Lokamata

Lokamata Rani Rashmoni Lokamata Rani Rashmoni, who is very much a history passing into a legend, was born of a Mahishya agriculturist family of village Kona, , 24 Parganas (North), , on 26th September 1793. Her father was Harekrishna Das and mother Rampriya. At the age of eleven she was married to RajchandraDas, famous zamindarof , Calcutta. Zamindari of Janbazar was well known for its wealth, honour and benevolence those days. Price Dwarakanath Tagore, grandfather of Rabindranath, once approached Rashmoni for the post of Manager of this Janbazar Estate after the death of her husband. ‘Rashmoni’ was her name and she was called by the name ‘Rani’ and after the marriage she became known as ‘Rani Rashmoni’ becoming Rani in real terms also.

She was a very pious lady since her childhood and it was in her vision that Sri first appeared. She founded the temple of on the bank of the in 24 Parganas (North) by purchasing land which comprised land of Haisti, a Christian, and of a muslim mousque and built there what is known as Dakshineswar Temple. It was symbolic and, so to say, meant to be a place where all religions were to meet as manifested in Sri Ramakrishna’s life and vision. The story has it that Rani Rashmoni was proceeding to Baranasi on pilgrimage Goddess Kali in her dream who commanded her to build a temple there on the bank of the Ganges and arrange for daily “Anna Bhogh” (Rice offering). She was just mother to Sri Ramakrishna who called her ‘mother’. While many of her own men and Estate were against Gandhar’s (who was not Ramakrishna till then) ways of worship which in their view and rightly perhaps, were not according to shastras and were nothing but full of sheer madness, it was Rani Rashmoni who with her son-in-law Mathur Babu, observed from a secret place the ways of worship of Gadadhar and found in him divine manifestations and allowed him full freedom to do whatever he liked in worshipping Goddess Kali, doing away with the formal worship according to strict Sastras. This Gadadhar, who was treated by others as mad, became Sri Ramakrishna and without Rani Rashmoni, Gadadhar would have been turned out of the temple and would have possibly remained Gadadhar and not become Sri Ramakrishna. Though extremely religious and observing hard austerity in personal life taking only one meal a day and sleeping on bare floor, she had the capability and credit of managing such a very big Zamindari increasing its prestige and income to a very great extent.

She was out and out a nationalist in her out look. She prepared a Silver Ratha (Chariot) by native smiths disregarding suggestions of others to call m/s Hamilton, the world famous English Jewellers, for the purpose.

It was she, though a Pardanassin lady, who was the first to have the courage to come in conformation, in those days of sepoy Mutiny and after, with the Britishers, a terror to everyone, big or small. Nobody was ready to incur their displeasure and wrath in any way and every body was up and doing in pampering the British rulers and traders. Rashmoni was a different personality. She stood solidly by what she considered fair and just. To cite only a few examples: The britishers imposed tax on poor fishermen for fishing in the Ganges. They rushed to Rani to save them. Rashmoni then arranged to take on lease against payment of huge sums the portion of the ganges from Ghusuri to Metiabruz and laid strong chains across the river. As a result no ship could pass and trade and commerce started collapsing. The Britishers had then to bow down to her will that there would be not tax on fishing in rivers and upon this assurance only she removed the chains.

The Britishers stopped puja processions with beat of drums and shoutings of cheers on the plea that it disturbed peace. Rashmoni became furious at this interference in religious rights and ordered processions with beat of drums and shouts of cheers to proceed ahead. She was fined Rs. 40/- for her so doing. The news of imposition of this penalty spread like wild fire and thousands of people thronged for remission of her fine and the Britishers had to bow down again by remitting the fine.

On another occasion, some British soldiers badly behaved with some poor women subject of her and she immediately got them arrested by her pykes. The British soldiers got enraged and seiged the Janbazar Palace. The undaunted Rani took sword in her own hand and stood at upstairs gate to save her men and the idol of Raghunathjee, her family diety. This scene reminded the Britishers of the Goddess Kali and they retreated. It is only in her Zamndari that some of the Nilkar people were given such exemplary punishment that they dared not do again any repression in fear of her.

She made a debuttar of the Dakshineswar Temple by making gift of properties out of income of which the Seva-Puja would be continued.

Charitable, religious and pious works of Rani knew no bounds. She built road from the Subarnarekha river to Puri for the pilgrims, , Ahiritola Ghat, Nimtola Ghat, for daily beathers in the Ganges and the big shade at Nimtola Ghat cremation ground for public convenience. She donated land and money for the Canal, the Madhumati Connecting Canal etc. She also made substantial contributions to the them Imperial Library (now National Library), Hindu College (Now Presidency College), Bengal Femine Relief Fund and numerous other known and unknown charitable trusts and institutions. Such instances of benevolence are unparalled in the history of this as well as any other country. She patronized Vidyasagar’s Widow Remarriage movement with substantial financial help.

Many such other instances of her courage, bravery, far sight, benign love for the country and its people, religion culture, history and heritage, which are very much history, passed into legends and myths as already said.

While in those day, the elite and the general public lost faith in Indian religion, culture history and heritage, Rashmoni resisted and revivalism started right from then. The great Indian Renaissance, which started with that is known as Ramakrishna-Vivekananda Movement, owed its origin to Rani Rashmoni. Indian nationalism, culture, religion and all owed for their revival singularly to Vivekananda, the disciple of Sri Ramakrishna both of whom were product of Rani Rashmoni‘s dream. According to Nivedita, without Rani Rashmoni, there would have been no Dakshineswar, without Dakshineswar, Gadadhar would have remained Gadadhar and would not have become Sri Ramakrishna; without Sri Ramakrishna, Narendranath Dutta would have remained Narendranath and would not have become Vivekandna and without Vivekananda renaissance of would not have been possible.

Rani Rashmoni is in the real sense the mother of Indian Renaissance