Saraswati Samman
The Saraswati Samman (सरस्वती सम्मान) is an annual award for outstanding prose or poetry literary works in any Indian language listed in Schedule VIII of the Constitution of India. It is named after an Indian goddess of learning and is considered to be among the highest literary awards in India. The award consists of Rs 7.5 lakh, a citation and a plaque. The Saraswati Samman was instituted in 1991 by the K. K. Birla Foundation. Candidates are selected from literary works published in the previous ten years by a panel that included scholars and former award winners.
| Year | Awardee | Awarded for |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Harivanshrai ‘Bachchan’ | Autobiography in four volumes in Hindi |
| 1992 | Ramakant Rath | Poetry Sri Radha in Oriya |
| 1993 | Vijay Tendulkar | Play Kanyadaan in Marathi |
| 1994 | Harbhajan Singh | Book of poetry Rukh Te Rishi in Punjabi |
| 1995 | Balamani Amma | Poetry collection Nivedyam in Malayalam |
| 1996 | Shamsur Rahman Faruqi | She`r-e Shor-Angez in Urdu |
| 1997 | Manubhai Pancholi | Book Kurukshetra in Gujarati |
| 1998 | Shankha Ghosh | Anthology Gandharba Kabita Guccha in Bengali |
| 1999 | Indira Parthasarathy | Play Ramanujar in Tamil |
| 2000 | Manoj Das | Novel Amruta Phala (The Nectar Fruit) in Oriya |
| 2001 | Dalip Kaur Tiwana | Novel Katha Kaho Urvashi in Punjabi |
| 2002 | Mahesh Elkunchwar | Play Yugant in Marathi |
| 2003 | Govind Chandra Pande | Collection of 163 Sanskrit poems entitled Bhagirathi |
| 2004 | Sunil Gangopadhyay | Novel Pratham Alo in Bengali |
| 2005 | K. Ayyappa Panicker | Collection of poems Ayyappa Panikarude Kritikal in Malayalam |
| 2006 | Jagannath Prasad Das | Collection of poems Parikrama in Oriya |
| 2007 | Naiyer Masud | Collection of short stories Taoos Chaman Ki Myna (The Myna from Peacock Garden) written in Urdu |
| 2008 | Lakshmi Nandan Bora, | Novel Kayakalpa |
| 2009 | Surjit Paatar | Lafzan Di Dargah |
| 2010 | S. L. Bhyrappa | Mandra |
| 2011 | A.A. Manavalan | Irama Kathaiyum Iramayakalum |
| 2012 | Sugathakumari | Collection of her poems, titled Manalezhuthu |
| 2013 | Govind Mishra | Book ‘Dhool Paudho Par’ published in 2008. |