With Vira Hambira converted and the recovered manuscripts safely delivered, Srinivasa's mission had already succeeded, by any reasonable measure. The rest of his life was less dramatic. But one can fairly say it was just as important for the long-term survival of Gaudiya Vaishnavism in Bengal. He built a settled base for preaching. His family itself passed on the teaching. And he gathered a circle of disciples who carried his work forward after him.
| Detail | Description |
|---|---|
| Base of operations | Jajigram, Bengal, with continued ties to Vishnupura |
| First wife | Ishvari (also called Draupadi), daughter of Gopala Chakravarti of Jajigram |
| Second wife | Gauranga-priya (also called Padmavati) |
| Best-known disciple | Ramachandra Kaviraja, son of Chiranjiva Sena of Shrikhanda |
| Notable descendant | Hemalata Thakurani, his daughter, a preacher and diksha-guru |
Persuaded to Marry #
Srinivasa had shown little interest in household life. But three people whose word he could not easily set aside pushed him toward it. They were his own teacher Narahari Sarakara, his mother, and, according to one tradition, Advaita Acharya himself. Advaita Acharya is said to have told him in a dream to marry. Narahari in particular pointed out that Srinivasa's mother had given devoted service for years, and that she deserved to see her son settled before she died. Srinivasa accepted the reasoning, though with some reluctance, and married Ishvari, the daughter of a Jajigram brahmana named Gopala Chakravarti. Her father and two brothers, Shyama Dasa and Ramachandra, all became his disciples in turn. Some years later, after the couple's sons died young, Srinivasa's closest disciples asked him to marry again. He took a second wife, Gauranga-priya, daughter of Raghava Chakravarti. Her parents are said to have received the same kind of instruction in a dream of their own. It told them to give their daughter to Srinivasa.
A Family of Teachers #
Ishvari bore Srinivasa three daughters, Hemalata, Krishna-priya, and Kanchana (also called Yamuna), along with the sons who did not survive childhood. Gauranga-priya bore a son, Gati Govinda. Srinivasa's family line is said to continue through him in Vrindavana to this day. Of the daughters, Hemalata Thakurani became by far the most significant figure. She became a highly educated preacher who initiated both men and women into Gaudiya Vaishnavism, a role tradition compares to that of Jahnava Devi. The sources do not record who gave her her own diksha. Because she was Srinivasa's blood relation, she is not counted among his initiated disciples either. One of her own disciples, Yadunandana Thakura, became a respected scholar and poet. He put Gaudiya devotional literature into easy Bengali verse, partly at her direct request.
Ramachandra Kaviraja: Disciple and, in Time, Teacher #
Among Srinivasa's initiated disciples, one stands out clearly both in the devotional literature and in Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita itself. He is Ramachandra Kaviraja, son of Chiranjiva Sena of Shrikhanda. Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita names him directly, in its listing of Nityananda Prabhu's spiritual family, as "a disciple of Srinivasa Acarya and the most intimate friend of Narottama dasa Thakura," adding that he "greatly assisted in the preaching work of Srinivasa Acarya and Narottama dasa Thakura." Jiva Goswami himself gave Ramachandra the title Kaviraja after hearing his poetry during a visit to Vrindavana. Some accounts add something that makes the relationship unusual. According to some Bengali-tradition sources, Ramachandra later came to serve Srinivasa in the opposite direction as well. He acted as a kind of siksha guru to the very acharya who had initiated him. This is a reminder that in Gaudiya Vaishnavism, instruction is not assumed to flow only downward, from senior to junior. Ramachandra's younger brother, Govinda Kaviraja, also became Srinivasa's disciple. Like his brother, he received the title Kaviraja from Jiva Goswami for his own poetic gifts. The two brothers are remembered together as being "of the same soul" in their devotion.
A Shared Trance in Search of a Lost Ornament #
Biographies preserve one story in particular to show how far this bond between guru and disciple could reach. Once, Srinivasa was absorbed in meditation on his eternal identity as Mani Manjari. He is said to have watched Radharani at play with Krishna and her gopi friends in the Yamuna. Then her nose-ornament slipped from her face into the water. It could not be found, even after Guna Manjari and Srinivasa himself, as Mani Manjari, searched for it. Srinivasa remained in that unbroken trance for three days. His body was still, and his breath was so faint that his wives and Vira Hambira feared for his life. At Ishvari's suggestion, Ramachandra Kaviraja was called. He entered the same meditative vision as his own manjari-self. He found the ornament hidden beneath a lotus leaf and delivered it in time for Radharani to complete her adornment. After this, both men returned to outer consciousness together, laughing and weeping in each other's arms. Tradition treats the story as proof that Srinivasa's most trusted disciple could, when needed, also serve him almost as an equal in devotion.
A Daily Life of Study and Chanting #
Away from such extraordinary moments, Srinivasa kept a settled and disciplined routine wherever he stayed, in Jajigram or in Vishnupura. According to Karnananda, his mornings were given to reading and explaining scripture to his disciples. The works named include the Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu, Hari-bhakti-vilasa, Shat-sandarbha, Srimad-Bhagavatam, and Brahma-samhita. He then chanted japa alone through the middle of the day, before leading kirtana with his disciples each evening. He kept up this combination of personal sadhana and daily teaching for decades. Later biographers point to it, as much as to any single dramatic episode, to explain how deeply Gaudiya Vaishnavism took root in Bengal under his care.
Preaching Across Bengal #
With Vira Hambira's support, and later that of the king's successors, Srinivasa's preaching reached well beyond Jajigram and Vishnupura. It extended into the districts of Birbhum, Bankura, and Burdwan, and as far east as Tripura. He taught his disciples the Goswamis' writings directly and held daily readings and instruction. By tradition he kept a schedule of scriptural study in the morning, chanting alone through midday, and congregational kirtana each evening. Later biographers point to this discipline as the model for how a preacher combines personal sadhana with public teaching. His continued closeness to Narottama Dasa Thakura through these years is told in Preaching in Bengal and the Kheturi Festival. That page also tells of the two men's shared role in organizing Gaudiya Vaishnavism's most important early gathering.
