Early History of the Vaishnava Faith and Movement in Bengal, from Sanskrit and Bengali Sources c7.s5.82

c7.s5.82

² *candrāśva-bhuvane śake pauṣe gokula-vāsinā/ iyam utkalikā-pūrva-vallarī nirmitā mayā//*. The Dacca University Manuscript collection contains a MS of Kavikarṇapūra's *Caitanya-caritāmṛta-kāvya*, which bears Śaka 1464=1542 A.D as its date of composition; the scribe of this MS calling himself Viṣṇudāsa adds a few verses after the colophon, which state that Rūpa Gosvāmin made a copy of this work in Śaka 1467=1545 A.D., i.e., only three years after the work was actually composed (*caitanya-candra-caritāmṛtam adbhutābhair/ dvya-ṣṭabdikair viracitam kavikarṇapūraiḥ// rūpākhya-mat-prabhuvaraiḥ sva-karāmbujena/ śāke hayartu-bhuvane likhitam purā yat// ālokya sāmpratam anena ku-medhasāpi/ svapne'pi tad-ratim ṛte mṛtaka-prabheṇa/ kenāpi lubdha-manasā vata viṣṇudāsa-/ nāmnā sva-jīvana-mahauṣadhim ācitam tat// (saṃdānikam)// idam kāvyam śrī-rūpa-gosvāminā caturdaśa-pūrva-sapta-ṣaṣṭhitama-śaka-varṣe likhitam, tad-anantaram śrī viṣṇudāsa-gosvāminā*. This indication is very interesting, as it shows that the Navadvīpa works were well known to the Vṛndāvana circle, although the earlier Navadvīpa authors (except, of course, Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja) do not show familiarity with the works of the Vṛndāvana Gosvāmins. Probably Viṣṇudāsa, who describes himself as a follower of Rūpa, copies this work from Rūpa Gosvāmin's own copy. The Dacca University MS, which is not old, must be a later copy of that copy by some other scribe. Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja tells us that Rūpa's handwriting was very fine ( *रुपेर अक्षर येन सुकृतार पंक्ति* Antya i. 97).