Srila Narottama Dasa Thakura

Srila Narottama Dasa Thakura (1534-1611), Champaka-manjari in Krishna-lila, was born a prince in Kheturi, the son of Raja Krishnananda Datta and Narayani Devi. Mahaprabhu had deposited His love in the Padma River for him, and when the teenage Narottama bathed there his complexion turned golden. He escaped his father's guards and walked to Vrindavan, where he became the only disciple of Lokanatha Gosvami and studied under Jiva Gosvami, who gave him the title Thakura. With Srinivasa and Shyamananda he brought the Goswamis' books east. At Kheturi he held the first great Gaura Purnima festival, where Mahaprabhu and His associates were seen dancing in his kirtan, and established the Garanhati style of kirtan. His Bengali songs, especially Prarthana and Prema-bhakti-chandrika, are sung by devotees everywhere. At his departure his body is said to have melted into milk in the Ganges, remembered at the Dugdha-samadhi.

As an infant he refused grain that had not been offered to Krishna. At Vrindavan he served Lokanatha secretly for two years before initiation, and Radharani in a dream gave him the eternal service of boiling milk, whose burns appeared on his hands. Many brahmanas who opposed him because of his birth were defeated by his disciples Ganganarayana Chakravarti and Ramachandra Kaviraja, and leaders such as Raja Narasimha and the scholar Rupanarayana surrendered to him. Prema-vilasa lists 123 of his disciples.

Pure devotion is attained by serving the spiritual master and the Vaishnavas; the holy name sung in kirtan carries the full mercy of Mahaprabhu; and a Vaishnava is never to be judged by birth.

Humility, Renunciation, Mastery of kirtan, Compassion, Poetic genius