Mahaprabhu

Mahaprabhu is a Sanskrit honorific meaning “great lord.” In Hindu religious contexts the term can refer to several venerable figures. In the Gaudiya Vaishnavism tradition, Mahaprabhu most commonly denotes Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (c. 1486–1534), a saint and reformer who founded the Gaudiya Vaishnavism movement in Bengal and Odisha and emphasized devotion to Krishna.

Born Vishvambhar in Navadvipa, Bengal, he was known as Nimai in his youth. He gained fame for scholarship and spiritual poetry, and as an adult he preached bhakti yoga, especially through nama-sankirtan (the congregational chanting of Krishna’s holy names). He traveled through eastern India—Bengal and Odisha—spreading devotion and establishing temples and communities. In Puri he accepted sannyasa and took the name Chaitanya Mahaprabhu; his travels and teachings emphasized devotion to Krishna as the supreme form of love, accessible to people of all backgrounds.

Chaitanya’s movement attracted many followers, including his close associate Nityananda and the Six Goswamis of Vrindavana, who systematized Gaudiya theology and wrote devotional scriptures such as Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu and Chaitanya-caritamrita. Posthumously, his teachings spread beyond India, influencing the modern Gaudiya Vaishnavism tradition and organizations like ISKCON, which regard him as the primary preacher of the congregational chanting of the Holy Names.

Central practice remains nama-sankirtan: publicly chanting the names of Krishna in groups as a means to awaken pure love of God. Theologically, Gaudiya Vaishnavism presents bhakti as the highest path, with Chaitanya viewed as Krishna in the mood of Radha, or as Krishna himself descending in a devotee’s form, depending on lineage.