195:
In the short
English-language introduction to his book, Harachandra displays a near-agnostic attitude, declaring that it impossible to prove a claimed revelation as true or false: the founder of a religion claims to have received the word of the god, the first believers trust him because they revere
239:
Thus, though a bastard, even the priests extolled him, and thinking 'I am a righteous-souled one,' he began to preach religion. Trusting his words, having scarcely considered anything, dull-witted people became his ardent servants. As the priests attributed miraculous activity in order to conceal
407:(1841) criticized the text as a "silly book full of falsehood and bitter invectives", and declared that the job of Christian missionaries would be very easy if Hindu pandits were only as competent as Harachandra. Within a few months, Muir responded to Harachandra with a rebuttal in the
252:
Harachandra derides the
Christian missionaries, and insults Muir as "Hinduism's great foe", "blind", and "prejudiced". According to him, the Hindus who converted to Christianity did so because they desired the beautiful daughters of the Christian priests, liquor, meat, and profits.
383:
In the concluding verse of his work, Harachandra vows to convert to
Christianity if his objections were answered satisfactorily. He offered to engage in further dialogues with Muir only if Muir was willing to remunerate him and bear the printing costs.
438:(English title: "Truth Defended, Error Exposed"). Banerjea accused Harachandra of not adhering to "the rules of common courtesy", and criticized his assertions as "glaringly incorrect, absurd, utterly subversive of all religion".
268:), stating that they proved the Christian priests wrong. The works of these freethinkers may be Harachandra's sources for criticism of Christianity. He points out several problems with Christianity, such as
240:
their offense, so did they, too, become bereft of sense, deluded by their own magic. In the book, they made the fantastic proclamation that, 'This is God.' Thus was this religion propagated over the earth.
379:) is eternally existing (as opposed to being the god's creation) is correct. If the god created the souls (as Christians believe), why does one soul experience pleasure and another suffers pain?
226:- Harachandra's work was quite hostile towards Christianity, and lacked the persuasive power and the "finesse in interreligious dialogue". For example, he crudely scandalizes the story of the
336:
are meant for virtuous people who commit bad deeds accidentally. (Muir criticizes the belief that bathing in the Ganges cleanses one's sins, stating that it is "a cheap and easy form of
434:
to officially respond to
Harachandra's work. Banerjea, a Hindu convert to Christianity and a clergyman at the Christ Church, published a Bengali-language retort in 1841, titled
173:
consists of 137 verses in 18 pages, including a 2-page
English-language preface. The Sanskrit text is divided into three untitled chapters. The text was printed in
211:). Based on this belief, he argues that "only that religion is true which has prevailed on earth since the time of creation, and not one that arose subsequently."
203:
In the
Sanskrit text, Harachandra resorts to orthodox Hindu presuppositions. For example, according to him, the Bible is a relatively recent book, while the Hindu
300:
Various Hindu sects praise their own deities and criticize other deities in order to glorify their faith, but this is "not the highest form of activity."
200:
claimed to be a prophet of god, he thinks that
Muhammad was either "an imposter or insane", and a Muslim similarly doubts the Christian or Hindu faith.
766:
791:
216:
157:
from
Calcutta. The text suggests that he was not a scholar, but knew a little about the Bible, the history of the Christian church, the Western
422:
An unidentified
British "gentleman" admonished Harachandra in three sermons delivered at the Christ Church in Cornwallis Square, Calcutta.
359:
revered the god as a husband, so he fulfilled their desires in form of
Krishna, but the god does not advise men to imitate such behavior.
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786:
746:
725:
269:
222:
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him, and each succeeding group of believers subscribe to the faith more blindly. As an example, he states that while he agrees that
771:
343:
The god exists for the devotee in the form that the devotee worships him, which explains the seemingly objectionable behavior (
66:
329:, and control their senses. Brahmins devoid of such conduct are not respected in the scriptures or the world.
431:
427:
273:
136:
234:, resulting in her pregnancy, and these priests described the birth as a miracle to conceal their crime:
337:
277:
231:
227:
181:
141:
717:
Resistant Hinduism: Sanskrit Sources on Anti-Christian Apologetics in Early Nineteenth-century India
392:
Conservative Hindus endorsed Harachandra as a defender of their faith. The work was translated into
776:
375:
291:, but Brahman is difficult to attain, so "fools" worship him in form of various deities and attain
276:
opposed to each other. He attributes the spread of Christianity to royal decrees since days of
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736:
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132:
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363:
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17:
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An Answer to a Sketch of the Argument for Christianity and against Hinduism
413:
On the Arguments by which the Alleged Eternity of the Vedas May be Refuted
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197:
124:
116:
56:
415:". He also included some of these arguments in the 1840 edition of the
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326:
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exist, because the sages wrote them to explain the meaning of the
272:, unfulfilled prophecies, doubtful miracles, and the existence of
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Rituals such as purification of sins through bathing in the
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Some of Harachandra's arguments in defense of Hinduism are:
396:, and appeared in serial form in the Calcutta newspaper
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Compared to the other Hindu responses to Muir's work -
400:, with recommendations from leading Hindu citizens.
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84:
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62:
52:
40:
32:
319:because the Brahmins adhere to righteous conduct (
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287:Hindu scriptures recommend only the worship of
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180:The title of the text means "An Answer to the
119:-language text by Harachandra Tarkapanchanan (
44:
738:A History of Christianity in India: 1707-1858
487:
8:
27:
256:He refers to Western freethinkers (such as
26:
230:, stating that many priests had sex with
447:
188:) in Sanskrit. It bears the subtitle
7:
370:, which are difficult to understand.
123:: Hara-candra Tarka-pañcānana) of
25:
135:response to the Christian writer
767:19th-century Sanskrit literature
373:The Hindu belief that the soul (
153:The author, Harachandra, was a
792:Books critical of Christianity
741:. Cambridge University Press.
720:. De Nobili Research Library.
436:Satyā Sthāpana o Mithyā Nāśana
1:
315:is regarded as superior to a
307:because of their past deeds (
303:People are born into various
207:are "eternally preexistent" (
36:Hara-chandra Tarakapanchanana
161:, and contemporary science.
405:Calcutta Christian Observer
349:) of Hindu deities such as
808:
714:Richard Fox Young (1981).
18:Harachandra Tarkapanchanan
782:19th-century Indian books
67:Criticism of Christianity
787:Indian non-fiction books
270:Biblical inconsistencies
409:Christian Intelligencer
403:On the other hand, the
223:Śāstra-tattva-vinirṇaya
772:Hindu apologetic works
735:Stephen Neill (2002).
428:Archdeacon of Calcutta
242:
45:
697:Richard F. Young 1981
685:Richard F. Young 1981
673:Richard F. Young 1981
661:Richard F. Young 1981
649:Richard F. Young 1981
637:Richard F. Young 1981
625:Richard F. Young 1981
613:Richard F. Young 1981
601:Richard F. Young 1981
589:Richard F. Young 1981
577:Richard F. Young 1981
565:Richard F. Young 1981
553:Richard F. Young 1981
541:Richard F. Young 1981
526:Richard F. Young 1981
503:Richard F. Young 1981
473:Richard F. Young 1981
458:Richard F. Young 1981
411:of Calcutta, titled "
228:virgin birth of Jesus
186:Mata-parīkṣā-uttara
41:Original title
29:
488:Stephen Neill 2002
325:), endure painful
217:Mata-parīkṣā-śikṣā
113:Mataparīkṣottaram
104:
103:
95:Publication place
71:Hindu apologetics
28:Mataparīkṣottara
16:(Redirected from
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394:Bengali language
364:Hindu scriptures
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246:Mataparīkṣottara
171:Mataparīkṣottara
108:Mataparīkṣottara
86:Publication date
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46:मतपरीक्षोत्तरम्
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133:Hindu apologist
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432:K. M. Banerjea
424:Thomas Dealtry
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175:Bengali script
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430:, selected
417:Mataparīkṣā
327:austerities
278:Constantine
182:Mataparīkṣā
159:freethought
142:Mataparīkṣā
80:non-fiction
777:1840 books
761:Categories
442:References
398:Prabhakara
258:David Hume
149:Authorship
131:. It is a
388:Reception
362:Multiple
346:rasa lila
137:John Muir
266:Voltaire
209:sanātana
198:Muhammad
165:Contents
125:Calcutta
117:Sanskrit
57:Sanskrit
53:Language
351:Krishna
313:Brahmin
289:Brahman
63:Subject
745:
724:
353:. The
334:Ganges
322:dharma
317:Shudra
305:varnas
294:moksha
264:, and
33:Author
376:atman
368:Vedas
356:gopis
338:grace
311:). A
309:karma
205:Vedas
77:Genre
743:ISBN
722:ISBN
232:Mary
220:and
169:The
121:IAST
90:1840
340:".)
184:" (
139:'s
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533:^
510:^
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419:.
260:,
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145:.
127:,
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20:)
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