Mar 19, 2015 — CANADA (SUN) —
Chapter IX. Vasudeva Sarvabhauma - Part One
We have incidentally mentioned Vasudeva Sarvabhauma in a previous lecture in connection with a controversial discussion which he held with Chaitanya at Puri on spiritual matters, and his eventual defeat and acceptance of Chaitanya as his master (Guru) and the true interpreter of religious truths.
Vasudeva Sarvabhauma was unquestionably at the head of the scholars of Eastern India at the time. Having read the Upanishads at Benares he became a pupil of the celebrated Paksadhara Misra of Mithila, which, during the youth of Sarvabhauma, was the most important centre of learning in Northern India. The proud position, however, of this place it was reserved for Vasudeva himself to break down in latter years. He succeeded in establishing the glory of the tol he founded at Nadiya - far exceeding that won by the college where he had completed his education.
The rise of the Navadvipa school of Logic.
Paksadhara Misra made it a condition with his pupils that they were not to transcribe any copy of Chintamani by Gangesa Upadhyaya for their own use. This book was the store-house of contemporaneous knowledge of Logic; and Paksadhara having in his possession the only manuscript of the great work, jealously guarded it for the benefit of his own college. His own interpretations of the work and teaching on the subject were also considered to be of rare value. So that as far as Logic (which was one of the most important branches of learning at the period) was concerned, the reputation of the Mithila College was far greater than that of any other college in Upper India.
As no copy of the work was allowed to be made, each pupil of Paksadhara having to take a solemn vow to that effect before the teacher gave him lessons on the subject, the precious learning lay confined within the four walls of his college-room. However complete their education at Mithila, his pupils could not disseminate so perfect a knowledge of the subject in their respective countries, without having in their possession any copy of the original work, which was further enriched by the annotations of several generations of accomplished teachers of Mithila.
Vasudeva Sarvabhauma committed to memory not only the four parts of Chintamani with its valuable store of annotations, but also a very considerable portion of the famous work Kusumanjali. Without violating the conditions to which he had subscribed, he came to Nadiya fully equipped with the latest knowledge, and founded a tol there, the reputation of which soon spread far and wide, drawing hosts of pupils from all recognised centres of Sanskrit learning throughout India, till the fame of the Mithila College rapidly diminished and was eventually extinguished.
Vasudeva's teachings gave a fresh stimulus to the cause of the study of Logic and his famous pupil Raghunatha Siromani's name stands first in the list of those who founded the new school of Logic named Navya Nyaya which to this day remains a monument of the keenness of the Bengali intellect.
Raghunatha his worthy disciple.
Raghunatha was a son of a widowed Brahman woman who earned her living by doing menial work at the house of Sarvabhauma. When only a lad of 3, Raghunatha was asked by Sarvabhauma to get some bits of burning wood from the kitchen for his pipe. The boy first took a quantity of dust in his hand and thus protected brought the bits of burning wood to his master. It is said that this little incident struck the teacher as a sign of the boy's intellectual powers and he undertook to teach him himself. At 5 when Raghunatha began to read the alphabets, he startled his teacher by the question "Sir why is the letter '^' placed before '^' ? What harm if their situation is changed?"
Raghunatha afterwards rose to conspicuous fame and eclipsed that of his contemporaries in the field of Logic. Vasudeva's own work in Sanskrit 'Sarvabhauma-Nirukti' gave the first start to the pure intellectual basis on which this new school of Logic is founded. Gautama had kept the subject on a spiritual plane, but Navya Nyaya entirely freed it from monastic thrall.
The Mahomedan persecution and the flight of Vasudeva from Nadiya.
The tol of Vasudeva flourished in Nadiya between 1470 and 1480 A.D., but a great calamity befell the Hindu residents of the ancient city later on. It was reported to Husen Sha, the Emperor of Gauda, that a persistent rumour of a prophetic nature was in the air that the Brahmans of Nadiya would once more assert their supremacy in Bengal. The fire of heroism still lingered in the old Capital of the Hindu Kings, as the residents of the place were fine archers and had retained till then some of their warlike traits. The Emperor believed in the prophecy and ordered a general devastation of the place and a forcible conversion of its Brahmans to Islam.
The prophecy referred to is mentioned in the Chaitanya Mangal by Jayananda, who was a contemporary of Chaitanya, and confirmed by Vrndavana Dasa in his Chaitanya Bhagavata written in 1530.
The angry monarch sent a strong Mahomedan army which was stationed at the village of Pirulya near Nadiya, and forcibly converted the Brahmans to the Islamic faith. This is the origin of the Pirulya Brahmans. We are told how the Hindus were not permitted to sound the conch shell in their temples and bathe in the Ganges; if they did so they were forcibly served with beef. The temples were desecrated, the fig trees, sacred to the Hindus, were uprooted, and a general panic seized the inhabitants of the old city who fled from it in great numbers and settled in other provinces. Mahesvara Visarada, the father of Sarvabhauma, went to Benares at this juncture, and the latter fled to Puri. Sarvabhauma's brother Vidyavachaspati deserted his country-seat and settled in a different part of Bengal.
Honoured by the King of Orissa.
So great was the fame of Vasudeva as a scholar that Pratapa Rudra, the king of Orissa, accorded him a royal reception, offering him a gold throne next to his own in his court. Thus honoured Vasudeva continued to live at Puri. We also learn from Jayananda's work how a change came over the spirit of Husen Sha's administration. He shortly after repented of his oppression, being convinced of the innocence of the Nadiya Brahmans and repaired as far as was possible the wrongs inflicted on them.
Husen Sha had before this time destroyed some of the great temples of Orissa and led an expedition to conquer the province. But Pratapa Rudra was more than his match in the field. Not only he obliged Husen Sha to retreat, but himself planned an expedition, by way of retaliation, for the conquest of Bengal. Owing to some cause he could not however carry out his plan. He effectively held, however, the aggressive Islam spirit in check so far as his vast kingdom was concerned.
