Introduction & Parentage

Introduction & Parentage

Towards mid-18th century there lived in the village of Derepore in Hooghly district, Bengal, a Brahmin by name Manik Ram Chattopadhyay,who was pious and kind-hearted man, was the head of the family.

With fifty acres at his disposal, he was able to meet the needs of his family and also lend a helping hand to the poor and distressed of the village during times of calamity. In about 1775 he was blessed with a son who was named Kshudiram. He later had two more sons and a daughter. After the death of Manik Ram, the entire charge of the family passed on to his eldest son, Kshudiram, who, trained in an orthodox family traditions, was eminently fit to attend to the religious and secular duties of the household.

Khudiram Chattopadhyay was married to Chandramani in 1799. Both of them were exceptionally devoted to their tutelary deity Sri Ramachandra, and soon earned the love, respect, and admiration of the villagers for their charity, truthfulness, and kindness.

Their first son Ramkumar was born in 1805 and daughter Katyayani in 1810.

In 1814 an incident of great importance occurred in the life of Khudiram.He was ordered by a Zamindar to bare false witness in court against a neighbour which he refused to do. So fearless was Khudiram integrity that he was prepared to stake his all rather than deviate from the path of truth and righteousness. His stout refusal to comply with the request made the zamindar bring a false case against him. It deprived him of his ancestral property. This ultimately led him to leave his ancestral house for good. Penniless and homeless, Kshudiram left Derepore and made Kamarpukur, a neighbouring village, his new home.