Chapter 1

Chapter 1 A family called and immersed in God's service; a royal household devoid of the flame of Truth and holding a position of authority. …look unto the rock from where you are hewn. Isa 51:1 Details of the Sojourn India, a land decked with priceless gems, riches of grain and wealth, brimming with precious metals like gold and silver; Sindhu, Ganga, Yamuna, Gautami, rivers and streams that descend from the lofty mountain slopes; Merchant ships laden with precious merchandise; Gorgeous forests teeming with peacocks, parrots and cuckoos and their little ones resounding with their mellifluous songs; Lush and vast grass lands radiant with bountiful herds of cattle; Ponds brimming with shoals of fish, turtles, and swans; Opulent orchards and green farmlands weighed down with munificent fruits and crops, waving merrily in the gentle breeze; Bedecked with a riot of colourful flowers, intoned and extolled as the queen of nations by myriad poets. Innumerable nations had an eye on this prosperous land, at the same time infighting among its sons was also widespread. Sen dynasty ruled the Gowda1 land in those ancient days. When the people were scattered in the face of the invading Mughals, the ancestors of our hero resided in Mithunapura2 district in Bengal for some time and later migrated to Kalinga, the modern Utkal (Orissa) Desa. In Muthunapura district Bengali, Oriya and Hindustani languages were spoken. The then state of Kalinga had Mukhalinga and later Parlakimidi on the banks of Vamsadhara river as its capital cities. The kingdom was ruled by Gangavarapu Dev dynasty. Parlakimidi Dynasty Just as the Egyptian Pharos to Moses and Joseph, King Artaxerxes to Nehemiah, and the Babylonian Kings to Daniel, the Rajahs of Ganga dynasty were supporters of the Chowdhary's. For this reason, we need to know briefly the history of that royal line.

According to history, a king by name Gangeya established a kingdom in the west, with Kolhapur as its capital. A king in that dynasty Kamara Nava Deva sent out a General for conquest. He entered Mahendra Desa, defeated the local ruler Bal Aditya and constructed Kalinga Nagar, also known as Mukhalinga on the banks of river Vamsadhara in the 8th century. The Kings of Ganga dynasty ruled there for 3 centuries. Rajendra Choda Ganga Dev, a king of that dynasty, went down to Godavary area into the Choda Desa and defeated Vimaladitya in 10753. His son Anantha Varma Choda Ganga Dev conquered Utkal land in the 11th century. In the 12th century, Kapilendra Dev marched against Parlakimidi and due to a rebellion in Orissa, returned to Kalinga Nagar. A history book written in Oriya about this clan was with our family for a long time. When we presented it to Sri Parlakimidi Rajah Sahib, he was very pleased. We are not particularly concerned with the Kings that ruled since then. During the 12th century, many from Bengal and Orissa migrated to Parlakimidi area. During the 15th century, these Gajapati kings conquered the stretch of land between Mahanadi and Godavary. This is indicated in Indian Imperial Gazette. Then Pratap Rudra Dev ascended the throne. Chowdhary Clan We do not know when the Chowdhary clan joined the royal court of the Parlakimidi rulers. However, for many years, they had been in the service of these Zamindars. The northern Circars were under the rule of the Mughals for some time. My father told us that there was a time when many villages were under the administration of Chowdhary's and they, just like the presentday Collectors, collected tax on behalf of the government. In return they were given lands and acted as Mirasidars. Chowdhary is not a surname. Bengalis, and people of Orissa do not have this kind of names. The Bengalis say that the name Chowdhary is a derivative term from "Chaturdhary," and it is a title for those that have dominion over four provinces or villages. Just like "Chattopadhyay" the name Chowdhary is also a title for those that acquired mastery over the

four Vedas. This was explained by Rev. Anama Chandra Patro who wrote Chowdhary Purushotham's biography in Oriya language. When the Northern Circars were under the Muslim war lords, they gave some titles such as 'Mazumdar' to a few working under them. In the 18th century, when the Northern Circars were handed back to the East India Company, those land holdings remained under the Zamindars. In 1726 when Anwar Uddin Khan was "Fouz Dar" of Srikakulam, Buddhi Raju Chowdhary was his contemporary4. Buddhi Raju Gangadhara Chowdhary, and Kurmanatha Chowdhary, Purushotham Chowdhary's grandfather and father respecively, were in the royal court of Parlakimidi rulers. The family members chanted Vedas and served as court poets. They were Mirasidars of many villages in the twelve clusters of Tembur, surrounded by Asura Sagara nearly 18 miles from Parlakimidi. They collected taxes, and enjoyed the lands given to them. They made Madanapuram the headquarters of their activities, regularly visiting Parlakimidi, also known as 'Pravalakamundi' and attended to their responsibilities. As per the 'Sishta' tradition these families chant their 'Pravara'5 as under. "Bharadwajanam, Angirasa, Barhaspatya, Bharadwajetitrarsheya, Pravaranvita, Bharadwaja gotra, Samaveda Sakhadhyayi, Katyayana Sutra, Purushothama Chaudharee Abhivadaye!" And in the family, Brahmanic rituals such as Pumsavanamu6, Seemanthamu7, Jatakarma8, Namakaranamu9, Vahir Nishkramanamu10, Anna Prasanamu11, Chowlamu12, Upanayanamu13 Vedarambhamu14, Samavarthanamu15 were followed with great fervor,. From that time, since the court proceedings were done in Telugu language in Parlakimidi, the family was well versed with Telugu, and Oriya which is equivalent to Bengali. Bangla, which their ancestors spoke took a back seat. Some in the family adopted "Vydika" profession (performing Puja, and other Brahman rituals), others were involved in 'Niyogi' calling (looking after the village records and writing of legal documents). For this

reason, although not everyone was adept at "Purana Kalakshepamu" (Ballad singing), some certainly took it up as a profession, and some employed themselves in writing the ancient Hindu sacred writings on Palm leaves and earned handsomely. The Parlakimidi royal family was usually affected by infightings and intrigues. Sri Rajah Jagannatha Gajapati Dev, brother of Sri Rajah Gajapathi Dev, was temporarily entrusted with the administration by the East India Company. But when they removed him in 1780, he colluded with the Bisoi, a fierce tribe, and started a rebellion. On 13th April 1799, Col. Fathering set out to Parlakimidi with a force numbering 5000 to put down the rebellion. Rajah Purushotham Dev and his uncle Duga Raju remained loyal to the British. Contemporaries At the death of Sri Rajah Gajapati Dev, his son Sri Rajah Purushotham Dev became the king, but died after 3 years on October 29th 1805. His one-year old son Sri Jagannath Gajapati Narayana Dev ascended the throne. He was one year younger to our Purushotham. Sri Duga Raju was in loco parentis and looked after the administration of the estate. It was a regular practice of Kurma Nath Chowdhary to take his two sons, Jagannath Chowdhary and Purushotham Chowdhary into the royal presence, and their scholarly skills were tested. Sri Duga Raju managed the Zamindari until 1813 smoothly, and left for Banaras that year and died within a short time there. His son Rajah Padmanabha Dev was the steward of Parlakimidi until 1832. It was during this time Purushotham had maintained close relations with the royal court. 1. Bengal. 2. Present day Midnapur in west Bengal.

3. Encyclopedia. Madras Presidency &c 1920-21. 4. In 1789 Sri Rajah Gajapati Dev was Zamindar of Parlakimidi. (Russel's Report No XXIV Vol 1. Page 3). 5. Genealogy of a Sage or patron saint. Pravara contains the lineage of the sage to which he belongs, and the sutra which he follows. Whenever he meets with elders he has to close both his ears, bow down from the hip level and the Pravara chanting should be stated to the person whom he offers his "Namaskaram" (obeisance). 6. After the conception was ascertained, the child in the womb was consecrated by the ceremony named "Pumsavana. Pumsavana was generally understood as "that rite through which a male child was produced." Vedic hymns recited on this occasion mention Puman or Putra (a male) and favor the birth of a son. 7. Ceremony performed for the expecting mother usually in the sixth month of pregnancy. Literal meaning of Srimantham is "parting of the hair" to assure safe delivery of the child. The parting of the hair of the expectant mother is ceremoniously performed by her husband. The proper time to perform this ceremony is the fourth or fifth month of pregnancy. The elaborate ritual, involve seating the pregnant woman on a chair or padded stool, facing east. Then a specially prepared kurcha (dharba grass of three strands gathered together), denoting prosperity and growth, are moved over the parted hair of the pregnant woman by her husband, starting from the fore head to the nape. 8. The ritual to be performed by the father for the new born.On hearing the birth of a child, the father of the child has to go to tataka i.e. river/tank/well and have to jump into the same from height with clothes adorned. After the bath, he has to perform "hiranya" (giving money, rice, vegetables etc. as danam- alms) to please the ancestors. Jaata karma is nothing but greeting the ancestors of the clan and praying to them for upliftment. 9. Naming ceremony. This is to be done on 11th day or 29th day or after that within one year. This ceremony is only to name the

child according to vedic rites so that the same name will be referred even after his death in all ceremonies. During this time if the child is born in stars that will harm the health of the child, Shanti also is to be performed (appeasement). Naming is to be performed by keeping rice in a big plate and three lines are to be drawn in it, the name is to be written by the father three times. 10. Normally when child is born, the child will not be brought out for 10 days from the room of birth. In olden days a separate room was segregated for child birth in the house and that room will not get either sun rays or other light energies other than the oil lamps lit in the room. The main purpose is to avoid bacteria from nature as well as the child is in the mother's womb for nine months without light and it should come to normalcy to accustom with light of nature. Taking out of the new born from the room on the12th day is called Nishkaramanam. During the thirdmonth, the child is brought to other areas of the house and early morning sun light is subjected to the child's body. After one month, the child is subjected to have moon rays also and after that the child will be taken to the temple first before visiting other places. 11. This ceremony is to be done in either the sixth or the eighth month when the child is able to digest the hard items from liquid and semi liquid items. The child should be made to consume curd, honey and ghee mixture initially from the hand of the mother only. 12. This ceremony is to be done at the commencement of the third or the fifth year. It involves shaving on all four sides of head leaving a strand of hair at the back of the head. This he has to keep throughout the lifetime. 13. Though we are born from mother's womb, this is the second birth to have Duality of birth. This ceremony is to be done after completion of the seventh year, and should be performed before attaining the age of 16. Upanayana means to take the person to Guru (the teacher) to bestow Brahma Gyana (Divine Wisdom). The first part of the upanayana is adorning the boy with sacred

thread called Yagyopaveetam. This should be worn from left shoulder to navel. During this time his lineage (i.e. Pravara) will be introduced to him and the sutra to which he belongs. 14. On this day he has to offer puja to the ancient authors of Vedas. From that day, he has to learn the Vedas from a Guru. 15. This is the completion of the bachelor stage. To compete this, a minimum of 12 years are to be spent in Gurukula (abode of the teacher) for completion of his vedic education. After performing this ceremony, he is eligible for "gruhastasrama" i.e. to marry or he can continue as bachelor, orbecome Sanyasi (ascetic). Initially, he has to offer "Guru Dakshina"a gift or payment to his teacher according to his status. Guru will never ask for any Dakshina from his disciples. On completion of this ceremony, he has to pray to elders of his family and friends to choose a suitable girl for him to marry.