Early History of the Vaishnava Faith and Movement in Bengal, from Sanskrit and Bengali Sources c6.s2.81

c6.s2.81

1 Tradition delights to make a great academic figure out of Vāsudeva Sārvabhauma and assigns to him four distinguished pupils, who achieved great success in four different spheres, viz. Raghunātha Śiromaṇi, the Naiyāyika; Raghunandana, the Smārta; Kṛṣṇānanda Āgamavāgīśa, the Tāntrika; and lastly, Caitanya. But Caitanya's pupilship, even though plausible, appears to have no foundation in fact; for Caitanya's first meeting with Vāsudeva, as described by Kavikarṇapūra and Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja, appears to have taken place at Puri. Probably the venerable old scholar had already left Navadvīpa before Caitanya was old enough to be his pupil. In the accounts of Caitanya's early life no reference is made to Vāsudeva's teaching Caitanya, whose attitude at Puri was hardly that of a pupil towards his teacher.