Narahari Sarkar was a 16th-century Bengali poet, lyrist, a Vaishnava Bhakti saint, and one of the associates and disciples of

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (; ), born Vishvambhara Mishra () (18 February 1486 – 14 June 1534), was an Indian Hindus, Hindu saint from Bengal and the founder of Gaudiya Vaishnavism. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's mode of worshipping Krishna with bha ...

. He is best known for his Sanskrit works, ''Bhakti-candrika-patala'', ''Bhaktamrtastaka'', ''Krsna Bhajanamrta'', etc. He was the preacher of the doctrine of "Gaurangarvada".

Life and works

Narahari Sarkar was born into a Hindu

Baidya Baidya or Vaidya is a Bengali Hindu community located in the Bengal region of Indian subcontinent. A caste (''jāti'') of Ayurvedic physicians, the Baidyas have long had pre-eminence in society alongside Brahmins and Kayasthas. In the coloni ...

family in

Bengal Bengal ( ) is a Historical geography, historical geographical, ethnolinguistic and cultural term referring to a region in the Eastern South Asia, eastern part of the Indian subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. The region of Benga ...

. He was born on Saka 1400 (=1478 / 1481 CE) at

Srikhanda Srikhanda is a village in Srikhanda gram panchayat in Katwa I CD block in Katwa subdivision of Purba Bardhaman district. It is about distance from Katwa and distance from Burdwan. Geography Urbanisation 88.44% of the population of Katwa ...

in the

Bardhaman district Bardhaman (, ), or sometimes Burdwan and Barddhaman, is a former district in the Indian state of West Bengal, headquartered in Bardhaman. On 7 April 2017, the district was bifurcated into two separate districts namely Purba Bardhaman and Pas ...

of Bengal. 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

. Narahari initially wrote pada (verses) on

Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...

but, after the influence of Chaitanya, he started composing verses dedicated to the latter. He propounded a Chaitanya–centric Vaishnava faith, called as 'Gaurangarvad'. 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. He was a recognised Sanskrit scholar. He wrote several books, including ''Bhakti-chandrika-patala'', ''Krishna-bhajanamrita'', ''Bhaktamrtastaka'', ''Saparsad-Gourangavandana'', etc. He wrote only stray lyrics, incorporating the thoughts of 'Nagarabhava' believes. Lochana Dasa, composer of ''

Chaitanya Mangala The Chaitanya Mangala () () of Lochana Dasa is an important hagiographical work on the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Sri Krishna Chaitanya - Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in Bengali. This work of Lochana Dasa or Lochananda Dasa is influenced by the Sans ...

'', was a disciple of Narahari Sarkar. He died in 1582 CE.

Notes

Sources

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sarkar, Narahari 16th-century Hindu philosophers and theologians 16th-century Bengali poets Bhakti movement Devotees of Krishna Gaudiya religious leaders 16th-century Hindu religious leaders Hindu ascetics Hindu mystics Hindu revivalists Indian Hindu monks Indian Vaishnavites Vaishnava saints Scholars from West Bengal Bengali Hindu saints 15th-century births 1582 deaths Year of birth uncertain