Srila Madhu Pandita Gosvami

Srila Madhu Pandita Gosvami, a disciple of Sri Gadadhara Pandita, came from Saibona near Khardaha in Bengal and in Goloka serves in the group of Champakalata-sakhi. On his guru's order he came to Vrindavan and searched everywhere for the ancient Gopinatha Deity first installed by Vajranabha. Not finding Him, he gave up food and sat weeping at Vamsivata. After a monsoon flood swept away the old banyan tree there, his friend Paramananda Bhattacharya saw the Deity half-buried in the ground, and Madhu Pandita brought Him out. Radha-Gopinatha became one of the seven principal Goswami temples of Vrindavan; uniquely, Ananga-manjari, sent by Jahnava Mata, stands on Gopinatha's left. Madhu Pandita gave Gopinatha's garland to Srinivasa, Narottama and Shyamananda as blessings when they set out with the Goswamis' books. His samadhi is near the eastern gate of the Gopinatha temple.

The original Gopinatha temple, built by Raja Saganji, one of the Shekhawat princes of Rajasthan, is believed to have opened in 1589; after its desecration by Aurangzeb's soldiers in 1670 a new temple was built beside it, and the original Deity is now worshipped in Jaipur. The same arrangement of Ananga-manjari and Radharani is followed in all Gopinatha temples of Vraja. The Bhakti-ratnakara glorifies Madhu Pandita as an abode of wonderful qualities by whose grace the Lord became manifest.

The Lord reveals Himself to a devotee who longs for Him with tears; Deity worship is a direct meeting with the Lord.

Intense longing for the Lord, Determination, Devotion to the Deity, Sweetness of heart