Narahari Sarkar

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Narahari Sarkar
Native name
নরহরি সরকার
Bornlater phase of 15th century
Srikhanda, Bardhaman
Diedlater phase of 16th century
OccupationPoet, Saint
LanguageBengali, Sanskrit
GenreGaudiya Vaisnava Philosophy
Notable worksBhakti-candrika-patala, Bhaktamrtastaka, Krsna Bhajanamrta, etc.

Narahari Sarkar was a 16th-century Bengali poet, lyrist, a Vaishnava Bhakti saint, and one of the associates and disciples of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.[1][2][3] He is best known for his Sanskrit works, Bhakti-candrika-patala, Bhaktamrtastaka, Krsna Bhajanamrta, etc.[4][5] He was the preacher of the doctrine of ''Gaurangarvada".[2][6][3][a]

Life and works[edit]

Narahari Sarkar was born into a Hindu Baidya family in Bengal.[7] He was born on Saka 1400 (=1478 / 1481 CE) at Srikhanda in the Bardhaman district of Bengal.[5][8] His father was Narayanadeva Sarkar, and his elder brother Mukunda was a physician to the Pathan King at Gour. Narahari also served as court physician of the Sultan of Gour for some time. Narahari, Mukunda and his nephew Raghunanda (son of Mukunda), were associates of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.[5][9][8]

Narahari initially wrote pada (verses) on Krishna but, after the influence of Chaitanya, he started composing verses dedicated to the latter. He propounded a Chaitanya–centric Vaishnava faith, called as 'Gaurangarvad'.[2][9][3][b][c][a] According to Sen, Narahari was perhaps the first poet to compose verses about the life of Chaitanya. He used simple and direct language in composing verses.[5] He was a recognised Sanskrit scholar. He wrote several books, including Bhakti-chandrika-patala, Krishna-bhajanamrita,[d] Bhaktamrtastaka, Saparsad-Gourangavandana, etc.[5][4][11] He wrote only stray lyrics, incorporating the thoughts of 'Nagarabhava' believes.[e]

Lochana Dasa, composer of Chaitanya Mangala, was a disciple of Narahari Sarkar.[12][3][10][f][g] He died in 1582 CE.[8][13]

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ a b In the doctrine of 'Gaurangarvada' Chaitanya is considered as the beloved or 'nagara' and his adorers as the women in love or 'nagaris'[3]
  2. ^ In the post-Chaitanya movement of Bengal, two distinct trends were developed simultaneously at Navadvipa and Vrindabana. The Navadvipa followers were reflected in the lyrical writings of Narahari Sarkar.[3]
  3. ^ Narahari Chakravarti was a later 18th century Bhakti poet. He is different from Narahari Sarkar.[9]
  4. ^ Krishnabhajanamrita is a collection of devotional verses that are dedicated to Krishna.[10]
  5. ^ Followers of 'Nagarabha' thought portrayed Caitanaya as the lover of Vrindaban.[3]
  6. ^ Lochan Dasa also propounded the doctrine of 'Gourangavada'[9]
  7. ^ According to Smith, though Narahari was a Baidya, he had many Brahmins among his disciples.[7]

Sources[edit]

  1. ^ Bhatia, Varuni (2017). Unforgetting Chaitanya: Vaishnavism and Cultures of Devotion in Colonial Bengal. Oxford University Press. p. 25. ISBN 978-0-19-068624-6.
  2. ^ a b c Mukherjee, Sujit (1998). A Dictionary of Indian Literature: Beginnings-1850. Orient Blackswan. p. 256. ISBN 978-81-250-1453-9.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g Tapan Raychaudhuri. Bengal Under Akber And Jahangir. pp. 120, 149.
  4. ^ a b Dwyer, Graham; Cole, Richard J. (2013). Hare Krishna in the Modern World. Arktos. p. 103. ISBN 978-1-907166-47-1.
  5. ^ a b c d e Sen, Sukumar (1935). A History Of Brajabuli Literature. University Of Calcutta. pp. 33–35.
  6. ^ Aquil, Raziuddin; Mukherjee, Tilottama (2020-02-25). An Earthly Paradise: Trade, Politics and Culture in Early Modern Bengal. Routledge. p. 351. ISBN 978-1-000-07180-1.
  7. ^ a b Smith (2018-11-13). Hinduism: New Essays in the History of Religions. BRILL. p. 50. ISBN 978-90-04-37851-3.
  8. ^ a b c Bengal (India), West (1965). West Bengal District Gazetteers: Barddhamān. State editor, West Bengal District Gazetteers. p. 130.
  9. ^ a b c d Dalal, Roshen (2010). Hinduism: An Alphabetical Guide. Penguin Books India. ISBN 978-0-14-341421-6.
  10. ^ a b Sen, Amiya P. (2019-04-08). Chaitanya: A Life and Legacy. Oxford University Press. ISBN 978-0-19-909777-7.
  11. ^ Brzezinski, J. K. (1992). "Prabodhānanda Sarasvatī: from Benares to Braj". Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies. 55 (1): 52–75. doi:10.1017/S0041977X00002640. ISSN 1474-0699. S2CID 154350212.
  12. ^ Majumdar, Bimanbehari (1969). "THE DATE OF GAJAPATI PRATĀPRUDRA'S CONVERSION TO CAITANYAISM". Proceedings of the Indian History Congress. 31: 298–305. ISSN 2249-1937. JSTOR 44138385.
  13. ^ "Eminent Personalities : Burdwan District". bardhaman.gov.in. Retrieved 2022-03-04.
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