Gaudiya Vaishnava Acharyas
This directory traces the disciplic succession (guru-parampara) that carried pure devotion to Sri Krishna into the modern age — from Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and His eternal associates, through the Six Goswamis of Vrindavana, to Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura and Srila A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Each profile is researched from traditional biographical literature and cites its sources.
35 profiles
Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu
The Golden Avatar Who Inaugurated the Sankirtana Movement
18 February 1486 (Phalguna Purnima), during a lunar eclipse – 14 June 1534, at the age of 48
18 pastime pages
Srila Bilvamangala Thakura
Poet-Saint Who Composed Sri Krishna-karnamrita
Uncertain — estimates range from the 9th to the 14th century (disputed) – Not recorded in any source found for this project
6 pastime pages
Srila Haridasa Thakura
Namacharya, the Teacher of the Holy Name
c. 1451 (disputed) – Ananta Chaturdashi day (exact year uncertain)
7 pastime pages
Srila Jagannatha Dasa Babaji
Vaishnava Sarvabhauma — Emperor Among the Vaishnavas
c. 1800 – date not precisely recorded; Vaishnava tradition holds he lived to an extraordinary age
6 pastime pages
Srila Raghunatha Dasa Goswami
Foremost in Renunciation Among the Six Goswamis of Vrindavana
c. 1494 (sources vary) – Traditionally 1586, Shukla Dvadasi of Ashvina (some sources place it a few years earlier)
7 pastime pages
Srila Rupa Gosvami
Foremost of the Six Gosvamis of Vrindavana, Architect of the Science of Devotional Rasa
c. 1489 (sources vary) – Traditionally 1564, Shravana Shukla Dvadashi
8 pastime pages
Srila Vrindavana Dasa Thakura
Author of Sri Chaitanya-Bhagavata
c. 1507 CE (Krishna Dvadashi, month of Vaishakh, 1429 Shaka era) – c. 1589 CE (exact year disputed)
6 pastime pages
Sri Kholavecha Shridhara
The Khola-Seller of Navadwip
Date not recorded (a contemporary of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's householder years in Navadwip, early 16th century) – Date not recorded in the sources consulted
5 pastime pages
Sri Nityananda Prabhu
Patita-pavana, the Deliverer of the Fallen
c. 1474, Magha Sukla Trayodashi – c. 1540
9 pastime pages
Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura
The Seventh Goswami
2 September 1838 – 23 June 1914, at the age of 75
7 pastime pages
Srila Gauridasa Pandit
Householder Devotee Who Installed the Gaura-Nitai Deities of Ambika Kalna
Not recorded (late 15th century); first lived at Saligrama, Bengal – Shukla Ekadashi, Shravana (year not recorded)
5 pastime pages
Srila Jayadeva Goswami
Author of the Gita Govinda
12th century CE (disputed) – 12th–13th century CE (accounts differ)
6 pastime pages
Srila Krishnadasa Kaviraja Goswami
Author of Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita
c. 1496-1528 (sources disagree) – c. 1615-1620 (some traditions say 1616-1617)
6 pastime pages
Srila Raghunatha Bhatta Goswami
The Goswami Whose Voice Made Srimad-Bhagavatam Sing
c. 1503-1505 (sources vary) – c. 1579 (some sources say 1580)
7 pastime pages
Srila Sanatana Gosvami
Eldest of the Six Goswamis of Vrindavana and the Ideal Spiritual Master
c. 1488, Bengal – Traditionally 1558
8 pastime pages
Sri Advaita Acharya
The Devotee Whose Prayers Called the Lord Down
1434, Magha Sukla Saptami – after 1534
5 pastime pages
Sri Gopala Bhatta Goswami
Compiler of the Hari-bhakti-vilasa and Discoverer of Sri Radha Raman
c. 1503 (traditionally the 13th day of the dark half of Pausha) – Traditionally 1578 (6th day of the dark half of Sravana), at about 75 years of age
6 pastime pages
Srila Abhirama Gopala Thakura
Nityananda Prabhu's Preacher-Associate at Khanakula Krishnanagara
Not recorded (flourished late 15th - early 16th century) – Krishna Saptami (dark seventh) of the month of Chaitra; year not recorded
5 pastime pages
Srila Gaura Kishora Dasa Babaji
The Renounced Mendicant of Vrindavana and Nabadwip
17 November 1838 – 17 November 1915, on his 77th birthday
4 pastime pages
Srila Madhavendra Puri
Root of the Gaudiya Bhakti Creeper
Not precisely recorded by tradition; Wikipedia estimates circa 1420 – Not precisely dated in Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita itself; Wikipedia estimates circa 1490
6 pastime pages
Srila Narottama Dasa Thakura
Poet-Saint Who United Gaudiya Vaishnavism at Kheturi
Month of Magha (year disputed) – Karttika, Krishna Panchami (year not established)
6 pastime pages
Srila Ramananda Raya
The Governor Who Became Mahaprabhu's Confidant
Exact year not recorded (a mature man of about forty, roughly twice Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's age, when they met around 1510-1512) – Exact date not recorded — sources vary between Jyestha Krishna-panchami and Vaishakha Krishna-panchami
7 pastime pages
Sri Gadadhara Pandit
The Lord's Own Pleasure Potency
c. 1486 – c. 1534, shortly after Mahaprabhu
5 pastime pages
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura
Founder of the Gaudiya Math
6 February 1874, 3:30 pm – 1 January 1937, at the age of 62
8 pastime pages
Srila Ishvara Puri
Diksha-Guru of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu
Full moon day of the month of Jyestha (exact year not recorded) – Exact date not recorded — he passed away between Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's initiation at Gaya (c. 1509-1510) and the Lord's arrival at Jagannatha Puri after taking sannyasa
5 pastime pages
Srila Jiva Goswami
Systematic Philosopher of the Six Goswamis of Vrindavana
Traditionally c. 1513 (sources disagree; some place it as early as 1511 and others as late as the 1530s) – Traditionally 1608 (some sources say 1598; the exact year is disputed)
7 pastime pages
Srila Rasikananda Prabhu
The Preacher Who Crossed Every Caste Line in Odisha
Kartika, night of Dipamalika (Diwali), Sakabda 1512 (c. 1590 AD) – First day of the bright fortnight of Phalguna, Sakabda 1574 (1652 AD)
5 pastime pages
Srila Svarupa Damodara Goswami
Mahaprabhu's Confidential Secretary at Jagannatha Puri
Not recorded – On a Ratha-yatra day in the month of Ashadha; year not recorded
7 pastime pages
Sri Srivasa Thakura
In Whose Courtyard the Sankirtana Movement Began
c. 1450 – after 1534
4 pastime pages
Srila Chandrashekhara Acharya
The Physician of Varanasi Who Sheltered Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu
Not recorded (a contemporary of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, active in Varanasi in the early 16th century) – Not recorded
4 pastime pages
Srila Prabhupada
Founder-Acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
1 September 1896 – 14 November 1977, at the age of 81
15 pastime pages
Srila Vishvanatha Chakravarti Thakura
Author of the Sarartha-darsini and Architect of Raganuga-Bhakti
c. 1626 (sources vary widely, 1610s-1660s) – c. 1708, Vasanta-panchami (Magha)
7 pastime pages
Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana
Author of the Govinda-bhashya
c. early 18th century (exact year unknown) – traditionally 1768; some scholars place it as late as 1793 (disputed)
7 pastime pages
Srila Lokanatha Gosvami
The Renunciant Guardian of Radha-Vinoda
Year not recorded; left home for Nabadwipa c. 1509-1510 CE – Ashtami of Shravana or of Asharh (sources disagree); one tradition dates it to Shaka 1510 / 1588-89 CE
6 pastime pages
Srila Lochana Dasa Thakura
Author of Sri Chaitanya-mangala and Poet of the Srikhanda Vaishnavas
1523 (a minority of sources give 1520) – Year not recorded in the sources consulted for this page
5 pastime pagesQuestions
What is the Brahma-Madhva-Gaudiya sampradaya?
It is the disciplic line of Vaishnava teachers descending from Lord Brahma through Madhvacharya to Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, who appeared in Nadia, Bengal in 1486 to teach the congregational chanting of the holy names of Krishna as the process for this age.
Who were the Six Goswamis of Vrindavana?
Rupa Goswami, Sanatana Goswami, Raghunatha Bhatta Goswami, Raghunatha Dasa Goswami, Jiva Goswami and Gopala Bhatta Goswami — the principal followers whom Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu personally instructed to excavate the lost holy places of Vrindavana and write the theological literature of Gaudiya Vaishnavism.