THE LIFE AND TIMES OF jfRIKRSN A~C AITAHYA • <3 o by Debnarayan Acharyya Thesis submitted for the Degree; of Ph« D*, University of laondon, 1966* ProQuest Number: 10752684 All rights reserved INFORMATION TO ALL USERS The quality of this reproduction is dependent upon the quality of the copy submitted. In the unlikely event that the author did not send a complete manuscript and there are missing pages, these will be noted. Also, if material had to be removed, a note will indicate the deletion. uest ProQuest 10752684 Published by ProQuest LLC(2018). Copyright of the Dissertation is held by the Author. All rights reserved. This work is protected against unauthorized copying under Title 17, United States Code Microform Edition © ProQuest LLC. ProQuest LLC. 789 East Eisenhower Parkway P.O. Box 1346 Ann Arbor, Ml 4 8 1 0 6 - 1346 OCMTEfflS Page AbstractX Acknowledgement s****®***** ® • • • • •*•-*••*••• XXX Bxblio gr aphy Y AbbreviationsIJC I Bengal in the time of Caitanya® * * -..* *•* ® 1 II Childhood ■3 0* 4>oa«&O'OQ4«h&ea-O0o,coaoO0<?i»Oo ® o o 3 0 XII Y o u t h Marriage with Xaksnii Priya Devi*••••»»»»• 6 1 Bast Bengal vxsxt «oe®®aoo®oo®®oo*©o&©e«r®i» 1 5 S e c oixd m. ar ri a g ©©*•••*<*.•*•• 8 1 XT Tisvambhara and the Vaisnava community in NavadvTpa? his education and his tol. ® 9 1 T Tisit to Cava and the great transf ormat xon ©a®®.®*©*®©®®©®©®©®©©©-©®®*®® 1 X3 TI Spiritual phase® 1 st p e r i o d ............. 1 3 3 TIT Spiritual phase® 2nd neriod*•**••***o ® X 53 T U X Miracle stories and. Buddhist POStulatiOlXS Oo®©©®®®©®*®® o&ooetsocooooBe&G 1 8 0 IX Gaitanya and Pratanarudra Deva*•••©**•*•• 2 0 1 X C O n C lu SXO n ©oooooooeoosooeoaooeoeO©®®©©©®* 2 3 9 X!l S Our C G S ® » o (i o o e o Qoo-non&oe ooue-^roooiSGocootiffl®' 2 6 1 ABSTRACT Xhe aim of the present thesis has been to reconstruct as far as possible the life and times of the historical Caitanya (Sri Kp^na-Caitanya), a Bengali Saint who lived from I486 to 1533 and founded an important Yaispava movement in Bengal, popiilarly known as Heo Yaispavism® We have devoted eight chapters to the reconstru­ ction of Caitanya1s life® In the main the following method has been adopted® In each chapter summaries of various versions of the particular incident or episode to be discussed in that chapter have been presented in the manner of evidence in a court of enquiry® We have then examined the various accounts put forward by our various witnesses and other biographers and tried to determine the main outline or framework of events in each case® Where a witness/biographer has appeared to distort unduly this basic outline, which is found, in the majority of the versions, we have attempted to ascertain the reason for this particular distortion of his evidence® 1'hus to some extent, the thesis not only examines the life of the historical Caitanya, but also the myth-making process, as revealed, in his various biographies® Ih.roughout these eight chapters our method has been to be as far as possible objective, i.e., we have attempted to view Caitanya with modern,.twentieth- century eyes® In the final chapter we have tried to see him with the eyes of sixteenth-century man in the context of his times® Ihus in this final chapter we have been forced to bring to bear our imaginative Insight, to penetrate into the mind of Caitanya and his companions in order to gain a more complete perspective of the man and his times* UL I would, like to offer my sincere gratitude to my present Supervisor, Dr© J oG 0 de Casparis, D*Litt*? Pholoj and. to my former Supervisor, Professor A*Ii. Basham, Ph©D©? i\S*AM who is now in Oanbera University, Australia® They have read and. criticised the manuscript of the present thesis and the guidance of one has been complementary to that of the other© Both my Supervisors offered me suggestions and advice of inestimable value and have also shown me warmth and affection throughout» I must also thank Mr© TaW* Clark, MeA*, 0©B©E«., reader in the dept© of Bengali language and literature©, and. Mr© J©V© Bolton, B*A®, lecturer in the department of Bengali and Oriya language and literature, for theirVinfailing help and- encouragement© I should here also thank Major JVR© Harrison, B©A©?reader in the dept© of History for his valuable advice in writing chapter on 'Bengal during the time of Caitanya1© I would finally like to thank School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, for the Scholarship which I was awarded and above all Mr© J© Carnochan, B©A©, Students Adviser, reader in the dept© of phonetics, without whose compassion this thesis could not have finished© I would here also acknowledge the special encouragement which I received from Miss Mary Trevylian, 0©BoE©? Director of the International Students House© I have to thank the authorities of India Office Library, Britich Museum Library, SOAS Library, India House Library and the Senate House Library, for the loan of the books in their possessions; I would especially thank India Office Library for allowing their books in my hands throughout® I cannot conclude without expressing my sincere gratitude to Dr© Malleson, Consultant Physician for the Students of the University of London, for his generosity all the time© I offer my thank also to Mr© Pat on. Controller, Miss Elizabeth Ware, and the Staffs of the International Students House® B I B L I 0 GrR APH5C A. 0RIG-1BAL SOURCES» 1* Murari Gupta* Caitanya Garitamrta>Published by Mrinal Kanti Ghosh, Amrita Bazar Patrika*Office, 3rd Ed.,Calcutta B*E*I337( (= 1921 A.D.) in Bengali characters. 2*. Kavikarnapura. 0 ait any a Gar it amr.it. a ttfl. * Ed » Radharaman Press, Berhampur^Murshidabad 18849 in Bengali characters with a Bengali translation® C ^ v 3 c Kavikarnapnra® 0 a it any a—C an d r o d ay a ~ B at aka * Edo Kavy amala 87, BSP, Bombay 1917. 4® V* rnd av anad a s a o Gait any a -f)haga'vata» Published by Efprp Gaut^octMath(i, 2nd Ed ® ? Bit ad ingi B . E. 1339 EdoSrdhanta Sarasvati. CS'C-t) 5. Jayanandadasa. Gait any a-Kfenffala 9 Published by Bagendra Bath from the Ya'isLgxya Sahitaa Pari sad, Calcutta, in 1903* (pbi) 6 o Lo canadas a. Gait any a -Mangala *. Edited by Atul Kpsna Gosvaml* Published by Batabar Obatoaxmhty?, 2nd Edo? Calcutta 21 st May, 1913® (StO 7* Kpsnadasa Ka^iraJ a« £>rx C a it,any a- gar it amrta 9 Edited by Atul Krsna Gosvamx. Published by Batabar Chakravarti, 2nd Ed*, Calcutta 2lst May 1913-14® 80 Krsnadasa, Kaviraja* ^rl Galtan y a-Caritamytag Edited by Radha Govinda Batfea* 3rd Ed* Calcutta® 1948-1953® 9«. Kavikarnapura* „Gaur_aygaig.odd e sa ^ xpAka ® Iff B. MODERN WORKS,( Reference Books, etc.). 1 o B * B „Ma.inracl ar * 3rT Caitanya Ohar.it em u p a dana * Pub 1 ished by Calcutta University? 1st Ed.,. Calcutta 1939® CS>H) 2 * S oKoDe » Eay.lv Ui s t o rv of' the V aisnava faith and movement in Bengal* Published by Eirma K.LcMukhouadhyay ? 2nd Ed°? Calcutta 1961. ^ ' _ _ 3 * B • B * Ma n urad ar * j3orjas.a Satabdira P ad aval i—s ah it y a <» (f r om Ra^ahari Sarker up to Narottama Thaknr)® Published by Sriskumar Kunda, 1st Ed®, Calcutta I961<> (Si'c) 4«, Sir RoG-cBhandarkara V alsnavism, Saivi sm. fS>\t) 5 o D»C« Sen. Vaisnava Literature• 6c D«Cc Sen* Chaiju^nya and his Age* Published by the University of Calcutta. 1922. fStO 7. B.C. Sen* C.haitanya and his C ompani on s. * Published by the Un iv ersity of C alcutt a * 1917.i&1 c ) 8 c Melville T .Kennedy * The Chalianya Movement 0 Calcutta? 1925* Cstc f ..... 9o Sc Das* drl Chaltanva Mahaprabhu. Published from. Sree Caudiya Math* Madras, 1961. (s\C) RKFEREECE b o o k s . 1 c J J. Sarkar* The. History of Bengal* Volume II, Muslim Period (1200-1757} * Edited by J JhSarkar Published by the University of Dacca, 1st Ed., 1948. 2c AcKcBanerjee* Bangla Sahityer Itivrtta*(a history of Bengali literature), in Bengali* Vol.2* Published by Modern Book Agency * 1st Ed. Calcutta,, 1962. 3 RJ.Banerjee. Age of the Imperial Guptas. 4* RoB.Banerjeeo Eastern Indian. School of Mediaeval Sculpt lire * 5o RcDcBanerj ee 0 Hist ory of Oris s a* 6c. B J o Sen. History of Bengali language and liter at ur e * 7* Jagabandhu Bhadra* G-aur a-Bad a~ t ar ang inT . 80 Si sir Kumar Ghosh. J^ord„__^,urm i ^ a * (51 c ) 9* Premadasa. Chait any a C hand rad ay a-nat ak a * (S\i) 10o Sc Sen* Bahgala Sahityer Itihasa. 11. S* Sen* A History of Bra.jabuli Literature< 12. So Sen* History of Bengali Literature® 13. BoCo Sen* Eastern. Bengal Ballads• 14 o 0 o Stwert* The History of Bengal* 15. T.W. Clark. Byoli;Lt_i.on of Hinduism in Med iaeval Bengali Literature iva, CandT l a £ a s t T BSOTS 1955, XVTI73. 16. E.T3.Cowell A collection of end R.A.Neil* Early Buddhist legends. Cambridge At the University-Press, 1886 *gSK) 17 o A.I. Basham. History and Doctrines of the A.jlvlka Luzac K Company iff D.,London, 1951* IB * A c L e Basham.