Chakrapani Misra: Ode to a forgotten man of science

A fairly commonplace name, Chakrapani Misra could well be a teacher from Uttar Pradesh or Bihar. One can imagine a dhoti-clad individual with shaven head, responding to this name.

Misra-ji, to be reverentially correct, does not belong to our age. He emerges from the yellowed pages of the pre-modern history of the Indian sub-continent.

Students appearing for competitive exams are questioned about Chakrapani Misra and his leader, Rana Pratap, the legendary ruler of Mewar. While Rana Pratap is remembered for values of freedom he espoused, Chakrapani Misra, in contrast, is relegated to the background.

It’s now time for him to be brought to the fore: Chakrapani Misra was the Court Pandit of Maharana Pratap. He was a Mathur Brahmin and belonged to the Nasavare Chobe family, Dr BM Jawalia writes in a 1989 volume commemorating Rana Pratap. Misra was the ancestral title for the family, which had served the Ranas of Mewar.

His great-great-grandfather Ashanand served in the court of Maharana Kumbha as Purana-vacaka in the 15th CE; his son, Sukhdev was also at the same post. Gajadharin, the next generation is a scholar honoured by Rana Raimal. Ugra Misra is his son, another well-respected scholar, to whom Chakrapani Misra was born.

In the midst of struggles against the Mughal Empire in the 16th CE, Chakrapani Misra undertook the task assigned to him by Rana Pratap to prepare a treatise on various branches of learning and science. In 1577 CE, he composed Vishwa Vallabha in Sanskrit, as was the norm of the age.

What is amazingly admirable is its focus on science and technology; its fullest utilisation through the establishment of several departments. Its nine chapters reveal that it deals with examining the ground for water, rules for ascertaining sources of water on the basis of types of soils, rocks and vegetation, digging of wells, step-wells, ponds and tanks, methods of blasting hard rock, equipment used in digging wells, methods of purification of sour and hard waters, and analyses of soils and plantations. Soon enough, the 16th CE treatise begins to read like a manual on agri-extension services prepared by a Ministry of Agriculture in the 21st CE!

If the Indian Council of Agricultural Research is mandated to plan, undertake, coordinate, and promote research and technology development for sustainable agriculture Vishwa Vallabha was doing the same 442 years ago.

Historians of science have commented that brilliant minds like Chakrapani Misra were trustees of knowledge, highly respected by peers and juniors, assisted by scholars contributing to the development of knowledge.

Hidden in the pages of Vishwa Vallabha, is also the story of dedication and sacrifice personified by the life and times of Misra-ji. Writing a Sanskrit treatise like a work of art, though attributed to Chakrapani Misra, it is a repository of knowledge of several ages. Without a Misra-ji penning it, this cache of agricultural science would have been lost.

On November 17, 2017, at the 42nd Vice-Chancellor’s Convention on “Globalisation of Agricultural Education” in Udaipur, a session was devoted to contribution of Maharana Pratap towards agricultural augmentation. “It is a long journey from the 16 th CE to the modern era,” said Dr SK Sharma of Maharana Pratap University of Agriculture and Technology, adding, “Mewar’s contribution to agriculture can best be understood through its water bodies, lakes and water management systems. Udaipur till date is known as the city of lakes.”

The convention’s chief guest Arvind Singh Mewar, whose family has directly descended from Maharana Pratap, commented, “There is no denying the pioneering achievements of Maharana Pratap. Yet, he is often seen in a unidimensional way. The battle of Haldighati has remained in popular history and imagination. We have not given attention to other facets of this leader’s life. His concern about agriculture is one huge domain, which has been ignored.

The writing of history, and ethnography of knowledge, has its own social battles. To keep memory alive is in itself an intellectual and political battle. The next time we hear the name Chakrapani Misra, it would be appropriate to offer our pranaam to this man of science and his illustrious family. In remembering the contribution of the Misras, we shall salute our resources of traditional knowledge and age-old wisdom shared across centuries.

The author is a researcher, writer, journalist and communications consultant