About Temple Our Schedule Our Centers Mission & Objectives Our Gallery

Activities

For Families For Youth For Children

Initiatives

Village Development Program
Contact

Associated Trust

Akshay Patra Foundation

हिन्दी में पढ़ें

Brahma-Madhva-Gaudiya Sampradaya

Guru-Parampara Timeline

This page reads the acharyas of this disciplic line in chronological order, era by era, rather than by who initiated whom. For the guru-disciple relationships themselves, branch by branch, see the Guru-Parampara Chart instead. Within each era below, acharyas with an approximate known birth year are ordered by that year; where no year is recorded at all, that is said plainly under its own "Date not recorded" heading rather than guessed at.

160 profiles across 7 eras

1

Founders of the Parampara

Eternal Origin

Scripture describes this link as beyond ordinary chronology: Krishna's own words to Brahma at the dawn of creation, carried down through Narada Muni to Vyasadeva, the compiler of the Vedas.

Date not recorded

  1. Lord Sri KrishnaSvayam Bhagavan — the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Source of All Avataras
  2. Lord BrahmaAdi-Guru — First Spiritual Master and Secondary Creator of the UniverseAt the start of the present cosmic creation (kalpa), not a date on any human calendar – None yet, by tradition's own account. Brahma is understood to still be living; a single day of his life equals 4.32 billion human years
  3. Narada MuniCelestial Sage and Travelling Teacher of Bhakti, Guru of Vyasadeva and Dhruva MaharajaTimeless: reckoned among the mind-born sons of Lord Brahma at the dawn of the present universe – None recorded: a liberated soul who has not undergone death since his present birth, and whom Vaishnava tradition holds to be still travelling today
  4. Srila VyasadevaCompiler of the Vedas, Author of Srimad-BhagavatamTraditionally at the junction of Dvapara-yuga and Kali-yuga (exact site and era disputed) – Not dated; tradition holds he remains present in the world
2

Predecessor Acharyas

c. 8th – 16th century CE

From Madhvacharya's own Dvaita Vedanta line to the poet-devotees and Bhagavatam commentators writing in the centuries just before Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's own appearance in 1486 CE.

  1. Srila MadhvacharyaBiography, Dvaita Vedanta & TeachingsTraditionally 1238 CE (some sources: 1199 CE; Srila Prabhupada's purport to Chaitanya-charitamrita gives 1118 CE, noting 1238 CE as an alternate reckoning) – Traditionally 1317 CE (some sources: 1278 CE), age about eighty
  2. Sri Narahari TirthaThe Minister-Regent Who Became the Second PontiffB. N. K. Sharma's academic history calculates his birth at about 1241 CE, from his own inscriptions. Srila Prabhupada's purport to Chaitanya-charitamrita, Madhya 9.245, instead places his entry in the succession list at Shaka 1127 (about 1205 CE), a gap of roughly thirty-five years between the two sources that remains unresolved. – Traditionally 1333 CE (the cyclic year Srimukha), after nine years as the second pontiff of the matha Madhvacharya founded, and roughly three decades of earlier public life as a minister and regent in Kalinga
  3. Sri VidyanidhiGuru of Rajendra Tirtha in the Gaudiya ListNot independently recorded under the name Vidyanidhi; if identified with Vidyadhiraja Tirtha, born Krishna Bhatt around 1269 CE (Shaka 1190) per Dvaita-tradition sources – Not recorded under the name Vidyanidhi; if identified with Vidyadhiraja Tirtha, his headship of the Udupi matha is dated to about 1388-1392 CE
  4. Sri Rajendra TirthaFounder of the Matha Line That Became Vyasaraja MathaTraditionally around 1332 CE (Shaka 1254), per the South Kanada Manual/Bombay Gazette succession list quoted in Srila Prabhupada's own purport to Chaitanya-charitamrita, Madhya 9.245; not independently verified elsewhere – Not precisely dated; B. N. K. Sharma's History of the Dvaita School of Vedanta places his headship of his own matha around 1388-1412 CE
  5. Sri JayatirthaTikacharya, the Commentator of Dvaita VedantaTraditionally about 1345 CE; pontiff 1365-1388 CE (23 years). Srila Prabhupada's purport to Chaitanya-charitamrita, Madhya 9.245, instead places him at Shaka 1167 (about 1245 CE) -- a real, unresolved discrepancy – Traditionally 1388 CE, at the close of a 23-year tenure as the sixth pontiff after Madhvacharya
  6. Sri Madhava TirthaThird Pontiff of the Uttaradi MathaBirth name Vishnu Shastri; pontiff 1333-1350 CE (seventeen years), per B. N. K. Sharma's academic history. Srila Prabhupada's purport to Chaitanya-charitamrita, Madhya 9.245, instead places him at Shaka 1136 (about 1214 CE) in its own numbered list of the succession, more than a century before his actual seventeen-year pontificate of 1333 to 1350 CE per independent Dvaita-tradition scholarship. – 1350 CE, after seventeen years as pontiff; his tradition's aradhana (disappearance anniversary) is kept on Mahalaya Amavasya
  7. Sri Akshobhya TirthaGuru of Jayatirtha, Fourth Pontiff of the Madhva PeethaNo independent birth year is recorded; born Govinda Shastri (also Govinda Bhatta) in Uttara-Karnataka. Working backward from his 1350-1365 CE tenure as pontiff, modern scholarship (Wikipedia, following B. N. K. Sharma's chronology) places his birth at approximately 1282 CE, a reconstruction rather than a directly documented date. – Traditionally 1365 CE, at the close of a fifteen-year tenure (1350-1365 CE per B. N. K. Sharma's academic chronology) as the fourth pontiff after Madhvacharya
  8. Sri Lakshmipati TirthaThe Acharya Named LakshmipatiNot recorded in any source consulted; a widely repeated but unsourced online estimate of 1420 appears to trace back to a single Wikipedia stub – No date recorded in any source consulted. A Gaudiya devotional account (gaudiyahistory.iskcondesiretree.com) describes him leaving his body suddenly and without illness, not long after a final vision of Nityananda Prabhu, but assigns no specific year.
  9. Srila Madhavendra PuriRoot of the Gaudiya Bhakti CreeperNot precisely recorded by tradition; Wikipedia estimates circa 1420 – Not precisely dated in Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita itself; Wikipedia estimates circa 1490
  10. Sri Vyasa TirthaRoyal Preceptor of the Vijayanagara EmpireTraditionally 1447 CE, per Wikipedia's summary of academic sources; other sources place his birth closer to 1460 – 8 March 1539, at roughly ninety years of age
  11. Srila Sridhara SwamiJagad-guru & Bhavartha-dipika AuthorNot recorded; scholarship places his life around 1350 to 1450 CE, most likely near 1400 CE – Not recorded, though he is remembered for his long tenure as abbot

Date not recorded

  1. Padmanabha TirthaFirst Pontiff After MadhvacharyaNot clearly recorded. Sources agree only on his purva-ashrama (pre-sannyasa) name, Shobhana Bhatta; his exact birth year does not appear in any source consulted – 1324 CE, after heading the community for about seven years. Traditional Sakabda-era Mutt tables place his succession a century earlier, around 1199-1200 CE; B. N. K. Sharma's epigraphically-supported redating to roughly 1317-1324 CE is followed here, a full century later than the traditional figures.
  2. Sri JnanasindhuA Name Between Jayatirtha and DayanidhiNot recorded in any source found – Not recorded in any source found
  3. Sri DayanidhiThe Disputed Middle Name Before VidyanidhiNot recorded in any source found – Not recorded in any source found
  4. Srila Vijayadhvaja TirthaAuthor of the Padaratnavali, a Major Dvaita Commentary on Srimad-BhagavatamNot recorded; independent Dvaita-tradition sources place his active life in the late fourteenth to mid-fifteenth century – Traditionally observed on Akshaya Tritiya (the third day of the bright half of Vaishakha); commonly dated 1410, though some sources place his death as late as 1448
  5. Sri Purushottama TirthaThe Pontiff Who Vanished Into a Cave at AbburuNot recorded; the Vyasaraja Matha's own succession record gives his pre-sannyasa name as Srinivasacharya but no birth year or place – Tradition holds he did not die but withdrew into cave tapasya, remaining alive in a hidden sense; the Vyasaraja Matha's own published succession list gives his pontifical tenure as 1400-1416, a date that sits awkwardly against other sources for the succession that follows: Brahmanya Tirtha's tenure around 1460-1467 and Vyasa Tirtha's own well-documented life at roughly 1447-1539.
  6. Sri Brahmanya TirthaGuardian and Guru of Vyasa TirthaNot independently recorded; his monastic tenure is dated to the mid-15th century CE – 1467 CE per most matha-tradition lists; academic scholarship on Vyasa Tirtha's life instead places it in the famine of 1475-1476 CE. Sources disagree
  7. Srila Bilvamangala ThakuraPoet-Saint Who Composed Sri Krishna-karnamritaUncertain: estimates range from the 9th to the 14th century (disputed) – Not recorded in any source found
  8. Srila Jayadeva GoswamiAuthor of the Gita Govinda12th century CE (disputed) – 12th–13th century CE (accounts differ)
  9. Srila Ishvara PuriDiksha-Guru of Sri Chaitanya MahaprabhuFull moon day of the month of Jyestha (exact year not recorded) – Exact date not recorded: he passed away between Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's initiation at Gaya (c. 1509-1510) and the Lord's arrival at Jagannatha Puri after taking sannyasa
3

Panca-tattva

Late 15th – early 16th century CE

Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's own generation: the five tattvas of His own pastimes, appearing together in Bengal around His 1486 advent.

  1. Sri Advaita AcharyaThe Devotee Whose Prayers Called the Lord Down1434, Magha Sukla Saptami – after 1534
  2. Sri Srivasa ThakuraIn Whose Courtyard the Sankirtana Movement Beganc. 1450 – after 1534
  3. Sri Nityananda PrabhuPatita-pavana, the Deliverer of the Fallenc. 1474, Magha Sukla Trayodashi – c. 1540
  4. Sri Chaitanya MahaprabhuThe Golden Avatar Who Inaugurated the Sankirtana Movement18 February 1486 (Phalguna Purnima), during a lunar eclipse – 14 June 1534, at the age of 48
  5. Sri Gadadhara PanditThe Lord's Own Pleasure Potencyc. 1486 – c. 1534, shortly after Mahaprabhu
4

Associates of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu

Early – mid 16th century CE

Devotees who directly accompanied Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu during His own manifest pastimes (1486–1534 CE), in Navadvipa, Jagannatha Puri and along His travels.

  1. Srila Haridasa ThakuraNamacharya, the Teacher of the Holy Namec. 1451 (disputed) – Ananta Chaturdashi day (exact year uncertain)
  2. Srila Narahari Sarkar ThakuraLeader of the Srikhanda Vaishnavas and Guru of Lochana Dasa Thakurac. 1479-80 AD (Shaka 1401/1402), some years before Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's own appearance – Krishna Ekadashi of Agrahayana month; the exact year is disputed, with sources ranging from c. 1540 to 1582
  3. Srila Uddharana Datta ThakuraThe Gold Merchant Who Cooked for Nityananda Prabhuc. 1481 – Krishna Trayodashi, month of Pausha, Shaka 1463 (commonly rendered c. 1541; one widely mirrored account gives 1552)
  4. Srila Dhananjaya PanditRenounced Servant of Nityananda Prabhu at SitalagramaNot reliably recorded (one secondary source gives a date of 1485, era unspecified, which could not be verified or reconciled with Mahaprabhu's own lifetime) – Shukla-ashtami (the bright eighth) of the month of Kartik; year not recorded
  5. Srila Vasudeva GhoshPoet-Singer of the Three Ghosh BrothersYear not recorded; a contemporary of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (born 1486) – Date not recorded with certainty; traditionally observed on a tithi in the Bengali month of Kartika
  6. Srila Murari GuptaPhysician-Devotee and Author of the Earliest Life of Sri Chaitanya MahaprabhuNot recorded (an older contemporary of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, b. 1486) – Year not recorded; tradition places the day on Sharad Purnima, the autumn rasa-lila full-moon
  7. Sri Vishvarupa (Shankararanya)Elder Brother of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Renounced as ShankararanyaYear not recorded (elder brother of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, b. 1486) – 1431 or 1432 Shakabda (A.D. 1509 or 1510; sources differ by one year)
  8. Srila Ishan ThakurThe Servant the Child Nimai Called FatherNot recorded (already in the household when Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was born, c. 1486) – Not recorded; said to have lived to a very great age, outliving Vishnupriya Devi and most other Nabadwip-era devotees
  9. Srila Kamalakara PippalaiOne of Nityananda Prabhu's Twelve Gopalas, Founder of Deity Worship at Maheshac. 1492 (Gaudiya Vaishnava Abhidhana; not stated in Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita itself) – Chaitra Shukla Trayodashi, 1563 (family tradition; not independently confirmed)
  10. Srila Vamsivadana ThakuraKrishna's Flute Who Cared for Vishnupriya and Sachi Devic. 1494-1495 (per the Vamsi-shiksha; some accounts give 1506 - sources differ) – Not recorded in any source consulted
  11. Maharaja PrataparudraThe Gajapati King Who Swept the Road for the LordNot recorded; ascended the Gajapati throne in 1497 – 1540 CE
  12. Srila Venkata BhattaSri Vaishnava Host of Mahaprabhu at Srirangam, Father of Gopala Bhatta GoswamiNot recorded (a generation senior to his son Gopala Bhatta Goswami, born c. 1503) – Not recorded
  13. Srila Ramananda RayaThe Governor Who Became Mahaprabhu's ConfidantExact year not recorded (a mature man of about forty, roughly twice Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's age, when they met around 1510-1512) – Exact date not recorded: sources vary between Jyestha Krishna-panchami and Vaishakha Krishna-panchami
  14. Srila Lokanatha GosvamiThe Renunciant Guardian of Radha-VinodaYear not recorded; left home for Nabadwipa c. 1509-1510 CE – Ashtami of Shravana or of Asharh (sources disagree); one tradition dates it to Shaka 1510 / 1588-89 CE
  15. Sri Kurma VipraThe Brahmana Mahaprabhu Told to Become a GuruDate not recorded (a householder brahmana of Kurma-kshetra, met by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu during His South India tour, c. 1510) – Not recorded in the sources consulted

Date not recorded

  1. Sri Kholavecha ShridharaThe Khola-Seller of NavadwipDate not recorded (a contemporary of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's householder years in Navadwip, early 16th century) – Date not recorded in the sources consulted
  2. Srila Gauridasa PanditHouseholder Devotee Who Installed the Gaura-Nitai Deities of Ambika KalnaNot recorded (late 15th century); first lived at Saligrama, Bengal – Shukla Ekadashi, Shravana (year not recorded)
  3. Srila Abhirama Gopala ThakuraNityananda Prabhu's Preacher-Associate at Khanakula KrishnanagaraNot recorded (flourished late 15th - early 16th century) – Krishna Saptami (dark seventh) of the month of Chaitra; year not recorded
  4. Srila Svarupa Damodara GoswamiMahaprabhu's Confidential Secretary at Jagannatha PuriNot recorded – On a Ratha-yatra day in the month of Ashadha; year not recorded
  5. Srila Chandrashekhara AcharyaThe Physician of Varanasi Who Sheltered Sri Chaitanya MahaprabhuNot recorded (a contemporary of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, active in Varanasi in the early 16th century) – Not recorded
  6. Srila Govinda GhoshKirtan Leader Among the Ghosh Brothers, Founder of Sri Gopinatha at AgradwipaNot recorded; a contemporary of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (late 15th century) – Not recorded
  7. Srila Madhava GhoshThe Singer of VrindavanaDate not recorded (era of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, early 16th century) – Not recorded
  8. Srila Mukunda DattaClass friend and favorite singer of Sri Chaitanya MahaprabhuNot recorded – Jyeshtha purnima, the day of Snana Yatra (year not recorded)
  9. Srila Tapana MishraThe Brahmana of Kashi Who Fed Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu DailyNot recorded (an adult householder and older contemporary of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, active from the early 16th century) – Not recorded (before his son Raghunatha Bhatta Goswami's final departure for Vrindavana)
  10. Srila Pundarika VidyanidhiThe wealthy Vaishnava Mahaprabhu called fatherVasanta-panchami, exact year unrecorded – Year unrecorded
  11. Srila Shivananda SenaThe householder who led Bengal's devotees to Jagannatha Puri every yearNot recorded – Not recorded
  12. Srila Jagadananda PanditaThe Life and Soul of the LordExact date not recorded; an associate of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu from the earliest Navadvipa sankirtana years – Exact date not recorded in any source consulted
  13. Kaliya Krishna DasaA Cowherd-Boy Associate of Nityananda Prabhu, Remembered for a Story of Falling and Being ReclaimedNot recorded in the sources consulted – Month of Chaitra (spring); exact day given differently across sources
  14. Kali DasThe Devotee Who Lived on the Remnants of the VaishnavasNot recorded in the sources consulted – Not recorded in the sources consulted
  15. Srimati Sita ThakuraniThe Wife Whom Mahaprabhu Called MotherNot recorded – Not recorded in the sources consulted; tradition describes her living to an old age and taking on leadership after Advaita Acharya's own disappearance
  16. Sri Subuddhi RayaThe Landholder Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Told to Simply ChantExact year not recorded; already an elderly, established landholder in Bengal when the events of his story took place, decades before his meeting with Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu at Varanasi – Not recorded in any source consulted
  17. Srila Purushottama Dasa ThakuraBengali Devotee Wholly Absorbed in Nityananda PrabhuNot recorded (probably early-to-mid 16th century) – Not recorded in the sources consulted
  18. Srila Jagannatha TirthaA Sannyasi Named Among Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's Own AssociatesNot recorded – Not recorded
  19. Sri Madhu Pandit GoswamiPriest of Sri Gopinatha at VamshivataNot precisely recorded by tradition – Not precisely dated; belonged to the generation of Rupa Goswami and Sanatana Goswami's companions in 16th-century Vrindavana
  20. Srila Ramachandra PuriThe Godbrother Whose Criticism Chaitanya-charitamrita Turns Into a WarningNot recorded – Not recorded
  21. Sri Gopala Guru GoswamiThe Boy Mahaprabhu Named Guru, Later Keeper of Sri Radha-Kanta at PuriNot recorded; grew up as a small boy in Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's own company at Puri, so 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)
  22. Srila Raghava PanditKeeper of the Yearly Bhandara Carried to Jagannatha PuriNot recorded (a contemporary of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu) – Not recorded
  23. Srila Jagadisha PanditThe Fifteenth Branch of Sri Nityananda Prabhu's Family TreeNot recorded – Not recorded
  24. Srimati Vishnupriya DeviThe Wife Who Waited a Lifetime in Separation16th century; exact year not recorded in the sources consulted – Devotional and temple tradition holds she lived to about 96, roughly 80 years after Mahaprabhu's sannyasa; no source consulted gives a specific year, and Chaitanya-charitamrita and Chaitanya-Bhagavata do not record this figure themselves
  25. Sri Vakresvara PanditaThe Ecstatic Dancer Mahaprabhu Called His Own WingTraditionally the fifth day of the dark fortnight of Ashadha (June-July); no year is recorded. Village of Guptipara, near Triveni, Bengal – Traditionally the sixth day of the bright fortnight of Ashadha (June-July); no year is recorded
  26. Srimati Sachi DeviMother of Sri Chaitanya MahaprabhuYear not recorded – Year not recorded in the surviving sources
  27. Srimati Madhavi DeviThe Half of Mahaprabhu's "Three and a Half" Confidential DevoteesNot recorded – Not recorded
  28. Ramadasa VipraBrahmana Devotee of Lord Ramachandra Met at Southern MathuraNot recorded – Not recorded
  29. Ramadasa BrahmanaThe Siddhavata Brahmana Whose Chanting Turned From Rama to KrishnaNot recorded – Not recorded
  30. Ramadasa VishvasaThe Kayastha Companion of Raghunatha Bhatta GoswamiNot recorded – Not recorded
  31. Srila Shrinatha PanditaGuru of Kavi-karnapura GoswamiNot recorded – Not recorded
  32. Srila Vasudeva Datta ThakuraMahaprabhu's Most Confidential ServantYear not recorded – Year not recorded
  33. Srila Paramananda PuriGodbrother and Constant Companion of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu at Jagannatha PuriNot recorded (a contemporary of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, flourished c. late 15th - early 16th century) – Not recorded
  34. Srila Pradyumna MishraThe Brahmana Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Sent to Learn Krishna-Katha from Ramananda RayaNot recorded (sources differ on his home region) – Not recorded
  35. Srila Narayana PanditaAn Associate of Shrivasa ThakuraNot recorded – Not recorded
  36. Sri Anupama MallikaYoungest of the Three Gosvami Brothers, Father of Srila Jiva GoswamiNot recorded (youngest of Kumaradeva's three Vaishnava sons) – Sakabda 1436 (A.D. 1514), soon after returning to Bengal from Vrindavana
  37. Sri Devananda PanditBhagavatam reciter of Kuliya, forgiven at the place where offenses are forgivenNot recorded – Krishna Ekadashi (the eleventh day of the waning moon) of the month of Pausha, year not recorded
  38. Sri Damodara PanditThe Devotee Whose Rebuke Mahaprabhu Called Pure LoveNot recorded – Not recorded
  39. Srila Govinda DattaPrincipal Singer in Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's Own Kirtana PartyNot recorded (village of appearance is known; no year survives) – Not recorded
  40. Srila Sarvabhauma BhattacharyaThe Royal Pandit Converted by Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhuc. 15th century (exact year unrecorded; sources disagree) – Not recorded
  41. Sri Yadunandana AcharyaPriest and Diksha-Guru of Raghunatha Dasa GoswamiNot recorded – Not recorded
  42. Sundarananda ThakuraNityananda Prabhu's Most Intimate Servant Among the Twelve GopalasNot recorded in the sources consulted – Full-moon day of Magha, per Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura's Anubhasya; full-moon day of Kartika, per a separate account (sources differ; year not recorded either way)
  43. Srila Bhugarbha GoswamiLokanatha Gosvami's Lifelong Companion in VrindavanaNot recorded – Chaturdashi (14th day) of the Kartika full-moon fortnight; year not recorded
  44. Kashishvara PanditThe Guardian Who Cleared Mahaprabhu's PathNot recorded – Not recorded
  45. Srila Mahesh PanditOne of the Twelve Gopalas, Beloved Companion of Nityananda PrabhuNot recorded (birthplace itself disputed) – Krishna-trayodashi (13th day of the dark fortnight), month of Pausha; year not recorded
  46. Srila Minaketana Rama DasaThe Ecstatic Servant of Sri Nityananda PrabhuNot recorded – Not recorded
  47. Murari MahitiThe Puri Devotee Sarvabhauma Introduced as "Nothing Other Than Your Lotus Feet"Not recorded – Not recorded
  48. Parameshvara Dasa ThakuraThe Fifth of Nityananda Prabhu's Twelve GopalasNot recorded – Not recorded (disappearance festival observed on the full-moon day of Vaishakha, April-May)
  49. Parameshvara ModakaThe Confectioner Who Fed the Boy ChaitanyaNot recorded – Not recorded
  50. Srila Madhusudana VachaspatiBrother of Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya, Host of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu at VidyanagaraNot recorded – Not recorded
  51. Sri Nandana AcharyaThe Navadvipa host in whose house the Lord and His brother hidNot recorded – Not recorded
  52. Pradyumna BrahmachariThe Branch Renamed Nrisimhananda for His Devotion to Lord NrisimhadevaNot recorded – Not recorded
  53. Srila Purandara AcharyaWhom Mahaprabhu Called FatherNot recorded in the sources consulted – Not recorded in the sources consulted
  54. Srila Raghupati UpadhyayaWhose Verses Melted Mahaprabhu's ComposureNot recorded in the sources consulted – Not recorded in the sources consulted
  55. Sri Ranga PuriSannyasi Godbrother of Isvara Puri, Met at PandarpurNot recorded – Not recorded
  56. Srila Sadashiva PanditThe Twelfth Branch of the Chaitanya Tree, First Host of Nityananda Prabhu in NavadwipNot recorded – Not recorded
  57. Srila Sadashiva KavirajaVaidya Physician-Poet Among Nityananda Prabhu's Listed AssociatesNot recorded – Not recorded
  58. The Sanoriya VipraThe Mathura Brahmana Who Guided Chaitanya MahaprabhuUnknown – Unknown
  59. Santosha DattaRaja of Kheturi Who Hosted the Kheturi MahotsavaNot recorded – Not recorded
  60. Satyaraja KhanThe Kulina-grama householder entrusted with Jagannatha's Ratha-yatra ropesNot recorded – Not recorded
  61. Ser KhanPathan official won over by Shyamananda Pandit's kirtanNot recorded – Not recorded
  62. Sri Shankara PanditaThe Devotee Whose Body Became the Lord's Own PillowNot recorded – Not recorded
  63. Sri Sharanga ThakuraThe Bhajananandi of MamgachiNot recorded (a contemporary of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, flourished early 16th century) – Thirteenth day, dark fortnight of Agrahayana (Mrigashira); year not recorded
  64. Shikhi MahitiThe Likhanadhikari Counted Among Mahaprabhu's Three Confidential DevoteesNot recorded – Not recorded
  65. Srila Shrikanta SenaShivananda Sena's Nephew, Identified as the Gopi KatyayaniNot recorded – Not recorded
  66. Shriman PanditaTorch-Bearer Among Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's Personal ServantsNot recorded – Not recorded
  67. Sri Shubhananda DvijaThe Singer Who Drank Mahaprabhu's FoamNot recorded – Not recorded
  68. Shuklambara BrahmachariThe Poor Brahmachari Whose Rice the Lord Could Not ResistNot recorded – Not recorded
  69. Sri SulochanaThe Forty-Second Branch of the Chaitanya TreeNot individually recorded (a contemporary of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu) – Not recorded in any source found
  70. Srila Uddhava DasaA Branch of Gadadhara Pandit Named in the Chaitanya-charitamritaNot recorded – Not recorded
  71. Bhagavan AcharyaThe Householder-Scholar Who Cooked for Sri Chaitanya MahaprabhuDate not recorded; appeared in Sri Dham Nabadwip, later of Halisahar – Date not recorded
  72. Bhagavan PanditaThe Dear Servant Named in a Single VerseNot recorded – Not recorded
  73. Basudeva VipraThe Leper Brahmana Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Turned Back to EmbraceUnknown – Unknown
  74. Bijali KhanThe Young Pathan Prince Who Received the Lord's Foot Upon His HeadNot recorded – Not recorded
  75. Buddhimanta KhanThe Navadwip Householder Who Funded the Lord's WeddingNot recorded – Not recorded
  76. Gopinatha PattanayakaThe Treasurer Saved From the Executioner's SwordsNot recorded – Not recorded
  77. Vanamali AcharyaThe Astrologer Who Arranged Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's First MarriageNot recorded – Not recorded
  78. Vanamali VipraThe Poor Brahmana Who Saw Vraja Appear in NavadvipaNot recorded – Not recorded
  79. Srila Yadavacharya GoswamiRupa Goswami's Companion Named in Chaitanya-charitamritaNot recorded – Not recorded
5

Six Goswamis

16th century CE

Sent by Mahaprabhu's own order to Vrindavana to recover its lost holy places and write the philosophical and devotional literature of Gaudiya Vaishnavism.

  1. Srila Sanatana GosvamiEldest of the Six Goswamis of Vrindavana and the Ideal Spiritual Masterc. 1488, Bengal – Traditionally 1558
  2. Srila Rupa GosvamiForemost of the Six Gosvamis of Vrindavana, Architect of the Science of Devotional Rasac. 1489 (sources vary) – Traditionally 1564, Shravana Shukla Dvadashi
  3. Srila Raghunatha Dasa GoswamiForemost in Renunciation Among the Six Goswamis of Vrindavanac. 1494 (sources vary) – Traditionally 1586, Shukla Dvadasi of Ashvina (some sources place it a few years earlier)
  4. Srila Raghunatha Bhatta GoswamiThe Goswami Whose Voice Made Srimad-Bhagavatam Singc. 1503-1505 (sources vary) – c. 1579 (some sources say 1580)
  5. Sri Gopala Bhatta GoswamiCompiler of the Hari-bhakti-vilasa and Discoverer of Sri Radha Ramanc. 1503 (traditionally the 13th day of the dark half of Pausha) – Traditionally 1578 (6th day of the dark half of Sravana), at about 75 years of age
  6. Srila Jiva GoswamiSystematic Philosopher of the Six Goswamis of VrindavanaTraditionally c. 1513 (sources disagree; some place it as early as 1511 and others as late as the 1530s) – Traditionally 1608 (some sources say 1598; the exact year is disputed)
6

Later Acharyas

16th – 18th century CE

The next generations, who carried the Goswamis' teaching back into Bengal and Odisha, systematized its philosophy, and preserved it in song and commentary.

  1. Srila Ganga Dasa PanditBoyhood Teacher of Sri Chaitanya MahaprabhuYear not recorded; Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita places his birth a generation before Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's own appearance in 1486 – Not recorded
  2. Srila Krishnadasa Kaviraja GoswamiAuthor of Sri Chaitanya-charitamritac. 1496-1528 (sources disagree) – c. 1615-1620 (some traditions say 1616-1617)
  3. Srila Prabodhananda SaraswatiAuthor of Sri Radha-rasa-sudha-nidhi, Uncle and Guru of Gopala Bhatta GoswamiNot recorded; a generation senior to his nephew Gopala Bhatta Goswami (born c. 1503) – Not recorded in available sources
  4. Srila Vrindavana Dasa ThakuraAuthor of Sri Chaitanya-Bhagavatac. 1507 CE (Krishna Dvadashi, month of Vaishakh, 1429 Shaka era) – c. 1589 CE (exact year disputed)
  5. Srila Jahnava MataConsort of Nityananda Prabhu Who Led Gaudiya Vaishnavism After 1534Early 16th century (exact year unrecorded in primary sources; one secondary source gives 1509) – Shukla Navami, month of Vaishakha (year not established in the sources checked)
  6. Srila Raghunandana ThakuraThe Child Who Fed Sri Gopinathac. 1510 AD (Shaka 1432), Srikhanda – Shukla Chaturthi, month of Shravana (year not recorded in sources consulted)
  7. Srila Shrinivasa AcharyaThe Acharya Who Carried the Goswamis' Scriptures to BengalFull-moon day of Vaishakha; year disputed, roughly 1517-1530 – Not recorded by tradition
  8. Srila Lochana Dasa ThakuraAuthor of Sri Chaitanya-mangala and Poet of the Srikhanda Vaishnavas1523 (a minority of sources give 1520) – Year not recorded in the sources consulted
  9. Srila Kavi Karnapura GoswamiThe Poet Whose Verses Chaitanya-Charitamrita Itself QuotesTraditionally dated 1524 or 1527 (sources disagree) – Not recorded; his last securely dated work is from 1576
  10. Srila Narayana Bhatta GoswamiRediscoverer of Vraja's Twelve Forests, Author of Vraja-bhakti-vilasac. 1531 (sources vary) – Not reliably documented
  11. Srila Shyamananda PanditThe Milkman's Son Who Carried the Goswamis HomeChaitra Purnima; traditionally dated 1535 AD by one detailed household-lineage account, 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 elsewhere in the historical record: sources disagree
  12. Srila Govinda Dasa KavirajaBengali Padavali Poet, Author of Bhajahu Re Manac. 1535 (traditional dating found in secondary sources; not stated in Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita itself) – c. 1613 (traditional dating; not corroborated by any primary source found)
  13. Srila Rasikananda PrabhuThe Preacher Who Crossed Every Caste Line in OdishaKartika, night of Dipamalika (Diwali), Sakabda 1512 (c. 1590 AD) – First day of the bright fortnight of Phalguna, Sakabda 1574 (1652 AD)
  14. Srila Narahari Chakravarti ThakuraAuthor of the Bhakti-ratnakara and Narottama-vilasaLate 1600s (exact year not established) – Not established
  15. Srila Gangamata GoswaminiRenunciate Founder of the Ganga-mata Math, Jagannatha Puric. 1601 (Shukla-dashami, Jyestha), per the Ganga-mata Math's own record – c. 1721, per the Ganga-mata Math's own record; no detailed disappearance narrative survives
  16. Srila Vishvanatha Chakravarti ThakuraAuthor of the Sarartha-darsini and Architect of Raganuga-Bhaktic. 1626 (sources vary widely, 1610s-1660s) – c. 1708, Vasanta-panchami (Magha)

Date not recorded

  1. Srila Narottama Dasa ThakuraPoet-Saint Who United Gaudiya Vaishnavism at KheturiMonth of Magha (year disputed) – Karttika, Krishna Panchami (year not established)
  2. Srila Baladeva VidyabhusanaAuthor of the Govinda-bhashyac. early 18th century (exact year unknown) – traditionally 1768; some scholars place it as late as 1793 (disputed)
  3. Srila Hridaya ChaitanyaThe Guru Who Discovered Shyamananda PanditNot 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. Srila Ramachandra KavirajaPoet-Disciple of Shrinivasa Acharya and Closest Friend of Narottama Dasa ThakuraNot recorded by year; flourished 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)
  5. Srila Viracandra PrabhuSon of Nityananda Prabhu and Founding Figure of the Nityananda-vamsaNinth day of the dark fortnight of Kartika, per one tradition; Agrahayana shukla chaturdashi (the fourteenth day of the bright fortnight of Agrahayana), per the Gaudiya Vaishnava Abhidhana. Sources disagree, and no year is reliably established – Not recorded in any source checked
  6. Srila Devakinandana Dasa ThakurPoet of the Vaishnava-vandanaNot recorded in the sources consulted – Not recorded in the sources consulted
  7. Sri Gadadhara Dasa GoswamiCompanion of Mahaprabhu, Chief Preacher Under Nityananda PrabhuNot recorded – Kartika-shukla-ashtami (year not recorded)
  8. Sri Ganga Narayana ChakravartiForemost Disciple of Narottama Dasa ThakuraNot recorded in the sources consulted – Not recorded in the sources consulted
  9. Hemalata ThakuraniDaughter of Srinivasa Acharya Who Became a Guru in Her Own RightNot recorded (mid-to-late 16th century, by inference from her father's and her disciple's dates) – Not recorded
7

Modern Acharyas

19th – 20th century CE

From Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura's own household in Bengal to Srila Prabhupada carrying the same teaching worldwide, founding ISKCON in 1966.

  1. Srila Jagannatha Dasa BabajiVaishnava Sarvabhauma — Emperor Among the Vaishnavasc. 1800 – date not precisely recorded; Vaishnava tradition holds he lived to an extraordinary age
  2. Srila Bhaktivinoda ThakuraThe Seventh Goswami2 September 1838 – 23 June 1914, at the age of 75
  3. Srila Gaura Kishora Dasa BabajiThe Renounced Mendicant of Vrindavana and Nabadwip17 November 1838 – 17 November 1915, on his 77th birthday
  4. Sri Vamsi Dasa Babaji MaharajThe Paramahamsa Avadhuta of Navadvipa1859 (one source only; not independently cross-checked) – Shukla Chaturthi, Shravana, 1944 (one source dates this precisely to July 23, 1944)
  5. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati ThakuraFounder of the Gaudiya Math6 February 1874, 3:30 pm – 1 January 1937, at the age of 62
  6. Srila PrabhupadaFounder-Acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness1 September 1896 – 14 November 1977, at the age of 81