Mahanubhava

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Mahanubhava
Founder
Sarvajna Chakradhar Swami
Regions with significant populations
Maharashtra, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat and parts of North India
Scriptures
Leela Charitra, Siddhanta Sutrapatha, Bhagavad Gita
Languages
Marathi (Primary) • Sanskrit and others

Mahanubhava (also known as Jai Krishni Pantha) refers to Krishnaite Hindu denomination in India that was founded by Sarvajna Shri Chakradhar Swami (or Chakradhara), an ascetic and philosopher who considered as a reincarnation of Krishna by his devotees[1][2][3] Some sources list the founders as Chakrapani (Changadeva Rāuḷ) and Govinda Prabhu (Gunḍam Rāuḷ) with Chakradhara as the first "apostle" and propagator of Mahanubhava Pantha.[4] Mahanubhava Sampradaya was formally formed in modern-day Varhad region of Maharashtra in 1267. It has different names such as Jai Krishni Pantha in Punjab and Achyuta pantha in Gujarat. Mahanubhava Pantha was also known as Paramarga by its followers in 13th century.[5] Nagadevacharya, also known as Bhatobas, became the head of Sampradaya after Chakradhara.

In Mahanubhava, all members are accepted, irrespective of their castes, and the traditional ritualistic religion is rejected. Mahanubhava survives to the present. It teaches that Krishna is the only God.[6]

Mahanubhava Sampradaya has 13 different Amnaya (traditions). These traditions were founded by 13 different acharyas which include some disciples of Nagadevacharya and various successors in their lineages.

Sarvajna Shri Chakradhar Swami[]

Shri Chakradhar Swami propounded the philosophy of Mahanubhava Sampradaya for the first time. He theorized the idea of "Five Krishnas" as the main figures for Mahanubhavas to worship which includes (Shri Gopala Krishna, Shri Dattatreya Prabhu, Shri Chakrapani, Shri Govinda Prabhu and Shri Chakradhar Swami himself.

Shri Chakradhar Swami was born in Bharuch, Gujarat in 1194 CE. Although he was a Gujarati by birth, he had excellent command over Marathi language. He moved among all sections of society. He discoursed his philosophy to the people in their own language. He used formulaic language full of meaning in a compact style. He exhorted his disciples to write only in Marathi.

Philosophy[]

According to the Mahanubhava Philosophy, there are 4 permanent realities in the universe which are Paramesvara (god), Jiva (soul), Devata (deities and supernatural beings) and Prapanca (world). These 4 enteties are uncreated, eternal and independent from each other. Prapanca is of 2 types - Suksma (matter) or Karana Prapanca and Sthula (material) or Karya Prapanca. Karana Prapanca is immortal but Karya Prapanca is perishable. Paramesvara is the supreme entity in this universe. Paramesvara is one, unique, perfect, omnipotent, omniscient, omnipresent, impersonal and absolute.

There are innumerable souls (Jiva) and material worlds (Sthula Prapanca) existed in the universe. Devata (deities) are 810,125,010 in number including Maya. The purpose of Jiva is to attain moksha and the Devata is a powerful impediment to Jiva. All Devata are subject to Paramesvara and they help him to create material world with Maya as their main contributor. Material world is composed of pancatattva viz. Akasha, Vayu, Tejas, Apas, Prithvi and Triguna viz. Sattva, Rajas & Tamas. Mahanubhava teachings mainly concerned with the relationship between Jiva and Paramesvara. One can practice bhakti by memorising deeds of the almighty. The aspirant for salvation must sacrifice his country, village and his relations and offer his life to God. Chakradhara also taught the followers of Mahanubhava Sampradaya; when, where, how and how much alms they should be beg for.

Mahanubhava philosophy state that only Paramesvara can give Moksha (ultimate salvation from the cycle of birth and death) to every living creature in the material world. Jiva therefore should worship only Paramesvara rather than minor deities or nature spirits. Mahanubhavas worship Paramesvara in the form of its 5 avatara (incarnations) to personify its original Nirguna (indeterminate) form. One of the most important aspects of Mahanubhava philosophy is asceticism. The fourfold teachings are: non-violence, celibacy, asceticism and bhakti. And the different aspects of Gods incarnations to be worshipped are: name, form, activity, deeds, place, vachanas (shruti), memories (smriti) and the blessing of God incarnate. Other beliefs involved in Mahanubhava doctrine are Nitya Puja of Pancavatara for 3 times evey day, Smarana (remembrance) of the five incarnations including their incidents, objects related to their lives and pilgrimages to places connected with them. Mahanubhava followers visit pilgrimage sites like Ridhapur, Jalicha dev, Domegram, Paithan, Mahur, Phaltan and Panchaleshwar.[7]

The central theme of Mahanubhava was, "Feel the soul and not the body". Living the life of mendicant and practicing asceticism severely, the devotee should live according to principle, "God is mine and I am God’s". The core of his code of behavior is summed up in the following line for the benefit of his followers: "Even if the head is cut off, the body should worship God".

Besides teaching stern vegetarianism, Mahanubhava Pantha forbids the use of alcohol and teaches non-violence. Theft, gambling, hunting, promiscuity etc. are strictly prohibited and considered as great sins. Mahanubhava doctrine rejects Vedic rituals but not the Vedic philosophy. Mahanubhavas follow the teachings of Shri Chakradhar Swami. Mahanubhavas totally reject the caste system, hegemony of Varna and any kind of social discrimination. They believe that every person has right to attain Moksha regardless of varna and castes.

Schools of Vedanta
Vedanta
Bhedabheda[a]
4th century CE
Advaita
(Shankara,
Gaudapada)
5th-8th century CE[b]
Vishishtadvaita
(Ramanuja)
11th century CE
Dvaita
(Madhva)
13th century CE
Neo-Vedanta[c]
(Vivekananda & Radhakrishnan)
19th century CE
Upadhika
(Bhaskara)
9th century
Dvaitādvaita
(Nimbarka)
13th century
Shuddhadvaita
(Vallabha)
16th century
Achintya
(Chaitanya & Jiva)
16th century
Mahanubhava is not a sub-school of Vedanta, although it has some similarities with the schools of Vedanta philosophy it is a distinct school of Indian philosophy which emphasizes on the concept of Bhakti.
Notes, references and sources for table

Development of Mahanubhava philosophy might have started in 12th century during the lifetime of Chakrapani Prabhu. Chakradhar Swami officially described it in a well-integrated manner during the latter half of 13th century[6]

Literature[]

Mahanubhava literature generally comprises rhetoric and commentaries. Mahanubhavas authored numerous treatise that describe about the 5 incarnations of god, they compiled various 'Vruddhachara' (hagiographies) also they wrote memoirs about the history of the sect. Mahanubhavas composed the literature like commentaries on the Bhagavad Gita, Leela Charitra, Sutrapatha, poetical works narrating the stories of life of Shri Krishna; various reference works like lexicons, chronicles, biographies, itineraries and genealogies; grammatical and etymological works related to the Old Marathi language and various prayers, canticles, psalms, hymns as well as chants. Mahanubhavas also wrote many treatise based on the Puranas, that are deemed useful to explain the philosophy of Mahanubhava. The Mahanubhava were the earliest writers to use Marathi as a literary language. Mahanubhavas can be called as the pioneers of Marathi prose; they introduced many prose forms in Marathi for the first time. Prose literature in Old Marathi was almost exclusively composed by the Mahanubhava writers. The Mahanubhavas contributed enormously to the Old Marathi literature.[5] Purest form of Marathi language can be seen everywhere in the Mahanubhava literature. Marathi is the liturgical language for Mahanubhavas. Non-Marathi speaking Mahanubhavas also read Sutras in Marathi and chant Marathi prayers.

Leelacharitra is thought to be the first biography written in the Marathi language.[citation needed] Mhaimbhat's second important literacy creation was Shri Govindaprabhucharitra or Ruddhipurcharitra, a biography of Swami's guru, Shri Govinda Prabhu, in the form of 325 deeds. This was probably written in 1288, soon after the death of Shri Prabhu.

Apart from Leelacharitra, Keshavaraja Suri (Keshiraja vyasa) also known as Kesobas, collected Chakradhar Swami's aphoristic vachana or actually spoken words, known as Siddhanta Sutrapatha. Keshavaraja Suri translated the "deeds" from Leelacharitra into Sanskrit in his work called Ratnamala. His another work is Drishtantpatha which was composed in 1280 CE, similarly he has also written a Sanskrit version of it known as Drishtantstotram. Nagadevacharya as the first chief acharya of Sampradaya, encouraged many of his disciples and companions to compose treatise on the teachings of Chakradhar swami. memoirs of Nagadeva were compiled by Narendra, Malobas and Parasrambas in 1312 CE, they are known as Smrutisthala. Baidevabas wrote Pujavasara which describes the daily routine of Chakradhara.

In this manner, the seven works have been written, which are known as Sati grantha and they are accepted by the follower of the sect. These works and their writers are:

  1. Narendra : Rukminiswayamvara (1292)
  2. Bhaskarabhat Borikar : Shishupalavadha (1312)
  3. Bhaskarabhat Borikar : Uddhavagita (1313)
  4. Damodara Pandita : Vachhaharana (1316)
  5. Ravalobas : Sahyadrivarnana (1353)
  6. Narobas Bahahaliye : Ruddhipurvarnana (1418)
  7. Vishwanatha Balapurkar : Jnanaprabodha (1418).

Narendra and his 2 brothers, Sala and Nrusinha were the court poets of Ramadevarao Yadava.[8] Damodara Pandita and Bhaskarabhat Borikar were one of the earliest Mahanubhava poets. Mahadamba (also known as Mahadaisa) was the leading poetess of Sampradaya and she is considered as first known poetess in Marathi language of the 13th century. Mahanubhava poetry is rich of various styles and metres. Many Mahanubhava poets have composed their works in Sanskrit as well.

During the later period, Hayagrivacharya wrote Gadyaraja based on the dasama skandha of Bhagavata. Pandita Bhishmamuni wrote the oldest available grammar of Marathi language known as Pancavartika during the late 14th century. Nyayabas wrote Hetusthala (purpose of the deeds) on Leela Charitra and Bhishmacharya Vaindeshkar wrote Niruktasesha describing Prasanga Mahatmya in Leela Charitra during 14th century. A Gujarati acharya called Gurjara Shivbas compiled 3 commentaries on Siddhanta Sutrapatha during 15th century; their names are Acharasthala, Vicharasthala and Lakshanasthala. He also wrote Mahavakyaprameya and Thorli Prasadaseva. Songobas (Sangapala), nephew of Gurjara Shivbas wrote Anvayasthala describing the history of Mahanubhava tradition till his era with the help of Siddhante Haribas. Medieval Mahanubhava writers composed many prose works and philosophical texts in Marathi language. Chalhana, one of the most prominant Mahanubhava writers of 15th century wrote the masterpieces like Sattvanuvada, Jnanaprakasa and Shastrasambodhini Tika. His desciple Nrusinha Pandita wrote Sanketagita. Anantamuni Karanjkar aka Aemuni, who was from Kavishwar Amnaya (lineage) composed most celebrated Vruddhachara of Sampradaya. Further, many Mahanubhava philosophers wrote commentaries on Siddhanta Sutrapatha like Vishwanathabas Bidkar wrote Acharaband, Vaindeshkar wrote Vicharaband and Dattaraja Marathe wrote Lakshanaband. A Muslim acharya named Shahmuni wrote a treatise called Siddhantabodha in 18th century for describing the principles of Mahanubhava philosophy. Mahanubhava writers also created many code-scripts like 'Sakala Lipi', 'Sundari Lipi', 'Shunya Lipi', 'Aankapallavi Lipi' etc. to protect and preserve their literature.[9]

Mahanubhava writers also composed many works in Hindi, Punjabi and Gujarati languages. Nagraj Vyas, Vidhichandra Sharma and Gaurswami are some of the important Mahanubhava writers of North India during the medieval age. Hariraj Mahatma 'Musafir', Chakradhari Bezar, Gopirajbaba Mahanubhav and Mukundraj Mahanubhav etc. were prolific North Indian Mahanubhava writers during British era.

Mahanubhava writers have written numerous prayers and psalms devoted to the Pancakrishna Avatara (5 incarnations) in Marathi, Sanskrit and other languages.

History[]

Mahanubhava doctrine originated during the late 12th century. Chakradhara was the first preceptor who organized the separate denomination called Mahanubhava on the basis of its doctrine.[10]

Nagadevacharya systematized the tradition of disciples in Mahanubhava Pantha after Chakradhara. He initiated several disciples to upbuild the sampradya. During the period of Nagadeva, many followers joined the Sampradaya.[4]

Acharya Munivyasa established many temples and shrines of Mahanubhava Sampradaya in Maharashtra during the early 15th century. Munivyasa was originally a Veerashaiva from Telangana, his original name was Kamalakara Ayachita Kothi. He left his former faith, entered in Mahanubhava Sampradaya and became disciple of Tapasvini Mhalaisa from Kumar Amnaya.

Mahanubhava Sampradaya has remained a flourishing religious sect in Maharashtra till date. It has millions of followers in Maharashtra, perticularly in Vidarbha, Marathwada and Khandesh regions.

Mahanubhava Pantha followers worship Lord Krishna and other 4 gods namely Dattatreya, Chakrapani, Govinda Prabhu and Sarvajna Shri Chakradhara.

  1. Shri Krishna (श्रीकृष्ण) - Avatara in Dvaparayuga. Supreme form of Paramesvara. He preached Bhagavad Gita to Arjuna.
  2. Shri Dattatreya (श्रीदत्तात्रेय) - Avatara of Tretayuga. Son of Atri and Anasuya. Dattatreya is considered as initial inspiration for the Mahanubhava doctirne.
  3. Shri Chakrapani Prabhu (श्रीचक्रपाणि) - According to the Mahanubhava doctrine, he is the first Avatara of Paramesvara in Kaliyuga. Born at Phaltan in 1121 CE to a Karhade Brahmin family. His Father was named Janakanayaka and mother Janakaisa. He lived in Dvaraka for 37 years. He gave divine knowledge to 52 purushas. Govinda Prabhu was his foremost disciple.
  4. Shri Govinda Prabhu (श्रीगोविंदप्रभु) - He considered as second Avatara in Kaliyuga. Govinda Prabhu was born on Bhadrapada shukla trayodashi, 1187 CE at Katsur, Amravati in a Kanva Brahmin family. His father was named Anantanayaka and mother Nemaisa. Shri Chakradhar Swami was disciple of him. He lived in Ridhapur, Amravati district. He died in 1285 or 1287 CE.
  5. Sarvajna Shri Chakradhara (श्रीचक्रधर) - Final Avatara in Kaliyuga. He is regarded as an incarnation of Shri Krishna. Mahanubhava believe that Shri Chakradhar swami is still alive in a state of spiritual ecstasy in Badarikashrama, Himalayas.

Krishnaraj aka Krishnamuni, a Punjabi trader of Khatri caste from Kot Sarang, was the first preacher of Mahanubhava Pantha in Northern India. He was born in 15th century. He used to visit Berar (Varhad) for his business, there he met Madheraj Buwa from Kavishwar Amnaya and became his disciple. His collegues and disciple like Santraj and Vidhichandra Sharma activated the dissemination of Mahanubhava doctrine in Punjab. Mahanubhava Pantha soon became well established in Northern India during 16-17th century. Mahanubhavas had set up many temples, mathas, pathashalas in Punjab, Upper Doab, Kangra, Kashmir, Northwest Frontiers and as far as Kabul and Kandahar in Afghanistan.[9] Majority of Mahanubhavas migrated to India after the partition of India. Still the major cities in North India like Delhi, Amritsar, Ludhiana, Hoshiarpur, Jalandhar, Pathankot, Shrinagar, Ambala, Saharanpur, Meerut, Solan etc. have many Mahanubhava temples and mathas with thousands of followers. Mahanubhava temples are also located at the important holy sites related to Krishna such as Dvaraka, Mathura, and Kurukshetra.

Publications[]

The Mahanubhava Panth publishes Mahanubhav Sandesh, a newspaper in Marathi and Hindi languages. There are plans to eventual expand the publication to an English edition.[11]

References[]

  1. ^ Doshi, Saryu (1985). Maharashtra. Marg Publications. p. 61. OCLC 473550290.
  2. ^ Feldhaus, Anne (1983). The religious system of the Mahānubhāva sect: the Mahānubhāva Sūtrapāṭha. South Asian studies, 12. New Delhi: Manohar. ISBN 9780836410051.
  3. ^ Priya, Kumar Ravi; Dalal, Ajit Kumar (2016-04-01). Qualitative Research on Illness, Wellbeing and Self-Growth: Contemporary Indian Perspectives. Routledge. ISBN 978-1-134-93347-1.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b Indian History. Allied Publishers. 1988. ISBN 9788184245684.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b S. G. Tulpule, Mahānubhāva pantha āṇi tyāce vāṅmaya (महानुभाव पंथ आणि त्याचे वाङ्मय), Venus Prakashan, Pune, 1976, pp. 2-9
  6. ^ Jump up to: a b "Mahanubhav Panth". Hinduism Facts | Facts about Hindu Religion.
  7. ^ V. B. Kolte, Mahanubhava Tattvadnyana (महानुभाव तत्त्वज्ञान), Arun Prakashan, Malkapur, 1956.
  8. ^ V. B. Kolte, Rukminiswamvara, Arun Prakashan, Malkapur, 1966, p.9.
  9. ^ Jump up to: a b Yashwant Khushal Deshpande (1916). Mahanubhaviya Marathi Vangamaya (महानुभावीय मराठी वाङ्मय). Vidarbha Sahitya Sangh. pp. 30–100. ISBN 978-1179081137.
  10. ^ R. C. Dhere, Chakrapani, Vishwakarma Sahityalay, 1977, pp. 211-213
  11. ^ "Mahanubhava Sandesh website". Archived from the original on 2015-05-30. Retrieved 2015-05-30.

Notes[]

Further reading[]

  • Ayyappappanikkar (1997), Medieval Indian Literature Volume 2, Sahitya Academy, ISBN 81-260-0365-0
  • B.B.Gaikwad (2004), Sarvdnya, Shrikrushna Prakashan
  • Sisir kumar Das (2005), A History of Indian Literature, 500-1399: From Courtly to Popular, Sahitya Academy, ISBN 81-260-2171-3
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