Hara Kumar Tagore (also Hara Coomar Tagore) (1798–1858) was a leading land owner, philanthropist,

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 ...

scholar, writer and musician from

Calcutta Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , List of renamed places in India#West Bengal, the official name until 2001) is the Capital city, capital of the Indian States and union territories of India, state of West Bengal, on the eastern ba ...

. He belonged to the

Pathuriaghata Pathuriaghata is a neighbourhood of North Kolkata in Kolkata district, in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is one of the oldest residential areas in what was Sutanuti. Once the abode of the Bengali rich, the neighbourhood and its surrounding ...

branch of the

Tagore family The Tagore family (also spelled as ''Thakur''), with over three hundred years of history,Deb, Chitra, pp 64–65. has been one of the leading families of Calcutta, India, and is regarded as one of the key influencers during the Bengali Renaissa ...

Life

He was the eldest son of

Gopi Mohan Tagore Raja Gopi Mohan Tagore (1760–1819) was scion of the Pathuriaghata Tagore family and noted zamindar and philanthropist from Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent. He was son of Darpanarayan Tagore, who branched and founded Pathuriaghata bra ...

and headed the Pathuriaghata family after demise of his father. Hara Kumar Tagore, was learned in the Hindu scriptures,

and English. He had compiled critically admired books and assisted

Radhakanta Deb Raja Sir Radhakanta Deb Bahadur ( bn, রাজা রাধাকান্ত দেব; 10 March 1784 – 19 April 1867) was a scholar and a leader of the Calcutta conservative Hindu society, son of Gopimohan Deb of Shovabazar Raj who was the a ...

(1783–1867) in compiling ''Sabdakalpadrum''. Further, the noted texts - ''Haratattva-didhiti'' (1881), ''Purashcharana-bodhini'' (1895) and ''Shila-chakrarthabodhini'' were composed by him. The last text deals with various types of stones, which are worshiped as symbol of

Narayana Narayana (Sanskrit: नारायण, IAST: ''Nārāyaṇa'') is one of the forms and names of Vishnu, who is in yogic slumber under the celestial waters, referring to the masculine principle. He is also known as Purushottama, and is co ...

. Also he authored a manual on procedural matters relating to various Tantric rites, particularly

Kali Kali (; sa, काली, ), also referred to as Mahakali, Bhadrakali, and Kalika ( sa, कालिका), is a Hindu goddess who is considered to be the goddess of ultimate power, time, destruction and change in Shaktism. In this tra ...

worship. He was a refined musician with a scholarship in Sanskrit and was composer of noted music. He was the elder brother of

Prasanna Kumar Prasanna S Kumar is an Indian cinematographer who was born in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.He is cousin brother of director Sasi who directed many films including Pichaikaran.At his early stage, he was associated with cinematographer Muthiah in movie ' ...

. Hara Kumar died in 1858 ; and was succeeded, as head of the Pathuriaghata branch of family, by his eldest son, Maharaja Sir Jatinodro Mohun Tagore.The Golden Book of India: A Genealogical and Biographical Dictionary of the Ruling Princes, Chiefs, Nobles, and Other Personages, Titled Or Decorated, of the Indian Empire by Sir Roper Lethbridge, Publisher : Macmillan & Company, 1893 pp: 527 His other two sons were Shourindramohan and Shoutindramohan. He had built a temple at Mulijore with his brother Prosona Coomar in memory of his father. Further, he donated monies liberally for benefit of arts and music. He had built a beautiful mansion - the famed "Emerald Bower,". It was taken over by Government of West Bengal and is now a part of

Rabindra Bharati University Rabindra Bharati University is a public research university in Kolkata, India. It was founded on May 8, 1962, under the Rabindra Bharati Act of the Government of West Bengal in 1961, to mark the birth centenary of the poet Rabindranath Tagore. ...

. A square in

Kolkata Kolkata (, or , ; also known as Calcutta , the official name until 2001) is the capital of the Indian state of West Bengal, on the eastern bank of the Hooghly River west of the border with Bangladesh. It is the primary business, comme ...

is named after him as Hara Kumar Tagore Square.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tagore, Hara Kumar 1798 births 1858 deaths Hara Kumar Sanskrit scholars from Bengal Bengali-language writers Musicians from Kolkata People from Kolkata Bengali zamindars 19th-century Indian philanthropists