Early History of the Vaishnava Faith and Movement in Bengal, from Sanskrit and Bengali Sources c7.s2.1

c7.s2.1

Of Raghunātha-dāsa, who lived with Caitanya for many years at Puri, a great deal is known from Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja (Antya vi), who was his intimate friend and disciple at Vṛndāvana, and who must have made a considerable use of the personal reminiscences of this venerable Gosvāmin in his account of the last phase of Caitanya's career. Raghunātha-dāsa's life presents yet another example, not rare in this period of religious revival, of the renunciation of worldly eminence and fortune for the sake of spiritual advancement. He was the son of a rich Kāyastha, named Govardhana, a zamindar of Saptagrāma in the district of Hooghly, who is said to have enjoyed a princely income of twelve lakhs of rupees; but the heir to this immense fortune evinced deep religious tendencies from his boyhood, which proved disquieting to his father. On the occasion of Caitanya's visit to Śāntipur on his way to Rāmakeli, Raghunātha is said to have met Caitanya for the first time. Raghunātha's meeting with and of his recognition of their spiritual activities. The wealthy Rajas of the West, who were their disciples, contributed towards the building of the fine temples, seven of the oldest and finest of which are ascribed to these Gosvāmins. See Growse, *op. cit.*, for details.