Rajashekhara Dasa
From the book “Chaurasi-kosa Vraja Mandala Parikrama”:
This is where Shrinivasa Acharya, the famous disciple of Gopala Bhatta Goswami performed his bhajana and where he worshiped his famous Deity known as Jula Thakura. The Deity achieved this unusual name because Shrinivas used to keep Him in his bead-bag which is also called a jula (bag). The small Deity of Jhula Thakura is still being worshiped in this temple. It is said that Shrinivasa was the embodiment of Gaura-shakti and was a one-sixteenth part of the full spirit of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. There were two main angas or limbs of Lord Chaitanya: The first were the six Goswamis who were entrusted with the excavation of Vrindavana, compiling books on devotional service and establishing Deity worship. The second anga was the famous troika of Shrinivas Acharya, Narottam das Thakur and Shyamananda Pandita. These three preached the message of Lord Chaitanya throughout Eastern India.
Shrinivasa Acharya appeared on the full-moon day in the lunar month of Vaishakha (April-May) in the year 1517. His parents were Gangadhara Bhattacharya and his wife Lakshmi Priya and they lived in the small village of Chakhandi, on the bank of the Ganges in the Burdwan district of Bengal. The father and mother of Shrinivasa hailed from a brahmana family and were ardent followers of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. They were present at the sannyasa ceremony of the Lord Chaitanya at Katwa. They met Lord Chaitanya again in Puri where He informed them that they would have a son whose name would be Shrinivasa. In his youth Shrinivasa was extremely beautiful and had a golden bodily luster, which reminded everyone who saw him of Lord Chaitanya. After completing his schooling, Shrinivasa left home to join Lord Chaitanya at Puri, but while on the way heard about the Lord’s sudden disappearance. On arrival at Puri he met Gadadhara Pandita who informed him that Lord Chaitanya had given specific instructions that Shrinivasa should study Shrimad-Bhagavatam under Gadadhara’s personal supervision. After the disappearance of Gadadhara Pandita, Shrinivasa left Puri for Vrindavana where he took shelter of Gopala Bhatta Goswami and later took initiation from him. In turn Gopala Bhatta sent Shrinivasa to study the Gaudiya scriptures under Shrila Jiva Goswami. Shrinivasa excelled in his studies and along with Narottama Dasa Thakura and Shyamananda Pandita, became known as the three most brilliant shiksha disciples of Jiva Goswami.
On the recommendation of Shrila Jiva Goswami, both Shrinivas and Narottama, were taken on the now famous parikrama of Vraja Mandala by Raghava Pandita Goswami, immortalized in the book Bhakti-ratnakara. Once their studies were complete, Jiva Goswami sent these three disciples Shrinivasa Narottama and Shyamananda, to Bengal to distribute the handwritten books of the Six Goswamis among the followers of Lord Chaitanya. During their journey to Bengal the books of the Goswamis were stolen by a gang of thieves working for the dacoit king named Birhambir. After searching for the stolen books, Shrinivasa was able to recover them while at the same time convincing the dacoit king Birhambir to give up his sinful life and become a pure Vaishnava. Shrinivas Acharya went on to become one of the most prominent preachers of Lord Chaitanya’s sankirtana movement converting thousands to Vaishnava Dharma. He was also acknowledged as a wonderful kirtan singer and is famous for his brilliant composition entitled Sad-goswami-astaka, the prayers glorifying the Six Goswamis of Vrindavana. Shrinivasa Acharya was the originator the Manohar-Shoy style of kirtana made famous through the songs of Narottama Dasa Thakura. Shrinivasa also helped Narottama organize the first Gaura Purnima Festival at Kheturi, which was attended by Jhanava Mata and her son Balabhadra, along with thousands of other Vaishnavas. Amongst his disciples was Ramachandra Kaviraja, who became a very close friend and confidant of Narottama Dasa Thakura. At the ardent request of his aged mother, Shrinivasa accepted the grihastha-ashrama and became the father of a brilliant daughter named Hemlate Thakurani, who in her own right became a prominent guru and preacher of Lord Chaitanya’s teachings and converted thousands to engage in Krishna-bhakti and take part in the sankirtana movement.
Shrinivasa Acharya Samadhi
Located in a room across the courtyard from the temple of Jhula Thakura is the samadhi of Shrinivasa Acharya. According to Gaura-gonaddesha-dipika, Shrinivasa Acharya is the gopi maidservant of Radharani named Mani Manjari in Krishna’s Vrindavana pastimes.
Ramachandra Kaviraja Samadhi
The samadhi of Ramachandra Kaviraja is located next to the samadhi of his guru Shrinivasa Acharya. He was given the title kaviraja, or ‘king of poets’, by the Gaudiya Goswamis for his wonderful poetic compositions about the pastimes of Radha and Krishna. Along with his brother Govinda Kaviraja, he became celebrated as one of the famous ‘Eight Kavirajas’ of Lord Chaitanya’s sankirtana movement. Shrinivasa Acharya also helped his dear friend Narottama Dasa Thakura, to organize the first ‘Gaura Purnima Festival’ that celebrated the appearance day of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, held in Narottama’s hometown of Kheturi.
Hemlata Thakurani Pashpa Samadhi
The samadhi of Hemlata Thakurani, the famous daughter of Shrinivasa Acharya is located just next to the samadhi of her father. She was one of the most prominent female followers of Lord Chaitanya’s movement and played an important role in spreading the sankirtana movement in Bengal.
