Vrindavana Dasa Thakura
 |
Vrindavana Dasa Thakura or Brindaban Das (1507-1589 CE) was the author of the Chaitanya Bhagavata, the first full-length biography of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu written in the Bengali language.
Early life
Vrindavana Dasa was born in Mamgachi in the Navadvipa area of West Bengal. His mother was Narayani, the niece of Srivasa Pandita, a direct follower of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Vrindavana Dasa’s father, Vaikunthanatha Vipra, was from Sylet in East Bengal. However, it is said that his father died before he was born and so his mother moved to the house of Srivasa in Mayapura. In his youth Vrindavana Dasa took initiation from Nityananda, one of the main associates of Chaitanya and he was apparently the last disciple that Nityananda accepted.
Chaitanya Bhagavata
In 1535, Vrindvana Dasa wrote the Chaitanya Bhagavata, a biography of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Initially, the Chaitanya Bhagavata was named Chaitanya Mangala. However the poet Lochana Dasa also wrote a work with this title. Therefore, the leading Vaishnavas in Vrindavana met and decided that henceforth Vrindavana Dasa's book would be known as the Chaitanya Bhagavata, and Lochana Dasa’s book would remain as the Chaitanya Mangala.
Praise of Vrindavana Dasa
Vrindavana Dasa is considered by Gaudiya Vaishnavas as the Vyasa of Chaitanya’s pastimes, since he was the first to reveal that Chaitanya was God himself and not just an incarnation of Godhead.
It would seem that the Chaitanya Bhagavata was the only major work written by Vrindavana Dasa. There are a number of other works attributed to him but their authorship has not been validated.
See also
- Gaudiya Vaishnavism
- Hare Krishna
- Six Goswamis
- Sri Caitanya Bhagavata Read On-line/Download
Bibliography
1-Tirtha, Swami B.B., Sri Caitanya and His Associates, 2002, Mandala Publishing, San Francisco.
2-Mahayogi Swami B.V., Lives of the Saints, translated from Gaura Parsada Citravali, unpublished work.
3-Sahitya Academi site (http://www.sahitya-akademi.gov.in/old_version/glos.htm)
4-Encyclopaedia Of Bangladesh (Set Of 30 Vols.) By Nagendra Kr. Singh - Page 309