Shripad Damodar Satwalekar

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Shripad Damodar Satwalekar (1867–1968) was an Indian artist and scholar with wide interests in painting, social health, Ayurveda, Yoga, and Vedic literature. He founded the Swadhyay Mandal, a Vedic research institute. He was born in Sawantwadi, Maharashtra, to Damodar Pant and Lakshmi Bai, and studied at the J J School of Art in Bombay, where he also taught for six months.

As an artist and photographer, he ran a studio in Lahore and painted portraits of Maharajas and other leaders. With the support of Bhawanrao Pant Pratinidhi of Aundh, he combined painting with Vedic research and became widely known as Pandit Satwalekar. He published journals such as Amrit Lata, Veda Sandesh, and Purusharth, and opened a painting studio in South Hyderabad in 1900.

Satwalekar was deeply involved in health, Ayurveda, Yoga, and the study of the Vedas. He started the Samskruta Vyaakhyaana Mandala in 1884 and founded Vivekavardhini Vidyaalaya, a public lecture hall and a youth gym. He was linked with Arya Samaj and the Theosophical Society and taught Vedas and painting at Kangadi Gurukula in Haridwar. He supported social work, advised Gandhi on yoga, and helped promote Surya Namaskar in Aundh with Raja Bhawanrao. He received the Padma Bhushan in 1968 and the Mayo Award twice (for painting and sculpture).