Śrī Raghupati Upādhyāya was a brāhmaṇa who originated from the region of Mithila. He was born in Tirhut, in the Sitamari subdivision of Dvarbhanga district in Bihar state. Tirhut or Tiruhitā was also the name for a kingdom that included the four modern districts of Dvarbhanga, Saran, Muzaffarpur and Champaran in northwestern Bihar. Paramānanda Purī also came from Tirhut.

When Mahāprabhu heard Raghupati Upādhyāya’s verses that are fully enriched with devotional mellows, He became overwhelmed with feelings of ecstatic love. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī later included several of these verses in his Padyāvalī. Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī has recounted the meeting of Raghupati with the Lord in his Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā, Chapter 19. This meeting took place when Mahāprabhu was staying in the house of Vallabhācārya in Prayāga. [See Chapter on Rūpa Gosvāmī.]

At that time Raghupati Upādhyāya arrived there. He was a learned scholar, a Vaiṣṇava and a gentleman from Tiruhit district. He offered his respects to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and the Lord blessed him, saying, “May you always remember Kṛṣṇa.” (Caitanya Caritāmṛta 2.19.92-3)

When Mahāprabhu asked Raghupati to speak to Him about Kṛṣṇa, Raghupati recited a verse of his own composition:

śrutim apare smṛtim itare
bhāratam anye bhajantu bhavabhītāḥ
aham iha nandaṁ vande
yasyālinde paraṁ brahma

Let those afraid of material existence worship the Vedas and Upaniṣadas, the smṛtis and purāṇas, or the Mahābhārata, as they wish. I, on the other hand, shall simply worship Mahārāja Nanda, in whose courtyard plays the Supreme Divinity Kṛṣṇa. (Padyāvalī 126)

Mahāprabhu was ecstatic upon hearing this beautiful verse and asked him to recite more. Raghupati acquiesced by quoting another verse he had written:

kaṁ prati kathayitum īśe
samprati ko vā pratītim āyātu
gopatitanayākuñje
gopavadhūṭīviṭaṁ brahma

Who will believe me when I tell that the Supreme Truth Kṛṣṇa is lusting after the young cowherd girls in the bushes by the banks of the River Yamunā? (Padyāvalī 98)

As the Lord heard more and more of Raghupati’s compositions, which stimulate the remembrance of Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes, He went deeper and deeper into a trance of prema, demonstrating powerful ecstatic symptoms which made a great impression on Raghupati Upādhyāya, leading him to believe that Mahāprabhu is Kṛṣṇa Himself.

When Mahāprabhu asked Raghupati which of Kṛṣṇa’s many forms is the best, he replied: “The Lord’s blackish form is supreme.” Mahāprabhu then asked, “Which abode of the Lord is the best?” Raghupati answered, “Mathura is the best city.” In response to Mahāprabhu’s question about Kṛṣṇa’s best age, he answered that it is His adolescence. And then to the question about the best amongst the rasas, Raghupati stated that the primary rasa, or the conjugal love, is supreme. The complete verse is found in Padyāvalī (82):

śyāmam eva paraṁ rūpaṁ
purī madhupurī varā
vayaḥ kaiśorakaṁ dhyeyam
ādya eva paro rasaḥ

Mahāprabhu embraced Raghupati in His ecstasy and then Raghupati began to dance. Vallabha Bhaṭṭa and all the members of his householders were astounded by Raghupati Upādhyāya’s great fortune.