A Caitanya Vaisnava Response to the Nineteenth-century Bengal Renaissance Movement According to the Works of Bhaktivinoda Thakura
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1558/rosa.v2i2.195Keywords:
Bengal Renaissance, Bhadraloka, Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, Caitanya VaiṣṇavismAbstract
Bhaktivinoda Thakura (1838–1914) was both a Bhadraloka and a Caitanya Vaisnava reformer. Consequently, he played a unique role in the nineteenthcentury Bengal Renaissance movement. This paper first briefly analyses Western impact on nineteenth-century Bengal and the responses to it from the Bhadralokas and the traditionalists, in terms of their attitude to six points, namely 1) ethics/morality, 2) monotheism, 3) the Bhagavata Purana, 4) image worship, 5) the caste system, and 6) the status of women. Then the paper examines Bhaktivinoda’s unique contribution in relation to the above-mentioned six issues.
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