Raja Ramkrishna – The King Who Longed for Kali

 Raja Ramkrishna, not to be confused with Sri Ramakrishna of the Dakshineswar Kali Temple, was born in the middle of the eighteenth century. He was the youngest son of Harihara Roy of Atgram in the Rajshahi district. His life took a different course from the peaceful family life that might have awaited him, for he was eventually placed upon the throne of Natore. 

The royal family of Natore had no son, and the queen decided to adopt a boy who could manage the estate and continue the family line. Rani Bhavani held a festival at the palace and chose Ramkrishna from among the Brahmin boys who had gathered there. She personally trained him in the management of her property. Rani Bhavani was a devout woman and hoped that, once her adopted son could take responsibility for the estate, she would be free to go to Varanasi and live a holy life. She arranged Ramkrishna’s marriage while he was still very young. 

Ramkrishna possessed everything that worldly life could offer him: a royal throne, wealth and a beautiful wife. Yet his heart remained unsatisfied. He longed for a vision of the Divine Mother Kali. He spent long hours meditating on her and eventually created a panchamundi asana, a seat made from five skulls, on which he practised sava sadhana according to tantric rituals. He also dedicated his zamindari entirely to the worship of the Mother at the shrine of Bhavanipur. 

His absorption in spiritual life gradually affected the estate entrusted to him. A corrupt government official took a considerable portion of the property through dishonest means, while the betrayal of a so-called friend whom Ramkrishna had tried to help cost him another part of his wealth. Despite these losses, Ramkrishna remained generous toward the poor and never refused anyone who came to him for help. 

At one point, Ramkrishna saved the life of a poor Brahmin by giving him money. A mysterious sadhu who had previously warned him about worldly attachments then appeared and seemed to approve of what he had done, before disappearing again. People who observed the young prince’s devotional life began calling him a saint and a great worshipper of the Mother. 

Ramkrishna’s devotion continued to draw him away from worldly responsibilities. One dark new-moon night, while he was meditating on Ma Kali, a sannyasin appeared and accused him of still being bound by worldly ties. The encounter was brief, and the monk disappeared. Ramkrishna continued to spend more and more hours in meditation on his panchamundi asana at Bhavanipur. 

Rani Bhavani eventually returned from Varanasi because the estate was in danger of falling into ruin. She tried to persuade Ramkrishna to pay greater attention to his worldly responsibilities, but without success. His mind remained absorbed in Kali and in his spiritual practices. 

Ramkrishna also encountered the mysterious sadhu again. Harding identifies him as Sriji, a descendant of the royal family of Bundi. Sriji had left his palace many years earlier and, after years of ascetic practice, had become a mahayogi. When Ramkrishna saw him, he dismounted and stood before him. Sriji placed his hand on Ramkrishna’s back, and Ramkrishna experienced what Harding describes as an electric shock passing through his whole being. He then remembered a previous life in which Sriji had been his brother-disciple under the same great guru. He remembered that they had practised tapasya in a cave at Hardwar, near the place where the Ganges leaves the Himalayas, and that he had been born again for the purpose of fulfilling his aspiration toward perfection. Sriji then disappeared once more. 

Another important experience came during a festival attended by thousands of devotees. A gang of dacoits also arrived and attempted to attack the gathering. At that moment the Universal Mother appeared to Raja Ramkrishna in a terrible form. He drove the robbers away, and later they returned in remorse and begged forgiveness from the royal sadhu. 

Eventually Ramkrishna could no longer remain in the palace. He said farewell to his wife and entrusted his young children to her care. He wanted to withdraw completely from worldly activities and devote himself to the realization of the Great Mother. Before doing so, however, he needed the forgiveness and blessing of his adopted mother, Rani Bhavani, whose hopes for him had been disappointed. Although he was physically seated on his panchamundi asana, Harding writes that through his yogic powers he appeared before the Maharani.

With Rani Bhavani’s blessing, Ramkrishna renounced the world and spent the remainder of his life in constant communion with the Divine Mother. Harding describes him as a great royal yogi. Raja Ramkrishna died in 1795. 

Source & Note

This article is based on Elizabeth U. Harding’s Kali: The Black Goddess of Dakshineswar (Nicolas-Hays, 1993). The material has been edited and adapted for this publication.