History of Dharmashastra (Ancient and Mediaeval Religious and Civil Law in India) v5.c74.t4.37

v5.c74.t4.37

The great Vaiṣṇava saint, Caitanya, settled permanently at Purī in 1515 A. D. at the age of thirty and spent eighteen years there till 1533 (when he died). He appears to have made a great impression on the Gajapati king Pratāparudradeva, ruler of Orissa (1497-1540 A. D.). In the drama Caitanyacandrodaya of Kavikarṇapūra the king is shown to be so anxious for meeting the saint that he declares that he would die if the gracious glance of the saint did not fall on him.¹⁵⁹⁰ This should be attributed to the inveterate habit of gross exaggeration rampant in most Sanskrit writers, particularly amongst devotees and followers of great saints. Caitanya came to be worshipped along with Viṣṇu as a deity in Purī and Orissa (vide Hunter's 'Orissa' vol. I. p. 109). Kavikarṇapūra in his drama (8th Act) makes Sārvabhauma say that there is no distinction between God Jagannātha and Caitanya, the only difference being that Jagannātha is 'dārubrahma' (Godhead manifested in a wooden image) and Caitanya is 'narabrahma' (Godhead in human form).¹⁵⁹¹ The Caitanyacaritāmṛta (a poem) of Kavikarṇapūra in cantos 14-18 deals with the devotional and ecstatic life of Caitanya at Purī and presents a vivid picture of Ratha and other festivals of Jagannātha in which Caitanya took a prominent part. I agree with Dr. S. K. De that there is no satisfactory evidence to show that Pratāparudra was actually converted into the new faith ('Vaiṣṇava faith and movement in Bengal' p. 67).