Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Sri Caitanya Caritamrta

CC Adi 13 Summary

CC Adi 13.1: I wish the grace of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, by whose mercy even one who is fallen can describe the pastimes of the Lord.

CC Adi 13.2: All glories to Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu! All glories to Advaitacandra! All glories to Lord Nityananda Prabhu!

CC Adi 13.3: All glories to Gadadhara Prabhu! All glories to Srivasa Thakura! All glories to Mukunda Prabhu and Vasudeva Prabhu! All glories to Haridasa Thakura!

CC Adi 13.4: All glories to Svarupa Damodara and Murari Gupta! All these brilliant moons have together dissipated the darkness of this material world.

CC Adi 13.5: All glories to the moons who are devotees of the principal moon, Lord Caitanyacandra! Their bright moonshine illuminates the entire universe.

CC Adi 13.6: Thus I have spoken the preface of the Caitanya-caritamrta. Now I shall describe Caitanya Mahaprabhu's pastimes in chronological order.

CC Adi 13.7: First let me give a synopsis of the Lord's pastimes. Then I shall describe them in detail.

CC Adi 13.8: Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, adventing Himself in Navadvipa, was visible for forty-eight years, enjoying His pastimes.

CC Adi 13.9: In the year 1407 of the Saka Era (A.D. 1486), Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu appeared, and in the year 1455 (A.D. 1534) He disappeared from this world.

CC Adi 13.10: For twenty-four years Lord Caitanya lived in the grhastha-asrama [household life], always engaging in the pastimes of the Hare Krsna movement.

CC Adi 13.11: After twenty-four years He accepted the renounced order of life, sannyasa, and He resided for twenty-four years more at Jagannatha Puri.

CC Adi 13.12: Of these last twenty-four years, He spent the first six continuoually touring India, sometimes in South India, sometimes in Bengal and sometimes in Vrndavana.

CC Adi 13.13: For the remaining eighteen years He continuously stayed in Jagannatha Puri. Chanting the nectarean Hare Krsna maha-mantra, He inundated everyone there in a flood of love of Krsna.

CC Adi 13.14: The pastimes of His household life are known as the adi-lila, or the original pastimes. His later pastimes are known as the madhya-lila and antya-lila, or the middle and final pastimes.

CC Adi 13.15: All the pastimes enacted by Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu in His adi-lila were recorded in summary form by Murari Gupta.

CC Adi 13.16: His later pastimes [the madhya-lila and antya-lila] were recorded in the form of notes by His secretary, Svarupa Damodara Gosvami, and thus kept within a book.

CC Adi 13.17: By seeing and hearing the notes recorded by these two great personalities, a Vaisnava, a devotee of the Lord, can know these pastimes one after another.

CC Adi 13.18: In His original pastimes there are four divisions: balya, pauganda, kaisora and yauvana [childhood, early boyhood, later boyhood and youth ].

CC Adi 13.19: I offer my respectful obeisances unto the full-moon evening in the month of Phalguna, an auspicious time full of auspicious symptoms, when Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu advented Himself with the chanting of the holy name, Hare Krsna.

CC Adi 13.20: On the full-moon evening of the month of Phalguna when the Lord took birth, coincidentally there was also a lunar eclipse.

CC Adi 13.21: In jubilation everyone was chanting the holy name of the Lord -- "Hari! Hari!" -- and Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu then appeared, after first causing the appearance of the holy name.

CC Adi 13.22: At His birth, in His childhood and in His early and later boyhood, as well as in His youth, Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, under different pleas, induced people to chant the holy name of Hari [the Hare Krsna maha-mantra].

CC Adi 13.23: In His childhood, when the Lord was crying He would stop immediately upon hearing the holy names Krsna and Hari.

CC Adi 13.24: All the friendly ladies who came to see the child would chant the holy names, "Hari, Hari!" as soon as the child would cry.

CC Adi 13.25: When all the ladies saw this fun, they enjoyed laughing and called the Lord "Gaurahari." From then on, Gaurahari became another of His names.

CC Adi 13.26: His childhood lasted until the date of hate khadi, the beginning of His education, and His age from the end of His childhood until He married is called pauganda.

CC Adi 13.27: After His marriage His youth began, and in His youth He induced everyone to chant the Hare Krsna maha-mantra anywhere and everywhere.

CC Adi 13.28: During His pauganda age He became a serious student and also taught disciples. In this way He used to explain the holy name of Krsna everywhere.

CC Adi 13.29: When teaching a course in grammar [vyakarana] and explaining it with notes, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu taught His disciples about the glories of Lord Krsna. All explanations culminated in Krsna, and His disciples would understand them very easily. Thus His influence was wonderful.

CC Adi 13.30: When Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu was a student, He asked whomever He met to chant the Hare Krsna maha-mantra. In this way He inundated the whole town of Navadvipa with the chanting of Hare Krsna.

CC Adi 13.31: Just prior to His youthful life, He began the sankirtana movement. Day and night He used to dance in ecstasy with His devotees.

CC Adi 13.32: The sankirtana movement went on from one part of the town to another, as the Lord wandered everywhere performing kirtana. In this way He inundated the whole world by distributing love of Godhead.

CC Adi 13.33: Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu lived in the Navadvipa area for twenty-four years, and He induced every person to chant the Hare Krsna maha-mantra and thus merge in love of Krsna.

CC Adi 13.34: For His remaining twenty-four years, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, after accepting the renounced order of life, stayed at Jagannatha Puri with His devotees.

CC Adi 13.35: For six of these twenty-four years in Nilacala [Jagannatha Puri], He distributed love of Godhead by always chanting and dancing.

CC Adi 13.36: Beginning from Cape Comorin and extending through Bengal to Vrndavana, during these six years He toured all of India, chanting, dancing and distributing love of Krsna.

CC Adi 13.37: The activities of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu in His travels after He accepted sannyasa are His principal pastimes. His activities during His remaining eighteen years are called the antya-lila, or the final portion of His pastimes.

CC Adi 13.38: For six of the eighteen years He continuously stayed in Jagannatha Puri, He regularly performed kirtana, inducing all the devotees to love Krsna simply by chanting and dancing.

CC Adi 13.39: For the remaining twelve years He stayed in Jagannatha Puri, He taught everyone how to taste the transcendental mellow ecstasy of love of Krsna by tasting it Himself.

CC Adi 13.40: Day and night Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu felt separation from Krsna. Manifesting symptoms of this separation, He cried and talked very inconsistently, like a madman.

CC Adi 13.41: As Srimati Radharani talked inconsistently when She met Uddhava, so also Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu relished, both day and night, such ecstatic talk in the mood of Srimati Radharani.

CC Adi 13.42: The Lord used to read the books of Vidyapati, Jayadeva and Candidasa, relishing their songs with His confidential associates like Sri Ramananda Raya and Svarupa Damodara Gosvami.

CC Adi 13.43: In separation from Krsna, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu relished all these ecstatic activities, and thus He fulfilled His own desires.

CC Adi 13.44: The pastimes of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu are unlimited. How much can a small living entity elaborate about those transcendental pastimes?

CC Adi 13.45: If Sesa Naga Ananta personally were to make the pastimes of Lord Caitanya into sutras, even with His thousands of mouths there is no possibility that He could find their limit.

CC Adi 13.46: Devotees like Sri Svarupa Damodara and Murari Gupta have recorded all the principal pastimes of Lord Caitanya in the form of notes, after deliberate consideration.

CC Adi 13.47: The notes kept by Sri Svarupa Damodara and Murari Gupta are the basis of this book. Following those notes, I write of all the pastimes of the Lord. The notes have been described elaborately by Vrndavana dasa Thakura.

CC Adi 13.48: Srila Vrndavana dasa Thakura, the authorized writer of the pastimes of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, is as good as Srila Vyasadeva. He has described the pastimes in such a way as to make them sweeter and sweeter.

CC Adi 13.49: Being afraid of his book's becoming too voluminous, he left some places without vivid descriptions. I shall try to fill those places as far as possible.

CC Adi 13.50: The transcendental pastimes of Lord Caitanya have actually been relished by Srila Vrndavana dasa Thakura. I am simply trying to chew the remnants of food left by him.

CC Adi 13.51: My dear devotees of Lord Caitanya, let me now write a synopsis of the adi-lila; I write of these pastimes in brief because it is not possible to describe them in full.

CC Adi 13.52: To fulfill a particular desire within His mind, Lord Krsna, Vrajendra-kumara, decided to descend to this planet after mature contemplation.

CC Adi 13.53: Lord Krsna therefore first allowed His family of superiors to descend to the earth. I shall try to describe them in brief because it is not possible to describe them fully.

CC Adi 13.54-55: Lord Sri Krsna, before appearing as Lord Caitanya, requested these devotees to precede Him: Sri Sacidevi, Jagannatha Misra, Madhavendra Puri, Kesava Bharati, Isvara Puri, Advaita Acarya, Srivasa Pandita, Acaryaratna, Vidyanidhi and Thakura Haridasa.

CC Adi 13.56: There was also Sri Upendra Misra, a resident of the district of Srihatta. He was a great devotee of Lord Visnu, a learned scholar, a rich man and a reservoir of all good qualities.

CC Adi 13.57-58: Upendra Misra had seven sons, who were all saintly and most influential: (1) Kamsari, (2) Paramananda, (3) Padmanabha, (4) Sarvesvara, (5) Jagannatha, (6) Janardana and (7) Trailokyanatha. Jagannatha Misra, the fifth son, decided to reside on the bank of the Ganges at Nadia.

CC Adi 13.59: Jagannatha Misra was designated as Purandara. Exactly like Nanda Maharaja and Vasudeva, he was an ocean of all good qualities.

CC Adi 13.60: His wife, Srimati Sacidevi, was a chaste woman highly devoted to her husband. Sacidevi's father's name was Nilambara, and his surname was Cakravarti.

CC Adi 13.61: In Radhadesa, the part of Bengal where the Ganges is not visible, Nityananda Prabhu, Gangadasa Pandita, Murari Gupta and Mukunda took birth.

CC Adi 13.62: Lord Krsna, Vrajendra-kumara, first caused countless devotees to appear, and at last He appeared Himself.

CC Adi 13.63: Before the appearance of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, all the devotees of Navadvipa used to gather in the house of Advaita Acarya.

CC Adi 13.64: In these meetings of the Vaisnavas, Advaita Acarya used to recite the Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam, decrying the paths of philosophical speculation and fruitive activity and establishing the superexcellence of devotional service.

CC Adi 13.65: In all the revealed scriptures of Vedic culture, devotional service to Lord Krsna is explained throughout. Therefore devotees of Lord Krsna do not recognize the processes of philosophical speculation, mystic yoga, unnecessary austerity and so-called religious rituals. They do not accept any process but devotional service.

CC Adi 13.66: In the house of Advaita Acarya, all the Vaisnavas took pleasure in always talking of Krsna, always worshiping Krsna and always chanting the Hare Krsna maha-mantra.

CC Adi 13.67: But Sri Advaita Acarya Prabhu felt pained to see all the people without Krsna consciousness simply merging in material sense enjoyment.

CC Adi 13.68: Seeing the condition of the world, He began to think seriously of how all these people could be delivered from the clutches of maya.

CC Adi 13.69: Srila Advaita Acarya Prabhu thought, "If Krsna Himself appears in order to distribute the cult of devotional service, then only will liberation be possible for all people."

CC Adi 13.70: With this consideration, Advaita Acarya Prabhu, promising to cause Lord Krsna to descend, began to worship the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, with tulasi leaves and water of the Ganges.

CC Adi 13.71: By loud cries He invited Krsna to appear, and this repeated invitation attracted Lord Krsna to descend.

CC Adi 13.72: Before the birth of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, eight daughters took birth one after another from the womb of Sacimata, the wife of Jagannatha Misra. But just after their birth, they all died.

CC Adi 13.73: Jagannatha Misra was very unhappy at the death of his children one after another. Therefore, desiring a son, he worshiped the lotus feet of Lord Visnu.

CC Adi 13.74: After this, Jagannatha Misra got a son of the name Visvarupa, who was most powerful and highly qualified because He was an incarnation of Baladeva.

CC Adi 13.75: The expansion of Baladeva known as Sankarsana in the spiritual world is the ingredient and immediate cause of this material cosmic manifestation.

CC Adi 13.76: The gigantic universal form is called the Visvarupa incarnation of Maha-sankarsana. Thus we do not find anything within this cosmic manifestation except the Lord Himself.

CC Adi 13.77: "As the threads in a cloth spread both lengthwise and breadthwise, so the Supreme Personality of Godhead exists directly and indirectly within everything we see in this cosmic manifestation. This is not very wonderful for Him."

CC Adi 13.78: Because Maha-sankarsana is the ingredient and efficient cause of the cosmic manifestation, He is present in every detail of it. Lord Caitanya therefore called Him His elder brother. The two brothers are known as Krsna and Balarama in the spiritual world, but at the present moment they are Caitanya and Nitai. Therefore the conclusion is that Nityananda Prabhu is the original Sankarsana, Baladeva.

CC Adi 13.79: The husband and wife [Jagannatha Misra and Sacimata], having gotten Visvarupa as their son, were very pleased within their minds. Because of their pleasure, they specifically began to serve the lotus feet of Govinda.

CC Adi 13.80: In the month of January in the year 1406 of the Saka Era (A.D. 1485), Lord Krsna entered the bodies of both Jagannatha Misra and Saci.

CC Adi 13.81: Jagannatha Misra said to Sacimata, "I see wonderful things! Your body is effulgent, and it appears as if the goddess of fortune were now staying personally in my home.

CC Adi 13.82: "Anywhere and everywhere I go, all people offer me respect. Even without my asking, they voluntarily give me riches, clothing and paddy."

CC Adi 13.83: Sacimata told her husband, "I see wonderfully brilliant human beings appearing in outer space, as if offering prayers."

CC Adi 13.84: Jagannatha Misra then replied, "In a dream I saw the effulgent abode of the Lord enter my heart.

CC Adi 13.85: "From my heart it entered your heart. I therefore understand that a great personality will soon take birth."

CC Adi 13.86: After this conversation, both husband and wife were very jubilant, and together they rendered service to the household salagrama-sila.

CC Adi 13.87: In this way the pregnancy approached its thirteenth month, but still there was no sign of the delivery of the child. Thus Jagannatha Misra became greatly apprehensive.

CC Adi 13.88: Nilambara Cakravarti [the grandfather of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu] then did an astrological calculation and said that in that very month, taking advantage of an auspicious moment, the child would take birth.

CC Adi 13.89: Thus in the year 1407 of the Saka Era [A.D. 1486], in the month of Phalguna [February-March], in the evening of the full-moon day, the desired auspicious moment arrived.

CC Adi 13.90: [According to the Jyotir-veda, or Vedic astrology, the auspicious birth moment is described as follows:] The moon was in Leo [the figure of the lion in the zodiac], Leo was the ascendant, several planets were strongly positioned, and the sad-varga and asta-varga showed all-auspicious influences.

CC Adi 13.91: When the spotless moon of Caitanya Mahaprabhu became visible, what would be the need for a moon full of black marks on its body?

CC Adi 13.92: Considering this, Rahu, the black planet, covered the full moon, and immediately vibrations of "Krsna! Krsna! Hari!" inundated the three worlds.

CC Adi 13.93: All people thus chanted the Hare Krsna maha-mantra during the lunar eclipse, and their minds were struck with wonder.

CC Adi 13.94: When the whole world was thus chanting the holy name of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna in the form of Gaurahari advented Himself on the earth.

CC Adi 13.95: The whole world was pleased. While the Hindus chanted the holy name of the Lord, the non-Hindus, especially the Muslims, jokingly imitated the words.

CC Adi 13.96: While all the ladies vibrated the holy name of Hari on earth, in the heavenly planets dancing and music were going on, for the demigods were very curious.

CC Adi 13.97: In this atmosphere, all the ten directions became jubilant, as did the waves of the rivers. Moreover, all beings, moving and nonmoving, were overwhelmed with transcendental bliss.

CC Adi 13.98: Thus by His causeless mercy the full moon, Gaurahari, rose in the district of Nadia, which is compared to Udayagiri, where the sun first becomes visible. His rising in the sky dissipated the darkness of sinful life, and thus the three worlds became joyful and chanted the holy name of the Lord.

CC Adi 13.99: At that time Sri Advaita Acarya Prabhu, in His own house at Santipura, was dancing in a pleasing mood. Taking Haridasa Thakura with Him, He danced and loudly chanted Hare Krsna. But why they were dancing, no one could understand.

CC Adi 13.100: Seeing the lunar eclipse and laughing, Advaita Acarya and Haridasa Thakura immediately went to the bank of the Ganges and bathed in the river in great jubilation. Taking advantage of the occasion of the lunar eclipse, Advaita Acarya, by His mental strength, distributed various types of charity to the brahmanas.

CC Adi 13.101: When he saw that the whole world was jubilant, Haridasa Thakura, his mind astonished, directly and indirectly expressed himself to Advaita Acarya: "Your dancing and distributing charity are very pleasing to me. I can understand that there is some special purpose in these actions."

CC Adi 13.102: Acaryaratna [Candrasekhara] and Srivasa Thakura were overwhelmed with joy, and immediately they went to the bank of the Ganges to bathe in her waters. Their minds full of happiness, they chanted the Hare Krsna mantra and gave charity by mental strength.

CC Adi 13.103: In this way all the devotees, wherever they were situated, in every city and every country, danced, performed sankirtana and gave charity by mental strength on the plea of the lunar eclipse, their minds overwhelmed with joy.

CC Adi 13.104: All sorts of respectable brahmana gentlemen and ladies, carrying plates filled with various gifts, came with their presentations. Seeing the newborn child, whose form resembled natural glaring gold, all of them happily offered their blessings.

CC Adi 13.105: Dressing themselves as the wives of brahmanas, all the celestial ladies, including the wives of Lord Brahma, Lord Siva, Lord Nrsimhadeva, King Indra and Vasistha Rsi, along with Rambha, a dancing girl of heaven, came there with varieties of gifts.

CC Adi 13.106: In outer space all the demigods, including the inhabitants of Gandharvaloka, Siddhaloka and Caranaloka, offered their prayers and danced to the accompaniment of music, songs and the beating of drums. Similarly, in Navadvipa city all the professional dancers, musicians and blessers gathered together, dancing in great jubilation.

CC Adi 13.107: No one could understand who was coming and who was going, who was dancing and who was singing. Nor could they understand one another's language. Yet all unhappiness and lamentation were immediately dissipated, and people became all-jubilant. Thus Jagannatha Misra was also overwhelmed with joy.

CC Adi 13.108: Candrasekhara Acarya and Srivasa Thakura both came to Jagannatha Misra and drew his attention in various ways. They performed the ritualistic ceremonies prescribed at the time of birth according to religious principles. Jagannatha Misra also gave varieties of charity.

CC Adi 13.109: Whatever riches Jagannatha Misra collected in the form of gifts and presentations, and whatever he had in his house, he distributed among the brahmanas, professional singers, dancers, bhatas and the poor. He honored them all by giving them riches in charity.

CC Adi 13.110: The wife of Srivasa Thakura, whose name was Malini, accompanied by the wife of Candrasekhara [Acaryaratna] and other ladies, came there in great happiness to worship the baby with paraphernalia such as vermilion, turmeric, oil, fused rice, bananas and coconuts.

CC Adi 13.111: One day shortly after Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu was born, Advaita Acarya's wife, Sitadevi, who is worshipable by the whole world, took her husband's permission and went to see that topmost child with all kinds of gifts and presentations

CC Adi 13.112: She brought different kinds of golden ornaments, including armlets, necklaces, anklets and bangles for the hands.

CC Adi 13.113: There were also tiger nails set in gold, waist decorations of silk and lace, ornaments for the hands and legs, nicely printed silken saris, and a child's garment, also made of silk. Many other riches, including gold and silver coins, were also presented to the child.

CC Adi 13.114: Riding in a palanquin covered with cloth and accompanied by maidservants, Sita Thakurani came to the house of Jagannatha Misra, bringing with her many auspicious articles such as fresh grass, paddy, gorocana, turmeric, kunkuma and sandalwood. All these presentations filled a large basket.

CC Adi 13.115: When Sita Thakurani came to the house of Sacidevi, bringing with her many kinds of eatables, dresses and other gifts, she was astonished to see the newborn child, for she appreciated that except for a difference in color, the child was directly Krsna of Gokula Himself.

CC Adi 13.116: Seeing the transcendental bodily effulgence of the child, each of His nicely constructed limbs full of auspicious signs and resembling a form of gold, Sita Thakurani was very pleased, and because of her maternal affection, she felt as if her heart were melting.

CC Adi 13.117: She blessed the newborn child by placing fresh grass and paddy on His head and saying, "May You be blessed with a long duration of life." But being afraid of ghosts and witches, she gave the child the name Nimai.

CC Adi 13.118: On the day the mother and son bathed and left the maternity home, Sita Thakurani gave them all kinds of ornaments and garments and then also honored Jagannatha Misra. Then Sita Thakurani, being honored by mother Sacidevi and Jagannatha Misra, was greatly happy within her mind, and thus she returned home.

CC Adi 13.119: In this way mother Sacidevi and Jagannatha Misra, having obtained a son who was the husband of the goddess of fortune, had all their desires fulfilled. Their house was always filled with riches and grains. As they saw the beloved body of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, day after day their pleasure increased.

CC Adi 13.120: Jagannatha Misra was an ideal Vaisnava. He was peaceful, restrained in sense gratification, pure and controlled. Therefore he had no desire to enjoy material opulence. Whatever money came because of the influence of his transcendental son, he gave it in charity to the brahmanas for the satisfaction of Visnu.

CC Adi 13.121: After calculating the birth moment of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Nilambara Cakravarti privately said to Jagannatha Misra that he saw all the different symptoms of a great personality in both the body and birth moment of the child. Thus he understood that in the future this child would deliver all the three worlds.

CC Adi 13.122: In this way Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, out of His causeless mercy, made His advent in the house of Sacidevi. Lord Caitanya is very merciful to anyone who hears this narration of His birth, and thus such a person attains the lotus feet of the Lord.

CC Adi 13.123: Anyone who attains a human body but does not take to the cult of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is baffled in his opportunity. Amrtadhuni is a flowing river of the nectar of devotional service. If after getting a human body one drinks the water in a poison pit of material happiness instead of the water of such a river, it would be better for him not to have lived, but to have died long ago.

CC Adi 13.124: Taking on my head as my own property the lotus feet of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Nityananda Prabhu, Acarya Advaitacandra, Svarupa Damodara, Rupa Gosvami and Raghunatha dasa Gosvami, I, Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami, have thus described the advent of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

Copyright (c) The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, Inc.
His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder Acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness