Sri Rupa Gosvami

In 1517, Sri Rupa Gosvami and Sri Sanatana Gosvami, his elder brother, came to
Vrndavana to fulfill four orders of Lord Caitanya's:

(1) Uncover Sri Krishna's lost pastime places.

(2) Install Deities, start puja.

(3) Write bhakti-sastras.

(4) Propagate the rules of bhakti-yoga.

Birth

According to tradition, Kumardev and Revatidevi had one daughter and five sons.
Of these children, Sanatan, Rupa (1489-1564), and Ballabha were known as pure
devotees.

Employment at the court of Nawab Hussein Shah

When they first met the Master, Rupa and Sanatan were working for the Muslim
occupational government of Bengal under Nawab Hussein Shah, the then Emperor
of Gauda. At that time, they were given the Persian titles Dabir Khas (“private
secretary”) and Sakara Malik (“revenue officer”),** and they enjoyed great wealth
and prestige as political leaders in a growing regime.

Temporarily resigning themselves to their fate, they settled in Ramakeli, a village

some eighteen miles southeast of Malda (in the Rajashahi district of northern
Bengal). There they used their vast wealth to construct a replica of Shri Krishna's
abode—a “Hidden (gupta) Vrindavan”—complete with elaborate bathing places and
constant readings about the pastimes of the Lord. In this way, they sought to alleviate
their “sentence” of governmental employment.

Meeting with Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu

Once, when Shri Chaitanya decided to go to Vrindavan (in 1514), He stopped at
Ramakeli specifically to meet Dabir Khas and Sakara Malik. By this time, He was
accompanied by thousands of followers, who were all chanting and dancing with
Him. Hearing that He had arrived, the two brothers made plans to see Him. Being
Muslim officials, they decided to go in the dead of night in order to remain
unnoticed.

As a symbol of their humility, both brothers took bunches of straw and placed them
between their teeth. Falling at Shri Chaitanya's lotus feet, they cried with boundless
joy. They were finally reunited with their Lord and savior, and they knew that He
would now put an end to their predicament with Hussain Shah.

Getting up from the ground, Dabir Khas and Sakara Malik (their younger brother
Ballabha was there as well) offered sincere prayers to Shri Chaitanya: “All glories to
Shri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu! You are the most merciful savior of fallen
souls. All glories to Your supreme personality!

namo maha-vadanyaya, krishna prema pradaya te

krishnaya-krishna-chaitanya, namne gaur-tvishe namaha

“O most munificent incarnation of the Lord! You are Krishna Himself appearing as
Shri Chaitanya. You have assumed the golden color of Radharani, and you are freely
distributing what no other incarnation has ever distributed—pure love of God.”

“Birth after birth,” Shri Chaitanya said, “you have been My eternal servants. I am
sure that Krishna will deliver you very soon.”** The Master then placed His two
hands on their heads. Feeling humbled by this gesture, they bowed before Him and
placed His feet, not His hands, on their heads. After this, Shri Chaitanya embraced
them and requested all of the devotees to shower their blessings upon them.

Shri Rupa Goswami and his younger brother, Ballabha (who Shri Chaitanya named
“Anupama”), were able to renounce the world at this time and live as travelling
mendicants. Sanatan Goswami, on the other hand, was still bound by previous
commitments within the Nawab's administration. He therefore was not able to leave
his official post at the same time as his enthusiastic younger brothers.

Govinda-deva

Once, while sitting on the banks of the Yamuna River, Rupa thought about the
difficult task that lay before him. Just then, a young boy approached and asked the
reason for his despondency. He told the boy of his mission to revive Vrindavan as a
Vaishnava place of pilgrimage and as a headquarters of the movement. Further, he
informed the boy of his mission to build wonderful temples for the worship of Radha
and Krishna, and to establish a scholastic and literary community for the production
of a systematic theology.

After hearing Shri Rupa's elaborate explanation, the young boy gestured that he
should follow him, and he led Shri Rupa to a small hill. “Inside,” he told the
Goswami, “is the magnificent Deity of Govindadev, established almost five thousand
years earlier by Shri Krishna's great grandson Vajra. During one of the Muslim
invasions, villagers had buried the Deity in this hill to prevent His destruction, but
the Deity was subsequently lost.

“Every day,” the boy continued, “a large cow comes by this place and showers her
milk all over the hill. In this way, it seeps through and Govindadev relishes His daily
meal.” After describing this miraculous story to Shri Rupa Goswami, the young boy
disappeared.** Somewhat skeptical, Rupa came to that same spot the next morning,
just to see if a cow did arrive to shower its milk throughout the area. To his surprise,
a cow indeed came and the event transpired just as the young boy had told him.
Excited, Rupa called several local villagers to excavate this site, for he was now
convinced that the Govindadev Deity was buried there. After great effort, they finally
found the Deity and, under Rupa Goswami's direction, became enthusiastic to erect
a temple and begin proper worship. The Vrindavanites were grateful that Rupa
Goswami had initiated this search for Govindadev and soon became his staunch
followers.

Literary contribution

If Shri Rupa's temple was a testimony to his dedication and devotion, his literary
activity was even more so. Chaitanya-charitamrita specifically mentions that Shri
Chaitanya empowered the Goswami for this massive endeavor. Consequently, he
compiled many huge volumes, of which sixteen are considered most important. In
all, he wrote at least 100,000 verses! The more famous works include Vidagdha
Madhava, Lalita Madhava, Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu, Ujjvala-nilamani,
Upadeshamrita, Dana-keli-kaumudhi, and Laghu Bhagavatamrita.

Ontological position and Disappearance

He is an incarnation of Rupa Manjari, one of the most intimate assistants in the
loving affairs of Radha and Krishna.

Some authorities claim that in 1564 Sri Rupa Gosvami entered Radha-Govindaji's
nitya-lila, just twenty-seven days after the disappearance of Sri Sanatana Gosvami.
Sri Rupa Gosvami's samadhi and bhajana kutir are in Seva Kunja within the
courtyard of the Radha-Damodara temple.