Philosophy of Caitanya and his followers by Surendranath Dasgupta (1922)

Chapter XXXII – Caitanya and his Followers

A History of Indian Philosophy Volume 4- 1922

by Surendranath Dasgupta

Caitanya’s Biographers.

Caitanya was the last of the Vaiṣṇava reformers who had succeeded Nimbārka and Vallabha. As a matter of fact, he was a junior contemporary of Vallabha. So far as he is known to us, he did not leave behind any work treating of his own philosophy, and all that we can know of it is from the writings of his contemporary and later admirers and biographers. Even from these we know more of his character and of the particular nature of his devotion to God than about his philosophy. It is therefore extremely difficult to point out anything as being the philosophy of Caitanya. Many biographies of him were written in Sanskrit, Bengali, Assamese and Oriya and a critical study of the materials of Caitanya’s biography in Bengali was published some time ago by Dr Biman Behari Mazumdar. Of the many biographies of Caitanya those by Murārigupta and Vṛndāvanadāsa deal with the first part of Caitanya’s life, and the latter’s work is regarded as the most authoritative and excellent treatment of his early life. Again, Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja’s Life, which emphasizes the second and third parts of Caitanya’s life, is regarded as the most philosophical and instructive treatment of his most interesting period. Indeed, Vṛndāvanadāsa’s Caitanya-bhāgavata and Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja’s Caitanya-caritāmṛta stand out as the most important biographical works on Caitanya. We have already mentioned Murārigupta, who wrote a small work in Sanskrit, full of exaggerations, though he was a contemporary.

There are also biographies by Jayānanda and Locanadāsa, entitled Caitanya-maṅgala. Some Govinda and Svarūpa Dāmodara, supposed to have been personal attendants of Caitanya, were said to have kept notes, but these are apparently now lost. Kavi Karṇapūra wrote the Caitany a-candrodaya-nātaka, which may be regarded as the principal source of Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja’s work. Vṛndāvanadāsa was born in śaka 1429 (a.d. 1507); he had seen Caitanya during the first fifteen years of his life. Caitanya died in śaka 1455 (a.d. 1533) and the Caitanya-bhāgavata was written shortly after. Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja’s work, Caitanya-caritāmṛtūy was written long afterwards. Though there is some dispute regarding the actual date of its completion, it is well-nigh certain that it was in śaka 1537 (a.d. 1616). The other date, found in Prema-vilāsa, is śaka 1503 (a.d. 1581), and this had been very well-combatted by Professor Rādhā Govinda Nath in his learned edition of the work. The Caitanya-candrodaya-nātaka was written by Kavi Karṇapūra in śaka 1494 (a.d. 1572). It would thus appear that for the most authentic account of Caitanya’s life one should refer to this work and to Vṛndāvanadāsa’s Caitanya-bhāgavata. Kavirāja Kṛṣṇadāsa’s Caitanya-caritāmṛta is, however, the most learned of the biographies. There was also a Caitanya-sahasra-nāma by Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya, the Govinda-vijaya of Paramā-nandapurī, songs of Caitanya by Gauridāsa Paṇḍita, the Gauḍarāja-vijaya of Paramānanda Gupta, and songs of Caitanya by Gopāla Basu.

The Life of Caitanya

I shall attempt here to give only a brief account of Caitanya’s life, following principally the Caitanya-bhāgavata, Caitanya-candrodaya-nātaka and Caitanya-caritāmṛta.

There lived in Navadvīpa Jagannātha Miśra and his wife Śacī. On a full-moon day in Spring (the month of Phālguna), when there was an eclipse of the moon, in śaka 1407 (a.d. 1485), Caitanya was bom to them. Navadvīpa at this time was inhabited by many Vaiṣṇavas who had migrated from Sylhet and other parts of India. Thus there were Śrīvāsa Paṇḍita, Śrīrāma Paṇḍita, Candraśekhara; Murārigupta, Puṇḍarika Vidyānidhi, Caitanya-vallabha Datta. Thus the whole atmosphere was prepared for a big spark of fire which it was the business of Caitanya to throw into the combustible material. In Śāntipura, Advaita, a great Vaiṣṇava very much senior to Caitanya, was always regretting the general hollowness of the people and wishing for someone to create new fire. Caitanya’s elder brother Viśvarūpa had gone out as an ascetic, and Caitanya, then the only son left to his parents, was particularly cherished by his widowed mother Śacī Devī, the daughter of Nīlāmbara Chakravarti.

Navadvīpa was at this time under Moslem rulers who had grown tyrannical. Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya, son of Viśārada Paṇḍita and a great scholar, had gone over to Orissa to take refuge under the Hindu king there, Pratāparudra.

Caitanya studied in the Sanskrit school (tol) of Sudarśana Paṇḍita. His study in the school was probably limited to the Kalāpa grammar and some kāvyas. Some later biographers say that he had also read Nyāya (logic); there is, however, no proper evidence in support of this. He had, however, studied at home some Purāṇas, notably the great devotional work, Śrīmad-bhāgavata. As a student he was indeed very gifted; but he was also very vain, and always took special delight in defeating his fellow-students in debate. From his early days he had shown a strong liking for devotional songs. He took a special delight in identifying himself with Kṛṣṇa.

Among his associates the names of the following may be mentioned:

Śrīnivāsa Paṇḍita and his three brothers,
Vāsudeva Datta,
Mukunda Datta and Jagai, the writer,
Śrīgarbha Paṇḍita,
Murārigupta,
Govinda,
Śrīdhara,
Gaṅgādāsa,
Dāmodara,
Candra-śekhara,
Mukunda,
Sañjaya,
Puruṣottama,
Vijaya,
Vakreśvara,
Sanātana,
Hṛdaya,
Madana
and Rāmānanda.

Caitanya had received some instruction in the Vedas also from his father. He had also received instruction from Viṣṇu Paṇḍita and Gaṅgādāsa Paṇḍita. At this period of his life he became intimately acquainted with Haridāsa and Gadādhara.

Caitanya’s first wife, Lakṣmī Devī, daughter of Vallabha Miśra, died of snake-bite; he then married Viṣṇupriyā. After his father’s death he went to Gayā to perform the post-funeral rites; there he is said to have met saintly persons like Paramānanda Puri, Īśvara Puri, Raghunātha Puri, Brahmānanda Puri, Amara Puri, Gopāla Puri, and Ananta Puri. He was initiated by Īśvara Puri and decided to renounce the world. He came back, however, to Navadvīpa and began to teach the Bhāgavata-purāṇa for some time.

Nityānanda, an ascetic (avadhūta), joined him in Navadvīpa. His friendship further kindled the fire of Caitanya’s passion for divine love, and both of them, together with other associates, began to spend days and nights in dancing and singing. It was at this time that through his influence and that of Nityānanda, two drunkards, Jagai and Madhai, were converted to his Vaiṣṇava cult of love. Shortly after this, with his mother’s permission, he took the ascetic life and proceeded to Katwa, and from there to Śantipur to meet Advaita there. From this place he started for Puri with his followers.

Such is the brief outline of Caitanya’s early life, bereft of all interesting episodes, and upon it there is a fair amount of unanimity among his various biographers.

Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja’s Bengali work, Caitany a-caritāmṛta, is probably one of the latest of his biographies, but on account of its recondite character has easily surpassed in popularity all other biographies of Caitanya. He divides Caitanya’s life into three parts: Ādilīlū (the first part), Madhya-līlā (the second part) and Antyalīlā (the last part). The first part consists of an account of the first twenty-four years, at the end of which Caitanya renounced the world. He lived for another twenty-four years, and these are divided into two sections, the second and the last part of his life. Of these twenty-four years, six years were spent on pilgrimage; this marks the middle period. The remaining eighteen years were spent by him in Puri and form the final period, of which six years were spent in preaching the cult of holy love and the remaining twelve years in deep ecstasies and suffering pangs of separation from his beloved Kṛṣṇa, the Lord.

After his renunciation in the twenty-fourth year of his life, in the month of Māgha (January), he started for Brṛdāvana and travelled for three days in the Rādha country (Bengal). He did not know the way to Bṛndāvana and was led to Śāntipura by Nityā-nanda. Caitanya’s mother, along with many other people, Śrīvāsa, Rāmai, Vidyānidhi, Gadādhara, Vakreśvara, Murāri, Śuklāmbara, Śrīdhara, Vyaya, Vāsudeva, Mukunda, Buddhimanta Khan, Nandana and Saṅjaya, came to see him at Śāntipur.

From Śāntipur Caitanya started for Puri with Nityānanda, Paṇḍita Jagadānanda, Dāmodara Paṇḍita and Mukunda Dutta by the side of the Ganges, by way of Bāleśvar (in Orissa). He then passed by Yājpur and Sākṣigopāla and came to Puri. Having arrived there, he went straight to the temple of Jagannātha, looked at the image and fell into a trance. Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya, who was then residing at Puri, brought him to his house; Nityānanda, Jagadānanda, Dāmodara all came and joined him there. Here Caitanya stayed for some time at the house of Sārvabhauma and held discussions with him, in the course of which he refuted the monistic doctrines of Śaṅkara[1].

After some time Caitanya started for the South and first came to Kūrmasthāna, probably a place in the Ganjam district (South Orissa); he then passed on by the banks of the Godāvari and met Rāmānanda Ray. In a long conversation with him on the subtle aspect of the emotion of bhakti Caitanya was very much impressed by him; he passed some time with him in devotional songs and ecstasies. He then resumed his travel again and is said to have passed through Mallikārjuna-tīrtha, Ahobala-Nṛsiṃha, Skanda-tīrtha and other places, and later on came to Śrīraṅgam on the banks of the Kāveri. Here he lived in the house of Veṅkaṭa bhaṭṭa for four months, after which he went to the Ṛṣabha mountain, where he met Paramānanda Puri. It is difficult to say how far he travelled in the South, but he must have gone probably as far as T ravancore. It is also possible that he visited some of the places where Madhvācārya had great influence, and it is said that he had discussions with the teachers of the Madhva school. He discovered the Brahma-saṃhitā and the Kṛṣṇa-karṇāmṛta, two important manuscripts of Vaiṣṇavism, and brought them with him. He is said to have gone a little farther in the East up to Nāsika; but it is difficult to say to what extent the story of these tours is correct. On his return journey he met Rāmānanda Ray again, who followed him to Purl.

After his return to Puri, Pratāparudra, then King of Puri, solicited his acquaintance and became his disciple. In Puri Caitanya began to live in the house of Kāśī Miśra. Among others, he had as his followers Janārdana, Kṛṣṇadāsa, Śikhī Māhiti, Pradyumna Miśra, Jagannātha Dāsa, Murāri Māhiti, Candaneśvara and Simheśvara. Caitanya spent most of his time in devotional songs, dances and ecstasies. In A.D. 1514 he started for Bṛndāvana with a number of followers; but so many people thronged him by the time he came to Pāṇihāti and Kāmārahāti that he cancelled his programme and returned to Puri. In the autumn of the next year he again started for Bṛndāvana with Bālabhadra Bhaṭṭācārya and came to Benares; there he defeated in a discussion a well-known teacher, Prakāśānanda, w’ho held monistic doctrines. In Bṛndāvana he met Śrī-rūpa Gosvāmī, Uddhavadāsa Mādhava, and others. Then he left Bṛndāvana and Mathurā and went to Allahabad by the side of the Ganges. There he met Vallabha bhaṭṭa and Raghupati Upādhyāya, and gave elaborate religious instruction to Śrī-rūpa. Later on Caitanya met Sanātana and imparted further religious instruction to him. He returned to Benares, where he taught Prakāśānanda; then he came back to Purī and spent some time there. Various stories are narrated in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta, describing the ecstatic joy of Caitanya in his moods of inspiration; on one occasion he had jumped into the sea in a state of ecstasy and was picked up by a fisherman. It is unfortunate, however, that we know nothing of the exact manner in which he died.

Emotionalism of Caitanya.

The religious life of Caitanya unfolds unique pathological symptoms of devotion which are perhaps unparalleled in the history of any other saints that we know of. The nearest approach will probably be in the life of St Francis of Assisi; but the emotional flow in Caitanya seems to be more self-centred and deeper. In the beginning of his career he not only remained immersed as it were in a peculiar type of self-intoxicating song-dance called the kīrtana, but he often imitated the various episodes of Kṛṣṇa’s life as told in the Purāṇas. But with the maturity of his life of renunciation his intoxication and his love for Kṛṣṇa gradually so increased that he developed symptoms almost of madness and epilepsy. Blood came out of the pores of his hair, his teeth chattered, his body shrank in a moment and at the next appeared to swell up. He used to rub his mouth against the floor and weep, and had no sleep at night. Once he jumped into the sea; sometimes the joints of his bones apparently became dislocated, and sometimes the body seemed to contract. The only burden of his songs was that his heart was aching and breaking for Kṛṣṇa, the Lord. He was fond of reading the dramas of Rāmānanda Ray, the poems of Caṇḍidāsa and Vidyāpati, the Kṛṣṇa-karṇāmṛta of Vilva-maṅgala and the Gīta-govinda of Jayadeva; most of these were mystic songs of love for Kṛṣṇa in erotic phraseology. Nowhere do we find any account of such an ecstatic bhakti in the Purāṇas, in the Gītā or in any other religious literature of India—the Bhāgavata-purāṇa has, no doubt, one or two verses which in a way anticipate the sort of bhakti that we find in the life of Caitanya—but without the life of Caitanya our storehouse of pathological religious experience would have been wanting in one of the most fruitful harvests of pure emotionalism in religion. Caitanya wrote practically nothing, his instructions were few and we have no authentic record of the sort of discussions that he is said to have held. lie gave but little instruction, his preaching practically consisted in the demonstration of his own mystic faith and love for Kṛṣṇa; yet the influence that he exerted on his contemporaries and also during some centuries after his death was enormous. Sanskrit and Bengali literature during this time received a new impetus, and Bengal became in a sense saturated with devotional lyrics. It is difficult for us to give any account of his own philosophy save what we can gather from the accounts given of him by his biographers. Jīva Gosvāmī and Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa are probably the only persons of importance among the members of his faith who tried to deal with some kind of philosophy, as we shall see later on.

Gleanings from the Caitanya-Caritāmrta on the subject of Caitanya’s Philosophical Views.

Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja, otherwise known as Kavirāja Gosvāmī, was not a contemporary of Caitanya; but he came into contact with many of his important followers and it may well be assumed that he was in possession of the traditional account of the episodes of Caitanya’s life as current among them. He gives us an account of Vāsudeva Sārvabhauma’s discussion with Caitanya at Puri, in which the latter tried to refute the monistic view. The supposed conversation shows that, according to Caitanya, Brahman cannot be indeterminate (nirviśeṣa); any attempt to prove the indeterminateness of Brahman would only go the other way, prove His determinate nature and establish the fact that He possesses all possible powers. These powers are threefold in their nature: the Viṣṇu-śakti, the kṣetrajña-śakti, and the avidyā-śakti. The first power, as Viṣṇu-śakti, may further be considered from three points of view, the hlādinī, saudhinī and samvit. These three powers, bliss, being, and consciousness, are held together in the transcendent power (parā-śakti or Viṣṇu-śakti) of God. The kṣetrajña-śakti or jīva-śakti (the power of God as souls of individuals) and the avidyā-śakti (by which the world-appearances are created) do not exist in the transcendent sphere of God. The Brahman is indeed devoid of all prākṛta or phenomenal qualities, but He is indeed full of non-phenomenal qualities. It is from this point of view that the Upaniṣads have described Brahman as nirguṇa (devoid of qualities) and also as devoid of all powers (niḥśaktika). The individual souls are within the control of māyā-śakti ; but God is the controller of the māyā-śakti and through it of the individual souls. God creates the world by His unthinkable powers and yet remains unchanged within Himself. The world thus is not false; but, being a creation, it is destructible. The Śaṅkarite interpretation of the Brahma-sūtra is wrong and is not in consonance with the purport of the Upaniṣads.

In chapter viii of the Madhya-lilā of the Caitanya-caritāmṛta we have the famous dialogue between Caitanya and Rāmānanda regarding the gradual superiority of the ideal of love. Rāmānanda says that devotion to God comes as the result of the performance of caste-duties. We may note here that according to the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu bhakti consists in attaching oneself to Kṛṣṇa for His satisfaction alone, without being in any way influenced by the desire for philosophic knowledge, karma or disinclination from worldly things (vairāgya), and without being associated with any desire for one’s own interests[2].

The Viṣṇu-purāṇa, as quoted in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta, holds the view that it is by the performance of caste-duties and āśrama- duties that God can be worshipped. But the point is whether such performance of caste-duties and āśrama- duties can lead one to the attainment of bhakti or not. If bhakti means the service of God for His sake alone (ānukūlyena Kṛṣṇānusevanam), then the performance of caste-duties cannot be regarded as a necessary step towards its attainment; the only contribution that it may make can be the purification of mind, whereby the mind may be made fit to receive the grace of God. Caitanya, not satisfied with the reply of Rāmānanda, urges him to give a better account of bhakti. Rāmānanda in reply says that a still better state is that in which the devotee renounces all his interests in favour of God in all his performance of duties; but there is a still higher state in which one renounces all his duties through love of God. Unless one can renounce all thoughts about one’s own advantage, one cannot proceed in the path of love. The next higher stage is that in which devotion is impregnated with knowledge. Pure devotion should not have, however, any of the obstructive influences of knowledge; philosophical knowledge and mere disinclination obstruct the course of bhakti. Knowledge of God’s nature and wisdom regarding the nature of the intimate relation of man with God may be regarded as unobstructive to bhakti.

The natural and inalienable attachment of our mind to God is called prema-bhakti: it is fivefold:

śānta (peaceful love),
dāsya (servant of God),
sakhya (friendship with God),
vātsalya (filial attitude towards God),
and mādhurya (sweet love, or love of God as one’s lover).

The different types of love may thus be arranged as above in a hierarchy of superiority; love of God as one’s bridegroom or lover is indeed the highest. The love of the gopīs for Kṛṣṇa in the love-stories of Kṛṣṇa in Bṛndāvana typifies this highest form of love and particularly the love of Rādhā for Kṛṣṇa. Rāmānanda closes his discourse with the assertion that in the highest altitude of love, the lover and the beloved melt together into one, and through them both one unique manifestation of love realizes itself. Love attains its highest pitch when both the lover and the beloved lose their individuality in the sweet milky flow of love.

Later on, in Madhya-līlā, chapter XXIX, Caitanya, in describing the nature of śuddhā bhakti (pure devotion), says that pure devotion is that in which the devotee renounces all desires, all formal worship, all knowledge and work, and is attached to Kṛṣṇa with all his sense-faculties. A true devotee does not want anything from God, but is satisfied only in loving Him. It shows the same symptoms as ordinary human love, rising to the highest pitch of excellence.

In chapter XXII of Madhya-līlā it is said that the difference in intensity of devotion depends upon the difference of the depth of emotion. One who is devoted to Kṛṣṇa must possess preliminary moral qualities; he must be kind, truthful, equable to all, non-injurious, magnanimous, tender, pure, selfless, at peace with himself and with others; he must do good to others, must cling to Kṛṣṇa as his only support, must indulge in no other desires, must make no other effort than that of worshipping Kṛṣṇa, must be steady, must be in full control of all his passions; he should not be unmindful, should be always prepared to honour others, be full of humility and prepared to bear with fortitude all sorrows; he should indulge in association with true devotees—it is by such a course that love of Kṛṣṇa will gradually dawn in him. A true Vaiṣṇava should give up the company of women and of all those who are not attached to Kṛṣṇa. He should also give up caste-duties and āśrama-duties and cling to Kṛṣṇa in a helpless manner. To cling to Kṛṣṇa and to give oneself up to Him is the supreme duty of a Vaiṣṇava. Love of Kṛṣṇa is innate in a man’s heart, and it is manifested under encouraging conditions. Love for God is a manifestation of the hlādinī power of God, and by virtue of the fact that it forms a constituent of the individual soul, God’s attraction of individual souls towards Him is a fundamental fact of human life; it may remain dormant for a while, but it is bound to wake under suitable conditions.

The individual souls share both the hlādinī and the samvit śakti of God, and the māyā-śakti typified in matter. Standing between these two groups of power, the individual souls are called the tatastha-śakti. A soul is impelled on one side by material forces and attractions, and urged upwards by the hlādinī-śakti of God. A man must therefore adopt such a course that the force of material attractions and desires may gradually wane, so that he may be pulled forward by the hlādinī-śakti of God.

Some Companions of Caitanya.

A great favourite of Caitanya was Nityānanda. The exact date of his birth and death is difficult to ascertain, but he seems to have been some years older than Caitanya. He was a Brahmin by caste, but became an avadhūta and had no caste-distinctions. He was a messenger of Caitanya, preaching the Vaiṣṇava religion in Bengal during Caitanya’s absence at Purl; he is said to have converted to Vaiṣṇavism many Buddhists and low-caste Hindus of Bengal. At a rather advanced stage of life, Nityānanda broke the vow of asceticism and married the two daughters of Sūrjadās Sarkhel, brother of Gaurdāsa Sarkhel of Kalna; the two wives were Vasudhā and Jāhnavi. Nityānanda’s son Vlrachand, also known as Vira-bhadra, became a prominent figure in the subsequent period of Vaiṣṇava history.

Pratāparudra was the son of Puruṣottamadeva, who had ascended his throne in 1478, and himself ascended the throne in 1503. He was very learned and took pleasure in literary disputes. Mr Stirling, in his History of Orissa (published in 1891), says of him that he had marched with his army to Rameśwaram and took the famous city of Vijayanagara; he had also fought the Mahomedans and prevented them from attacking Purl. Caitanya’s activities in Purl date principally between 1516 and 1533. Rāmānanda Ray was a minister of Pratāparudra, and at his intercession Caitanya came into contact with Pratāparudra, who became one of his followers. The influence of Caitanya together with the conversion of Pratāparudra produced a great impression upon the people of Orissa, and this led to the spread of Vaiṣṇavism and the collapse of Buddhism there in a very marked manner.

During the time of Caitanya, Hussain Shaha was the Nawab of Gaur. Two Brahmins, converted into Islam and having the Mahomedan names Sakar Malik and Dabir Khas, were his two high officers; they had seen Caitanya at Ramkeli and had been greatly influenced by him. Later in their lives they were known as Sanātana and Rūpa; they distributed their riches to the poor and became ascetics.

Rūpa is said to have met Caitanya at Benares, where he received instruction from him; he wrote many Sanskrit works of great value, e.g.,

Lalita-mādhava,
Vidagdhamādhava,
Ujjvalanīlamaṇi,
Utkalikā-vallarī (written in 1550),
Uddhava-dūta,
Upadeśāmṛta,
Kārpaṇya-puñjikā,
Gaṅgāṣṭaka,
Govindavirudāvali,
Gaurāṅgakalpataru,
Caitanyāṣṭaka,
Dāna-keli-kaumudī,
Nātaka-candrikā,
Padyāvali,
Paramārtha-sandarbha,
Prīti-sandarbha,
Premendu-sāgara,
Mathurū-mahimā,
Mukundamuktā-ratnāvalī-stotra-ṭīkā,
Yāmunāṣṭaka,
Rasāmṛta,
Vilāpa-kusumāñjali,
Brajavilāsa-stava,
Śikṣādaśaka,
Saṃkṣepa Bhāgavatāmṛta,
Sādhana-paddhati,
Stavamālā,
Haṃsa-dūta-kāvya,
Harināmāmṛta-vyākaraṇa,
Hare-kṛṣṇa-mahāmantrārtha-nirūpaṇa,
Chando’ṣṭādaśaka.
Sanātana wrote the following works:

Ujjvala-rasa-kaṇā,
Ujjvala-nilamani-ṭīkā,
Bhakti-bindu,
Bhakti-sandarbha,
Bhāgavata-krama-sandarbha,
Bhāgavātamṛta,
Yoga-śataka-vyākhyāna,
Viṣṇu-toṣiṇī,
Haribhakti-vilāsa,
Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu.

Sanātana had been put in prison by Hussain Shah when he heard that he was thinking of leaving him, but Sanātana bribed the gaoler, who set him at liberty. He at once crossed the Ganges and took the ascetic life; he went to Mathurā to meet his brother Rūpa, and returned to Puri to meet Caitanya. After staying some months in Puri, he went to Bṛndāvana. In the meanwhile Rūpa had also gone to Purī and he also returned to Bṛndāvana. Both of them were great devotees and spent their lives in the worship of Kṛṣṇa.

Advaitācārya’s real name was Kamalākara Bhaṭṭācārya. He was born in 1434 and was thus fifty-two years older than Caitanya; he was a great Sanskrit scholar and resided at Śāntipur. He went to Nabadvīpa to finish his studies. People at this time had become very materialistic; Advaita was very much grieved at it and used to pray in his mind for the rise of some great prophet to change their minds. Caitanya, after he had taken to ascetic life, had visited Advaita at Śāntipur, where both of them enjoyed ecstatic dances; Advaita was then aged about seventy-five. It is said that he had paid a visit to Caitanya at Purl. He is said to have died in 1539 according to some, and in 1584 according to others (which is incredible).

Apart from Advaita and Nityānanda there were many other intimate companions of Caitanya, of whom Śrīvāsa or Śrīnivāsa was one. He was a brahmin of Sylhet who settled at Navadvīpa; he was quite a rich man. It is not possible to give his exact birth-date, but he had died long before 1540 (when Jayānanda wrote his Caitanya-maṅgala); he was probably about forty when Caitanya was born. As a boy Caitanya was a frequent visitor to Śrīvāsa’s house. He was devoted to the study of the Bhāgavata, though in his early life he was more or less without a faith. He was also a constant companion of Advaita while he was at Navadvīpa. When Caitanya’s mind was turned to God after his return from Gayā, Śrīvāsa’s house was the scene of ecstatic dances. Śrīvāsa then became a great disciple of Caitanya. Nārāyaṇī, the mother of Bṛndāvanadāsa, the biographer of Caitanya, was a niece of Śrīvāsa.

Rāmānanda Ray, the minister of Pratāparudra and author of the Jagannātha-vallabha, was very much admired by Caitanya. He was a native of Vidyānagara, in Central India. The famous dialogue narrated in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta shows how Caitanya himself took lessons from Rāmānanda on the subject of high devotion. Rāmānanda Ray on his part was very fond of Caitanya and often spent his time with him.

FOOTNOTES:

1. There is considerable divergence about this episode with Sārvabhauma; the Sanskrit Caitanya-caritāmṛta and the Caitanya-candrodaya-nātaka do not agree with the description in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta in Bengali of Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja as given here.

2. anyābhilāṣitāśūnyaṃ jñāna-karmāḍy-anāvṛtam.
ānukūlyena Kṛṣṇānusevanaṃ bḥaktiruttamā.
Bhaktirasāmṛta-sindḥu, I. 1. 9.