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Bhaktivinoda Thakura

Bhaktivinoda Thakur
ভক্তিবিনোদ ঠাকুর (Bengali)
A close-up portrait of an old man with grey hair and thick wooden necklace beads
Bhaktivinoda Thakur ca.1910
Religion Hinduism
Philosophy Vedanta: acintya bheda-abheda
Personal
Nationality Indian
Born Kedarnath Datta
(1838-09-02)2 September 1838
Birnagar, British India
Died 23 June 1914(1914-06-23) (aged 75)
Calcutta, Indian Empire
Spouse
  • Shaymani Devi (m. 1849–61)
  • Bhagavati Devi (m. 1861–1914)
Children Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, Lalita Prasad, twelve other children
Relatives Narottama Dasa (distant ancestor), Kashiprasad Ghosh (maternal uncle)
Guru Bipin Bihari Goswami, Jagannatha Dasa Babaji
Literary works Krishna-samhita, Caitanya-siksamrita, Jaiva-dharma, Svalikhita-jivani. See bibliography
Honors Bhaktivinoda, "the seventh goswami"
Influenced Gaurakisora Dasa Babaji, Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Signature Close-up on Bengali words handwritten with angular, jaunty letters

"Many obstacles are a good sign" (from Svalikhita-jivani)

Bhaktivinoda Thakur (Bengali pronunciation: [bʱɔktibinod̪o t̪ʰakur]), also written Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura) (2 September 1838 – 23 June 1914), born Kedarnath Datta (Kedarnath Datta, Bengali: [kedɔrnɔt̪ʰ d̪ɔt̪t̪o]), was a prominent thinker of Bengali Renaissance and a leading philosopher, savant and spiritual reformer of Gaudiya Vaishnavism who effected its resurgence in India in late 19th and early 20th century and was hailed by contemporary scholars as the most influential Gaudiya Vaishnava leader of his time. He is also credited, along with his son Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, with pioneering the propagation of Gaudiya Vaishnavism in the West and its eventual global spread.

Kedarnath Datta was born on 2 September 1838 in the town of Birnagar, Bengal Presidency, in a traditional Hindu family of wealthy Bengali landlords. After a village schooling, he continued his education at Hindu College in Calcutta, where he acquainted himself with contemporary Western philosophy and theology. There he became a close associate of prominent literary and intellectual figures of the Bengal Renaissance, such as Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar, Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, and Sisir Kumar Ghosh. At 18, he began a teaching career in rural areas of Bengal and Orissa until he became an employee with the British Raj in the Judicial Service, from which he retired in 1894 as District Magistrate.


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