Krishnadas Payahari (), also known as Payahari Baba was a Ramanandi Hindu saint and disciple of Anantananda, one of the twelve disciple of

Ramananda Jagadguru Swami Ramananda (IAST: Rāmānanda) or Ramanandacharya was an Indian 14th-century Hindu Vaishnava devotional poet Sant (religion), saint, who lived in the Gangetic basin of northern India. The Hindu tradition recognizes him as the f ...

(the founder of

Ramanandi Sampradaya The Ramanandi (), also known as Ramavats (), is one of the largest sects of Vaishnavas. Out of 52 sub-branches of Vaishnavism, divided into four Vaishnava '' sampradayas'', 36 are held by the Ramanandi. The sect mainly emphasizes the worshi ...

). Krishnadas Payohari was the founder and first

Mahant Mahant () is a religious superior, in particular the chief of a temple or the head of a monastery in Indian religions. James Mallinson, one of the few westerners to be named as a mahant, describes the position of a mahant as a combination of an ...

of Gaddi of Galtaji dham, Jaipur (one of the 36 ''Dwara''/Gates of Vaishanavism held by Ramanandis). He came to Galta early in the 16th century. He was the guru of Prithvi Singh, ruler of

Amber Amber is fossilized tree resin. Examples of it have been appreciated for its color and natural beauty since the Neolithic times, and worked as a gemstone since antiquity."Amber" (2004). In Maxine N. Lurie and Marc Mappen (eds.) ''Encyclopedia ...

(Jaipur) and his wife Apurva Devi (Bala Bai). He was also guru of Raja Jagat Singh of

Kullu Kullu () is a municipal council town that serves as the administrative headquarters of the Kullu district of the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh. It is located on the banks of the Beas River in the Kullu Valley about north of the airport ...

Life

Krishnadas Payahari was born in a ''Dahima Brahmin'' ( Dadhich Brahmin) family of Rajasthan. He was a followed bramcharya right from his childhood. It is believed that he used to consume only milk for his sustenance since his birth, hence he was also known as ''Payahari/Payohari'', literally meaning one who thrives on milk. ''

Bhaktamal ''Bhaktamal'' (, ), written , is a poem in the Braj language that gives short biographies of more than 200 ''bhaktas''. It was written by Nabha Dass, a saint belonging to the tradition of Ramananda. Though considered a hagiography by some, th ...

'' (lit. rosary/garland of devotees) written by Nabha Dass mentions an incident about life of Krishnadas Payahari where he showed his disciple, Prithviraj Kachhawaha, darshan of Dwarikanath Krishna while remaining in Amber.

Lineage

Krishnadas Payahari belonged to Ramanandi sampradaya and was a disciple of ''Anantananda'' who was one of the twelve disciples of Ramananda''.'' Krishnadas Payahari had twenty three main disciples out of whom the three prominent were Agradas, Kilhadev and Bhagwan of Pandori dham in Gurdaspur. Agradas became guru of the Vaishnav saint Nabha dass who was the author of ''Bhaktamal''. In ''Bhaktamal'', while explaining the lineage of

Tulsidas Rambola Dubey (; 11 August 1511 – 30 July 1623pp. 23–34.), popularly known as Goswami Tulsidas (), was a Vaishnavism, Vaishnava (Ramanandi Sampradaya, Ramanandi) Hinduism, Hindu saint and poet, renowned for his devotion to the deity Rama. H ...

, the author of ''Ramacharitmanas'', Nabha das makes a mention of Krishnadas Payahari and indirectly his lineage too. It is said that the Ramanandi saint of Punjab ''Shri Bhagwanji'' became disciple Krishnadas Payahari ji, who initiated him into Ramanandi tradition.

Legacy

Krishnadas is remembered as the first Ramanandi who established the Ramanandi centre at Galtaji in Rajasthan and hence strengthened ''Ram Bhakti'' (devotion of the god

Rama Rama (; , , ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the seventh and one of the most popular avatars of Vishnu. In Rama-centric Hindu traditions, he is considered the Supreme Being. Also considered as the ideal man (''maryāda' ...

) in

Northern India North India is a geographical region, loosely defined as a cultural region comprising the northern part of India (or historically, the Indian subcontinent) wherein Indo-Aryans (speaking Indo-Aryan languages) form the prominent majority populati ...

. The memory of Krishnadas Payahari's influence as a Vaishnav saint is one that extends even beyond Galta in Rajasthan and the

Kullu Valley Kullu Valley is a broad open valley in Himachal Pradesh, India, formed by the Beas River between Manali and Larji. This valley is famous for its temples, beauty and its majestic hills covered with pine and deodar forest and sprawling apple or ...

in Himachal.

Founder of Galtaji Peeth

Built within a mountain pass in the

Aravalli Hills The Aravalli Range (also spelled ''Aravali'') is a mountain range in Northern-Western India, running approximately in a south-west direction, starting near Delhi, passing through southern Haryana and Rajasthan, and ending in Ahmedabad, Gujar ...

10 km east of

Jaipur Jaipur (; , ) is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the List of cities and towns in Rajasthan, largest city of the north-western States and union territories of India, Indian state of Rajasthan. , the city had ...

, located is the shrine of Galtaji peeth which is one of the 52 ''dwaras'' (gates) of Vaishnavism. Since the early 15th century Galtaji had been a retreat for Hindu

ascetics Asceticism is a lifestyle characterized by abstinence from worldly pleasures through self-discipline, self-imposed poverty, and simple living, often for the purpose of pursuing spiritual goals. Ascetics may withdraw from the world for their pra ...

belonging to the

Vaishnava Vaishnavism () ), also called Vishnuism, is one of the major Hindu traditions, that considers Vishnu as the sole supreme being leading all other Hindu deities, that is, '' Mahavishnu''. It is one of the major Hindu denominations along wit ...

Ramanandi Samaprdaya. Payahari Krishnadas came to Galta in the early 15th century and became head of Galta gaddi replacing earlier

yogi A yogi is a practitioner of Yoga, including a sannyasin or practitioner of meditation in Indian religions.A. K. Banerjea (2014), ''Philosophy of Gorakhnath with Goraksha-Vacana-Sangraha'', Motilal Banarsidass, , pp. xxiii, 297–299, 331 ...

s in the place. The fame and popularity of Galtaji increased and it has become a major pilgrimage for Ramanandi Hindus.

Establishment of Sita-Rama and Narasimha icons

Krishnadas Payahari was instrumental in establishing two deities: Sita-Rama (Rama with his consort Sita) and

Narasimha Narasimha (, , or , ), is the fourth avatara of the Hindu god Vishnu in the Satya Yuga. He incarnated as a part-lion, part-man and killed Hiranyakashipu, ended religious persecution and calamity on earth, and restored dharma. Narasimha has th ...

''.'' Sita-Rama was one of the four deities which protected, secured and legitimized Kachawaha rulers. The icon of Sita-Rama is to this day housed at ''Sita-Ram-dwara'' located in the precincts of City Palace of Jaipur. The image of Narasimha, which was presented to Raja Prithvi Singh of Amber, is housed at old fort of Amber.

Initiation of Bhagwan of Pandori dham, Gurdaspur, Punjab

As per Ramanandi tradition, Krishnadas Payahari selected a local

Dogra __NOTOC__ Dogras, or Dogra people, are an Indo-Aryan ethnic community of Pakistan and India. Dogra, Dogras or Dogri may also refer to: * Dogra dynasty, a Hindu dynasty of Kashmir * Dogri language, a language spoken by Dogras and other ethnic commu ...

Khajuria Brahmin known as Bhagwan, to spread Vaishnavism in

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

plains and Hindu hill states of

Jammu Jammu () is a city in Indian-administered Jammu and Kashmir (union territory), Jammu and Kashmir in the disputed Kashmir region.The application of the term "administered" to the various regions of Kashmir and a mention of the Kashmir dispute ...

and

Himachal Himachal Pradesh (; Sanskrit: ''himācāl prādes;'' "Snow-laden Mountain Province") is a States and union territories of India, state in the northern part of India. Situated in the Western Himalayas, it is one of the thirteen Indian Himalayan ...

. Bhagwan was born at Kahnuwan in

Gurdaspur Gurdaspur is a city in the Majha region of the Indian state of Punjab, between the rivers Beas and Ravi. It houses the administrative headquarters of Gurdaspur District and is in the geographical centre of the district, which shares a bord ...

and established the Ramanandi centre at Pandori Mahantan village, also located in Gurdaspur. During his childhood, Bhagwan went to Galtaji for pilgrimage, where he met Krishnadas Payahari. Krishnadas initiated him into Ramanandi Vaishnavism and made him a disciple.

Institutionalizing Kullu Dussehra

The

Kullu Dussehra Kullu Dussehra is the renowned International Mega Dussehra festival observed in the month of October in Himachal Pradesh state in northern India wherein more than 4-5 lakh(400,000-500,000) people visit the fair from all across the Globe. It i ...

tradition has links with Ramanandi traditions of Krishnadas Payahari and his disciple of Bhagwan of Gurdaspur. Krishnadas managed to persuade Raja Jagat Singh of Kullu to bring Raghunath murti (from ''Tretanath temple''

Ayodhya Ayodhya () is a city situated on the banks of the Sarayu river in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ayodhya district as well as the Ayodhya division of Uttar Pradesh, India. Ayodhya became th ...

), in whose honour Kullu Dusshera is celebrated. He also established a centre at Naggar in Kullu.

Disciples

Krishnadas Payahari's disciples included famous personalities in Ramanandi Hindu history. Many of his disciples were from Jammu, Himachal & Punjab region. # Kilhadeva was his prominent disciple who later on became second head of Galtaji peeth. # Agradeva who is associated with Raiwasa dham and who was guru of Nabha Dass was also Payahari's foremost disciple. # Bhagwanji, a Dogra Khajuria Brahmin, was the founder of Thakurdwara at Pandori dham in Gurdaspur, Punjab. # Bawa Lal Dayal, a Hindu Ramanandi Khatri saint from Punjab and founder of Dhianpur Dham and several daughter branches in India. # Ram Thaman, a Hindu Ramanandi Khatri from Punjab who was founder of Ramanandi seat in West Punjab. # Raja Prithviraj of

who was father of Bharmal. # Rani Apoorva Devi, wife of Raja Prthiviraj of Amber.

Literary works

There are three texts which have been attributed to Krishnadas Payahari and these include: ''Brahmgita'', ''Premtatva Nirupan'', ''Jugalman Charit''.

References

{{reflist 16th-century Indian people 16th-century Hindu religious leaders 16th-century Hindu philosophers and theologians Indian Hindu spiritual teachers Indian Vaishnavites Vaishnava saints Bhakti movement