Later Acharyas
Teachers and acharyas of the generations that followed, who developed, preserved, taught and spread the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition through their writings, songs, teaching and institutions.
24 profiles
Srila Vrindavana Dasa Thakura
Author of Sri Chaitanya-Bhagavata
c. 1507 CE (Krishna Dvadashi, month of Vaishakh, 1429 Shaka era) – c. 1589 CE (exact year disputed)
6 pastime pages
Srila Krishnadasa Kaviraja Goswami
Author of Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita
c. 1496-1528 (sources disagree) – c. 1615-1620 (some traditions say 1616-1617)
6 pastime pages
Srila Srinivasa Acharya
The Acharya Who Carried the Goswamis' Scriptures to Bengal
Full-moon day of Vaishakha; year disputed, roughly 1517-1530 – Not recorded by tradition
7 pastime pages
Srila Narottama Dasa Thakura
Poet-Saint Who United Gaudiya Vaishnavism at Kheturi
Month of Magha (year disputed) – Karttika, Krishna Panchami (year not established)
6 pastime pages
Srila Shyamananda Pandit
The Milkman's Son Who Carried the Goswamis Home
Chaitra Purnima; traditionally dated 1535 AD by one detailed account from his family line, though most sources give no year – Krishna-pratipada (first lunar day of the dark fortnight), month of Ashadha; year given as 1623 AD by one detailed source, and as Shaka 1552 / 1630 AD by other sources; the sources disagree
6 pastime pages
Srila Rasikananda Prabhu
The Preacher Who Crossed Every Caste Line in Odisha
Kartika, night of Dipamalika (Diwali), Sakabda 1512 (c. 1590 AD) – First day of the bright fortnight of Phalguna, Sakabda 1574 (1652 AD)
5 pastime pages
Srila Vishvanatha Chakravarti Thakura
Author of the Sarartha-darsini and Architect of Raganuga-Bhakti
c. 1626 (sources vary widely, 1610s-1660s) – c. 1708, Vasanta-panchami (Magha)
7 pastime pages
Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana
Author of the Govinda-bhashya
c. early 18th century (exact year unknown) – traditionally 1768; some scholars place it as late as 1793 (disputed)
7 pastime pages
Srila Lochana Dasa Thakura
Author of Sri Chaitanya-mangala and Poet of the Srikhanda Vaishnavas
1523 (a minority of sources give 1520) – Year not recorded in the available sources
5 pastime pages
Srila Hridaya Chaitanya
The Guru Who Discovered Shyamananda Pandit
Not recorded (flourished in the generation after Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, mid-16th century) – Not recorded (before 1630 AD, during Shyamananda Pandit's later years preaching in Utkal)
4 pastime pages
Srila Prabodhananda Saraswati
Author of Sri Radha-rasa-sudha-nidhi, Uncle and Guru of Gopala Bhatta Goswami
Not recorded; a generation senior to his nephew Gopala Bhatta Goswami (born c. 1503) – Not recorded in available sources
5 pastime pages
Srila Kavi Karnapura Goswami
The Poet Whose Verses Chaitanya-Charitamrita Itself Quotes
Traditionally dated 1524 or 1527 (sources disagree) – Not recorded; his last securely dated work is from 1576
5 pastime pages
Srila Jahnava Mata
Consort of Nityananda Prabhu Who Led Gaudiya Vaishnavism After 1534
Early 16th century (the exact year is not recorded in the original sources; one later source gives 1509) – Shukla Navami, month of Vaishakha (the sources we checked do not give the year)
6 pastime pages
Srila Ramachandra Kaviraja
Poet-Disciple of Shrinivasa Acharya and Closest Friend of Narottama Dasa Thakura
Not recorded by year; lived in the generation after Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's own associates, as a disciple of Shrinivasa Acharya (later 16th century) – Not recorded by year; sources differ on the exact date (the dark-fortnight tritiya of Pausha per one account, Krishna-trayodashi of Magha per another)
4 pastime pages
Srila Gangamata Goswamini
Renunciate Founder of the Ganga-mata Math, Jagannatha Puri
c. 1601 (Shukla-dashami, Jyestha), according to the Ganga-mata Math's own record – c. 1721, according to the Ganga-mata Math's own record; no detailed account of her passing survives
4 pastime pages
Srila Viracandra Prabhu
Son of Nityananda Prabhu and Founding Figure of the Nityananda-vamsa
Ninth day of the dark fortnight of Kartika, according to one tradition; Agrahayana shukla chaturdashi (the fourteenth day of the bright fortnight of Agrahayana), according to the Gaudiya Vaishnava Abhidhana. Sources disagree, and no year is known for certain – Not recorded in any source checked
5 pastime pages
Srila Devakinandana Dasa Thakur
Poet of the Vaishnava-vandana
Not recorded in the available sources – Not recorded in the available sources
2 pastime pages
Srila Raghunandana Thakura
The Child Who Fed Sri Gopinatha
c. 1510 AD (Shaka 1432), Srikhanda – Shukla Chaturthi, month of Shravana (year not recorded in the available sources)
4 pastime pages
Srila Narayana Bhatta Goswami
Rediscoverer of Vraja's Twelve Forests, Author of Vraja-bhakti-vilasa
c. 1531 (sources vary) – Not reliably documented
5 pastime pages
Sri Ganga Narayana Chakravarti
Foremost Disciple of Narottama Dasa Thakura
Not recorded in the available sources – Not recorded in the available sources
5 pastime pages
Srila Govinda Dasa Kaviraja
Bengali Padavali Poet, Author of Bhajahu Re Mana
c. 1535 (traditional dating found in secondary sources; not stated in Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita itself) – c. 1613 (traditional date; not confirmed by any original source we found)
3 pastime pages
Srila Narahari Chakravarti Thakura
Author of the Bhakti-ratnakara and Narottama-vilasa
Late 1600s (exact year not established) – Not established
2 pastime pages
Hemalata Thakurani
Daughter of Srinivasa Acharya Who Gave Diksha to Disciples
Not recorded (mid-to-late 16th century, worked out from her father's and her disciple's dates) – Not recorded
3 pastime pages
Sri Gopala Guru Goswami
The Boy Mahaprabhu Named Guru, Later Keeper of Sri Radha-Kanta at Puri
Not recorded; he was a small boy in Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's own company at Puri, so he was born in the early sixteenth century – Ninth day of a fortnight of the month of Kartika, year not recorded (sources differ on whether it was the dark or bright fortnight)
3 pastime pages