Dharmasamrat Swami Shri Karpatri Ji Maharaj
Dharmasamrat Swami Karpatri (1907–1982) was an Indian saint, freedom fighter, and politician. His original name was Hari Narayan Ojha. He was an ascetic of the Dashnami tradition. After his initiation, his name was ‘Hariharananda Saraswati’.However, he was renowned by the name ‘Karpatri’ because he used his cupped hands as an eating vessel (*kar* = hand, *patra* = vessel; *Karpatri* = one whose hands serve as the vessel). He also founded a political party named the Akhil Bharatiya Ram Rajya Parishad. In recognition of his unique and unparalleled scholarship in the *Dharmashastras*, he was conferred the title of ‘Dharmasamrat’.
Swami Ji possessed such a phenomenal memory that, even years after reading something just once, he could recall exactly what was written, on which page of a specific book, and in what manner. Swami Ji lies at the very root of the concepts regarding *Ram-rajya*—which are evident even in Gandhian philosophy—as well as the *Dharma Sangh*, *Ram-rajya Parishad*, the Ram Temple movement, and the idea of a state grounded in *Dharma*.
Biography
Swami Karpatri was born in the year 1964 Samvat (1907 AD)—on the second day (*Dwitiya*) of the bright fortnight (*Shukla Paksha*) of the month of Shravan—in the household of Ramnidhi Ojha (a Sanatan-dharmi Saryuparin Brahmin) and Shrimati Shivrani Ji in Bhatni village, Pratapgarh district, Uttar Pradesh. He was named ‘Hari Narayan’ in his childhood.
From the age of eight or nine, Swami Karpatri repeatedly left home in search of truth. Although he was married to Mahadevi at the tender age of nine, he renounced worldly life when he was seventeen. It is said that a daughter had already been born to him by that time. That same year, he received initiation as a *Naishthika Brahmachari* (a lifelong celibate) from Swami Brahmanand Saraswati, the Shankaracharya of Jyotirmath, and transformed from Hari Narayan into ‘Harihar Chaitanya’.
Education
Sanskrit: Studied under *Naishthika Brahmachari* Pandit Jeevan Dutt.
Studies: Pursued studies under *Shad-darshanacharya* Swami Shri Vishveshwarashram Ji Maharaj and Punjabi Baba Shri Achyutmuni Ji Maharaj.
Shri Vidya Diksha: Northern bank of the Narmada.
Ascetic Life
At the age of seventeen, he set out for the Himalayas, resolving to dedicate himself to unbroken spiritual practice, self-realization, and service to Dharma. In Kashi Dham, after renouncing the *shikha* and *sutra* (traditional tuft of hair and sacred thread), he attained the status of a learned ascetic (*Sannyasi*). By the age of eighteen, it had become second nature to him to endure extreme cold, heat, and rain while possessing nothing more than a single piece of cloth (two and a half yards long) and two loincloths. Alongside this, his routine of bathing three times a day, meditation, devotional singing, and worship continued uninterrupted.
The pace of study was so rapid that he would memorize the entire year’s curriculum in hours and days. Living alone in a thatched hut on the banks of the Ganges, begging from homes, sleeping on the ground once every twenty-four hours, and walking naked. Every Pratipada, he would stand on one leg, driving a wooden nail into the sun at Nakhar on the banks of the Ganges, and perform penance.He would remain in this state. After twenty-four hours had passed—when the shadow of the stake, cast by the sunlight, fell upon the exact spot where it had been twenty-four hours earlier—he would shift his stance to the other leg. Due to such rigorous spiritual practice and the custom of subsisting on alms collected from households, he came to be known as ‘Karpatri’. Upon being initiated into *Sri Vidya*, he received the name ‘Shodashanand Nath’.
Acceptance of the staff of office
At the age of 24, he formally received the *Danda* (staff of renunciation) from the supreme ascetic 1008 Shri Swami Brahmanand Saraswati Ji Maharaj and emerged as “Abhinav-Shankar.” After establishing a beautiful ashram and fully embracing the life of a *Sannyasi*, he came to be known as “Paramhansa Parivrajakacharya 1008 Shri Swami Hariharanand Saraswati Shri Karpatri Ji Maharaj.”
politics
He established the ‘Dharmasangh’ in Varanasi. He spent the greater part of his life in Varanasi. He was a follower and teacher of Advaita philosophy. In 1948, he founded the Akhil Bharatiya Ram Rajya Parishad, a political party representing traditional Hindu views. The party won three seats in the first Lok Sabha elections held in 1952. It also secured dozens of seats in the Legislative Assembly elections of 1952, 1957, and 1962 across Hindi-speaking regions (primarily Rajasthan)..
Cow Protection Movement
Indira Gandhi had promised them that, upon winning the election, all slaughterhouses for cows—which had been operating since the British era—would be shut down. However, she reneged on her promise under pressure from Muslims and Communists. This occurred when the then Prime Minister rejected the demand made by *sants* (sages/religious leaders) to amend the Constitution and ban the slaughter of bovine animals in the country.So, on November 7, 1966, the saints began a sit-in protest in front of the Parliament House. According to the Hindu calendar, that day marked *Ashtami* (the eighth day) of the bright fortnight of *Kartik* in the Vikrami Samvat year 2012—a day also known as ‘Gopashtami’.
Indian religious communities—including the Bharat Sadhu Samaj, followers of Sanatan Dharma, and the Jain community—participated enthusiastically in this sit-in protest. The four Shankaracharyas and Swami Karpatri Ji also joined the movement. Jain Muni Sushil Kumar, Lala Ramgopal Shalwale (President of the Sarvadeshik Sabha), and Prof. Ram Singh (President of the Hindu Mahasabha) played very active roles. The fast-unto-death undertaken by Shri Sant Prabhudatt Brahmachari, Jagadguru Shankaracharya Shri Swami Niranjan Dev Tirath of Puri, and Mahatma Ramchandra Veer breathed new life into the movement.
However, Indira Gandhi ordered the police to open fire on those unarmed and peaceful saints, resulting in the deaths of several sadhus. Yet, Saint Ram Chandra Veer remained steadfast in his fast, which ended only with his death after 166 days. Disturbed by this massacre, the then Home Minister Gulzarilal Nanda resigned, holding his own government responsible for the incident.
Brahmlin
On Magh Shukla Chaturdashi, Samvat 2038 (February 7, 1982), at Kedarghat, Varanasi, he voluntarily merged his *panch-pran* (five vital breaths) into the *Mahapran* (Supreme Cosmic Life Force). In accordance with his instructions, his mortal remains were consigned to *Jal Samadhi* in the sacred lap of Mother Ganga at Kedarghat.
Works
You rendered immense service to Hinduism. You authored numerous remarkable works, such as *Vedartha Parijat*, *Ramayana Mimamsa*, *Vichar Piyush*, and *Marxism and Ramrajya*. Your writings offer a truly extraordinary and authentic insight into Indian tradition. You have always presented pure Indian philosophy with great steadfastness..
key ideas
He established the “Akhil Bharatiya Dharma Sangh” in 1940 to propagate the faith while undertaking journeys on foot across India. The scope of the Dharma Sangh is vast, not narrow; even today, it strives for the happiness and peace of all living beings. In the view of the Sangh, the entire universe and its inhabitants are either fragments or manifestations of the Supreme Lord. The Sangh holds the belief that if a person wishes to remain peaceful and happy themselves, it is essential to strive to make others peaceful and happy as well.Therefore, at the beginning and end of every activity of the Dharma Sangh, sacred slogans are chanted: “May righteousness triumph, may unrighteousness be destroyed, may there be goodwill among all beings, and may the world prosper.” Notably, the wish expressed here is for the destruction of unrighteousness itself, rather than the destruction of the unrighteous.
Regarding the Hindu Varna system, Swami Karpatri held the view that if Varna were determined by *Karma* (deeds), one’s Varna would keep changing multiple times within a single day; in such a scenario, what would the social order be? Therefore, the performance of rituals—such as *Upanayana* (investiture with the sacred thread), the study of the Vedas, and *Agnihotra*—as well as cultural practices like dining and marriage, can only take place among those who are Brahmins (or of other Varnas) by birth.For a man who is a Brahmin by birth but a Muslim by conduct, engaging in practices such as dining or marriage [in accordance with Brahminical norms] is contrary to the scriptures. Similarly, it is entirely contrary to the scriptures for individuals outside the birth-based *Varnas* to have the right to perform rituals such as *Upanayana* and *Agnihotra*.
To get rid of the bad habits and animalistic tendencies, Dustyaj religious devotion is required and then to give up that Dustyaj religious devotion, Dustyaj Brahmanishtha or love for God is required.
We must not be captivated by attributes such as miracles, *siddhis* (supernatural powers), or peace. We must follow the path laid down by the Vedas and Puranas, even if we perceive shortcomings in them. This is the duty of the followers of the Vedic tradition.
In this context, when the Council of Scholars in Kashi decided to excise the ninth and tenth *Skandhas* (books) of the *Bhagavata Purana*, labeling them as obscene and interpolations, Karpatri Ji presented a magnificent exposition of the *Bhagavata* over the course of two full months, demonstrating that these sections constitute the very soul of the text. However, when certain Vaishnavas used harsh language against Karpatri Ji in their writings, his disciples—masters of scriptural debate—responded in kind. One should never make the mistake of regarding him as anti-Vaishnava based on this.