Early History of the Vaishnava Faith and Movement in Bengal, from Sanskrit and Bengali Sources c5.s1.1

c5.s1.1

The form of Vaiṣṇavism which is prevalent in Bengal is usually associated with the name of Caitanya, but Caitanya was not, strictly speaking, the originator of Vaiṣṇavism in Bengal, which counted for many centuries an important, if not a numerous, group of adherents in the country. Long before Caitanya, the melodious Padāvalis of Jayadeva in Sanskrit¹ and the songs of Caṇḍidāsa in Bengali² had also popularised the Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa cult with their largess of Vaiṣṇava devotional sentiments. Even if Caitanya's religious personality started a new movement or gave a new interpretation to an old faith, his affiliation to the whole trend of Vaiṣṇava tradition of the past cannot be doubted, and its influence on him must have been varied and abundant.