Tapovan Maharaj (1889–1957) was a Hindu

sage Sage or SAGE may refer to: Plants * ''Salvia officinalis'', common sage, a small evergreen subshrub used as a culinary herb ** Lamiaceae, a family of flowering plants commonly known as the mint or deadnettle or sage family ** ''Salvia'', a large ...

and

Vedanta ''Vedanta'' (; sa, वेदान्त, ), also ''Uttara Mīmāṃsā'', is one of the six (''āstika'') schools of Hindu philosophy. Literally meaning "end of the Vedas", Vedanta reflects ideas that emerged from, or were aligned with, t ...

scholar.

Life

Swami Tapovan Maharaj is one of the most renowned saints of the 20th century. He was a contemporary of Swami Sivananda Maharaj who was the Guru of Swami Chinmayananda Maharaj. Swami Tapovan Maharaj was born in 1889 on the Suklapaksha

Ekadashi Ekadashi () is the eleventh lunar day (''tithi'') of each of the two lunar phases which occur in an Vedic calendar month - the '' Shukla Pakṣa'' (the period of the brightening moon also known as the waxing phase) and the ''Kṛṣṇa Pakṣa ...

day of Mārgasirsa month. His mother, Kunjamma, belonged to an ancient aristocratic

Nair The Nair , also known as Nayar, are a group of Indian Hindu castes, described by anthropologist Kathleen Gough as "not a unitary group but a named category of castes". The Nair include several castes and many subdivisions, not all of whom histor ...

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 ...

family at Mudappallur in

Palghat Palakkad (), formerly known as Palghat, historically known as Palakkattussery is a city and municipality in the Indian state of Kerala. It is the administrative headquarters of the Palakkad District. Palakkad is most densely populated municipal ...

Taluk A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administr ...

Kerala Kerala ( ; ) is a state on the Malabar Coast of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, following the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, by combining Malayalam-speaking regions of the erstwhile regions of Cochin, Malabar, South ...

. His father, Achutan, belonged to Kotuvayur in Kerala. Based on his date of birth, the infant's horoscope, cast in accordance with family tradition, revealed "unusually contrary indications of huge prosperity and abject poverty". Born with

purvashrama Purvashrama ( sa, पूर्वाश्रम, ), is a term used with reference to Sanyasis. It refers to the ''ashrama'' (stage of life) of a Sannyasi, before he is initiated into Sannyasa (renunciation). The word is also used to address fam ...

name Subrahmanyan,"Sri Swami Tapovanji Maharaj: A Brief Life Sketch" (pp. v-xiii) in "Sri Achuthan Nair aspired to give his son Chippukkutty (that was Swamiji's name in his ''poorvasrama'') the best education" (''Wanderings in the Himalayas'', 1990 edition, p. v) he authored two books on his travels through the Himalayas: "Wanderings in the Himalayas" (''Himagiri Viharam'') and "Kailasa Yatra." Tapovan Maharaj exhibited a deep love for nature and his accounts of his travels demonstrate such. His autobiography, written in

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 ...

is titled "Ishvara Darshana". He died in the early hours of 16 January 1957, which was the day of Pausha Purnima according to

Hindu calendar The Hindu calendar, Panchanga () or Panjika is one of various lunisolar calendars that are traditionally used in the Indian subcontinent and Southeast Asia, with further regional variations for social and Hindu religious purposes. They adopt a s ...

Publications

* ** ** ** * * * (Originally published in

Malayalam Malayalam (; , ) is a Dravidian language spoken in the Indian state of Kerala and the union territories of Lakshadweep and Puducherry (Mahé district) by the Malayali people. It is one of 22 scheduled languages of India. Malayalam was des ...

in 1928) * *

References

External links

* (7:04, Youtube) * (7:04, Youtube; first 3:00 on Chinmayananda) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Tapovan Advaitin philosophers Indian Hindu monks Vedanta Indian male writers 20th-century Hindu philosophers and theologians Writers from Kerala Malayali people 1889 births 1957 deaths Hindu studies scholars People from Palakkad district 20th-century Indian philosophers

Life

Publications

See also

References

External links