Disappearance Day of Srila Raghunatha Bhatta Gosvami

What is the Disappearance Day of Srila Raghunatha Bhatta Gosvami?

Vaishnavas remember Srila Raghunatha Bhatta Gosvami, one of the Gosvamis of Vrindavana, on the day of his disappearance. In 2027 it falls on Tuesday, 12 October, a date he shares with Srila Raghunatha Dasa Gosvami and Srila Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami.

Significance

Raghunatha Bhatta spent eight months with Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu at Jagannatha Puri. When he took leave, the Lord flatly forbade him to marry and told him how to live a life of service:

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said to Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa, “When you return home, serve your aged father and mother, who are devotees, and try to study Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam from a pure Vaiṣṇava who has realized God.”

Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila 13.113

In his purport Srila Prabhupada explains that the Lord did not want him to hear the Srimad-Bhagavatam from professionals. Raghunatha Bhatta later came to Vrindavana and surrendered fully at the lotus feet of Sri Govinda. He had his disciples build a temple for Govinda and made ornaments for the Deity with his own hands.

How to observe it

Hear the Srimad-Bhagavatam from a devotee who lives by it, as Lord Caitanya asked Raghunatha Bhatta to do. Then honour his service to Sri Govinda by offering Krishna your own hearing and chanting.