Srila Prabhupada was a descendent of Gautama Muni

[Guruvani]

Srila Prabhupada, the founder-acharya of ISKCON is said to have been in the descendent line of the Vedic sage Gautama Muni.

 

Srila Rupa Goswami and Sanatan Goswami are in the geneological family of Bharadvaja Muni.

 

These are two great sages of Vedic times who are mention many times in diffferent Puranas.

 

This is the genetic background of the great leaders of the Krishna consciousness movement.

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Is there any proof to back up that claim?

[Guruvani]

 

Is there any proof to back up that claim?

 

I don't know what your idea of proof is.

The only PROOF I have is the statements of Srila Prabhupada in his books.

 

If that is enough proof for you, then I can provide the reference.

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I don't know what your idea of proof is.

The only PROOF I have is the statements of Srila Prabhupada in his books.

 

If that is enough proof for you, then I can provide the reference.

Yes, that would be helpful.

[Guruvani]

Adi-lila ch. 9,

TEXT 84

 

anupama-vallabha, sri-rupa, sanatana

ei tina sakha vrksera pascime sarvottama

 

SYNONYMS

anupama--of the name Anupama; vallabha--of the name Vallabha; sri-rupa--of the name Sri Rupa; sanatana--of the name Sanatana; ei--these; tina--three; sakha--branches; vrksera--of the tree; pascime--on the western side; sarvottama--very great.

 

TRANSLATION

On the western side were the forty-third, forty-fourth and forty-fifth branches--Sri Sanatana, Sri Rupa and Anupama. They were the best of all.

 

PURPORT

Sri Anupama was the father of Srila Jiva Gosvami and youngest brother of Sri Sanatana Gosvami and Sri Rupa Gosvami. His former name was Vallabha, but after Lord Caitanya met him He gave him the name Anupama. Because of working in the Muslim government, these three brothers were given the title Mullik. Our personal family is connected with the Mulliks of Mahatma Gandhi Road in Calcutta, and we often used to visit their Radha-Govinda temple. They belong to the same family as we do. (Our family gotra, or original genealogical line, is the Gautama-gotra, or line of disciples of Gautama Muni, and our surname is De.) But due to their accepting the posts of Zamindars in the Muslim government, they received the title Mullik. Similarly, Rupa, Sanatana and Vallabha were also given the title Mullik. Mullik means "lord." Just as the English government gives rich and respectable persons the title "lord," so the Muslims give the title Mullik to rich, respectable families that have intimate connections with the government. The title Mullik is found not only among the Hindu aristocracy but also among Muslims. This title is not restricted to a particular family but is given to different families and castes. The qualifications for receiving it are wealth and respectability.

 

Sanatana Gosvami and Rupa Gosvami belonged to the Bharadvaja-gotra, which indicates that they belonged either to the family or disciplic succession of Bharadvaja Muni. As members of the Krsna consciousness movement we belong to the family, or disciplic succession, of Sarasvati Gosvami, and thus we are known as Sarasvatas. Obeisances are therefore offered to the spiritual master as sarasvata-deva, or a member of the Sarasvata family (namas te sarasvate deve), whose mission is to broadcast the cult of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu (gaura-vani-pracarine) and to fight with impersonalists and voidists (nirvisesa-sunyavadi-pascatya-desa-tarine). This was also the occupational duty of Sanatana Gosvami, Rupa Gosvami and Anupama Gosvami.

 

The genealogical table of Sanatana Gosvami, Rupa Gosvami and Vallabha Gosvami can be traced back to the twelfth century sakabda, when a gentleman of the name Sarvajna appeared in a very rich and opulent brahmana family in the province of Karnata. He had two sons, named Aniruddhera Rupesvara and Harihara, who were both bereft of their kingdoms and thus obliged to reside in the highlands. The son of Rupesvara, who was named Padmanabha, moved to a place in Bengal known as Naihati on the bank of the Ganges. There he had five sons, of whom the youngest, Mukunda, had a well-behaved son named Kumaradeva, who was the father of Rupa, Sanatana and Vallabha. Kumaradeva lived in Baklacandradvipa, which was in the district of Jessore and is now known as Phateyabad. Of his many sons, three took to the path of Vaisnavism. Later, Sri Vallabha and his elder brothers Sri Rupa and Sanatana came from Candradvipa to the village in the Maldah district of Bengal known as Ramakeli. It is in this village that Srila Jiva Gosvami took birth, accepting Vallabha as his father. Because of engaging in the service of the Muslim government, the three brothers received the title Mullik. When Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu visited the village of Ramakeli, He met Vallabha there. Later, Sri Rupa Gosvami, after meeting Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, resigned from government service, and when he went to Vrndavana to meet Lord Caitanya, Vallabha accompanied him. The meeting of Rupa Gosvami and Vallabha with Caitanya Mahaprabhu at Allahabad is described in the Madhya-lila, Chapter Nineteen.

 

Actually, it is to be understood from the statement of Sanatana Gosvami that Sri Rupa Gosvami and Vallabha went to Vrndavana under the instructions of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. First they went to Mathura, where they met a gentleman named Subuddhi Raya, who maintained himself by selling dry fuel wood. He was very pleased to meet Sri Rupa Gosvami and Anupama, and he showed them the twelve forests of Vrndavana. Thus they lived in Vrndavana for one month and then again went to search for Sanatana Gosvami. Following the course of the Ganges, they reached Allahabad, or Prayaga-tirtha, but because Sanatana Gosvami had come there by a different road, they did not meet him there, and when Sanatana Gosvami came to Mathura he was informed of the visit of Rupa Gosvami and Anupama by Subuddhi Raya. When Rupa Gosvami and Anupama met Caitanya Mahaprabhu at Benares, they heard about Sanatana Gosvami's travels from Him, and thus they returned to Bengal, adjusted their affairs with the state and, on the order of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, went to see the Lord at Jagannatha Puri.

 

In the year 1436 sakabda (A.D. 1515), the youngest brother, Anupama, died and went back home, back to Godhead. He went to the abode in the spiritual sky where Sri Ramacandra is situated. At Jagannatha Puri, Sri Rupa Gosvami informed Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu of this incident. Vallabha was a great devotee of Sri Ramacandra; therefore he could not seriously consider the worship of Radha-Govinda according to the instructions of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Yet he directly accepted Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu as an incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Ramacandra. In the Bhakti-ratnakara there is the following statement: "Vallabha was given the name Anupama by Sri Gaurasundara, but he was always absorbed in the devotional service of Lord Ramacandra. He did not know anyone but Sri Ramacandra, but he knew that Caitanya Gosani was the same Lord Ramacandra."

 

In the Gaura-ganoddesa-dipika (180) Sri Rupa Gosvami is described to be the gopi named Sri Rupa-manjari. In the Bhakti-ratnakara there is a list of the books Sri Rupa Gosvami compiled. Of all his books, the following sixteen are very popular among Vaisnavas: (1) Hamsaduta, (2) Uddhava-sandesa, (3) Krsna-janma-tithi-vidhi, (4 and 5) Radha-krsna-ganoddesa-dipika, Brhat (major) and Laghu (minor), (6) Stavamala, (7) Vidagdha-madhava, (8) Lalita-madhava, (9) Dana-keli-kaumudi, (10) Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu (this is the most celebrated book by Sri Rupa Gosvami), (11) Ujjvala-nilamani, (12) Akhyata-candrika, (13) Mathura-mahima, (14) Padyavali, (15) Nataka-candrika and (16) Laghu-bhagavatamrta. Sri Rupa Gosvami gave up all family connections, joined the renounced order of life and divided his money, giving fifty percent to the brahmanas and Vaisnavas and twenty-five percent to his kutumba (family members) and keeping twenty-five percent for personal emergencies. He met Haridasa Thakura in Jagannatha Puri, where he also met Lord Caitanya and His other associates. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu used to praise the handwriting of Rupa Gosvami. Srila Rupa Gosvami could compose verses according to the desires of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and by His direction he wrote two books named Lalita-madhava and Vidagdha-madhava. Lord Caitanya desired the two brothers, Sanatana Gosvami and Rupa Gosvami, to publish many books in support of the Vaisnava religion. When Sanatana Gosvami met Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the Lord advised him also to go to Vrndavana.

 

Sri Sanatana Gosvami is described in the Gaura-ganoddesa-dipika (181). He was formerly known as Rati-manjari or sometimes Lavanga-manjari. In the Bhakti-ratnakara it is stated that his spiritual master, Vidyavacaspati, sometimes stayed in the village of Ramakeli, and Sanatana Gosvami studied all the Vedic literature from him. He was so devoted to his spiritual master that this cannot be described. According to the Vedic system, if someone sees a Muslim he must perform rituals to atone for the meeting. Sanatana Gosvami always associated with Muslim kings. Not giving much attention to the Vedic injunctions, he used to visit the houses of Muslim kings, and thus he considered himself to have been converted into a Muslim. He was therefore always very humble and meek. When Sanatana Gosvami presented himself before Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, he admitted, "I am always in association with lower-class people, and my behavior is therefore very abominable." He actually belonged to a respectable brahmana family, but because he considered his behavior to be abominable, he did not try to place himself among the brahmanas but always remained among people of the lower castes. He wrote the Hari-bhakti-vilasa and Vaisnava-tosani, which is a commentary on the Tenth Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam. In the year 1476 sakabda (A.D. 1555) he completed the Brhad-vaisnava-tosani commentary on Srimad-Bhagavatam. In the year 1504 sakabda (A.D. 1583) he finished the Laghu-tosani.

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Thanks.

[Jahnava Nitai Das]

Each caste has 50 or so main gotras under which all the 1 billion people of India are subdivided. So it isn't as rare an occurence as one might think by reading this thread.