| Dushyanth Sridhar | |
| Birth Date: | 19-09-1986 |
| Birth Place: | Bengaluru |
| Birth Name: | Dushyanth Sridhar |
| Url: | https://www.desikadaya.org/ |
| Nationality: | Indian |
| Alma Mater: | Sudarshan Vidya Mandir (Pre-school), SRDF Vivekananda Vidyalaya (Class 1-2),The Oxford Senior Secondary School (Class 3-8), NSN Matriculation Higher Secondary School (Class 9-12), BITS Pilani – B.Sc. (Hons) [Chemical Engg.] and M.Sc. (Hons) [Chemistry] |
Dushyanth Sridhar is a speaker, and delivers talks on Hindu spiritual topics, including the Ramayana, Mahabharata, Bhagavata Mahapurana, Vishnu Purana, Divya Prabandham, and the lives and works of Hindu saints. He renders traditional pravacana (discourses), is a harikatha exponent, author, director and actor. With his fluency in English, Hindi and Tamil, he is a much sought-after speaker, and is often interviewed on television channels for his views on sanātana dharma.
In his white vēṣṭi and aṅgavastra with a nāmam on his forehead,[1] Dushyanth Sridhar captures the minds of the spiritually inclined[2] and connects easily to the young.[3] Upanyāsams (discourses) are no longer the forte of the old[4] as this upanyāsakar (speaker) has been making waves,[5] bringing youth (in India and abroad) into his circle of listeners. He is regarded as a phenomenon[6] and has broken several stereotypes when it comes to harikathā.[7] He is well known for his flawless English,[8] popular lingos, catchphrases[9] and is regarded as among the wittiest of storytellers. His followers run into lakhs, and are increasing with time.[10]
He manages Deśika Dayā, a charitable trust that has carried out extensive cultural and spiritual activities. His initiative titled ‘abhinava-e-pāṭhaśālā’ taught vedic content (during the pandemic) to over 7,000 śiṣyas worldwide sans discrimination.
Dushyanth Sridhar is an alumnus of Sudarshan Vidya Mandir, SRDF Vivekananda Vidyalaya, The Oxford Senior Secondary School, and NSN Matriculation Higher Secondary School. He completed his B.Sc. (Chemical Engg) and M.Sc. (Chemistry) degrees from BITS Pilani.[8] He also interned at the Indian Institute of Science as an IAS fellow.
He has learnt Śrī Bhāṣyam, Gītā Bhāṣyam, Rahasya Traya Sāram, Bhagavad Viṣayam, Śatadūṣaṇī and Tirunetuntāṇṭakam from ācāryas like Villivalam Śrī Nārāyaṇa Mahādeśika, Nāvalpākkam Śrī Rāmānuja Tātācār, Cetlur Śrī Śrīvatsānkācār, Nelvoy Śrī Soumyanārāyaṇācār, Villur Śrī Karuṇākarācār and Devanārvilāgam Śrī Sāranāthācār.
Dushyanth Sridhar has delivered over 3,500 discourses across 23 countries, and brings to life the “art of storytelling that combines extensive knowledge accumulated from various sources, command over the language, presence of mind, emotions, dedication and spontaneity.”[11] His YouTube channel[12] has grown steadily since 2010 to encompass over 200K subscribers.[8] He is popularly known as the “cool evangelist of Hinduism”.[13]
He has conceptualized and produced classical dance productions including ‘Agre Paśyāmi’ (a colorful, dynamic, devotional spectacle that was a fine blend of verse and visuals[14]), ‘Rāmāyaṇa Sudhā’ (a production that lends itself to creativity (that) was executed competently[15]), ‘Śrīnivāsam Prapadye’ (the beautiful story (that) drew the audience into its core[16]) and ‘Araṅganin Pādaiyyil’ (the concept was novel[17]).
Dushyanth Sridhar acted as the protagonist in the maṇipravāla movie 'Vedānta Deśika', produced and directed by veteran film-maker Muktha Srinivasan (2018). The movie was a portrayal of the life of Swamy Vedanta Desika. He learnt maṇipravāla (a mixture of Tamil and Sanskrit, spoken in earlier times), and even penned the storyline and dialogues for the movie.[18]
Dushyanth Sridhar directed the award-winning Sanskrit[19] movie, ‘Śākuntalaṃ’, starring Payal Vijay Shetty and Shubham Jaibeer Sahrawat (2023). While 95 per cent of the film is in Sanskrit, the rest is in Prakrit. The dubbing of dialogues for Shubham was done by Dushyanth Sridhar.[20] At the Rajasthan International Film Festival 2022 held at Jodhpur, the movie won the Special Viewers’ Choice award for Best Regional Feature Film.
Dushyanth Sridhar authoured a coffee-table book[21] titled ‘Vedānta Deśika – the peerless poet-preceptor’ for the JSJS trust (2018). His narration in a lucid flow[22] and his display of acumen[23] throughout the book earned the appreciation of literary aficionados.
In 2024, he published ‘Rāmāyanam – Vol 1’ (HarperCollins). In it, Dushyanth presents the Ramayana as a dialogue between Narada and Valmiki,[24] with interesting details drawn from renowned and lesser-known works. The book was well received and noted for the ‘intense research’ that went into it.[25] The book has received considerable praise from notable personalities, including Sudha Ragunathan (Carnatic Musician and Padma Bhushan awardee), who called it a “collector’s delight”, and Dr. Padma Subrahmanyam (Bharatanatyam exponent and Padma Vibhushan awardee), who said it was a “delectable read, full of rare information”.[26]
In the last decade, Dushyanth Sridhar has organized heritage tours to 200 temples with over 3,500 yātrīs. The yātrās have been organized to Divya Desams and Abhimana Sthalams in Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Maharashtra, Gujarat, Rajasthan, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Madhya Pradesh; Kashmir Yatra; Bhutan, Cambodia, Nepal, Indonesia and Sri Lanka. During these yātrās, he has rendered discourses (in Tamil) on ancient Hindu scriptures, and details of the visiting sites, in both aspects viz. religion and architecture.
On 19 September 2024, a massive controversy erupted when the Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh, Chandrababu Naidu, claimed that, during the administration of the former Chief Minister, Y.S. Jagan Mohan Reddy, the ghee used for Tirupati laddu included beef tallow, fish oil, and pig lard in its ingredients. The Sri Venkateswara Temple in Tirumala, Tirupati, is regarded as one of the holiest sites for Hindus, and the news of adulteration of the offerings that would be sanctified and offered to devotees sparked outrage, with many accusing the authorities of disrespecting religious sentiments.[27]
On September 24, 2024, Dushyanth Sridhar, along with historian and author Vikram Sampath, filed a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) in the Supreme Court of India, to move the Court to establish accountability in Hindu temples managed by government bodies, and to divest government / bureaucratic hold over temples.[28]
| 2023 | Rāma Bhakti Prachāra Mani Title by SASTRA Satsangh[29] T S Balakrishna Sastrigal Award of Excellence by TSB Family National Health Award by AYUSH TV Pravacana Vachaspati Title by V Narayana Iyer Memorial Trust | |
| 2023 | Vāk Vilāsa Amrita Ratnam Title by Amara Bharati Publications Sri Chandrasekharendra Saraswati National Eminence Award from SIES Institution | |
| 2022 | Sat-sampradāya Prachāra Kesari Title by Sri Hayagreeva Vidyā PeetamBhāratiya Sanskriti Jāgran Puraskār Title by Carnatica Archival Centre | |
| 2021 | Pravachana Ratna Mani Title by Poundareekapuram Srimad Andavan Ashramam | |
| 2018 | Sarva Kalā Chudāmani Title by Sri Hayagreeva Vidyā PeetamNotable Alumnus Award from NSN Group of Institutions | |
| 2016 | Harikathā Bhārati Title by Bhārat KalāchārYoung Achievers Award from Rotary International | |
| 2014 | Bhāgawata Bhāswan Sri Anjan Nambudiri Memorial Award by Mahālingapuram Sri Ayyappan Bhakta Sabhā | |
| 2012 | Global ‘30 under 30’ Award from BITSAA International |