Brahmanand Swami (12 February 1772 – 1832) was revered as a saint of the

Swaminarayan Sampraday The Swaminarayan Sampradaya, also known as Swaminarayan Hinduism and Swaminarayan movement, is a Hindu Vaishnava sampradaya rooted in Ramanuja's Vishishtadvaita, characterized by the Bhakti, worship of its Charismatic authority, charismati ...

and as one of

Swaminarayan Swaminarayan (IAST: ', 3 April 1781 – 1 June 1830), also known as Sahajanand Swami, was a yogi and Asceticism, ascetic, who is believed by followers to be a manifestation of God Krishna, or as the highest Theophany, manifestation of ...

Paramahamsa Paramahamsa (Sanskrit: परमहंस, Bengali: পরমহংস, romanized: Pôromohôṅso; pronounced ɔromoɦɔŋʃo, also spelled paramahansa or paramhansa, is a Sanskrit religio-theological title of honour applied to Hindu spiritual ...

. He was also known as one of Swaminarayan's Ashta Kavi's (eight poets) within the Swaminarayan Sampraday In the scriptures of the Swaminarayan Sampraday it was noted that Brahmanand Swami as stated by Swaminarayan that as the name suggests and implies "Brahmanand" is an Avatar of

Brahma Brahma ( sa, ब्रह्मा, Brahmā) is a Hindu god, referred to as "the Creator" within the Trimurti, the trinity of supreme divinity that includes Vishnu, and Shiva.Jan Gonda (1969)The Hindu Trinity Anthropos, Bd 63/64, H 1/2, pp. 21 ...

Biography

Brahmanand Swami, born as Ladudanji, in Ashiya lineage of Charans to Shambhudanji Aashiya and Laluba

Charan Charan ( IAST: Cāraṇ; Sanskrit: चारण; Gujarati: ચારણ; Urdu: ارڈ; IPA: cɑːrəɳə) is a caste in South Asia natively residing in the Rajasthan and Gujarat states of India, as well as the Sindh and Balochistan provinces ...

in Khan village, at the foot of

Mount Abu Mount Abu () is a hill station in the Aravalli Range in Sirohi district of the state of Rajasthan in western India.The mountain forms a rocky plateau 22 km long by 9 km wide. The highest peak on the mountain is Guru Shikhar at above s ...

, in

Sirohi Sirohi is a city, located in Sirohi district in southern Rajasthan state in western India. It is the administrative headquarters of Sirohi District and was formerly the capital of the princely state of Sirohi ruled by Deora Chauhan Rajput rul ...

, in 1772 AD. Even as a young boy, he showed his talent in the royal court by composing and reciting poems. The Rana of Sirohi, impressed with him, directed that he be taught

Dingal Dingal (Devnagari: डिंगल; IAST: ''ḍiṁgala''; also spelled Dimgal), also known as Old Western Rajasthani, is an ancient Indian language written in Nagri script and having literature in prose as well as poetry. It is a language of ...

(the science of constructing poetry) at the cost of the state. Hence, Ladudanji was well educated and later became a part of

King King is the title given to a male monarch in a variety of contexts. The female equivalent is queen, which title is also given to the consort of a king. *In the context of prehistory, antiquity and contemporary indigenous peoples, the tit ...

of Udaipur's court. Ladu Dan learnt

and

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

scriptures from Ladhaji Rajput of Dhamadka, becoming a scholar in

, poetry and scriptures. Ladudanji earned fame and wealth by his knowledge and talent of poetry. He was honored in the stately courts of

Jaipur Jaipur (; Hindi Language, Hindi: ''Jayapura''), formerly Jeypore, is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and largest city of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of Rajasthan. , the city had a pop ...

Jodhpur Jodhpur (; ) is the second-largest city in the Indian state of Rajasthan and officially the second metropolitan city of the state. It was formerly the seat of the princely state of Jodhpur State. Jodhpur was historically the capital of the Ki ...

, and others, which were impressed by his poetry.

Initiation as Sadhu

Ladudanji was in

Bhuj Bhuj () is a Municipality and District Headquarters of Kutch District in the state of Gujarat, India. Etymology According to legend, Kutch was ruled by the Nāga chieftains in the past. Sagai, a queen of Sheshapattana, who was married to Kin ...

where he had heard about

and went to meet him. Swaminarayan was addressing a gathering in Bhuj. Ladudanji was attracted to him. Swaminarayan returned to

Gadhada Gadhada is a town and a municipality in Botad District in the state of Gujarat, India. Gadhada is situated at bank of River Ghela. Swaminarayan lived here for more than 25 years. Geography Gadhada is located at . It has an average elevati ...

with the poet Ladudanji. Ladudanji lived a majestic and royal life as befitting a courtier. He was always clad in the most precious attire, adorned with jewellery fit for royalty. Swaminarayan did not like such a luxurious life style but instead of preaching directly he gradually persuaded Ladudanji who became an ascetic. On the way from Gadhpur to Siddhapur, at a small village named Gerita, Swaminarayan stopped and administered Bhagwati Deeksha (initiation as

sadhu ''Sadhu'' ( sa, साधु, IAST: ' (male), ''sādhvī'' or ''sādhvīne'' (female)), also spelled ''saddhu'', is a religious ascetic, mendicant or any holy person in Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism who has renounced the worldly life. Th ...

) to Ladu Dan by giving sainthood name 'Shrirangdasji'. After some time, he was renamed as Brahmanand Swami.

Works

Muktanand Swami Muktanand Swami (1758–1830), born Mukunddas, was a swami and paramahansa of the Swaminarayan Sampradaya. Biography He was born Mukunddas to Anandram and Radhabai in Amrapur village (Dist-Amreli), Gujarat in 1758. While children of his age ...

, Brahmanand Swami was an excellent poet. His skills and brilliance in

temple A temple (from the Latin ) is a building reserved for spiritual rituals and activities such as prayer and sacrifice. Religions which erect temples include Christianity (whose temples are typically called churches), Hinduism (whose temples ...

building is evident in temples like Muli,

Vadtal Vadtal is located in the Kheda district of Gujarat, India. It is the pilgrim centre of Swaminarayan Sampraday and the headquarter of Swaminarayan's temple. Gomati is a holy lake in Vadtal. In 2011, ONGC announced that it would begin drilling ...

and

Junagadh Junagadh () is the headquarters of Junagadh district in the Indian state of Gujarat. Located at the foot of the Girnar hills, southwest of Ahmedabad and Gandhinagar (the state capital), it is the seventh largest city in the state. Literally t ...

. Besides the construction of great temples in Muli, Vadtal, Junagadh etc., Brahmanand Swami had written scriptures in Hindi and Gujarati. 'Brahmanand Kavya' is the collection of his works, a copy of which is preserved in the

British Museum The British Museum is a public museum dedicated to human history, art and culture located in the Bloomsbury area of London. Its permanent collection of eight million works is among the largest and most comprehensive in existence. It docum ...

London London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a majo ...

. Page 112

Notes

References

*
Brahmanand Swami

External links

*
Website of the Shri Swaminarayan Sampraday

www.ssgd.org
{{Swaminarayan Sampraday Indian Hindu saints Swaminarayan Sampradaya People from Sirohi district People from Mount Abu Charan Dingal poets