Kamalakanta Bhattacharya ( bn, কমলাকান্ত ভট্টাচার্য; c. 1769–1821), also known as Sadhaka Kamalakanta, was a
Bengali
Bengali or Bengalee, or Bengalese may refer to:
*something of, from, or related to Bengal, a large region in South Asia
* Bengalis, an ethnic and linguistic group of the region
* Bengali language, the language they speak
** Bengali alphabet, the w ...
Shakta
Shaktism ( sa, शाक्त, , ) is one of several major Hindu denominations, wherein the metaphysical reality is considered metaphorically a woman and Shakti (Mahadevi) is regarded as the supreme godhead. It includes many goddesses, all ...
poet
A poet is a person who studies and creates poetry. Poets may describe themselves as such or be described as such by others. A poet may simply be the creator ( thinker, songwriter, writer, or author) who creates (composes) poems (oral or writte ...
and
yogi
A yogi is a practitioner of Yoga, including a sannyasin or practitioner of meditation in Indian religions.A. K. Banerjea (2014), ''Philosophy of Gorakhnath with Goraksha-Vacana-Sangraha'', Motilal Banarsidass, , pp. xxiii, 297-299, 331 Th ...
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 ...
of the late 18th century. He is often considered to have followed the example of
Ramprasad, both in his poetry and in his lifestyle.
Early life
Kamalakanta was born at Ambika Kalna in
Bardhaman
Bardhaman (, ) is a city and a municipality in the state of West Bengal, India. It is the headquarters of Purba Bardhaman district, having become a district capital during the period of British rule. Burdwan, an alternative name for the city, ...
,
Bengal Presidency
The Bengal Presidency, officially the Presidency of Fort William and later Bengal Province, was a subdivision of the British Empire in India. At the height of its territorial jurisdiction, it covered large parts of what is now South Asia and ...
. His father was Maheswar Bhattacharya, a
Brahmin
Brahmin (; sa, ब्राह्मण, brāhmaṇa) is a varna as well as a caste within Hindu society. The Brahmins are designated as the priestly class as they serve as priests (purohit, pandit, or pujari) and religious teachers (guru ...
priest who died when Kamalakanta was still a boy. His mother, Mahamaya Devi, struggled financially to provide for the family with the meagre income from the small amount of land left to them, but she managed to send Kamalakanta to higher education.
Kamalakanta was a bright student, studying
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 ...
and showing an early talent for poetry and music. It is said that "his heart opened to the love of God" when he received the sacred thread and was initiated into spiritual practice by Chandra Shekhar Goswami. From an early age he expressed an interest in spirituality and later in life Kamalakanta received initiation into
Tantric Yoga
Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...
from a Tantric
yogi
A yogi is a practitioner of Yoga, including a sannyasin or practitioner of meditation in Indian religions.A. K. Banerjea (2014), ''Philosophy of Gorakhnath with Goraksha-Vacana-Sangraha'', Motilal Banarsidass, , pp. xxiii, 297-299, 331 Th ...
named Kenaram Bhattacharya.
Career
In order to support his family, Kamalakanta started a small school in addition to his work as a Brahmin priest. But Kamalakanta struggled to make ends meet. His songs made him famous during his lifetime. Because of his fame as a singer poet, the Maharaja of Bardhaman, Tej Chandra, asked Kamalakanta to be his Guru and appointed him as a court advisor. Throughout his life Kamalakanta was a great devotee of
Kali
Kali (; sa, काली, ), also referred to as Mahakali, Bhadrakali, and Kalika ( sa, कालिका), is a Hinduism, Hindu goddess who is considered to be the goddess of ultimate power, time, destruction and change in Shaktism. In t ...
and composed many impassioned and devotional love poems to the Mother.
It is said that the Divine Mother in her aspect of
Mahakali
Mahakali () is the Hindu goddess of time and death in the goddess-centric tradition of Shaktism.
Similar to Kali, Mahakali is a fierce goddess associated with universal power, time, life, death, and both rebirth and liberation. She is the cons ...
wishes her sincere devotees to make the fastest progress. Kali is often depicted as the great destroyer of ignorance and hostile forces. The poetry of Kamalakanta displays this heroic attitude, imploring Kali to destroy limitations and bondage. The poetry of Kamalakanta also displays a profound faith in his all-powerful Kali.
:''The earth quakes under Your leaps and bounds.''
:''You are frightful with that sword in Your hand.''
Whilst Kali is often depicted as a black and terrifying form, this is just one aspect of hers as a destroyer of ignorance. Kamalakanta also alludes to the other aspect of Kali as he states in his poem - "Is my Mother Really Black?"
:''If She's black,''
:''how can She light up the world?''
:''Sometimes my Mother is white,''
:''sometimes yellow, blue, and red.''
:''I cannot fathom Her.''
:''My whole life has passed trying.''
rans. Rachel Fell McDermott
The poems of Kamalakanta and
Ramprasad were later sung by mystic
Sri Ramakrishna, who himself was a great devotee of the Divine Mother. These devotional songs would often send Sri Ramakrishna into an ecstatic state as he became absorbed in contemplation of the Divine Mother. Many of these songs are recorded in ''
The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna
''The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna'' is an English translation of the Bengali religious text '' Sri Sri Ramakrishna Kathamrita'' by Swami Nikhilananda. The text records conversations of Ramakrishna with his disciples, devotees and visitors, record ...
'', which at one point mentions, ''"... he (Ramakrishna) would spend hours singing the devotional songs of great devotees of the Mother, such as Kamalakanta and Ramprasad. Those rhapsodic songs describing direct vision of God ...''"
['']The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna
''The Gospel of Sri Ramakrishna'' is an English translation of the Bengali religious text '' Sri Sri Ramakrishna Kathamrita'' by Swami Nikhilananda. The text records conversations of Ramakrishna with his disciples, devotees and visitors, record ...
'', by Swami Nikhilananda
Swami Nikhilananda (1895–1973), born Dinesh Chandra Das Gupta was a direct disciple of Sri Sarada Devi. In 1933, he founded the Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Center of New York, a branch of Ramakrishna Mission, and remained its head until his dea ...
, Introduction, ''p. 13''.
Two legends are widely known of Kamalakanta. Once the Maharaja of Burdwan had asked him to show full moon in Amavasya (when there is no moon in the sky) but Kamalakanta was able to show a bright full moon to the Maharaja. He got mesmerized.
Another legend goes that once the Maharaja had asked if he can show that the idol of Kali whom he worships as his mother is alive or not. Kamalakanta took a thorn of Bel (Wood apple) and gently pricked the feet of the idol of Mother Kali and then held a bel leaf under the wound. Slowly blood came out of the spot. The Maharaja dared not to question him like that. The two events filled his heart with deep gratitude for Kamalakanta. Such powerful matrisadhak was he.
That idol is still worshipped now even in Burdwan. Grand festivals are arranged every year in the temple during Kali puja.
Citations
References
Sources
* McDermott, Rachel Fell (1993). ''Evidence for the Transformation of the Goddess Kālī: Kamalākānta Bhaṭṭācārya and the Bengali Śākta Padāvalī Tradition''. (Ph.D. diss., Harvard University, 1993)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bhattacharya, Kamalakanta
Year of birth uncertain
1821 deaths
People from Purba Bardhaman district
Bengali male poets
Ramakrishna
Bengali-language lyricists
Indian male songwriters
1769 births
19th-century Indian musicians
18th-century Indian musicians
18th-century Bengali poets
19th-century Bengali poets
Poets from West Bengal
19th-century male musicians
19th-century musicians
Bengali Hindus
Bengali-language writers