Krishnadasa Kaviraja
This article needs additional citations for verification. (May 2022) |
Part of a series on |
Vaishnavism |
---|
Krishnadasa (born 1496, date of death unknown), known by the honorific Kaviraja (Bengali: কৃষ্ণদাস কবিরাজ, romanized: Kṛṣṇôdas Kôviraj; IAST: Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja), was the author of the Chaitanya Charitamrita, a biography on the life of the mystic and saint Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486–1533), who is considered by the Gaudiya Vaishnava school of Hinduism to be an incarnation of Radha and Krishna combined.
Early life
There is scant information about the life of Krishnadasa Kaviraja. Krishnadasa was born in 1496 CE in a Baidya[1][2] family in the village of Jhamatpur, within the district of Bardhaman, Bengal (modern West Bengal). His father was called Bhagiratha, and his mother was named Sunanda. He also had a younger brother. Both his parents died when he was young and he and his brother were raised by relatives.
Instructions
Krishnadasa relates in his Chaitanya Charitamrita that once his brother argued with the prominent Vaishnava devotee Minaketana Ramadasa over the ontological positions of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Nityananda (Mahaprabhu's lifelong companion) and belittled the position of Nityananda. Krishnadasa considered this to be an unpardonable offence and rejected his brother forthwith.
After receiving instructions in a vision from Nityananda, Krishnadasa left Bengal and travelled to Vrindavan where he took initiation from Raghunatha dasa Goswami (1494–1586 CE), one of the direct followers of Chaitanya.
Chaitanya Charitamrita
At an advanced age and in poor health Krishnadasa commenced work on his magnum opus, the Chaitanya Charitamrita (c. 1557) after being repeatedly petitioned by the devotees in Vrindavan who had never met Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and who were eager for details. He vividly describes in the text itself: “I have now become too old and disturbed by invalidity. While writing, my hands tremble. I cannot remember anything, nor can I see or hear properly. Still, I write, and this is a great wonder.”
In composing his Charitamrita, Krishnadasa used the diaries of Murari Gupta and Svarupa Damodara, both of whom were intimate associates of Chaitanya. Krishnadasa was also given a great deal of information by his guru, Raghunatha Dasa Goswami, who had served Svarupa Damodara when the latter was Chaitanya's personal secretary.
Due to its amount of detail on the life of Chaitanya and his precepts, the Chaitanya Charitamrita became the definitive biography of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
In the Gaura-ganoddesha-dipika of Kavi Karnapura, Krishnadasa Kaviraja is identified as being an incarnation of the handmaiden of Radha called Kasturi Manjari.
Works
He wrote some short prayers in Sanskrit as well as Chaitanya Charitamrita and two other major works:
- Chaitanya Charitamrita — The most definitive biography of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
- Sri Govinda-lilamrita — A work explaining the daily pastimes of Krishna and his associates in Vrindavana.
- Saranga-rangada kangada tika — A commentary on the Krishna-karnamrita of Bilvamangala Thakura.
See also
Bibliography
- Tirtha, Swami B.B., Sri Caitanya and His Associates, 2001, Mandala Publishing, San Francisco, ISBN 1-886069-28-X.
- Gaudiya Vaisnava Abhidhana (Bengali), Compiled by Haridasa Dasa, Haribol Kutir, Navadvipa, W.Bengal, 1957.
- Bhakti-ratnakara (Bengali), Narahari Chakravarti, Pub. By Gaudiya Mission, Kolkata, 1986.
References
- ^ Raychaudhuri, Tapan (1953). Bengal Under Akbar And Jahangir: An Introductory Study In Social History. Munshiram Manoharlal Publishers Pvt. Limited. p. 127. ISBN 9788121503563.
- ^ Dutt, Romesh Chunder (1877). The Literature of Bengal: Being an Attempt to Trace the Progress of the National Mind in Its Various Aspects, as Reflected in the Nation's Literature from the Earliest Times to the Present Day : with Copious Extracts from the Best Writers. I.C. Bose. p. 87.
External links
- Articles with short description
- Short description is different from Wikidata
- Articles needing additional references from May 2022
- All articles needing additional references
- EngvarB from May 2015
- Use dmy dates from May 2015
- Articles containing Bengali-language text
- Instances of Lang-bn using second unnamed parameter
- Articles with Project Gutenberg links
- Articles with ISNI identifiers
- Articles with VIAF identifiers
- Articles with BIBSYS identifiers
- Articles with BNF identifiers
- Articles with BNFdata identifiers
- Articles with GND identifiers
- Articles with J9U identifiers
- Articles with LCCN identifiers
- Articles with NKC identifiers
- Articles with NLA identifiers
- Articles with NSK identifiers
- Articles with NTA identifiers
- Articles with PLWABN identifiers
- Articles with VcBA identifiers
- Articles with CINII identifiers
- Articles with Trove identifiers
- Articles with SUDOC identifiers
- Gaudiya religious leaders
- People from Mathura
- Bengali Hindus
- 16th-century Bengalis
- Bengali writers
- Hindu writers
- 1496 births
- Year of death unknown
- Vaishnava saints
- 16th-century Indian writers
- Writers from West Bengal
- Indian male biographers