ŚRĪ GURU-PARAMPARĀ
[1]
kṛṣṇa hoite catur-mukha, hoy kṛṣṇa-sevonmukha,
brahmā hoite nāradera mati
nārada hoite vyāsa, madhva kohe vyāsa dāsa,
pūrṇa-prajña padmanābha gati
[2]
nṛhari-mādhava-vaṁśe, akṣobhya-paramahaṁse,
śiṣya boli' aṅgīkāra kore
akṣobhyera śiṣya joy—tīrtha nāme paricoy,
tāra dāsye jñānasindhu tore
[3]
tāhā hoite doyānidhi, tāra dāsa vidyānidhi,
rājendra hoilo tāhā ho'te
tāhāra kiṅkora joy—dharma nāme paricoy,
paramparā jāno bhālo mate
brahmā hoite nāradera mati
nārada hoite vyāsa, madhva kohe vyāsa dāsa,
pūrṇa-prajña padmanābha gati
[2]
nṛhari-mādhava-vaṁśe, akṣobhya-paramahaṁse,
śiṣya boli' aṅgīkāra kore
akṣobhyera śiṣya joy—tīrtha nāme paricoy,
tāra dāsye jñānasindhu tore
[3]
tāhā hoite doyānidhi, tāra dāsa vidyānidhi,
rājendra hoilo tāhā ho'te
tāhāra kiṅkora joy—dharma nāme paricoy,
paramparā jāno bhālo mate
[4]
jayadharma-dāsye khyāti, śrī puruṣottama-yati,
tā ho'te brahmaṇya-tīrtha sūri
vyāsatīrtha tāra dāsa, lakṣmīpati vyāsadāsa,
tāhā ho'te mādhavendra purī
[5]
mādhavendra purī-boro, śiṣya-boro śrī-īśvaro,
nityānanda, śrī-advaita vibhu
īśvara-purīke dhanya, korilena śrī-caitanya,
jagad-guru gaura-mahāprabhu
[6]
mahāprabhu śrī-caitanya, rādhā-kṛṣṇa nahe anya,
rūpānuga-janera jīvana
viśvambhara-priyaṅkoro, śrī-svarūpa-dāmodaro,
śrī gosvāmī rūpa sonātan
[7]
rūpa-priya mahājana, jīva-raghunātha hana,
tāra priya kavi kṛṣṇadāsa
kṛṣṇadāsa-priya-boro, narottama sevā-para,
yāra pada viśvanātha-āśa
[8]
viśvanātha-bhakta-sāth, baladev jagannāth,
tāra priya śrī-bhaktivinoda
mahābhāgavata-boro, śrī-gaurakiśora-boro,
hari-bhajanete yāra moda
tā ho'te brahmaṇya-tīrtha sūri
vyāsatīrtha tāra dāsa, lakṣmīpati vyāsadāsa,
tāhā ho'te mādhavendra purī
[5]
mādhavendra purī-boro, śiṣya-boro śrī-īśvaro,
nityānanda, śrī-advaita vibhu
īśvara-purīke dhanya, korilena śrī-caitanya,
jagad-guru gaura-mahāprabhu
[6]
mahāprabhu śrī-caitanya, rādhā-kṛṣṇa nahe anya,
rūpānuga-janera jīvana
viśvambhara-priyaṅkoro, śrī-svarūpa-dāmodaro,
śrī gosvāmī rūpa sonātan
[7]
rūpa-priya mahājana, jīva-raghunātha hana,
tāra priya kavi kṛṣṇadāsa
kṛṣṇadāsa-priya-boro, narottama sevā-para,
yāra pada viśvanātha-āśa
[8]
viśvanātha-bhakta-sāth, baladev jagannāth,
tāra priya śrī-bhaktivinoda
mahābhāgavata-boro, śrī-gaurakiśora-boro,
hari-bhajanete yāra moda
[9]
śrī-vārṣabhānavī-borā, sadā sevya-sevā parā,
tāhāra doyita-dāsa-nām
tāra pradhān pracārako, śrī-bhaktivedānta nāmako,
pṛthivīte gaura-vānī bhitore
[10]
ei saba hari-jana, gaurāṅgera nija-jana,
tā' der ucchiṣṭe mor kāma
tāhāra doyita-dāsa-nām
tāra pradhān pracārako, śrī-bhaktivedānta nāmako,
pṛthivīte gaura-vānī bhitore
[10]
ei saba hari-jana, gaurāṅgera nija-jana,
tā' der ucchiṣṭe mor kāma
Lord Kṛṣṇa enlightened the four-faced Brahmā with the devotional science, which Brahmā then passed on to Nārada Muni. In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Second Canto, Ninth Chapter, the history of how Lord Brahmā received initiation directly from Kṛṣṇa is explained. Brahmā found himself in the midst of darkness. He tried to explore the dark universe by traveling down the stem of the lotus planet of his birth, but, being only a jīva with limited senses, intellect, and power, he failed to find more than darkness. Brahmā then heard the syllables ta and pa from outside the covering of the universe, and following this instruction, he performed tapasya, or penance, by which the spiritual realm was revealed to him. The four seed verses of the Bhāgavatam were transmitted by the Lord Himself to Brahmā. The conclusion is that Brahmā could not understand anything by his own attempt; only by Lord Kṛṣṇa's revelation could Brahmā get absolute knowledge.
Lord Brahmā took to the disciplic succession naturally. He initiated Nārada Muni, who in turn initiated Vyāsadeva, the compiler of all Vedic literatures. It is recorded in the Bhāgavatam, First Canto, Fifth Chapter, that Vyāsadeva compiled the Vedas in four divisions and then wrote the Mahābhārata, Purāṇas, and Upaniṣads, and revealed the conclusion of knowledge in the Vedānta-sūtras. Yet as he meditated he did not feel satisfied, and Nārada Muni explained to him that this was because he had not described the līlās, forms, qualities, etc., of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Then Vyāsadeva expanded the four seed verses of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam into 18,000 verses, and then initiated Madhvācārya. Vyāsadeva is still living in the Himalayas at Badarikāśrama, and, therefore, there is no gap of time between Vyāsa and Madhva; they are contemporaries, just as we are contemporaries of Vyāsa, who is presently in this world. The ācāryas coming from Madhva are Padmanābha, Nṛhari, Mādhava, Akṣobhya, Jayatīrtha, Jñānasindhu, Dayānidhi, Vidyānidhi, Rājendra, Jayadharma, Puruṣottama, Brahmaṇya-tīrtha, Vyāsatīrtha, Lakṣmīpati, and Mādhavendra Purī. (Baladeva Vidyābhūṣana, the great ācārya who wrote the commentary on Vedānta-sūtra after hearing it directly from the Deity Govindajī, has confirmed Mādhavendra Purī's connection with the Madhva-sampradāya.)
Mādhavendra Purī had several disciples who were highly transcendental personalities. Lord Nityānanda, the incarnation of Lord Balarāma, and Śrī Advaita, the incarnation of Maha-Viṣṇu, accepted initiation from him. However, Śrī Īśvara Purī possessed a very high standard of devotion and would even clean the toilet place for his spiritual master. Thus Īśvara Purī was given the seat of ācārya. He in turn initiated Lord Caitanya, Who is none other than Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa Himself and Who is the living force of the followers of Rūpa Gosvāmī. Lord Caitanya is succeeded by Rūpa Gosvāmī along with Svarūpa Dāmodara and Sanātana Gosvāmī, then Raghunātha dāsa and Jīva Gosvāmī, Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja, Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura, and Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura. Viśvanātha Cakravartī was the spiritual master of Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa and Jagannātha dāsa Bābājī. Jagannātha dāsa's most beloved disciple is Śrīla Sac-cid-ānanda Bhaktivinoda, who empowered Śrīla Gaurakiśora dāsa Bābājī, an uttama-adhikārī mahā-bhāgavata (great devotee of the highest order), to initiate Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, who is also spiritually named Śrī Vārṣabhānavī-dayita dāsa. I have added one more line to this song: "His foremost disciple-preacher is Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, who has spread the message of Lord Caitanya throughout the entire world."