Mvn.ind at 17:25, 13 April 2026

2026-04-13T17:25:03Z

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{{Short description|Bengali Hindu guru}}

{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2026}}

'''Bhairavi Brahmani''' ([[fl.]] 1861–1873) was a Bengali Hindu ascetic, guru and ''Yogeshwari''. She instructed the Hindu [[Mysticism|mystic]] [[Ramakrishna]] and initiated him into ''[[Vaishnavism|Vaishnava]]'' ''[[Tantra]]''.

== Life ==
Brahmani was born into a [[Brahmin]] family in the [[Jessore]] district of [[Bengal]], now in Bangladesh.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2024-08-27 |title=Bhairavi Brahmani: The Teacher of Sri Ramakrishna |url=https://historified.in/2024/08/27/bhairavi-brahmani-the-teacher-of-sri-ramakrishna/ |access-date=2026-02-25 |website=Historified |language=en-US}}</ref> Her date of birth is unknown. Brahmani became an itinerant ascetic and guru. She carried with her the ''Raghuvir [[Sila (murti)|Shila]]'' ''(''a stone idol representing lord Rama and all Vaishnava deities)<ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Sen |first=Amiya P. |url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Three_Essays_on_Sri_Ramakrishna_and_His/137XAAAAMAAJ?hl=en |title=Three Essays on Sri Ramakrishna and His Times |date=2001 |publisher=Indian Institute of Advanced Study |isbn=978-81-85952-87-1 |pages=101 |language=en}}</ref> and was well versed in the texts of the [[Gaudiya Vaishnavism]] religious movement and ''Tantrika'' literature.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" />

In 1861, Brahmani arrived at the Hindu [[Mysticism|mystic]] [[Ramakrishna]]'s temple by boat, when he was plucking flowers in the garden.<ref name=":5">{{Cite book |last=Kishore |first=B. R. |url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Ramakrishna_Paramhansa/hQVIum8fYgIC?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Bhairavi+Brahmani&pg=PA28&printsec=frontcover |title=Ramakrishna Paramhansa |date=2005 |publisher=Diamond Pocket Books (P) Ltd. |isbn=978-81-288-0824-1 |pages=28 |language=en}}</ref><ref name=":2">{{Cite web |date=2020-11-06 |title=Life of Ramakrishna {{!}} 6. Bhairavī Brāhmaṇī and a Vaishnava Saint |url=https://devi.redzambala.com/ramakrishna/life-of-ramakrishna-6-bhairavi-brahmani-and-a-vaishnava-saint.html |access-date=2026-02-25 |website=Devi Stotras & Saints |language=en}}</ref> She wore ochre robes and was about forty years old.<ref name=":2" /> As soon as she met him, she burst into tears of joy.<ref name=":5" /><ref name=":2" /> She declared that she had come after being divinely ordained to teach him.<ref>{{Cite book |url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Vedanta_Kesari/5rbWAAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=Bhairavi+Brahmani&dq=Bhairavi+Brahmani&printsec=frontcover |title=The Vedanta Kesari |date=2003 |publisher=Sri Ramakrishna Math. |volume=90 |pages=17 |language=en}}</ref> They developed a mother-son relationship<ref name=":0" /> and he surrendered his ego to her.<ref name=":3">{{Cite book |last=Robibo |first=Aviva |url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/The_Guru_Tradition/cTiAEQAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Bhairavi+Brahmani&pg=PA192&printsec=frontcover |title=The Guru Tradition: India's Spiritual Heritage |date=2024-09-12 |publisher=Bloomsbury Publishing USA |isbn=979-8-216-26349-4 |pages=192 |language=en}}</ref> She became his first formal guru and initiated him into ''Vaishnava Tantra''.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Saradananda |first=Swami |url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Sri_Ramakrishna_and_His_Divine_Play/JqN9AAAAMAAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=Bhairavi+Brahmani&dq=Bhairavi+Brahmani&printsec=frontcover |title=Sri Ramakrishna and His Divine Play |date=2003 |publisher=Vedanta Society of St. Louis |isbn=978-0-916356-81-1 |pages=522 |language=en}}</ref> Under her guidance, Ramakrishna went through sixty-four major tantric ''sadhanas'' one by one, which were completed in 1863. For all the sixty-four ''sadhana'', he took only three days each to complete.<ref name=":4">{{Cite book |last=Neevel |first=Walter G. |url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/_/_7Q3AAAAIAAJ?hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwjoh9H04_SSAxVrW0EAHcYSDNMQ7_IDegQIDRAD |title=Hinduism: New Essays in the History of Religions |date=1976 |publisher=Brill Archive |isbn=978-90-04-04495-1 |editor-last=Smith |editor-first=Bardwell L. |volume=3 |pages=74-77 |language=en |chapter=The Transformation of Ramakrishna}}</ref>

She taught Ramakrishna the ''kumari-puja'', a form of ritual in which the Virgin Goddess is worshipped symbolically in the form of a young girl. When others thought he was experiencing madness, she told him he was experiencing a phenomenon that accompanies ''mahabhāva'', the supreme attitude of loving devotion towards the divine and an extraordinary state of religious ecstasy.<ref name=":2" /><ref name=":4" /> She felt he was so accomplished that she had him declared an [[Avatar|''avatāra'']] (an [[incarnation]] of a god on Earth).<ref name=":3" />

Brahmani lived at [[Ariadaha]], near to the [[Dakshineswar Kali Temple]].<ref name=":0" /> She stayed with Ramakrishna the longest of all his teachers, for about twelve years.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Saradananda |first=Swami |url=https://www.google.co.uk/books/edition/Sri_Ramakrishna_The_Great_Master/uaJOEAAAQBAJ?hl=en&gbpv=1&dq=Bhairavi+Brahmani&pg=PT841&printsec=frontcover |title=Sri Ramakrishna The Great Master |last2=Jagadananda |first2=Swami |date=2021-11-16 |publisher=Sri Ramakrishna Math |language=en}}</ref> Her movements after leaving Ramakrishna and her date and place of death are unknown.<ref name=":0" />

== Representation in popular culture ==
* In 2021, [[Aditi Chatterjee]] portrayed Brahmani in the TV series ''[[Karunamoyee Rani Rashmoni]].''

== References ==
{{reflist}}
{{Authority control}}{{DEFAULTSORT:Brahmani, Bhairavi}}
[[Category:19th-century Hindus]]
[[Category:Bengali Hindus]]
[[Category:Indian Hindu spiritual teachers]]
[[Category:Shaktas]]
[[Category:Brahmins]]
[[Category:Ramakrishna]]
[[Category:Date of birth unknown]]
[[Category:Date of death unknown]]
[[Category:Place of death unknown]]

Bhairavi Brahmani - Revision history

Mvn.ind at 17:25, 13 April 2026