writing poetry as a vehicle for expressing
devotion to Krishna, he also focused on
analyzing bhaktias an emotional expe-
rience. He is most famous for enumerating
the five modes of devotion, explaining
the different possible ways to experi-
ence the love of God. For further infor-
mation see Sushil Kumar De, Early
History of the Vaishnava Faith and
Movement in Bengal, 1961; and
Shrivatsa Goswami, “Radha” in John
Stratton Hawley and Donna Wulff (eds.),
The Divine Consort, 1982.
Goswami, Sanatana
(ca. mid-16th c.) A disciple of the
Bengali saint Chaitanya, and a pivotal
figure in the establishment of the
Gaudiya Vaishnavacommunity, along
with his brother Rupa Goswami and his
nephew Jiva Goswami. Although the
Gaudiya Vaishnavas were founded by
the poet-saint Chaitanya, it was the
Goswamis who brought order and sys-
tematic thinking to Chaitanya’s ecstatic
devotionalism. Records indicate that the
Goswamis were brahminswhose fami-
lies originally hailed from the
Karnatakaregion. The family had set-
tled in Bengal, where Rupa and
Sanatana were in the service of a local
Muslim ruler. However, their lives were
transformed when Rupa and Sanatana
met Chaitanya. Chaitanya dispatched
the brothers to Brindavan, the village
where the god Krishna is believed to
have spent his childhood, with instruc-
tions to settle there and reclaim it as a
holy place. The three Goswamis lived
there for several decades, reclaiming the
sacred sites (tirthas), having temples
built, and above all providing the ideas
and institutions that defined the
Gaudiya Vaishnava community.
Sanatana was more of a devotee
(bhakta) than a scholar. This is evident
in his written works, which tend to
be either devotional songs or commen-
taries on religious texts. Sanatana’s most
famous text is the Hari-bhakti-vilasa
(“The delight of devotion to Hari”), for
which he wrote a commentary as well.
For further information see Sushil
Kumar De, Early History of the
Vaishnava Faith and Movement in
Bengal, 1961.Gotra
A word for exogamous lineages.
Lineages are particularly stressed
among brahmins, although the status
associated with some lineages some-
times led other twice-borngroups to
adopt them as well. The word literally
means “cowpen,” and by extension the
family is associated with a particular
herd of cattle. Brahmins were believed
to be descended from the seven sages—
Kashyapa, Vasishtha, Bhrgu, Gautama,
Atri, Bharadvaja, and Vishvamitra—
with each family taking as its gotra the
name of the sage believed to be its prog-
enitor. The only situation in which it was
really important was in marriages, since
marriage within the gotra was forbid-
den. After marriage, a woman would
adopt the gotra of her husband as part
of her new identity. Since this practice
was observed by brahmins, having
a gotra became something of a status
symbol. This led other twice-born
groups to imitate the brahmins and
adopt gotras as well.Govardhan
Sacred mountain in the western part
of the Mathuradistrict of the state of
Uttar Pradesh. According to Hindu
mythology, this was the mountain
that the god Krishna held up as
an umbrella over the Brajregion to
protect its inhabitants from the storms
generated by the wrath of Indra, god
of the storm. According to the tradi-
tions of the Pushti Marg, a religious
community founded by Vallabhacharya
(1479–1531), a particular image of
Krishna called Shrinathjiwas discov-
ered by Vallabhacharya on Mount
Govardhan, after Krishna revealed its
location to the saint in a dream.Govardhan