Brief Life History of Rajguru Pandit
Haridutt Shastri,
Vidyaratna, Vidyalaankar,
Dharmadhureen, Dehradun
As
written by Brahmadutt Trivedi[1]; English Translation:
Anisha Shekhar Mukherji
India
has always been a land of philosophers from countless ages. Great and uniquely
endowed souls such as Rama, Lakshmana, Krishna, Shivi, Dadhichi, etc. have
taken avatars here for the well-being of the world. Similarly in the middle
ages, there have been luminaries such as Shankara, Ramanuja, Kabir, Sur and
Tulsi, because of whom this world has been rendered proud. Even today there
have been men of this age such as the greatest among poets, Rabindra, and the
father of the nation, Gandhi, who have lifted India’s banner high. The position
of Rajguru Dharmadhurin Haridutt Shastriji in contemporary Indian philosophical
life has the same significance.
Born in
Samvat 1932 in the month of Pausa in Tehri Garhwal, his mother was named Nandini.
His father, Pandit Krishna Chandra Joshi, was of the lineage of the Diwans of
Jihan Kumaon. Pandit Krishna Chandra Joshi Diwan came to Tehri in 1903, and despite
his entire life being devoted to the service of the kingdom, remained a great
scholar of Jyotish and Tantra Shastra and a practitioner of Yoga. Pandit
Haridutt Shastri’s maternal grandfather Rajguru Pandit Radhapati’s son, Pandit
RamaKrishna was also a Rajguru.
When
Shastriji was four years old, his father passed away. He had left behind
instructions not to send his son to any pathshala, but to keep writing with
vaghav beej ashwagandha on his tongue. This was done.
Mother Nandini was a
scholar of Jyotish Shastra and had deep knowledge of traditional plant lore and
medicines. Constantly impelled with the wish to serve the poor and needy,
whenever she heard of any children in ill-health in her village or town, she
would immediately go there with her roots and plants and heal them of illness.
She got
the child Haridutt’s Upanayan ceremony done when he was eight years old, and
after that he would accompany her everyday to bathe in the Ganga. She taught
him to recite and learn Rudradhyaya and Durgapath. One day while he was on his
way to bathe in the Ganga, a karal snake bit him and he was unconscious for 24
hours. But then a sadhu came and revived him by chanting a mantra. He then
taught him Amarkosh and the first few chapters of the Ramayana. His initial
education continued at home with his mother, who taught him Jyotish through
history and sometimes taught him about planets by studying the evening sky.
At 12
years of age, he started teaching young boys Sanskrit as a way to earn his livelihood.
Everyone was amazed at the fact that this child had such knowledge of Sanskrit
without any formal training. The Maharani then summoned him with reverence and
organised the katha of Ganesh Purana. For two years, he enumerated the katha of
the Puranas at the court.
In the summers ascetics often went to Uttarkashi,
which is at a distance of 41 miles from Tehri. Since Tehri was a small town,
mother Nandini would invite the Mahatmas who came there and honour them at her
home. When Swami Dayanand Saraswati came there, mother sought his blessings for
her son. He then blessed him saying, “Son, may your proficiency in vedä and
vyakaran increase”.
(This is part of the translation, the rest of Panditji's life-history as written by Shri Brahmadutt Trivedi will follow)
[1] The
biography of Rajguru Pandit Haridutt Shastri appears in the Preface to the
Commentary written on Lalitasahranam
by Rajguru Pandit Haridutt Shastri (Published by Mansukhrai Mor, Calcutta, 1st
edition Vikramsamvat 2010, CE 1954.)
Well done Mama!
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