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Caitanya-Carita
(Murari Gupta)
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Caitanya-Caitamrta
(Krsnadasa Kaviraja)
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Caitanya-Bhagavata
(Vrindavana Dasa)
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Caitanya-Mangala
(Locana Dasa)
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Gaura-Pada-Tarangini
(Bengali song anthology)
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Caitanya-Carita
(Kavi Karnapura)
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Caitanya-Candrodaya-Natakam
(Kavi Karnapura)
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Gaura-Krsnodaya
(Govinda-deva Kavi)
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Gauranga-Campu (Raghunatha
Gosvami)
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Abhirama-Lilamrta (Tilaka
Rama Dasa)
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Gauranga-Vijaya (Cuda-mani
Dasa)
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Caitanya-Mangala
(Jayananda Misra)
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Advaita-Prakasa (Isana
Nagara)
Summary Outline of
Sri Caitanya-Carita
By Murari Gupta (1513 A.D.)
A
Sanskrit Maha-kavya, written in the style of the
Puranas, with the flow of topics being
conveyed in the form of a conversation between Murari and Damodara
Pandita. Its
verses total 1,927, and it is divided into 4 sections, and subdivided
into 78 cantos.
This book is also known as Murari's kadaca, or personal notebook, and
many other
biographers such as Locana dasa, Kavi Karnapura and others have used it
as the original
source of information regarding key in events of Lord Caitanya's life;
thus they were able
to elaborate on the Lord's pastimes in their own way. Also
worth mentioning here is the
notebook of Sri Svarupa Damodara Gosvami; many of the Lord's
biographers have also
used it while composing their own versions; but unfortunately,
Svarupa's book is not
available today.
(Note: sometimes Murari's book is known as Sri Caitanya-caritamrta)
Section 1 (16 Cantos)
Description of the reason for composing this book (the order of
Srivasa).
The
necessity of Lord Caitanya's descent to Earth along with His disciples.
The Lord's auspicious birth.
Description of His parents and their lineage (His father is described
as belonging to the Vatsya-gotra).
The
Lord's elder brother Visva-rupa leaves home and crosses the river Ganga
to accept the renounced order of sannyasa at the age of 16.
Pastimes
of the Lord's childhood, boyhood and youth.
His studies.
The death of His father.
His marriage to Laksmi (cantos 9, 10)
His journey to East Bengal.
The death of Laksmi.
Saci's lament is described in an entire canto (12).
The Lord's second marriage to Visnu-priya (cantos 13, 14).
His journey to Gaya, and His meeting with Isvara Puri (cantos 15, 16).
Section 2 (18 Cantos)
Descriptions
of Lord Caitanya's devotional passion and ecstatic activities that
became
manifest after His return from Gaya.
His
absorption in the mood of Lord Varaha (canto 2).
His absorption in the mood of Balabhadra (canto14).
His maha-prakasa and mahabhiseka
(manifestation of greatness, and grand bathing
ceremony of consecration) as the supreme Deity at the house of Srivasa
(canto 12).
The Lord's passionate realization of the divine sports of Sri Sri
Radha-Krsna.
His continuous rapture of dancing, singing and chanting the holy names.
He listens to Murari's Ramastaka (prayer to Lord Ramacandra in 8
verses)(2.7.10-18),
but he admonishes Murari's leaning toward advaita-vedanta
(impersonal monism) that
Murari learned from Sri Advaita Acarya--thus the Lord makes him a
devotee of Krsna by deprecating the worship of all other deities.
Canto
8 describes His first meeting with Sri Nityananda Prabhu, who was at
the house of
Nandana Acarya in Navadvipa; therein Lord Caitanya successively
revealed His forms as
the six-armed, four-armed, and two-armed Krsna to Sri Nityananda.
Canto
13 describes that the Lord's motive for taking sannyasa was because of
a curse
pronounced by a brahmana (2.13.18-22), who was refused permission into
Lord Caitanya's presence by the foolish doorkeepers; also later
(2.18.1-2) the book states that the Lord
was inspired by a dream to take sannyasa.
Finally
Kesava Bharati (who visits Navadvipa) praises Lord Caitanya as being
Suka,
Prahlada and the Srimad Bhagavatam Himself (2.18.12).
Shortly thereafter, the sannyasa ceremony occurs at Kantaka-gram
(Katwa).
Section 3 (18 Cantos)
(Canto
1,2) --Continuation of the story of Lord Caitanya's acceptance of the
renounced
order of sannyasa.
(Canto
3,4)--His return to Advaita Acarya's house in Santi-pura.
He
takes farewell from His mother and His assembled devotees from
Navadvipa, and He declares His intention to proceed directly to
Jagannatha Puri in Orissa.
There
are descriptions of the Lord's supremely ecstatic emotional states He
enjoyed after taking sannyasa; these descriptions are then elaborated
on even more completely by the author.
(Cantos
5-10)--Six cantos are devoted to narrating the Lord's journeys and
pastimes as He traveled through Yajpura and Bhuvanesvara, finally
arriving at Jagannatha Puri.
(Cantos
11,12)-- At Puri, the Lord goes straight to the house of Sarvabhauma
Bhattacarya.
Afterwards,
accompanied by Sarvabhauma's younger brother, the Lord visits the
temple of Jagannatha, where His ecstatic emotions overcome Him so
completely that He falls senseless.
He
is carried back to Sarvabhauma's house and revived.
Later,
Sarvabhauma (the old Vedanta scholar) tries to teach his dry Vedanta to
the young ascetic Caitanya Mahaprabhu, but the Lord ends up expounding
the true meaning of the Vedanta.
The
Lord's exposition had struck the great Vedantist with so much wonder
that he at once recognizes Sri Caitanya to be the Supreme Personality
of Godhead, and he falls at the Lord's lotus feet, reciting verses of
praise.
(Cantos
13-16)--Four cantos are devoted to describing Lord Caitanya's tour of
South India up to setu-Bhanda, His meeting with Ramananda Raya, His
meeting with Trimalla Bhatta and his young boy Gopal Bhatta, and many
others.
Then
the Lord's return to Puri is described.
(Cantos
17,18)--Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu returns to Bengal -- He had intended to
travel to Vrindavana, but the trip was postponed (His objective for
going to Sri Vrindavana was to reveal
the lost holy places there).
He
meets with Sri Rupa and Sanatana at Rama-keli, and thereafter returns
to Puri.
Section 4 (26 Cantos)
There
is an elaborate description in 11 cantos of the Lord's tour of the
various holy places of Mathura and Vrindavana.
He
visits the scenes of Sri Sri Radha-Krsna's sportive pastimes, and by
recalling such, Sri
Caitanya Mahaprabhu feels the awakening of extraordinary ecstatic
emotions.
Later
in the course of His northern pilgrimage, He meets with Tapana Misra
and his son
Raghunatha Bhatta at Benares.
He
meets with Sri Rupa at Prayaga, and Sri Sanatana at Benares.
He
visits His Mother Saci on His way back to Bengal, and He meets with His
former wife Srimati Visnu-priya, who makes an image of Him for
worshipping.
Finally
there is a description of the homage of King Pratapa Rudra upon the
Lord's return to Jagannatha Puri.
Then
the last 2 cantos give a list of the topics dealt with in the various
sections of the book, along with the total number of sections, cantos
and verses (4 sections, 78 cantos, 1927 verses).
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