was Visnu Swami the Guru of Bilvamangala Thakura?

[Paramananda das]

PAMHO
AGTS"

Srila Prabhupada described that Visnu Swami was the Guru of Bilvamangala Thakura, so I did a little digging, it is a bit complicated

I found this statement on the internet:
Vishnuswami
The fourth Vaishnava acharya, Vishnusvami, representative of the Rudra sampradaya (who worship the avatara of God known as Narasimhadeva) is less known than the other three.
Actually there is some confusion about him, as it seems there have been three Vishnu Svamis: Adi Vishnu Svami (around 3rd century BCE, who introduced the traditional 108 categories of sannyasa), Raja Gopala Vishnu Svami (8th or 9th century CE), and Andhra Vishnu Svami (14th century).
The emphasis of this school, called suddha-advaita ("pure monism"), is on the concept of lila or the pastimes by which God can be transcendental and immanent according to His will. Thus everything is pure, including the material universe, that is created by God and intimately related to Him. In his method of worship, Vishnusvami gives preeminence to Rama, the previous avatara before Krishna.
Vishnusvami visited Puri and founded there the Jagannatha Vallabha Math in the gardens of the temple, where Ramananda Raya also established his spiritual school.
Among the famous followers of this sampradaya we can mention Sridhara Svami (who became famous for his commentary on the Bhagavata purana).

http://sripedia.com/index.php?title=Sripad_Vishnu_Swami
Sripad Vishnu Swami
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Sripada Vishnuswami
Both Jiva Goswami in his Bhagavata Sandarbha and Krishnadasa Kaviraja in his Chaitanya-caritamrta look to Sripad Vishnuswami for inspiration to establish the essential difference between God and the individual souls and quote from his Sarvajnasukta, his commentary on Vedanta.
Vishnuswami is the founder-acharya of the Rudra sampradaya and is the oldest of the four recognized sampradayas. It is even said that Vishnuswami was born in the Dravida country after the completion of the sacrifice of Janamejaya around the beginnining of Kali-yuga.
Although most scholars are only able to find scanty and conflicting information on Sripada Vishnuswami, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura gives us an authoritative biographical account of Vishnuswami which we accept to be accurate.
There were three Acharyas bearing the name of Vishnuswami in the Rudra sampradaya. The first is called Adi Vishnuswami who is said to have been born about the third century B.C. in the Pandyan country. Vishnuswami's father Devesvara was the royal priest and minister. Devatanu, as he was known before he took the sannyasa name of Vishnuswami, was trained by his father in a vigorous theistic education, to fight Buddhism. The Pandyan king exerted all his influence to crush Buddhism in particular and other non-va isnava sects in general. King Pandyovijaya and his minister, Devesvara, went to Puri and recovered the Deities of Jagannatha, Balarama and Subhadra, which had been turned into the Buddhist Dharma by Buddha and Samgha by the Buddhists. King Padyovijaya and Devesvara removed the deities from the main temple to sundaracala about two miles away by cart. This is said to be the origin of the Rathayatra of Jagannatha. Now the ceremony of conveying the Deities from the temple to the car is named Pahandi or Panduv ijaya. The word Panda is applied to the priests of Jagannatha and is said to be derived from the "Pandya". The Deities were again brought back to the temple after Buddhism had been supressed to some extent.
Vishnuswami was the first to adopt tridandi sannyasa which he brought into practice among his seven hundred sannyasa disciples. It was he who introduce the Astottara satanami sannyasa (108 designations of sannyasis) including the dasanami which was adopted by sankara in his sect. It was not sankara who originated it as some scholars think. Vyasesvara was the last in the line of Sannyasis, after whom the line be came almost extinct, until it was revived by Raja Gopal who also assumed the name of Vishnuswami in the beginning of the 9th century. His main follower was Bilvamangala.
Raja Gopala Vishnuswami revived the old Vishnuswami line and began the active propaganda with renewed vigour and enthusiasm. He installed the Varadaraja temple in Kanci, Ranchorlal in Dwaraka and many other Deities in different places of pilgrimage. He converted many of Sankara's prominant disciples after Sankara's death.
After the disappearance of the second Vishnuswami a great feud took place between his community and that of Saiva sivaswami who regards Rudra as an independant God while the former holds Rudra as Guru and the intimate associate of Vishnu. The Saiva opposed it vigorously and people failing to appreciate the subtle point of theism in the Suddhadvaita system of Vishnuswami, became inclined to Saivite monism, which soon became embraced by the population in general. The Saivaite community taking advantage of the situation, tried to misappropriate Vishnuswami's Sarvajnasukta and modified it to a great extent to suit their system.
The third revival came under Andhra Vishnuswami in the 13th century whose successors included Laksmana Bhatta, the father of Vallabhacharya. This Vishnuswami is said to have been the son of a minister of a Dravidian prince under the Emperor of Delhi.
Vishnuswami's philosophy is visuddhadvaita. Brahman as Vishnu, Narasimha, non-dual and having no second. Brahman has all contradictory qualities. The soul is part of Brahman like spiritual sparks, real, eternal, atomic and dependent. Creation has no motive, it is like a cosmic game and it directly emanates from Brahman. The cause of bondage is one's attachement to karma. The process of release is devotion based on Bhagavata. The goal of life is to attain uninterupted contact with Krishna, Vaikuntha salokya where there is no return.

SB 1.11.19 P Lord Krsna' s Entrance into Dvaraka)

Sri Bilvamangala Thakura, a great acarya of the Visnusvami Vaisnava sect, in his householder life was overly attached to a prostitute who happened to be a devotee of the Lord. One night when the Thakura came to Cintamani's house in torrents of rain and thunder, Cintamani was astonished to see how the Thakura could come on such a dreadful night after crossing a foaming river which was full of waves. She said to Thakura Bilvamangala that his attraction for the flesh and bone of an insignificant woman like her would be properly utilized if it could be diverted to the devotional service of the Lord to achieve attraction for the transcendental beauty of the Lord. It was a momentous hour for the Thakura, and he took a turn towards spiritual realization by the words of a prostitute. Later on the Thakura accepted the prostitute as his spiritual master, and in several places of his literary works he has glorified the name of Cintamani, who showed him the right path.

It seems more likely Bilvamagala Thakura;s Guru was Somagiri in the Visnu Swami sampradaya( otherwise he would have mentioned Visnu Swami in his Krishna Karnamrta... but Srila Prabhuapda has mentioned Visnu Swami both as disciple of Visnu Swami and in the Visnu Swami sampradaya , so it must be that Somagiri was a Guru in this sampradaya.Butthis one article I quoted mentions that Bilvamangala Thakura was a disciple of Visnu Swami and since Visnu Swami appeared 3 times , then if Visnu Swami appeared around 900 ,the claim he was the Guru of Bilvamamgala and Bilvamangala did tapsya in Vrindavan for 700 years ,then from when to when? And if Bilvamangala was born in 12 century as some claim????


ys
Paramananda das

[Paramananda das]

Śrī Caitanya Caritāmṛta Ādi 1.57

cintāmaṇir jayati somagirir gurur me

śikṣā-guruś ca bhagavān śikhi-piñcha-mauliḥ

yat-pāda-kalpataru-pallava-śekhareṣu

līlā-svayaḿvara-rasaḿ labhate jayaśrīḥ

SYNONYMS

cintāmaṇiḥ jayati — all glory to Cintāmaṇi; soma-giriḥ — Somagiri (the initiating guru); guruḥ — spiritual master; me — my; śikṣā-guruḥ — instructing spiritual master; ca — and; bhagavān — the Supreme Personality of Godhead; śikhi-piñcha — with peacock feathers; mauliḥ — whose head; yat — whose; pāda — of the lotus feet; kalpa-taru — like desire trees; pallava — like new leaves; śekhareṣu — at the toe nails; līlā-svayam-vara — of conjugal pastimes; rasam — the mellow; labhate — obtains; jaya-śrīḥ — Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī.

TRANSLATION

"All glories to Cintāmaṇi and my initiating spiritual master, Somagiri. All glories to my instructing spiritual master, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who wears peacock feathers in His crown. Under the shade of His lotus feet, which are like desire trees, Jayaśrī [Rādhārāṇī] enjoys the transcendental mellow of an eternal consort."

PURPORT

This verse is from the Kṛṣṇa-karṇāmṛta, which was written by a great Vaiṣṇava sannyāsī named Bilvamańgala Ṭhākura, who is also known as Līlāśuka. He intensely desired to enter into the eternal pastimes of the Lord, and he lived at Vṛndāvana for seven hundred years in the vicinity of Brahma-kuṇḍa, a still-existing bathing tank in Vṛndāvana. The history of Bilvamańgala Ṭhākura is given in a book called Śrī-vallabha-digvijaya. He appeared in the eighth century of the Śaka Era in the province of Draviḍa and was the chief disciple of Viṣṇu Svāmī. In a list of temples and monasteries kept in Śańkarācārya's monastery in Dvārakā, Bilvamańgala is mentioned as the founder of the Dvārakādhīśa temple there. He entrusted the service of his Deity to Hari Brahmacārī, a disciple of Vallabha Bhaṭṭa.

Bilvamańgala Ṭhākura actually entered into the transcendental pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa. He has recorded his transcendental experiences and appreciation in the book known as Kṛṣṇa-karṇāmṛta. In the beginning of that book he has offered his obeisances to his different gurus, and it is to be noted that he has adored them all equally. The first spiritual master mentioned is Cintāmaṇi, who was one of his instructing spiritual masters because she first showed him the spiritual path. Cintāmaṇi was a prostitute with whom Bilvamańgala was intimate earlier in his life. She gave him the inspiration to begin on the path of devotional service, and because she convinced him to give up material existence to try for perfection by loving Kṛṣṇa, he has first offered his respects to her. Next he offers his respects to his initiating spiritual master, Somagiri, and then to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who was also his instructing spiritual master. He explicitly mentions Bhagavān, who has peacock feathers on His crown, because the Lord of Vṛndāvana, Kṛṣṇa the cowherd boy, used to come to Bilvamańgala to talk with him and supply him with milk. In his adoration of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Personality of Godhead, he states that Jayaśrī, the goddess of fortune, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, takes shelter in the shade of His lotus feet to enjoy the transcendental rasa of nuptial love. The complete treatise Kṛṣṇa-karṇāmṛta is dedicated to the transcendental pastimes of Śrī Kṛṣṇa and Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. It is a book to be read and understood by the most elevated devotees of Śrī Kṛṣṇa.

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[Paramananda das]

I was reading Bhakti prajana Kesava Maharaja's Vaisnava Vijaya and Bilvamagala Thakura's Guru was certainly Somagiri that gave Bilvamangala Thakura the name Lilasukha, Somagiri was in the line of Visnu Swami, but Visnu Swami was not the Guru of Bilvamangala Thakura otherwise he would surely have mentioned it in Krsna Karnamrta...we are presenting this to the BBT for editing

[Paramananda das]

Dear Dravida Prabhu, Prabhus and Maharajas
Please accept my humble obaisences
All glories to Srila Prabhupada
I did a litle research about some statement made in Srila Prabhupadas books that Visnu Swami is the Guru of Bilvamangal Thakura.This certainly does not appears so.Otherwise Bilvamangala Thakura would have mentioned it,Other places Srila Prabhupada writes a disciple in the Visnu Swami sect etc .But in this one purport CC 1.57 he is described as a chief disciple of Visnu Swami.Srila Prabhupadas sannyasi Guru HH Bhakti Prajana Kesava Maharaja has described in his Vaisnava Vijaya that Somagiri gave the name Lilasukha to Bilvamangala Thakura .Bilvamangala Thakura was priviously a mayavadi sannyasi according to the references quoted by Bhakti prajana Kesava Maharaja and was known as Chitsukacarya and was instructed by Sankacaryas disciple Padmapada, it is still there in the records of the
Sankacaryas math in Dvaraka.The Vallabha Digvijaya is the book that reveals how he later took initiation in the Rudra Sampradya and became a tridandi sannyasi.Visnu Swami is listed there as the founder of the Dvarakadish temple, not Bilvamangala Thakura.
your servant
Payonidhi das.






Śrī Caitanya Caritāmṛta Ādi 1.57

cintāmaṇir jayati soma girir gurur me

śikṣā-guruś ca bhagavān śikhi-piñcha-mauliḥ

yat-pāda-kalpataru-pallava-śekhareṣu

līlā-svayaḿvara-rasaḿ labhate jayaśrīḥ

SYNONYMS

cintāmaṇiḥ jayati — all glory to Cintāmaṇi; soma-giriḥ — Somagiri (the initiating guru); guruḥ — spiritual master; me — my; śikṣā-guruḥ — instructing spiritual master; ca — and; bhagavān — the Supreme Personality of Godhead; śikhi-piñcha — with peacock feathers; mauliḥ — whose head; yat — whose; pāda — of the lotus feet; kalpa-taru — like desire trees; pallava — like new leaves; śekhareṣu — at the toe nails; līlā-svayam-vara — of conjugal pastimes; rasam — the mellow; labhate — obtains; jaya-śrīḥ — Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī.

TRANSLATION

"All glories to Cintāmaṇi and my initiating spiritual master, Somagiri. All glories to my instructing spiritual master, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who wears peacock feathers in His crown. Under the shade of His lotus feet, which are like desire trees, Jayaśrī [Rādhārāṇī] enjoys the transcendental mellow of an eternal consort."

PURPORT

This verse is from the Kṛṣṇa-karṇāmṛta, which was written by a great Vaiṣṇava sannyāsī20named Bilvamańgala Ṭhākura, who is also known as Līlāśuka. He intensely desired to enter into the eternal pastimes of the Lord, and he lived at Vṛndāvana for seven hundred years in the vicinity of Brahma-kuṇḍa, a still-existing bathing tank in Vṛndāvana. The history of Bilvamańgala Ṭhākura is given in a book called Śrī-vallabha-digvijaya. He appeared in the eighth century of the Śaka Era in the province of Draviḍa and was the chief disciple of Viṣṇu Svāmī. In a list of temples and monasteries kept in Śańkarācārya's monastery in Dvārakā, Bilvamańgala is mentioned as the founder of the Dvārakādhīśa temple there. He entrusted the service of his Deity to Hari Brahmacārī, a disciple of Vallabha Bhaṭṭa.

Bilvamańgala Ṭhākura actually entered into the transcendental pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa. He has recorded his transcendental experiences and appreciation in the book known as Kṛṣṇa-karṇāmṛta. In the beginning of that book he has offered his obeisances to his different gurus, and it is to be noted that he has adored them all equally. The first spiritual master mentioned is Cintāmaṇi, who was one of his instructing spiritual masters because she first showed him the spiritual path. Cintāmaṇi was a prostitute with whom Bilvamańgala was intimate earlier in his life. She gave him the inspiration to begin on t he path of devotional service, and because she convinced him to give up material existence to try for perfection by loving Kṛṣṇa, he has first offered his respects to her. Next he offers his respects to his initiating spiritual master, Somagiri, and then to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who was also his instructing spiritual master. He explicitly mentions Bhagavān, who has peacock feathers on His crown, because the Lord of Vṛndāvana, Kṛṣṇa the cowherd boy, used to come to Bilvamańgala to talk with him and supply him with milk. In his adoration of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Personality of Godhead, he states that Jayaśrī, the goddess of fortune, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, takes shelter in the shade of His lotus feet to enjoy the transcendental rasa of nuptial love. The complete treatise Kṛṣṇa-karṇāmṛta is dedicated to the transcendental pastimes of Śrī Kṛṣṇa and Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. It is a book to be read and understood by the most elevated devotees of Śrī Kṛṣṇa.