Raṇchoḍjī Amarjī (1768—1841) was an author and the chief minister (diwan) of

Junagadh state The State of Junagadh or Junagarh was a princely state located in Gujarat, It was ruled by the Muslim Babi dynasty since 1654 by first Nawab of Junagarh, Nawab of Junagadh even within the Maratha Confederacy and later British India. which, aft ...

under the Babi dynasty.

Life

Ranchhodji was a son of Amarji Diwan, the chief minister of Junagadh state. Upon death of his father, he was appointed the chief minister. Although a

Nagar Brahmin Nagar Brahmin is a Brahmin subcaste from the Indian state of Gujarat. Author T. Sasaki writes, amongst Brahmins of Gujarat, Nagar Brahmins were the most prominent subdivision in the political, economic and social relation, social activities o ...

by caste, he had mastered the profession of arms. He had fought battles with states of

Jamnagar Jamnagar () is a city and the headquarters of Jamnagar district in the Indian state of Gujarat. The city lies just to the south of the Gulf of Kutch, some west of the state capital, Gandhinagar. The city was the capital of Nawanagar State, Na ...

and Cutch. In 1805, British agent Colonel Walker met Nawab of Junagadh state and it became British protectorate under

East India Company The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company that was founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to Indian Ocean trade, trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (South A ...

in 1807. Thus Ranchhodji retired from battlefields and started writing poetry. He assisted the state in abolishing the practices of Sati and

female infanticide Female infanticide is the deliberate killing of newborn female children. Female infanticide is prevalent in several nations around the world. It has been argued that the low status in which women are viewed in patriarchal societies creates a bias ...

. He was a follower of

Shakti Shakti (Devanagari: शक्ति, IAST: Śakti; 'energy, ability, strength, effort, power, might, capability') in Hinduism, is the "Universal Power" that underlies and sustains all existence. Conceived as feminine in essence, Shakti refer ...

. Like some other natives of Junagadh, he had contracted a dislike of

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 ...

, the Vallabh form 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 ...

, and he went so far as not to name any member of his family with a name which would have even a remote tinge of that cult. However, when he installed the liṅgam of Budheśvar, he ordered the worship of the deity to be the done in the same fashion as the Puṣṭimārga sevā rituals. Many allusions have been made to him by English writers like

John Malcolm Major-General Sir John Malcolm GCB, KLS (2 May 1769 – 30 May 1833) was a Scottish soldier, diplomat, East India Company administrator, statesman, and historian. Early life Sir John Malcolm was born in 1769, one of seventeen children of G ...

and Mariana Postans. In

Blackwood's Magazine ''Blackwood's Magazine'' was a British magazine and miscellany printed between 1817 and 1980. It was founded by publisher William Blackwood and originally called the ''Edinburgh Monthly Magazine'', but quickly relaunched as ''Blackwood's Edinb ...

, the mention is made of his qualities. Postans, who saw him reposing under a vine-clad bower surrounded by a number of amanuenses, sitting on Persian carpets, says that,

Works

Ranchhodji knew Gujarati, Sanskrit and Persian languages. In Persian he has written the ''Tarikh-i- Sorath va

Halar Halar (Haalaar) is a historical region of western India, located by the Gulf of Kutch coast on the northwestern area of Nawanagar, now Jamnagar, in Gujarat State, on Saurashtra peninsula, roughly corresponding to the present Jamnagar District ...

'', a history of Sorath and also the ''Rukat-i-Gunagun'' (various letters). He has translated into

Braj Bhasha Braj is a language within the Indo-Aryan language family spoken in the Braj region in Western Uttar Pradesh centered on Mathura. Along with Awadhi, it was one of the two predominant literary languages of North-Central India before gradually ...

, a work called the '' Sivarahasya'', besides a number of other works. In Gujarati, he has also written about a dozen works, chief among them being the ''Ramayana Ramvalla'', ''Shivagita'' and ''Chandipath'' or ''Chandipath na Garba''. ''Chandipath'' is Gujarati version of a rhapsody, '' Durga Saptashati'', narrating the forms and adventures of the goddess

References

External links

Translation of Tarikh-e-Sorath on Internet Archive
{{DEFAULTSORT:Diwan, Ranchhodji 1768 births 1841 deaths Administrators in the princely states of India Chief ministers of Indian states 18th-century Indian writers 19th-century Indian writers Writers from Gujarat 18th-century Indian politicians 19th-century Indian politicians

Life

Works

See also

References

External links