The ''Chaitanya Charitamrita'' (; bn, চৈতন্যচরিতামৃত, Côitônyôcôritamṛtô), composed by Krishnadasa Kaviraja in 1557, is written in Bengali with a great number of Sanskrit verses in its devotional, poetic construction, including '' Shikshashtakam''. It is one of the primary biographies detailing the life and teachings of

Caitanya Mahāprabhu Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (; born Vishvambhar Mishra) was a 15th-century Indian saint who is considered to be the combined avatar of Radha and Krishna by his disciples and various scriptures. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's mode of worshipping Krish ...

, the founder of Gaudiya Vaishnavism. The stories of Chaitanya's life are mixed with philosophical conversations detailing the process of Bhakti yoga, with special attention given to congregational chanting of Krishna's names and the

Hare Krishna mantra The Hare Krishna mantra, also referred to reverentially as the ("Great Mantra"), is a 16-word Vaishnava mantra which is mentioned in the Kali-Santarana Upanishad and which from the 15th century rose to importance in the Bhakti movement follo ...

The Chaitanya Caritamrta is divided into three sections: Adi-lila, Madhya-lila and Antya-lila. Each section refers to a particular phase in Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's life:

Adi-lila

The Adi-lila explains Chaitanya's unique theological identity ( Krishna in the mood of

Radharani Radha ( sa, राधा, ), also called Radhika, is a Hindu goddess and the chief consort of the god Krishna. She is worshiped as the goddess of love, tenderness, compassion, and devotion. She is the avatar of goddess Lakshmi and is also de ...

—a combined avatar), his lineage, his closest childhood companions and their

lineage Lineage may refer to: Science * Lineage (anthropology), a group that can demonstrate its common descent from an apical ancestor or a direct line of descent from an ancestor * Lineage (evolution), a temporal sequence of individuals, populati ...

, and his devotional associates. It ends with a brief summary of his life up to his acceptance of sannyasa. In the conversation with Chand Kazi (the

Muslim Muslims ( ar, المسلمون, , ) are people who adhere to Islam, a monotheistic religion belonging to the Abrahamic tradition. They consider the Quran, the foundational religious text of Islam, to be the verbatim word of the God of Abrah ...

ruler at the time), the word '

hindu Hindus (; ) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism.Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pages 35–37 Historically, the term has also been used as a geographical, cultural, and later religious identifier for ...

' is used repeatedly for the inhabitants of Nabadwip who were not Muslims.Caitanya Caritamrta 1.17.174-215

Madhya-lila

The Madhya-lila details Chaitanya's sannyasa; Madhavendra Puri's life; Chaitanya's philosophical conversation with Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya ( Advaitin scholar) promoting

bhakti ''Bhakti'' ( sa, भक्ति) literally means "attachment, participation, fondness for, homage, faith, love, devotion, worship, purity".See Monier-Williams, ''Sanskrit Dictionary'', 1899. It was originally used in Hinduism, referring to d ...

as supreme over the impersonal view; Chaitanya's pilgrimage to South India; the daily and annual activities of Chaitanya and his devotees during the Ratha Yatra festival near Jagannath Temple (Puri, Odisha); their observance of other festivities; and Chaitanya's instructions on the process of Bhakti yoga to both Rupa Goswami and Sanatana Goswami.

Antya-lila

The Antya-lila describes the devotional plays composed by Rupa Goswami, Chaitanya's interactions with the occasional critics as well as his devotees such as

Raghunatha dasa Goswami Raghunatha dasa Goswami (1494–1586), Dasa Goswami, was a disciples of the Śrī Yadunandan-ācārya (see Vilāpa Kusumānjali, verse 4, Caitanya-Caritāmṛta Ādi chapter 12 and Antya 6) one of the apostle of the Vaishnava saint, Chaita ...

and Jagadananda Pandita, and Chaitanya's increasing agony of separation from Krishna (viraha or vipralambha bhava). It concludes with the Chaitanya's Shikshashtakam (eight verses of poetic instruction).

Composition of the Chaitanya Charitamrita

Although the author, Krishnadasa Kaviraja, never met Chaitanya Mahaprabhu personally, his guru,

, was an associate of Chaitanya and was close to others who were intimates of his. In composing his work, Krishnadasa Kaviraja also referred to the ''Shri Krishna Chaitanya Charanamrita'' () of

Murari Gupta Murari Gupta (fl. 16th century) was born in a Baidya family in Sylhet Sylhet ( bn, সিলেট) is a metropolitan city in northeastern Bangladesh. It is the administrative seat of the Sylhet Division. Located on the north bank of the Surm ...

and also the works of

Svarupa Damodara Svarupa Damodara, / Swarup Damodar also known as Purushottama Acharya was a Gaudiya Vaishnava saint and close associate of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. He lived in Navadvipa. He always stayed with Chaitanya. Purushottama Acharya did not accept the dress ...

, both of whom knew Chaitanya. 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 Vrindavana Dasa Thakura or Brindaban Das (1507–1589) was the author of the Chaitanya Bhagavata, the first full-length biography of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu written in the Bengali language. Early life Vrindavana Dasa was born in Mamgachi in the N ...

, called the Chaitanya Bhagavata, the later years of Chaitanya's life were not detailed in that work. Krishna Dasa's Chaitanya Charitamrita covers Chaitanya's later years and also explains in detail the rasa philosophy that Chaitanya and his followers expounded. The Chaitanya Charitamrita 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 Charitamrita was frequently copied and widely circulated amongst the Vaishnava communities of Bengal and Odisha during the early 17th Century. Its popularity during this period can be attributed to the propagation of three Vaishnava preachers— Narottama Dasa, Shyamananda and Srinivasa—who were trained by

Jiva Goswami Jiva Goswami ( sa, जीव गोस्वामी, Jīva Gosvāmī; ) was an Indian philosopher and saint from the Gaudiya Vaishnava school of Vedanta tradition, producing a great number of philosophical works on the theology and practice ...

and Krishnadasa Kaviraja himself.

Modern publication

In 1974,

A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada Abhay Charanaravinda Bhaktivedanta Swami (; 1 September 1896 – 14 November 1977) was an Indian Gaudiya Vaishnava guru who founded ISKCON, commonly known as the "Hare Krishna movement". Members of ISKCON view Bhaktivedanta Swami as a repr ...

published ''Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta'' in English as a 17-volume set of books. It contains the original verses, romanized transliterations, word-for-word meanings, translations, and commentaries. His commentaries are based on Bhaktivinoda Thakur's ''Amrita Pravaha'' and Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati's ''Anubhasya'' commentaries. His publication popularized the Chaitanya Charitamrita outside of India and has been distributed in mass quantities worldwide.

References

Bibliography

;Publications * Sri Chaitanya-charitamrta (Bengali), published by Sri Chaitanya Matha. Kolkata, 1992. ;Printed sources * * ;Web sources * {{Authority control Hindu texts Bengali-language literature 16th-century Indian books Gaudiya Vaishnavism Biographies about religious figures

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