At the beginning of the Bhagavad-gita As It Is by A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada there is a list of disciplic succession. This list was first published by Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura and enumerates the most prominent members of the guru-parampara. This accounts for some time gaps. Kavi Karnapura in his Gaura-ganoddesa-dipika (22-) lists the gurus up to Lord Chaitanya. Their abridged biographies follow.

Biographies up to Laksmipati Tirtha and Visnu Puri (19.) are Copyright © 2000 Jaya Tirtha Charan dasan. All Rights Reserved. (www.hknet.org.nz/guru-parampara-contents-page.htm)

Rest of biographies comes from O.B.L. Kapoor's compilations available from our Library (Gva-ac.zip, Gvaa-y.zip)

1. Krsna

2. Brahma

3. Narada

4. Vyasa

5. Madhvacarya

6. Padmanabha Tirtha

7. Nrhari (Narahari) Tirtha

8. Madhava Tirtha

9. Aksobhya Tirtha

10. Jaya Tirtha

11. Jnanasindhu

12. Dayanidhi

13. Vidyadhiraja (Vidyanidhi) Tirtha

14. Rajendra Tirtha

15. Jayadharma (Vijayadhvaja) Tirtha

16. Purusottama

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Guru-parampara - page 2

17. Brahmanya Tirtha

18. Vyasa Tirtha

19. Laksmipati Tirtha, Visnu Puri

20. Madhavendra Puri

21a. Isvara Puri

21b. Nityananda Prabhu

21c. Advaita Acarya

22. Lord Caitanya

23a. Rupa Gosvami, Sanatana Gosvami

23b. Svarupa Damodara

24. Raghunatha dasa Gosvami

Guru-parampara - page 3

25. Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami

26. Narottama dasa Thakura

27. Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura

28a. Baladeva Vidyabhusana

28b. Jagannatha dasa Babaji

Guru-parampara - page 4

29. Bhaktivinoda Thakura

30. Gaurakisora dasa Babaji

31. Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Gosvami

32. A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

5. Madhvacarya

He was born in a Sivanni brahmana class family in the Pajakaksetra of Udupi village in the year 1040 Saka. His parents were Sri Madhyageha Bhatta and Srimati Vedavidya. His childhood name was Vasudeva. At the age of twelve he was initiated by Acyutapreksa. His sannyasa name was Purnaprajna.

He obtained the Deity of Udupi Krsna (Nrtya Gopala) from a boat full of gopi-candana. The Deity is holding a curd-making stick in one hand and a string, used for pasting curd, in the other hand. Though the Deity was very heavy, Madhvacarya carried it alone from Vadabhandesvara.

The following are the names of the eight Udupi Mathas and their main heads:

1. Palimara - Sri Hrsikesa Tirtha

2. Adamara - Narahari

3. Krsnapura - Janardana

4. Puttige - Upendra

5. Siruru - Vamana

6. Sode - Visnu

7. Kanuru - Srirama

8. Pejavara - Adhoksaja

The following are the names of the Deities in the above mentioned maths respectively: Sri Ramacandra, Sri Krsna, Caturbhuja Kaliya-mardana Sri Krsna, Vitthaladeva, Vitthaladeva, Bhuvaraha deva, Nrsimha deva, and Vitthala deva. In the Sri Krsna matha there is a Deity of Balakrsna, installed by Madhvacarya.

The following are books written by Madhvacarya:

 

1. Gitabhasya

2. Brahma Sutrabhasya

3. Anubhasya 4. Pramana-laksana

5. Tattva-viveka 6. Rigbhasya

7. Upanisada bhasya

8. Gita Tatparya Nirnaya

9. Dvadasa Stotryas

10. Sri Krsnamaharnava

11. Srimadbhagavata Tatparya

12. Sri Mahabharata Tatparyanirnaya

13. Sri Krsna Stuti

The major works of Madhvacarya are his commentaries on the Brahmasutras, Upanisads, and the Bhagavad-gita. Most of his thirty-four works are philosophical, although there are a few poems and devotional compositions. Yamaka Bharata is a poem narrating the story of Mahabharata in Yamaka verse. Bharata Tatparya Nirnaya are his learned critiques on the Bhagavata and the Mahabharata. He was also wrote commentaries on some hymns in the Rg Veda. He relied heavily on evidence from the Puranas, rather than on the Vedic texts or logic. (An Encyclopedia of South Indian Culture, pp. 278-279)