Krishnadas Payahari
Personal
ReligionHinduism
SectRamanandi Sri Vaishnavism (deity Rama), Hinduism
Religious career
GuruBhakt Anantananda
Disciples
Literary worksBrahmgita, Premtattva Nirupan, Jugalman Charit
HonorsPayahari Baba
Galtaji temple, Jaipur

Krishnadas Payahari (Sanskrit: कृष्णदास पयहारी, romanized: Kṛṣṇadās Payahārī), also known as Payahari Baba was a Ramanandi Hindu saint and disciple of Bhakt Anantananda, one of the twelve disciple of Bhakta Ramanandacharya ji (the founder of Ramanandi Sampradaya).[1] Krishnadas Payohari was the founder and first Mahant of Gaddi of Galtaji dham,[2] Jaipur (one of the 36 Dwara/Gates of Vaishanavism held by Ramanandis). He came to Galta early in the 16th century.[3] He was the Guru of Prithvi Singh, ruler of Amber (Jaipur) and his wife Apurva Devi (Bala Bai).[2] He was also guru of Raja Jagat Singh of Kullu.[4]

Life

Krishnadas Payahari was born in a Dahima Brahmin[5] (Dadhich Brahmin) family of Rajasthan. He was a Bal-brahmachari i.e. followed bramcharya right from his childhood. It is believed that he used to consume only milk for his sustenance since his birth, hence he was also known as Payahari/Payohari, literally meaning one who thrives on milk.[6] Bhaktamal (lit. rosary/garland of devotees) written by Goswami Nabha das ji mentions an incident about life of Shri Krishnadas Payahari where he showed his disciple, Prithviraj Kachhawaha, darshan of Dwarikanath Krishna while remaining in Amber.

आमेर अछत कूरम कौ द्वारिकानाथ दरसन दियौ। श्रीकृष्णदास उपदेस, परम तत्त्व परचौ पायौ॥

The Lord of Dvārikā gave darśana to Pṛthvīrāja Kachavāhā while he remained in Amer. Kṛṣṇadāsa Payahāri gave him upadeśa and caused him to know the highest essence."

— Bhaktamāla, Nābhādāsa jī [7]

Lineage

Shri Krishnadas Payahari belonged to Ramanandi sampradaya and was a disciple of Bhakt Anantananda who was one of the twelve disciples of Bhakt Ramanandacharya.[1] Shri Krishnadas Payahari had twenty three main disciples out of whom the three prominent were Shri Agradas ji, Shri Kilhadev ji and Shri Bhagwan ji of Pandori dham in Gurdaspur. Shri Agradas became guru of the famous Vaishnav saint Goswami Nabha das who was the author of Bhaktamal.

In Bhaktamal, while explaining the lineage of Goswami Tulasidas ji, the author of Ramacharitmanas, Nabha das ji makes a mention of Shri Krishnadas Payahari ji and indirectly his lineage too.

अनंतानंद पद परसि के लोकपालसे ते भये । गयेश करमचंद अल्ह पयहारी ॥
सारीरामदास श्रीरंग अवधि गुण महिमा भारी । तिनके नरहरि उदित ॥

“By touching the divine feet of Sri Anantānand, his disciples Sri Gayēśa, Sri Karamachand, Sri Alhadās , Sri Krishnadas Payahārī, Sri Sārīrāmadās, Sri śrīrangāchārya became equal to Loka-paals in virtues and glory! Thereafter Sri Narharidās appeared as the disciple of Sri śrīrangāchārya.”

— [Bhakta-maal, Chhappay 37 by Nabha das ji] [8]

It is said that the Ramanandi saint of Punjab Shri Bhagwanji became disciple Krishnadas Payahari ji, who initiated him into Ramanandi tradition.[9]

Legacy

Krishnadas ji is remembered as the first Ramanandi who established the Ramanandi centre at Galtaji in Rajasthan and hence strengthened Ram Bhakti (devotion of Bhagwan Ram) in Northern India. The memory of Krishnadas Payahari's influence as a Vaishnav saint is one that extends even beyond Galta in Rajasthan and the Kullu Valley in Himachal.

Founder of Galtaji Peeth

Built within a mountain pass in the Aravalli Hills 10 km east of Jaipur, located is the shrine of Galtaji peeth which is one of the 52 dwaras (gates) of Vaishnavism. Since the early 15th century Galtaji had been a retreat for Hindu ascetics belonging to the Vaishnava Sampradaya of Shri Ramanand. Payahari Krishnadas came to Galta in the early 15th century and became head of Galta gaddi replacing earlier yogis in the place. The fame and popularity of Galtaji increased and it has become a major pilgrimage for Ramanandi Hindus.

Establishment of Sita Ram ji and Narsimha ji Vigrah

Shri Krishnadas Payahari was instrumental in establishing two deities: Shri Sita Ram ji and Shri Narsimha ji. Sita Ram ji was one of the four deities which protected, secured and legitimized Kachawaha rulers. The Vigrah of Sita Ram ji is to this day housed at Sita-Ram-dwara located in the precincts of City Palace of Jaipur.

The other vigrah was that of Hindu God Narsimha which was presented to Raja Prithvi Singh of Amber and is housed at old fort of Amber.[10]

Initiation of Shri Bhagwanji of Pandori dham, Gurdaspur, Punjab

As per Ramanandi tradition, Shri Krishnadas Payahari selected a local Dogra Khajuria Brahmin known as Shri Bhagwanji, to spread Vaishnavism in Punjab plains and Hindu hill states of Jammu and Himachal. Shri Bhagwanji was born at Kahnuwan in Gurdaspur and established the Ramanandi centre at Pandori Mahantan village, also located in Gurdaspur. During his childhood, Bhagwanji went to Galtaji for pilgrimage, where he met Krishnadas Payahari ji. Krishnadas ji initiated him into Ramanandi Vaishnavism and made him a disciple.[9]

Institutionalizing Kullu Dussehra

The famous Kullu Dussehra tradition has links with Ramanandi traditions of Krishnadas Payahari and his disciple of Bhagwanji of Gurdaspur. Shri Krishnadas ji managed to persuade Raja Jagat Singh of Kullu[11] to bring Raghunath ji murti (from Tretanath temple Ayodhya), in whose honour Kullu Dusshera is celebrated. He also established a centre at Naggar in Kullu.[12]

Disciples

Shri Krishnadas Payahari's disciples included famous personalities in Ramanandi Hindu history. Many of his disciples were from Jammu, Himachal & Punjab region.

  1. Shri Kilhadeva was his prominent disciple who later on became second head of Galtaji peeth.
  2. Shri Agradeva who is associated with Raiwasa dham and who was guru of Shri Nabhadas was also Payahari's foremost disciple.
  3. Shri Bhagwanji, a Dogra Khajuria Brahmin, who was the founder of Thakurdwara at Pandori dham in Gurdaspur, Punjab.
  4. Shri Bawa Lal Dayal, a Hindu Ramanandi Khatri saint from Punjab and founder of Dhianpur Dham and several daughter branches in India.
  5. Shri Ram Thaman, another Hindu Ramanandi Khatri from Punjab who was founder of Ramanandi seat in West Punjab.[13]
  6. Raja Prithviraj of Amber who was father of Bharmal.
  7. Rani Apoorva Devi, wife of Raja Prthiviraj of Amber.

Literary works

There are three texts which have been attributed to Shri Krishnadas Payahari ji and these include: Brahmgita, Premtatva Nirupan, Jugalman Charit.[14]

See also

References

  1. 1 2 Bakshi, Shiri Ram (2000). Jaipur State Rulers and Their Diplomacy. Deep & Deep Publications. ISBN 978-81-7629-223-8. Payohari Krishnadas was the disciple of Anantananda who was a disciple of Ramananda, the founder of the Rama Bhakti school in northern India . In the Galta Gaddi Payohariji was succeeded by his disciple Kilhadevaji who in turn was...
  2. 1 2 Dalmia, Vasudha; Malinar, Angelika; Christof, Martin (2001). Charisma and Canon: Essays on the Religious History of the Indian Subcontinent. Oxford University Press. p. 197. ISBN 978-0-19-565453-0. The Rāmānandīs of Galta were the custodians of the famous monastery situated on the hill of Galta (near Jaipur) which had been founded by Krishnadas Payohari in the sixteenth century, the guru of Prithvi Singh of Amber.
  3. ↑ Gupta, R. K.; Bakshi, S. R. (2008). Rajsthan through the ages - Vol 4. Jaipur rulers and administrators. Sarup & sons. p. 118. ISBN 978-81-7625-841-8.
  4. ↑ "Official website for Kullu Dussehra". Retrieved 2021-06-15.
  5. ↑ Hare, James P. (2011). Garland of devotees: Nābhādās' Bhaktamāl and modern Hinduism (Thesis). Columbia University. doi:10.7916/d8vh5tn9.
  6. ↑ "पयहारी कृष्‍णदास". hi.krishnakosh.org (in Hindi). Retrieved 2023-05-20. पयहारी कृष्‍णदास जी गालव-ऋषि आश्रम के प्रसिद्ध संत थे। आपने आजन्‍म पय (दूध) का ही आहार किया, जिससे आप पयहारीबाबा के नाम से विख्‍यात हैं। आपकी जाति दाहिमा (दाधीच) ब्राह्मण थी। आप बालब्रह्मचारी थे। उदासीनता (वैराग्‍य) की तो पयहारी कृष्‍णदा मर्यादा ही थे।
  7. ↑ Nābhādāsa (1962). Śrībhaktamāla (in Hindi). Tejakumāra-Presa Bukaḍipo. आमेर अछत कूरम कौ द्वारिकानाथ दरसन दियौ। श्रीकृष्णदास उपदेस, परम तत्त्व परचौ पायौ॥
  8. ↑ "Goswāmi Tulasīdās". lordrama.co.in. Retrieved 2023-05-20.
  9. 1 2 Burchett, Patton E. (2019-05-28). A Genealogy of Devotion: Bhakti, Tantra, Yoga, and Sufism in North India. Columbia University Press. ISBN 978-0-231-54883-0. According to the tradition of Pindori Dhām, a major Rāmānandī center in the Gurdaspur district of Panjab, the young Bhagvān-jī met Kṛṣṇadās Payahārī at Galta while on a pilgrimage. Payahārī is said to have converted him to Vaiṣṇavism
  10. ↑ Taknet, D. K.; IntegralDMS (2016-07-07). Jaipur: Gem of India. IntegralDMS. ISBN 978-1-942322-05-4. Images of Narasimha were presented to him by the abbot of Galtaji, Sant Krishna Das Payohari, and can be seen today enshrined at the Narasimha temple located in the old fort of Amber.
  11. ↑ Kanika Agarwal (2013-08-23). "Kullu Dussehra: Divine assembly". ixigo Travel Stories. Retrieved 2023-05-21. The story goes that a Vaishnav saint, Krishnadas, advised Raja Jagat Singh (1637-62) of Kullu to somehow obtain the idols of Lord Ram and Sita, which were enshrined in Ayodhya's Tretanath Temple, if he wished to be cured of leprosy.
  12. ↑ BANERJEE, P. THE LIFE OF KRISHNA IN INDIAN ART. Publications Division Ministry of Information & Broadcasting. ISBN 978-81-230-3008-1. He is said to have also gone to Kullu and established a center at Nagar
  13. ↑ "संत परंपरा: वैष्णव भक्ति केंद्र गलताजी मठ". Jansatta (in Hindi). 2020-07-06. Retrieved 2023-10-23. गुरु नानक जी के मौसेरे भाई और रामानंदी संत बाबा राम थमन जी भी कृष्णदास पायोहारी की परंपरा से ही थे। बाबा राम थमन जी ने वर्तमान पाकिस्तान में कसूर से 20 किलोमीटर दूरी पर कालूखेड़ा नामक स्थान पर एक मठ की स्थापना की थी। स्वतंत्रता से पूर्व देश में बैसाखी पर सबसे बड़ा मेला इसी मठ पर भरता था।
  14. ↑ Singh, Dr Bhagwati Prasad (1957). Rambhakti Me Rasik Sampraday.


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