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 Dictionary of Indian Biography (Buckland) |
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 Dictionary of Indian Biography M to R
| Date transcribed | 2011-08-00 | | Transcribed by | Peter Bailey | | Comment | Note that notables of Indian, Afghan, etc. origin do not always follow the alphabetical name patterns established by Buckland in his original work. |
| | Surname | Roy | | | First Name(s) | Raja Rammohan | | | Birth Year | 1772 | | | Death Year | 1833 | | | Entry | Son of Ramkanta Roy, who was manager of some estates of the Maharaja of Burdwan : studied Persian and Arabic at Patna : and Sanskrit at Benares : was particularly well versed in Sanskrit literature. At the age of 15 he published his famous work on Idolatry in Bengali, in which he contended that the popular religion of the Hindus was contrary to the practice of their ancestors and the doctrine of the ancient authorities. For this he incurred his father's displeasure and was turned out of the house : he wandered for 4 years, even to Tibet. He was readmitted by his mother on his father's death. At the age of 21 he commenced the study of English, in which he became proficient : he also studied French, Latin, Greek, and Hebrew. Employed in the Collectorate at Rangpur, he rose to be Sarishtadar, but retired from Government service in 1813. He then commenced a crusade against the popular religion, Going to Calcutta, he translated into Bengali the Vedanta and the Vedantasara and the Upanishads : the latter he also translated into English. He studied the Koran in Arabic, the Old Testament in Hebrew, and the New Testament in Greek. In 1820 he published, in Sanskrit and Bengali, Precepts of Jesus, the Guide to Peace and Happiness, in which he denied the Divinity of Christ. This brought him into controversy with the Serampur Missionaries, and on their refusal to print his Final Appeal, he established a press of his own. Dr. Marshman answered him, and the publications attracted considerable attention, both in England and America. Rammohan soon after founded a Periodical, called The Brahmanical Magazine, with the object of defending the religious books of the Hindus. He formed a religious association, called the Atmya Sabha, and in 1828 founded the Brahmo Samaj for the worship and adoration of the Eternal, Unsearchable, Immutable Being, who is the Author and Preserver of the Universe. The objects of the new Church were described in the trust-deed of 1830. This new Theism, aimed at the calm worship of the Deity, the practice of virtue and charity, reverence for all that is sincere and helpful in every faith, and active participation in every movement for the bettering of mankind. He claimed to the calm worship of the Deity, the practice of virtue and charity, reverence for all that is sincere and helpful in every faith, and active participation in every movement for the bettering of mankind. He claimed to have established a pure monotheistic form of worship for the benefit of Hindus, Muhamadans, and Christians. As a social reformer he preached against Sati, Polygamy and Kulinism, and advocated the remarriage of widows. In 1830 he received the title of Raja from the ex- Emperor of Delhi, and was deputed by him to visit England, to advocate certain claims. There, as a republican in his politics, he was well received by the reforming liberals and advanced thinkers. In 1831 he visited France : returned to England, he was present at the passing of the India Bill in 1833. Max Miiller, Monier Williams, the poet Campbell, Brougham and Bentham befriended him. In 1833, on the invitation of Dr. Carpenter, he went to live at Bristol and, while meditating a voyage to America, died of fever, at Stapleton Grove, on Sep. 27, 1833. He was one of the founders of the Hindu College in Calcutta in 1817, and in 1823 addressed a letter to Lord Amherst on the comparative merits of English and Sanskrit education. |
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