Gita Press

{{Short description|Indian Hindu religious publishing house}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2018}}

{{Use Indian English|date=July 2018}}

{{Infobox publisher

| name = Gita Press

| image = Gita_Press_logo.png

| image_size =

| image_caption = Logo

| parent =

| status = Active

| founded = {{Start date and years ago|1923|5|3}}

| founder = Jay Dayal Goyanka

Ghanshyam Das Jalan

| successor =

| country = India

| headquarters = Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh

| distribution = Worldwide

| keypeople =

| publications = Hindu Religious Books and Kalyan Masik

| topics = Hinduism

| genre =

| imprints =

| revenue =

| numemployees = 350

| nasdaq =

| url = {{url|https://www.gitapress.org/|www.gitapress.org}}

}}

Gita Press is an Indian books publishing company, headquartered in Gorakhpur, Uttar Pradesh, India.[http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/1547777/Gita-Press Encyclopædia Britannica]. It is the world's largest publisher of Hindu religious texts. It was founded in 1923 by Jaya Dayal Goyanka and Ghanshyam Das Jalan for promoting the principles of Hinduism. Hanuman Prasad Poddar better known as "Bhaiji" was the founding and the lifetime editor of its noted magazine who also wrote articles with his pen name Kalyan.[http://www.gandhibalniketan.com/visitor/visitor.htm Hanuman Prasad Poddar] {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100211140959/http://www.gandhibalniketan.com/visitor/visitor.htm |date=2010-02-11 }}

It started publishing in 1927, with a circulation of 1,600 copies and at present its print order had reached 250,000 (in 2012). The Gita Press archives contain over 3,500 manuscripts including over 100 interpretations of the Bhagavad Gita.[http://indiatoday.intoday.in/index.php?option=com_content&issueid=33&task=view&id=2736&Itemid=1 Holy word] India Today, 20 December 2007.

Seth Jaya Dayal Goyanka, Shri Hanuman Prasad Poddar and Shri Ghanshyam Das Jalan, Gita preachers set up the Gita Press on 29 April 1923, as a unit of Gobind Bhawan Karyalaya registered under the Societies Registration Act, 1860 (presently governed by the West Bengal Societies Act, 1960). Five months later it acquired its first printing machine for Rs 600. Since its establishment, the Gita Press has published more than 140 million copies of the Gita and 100 million copies of the Ramcharitamanas, at subsidized prices.{{cite web | url=https://www.hinduismtoday.com/magazine/apr-may-jun-2021/gita-press-runs-into-its-next-century/ | title=Gita Press Runs into Its Next Century – Hinduism Today | date=April 2021 }} Gita Press completed its hundred years in 2022. Former President Ram Nath Kovind had started its centenary celebrations on 4th May 2022. Prime minister Narendra Modi also congratulated in 2023.{{cn|date=February 2025}} On 18 June 2023, Gita Press was conferred with the Gandhi Peace Prize of 2021, by the Government of India.{{Cite web |title=Gandhi Peace Prize for 2021 to be conferred on Gita Press, Gorakhpur |url=https://pib.gov.in/pib.gov.in/Pressreleaseshare.aspx?PRID=1933252 |access-date=2023-06-18 |website=pib.gov.in}}

File:Gita_Press,_Gorakhpur.gif]]

It temporarily shut down in December 2014 over wage issues, [http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/media/entertainment/media/historic-geeta-press-shuts-down-indefinitely/articleshow/45536129.cms Historic Geeta Press shuts down indefinitely] but work resumed a few days later.{{cite news | url=https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/varanasi/Work-resumes-at-Gita-Press/articleshow/45553735.cms | title=Work resumes at Gita Press | date=17 December 2014 | newspaper=The Times of India | accessdate=5 July 2018 }}