Early History of the Vaishnava Faith and Movement in Bengal, from Sanskrit and Bengali Sources c6.s2.107

c6.s2.107

Two years after his return from his pilgrimages, Caitanya set out again, at about Śaka 1435 (=1513 A. D.), to visit the newly restored Vṛndāvana; but, passing through Bengal,¹ his journey never extended beyond Rāmakeli, near Gauḍa, the ancient capital of North Bengal. At this place an incident occurred which came to possess a deep significance in the later history of the cult. Here he met and won over two scholarly brothers who, with their nephew, were destined to become the acknowledged theologians of the faith and thus play an important part in its future development. They were two gifted men, originally Karṇāṭa Brahmans, settled for some generations in Bengal, who had adopted the Muhammadan name or title of Sāker Malik (Sanātana) and Dabir Khās (Rūpa)² and were employed as high officials at the Muham-