chosen to be the best creative literary writing of the specific period.
