Maharaja
DVD cover
Directed by	Anil Sharma
Produced by	Naraindas Mukhija
Written by	Anil Sharma Shyam Goel[1]
Starring	Govinda Manisha Koirala Raj Babbar Shakti Kapoor
Music by	Shravan-Nadeem
Distributed by	Navchitra Productions
Release date(s)	4 September 1998[2]
Country	India
Language	Hindi

Maharaja is a 1998 Indian film directed by Anil Sharma. It tells the story of Kohinoor (Govinda) who was forced from his kingdom as a child who returns 20 years later to reclaim his rightful place. He had lived in the Himalayas for 20 years because Ranvir Singh had murdered his whole family. The family's former maid's son Ali (Raj Babbar) tells him the truth about his past. From then on, Kohinoor seeks to kill Ranvir. The film ends showing Kohinoor succeeding in killing Ranvir, thus avenging the death of his family and uniting with his ladylove Shaili played by Manisha Koirala.

References[link]

1. ^ "Maharaja (1998)". BFI Film & TV Database
2. ^ "Review at Planet Bollywood

External links[link]

• Maharaja at the Internet Movie Database

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Kavita Krishnamurthy Subramaniam
Kavita Subramaniam, 2008
Background information
Birth name	Sharada Krishnamurthy
Also known as	Kavita Krishnamoorthy, Kavita Krishnamurti
Born	(1958-01-25) January 25, 1958 (age 54)
Origin	Delhi, India
Genres	Playback singing, fusion, pop
Occupations	Playback singer, fusion artiste
Years active	1980–present

Kavita Subramaniam née Kavita Krishnamurthy (born Sharada Krishnamurthy on 25 January 1958) is a well-known Indian film playback singer.^[1] She is classically trained and has sung a wide range of classical-based songs. In her career, she has worked with a variety of music composers,^[2] including R. D. Burman and A. R. Rahman.^[3] She is also the recipient of four Filmfare Best Female Playback Awards, including 3 consecutive awards in the period 1994–1996 and the prestigious Padmashri which she received in 2006.

Early life[link]

Born Sharada Krishnamurthy^[4] in a Tamil Iyer family in New Delhi, India to T.S. Krishnamurthy, an employee of Education Ministry. She began her music training with her aunt, Mrs. Bhattacharya, who taught her Rabindra Sangeet.^[3] She began her formal training in Hindustani classical music under Balram Puri, a classical singer.

At the young age of eight, Kavita won a gold medal at a music competition. Subsequently, she kept winning many such gold medals as she kept participating in the Inter-Ministry Classical Competition in New Delhi in the mid 1960s.

Performing career[link]

At the age of nine, she got an opportunity to record a Tagore song in Bengali with the legendary Lata Mangeshkar under the auspices of the music composer and singer Hemant Kumar. Although the young Sharada was aspiring to be working with Indian Foreign Services, Kavita moved to Bombay when she was just 14 to try her luck as a playback singer in the Hindi film industry. She is an alumnus of St. Xaviers' College, Bombay from where she did her BA Honors Economics. She was also very active in the St. Xaviers' Music Group during her college days. During the annual college festival (Malhar), she accidentally met Ranu Mukherjee, the daughter of Hemant Kumar. Ranu took the initiative of reintroducing Kavita to her father.^[4] He was impressed by her grounding in music, so he began using her as a singer during his live performances. In one such performance, playback singer Manna Dey spotted her and employed her to sing advertisement jingles. Through her aunt's strong contacts, she met Jaya Chakravarthy, the mother of actress Hema Malini,^[4] who later took the initiative of introducing Kavita to the music director Laxmikant (one half of the composer duo Laxmikant-Pyarelal) in late 1976.

Playback singing[link]

Laxmikant gave her an option to work as a dubbing artiste or a career in playback singing later. Kavita chose the former and impressed Laxmikant with her extremely strong grasp of Hindustani classical music. Initially, she used to record songs and cut demos of songs intended for singers like Lata Mangeshkar and Asha Bhosle. In her struggling phase, she received the patronage of music composers Laxmikant—Pyarelal, who backed her so strongly that she was labelled as a singer exclusively working with them which gave many music directors an excuse to avoid working with her.

In 1980, she first sang the song, "Kaahe Ko Byaahi" in the film Maang Bharo Sajana, which featured her singing in her own voice. Unfortunately, the song was dropped from the final cut of the film. In 1985, her career took off with her first major hit, "Tumse Milkar Na Jaane Kyon" from the Hindi film Pyaar Jhukta Nahin. Post the success of the song, it opened up various opportunities beyond the Laxmikant-Pyarelal camp. However, "Hawa Hawaii" and "Karte Hain Hum Pyaar Mr. India Se", two popular songs from the equally popular movie Mr. India (1987), proved to be a turning point in her career. (The songs were composed by music composers Laxmikant-Pyarelal, the latter being a duet with Kishore Kumar and lip-synced on screen by actress Sridevi). Her collaboration with Laxmikant-Pyarelal produced several hits.

The 1990s thrust Kavita to being known as one of the leading female playback singers. Her performance as a singer in the film 1942: A Love Story, composed by R.D. Burman won her a lot of popular acclaim. She went on to work with several music directors of Hindi films of the 1990s, such as Anand-Milind, A. R. Rahman, Ismail Darbar, Nadeem-Shravan, Jatin Lalit, and Anu Malik. During her stint as a playback singer, she sang duets with the leading male singers of her times, from Kishore Kumar and Suresh Wadkar to Kumar Sanu, Abhijeet Bhattacharya, Udit Narayan, and Sonu Nigam. Her female duets mostly have been with Alka Yagnik, Anuradha Paudwal, and Sadhana Sargam.

Post her marriage to violinist Dr. L. Subramaniam in Bangalore on 11 November 1999, Kavita got extremely selective and cut down on her film singing. She started expanding her artistic range to areas which were never explored. She was the main featured soloist in the Global Fusion album released by Warner Bros., featuring musicians from five continents. As she actively started exploring fusion music, Kavita travelled around the world including to the US, UK, Europe, Africa, Australia, the Far East, the Middle East, and South America. She performed in concert halls including Royal Albert Hall in London, The Kennedy Center in Washington, D.C.., Madison Square Garden, The Lincoln Center in New York, the Zhongshan Music Hall in Beijing, The Esplanade in Singapore, The Putra Jaya World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur, and Gewandhaus Leipzigm.

Although primarily a playback singer, Kavita has sung with orchestras as a soloist; she collaborated with Western artists from jazz, pop and classical fields. She has lent her voice for many ghazal and devotional music albums. Both as a fusion music singer and as a playback singer, Kavita has performed throughout India.

She became the screen voice of some of the famous Bollywood actresses like Shabana Azmi, Sridevi, Madhuri Dixit, Manisha Koirala and Aishwarya Rai.

Pop and devotional singing[link]

Due to her participation in fusion and pop music, Kavita has lent her voice for several pop and devotional albums. The most prominent ones being:

• Koi Akela Kahan
• Meera Ka Ram
• Mahalakshmi Stotram
• Pop Time
• Sai Ka Vardaan
• Shagufthagi
• Dil Ki Awaaz (2006)
• Athens
• Asmita
• Mahiya

TV[link]

Kavita Subramaniam has been making appearances in various music reality shows as a guest judge owing to her popularity as a playback singer. She is currently judging the show Idea: Bharat Ki Shaan. This show airs on Doordarshan at prime time.

Personal life[link]

Kavita Krishnamurthy married violinist Dr. L. Subramaniam in Bangalore on 11 November 1999. They have no children. Subramaniam has three children from his previous marriage. Their daughter Seetha is a law graduate and is currently working on an English album. Narayanan, the middle one, is working to be a qualified doctor. The youngest, Ambi Subramaniam, is a featured soloist in the Bangalore-based band "Astral Symphony" and has recorded and given several concerts with his parents.

Kavita and her husband are now planning a music institute in Bangalore. The Institute would be named after her late father-in-law Lakshminarayana, who was also her husband's guru. The idea is to make it a global institute. The institute would teach both Indian and Western music. She wants dedicated students to learn from the works of Mozart so that they could collaborate with Western musicians who come to India for tours. The seeds have been sown with violin classes. She says that she is not going to be involved in too many classes. Her role in the institute would be to supervise the teaching process and conduct workshops on how to interpret a song. Her secret desire is to create the best music library that India has ever had, which includes, a vast variety of world music. Subramaniam has already collected a lot of material to which they want teachers, dedicated students and enthusiasts to have access.

Bollywood Songs[link]

Awards[link]

Kavita Krishnamurty has received several awards and honours. She was the recipient of three consecutive Filmfare awards from 1995–1997.

Civilian Awards:

• 2005 – Padma Shri – India's fourth highest civilian honours

Filmfare Awards

• 2003 – Best Female Playback Singer(shared with Shreya Ghoshal) – Dola Re Dola (Devdas)
• 1997 – Best Female Playback Singer – Aaj Main Upar (Khamoshi: The Musical)
• 1996 – Best Female Playback Singer – Mera Piya Ghar Aaya (Yaraana)
• 1995 – Best Female Playback Singer – Pyaar Hua Chupke Se (1942: A Love Story)^[3]

Star Screen Awards

• 1997 – Best Female Playback Singer – Aaj Main Upar (Khamoshi: The Musical)
• 2000 – Best Female Playback Singer – Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam (Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam)

Zee Cine Awards

• 2003 – Best Female Playback Singer (shared with Shreya Ghoshal) – Dola Re (Devdas)
• 2000 – Best Female Playback Singer – Nimbooda (Hum Dil De Chuke Sanam)

IIFA Awards

• 2003 – Best Female Playback Singer (shared with Shreya Ghoshal) – Dola Re (Devdas)

Other Awards

• Yesudas Award (2008) by Swaralaya, for exceptional contribution to Indian music.
• Kishore Kumar Journalists'/Critics' Award in Calcutta (2002)
• Bollywood Award, held in New York (2000)

References[link]

External links[link]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Kavita Krishnamurthy

• Kavita Krishnamurthy at the Internet Movie Database
• L. Subramaniam and Kavita S.
• Artist: Kavita Krishnamurthy on Google Music
• Kavita Krishnamurthy's Tribute To Jagjit Singh

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (August 2010)

Udit Narayan Jha, popularly known as Udit Narayan is a playback singer in commercial, Maithili language, Hindi, Kannada, Nepali, Urdu, Bhojpuri, Garhwali, Sindhi, Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Oriya, Assamese, Maithili and Bengali language cinema. Narayan has sung in 32 different languages.^[1] He has won three National Film Awards and five Filmfare Awards. In 2009, he was awarded the Padma Shri by the Government of India.

Career[link]

Udit Narayan Jha was born on 1 December 1955 in a village called Bhardaha in the Saptari district, Nepal.^[2] His father was Hare Krishna Jha and his mother was Bhuwaneshwari Devi.

Narayan studied at P.B. School, Rajbiraj, where he passed his S.L.C.(class 10) and later obtained his intermediate from Ratna Rajya Laxmi Campus, mostly known as RR campus Kathmandu.

Udit Narayan began his career in Nepal singing for Radio Nepal as a staff artiste for Maithili and Nepali folk songs. He sang many popular nepali folk, modern songs in Radio Nepal. His first filmy playback singing was for Nepali film Sindur.It was a comedy song for famous nepali comedians (Late) GopalRaj Mainali (Chankhe) and Basundhara Bhushal (Nakkali). It was a duet song with Sushmaa Shrestha now known as Poornima in Hindi film Industry. After eight years in that role, Indian Embassy offered him the chance to study classical music at a prestigious school in Bombay, Bhartiya Vidya Bhavan on a music scholarship. He moved to Bombay in 1978.

He got his first break in 1980, when noted music director (composer) Rajesh Roshan asked him to playback for the Hindi film Unees Bees, and was given the opportunity to sing with the veteran Mohammed Rafi. He later provided playback for a number of films, the most notable being Sannata (1981), Bade Dil Wala (1983) and Tan-Badan (1986). The actual success story of his career began in 1988 when Anand-Milind gave him the oppportunity to sing all the songs for the successful Bollywood movie Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, earning him a Filmfare Award.^[3] The film also brought actor Aamir Khan, actress Juhi Chawla and playback singer Alka Yagnik to stardom. After the success of Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, he became one of the leading playback singers in the Indian film industry.

He has worked with musicians like Rahul Dev Burman, Rajesh Roshan, Laxmikant-Pyarelal, Kalyanji-Anandji, Bappi Lahiri, A. R. Rahman, Anand-Milind, Nadeem-Shravan, Jatin Lalit, Anu Malik, Jagjit Singh, Uttam Singh, Raam Laxman, Ilayaraja, Bhupen Hazarika, Shiv-Hari, Ravindra Jain, Madan Mohan, Vishal Bhardwaj, Shankar-Ehsaan-Loy, Himesh Reshammiya, Viju Shah, Vidyasagar, M. M. Keeravani, Ismail Darbar, Anand Raj Anand, Aadesh Shrivastava, Arun Paudwal, Pritam Chakraborty, Sajid-Wajid, Dilip Sen-Sameer Sen, Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan, Sohail Sen, Nikhil Vinay, Sandesh Shandilya, Ram Sampath, Rahul Sharma, Daboo Malik, Sukhwinder Singh, Roop Kumar Rathod, Adnan Sami, Sanjeev Darshan, Vishal-Shekhar, Ajay-Atul, and directors like Yash Chopra, Sanjay Leela Bhansali, Ashutosh Gowariker and Karan Johar. Some of those films include Lagaan, Darr, Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Dil To Pagal Hai, Mohabbatein, Devdas, Kal Ho Naa Ho, Swades and Veer Zaara. He has also sung hit songs for actors like Aamir Khan, Sunny Deol, Akshay Kumar, Shahid Kapoor, Mithun Chakraborty, Sunil Shetty, Jackie Shroff, Anil Kapoor, Govinda, Sanjay Dutt, Sunny Deol, Saif Ali Khan, Bobby Deol, Hrithik Roshan and Ajay Devgan. Udit's capability as a playback singer knows no bounds, as he has been magnanimously acclaimed in every kind of melody - soulful, romantic, fast-paced and recently, even pop. Udit has an extremely versatile tone which appears to flawlessly suit every Indian hero on screen. And today, innumerable awards and accolades later, Udit Narayan possesses one of the largest arrays of hit songs in the industry.

Udit Narayan has sung many songs with Lata Mangeshkar in many successful Hindi films like Darr, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Dil To Pagal Hai, Mohabbatein, Jab Pyaar Kisise Hota Hai, Hum Tum Pe Marte Hain, Veer-Zaara, Lagaan, Mujhse Dosti Karoge to name some. He has sung maximum duets with Alka Yagnik. They have sung for movies Qayamat Se Qayamat Tak, Raja, Akele Hum Akele Tum, Raja Hindustani, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham..., One 2 Ka 4, Lagaan, Tere Naam, Kyon Ki to name a few. Udit Narayan is best known for his exceptional vocal quality and his originality. His vocal quality often compared with the Bollywood veteran singers like Kishore Kumar and Mohammad Rafi. His voice never resembled any of the old singers. Many musical biggies like Lata Mangeshkar, Asha Bhosle, Pankaj Udhas and Anup Jalota believes that Udit Narayan is the best in his generation for his quality in voice and originality Udit Narayan has been hailed as the screen voice of Shahrukh Khan and has sung many songs for him in famous movies like Darr, Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge, Kuch Kuch Hota Hai, Mohabbatein, Kabhi Khushi Kabhie Gham, Devdas, Chalte Chalte and Swades for which he won his third National Film Award for the song "Yeh Taara Woh Taara".

At the same time, he sang in Nepalese movies, and also acted in two Nepali films Kusume Rumal and Pirati. He has worked in Nepalese films as well, in particular for composer Shambhujeet Baskota. During his early singing career, he performed songs composed by Shiva Shankar, Natikaji and Gopal Yonjan. In 2004, he released his first private Nepalese album, Upahaar, in which he also sang duets with his wife Deepa Jha. At the Hits FM Awards in 2004 he won awards in two major categories for the album, Record of the Year and Album of the Year.^{[citation needed]} Some of Narayan's other private albums are Bhajan Sangam, Bhajan Vatika, I love You, Dil Deewana, Yeh Dosti, Love is Life, Jhumka de Jhumka, Sona No Ghadulo, Dhuli Ganga, and Ma Tarini.

He was in the panel of judges of Indian Idol 3 along with music composer Anu Malik and female playback singer Alisha Chinai on Sony TV.

He was in the panel of judges on Sony TV for Waar Pariwaar, a reality show based on the bringing together of a singing gharana (family of singers). He shared judging duties with fellow playback singer Kumar Sanu and Jatin Pandit of the famous music duo Jatin-Lalit. Indian Idol 3 judge, Saregama many time special gust, X Factor, Jo Jita wo super Star special judges

Narayan has performed in many stage shows in India and abroad and is the recipient of a large number of awards. These include Screen Videocon Award, MTV Best Video Award and Pride of India Gold Award.

In 2009, Narayan was considering running as a candidate for the Padma Shri.^[2] In 2010, Udit Narayan with Madhushree sang for the English independent film "When Harry Tries to Marry"

Personal life[link]

Narayan is a resident of Mumbai.^[4] He is married and has one son. His second wife Deepa Narayan, whom he married in 1985, is a singer, and the two recorded an album together titled Dil Deewana. Their son is Aditya Narayan who is a former child actor, singer and television presenter. Aditya Narayan started his singing for child artists in Nepali film with his father before starting his singing career in Hindi movies in the 1990s and also acted in a few films.

Awards and nominations[link]

Honours[link]

• 2009: Padma Shri, India's 4th highest civilian honour.^[5]

• He has received Prabal Gorkha Dakshin Bahu,one of the highest honor given to the civilians traditionally given by the king and now by Nepalese president, by the late king Birendra Bir Bikram Shah Dev.

• Maharashtra Ratna Award from Government of Maharashtra in 2011

[edit] National Film Awards

National Film Award for Best Male Playback Singer

[edit] Filmfare Awards

Filmfare Best Male Playback Award

Filmfare Best Male Playback Award (Nominated):

[edit] Star Screen Awards

Star Screen Award Best Male Playback:

[edit] Zee Cine Awards

Zee Cine Award Best Playback Singer- Male:

[edit] IIFA Awards

IIFA Best Male Playback Award:

[edit] Bollywood Movie Awards

Notable Bollywood Filmography[link]

Notable and Popular Kannada songs[link]

Year	Film	Song Name
1999	Upendra	"Mtv Subbulakshmige"
2001	Friends	"Thakadhimi"
2001	Friends	"Saavira Kanassina"
2001	Parva	"Dholu Dholu Dangura"
2001	Parva	"Sadhane Paramapada"
2001	Parva	"Antharanga Aasegala"
2001	Sundara Kanda	" Maina Maina "
2002	Appu	"Baare Baare"
2002	Appu	"Ellinda Aarambhavo"
2002	Chandu	"Saddillade"
2002	Chandu	"Kanyakumari"
2002	Thuntaata	" Kaathura "
2002	Hollywood	"Choo Bide"
2002	Hollywood	"Prema Prema"
2003	Abhi	"Sum Sumne"
2003	Abhi	"Ee Nanna Kannane"
2003	Chigurida Kanassu	"Aaha Enidenidenu"
2003	Chigurida Kanassu	"Ninna kanda kshana"
2003	Gokarna	"Aaseye dukhakke moola"
2003	Gokarna	"Jwara Illade"
2003	Kutumba	"Mujhe Kuch Kuch Hogaya"
2003	Kutumba	"Alukku Balukina"
2003	Laali Haadu	"Preethige"
2003	Malla	"Olagirod Horagidre"
2003	Nandi	"Kadalu Daati Banda"
2004	Aaptha Mitra	"Pata Pata"
2004	Kalasipalya	"Pete Pete Rap"
2004	Mourya	"Pilla Pilla"
2004	Mourya	"Haadali Karunaadali"
2004	News	"Munjaaneya"
2004	News	"Good Morning"
2004	Saahukara	" Maleyaaliya Pada "
2005	Namma Basava	"Andondittu Kaala"
2005	Kaashi from Village	"Yeh Kiccha"
2005	Kaashi from Village	"Goli Maro"
2005	Shastri	" Sum Sumne "
2005	Rishi	" Enendu Naa Helalaare "
2005	Aakash	"Habba Habba"
2005	Anna Thangi	"Dum Dum Dum Thavaralli"
2005	Auto Shankar	"Kacchi Kacchi"
2005	Ayya	"Ee Prema"
2005	Ayya	"Tabla Tabla"
2005	Chappale	"Enivaaga"
2006	Chelaata	"Pata Pata Pataaki"
2006	Chellata	"Ishtano Ishtano"
2006	Mungaru Male	"Kunidu Kunidu Baare"
2006	Hatavaadi	"Thai Thai"
2006	Kariya	"Nannali Naanilla"
2006	Ravi Shastri	"Muthu Muthu"
2006	Ravi Shastri	"Sangeetha"
2007	Krishna	"Gollara Golla"
2007	Milana	"Anthu Inthu"
2007	Ee Bandhana	"Chanda Nanna"
2007	Gaalipata	"Aaha Ee Bedaru Bombege"
2008	Dhimaku	"Huccha annu"
2008	Haage Summane	"Naanenu Nambodilla"
2008	Kamannana Makkalu	"Chee Chee"
2008	Mussanje Maathu	"O Hrudaya"
2008	Sathya In Love	" Golla Golla "
2008	Vamshi	" Maayagaathi "
2010	Chiru	"Shambho Shiva Shankara"
2010	Chiru	"Olavannu helu"
2011	Raam[disambiguation needed ]	" Nanna Thutiyalli "

Notable Tamil songs[link]

[edit] Notable Haryanvi and Telugu songs

Notable Malayalam film songs[link]

References[link]

External links[link]

• Udit Narayan at the Internet Movie Database

This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (November 2007)

Jiva Goswami

Jiva Goswami
Other names	Jīva Gosvāmī, जीव गोस्वामी
Born	c. 1513
Died	c. 1598 (age approx. 85)
Era	Medieval philosophy
Region	Indian philosophy
School	Achintya Bheda Abheda
Main interests	Krishna bhakti
Notable ideas	Achintya Bheda Abheda philosophy
Influenced Gaudiya Vaishnavism

Jiva Goswami (Sanskrit: जीव गोस्वामी, Jīva Gosvāmī, c. 1513-1598 AD)^[1] is one of the most prolific and important philosopher and saint from the Gaudiya Vaishnava school of Vedanta tradition, producing a great number of philosophical works on the theology and practice of Bhakti yoga, Vaishnava Vedanta and associated disciplines. He was a member of Six Goswamis of Vrindavan, being the nephew of the two leading figures, Rupa Goswami and Sanatana Goswami.

Birth and early years[link]

There seems to be some controversy amongst biographers about Jiva Goswami's birth. Some opine that he lived from 1511–1596 CE, while others claim that he lived from 1533 to 1618 CE.

Not much is known about Jiva Goswami's childhood. He was born in Ramakeli in the district of Maldah, West Bengal as the son of Srivallabha Mallika (also known as Anupama), the younger brother of Rupa and Sanatana, his mothers name is unknown. He had a strong affinity to the worship of Krishna even from his childhood and excelled in his education completing his studies in Sanskrit Vyakarana (grammar) and Kavya (poetics) within a very short period.

When Jiva was three or four years old, his uncles resigned from their ministerial posts at the court of Alauddin Hussein Shah (ruled 1493–1519 CE) after their initial meeting with Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486–1534 CE) and they decided to join his ranks as mendicants. Jiva's father, Anupama, also met with Chaitanya at this time and followed in the footsteps of his elder brothers and proceeded to travel with Rupa to Vrindavana.

Jiva leaves home[link]

Hearing that his father and uncles had made their decision to work in the service of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the young Jiva desired to join them also. According to the biographical work Bhakti Ratnakara of Narahari Chakravarti, Jiva had a dream of Chaitanya at this time. This gave him the impetus to leave home and join Rupa and Sanatana. It is unclear from his biographies whether or not Jiva actually ever met Chaitanya personally.

Jiva travelled to Navadvipa in West Bengal and met with Nityananda Rama, one of the foremost followers of Chaitanya. Nityananda took Jiva to all the holy places in Navadvipa and they circumabulated the entire area together. This marked the beginning of the Gaudiya tradition of Navadvipa parikrama (circumabulation of the nine sections of Navadvipa). After the pilgrimage, Nityananda gave his blessings for the young Jiva to proceed towards Vrindavana.

Vrindavana[link]

Jiva went on to Benares where he studied for some time under the tutelage of Madhusudana Vidyavachaspati, the disciple of the famous logician and Vedantist, Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya. Under Vidyavachaspati, Jiva mastered the six systems of Indian philosophy known as Sad Darsana.

In 1535 Jiva arrived in Vrindavana where he remained under the tutelage of his uncles, Rupa and Sanatana (by this time his father Anupama had died). He accepted initiation from Rupa Goswami and was taught the esoteric principles of devotion to Krishna. Jiva helped to edit the writings of Rupa and Sanatana and assisted them in their work in propagating Gaudiya Vaishnavism and excavating the lost holy places of Vrindavana.

Literary contributions[link]

After the passing of Rupa and Sanatana, Jiva Goswami became the foremost authority in the Gaudiya Vaishnava line. In 1542 Jiva established one of the prominent and important temples in the Vrindavana area, the Radha Damodara mandir, installing deities of Radha and Krishna that had been personally carved by Rupa Goswami. At that time he also established the Vishva Vaishnava Raja Sabha (World Vaishnava Association) and the Rupanuga Vidyapitha, an educational facility for Gaudiya Vaishnavas to study the works of Rupa and Sanatana. His erudition and spirituality were so famous that the Moghul emperor Akbar became his ardent admirer and donated paper for his writing.

In 1558, Jiva instructed his students, Narottama Dasa, Srinivasa Acarya and Shyamananda, to go to Bengal and propagate the Gaudiya Vaishnava philosophy and to take with them the original manuscripts that had been written by Rupa and Sanatana.

Achintya-bhedabheda philosophy[link]

It was in his Sarva-samvadini commentary to the Six Sandarbhas of Hindu philosophy that Jiva Goswami first wrote of Achintya Bheda Abheda, the philosophy of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. In essence, the philosophy of Achintya bheda abheda, or "inconceivable oneness and difference", avoids the extremes of Shankara's monistic Advaita vedanta and Madhva's pure dualism (Dvaita) by interpreting the material and spiritual potencies of the Supreme Person (Bhagavan) as being simultaneously one and different with Him.

Literary achievements[link]

There are about 25 literary works attributed to Jiva Goswami:

1-Hari-namamrta-vyakarana[link]

This work is a book on Sanskrit grammar wherein each and every word, syllable and grammatical rule is explained in relation to Krishna and his pastimes.

2-Sutra-malika[link]

Sutra-malika is a grammatical work dealing with the derivation of Sanskrit words.

3-Dhatu-sangraha[link]

The Dhatu-sangraha is a work on the verb roots of Sanskrit words

4-Radha-Krishna Archana Chandrika[link]

5-Rasamrita-sesa[link]

Jiva's Rasamrita-sesa deals with Sanskrit composition. Jiva has based this work on the Sahitya Darpana of Visvanatha Kaviraja, but has used many examples of his own as well as examples from other Goswamis.

6-Madhava-mahotsava[link]

In Madhava-mahotsava, Jiva Goswami describes the coronation ceremony of Radha when she is given the position of Queen of Vrindavana.

7-Sankalpa-kalpadruma[link]

Jiva Goswami explains the eightfold daily pastimes of Radha and Krishna (asta-kaliya-lila) in the form of a prayer.

8-Gopala-virudavali[link]

This is a short poem by Jiva extolling the glories of Gopala (Krishna) in 38 verses.

9-Bhavartha-suchaka-champu[link]

10-Gopala-tapani Upanisad commentary[link]

The Gopala-tapani Upanisad is a minor upanisad that has relevance to Gaudiya Vaishnavas in that it extolls Krishna as the supreme God. Jiva's commentary on this text is called the Sukha-bodhini.

11-Commentary on Brahma-samhita[link]

The Brahma-samhita was discovered by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu at the Adi Keshava temple at Thiruvattaru during his travels in South India. Jiva's commentary to this text is known as the dig-darshani.

12-Commentary on Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu[link]

Jiva Goswami wrote his Durgama-sangamani commentary on Rupa Goswami's Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu.

13-Commentary on Ujjvala-nilamani[link]

Jiva wrote his Lochana-rochani commentary to Rupa Goswami's Ujjvala-nilamani.

14-Commentary on Yogasara-stavaka[link]

15-Agni Puranastha gayatri-bhasya[link]

This work is a commentary on the Brahma Gayatri mantra as found in the ancient Agni Purana, chapters 216-217.

16-Padma Puranokta Krishna-pada-padma-chihna[link]

This text by Jiva describes the insignia found on the feet of Krishna according to the text of the Padma Purana.

17-Sri Radhika-kara-pada-sthita-chihna[link]

In this short work, Jiva Goswami describes the insignia found on the hands and feet of Radha.

18-Laghu Vaishnava Toshani[link]

The Laghu Vaisnava Toshani is Jiva Goswami's commentary to the Bhagavata Purana.

19-Gopala-champu[link]

The Gopala-champu is a poetic work written by Jiva and is divided into two parts. The first part is the Purva-champu, which has 33 chapters and describes Krishna's life in Vrindavana. The second section, the Uttara-champu has 37 chapters and describes the pastimes of Krishna after he leaves Vrindavana and the separation the residents of Vrindavana feel in his absence.

20-Sad Sandarbhas (Six Sandarbhas)[link]

According to Jiva Goswami himself, Gopala Bhatta Goswami had already done the preliminary work on these books but could not complete it. Jiva took the work of Gopala Bhatta and expanded it into six books wherein he systematically presents the philosophy of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu with scriptural evidences. Jiva also wrote an extensive auto-commentary to the Sandarbhas called Sarva-samvadini. The six Sandarbhas are as follows:

a) Tattva-sandarbha[link]

Tattva sandarbha is a treatise on the various types of evidences (pramanas) used in Vedic philosophy. Jiva's conclusion is that shabd (divine sound in the form of the Vedic scriptures) is the highest, and of all the scriptures, the Bhagavata Purana is the highest.

b) Bhagavata-sandarbha[link]

In the Bhagavata-sandarbha, Jiva Goswami makes the distinction between the impersonal aspect of Godhead (Brahman), the localized form of God within the heart of each living being (Paramatma) and the highest personal aspect of Godhead (Krishna or Bhagavan). He also describes the spiritual realm of Krishna, the modes of material nature, the mode of pure goodness (visuddha-sattva), the importance of worshipping the deity of Krishna and the nature and qualities of the deity.

c) Paramatma-sandarbha[link]

The paramatma-sandarbha describes the Supersoul (Paramatma) and how the Supersoul resides in the hearts of all beings. The differences amongst incarnations is also discussed as well as the nature of the conditioned living entity, the illusory potency (Maya), the temporal world, the theory of transformation, the various avataras of Krishna and how they respond to the desires of the Vaishnava, and how God is characterized by six particular opulences.

d) Krishna-sandarbha[link]

In his Krishna-sandarbha, Jiva gives a number of quotes from various scriptures to prove that Krishna is the supreme god. He also discusses the pastimes and qualities of Krishna as well as his avatars and functionary expansions. There is a description of Goloka, the planet of Krishna in relation to Vrindavana in the material sphere, the associates of Krishna and their expansions and there is also a description of the Gopis and the topmost position of Radha amongst them.

e) Bhakti-sandarbha[link]

Bhakti-sandarbha explains how devotion to Krishna is executed. It also discusses Varnashrama dharma (the socio-religious system established in scriptures), the superexcellent position of devotion to Krishna as compared to other conceptions such as yoga, and the worship of minor deities of the Hindu pantheon as being futile in comparison to the worship of Krishna's devotees. The text also explains liberation of the soul, the position of Shiva as a devotee of Krishna, how unmotivated devotion to Krishna promotes a devotee to the highest spiritual position and numerous other points concerning the performance of Vaishnava devotion.

f) Priti-sandarbha[link]

The Priti-sandarbha is a treatise on divine love, the supreme object being Krishna. Love for God (prema) is considered by Jiva to be the highest form of liberation. Jiva goes on to make a comparative study of other types of liberation but finally concludes that Prema Bhakti is topmost. There is also a discussion on how to attain Prema, how to awaken it, and the symptoms of one who has attained it. Priti-sandarbha also discusses the distinctions between mundane lust and divine love, the various mellows found amongst the associates of Krishna, the superexcellence of Madhurya-rasa (divine conjugal love), the overlapping of different rasas, and the glories of Radha.

g) Krama-sandarbha[link]

The Krama-sandarbha is a commentary on the 10th Canto of the Bhagavata Purana.

Jiva's demise[link]

Jiva Goswami died in 1596 CE (or 1618 according to some biographies). His samādhi (tomb) is located in the precincts of the Radha-Damodara temple in Vrindavana.

According to followers of Gaudiya Vaishnavism, Jiva Goswami is considered to be the incarnation of Vilasa Manjari, an eternal maidservant of Krishna.

See also[link]

• Hare Krishna mantra
• Nityananda
• Gaudiya Math
• International Society for Krishna Consciousness
• Svayam bhagavan

Notes[link]

References[link]

• Tirtha, Swami B.B., Sri Caitanya and His Associates, 2001, Mandala Publishing, San Francisco, ISBN 1-886069-28-X.
• Gaudiya Vaisnava Abhidhana (Bengali), Compiled by Haridasa Dasa, Haribol Kutir, Navadvipa, W.Bengal, 1957.
• Bhakti-ratnakara (Bengali), Narahari Chakravarti, Pub. By Gaudiya Mission, Kolkata, 1986.

Further reading[link]

• Six Goswamis of Vrindavan, by Steven Rosen, Folk Books, 1991. ISBN 0-9619763-2-2
• Jiva Goswami's Tattva-Sandarbha: Sacred India's Philosophy of Ecstasy, by Swami B.V. Tripurari

External links[link]

• Srila Jiva Goswami at Radha-Damodar Mandir (radhadamodarmandir.com)
• Jiva Goswami (bio) (krishna.com)
• Srila Jiva Goswami (radhakunda.com)
• Gaudiya Grantha Mandira (Sanskrit Texts)

Raghunatha dasa Goswami, also known as Dasa Goswami, was one of the principal disciples of the Vaishnava saint, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the primary six of which were collectively known as the Six Goswamis of Vrindavan. Together the Six Goswamis established the philosophical writings and records which became the theological basis of the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition. Among the six, Raghunatha dasa was renowned for his qualities of simplicity and renunciation.

Background[link]

Born as the son of a wealthy landowner Govardhana Dasa from Saptagram^[1], Raghunatha dasa is said to have showed a particular disinterest in everyday pleasures and an interest in more religious pursuits from a relatively young age. This was much to the displeasure of his parents, who eventually took to hiring guards in order to prevent Raghunatha dasa from leaving the family home with the aim of having a simpler life elsewhere. Eventually Raghunatha dasa escaped their home and made a journey to Jagannath Puri where he met his guru, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

Regulated lifestyle[link]

According to accounts in the Chaitanya Charitamrta, written by Krishnadasa Kaviraja Goswami, Raghunatha dasa led a life of extreme devotional practice, spending more than twenty-two hours out of every twenty-four chanting the Hare Krishna mantra, and eating and sleeping for less than an hour and a half per day, and on some days that also was reduced. His clothes included a simple torn cloth and a patchwork scarf.

In this connection Raghunatha dasa is quoted to have said:

"If one's heart has been cleansed by perfect knowledge and one has understood Krishna, the Supreme Brahman, he then gains everything. Why should such a person act like a debauchee by trying very carefully to maintain his material body?"

Raghunatha Dasa Goswami served Chaitanya for sixteen years at Jagannatha Puri. After which he went to Vrindavan in c.1543-44^[1], where he lived for many years at a sacred lake known as Radha-kunda. His bhajana-kutir, or place of worship, still exists there and is visited by many pilgrims to this day.

List of main works[link]

See also[link]

• Bhakti Yoga
• Hare Krishna (mantra)
• Nityananda
• Gaudiya Math
• International Society for Krishna Consciousness
• Krishnology

Notes[link]

External links[link]

• Raghunatha dasa Goswami (radhakunda.com)