Swami Bhaskarananda Saraswati - Revision history

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	\|image= Swami Bhaskarananda Saraswati.jpg		\|image= Swami Bhaskarananda Saraswati.jpg
	\|caption=		\|caption=
	\| religion = [[Hinduism]]		\|religion= [[Hinduism]]
	\|birth_date= 1833		\|birth_date= 1833
	\|birth_place=		\|birth_place= [[Kanpur Nagar district\|Kanpur district]], [[Uttar Pradesh]], [[company rule in India\|India]]
	\|birth_name=		\|birth_name=
	\|death_date= 1899		\|death_date= {{death year and age\|1899\|1833}}
	\|death_place= Varanasi		\|death_place= [[Varanasi]], Uttar Pradesh, [[British Raj\|India]]
	\|guru=		\|guru=
	\|philosophy=		\|philosophy=
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	'''Swami Bhaskarananda Saraswati''' (1833–1899) was a noted 19th-century [[sannyasin]] and saint of [[Varanasi]], [[India]].<ref>{{cite book \|title=Discourses on Hindu spiritual culture, (Volume 3)\|author=Akshay Kumar Banerjee \|year=1967 \|publisher=S. Chand \|page=42}}</ref> He wandered over India for thirteen years before settling in Anandabag near the Durga Mandir, in 1868. A Sanskrit and Vedic scholar turned ascetic of [[Dashanami]] ''Dandi sannyasi'' order, many kings visited him to seek advise, and he also reported be an advisor counsel to [[Kashi Naresh]] (Maharaja of [[Benares State\|Kingdom of Kashi]]), today his ''[[samadhi]]'' shrine is situated at ''Durga Kunda'', adjacent to the historic ''Durga Mandir'' in Varanasi.<ref name=liv>{{cite book \|title=Living Banaras: Hindu religion in cultural context\|author=Bradley R. Hertel \|author2=Cynthia Ann Humes \|year=1993 \|publisher=SUNY Press \|isbn=0-7914-1331-4 \|page=172 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r-OYL6Khg0UC&pg=PA172 \|author-link2=Cynthia Ann Humes }}</ref>		'''Swami Bhaskarananda Saraswati''' (1833–1899) was a noted 19th-century [[sannyasin]] and saint of [[Varanasi]], [[Indian subcontinent\|India]].<ref>{{cite book \|title=Discourses on Hindu spiritual culture, (Volume 3)\|author=Akshay Kumar Banerjee \|year=1967 \|publisher=S. Chand \|page=42}}</ref> He wandered over India for thirteen years before settling in Anandabag near the Durga Mandir, in 1868. A Sanskrit and Vedic scholar turned ascetic of [[Dashanami]] ''Dandi sannyasi'' order, many kings visited him to seek advise, and he also reported be an advisor counsel to [[Kashi Naresh]] (Maharaja of [[Benares State\|Kingdom of Kashi]]), today his ''[[samadhi]]'' shrine is situated at ''Durga Kunda'', adjacent to the historic ''Durga Mandir'' in Varanasi.<ref name=liv>{{cite book \|title=Living Banaras: Hindu religion in cultural context\|author=Bradley R. Hertel \|author2=Cynthia Ann Humes \|year=1993 \|publisher=SUNY Press \|isbn=0-7914-1331-4 \|page=172 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r-OYL6Khg0UC&pg=PA172 \|author-link2=Cynthia Ann Humes }}</ref>

	==Biography==		==Biography==
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	==His followers==		==His followers==
	[[Alexandra David-Néel]]~~, she~~ studied yoga with ~~the great Swami~~ Bhaskarananda ~~(of Varanasi), who lived the whole year in a rose garden~~.<ref>{{cite web \| url=http://www.mysteriouspeople.com/Alex_David-Neel.htm\| title=A Mystic in Tibet – Alexandra David-Neel\|work=mysteriouspeople.com}}</ref> He too was reputed to have yogic powers, and had foreseen his own death. Though his influence spanned all sections of society, the transformation of character of several notorious pandas wrought by his influence is especially worth mentioning.<ref>{{cite web \| url=http://www.hindupedia.com/en/Varanasi\| title=The Holy City of Vishwanatha\|work=hindupedia.com}}</ref> [[Jang Bahadur~~]] as known as~~ Maharaja Jung Bahadur Rana, the [[King of Nepal]] and founder of the Rana dynasty of Nepal, has written a pamphlet about Swami.<ref>{{cite book \| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Rwu4wNMj3ncC&q=Swami+Bhaskaranand+Saraswati&pg=PA780 \| title=Mark Twain's Adventures of Tom Sawyer\|author=Mark Twain\|publisher=Shoes & Ships & Sealing Wax\|year=2006\|isbn=0-9548401-8-6\|page=780}}</ref> [[Ernest Binfield Havell]] (1864–1937), a close friend of Indologist [[Sir John Woodroffe]] was also devoted to him.<ref>{{cite book \|title=Sir John Woodroffe, Tantra and Bengal: 'an Indian soul in a European body?' \|author=Kathleen Taylor\|year=2001 \|publisher=Routledge\|isbn=0-7007-1345-X \|page=96 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tcykYqIfNqsC&pg=PA96}}</ref>		[[Alexandra David-Néel]] studied yoga with Bhaskarananda.<ref>{{cite web \| url=http://www.mysteriouspeople.com/Alex_David-Neel.htm\| title=A Mystic in Tibet – Alexandra David-Neel\|work=mysteriouspeople.com}}</ref> [[Jang Bahadur\|Maharaja Jung Bahadur Rana]], the [[King of Nepal]] and founder of the Rana dynasty of Nepal, has written a pamphlet about Swami.<ref>{{cite book \| url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Rwu4wNMj3ncC&q=Swami+Bhaskaranand+Saraswati&pg=PA780 \| title=Mark Twain's Adventures of Tom Sawyer\|author=Mark Twain\|publisher=Shoes & Ships & Sealing Wax\|year=2006\|isbn=0-9548401-8-6\|page=780}} {{dl\|date=May 2022}}</ref> [[Ernest Binfield Havell]] (1864–1937), a close friend of Indologist [[Sir John Woodroffe]] was also devoted to him.<ref>{{cite book \|title=Sir John Woodroffe, Tantra and Bengal: 'an Indian soul in a European body?' \|author=Kathleen Taylor\|year=2001 \|publisher=Routledge\|isbn=0-7007-1345-X \|page=96 \|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tcykYqIfNqsC&pg=PA96}}</ref>

	==In popular culture==		==In popular culture==

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{{Infobox Hindu leader
|name= Swami Bhaskarananda Saraswati
|image= Swami Bhaskarananda Saraswati.jpg
|caption=
| religion = [[Hinduism]]
|birth_date= 1833
|birth_place=
|birth_name=
|death_date= 1899
|death_place= Varanasi
|guru=
|philosophy=
|honors=
|footnotes=
}}
'''Swami Bhaskarananda Saraswati''' (1833–1899) was a noted 19th-century [[sannyasin]] and saint of [[Varanasi]], [[India]].<ref>{{cite book |title=Discourses on Hindu spiritual culture, (Volume 3)|author=Akshay Kumar Banerjee |year=1967 |publisher=S. Chand |page=42}}</ref> He wandered over India for thirteen years before settling in Anandabag near the Durga Mandir, in 1868. A Sanskrit and Vedic scholar turned ascetic of [[Dashanami]] ''Dandi sannyasi'' order, many kings visited him to seek advise, and he also reported be an advisor counsel to [[Kashi Naresh]] (Maharaja of [[Benares State|Kingdom of Kashi]]), today his ''[[samadhi]]'' shrine is situated at ''Durga Kunda'', adjacent to the historic ''Durga Mandir'' in Varanasi.<ref name=liv>{{cite book |title=Living Banaras: Hindu religion in cultural context|author=Bradley R. Hertel |author2=Cynthia Ann Humes |year=1993 |publisher=SUNY Press |isbn=0-7914-1331-4 |page=172 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r-OYL6Khg0UC&pg=PA172 |author-link2=Cynthia Ann Humes }}</ref>

==Biography==
[[File:Bhaskarananda_Saraswati.jpg|thumb|left|c. 1925]]
[[File:Varanasi_India.jpg|right|thumb|''Durga Kund'' (pond) adjacent to the [[Durga]] [[Mandir]], where Swami Bhaskarananda's ''[[samadhi]]'' shrine lies, Varanasi]]
Swamiji's pre-monastic name was Matiram Misra. Born into a [[Brahmin]] family in [[Kanpur Nagar district|Kanpur district]], [[Uttar Pradesh]],<ref name=th/> was invested with the [[sacred thread]] at the age of eight and was married at the age of twelve. From age eight to seventeen, he was a diligent and most successful student of [[Sanskrit]]. A son was born to him at the age of eighteen. By this event he was, in his own opinion, freed from any further social obligations. So one day he disappeared from his father's house and went on foot to [[Ujjain]], where he put up a temple of Siva. He continued his Vedantic studies and also started practicing yoga. He then traveled to all the parts of India and devoted to study [[Vedanta philosophy]]<ref name=myref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9iCFPLvhARIC&pg=PA208|title=Mystics, Ascetics and Saints of India|author=John Campbell Oman|publisher=Kessinger Publishing|year=2003|page=208|isbn=0-7661-4756-8}}</ref> from noted masters including Pandit Anant Ram of [[Patna]], who was at [[Haridwar]] at the time. At about age 27, he was initiated into the holy order of ''[[Sannyas]]'' by Paramahamsa Swami Purnananda Saraswati of Ujjain, and christened Swami Bhaskarananda Saraswati, a name by which he was known afterwards.<ref name=th>{{cite journal |author=Theosophical Society (Madras, India)|journal=[[The Theosophist]] |year= 1899 |volume= 20 |page=697|publisher=Theosophical Pub. House }}</ref>

For thirty-five years Swami traveled around India, always practicing [[Tapas (Sanskrit)|tapas]]. From his long ineffable knowledge he had desired, he settled down for the remainder of his life in the sacred city of [[Varanasi]] and miracles of healing were attributed to him.<ref name=myref />

Today, his ''[[samadhi]]'' shrine situated at ''Durga Kunda'', adjacent to the historic ''Durga Mandir'' in Varanasi is maintained by a small trust.<ref name=liv/>

==His followers==
[[Alexandra David-Néel]], she studied yoga with the great Swami Bhaskarananda (of Varanasi), who lived the whole year in a rose garden.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.mysteriouspeople.com/Alex_David-Neel.htm| title=A Mystic in Tibet – Alexandra David-Neel|work=mysteriouspeople.com}}</ref> He too was reputed to have yogic powers, and had foreseen his own death. Though his influence spanned all sections of society, the transformation of character of several notorious pandas wrought by his influence is especially worth mentioning.<ref>{{cite web | url=http://www.hindupedia.com/en/Varanasi| title=The Holy City of Vishwanatha|work=hindupedia.com}}</ref> [[Jang Bahadur]] as known as Maharaja Jung Bahadur Rana, the [[King of Nepal]] and founder of the Rana dynasty of Nepal, has written a pamphlet about Swami.<ref>{{cite book | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Rwu4wNMj3ncC&q=Swami+Bhaskaranand+Saraswati&pg=PA780 | title=Mark Twain's Adventures of Tom Sawyer|author=Mark Twain|publisher=Shoes & Ships & Sealing Wax|year=2006|isbn=0-9548401-8-6|page=780}}</ref> [[Ernest Binfield Havell]] (1864–1937), a close friend of Indologist [[Sir John Woodroffe]] was also devoted to him.<ref>{{cite book |title=Sir John Woodroffe, Tantra and Bengal: 'an Indian soul in a European body?' |author=Kathleen Taylor|year=2001 |publisher=Routledge|isbn=0-7007-1345-X |page=96 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=tcykYqIfNqsC&pg=PA96}}</ref>

==In popular culture==

He also finds mention in [[Mark Twain]]'s non-fiction travelogue ''[[Following the Equator]]'' (1897), who met Swami in [[Varanasi]].<ref>[http://www.literaturecollection.com/a/twain/following-equator/54/ Following the Equator – Chapter 53 (Text)] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101217164336/http://literaturecollection.com/a/twain/following-equator/54/ |date=17 December 2010 }}. literaturecollection.com</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=The Great Encounter: A study of Indo-American literature and cultural relations|author=Raj Kumar Gupta |publisher=Abhinav Publications|year= 1986 |isbn=81-7017-211-X |page=125 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=S720d-apN-kC&pg=PA125}}</ref> Apart from that American explorer couple, [[Fanny Bullock Workman]] and William Hunter Workman also met him at the Ananda Bagh garden.<ref>{{cite book |title= Through town and jungle: fourteen thousand miles a-wheel among the temples and people or the Indian plain|author=William Hunter Workman |author2=Fanny Bullock Workman |author-link2= Fanny Bullock Workman|year=1904|publisher=T. F. Unwin }}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist|30em}}

==Further reading==
* {{cite book |title=Yatindra Charitam or short life of Swami Bhaskarananda Saraswati of Benares |url=https://archive.org/details/yatindracharitam00chat |author=Gopal Chunder Chatterjee|year=1893}}
* {{cite book |title=List of foreign visitors to Shree Swami Bhaskaranand Saraswati at Benares: With a portrait and brief sketch of his sacred life |author=Swayam Prakashanand Maithila|year=1902|publisher=Bharat-jiwau Press}}
*W. M. Zumbro, ''Religious Penances and Punishments Self-inflicted by the Holy Men of India'' in ''[[National Geographic (magazine)|National Geographic]]'', December 1913, ''page 1309''.
*Swami Varishthananda, ''Varanasi: The City of Saints, Sages, and Savants'' in ''[[Prabuddha Bharata]]'', November 2007, ''page 633''.

==External links==
* [https://www.loc.gov/pictures/collection/wtc/item/2004707381/ The Holy Man of Benares – Swami Bhaskarananda Saraswathi (LOC)] by [[William Henry Jackson]], 1843–1942 photographer
* [http://www.hindupedia.com/en/Varanasi#Saints_of_Modern_Times Swami Bhaskarananda] at ''Hindupedia''.

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saraswati, Swami Bhaskarananda}}
[[Category:1833 births]]
[[Category:Date of birth missing]]
[[Category:1899 deaths]]
[[Category:Date of death missing]]
[[Category:19th-century Hindu religious leaders]]
[[Category:Advaitin philosophers]]
[[Category:Hindu mystics]]
[[Category:Indian Hindu spiritual teachers]]
[[Category:Indian Hindu saints]]
[[Category:Indian Hindu monks]]
[[Category:Scholars from Varanasi]]
[[Category:People from Kanpur Nagar district]]
[[Category:19th-century Indian philosophers]]