Sri Laghu Bhagavatamrta of Srila Rupa Gosvami

After several years of hard work, the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust edition of this title has finally come off the press. Laghu Bhagavtamrta is a posthumous work of Gopiparanadhana Dasa, the famed BBT Sanskrit translator and commentator.

The Laghu (small) Bhagavatamṛta is Rupa Gosvami's literary offering to his brother Sanatana Gosvami, who wrote the popular Brhad (great) Bhagavatamṛta. In it, he wished to elaborate on Brhad-bhagavatamṛta's description of the different forms of Bhagavan (God) and His loving interaction with various groups of His devotees.

When Srila Rupa Goswami authored his Laghu Bhagavatamrta in the 16th century, even Vaisnavas commonly accepted Lord Visnu as the original form of the Supreme Lord, considering Lord Krsna merely as one of His avatars albeit the most beloved of the Lord's many forms. The milieu in which Srila Rupa Goswami wrote has since changed greatly, but the need to demonstrate how Lord Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead remains today, when so few believe in any God at all -much less God as a small, dark, flute-playing cowherd boy named Krsna. Srila Rupa Goswami herein provides a compelling scriptural exegesis of that assertion. Modern life being permeated by various modes of atheism, voidism and impersonalism, this book thus has great relevance for the spiritual lives of all sincere seekers, especially those aspiring to be devotees of Krsna.

The book is divided into two parts:

Part 1 introduces the reader to the many forms of Bhagavān and His avatars.

Part 2 classifies His devotees according to the depth of their devotion.

The original text was translated and commented upon by His Grace Gopiparaṇadhana Dasa. The book's numerous appendices were completed by Giriraja Publishing's researchers after Gopiparanadhana's untimely departure. A foreword to the book was written by Dr. Edwin Bryant.

This book follows the BBT standard of Sanskrit devanagari, transliteration, English translation and commentary by Gopiparanadhana Dasa.