Gopala Campu By: Srila Jiva Gosvami and Translated By Bhanu Swami

Srila Jiva Goswami’s Gopala campu, translated from the original Sanskrit
By ISKCON guru and GBC Bhanu Swami
 
The task of translating a revered ancient text by a philosophical and spiritual giant of the Vaishnava tradition is not new to Bhanu Swami. Proficient in Sanskrit and Bengali, he also translated Jiva Goswami’s commentaries on Bhakti-Rasamrta Sindhu Brahma Samhita, as well as Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura’s commentaries on Srimad Bhagavad-gita And Srimad-Bhagavatam.
 
Yet in its own way, this new book is a unique effort.
 
“A campu is a literary composition mixing poetry and prose,” Bhanu Swami explains in his preface to Gopala-campu. “Displaying literary ornaments and various verse forms, it often uses words with double meaning.”
 
The book certainly isn’t for newcomers to the Vaisnava tradition, delving deep into the esoteric pastimes of Krishna—from his appearance until his return to Vraja, his home town. “Though Kavi karnapura has written Ananda-vrndavana Campu on the same topic,” Bhanu Swami writes, “The unique feature of this campu is that the whole story has been arranged to lead to Krishna’s final union in marriage to the gopis [cowherd girls].