Mahāmahopādhyāya Krishnanath Nyāyapañchānan (1833–1911)
असंख्यविज्ञानेषु सम्पन्नम् — Adept in countless śāstras.

Born 1833 CE (1240 B.E.) at Purbasthali, Navadvīpa, to Keśab Chandra Vidyāratna and Kamalasundarī Devī, Krishnanath became a towering scholar of Nyāya, Mīmāṁsā, Vedānta, Sāṅkhya, Smṛti, vyākaraṇa, alaṅkāra, and more—oceanic in depth, sky-wide in breadth, yet marked by humility, discipline, and a severe allergy to adharma.

He taught in his own chatuṣpāṭhī (tol), fed and housed students at personal cost, and refused salaries or stipends that violated his reading of śāstra. Offers of posts and honoraria—however celebrated—could not sway him from the principle: “Vidya is not for sale.”

Honours & public roles

● Conferred “Mahāmahopādhyāya” (1891 CE) for distinguished merit in classical learning.
● Invited arbiter in dhārmika tribunals; famed for impartial adjudication.
● Śrī Bhārat Dharma Mahāmaṇḍal: elected administrator; styled “Paṇḍitakula-Chakravartī.”
● Installed as Smārta-pradhān (chief Smṛti authority) of Navadvīpa.
● Institution-builder: helped found Victoria Institution high school (now Nilmoni Brahmachari Institution), pushed for post office, sub-registry, and a charitable dispensary—the seed of today’s primary health centre of Purbasthali.

Character in action

When a community sought a Smṛti ruling against scripture—and even offered large sums—he refused, and so did his beloved student Surendranath (later Saptatīrtha, Nyāyācārya). Integrity was not a slogan; it was the operating system.

Final days

In Kāśī, after a life of teaching and service, he consciously relinquished the body at Manikarnikā Ghāṭ (1911 CE), according to the vivid account preserved by his student’s family. Even at sunset, śraddhā met śāstra without drama.