Gopala Champu

Shri Jiva Goswami in his book «Gopala-Champu» described the pastimes of Krishna from His very appearance to His return to Goloka. Champu means a literary fusion of poetry and prose, showcasing the beauty of the work and verses, often used with ambiguous meanings. Although Shri Kavi-karnapura also presented similar pastimes in his work «Ananda Vrindavana Champu», the uniqueness of this book is that it describes how Krishna returned to Vraj after a long separation and married the gopis.

«Gopala-Champu» narrates the deeds of Krishna as described in «Shrimad Bhagavatam», but with enhanced rasa. Jiva Goswami mentions that he wrote this book for the bliss of Radha and Krishna, and those who aspire to see Vraj and reach Goloka will achieve these goals through this work.

Shri Jiva Goswami often employs complex grammatical constructions and phrases. Shri Bhanu Swami used the Sanskrit text from the edition of Puri Dasa (Ananta Vasudeva, disciple of Shri Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura, from 1947) for the translation.

Thus, this narrative is alternately described by two boy narrators in the assembly of Nanda Maharaja, Yashoda, Krishna, Balarama, their friends, the gopis, and other vrajavasi.

By reading «Gopala-Champu», a person can easily penetrate into the mood of Vraj, into the mood of Krishna Himself and His eternal associates by the mercy of Shri Jiva Goswami, who helps the reader to taste the unique sweetness of the nectar of Krishna's eternal pastimes.