Sri-Brhad Bhagavatamrita

"Brhad Bhagavatamrita is very famous; anyone who wants to know about the subject matter of devotees, devotional service, and Krishna must read this book." (CC Adi 5.203)

Sri Brhad-Bhagavatamrta is an epic work composed in Sanskrit during the sixteenth century by Sanatana Goswami, one of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s leading disciples. It is one of the first books written by any of the Six Goswamis of Vrindavan.

Sri Brhad-bhagavatamrta is a transcendental literature that any serious student of Krishna theology or any serious practitioner of bhakti tradition must hold dear to the heart. In the form of two narratives, Srila Sanatana Goswami had described the science of bhakti through the journey of a devotee who tries to understand the devotees of Krishna by way of examination of various categories of devotees and through a sweet narrative of how a devotee attains spiritual perfection. It is pilgrims progress. Spiritual perfection takes efforts and these efforts are step by step process leading to the greatest perfection. The epic, Mahabharat, has said, mahajano yena gatha sa pantha, that the path of the greats must be followed to attain success. Sri Brhad-bhagavatamrta therefore provides such a platform.

Sri Brhad-bhagavatamrta is a sacred text for practitioners of Gaudiya Vaishnavism. Along with Hari-bhakti-vilasa, it is one of the most important works of Vaishnava theologian Sanatana Goswami. While Hari-Bhakti-Vilasa sets out guidance for Vaishnava behaviour and ritual, Sri Brhad-bhagavatamrta contains an analysis of the teachings of Lord Chaitanya from an ontological and metaphysical perspective.