Narottama Dasa

Narottama Dasa

Narottama Dasa Thakura (1466(?)–?), also known as Thakura Mahasaya is a Gaudiya Vaishnava saint who was responsible for spreading Vaishnava bhakti throughout Orissa in and outside of Bengal in India. Narottama dasa was the son of King Krishnananda Datta and Narayani Devi who resided in Gopalpur Pargana of the Rajsahi district of Bangladesh. According to some, after the death of his father he entrusted his royal duties to the eldest paternal uncle's son and left for Vrindavan.

His life is described in Prema-vilasa. In Vrindavan Narottama was received by Rupa Gosvami and Sanatana Gosvami. After Narottama was initiated by Lokanatha Gosvami who in turn instructed him to go and study from Jiva Goswami. He traveled to Bengal with other sadhus (holy men) to distribute devotional writings to the general public.

Fifty years after the disappearance of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Narottama organized annual festivals in Bengal, which served to keep the Gaudiya philosophy unified. The significant meeting took place in Kheturi where the Gaudiya Vaishnava Theology of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's sect was defined. The exact year of this event is unknown but some say that it was around 1572.

Read more about Narottama Dasa:  Narottama's Writings