Keśava Kāśmīri Bhaṭṭa

Keshav Kashmiri ( 15th century) also known as keshavacharya and Keshava Kashmriri Bhattacharya () was an Indian philosopher, theologian and poet. He was a Brāhmana, born in the province of Maharashtra, in the village named Vaidūrya-pattanam, also known as Pratiṣṭhāna. He was disciple of Mukunda and Gāṅgala bhaṭṭāchārya. He became the 33rd ācārya of the Nimbārka Sampradāya. Tradition is that he conquered thrice all learned men of his time. Hence the epithet 'Jagadvijayī is often prefixed to his name.

Life

Keśava Kāśmīrī, originally known as Keśavācārya, earned the epithets ''"Bhaṭṭa"'' and ''"Kāśmīrī Bhaṭṭācārya"'' in recognition of his contributions to religious propagation, his triumphs in philosophical debates, his efforts in countering heretical sects, and his time spent in Kashmir as a pilgrim. However, he would personally refer to himself simply as "Keśava" with brevity. This preference is reflected in the concluding verse of his work Kramadīpikā, a text composed in a cyclical style, where he identifies himself:"''Keśavena kṛtā Kramadīpikā''" (This Kramadīpikā is composed by Keśava).

His first conquest consisted in vanquishing Vidyādharācārya, a scholar of the Śākta school of thought in Kaśmīra, and gave him the name Vrajeśācārya. Vrajeśācārya wrote in 1450 a commentary on Keśavakāśmīri's Kramadīpikā. His second conquest consisted in driving away the Yavanas from Mathura. After his second conquest Keśavakāśmīrin set out on his third conquest, vanquished the Śākta sect in Bengal, defeated all learned men of Navadvīpa except Nimai or Caitanya Mahaprabhu and settled himself in Kaśmīra."

Mathura Miracle

Keśava Kāśmīri is linked with many extraordinary occurrences, The most renowned of these performing a miracle in Mathurā to free Hindus from these specific prohibitions and other conversional tactics of muslim rulers. An event famously recounted in the Nābhā dāsa Bhaktamāla chappaya 75.

Nābhā dāsa wrote that "Sri Keshava Bhatt Ji was the crown jewel of all people. His fame spread throughout the world. Due to his long residence in Kashmir, the epithet "Kashmiri" became associated with his name. He was a vanquisher of oppressors and sinners, and an ornament of the human race. With the axe of devotion to Hari, he uprooted the trees of opposing religions and eradicated them completely. In Mathura, he debated with the Yavanas (foreign rulers) and defeated those heretics. It is well known how the Qazis, who refused to yield to anyone, came to fear his spiritual power after witnessing it. This event is no secret; the saintly community bears witness to it."

Works

Keśava Kāśmīrī's works are:
* ''Vedānta Kaustubha Prabhā'': A commentary on Brahmasutrā.
* ''Kramadīpikā'': A Pāñcarātrika work
* ''Tattva-prakāśikā'': A commentary on the Bhagavad-gitā.
* ''Tattva-prakāśikā-veda-stuti-tīkā'': A commentary on the tenth skanda of Bhagavata-purāna.
* ''Viṣṇusahasranāmaṭīkā'': A commentary on Vishnu Sahastranama.

Upanishad commentaries

* ''Taittriya-prakāśikā'': A commentary on the Taittriya Upanisad.
* ''keno upanisad bhasya'': A commentary on Kena Upanishad.

Kramadīpikā

Kramadīpikā is a work of eight chapters dealing mainly with the ritualistic parts of the Nimbārka school of religion. This work deals very largely with various kinds of Mantras and meditations on them.

Influence

It was adopted in the rituals of
the Jagannātha temple in Purī, and is quoted in the
Haribhaktivilāsa of the Gauḍīya Gosvāmins.

Jagganatha Puri

The Kramadīpikā is an authority on the Krsna worship quoted in the ''Gopālarcanavidhi'' of Purusottamadeva (the first and the most standard work on the worship of Jagannatha-Krsna, 15th c.) explicitly refers to the bijamantra of Krsna-Jagannātha as being a "Pradyumna-Mantra" (a Mantra of Pradyumna or Kāma) and designates it as jaganmohana-bewitching the world. ''“mantrah pradyumno jaganmohano'yam” (kramadīpikā 2.12)''

References

Bibliography

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* {{Cite journal , last=Okita , first=Kiyokazu , editor-first1=Kiyokazu , editor-first2=Rembert , editor-last1=Okita , editor-last2=Lutjeharms , date=2024 , title=Okita, Kiyokazu and Rembert Lutjeharms eds. 2024. The Building of Vṛndāvana (Preliminary Material) , url=https://www.academia.edu/114531339 , journal=The Building of Vṛndāvana: Architecture, Theology, and Practice in an Early Modern Pilgrimage Town, doi=10.1163/9789004686779 , isbn=978-90-04-68677-9

Indian theologians
Indian philosophers
Hindu philosophers and theologians
Nimbarka Sampradaya
15th-century Indian philosophers
15th-century Indian scholars
15th-century Indian poets
Vaishnava saints
Vaishnavism
Bhakti movement
Medieval Hindu religious leaders
Indian Vaishnavites
Indian Hindu spiritual teachers
Indian Hindu religious leaders
15th-century Indian non-fiction writers