Vishvanatha Chakravarti Thakur (; 1626 – 1708) was a

Gaudiya Vaishnava Gaudiya Vaishnavism (), also known as Chaitanya Vaishnavism, is a Vaishnavism, Vaishnava Hindu denominations, Hindu religious movement inspired by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486–1534) in India. "Gaudiya" refers to the Gaura or Gauḍa region o ...

acharya In Indian religions and society, an ''acharya'' (Sanskrit: आचार्य, IAST: ; Pali: ''ācariya'') is a preceptor and expert instructor in matters such as religion, or any other subject. An acharya is a highly learned person with a ...

born in the village of Devagram, which is now in the

Nadia district Nadia () is a district in the state of West Bengal, India. It borders Bangladesh to the east, North 24 Parganas and Hooghly districts to the south, Purba Bardhaman to the west, and Murshidabad to the north. Nadia district is highly influenti ...

West Bengal West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fou ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. His parents were Radhi Sreni ''brahmanas''. He also had two brothers named Rambhadra and Raghunatha. His initiating guru was Sriyuta Krsnacarana Cakravarti of Saiyadabad, Murshidabad, who was fourth in the line from

Narottama Dasa Narottama Dasa Thakura (c. 1466; date of death unknown), also known as Thakura Mahasaya, was a Gaudiya Vaishnava saint who was responsible for spreading Vaishnava bhakti throughout Odisha in and outside of Bengal in India. Narottama Dasa was th ...

. Visvanatha Chakravarti resided with his guru for many years and composed many books during that time. His studies of grammar, poetry and rhetoric were completed while he still lived at Nadia. There is a story that he defeated one conquering pandit while he himself was still only a student. From his childhood he was completely indifferent to household life. In order to keep him at home, his father had him married at a very young age. However, he finally renounced family life and came to live at

Vrindavana Vrindavan (; ), also spelt Vrindaban and Brindaban, is a historical city in the Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is located in the Braj Bhoomi region and holds religious importance in Hinduism as Krishna spent most of his childho ...

. His family members tried to bring him back but were unsuccessful. Sri Chakravarti Thakura took up residence with Mukunda Dasa, who lived in

Krishnadasa Kaviraja Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī ( bn, কৃষ্ণদাস কবিরাজ, Kṛṣṇôdas Kôviraj; born 1496; date of death unknown) was the author of the Caitanyacaritāmṛta, a biography on the life of the mystic and saint ...

Gosvami's bhajana kutir at Radha-kunda. There he very intently studied the books and letters of the Gosvamis and composed many commentaries on their writings. He used to worship a deity named Golokananda. He was also known by the pen name Harivallabha Das, under which he wrote a number of Vaishnava songs. Most notably his famous song Sri

Guru Vandana Guru Vandana means “Reverence for the Teacher” – it is the thanksgiving from a student to a teacher, expressing their gratitude. The Guru Vandana program provides a platform for students to honor their teachers for imparting knowledge and wis ...

, is sung every morning during Mangal

Arati ''Arti'' (Sanskrit: Ārātrika, Hindi: Ārtī) is a Hindu ritual employed in worship, often part of '' puja'', in which light (usually from a flame) is offered to one or more deities. ''Arti(s)'' also refers to the songs sung in praise of the d ...

around 04:30 AM in every

ISKCON The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON), known colloquially as the Hare Krishna movement or Hare Krishnas, is a Gaudiya Vaishnava Hindu religious organization. ISKCON was founded in 1966 in New York City by A. C. Bhaktiv ...

temple throughout the world. He composed the following books on

Gaudiya Vaishnava Theology Gaudiya Vaishnavism (), also known as Chaitanya Vaishnavism, is a Vaishnava Hindu religious movement inspired by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486–1534) in India. "Gaudiya" refers to the Gaura or Gauḍa region of Bengal, with Vaishnavism meani ...

: *Vraja-riti-cintamani *Camatkara-candrika *Prema-samputa *Gitavali *Subodhini, a commentary on the Alankara-Kaustabha *Ananda-Candrika, a commentary on Ujjvala-Nilamani *A commentary on the

Gopala Tapani Upanishad The ''Gopala Tapani Upanishad'' () is a Sanskrit text, and one of the later Upanishads attached to the Atharvaveda. The Gopāla-Tāpanī is one of the four ''Tāpinī'' Upanishads (''Nṛsiṁha'', ''Rāma'', ''Tripurā,'' and ''Gopāla''). Thi ...

*Stavamrta-Lahri *Sri-Krishna-bhavanamrta-mahakavya *Sri Bhagavatamrta Kana *Sri Ujjavala-nilamani-kirana *Sri Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu-bindu *Dana-Keli Kaumudi-tika *Sri Lalita-madhava-nataka-tika *Sri Caitanya-caritamrta-tika(incomplete) *Brahma-Samhita-tika *Sarartha-Varsini tika *Sarartha-darsini tika He died on the Vasanta-pancami in the month of Magha.

References

Gaudiya religious leaders People from Mathura Year of birth uncertain Year of death uncertain {{India-reli-bio-stub