Sri Caitanya Caritamrta

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Sri Caitanya-Caritamrta

With translations and elaborate purports

By His Divine Grace

A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

 

Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami wrote Sri Caitanya-caritamrta in classical

Bengali and Sanskrit. He was a great saint and a confidential

disciple and student of Raqunatha Dasa Gosvami, a renowned ascetic

saint who was one of the intimate followers of Sri Krsna Caitanya.

This English translation and commentary, by His Divine Grace A.C.

Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, reveals his consummate Bengali and

Sanskrit scholarship, his intimate familiarity with the precepts of

Sri Krsna Caitanya, and his pure devotion to the Lord.

 

It would not be inaccurate to say that Sri Caitanya-caritamrta is one

of the most important works of historical and philosophical

literature ever written. It is the principle work on the life and

teachings of Sri Krsna Caitanya. The ease and clarity with which

Srila Prabhupada expounds upon Sri Caitanya's precepts enable even a

reader totally unfamiliar with the Indian religious tradition to

understand and appreciate this profound and monumental work.

 

SAMPLES

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu Is the Supreme Personality of Godhead

 

This chapter explains that Lord Caitanya is the Supreme Personality

of Godhead Krsna Himself. Therefore, the Brahman effulgence is the

bodily luster of Lord Caitanya, and the localized Supersoul situated

in the heart of every living entity is His partial representation.

The purusa-avataras are also explained in this connection. Maha-Visnu

is the reservoir of all conditioned souls, but as confirmed in the

authoritative scriptures, Lord Krsna is the ultimate fountainhead,

the source of numerous plenary expansions, including Narayana, who is

generally accepted by Mayavadi philosophers to be the Absolute Truth.

The Lord's manifestation of prabhava and vaibhava expansions, as well

as partial incarnations and incarnations with delegated powers, are

also explained. Lord Krsna's ages of boyhood and youth are discussed,

and it is explained that His age at the beginning of youth is His

eternal form. The spiritual sky contains innumerable spiritual

planets, the Vaikunthas, which are manifestations of the Supreme

Lord's internal energy. Innumerable material universes are similarly

exhibited by His external energy, and the living entities are

manifested by His marginal energy. Because Lord Krsna Caitanya is not

different from Lord Krsna, He is the cause of all causes; there is no

cause beyond Him. He is eternal, and His form is spiritual. Lord

Caitanya is directly the Supreme Lord Krsna, as the evidence of

authoritative scriptures proves. This chapter stresses that a devotee

must have knowledge of Krsna's personal form, His three principal

energies, His pastimes and the relationship of the living entities

with Him in order to advance in Krsna consciousness.

 

TEXT 1

 

TEXT

 

sri-caitanya-prabhum vande balo 'pi yad-anugrahat taren nana-mata-

graha- vyaptam siddhanta-sagaram

 

SYNONYMS

 

sri-caitanya-prabhum--to Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu; vande--I offer

obeisances; balah--an ignorant child; api--even; yat--of whom;

anugrahat--by the mercy; taret--may cross over; nana--various; mata--

of theories; graha--the crocodiles; vyaptam--filled with; siddhanta--

of conclusions; sagaram--the ocean.

 

TRANSLATION

 

I offer my obeisances to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, by whose mercy even

an ignorant child can swim across the ocean of conclusive truth,

which is full of the crocodiles of various theories.

 

PURPORT

 

By the mercy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Sri Caitanya

Mahaprabhu, even an inexperienced boy with no educational culture can

be saved from the ocean of nescience, which is full of various types

of philosophical doctrines that are like dangerous aquatic animals.

The philosophy of the Buddha, the argumentative presentations of the

jnanis, the yoga systems of Patanjali and Gautama, and the systems of

philosophers like Kanada, Kapila and Dattatreya are dangerous

creatures in the ocean of nescience. By the grace of Sri Caitanya

Mahaprabhu one can have real understanding of the essence of

knowledge by avoiding these sectarian views and accepting the lotus

feet of Krsna as the ultimate goal of life. Let us all worship Lord

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu for His gracious mercy to the conditioned

souls.

 

TEXT 2

 

TEXT

 

krsnotkirtana-gana-nartana-kala-pathojani-bhrajita sad-bhaktavali-

hamsa-cakra-madhupa-sreni-viharaspadam karnanandi-kala-dhvanir vahatu

me jihva-maru-prangane sri-caitanya daya-nidhe tava lasal-lila-sudha-

svardhuni

 

SYNONYMS

 

krsna--of the holy name of Lord Krsna; utkirtana--loud chanting; gana-

-singing; nartana--dancing; kala--of the other fine arts; pathah-jani-

-with lotuses; bhrajita--beautified; sat-bhakta--of pure devotees;

avali--rows; hamsa--of swans; cakra--cakravaka birds; madhu-pa--and

bumble bees; sreni--like swarms; vihara--of pleasure; aspadam--the

abode; karna-anandi--gladdening the ears; kala--melodious; dhvanih--

sound; vahatu--let it flow; me--my; jihva--of the tongue; maru--

desertlike; prangane--in the courtyard; sri-caitanya daya-nidhe--O

Lord Caitanya, ocean of mercy; tava--of You; lasat--shining; lila-

sudha--of the nectar of the pastimes; svardhuni--the Ganges.

 

TRANSLATION

 

O my merciful Lord Caitanya, may the nectarean Ganges waters of Your

transcendental activities flow on the surface of my desertlike

tongue. Beautifying these waters are the lotus flowers of singing,

dancing and loud chanting of Krsna's holy name, which are the

pleasure abodes of unalloyed devotees. These devotees are compared to

swans, ducks and bees. The river's flowing produces a melodious sound

that gladdens their ears.

 

PURPORT

 

Our tongues always engage in vibrating useless sounds that do not

help us realize transcendental peace. The tongue is compared to a

desert because a desert needs a constant supply of refreshing water

to make it fertile and fruitful. Water is the substance most needed

in the desert. The transient pleasure derived from mundane topics of

art, culture, politics, sociology, dry philosophy, poetry and so on

is compared to a mere drop of water because although such topics have

a qualitative feature of transcendental pleasure, they are saturated

with the modes of material nature. Therefore neither collectively nor

individually can they satisfy the vast requirements of the desertlike

tongue. Despite crying in various conferences, therefore, the

desertlike tongue continues to be parched. For this reason, people

from all parts of the world must call for the devotees of Lord Sri

Caitanya Mahaprabhu, who are compared to swans swimming around the

beautiful lotus feet of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu or bees humming

around His lotus feet in transcendental pleasure, searching for

honey. The dryness of material happiness cannot be moistened by so-

called philosophers who cry for Brahman, liberation and similar dry

speculative objects. The urge of the soul proper is different. The

soul can be solaced only by the mercy of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu

and His many bona fide devotees, who never leave the lotus feet of

the Lord to become imitation Mahaprabhus but all cling to His lotus

feet like bees that never leave a honey-soaked lotus flower. Lord

Caitanya's movement of Krsna consciousness is full of dancing and

singing about the pastimes of Lord Krsna. It is compared herein to

the pure waters of the Ganges, which are full of lotus flowers. The

enjoyers of these lotus flowers are the pure devotees, who are like

bees and swans. They chant like the flowing of the Ganges, the river

of the celestial kingdom. The author desires such sweetly flowing

waves to cover his tongue. He humbly compares himself to

materialistic persons who always engage in dry talk from which they

derive no satisfaction. If they were to use their dry tongues to

chant the holy name of the Lord--Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna,

Hare Hare. Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare--as exemplified

by Lord Caitanya, they would taste sweet nectar and enjoy life.

 

HDG A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada