Pandit Sudhakar Chaturvedi was an Indian Vedic scholar, Indologist, and claimed supercentenarian. At the claimed age of 122 years, 313 days, some Indian newspapers reported him as the oldest Indian ever.
Biography
Early life
Pandit Chaturvedi was reportedly born on 20 April 1897 in Bangalore, Karnataka, India. One report also claimed an age of 121 in 2011, which would put his birth in 1890.
Pandit Chaturvedi was given his title "Chaturvedi", which literally means "master of the four Vedas," for his knowledge of the Vedas. He was a disciple of Swami Shraddhanand at Gurukul Kangri in Haridwar, where he got his Veda Vachaspati degree. Pandit Chaturvedi was a contemporary of Mahatma Gandhi, whom he first met when studying the Vedas in a gurukula in northern India. Subsequently, he became an ardent follower of Gandhian methods. He was a witness to many events in the Indian independence movement, including being an eyewitness to the 1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre. He was known as Gandhi's Postman, as he took down and delivered letters dictated by Gandhi addressed to the Viceroys or Governors-General. Gandhi called him 'Karnataki'. He lost the use of his right arm in 1938 while travelling with Gandhi, when the railwayman detached the last three compartments of the train as it was struggling to climb uphill. He took part in the freedom struggle and was arrested at least 31 times during the freedom struggle, landing in prisons all over the country from Peshawar to Vellore. He was offered the post of minister in the old Mysore state by Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel, which he turned down. He also campaigned for the unification of the state.
Later life
In his later life, he became a follower of Dayanand Saraswati of the Arya Samaj. He adopted a man named Arya Mitra as his son, and had three grandchildren. He never married: Pandit Chaturvedi was the first teacher of Sri Sri Ravi Shankar. In 2011 he took part in the India Against Corruption campaign. He lived in Jayanagar, Bangalore, Karnataka, India. and in 2010 stated he was still working for eight hours every day. This included an hour-long lecture he gave on the Vedas every Saturday. He woke up at 3 am or 3:30, going to bed by 7 pm. He advised people to "follow the instructions in the Vedas and a happy life awaits you." He practiced a strict vegetarian diet. He said he wanted to live to 300. Pandit Chaturvedi died on 27 February 2020, at the claimed age of 122.
Awards
He was honoured by Motilal Banarsidass for his contributions to Indology, when it celebrated its centenary in 2003. The Karnataka Sahitya Anuvada Academy gave him an honorary award for 2007–08. In 2009 he was given a "Socio Economic Development Teacher Award", by the Sri Kashi Sesha Sastri Charitable Trust. He was honoured by his alma mater, Gurukul Kangri university, in 2010. In 2010 he was given a "Living Legend" Award by IDL Foundation at a public function where he pledged to donate his eyes. In March 2011 he was gifted a wheelchair by the IDL Foundation, sponsored by Lokayukta Santosh Hegde and began to use it. On Republic Day in 2010, he was felicitated by the Governor of Karnataka.
