Baladeva Vidyabhushana, Gaudiya Guru & Great Scholar.. Sri Baladeva Vidyabhushana (18th Century AD) was a Gaudiya Guru, and he was a great scholar. He was born at a village in Odisha, and he was under the lineage of Sri Shyamananda Prabhu, and he has learnt Vedas, Puranas and Shastras, and become a great Madhwa Saint. His spiritual Gurus were Sri Radha Damodhar and Sri Viswanatha Chakravarthy. Due to his vast Vedic knowledge, he was honoured by the great Pratap Singh of Jaipur.
He has undergone Holy pilgrimage to various places in India. In course of time, he has become a staunch follower of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, a powerful incarnation of Lord Krishna. Baladeva lived his life as per the teachings of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, and also become a staunch devotee of Lord Krishna.For some time he went to Vrindavan in order to visit the temples of Lord Krishna.
He has written a good commentary on Sri Brahma-sutra, and for that master piece work, he was honouredby King Jai Singh and it is believed that Sri Baladeva has received the title “Vidyabhusana” from a Jaipur King.
Sri Baladeva used to write most of his texts by sitting in a Krishna Temple in Vrindavan since he found the place to be very calm and pleasant to make a creative thinking.
IMPORTANT WORKS
1. Siddhanta-ratnam
2. Prameya-ratnavali
3. Siddhanta-darpana
4. Kavya-kaustubha
5. Vyakarana-kaumudi
6. Pada-kaustubha
7. Isadi-upanisadbhasya
Sri Baladeva insists the devotees of Lord Krishna to worship Ma Radharani also, along with Lord Krishna, since Ma Radharani is considered to be an incarnation of Ma Lakshmi Devi. Sri Baladeva had participated in many debates and also won in those debates. He was warmly welcomed by the Mathura people, whenever he visit that holy place, since his divine discourse on Srimad Bhagavatham was very much liked by the people of Mathura.
Sri Baladeva Vidyabhushana had also installed the Deities of Sri Krishna and Ma Radha at a temple in Vrindavana.
Sri Baladeva Vidyabhushana has also served as a holy pontiff in the Gaudiya Vaisnava sampradaya.
His two bright disciples are Sri Uddhavadasa and Sri Nanda Misra.
His samadhi shrine is situated nearby Sri Radha Krishna Temple, Sevakunj, Vrindavan.
“OM SRI BALADEVAYA NAMAHA”
WRITTEN BY
R.HARISHANKAR