• Biographical Sketch of Ma Kusumkumari Devi :

In Sonamukhi, District- Bankura, Bengal, there was a Brahmin named, Biswambhara Bhattacharya. This man had two sons, named Kandarpa Sundara and Ratikanta. Kandarpa Sundara Bhattacharya was born in 1831, He obtained employment in the local Zamindari. He married in 1865 a girl named Chandravali by whom he had eight children. He died on 12^th January 1908. Chandravali was the daughter of a Brahmin Pandit of the name of Gour Chattopadhyaya a native of the village Kantabandh. She was born on 16^th January 1856. Her marriage with Kandarpa took place in her tenth year. Kusumkumari is the eldest eldest daughter of Chandravali Devi who died on 14^th April 1920.

Kusumkumari Devi was born on the 14^th December 1870 at 3 p.m. in the afternoon. Chandravali gave birth to the gem of moonlike daughter, and her joy knew no bounds on seeing that the lying-in room was lighted with the glow of the daughter’s beauty. After the baby was born, for ten minutes she neither cried nor looked. No sooner was it kept in the lap of Haranath than it opened its eyes and all the ladies who were anxious till then about the newborn’s condition, felt happy on the event. When the child opened its eyes for the first time, its glance fell upon Haranath. Haranath smiled and the baby also smiled. He was charmed to see the beauty of the new-born smiling baby and gazed eagerly at her face. Who knows that this chance union between the two children was not symbolical of any agelong bond of friendship, the heritage of countless lives in which they had kept company with each other. Haranath, the son of Bhagavati Sundari Devi and Joyram, was her playmate in childhood. Haranath’s grandmother, Dasu Thakurani, the wife of Kartik Chandra Chakravarti, observing their mutual affection, thought it would be very fine if they were married. And the marriage of Haranath and Kusumkumari Devi took place on the 29^th January 1879 (17^th Magha 1285 B.S.).

Matrusree, it goes without saying, was an exemplary wife. She had unparalleled devotion to Her Husband and rendered ungrudging service to Her Mother in law for whose comforts only she was detained at Sonamukhi, when the Lord went to Srinagar. With equal regularity and devotion she would attend to the worship of Shyama Sundar, the family Deity.

On 16^th March 1884, She, together with Haranath received initiation from their family preceptor Shitikantha Goswami.

She had four daughters and two sons. The sons are Anukul Chandra and Krishnadas, the names of the daughters are Indumati, Subhasini, Raimati and Bagala. Anukul was born on the 3^rd of April 1890. After Bhagavati Sundari Devi’s demise, Sri Kusumkumari Devi went to Kashmir. Krishnadas was born in Jammu on 20^th October 1899.

Sri Kusumkumari Devi used to receive worship along with the Lord Haranath on Janmotsav and Ananda Milan occations. She is as eager to save and protect Her Devotees as the Lord Haranath Himself. Her Divine Love is now a days enveloping the whole world. Her Glory is becoming more and more visible after the Lord’s demise.

Kusumkumari Devi is a kind hostess. She regards Her Devotees as Her own children and eats only after them. She worships the Tulasi Plant and the family Deity Shyama Sundar. She sees that regular service is carried on in the Shiva Temple built by Her Father in law. She visits important centres of pilgrimage, repeats the Divine Name and salute the family preceptor.

Her instructions to the devotees, “Don’t forget the Lord. Constantly repeat the Divine Name. Fellow devotees should sit together as often as possible and do Sankirtan.”

Sri Kusumkumari Devi’s outer life is therefore not eventful or heroic or sensational. A superficial or ignorant observer would perhaps declare Her to be an ordinary lady, but She is like the blue ocean, which heights numberless heaps of precious stones and pearls in each unfathomable depths. Many of Her Devotees worship Her as Maheswari, as Radha, as Parvati, as Kali and so on. She Herself has declared that, She can become any or all of these at Her own choice, to please Her Devotees.

• The Glory of Sri Kusumkumari Devi :

The Avatar of KusumHaranath has two phases or aspects. You may call it a single Divine Personality with a double form. The two in the one are Sri Haranath and Sri Kusumkumari Devi. Those who neglect the Mother or ignore Her or even give Her a place of secondary importance, do not, and in our opinion, cannot get the full benefit of their Devotion.

In life and nature we see two principles at work – the masculine and the feminine. The two together give its endless perpetuity to nature. The Female principle is the main helper in creative activity of every kind. The male stands for idea, the female for its execution; the male for strength, the female for beauty; the male for poise and equilibrium, the female for energy and power.

In every created being, there are these two principles always actively engaged in work of every kind. The human mind is partly masculine and partly feminine. Courage, ambition, idealism, strength, the desire to save and protect – all these qualities of human nature are masculine. Love, the sense of beauty, tenderness, pity, affection, the spirit of self-sacrifice, endurance – these are feminine qualities and you find these qualities present in every creature. They are the Eternal Feminine and Masculine of Nature.

God has been conceived of in the past as the Merciful Father. God has been conceived of as the Merciful Mother. We, the Devotees of Sri Haranath see God as the Two in One, Father and Mother. Ours is the Jugal Prabhu!

Say “Haranath” and you won’t  get a full response. Say “KusumHaranath” and you will have immediate relief. Kusumkumari is the Shakti of the Lord. She is His energy. Without Her the Lord is powerless. He is never without Her, except in the mind of the ignorant.

He has not understood the Jugal Prabhu who placed the Lord above Matru Sri or Matru Sri above the Lord. The two occupy the same pedestal. Nay each is also the other!

Lord Haranath on several occasions very solemnly observed that He was nothing without Kusumkumari and asked His Devotees to call Him as “Kusum-Haranath” and not simply as “Haranath”. It is known to many old Devotees of KusumHaranath that Sri Haranath used to hold Her in the highest reverence. Haranath used to tell His devotees that they need not at all worry about anything either material or Spiriual since they have their Mother as their eternal Saviour and Protector.

N.B. : The above article is collected from “The Glory of Matrusri Kusumkumari Devi” written by M. Sri Rama Murti, 1938 and “Lord Haranath-Adi Leela-Vol 1” written by A. Ramakrishna Sastri and published by, Girija Shankar Ghar on 1970.

“Jai Haranath Jai Kusumkumari Jai”