Srila Abhirama Gopala Thakura

Srila Abhirama Gopala Thakura was a Bengali devotee of the fifteenth and sixteenth centuries. He is remembered as one of the most vigorous preachers among the associates of Nityananda Prabhu. Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita counts him, under the name Ramadasa, among the "chief branches" of Nityananda Prabhu's own devotional family. Gaudiya tradition places his sripat at Khanakula Krishnanagara in the Hooghly district of Bengal, where the Gopinatha Deity he established is still worshiped today. Almost everything told about him later, such as his giant flute, his whip of prema, and his temple, comes back to one simple picture of him. He was so fully devoted to Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's sankirtana movement that he used his own house only for kirtana and for feeding Vaishnava pilgrims, never for sleep.

At a Glance

• Counted among Nityananda Prabhu's own circle of twelve gopalas, and identified in Kavi Karnapura's Gaura-ganoddesha-dipika as Sridama, one of Krishna's closest cowherd friends in Vrindavana.
• Sent to Bengal by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's own order, together with Gadadhara dasa, to assist Nityananda Prabhu's preaching there.
• Remembered for pulling a huge log from the forest, one that many men together could not lift, and turning it into a flute in a burst of sakhya-rasa.
• Carried a whip named Jaya-mangala, said to awaken Krishna-prema in anyone it touched, including a young Srinivasa Acharya.
• Excavated the Gopinatha Deity at Khanakula Krishnanagara after the Deity appeared to him in a dream, founding a temple and pilgrimage site still active today.

A Brahmana's House That Never Slept #

Little is recorded of Abhirama Gopala Thakura's birth. No year, no birthplace, and no parents' names survive in the sources. But later devotional biographies do agree that he was born into a brahmana family, became learned in the scriptures, and excelled at music, song and dance. At Nityananda Prabhu's own request, he married Sri Malini-devi, a woman of high spiritual standing. From then on his household was a preaching center, not a private home. Day and night it resounded with kirtana and Krishna-katha, and it was open to any Vaishnava pilgrim who came through. What little is known of his early years is told more fully on Birth and Early Life.

Sent to Bengal in Nityananda Prabhu's Company #

Krishnadasa Kaviraja Goswami's Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita calls Abhirama by the name Sri Ramadasa. It places him alongside Gadadhara dasa as a devotee who always stayed with Sri Virabhadra Gosani, Nityananda Prabhu's son. It also records that both men were sent to Bengal at Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's own order when Nityananda Prabhu was directed to preach there. Because they served in both ways, the text says, they are counted sometimes among Mahaprabhu's own devotees and sometimes among Nityananda Prabhu's. A separate account places Abhirama in Puri itself during Mahaprabhu's own lifetime. There he tested the young Gopala Guru Goswami in such a way that the boy survived only because of Mahaprabhu's personal protection. Both accounts are followed in more depth on Association with Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

Sridama of Vrindavana #

Kavi Karnapura's Gaura-ganoddesha-dipika (verse 126) identifies Ramadasa, that is, Abhirama, as Sridama in Krishna's own Vraja pastimes. Sridama is one of the most prominent of Krishna's cowherd-boy companions. Every source gives the same identification, and none suggests a different one. But several of them tell at length about the special feats that this sakhya-rasa mood, the mood of friendship with Krishna, produced in Gaura-lila, such as the giant flute and the whip called Jaya-mangala. Those pastimes are taken up on Spiritual Identity and Teachings. That page also asks honestly how far some of their surviving retellings have grown into legend.

The verse begins:

purā śrīdāma-nāmāsīd abhirāmo’dhunā mahān

"The cowherd boy named Sridama appeared in Lord Caitanya's pastimes as Ramadasa Abhirama dasa..." (Gaura-ganoddesha-dipika 126)

Srila Prabhupada confirms it in his purport to Chaitanya-charitamrita Adi 11.13: "Śrī Rāmadāsa, later known as Abhirāma Ṭhākura, was one of the twelve gopālas, or cowherd boyfriends, of Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu. The Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā (126) states that Śrī Rāmadāsa was formerly Śrīdāmā."

The Gopinatha Deity of Khanakula Krishnanagara #

Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura's own Anubhasya commentary on Chaitanya-charitamrita gives an exact account of Khanakula Krishnanagara. This is the small Hooghly-district town on the Dvarakeshvara River where Abhirama Thakura's temple stands. The commentary also describes the dream in which the Gopinatha Deity asked to be dug out of the earth there. A tank called Rama Kunda still marks the spot. A large bakula tree outside the temple, called Siddha-bakula-kunja, is said to be where Abhirama Thakura used to sit. The site remains an active pilgrimage destination, with an annual mela drawing large crowds on the disappearance day. Its fuller story is told on Deity Worship at Khanakul Krishnanagar.

Disappearance and Legacy #

Abhirama Thakura is remembered for testing the newborn children of Nityananda Prabhu and Vasudha-devi with his obeisances. This was an unusual and dangerous form of blessing. It is said that any stone except a consecrated Salagrama-sila would crack under the force of his pranama. He is also remembered for composing verses in honor of the children who survived his obeisances, Ganga-devi and Virachandra Prabhu. Devotees still keep his disappearance day on Krishna Saptami of Chaitra with a large festival at Khanakula Krishnanagara. Tradition also credits him with founding the Bali Math in Puri. The page Disappearance and Legacy sets out what can and cannot be confirmed about his direct disciples and lineage.