[The following article appeared in the monthly Bengali magazine 
"Gaudiya", 18th volume, number 18, dated 8 Pausha, Bengali year 1329 
(1922 AD). The magazine was founded and edited by His Divine Grace Sri 
Srimad Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura.] 

Sri Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura

The names of all the Vrajavasi Gosvamis who were living during the 
time of Sri Mahaprabhu are very well known. Later, after their 
disappearance, the flow of pure devotion for the Lord took shelter of 
the three famous Prabhus - Srinivasa Acarya, Thakura Narottama, and 
Syamananda Prabhu - and surged on with full force. In the disciplic 
succession coming from Thakura Narottama, Sri Visvanatha Cakravarti 
Thakura appeared in the fourth position. 

The story of Sri Visvanatha Cakravarti is more or less known only 
among the Gaudiya Vaisnavas. They speak of the outstanding excellence 
of achievement demonstrated by Srila Cakravarti Thakura in his 
examination of the Srimad Bhagavat and the Bhagavad-gita, as well as 
his complete understanding of the opinions expressed by the Gosvamis 
in their own books. Our Thakura is the protector, guardian and acarya 
of the middle period of Gaudiya Vaisnava dharma's historical 
development. 

Nowadays amongst the Vaisnavas there is the following saying in 
relation to Cakravarti Thakura's three most famous books: 

"kirana bindu kana, e tin niye vaisnava pana"

"These three books, Ujjvala-Nilamani-Kirana, Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu- 
bindu, and Laghu-Bhagavatamrta-kana, are taken and used by the 
Vaisnavas as their wealth." 

In this connection, we also hear the following verse sung everywhere: 

visvasya natha-ripo 'sau
bhakti-vartma-pradarsanat
bhakta-cakre varttitatvat
cakravarty akhyaya bhavat

"Because he has shown the visva-vasis (residents of the material 
universe) the path of bhakti, he is called 'Visvanatha'; and because 
he is situated amongst the cakra (circle) of devotees, he is called 
'Cakravarti'." 

Srila Cakravarti Thakura Defends Sri Narottama's True Position 

Previously, Srila Narottama Thakura Mahasaya had achieved fame as 
Rasika-raja, or the king of those devotees who know how to relish the 
mellows of the topmost madhurya-rasa. And he certainly is that. 
However, certain persons who are envious of Lord Hari - who are loyal 
servants of that energy which completely surrounds the fallen souls 
with strict difficulties - have dared to attempt to forcibly throw 
such a wonderful, true rasika as Narottama into their own well of 
material rasa. Needless to say, they have not been successful. Being 
unable to understand the purely spiritual activities of Sri Narottama 
Thakura, many prakrta-sahajiyas had given him the title "Sahajiya- 
kula-bhusana" (the ornament of the family of cheap imitators). 
Therefore, Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura appeared in time to 
check the spread of this concocted sahajiya mentality, and to truly 
defend the factual spiritual rank of Srila Thakura Mahasaya. 

Visvanatha's Family Lineage, Birth & Studies 

Srila Visvanatha took birth in a family of brahmanas found in the 
Radha-desa area of Nadia District, West Bengal (Radha-sreniya-vipra- 
kula). According to some, he also used the pen name 'Hari-vallabha'. 
He had two older brothers named Ramabhadra and Raghunatha, and he 
stayed in Deva-grama during his childhood. Upon the completion of his 
studies in vyakarana (Sanskrit grammar), he moved to Saiyadabad-grama, 
Mursidabad District, where he studied the bhakti-sastras (literature 
of devotion) in the home of his guru Sri Radha-ramana Cakravarti. This 
Radha-ramana was the disciple of Sri Krsna-carana Cakravarti, who was 
in turn the disciple of Sri Ganga-narayana Cakravarti (one of the 
chief disciples of Thakura Narottama.) Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti 
Thakura later composed Sanskrit prayers describing this disciplic 
succession - Sri Gurudevastaka, Sri Parama-gurudevastaka, Sri 
Pratapara-gurudevastaka, and Sri Parama-parat-gurudevastaka. All these 
stotras can be found, along with many other compositions, in his book 
named Sri Stavamrta-lahari (Waves of Nectarean Prayers). 

His Residence in Sri Vraja Mandala

By the mercy of his spiritual master, Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti 
Thakura lived in many different places within Vraja-dhama, and 
composed various transcendental literatures there. Most of these books 
are very difficult to find nowadays; however a few of them are well 
known, and are considered to be the supremely honorable wealth of the 
Gaudiya Vaisnavas. 

Sometimes Srila Cakravarti Thakura lived at Sri Govardhana, sometimes 
on the bank of Sri Radha-kunda, sometimes at Sri Yavata and sometimes 
in Sri Vrindavana within the compound of Sri Gokulananda's temple. His 
movements here and there are made very clear by the statements found 
at the end of his books. 

The Date of His Birth 

In attempting to ascertain the time of Cakravarti Thakura, we see that 
he states at the end of Sri Krsna-Bhavanamrta that this book was 
completed on the full moon day of the month of Phalguna, 1607 Saka 
(1685 AD). This was the day commemorating the auspicious appearance of 
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu on the full moon in February-March. 
Additionally, in his commentary of the Srimad Bhagavatam named 
Sarartha-darsini, we see that this tika was written during the month 
of Magha, 1626 Saka (1704 AD). Therefore, estimating that his time of 
birth was approximately 1560 Saka (1638 AD), and determining his time 
of death as 1630 Saka (1708 AD), we can calculate that he was present 
in this world for 70 years. 

His Disciplic Succession 

Sri Ganga-narayana Cakravarti was a disciple of Srila Narottama 
Thakura Mahasaya, and a resident of Balucara Gambila (the place of 
Narottama's disappearance). By the Lord's desire, he had no sons; 
however, he had one daughter named Visnu-priya. Srila Thakura Mahasaya 
also had a famous disciple known as Sri Rama-krsna Bhattacarya (a 
Barendra-sreniya-brahmana). The youngest son of this Bhattacarya was 
named Sri Krsna-carana, who was accepted by Sri Ganga-narayana as his 
own son (since he had none of his own.) This Krsna-carana is the 
parama-guru, or grand spiritual master of Srila Cakravarti Thakura. In 
Visvanatha's Bhagavatam commentary named Sarartha-darsini, at the 
beginning of the famous Rasa-pancadhyayi (five chapters describing 
Lord Sri Krsna's rasa-lila dance), we find the following verse: 

sri rama krsna ganga caran natva gurun uru premnah
srila narottama natha sri gauranga prabhum naumi

"Having bowed down while absorbed in the most exalted divine love at 
the feet of all my gurus in disciplic succession - Sri Radha-ramana 
Cakravarti, Sri Krsna-carana Cakravarti, Sri Ganga-narayana 
Cakravarti, Sri Narottama Thakura and Sri Lokanatha Gosvami - I now 
offer my respectful obeisances unto my Lord Sri Gauranga Mahaprabhu." 

We understand from this sloka that Sri Radha-ramana's abbreviated name 
is 'Sri Rama', and that Sri Krsna-carana's abbreviated name is 
'Krsna'. The word 'natha' is understood to mean Sri Lokanatha Gosvami. 

Refuting the Faulty Conclusions of Rupa Kaviraja 

Srinivasa Acarya's famous daughter, Srimati Hemalata Thakurani, 
rejected an envious disciple named Sri Rupa Kaviraja from the Vaisnava 
society. This Rupa Kaviraja is counted amongst the sub-branch of the 
Gaudiya Vaisnava sampradaya known as Atibadi. He spread his own 
concocted philosophy (counter to the Gaudiya tradition) that only a 
person in the renounced order of life is capable of acting as acarya. 
He claimed that it was not possible for a householder to become a 
spiritual master. Fully disregarding the vidhi-marga, or path of 
devotional rules and regulations, he also tried to preach a 
philosophical path of raga-marga, or spontaneous devotion, which was 
completely unregulated and undisciplined. He also preached that 
smarana (remembrance) was possible without the help of sravana and 
kirtana (hearing and chanting.) Thus this Rupa Kaviraja propagated a 
path which was unfavorable to the path shown by the Gosvamis. 
Therefore, Srila Cakravarti Thakura has refuted all these false 
conclusions in his Sarartha-darsini commentary on the 3rd canto of 
Srimad bhagavatam. Actually, this refutation is a rendering of the 
truths outlined in Srila Jiva Gosvami's Bhakti-sandarbha. 

Refuting the Caste Gosvamis 

The later descendants of Sri Rupa Kaviraja, as well as the descendants 
of Sri Nityananda Prabhu's son Sri Virabhadra and the descendants of 
Sri Advaita Acarya's rejected sons all gave the title "Gosvami" to 
their disciples, even if they are householders. In preaching his 
refutation of this bogus practice, Srila Cakravarti Thakura has 
stated, citing scriptural evidence, that such a title of "Gosvami" is 
not at all improper for a befitting offspring of an acarya. However, 
it is highly improper to simply tack the word "Gosvami" onto the ends 
of names of offspring who are born in unfit families, even though 
descendants of an acarya - especially when there is a motive of greed 
for increasing wealth and followers. For this reason, even one 
conducting the activities of an acarya should never use the title 
"Gosvami". Srila Cakravarti Thakura maintains that such foolish 
persons, who are bereft of proper behavior, are so ignorant that they 
are not even fit to be seen. 

The Gaudiya Sampradaya's Conquest at Jaipur 

During the time of Srila Cakravarti Thakura, the offspring of acaryas 
were signing the title "Gosvami" next to their own names, thereby 
displaying their foolish ignorance. Being envious of the Lord and 
averse to the scriptures, they were very proud to announce the name of 
their vamsa-parampara (family lineage). At that time, at Sri 
Govindadeva's temple at Gulta-grama (just outside Jaipur), the acaryas 
of the Sri Ramanuja-sampradaya issued a challenge against the Gaudiya 
Vaisnavas. The King of Jaipur consequently invited the most prominent 
Gaudiya Vaisnavas of Sri Vrindavana to attend. Knowing them to be 
followers of Srila Rupa Gosvami, he called them to council with the 
followers of Sri Ramanuja. This happened in 1628 Saka (1706 AD), when 
Srila Cakravarti Thakura was very old (about 68 years). So he 
consulted his foremost student, Gaudiya Vaisnava Vedantacarya 
Mahamahopadhyaya Pandit-kula-mukta Sripada Baladeva Vidya-bhusana. 
Thereafter, Sri Vidya-bhusana left Vrndavana to join the assembly in 
Jaipur, accompanied by his own student (and disciple of Srila 
Cakravarti Thakura), Sri Krsnadeva Sarvabhauma. 

The caste Gosvamis had completely forgotten their own loyalty to the 
Sri Madhva-sampradaya. Being ignorant of the true facts of the 
disciplic succession, and being disrespectful to Vaisnava Vedanta, 
they had fallen into such a degraded condition that Sri Baladeva 
Vidya-bhusana was obliged to write a separate commentary on the 
Vedanta-sutra, according to the philosophy of the Gaudiya-sampradaya. 
This was done just to refute their false conclusions. Srila Cakravarti 
Thakura gave his full sanction and approval to this task of 
counteracting the challenge, which simultaneously resulted in allowing 
the Gaudiya Vaisnava parampara to continue preaching freely. 

This event marks the second illustration of Srila Cakravarti Thakura's 
preaching of the Vaisnava dharma. Specifically, this is a brilliant 
example of his endeavor to reform the Vaisnava acaryas who happened to 
be born in impure brahmana families. 

Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura wrote many, many books. The 
following is a list of as many books as is possible to locate: 

The glorious books of Srila Visvanatha Cakravartipada 

Original Books

1. Sri Krsna-bhavanamrta
(Nectar-meditations on Sri Krsna's Daily Sports) 1,347 Sanskrit verses 
in 20 chapters describing the eight periods of a day in the life of 
the Divine Couple and Their Friends. 

2. Sankalpa Kalpa-druma
(The Desire Tree of Resolute Determination) 104 Sanskrit verses of 
prayer to Sri Radhika for the attainment of specific services rendered 
to Her during the eight periods of the day in Goloka Vrindavana. Often 
published as a separate book, this work is included in Sri 
Visvanatha's collection of prayers called Stavamrta-lahari. 

3. Camatkara-candrika
(A Moonbeam of Sheer Astonishment) 226 Sanskrit verses in four 
chapters of short stories depicting Sri Krsna's mischievous pranks 
conducted in various disguises: 1) Meeting in the Box, 2) Meeting in 
the Disguise of Abhimanyu, 3) Meeting in the Disguise of a Female 
Doctor, 4) Meeting in the Disguise of a Female Singer. 

4. Prema-samputa
(The Jewel-box of Love) 141 Sanskrit verses narrating the story of 
Krsna coming before Sri Radha in the disguise of a demigoddess, and 
Radhika's confidential confessions of the innermost core of Her 
selfless love for Him. 

5. Vraja-riti-cintamani
(The Touchstone of Life in Vraja) 234 Sanskrit verses in three 
chapters describing the holy flora, fauna, hills, lakes, groves, 
temples, and towns of the eternal realm of Vraja. 

6. Gauranga-lilamrta
(The Nectar of Sri Gauranga's Daily Pastimes) 11 Sanskrit verses 
depicting Sri Mahaprabhu's daily pastimes conducted in eight periods 
of the day; the descriptions of the pastimes in each verse are 
expanded by the extensive Bengali verses composed by Sri Visvanatha's 
direct disciple, the poet Krsnadasa. 

7. Caitanya-rasayana
(The Necta-Tonic of Sri Caitanya) A work that was never finished; the 
story of it is mentioned in the 13th chapter of Sri Narottama Vilasa by 
Sri Narahari Cakravarti, the son of Visvanatha's disciple Jagannatha 
Vipra. 

8. Raga-vartma-candrika
(A Moonbeam Revealing the Path of Spontaneous Devotion) 22 Sanskrit 
paragraphs in two chapters of prose and verse which elaborate on the 
proper behavior and attitudes of one following the path of spontaneous 
devotional service. 

9. Madhurya-kadambini
(A Row of Clouds of Sweetness) 8 "showers of nectar" (chapters) of 
Sanskrit prose which scientifically analyzes the various stages of 
advancement that one ascends while on the devotional path. 

10. Aisvarya-kadambini
(A Row of Clouds of Majesty) A work mentioned by Visvanatha in the 
second chapter of his Madhurya-kadambini. It is different from the 
work by Sri Baladeva Vidya-bhusana of the same name. The book by 
Visvanatha discusses the philosophy of "Dvaitadvaita-vada"; however no 
copy of this work has ever been found. 

11. Ujjvala-nilamani-kirana
(One Ray of Sri Rupa Gosvami's Book, Ujjvala-nilamani) 16 paragraphs 
of Sanskrit prose, composed as a condensed summary study of Srila Rupa 
Gosvami's 1,453-verse work. It is an examination of the psychology of 
the Divine Couple's relationship with other and with Their 
girlfriends. 

12. Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu-bindu
(A Drop From the Nectar-Ocean of Devotion) 27 Sanskrit notes, composed 
as a summary of Srila Rupa Gosvami's book Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu, 
which outlines the process of devotional service. 

13. Bhagavatamrta-kana
(A Speck of Sri Rupa Gosvami's Book, Laghu-bhagavatamrta) 15 Sanskrit 
notes that sum up the information presented in Sri Rupa's book, which 
describes Sri Krsna's various incarnations and plenary portions. 

14. Gaura-gana-svarupa-tattva-candrika
(A Moonbeam Revealing the Truth of the Identity of Gaura's Associates) 
A book which follows the earlier work of Sri Kavi Karnapura called 
Gaura-ganoddesa-dipika. It similarly reveals the Vraja-lila identity 
of various descendants of the Gaudiya-sampradaya), but is updated to 
include many other personalities that appeared in the sampradaya after 
Kavi Karnapura's time. 

15. Rupa-cintamani
(The Touchstone of Gauranga's Bodily Beauty) Sanskrit verses 
describing the exact locations of the sacred marks found on Lord 
Caitanya's palms and soles, including those of Sri Nityananda and Sri 
Advaita. Visvanatha composed another work also called Rupa-cintamani 
that describes the head-to-toe beauty of Sri Sri Radha-Krsna, as well 
as the marks on the soles of Their lotus feet; this work is included 
in his collection called Stavamrta-lahari. 

16. Ksanada-gita-cintamani
(The Touchstone of Songs to be Sung at Night) This is the first 
anthology of devotional songs written by Gaudiya Vaisnava poets in the 
Bengali, Sanskrit and Braja-bhuli languages. Visvanatha compiled the 
writings of 45 authors totaling 309 songs, among which are 51 of his 
own songs, signed with his other pen name Hari-vallabha. The songs are 
divided up into groups that are to be sung each night of the month; 
thus there are 30 divisions - 15 for the dark fortnight and 15 for the 
light fortnight. 

17. Mantrartha-dipika
(A Torch-lamp Illuminating the Kama-Gayatri Mantra) 18 Sanskrit notes 
in prose and verse which give detailed explanations of each and every 
syllable of kama-bija and kama-gayatri mantras. There is also a 
description of a doubt that Visvanatha had regarding the syllables of 
the mantra, and how Sri Radhika Herself appeared to him in a dream in 
order to solve the problem. 

18. Stavamrta-lahari
(Wave After Wave of Nectarean Prayers) A collection of 28 Sanskrit 
prayers, astakams, meditations and glorifications. 

Commentaries 

1. on Srimad-Bhagavatam, named Sarartha-darsini (She Who Reveals the 
Inner, Essential Purports) 

2. on Bhagavad-gita, named Sarartha-varsini (She Who Showers Forth the 
Hidden Meanings) 

3. on Sri Rupa's Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu, named Bhakti-sara-pradarsini 
(She Who Demonstrates the Cream-like Essence of Devotion) 

4. on Sri Rupa's Ujjvala-nilamani, named Ananda-candrika (Moonbeams of 
Pure Bliss) 

5. on Sri Rupa's Lalita-madhava-nataka 

6. on Sri Rupa's Vidagha-madhava-nataka 

7. on Sri Rupa's Dana-keli-kaumudi, named Mahati (She Who Is Glorious) 

8. on Sri Rupa's Hamsa-duta 

9. on Kavi Karnapura's Alankara-kaustubha, named Subodhini (She Who 
Informs Very Nicely) 

10. on Kavi Karnapura's Ananda-vrindavana-campu, named Sukha-varttini 
(She Who Establishes One in Happiness) 

11. on Krsnadasa Kaviraja's Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, which is said to 
be incomplete. 

12. on Narottama dasa Thakura's Prema-bhakti-candrika 

13. on Sri Brahma-samhita 

14. on Gopala-tapani-upanisad, named Bhakta-harsini (She Who Gives Great 
Joy to the Devotees) 

(Note: The original Bengali article by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati 
Thakura contained a slightly smaller list of Srila Cakravartipada's 
books; the translator expanded the list and composed the individual 
descriptions.) 

