Gopala Bhatta Goswami (1503–1578) is one of the foremost disciples of the

Vaishnava Vaishnavism ( sa, वैष्णवसम्प्रदायः, Vaiṣṇavasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu denominations along with Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. It is also called Vishnuism since it considers Vishnu as the ...

saint,

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (; born Vishvambhar Mishra) was a 15th-century Indian saint who is considered to be the combined avatar of Radha and Krishna by his disciples and various scriptures. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's mode of worshipping Krish ...

, and a leading historical figure in the

Gaudiya Vaishnava Gaudiya Vaishnavism (), also known as Chaitanya Vaishnavism, is a Vaishnavism, Vaishnava Hindu denominations, Hindu religious movement inspired by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486–1534) in India. "Gaudiya" refers to the Gaura or Gauḍa region o ...

school of

Hinduism Hinduism () is an Indian religion or '' dharma'', a religious and universal order or way of life by which followers abide. As a religion, it is the world's third-largest, with over 1.2–1.35 billion followers, or 15–16% of the global p ...

. He was part of a group of Vaishnava devotees known collectively as the Six Goswamis of Vrindavan, who were influential in establishing the philosophical basis of the Gaudiya tradition in formalised writings.

Background

Born in a

Sri vaishnava Sri Vaishnavism, or the Sri Vaishnava Sampradaya, is a denomination within the Vaishnavism tradition of Hinduism. The name refers to goddess Lakshmi (also known as Sri), as well as a prefix that means "sacred, revered", and the god Vishnu, who ...

family of Tamil Iyengar origin in sri rangam, and the son of Venkatta Bhatta, Gopala bhatta goswami was a great devotee of Laxmi-Narayana. According to biographies such as the ''Bhakti Ratnakara'' Gopal Bhatta's first meeting with

Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (; born Vishvambhar Mishra) was a 15th-century Indian saint who is considered to be the combined avatar of Radha and Krishna by his disciples and various scriptures. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's mode of worshipping Krishna ...

was in 1510 during Mahaprabhu's tour of South India. Although of a young age he was given the opportunity to meet with Chaitanya and serve him over a number of months. Such was his love for the saint, that when Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was about to leave, Gopala Bhatta became upset, and for Gopala Bhatta's sake, Chaitanya then agreed to stay a few more days. According to Gaudiya tradition it was during this time that Gopala Bhatta had a spiritual vision in which Chaitanya Mahaprabhu revealed Himself as an avatar of

Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...

, the supreme God. In the vision Krishna then told him that in the town of

Vrindavan Vrindavan (; ), also spelt Vrindaban and Brindaban, is a historical city in the Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is located in the Braj Bhoomi region and holds religious importance in Hinduism as Krishna spent most of his childho ...

he would meet with two devotees, namely

Rupa Goswami Rupa Goswami ( sa, रूप गोस्वामी, bn, রূপ গোস্বামী, ; 1489–1564) was a devotional teacher (guru), poet, and philosopher of the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition. With his brother Sanatana Goswami, he is ...

and

Sanatana Goswami Sanatana Goswami ( sa, सनातन गोस्वामी, ; bn, সনাতন গোস্বামী; 1488–1558) was a principal follower of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Sanatana wrote a number of important works in the bhakti tradition ...

who would instruct him in the finer details of devotional service ( bhakti). When Gopala Bhatta awoke from the experience, he wanted to leave for Vrindavan at once, however Chaitanya Mahaprabhu told him to stay and serve his parents. After Chaitanya's departure, Gopal Bhatta took guidance from his uncle Prabhodananda Sarasvati. Gopal Bhatta took care of his parents into their old age, and then after they died he then traveled to Vrindavana. There he met Rupa and Sanatana who accepted him as a brother. Gopal Bhatta later helped Sanatana compile the book ''Hari Bhakti Vilasa''.

Vrindavan

Gopala Bhatta studied rhetoric, poetry,

Vedanta ''Vedanta'' (; sa, वेदान्त, ), also ''Uttara Mīmāṃsā'', is one of the six (''āstika'') schools of Hindu philosophy. Literally meaning "end of the Vedas", Vedanta reflects ideas that emerged from, or were aligned with, t ...

, and

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

grammar from his uncle Prabodhananda Sarasvati. After the passing of his parents he went to Vrindavan, where he met both Rupa and Sanatana Goswamis as had purportedly been instructed in his vision. When Lord Chaitanya discovered that Gopala Bhatta was in Vrindavan, he was extremely pleased and sent some of his personal belongings to Gopala Bhatta, who worshiped them. Mahaprabhu also sent a letter instructing Gopala Bhatta to help Rupa and Sanatana compile Vaishnava literature. Gopala Bhatta accepted this instruction as his life and soul, and he later also engaged his disciple Srinivasa Acarya in carrying the writings to Bengal. Gopala Bhatta established the

Radha Raman Temple Sri Radha Raman Temple, is a Hindu temple situated in Vrindavan, India. It is dedicated to Krishna who is worshiped as Radha Ramana. This temple is counted as one of the Seven most revered ancient temples of Vrindavan along with Radha Vallabh ...

in 1542, his samadhi also exists within the temple complex. He eternally serves Shrimati Radharani as one of Her asta manjaris, Guna-manjari. His samadhi is within Radha Ramanaji's Temple compound behind the appearance place of the Deity. Shri Gopala Bhatta Goswami initiated Gopinatha (Pujari Goswami), a lifelong brahmachari who served Radha Ramanaji for his whole life.

References

Bibliography

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External links

Gopala Bhatta Goswami
(radhakunda.com)

{{Authority control Gaudiya religious leaders Vaishnavism People from Mathura 1503 births 1578 deaths Year of death unknown 16th-century Indian people Vaishnava saints

Background

Vrindavan

See also

References

Bibliography

External links