Saraswati Samman

The Saraswati Samman is the most prestigious and highest literary award in India, presented annually by the K.K. Birla Foundation since1991. It is conferred for outstanding prose/poetry work in any Indian language published in the last 10 years.

Thefirst recipient of Saraswati Samman was Harivanshrai Bachchan,for his autobiography,Kya Bhooloon Kya Yaad Karoon, Needa Ka Nirman Phir, Basere Se Door & Dashdwar se Sopan Tak(4 Volumes)and the last recipient(2020)is Marathi writer,Dr.Sharankumar Limbalefor his work "Sanatan."

Thefirst Malayalito receive Saraswati Samman wasBalamani Amma(1995)for her poetry collection, "Nivedyam."

The award carries a cash prize ofRs. 15 lakhalong with a plaque and a citation. Saraswati Samman is the highest-prized literary award in the country.

The recipient ofSaraswati Samman in 2024isPrabha Varmafor Malayalam novel "Roudra Sathwikam."

YearRecipientBook1991Harivanshrai BachchanKya Bhooloon Kya Yaad Karoon,Needa Ka Nirman Phir,Basere Se Door& Dashdwar se Sopan Tak(Autobiography, Hindi)1992Ramakant RathSri Radha(Poetry, Odiya)1993Vijay TendulkarKanyadaan(Play, Marathi)1994Harbhajan SinghRukh Te Rishi(Poetry, Punjabi)1995Balamani AmmaNivedyam(Poetry, Malayalam)1996Shamsur Rahman FaruqiShe`r-e Shor-Angez(Urdu)1997Manubhai PancholiKurukshetra(Gujarati)1998Shankha GhoshGandharba Kabita Guccha(Poetry, Bengali)1999Indira ParthasarathyRamanujar(Play, Tamil)2000Manoj DasAmruta Phala(Novel, Odiya)2001Dalip Kaur TiwanaKatha Kaho Urvashi(Novel, Punjabi)2002Mahesh ElkunchwarYugant(Play, Marathi)2003Govind Chandra PandeBhagirathi(Poetry, Sanskrit)2004Sunil GangopadhyayPratham Alo(Novel, Bengali)2005K. Ayyappa PanickerAyyappa Panikarude Kritikal(Poetry, Malayalam)2006Jagannath Prasad DasParikrama(Poetry, Oriya)2007Naiyer MasudTaoos Chaman Ki Myna(Short Story, Urdu)2008Lakshmi Nandan BoraKayakalpa(Novel, Assamese)2009Surjit PaatarLafzan Di Dargah(Punjabi)2010S. L. BhyrappaMandra(Kannada)2011A. A. ManavalanIrama Kathaiyum Iramayakalum(Tamil)2012SugathakumariManalezhuthu(Poetry, Malayalam)2013Govind MishraDhool Paudho Par(Novel, Hindi)2014Veerappa MoilyRamayana Mahanveshanam(Poetry, Kannada)2015Padma SachdevChitt-Chete(Autobiography Dogri)2016Mahabaleshwar SailHawthan(Novel, Konkani)2017Sitanshu YashaschandraVakhar(Poetry, Gujarati)2018K. Siva ReddyPakkaki Ottigilite(Poetry, Telugu)2019Vasdev MohiChequebook(Short Story, Sindhi)2020Dr. Sharankumar Limbale (30th)Sanatan(Novel, Marathi)2021Ram Darash Mishra (31st)Main to Yahan Hun(Poetry, Hindi)2022Sivasankari (32nd)Surya Vamsam(Memoir, Tamil)2023Prabha Varma (33rd)Roudra Sathwikam(Novel, Malayalam)2024Mahamahopadhyay Swami Bhadreshdas(34th)Swaminarayan Siddhanta Sudha(Philosophical Treatise, Sanskrit)