Gaga Bhatt


Vishveshvara Bhatta, popularly known as Gaga Bhatt was a 17th-century Brahmin scholar from Varanasi, best known for presiding over the coronation of the Maratha king, Shivaji.
Gaga Bhatt was renowned as Vedonarayana. The Bhatta family originally hailed from Paithan, Maharashtra who belongs to Vishwamitra gotra. His great grandfather Nārāyaņa Bhațța was a well-known scholar and his notable works on smriti include, Prayogaratna, Tristhalisetu and Antyeșțipaddhati. His grandfather was Rāmakŗșņa Bhațța, the eldest son of Nārāyaņa. His father Divākara Bhațța, the eldest son of Rāmakŗșņa was an author on smriti. His works include, Bhațțadinākara,Śāntisāra and Dinākaroddyota. His uncle, Kamalākara Bhațța, was also a noted scholar, mostly known for his Nirņayasindhu, a popular work on smriti. Gaga Bhatt himself is known for his Bhațțacintāmaņi, a work on Mīmāṃsā.
Gaga Bhatt's first reference appears in 1640 where is noted as a member of the assembly of Pandits in Kashi deciding upon the rights of a Shende Golak family. Gaga Bhatt has previously met Shivaji more than a decade before his coronation year of 1674. In 1663, he came to the Deccan. At Rajapur, Maharashtra Shivaji invited him to preside an assembly of 15 Pandits to decide on the rights of the Saraswat Brahmin community to end a local dispute. The decision at this assembly in April 1664 is prefaced by praise or prashasti for Shahaji and Shivaji by Gaga Bhatt.
Gaga Bhatt appeared without invitation in the chronicles of Sabhasad and Chitragupta, when he decided to visit his court after hearing about the fame of Shivaji. He was impressed with Shivaji's court and their treatment of him, quoting: