CHAPTER TWELVE
The Expansions of Advaita Ācārya and Gadādhara Paṇḍita
Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura gives a summary of the twelfth chapter in his Amṛta-pravāha-bhāṣya. The twelfth chapter describes the followers of Advaita Prabhu, among whom the followers of Acyutānanda, the son of Advaita Ācārya, are understood to be the pure followers who received the cream of the philosophy Śrī Advaita Ācārya enunciated. Other so-called descendants and followers of Advaita Ācārya are not to be recognized. This chapter also includes narrations concerning the son of Advaita Ācārya named Gopāla Miśra and Advaita Ācārya’s servant named Kamalākānta Viśvāsa. In his early life Gopāla fainted during the cleansing of the Guṇḍicā-mandira at Jagannātha Purī and thus became a recipient of the mercy of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. The story of Kamalākānta Viśvāsa concerns his borrowing three hundred rupees from Pratāparudra Mahārāja to clear a debt of Advaita Ācārya’s, for which Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu chastised him when He came to know of it. Kamalākānta Viśvāsa was then purified by the request of Śrī Advaita Ācārya. After describing the descendants of Advaita Ācārya, the chapter concludes by describing the followers of Gadādhara Paṇḍita Gosvāmī.
Bengali
হিত্বাঽসারান্ সারভৃতো নৌমি চৈতন্যজীবনান্ ॥১ ॥
Text
sārāsāra-bhṛto ’khilān
hitvāsārān sāra-bhṛto
naumi caitanya-jīvanān
Synonyms
advaita-aṅghri — the lotus feet of Advaita Ācārya; abja — lotus flower; bhṛṅgān — bumblebees; tān — all of them; sāra-asāra — real and not real; bhṛtaḥ — accepting; akhilān — all of them; hitvā — giving up; asārān — not real; sāra-bhṛtaḥ — those who are real; naumi — offer my obeisances; caitanya-jīvanān — whose life and soul was Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
Translation
The followers of Śrī Advaita Prabhu were of two kinds. Some were real followers, and the others were false. Rejecting the false followers, I offer my respectful obeisances to Śrī Advaita Ācārya’s real followers, whose life and soul was Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
Bengali
জয় জয় নিত্যানন্দ জয়াদ্বৈত ধন্য ॥ ২॥
Text
jaya jaya nityānanda jayādvaita dhanya
Synonyms
Translation
All glories to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu! All glories to Lord Nityānanda! All glories to Śrī Advaita Prabhu! All of Them are glorious.
Bengali
শ্রীমদদ্বৈতচন্দ্রস্য শাখারূপান্ গণান্নুমঃ ॥ ৩॥
Text
dvitīya-skandha-rūpiṇaḥ
śrīmad-advaita-candrasya
śākhā-rūpān gaṇān numaḥ
Synonyms
śrī-caitanya — Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu; amara — eternal; taroḥ — of the tree; dvitīya — second; skandha — big branch; rūpiṇaḥ — in the form of; śrīmat — the all-glorious; advaita-candrasya — of Lord Advaitacandra; śākhā-rūpān — in the form of branches; gaṇān — to all the followers; numaḥ — I offer my respectful obeisances.
Translation
I offer my respectful obeisances to the all-glorious Advaita Prabhu, who forms the second branch of the eternal Caitanya tree, and to His followers, who form His subbranches.
Bengali
তাঁর যত শাখা হইল, তার লেখা নাঞি ॥ ৪ ॥
Text
tāṅra yata śākhā ha-ila, tāra lekhā nāñi
Synonyms
Translation
Śrī Advaita Prabhu was the second big branch of the tree. There are many subbranches, but it is impossible to mention them all.
Bengali
সেই জলে পুষ্ট স্কন্ধ বাড়ে দিনে দিনে ॥ ৫ ॥
Text
sei jale puṣṭa skandha bāḍe dine dine
Synonyms
Translation
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was also the gardener, and as He poured the water of His mercy on the tree, all the branches and subbranches grew, day after day.
Bengali
সেই কৃষ্ণপ্রেমফলে জগৎ ভরিল ॥ ৬ ॥
Text
sei kṛṣṇa-prema-phale jagat bharila
Synonyms
Translation
The fruits of love of Godhead that grew on those branches of the Caitanya tree were so large that they flooded the entire world with love of Kṛṣṇa.
Bengali
ফলে–ফুলে বাড়ে,—শাখা হইল বিস্তার ॥ ৭ ॥
Text
phale-phule bāḍe, — śākhā ha-ila vistāra
Synonyms
Translation
As the trunk and branches were watered, the branches and subbranches spread lavishly, and the tree grew full with fruits and flowers.
Bengali
পাছে দুইমত হৈল দৈবের কারণ ॥ ৮ ॥
Text
pāche dui-mata haila daivera kāraṇa
Synonyms
Translation
At first all the followers of Advaita Ācārya shared a single opinion. But later they followed two different opinions, as ordained by providence.
Purport
The words daivera kāraṇa indicate that by dint of providence, or by God’s will, the followers of Advaita Ācārya divided into two parties. Such disagreement among the disciples of one ācārya is also found among the members of the Gauḍīya Maṭha. In the beginning, during the presence of Oṁ Viṣṇupāda Paramahaṁsa Parivrājakācārya Aṣṭottara-śata Śrī Śrīmad Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Prabhupāda, all the disciples worked in agreement; but just after his disappearance, they disagreed. One party strictly followed the instructions of Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, but another group created their own concoction about executing his desires. Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, at the time of his departure, requested all his disciples to form a governing body and conduct missionary activities cooperatively. He did not instruct a particular man to become the next ācārya. But just after his passing away, his leading secretaries made plans, without authority, to occupy the post of ācārya, and they split into two factions over who the next ācārya would be. Consequently, both factions were asāra, or useless, because they had no authority, having disobeyed the order of the spiritual master. Despite the spiritual master’s order to form a governing body and execute the missionary activities of the Gauḍīya Maṭha, the two unauthorized factions began litigation that is still going on after forty years with no decision.
Therefore, we do not belong to any faction. But because the two parties, busy dividing the material assets of the Gauḍīya Maṭha institution, stopped the preaching work, we took up the mission of Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura and Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura to preach the cult of Caitanya Mahāprabhu all over the world, under the protection of all the predecessor ācāryas, and we find that our humble attempt has been successful. We followed the principles especially explained by Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura in his commentary on the Bhagavad-gītā verse beginning vyavasāyātmikā buddhir ekeha kuru-nandana. According to this instruction of Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura, it is the duty of a disciple to follow strictly the orders of his spiritual master. The secret of success in advancement in spiritual life is the firm faith of the disciple in the orders of his spiritual master. The Vedas confirm this:
tasyaite kathitā hy arthāḥ prakāśante mahātmanaḥ
“To one who has staunch faith in the words of the spiritual master and the words of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the secret of success in Vedic knowledge is revealed.” The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is being propagated according to this principle, and therefore our preaching work is going on successfully, in spite of the many impediments offered by antagonistic demons, because we are getting positive help from our previous ācāryas. One must judge every action by its result. The members of the self-appointed ācārya’s party who occupied the property of the Gauḍīya Maṭha are satisfied, but they could make no progress in preaching. Therefore by the result of their actions one should know that they are asāra, or useless, whereas the success of the ISKCON party, the International Society for Krishna Consciousness, which strictly follows guru and Gaurāṅga, is increasing daily all over the world. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura wanted to print as many books as possible and distribute them all over the world. We have tried our best in this connection, and we are getting results beyond our expectations.
Bengali
স্বমত কল্পনা করে দৈব–পরতন্ত্র ॥ ৯ ॥
Text
sva-mata kalpanā kare daiva-paratantra
Synonyms
Translation
Some of the disciples strictly accepted the orders of the ācārya, and others deviated, independently concocting their own opinions under the spell of daivī-māyā.
Purport
This verse describes the beginning of a schism. When disciples do not stick to the principle of accepting the order of their spiritual master, immediately there are two opinions. Any opinion different from the opinion of the spiritual master is useless. One cannot infiltrate materially concocted ideas into spiritual advancement. That is deviation. There is no scope for adjusting spiritual advancement to material ideas.
Bengali
তাঁর আজ্ঞা লঙ্ঘি’ চলে, সেই ত’ অসার ॥ ১০ ॥
Text
tāṅra ājñā laṅghi’ cale, sei ta’ asāra
Synonyms
Translation
The order of the spiritual master is the active principle in spiritual life. Anyone who disobeys the order of the spiritual master immediately becomes useless.
Purport
Here is the opinion of Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī. Persons who strictly follow the orders of the spiritual master are useful in executing the will of the Supreme, whereas persons who deviate from the strict order of the spiritual master are useless.
Bengali
ভেদ জানিবারে করি একত্র গণন ॥ ১১ ॥
Text
bheda jānibāre kari ekatra gaṇana
Synonyms
Translation
There is no need to name those who are useless. I have mentioned them only to distinguish them from the useful devotees.
Bengali
পশ্চাতে পাত্না উড়াঞা সংস্কার করিতে ॥ ১২ ॥
Text
paścāte pātnā uḍāñā saṁskāra karite
Synonyms
Translation
Paddy is mixed with straw at first, and one must fan it to separate the paddy from the straw.
Purport
This example given by Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī is very appropriate. In the case of the Gauḍīya Maṭha members, one can apply a similar process. There are many disciples of Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, but to judge who is actually his disciple, to divide the useful from the useless, one must measure the activities of such disciples in executing the will of the spiritual master. Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura tried his best to spread the cult of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu to countries outside India. When he was present he patronized the disciples to go outside India to preach the cult of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, but they were unsuccessful because within their minds they were not actually serious about preaching His cult in foreign countries; they simply wanted to take credit for having gone to foreign lands and utilize this recognition in India by advertising themselves as repatriated preachers. Many svāmīs have adopted this hypocritical means of preaching for the last eighty years or more, but no one could preach the real cult of Kṛṣṇa consciousness all over the world. They merely came back to India falsely advertising that they had converted all the foreigners to the ideas of Vedānta or Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and then they collected funds in India and lived satisfied lives of material comfort. As one fans paddy to separate the real paddy from useless straw, by accepting the criterion recommended by Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī one can very easily understand who is a genuine world-preacher and who is useless.
Bengali
আজন্ম সেবিলা তেঁহো চৈতন্য–চরণ ॥ ১৩ ॥
Text
ājanma sevilā teṅho caitanya-caraṇa
Synonyms
Translation
A big branch of Advaita Ācārya was His son Acyutānanda. From the beginning of his life he engaged in the service of the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya.
Bengali
এই পিতার বাক্য শুনি’ দুঃখ পাইল অতি ॥ ১৪ ॥
Text
ei pitāra vākya śuni’ duḥkha pāila ati
Synonyms
Translation
When Acyutānanda heard from his father that Keśava Bhāratī was the spiritual master of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, he was very unhappy.
Bengali
তোমার এই উপদেশে নষ্ট হইল দেশ ॥ ১৫ ॥
Text
tomāra ei upadeśe naṣṭa ha-ila deśa
Synonyms
Translation
He told his father, “Your instruction that Keśava Bhāratī is the spiritual master of Caitanya Mahāprabhu will spoil the entire country.
Bengali
তাঁর গুরু—অন্য, এই কোন শাস্ত্রে নাই ॥ ১৬ ॥
Text
tāṅra guru — anya, ei kona śāstre nāi
Synonyms
Translation
“Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu is the spiritual master of the fourteen worlds, but You say that someone else is His spiritual master. This is not supported by any revealed scripture.”
Bengali
শুনিয়া পাইলা আচার্য সন্তোষ অপার ॥ ১৭ ॥
Text
śuniyā pāilā ācārya santoṣa apāra
Synonyms
Translation
When Advaita Ācārya heard this statement from His five-year-old son Acyutānanda, He felt great satisfaction because of his conclusive judgment.
Purport
commenting on verses 13 through 17, Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura gives an extensive description of the descendants of Advaita Ācārya. The Caitanya-bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa, chapter one, states that Acyutānanda was the eldest son of Advaita Ācārya. The Sanskrit book Advaita-carita states, “Advaita Ācārya Prabhu had three sons who were devotees of Lord Caitanya. Their names were Acyuta, Kṛṣṇa Miśra and Gopāla dāsa, and they were all born of the womb of His wife, Sītādevī. Advaita Ācārya also had three more sons, whose names were Balarāma, Svarūpa and Jagadīśa. Thus there were six sons of Advaita Ācārya.” Among the six sons, three were strict followers of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and of these three, Acyutānanda was the eldest.
Advaita Prabhu married in the beginning of the fifteenth century Śakābda (late fifteenth century A.D.). When Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu wanted to visit the village of Rāmakeli while going from Jagannātha Purī to Vṛndāvana during the Śakābda years 1433 and 1434 (A.D. 1511 and 1512), Acyutānanda was only five years old. The Caitanya-bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa, fourth chapter, describes Acyutānanda at that time as pañca-varṣa vayasa madhura digambara, “only five years old and standing naked.” Therefore it is to be concluded that Acyutānanda was born sometime in the year 1428 (A.D. 1506). Before the birth of Acyutānanda, Advaita Prabhu’s wife, Sītādevī, came to see Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu at His birth. Thus it is not impossible that she had the other three sons by Advaita within the twenty-one years between 1407 and 1428 Śakābda (A.D. 1486 and 1507). In an unauthorized book of the name Sītādvaita-carita, published in Bengali in the unauthorized newspaper Nityānanda-dāyinī in 1792 Śakābda (A.D. 1870), it is mentioned that Acyutānanda was a class friend of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. According to the Caitanya-bhāgavata, this statement is not at all valid. When Caitanya Mahāprabhu accepted the renounced order of sannyāsa in the year 1431 Śakābda (A.D. 1509), He came to the house of Advaita Prabhu at Śāntipura. At that time, as stated in the Caitanya-bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa, chapter one, Acyutānanda was only three years old. The Caitanya-bhāgavata further states that the naked child, the son of Advaita Prabhu, immediately came and fell down at the lotus feet of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. The Lord immediately took him on His lap, although he was not very clean, having dust all over his body. Lord Caitanya said, “My dear Acyuta, Advaita Ācārya is My father, and thus we are brothers.”
Before Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu exhibited His spiritual forms during His residence at Navadvīpa, He asked Śrī Rāma Paṇḍita, Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura’s brother, to go to Śāntipura and bring back Advaita Ācārya. Acyutānanda joined his father at that time. It is said, advaitera tanaya ‘acyutānanda’ nāma/ parama-bālaka, seho kānde avirāma. Acyutānanda also joined in crying in transcendental bliss. Again, when Lord Caitanya beat Advaita Ācārya for explaining Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam from an impersonalist viewpoint opposed to the principles of bhakti-yoga, Acyutānanda was also present. Therefore all these incidents must have occurred only two or three years before Lord Caitanya accepted the sannyāsa order. As mentioned above, in the Caitanya-bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa, chapter one, it is stated that Acyutānanda, the son of Advaita Ācārya, offered his obeisances to the Lord. Therefore it should be concluded that from the very beginning of his life Acyutānanda was a great devotee of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
There is no information that Acyutānanda ever married, but he is described as the biggest branch of the Advaita Ācārya family. From a book named Śākhā-nirṇayāmṛta it is understood that Acyutānanda was a disciple of Gadādhara Paṇḍita and that he took shelter of Lord Caitanya in Jagannātha Purī and engaged in devotional service. The Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā, chapter ten, states that Acyutānanda, the son of Advaita Ācārya, lived in Jagannātha Purī, taking shelter of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Gadādhara Paṇḍita, in the last years of his life, also lived with Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu at Jagannātha Purī. There is no doubt, therefore, that Acyutānanda was a disciple of Paṇḍita Gadādhara. In the accounts of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s dancing in front of the car during the Ratha-yātrā festival, Acyutānanda’s name is to be found many times. It is stated that in the party of Advaita Ācārya from Śāntipura, Acyutānanda was dancing and others were singing. At that time the boy was only six years old. text 87 of the Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā, compiled by Śrī Kavi-karṇapūra, describes Acyutānanda as a disciple of Gadādhara Paṇḍita and a great and dear devotee of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. According to the opinion of some, he was an incarnation of Kārttikeya, the son of Lord Śiva, and according to others he was formerly the gopī named Acyutā. The Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā (88) supports both these opinions. Another book, Narottama-vilāsa, compiled by Śrī Narahari dāsa, mentions Acyutānanda’s presence during the festival at Khetari. According to Śrī Narahari dāsa, during the last days of his life Acyutānanda stayed in his house at Śāntipura, but during the presence of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu he lived at Jagannātha Purī with Gadādhara Paṇḍita.
Bengali
চৈতন্য–গোসাঞি বৈসে যাঁহার হৃদয় ॥ ১৮ ॥
Text
caitanya-gosāñi baise yāṅhāra hṛdaya
Synonyms
Translation
Kṛṣṇa Miśra was a son of Advaita Ācārya. Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu always sat in his heart.
Purport
Of the six sons of Advaita Ācārya, three, Acyutānanda, Kṛṣṇa Miśra and Gopāla dāsa, lived faithfully in the service of Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Since Acyutānanda did not accept a wife, he had no issue. The second son of Advaita Ācārya, Kṛṣṇa Miśra, had two sons, Raghunātha Cakravartī and Dola-govinda. The descendants of Raghunātha still live in Śāntipura, in the neighborhoods of Madana-gopāla-pāḍa, Gaṇakara, Mṛjāpura and Kumārakhāli. Dola-govinda had three sons, namely Cāṅda, Kandarpa and Gopīnātha. The descendants of Kandarpa live in Maldah, in the village Jikābāḍī. Gopīnātha had three sons, Śrīvallabha, Prāṇavallabha and Keśava. The descendants of Śrīvallabha live in the villages known as Maśiyāḍārā (Mahiṣaḍerā), Dāmukadiyā and Caṇḍīpura. There is a genealogical table for the family of Śrīvallabha beginning from his eldest son, Gaṅgā-nārāyaṇa. The descendants of Śrīvallabha’s youngest son, Rāmagopāla, still live in Dāmukadiyā, Caṇḍīpura, Śolamāri, and so on. The descendants of Prāṇavallabha and Keśava live in Uthalī. The son of Prāṇavallabha was Ratneśvara, and his son was Kṛṣṇarāma, whose youngest son was Lakṣmī-nārāyaṇa. His son was Navakiśora, and Navakiśora’s second son was Rāmamohana, whose eldest son was Jagabandhu and whose third son, Vīracandra, accepted the sannyāsa order and established a Deity of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu in Katwa. These two sons of Rāmamohana were known as Baḍa Prabhu and Choṭa Prabhu, and they inaugurated the circumambulation of Navadvīpa-dhāma. One may refer to the Vaiṣṇava-mañjuṣā for the complete genealogical table of Advaita Prabhu in the line of Kṛṣṇa Miśra.
Bengali
তাঁহার চরিত্র, শুন, অত্যন্ত অদ্ভুত ॥ ১৯ ॥
Text
tāṅhāra caritra, śuna, atyanta adbhuta
Synonyms
Translation
Śrī Gopāla was another son of Śrī Advaita Ācārya Prabhu. Now just hear about his characteristics, for they are all very wonderful.
Purport
As mentioned above, Śrī Gopāla was one of the three devoted sons of Advaita Ācārya. He is further described in the Madhya-līlā of Caitanya-caritāmṛta, chapter twelve, texts 143 through 149.
Bengali
কীর্তনে নর্তন করে বড় প্রেম–সুখে ॥ ২০ ॥
Text
kīrtane nartana kare baḍa prema-sukhe
Synonyms
Translation
When Lord Caitanya personally cleansed the Guṇḍicā-mandira in Jagannātha Purī, Gopāla danced in front of the Lord with great love and happiness.
Purport
The Guṇḍicā-mandira is situated in Jagannātha Purī, and every year Jagannātha, Balabhadra and Subhadrā come there from the Jagannātha temple to stay for eight days. When Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu lived at Jagannātha Purī, every year He personally cleansed this temple with His principal devotees. The Guṇḍicā-mārjana chapter of Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Madhya 12) describes this vividly.
Bengali
দুই গোসাঞি ‘হরি’ বলে, আনন্দিত মন ॥ ২১ ॥
Text
dui gosāñi ‘hari’ bale, ānandita mana
Synonyms
Translation
While Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Advaita Prabhu chanted the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra and danced, there were various ecstatic symptoms in Their bodies, and Their minds were very pleased.
Bengali
ভূমেতে পড়িল, দেহে নাহিক সম্বিত ॥ ২২ ॥
Text
bhūmete paḍila, dehe nāhika saṁvita
Synonyms
Translation
While all of them danced, Gopāla, dancing and dancing, fainted and fell to the ground unconscious.
Bengali
রক্ষা করে নৃসিংহের মন্ত্র পড়িয়া ॥ ২৩ ॥
Text
rakṣā kare nṛsiṁhera mantra paḍiyā
Synonyms
Translation
Advaita Ācārya Prabhu became very unhappy. Taking His son on His lap, He began to chant the Nṛsiṁha mantra for his protection.
Bengali
আচার্যের দুঃখে বৈষ্ণব করেন ক্রন্দন ॥ ২৪ ॥
Text
ācāryera duḥkhe vaiṣṇava karena krandana
Synonyms
Translation
Advaita Ācārya chanted various mantras, but Gopāla did not come to consciousness. Thus all the Vaiṣṇavas present cried in sorrow at His plight.
Bengali
‘উঠহ, গোপাল,’ কৈল বল ‘হরি’ ‘হরি’ ॥ ২৫ ॥
Text
‘uṭhaha, gopāla,’ kaila bala ‘hari’ ‘hari’
Synonyms
Translation
Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu then put His hand on the chest of Gopāla and told him, “My dear Gopāla, get up and chant the holy name of the Lord!”
Bengali
আনন্দিত হঞা সবে করে হরিধ্বনি ॥ ২৬ ॥
Text
ānandita hañā sabe kare hari-dhvani
Synonyms
Translation
When he heard this sound and felt the touch of the Lord, Gopāla immediately got up, and all the Vaiṣṇavas chanted the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra in jubilation.
Bengali
আর পুত্র—‘স্বরূপ’–শাখা, ‘জগদীশ’ নাম ॥ ২৭ ॥
Text
āra putra — ‘svarūpa’-śākhā, ‘jagadīśa’ nāma
Synonyms
Translation
The other sons of Advaita Ācārya were Śrī Balarāma, Svarūpa and Jagadīśa.
Purport
The Sanskrit book Advaita-carita states that Balarāma, Svarūpa and Jagadīśa were the fourth, fifth and sixth sons of Advaita Ācārya. Therefore Śrī Advaita Ācārya had six sons. Balarāma, Svarūpa and Jagadīśa, being smārtas, or Māyāvādīs, were rejected by Vaiṣṇava society. Sometimes Māyāvādīs pose themselves as Vaiṣṇavas, or worshipers of Lord Viṣṇu, but actually they do not believe in Lord Viṣṇu as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, for they consider demigods like Lord Śiva, Durgā, the sun-god and Gaṇeśa equal to Him. They are generally known as pañcopāsaka-smārtas, and one should not count them among the Vaiṣṇavas.
Balarāma had three wives and nine sons. The youngest son of his first wife was known as Madhusūdana Gosvāmī. He took the title Bhaṭṭācārya and accepted the path of the smārta or Māyāvāda philosophy. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura notes that the son of Gosvāmī Bhaṭṭācārya, Śrī Rādhāramaṇa Gosvāmī Bhaṭṭācārya, refused the title gosvāmī because it is generally meant for sannyāsīs, those who have taken the renounced order of life. One who is still in family life should not misuse the title gosvāmī. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura did not recognize the caste gosvāmīs because they were not in the line of the six gosvāmīs in the renounced order who were direct disciples of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu — namely Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī, Śrīla Bhaṭṭa Raghunātha Gosvāmī, Śrī Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī, Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī and Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura said that the gṛhastha āśrama, or the status of family life, is a sort of concession for sense gratification. Therefore a gṛhastha should not falsely adopt the title gosvāmī. The ISKCON movement has never conferred the title gosvāmī upon a householder. Although all the sannyāsīs we have initiated in ISKCON are young, we have awarded them the titles of the renounced order of life, svāmī and gosvāmī, because they have completely dedicated their lives to preach the cult of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura mentions that not only do the householder caste gosvāmīs disrespect the title gosvāmī, but also, following the principles of the smārta Raghunandana, they exhibit great foolishness by burning a straw image of Advaita Ācārya in a śrāddha ceremony, thus acting like Rākṣasas and disrespecting the Hari-bhakti-vilāsa, which is the guide for Vaiṣṇavas. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura says that sometimes these smārta caste gosvāmīs write books on Vaiṣṇava philosophy or commentaries on the original scriptures, but a pure devotee should cautiously avoid reading them.
Bengali
আচার্য–ব্যবহার সব—তাঁহার গোচর ॥ ২৮ ॥
Text
ācārya-vyavahāra saba — tāṅhāra gocara
Synonyms
Translation
Advaita Ācārya’s very confidential servant named Kamalākānta Viśvāsa knew all the dealings of Advaita Ācārya.
Purport
The name Kamalānanda mentioned in the Ādi-līlā (10.149) and the name Kamalākānta mentioned in the Madhya-līlā (10.94) both refer to the same man. Kamalākānta, a very confidential servant of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu born in a brāhmaṇa family, engaged in the service of Śrī Advaita Ācārya as His secretary. When Paramānanda Purī went from Navadvīpa to Jagannātha Purī, he took Kamalākānta Viśvāsa with him, and they both went to see Lord Caitanya at Jagannātha Purī. It is mentioned in the Madhya-līlā (10.94) that one of the devotees of Lord Caitanya, the brāhmaṇa Kamalākānta, went with Paramānanda Purī to Jagannātha Purī.
Bengali
প্রতাপরুদ্রের পাশ দিল পাঠাইয়া ॥ ২৯ ॥
Text
pratāparudrera pāśa dila pāṭhāiyā
Synonyms
Translation
When Kamalākānta Viśvāsa was in Jagannātha Purī, he sent a note through someone to Mahārāja Pratāparudra.
Bengali
কোন পাকে সেই পত্রী আইল প্রভুস্থানে ॥ ৩০ ॥
Text
kona pāke sei patrī āila prabhu-sthāne
Synonyms
Translation
No one knew of that note, but somehow or other it reached the hands of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
Bengali
ঈশ্বরত্বে আচার্যেরে করিয়াছে স্থাপন ॥ ৩১ ৷৷
Text
īśvaratve ācāryere kariyāche sthāpana
Synonyms
Translation
That note established Advaita Ācārya as an incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Bengali
ঋণ শোধিবারে চাহি তঙ্কা শত–তিন ॥ ৩২ ॥
Text
ṛṇa śodhibāre cāhi taṅkā śata-tina
Synonyms
Translation
But it also mentioned that Advaita Ācārya had recently incurred a debt of about three hundred rupees that Kamalākānta Viśvāsa wanted to liquidate.
Bengali
বাহিরে হাসিয়া কিছু বলে চন্দ্রমুখ ॥ ৩৩ ॥
Text
bāhire hāsiyā kichu bale candra-mukha
Synonyms
Translation
Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu became unhappy upon reading the note, although His face still shone as brightly as the moon. Thus, smiling, He spoke as follows.
Bengali
ইথে দোষ নাহি, আচার্য—দৈবত ঈশ্বর ॥ ৩৪ ॥
Text
ithe doṣa nāhi, ācārya — daivata īśvara
Synonyms
Translation
“He has established Advaita Ācārya as an incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. There is nothing wrong in this, for He is indeed the Lord Himself.
Bengali
অতএব দণ্ড করি’ করাইব শিক্ষা ॥ ৩৫ ॥
Text
ataeva daṇḍa kari’ karāiba śikṣā
Synonyms
Translation
“But he has made the incarnation of Godhead a poverty-stricken beggar. Therefore I shall punish him in order to correct him.”
Purport
To describe a man as an incarnation of God, or Nārāyaṇa, and at the same time present him as poverty-stricken is contradictory, and it is the greatest offense. The Māyāvādī philosophers, engaged in the missionary work of spoiling the Vedic culture by preaching that everyone is God, describe a poverty-stricken man as daridra-nārāyaṇa, or “poor Nārāyaṇa.” Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu never accepted such foolish and unauthorized ideas. He strictly warned, māyāvādi-bhāṣya śunile haya sarva-nāśa: “Anyone who follows the principles of Māyāvāda philosophy is certainly doomed.” Such a fool needs to be reformed by punishment.
Although it is contradictory to say that the Supreme Personality of Godhead or His incarnation is poverty-stricken, we find in the revealed scriptures that when the Lord incarnated as Vāmana, He begged some land from Mahārāja Bali. Everyone knows, however, that Vāmanadeva was not at all poverty-stricken. His begging from Mahārāja Bali was a device to favor him. When Mahārāja Bali actually gave the land, Vāmanadeva exhibited His all-powerful position by covering the three worlds with three steps. One should not accept the so-called daridra-nārāyaṇas as incarnations, because they are completely unable to show the opulence of the genuine incarnations of God.
Bengali
বাউলিয়া বিশ্বাসে এথা না দিবে আসিতে ॥” ৩৬ ॥
Text
bāuliyā viśvāse ethā nā dibe āsite”
Synonyms
Translation
The Lord ordered Govinda, “From today on, do not allow that bāuliyā Kamalākānta Viśvāsa to come here.”
Purport
The bāuliyās, or bāulas, are one of thirteen unauthorized sects that pass as followers of Caitanya Mahāprabhu. The Lord ordered Govinda, His personal assistant, not to allow Kamalākānta Viśvāsa to come into His presence because he had become a bāuliyā. Thus although the bāula-sampradāya, āula-sampradāya and sahajiyā-sampradāya, as well as the smārtas, jāta-gosāñis, ativāḍīs, cūḍādhārīs and gaurāṅga-nāgarīs, claim to belong to the disciplic succession of Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the Lord actually rejected them.
Bengali
শুনিয়া প্রভুর দণ্ড আচার্য হর্ষিত ॥ ৩৭ ॥
Text
śuniyā prabhura daṇḍa ācārya harṣita
Synonyms
Translation
When Kamalākānta Viśvāsa heard about this punishment by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, he was very unhappy, but when Advaita Prabhu heard about it, He was greatly pleased.
Purport
In the Bhagavad-gītā (9.29) the Lord says, samo ’haṁ sarva-bhūteṣu na me dveṣyo ’sti na priyaḥ: “I envy no one, nor am I partial to anyone. I am equal to all.” The Supreme Personality of Godhead being equal to everyone, no one can be His enemy, nor can anyone be His friend. Since everyone is a part or son of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Lord cannot be partial and regard someone as a friend and someone as an enemy. Thus when Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu punished Kamalākānta Viśvāsa by no longer allowing him to come into His presence, although the punishment was actually very hard on him, Śrī Advaita Prabhu, understanding the inner meaning of such punishment, was happy because He appreciated that the Lord had actually favored Kamalākānta Viśvāsa. Therefore He was not at all unhappy. Devotees should always be happy with all the dealings of their master, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. A devotee may be put into difficulty or opulence, but he should accept both as gifts of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and jubilantly engage in the service of the Lord in all circumstances.
Bengali
তোমারে করিল দণ্ড প্রভু ভগবান্ ॥ ৩৮ ॥
Text
tomāre karila daṇḍa prabhu bhagavān
Synonyms
Translation
Seeing Kamalākānta Viśvāsa unhappy, Advaita Ācārya Prabhu told him, “You are greatly fortunate to have been punished by the Supreme Lord, the Personality of Godhead, Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
Purport
This is an authoritative judgment by Śrī Advaita Prabhu. He clearly advises that one should not be unhappy when reverses come upon him by the order of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. A devotee should always be happy to receive the fortune awarded him by the Supreme Lord, which seems pleasant or unpleasant according to one’s judgment.
Bengali
দুঃখ পাই’ মনে আমি কৈলুঁ অনুমান ॥ ৩৯ ॥
Text
duḥkha pāi’ mane āmi kailuṅ anumāna
Synonyms
Translation
“Formerly Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu always respected Me as His senior, but I did not like such respect. Therefore, My mind being afflicted by unhappiness, I made a plan.
Bengali
ক্রুদ্ধ হঞা প্রভু মোরে কৈল অপমান ॥ ৪০ ॥
Text
kruddha hañā prabhu more kaila apamāna
Synonyms
Translation
“Thus I expounded the Yoga-vāśiṣṭha, which considers liberation the ultimate goal of life. For this the Lord became angry at Me and treated Me with apparent disrespect.
Purport
There is a book of the name Yoga-vāśiṣṭha that Māyāvādīs greatly favor because it is full of impersonal misunderstandings regarding the Supreme Personality of Godhead, with no touch of Vaiṣṇavism. Factually, all Vaiṣṇavas should avoid such a book, but Advaita Ācārya Prabhu, wanting punishment from the Lord, began to support the impersonal statements of the Yoga-vāśiṣṭha. Thus Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu became extremely angry at Him and seemingly treated Him disrespectfully.
Bengali
যে দণ্ড পাইল ভাগ্যবান্ শ্রীমুকুন্দ ॥ ৪১ ॥
Text
ye daṇḍa pāila bhāgyavān śrī-mukunda
Synonyms
Translation
“When chastised by Lord Caitanya, I was very happy to receive a punishment similar to that awarded Śrī Mukunda.
Purport
Śrī Mukunda, a great friend and associate of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, used to visit many places where people were against the Vaiṣṇava cult. When Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu came to know of this, He punished Mukunda, forbidding him to see Him again. Although Caitanya Mahāprabhu was soft like a flower, He was also strict like a thunderbolt, and everyone was afraid to allow Mukunda to come again into the presence of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Mukunda, therefore, being very sorry, asked his friends whether he would one day be allowed to see Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. When the devotees brought this inquiry to Lord Caitanya, the Lord replied, “Mukunda will get permission to see Me after many millions of years.” When they gave this information to Mukunda, he danced with jubilation, and when Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu heard that Mukunda was so patiently waiting to meet Him after millions of years, He immediately asked him to return. There is a statement about this punishment of Mukunda in the Caitanya-bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa, tenth chapter.
Bengali
সে দণ্ড প্রসাদ অন্য লোক পাবে কতি ॥ ৪২ ॥
Text
se daṇḍa prasāda anya loka pābe kati
Synonyms
Translation
“A similar punishment was awarded to mother Śacīdevī. Who could be more fortunate than she to receive such punishment?”
Purport
Mother Śacīdevī was similarly punished, as mentioned in the Caitanya-bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa, chapter twenty-two. Mother Śacīdevī, apparently showing her feminine nature, accused Advaita Prabhu of encouraging her son to become a sannyāsī. Caitanya Mahāprabhu, taking this accusation as an offense, asked Śacīdevī to touch the lotus feet of Advaita Ācārya to mitigate the offense she had supposedly committed.
Bengali
আনন্দিত হইয়া আইল মহাপ্রভু–পাশ ॥ ৪৩ ॥
Text
ānandita ha-iyā āila mahāprabhu-pāśa
Synonyms
Translation
After pacifying Kamalākānta Viśvāsa in this way, Śrī Advaita Ācārya Prabhu went to see Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
Bengali
আমা হৈতে প্রসাদপাত্র করিলা কমলা ॥ ৪৪ ॥
Text
āmā haite prasāda-pātra karilā kamalā
Synonyms
Translation
Śrī Advaita Ācārya told Lord Caitanya, “I cannot understand Your transcendental pastimes. You have shown more favor to Kamalākānta than You generally show to Me.
Bengali
তোমার চরণে আমি কি কৈনু অপরাধ ॥ ৪৫ ॥
Text
tomāra caraṇe āmi ki kainu aparādha
Synonyms
Translation
“The favor You have shown Kamalākānta is so great that even to Me You have never shown such favor. What offense have I committed at Your lotus feet so as not to be shown such favor?”
Purport
This is a reference to Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s former punishment of Advaita Ācārya. When Advaita Ācārya Prabhu was reading Yoga-vāśiṣṭha, Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu beat Him, but He never told Him not to come into His presence. But Kamalākānta was punished with the order never to come into the Lord’s presence. Therefore Śrī Advaita Ācārya Prabhu wanted to impress upon Caitanya Mahāprabhu that He had shown more favor to Kamalākānta Viśvāsa because He had prohibited Kamalākānta from seeing Him, whereas He had not done so to Advaita Ācārya. Therefore the favor shown Kamalākānta Viśvāsa was greater than that shown Advaita Ācārya.
Bengali
বোলাইয়া কমলাকান্তে প্রসন্ন হইলা ॥ ৪৬ ॥
Text
bolāiyā kamalākānte prasanna ha-ilā
Synonyms
eta śuni’ — thus hearing; mahāprabhu — Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu; hāsite — to laugh; lāgilā — began; bolāiyā — calling; kamalākānte — unto Kamalākānta; prasanna — satisfied; ha-ilā — became.
Translation
Hearing this, Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu laughed with satisfaction and immediately called Kamalākānta Viśvāsa.
Bengali
দুই প্রকারেতে করে মোরে বিড়ম্বন ॥ ৪৭ ॥
Text
dui prakārete kare more viḍambana
Synonyms
Translation
Advaita Ācārya then said to Caitanya Mahāprabhu, “Why have You called back this man and allowed him to see You? He has cheated Me in two ways.”
Bengali
দুঁহার অন্তর–কথা দুঁহে সে জানিল ॥ ৪৮ ৷৷
Text
duṅhāra antara-kathā duṅhe se jānila
Synonyms
Translation
When Caitanya Mahāprabhu heard this, His mind was satisfied. Only They could understand each other’s minds.
Bengali
আচার্যের লজ্জা–ধর্ম–হানি সে আচর ॥ ৪৯ ॥
Text
ācāryera lajjā-dharma-hāni se ācara
Synonyms
Translation
Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu instructed Kamalākānta, “You are a bāuliyā, one who does not know things as they are. Why do you act in this way? Why do you invade the privacy of Advaita Ācārya and damage His religious principles?
Purport
Kamalākānta Viśvāsa, out of his ignorance, asked the King of Jagannātha Purī, Mahārāja Pratāparudra, to liquidate the three-hundred-rupee debt of Advaita Ācārya, but at the same time he established Advaita Ācārya as an incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is contradictory. An incarnation of the Supreme Godhead cannot be indebted to anyone in this material world. Caitanya Mahāprabhu is never satisfied by such a contradiction, which is technically called rasābhāsa, or overlapping of one humor (rasa) with another. This is the same type of idea as the contradiction that Nārāyaṇa is poverty-stricken (daridra-nārāyaṇa).
Bengali
বিষয়ীর অন্ন খাইলে দুষ্ট হয় মন ॥ ৫০ ॥
Text
viṣayīra anna khāile duṣṭa haya mana
Synonyms
Translation
“Advaita Ācārya, My spiritual master, should never accept charity from rich men or kings, because if a spiritual master accepts money or grains from such materialists his mind becomes polluted.
Purport
It is very risky to accept money or food from materialistic persons, for such acceptance pollutes the mind of the charity’s recipient. According to the Vedic system, one should give charity to sannyāsīs and brāhmaṇas because one who thus gives charity becomes free from sinful activities. Formerly, therefore, brāhmaṇas would not accept charity from a person unless he were very pious. Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu gave this instruction for all spiritual masters. Materialistic persons who are not inclined to give up their sinful activities like illicit sex, intoxication, gambling and meat-eating sometimes want to become our disciples, but, unlike professional spiritual masters who accept disciples regardless of their condition, Vaiṣṇavas do not accept such cheap disciples. One must at least agree to abide by the rules and regulations for a disciple before a Vaiṣṇava ācārya can accept him. In fact, a Vaiṣṇava should not even accept charity or food from persons who do not follow the rules and regulations of the Vaiṣṇava principles.
Bengali
কৃষ্ণস্মৃতি বিনু হয় নিষ্ফল জীবন ॥ ৫১ ॥
Text
kṛṣṇa-smṛti vinu haya niṣphala jīvana
Synonyms
Translation
“When one’s mind is polluted, it is very difficult to remember Kṛṣṇa, and when remembrance of Lord Kṛṣṇa is hampered, one’s life is unproductive.
Purport
A devotee should always be alert, keeping his mind in a sanguine state so that he can always remember Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa. The śāstras state, smartavyaḥ satataṁ viṣṇuḥ: in devotional life one should always remember Lord Viṣṇu. Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī also advised Mahārāja Parīkṣit, smartavyo nityaśaḥ. In the Second Canto, first chapter, of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Śukadeva Gosvāmī advised Parīkṣit Mahārāja:
śrotavyaḥ kīrtitavyaś ca smartavyaś cecchatābhayam
“O descendant of King Bharata, one who desires to be free from all miseries must hear about, glorify and also remember the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the Supersoul, the controller and the savior from all miseries.” (Bhāg. 2.1.5) This is the summary of all the activities of a Vaiṣṇava, and the same instruction is repeated here (kṛṣṇa-smṛti vinu haya niṣphala jīvana). Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī states in his Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, avyartha-kālatvam: A Vaiṣṇava must be very alert not to waste even a second of his valuable lifetime. This is a symptom of a Vaiṣṇava. But association with pounds-and-shillings men, or viṣayīs, materialists who are simply interested in sense gratification, pollutes one’s mind and hampers such continuous remembrance of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu therefore advised, asat-saṅga-tyāga — ei vaiṣṇava-ācāra: a Vaiṣṇava should behave in such a way as to never associate with nondevotees or materialists (Cc. Madhya 22.87). One can avoid such association simply by always remembering Kṛṣṇa within his heart.
Bengali
ঐছে কর্ম না করিহ কভু ইহা জানি’ ॥ ৫২ ॥
Text
aiche karma nā kariha kabhu ihā jāni’
Synonyms
Translation
“Thus one becomes unpopular in the eyes of the people in general, for this damages his religiosity and fame. A Vaiṣṇava, especially one who acts as a spiritual master, must not act in such a way. One should always be conscious of this fact.”
Bengali
আচার্য–গোসাঞি মনে আনন্দ পাইল ॥ ৫৩ ॥
Text
ācārya-gosāñi mane ānanda pāila
Synonyms
Translation
When Caitanya Mahāprabhu gave this instruction to Kamalākānta, all present considered it to be meant for everyone. Thus Advaita Ācārya was greatly pleased.
Bengali
প্রভুর গম্ভীর বাক্য আচার্য সমুঝে ॥ ৫৪ ॥
Text
prabhura gambhīra vākya ācārya samujhe
Synonyms
Translation
Only Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu could understand the intentions of Advaita Ācārya, and Advaita Ācārya appreciated the grave instruction of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
Bengali
গ্রন্থ–বাহুল্য–ভয়ে নারি লিখিবার ॥ ৫৫ ॥
Text
grantha-bāhulya-bhaye nāri likhibāra
Synonyms
Translation
In this statement there are many confidential considerations. I do not write of them all, fearing an unnecessary increase in the volume of the book.
Bengali
তাঁর শাখা–উপশাখার নাহি হয় লেখা ॥ ৫৬ ॥
Text
tāṅra śākhā-upaśākhāra nāhi haya lekhā
Synonyms
Translation
The fifth branch of Advaita Ācārya was Śrī Yadunandana Ācārya, who had so many branches and subbranches that it is impossible to write of them.
Purport
Yadunandana Ācārya was the official initiator spiritual master of Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī. In other words, when Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī was a householder, Yadunandana Ācārya initiated him at home. Later Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī took shelter of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu at Jagannātha Purī.
Bengali
সর্বভাবে আশ্রিয়াছে চৈতন্য–চরণ ॥ ৫৭ ॥
Text
sarva-bhāve āśriyāche caitanya-caraṇa
Synonyms
Translation
Śrī Yadunandana Ācārya was a student of Vāsudeva Datta, and he received all his mercy. Therefore he could accept Lord Caitanya’s lotus feet, from all angles of vision, as the supreme shelter.
Purport
The Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā (140) describes that Vāsudeva Datta was formerly Madhuvrata, a singer in Vṛndāvana.
Bengali
চক্রপাণি আচার্য, আর অনন্ত আচার্য ॥ ৫৮ ॥
Text
cakrapāṇi ācārya, āra ananta ācārya
Synonyms
Translation
Bhāgavata Ācārya, Viṣṇudāsa Ācārya, Cakrapāṇi Ācārya and Ananta Ācārya were the sixth, seventh, eighth and ninth branches of Advaita Ācārya.
Purport
In his Anubhāṣya Śrī Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Prabhupāda says that Bhāgavata Ācārya was formerly among the followers of Advaita Ācārya but was later counted among the followers of Gadādhara Paṇḍita. The sixth verse of Śākhā-nirṇayāmṛta, a book written by Yadunandana dāsa, states that Bhāgavata Ācārya compiled a famous book of the name Prema-taraṅgiṇī. According to the Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā (195), Bhāgavata Ācārya formerly lived in Vṛndāvana as Śveta-mañjarī. Viṣṇudāsa Ācārya was present during the Khetari-mahotsava. He went there with Acyutānanda, as stated in the Bhakti-ratnākara, Tenth Taraṅga. Ananta Ācārya was one of the eight principal gopīs. His former name was Sudevī. Although he was among Advaita Ācārya’s followers, he later became an important devotee of Gadādhara Gosvāmī.
Bengali
দুর্লভ বিশ্বাস, আর বনমালিদাস ॥ ৫৯ ॥
Text
durlabha viśvāsa, āra vanamāli-dāsa
Synonyms
Translation
Nandinī, Kāmadeva, Caitanya dāsa, Durlabha Viśvāsa and Vanamālī dāsa were the tenth, eleventh, twelfth, thirteenth and fourteenth branches of Śrī Advaita Ācārya.
Bengali
হৃদয়ানন্দ সেন, আর দাস ভোলানাথ ॥ ৬০ ৷৷
Text
hṛdayānanda sena, āra dāsa bholānātha
Synonyms
jagannātha kara — Jagannātha Kara; āra — and; kara bhavanātha — Bhavanātha Kara; hṛdayānanda sena — Hṛdayānanda Sena; āra — and; dāsa bholānātha — Bholānātha dāsa.
Translation
Jagannātha Kara, Bhavanātha Kara, Hṛdayānanda Sena and Bholānātha dāsa were the fifteenth, sixteenth, seventeenth and eighteenth branches of Advaita Ācārya.
Bengali
অনন্তদাস, কানুপণ্ডিত, দাস নারায়ণ ॥ ৬১ ॥
Text
ananta-dāsa, kānu-paṇḍita, dāsa nārāyaṇa
Synonyms
Translation
Yādava dāsa, Vijaya dāsa, Janārdana dāsa, Ananta dāsa, Kānu Paṇḍita and Nārāyaṇa dāsa were the nineteenth, twentieth, twenty-first, twenty-second, twenty-third and twenty-fourth branches of Advaita Ācārya.
Bengali
পুরুষোত্তম ব্রহ্মচারী, আর কৃষ্ণদাস ॥ ৬২ ॥
Text
puruṣottama brahmacārī, āra kṛṣṇadāsa
Synonyms
śrīvatsa paṇḍita — Śrīvatsa Paṇḍita; brahmacārī haridāsa — Haridāsa Brahmacārī; puruṣottama brahmacārī — Puruṣottama Brahmacārī; āra — and; kṛṣṇadāsa — Kṛṣṇadāsa.
Translation
Śrīvatsa Paṇḍita, Haridāsa Brahmacārī, Puruṣottama Brahmacārī and Kṛṣṇadāsa were the twenty-fifth, twenty-sixth, twenty-seventh and twenty-eighth branches of Advaita Ācārya.
Bengali
বনমালী কবিচন্দ্র, আর বৈদ্যনাথ ॥ ৬৩ ॥
Text
vanamālī kavicandra, āra vaidyanātha
Synonyms
puruṣottama paṇḍita — Puruṣottama Paṇḍita; āra raghunātha — and Raghunātha; vanamālī kavicandra — Vanamālī Kavicandra; āra — and; vaidyanātha — Vaidyanātha.
Translation
Puruṣottama Paṇḍita, Raghunātha, Vanamālī Kavicandra and Vaidyanātha were the twenty-ninth, thirtieth, thirty-first and thirty-second branches of Advaita Ācārya.
Bengali
শ্রীহরিচরণ, আর মাধব পণ্ডিত ॥ ৬৪ ॥
Text
śrī-haricaraṇa, āra mādhava paṇḍita
Synonyms
Translation
Lokanātha Paṇḍita, Murāri Paṇḍita, Śrī Haricaraṇa and Mādhava Paṇḍita were the thirty-third, thirty-fourth, thirty-fifth and thirty-sixth branches of Advaita Ācārya.
Bengali
অসংখ্য অদ্বৈত–শাখা কত লইব নাম ॥ ৬৫ ॥
Text
asaṅkhya advaita-śākhā kata la-iba nāma
Synonyms
Translation
Vijaya Paṇḍita and Śrīrāma Paṇḍita were two important branches of Advaita Ācārya. There are innumerable branches, but I am unable to mention them all.
Purport
Śrīvāsa Paṇḍita was an incarnation of Nārada Muni, and thus Śrīvāsa’s younger brother, Śrīrāma Paṇḍita, is accepted as an incarnation of Parvata Muni, Nārada Muni’s most intimate friend.
Bengali
সেই জলে জীয়ে শাখা,—ফুল–ফল পায় ॥ ৬৬ ॥
Text
sei jale jīye śākhā, — phula-phala pāya
Synonyms
Translation
The Advaita Ācārya branch received the water supplied by the original gardener, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. In this way, the subbranches were nourished, and their fruits and flowers grew luxuriantly.
Purport
The branches of Advaita Ācārya nourished by the water (jala) supplied by Sri Caitanya Mahāprabhu are to be considered bona fide ācāryas. As we have discussed hereinbefore, the representatives of Advaita Ācārya later divided into two groups — the bona fide branches of the ācārya’s disciplic succession and the pretentious branches of Advaita Ācārya. Those who followed the principles of Caitanya Mahāprabhu flourished, whereas the others, who are mentioned below in the sixty-seventh verse, dried up.
Bengali
না মানে চৈতন্য–মালী দুর্দৈব কারণ ॥ ৬৭ ॥
Text
nā māne caitanya-mālī durdaiva kāraṇa
Synonyms
Translation
After the disappearance of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, some of the branches, for unfortunate reasons, deviated from His path.
Bengali
কৃতঘ্ন হইলা, তাঁরে স্কন্ধ ক্রুদ্ধ হইল ॥ ৬৮ ॥
Text
kṛtaghna ha-ilā, tāṅre skandha kruddha ha-ila
Synonyms
Translation
Some branches did not accept the original trunk that vitalized and maintained the entire tree. When they thus became ungrateful, the original trunk was angry at them.
Bengali
জলাভাবে কৃশ শাখা শুকাইয়া মরে ॥ ৬৯ ॥
Text
jalābhāve kṛśa śākhā śukāiyā mare
Synonyms
Translation
Thus Lord Caitanya did not sprinkle upon them the water of His mercy, and they gradually withered and died.
Bengali
জীবিতেই মৃত সেই, মৈলে দণ্ডে যম ॥ ৭০ ॥
Text
jīvitei mṛta sei, maile daṇḍe yama
Synonyms
Translation
A person without Kṛṣṇa consciousness is no better than dry wood or a dead body. He is understood to be dead while living, and after death he is punishable by Yamarāja.
Purport
In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Sixth Canto, third chapter, twenty-ninth verse, Yamarāja, the superintendent of death, tells his assistants what class of men they should bring before him. There he states, “A person whose tongue never describes the qualities and holy name of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, whose heart never throbs as he remembers Kṛṣṇa and His lotus feet, and whose head never bows in obeisances to the Supreme Lord must be brought before me for punishment.” In other words, nondevotees are brought before Yamarāja for punishment, and thus material nature awards them various types of bodies. After death, which is dehāntara, a change of body, nondevotees are brought before Yamarāja for justice. By the judgment of Yamarāja, material nature gives them bodies suitable for the reactions of their past activities. This is the process of dehāntara, or transmigration of the self from one body to another. Kṛṣṇa conscious devotees, however, are not subject to be judged by Yamarāja. For devotees there is an open road, as confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā. After giving up the body (tyaktvā deham), a devotee never again has to accept another material body, for in a spiritual body he goes back home, back to Godhead. The punishments of Yamarāja are meant for persons who are not Kṛṣṇa conscious.
Bengali
চৈতন্য–বিমুখ যেই সেই ত’ পাষণ্ড ॥ ৭১ ॥
Text
caitanya-vimukha yei sei ta’ pāṣaṇḍa
Synonyms
Translation
Not only the misguided descendants of Advaita Ācārya but anyone who is against the cult of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu should be considered an atheist subject to be punished by Yamarāja.
Bengali
চৈতন্য–বিমুখ যেই, তার এই গতি ॥ ৭২ ॥
Text
caitanya-vimukha yei, tāra ei gati
Synonyms
Translation
Be he a learned scholar, a great ascetic, a successful householder or a famous sannyāsī, one who is against the cult of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is destined to suffer the punishment meted out by Yamarāja.
Bengali
সেই আচার্যের গণ—মহাভাগবত ॥ ৭৩ ॥
Text
sei ācāryera gaṇa — mahā-bhāgavata
Synonyms
Translation
The descendants of Advaita Ācārya who accepted the path of Śrī Acyutānanda were all great devotees.
Purport
In this connection, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, in his Amṛta-pravāha-bhāṣya, gives this short note: “Śrī Advaita Ācārya is one of the important trunks of the bhakti-kalpataru, or desire tree of devotional service. Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, as a gardener, poured water on the root of the bhakti tree and thus nourished all its trunks and branches. But nevertheless, under the spell of māyā, the most unfortunate condition of a living entity, some of the branches, not accepting the gardener who poured water on them, considered the trunk the only cause of the great bhakti-kalpataru. In other words, the branches or descendants of Advaita Ācārya who considered Advaita Ācārya the original cause of the devotional creeper, and who thus neglected or disobeyed the instructions of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, deprived themselves of the effect of being watered and thus dried up and died. It is further to be understood that not only the misguided descendants of Advaita Ācārya but anyone who has no connection with Caitanya Mahāprabhu — even if he is independently a great sannyāsī, learned scholar or ascetic — is like a dead branch of a tree.”
This analysis by Śrī Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, supporting the statements of Śrī Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī, depicts the position of the present so-called Hindu religion, which, being predominantly conducted by the Māyāvāda philosophy, has become a hodgepodge institution of various concocted ideas. Māyāvādīs greatly fear the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement and accuse it of spoiling the Hindu religion because it accepts people from all parts of the world and all religious sects and scientifically engages them in the daiva-varṇāśrama-dharma. As we have explained several times, however, we find no such word as “Hindu” in the Vedic literature. The word most probably came from Afghanistan, a predominantly Muslim country, and originally referred to a pass in Afghanistan known as Hindukush, which is still a part of a trade route between India and various Muslim countries.
The actual Vedic system of religion is called varṇāśrama-dharma, as confirmed in the Viṣṇu Purāṇa:
viṣṇur ārādhyate panthā nānyat tat-toṣa-kāraṇam
(Viṣṇu Purāṇa 3.8.9)
The Vedic literature recommends that a human being follow the principles of varṇāśrama-dharma. Accepting the process of varṇāśrama-dharma will make a person’s life successful because this will connect him with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the goal of human life. Therefore the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is meant for all of humanity. Although human society has different sections or subdivisions, all human beings belong to one species, and therefore we accept that they all have the ability to understand their constitutional position in connection with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu confirms, jīvera ‘svarūpa’ haya — kṛṣṇera nitya-dāsa: “Every living entity is an eternal part, an eternal servant, of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” Every living entity who attains the human form of life can understand the importance of his position and thus become eligible to become a devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa. We take it for granted, therefore, that all humanity should be educated in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Indeed, in all parts of the world, in every country where we preach the saṅkīrtana movement, we find that people very easily accept the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra without hesitation. The visible effect of this chanting is that the members of the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement, regardless of their backgrounds, all give up the four principles of sinful life and come to an elevated standard of devotion.
Although posing as great scholars, ascetics, householders and svāmīs, the so-called followers of the Hindu religion are all useless, dried-up branches of the Vedic religion. They are impotent; they cannot do anything to spread the Vedic culture for the benefit of human society. The essence of the Vedic culture is the message of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Lord Caitanya instructed:
āmāra ājñāya guru hañā tāra’ ei deśa
(Cc. Madhya 7.128)
One should simply instruct everyone he meets regarding the principles of kṛṣṇa-kathā, as expressed in Bhagavad-gītā As It Is and Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. One who has no interest in kṛṣṇa-kathā or the cult of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is like dry, useless wood with no living force. The ISKCON branch, being directly watered by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, is becoming undoubtedly successful, whereas the disconnected branches of the so-called Hindu religion that are envious of ISKCON are drying up and dying.
Bengali
অনায়াসে পাইল সেই চৈতন্য–চরণ ॥ ৭৪ ॥
Text
anāyāse pāila sei caitanya-caraṇa
Synonyms
Translation
By the mercy of Advaita Ācārya, the devotees who strictly followed the path of Caitanya Mahāprabhu attained the shelter of Lord Caitanya’s lotus feet without difficulty.
Bengali
আর যত মত সব হৈল ছারখার ॥ ৭৫ ॥
Text
āra yata mata saba haila chārakhāra
Synonyms
Translation
It should be concluded, therefore, that the path of Acyutānanda is the essence of spiritual life. Those who did not follow this path simply scattered.
Bengali
অচ্যুতানন্দ–প্রায়, চৈতন্য—জীবন যাঁহার ॥ ৭৬ ॥
Text
acyutānanda-prāya, caitanya — jīvana yāṅhāra
Synonyms
Translation
I therefore offer my respectful obeisances millions of times to Acyutānanda’s actual followers, whose life and soul was Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
Bengali
তিন স্কন্ধ–শাখার কৈল সংক্ষেপ গণন ॥ ৭৭ ॥
Text
tina skandha-śākhāra kaila saṅkṣepa gaṇana
Synonyms
Translation
Thus I have briefly described the three branches [Acyutānanda, Kṛṣṇa Miśra and Gopāla] of Śrī Advaita Ācārya’s descendants.
Bengali
কিছুমাত্র কহি’ করি দিগ্দরশন ॥ ৭৮ ॥
Text
kichu-mātra kahi’ kari dig-daraśana
Synonyms
Translation
There are multifarious branches and subbranches of Advaita Ācārya. It is very difficult to enumerate them fully. I have simply given a glimpse of the whole trunk and its branches and sub-branches.
Bengali
তাঁর উপশাখা কিছু করি যে গণন ॥ ৭৯ ॥
Text
tāṅra upaśākhā kichu kari ye gaṇana
Synonyms
Translation
After describing the branches and subbranches of Advaita Ācārya, I shall now attempt to describe some of the descendants of Śrī Gadādhara Paṇḍita, the most important among the branches.
Bengali
ভাগবতাচার্য, হরিদাস ব্রহ্মচারী ॥ ৮০ ॥
Text
bhāgavata-ācārya, haridāsa brahmacārī
Synonyms
śākhā-śreṣṭha — the chief branch; dhruvānanda — Dhruvānanda; śrīdhara brahmacārī — Śrīdhara Brahmacārī; bhāgavata-ācārya — Bhāgavata Ācārya; haridāsa brahmacārī — Haridāsa Brahmacārī.
Translation
The chief branches of Śrī Gadādhara Paṇḍita were (1) Śrī Dhruvānanda, (2) Śrīdhara Brahmacārī, (3) Haridāsa Brahmacārī and (4) Raghunātha Bhāgavata Ācārya.
Purport
text 152 of the Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā describes Śrī Dhruvānanda Brahmacārī as an incarnation of Lalitā, and texts 194 and 199 describe Śrīdhara Brahmacārī as the gopī known as Candralatikā.
Bengali
গঙ্গামন্ত্রী, মামু ঠাকুর, কণ্ঠাভরণ ॥ ৮১ ॥
Text
gaṅgāmantrī māmu ṭhākura, kaṇṭhābharaṇa
Synonyms
ananta ācārya — Ananta Ācārya; kavi-datta — Kavi Datta; miśra-nayana — Nayana Miśra; gaṅgāmantrī — Gaṅgāmantrī; māmu ṭhākura — Māmu Ṭhākura; kaṇṭhābharaṇa — Kaṇṭhābharaṇa.
Translation
The fifth branch was Ananta Ācārya; the sixth, Kavi Datta; the seventh, Nayana Miśra; the eighth, Gaṅgāmantrī; the ninth, Māmu Ṭhākura; and the tenth, Kaṇṭhābharaṇa.
Purport
texts 197 and 207 of the Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā describe Kavi Datta as the gopī named Kalakaṇṭhī, texts 196 and 207 describe Nayana Miśra as the gopī named Nitya-mañjarī, and texts 196 and 205 describe Gaṅgāmantrī as the gopī named Candrikā. Māmu Ṭhākura, whose real name was Jagannātha Cakravartī, was the nephew of Śrī Nīlāmbara Cakravartī, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s grandfather. In Bengal a maternal uncle is called māmā, and in East Bengal and Orissa, māmu. Thus Jagannātha Cakravartī was known as Māmā or Māmu Ṭhākura. Māmu Ṭhākura’s residence was in the district of Faridpur, in the village known as Magḍobā. After the demise of Śrī Gadādhara Paṇḍita, Māmu Ṭhākura became the priest in charge of the temple known as Ṭoṭā-gopīnātha, in Jagannātha Purī. According to the opinion of some Vaiṣṇavas, Māmu Ṭhākura was formerly known as Śrī Rūpa-mañjarī. The followers of Māmu Ṭhākura were Raghunātha Gosvāmī, Rāmacandra, Rādhāvallabha, Kṛṣṇajīvana, Śyāmasundara, Śāntāmaṇi, Harinātha, Navīnacandra, Matilāla, Dayāmayī and Kuñjavihārī.
Kaṇṭhābharaṇa, whose original name was Śrī Ananta Caṭṭarāja, was the gopī named Gopālī in kṛṣṇa-līlā.
Bengali
যেই দুই আসি’ কৈল বৃন্দাবনে বাস ॥ ৮২ ॥
Text
yei dui āsi’ kaila vṛndāvane vāsa
Synonyms
Translation
The eleventh branch of Gadādhara Gosvāmī was Bhūgarbha Gosāñi, and the twelfth was Bhāgavata dāsa. Both of them went to Vṛndāvana and resided there for life.
Purport
Bhūgarbha Gosāñi, formerly known as Prema-mañjarī, was a great friend of Lokanātha Gosvāmī, who constructed the temple of Gokulānanda, one of the seven important temples of Vṛndāvana — namely those of Govinda, Gopīnātha, Madana-mohana, Rādhāramaṇa, Śyāmasundara, Rādhā-Dāmodara and Gokulānanda — which are authorized institutions of Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas.
Bengali
বল্লভচৈতন্যদাস—কৃষ্ণপ্রেমময় ॥ ৮৩ ৷৷
Text
vallabha-caitanya-dāsa — kṛṣṇa-premamaya
Synonyms
Translation
The thirteenth branch was Vāṇīnātha Brahmacārī, and the fourteenth was Vallabha-caitanya dāsa. Both of these great personalities were always filled with love of Kṛṣṇa.
Purport
Śrī Vāṇīnātha Brahmacārī is described in the tenth chapter, verse 114, of the Ādi-līlā. A disciple of Vallabha-caitanya named Nalinī-mohana Gosvāmī established a temple of Madana-gopāla in Navadvīpa.
Bengali
জিতামিত্র, কাষ্ঠকাটা–জগন্নাথদাস ॥ ৮৪ ॥
Text
jitāmitra, kāṣṭhakāṭā-jagannātha-dāsa
Synonyms
śrīnātha cakravartī — Śrīnātha Cakravartī; āra — and; uddhava dāsa — Uddhava dāsa; jitāmitra — Jitāmitra; kāṣṭhakāṭā jagannātha-dāsa — Kāṣṭhakāṭā Jagannātha dāsa.
Translation
The fifteenth branch was Śrīnātha Cakravartī; the sixteenth, Uddhava; the seventeenth, Jitāmitra; and the eighteenth, Jagannātha dāsa.
Purport
Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura writes in his Anubhāṣya, “The Śākhā-nirṇaya, verse 13, mentions Śrīnātha Cakravartī as a reservoir of all good qualities and an expert in the service of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Similarly, verse 35 mentions Uddhava dāsa as being greatly qualified in distributing love of Godhead to everyone. The Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā (202) mentions Jitāmitra as the gopī named Śyāma-mañjarī. Jitāmitra wrote a book entitled Kṛṣṇa-māyurya. Jagannātha dāsa was a resident of Vikramapura, near Dacca. His birthplace was the village known as Kāṣṭhakāṭā or Kāṭhādiyā. His descendants now reside in villages known as Āḍiyala, Kāmārapāḍā and Pāikapāḍā. He established a temple of Yaśomādhava. The worshipers in this temple are the Gosvāmīs of Āḍiyala. As one of the sixty-four sakhīs, he was formerly an assistant of Citrādevī-gopī named Tilakinī. The following is a list of his descendants: Rāmanṛsiṁha, Rāmagopāla, Rāmacandra, Sanātana, Muktārāma, Gopīnātha, Goloka, Harimohana Śiromaṇi, Rākhālarāja, Mādhava and Lakṣmīkānta. The Śākhā-nirṇaya mentions that Jagannātha dāsa preached the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement in the district or state of Tripura.”
Bengali
কৃষ্ণদাস ব্রহ্মচারী, পুষ্পগোপাল ॥ ৮৫ ৷৷
Text
kṛṣṇadāsa brahmacārī, puṣpa-gopāla
Synonyms
Translation
The nineteenth branch was Śrī Hari Ācārya; the twentieth, Sādipuriyā Gopāla; the twenty-first, Kṛṣṇadāsa Brahmacārī; and the twenty-second, Puṣpagopāla.
Purport
The Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā (196 and 207) mentions that Hari Ācārya was formerly the gopī named Kālākṣī. Sādipuriyā Gopāla is celebrated as a preacher of the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement in Vikramapura, in East Bengal (now Bangladesh). Kṛṣṇadāsa Brahmacārī was formerly among the group of sakhīs known as the aṣṭa-sakhīs. His name was Indulekhā. Kṛṣṇadāsa Brahmacārī lived in Vṛndāvana. There is a tomb in the Rādhā-Dāmodara temple known as Kṛṣṇadāsa’s tomb. Some say that this is the tomb of Kṛṣṇadāsa Brahmacārī, and others say it is that of Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī. In either case we offer our respects because both of them were expert in distributing love of Godhead to the fallen souls of this age. The Śākhā-nirṇaya mentions that Puṣpagopāla was formerly known as Svarṇagrāmaka.
Bengali
বঙ্গবাটী–চৈতন্যদাস, শ্রীরঘুনাথ ॥ ৮৬ ॥
Text
baṅgavāṭī-caitanya-dāsa, śrī-raghunātha
Synonyms
śrīharṣa — Śrīharṣa; raghu-miśra — Raghu Miśra; paṇḍita lakṣmīnātha — Lakṣmīnātha Paṇḍita; baṅgavāṭī-caitanya-dāsa — Baṅgavāṭī Caitanya dāsa; śrī-raghunātha — Śrī Raghunātha.
Translation
The twenty-third branch was Śrīharṣa; the twenty-fourth, Raghu Miśra; the twenty-fifth, Lakṣmīnātha Paṇḍita; the twenty-sixth, Baṅgavāṭī Caitanya dāsa; and the twenty-seventh, Raghunātha.
Purport
Raghu Miśra is described in the Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā (195 and 201) as Karpūra-mañjarī. Similarly, Lakṣmīnātha Paṇḍita is mentioned as Rasonmādā, and Baṅgavāṭī Caitanya dāsa is mentioned as Kālī. The Śākhā-nirṇaya states that Baṅgavāṭī Caitanya dāsa was always seen with eyes full of tears. He also had a branch of descendants. Their names were Mathurāprasāda, Rukmiṇīkānta, Jīvanakṛṣṇa, Yugalakiśora, Ratanakṛṣṇa, Rādhāmādhava, Ūṣāmaṇi, Vaikuṇṭhanātha and Lālamohana, or Lālamohana Śāhā Śāṅkhānidhi. Lālamohana was a great merchant in the city of Dacca. The Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā (194 and 200) mentions that Raghunātha was formerly Varāṅgadā.
Bengali
যদু গাঙ্গুলি আর মঙ্গল বৈষ্ণব ॥ ৮৭ ॥
Text
yadu gāṅguli āra maṅgala vaiṣṇava
Synonyms
Translation
The twenty-eighth branch was Amogha Paṇḍita; the twenty-ninth, Hastigopāla; the thirtieth, Caitanya-vallabha; the thirty-first, Yadu Gāṅguli; and the thirty-second, Maṅgala Vaiṣṇava.
Purport
Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura writes in his Anubhāṣya, “Śrī Maṅgala Vaiṣṇava was a resident of the village Ṭiṭakaṇā in the district of Murshidabad. His forefathers were śāktas who worshiped the goddess Kirīṭeśvarī. It is said that Maṅgala Vaiṣṇava, formerly a staunch brahmacārī, left home and later married the daughter of his disciple Prāṇanātha Adhikārī in the village of Mayanāḍāla. The descendants of this family are known as the Ṭhākuras of Kāṅdaḍā, which is a village in the district of Burdwan near Katwa. Scattered descendants of Maṅgala Vaiṣṇava, thirty-six families altogether, still live there. Among the celebrated disciples of Maṅgala Ṭhākura are Prāṇanātha Adhikārī, Puruṣottama Cakravartī of the village of Kāṅdaḍā, and Nṛsiṁha-prasāda Mitra, whose family members are well-known mṛdaṅga players. Sudhākṛṣṇa Mitra and Nikuñjavihārī Mitra are both especially famous mṛdaṅga players. In the family of Puruṣottama Cakravartī there are famous persons like Kuñjavihārī Cakravartī and Rādhāvallabha Cakravartī, who now live in the district of Birbhum. They professionally recite songs from Caitanya-maṅgala. It is said that when Maṅgala Ṭhākura was constructing a road from Bengal to Jagannātha Purī, he found a Deity of Rādhāvallabha while digging a lake. At that time he was living in the locality of Kāṅdaḍā, in the village named Rāṇīpura. The śālagrāma-śilā personally worshiped by Maṅgala Ṭhākura still exists in the village of Kāṅdaḍā. A temple has been constructed there for the worship of Vṛndāvana-candra. Maṅgala Ṭhākura had three sons — Rādhikāprasāda, Gopīramaṇa and Śyāmakiśora. The descendants of these three sons are still living.”
Bengali
মহাশাখা–মধ্যে তেঁহো সুদৃঢ় বিশ্বাসী ॥ ৮৮ ॥
Text
mahāśākhā-madhye teṅho sudṛḍha viśvāsī
Synonyms
Translation
Śivānanda Cakravartī, the thirty-third branch, who always lived in Vṛndāvana with firm conviction, is considered an important branch of Gadādhara Paṇḍita.
Purport
The Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā (183) mentions that Śivānanda Cakravartī was formerly Lavaṅga-mañjarī. The Śākhā-nirṇaya, written by Yadunandana dāsa, also names other branches of Gadādhara Paṇḍita, as follows: (1) Mādhavācārya, (2) Gopāla dāsa, (3) Hṛdayānanda, (4) Vallabha Bhaṭṭa (the Vallabha-sampradāya, or Puṣṭimārga-sampradāya, is very famous), (5) Madhu Paṇḍita (this famous devotee lived near Khaḍadaha, in the village known as Sāṅibonā-grāma, about two miles east of the Khaḍadaha station, and constructed the temple of Gopīnāthajī in Vṛndāvana), (6) Acyutānanda, (7) Candraśekhara, (8) Vakreśvara Paṇḍita, (9) Dāmodara, (10) Bhagavān Ācārya, (11) Ananta Ācāryavarya, (12) Kṛṣṇadāsa, (13) Paramānanda Bhaṭṭācārya, (14) Bhavānanda Gosvāmī, (15) Caitanya dāsa, (16) Lokanātha Bhaṭṭa (this devotee, who lived in the village of Tālakhaḍi in the district of Yaśohara [Jessore] and constructed the temple of Rādhāvinoda, was the spiritual master of Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura and a great friend of Bhūgarbha Gosvāmī), (17) Govinda Ācārya, (18) Akrūra Ṭhākura, (19) Saṅketa Ācārya, (20) Pratāpāditya, (21) Kamalākānta Ācārya, (22) Yādava Ācārya and (23) Nārāyaṇa Paḍihārī (a resident of Jagannātha Purī).
Bengali
ঐছে আর শাখা–উপশাখার গণন ॥ ৮৯ ॥
Text
aiche āra śākhā-upaśākhāra gaṇana
Synonyms
Translation
Thus I have briefly described the branches and subbranches of Gadādhara Paṇḍita. There are still many more that I have not mentioned here.
Bengali
প্রাণবল্লভ—সবার শ্রীকৃষ্ণচৈতন্য ॥ ৯০ ॥
Text
prāṇa-vallabha — sabāra śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya
Synonyms
Translation
All the followers of Gadādhara Paṇḍita are considered great devotees because they have Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu as their life and soul.
Bengali
যাঁ–সবা–স্মরণে ভববন্ধ–বিমোচন ॥ ৯১ ॥
Text
yāṅ-sabā-smaraṇe bhava-bandha-vimocana
Synonyms
Translation
Simply by remembering the names of all these branches and subbranches of the three trunks I have described [Nityānanda, Advaita and Gadādhara], one attains freedom from the entanglement of material existence.
Bengali
যাঁ–সবা–স্মরণে হয় বাঞ্ছিত পূরণ ॥ ৯২ ॥
Text
yāṅ-sabā-smaraṇe haya vāñchita pūraṇa
Synonyms
Translation
Simply by remembering the names of all these Vaiṣṇavas, one can attain the lotus feet of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Indeed, simply by remembering their holy names, one achieves the fulfillment of all desires.
Bengali
চৈতন্য–মালীর কহি লীলা–অনুক্রম ॥ ৯৩ ॥
Text
caitanya-mālīra kahi līlā-anukrama
Synonyms
Translation
Therefore, offering my obeisances at the lotus feet of them all, I shall describe the pastimes of the gardener, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, in chronological order.
Bengali
কে করিতে পারে তাহাঁ অবগাহ–সাধ ॥ ৯৪ ॥
Text
ke karite pāre tāhāṅ avagāha-sādha
Synonyms
Translation
The ocean of the pastimes of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu is immeasurable and unfathomable. Who can have the courage to measure that great ocean?
Bengali
অতএব তটে রহি’ চাকি এক কণ ॥ ৯৫ ॥
Text
ataeva taṭe rahi’ cāki eka kaṇa
Synonyms
Translation
It is not possible to dip into that great ocean, but its sweet mellow fragrance attracts my mind. I therefore stand on the shore of that ocean to try to taste but a drop of it.
Bengali
চৈতন্যচরিতামৃত কহে কৃষ্ণদাস ॥ ৯৬ ॥
Text
caitanya-caritāmṛta kahe kṛṣṇadāsa
Synonyms
Translation
Praying at the lotus feet of Śrī Rūpa and Śrī Raghunātha, always desiring their mercy, I, Kṛṣṇadāsa, narrate Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, following in their footsteps.
Purport
Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports to Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā, twelfth chapter, describing the expansions of Advaita Ācārya and Gadādhara Paṇḍita.