MHD 2 Block 1 Unit 1

Bharatendu Harishchandra ka Kavya

In the nineteenth century, Bharatendu Harishchandra entered the world of Hindi literature and started a new phase. Before Bharatendu, Reeti-kavya was the most dominant kind of poetry. The poetry of Reeti-kaal is full of Shringar Rasa or romantic poetic pleasure. But, it was also full of the negativities of prejudice and harshly full of all sorts of stereotypes, especially, gender stereotype. The only purpose of this poetry was to entertain the rich and the powerful nawabs and the like. In their rich parties the nawabs and their guests sought a decadent sort of pleasure bordering along the lines of immorality and perversion. The Reeti-kaaleen Hindi poems filled the poetic voids of these extravagant and decadent parties. Though Bhakti, Veer, and Neeti kavya continued even during these times, they had no place in the parties of these nawabs and hence were not dominant. They were cut-off from Reeti-kavya which was the dominant mukhya-dhara.

Even the politics during these times when Reeti-kavya flourished was unhealthy and disastrous for the growth of India. British East India Company were trying to gain power by their numerous unscrupulous policies and plundering India and trying to ruin her both economically and culturally. The nawabs and rajas were fighting against each other aided and abetted by the East India Company which pretended to just be a company of traders with man force to aid the Indian rajas with the former pretending to have the best intentions for the latter. Finally, Queen Victoria began her barbaric rule in India after the battle of 1857.

The powerful outburst in the form of a war that shook the British hold over India so badly that the British almost fled for their lives came in the form of the First war of Indian Independence in 1857. The revolts during the year and the following year was somehow stopped but 1857 had a lasting impact on the Indian society as a whole. Hindi literature mirrored this change with the start of the Adhunik Kavya which soon took over the stale and unhealthy poetry of Reeti-kaal.

Reeti-kaal kavya or poetry had nothing to do with the harsh reality of the society as a whole. However, Adhunik Hindi Kavya had everything to do with the Indian people and their reality. Since Bharatendu started the entire Adhunik Kavya era, his poetry found place among the journalistic columns of the newspapers which circulated to every nook and corner of India spreading the message of Indian nationalism. Poetry left the decadent confines of perversion and began to spark nationalism among all Indians and had nothing to do with entertaining the rich and powerful few.

So, Bharatendu had a great task before him. As the theme of poetry changed from Reeti-kaal to Adhunik kaal, a new language to express the new sentiments was required and Bharatendu started crafting it.

 Bharatendu wrote many types of poems exploring various genres both new and evergreen. He wrote about 70 books compiled with his poems. Some of his kavya are akin to the age-old traditions of Surdas, Ghananand, Bihari, etc. They are full of Prema, Shringara, and Bhakti. While some other poems of Bharatendu are against the social evil that prevailed during his day and age.

While Bharatendu composed, the language of verse, the padhya, was Braja bhasha while the language of prose, the gadhya, was Khadi Boli Hindi. Bharatendu’s composition gives an idea of the society of his day and age. 

Bharatendu Harishchandra's Bhaktiparak kavya

Bharatendu wrote so many of Bhakti-Parak kavyas. Bhakti-kavya has made a special place in Hindi literature. Lok sahitya tatha sangeet had a deep impact on Bharatendu. His was also a samanta-vadi world. Even his Vaishnaw family led way to this genius starting off his career with Bhakti-kavya. And, we call them Bharatendu's bhakti-parak kavya. 

He used the medium of Bhakti-parak kavya to sing praises of the Lord and describe his beauty. He tries to argue agaisnt some philosophies and tries to support some others. 

Bharatendu's times saw a rapid change in the social structure and Bengal was the heart of this social reform. Many great social reformers were born in Bengal to change the face of the Indian society forever. The Brahma Samaj started by Raja Rammohun Roy and the Arya Samaj started by Swami Dayanand Saraswati led a lot of social reform movements. But, some of their ideas like the ones which were against the worship of the divinity's idols were not supported by Bharatendu. 

It was because Bharatendu's was a Vaishnaw worldview, he started off describing the love and union of the loveliest couple, Sri Sri Radha Krishna. Bharatendu has described their pada-chihnas, their foot prints, as the Puranas have described. Bharatendu did not like the Advaita's philosophy either because they said things which were not in accordance to the Vaishnaws. The Vaishnaws believe in worshipping the beauty of the divinity symbolized by their idols, they pour all their emotions and love for the divinity into that idol. So, such an object of affection for the Vaishnaws when ridiculed can hurt their sentiments very deeply and Bharatendu was no exception to this. 

But, Bharatendu like any true Indian, believed that the divinity is everywhere and there should be love and acceptance among people who have different worldviews and philosophies. Bharatendu was a Vaishnaw, an astik who believes that Krishna or Vishnu is the creator. However, the Jains who are the nastiks and do not lay much emphasis on a creator were also close to Bharatendu's heart. He visited a Jain Mandir once and his people ridiculed him as a nastik. Bharatendu called these critics 'foolish'. Again, Bharatendu wrote about Guru Nanak Dev, a Sikh guru and his greatness. He has also explained the greatess of a pirzadi bibi who is a Mohammedan. So, Bharatendu was true to his Vaishnaw beliefs but had a very big and thoughtful heart. He was ready to point out hte pros and cons of all philosophies and people and he had a lot of love in his heart for his fellow beings. All these say that Bharatendu was a true Vaishnaw.

Bhakta Sarvaswa (1870 AD)

This poem is Bharatendu's vyanjana of his adoration for the beautiful divine couple, Sri Sri Radha Krishna. Here, he has described their pada-chihnas along the lines of the Purana's descriptions. 

Vaishakh Mahatmya (1872 AD)

In this poem, Bharatendu shows how it brings auspiciousness to have holy baths during the month of Baisakh.

His many other poems along these lines are:

Devi Chhadma Leela

Prem Malika

Pratah Smaran Mangal Path

Dainya Pralaap

Raani Chhadma Leela

Since Bharatendu has described the ethereal beauty of Sri Sri Radha Krishna along the lines of what the senses can perceive but takes the mind beyond simple sense perception, we can call Bharatendu's Bhakti as the sagun bhakti. 

Advaita philosophy is not liked by many people sagun bhaktas and Bharatendu was again not an exception. He asks the Advaitas why they say that Brahma is everywhere, it is the same Brahma everywhere? Because if Brahma is everywhere then the Brahma in their wives and the Brahmas in their mothers are the same. Yet, is it possible to love the mother and the wife in the same way? If not, then why do they say that the world is nothing but maya or illusory and Brahma is the one truth everywhere?

Again, Bharatendu protests against this concept of the Advaitya who say that it is the same Brahma everywhere and is the only truth. Rest everything in the world is just maya and falacy. He asks that the Vedas and that other great works are in the world too, are they maya or a falacy as well? Even the people who follow different religions are in the world too and so are their religions, so, are they all false? And, if everything in the world is a falacy then the speaker, the Advaitya believer, is also in the world, is the believer a maya or illusion too? 

Bharatendu did support when Swami Dayanand Saraswati and Raja Rammohum Roy promoted intercaste and widow marriages, when they opposed child marriages, when they vehemently put and end to the superstition masquerading as religion but did not like it when these reformers spoke against his sagun bhakti and affection to the divinity's arca-vigraha, his idols.

When Bharatendu wrote about Pirzadi bibi then he said that she is a humble woman who accepts the dust off people's feet on her head. She is a Harijan and no less great any any Hindu. All this was again in accordance with his Vaishnaw and Hari-Bhakti. Humility and selfless service are important ingredients for a Vaishnaw.