Bhanu Bhakta a renowned Nepali poet

Bhanu Bhakta is the most highly renowned and famous of poets who wrote in the Nepali language. He was born on the 13th of July, 1814 in Chundi Ramgha of Tanahu district in Nepal and was educated at home by his grandfather, Krishna Acharya.

Bhanu Bhakta wrote a great many poems. His ‘Ramayan’ became very popular among the Nepali people. He translated the Ramayan from Sanskrit to Nepali so  beautifully that every Nepali could remember the whole volume of Ramayan by heart.

Adikavi Bhanu Bhakta

Adikavi Bhanu Bhakta is considered to be the first poet to write in the Nepali language. Poets before him in Nepal usually wrote in Sanskrit. So, Bhanu Bhakta Acharay is called Adikavi (early poet) of the Nepali language Apart from this, after Bhanu Bhakta, the Nepali language gradually started to become standard and refined.

Also, his writings were more creative than those of his contemporaries. About his creativity Pallav Ranjan writes, “Adikabi Bhanu Bhakta is considered to be the first poet to write in the Khas, or the Nepali language. While there were other verses written in the Khas language before Bhanu Bhakta’s time, some of them were hard to identify as poetry - the quality is sketchy; many of the writers disappeared due to the lack of a forum where they could foster their talents and many wrote poetry that was too heavily Sanskritized. Bhanu Bhakta was definitely ‘the’ writer who gained the acceptance of a wide range of people and his creations played a key role in popularizing the written form of the Khas language.

Bhanu Bhakta is said to have effected the emotional unification of all Nepalis through his rendering of Ramayan into colloquial Nepali.

But above all, it was Moti Ram Bhatta who propagated Bhanu Bhakta in the Nepali world. He took pains to collect the miscellaneous works of Bhanu Bhakta and published a collection. He also wrote the poet’s biography.

Sikkim’s role in the promotion of the Nepali language

Sikkim has a vital role for the development of the Nepali language in India. It was due to Sikkim under the leadership of Dil Kumari Bhandari, the then Lok Sabha M.P. that the Nepali language got recognition in the 8th Schedule of the Indian Constitution after a long struggle on the 20th  of August, 1992.

Now under the direction of Chief Minister Pawan Chamling, a research centre for the development of Nepali language, tradition and culture is being built in Geyzing, West Sikkim.  Such a research centre would definitely help the Nepali language flourish.

DB Rai