Umapati Dhara

Last updated

Umapati Dhara
Personal
Bornc. 1120 (1120)
Sonargaon (সুবর্ণগ্রাম), Narayanganj District , Sena dynasty , present-day Bangladesh,
Diedc. 1220(1220-00-00) (aged 99–100)
Religion Hinduism
Nationality Indian
Denomination Vaishnavism
Relatives Uddharan Dutta Thakura , Haladhar Sen, Gouri Sen
HonorsPancharatna, Pancharatna appeared in the court of King Lakshmanasena of Navadwipa in Bengal - Jayadeva , Umapati Dhara, Dhoyin, Sharan and Govardhana (poet) Article Talk are one jewel form of that Pancharatna .

Umapati Dhara (উমাপতি ধর, c. 1150–1240) was the chief minister in the court of Lakshmana Sena (ruler from the Sena dynasty of the Bengal region on the Indian subcontinent). and one of the court poets of Lakshmana Sena. [1] Several Prashasti like the Deopara Prashasti , a stone inscription eulogizing the Sena kings of Bengal was written by him. He is one of the Pancharatna in the court of Lakshmana Sena. [2] Jayadeva was the middle jewel of this Pancharatna. [3] The identity of these four Kavibandhus of Jayadeva might have been lost forever if the poet Jayadeva had not mentioned their names and poetic qualities in 'Gita Govinda' [4] [5] However, earlier Lakshmanasena's court poet, Batudas's son Sridhardas, has compiled Saduktikarnamrita [6] by including many verses of these four poets, he saved their poetry from oblivion. According to Jayadeva, Umapatidhar's characteristic of writing was to enrich the words and sentences. [7] His famous works were the Deoparaprashasti and the Madhainagar copper plates [8] He also wrote a book Chandrachudacharita, in Sanskrit, which has not been found. [9]

Contents

Personal life

Umapati Dhara was born into a rich Jamindar family from the Baidya caste. He was one of the five gems of Sanskrit scholars, which was mentioned at the court of Lakshmana Sena. [10] His father Kanjilal Dhar lived in Sonergram, whose sister Bhagabati Devi was married to Bhabesh Dutta relative of Gouri Sen a reputed gold merchant in the era of Ballāla Sena. [8] [11]

See also

Related Research Articles

Nauratan/Navaratnas or Nauratan was a term applied to a group of nine extraordinary people in an emperor's court in India. The well-known Navaratnas include the ones in the courts of the legendary emperor Vikramaditya, the 16th-century Mughal emperor Akbar, and the 18th-century feudal lord Raja Krishnachandra.

<i>Gita Govinda</i> Medieval Indian text based on Hindu god Radha and Krishna

The Gita Govinda is a work composed by the 12th-century Hindu poet, Jayadeva. It describes the relationship between Krishna, Radha and gopis of Vrindavan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sena dynasty</span> Hindu dynasty of Bengal region, ruled 10th to 12th century

The Sena dynasty was a Hindu dynasty during the early medieval period on the Indian subcontinent, that ruled from Bengal through the 11th and 12th centuries. The empire at its peak covered much of the north-eastern region of the Indian subcontinent. The rulers of the Sena Dynasty traced their origin to the south Indian region of Karnataka.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">History of Bengal</span>

The history of Bengal is intertwined with the history of the broader Indian subcontinent and the surrounding regions of South Asia and Southeast Asia. It includes modern-day Bangladesh and the Indian states of West Bengal, Tripura and Assam's Karimganj district, located in the eastern part of the Indian subcontinent, at the apex of the Bay of Bengal and dominated by the fertile Ganges delta. The region was known to the ancient Greeks and Romans as Gangaridai, a powerful kingdom whose war elephant forces led the withdrawal of Alexander the Great from India. Some historians have identified Gangaridai with other parts of India. The Ganges and the Brahmaputra rivers act as a geographic marker of the region, but also connects the region to the broader Indian subcontinent. Bengal, at times, has played an important role in the history of the Indian subcontinent.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bengali literature</span> Texts composed in the Bengali language

Bengali literature denotes the body of writings in the Bengali language and which covers Old Bengali, Middle- Bengali and Modern Bengali with the changes through the passage of time and dynastic patronization or non-patronization. Bengali has developed over the course of roughly 1,300 years. If the emergence of the Bengali literature supposes to date back to roughly 650 AD, the development of Bengali literature claims to be 1600 years old. The earliest extant work in Bengali literature is the Charyapada, a collection of Buddhist mystic songs in Old Bengali dating back to the 10th and 11th centuries. The timeline of Bengali literature is divided into three periods: ancient (650–1200), medieval (1200–1800) and modern. Medieval Bengali literature consists of various poetic genres, including Hindu religious scriptures, Islamic epics, Vaishnava texts, translations of Arabic, Persian and Sanskrit texts, and secular texts by Muslim poets. Novels were introduced in the mid-19th century. Nobel laureate Rabindranath Tagore is the best known figure of Bengali literature to the world. Kazi Nazrul Islam, notable for his activism and anti-British literature, was described as the Rebel Poet and is now recognised as the National poet of Bangladesh.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kamboja Pala dynasty</span> Historical dynasty ruling parts of Bengal in the 10th-11th centuries

The Kamboja-Pala dynasty ruled parts of Bengal in the 10th to 11th centuries CE, after invading the Palas during the reign of Gopala II. The last Kamboja ruler of the Kamboja-Pala Dynasty Dharmapala was defeated by the south Indian Emperor Rajendra Chola I of the Chola dynasty in the 11th century.

The birthplace of the twelfth-century Sanskrit poet Jayadeva, author of the Gitagovinda, has been disputed, with the neighboring states of Odisha, West Bengal in eastern India and the region of Mithila staking a claim. This had led to a bitter feud between people on both sides that lasted for over a century. The issue is still debated by scholars.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Godagari Upazila</span> Upazila in Rajshahi, Bangladesh

Godagari is an Upazila of Rajshahi District in the Division of Rajshahi, Bangladesh. This is the place where Mahananda river fall to Padma or Ganges.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Culture of Bengal</span> Overview of the Bengali culture

The culture of Bengal defines the cultural heritage of the Bengali people native to eastern regions of the Indian subcontinent, mainly what is today Bangladesh and the Indian states of West Bengal and Tripura, where they form the dominant ethnolinguistic group and the Bengali language is the official and primary language. Bengal has a recorded history of 1,400 years.

Dhoyin or Dhoyī was a 12th century Sanskrit-language poet who composed the Pavanadūta. He was a court poet of the Sena king Lakshmana Sena, who ruled Gauda in what is now Bengal.

Brajabuli is an artificial literary language popularized by the Maithili poet Vidyapati. His Brajabuli lyrics about the love which were turned out to be for Radha Krishna later on these are considered his best work. Other poets emulated his writing, and the language became established in the 16th century. Among the medieval Bengali poets who wrote in Brajabuli are Narottama Dasa, Balarama Das, Jnanadas, and Gobindadas Kabiraj.

Lakshmana Sena or Lakshman Sen was the ruler from the Sena dynasty of the Bengal region on the Indian subcontinent. His rule lasted for 28 years.

Ballāla Sena or Ballal Sen, also known as Ballal Sen in vernacular literature, was the second ruler of the Sena dynasty of Bengal region of the Indian subcontinent. He was the son and successor of Vijaya Sena, and ended the Pala Empire by defeating Govinda Pala.

Kenduli Sasan in Khurda district is the birthplace of the Sanskrit lyricist, Jayadeva. Medieval Indian literature refer to this place by the name Kenduvilva.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Syed Abdus Samad (footballer)</span> Indian footballer

Syed Abdus Samad was an Indian football player from Bengal. Dubbed "Football Jadukor", he played for India national football team in 1924 and captained it in 1926. He played as a forward.

The Deopara Prashasti is a stone inscription (prashasti) eulogizing the Sena kings of Bengal. It was composed by Umapati Dhara, a minister in the court of Lakshmana Sena, who was also one of several court poets. The inscription particularly praises Lakshmana Sena's grandfather Vijaya Sena. The alphabet is a precursor of the modern Bengali alphabet, with 22 letters approximating the modern forms. The stone tablet was found in 1865 near the village of Deopara, now in Godagari Upazila of Rajshahi District of modern-day Bangladesh. This inscription described that Sena king Bijay Sen is the real founder of the Sena Empire.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mrinalini Devi</span> Wife of Rabindranath Tagore

Mrinalini Devi was a translator and the wife of Nobel laureate poet, philosopher, author and musician Rabindranath Tagore. She was from the Jessore district, where her father worked at the Tagore estate. In 1883, at the age of nine, she married Tagore.

Sharan was a Sanskrit poet of the 12th century AD from Bengal. He was among five gems at the court of Lakshmana Sena.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Uddharan Dutta Thakura</span> Indian philosopher

Uddharan Dutta Takur (উদ্ধারণ দত্ত ঠাকুর) was an Indian philosopher and saint from the Gaudiya Vaishnava school of Vedanta tradition, producing a great number of philosophical works on the theology and practice of Bhakti yoga, Vaishnava Vedanta and associated disciplines. He is known as one of the Dwadasha gopas,.

References

  1. Akshay Kumar Maitra (2012). Rachana Sangraha. Kolkata: Parul Prakashan. ISBN   9789382300182.
  2. Sunil Chattopadhyay (2018). Prachin Bharater Itihas (Part II) History Of Ancient India. Kolkata: West Bengal State Book Board. p. 540. ISBN   978-81-247-0648-0.
  3. Dasa, Banamali (1934). Dasa Goswami, Babaji Baishnaba Charana (ed.). Banamali Padyabali (in Odia). Cuttack: Arunodaya Pustakalaya.
  4. "Uddharana Datta Thakura". archive.org. 1904.
  5. দীননাথ ধর (1904). উদ্ধারণ দত্ত ঠাকুর [সংস্করণ-২]. Kolkata: Hare Press. p. 94.
  6. Alam, Aksadul (2012), "Saduktikarnamrita", in Sirajul Islam; Ahmed A. Jamal (eds.), Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.), Asiatic Society of Bangladesh
  7. Choudhury, Kamal (2017). Nadiyar Bitihas Part 1. Kolkata: Dey's Publishing. ISBN   9788129513809.
  8. 1 2 Alam, Aksadul (2012), "Deopara Prashasti", in Sirajul Islam; Ahmed A. Jamal (eds.), Banglapedia: National Encyclopedia of Bangladesh (Second ed.), Asiatic Society of Bangladesh
  9. Siegfried Lienhard (1984). A History of Classical Poetry: Sanskrit, Pali, Prakrit. A History of Indian Literature. Otto Harrassowitz Verlag. p. 18. ISBN   978-3-447-02425-9.
  10. Ray, Niharranjan (1994). History of the Bengali People: Ancient Period. Orient Longman. p. 223. ISBN   978-0-86311-378-9.
  11. Rakhaldas Bandyopadhyay (1919), The Origin of the Bengali Script, University of Calcutta available in Wikimedia Commons

Further reading