Rupa spent much of the rest of his life writing out in full everything that Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu had given him at Prayaga in ten days. He opens his greatest work, Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu, with a verse of striking humility. Krishnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami later quoted this verse directly in Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita: "Although I am the lowest of men and have no knowledge, the inspiration to write transcendental literatures about devotional service has been mercifully bestowed upon me" (Madhya 19.134). Most people within the tradition regard the book that came from that inspiration as the single most important theological work of Gaudiya Vaishnavism. Rupa also wrote many other works, among them:
- Dana-keli-kaumudi
- Lila-chandra
- Padyavali
- Govinda-virudavali
- Mathura-mahatmya
- Laghu-bhagavatamrita
- Hamsaduta
- Uddhava-sandesha
- Radha-Krishna-ganoddesha-dipika, in both a longer and a shorter form
Counting this work and all the others, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura calculated that Rupa Gosvami left behind roughly one hundred thousand verses in all.
| Detail | Description |
|---|---|
| Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu | Systematic treatise on the science of devotional rasa, in four divisions |
| Ujjvala-nilamani | Companion volume devoted entirely to madhurya-rasa, conjugal love of Krishna |
| Vidagdha-madhava | Sanskrit drama of Krishna's pastimes in Vrindavana, in seven acts |
| Lalita-madhava | Sanskrit drama of Krishna's later pastimes at Dvaraka, in ten acts |
| Upadeshamrita | Eleven-verse manual of practical instruction for a devotee's conduct |
| Stava-mala and Dana-keli-kaumudi | Collected devotional poetry, and a one-act drama on Krishna's toll-tax pastime |
Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu: A Complete Science of Devotional Mellows #
Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita lists Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu first among Rupa's books (Madhya 1.38), and for good reason. It is the foundation underneath everything else he wrote. The book is arranged in four broad divisions, and in them Rupa gives a complete explanation of bhakti. First he lays out the general principles and practice of devotional service. Then he classifies the mellows (rasas) through which a soul can relate to Krishna. Finally he covers the five primary rasas of neutrality, servitude, friendship, parental love and conjugal love, along with seven secondary emotions that color them. Srila Prabhupada's own English summary study of this book is published as The Nectar of Devotion. It remains the standard introduction to the text for readers who are not Sanskrit scholars. Its opening verses are, almost word for word, the very instruction Rupa received at Prayaga.
Ujjvala-nilamani: Conjugal Love Examined in Full #
Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu treats madhurya-rasa as one of five primary rasas. Ujjvala-nilamani returns to madhurya-rasa alone and examines it in far greater depth. It classifies the gopis themselves into groups, such as gostha-sakhis, priya-sakhis and the manjaris who serve Radha and Krishna in their most intimate moods. It also explains the inner workings of mahabhava, the highest stage of ecstatic love, as it appears uniquely in Vraja. Gaudiya commentators have long treated Ujjvala-nilamani as the necessary companion of Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu, not as a separate work.
Two Dramas: Vrindavana and Dvaraka #
Rupa also wrote two full Sanskrit plays:
- Vidagdha-madhava: composed in seven acts, it stages Krishna and Radha's pastimes within Vrindavana itself, opening with the sage Paurnamasi explaining how their secret meetings were first arranged.
- Lalita-madhava: its companion, which moves the setting to Dvaraka and unfolds across ten acts. It follows Krishna in His royal life away from Vraja while never losing sight of Radha as the true object of His heart.
Together the two plays are regarded as among the most demanding and rewarding works of devotional Sanskrit drama the tradition produced.
Two Dramas, and the Dream That Split Them #
Rupa had originally drafted the pastimes of both Vrindavana and Dvaraka as a single continuous work. Tradition holds that this plan changed on the road to Jagannatha Puri. Rupa rested for a night at Satyabhamapura in Odisha. There he dreamed that a radiant woman appeared before him. Mercifully but firmly, she asked him to write a separate drama for her alone. Rupa understood the dream as an order from Satyabhama herself. So he divided his single manuscript into the two dramas known today. He kept Krishna's Vrindavana pastimes for Vidagdha-madhava, and gave Dvaraka, and Satyabhama's own place within it, to Lalita-madhava.
Dates the Tradition Remembers #
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, working from the Shakabda-era dates preserved in Gaudiya tradition, placed the completion of these works as follows:
- Vidagdha-madhava: Shakabda 1454 (1532 CE)
- Lalita-madhava: five years later, Shakabda 1459 (1537 CE)
- Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu: Shakabda 1463 (1541 CE)
Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu is the master text underlying both dramas. By the time it was completed, Rupa had spent roughly a quarter century in Vraja since his instruction at Prayaga.
Upadeshamrita: Eleven Verses for Ordinary Practice #
The larger works are theological and literary, but Upadeshamrita is deliberately practical. It has eleven short verses, and it was originally part of the larger Stava-mala collection. It opens with the instruction that a sober person must first learn to control speech, mind, anger, tongue, belly and genitals. Only then should he try to instruct the world in anything else. The remaining verses deal with the six favorable and unfavorable practices of devotional life, the importance of sadhu-sanga, and the proper way to honor Vrindavana's holy places. This guidance is so easy to put into practice that it is still among the first texts new practitioners in the tradition are given to study. Alongside it are these two works:
- Stava-mala: gathers Rupa's shorter devotional poetry, including prayers glorifying Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and a brief seven-verse petition to Radharani.
- Dana-keli-kaumudi: a one-act work that shows Krishna playfully blocking the gopis' path to collect a mock toll.
This lighter side of his writing shows that the same poet was capable of theology, drama and simple charm, all within a single body of work. Rupa Gosvami composed this literature during his ascetic years in Vraja, and he carried it with him to the very end of his life. His last days are the subject of Final Days and Disappearance.
Two Cottages Where the Books Took Shape #
Much of this literature was written at the bhajana-kutir Rupa kept in Seva-kunja, beside the Radha-Damodara temple. This place became a kind of headquarters where the Gosvamis met. There Jiva Gosvami, still a young disciple, helped prepare the palm-leaf pages Rupa wrote on. One such page, written earlier at Jagannatha Puri, very nearly went unnoticed. Once, at Jagannatha Puri, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu visited Rupa's residence and found him away at his bath. The Lord discovered a verse Rupa had tucked into the thatch of his roof, and He read it before Rupa returned. When Rupa came back, the Lord embraced him in tears, because once again Rupa had understood the Lord's heart without being told. On another day at Puri, the Lord saw a page of Rupa's manuscript and praised his handwriting with the words, "the handwriting of Rupa Gosvami is just like rows of pearls."
Rupa also kept a second, quieter cottage at Ter Kadamba in Nandagrama, the very spot where Krishna is said to have called His cows home each evening with His flute. Vaishnava tradition remembers this kadamba tree as unusually responsive to what Rupa wrote beneath it: its leaves are said to have fallen when he described Radha and Krishna's pain of separation, and to have burst into new leaf and blossom when he turned, in the same pages, to describe Their joyful reunion.
