Jagannatha Pandita Rayalu
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

Jagannātha (1590-1670), also known as Jagannātha Paṇḍita or Jagannātha Paṇḍitarāja, or Jagannatha Pandita Rayalu, was a poet, musician and literary critic who lived in the 17th century. He was a
Telugu Brahmin Telugu Brahmins are ethnic-Telugu people, Telugus who belong to Brahmin communities native to the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana. They fall under the Pancha-Dravida, Pancha Dravida Brahmin classification of the Brahmin community in ...
from Khandrika (Upadrasta - Supervisor of the sacrificial rites) family and a junior contemporary of Emperor Akbar. As a literary theorist or rhetorician, he is known for ''Rasagaṅgādhara'', a work on poetic theory. As a poet, he is known for writing the ''Bhāminī-vilāsa'' ("The Sport of the Beautiful Lady (Bhāminī)". He was granted the title of Paṇḍitarāja by the Mughal emperor
Shah Jahan Shah Jahan I, (Shahab-ud-Din Muhammad Khurram; 5 January 1592 – 22 January 1666), also called Shah Jahan the Magnificent, was the Emperor of Hindustan from 1628 until his deposition in 1658. As the fifth Mughal emperor, his reign marked the ...
, at whose court he received patronage.


Birth and personal life

Jagannatha was born (in 1590 AD or 1572 AD ) in an Andhra Veginadu Brahmin family and there is a belief that he belongs to Munikhanda Agraharam (present-day
Munganda Munganda is a village in East Godavari district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is located in the P.Gannavaram mandal of Amalapuram revenue division and is part of Konaseema district, Konaseema. History The village dates back to ...
),
Amalapuram Amalapuram is a town in the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is the district headquarters and largest town of Dr. B. R. Ambedkar Konaseema district. It is the mandal and divisional headquarters of Amalapuram mandal and Amalapuram revenue di ...
Taluk,
Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...
, India. His parents were Perambhatta (Perubhatta) and Laxmi. Jagannatha married his close cousin,Kameswari Cherukuri(d.1625) of Bellampudi Village,( P. Gannavaram mandal,
East Godavari East Godavari is a district in the Coastal Andhra region of Andhra Pradesh, India. Its district headquarters is at Rajamahendravaram. Geography This district is surrounded by: * North East: Alluri Sitharama Raju district * North West: Eluru d ...
) and had a son by name Madhava Bhattu. He lost his wife at an early age. As per Prof. Sriramachandrudu, there is another tradition that Jagannatha was born near the village Davuluru,
Tenali Tenali is a city in Guntur district of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. It is a municipality, and the headquarters of Tenali mandal and Tenali revenue division. The city is renowned for art, culture, drama, and hence, it is called "Andhra ...
taluk of
Guntur Guntur (), natively spelt as Gunturu, is a city in the States and union territories of India, Indian state of Andhra Pradesh and the administrative headquarters of Guntur district. The city is part of the Andhra Pradesh Capital Region and is lo ...
District, modern
Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (ISO 15919, ISO: , , AP) is a States and union territories of India, state on the East Coast of India, east coast of southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, seventh-largest state and th ...
. It is claimed that Ramachandrabhattu, the younger brother of Jagannatha received the village Davuluru as an ''inam'' in 1660 AD from Ajahassen Qutub Shah of Golkonda who ruled from 1658-1687. There are many people from the ''Upadrasta'' family residing near Davuluru and they claim that those in the Godavari district were emigrants from this village. Prof. Athavale cites a biography named ''Sampradaya Kalpadruma'' authored by some Vitthalanatha (Manaranjana Kavi), in which it has been mentioned that Jagannath Panditaraja was the grandson of
Vitthalanatha Vitthala-natha or Vitthalanath (Devanagari: विट्ठलनाथ, IAST: Viṭṭhalanātha; 10 December 1515 – 10 February 1586), popularly known as Gusainji, was an Indian philosopher. He was the younger son of Vallabha, who founded ...
(Gusainji) who in turn was the son of
Vallabhacharya Vallabha, also known as Vallabhācārya or Vallabha Dīkṣita (May 7, 1478 – July 7, 1530 CE), was the founder of the Kr̥ṣṇa-centered Puṣṭimārga sect of Vaishnavism, and propounded the philosophy of Śuddhādvaita. His biography ...
, the founder of the Krishna-centered
Pushtimarg The Puṣṭimārga, also known as Pushtimarg (Path of Nourishing or Flourishing) or Vallabha Sampradāya, is a Hindu Vaiṣṇava saṁpradāya. It was established in the early 16th century by Vallabha (1479–1530) and further developed by his ...
sect of
Vaishnavism Vaishnavism () ), also called Vishnuism, is one of the major Hindu denominations, Hindu traditions, that considers Vishnu as the sole Para Brahman, supreme being leading all other Hindu deities, that is, ''Mahavishnu''. It is one of the majo ...
in the Braj (Vraja) region of India and the philosophy of Śuddhādvaita. Based on the above accounts, it is difficult to fix the birthplace of Jagannatha and he might not have lived in Andhra at all or would have migrated at a very young age to
Varanasi Varanasi (, also Benares, Banaras ) or Kashi, is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world.* * * * The city has a syncretic tradition of I ...
. In the introductory verse of ''Rasagangadhara,'' Jagannatha named his father Perubhatta as his teacher who was proficient in all branches of learning. Except for ''Vyakarana'', which he studied under SesaViresvara, Jagannatha studied all other Sastras under his father. ''Bhaṭṭabhaṭṭāraka'' Perubhatta studied ''Vedanta'' under Jnanendra Bhiksu, ''Nyaya'', and ''Vaisesika'' under Maheswara Pandita, and ''Mimamsa'' under one Deva ( who according to Nagesabhatta was none other than Khandadevamisra(d.1665) and ''Vyakarana'' under SesaVireswara, the son of SesaKrsna and the classmate of
Bhaṭṭoji Dīkṣita Bhattoji Dikshita (Pronunciation: bʱəʈʈod͡ʒiː d̪ɪkʂɪt̪ᵊ) was a 17th-century Sanskrit grammarian who authored the , Shabda-Kaustubha, and Prauda Manorama. He was born into a Brahmin family and settled in Varanasi, a major hub for Sans ...
(1550-1630). Perubhatta is also referred to as Raghunadhabhatta in ''Pranabharanam'' and as Jogesvarasuri in a commentary on ''Bhaminivilasa'' by Jagannatha's grandson Mahadeva Suri(son of Madhava Diksita). Jagannatha lived in
Varanasi Varanasi (, also Benares, Banaras ) or Kashi, is a city on the Ganges river in northern India that has a central place in the traditions of pilgrimage, death, and mourning in the Hindu world.* * * * The city has a syncretic tradition of I ...
, India, and served in the courts of the Mughal emperors
Jahangir Nur-ud-din Muhammad Salim (31 August 1569 – 28 October 1627), known by his imperial name Jahangir (; ), was List of emperors of the Mughal Empire, Emperor of Hindustan from 1605 until his death in 1627, and the fourth Mughal emperors, Mughal ...
(1569-1627) and
Shah Jahan Shah Jahan I, (Shahab-ud-Din Muhammad Khurram; 5 January 1592 – 22 January 1666), also called Shah Jahan the Magnificent, was the Emperor of Hindustan from 1628 until his deposition in 1658. As the fifth Mughal emperor, his reign marked the ...
(1592-1666). He was also at Raja Prana Narayan’s (King of
Cooch Behar Cooch Behar (), also known as Koch Bihar, is a city in the Indian state of West Bengal and it stands on bank of the Torsa river. The city is the headquarters of the Cooch Behar district. During the British Raj, Cooch Behar was the seat of the ...
who ruled from 1632-1665 AD) court in Kamarupa (modern
Assam Assam (, , ) is a state in Northeast India, northeastern India, south of the eastern Himalayas along the Brahmaputra Valley, Brahmaputra and Barak River valleys. Assam covers an area of . It is the second largest state in Northeast India, nor ...
) for some time and might have spent some time at Maharana
Jagat Singh I Maharana Jagat Singh I (1607 – 10 April 1652), was a Sisodia Rajput ruler of Mewar Kingdom (r. 1628–1652). Biography Jagat Singh succeeded his father, Karan Singh II, as the ruler of Mewar. By the time he ascended the throne, the state h ...
's(1607 – 10 April 1652) court too, but continuous royal patronage seems to have eluded him. His poetic work includes Rasa Gangadhara, Ganga Lahari (also known as Piyush lahari) Kawita kamini, Yamuna lahari, Bhamini Vilas, Vishnu Lahari, Asaph-Lahari etc. "Ganga Lahari" is a composition of 52 Sanskrit Shlokas by Jagannath Pandit and has historic importance. The Great Man was accepted as her spiritual guide by Princess Lavangika, the Daughter of the emperor
Shah Jahan Shah Jahan I, (Shahab-ud-Din Muhammad Khurram; 5 January 1592 – 22 January 1666), also called Shah Jahan the Magnificent, was the Emperor of Hindustan from 1628 until his deposition in 1658. As the fifth Mughal emperor, his reign marked the ...
, and prince
Dara Shikoh Dara Shikoh (20 March 1615 – 30 August 1659), also transliterated as Dara Shukoh, was the eldest son and heir-apparent of the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan. Dara was designated with the title ''Padshahzada-i-Buzurg Martaba'' () and was favoured ...
was friendly with him to learn more about Sanskrit and Hindu culture. Both these facts were mistaken by the citizens in Delhi as an ordinary earthly love story. The emperor asked Jagannath Pandit to accept
Islam Islam is an Abrahamic religions, Abrahamic monotheistic religion based on the Quran, and the teachings of Muhammad. Adherents of Islam are called Muslims, who are estimated to number Islam by country, 2 billion worldwide and are the world ...
as his religion and marry his daughter which was not acceptable to Jagannath. He started fasting on the banks of river Ganga and every day he would compose a shloka to pray the godly and motherly river, Ganga. On completion of every shloka, the waters rose by step by step for 52 days (Jeshthha shuddha 1 to 10 are the days called "Ganga Dashahara) in
Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
calendar, and at the end, Pandit Raj offered himself into the river and ended his life nobly. (1670) The band of 52 shlokas is available now also with its meaning and is known as a very beautiful piece of poetry of the old times. The story according to Kirtan Sampraday is a little different. There was a conspiracy to convert Jagannath Pandit to Islam. Jagannath called to play chess with the emperor Shaha Jahan. He introduced him to his daughter and asked him to compose a poem on her beauty. As soon as he did this, the emperor said that since you are so enchanted with her beauty, you marry her. This indirectly meant conversion. The other option was simply to deny the Emperor's order and face death. Jagannath was smart and said that he will abide by the royal wish, however, the wedding would be in accordance to his family rituals. With this intelligent answer and his friends like Dara Shuko, he avoided conversion. The Emperor awarded him one village as wedding gift. However, later when Aurangzeb took over Sultant of Delhi, he gave his option to accept Islam or leave the court. Pandit Jagannath left Delhi and stayed in Varanasi in his final days with his wife Lavangi.


Work

# Bhaminivilasa - a collection of miscellaneous verses composed on different occasions. # "Rasa Gangadharam" (Alankara Sastram), # Ganga Lahari, # Five Vilasams


The Bhāminī-vilāsa

The Bhāminī-vilāsa is divided into four chapters, each called ''vilāsa'', and containing about a hundred verses (in the manner of a ''śataka''). Only two of them, namely the first and the last, have been published. Many of the verses are infused with personal touches serving as the poet's memoirs. The collection is named after the poet's first wife Bhamini whom he had lost at a very young age before he launched into his scholarly career. The number of verses per chapter varies between manuscripts: * The first, ''anyokti-vilāsa'', contains allegorical (''anyokti'') stanzas about life in general (''nīti''). It has 100 to 130 stanzas. * The second, ''śṛṅgāra-vilāsa'', contains love poems. It has 101 to 184 stanzas. * The third, ''karuṇā-vilāsa'', contains laments mourning the death of the beautiful lady (Bhāminī). * The fourth, ''śānta-vilāsa'', contains verses on renunciation (''vairagya''). It has 31 to 46 stanzas.


Example verses

; From the ''Rasa-gaṅgādhara'' ; From the ''Bhāminī-vilāsa''


Devotional poems

He composed five devotional poems, each of whose names contains the word ''laharī'' ("a large wave"): * ''Amṛta-laharī'', in praise of the river Yamunā, 10 stanzas long, * ''Sudhā-laharī'', in praise of
Sūrya Surya ( ; , ) is the SunDalal, p. 399 as well as the solar deity in Hinduism. He is traditionally one of the major five deities in the Smarta tradition, all of whom are considered as equivalent deities in the Panchayatana puja and a means to ...
the sun god, 30 stanzas long, * ''Gaṅgā-laharī'', addressed to the river
Gaṅgā The Ganges ( ; in India: Ganga, ; in Bangladesh: Padma, ). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international which goes through India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China." is a trans-boundary rive ...
, 53 stanzas long, * ''Karuṇā-laharī'', in praise of
Kṛṣṇa Krishna (; Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is wi ...
(Krishna), 60 stanzas long, and * ''Lakṣmī-laharī'', in praise of the goddess
Lakshmi Lakshmi (; , , sometimes spelled Laxmi, ), also known as Shri (, , ), is one of the principal goddesses in Hinduism, revered as the goddess of wealth, fortune, prosperity, beauty, fertility, sovereignty, and abundance. She along with Parvat ...
, 40 stanzas long.


As a scholar

Jagannātha was a junior contemporary of
Appayya Dīkṣita Appayya Dikshita (IAST '), 1520–1593 CE, was a performer of yajñas as well as an expositor and practitioner of the Advaita Vedanta school of Hindu philosophy but with a focus on Shiva or Shiva Advaita. Life Appayya Dikshitar was bo ...
(1520-1593) of whom he wrote disparagingly. He wrote the ''Kaustubha-khaṇḍana'', criticizing
Bhaṭṭoji Dīkṣita Bhattoji Dikshita (Pronunciation: bʱəʈʈod͡ʒiː d̪ɪkʂɪt̪ᵊ) was a 17th-century Sanskrit grammarian who authored the , Shabda-Kaustubha, and Prauda Manorama. He was born into a Brahmin family and settled in Varanasi, a major hub for Sans ...
's ''Śabda-kaustubha'', and ''Prauḍha-manoramā-khaṇḍana'' (also called ''manoramā-kuca-mardana'') criticizing the explanations of his ''Prauḍha-manoramā''. Other minor works attributed to him include the ''Sāra-pradīpikā'', a commentary on the ''Sārasvata Prakriyā'' or ''Sārasvata vyākaraṇa'', an ancient grammatical work attributed to Narendra.


Students of Jagannatha Panditaraja

Panditaraja had many disciples during his lifetime. One amongst them was Narayanabhatta of his own sect and the other is Sri kulapatimisra who belonged to the Mathura-Chaturvedi family of Agra. He was a court poet in the kingdom of Jayapuur under the patronage of Sriramasimhaji.


Popular culture

There is a movie on Jagannatha Pandita Rayalu in Tamil (1946) and Hindi (1950). A Marathi musical drama was also a historic work of Shri Vidyadhar Gokhale in Mumbai in 1960. There are few more art epics on "jagannath Pandit". A Marathi drama by Shri
Vidyadhar Gokhale Vidyadhar S. Gokhale (4 January 1924 – 26 September 1996) was a political activist, a Marathi playwright, and an editor of a Marathi newspaper, ''Loksatta'', from Maharashtra, India. Early life Vidyadhar Gokhale was born in Amravati, Maharas ...
named "Pandit Raj Jagannath" Famous musical stage show was performed by leading artists Shri
Bhalchandra Pendharkar Bhalchandra Pendharkar (25 November 1921 – 11 August 2015) was a Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India **Marathi people (Uttar Pradesh), the Marathi people in the Indian state ...
,
Prasad Sawkar Pandit Prasad Sawkar (born 14 December 1928) is an Indian vocalist, and scholar of Indian classical, semi-classical, and devotional music. He received prestigious Padma Shri award in the year 2006 for his work in music and Sangeet Natak Early ...
, Mama Pendse,
Chittaranjan Kolhatkar Chittaranjan Cintamanrav Kolhatkar (; 15 January 1923 – 25 October 2009) was an Indian film and theatre actor. Born in 1923 in the Amravati district of Maharashtra, Kolhatkar began his film career in 1944, appearing in the film ''Garibanche Ra ...
,
Chandrakant Gokhale Chandrakant Raghunath Gokhale (7 January 1921 – 20 June 2008) was a well-known veteran Marathi film and stage actor and singer. Gokhale's mother, Kamlabai Gokhale (nee Kamlabai Kamat) was the first female child actor of the Indian cinema. Go ...
, Master Dattaram and Mangala Sanjhagiri and others under the famous banner of "Lalitkaladarsha" about 50 years back.(9-Oct 1960) The film ''
Lavangi ''Lavangi'' is a 1946 Indian Tamil-language film directed and produced by Y. V. Rao and written by P. R. Narayanan. It stars Y. V. Rao, Kumari Rukmani, B. R. Panthulu, B. Jayamma, K. Sarangapani, K. R. Chellam and T. R. Ramachandran. The ...
'' based on Jagannatha pandita Rayalu was released in 1946 Lavangi
/ref>


References


Further reading and resources

* * * * * Gangalahari Stotra. neelakanth publications. 1643,Sadashiv Peth, Pune Maharashtra India. * Gangalahari stotra with Parady shloka by Waman Pandit. Saddharma prakashan.Thane Maharashtra India. * Marathi Drama Panditraj Jagannath by Vidyadhar Gokhale. * A Hindi movie of 1961 also presents some of the Sanskrit shlokas music composed by late shri Vasant Desai. {{DEFAULTSORT:Panditaraja, Jagannatha Sanskrit poets 17th-century Indian poets 1590 births 1670 deaths People from the Sultanate of Golconda 17th-century Indian male writers