History of Orissa from the Earliest Times to the British Period v1.c30.29

v1.c30.29

An educated Oriya, the late Mr. Tarini Charan Rath, a munsiff of the Madras presidency, wrote a short note on Rāmānanda Rāya in 1920, voicing the modern Oriya opinion on this officer of Pratāparudra. According to Mr. Rath, Rāmānanda belonged to the Karṇa family and was an Oṛiyā by birth. He was the eldest son of Bhavānanda Paṭṭanāyaka who resided both at Puri and Katak. Rāmānanda rose to be the prime-minister of Pratāparudra and governed the southern viceroyalty from Vidyānagara near Rājamahendrī. It appears that this Vidyānagara may be Vizianagram. In 1510 Rāmānanda met Chaitanya on the banks of the Godāvarī and, being struck by his appearance, became one of his earliest disciples. Chaitanya had heard of Rāmānanda from one of his notable disciples, the logician Vāsudeva Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācharya, and is said to have been attracted towards Rāmānanda on account of his piety and learning. The romantic story of the meeting between Chaitanya and Rāmānanda is cited with reverence by all Neo-Vaishṇavas; but its result was disaster to the empire of Orissa. After meeting Chaitanya, Rāmānanda Rāya resigned his post and retired to Puri. It is said that Pratāparudra had already become possessed of a religious and spiritual turn of mind and Rāmānanda became the cause of their meeting. Their subsequent meeting and the great hold Chaitanya came to possess over this king are now well known.