Rambhadracharya is one of four incumbent Jagadguru Ramanandacharya, and has held this title since 1988.
61 Facts About Rambhadracharya
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Rambhadracharya is the founder and head of Tulsi Peeth, a religious and social service institution in Chitrakoot named after Saint Tulsidas.
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Rambhadracharya is the founder and lifelong chancellor of the Jagadguru Rambhadracharya Handicapped University in Chitrakoot, which offers graduate and postgraduate courses exclusively to four types of disabled students.
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Rambhadracharya has been blind since the age of two months, had no formal education until the age of seventeen years, and has never used Braille or any other aid to learn or compose.
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Rambhadracharya is acknowledged for his knowledge in diverse fields including Sanskrit grammar, Nyaya and Vedanta.
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Rambhadracharya is regarded as one of the greatest authorities on Tulsidas in India, and is the editor of a critical edition of the Ramcharitmanas.
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Rambhadracharya is a leader of the Vishva Hindu Parishad.
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Jagadguru Rambhadracharya was born to Pandit shri Rajdev Mishra and shrimati Shachidevi Mishra in a Saryupareen Brahmin family of the Vasishtha Gotra in Shandikhurd village in the Jaunpur district, Uttar Pradesh, India.
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Rambhadracharya was born on Makara Sankranti day, 14 January 1950.
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Rambhadracharya's family took him to the King George Hospital in Lucknow, where his eyes were treated for 21 days, but his sight could not be restored.
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Rambhadracharya cannot read or write, as he does not use Braille; he learns by listening and composes by dictating to scribes.
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Rambhadracharya's grandfather told him that his life was saved because he had learned, that very morning itself, the following line of a verse in the Ramcharitmanas, from the episode of the manifestation of the god Rama:.
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Rambhadracharya's family thought that his presence would be a bad omen for the marriage.
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Rambhadracharya's family wished him to become a Kathavachak but Giridhar wanted to pursue his studies.
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Rambhadracharya's father explored possibilities for his education in Varanasi and thought of sending him to a special school for blind students.
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Rambhadracharya was top of his class for four years, and passed the Uttara Madhyama examination in Sanskrit with first class and distinction.
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Rambhadracharya topped the final examination for the Shastri degree in 1974, and then enrolled for the Acharya degree at the same institute.
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Rambhadracharya received a research fellowship from the University Grants Commission, but even so, he faced financial hardship during the next five years.
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Rambhadracharya completed his Vidyavaridhi degree in Sanskrit grammar on 14 October 1981.
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Rambhadracharya continues to observe Payovratas, the latest being his ninth.
21.
Rambhadracharya cited verses from two works composed by Tulsidas which, in his opinion, are relevant to the dispute.
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Rambhadracharya is a scholar of 14 languages and can speak 22 languages in total, including Sanskrit, Hindi, English, French, Bhojpuri, Maithili, Oriya, Gujarati, Punjabi, Marathi, Magadhi, Awadhi, and Braj.
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Rambhadracharya has composed poems and literary works in many Indian languages, including Sanskrit, Hindi, and Awadhi.
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Rambhadracharya has translated many of his works of poetry and prose into other languages.
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Rambhadracharya delivers Katha programmes in various languages, including Hindi, Bhojpuri, and Gujarati.
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On 23 August 1996 Rambhadracharya established the Tulsi School for the Blind in Chitrakoot, Uttar Pradesh.
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Rambhadracharya founded the Jagadguru Rambhadracharya Handicapped University, an institution of higher learning solely for disabled students, on 27 September 2001 in Chitrakoot.
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Rambhadracharya founded an organisation called Jagadguru Rambhadracharya Viklang Seva Sangh, headquartered in Satna, Madhya Pradesh.
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Rambhadracharya produced a critical edition of the Ramcharitmanas, which was published as the Tulsi Peeth edition.
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Apart from the original text, for which Rambhadracharya has relied extensively on older manuscripts, there were differences in spelling, grammar, and prosodic conventions between the Tulsi Peeth edition and contemporary editions of the Ramcharitmanas.
31.
Gita Devi, secretary of JRHU, said that Rambhadracharya had been threatened by al-Qaeda, as Ram Janmabhoomi Nyas president Nrityagopal had been in the past.
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In November 2014, Rambhadracharya received another assassination threat with a demand of "terror tax" over JRHU operations.
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On 25 August 2013, Rambhadracharya arrived at the Chaudhary Charan Singh Airport in Lucknow along with VHP leader Ashok Singhal.
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Rambhadracharya was going to Ayodhya to take part in the 84-kosi yatra, a 12-day religious yatra which was banned by the state government citing law and order reasons.
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Rambhadracharya was put under house arrest at the home of R C Mishra, his disciple and friend.
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Two days after the incident, Rambhadracharya was given Y-category security cover by the Uttar Pradesh government since he had reported security threats.
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JRHU vice-chancellor B Pandey said that Rambhadracharya met Uttar Pradesh chief minister Akhilesh Yadav in Lucknow and invited him to be the chief guest in a University function, and Yadav accepted the invitation.
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Rambhadracharya was disappointed that Yadav could not "come for even 15 minutes for disabled children," and said that he will have atone for this.
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Rambhadracharya has authored more than 100 books and 50 papers, including published books and unpublished manuscripts.
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Rambhadracharya thus revived the tradition of writing Sanskrit commentaries on the Prasthanatrayi.
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Rambhadracharya gave the Ramananda Sampradaya its second commentary on Prasthanatrayi in Sanskrit, the first being the Anandabhasyam, composed by Ramananda himself.
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Rewa Prasad Dwivedi writes in his Sanskrit poem dedicated to Rambhadracharya that he is an encyclopaedia of learning whose literature is like numerous Narmada rivers flowing out simultaneously, and in whose literary works Shiva and Parvati delight while performing Tandava and Lasya.
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Devarshi Kala Nath Shastry writes in his review of Rambhadracharya's works that Rambhadracharya is an accomplished and eloquent poet who is the foremost among scholars and is well-versed in all scriptures, and who even talks in extemporaneously composed poetry with Sanskrit scholars, usually in Upajati metre.
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Rambhadracharya uses with great effect the Dandaka style with Sanskrit adjectives in his speeches.
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Shastry notes that another feature of Rambhadracharya's works is the devotion to motherland and patriotism, which is most evident in the poetic work Ajadacandrasekharacaritam on the life of Chandrashekhar Azad.
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Atal Bihari Vajpayee considered Rambhadracharya to be an "immensely learned person well versed in Vedic and Puranic literature besides the grammar", and commended his intelligence and memory.
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Swami Kalyandev considered Rambhadracharya to be "an unprecedented intellectual and speaker, and an Acharya with great devotion".
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Rambhadracharya is considered one of the greatest scholars on Tulsidas and Ramcharitmanas in India, and is cited as such.
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Ram Prakash Gupta and Keshari Nath Tripathi have stated that Rambhadracharya has enriched society with his contributions and will continue to do so.
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Swami Ramdev considers Rambhadracharya to be the most learned person in the world at present.
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Abhiraj Rajendra Mishra said that Rambhadracharya is of a high-mind, has a stupendous grip on the Indian literature, and "his soul feels the true pleasure in serving oppressed disabled people".
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Mata Prasad Pandey, the Speaker of Uttar Pradesh Legislative Assembly, said that Rambhadracharya has opened a door of development for those with disabilities in India, and that he has achieved what eminent industrialists and the government cannot do.
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In November 2014, Rambhadracharya was one of the nine people nominated by the Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi for the Clean India Campaign.
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In September 2014, Rambhadracharya adopted five villages of Chitrakoot, with an aim to construct toilets in all the households.
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Rambhadracharya was one of the guests in the inaugural International Yoga Day event in New Delhi.
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In 1992 Rambhadracharya led the Indian delegation at the Ninth World Conference on Ramayana, held in Indonesia.
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Rambhadracharya has travelled to several countries, including England, Mauritius, Singapore, and the United States to deliver discourses on Hindu religion and peace.
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Rambhadracharya has been profiled in the International Who's Who of Intellectuals.
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Rambhadracharya was one of the key figures of the Dharma Prachar Yatra at Detroit.
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Rambhadracharya was one of the spiritual and religious Gurus from India at the Millennium World Peace Summit, organised by the United Nations in New York City from 28 to 31 August 2000.
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In 2015, Rambhadracharya was awarded Padma Vibhushan, India's second highest civilian honour.