Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu appeared in Navadvipā in 1486 and brought a bhakti revolution to North India, especially to Bengal and Odisha. Many biographies were written describing His pastimes. Among them, Caitanya Caritāmṛta is considered the most authentic and final word. According to Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī was a very intimate associate of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, especially in Jagannātha Purī. He kept a journal of his experiences with Mahāprabhu, which is now popularly known as Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī’s Kaḍacā.
The Identity of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu
These notes are not available at present but some of the statements from this kaḍacā have been cited in Caitanya Caritāmṛta. The following verse is one of them and reveals the identity of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu:
rādhā kṛṣṇa-praṇaya-vikṛtir hlādinī-śaktir asmād
ekātmānāvapi bhuvi purā deha-bhedaṁ gatau tau
caitanyākhyaṁ prakaṭam adhunā tad dvayaṁ caikyam āptam
rādhā-bhāva-dyuti-suvalitaṁ naumi kṛṣṇa-svarūpam
Rādhā is the personification of love for Kṛṣṇa and is His hlādinī potency. Because potency and potent are nondifferent, they both are one, yet in the past [for the sake of the līlā] they manifested different forms on earth. Now, however, they both have appeared as one in the form of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. I bow down to Him, who is Kṛṣṇa covered by the bhāva and luster of Rādhā. (CC, Ādi 1.5)
On the basis of this verse, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is accepted as a combined form of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. Śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya, rādhā-kṛṣna nahi anya is the popular statement that states this identity in the Beṅgālī language.
The Mission of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu
Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī mentions Śrī Caitanya’s mission in the following verse:
anarpita-carīṁ cirāt karuṇayāvatīrṇaḥ kalua
samarpitum unnatojjvala-rasāṁ sva-bhakti-śriyam
hariḥ puraṭa-sundara-dyuti-kadamba-sandīpitaḥ
sadā hṛdaya-kandare sphuratu vaḥ śaci-nanadanaḥ
To give the wealth of His own bhakti in the form of heightened ujjvala (mādhurya) rasa, which was not bestowed for an immeasurably long time, Kṛṣṇa, resplendent like a kadamba flower with the beautiful hue of gold, has descended in the age of Kali out of compassion. May that Kṛṣṇa Caitanya, the son of Śacī Devī, forever manifest in the core of your hearts. (Śrī Vidagdha Mādhava 1.2, cited in CC, Ādi 1.4)
Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī in his kaḍacā gives another reason:
śrī-rādhāyāḥ praṇaya-mahimā kīdṛśo vānayaivā
svādyo yenādbhuta-madhurimā kīdṛśī vā madīyaḥ
saukhyaṁ cāsyā mad-anubhavataḥ kīdṛśa veti lobhād
tad-bhāvāḍhyaḥ samajani śacī-garbha-sindhau harīnduḥ
How great is the glory of the love of Rādhā which can be relished only by her? [As a consequence of her love,] how wonderful is My sweetness which can be tasted only by her through that love? What is the greatness of her pleasure in tasting My wonderful sweetness? With the intense desire to experience this, the moon of Hari [Kṛṣṇa], with the bhāva of Rādhā, has appeared from the ocean of the womb of Śaci Devī. (Cited in CC, Ādi 1.6)
Taking these verses as a basis, Śrī Kṛṣṇa Dāsa Kavirāja further expands on them in Caitanya Caritāmṛta (Ādi Līlā, Chapters Three and Four). He says that the purpose of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s appearance in Kaliyuga is twofold—external and internal. The external purpose is to propagate the yuga-dharma in the form of nāma-saṅkīrtana for the deliverance of people. Kavirāja writes:
yuga-dharma pravartāimu nāma-saṅkīrtana
I shall propagate the yuga-dharma of nāma-saṅkīrtana. (CC, Ādi 3.17)
The internal cause is to taste the intimate sweetness of prema-rasa, specifically of Rādhā’s bhāva, and in doing so, to propagate a new way of devotion called rāga-mārga. For this Kavirāja writes:
ānuṣaṅga karma ei asura-māraṇa
ye lāgi avatāra kahi se mūla kāraṇa
prema-rasa-niryāsa karite āsvādana
rāga-mārga-bhakti loke karite pracāraṇa
This killing of asuras is an incidental function. I will [now] explain the fundamental reason for His descent: to taste the essence of prema-rasa and propagate rāga-mārga bhakti in the world. (CC, Ādi 4.13, 14)
The primary reason, the internal reason, is far more significant, because it is motivated from within. The external cause is dependent on the outside circumstance, i.e., an imbalance in dharma caused by unrighteous people. Kṛṣṇa chose a time to descend in order to taste the love experienced by Rādhā that coincided with the external reason.
Just as a king or the head of a state does not move alone but is always accompanied by his entourage, so also Caitanya came along with His associates. Among them, Śrī Nityānanada Prabhu, Śrī Advaita Ācārya, Śrī Gadādhara Paṇḍita, and Śrīvāsa Paṇḍita are the most prominent. Together with Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, they are called the Pañca-tattva, the five essential truths. Kavirāja Gosvāmī cites a well-known verse describing them in his invocation of auspiciousness at the beginning of Caitanya Caritāmṛta:
pañca-tattvātmakaṁ kṛṣṇam bhakta-rūpa-svarūpakam
bhaktāvatāraṁ bhaktākhyaṁ namāmi bhakta-śaktikam
I offer obeisance unto Kṛṣṇa in his fivefold aspect of (1) the form of a bhakta [i.e., Śrī Caitanya], (2) the nature [of a bhakta, i.e., Śrī Nityānanda], (3) the avatāra of a bhakta [i.e., Śrī Advaita], (4) he who is known as a bhakta [i.e., Śrī Śrīvāsa], and (5) he who is the śakti of a bhakta [i.e., Śrī Gadādhara]. (CC, Ādi 1.14)
These four personalities, along with hosts of other associates, assisted Caitanya in fulfilling His external and internal missions, as Śri Kavirāja writes:
sei pañca-tattva mili pṛthivī āsiyā
pūrva prema-bhāṇḍārera mudrā ughādiy
The Pañca-tattva united, came to the earth, and broke open the seal on the storehouse of their prior prema [i.e., the prema of Vraja]. (CC, Ādi 7.18)
After taking sannyāsa, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu spent most of His life in Nīlācala, Jagannātha Purī. It is here that He primarily fulfilled His internal mission. During this period, out of the above-mentioned four associates, it is only Gadādhara Paṇḍita who was His constant companion. Thus, Gadādhara Paṇḍita has a major role in fulfilling the internal mission of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
The Identity of Śrī Gadādhara Paṇḍit
Śrī Kavi Karṇapūra compiled a book named Gaura-gaṇōddeśa-dīpikā in which he identifies the associates of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu in Kṛṣṇa-līlā. He writes about Śrī Gadādhara Paṇḍita:
śrī-rādhā prema-rūpā yā purā vṛndāvaneśvarī
sā śrī-gadādharo gaura-vallabhaḥ paṇḍitākhyakaḥ
That very Śrī Rādhā, the personification of love [for Kṛṣṇa], who previously was the Īśvarī of Vṛndāvana, has appeared now as Śrī Gadādhara Paṇḍita, the beloved of Gaura. (Śri Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā 147)
Śrī Kṛṣṇa Dāsa Kavirāja counts him as a śakti and an intimate devotee of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu
gadādhara-paṇḍitādi prabhur nija-śakti
Gadādhara Paṇḍita Gosāñi and others are the manifestation of the internal śakti of Mahāprabhu. (CC, Ādi 1.23)
gadādhara-paṇḍitādi prabhura śakti-avatāra
antaraṅga bhakta kari gaṇana tā̐hār
Gadādhara Paṇḍita Gosāñi and others are manifestations of the śakti of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. They are counted as the intimate devotees of Mahāprabhu. (CC, Ādi 7.15)
Later, however, he describes him as a form of Lakṣmī
baḍa śākhā gadādhara paṇdita gosāñi
teñho lakṣmī-rupā tāra sama keha nāi
A great branch is Gadādhara Paṇḍita Gosāñi. He is a form of Lakṣmī. No one is equal to him. (CC, Ādi 10.15)
Recently, Dr. Demian Martins has discovered a manuscript of Gaura-gaṇa-svarūpa-tattva-candrikā by Śrī Viśvanātha Cakravartī. It was unknown to Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava community. It is a work similar to the Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā of Kavi Karṇapūra. About the identity of Gadādhara, it says:
svarṇāṅka-rūpā hari-vakṣasi sthitā vrajasya lakṣamīr vraja-maṇḍale purā
yāsīd idānim samabhud gadādharah śrīmān paraḥ paṇḍita ity asaṁśayaḥ
Lakṣmī Devī, who in the past in Vraja was situated on the chest of Śrī Hari as a golden streak, has now appeared as Śrī Gadādhara, a great scholar. There is no doubt about it. (45)
From the above references, we find that Śrī Gadādhara Paṇḍita is understood to be Rādhā, Lakṣmī, and a śakti of Śrī Caitanya. There is no contradiction between these views. If he is Rādhā, then naturally he is also Lakṣmī as well as a śakti of Śrī Caitanya Mahaprabhu, who is Kṛṣṇa. Because Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has appeared as a combined form of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa, or as Kṛṣṇa covered by the bhāva of Rādhā, so Gadādhara appears to be only Lakṣmī, or a śakti of Caitanya. Depending on the mood of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Gadādhara may appear differently. When He was fully absorbed in the mood of Rādhā, then Gadādhara may appear only as Lakṣmī or a śakti of Mahāprabhu.
Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa Dāsa Gosvāmī writes that Gadādhara Paṇḍita is Rādhā. He was a disciple of Paṇḍita Haridāsa, who was a disciple of Ananta Ācārya, who was a disciple of Śrī Gadādhara Paṇḍita. Paṇḍita Haridāsa was the chief worshipper at the Rādhā Govinda Deva temple in Vṛndāvana. This is stated in by Kavirāja Gosvāmī:
paṇḍita-gosāñira śiṣya ananta ācārya
kṛṣṇa-prema-maya-tanu udāra mahā-ārya
tā̐hāra ananta guṇa ke karu prakāśa
ta̐ra priya śiṣya ei paṇḍita haridāsa
Paṇḍita Gosāñi’s disciple Ananta Ācārya was an embodiment of Kṛṣṇa-prema, magnanimous, and greatly respected. Who can describe his endless qualities? His dear disciple was this Paṇḍita Haridāsa. (CC, Ādi 8.54, 55)
As an aside, it is primarily Paṇḍita Haridāsa who ordered Kṛṣṇa Dāsa Kavirāja to write Caitanya Caritāmṛta. (CC, Adi 8.56-60)
Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa Dāsa Gosvāmī wrote two books: Daśa-slokī-bhāṣyam and Śrī Sādhana-dīpikā. The first is a commentary on the ten verses given by Rūpa Gosvāmī towards the end of his life, at the request of contemporary Vaiṣṇavas, so that they could meditate on Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa līlā. These verses are called Smarana-maṅgala-stotra. These form the basis of Śri Govinda-līlāmṛta by Kṛṣṇa Dāsa Kavirāja. According to the author, the first book is for svārasikī upāsanā and the second for mantramayī upāsanā. The second book describes a process of worship, but it also describes some of especially important siddhāntas of Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism, such as parakīya-vāda. It also throws some light on some of matters of historical significance.
In the seventh chapter of Śrī Sādhana-dīpikā, Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa Dāsa Gosvāmī cites references from the writings of Śrī Kavi Karṇapūra, Śrī Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī, Śrī Vṛndāvana Dāsa, Śrī Vāsudeva Datta, Śrī Narahari Ṭhākura, Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī, Śrī Sanātana Gosvāmī, Śrī Kṛṣṇa Dāsa Kavirāja, Śrī Locana Dāsa, and others to show their opinions about the identity of Śrī Gadādhara Paṇdita. In his concluding words, he writes:
tasmāt sarveṣāṁ śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya-pārṣadānāṁ mate śrī-gadādhara-paṇḍita eva śrī-vṛṣabhānu-nandinī śrī-rādhā
Therefore, in the opinion of all the associates of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya, Śrī Gadādhara Paṇḍita is Śrīmatī Rādhā, the daughter of Śrī Vṛṣabhānu. (pp. 135, Śrī Śrī Haridāsa Śastri edition)
Thus, Śrī Gadādhara Paṇḍita is accepted as Rādhā herself, and is sometimes referred to as Rādhā-Gadādhara.
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