Vidyapati is a great poet of Maithili literature. Numerous people speak and write the Maithili language as their mother tongue in Janakpur, Mahottari, and Sarlahi regions of Nepal. Vidyapati is known both in Nepal and India. This is because, people, who speak Maithili, are many in both the countries. Nobody knows the exact year when Vidyapati was born, but intellectuals estimate that he was born in the middle of the fourteenth century. Those days, there was a province named Mithila in Tarai region of Nepal. Inhabitants of the region were called ‘Maithil’ and the language they spoke was called ‘Maithili’. There was a village named Biski in the state. That village lies in Madhuwani District of India at present.
Vidayapati was born in the sa me village. Vidyapati’s father was called Ganapati Thakur and mother Ganga Devi. Vidyapati learned how to read and write from his father at home. He knew many things within a short period of time because he was keenly interested in learning. Later, he got education from Hari Mishra, an erudite man of Mithila. Mithila has a rich tradition of scholarship, represented by learned scholars and philosophers. The King of Mithila respected Vidyapati’s father as a reputed priest, and so, the latter frequently visited the palace. Vidyapati used to go to the palace with his father since childhood.
As an influence, he started talking about knowledge and wisdom since his early age. Most of the time, he applied himself to study. So, he grew to be very intelligent and wise. Since he read a lot of Sanskrit scriptures at a young age, Vidyapati knew many things about religion. The King of Mithila and his people were impressed by the knowledge and sharp mind of Vidyapati. That’s why, he was highly honoured and appreciated in the region. Vidyapati started writing poems as a child. He wrote about medicine, and also wrote descriptions of different places and religious subjects. He has written many books on different genres like songs, hymns, poems, short epics, long epics, plays, stories. His prose works deal with an array of subjects, including descriptions of expeditions and hunting trips, warfare, astrology, Ayurveda and nature cure, domestic medicinal science, proverbs etc. Such a wide range of scholarship made him an erudite poet at the age of twenty. Vidyapati was proficient in Sanskrit, Maithili and Abahattha, a vernacular language. He has written books in all these three languages. Even now, we cannot ascertain the number of books he wrote.
However, we know that he wrote in these languages. Some of his Sanskrit books are Bhu-Parikrama, PurushPariksha, Shaiva Sarvashawasaar Pramaanbhoot, Likhanawali, Ganga Wakyawali etc. Kritilata and Kriti Pataka are his books in Abahattha, while in Maithili language, his fame rests in two books: Gorakchhabijaya Natak and Maithili Padawali. Vidyapati also wrote many other books, which have not been published yet. 62 Manuscripts of some of these books have been kept safely in Nepal National Library and National Archive. Some manuscripts have also been found in Calcutta, Darvangah, Patna and Madhuwani areas of India and it is conjectured that his books might be in other parts of the world, too. Still his works are being looked for. Like his birth that has no factual evidence, no one has asserted for sure when Vidyapati died. It is assumed that he died around 1439 AD. At that time, he was 89 years old. He has written in one of his poems that he would die on the third day of the bright half of the month of Kartik. On that basis, it is supposed that he died in the month of Kartik. He is also recognized as a prophet. Vidyapati is known as ‘Mahakavi’—the greatest poet—in Maithili literature, and is accorded high honour and respect in both the countries, Nepal and India. After hundred years of his death, a book named Vidyapati Padawali was published. It was translated into Nepali by Dr. Dhirendra Premarshi and, Nepal Royal Academy published it.
Even though Vidyapati is no more, he will be alive in his verses forever. His birth anniversary is celebrated every year in both Nepal and India. In his commemoration, different programmes and functions are organized in both the countries. Much research has been done on him and many books and magazines have been published, too. Many people have received great titles for their scholarship on the life and works of Vidyapati. Department of Postal Services of the Government of Nepal has issued a postal stamp with his photo as a mark of homage to him. He is among the greatest artists we have ever had in the literary firmament of Nepal.