Hariprasad Pande or Dharmadev (1739 - 1792) was the father of Swaminarayan. He was born to Bala Krishna and Bhagyawati in the town of Ittar, Uttar Pradesh. He was a Sarvaria Brahmin by caste and very learned and respected by great scholars of his time. It was Dharmadev who took up the duty of teaching his son Ghanshyam (Swaminarayan) Hindu scriptures.
When his father died in 1792, upon completion of his fathers last rites, Swaminarayan left his home in Chhapaiya to undertake a pilgrimage of India for 7 years which would eventually end in Gujarat in 1799 where he settled down and preached his philosophy.
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