CHAITNYA CHARITANRITA (ORIA)

Description

The Chaitanya Bhagavata (similarly to the Chaitanya Charitamrita) asserts that Chaitanya was not simply a saint or even a “regular” Avatar, but was instead the direct incarnation of Krishna as Bhagavan, or the Supreme God himself. The text gives Chaitanya’s mission as one for the benefit of mankind, through beginning the yuga-dharma (harinam-sankirtana) for the present age of Kali Yuga. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is quoted within as saying “My holy name will be sung (preached) in every town and village of earth” The author, Vrindavana Dasa, has been considered by Gaudiya Vaishnavas to be the Vyasa of Chaitanya’s pastimes because of revealing his true nature and mission.
The Bhagavata has been praised for its simplicity in that is does not cross into the ontological nuances that are found in Krishna Dasa Kaviraja’s Chaitanya Charitamrita. The Charitamrita of Krishna Dasa gives a more sophisticated and theological view of the life of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and provides more information on his years in Puri as an ascetic. Together, the texts of the Chaitanya Bhagavata and the Chaitanya Charitamrta provide a complete picture of the life and teachings of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu although there are many more of his biographies and other writings about him.
Scholars are of the opinion that Vrindavana Dasa wrote the Chaitanya Bhagavata somewhere in the mid-1540s.