The Advaita Parivāra (Bengali:অদ্ৱৈত পরিবার) is the succession of disciples descending from Śrī Advaita Ācārya, the joint avatāra of Śrī Sadāśiva (the Vaikuṇṭha-mūrti) and Mahāviṣṇu. It is one of the main branches of the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava sampradaya (lit.: ‘Tradition of Bengali worshipers of Viṣṇu’), which started with Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Advaita Parivāra is a branch of the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava tradition, a Viṣṇu-worshiping devotional subsect of Hinduism, founded by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu (Viśvambhara Miśra, 1486-1534), who was Himself invoked to appear in this world by Śrī Advaita Ācārya (Kamalākṣa Bhattacharjee (Miśra), not related, 1434-1559). Not only was Advaita responsible for the invocation of Śrī Caitanya, he was also seen as the choreographer of the līlā, or divine activities of Śrī Caitanya, as well as being the establisher of his own lineage of devotional teachers (guru-paramparā). Parivāra Parivāra means ‘family’ or ‘followers’. in Sanskrit, and more particularly ‘family’ in Hindi and Bengali. A parivāra is a family of descendants from a divine personality named ‘avatāra’, literally ‘descent of God’. This family gives spiritual initiation to its followers, who often start their own branches of the tradition. Thus there are two types of parivāras, a vaṁśa paramparā, or family succession (paramparā means ‘one after the other’), and a dīkṣā paramparā, or initiation succession, a succession of followers not related to the family by birth but through initiation only. Advaita Parivāra Śrī Advaita Ācārya was born in a Brahmin family in Śrī Haṭṭa, currently named Sylhet, a city and region in the present day Bangladesh, as the son of Pandit Kuver Ācārya and his wife Nābhā Devi, in the year 1434. Out of compassion for the fallen souls of the age of Kali He invoked the avatāra or descent of Lord Kṛṣṇa in His most munificent form of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, who took birth in the town of Navadvīpa in 1486. Thus Śrī Advaita Ācārya is famous as gaur ānā ṭhākura (গৌর আনা ঠাকুর). The advaita parivāra was originally promulgated by the two married sons of Śrī Advaita Ācārya, Śrī Kṛṣṇa Miśra Goswāmī and Śrī Balarām Das Miśra. Śrī Advaita Ācārya had four more sons, Acyutānanda, Gopāl, Jagadīśa and Svarūpa, but they became sannyāsīs (monks), travelled and did not accept disciples. The most famous descendant of Śrī Advaita Ācārya is certainly Bijoy Krishna Goswami (1841-1899), whose hagiography is described in a multi-volume set in Bengali by his disciple Kuladananda Brahmacari. Until recently the Advaita