

64.PURANDARA ACARYA:

He lived in Navadvipa and was a brahmana belonging to the branch of Lord Caitanya.  Mahaprabhu's father, Jagannatha Misra, also possessed this title, "Purandara Acarya," thus Mahaprabhu addressed Purandara respectfully as "father." (CBh. 3.8.31, CC.
1.10.30)

65.PURANDARA DASA:

Among the devotional poets of Karnataka, he ranks very high and is often described as the "dasasrestha."  His musical contribution was also commendable.  Born in an aristocratic family he renounced all his wealth and took to begging alms for his live
lihood.  He was initiated by Vyasaraya at Vijayanagara.

It was in Purandaragarh near Pune that he was born in 1484 and named Krsnappanayaka.  Starting as a jeweller by profession, he went by the name of Purandaravithala after he became a "Haridasa" with a Madhva orientation.

His contribution to Kannada literature is two-fold, music and poetry.  His compositions are divisible into five categories: (1) those extolling his spiritual masters and the Supreme Lord, (2) those which present an introspective analysis of himself,
(3) those which deal with the childhood pastimes of Krsna, (4) those which critically view society and its ways, and (5) those which are didactic in nature.  All of these compositions are set to music.  Apart from these kirtanas, he wrote a number of
 other compositions called the Sulas and the Ugabhogas.  The Sulas are musical compositions in which the beating of time is the most essential element, while the Ugabhoga's are those which can be rendered musically in different tunes and time.  He wa
s undoubtedly extremely proficient in music, yet how he acquired this talent is unknown.

Up until Purandara's time (15th century), Karnataka music had remained a sophisticated art reserved for the scholars and panditas.  It was Purandara dasa who devised a novel scheme to bring music to the masses, not only through his own public singing
, but by devising a fresh method of teaching music.

With Purandaradasa began the institution of "Dasakuta" which had its roots in the spiritual legacy from Naraharitirth Sripadaraya.  The preceptor of Purandara, the musician-saint, was Vyasaraya, who designated his pupil's works as the Purandaropanisa
d.

66.PURANDARA KHAN:

His real name was Gopinatha Basu.  Born in a Kayastha caste, he hailed from Seakhala village in the Hugli district, where the site named "Purandargad" still exists.  He was the Vazir, or the Chief Advisor, of King Hussain Shah.  His grandfather was S
uvuddhi Khan, who was also an employee of the King of Gauda.  They were devotees of Lord Caitanya. (See `Hussain Shah')

67.PURANDARA MISRA:

He was a disciple of Narottama Thakura. (Premavilasa 20)

68.PURANDARA PANDITA:

He belonged to the sakha of Lord Nityananda and was a resident of Khardaha in 24 Parganas.  It is stated in CC. 1.11.28 and BRK. 8.165-166, 12.3702-5 that Purandara Pandita had his Sripata at Khardaha long before Lord Nityananda chose to settle there
.  Lord Nityananda visited Purandara's house and had kirtana there.  Purandara was with Lord Caitanya in Puri for sometime.  When Nityananda Prabhu was ordered by the Lord to preach in Gauda, Purandara accompanied Him (CBh. 3.5.241 and 423).

It is written, however, in Vaisnava-acardarpan that Purandara Pandita had his Sripata at Padpur.

69.PURNANANDA:

He was one of the brothers of Lord Nityananda. (Premavilasa 24)

70.PURUSOTTAMA:

He belonged to the lineage of Lord Caitanya.  He was Lord Gauranga's student and accompanied Him during performance of kirtana.  (CC. 1.10.72, CBh. 1.15.5, 3.8.20)

71.PURUSOTTAMA:

A devotee of Lord Gauranga and a resident of Navadvipa. (Vaisnava-vandana)

72.PURUSOTTAMA:

He belonged to the sakha of Lord Caitanya.  (CC. 1.10.112)

73.PURUSOTTAMA:

He belonged to the sakha of Lord Caitanya and was a resident of Kulingram.  (CC. 1.10.80)

74.PURUSOTTAMA:

He was a disciple of Syamananda prabhu.  His Sripata was at Nrsimhapura, although some say it was at Kasiari. (Premavilasa 20)

75.PURUSOTTAMA:

He was a disciple of Rasikananda prabhu.  (Rasikamangala Pascima 14.150)

76.PURUSOTTAMA:

He was a disciple of Narottama Thakura.  (Premavilasa 20)

77.PURUSOTTAMA:

A resident of Orissa, he composed the famous historical kavya which deals with the conquest of Kanci by King Purusottamadeva Gajapati of Orissa.  Caitanyabandana of S. Rath refers to him as the author of Kanchikaveri.  In Gurubhaktigita Purusottama P
andita was known as Madanlata gopi (Utkal University, 1975, Vol. III, Ch. 49, P. 176)

In Brajabihar (Dasarathi Das Brajabihar, Oriya manuscript preserved in the Utkal University Library, Catalogue no. 49) Purusottama is referred to as a pandita by title and a brahmana by caste.  In Swarupabarnana (Rupa Gosvami, Swarupabarnana Ms. foun
d in the Utkal University Library, Catalogue no. 382) and in Sri Caitanyaganoddesadipika (of Krsnadasa Kaviraja, Ms. preserved in Orissa State Museum, Bhubaneswar, Catalogue no. L470[B]) Purusottama is described as Madanalasa sakhi in his past incarn
ation.  He is also referred to as Mahabala in Caitanyaganoddesadipika.

78,PURUSOTTAMA ACARYA:

This was the past name of Svarupa Damodara, one of the closest associates of Lord Caitanya.  (See `Svarupa Damodara')

79.PURUSOTTAMA BRAHMACARI:

He belonged to the lineage of Advaita Acarya.  (CC. 1.12.62, Namamrtasamudra 244)

80.PURUSOTTAMA BRAHMACARI:

He was a resident of Kancisali.  (Vaisnava vandana of Sri Jiva Gosvami 240, of Devakinandana 116, of Vrndavana dasa 109)

81.PURUSOTTAMA CAKRAVARTI:

He was the disciple of Gatigovinda, the son of Srinivasa Acarya.  (Karnananda 2)

82.PURUSOTTAMA DASA:

He was the son of Sadasiva Kaviraja and a disciple of Lord Nityananda.  He is considered to be the eighth of the twelve Gopalas (For details see Sri Dvadasa Gopala of Amulyadhar Rayabhatta P. 131-138).  Purusottama's disciple, Daivakinandana dasa com
posed Vaisnava-vandana and wrote the Sanskrit book Vaisnavabhidhan.  The padavali's composed by Purusottama deserve praise.  Descendants of his family later settled at Bodhakhana of Jessore (Bangladesh) and at Bhajanghat of Nadia.

GGD 130 describes Purusottama as Stokakrsna in his past incarnation.  Purusottama's name is also mentioned in the book Candraprabha P. 74, written by Bharat Mallik.

According to B.B. Majumdar CCU. P. 660-662, in CBh. 3.6.474 the name of Sadasiva Kaviraja's son is given as Purusottama dasa.  However in GGD, Nagar Purusottama and Purusottama dasa are names of two different persons.

"The twentythird and twentyfourth prominent devotees of
Nityananda Prabhu were Sadasiva Kaviraja and his son Purusottama
dasa, who was the tenth gopala. Since birth, Purusottama dasa was
merged in the service of the lotus feet of Lord Nityananda
Prabhu, and he was always engaged in childish play with Lord
Krsna." [C.C. Adi 11.8-39]

"Sri Sadasiva Kaviraja was extremely fortunate. His son's name was Sri Purusottama das. He was never externally consious of his material body. Nityananda Candra enacted many pastimes from within his heart." [C.B. Antya 5/741-742]

Sri Purusottama Thakura had three main disciples: Sri Madhavacarya, Sri Yadavacarya and Devakinandana dasa, who were born in Kulina brahmana families. Madhavacarya married Nityananda Prabhu's daughter, Gangadevi. Devakinandana was the author of the
book Vaisnavvandane. Purusottama Thakura's Sripat was previously at Sukhasagar. Now his Deities are at Candriya Gram.

This temple is called Vasu-Jahnava Pat. Perhaps this is due
to the fact that Kanai Thakura, the son of Purusottama, was
the adopted son of Sri Jahnava.

Sri Purusottama Thakura was the cowherd boy Stokakrsna in Krisnalila.

83.PURUSOTTAMA DATTA:

His name is mentioned in Caitanyamangala of Jayananda P. 145.

84.PURUSOTTAMA DATTA:

Haridasa dasa wonders if this Purusottama studied grammar under Lord Gauranga.

85.PURUSOTTAMA DATTA:

He was the paternal uncle of Narottama Thakura.  (BRK. 1.464-468)

86.PURUSOTTAMA DEVA:

He was the father of King Prataparudra deva.  According to Sarasvati Vilasa, he was the son of Kapilendra deva and Parvati devi.  In Gangavamsanucarita it is stated that although Purusottama was not the eldest son, by the divine order of Sri Sri Jaga
nnatha Deva, he inherited the kingdom of his father.  This outraged his other brothers who challenged the righteousness of the order of Jagannatha Deva. Purusottama stood before his brothers unarmed as they threw weapons at him.  When Purusottama rem
ained unharmed the brothers accepted that the throne belonged to him.

According to the Odiya book Kancikaveri, when Kanciraja came to Puri to arrange the marriage of his daughter Padmavati, it was the time of Rathyatra.  When he saw that Purusottama was sweeping the street in front of Lord Jagannatha with a golden hand
led broom, the King of Kanci refused to give his daughter in marriage to Purusottama, considering him to be a sweeper.  Purusottama was extremely offended and thus immediately left for Kanci with the permission and a pledge of divine assistance from
Lord Jagannatha Deva.  On the way he met a milkmaid named Manika who gave him a ring and said that two soldiers who passed by earlier had given this ring to her in lieu of curd and milk. They told Manika that their King was coming behind them soon an
d that she should return the ring to the king and request the payment for the milk and curd.  Seeing the ring, the king at once understood that the soldiers were Jagannatha and Balarama Themselves.  The king paid for the milk and curd and thereafter
defeated the King of Kanci in battle.  He captured the jewelled throne of the Kanci King and offered it to Jagannatha Deva.  He took with him the deity of Ganesa which had been worshiped by the King of Kanci. Because the deity of Ganesa had helped th
e Kanci King in battle, Purusottama deva named the deity Bhanda Ganesa (fake), and he is still famous by this name.

Due to the wish of Jagannatha Deva, Purusottama married Padmavati.  From the Anantavarman inscription of Prataparudra deva, it is understood that his father also defeated the King of Karnataka, Nrsimha, and brought the Deity of Sakshi Gopala to Cutta
ck.  Purusottama was a great scholar and poet. Following the style of the drama Venisanhara, he wrote a Sanskrit drama named Abhinava Veni Sanharana.  He also wrote Abhinava Gitagovinda (vide report 1895-1900), by Mm. H.P. Sastri) and Mukticintamoni
(Patvadi Punthi Smr. 147)

87.PURUSOTTAMA GUPTA:

He was the maternal grandfather of Locana dasa, the author of Caitanyamangala.

88.PURUSOTTAMA JANA:

He was a disciple of Gadadhara Pandita Gosvami and the son of Gajapati Prataparudra, the independent King of Orissa. (BRK. 6.65)

When Purusottama found out that there was no Deity of Radharani on the left side of either Govindadeva or Madana-mohana in Vrndavana, he immediately arranged to send two Deities to Vrndavana.  However, the brahmana priest of Madana-mohana received a
divine command in a dream saying: "Of the two Deities, the bigger was an image of Lalita and the smaller one was of Radha.  The Deity of Radha should be installed on the left and that of Lalita on the right of Madana-mohana." This left Govindaji with
out a Deity of Radha.

Purusottama was extremely happy to hear this and ordered another Deity of Radha to be made.  But the same night Purusottama received a command from Govindadeva in a dream as follows:  "The Deity which is being worshipped as Laksmi within the Cakrabed
a of Lord Jagannatha at Puri is not Laksmi, it is Radha and should be sent to Govindaji in Vrndavana.

Sadhanadipika P. 128-129, gives a brief history of this Deity of Laksmi.  She was originally in Vrndavana and some devotee brought her to Orissa.  Later a South Indian brahmana named Vrhadbhanu, a resident of Radhanagar village in Orissa, brought the
 Deity home and served her.  After the death of this brahmana, some devotee King of Orissa brought the Deity to Puri and installed her within the Cakrabeda of Lord Jagannatha where she was worshipped as Laksmi.  After receiving the instruction in a d
ream, Purusottama arranged to send the Deity to Govindaji in a grand manner.

See CC. 2.12.58-64 for the story regarding Lord Caitanya's mercy showered upon the crown-prince of Orissa, Purusottama.

89.PURUSOTTAMA MISRA:
This was another name of Premadasa Siddhantavagis, who served as a priest in the Govindaji Mandira in Vrndavana. (See `Premadasa Siddhantavagis')

90.PURUSOTTAMA NAGAR:

He was Damagopal in his past incarnation.  Some say `Nagar' was a title added to his name, while others hold that he came from `Nagar' land.  He drank snake venom in a state of ecstasy but suffered nothing.  (Bhaktamala 3)

91.PURUSOTTAMA NAGAR:

The eldest son of Isan Nagar, he lived at the village Teotha Jhankpal in the district of Dhaka on the eastern bank of the Padma.

It is said that one day when Purusottama was half submerged in the water of Ruda Sagara (situated in the south-western part of the village) absorbed in meditation, a large boat belonging to a wealthy man passed towards the north.  Not caring for the
poor Vaisnava worshipping in the river, they did not stop rowing their boat.  However, one of the boatmen could not continue to row seeing a Vaisnava devotee in the water.  The rich owner of the boat wanted to test the devotion of the Vaisnava and or
dered the boatmen to throw a piece of stone in the river and said, "Let me see whether the stone can float in the water due to the desire of a Vaisnava."  Seeing this, Purusottama let out a loud roar and the stone floated towards him.  He picked it u
p from the water and placed it on his head.  Later he placed it by the side of the throne of Jagannatha Deva and worshipped it everyday with the utmost care.  It is said that his descendants once tried to cut the stone into pieces to distribute it am
ongst the various family members, but when they saw blood coming from the stone they stopped their attempt.  That stone is still worshipped in Vamandi village.  (Introduction in Advaita Prakasa)

92.PURUSOTTAMA PANDITA:

He belonged to the sakha of Lord Nityananda and lived at Navadvipa.  (CC. 1.11.33, CBh.  3.5.737)

93.PURUSOTTAMA PANDITA:

He belonged to the sakha of Advaita prabhu.  (CC. 1.12.63, Vaisnava Vandana)

94.PURUSOTTAMA PURI:

He was a devotee of Lord Gauranga.  B.B. Majumdar in CCU. P. 662, states that the Purusottama Tirtha mentioned by Jiva Gosvami and Vrndavanadasa in their Vaisnava-vandana (260 and 129 respectively) is called Purusottama Puri by Devakinandana in his V
aisnava-vandana 130.

95.PURUSOTTAMA SANJAYA:

A brahmana by caste from Navadvipa who was a student of Lord Gauranga (CC. 1.10.70, CBh. 1.10.109 and 2.1.144. However, CC. refers to Purusottama and Sanjaya as two different persons.  (Also see Murari's Krsnacaitanyacaritam 4.17.7, Jayananda P. 4 an
d CC. 2.11.79)

96.PURUSOTTAMA THAKURA:

From his childhood he was completely devoted to the feet of Sri Nityananda Prabhu.  According to CC. 1.11.38-39 and CBh. 3.5.741-742, Sri Purusottama dasa was the son of Sri Sadasiva Kaviraja.

Sri Purusottama Thakura had four main disciples, namely, Sri Madhavacarya, Sri Yadavacarya and Devakinandana, who were all Kulina brahmanas.  Sri Madhavacarya was the husband of Sri Nityananda Prabhu's daughter Ganga devi, and Sri Devakinandana was t
he author of Vaisnava-vandana.

Originally, Purusottama Thakura's Deities were in his Sripata in Sukhasagara, near the railway station of Cakdaha and Simurali.  After the village of Sukhasagara was ruined, the Deities were brought to Candudiya.  At present the Deities of Purusottam
a Thakura are being worshipped, along with other Deities, under the management of the Ganga dynasty in Jirst. The Sripata of Purusottama was known as the pata of `Basu Jahnava.'  One of the priests' name was Sri Sitanatha Dasa. (CC. 1.11.38-39)

Sri Purusottama's son was Sri Kanu Thakura (CC. 1.11.40). It is said that just after the birth of Sri Kanu Thakura, his mother Jahnava, the wife of Purusottama died.  When Sri Nityananda came to know about this He went to Purusottama's house and took
 the child Kanu with him to Khardaha.  Sri Kanu Thakura was born in the saka era of 1457, in the month of Asadha, on the 2nd day of the bright fortnight.  Seeing Kanu Thakura's intense devotion for Lord Krsna, Sri Nityananda Prabhu named him Sisu Krs
na dasa.

It is said in Premavilasa that Sri Kanai Thakura (Sisu Krsnadasa) was present at the festival of Kheturi, along with Mata Jahnava.  Like Purusottama, he also had many Soukra brahmana disciples.

During the period of Maratha's invasion the descendants of Sri Kanai Thakura left Vodhkhana, along with their Deity, and went to live at the village of Bhajana ghat in the district of Nadia.  When the situation normalized, Harikrsna Gosvami, the desc
endant of Kanai Thakura's youngest son, returned to Bodhkhana, where he established the Deity of Pranavallava.  Srirama was one of the famous disciples of Sri Kanai Thakura.  The disciples of Kanai Thakura lived at Gadaveta village near Silavati rive
r in Midnapore district.

97.PURUSOTTAMA TIRTHA:

He was a sannyasi and close associate of Lord Gauranga. (GGD. 97-101)
According to B.B. Majumdar in CCU. P. 660, there were perhaps two Purusottama Tirtha's.  He is mentioned in Vaisnava-vandana of Jiva in two places (p.211 and p.269), and two places in Vrndavana dasa's (p. 89 and p.129)

98.PUSPA GOPALA:

A resident of Svarnagram at Dhaka who belonged to the sakha of Gadadhara Pandita.  (CC. 1.12.84, Namamrtasamudra 126, Sakhanirnayamrta 45)
 
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