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Sada Goswami were six pundits of vaisnavism, adept in sanskrit. Sanatan, Rupa, Raghunath Das, Gopal Bhatta, Raghunath Bhatta and Jiva are called as sada goswami, or the Six Goswamins, by the Vaisnavas of Gauda. They were all more or less close to
Chaitanyadev and contributed to the foundation of Gaudiya
Vaisnavism.
Sanatan Goswami
(c 1465-1555 AD) an expert in logic, was known as Amar in his
family. He was born at Ramkeli village near Gauda and his forefathers
were Deccan Karnataka Brahmins. He is believed to have lived at Fateyabad
in Bakla Chandradwip, at Nabahatta or Naihati, and Ramkeli in Maldah.
The logician basudev
sarvabhauma and his brother Madhusudan Vidyavachaspati taught
him logic. Sanatan is said to have learnt Arabic and Persian well since
he had to work as revenue minister (sakar mallik) in the court of Hussain
Shah.
Although employed by
the state, he was greatly influenced by the spirit of renunciation.
He left his job after meeting Chaitanyadev at Ramkeli when the sage
was on his way to Vrindavan (probably in 1515 AD) and became a follower
of Shri Chaitanya. From then on, he became known as Sanatan.
Sri Chaitanya stayed at Kashi for two months on
his way to Nilachal. He entrusted Sanatan with four assignments:
writing prayer books, preaching devotion and rites, discovering
holy sites, and worshipping the image of deities. |
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Sanatan Goswami |
Sanatan stayed at Vrindavan from then on and worked to
give Vaisnavism a sound philosophical footing. He wrote several books
in Sanskrit which include Brhat-Bhagavatamrta, Brhat-Vaisnavatosini
(commentaries on Shrimadbhagavata), Lilastava, Haribhaktivilasa
and Digdarshani (commentary).
Rupa Goswami
(c 1470-1559 AD) was the younger brother of Sanatan. Although he was christened
as Santos, he is better known as Rupa, as the name given to him by Sri
Chaitanya. He also worked in the court of Hussain Shah as dabir khas
(principal secretary) to Sultan. From his boyhood, Rupa was a devotee
of Krishna. He met Chaitanyadev at Prayag when he was on his way to Vrindavan.
He took some lessons in devotional lore from Chaitanyadev. Later, he set
out for Vrindavan at his bidding and discovered the lost holy site and
an image of Govinda.
He wrote many important books such as Hangsaduta (Duck
messenger), Uddhava-Sandesha, Vidagdha-Madhava,
Lalita-Madhava, Danakeli-Kaumudi, Bhaktirasamrta-Sindhu
(Sea of Devotion), Ujjvalanilamani (Brilliant Lapis Lazuli),
Natakachandrika, Vilapa-Kusumanjali, Upadeshamrta
(Advice), Govinda-birudavali, Astadashalila, Radhakrsna-Ganoddesha
etc. Among the Goswamins, Rupa was the most famous for his poetical
talent and erudition.
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Rupa Goswami |
Raghunath Das
(c 1490-1577 AD) born at a place called Haripur in Saptagram, received
education from the house priest Balaram Acharya. He showed signs of asceticism
in his childhood. Impressed by the personality and devotion of Haridas
Thakur, he offered his services to Haridas and earned his patronage. Hearing
about Chaitanyadev at this time, he left for Nilachal and put himself
at Chaitanyadev's service. Chaitanyadev then put Swarup Damodar in Raghunath's
custody. This is why he is also known as 'Swarup's Raghu'.
He lived at Nilachal for sixteen years. After the death of Sri
Chaitanya and Swarup Damodar, he took the shelter of Rupa and
Sanatan at Vrindavan. Raghunath adhered to the philosophy of the
Vaisnava way of life closely and the practice of prasad
(offering to deities) during his stay at Nilachal and Vrindavan.
He discovered Radhakunda and Shyamakunda. After restoring Radhakunda,
he lived there till his death. As he came to the last part of
his life, he began abstaining from food and sleep; he used to
sit by Radhakunda and chant the name of radha.
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Raghunath Das |
The extremely ascetic way of life he led is unusual even
among Goswamins. His books include Muktacharita (Life of a pearl),
Stavavali (Praise), Danacharita Ba Shridanakelichintamani,
Manahshiksa, Suravali, Shiksapatala, Shrinamacharita
etc.
Gopal Bhatta
(c 1500-1585 AD) was originally from South India. According to
murari gupta,
on his way to the Deccan, Chaitanyadev stayed at the house of Goapl Bhatta
when he was a young boy. Seeing Gopal's devotion to Chaitanyadev, his
father Trimalla Bhatta, or Venkaka Bhatta in another account, offered
her son's service to Chaitanyadev. Chaitanyadev blessed Gopal Bhatta,
who after growing up, went to Vrindavan and met other Goswamins. Sri Chaitanya
sent his loin-cloth and a wooden seat for him. The seat made of wood,
placed at Radharaman Temple, is still worshipped in Vrindavan. Gopal was
buried in a place located behind this temple.
Gopal was well versed in Sanskrit and philosophy. He wrote Shrikrisnaballabha,
a commentary, on the play called Krisnakarnamrta. He wrote
an explanation of the book called Satsandrarbha in an aphoristic
form after discussing its philosophy with Rupa and Sanatan. Another
of his book named Satkriyasaradipika has descriptions of
fourteen rituals of a wedding. The book also lays out rules for
dresses and conduct. The sanskrit
sahitya parisat library has a puthi
called Danabhatta (No. 427) by Gopal Bhatta. Some scholars
believe that the book called Haribhaktivilasa was written
by Gopal Bhatta; but it could be that the context of a book originally
written by Sanatan was expanded by Gopal.
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Gopal Bhatta |
Raghunath Bhatta
(c 1506-1580 AD) played an important role in restoring
the holy sites of Vrindavan and founding images of deities. In addition,
he also played a role in demarcating the forests stretching along the
84 kroshas (168 miles) which present-day Vaisnava devotees must traverse.
Raghunath's father was Tapan Mishra. Sri Chaitanya, on his tour
of the eastern Bengal, stayed at the house of Tapan Misra on the
bank of the padma.
Chaitanyadev then indoctrinated Raghunath. Raghunath earned a
name for himself because of his erudition after mastering the
faith at Kashi. He witnessed the lila (play) of Chaitanyadev
at Nilachal. After his parents' death, he left for Vrindavan and
met Rupa and Sanatan there. He became famous as the greatest reciter
of the Bhagavata.
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Raghunath Bhatta |
Jiva Goswami
(c 1514-1609 AD) nephew of Rupa and Sanatan, was also born at
Ramkeli. After receiving his primary schooling in Gauda, he went to Navadwip
to meet Nityananda who directed him to study diverse various subjects
with Pandit Madhusudan Vachaspati at Kashi. He met his uncles Rupa and
Sanatan there. Rupa Goswami endeavoured him in Vaisnavism. Jiva learnt
many things in the company of Rupa and Sanatan.
After their deaths, Jiva
led the Gaudiya Vaisnava community at Vrindavan. He endorsed the
worship of the image of krishna
along with an image of Radha placed at its left.
Jiva was devoted to Sri Chaitanya from his childhood;
his devotion further deepened after his indoctrination. He wrote
several volumes on Vaisnavism, tantra (service books) and
commentaries and annotations. |
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Jiva Goswami |
His Satsandarbha is a famous philosophical treatise.
In the six chapters of the book, he discussed different philosophical
beliefs. Other books by him are Harinamamrtavyakarana, Sangkalpakalpadruma,
Sarasanggraha, Gopalachampu, Dhatusutramalika and Madhavamahotsava.
In addition, he wrote commentaries on and annotations to Ujjvalnilamani,
Bhaktirasamrtasindhu, Gopalatapani and annotation of Bhagavata.
[Basanti Choudhury]
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