________________
Preface The Gaudīya school seems to make the Bhāgavata-purāna the fundamental source of its inspiration.
The chief exponent of the Gaudiya school of thought is Caitanya. He, however, was a religious devotee and very little is known of his teachings. He did not produce any literary or philosophical work. But there were some excellent men of letters and philosophers among his disciples and their disciples. The treatment of the Gaudiya school of Vaişnavism thus gives a brief exposition of the views of Rūpa Gosvāmī, Jiva Gosvāmī and Baladeva Vidyābhūşaņa. Dr S. K. De has contributed a number of important articles on the position of Jiva Gosvāmī, though it does not seem that he cared to put an emphasis on the philosophical perspective.
In writing the present volume I have been able to use the huge amount of published materials in Sanskrit as well as a number of rare manuscripts which I collected from South India on my journeys there on various occasions.
My best thanks are due to my old friend, Dr F. W. Thomas, who, in spite of his advanced age and many important preoccupations, took the trouble to revise some portions of the manuscript and of revising and correcting the proofs, with so much care and industry. But for his help the imperfections of the present work would have been much greater. I also have to thank Dr E. J. Thomas for the many occasional helps that I received from him from the time of the first inception of the present series. My best thanks are also due to my wife, Mrs Surama Dasgupta, M.A., Ph.D. (Cal. et Cantab), Sāstrī, for the constant help that I received from her in the writing of the book and also in many other works connected with its publication. I am also grateful to Dr Satindra Kumar Mukherjee, M.A., Ph.D., my former pupil, for the help that I received from him when I was preparing the manuscript some years ago. I wish also to thank the Syndics of the University Press for undertaking the publication of this volume at a time when
Press was handicapped by heavy pressure of work, and by great difficulties of production.
SURENDRANATH DASGUPTA
Trinity College, Cambridge August, 1948
