Shivanand Goswami

Shivanand Goswami, also known as Shiromani Bhatt was a poet and a scholar of literature, poetics, Ayurveda, Oriental studies, Veda-Vedang, ritualism, theology, astronomy, astrology (Hora Shastra), Sanskrit Grammar and a practitioner of Tantra-Mantra.^[1]

Early life

Shivanand was born in Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu. His ancestors were originally Tamil and Telugu-speaking Panchadravida Vellanadu Brahmins,^[2] who later settled in Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and other provinces of North India at the request and invitation of some North Indian kings. Goswami's grandfather Shriwas Bhatt I is thought to have migrated from Tamil Nadu to North India;^[3] he was bestowed the title of "Goswami" on completion of his training in tantra by his guru Satchidananda Sundaracharya in 1525, and renamed as Goswami Vidyanand Nath.

Shiromani Bhatt's father was Shri Jaganniwas Bhatt, who was invited by Bundelkhand king Devi Singh to act as his Rajguru. Later, Amber King Bishan Singh invited his son Goswami to his capital town to perform a Vajpeya-Yagna and accepted him as Rajguru of the Kachchawa-clan.^[4][5]

Simha-Siddhanta-Sindhu

'Singh Siddhant Sindhu 'by Shivananda Goswami

Shivananda Goswami was a devoted worshiper of Goddess Tripura Sundari. Many incidents describe him having occult-powers as a psychic and tantra-exponent.^[6] After Shrimad Bhagwat, the credit of writing the text Singh-Siddhant-Sindhu goes to Shivananda Goswami. Written in 1674, the book has 35,130 Sanskrit verses, more than the Srimad Bhagavatam.

The handwritten manuscript of the book was available in the Anup Sanskrit Library of Bikaner. It was published in print form almost 400 years after it was written by the Rajasthan Oriental Research Institute of Jodhpur, in three volumes under the editorship of Pandit Laxminarayan Goswami. The third volume was also published as an e-book by exoticindiaart.com. The book is encyclopedic in nature and contains thousands of excerpts from many disciplines like Sanskrit poetry, Tantra, Mantra-Shastra, Nyaya, Aagama-Nigama, Dharmashastras, Mimansa, Sutras, Ethics, Astrology, Veda-Vedang, Grammar, Medicine, Ayurveda, Yagya-Vidhi, Rituals, Dharmashastra, and Horashastra etc. Two more volumes of this book are under print from Rajasthan Oriental Research Institute as indicated by the editor.^[7]

Other works

Goswami wrote more than 35 Sanskrit books.^{[citation needed]} Apart from Champu-kavya, most of his works are written in poetry-form. The list of citations of the first ten Tarangas ('waves') of 'Singh Siddhanta Sindhu' was published in Chennai (Madras).^[8] He was primarily an exclusive-worshiper of Tripura-Sundari (Goddess). As a result of his commitment to power-worship, earned through Srividya, he was bestowed with the title of Sakshi-Natya-Shiromani by the Pandit-community of Varanasi.^[9][10][11]

His 30 available works (mostly handwritten manuscripts) in Anup Sanskrit Library, Bikaner, Pothikhana of City-Palace, Jaipur, Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Pune and elsewhere are as follows:^[12]

1. Singh-Siddhant-Sindhu (1674 AD) सिंहसिद्धांतसिन्धु ^{[13][14][15][16][17][18]}
2. Singh-siddhant-pradeepak सिंह सिद्धांत प्रदीपक
3. Subodh Roopawali सुबोध रूपावली
4. Srividyayasparyakram-darpan श्रीविद्यास्यपर्याक्रम-दर्पण
5. Vidyarchandipika विद्यार्चनदीपिका
6. Lalitarchana-kaumudi ललितार्चन-कौमुदी
7. Laxminarayanarcha-kaumudi लक्ष्मीनारायणार्चा-कौमुदी
8. Laxminarayan-Stuti लक्ष्मीनारायण-स्तुति
9. Subhgodaya Darpana सुभगोदय-दर्पण
10. Aacharyasindhu आचारसिन्धु
11. Pyayashchittaranava-Sanket प्रयाश्चित्तारणव-संकेत
12. Aanhikaratna आन्हिकरत्न
13. Mahabharat-subhashit-shloka-Sangraha महाभारत-सुभाषित-श्लोक-संग्रह
14. Vyavahara-Nirnaya व्यवहारनिर्णय
15. Vaidyaratna वैद्यरत्न
16. Muhurtaratna मुहूर्तरत्न
17. Kala-Viveka काल-विवेक
18. Tithi-nirnaya तिथिनिर्णय
19. Amarkoshsya Balbodhini Teeka अमरकोशस्य बालबोधिनी टीका
20. Stree-Pratyaya-Kosh स्त्री-प्रत्ययकोश
21. Karka-Kosh कारक-कोश
22. Samaas-kosh समास-कोश
23. Shabda-Bhed-Prakash शब्द भेद प्रकाश
24. Aakhyaanwada आख्यानवाद
25. Padartha tatva nirupana पदार्थतत्वनिरूपण
26. naya-vivek नय-विवेक
27. Ishwarastuti ईश्वरस्तुति
28. Kulpredeep कुलप्रदीप
29. Shri-Chandra-Pooja-Prayog श्रीचंद्रपूजा-प्रयोग
30. Niyarchankathana नित्यार्चन-कथन

Honors/ Felicitations and Jagirs

In the seventh generation of Orchha Kings, Devi Singh (1635–1641 AD) bestowed the jagir of 4 villages in Bundelkhand Madhya Pradesh to Goswami after obtaining 'Sri Vidya mantra-diksha' from him.^[19]

In 1692–1694, Amber king Bishan Singh presented him the jagirs of Ramjipura (on which the Malviya Nagar of Jaipur is built today), along with Harivanshpura, Chimanpura and Mahapura,^[20] the written evidence of which is still preserved in an inscription of 'Pothikhana' (Royal Library) of City-Palace of Jaipur,^[21] Mahapura village has become a part of Jaipur metropolis today. The descendants of Goswami ji and his brother Janardan Goswami have lived in Amber/Mahapura. When Shivanand ji decided to settle in Bikaner (leaving his property-villages in Jaipur) The jagirs of two villages - Pulasar and Chilkoi were first presented to Goswamiji by Raja Anup Singh of Bikaner (1669-98 AD).^[22]

A Page from the manuscript by Janardan Goswami 17th C

Death

It is widely believed that Goswami spent his last days in Bikaner with Anup Singh, the Maharaja,^[23] where he died - somewhere in South India, or in Bikaner - it is also a matter of research.^[24]