Birth and Background

Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita (Adi-lila 8.41) states:

nārāyaṇī–caitanyera ucchiṣṭa-bhājana
tāṅra garbhe janmilā śrī-dāsa-vṛndāvana

Narayani eternally eats the remnants of the food of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Sri Vrindavana Dasa Thakura was born of her womb.

Narayani and Her Identity in Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā

In text 43 of the Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā, a book written by Kavi-karnapura that describes all the associates of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and who they previously were, there is the following statement regarding Narayani:

ambikāyāḥ svasā yāsīn nāmnā śrīla-kilimbikā kṛṣṇocchiṣṭaṁ prabhuñjānā seyaṁ nārāyaṇī matā

When Lord Krishna was a child, He was nursed by a woman named Ambika, who had a younger sister named Kilimbika. During the time of Lord Chaitanya’s incarnation, the same Kilimbika used to eat the remnants of food left by Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. That Kilimbika was Narayani, who was a niece of Srivasa Thakura. Later, when she grew up and married, Sri Vrindavana Dasa Thakura was born from her womb. A devotee of Lord Sri Krishna is celebrated in terms of devotional service rendered to the Lord; thus we know Sri Vrindavana Dasa Thakura as the son of Narayani. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura notes in this connection that there is no reference to his paternal ancestry because there is no need to understand it.

Position as Vyasa of Chaitanya-lila

Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita (Adi-lila 11.55) states:

bhāgavate kṛṣṇa-līlā varṇilā vedavyāsa caitanya-līlāte vyāsa–vṛndāvana dāsa

Sri Vyasadeva described the pastimes of Krishna in Srimad-Bhagavatam. The Vyasa of the pastimes of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was Vrindavana Dasa.

He is described as a combined incarnation of Vedavyasa and also as the cowherd boy Kusumapida.

Sri Chaitanya Bhagavata Glories

Sri Vrindavana Dasa Thakura, the son of Srimati Narayani, composed Sri Chaitanya-mangala, , the work was later renamed Chaitanya-bhagavata when Sri Locana Dasa Thakura composed another book with the same title. This work presents the glories of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and describes His pastimes in detail. It is stated that by reading this book one can understand the glories of Lord Chaitanya and Nityananda, and by hearing it, all inauspiciousness is destroyed.