Chakradhar Swami
Encyclopedia
Sarvadnya Shri Chakradhar Swami - indian philosopher, Founder of Mahanubhava
Sect in Vaishnavism in 1267. Chakradhar Swami accepted Maharashtra
as His karmabhoomi as this place had adhikaari purush that time. Hence Maharashtra has many teertha sthaan (holy places) of Mahanubhav Pantha. Chakradhar propagated a religious movement as well as social movement, in which all were accepted irrespective of their caste
s and the traditional ritualistic religion was rejected.
Chakradhar swami was born in a Samvedi Lad brahmin family in Bhadoch
Chakradhar Swami was born at Bharavas (Bhadoch) as the son of a minister named Vishaldeva & Malani devi and his ancestral name was Haripaldeva. There goes a legend that Haripaldeva suddenly died at the age of twenty but a holy saint
named Changdev Raul (Shri Chakrapani Prabhu) from Phalatan entered the dead body of Haripaldeva after which he revived. The reborn Haripaldeva greatly changed.
Feeling disgusted after conflict with wife, he left home by telling that he was going for Ram yatra .
Then he came to place Ridhapur where Govind Prabhu regarded as incarnation. After having wandered alone for time, he appeared among the people. He then went to Paithan and offered his grace to an old women Nagambika alias Nagaisa.A year after this he preached to Nagdev & made him his disciple. Seven & half years of his lonely wanderings, he visited a number of villages in Marathwada
, Varadh, Khandesh
& many different parts of Maharashtra
preaching his philosophy to common man in Marathi
with the help of illustration & imagery. During this period of propagation of his philosophy about five hundred followers from learned Brahmin
& Non Brahmin castes joined him.
On the basis of some lila (deeds) mention in the life of Chakradhar Swami, it is opined that he was beheaded by the Yadava rulers. There may be some truth in this because in those days, the religion of Vedas
propounding Varna
differences & worship of multiple deities was so rampant that the learned authority of the religion must have opposed the propagator of a new sect. Actually many distinguished people from the court of Yadavas like Bhandari Gadonayak and Gopal Pandit who were senior administrators;Kamaisa of Ramdevaraya and Demati of Hemadpandit who were wives of courtly people;Ganpati Apayo,Pimple Vaman Bhatt and Gunakardeva Prajnasagar who were Vedic scholar become follower of Shri Chakradhar Swami.
Shri Chakradhar Swami propounded his philosophy like Shri Krishna
from among the “ Five Krishnas”.Although he was a Gujarati
by birth,he had excellent command of the Marathi language.He moved among the all sections of society.He discoursed his philosophy extremely effectively among the people in their own language. He used formulaic language full of meaning in a compact style.
One of the most important aspects of the philosophy propounded by him is asceticism.
The philosophy of Shri Chakradhar Swami advocated the bhakti mode as well as an austere code of conduct.This influence the literature of Mahanubhavas.A work like Lilacharitra was composed by Mahimbhatta,a disciple of Shri Chakradhar Swami.He met a large number of people who had been in contact with Shri Chakradhar Swami,collected the reliable information about his deeds & verified it with Nagadevacharya and finally put it into a massive prose biographical text.
Mahanubhava
Mahanubhav- Hindu sects in maharashtra mainly in amaravati district started by Chakradhar Swami in 1267. Chakradhar Swami propagated a religious movement as well as social movement, in which all were accepted irrespective of their castes and the traditional ritualistic religion was...
Sect in Vaishnavism in 1267. Chakradhar Swami accepted Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
as His karmabhoomi as this place had adhikaari purush that time. Hence Maharashtra has many teertha sthaan (holy places) of Mahanubhav Pantha. Chakradhar propagated a religious movement as well as social movement, in which all were accepted irrespective of their caste
Caste
Caste is an elaborate and complex social system that combines elements of endogamy, occupation, culture, social class, tribal affiliation and political power. It should not be confused with race or social class, e.g. members of different castes in one society may belong to the same race, as in India...
s and the traditional ritualistic religion was rejected.
Chakradhar swami was born in a Samvedi Lad brahmin family in Bhadoch
Chakradhar Swami was born at Bharavas (Bhadoch) as the son of a minister named Vishaldeva & Malani devi and his ancestral name was Haripaldeva. There goes a legend that Haripaldeva suddenly died at the age of twenty but a holy saint
Saint
A saint is a holy person. In various religions, saints are people who are believed to have exceptional holiness.In Christian usage, "saint" refers to any believer who is "in Christ", and in whom Christ dwells, whether in heaven or in earth...
named Changdev Raul (Shri Chakrapani Prabhu) from Phalatan entered the dead body of Haripaldeva after which he revived. The reborn Haripaldeva greatly changed.
Feeling disgusted after conflict with wife, he left home by telling that he was going for Ram yatra .
Then he came to place Ridhapur where Govind Prabhu regarded as incarnation. After having wandered alone for time, he appeared among the people. He then went to Paithan and offered his grace to an old women Nagambika alias Nagaisa.A year after this he preached to Nagdev & made him his disciple. Seven & half years of his lonely wanderings, he visited a number of villages in Marathwada
Marathwada
The name Marathwada identifies one of the five regions in Maharashtra state of India. The region coincides with the Aurangabad Division.-Historical highlights:...
, Varadh, Khandesh
Khandesh
Khandesh is a region of central India, which forms the northwestern portion of Maharashtra state.Khandesh was the terminal territorial part under the rule of Mughals. The Start of Deccan region demarcated by the boundary of Khandesh....
& many different parts of Maharashtra
Maharashtra
Maharashtra is a state located in India. It is the second most populous after Uttar Pradesh and third largest state by area in India...
preaching his philosophy to common man in Marathi
Marathi language
Marathi is an Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people of western and central India. It is the official language of the state of Maharashtra. There are over 68 million fluent speakers worldwide. Marathi has the fourth largest number of native speakers in India and is the fifteenth most...
with the help of illustration & imagery. During this period of propagation of his philosophy about five hundred followers from learned Brahmin
Brahmin
Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...
& Non Brahmin castes joined him.
On the basis of some lila (deeds) mention in the life of Chakradhar Swami, it is opined that he was beheaded by the Yadava rulers. There may be some truth in this because in those days, the religion of Vedas
Vedas
The Vedas are a large body of texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the oldest layer of Sanskrit literature and the oldest scriptures of Hinduism....
propounding Varna
Varna
Varna is the largest city and seaside resort on the Bulgarian Black Sea Coast and third-largest in Bulgaria after Sofia and Plovdiv, with a population of 334,870 inhabitants according to Census 2011...
differences & worship of multiple deities was so rampant that the learned authority of the religion must have opposed the propagator of a new sect. Actually many distinguished people from the court of Yadavas like Bhandari Gadonayak and Gopal Pandit who were senior administrators;Kamaisa of Ramdevaraya and Demati of Hemadpandit who were wives of courtly people;Ganpati Apayo,Pimple Vaman Bhatt and Gunakardeva Prajnasagar who were Vedic scholar become follower of Shri Chakradhar Swami.
Shri Chakradhar Swami propounded his philosophy like Shri Krishna
Krishna
Krishna is a central figure of Hinduism and is traditionally attributed the authorship of the Bhagavad Gita. He is the supreme Being and considered in some monotheistic traditions as an Avatar of Vishnu...
from among the “ Five Krishnas”.Although he was a Gujarati
Gujarati people
Gujarati people , or Gujaratis are an ethnic group that is traditionally Gujarati-speaking and can trace their ancestry to the state of Gujarat in western India...
by birth,he had excellent command of the Marathi language.He moved among the all sections of society.He discoursed his philosophy extremely effectively among the people in their own language. He used formulaic language full of meaning in a compact style.
One of the most important aspects of the philosophy propounded by him is asceticism.
The philosophy of Shri Chakradhar Swami advocated the bhakti mode as well as an austere code of conduct.This influence the literature of Mahanubhavas.A work like Lilacharitra was composed by Mahimbhatta,a disciple of Shri Chakradhar Swami.He met a large number of people who had been in contact with Shri Chakradhar Swami,collected the reliable information about his deeds & verified it with Nagadevacharya and finally put it into a massive prose biographical text.