Hemādri Paṇḍit, popularly known as Hemāḍapanta, was a

polymath A polymath ( el, πολυμαθής, , "having learned much"; la, homo universalis, "universal human") is an individual whose knowledge spans a substantial number of subjects, known to draw on complex bodies of knowledge to solve specific pro ...

and a

prime minister A prime minister, premier or chief of cabinet is the head of the cabinet and the leader of the ministers in the executive branch of government, often in a parliamentary or semi-presidential system. Under those systems, a prime minister is not ...

from 1259 to 1274 C.E. in the regimes of King Mahādev (1259–1271) and King

Ramachandra Rama (; ), Ram, Raman or Ramar, also known as Ramachandra (; , ), is a major deity in Hinduism. He is the seventh and one of the most popular ''avatars'' of Vishnu. In Rama-centric traditions of Hinduism, he is considered the Supreme Being ...

(1271–1309) of Seuna Yādav Dynasty of Devagiri, which ruled in the western and southern part of

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. Hemadpant is also the creator of the

Hemadpanti architecture Hemadpanti Sculpture (also spelled as Hemadpanthi) is an architectural style, named after its founder, the prime minister Hemadpant (1259-1274 CE) of the court of Seuna Yadavas of Devagiri. Architectural elements This building style was formed du ...

Origin

Hemadri Pandit was born in a Deshastha Rigvedi Brahmin (

DRB Deshastha Brahmin is a Hindu Brahmin subcaste mainly from the Indian state of Maharashtra and northern area of the state of Karnataka. Other than these states, according to authors K. S. Singh, Gregory Naik and Pran Nath Chopra, Deshastha Bra ...

) family that had its origin in the Hemadri village in the

Dakshin Kannada Dakshina Kannada district is a district of Karnataka state in India, with its headquarters in the coastal city of Mangalore. It is part of the larger Tulu Nadu region. The district covers an area nestled in between the Western Ghats to its east ...

District of

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

. As per other sources, Hemadri was born in the southern Kannada speaking regions of the Yadava kingdom in a Kannada Madhyadina Shaka Brahmin family. His father, Kāmadeo, had brought him up in

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

. In Hemadri's biography written by Keshav Appa Padhye, the author has mentioned that Hemadri was a Deshastha Rigvedi of Ashvalayana sutra and Vatsagotri (belonging to the Vatsa Gotra) Panchapravari brāhmaṇa(५: जामदग्ना वत्सास्तेषां पञ्चार्षेयो भार्गवच्यावनाप्नवानौर्वजामदग्नेति, ref. आश्वलायनश्रौतसूत्र). Padhye has mentioned the reference for this information to be the book authored by Hemadri himself, चतुर्वर्गचिंतामणि, or chaturvarga-chintāmaṇi.http://www.new.dli.ernet.in/cgi-bin/metainfo.cgi?&title1=Chaturvarga%20Chintamani%20Vol%201&author1=Hemadri&subject1=RELIGION.%20THEOLOGY&year=2006%20&language1=sanskrit&pages=400&barcode=1990030083604&author2=&identifier1=&publisher1=Prabhakari%20and%20co

Career

Hemadri was a diplomat, an administrator, an architect, a poet, and a theologian and scholar. During his prime ministership, the Yadav kingdom reached its zenith; soon after his tenure, the Turkic emperor at

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, primarily its western or right bank, Delhi shares borders w ...

, Alāuddin Khalji, and his successors ended the Yadav rule in southwestern India.

Writings

Hemadri wrote the encyclopedic book about dharma, ''Chaturvarga Chintāmaṇi''. It contains, among other subjects, thousands of ''

Vrata Vrata is a Sanskrit word that means "vow, resolve, devotion", and refers to pious observances such as fasting and pilgrimage ( Tirtha) found in Indian religions such as Jainism and Hinduism. It is typically accompanied with prayers seeking hea ...

s'' along with the modus operandi for performing them. He wrote the commentary named ''Āyurveda Rasāyan'' on Ayurvedic Samhita "Ashtānga Hṛdayam", containing descriptions of various diseases and remedies for them. A small historical book, ''Hemādpanti Bakhar'' is credited to him. He created ''Mestakas'' to standardize procedural parts of the state administration.

Cultural contributions

Hemadri introduced use of

Modi script Modi ( mr, मोडी, , ; also Mudiya) is a script used to write the Marathi language, which is the primary language spoken in the state of Maharashtra, India. There are multiple theories concerning its origin. The Modi script was used alongs ...

for

Marāthi Marathi (; ''Marāṭhī'', ) is an Indo-Aryan language predominantly spoken by Marathi people in the Indian state of Maharashtra. It is the official language of Maharashtra, and additional official language in the state of Goa. It is one of t ...

(cursive style of writing Marathi) in government correspondence. He conceived of ''

'' of buildings and temples which did not use lime. He introduced plantation of

pearl millet Pearl millet (''Cenchrus americanus'', commonly known as the synonym ''Pennisetum glaucum''; also known as 'Bajra' in Hindi, 'Sajje' in Kannada, 'Kambu' in Tamil, 'Bajeer' in Kumaoni and 'Maiwa' in Hausa, 'Mexoeira' in Mozambique) is the most w ...

(Bājari) as a staple crop. He encouraged and supported many artists and writers like Bopadev and studied their books and presented his own criticism.

References

{{Reflist * ''Samasta Maharashtriya Brahman Potshakha'' (

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people *Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece See also * * ...

) by Dr. Abhaykumar Savaji * ''Hemadri Athawa Hemadpant'' (

) by Keshav Appa Padhye * ''Maharashtra Saraswat'' (

) by Vinayakrao Bhave * ''Aitihasik Prastavana'' (

) by

Vishwanath Kashinath Rajwade Vishwanath Kashinath Rajwade (12 July 1863 – 31 December 1926), popularly known as ''Itihasacharya'' Rajwade, was a historian, scholar, writer, commentator and orator from Maharashtra, India. He is considered to be the first in real sense to unde ...

Maharashtra politicians 13th-century Indian writers Indian Hindus