| Saraswati Samman | |
| Sponsor: | K. K. Birla Foundation[1] |
| Date: | 1991 |
| Location: | Delhi |
| Reward: | ₹15,00,000 |
| Holder Label: | Most recent winner |
| Holder: | Prabha Varma |
| Country: | India |
| Award1 Type: | Total awarded |
| Award1 Winner: | 33 |
| Award2 Type: | First winner |
| Award2 Winner: | Harivansh Rai Bachchan |
The Saraswati Samman is an annual award for outstanding prose or poetry literary works in any of the 22 languages of India listed in Schedule VIII of the Constitution of India.[1] [2] It is named after the Hindu goddess of knowledge, Saraswati.
The Saraswati Samman was instituted in 1991 by the K. K. Birla Foundation. It consists of ₹15,00,000,[3] a citation and a plaque.[1] [4] Candidates are selected from literary works published in the previous ten years by a panel that included scholars and former award winners. The inaugural award was given to Harivanshrai 'Bachchan' for his four volume autobiography, Kya Bhooloon Kya Yaad Karoon, Needa Ka Nirman Phir, Basere Se Door and Dashdwar se Sopan Tak.[5]
| Year | Image | Recipient | Work | Language | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Harivansh Rai Bachchan | Autobiography in four volumes (Autobiography) | Hindi | [6] | |
| 1992 | Ramakant Rath | "Sri Radha" (Poetry) | Odia | ||
| 1993 | Vijay Tendulkar | "Kanyadaan" (Play) | Marathi | ||
| 1994 | Harbhajan Singh | "Rukh Te Rishi" (Poetry collection) | Punjabi | ||
| 1995 | Balamani Amma | "Nivedyam" (Poetry collection) | Malayalam | ||
| 1996 | Shamsur Rahman Faruqi | "She`r-e Shor-Angez" | Urdu | ||
| 1997 | Manubhai Pancholi | "Kurukshetra" | Gujarati | ||
| 1998 | Shankha Ghosh | "Gandharba Kabita Guccha" (Poetry collection) | Bengali | ||
| 1999 | – | Indira Parthasarathy | "Ramanujar" (Play) | Tamil | |
| 2000 | Manoj Das | "Amruta Phala" (Novel) | Odia | [7] | |
| 2001 | Dalip Kaur Tiwana | "Katha Kaho Urvashi" (Novel) | Punjabi | [8] | |
| 2002 | Mahesh Elkunchwar | "Yugant" (Play) | Marathi | ||
| 2003 | Govind Chandra Pande | "Bhagirathi" (Poetry collection) | Sanskrit | ||
| 2004 | Sunil Gangopadhyay | "Pratham Alo" (Novel) | Bengali | ||
| 2005 | K. Ayyappa Panicker | "Ayyappa Panikarude Kritikal" (Poetry collection) | Malayalam | [9] | |
| 2006 | Jagannath Prasad Das | "Parikrama" (Poetry collection) | Odia | [10] | |
| 2007 | Naiyer Masud | "Taoos Chaman Ki Myna" (Short stories collection) | Urdu | [11] [12] | |
| 2008 | Lakshmi Nandan Bora | "Kayakalpa" (Novel) | Assamese[13] | ||
| 2009 | Surjit Paatar | "Lafzan Di Dargah" | Punjabi | [14] | |
| 2010 | S. L. Bhyrappa | "Mandra" | Kannada | ||
| 2011 | "Irama Kathaiyum Iramayakalum" | Tamil | [15] | ||
| 2012 | Sugathakumari | "Manalezhuthu" (Poetry collection) | Malayalam | [16] | |
| 2013 | Govind Mishra | "Dhool Paudho Par" (Novel) | Hindi | [17] | |
| 2014 | Veerappa Moily | "Ramayana Mahanveshanam" (Poetry) | Kannada | [18] | |
| 2015 | Padma Sachdev | "Chitt-Chete" (Autobiography) | Dogri | ||
| 2016 | Mahabaleshwar Sail | "Hawthan" (Novel) | Konkani | [19] | |
| 2017 | Sitanshu Yashaschandra | "Vakhar" (Poetry collection) | Gujarati | [20] | |
| 2018 | K Siva Reddy | "Pakkaki Ottigilite" (Poetry) | Telugu | [21] | |
| 2019 | Vasdev Mohi | "Chequebook" (Short Story Series) | Sindhi | [22] | |
| 2020 | Sharankumar Limbale | "Sanatan" (Novel) | Marathi | [23] | |
| 2021 | Ram Darash Mishra | "Main to Yahan Hun" (Poetry) | Hindi | [24] | |
| 2022 | Sivasankari | "Surya Vamsam" (Memoir) | Tamil | [25] | |
| 2023 | Prabha Varma | "Roudra Sathwikam" (Novel in verse) | Malayalam | [26] | |