Swami Haridas (1480—1573) was a spiritual poet and classical musician. Credited with a large body of devotional compositions, especially in the Dhrupad style, he is also the founder of the Haridasi school of mysticism, still found today in North India. His work influenced both the classical music and the Bhakti movements of North India, especially those devoted to Krishna's consort Radha. Hit Harivansh Mahaprabhu, Hariram Vyas, Rupa Goswami, Vidyapati, Mahaprabhu Vallabhacharya, Vitthalnath (Gusainji), were his contemporaries. Swami Haridas is a direct disciple of father of Carnatic Music Purandara Dasa of Karnataka. He had many pupils, Tansen being one of them and one of Akbar's nine gems. Biography Haridas's father was a Saraswat Brahmin from Multan and that his mother's name was Chitra Mata. The family migrated to a village called Rajpur , near Vrindavan in Uttar Pradesh. Haridas was born there in 1480 and the village is now called Rajpur gram in his honor. This village holds that he died in 1575. He was disciple of Shri Ashudheer Maharaj, also his father who followed the Nimbarka Sampradaya, he is said to be the Avatar of Shri Lalita Sakhi. He was deeply learned and widely acquainted with the music of his time. Mention is found in his works of stringed instruments such as the kinnari and aghouti and of drums such as the mridang and daff. He mentions the ragas of Kedar, Gauri (raga), Malhar and Basant. Swami Haridas is said to have been the teacher of Tansen, one of the nine gems of Akbar's court, and the renowned dhrupad singer and composer Baiju. He later shifted his residence to Vrindavan, the playground of the immortal cowherd Krishna and Radha. There he built his ashram (hermitage) in Nidhivan and sang his songs of the love of Radha-Krishna. Following the example of Swami Shribhatta, Haridas continued to praise the Lord until the Lord manifested himself as Sri Banke Bihari. Swami Haridas' spiritual disciples included Vitthal and Krishna Das who fostered his tradition of devotional music. Groups (samaj, like the sankeertan of Bengal and the bhajana goshti of South India) of devotees came together and sang of the Lord of Vrindavan. His samadhi (tomb) is in Nidhivan, Vrindavan. Songs of Swami Haridas Haridas's compositions may be classed as Vishnupadas. Even his prabandhas that do not refer to Krishna have come to be known as Vishnupadas, perhaps because of the mystic source of his