Rithik Rahman at 00:14, 15 August 2025

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{{Use dmy dates|date=July 2018}}
{{Use Indian English|date=July 2018}}
{{Infobox writer
| name = Baikunthanatha Bhagavata Bhattacharya
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| pseudonym = Bhattadeva
| birth_name = Baikunthanatha Bhattacharya
| birth_date = 23 March 1558
| birth_place = [[Bichankuchi]], [[Bajali]], [[Barpeta district|Barpeta]], [[Assam]] ([[India]])
| death_date = {{Death date and age|df=yes|1638|01|03|1558|3|23}}
| death_place = Byaskuchi, [[Barpeta district|Barpeta]].
| resting_place =
| occupation = Litterateur
| language = [[Assamese language]]<ref>"..it was Bhattadeva who gave a distinct shape to Assamese prose... In all these writings traces of the Kamrupi dialect are quite distinct" {{harv|Goswami|1970|p=7}}</ref> of [[Early Assamese]]<ref>"It was in his (Bhattadeva's) hands that Assamese prose was hardened, nourished and was fitted for the expression of high spiritual matters" {{harv|Barua|1953|p=129}}.</ref>
| nationality = Indian
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| period = Mediaeval period
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| notableworks = ''Katha Bhagavata'',<ref>{{harv|Barua|1953|p=129}}</ref> ''Katha Gita'',<ref>{{harv|Barua|1953|p=129}}</ref> ''Katha Ratnavali'',<ref>{{harv|Sarma|1987|p=480}}</ref> ''Bhakti Viveka'' (Sanskrit)<ref>{{harv|Sarma|1987|p=480}}</ref>
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'''Bhattadeva''' (1558–1638), (full name, '''Baikunthanatha Bhagavata Bhattacharya''') is acknowledged as the father of [[Assamese language|Assamese]] prose.<ref>{{harv|Sarma|1987|p=480}}</ref> Though ''Bhaktiratnakar-katha'', the Assamese translation of [[Sankardev]]'s Sanskrit composition ''Bhaktiratnakar'' by Gopala Charana Dwija preceded the works of Bhattadeva,<ref>{{harv|Saikia|1997|p=16}}</ref> Bhattadeva's prose had an influence in the development of a high and dignified style. Bhattadeva's and Gopala Charana Dvija's 16th century works are considered to be the earliest examples of prose in Indian languages.<ref>{{harv|Saikia|1997|p=16}}</ref> Bhattadeva's erudition in Sanskrit grammar and literature, and his command over the Bhagavata earned him the title of ''Bhagavata Bhattacharya''.<ref>"Bhattadeva had a profound grammar and literature which earned for him the title of Bhagavata Bhattacharya" (versed in the Bhagavata). {{harv|Barua|1953|p=131}}</ref>

==Biography==
Bhattadeva was born to Chandra Bharati and Tara Devi in a [[Kamrupi Brahmins|Brahmin]] family of [[Bheragoan|Bichankuchi]], Bajali ([[Kamrup region|Kamrup]]).<ref>{{harv|Sarma|1987|p=480}}</ref> After finishing his education, he became a disciple of [[Damodara Deva]] and succeeded him as the head of Patbausi satra at [[Barpeta district|Barpeta]]. He established the Byaskuchi satra some time later where he died. He is best known for ''Katha Bhagavat'' and ''Katha Gita'', though some minor works like Saranamalika and Prasangamala are also ascribed to him.<ref>{{cite book |title=Assamese literature|last=Sarma|first=Satyendranath|year=1976|publisher= Otto Harrassowitz Verlag|page=63 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Medieval Indian literature: an anthology: Volume 2|last=None|first=Ayyappappanikkar|year=1997|publisher= Sahitya Akademi|page=16 }}</ref><ref>{{cite book |title=Masterpieces of Indian literature: Volume 1|last=George|first=K. M.|year=1997|publisher=National Book Trust|isbn=978-81-237-1978-8 |pages=2184}}</ref>

==Work==
Bhattadeva began translating the Sanskrit [[Bhagavata]] into Assamese prose at the bidding of Damodaradeva, who wanted it to be accessible to the common man. He rendered ''Katha Bhagavata'' in a discursive style that is dignified and balanced.<ref>{{harv|Barua|1953|p=130}}</ref> He maintains the same sense of dialogue in the ''Katha Gita''. Though he uses short sentences, popular vocabulary and the expressive cadence of the colloquial,<ref>{{harv|Barua|1953|p=130}}</ref> he uses Sanskrit vocables heavily and his language is an elevated one.<ref>{{harv|Sarma|1987|p=480}}</ref> After completing the Bhagavata and the [[Gita]], he rendered the Bhaktiratnavali into elegant prose. He also compiled a book of devotional verses in Sanskrit gleaned from the [[Upanishad]]s, [[Purana]]s and Samhitas illustrating all the elements of Bhakti. The work, Bhakti-Viveka reveals extensive knowledge and erudition of Bhattadeva, from the vedic to the puranic literature. Bhattadeva's contributions are not confined to prose literature, he wrote poetry also.<ref>{{cite book |title=The Assam Quarterly: Volume 2|year=1962|publisher=Assam Academy for Cultural Relations}}</ref>

[[Bhattadev University]] of Assam is named after him.

==See also==
* [[Hema Saraswati]]
* [[Haribara Vipra]]

==References==
{{reflist}}

==Bibliography==
*{{Citation|last=Barua|first=B. K.|contribution=Early Assamese Prose|editor-last=Kakati|editor-first=Banikanta|title=Aspects of Early Assamese Literature|publisher=Gauhati University
|place=Gauhati|year=1953}}
*{{Citation|last=Goswami|first=Upendranath|title=A Study on Kamrupi: A Dialect of Assamese
|publisher=Department of Historical and Antiquarian Studies|place=Gauhati|year=1970}}
*{{Citation|last=Saikia|first=Nagen|contribution=Assamese|editor-last=Paniker|editor-first=K. Ayyappa
|title=Medieval Indian Literature|volume=1|pages=3–20|publisher=Sahitya Akademi|place=New Delhi|year=1997
}}
*{{Citation|last=Sarma|first=Satyendranath|contribution=Bhattacharya, Baikunthanatha Bhagavata|editor-last=Dutta|editor-first=Amaresh|title=Encyclopaedia of Indian Literature|publisher=Sahitya Akademi|place=New Delhi|year=1987}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Bhattadeva}}
[[Category:Kamrupi poets]]
[[Category:1558 births]]
[[Category:1638 deaths]]
[[Category:16th-century Indian poets]]
[[Category:17th-century Indian poets]]
[[Category:People of the Ahom kingdom]]
[[Category:16th-century Indian male writers]]
[[Category:17th-century Indian male writers]]
[[Category:Indian male poets]]

Bhattadeva - Revision history

Rithik Rahman at 00:14, 15 August 2025