History of Bengali Language and Literature c9.s2: II. The Life and Teachings of Chaitanya Deva
History of Bengali Language and Literature c9.s2
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- c9.s2.75 — 4 parts
II. The Life and Teachings of Chaitanya Deva
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Chaitanya Deva was born at Miñāpur in Navadvipa in 1486. This Miñāpur has now been transformed into Māyāpur by the orthodox Vaiṣṇavas who can not bring themselves to call Chaitanya Deva's birth place by a Mahammadan name. It was in the evening of the 7th day of the month of Phālgun (18th of February) when the full moon had just emerged from the shadow of an eclipse and the air was resounding with cries of ‘Kṛṣṇa’ ‘Kṛṣṇa’ ‘O Lord’ ‘O Lord’ as is wont of Hindus on an occasion like this, that the birth of the devotee who was to preach the Kṛṣṇa-cult all his life, took place.
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Chaitanya Deva's ancestors were inhabitants of Jājpur in Orissa who owing to the oppression of Raja Bhramarbara, had settled in the village of Dhākā-Dakṣiṇa in Sylhet. Jagannāth Miçra the father had come to Navadwīpa to complete his education and there married Çachī Devi a daughter of Nilāmvara Chakravarty originally an inhabitant of Sylhet, who was now settled in Navadwīpa. Jagannāth Miçra and this Çachī Devi had eight daughters and two sons. The daughters all died in infancy. The elder son was Viçvarupa and the younger Viçvambhara. They called him, however, by the pet name Nimāi because he had been born in a shed under a Nimba-tree. This Nimāi afterwards became famous as Chaitanya Deva.
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The eldest son Viçvarupa was about to be married when he was only sixteen. On the night previous to the date fixed for his marriage the boy whose ascetic tendencies, had been already marked, left home and took the vow of a Sannyāsin.
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His parents rose in the morning with hearts full of joy at the prospect of celebrating Viçvarupa's marriage. But what a disappointment when they found that the bird had flown! They received information that he had turned Sannyāsīn and renounced the world for ever. In what cave of the mountains, in what holy shrine or in what recess of the forests where the Indian Pine and Fir trees raise their heads to touch the skies, the young Sannyāsīn roamed for the rest of his life has remained a mystery up to now. The parents were struck dumb with sorrow, and there remained to them their Nemāi alone—the last ray of light to dispel the gloom of their house.
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A mother's fears.
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Jagannāth Miçra a man of strong character and of a spiritual bent of mind, bore this misfortune patiently; but Çachī Devi watched over Nemāi with an anxious mother's care, always afraid lest he also would leave home and throw her into depths of misery. At last this fear became a mania with her. "Since study makes a man realise the transitoriness of the world, let not my Nemāi be sent to school. I would much prefer that he should remain at home and be a dunce." Thus did Çachi Devi argue with her husband.
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But the lad was as yet only five years old. This was the age when Hindu parents sent their boys to school. Jagannāth Miçra, however, could not do so with Nemāi owing to Çachī Devi's objections.
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A wild boy.
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Nemāi grew up a wild boy. He mixed with the bad boys of the village and carried on little depredations in the neighbouring houses and orchards in their company. The pious Brahmins after their bath, used to close their eyes in prayerful attitude before small figures of gods on the banks of the Ganges. The little thief would come stealthily along, and carry away their images. Sometimes when a Brahmin's *chadar* was left on the banks while he bathed, Nimāi would take it away and conceal it under a bush for the sake of fun. The little girls that came to bathe in the Ganges were teased and subjected to his wild pranks. He would collect the thorny seeds of Okra-plants and throw them on their flowing hair. Once a little girl complained to Çachī Devī that Nimāi had threatened to marry her. The little fellow was six years old at the time. At times Nimāi would step in among unclean and refuse things which a Brāhmin would not touch. His parents would find him there, and gently admonish him for his conduct. His reply surprised them with the wisdom it disclosed. "You do not allow me to study," said he, "how I am to know what is clean or unclean. Nothing is either clean or unclean in my eyes, all things are alike to me." His words "সর্ব্বত্র আমার এক অদ্বিতীয় স্থান" are fraught with the deepest truths of Vedāntic philosophy. They strike the key-note of their speaker's subsequent work in demolishing orthodox traditions about the sacredness of particular objects. Nothing indeed could be holy or unholy in the eyes of Chaitanya, who had in subsequent years reached the stage of সাম্য দর্শন, when one looks upon all objects without prejudice for or against.
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But this mischief-making imp could not be tolerated any longer, inspite of his sage-like sayings, and the gentle folk of the neighbourhood went in a body to Jagannāth Miçra to complain to him against his boy and insist on his putting him to school without delay. Gaṅgā Dās was the name of the teacher to whose care he was entrusted. Nimāi began to read in this pundit's tol. He learnt the alphabet within a short time and commenced reading Sanskrit Grammar.
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"He does not leave his book for a moment," says Vṛndāvan Dās, his biographer,* "while bathing or dining or going to bed, his mind wanders over the pages of his books. The rules he reads he quickly masters, and in discussions amongst students he beats every rival. He wrote a commentary on Sanskrit Grammar himself with patient application."
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Yet Sanskrit Grammar was the subject least suited to a student who possessed an emotional nature like that of Nimāi. Ardent in spirit, and eccentric in temper as he was, he applied himself, with his whole soul, to whatever fell in his way, and study kept him engaged day and night in this early youth. But he was not a quiet and good-natured boy. As long as he remained engaged in his studies, he restrained himself. During recreation-hours, he gave free scope to his eccentricities.
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∗ " না ছাড়েন শ্রীহস্তে পুস্তক এক ক্ষণে। কিবা স্নানে কি ভোজনে অথবা শয়নে॥ নাহিক প্রভুর আর চেষ্টা শাস্ত্র বিনে। একবার যে সূত্র পড়িয়া প্রভু যায়॥ আর বার উলটিয়া সবারে ঠকায়। আপনি করেন প্রভু সূত্রের টিপ্পনি॥"
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Murāri Gupta, an aged scholar, highly esteemed for his character and learning, and a Vaidya, or physician, by caste, was passing by, one day, when young Nimāi met and accosted him with smiling face. "Will you, sir," said he, "kindly clear up some difficulties of mine in grammar." The veteran scholar liked the child for his handsome appearance and for his talent. He proceeded to explain the passages required, but Nimāi had not approached him in the spirit of a bona-fide student. He wanted to puzzle the old scholar. In the discussion, that followed, Murāri was completely beaten, and young Nimāi triumphantly made some very impertinent remarks.† "You are a Vaidya. Why should you read Sanskrit Grammar at all? It is a very difficult thing to master this science. It is not like books that teach how to prescribe medicine for cough, biles and indigestion."
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† “ প্রভু কহে বৈদ্য তুমি ইহা কেন পড়। লতা পাতা লৈয়া গিয়া রোগ দৃঢ় কর ॥ ব্যাকরণ শাস্ত্র এই বিষম অবধি। কফ, পিত্ত, অজীর্ণ, ব্যবস্থা নাহি ইথি।”
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Not only in Sanskrit Grammar but in Logic too he shewed particular proficiency. Gadādhara, a great scholar in Logic, was once challenged by him to a free discussion on several knotty problems in that Science, and had to admit that he was no match for Nimāi.
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Assails veteran scholars.
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Ridicules East Bengal-men.
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The people of Navadwīpa loved the young scholar. He was so handsome, so brilliant, and so affectionate of disposition, yet withal so wild. The people of Western Bengal have always felt a delight in ridiculing the peculiar accents of the men of Eastern Bengal. Among the youths of Navadwīpa, Chaitanya Deva was the foremost in ridiculing these people for this defect. The people of Sylhet were specially marked out by Nimāi for his jokes. He teased them till they became enraged. One of them with angry looks asked him,—"You sir, can you say to which country you belong? Is it not a fact that your father and mother were born in Sylhet?"—This was quite true, for his parents had come from Sylhet, a remote place in Eastern Bengal, and settled at Navadwīpa. But fair argument was not the object of Nimāi bent on provoking them to anger; and angry they became till one pursued him with a club, and another went to the Kaji to lodge a complaint against him.
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Sets up a Tol.
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Nimāi set up a Tol or Sanskrit School himself at the age of twenty. His reputation as a scholar was already well-established and pupils flocked from all quarters to receive instruction from him. His mode of teaching and his treatment of scholars soon made him very popular amongst them.
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Keçava Kāçmiri visits Navadwīpa.
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About this time, there came to Navadwīpa, a renowned scholar named Keçava Kāçmiri. In the middle ages when learning was the chief object of admiration with the middle classes, and hundreds of scholars were taught in various centres of Sanskrit learning all over India, any one who acquired special proficiency in a particular subject made it the mission of his life to travel to the various seats of learning, challenging scholars to free controversy. If he could win his laurels in this competition, he naturally enjoyed great esteem in the country and the scholars who were vanquished acknowledged the fact of their defeat in an open letter presented to him. This letter was called ‘জয়-পত্র’ or letter of victory.
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Keçava Kāçmīrī after having vanquished the scholars of the rest of India had come to Navadwīpa, then the most important seat of Sanskrit learning in the country. There were veteran scholars at Navadwīpa about this time; old Vāsudeva Sarvabhauma, the first authority in Logic in India; Raghu Nandan Bhaṭṭāchāryya whose jurisprudence up till now governs Hindu society in Bengal; and Raghu Nath Çiromaṇi whose grand work, Chintāmani Didhiti, a commentary on the Tattva Chintāmoni by Gangeç Upādhāya is a monument of scholarship, and excelled the treatise it commented on, were all living. These were the intellectual giants of their period. But they were scholarly recluses who for many years had scarcely mixed with men. The people of Navadwīpa, however, were proud of the scholarship of young Nimāi, who was always eager to enter into controversy with others. They brought the veteran Keçava to Nimāi who received him cordially on the bank of the Ganges, where his Tola was situated.
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Nimāi asked Keçava Kāçmiri, himself, a reputed poet, to describe the Ganges as it flowed past in an extempore poem. A few moments passed, and like a noble stream, rich and rhythmical flow cf verses fell from the lips of the old scholar to the wonder of the pupils of the Tol, and he surprised the audience by the brilliance of his metaphors and the sublimity and beauty of his ideas. Nimāi noted the poem in his memory. His assailant, after delivering it, looked round in haughty pride, and said to Nimāi, "You have learned Grammar only, I hear, and have no knowledge of Rhetoric. It is not in your power to appreciate or judge of the beauty of my poem."
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Nimāi however shewed no want of patience, nor displayed any sign of being disturbed by the remark. He praised the poetry but gently pointed out that there were some serious errors of Rhetoric in it. In the first line he had used the word ভবানী-ভর্ত্তৃ signifying Çiva while the word really meant Lord of the wife of Çiva. This fallacy was called বিরুদ্ধ মতি. In the word বিভবতি in the next line there was the fallacy of ক্রমভঙ্গ, in the word শ্ৰীলঙ্কী the fallacy of পুনরুক্ত বদাভাস. Thus he pointed out fallacies too numerous to be mentioned and as he went on, the natural brilliance of his speech and the light that emanated from his eyes shewed that he was endowed with special gifts of genius. The veteran scholar was dumb-struck and retired with a broken heart. Thus the glory of Navadwīpa was saved. All felt that day that young Nimāi was an extraordinary man, and the reputation of his Tol spread far and wide.
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But he always scoffed at religion. Old saint-like men, who delighted in him for his wonderful gifts and could not help loving him for his pleasing disposition, were pained to find that he was a godless young man, sceptical in his views and conduct. Içvara Puri, a learned saint,—a very old and highly esteemed man of Kumārhatta,—frequently called on him and advised him on religious matters, explaining and illustrating how faith could be obtained—faith that cleanses the soul and lifts man to the rank of the gods. He quoted chapter and verse from various works to prove what he argued. But Nimāi would suddenly interrupt him, finding a grammatical flaw in his quotations and stop him by some such remarks as “Surely, sir, the verb that you use is not of the Āttanīpadi class!” The saint was much saddened by the failure of his attempts to reform the young sceptic. But the eccentricities of Nimāi had a limit when he grew into manhood; he stoically avoided any contact with women.
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Though he outwardly feigned scepticism, a deep religious faith was in fact ingrained in his nature. Çrīdhara and Gadādhara, two respectable Brāhmins were known for the piety of their characters. He ridiculed them frequently, but if a single day passed without his meeting them, his whole soul yearned for their company, and he felt that to him the oft-ridiculed Içvara Puri was as a god. His mind was as clear as the autumnal sky, and his temperament like the tender sweet-scented Çephālika flower that diffuses its fragrance in the morning air. It silently attracted all who came in contact with him by its inherent love; his ardent nature, which would not brook any restraint and seemed so often to run wild, had in it a secret spring of magnetism which facinated, even while it startled. It flowed like a noble fountain pleasing all by its playfulness,—a
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The inward faith.
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and an ardent nature.
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little dashing and abrupt in its course, yet nevertheless lovely and joyous, it indicated the presence of elements in his character which were destined to leap over the walls of orthodoxy and carry the world with him, by the innate force of pure and lofty natural instincts.
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Father's death. Marriage.
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In the meantime Jagannāth Miçra had died and Nimāi had married. His wife was Lakṣmī Devī who had herself elected Nimai as her lord expressing a wish to her mother to marry the young scholar.
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Nimāi was now settled in life. His homestead consisted of five large and beautiful houses on the banks of the Ganges. He lived a simple life devoted to his studies. The death of his father weighed on him and he contemplated a journey with a view to restoring his peace of mind. He accordingly visited Eastern Bengal making a tour through the several centres of Sanskrit learning that then existed in that part of the province. His commentaries on grammar were taught in the tols there and his name was widely known. He met with a cordial reception everywhere, and is said to have stayed at Kotālipārā in the District of Faridpur for some-time. Having received honours and rewards from his admirers, he set out again for Navadwīpa after a few months. Returning home, he caught sight of Navadwīpa, in the distance girdled by the Ganges, with its temples rising above the tops of the green trees. The place had a peculiar attraction for him, and he hastened to meet his mother and wife. His friends Çridhara and Gadādhara met him half way, with open arms, and in his height of joy he mimicked the accents of the East Bengal
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Tour in Eastern Bengal.
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Return.
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people and the ring of his merry laughter resounded once more through the air as he came near his home. His companions left him and he went to his home in haste and threw himself at the feet of his mother, who began to weep as she saw her dear son come back.
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Her tears were inexplicable to him, for he had expected glad looks and blessings from his mother on his return home. He, soon, however, discovered with sorrow that his wife Laksmi Devi had died of snake-bite. The merry and joyous young scholar collected himself in a moment and betraying no outward signs of grief, sweetly discoursed on the inevitableness of the course of nature, and tried to console his mother. A month or two passed, but the poor woman was always sorrowful; she insisted on his marrying again and Nimai to please his mother married Visnupriya, daughter of Sanatan, a famous scholar of Nadia.
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He was only twenty-one at the time. His mother seemed to be once more happy, but there came a change over the spirit of her son. A deep feeling seemed to weigh upon his soul and his mirth was gone; he shewed signs of a deeper nature growing in him. He asked his mother's permission to go to Gaya to offer Pinda or offerings of food and water at the feet of Visnu there, by which the spirit of a deceased person is freed from sins and his passage to heaven is insured. When Nimai wanted permission to go to Gaya to offer Pinda for the spirit of his father, Cachi Devi could not withhold it though she longed to keep her son at her side, ministering to her own comfort, old and feeble as she now was.
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The death of his wife.
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Takes a second wife.
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A deeper nature growing in him.
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Starts for Gayā.
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Nimāi started for Gayā; his companions were gay, but he was sad. An emotion passed over him which brought tears to his eyes and he yearned for better company. Near Kumār Hatta he halted, and wanted to have a sight of Içvara Purī, the saint whom he had so often ridiculed. As he came to Kumār Hatta, he said, "It is heaven to me—this native land of Içvara Purī." The saint was dining when Nimāi arrived at his place. He partook of the food which the veteran Vaiṣṇava was taking and wept for joy; he said, "Dearer than my own soul,—than anything that I possess, than my life itself, you are to me, O venerable sir, for you are a true servant of God." As he said this, tears began to flow from both his eyes, and he clasped the feet of Içvara Purī. The old man appeared as a god to him and he said again and again, "Blessed am I that I have seen such a holy man." Indeed Içvara Purī's devotion to God was such that he was admittedly the head of the Vaiṣṇava community at that time.
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Meets Içvara Puri.
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Nimāi set out for Gayā; his life, his conversation and ways became altogether changed. He would speak but few words, and left Kumār Hatta as in a trance. While leaving, he took a handful of dust from the place and tied it in a corner of his cloth and said, "This is the dust of the place where Içvara Purī was born. It is sacred,—it is dearer to me than all that I have, nay than life itself." He stood there absorbed in a reverie and seemed to see nothing around.
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Indeed a higher life was calling him. The portals of heaven seemed to open before him. His companions thought that there was something wrong with his head; they tried to divert his mind to worldly matters by merry conversation; for a time he joined them and was even jovial and gay.
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They came to Gayā, and the great temple came in view with its crowd of pilgrims that flocked and pressed one another. At the sight of the temple he again grew pensive. This was the temple of Viṣṇu, the great God of the Hindu Trinity. Viṣṇu, while conquering the demon Gayāsura, had placed his feet on the demon's head and this foot-print was changed to stone. Nimāi stood with offerings before the lotus feet, ‘পাদপদ্ম’ as they were called. The Pāndās sang in sanskrit—“These feet, O Pilgrims, lead to heaven,—take ye refuge in them! These feet were adored by Vali, the King who went into the nether worlds; from these feet flows the sacred stream of the Ganges. The great yogis in their mystic vision desire to catch a glimpse of these feet; their glory is sung by the God Çiva and rendered into divine music by the sage Nārada. They lead to Heaven, these feet of God;—there is no other way for man's salvation.” Nimāi appeared to be listening, but in fact he heard nothing of the song. He added the tribute of tears to those of constant shower of flowers that were offered at the lotus-feet by the pilgrims, and fell straightway into a trance. His companions attended him carefully and he was soon restored to consciousness. When he came back to his senses, tears were still flowing down his cheeks and he wept and said, “Leave me, my friends, leave me, I am no longer fit for the world. Let me go to the Vrindā groves to find out Kṛṣṇa, my Lord and the Lord of the Universe.”
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Arrives at Gayā.
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The feet of Viṣṇu.
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Falls into a trance.
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Nimāi was brought home by his companions more or less unconscious. "Where, O, where is my God?" he cried with tears flowing night and day. When he came home they found him a changed man. "I have seen a wonderful spectacle at Gayā; and I shall relate it to you,"—he said to Gadādhara and Çridhara. But while attempting to tell of it, his voice became choked with emotion and he fell senseless into the arms of his friends. It was of the God-vision that he wanted to speak, but he could not, being overpowered by his feelings.
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God-vision.
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Poor Çachi Devi, what was she to do with a son in such a condition! Physicians were called in, but Nimāi told them that he had no malady to be cured by medicines. The Highest had appeared to him and he could think of nothing else. Strange it was, he said, that living in His kingdom they did not feel His presence and His great love, and again tears fell from his eyes and over-powered him.
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The pupils of his Tol flocked round their beloved teacher, but he told them that he could not teach them anything of earth. He spoke of God's love and wept. His mother Çachi Devi sent Viṣṇupriya the youthful wife, to him, thinking that a sight of her would divert his mind, but Nimāi did not even look at her. "Where is my Lord, my Kṛṣṇa!"—he cried, and read verses from sacred books and wept.
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But this over-flow of feeling was not all;—he went to the banks of the Ganges; the scene of his juvinile freaks, now witnessed acts which shewed him to be completely changed. He would carry the burdens of old and sickly people for them,
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Serves people.
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sometimes he would wash the clothes of others and perform acts of menial service, which as a Brāhmin he should not have done; and if people objected to being served by him, he would say "forbear, Friends! Do not, I beg of you, prevent me! While I serve you, I see God. These little acts are holy to me."
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Sometimes he would chant the name of God for hours together, and as he sang, his eyes would become full of tears. The whole day long he would recite and sing the name of Kṛṣṇa in profound devotion, till the people of Navadwipa could no longer resist his influence. When he spoke of God and his relation to man, they thronged in thousands to hear him. He preached, for instance of love. "What", he said, "is love? Is it that attraction by which man and woman are drawn to one another? I say it is not so. Only when in your eyes man and woman appear the same and sex loses all it charms, only then can true love come"—and again, "Be like a tree. The tree gives shade even to him who cuts its boughs. It asks no water of any one, though it be withering away for want of it. Rain and storm and the burning rays of the sun it suffers, but gives sweet-scented flowers and delicious fruits to others. Patiently serve others even as a tree and let this be your motto." The words that fell from his lips appeared inspired; they went to the hearts of the men and women who thronged to hear him. But he invariably finished speaking, chanting the name of Kṛṣṇa,—the music of which with its deep pathos made all weep for the love of God. Multitudes were attracted
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The effect of his faith and preachings.
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from all quarters; for the news spread on all hands that a God-man had come into their midst. By this time the sage Nityānanda, who was then a young man, had come and joined Nimāi. They became the centre of a circle of men who lived holy lives, did act of charity, and recited and chanted the name of God, night and day, till songs of great poetic beauty were composed. Their music, consisted of songs accompanied by the Khol, Karatāl and Rāmçingā, and for whole nights the music would go on, with Nimāi in the centre of the party, sometimes in a state of unconsciousness, and at others, singing enthusiastically with the rest, while his face beamed with a strange God-vision.
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The Bhaṭṭāchāryyas, the great scholars of Navadwīpa, opposed this movement. Nimāi had broken the trammels of caste. He boldly declared, "Though one is a Chanḍāl (Pariā) he is superior to all Brāhmins, if he is pious and has love for God." If any one says, "Thou O Kriṣṇa art my life," he will embrace him, no matter to what caste he may belong. Nothing indeed was holy or unholy in his eyes—even as he had said in his boyhood. "If any one takes food," he said, "from the same plate with a Doma (sweeper), he becomes preeminently entitled by that act of mercy for obtaining the favour of god. If a Muchi (cobbler) prays to God with true devotion, a hundred times do I offer salutes at his feet."* In a society where the Brāhmin was held as a God, and a Doma as worse than a dog, these sayings from the lips of a Brāhmin sounded strangely bold. The company of men, drawn
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∗ For authorities in regard to the above quotations, see my Banga-Bhāṣā-o-Sāhitya, pp. 284—89.
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The breaking of caste and opposition of the Bhaṭṭāchāryyas.
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together by his teachings and by his wonderful devotion, consisted of people from all ranks of society. They mixed freely and distinction of caste was no barrier to them. The Bhaṭṭāchāryyas who represented the orthodox community harassed him by all means that lay in their power. "Look at these men", they said, "we cannot sleep at night for their screamings. This uproar that they create is certainly no prayer to God." They applied to the Kāzi (Mahammadan Magistrate) to issue a rule prohibiting the march of the Saṅkīrtana-Party, as his procession was called, through the town. The Kazi did so. That day in the evening Nimāi with his followers, who now numbered hundreds of men, made a grand procession and led it to the very door of the Kāzi, who though at first very much enraged at this breach of orders, yet felt a desire to see the procession. When he came down, a strange spectacle met his eyes. Hundreds of men with flags and musical instruments were chanting the name of God in chorus, and in the midst of them, like a vision of heaven, young and beautifull Nimāi stood God-like,—his face beaming with superhuman light and eyes like two stars, floating in a fountain of tears. He heeded not any earthly obstruction and was evidently lifted into divine ecstacy. The Kazi said, he was delighted to see the procession.
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Kazi beholds a strange sight.
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Two great rogues of the Brāhmin caste—Jagāi and Mādhāi, who belonged to the Police staff of the Kāzi, dead-drunk with wine and accustomed to all manner of vice, resolved to assault Nimāi and Nityānanda and once as the two leaders were passing along the streets, Jagāi threw a brick at Nityānanda who was hurt on the fore-head which bled profusely. But Nityānanda sang the name of God and only said to his assailant "Strike me again if you like, but sing the name of Kṛṣṇa." His face became so full of tenderness that the rogues repented, and became reformed from that hour. So great was the attraction of the personality of Nimāi that sometimes for a whole night the Saṅkīrtana party sang round him without minding the passing of the night and when it came to an end, they would wonderingly look at the sun thinking that he had appeared too soon.
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Jagāi and Mādhāi.
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Nimāi resolves to turn a Sanyāsīn
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But Nimāi felt that there was a strong party in Navadwipa who were not slow to calumnite him everywhere. He thought that as a householder, his teachings might not commend themselves to all classes and therefore determined to renounce the world, turn a Sanyāsīn and preach the Love of God all over India. This news came as a disaster to his followers, amongst whom were the veteran scholar Murāri Gupta, the young and gifted Gadhādar Dās, the poet Narahari Dās of Ҫrikhanda, the singer and poet Vāsu Ghose with Nityānanda and the venerable Adaitacāryya of Ҫāntipur at their head.
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And becomes one
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But the word had passed his lips, and all who knew his character felt that he was inexorable. He left Navādwip in the month of March in 1509 A.D. and passed through the usual ceremonies required for the Sanyāsi'ns vow. The Guru or the religious preceptor elected by him for the occasion was Bhārati of Kātwā. Nimāi thus cut off all the ties of world, threw away his sacred thread and shaved his head. He was given the name of Kṛṣṇa Chaitanya as a Sanyāsin and has ever since been called Chaitanya or Chaitanya Deva. He went to Orissa, where he met Vāsu Deva Sarbabhauma, the greatest Indian scholar of the period. Vāsu Deva was already advanced in years. He took Chaitanya to task for turning a Sanyāsin when only a young man, as he had no right to do. Chaitanya said in reply “O my venerable sir, do not call me by such a high epithet as that of a Sanyāsin. The Love of God has driven me mad and I have thrown away my sacred thread and shaved my head for this. Bless me sir that my mind may be ever devoted to him.” Vāsu Deva was explaining the Gītā, but Chaitanya interpreted it in a new light. The veteran scholar was struck by the new ideas, by the flow of sentiment and by the remarkable intellect of the young Sanyāsin. When after three continuous nights Chaitanya had finished his exposition, Vāsu Deva felt that he was in the presence of a superhuman man, endowed with poetical and spiritual gift, the like of which he had never before seen. From that time he became a humble disciple of Chaitanya Deva. Pratāpa Rudra the King of Orissa, who was dreaded by the Pāṭhāns and was known as a powerful prince of India at the time, became his next disciple, and his prime minister Rāma Rāy, deeply versed in Sanskrit lore and an eminent poet avowed his faith in Chaitanya Deva and was so much devoted to him that he constantly sought the company of the great master in subsequent times.
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From Orissa with the blacksmith Govinda as his single companion, though hundreds had wanted to follow him, the young Sanyāsin started for and travelled over the whole of southern India.
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He left Navadwīpa in 1509; from there he came to Katwā in Burdwan. He crossed the Dāmodara and stayed in the house of one Kāçi Miçra for a day; from there he went to Hājipur and thence to Midnāpur where Keçava Sāmanta, a rich man, scolded him for taking the vow of a Sanyāsin when he was so young; from Midnāpur he went to Nārāyaṇgaḍ and thence to Vateçvaram; he crossed the Sūvarna Rekhā and reached Hariharpur and next moved to Nilgaḍa; crossing the Vāitarāni he visited the temples of Gopināth, Sakṣigopāl and Nimrāja on the banks of the Mahānadi; he next came to Athāranālā whence he saw the flag of the Jagannāth temple and was lifted into an ecstacy. He stayed at Purī for three months.
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In April, (7th Vaiçak) 1510, he started again with his one follower Govinda for southern India. He came to the Godāvarī and met Rāma Rāy; thence he proceeded to Trimanda (modern Trimalgaḍa in Hydrabad) and converted Dhundi Rāma Tirtha to his faith; from Trimanda he came to Sidhavateçvara (modern Sidhavateçvaram; between Cadappa and the river Punna) where a rich young man named Tirtharām came to tempt him in a vulgar manner, and himself became a convert to his faith. He then crossed a forest extending over twenty miles called Munnā (on the river Munnā in the Madras Presidency); from Munnā he moved to Venkata (a city near Tripadi in the Madras Presidency); he next visited a forest known as the ‘Vagulā woods’ and converted Pāntha Bhil a notorious robber; there he passed three days and nights without food chanting the name of God. Thence he moved to Giriçvara and to Tripadi Nagara (about forty miles to the North-west of Madras) he next visited the temple of Pānnā Narasiṁha, and arrived at Viṣṇu Kanchi (modern Kanjivaram). From there he visited two shrines Kalātirtha and Sandhi Tirtha; then he passed on to Chāipalli (modern Trichina Palli); he next went to Nāgar (about 145 miles to the east of Trichina Palli and situated on the sea-coast). From Nāgar he went to Tānjore (about 14 miles to the south of Nāgar); he crossed the mount Chandhālu there and passed on to Padmakota (about 25 miles to the south of Tānjore) and thence to Tripātra (about twenty-five miles to the south);
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there he crossed a forest extending over 300 miles, in 15 days; he next came to Ranga Dhāma (Sri Raṁgam) and visited the temple of Nrisiṁha; from there he went to Rāmanāth and thence to Rāmeçvar ; he next travelled through a forest called Madhikavana and crossing the river Tāmraparni reached Kanyā Kumāri on the sea-coast; from there he proceeded to Trivaṅkoo (moden Trivancore). This place is described as being surrounded by hills. The King Rudrapati who reigned there at the time received Chaitanya Deva cordially; from Trivancore he proceeded to Poyaṣṇi (modern Pānāni) and thence to Matsatīrtha and Kāchār, crossed the rivers Bhadrā and Nāga-Panchapadi and came to Chitole (modern Chital Durgh, (on the northern boundary of Mysore); from Chital to Chandipur and thence to Gurjari (near Hydrabād) and thence to Pūrna (modern Poonā); from Pūrna he moved to Pāttana and thence to Jājuri. Here he preached God's love to the unfortunate women—the Murāries. From Jājuri he went to the woods called Chorānandivan where he met a famous bandit named Nāroji who became a convert and followed him. He crossed the river Mulā and reached Nāsika; thence to Trimvak and Daman; he crossed the Tāpti and reached Varoch (modern Broach); from Varoch he came to Varadā where Nāroji died; He visited Āhāmmadābād and crossed the river Çuvramati; he met two of his Bengali countrymen Govinda Charan and Rāmānanda, from Kulinagram;
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he went to Ghogā where a prostitute named Vāramukhi, beautiful and wealthy, became a convert, cut off her hair and took the vow of a nun. He next visited Somnāth in November 1510, reached Dwarakā from where he marched to Dohadanagar and thence to Amjhorā, Kooksi, Mandura, Deoghar. Thence he proceeded to Chandipur, from where he went to Roypur, Vidyānagar and Ratnapur; from the last place he crossed the Mahānadi and reached Çvarnagad, thence to Sambalpur, Dāspāl and to Allālnāth; he reached Puri on the 3rd of Māgh, (January, 1511). Thus his travelling on foot from Puri and back took one year eight months and twenty six days, and he travelled nearly 4000 miles within this time. During his travels he spent many days without any food. Whatever alms were brought to him by Govinda he would partake of only in very small quantities. Like a mad man his body lay covered with dust; he chanted the name of Kriṣṇa with tears in his eyes as he moved from place to place. Some of the scholars at Tungabhadra, Chandipur and at other places challenged him to a discussion on religious topics. He would not, however, enter into any controversy with them. He said that he was an illiterate man. He was ready to write out letters of victory in favour of his assailants. But when he was dragged into a discussion, inspite of himself, he would deal wonderfully with the questions at issue, and none was a match for him.
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He concluded his discussion always with that display of emotion and trust in God which gave him the look of a heavenly being;—his eyes swam with tears, as he sang the name of Kṛṣṇa in deep musical tones, which sounded, say those who heard him, like temple bells. Here is a description given of him by his servant Govinda.”—
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* “His influence over people was wonderful, he could move them as he liked, by his preachings. Sometimes he would speak in the Tamil language, (which he had acquired during his travels), at others in pure Sanskrit.”
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At Gurjari after explaining to the people their duty to men and their relation to God.—
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† “He cried aloud ‘O God! O my Kṛṣṇa’! and the place seemed to turn into heaven, a pleasant breeze
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* আশ্চর্য প্রভাব মুঞি কভু দেখি নাই।
কখন তামিল বলি বলে গোরা রায়।
কখন সংস্কৃত বলি শ্রোতারে বুঝায়।
Kadcha by Govinda Dās.
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† এত বলি কৃষ্ণ হে বলিয়া ডাক দিল।
সে স্থান অমনই যেন বৈকুণ্ঠ হইল॥
অনুকূল বায়ু তবে বহিতে লাগিল।
দলে দলে গ্রাম্য লোক আসি দেখা দিল॥
ছুটিল পদ্মের গন্ধ বিমোহিত করি।
অজ্ঞান হইয়া নাম করে গৌর হরি॥
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blew and the villagers came in groups till a crowd was formed. The fragrance of the lotus emanated from his person and charmed every one. Chaitanya lost consciousness of the world and chanted ‘O Kriṣṇa, O my God.’ All eyes were fixed on him and his eyes shed incessant tears. Mahārāṭṭas of noble family came there, and stood statue-like hearing him recite the name of God. Behind them I saw hundreds of women with the end of their Ṣaḍi wiping away the falling tears, moved as they were by the pathos of Chaitanya thus calling upon God. Innumerable Sanyasins of the Ṣaiva and Ṣākta sects, stood there with folded hands and listened to the chanting with closed eyes.”
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The end in 1534.
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Chaitanya came back to Puri in 1511. Thence he went to Vrindavan and spent there the following six years, after which he returned to Puri and stayed for 18 years. His earthly career came to an end on the afternoon of a Sunday, being the 7th day
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প্রভুর মুখের পানে সবার নয়ন। ঝর ঝর করি অশ্রু পড়ে অনুক্ষণ॥ বড় বড় মহারাষ্ট্রী আসি দলে দলে। শুনিতে লাগিল নাম মিলিয়া সকলে॥ পশ্চাৎভাগেতে মুই দেখি তাকাইয়া। শত শত কুলবধু আছে দাঁড়াইয়া॥ নারীগণ অশ্রুজল মুছিছে আঁচলে। ভক্তি ভরে হরি নাম শুনিছে সকলে॥ অসংখ্য বৈষ্ণব শৈব সন্ন্যাসী জুটিয়া। হরিনাম শুনিতেছে নয়ন মুদিয়া॥ of the waxing moon in the month of Asāḍa (July) on sunday at about 3 P. M. (1534 A. D.). He was 48 years and 4 months old at the time.
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His wonderful emotion and tenderness display however only one phase of the character of Chaitanya Deva. He was an ascetic of the truest type, and was always keenly alive to the holiness of the ascetic's vow. If any one amongst his companions showed the least worldliness, he was unsparing in his treatment of him. He used to sleep on the bare floor of the Puri temple and when Jagadānanda once brought a pillow for him, he indignantly said "Bring me a couch, Jagadānanda, if you desire me to taste the comforts of this world. Don't you know that I am an ascetic, that as such I ought to sleep on the bare earth and that luxury is inconsistent with my vows." One of his followers Chota Hari Das accosted a beautiful woman named Madhabi in a tender manner. Chaitanya Deva said "He has taken the ascetic's vow and still follows after women. I will not look at him again." He never again allowed Chota Hari Das to come into his presence and the man is said to have died of a broken heart. Sanātan a rich man, who became his disciple came to meet him wearing a blanket which he had purchased for Rs. 3. It was the cold season and the bare body of Chaitanya Dev and of his followers were exposed to the shivering cold but they looked contented and joyful inspite of it. Chaitanya Deva talked with Sanātan but kept his eyes fixed on his blanket. The look was too much for Sanātan who escaped it by giving the blanket to a beggar and then joined the order of the ascetics. Govinda Dās offered half his portion of a *haritaki* to Chaitanya Deva after his dinner, and kept the other half for the next day. On seeing the other half, the next day he enquired of Govinda Dās where he got it. The latter replied that it was the remnant of the day before; "Would you store up things for the morrow like a worldly man? You cannot then be admitted into the order of the ascetics." He was made to retire to his home for this act. A bottle of perfumes was presented by an admirer in Puri. It was broken on the spot by his order and the perfume allowed to soak into earth. The ascetics were required to clean a temple one day at Puri. It was observed that the dust carried away by Chaitanya Deva were larger than those of the servants employed at the same task.
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The fine frenzy of a poet and a lover.
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There is yet another side of his character which requires prominent notice and which inspired the Vaiṣṇava poets with new ideals in their love-poems. The vision of God was always before him. It was Kṛṣṇa's lovely complexion that he found painted in the newly formed clouds—and it was Kṛṣṇa's divine flute that he heard in the songs of birds. When conversing with learned scholars and the devotees of the type of Rām Rāy, he would explain the meaning of this love; this was a concrete way of thinking of the universal spirit—the great soul attracting the lesser souls as the sun attracts the planets. Even in the Vedas we find a Risi praying to God that He may come to him as a husband comes to his wife. This idea was taken up and developed in the faith of the Vaiṣṇavas God, according to them, is the Lord of love. This Chaitanya explained with many learned quotations from Sanskrit works on theology. But when the God-vision possessed him, he yielded to the fine frenzy of a poet and a lover. Whenever he would see the Kadamva flower blooming into beauty, freshened by the rains, he would fall into a trance, remembering that it was the favourite of Kṛṣṇa; when the clouds appeared on the clear horizon, with the crown of the rain-bow fixed above, his eyes would not move from the lovely sight and he shed profuse tears, stretching out his arms heaven-wards and calling on his beloved Kṛṣṇa to come to him. Wherever he saw a shady grove of flowering trees, he took it for the Vrinda groves where Kṛṣṇa sported; and wherever he saw a river flow before him, he heard in it, the soft mumers of the river Jumna, associated with Kṛṣṇa. It was a beautiful sight to see him in fits of ecstacy. The Tāmāl tree with its dark-blue foliage created an illusion in him and he ran to embrace it,—there with tears in his eyes he would chant hymns and quote verses on love. He had the highest poetical vision vouchsafed only to those who are endowed with the power to realise the presence of that primeval Poet whose creation of fancy this world is. If a great Emperor all unexpectedly calls at the lowly cottage of his poorest subject, what tribute can he offer to the monarch except the gratitude of his whole soul expressed in tears! Even so it was the case with Chaitanya; he saw the God-vision and became completely lost in it; his life was a course of thanks-giving, tears, hymns and praises offerd to God.
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Yet this divine man never neglected the society he lived in. He allowed the Mahammadans to enter his order; he cared not for caste or creed; he reorganised society and formed a new order in which merit and not birth was the mark of superiority. In this new order, Gaṅgā Nārāyan Chakervarty—a renowned Brahmin scholar, openly took the dust of the feet of Narottam—a Śudra, and acknowledged him as his spiritual preceptor and many others did similar things—violating openly all caste-prejudices.
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People took Chaitanya as an incarnation of God, and his image is now worshipped by the Vaiṣṇavas of Bengal and Orissa. He was always unsparing however during his life time, in his condemnation of such attempts to deify him. Rām Rāy the Prime Minister of Pratāp Rudra of Orissa, asked him why he was so cautious in his conduct. "We all know you to be god in human flesh, you may act as you like; why observe, so many restraints?"—he said. Chaitanya replied in firm tones "I am a man and I have taken the ascetic's vow. In body, in mind, in speech, and in all my dealings I must be spotless. As in a white cloth a dark spot becomes conspicuous, so a trifling fault in an ascetic's character, is prominent in the eyes of men. He is shunned like the pitcher of milk with a drop of wine in it." Vāsu Deva Sarbabhoum, the veteran scholar, with folded palms bowed down to him on his return from Southern India, and said "I know you, O Lord! to be God on earth" Chaitanya indignantly answered "Sir! why do you talk nonsense? Speak on other subjects." So in Chandipur when Içvar Bhārati prayed to him as to a God, he was offended. In the historic garden of Sribas' house at Navadwip, the party assembled, instead of singing and reciting the name of God, one day sang. "Praises to you O Chaitanya"—and when Chaitanya heard it, he stopped the singing, and asked the party to retire for the night. Such instances are numerous in his several biographies.
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But when in one of his trances he would lose all consciousness of the outer-world and picture-like or like a figure sculptured in fine clay, would lean on the shoulders of a comrade, his eyes over flowing with unconscious tears—wide-open yet not cognizant of this phenomenal world—a celestial joy beaming out of his countenance that spoke of the soul enjoying divine communion within, he was sometimes heard to murmur "I am He." The mystic words were cought by his followers who based their faith on them. But when reminded of this on return of his consciousness, he denied all knowledge of such unholy utterance, cried for forgiveness in remorse and said that he was a great sinner. The fact of this utterance coming from his lips during occasional fits of unconsciousness is related in Chaitanya Bhāgbata and other works which were written many years after Chaitanya Deva had pased away, and we all know how fertile is the Indian soil for the growth of wild stories about saintly characters whom, it is to the advantage of their followers to deify. In the contemporary records left by Govinda Dās, whom we consider to be one of the most authentic biographers of Chaitanya, no reference is made to any such utterances, though he describes Chaitanya Deva's ecstacies more often that any other biographer. It is for such omissions and for the rational view of the matters which he took, that orthodox Vaiṣṇavas do not give credence to Govinda Karmakār's accounts, whereas for these very reasons his work has an historical value and deserves the highest esteem.
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But whether an incarnation or not,—whether he did or did not cure leprosy and blindness ascribed to him by the later biographers, we verily believe that he was a god-man vouchsafed to Bengal in order to raise her out of the stupor of ignorance into which she had sunk for ages. He embodied in himself the perfection of that spirit of faith and love which this country aspired to reach, rising out of the extremely sceptial opinions of latter-day Buddhism. In him we find the faith that belongs to the age of the Paurānic Renaissance in fully developed from and in this respect he may be said to have been its greatest exponent. But he was far removed from the all pervading spirit of Paurānic Renaissance in disowning the Brahmin, as the unquestionable head of society, electing in his place those endowed with spirituality and high character as naturally fit to rule irrespective of their birth.
Cites (2)
- Tattvacintāmaṇi — Sanskrit
- Bhagavadgītā — Vyāsa, Sanskrit