Akha Bhagat statue in Akha Bhagat Chowk, Ahmedabad

Akha Bhagat (commonly known as Akho; ) or Akha Rahiyadas Soni was a mediaeval Gujarati poet who wrote in the tradition of the

Bhakti movement The Bhakti movement was a significant religious movement in medieval Hinduism that sought to bring religious reforms to all strata of society by adopting the method of devotion to achieve salvation. Originating in Tamilakam during 6th centur ...

. He wrote his poems in a literary form called ''Chhappa'' (six stanza satirical poems).

Life

His exact dates are unknown, but according to scholars he lived from 1615 to 1674 or 1600 to 1655. A goldsmith by profession, he lived near

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ; Gujarati: Amdavad ) is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 (per t ...

Jetalpur Jetalpur is a town in the Ahmedabad district of the Indian state of Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. G ...

, and later moved to Ahmedabad. His residence in

which is small room in Desaini Pol at

Khadia ''Khadia'' is a genus of plants in the family Aizoaceae. Some species under this genus include: * ''Khadia acutipetala'' * ''Khadia alticola'' * ''Khadia beswickii'' (L.Bolus) N.E.Br. * ''Khadia borealis'' * ''Khadia carolinensis'' * ''Khadia m ...

is known as ''Akha no Ordo'' (literally "A room of Akha"). Akho was a goldsmith belonging to

Hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

Soni caste and sub-caste Pasawala (Dhanpat). In Rajkot, Kothariya naka (one of the gate of fort) Chowk named after him Akha Bhagat Chowk. Soni Bazar Starts from here. He was a disciple of Saint Gokulnath, grandson of

Vallabha Vallabhacharya Mahaprabhu (1479–1531 CE), also known as Vallabha, Mahaprabhuji and Vishnuswami, or Vallabha Acharya, is a Hindu Indian saint and philosopher who founded the Krishna-centered PushtiMarg sect of Vaishnavism in the Braj(Vraj) ...

charya, and got inspiration to go towards the way of Bhakti from him. He shared his experience and knowledge in chhappa. The poetry writing style he followed for lending his

philosophy Philosophy (from , ) is the systematized study of general and fundamental questions, such as those about existence, reason, knowledge, values, mind, and language. Such questions are often posed as problems to be studied or resolved. Some ...

verse Verse may refer to: Poetry * Verse, an occasional synonym for poetry * Verse, a metrical structure, a stanza * Blank verse, a type of poetry having regular meter but no rhyme * Free verse, a type of poetry written without the use of strict me ...

. He wrote 746 chappas.

Works

He is regarded as most important poet of mediaeval

Gujarati literature The history of Gujarati literature ( gu, ગુજરાતી સાહિત્ય) may be traced to 1000 AD, and this literature has flourished since then to the present. It is unique in having almost no patronage from a ruling dynasty, othe ...

. Three of his works are dated including ''Panchikarana'' (1645; Mixture of five elements), ''Gurushishyasamvada'' (1645; A Dialogue between Teacher and a Pupil) and ''Akhe-gita'', among which, ''Akhe-gita'' is considered as an important work. Divided in forty ''Kadavuns'' (sections), it deals with ''

Bhakti ''Bhakti'' ( sa, भक्ति) literally means "attachment, participation, fondness for, homage, faith, love, devotion, worship, purity".See Monier-Williams, ''Sanskrit Dictionary'', 1899. It was originally used in Hinduism, referring to d ...

'' (worship) and '' Jnana'' (knowledge). His other works includes ''Chittavichar Samvada'', ''Santona Lakshano'', ''Anubhav Bindu'' ("A Drop of Experience"), ''Avasthanirupan, ''Kaivalya Gita'', as well as various ''Pada'' (poems) and ''Chhappa''. His ''Chhappa'', a six stanza poems, are full of humorous and passes metaphorical comments on different aspects of spirituality and human life.

References

External links

* * Gujarati-language poets Indian male poets Bhakti movement Gujarati-language writers 17th-century Indian poets Writers from Ahmedabad Poets from Gujarat Date of birth unknown Date of death unknown 17th-century male writers Shudra Hindu saints {{India-poet-stub