The Six Goswamis of Vrindavan and Swami Haridas: The Founding Saints of the Holy Town

The Vrindavan we know today, its great temples, its scriptures, its very deity of Banke Bihari, was shaped by a handful of saints in the sixteenth century. The Six Goswamis of Vrindavan laid the theological and structural foundation of the holy town, writing its scriptures and building its first temples; and Swami Haridas, the saint-musician, manifested the beloved deity of Banke Bihari at Nidhivan through his divine song. Here, from one born in Braj, is the story of these founding saints of Vrindavan, who they were and what they gave us. Plan your visit with our Mathura Vrindavan tour packages.

Key takeaways

• The Six Goswamis of Vrindavan were the chief disciples sent by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

• They were Rupa, Sanatana, Jiva, Gopala Bhatta, Raghunatha Dasa and Raghunatha Bhatta.

• They unearthed Vrindavan's lost holy sites and wrote the Gaudiya Vaishnava scriptures.

• They built its first great temples, such as Radha Damodar and Radha Raman.

• Swami Haridas, a 16th-century dhrupad master, manifested Banke Bihari at Nidhivan through song.

• Together these saints founded the Vrindavan of temples and worship we know today.

I am Gurudutt, born in Gokul in the Mathura district, guiding pilgrims through Braj since 2018, more than 50,000 of them. Every lover of Vrindavan owes a debt to these founding saints, the Six Goswamis and Swami Haridas, for the holy town and its deities are their gift. I love to take devotees to the temples they built and the places they hallowed and to tell their story on the very ground. Here it is.

Who were the Six Goswamis of Vrindavan?

The Six Goswamis (Shad Goswami) were the six principal disciples and associates of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the great Bengali saint who came to Vrindavan in 1515 and rediscovered the lost land of Krishna. Chaitanya himself did not stay; his greater work was to send these six learned and renounced devotees to settle in Vrindavan and carry on the revival. There they gave up worldly life, lived in intense devotion and scholarship, unearthed and re-established the holy sites of Krishna's pastimes, composed the foundational scriptures of the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition and built the first of Vrindavan's great temples. The saint who sent them was Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, whose own story is told in our dedicated guide.

The Six Goswamis and their contribution

Here are the Six Goswamis of Vrindavan, with a note on each.

The Six Goswamis of Vrindavan and their contribution.

Their legacy: the scriptures and temples of Vrindavan

The Goswamis gave Vrindavan two enduring gifts. First, its scriptures: they authored the foundational Sanskrit texts of Gaudiya Vaishnavism, works of theology, poetry and devotion that remain the backbone of the tradition to this day and which, through Chaitanya's line and later ISKCON, are studied around the world. Second, its temples: they established and inspired the first great temples of Vrindavan, among them the Radha Raman temple (established by Gopala Bhatta Goswami from a self-manifested shaligram) and the historic Radha Damodar, Radha Gopinath, Radha Madhav and Radha Shyamsundar temples, the old heart of devotional Vrindavan. To visit these temples is to walk among the Goswamis' living legacy.

Swami Haridas: the saint who manifested Banke Bihari

Alongside the Goswamis stands another towering saint of 16th-century Vrindavan: Swami Haridas, a great devotee, a master of the classical Dhrupad music and the founder of the Haridasi tradition (affiliated with the Nimbarka school). He is best remembered for the most beloved event in Vrindavan's history. When his disciples longed to behold the divine couple whom their guru worshipped in his heart, Swami Haridas sang a soulful bhajan in the grove of Nidhivan; and at his song, Radha and Krishna themselves appeared before them. At Haridas's humble request, so that the world might bear their radiance, the divine pair merged into a single, enchanting tribhanga (bent in three places) black deity. That deity is the beloved Banke Bihari, 'the one bent in three places', whom millions worship today. He was worshipped in Nidhivan until the present Banke Bihari temple was built in 1862. So the dearest deity of Vrindavan was, quite literally, sung into the world by Swami Haridas.

The founding saints of Vrindavan, in brief

Here is how the founding saints shaped the holy town.

The founding saints of Vrindavan and their gifts. Together they shaped the holy town.

Walking in the footsteps of the founding saints

You can still visit the places these saints hallowed. A devotee's route takes in the old Goswami temples, Radha Raman, Radha Damodar and the rest, in the lanes of old Vrindavan; the grove of Nidhivan, where Swami Haridas manifested Banke Bihari and where the Raas is said to be danced still; and the Banke Bihari temple itself, home to the deity he sang into the world. To walk this route with one who knows the history is to feel the hidden thread of saints that made Vrindavan. See our guide to places to visit in Vrindavan and we can arrange your pooja and seva.

The honest bit

Honest words from one born in Braj. The story of the Six Goswamis and Swami Haridas is told from the devotional and historical tradition of Vrindavan, above all the Gaudiya and Haridasi records and, as with all such sacred history, dates and details vary a little between tellings, with the saints usually placed in the sixteenth century. The deeper truth is beyond dispute and easy to feel: that the Vrindavan we love, its temples, its scriptures, its very Banke Bihari, was shaped by these founding saints. Some of the places they touched are grand temples now, others quiet and little-visited; all repay the devotee who seeks them with a knowing guide. To understand the Goswamis and Swami Haridas is to understand how Vrindavan itself came to be.

Why Experience My India is the right choice

I was born in Gokul in the Mathura district and I love to walk pilgrims through the Vrindavan these saints founded. Guiding since 2018, more than 50,000 pilgrims, 4.5 stars on Google, WhatsApp first, 8 AM to 9 PM daily. We take you to the Goswami temples and to Nidhivan and Banke Bihari, tell you the story of the Six Goswamis and Swami Haridas on the very ground, walk you into the old-town temples cars cannot reach and arrange your seva, with no touts. One clear fare and never a charge for free darshan.

Tip from Gurudutt: when you come to Vrindavan, remember the saints who made it. Take the darshan of Banke Bihari knowing that Swami Haridas sang this very deity into the world at Nidhivan; and seek out the quiet old Goswami temples, Radha Raman, Radha Damodar, in the old lanes, where the Six Goswamis wrote the scriptures and worshipped. In these places, away from the crowds, you touch the roots of Vrindavan's revival and feel the love and learning of the saints who gave the holy town and its deities to us all.

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Plan your visit to the saints' Vrindavan

Tell me your dates and I will plan your journey through the Vrindavan of the founding saints, the Goswami temples, Nidhivan and Banke Bihari, with a car, a guide born on this soil and your seva arranged, for one clear price. Our Mathura Vrindavan tour packages from Delhi and the NCR and our Mathura tour packages cover the heart of Braj. WhatsApp +91 7302265809, any day 8 AM to 9 PM. Packages from ₹1,999 per person, 4.5 stars on Google. Born in Gokul, Mathura.