Śrīvāsa Thakura was a close associate of

Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (; born Vishvambhar Mishra) was a 15th-century Indian saint who is considered to be the combined avatar of Radha and Krishna by his disciples and various scriptures. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's mode of worshipping Krish ...

and a member of the Pancha Tattva. Srivasa Thakura is understood as tatastha-shakti, a marginal energy of Bhagavan,

Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one ...

in person. Devotees who are headed by Srivasa Thakura are described as 'parts' of transcendental body of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu (his eyes, ears, hands, disc/cakra, etc.). They all participated in His transcendental pastimes. They all helped to spread Krsna consciousness, sankirtana-yajna. On the other hand, Srivasa is also Narada - an eternal transcendental associate of Lord Krsna. Srivasa was studying Srimad-Bhagavatam with Advaita Acarya, who was at that time in Navadvipa. They worshiped Krsna, who as an answer to their prayers, appeared as Caitanya Mahaprabhu and converted many atheists - Buddhists and others who were opposed to pure devotional service - making them all His loving devotees. The home of Srivasa, Srivasangam, was a place where Sri Caitanya perform sankirtana-yajna, congregational chanting of Krsna's Holy Names, and it was a place where Kazi, a noted Muslim leader, ruled. However, Kazi had a dream where Sri Caitanya said that he should allow devotional service, so since that time Kazi promised that he would never oppose sankirtana-yajna, and also that no one from his family would ever be against Krsna. Kazi was Kamsa in some previous life, but Sri Caitanya showed him mercy by making him devotee. This is inconceivable - Kamsa was enemy of Krsna, Kamsa was an

Asura Asuras (Sanskrit: असुर) are a class of beings in Indic religions. They are described as power-seeking clans related to the more benevolent Devas (also known as Suras) in Hinduism. In its Buddhist context, the word is sometimes translated ...

or demon who wanted to kill Krsna, but Caitanya came and mercifully gave even such a demon as Kazi devotional service to Krsna. There is a story that Kazi was serious about converting devotees of Caitanya Mahaprabhu into Muslims, but this happened just the opposite – so many Muslims later changed their chanting from names of Allah into chanting Holy names of

Hari Hari ( sa, हरि) is among the primary epithets of the Hindu preserver deity Vishnu, meaning 'the one who takes away' (sins). It refers to the one who removes darkness and illusion, the one who removes all obstacles to spiritual progress ...

, Krsna. So impersonlists, Buddhists, Muslims - all became devotees by mercy of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Srivasa laughed at the religious fanaticism of Kazi. In the house of Srivasa, Chaitanya showed His transcendental form to all His eternal associates. So Srivasa is also a place from which Krishna consciousness movement around five hundred years ago was started. Srivasa Thakura had previously lived in Sri Hatta, but because he wanted the association of devotees he went to live on the banks of the

Ganges The Ganges ( ) (in India: Ganga ( ); in Bangladesh: Padma ( )). "The Ganges Basin, known in India as the Ganga and in Bangladesh as the Padma, is an international river to which India, Bangladesh, Nepal and China are the riparian states." is ...

Nabadwip Nabadwip (), also spelt Navadwip, anciently Nadia or Nudiya, is a heritage city in Nadia district in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is regarded as a holy place by Hindus, and is the birthplace of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Famous for Rass fest ...

. Srivasa Thakura had three brothers: Sripati, Srirama and Srinidhi. He also had one son, but at a young age his son died.

Pancha Tattva mantra

Srivasa is mentioned in the Pancha Tattva (Vaishnavism) mantra as representative of a pure devotee.Pancha Tattva mantra
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Life and pastimes of Srivasa Pandita

Pastimes at his house in MayapurMore pastimes - Pastimes with Chand Kazi

Footnotes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Thakura, Srivasa 16th-century Hindu religious leaders Gaudiya religious leaders Bengali Hindus Scholars from West Bengal