Chaitanya Charitamrita
Encyclopedia
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu
Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was a Vaishnava saint and social reformer in eastern India in the 16th century, believed by followers of Gaudiya Vaishnavism to be the full incarnation of Lord Krishna...
(1486–1533), a Vaisnava
Vaishnavism
Vaishnavism is a tradition of Hinduism, distinguished from other schools by its worship of Vishnu, or his associated Avatars such as Rama and Krishna, as the original and supreme God....
saint and founder of the Gaudiya Vaishnava
Gaudiya Vaishnavism
Gaudiya Vaishnavism is a Vaishnava religious movement founded by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in India in the 16th century. "Gaudiya" refers to the Gauḍa region with Vaishnavism meaning "the worship of Vishnu"...
Sampradaya
Sampradaya
In Hinduism, a sampradaya can be translated as ‘tradition’ or a ‘religious system’, although the word commands much more respect and power in the Indian context than its translations in English does...
. It was written by Krishna Das Kaviraja
Krishnadasa Kaviraja
Krishna Dasa Kaviraja Goswami was the author of the Chaitanya Charitamrita, a hagiography on the life of the mystic and saint Chaitanya Mahaprabhu , who is considered by the Gaudiya Vaishnava school of Hinduism to be an incarnation of Radha and Krishna combined.-Early life:There is scant...
(b1496), primarily in the Bengal
Bengal
Bengal is a historical and geographical region in the northeast region of the Indian Subcontinent at the apex of the Bay of Bengal. Today, it is mainly divided between the sovereign land of People's Republic of Bangladesh and the Indian state of West Bengal, although some regions of the previous...
i language, but also including a great number of Sanskrit
Sanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
verses within its devotional, poetic construction. Intertwined with the stories of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's life are philosophical conversations detailing the process of Bhakti Yoga
Bhakti yoga
Bhakti yoga is one of the types of yoga mentioned in Hindu philosophies which denotes the spiritual practice of fostering loving devotion to a personal form of God....
, with special attention given to congregational chanting of Krishna
Krishna
Krishna is a central figure of Hinduism and is traditionally attributed the authorship of the Bhagavad Gita. He is the supreme Being and considered in some monotheistic traditions as an Avatar of Vishnu...
's names and the Hare Krishna mantra
Mantra
A mantra is a sound, syllable, word, or group of words that is considered capable of "creating transformation"...
.
Contents
The Chaitanya Charitamrita is divided into three sections: the Adi-lila, Madhya-lila and Antya-lila. Each section refers to a particular phase in Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's life:Adi-lila
The Adi-lila explains Chaitanya's unique theological identity as an AvatarAvatar
In Hinduism, an avatar is a deliberate descent of a deity to earth, or a descent of the Supreme Being and is mostly translated into English as "incarnation," but more accurately as "appearance" or "manifestation"....
of Krishna in the mood of Radharani (a combined avatar of both personalities), his personal lineage, his closest childhood companions and their paramparas (desciplic succession), and the characters of his devotional associates. This section ends with a brief summary of Chaitanya's life up to his acceptance of sannyasa
Sannyasa
Sannyasa is the order of life of the renouncer within the Hindu scheme of āśramas, or life stages. It is considered the topmost and final stage of the ashram systems and is traditionally taken by men or women at or beyond the age of fifty years old or by young monks who wish to renounce worldly...
(the renounced order of life).
In the conversation with Chand Kazi the word 'hindu
Hindu
Hindu refers to an identity associated with the philosophical, religious and cultural systems that are indigenous to the Indian subcontinent. As used in the Constitution of India, the word "Hindu" is also attributed to all persons professing any Indian religion...
' is used repeatedly for inhabitants of Navadvipa who were not Muslim
Muslim
A Muslim, also spelled Moslem, is an adherent of Islam, a monotheistic, Abrahamic religion based on the Quran, which Muslims consider the verbatim word of God as revealed to prophet Muhammad. "Muslim" is the Arabic term for "submitter" .Muslims believe that God is one and incomparable...
s.
Madhya-lila
The Madhya-lila details Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's sannyasa pastimes; the life of Madhavendra PuriMadhavendra Puri
Madhavendra Puri also known as Madhavendra Puri Goswami is a Vaishnava saint who appeared in the 14th century.-Biography:...
; a philosophical conversation with the Advaitin scholar Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya (wherein the supremacy of bhakti
Bhakti
In Hinduism Bhakti is religious devotion in the form of active involvement of a devotee in worship of the divine.Within monotheistic Hinduism, it is the love felt by the worshipper towards the personal God, a concept expressed in Hindu theology as Svayam Bhagavan.Bhakti can be used of either...
is promoted by Mahaprabhu against the arguments of impersonal advaita); Chaitanya’s pilgrimage to South India
South India
South India is the area encompassing India's states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Kerala and Tamil Nadu as well as the union territories of Lakshadweep and Pondicherry, occupying 19.31% of India's area...
; examples of the daily and annual activities of Chaitanya and his devotees during the Ratha-yatra festival of Jagannath
Jagannath
Jagannath is a transcendental non-anthropotheistic Hindu god worshiped primarily by the people of Indian state of Orissa, and, to a great extent, West Bengal...
a near the Jagannath Temple
Jagannath Temple (Puri)
The Jagannath Temple in Puri is a famous Hindu temple dedicated to Jagannath and located in the coastal town of Puri in the state of Orissa, India. The name Jagannath is a combination of the Sanskrit words Jagat and Nath...
in Puri, Orissa; their observance of other festivities; and his detailed instructions on the process of Bhakti Yoga to both Rupa Goswami
Rupa Goswami
Rupa Goswami was an Indian devotional teacher , poet, and philosopher from the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition of Hinduism. Alongside his brother Sanatana Goswami, he was considered the leader of the Six Goswamis of Vrindavan associated with Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the Hindu saint believed to be the...
and Sanatana Goswami
Sanatana Goswami
Sanatana Goswami was a principal disciple of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Sanatana wrote a number of important works in the bhakti tradition of Gaudiya Vaishnavism and was the seniormost of the influential Six Goswamis of Vrindavan, among whom was his brother Rupa Goswami.-Birth and early years:Sanatana,...
.
Antya-lila
The Antya-lila gives a survey of the devotional plays composed by Rupa Goswami, activities of various devotees and occasional critics and their interactions with Chaitanya; Chaitanya’s interactions with Raghunatha dasa GoswamiRaghunatha dasa Goswami
Raghunatha dasa Goswami, also known as Dasa Goswami, was one of the principal disciples of the Vaishnava saint, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the primary six of which were collectively known as the Six Goswamis of Vrindavan. Together the Six Goswamis established the philosophical writings and records which...
, and Jagadananda; Chaitanya's increasing experience of the searing agony of separation from Krishna (viraha or vipralambha bhava) and concludes with the famous Siksastaka (eight verses of poetic instruction), the only thing personally written by Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu himself.
Composition of the Chaitanya Charitamrita
Although the author, Krishna Dasa Kaviraja, never met Chaitanya personally, his guru Raghunatha dasa GoswamiRaghunatha dasa Goswami
Raghunatha dasa Goswami, also known as Dasa Goswami, was one of the principal disciples of the Vaishnava saint, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the primary six of which were collectively known as the Six Goswamis of Vrindavan. Together the Six Goswamis established the philosophical writings and records which...
(1494–1586 CE) was an associate of Chaitanya and was close to others who were intimates of his. In composing his work, Krishna Dasa Kaviraja also referred to the shrIkr^ShNachaitanyacharaNAmr^ta of Murari Gupta
Murari Gupta
Murari Gupta was a noted Bangla Vaishnava poet, author of the Sanskrit work srikr^ShNachaitanyacharitAmrita , a poetic biography of Sri Chaitanya...
and also the works of Swarupa Damodara, both of whom knew Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
Krishna Dasa Kaviraja composed the Chaitanya Charitamrita in his old age after being requested by the Vaishnavas of Vrindavana to write a hagiography about the life of Chaitanya. Although there was already a biography written by Vrindavana Dasa, called the Chaitanya Bhagavata
Chaitanya Bhagavata
The Chaitanya Bhagavata is a hagiography of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu , the famous Vaishnava saint, written by Vrindavana Dasa Thakura . It was the first full-length work regarding Chaitanya Mahaprabhu written in Bengali language and documents his early life and role as the founder of the Gaudiya...
, the later years of Chaitanya’s life were not detailed in that work. Krishna Dasa’s Chaitanya Charitamrta covers Chaitanya’s later years and also explains in detail the rasa philosophy that Chaitanya and his followers expounded. The Chaitanya Charitamrta also serves as a compendium of Gaudiya Vaishnava practices and outlines the Gaudiya theology developed by the Goswamis in metaphysics, ontology and aesthetics.
The Chaitanya Charitamrta was frequently copied and widely circulated amongst the Vaishnava communities of Bengal and Orissa
Orissa
Orissa , officially Odisha since Nov 2011, is a state of India, located on the east coast of India, by the Bay of Bengal. It is the modern name of the ancient nation of Kalinga, which was invaded by the Maurya Emperor Ashoka in 261 BC. The modern state of Orissa was established on 1 April...
during the early 17th Century. Its popularity during this period can be attributed to the propagation of three Vaishnava preachers called Narottama Dasa, Shyamananda and Srinivasa who were trained by Jiva Goswami
Jiva Goswami
Jiva Goswami is one of the most prolific and important philosopher and saint from the Gaudiya Vaishnava school of Vedanta tradition, producing a great number of philosophical works on the theology and practice of Bhakti yoga, Vaishnava Vedanta and associated disciplines...
and Krishna Dasa Kaviraja himself. However, during the 18th Century, copies of the Chaitanya Charitamrita became rare. In his autobiography, Kedarnatha Dutta Bhaktivinoda writes that for many years he found it difficult to procure a copy of the book. Upon finally finding a copy of the Charitamrita, Bhaktivinoda reprinted it along with his Amrita Pravaha commentary. After his passing, his son Bimala Prasada (later to become known as Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati) printed the Chaitanya Charitamrita en masse. He also wrote his Anubhasya commentary to this book.
Modern publication
In the 1970s Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati’s disciple A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami PrabhupadaA. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
Abhay Charanaravinda Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada was a Gaudiya Vaishnava teacher and the founder-acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, commonly known as the "Hare Krishna Movement"...
, founder of ISKCON (also known as the Hare Krishna movement), popularised the Chaitanya Charitamrita in the West
Western world
The Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
. He published a deluxe 17-volume English edition of the work through his Bhaktivedanta Book Trust
Bhaktivedanta Book Trust
thumb|300px|Books of BBTThe Bhaktivedanta Book Trust is the world's largest publisher of books concerning Krishna and the philosophy, religion, and culture of the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition of India . It was established in 1972 by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, founder-acharya of the...
with his own commentary based upon the Amrita Pravaha and Anubhasya commentaries of Bhaktivinoda Thakur
Bhaktivinoda Thakur
Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakur , a prominent figure among the Gaudiya Vaishnavas of Bengal, was born Kedarnath Datta in the town of Birnagar, Bengal, India. He was the son of Raja Krsnananda Datta and Jagat Mohini Devi...
and Srila Bhaktisiddhanta
Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakur Prabhupada,, was a preacher of Gaudiya Vaishnavism throughout India in the late nineteenth and early twentieth century. He was born as Bimal Prasad Dutta in the seaside pilgrimage town of Jagannath Puri, Orissa, India...
. This edition has been distributed in mass quantities worldwide and is the best-known and most influential English-language edition of Chaitanya Charitamrita today.
See also
- Bhagavad GitaBhagavad GitaThe ' , also more simply known as Gita, is a 700-verse Hindu scripture that is part of the ancient Sanskrit epic, the Mahabharata, but is frequently treated as a freestanding text, and in particular, as an Upanishad in its own right, one of the several books that constitute general Vedic tradition...
- Bhagavata PuranaBhagavata puranaThe Bhāgavata Purāṇa is one of the "Maha" Puranic texts of Hindu literature, with its primary focus on bhakti to the incarnations of Vishnu, particularly Krishna...
- Chaitanya BhagavataChaitanya BhagavataThe Chaitanya Bhagavata is a hagiography of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu , the famous Vaishnava saint, written by Vrindavana Dasa Thakura . It was the first full-length work regarding Chaitanya Mahaprabhu written in Bengali language and documents his early life and role as the founder of the Gaudiya...
- GourangaGourangaGauranga is a term popularized by the Hare Krishna movement in the 1970s.It is derived from Sanskrit "having a white or yellowish body", a bahuvrihi compound from "white, yellowish, reddish" and "limb, member; the body"....
- Hare Krishna (mantra)
- NityanandaNityanandaImage:Panca-tattva Altar.jpg|thumb|This is interactive image-map. Click! on lotus feet. Sri Krishna Chaitanya , Sri Nityananda Prabhu , Sri Advaita Acharya , Sri Gadadhara Pandit , Sri Srivas Pandit...
- Pancha TattvaPancha TattvaPancha Tattva in the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition refers specifically to the Five aspects of God or Absolute Truth.-Background:...
- Six Goswamis of Vrindavan
External links
- Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta - latest Online English edition by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami PrabhupadaA. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami PrabhupadaAbhay Charanaravinda Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada was a Gaudiya Vaishnava teacher and the founder-acharya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, commonly known as the "Hare Krishna Movement"...
- The Complete Chaitanya Charitamrita Online - A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
- Krishna.com - Official site of the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust