Within the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition, several layers of scripture are held together in a coherent vision of Krishna-bhakti. At the heart of that scriptural universe stand the Bhagavad Gita and, above all, the Srimad Bhagavatam (Bhagavata Purana), especially its Tenth Canto, which narrates Krishna’s pastimes and unfolds the theology of loving devotion. Alongside these, the Vedanta-sutra is acknowledged as foundational, yet it is read through the lens of the Bhagavatam, which is taken as its natural theological commentary. In this way, the classical core of Hindu revelation is interpreted so as to foreground Krishna as the supreme object of devotion and the path of bhakti as the highest spiritual practice.

Around this classical core, Gaudiya Vaishnavism gathers a distinctive body of texts that articulate its specific mood of ecstatic devotion. Central among these are the biographies and teachings of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, especially Chaitanya-bhagavata by Vrindavana Dasa Thakura and Chaitanya-caritamrita by Krishnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami, which present both his life and the theological vision that flows from it. These works do not stand apart from the earlier scriptures but rather show how Chaitanya’s life and teachings embody and illuminate the message of the Gita and the Bhagavatam.

A further, highly developed stratum of scripture is found in the writings of the early Gaudiya acharyas, often called the Gosvami literature. Rupa Gosvami’s Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu and Ujjvala-nilamani, Sanatana Gosvami’s Hari-bhakti-vilasa and his commentarial works, and Jiva Gosvami’s Sat-sandarbhas systematize doctrine, practice, and the subtle gradations of devotional emotion. Texts such as Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta and Laghu-bhāgavatāmṛta explore Krishna’s supremacy and the hierarchy of devotional attainment, while other works elaborate the daily practices, rituals, and conduct appropriate to a life centered on Krishna.

Later Gaudiya authors deepen this devotional landscape with meditative and poetic compositions that refine the inner culture of bhakti. Works such as Prema-bhakti-candrika, Manaḥ-śikṣā, Govinda-līlāmṛta, and various stava and stotra collections guide the practitioner into more intimate contemplation of Radha-Krishna and the moods of Vraja. Commentaries by theologians like Visvanatha Cakravarti and Baladeva Vidyabhushana further anchor the tradition’s readings of the Gita, Bhagavatam, and Vedanta-sutra. Taken together, these scriptures form an interconnected canon through which Gaudiya Vaishnavas cultivate a life of raganuga-bhakti—spontaneous, affectionate devotion to Radha and Krishna in the spirit revealed by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and the Gosvamis.