Apr 04, 2015 — CANADA (SUN) —
Chapter XV. Gopala Bhatta.
Gopala Bhatta, who is reputed as the author of Hari Bhakti Vilasa, a work which he elaborated rather than wrote himself, was the son of Benkata Bhatta and a nephew of the celebrated Pravodhananda Sarasvati of Benares whom we have already mentioned in a previous lecture.
His pedigree.
Benkata Bhatta had two brothers, Pravodhananda who obtained celebrity as the leader of the Dandi sect of the ascetics of Benares, and Trimalla who lived in the Deccan. Gopala Bhatta was born in 1503 A.D. in the village of Bhattamari in Southern India, so he was only 7 years old when Chaitanya visited his native country.
The tale of Chaitanya's staying for 4 months with Gopala Bhatta in the Deccan is unreliable.
We do not credit the account to be found in the Premavilasa, the Bhaktiratnakar and other later works, that Chaitanya spent four months of a rainy season at the house of Benkata Bhatta at Bhattamari. Govinda Dasa, who mentions minute details of Chaitanya's tour there, does not say that the latter stayed anywhere in the country for more than a week except at Dvaraka. The author of Chaitanya Charitamrta was greatly indebted to Gopala Bhatta for some of the materials of his monumental work. But while treating of other particulars about him, Krsnadasa Kaviraja does not refer to Chaitanya's stay for four months at Bhattamari. This omission is significant, and shows the untrustworthy character of the tradition. It must have been fabricated by the later writers in order to give importance to Gopala Bhatta for his long association with the Master.
It is quite possible that after Pravodhananda's acceptance of Chaitanya as his saviour and Guru, his nephew was naturally attracted to take the banner of Vaisnavism in his hand and preach the Chaitanya-cult. We do not however disbelieve that Chaitanya saw Gopala Bhatta in the Deccan. If he did so it was of so slight and trifling interest that Govinda did not think it worthwhile to notice it in his account. Indeed people outside the pale of the Vaisnavas did not credit the story, as will be observed from the following incidental references to it by Narahari Chakravarti in his Bhaktiratnakara.
"When the Master was travelling in the Deccan he stayed in the house of Benkata Bhatta for four months. The author of Chaitanya Charitamrta did not mention it in the account of the Master's tour there. There is a mention of Chaitanya's visit to Benkata Bhatta's house but not of his stay there for four months."
And again "As Chaitanya's stay at Bhattamari for four months has not been mentioned in any authoritative works, incredulous people do not seem to be willing to accept the account as true."[1]
The Gaurpada Tarangini says that Gopala Bhatta was 30 years old when Chaitanya visited the Deccan. We all know that Gopala Bhatta was born in 1503 and Chaitanya toured in the Deccan during 1510-1511. So from whatever point the tradition is assailed it proves weak and untenable. The Premavilasa first mentioned this unauthenticated tradition invented probably to exaggerate the importance of the already important man Gopala Bhatta. I dwell on this point at some length because it has been made much of by later Vaisnava biographers.
Gopala Bhatta was the Guru of Srinivasa Acharya - the greatest of the latter day Vaisnava worthies. Srinivasa evinced wonderful faith in his youth. His scholarship and other qualities of the head and heart led him deservedly to a position of the highest eminence in Vaisnava society. After leaving Vrndavana, however, he came to Bengal and married at Visnupur where he quietly settled down to a prosperous worldly life, receiving gifts of considerable money and lands from Raja Vira Hamvira of Visnupur who had become his disciple. Srinivasa succeeded from a worldly point of view in enlarging the Vaisnava circle, and drawing within its gradually widening boundaries many of the influential members of the Bengal aristocracy. The fame of this leader rang in the ears of the Vaisnavas throughout the country.
But when Manohara Dasa, a native of Visnupur paid a visit to Gopala Bhatta at Vrndavana and spoke of the attainments of Srinivasa in glowing terms, Gopala Bhatta remained silent for some time and then said "Fallen alas, fallen from his path."[2] The ideal of Gopala Bhatta was the founding of a spiritual kingdom which does not perish, and not the attainment of worldly success even in the cause of the extension of Vaisnava faith in India.
One of the six apostles.
Gopala Bhatta with Raghunatha Dasa, Raghunatha Bhatta, Rupa, Sanatana and Jiva formed the glorious group of the "Six Goswamis" whose works possess scriptural authority with the Vaisnava community of Bengal.
FOOTNOTES:
[1] The Bhaktiratnakara 1st Taranga
[2] The Chaitanya Chandrodaya Kaumudi
