Raskhan

Name	Sayyad Ibrahim "Raskhan"
Born	1548 A.D.
Birth Place	Amroha, India
Died	1628 A.D.
Death Place	Vrindavan
Religion	Hindu, Muslim
Poetry Collection	Raskhan Rachnavali

Raskhan (born 1548 A.D.) was a poet who was both a Muslim and a follower(bhakt) of Lord Krishna. His birth name was Sayyad Ibrahim and is known to have lived in Amroha, India. Raskhan (रसखान) was his pen name in Hindi. In his early years, he became a follower of Lord Krishna and learned the religion from Goswami Vitthalnath and began living in Vrindavan and spent his whole life there. According to him lord Krishna was the most powerful and the greatest and was willing to give the greatest of the riches to have anything touched or belonging to Lord Krishna or be in his presence. But, he died in 1628 A.D. His samadhi is at Mahaban which is situated about six miles east of Mathura.

Scholars disagree about his year of birth. Estimates include 1614 and 1630, while Mishra Bandhu believes that Raskhan was born in 1558 and died in 1628. Most of the scholars say Raskhan was a Pathan Sardar and his birthplace was Kabul, Afghanistan. Hazari Prasad Dwivedi claims in his book Raskhan was born Saiyad Ibrahim, and that Khan was his title. Raskhan was the son of a jagirdar (rich landowner)and lived in luxury in his youth. He received a good education. Raskhan spoke both Hindi and Persian; he translated "Bhagavata Purana" into Persian. His shrine is located in Gokul near the Yamuna river, Bhramand Ghat. It is a very peaceful place. Many Krishna devotees go there to pay their respects and meditate.

According to one story, as contained in the medieval text Bhaktakalpadruma, he once travelled to Brindavan along with his Sufi preceptor. There he fell unconscious and had a vision of Krishna. Thereafter, he remained in Brindavan till he breathed his last.

Another version has it that Ras Khan fell in love with a very proud woman. Later, when he read the Bhagwat Purana he was so deeply impressed by the unselfish love of the gopis for Krishna that he left his proud mistress and headed straight for Brindavan.

There is, however, an even more intriguing story that is contained in some of the hagiographic material about Ras Khan. In the Bhavaprakash of the seventeenth century, we are told by Vaishnavite scholar Hari Ray, that Ibrahim Khan earlier lived in Delhi, where he had fallen madly in love with the son of a Hindu merchant. 'He watched him day and night', says Hari Ray, 'and even ate his left-overs'. This angered his fellow Muslims, who branded him as a disbeliever. But Ibrahim Khan, we are told, did not care or relent, answering, very simply, as Hari Ray puts it, 'I am as I am'.

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