Udupi: At just 10, a boy from Hebri in Udupi district has achieved what few adults attempt—memorising the entire Bhagavad Gita and handwriting it 18 times in four languages.Adhwaith R, a class 5 student at Purnapramati School in Girinagar, Bengaluru, hails from Chara village in Udupi district. A Sanskrit student with a deep interest in Indian scriptures, he began studying the Bhagavad Gita at age 6 and developed a strong passion for spiritual literature.Adhwaith is the son of Raghavendra and Sangeetha, who run a tea shop near Padmanabhanagar in Bengaluru. According to his father, he picked up Bhagavad Gita “quickly compared to other children” and mastered it by class 4.Over about 2.5 years, he memorised the entire text, writing around 25 shlokas a day. Between October 2024 and September 2025, he completed 14 handwritten books of the Bhagavad Gita in Kannada, Sanskrit, English and Hindi, taking his total to 18 handwritten versions, said Raghavendra.In 2024, he appeared for an examination on the Bhagavad Gita before Sri Vishwaprasanna Tirtha Swamiji of Pejawar Mutt during the seer’s Chaturmasa programme in Chennai. His interest was nurtured by his teacher, Rakesh Mirji, whose guidance played a key role. He also learnt certain aspects through YouTube channels.“He was not speaking until the age of 3, but now he has immersed himself completely in learning scriptures by heart,” Raghavendra said.Apart from the Bhagavad Gita, Adhwaith has written the Vishnu Sahasranama 18 times. As advised by Sri Raghaveshwara Bharati Swamiji of Ramachandrapura Mutt, he set a goal of writing it 72 times and is expected to complete 36 writings by this summer. He also learnt two ‘sandhis’ of Sri Hari Kathamruta Sara, considered difficult even for adults, along with the Sampoorna Ramayana. He memorised the Hanuman Chalisa at the age of 5, said his father.In recognition of his dedication, he was honoured by Sugunendra Tirtha Swamiji as part of the Vishwa Gita Paryaya programme. Adhwaith is also a Yakshagana artist and a disciple of Raveesh Hegde Ainbail. His father, a follower of spiritual thinker Bannanje Govindacharya, encouraged him to learn the scriptures.
