Ramananda

Sri Ramanandacharya was a poet, who was devoted to Vaishnavism.^[1] Most Hindu people think that he started Ramanandi Sampradaya.^[2] He was born in 1199 CE, and died some time from 1495 CE.^[3][4][5]

Little is known with certainty about the life of Ramananda, including year of birth and death^[6][7] The Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature give dates of 1366–1467 for his lifespan.^[8] His biography has been derived from mentions of him in secondary literature and inconsistent hagiographies.^[2][1][9]

The most accepted version holds that Ramananda was born in a Kanyakubja Brahmin family,^[10][8] about mid 14th-century, and died about mid 15th-century.^{[11][12][5][8]} Although few people hold him to be of southern origin, there's no evidence to support such a claim. In fact, all genuinely Indian sources agree in stating that Ramananda was born at Prayaga (Allahabad).^[13]

"Not one word is said as to his southern origin, and the fact that he was stated to be a Kanyakubja Brahmin is decisively against such a theory" –George A. Greirson (1920).^[13]

According to the medieval era Bhaktamala text by Nabhadas, Ramananda studied under Raghavananda, a guru (teacher) in Vedanta-based Vatakalai (northern, Rama-avatar) school of Vaishnavism.^[14]

"It was Ramananda's teacher, Raghavananda, who came from the South, and after much wandering had settled at Benares. There, and not in the South, he had Ramananda as his disciple." –George A. Greirson (1920).^[13]

Other scholars state that Ramananda's education started in Adi Shankara's Advaita Vedanta school, before he met Raghavananda and began his studies in Ramanuja's Vishishtadvaita Vedanta school.^[15]

1. ↑ ^{1.0 1.1} William Pinch (1996), Peasants and Monks in British India, University of California Press, ISBN 978-0520200616, pages 53-89
2. ↑ ^{2.0 2.1} Schomer and McLeod (1987), The Sants: Studies in a Devotional Tradition of India, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 9788120802773, pages 4-6
3. ↑ Charlotte Vaudeville (1974), Kabir, Vol. 1, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0198265269, pages 110-117
4. ↑ Selva Raj and William Harman (2007), Dealing with Deities: The Ritual Vow in South Asia, State University of New York Press, ISBN 978-0791467084, pages 165-185
5. ↑ ^{5.0 5.1} Nirmal Dass (2000), Songs of the Saints from the Adi Granth, State University of New York Press, ISBN 978-0791446843, page 160-164
6. ↑ James G Lochtefeld (2002), The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism: N-Z, Rosen Publishing, ISBN 978-0823931804, pages 553-554
7. ↑ Enzo Turbiani (Editor: RS McGregor, 1992), Devotional Literature in South Asia, Cambridge University Press, ISBN 978-0521413114, page 51
8. ↑ ^{8.0 8.1 8.2} Datta, Amaresh (1987). Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature: A-Devo, Volume 1. Sahitya Akademi. p. 79. ISBN 9788126018031.
9. ↑ Julia Leslie (1996), Myth and Mythmaking: Continuous Evolution in Indian Tradition, Routledge, ISBN 978-0700703036, pages 117-119
10. ↑ Macauliffe, Max Arthur (2013-03-28). The Sikh Religion: Its Gurus, Sacred Writings and Authors. Cambridge University Press. p. 100. ISBN 978-1-108-05548-2.
11. ↑ Charlotte Vaudeville (1974), Kabir, Vol. 1, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0198265269, pages 110-117
12. ↑ Selva Raj and William Harman (2007), Dealing with Deities: The Ritual Vow in South Asia, State University of New York Press, ISBN 978-0791467084, pages 165-185
13. ↑ ^{13.0 13.1 13.2} Grierson, George A. (1920). "The Home of Saint Ramananda". Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain and Ireland (4): 593. ISSN 0035-869X. JSTOR 25209662.
14. ↑ Karen Pechelis (2014), The Embodiment of Bhakti, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0195351903, page 36
15. ↑ Edmour J Babineau (2008), Love of God and Social Duty in the Rāmcaritmānas, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120823990, pages 65-66

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