Gaga Bhatt
Gaga Bhatt | |
|---|---|
विश्वेश्वर भट्ट | |
Indrabhishek of Chatrapati Shivaji by Gaga Bhatt in the court. | |
| Title | Vedonarayana |
| Personal life | |
| Born | Vishveshwara Bhatt 1600 |
| Died | 1685 |
| Parent | Divakara Bhatt (father) |
| Known for | Indrabhishek (or coronation) of Chatrapati Shivaji |
| Religious life | |
| Religion | Hinduism |
| Sect | Vaishnavism |
| Dharma names | Paṇḍita Viśveśvara Bhaṭṭa |
Vishweshwara Pandit (IAST: Viśveśvara Paṇḍita) (b. 1600 – d. 1685), popularly known as Gaga Bhatt (from Gāgābhaṭṭa), was a 17th-century Brahmin scholar from Varanasi, best known for presiding over the pan-Indian Brahminical committees convened by Shivaji to adjudicate the caste status of the Syenavi Gaud Saraswat Brahmins, who claimed Brahmin rank, and the Chandraseniya Kayastha Prabhus, who claimed to be Kshatriyas, before taking up the matter of Shivaji's own caste and eligibility for investiture with the sacred thread (Upanayana), coronation as Chhatrapati (Abhisheka), and participation in other high rituals.