New Light on the Passing of Sri Chaitanya in Orrisa

[jijaji]

New Light on the Passing of Sri Chaitanya in Orrisa

 

From;

Sri Chaitanya in the Religious Life of India

 

A good deal of controversy is raised over the passing away of Sri Chaitanya at Puri, the famous citadel of Loard Jagannatha. He was at Puri continuously for eighteen years in the last part of his life. His passing away has been described by some authoritative Oriya and Bengali biographers whose works are available to us. Some scholars believe that, Sri Chaitanya jumped into the sea in a fit of ecstatic emotion and disappeared forever. Others say that most likely the saint was murdered by his religious enimies. Some say that he met a natural death. Others believe, mostly the devotees, that he merged into the image of Lord Jagannatha.

The scanty reference about the passing away of the Master is because of the fact most of the texts are written by the devotees and they do not believe nor do they usually entertain any talk about Sri Chaitanya's death. So, famous biographers of the Master did not narrate any thing in detail. Authors like Kavikarnapura only informs us that Chaitanya returned to his celestial abode and Krishadas Kaviraja writes that his disappearance took place in Saka 1455 or A.D. 1533. Hence the passing of Sri Chaitanya has remained for centuries a mystery.

In course of investigation, a palm-leaf manuscript in this connection was found. This narrates the passing away of Sri Chaitanya. It is felt that, this is the earliest text that has focused on the issue of the passing away of the great saint at Puri since it was composed in the 48th Anka year of the then Orissan Gajapati King, which corresponds to A.D. 1535, just TWO years after the passing away of the Master. The title of this manuscript is "Vaishnava Leelamrita' and its author is Madhav Patnaik who is known to the world of scholars as the composer of 'Chaitanya Vilas', which has also not seen the light of the day as yet, but referred to in details by scholars like Biman Behari Mazumdar and Prof. P. Mukherjee.

Madhav was at Puri throughout the period of Chaitanya's stay and must have been an eye-witness to the last scene of Chaitanya's life-drama. We are here to examine the accounts offered by Madhav Patnail carefully by taking into consideration the materials available from both Bengali and Oriya sources on the topic.....

 

to be continued....

 

 

¸..· ´¨¨)) -:¦:-

¸.·´ .·´¨¨))

((¸¸.·´ ..·´ -:¦:- jijaji

-:¦:- ((¸¸.·´*

 

[This message has been edited by jijaji (edited 11-21-2001).]

[jijaji]

continued...

 

No doubt Sri Chaitanya experienced an exuberance of emotion a few years before his death. Towards the end of his life, he was frequently under trance. This state of affairs has been termed as 'Dibyonmada' by Madhav Patnaik. Krishnadas Kaviraja and other Bengali biographers have also given this account. It is true that in a state of semi-trance he used to run here and there chnating the name of Krishna. But he did not jump into the sea in that state of mind and put an end to his mortal life, as we do not get any information about this from any of the available sources. It is also presumed by a section of scholars that he was assassinated by miscreants of Govinda Vidyadhara-Smarta conspiricy. But is seems baseless as no such authentic record is available. The alleged 'Chaitanya Cakada' and Raya Ramananda's letter, on the strength of which Dr. Jayadev Mukhopadhyaya has recently arrived at the said conclusion, are spurious and hence rejected by scholars like Dr. H.K. Mahtab. Further we are to reject this presumption on the grounds that the Gajapati King of Orrisa declared before the great assemblage of pilgrims on one occasion of the car-festival, eight to tens years before the death of Chaitanya, that he is 'Maha-Prabhu' or God incarnated. Therefore, the question of his assassination does not arise at all.

In Madhav Patnaik's 'Vaishnava Leelamrita'. we find the earliest reference to the death of Chaitanya since it was written in the year 1535 A.D., much before Lochan das and Jayananda. Madhav writes that " while dancing in kirtan procession on the evening of Rukmini amabasya (Vaisakha amabasya), his left toe was pierced by a piece of brick lying on the road and was some bleeding caused to him. The joint of his left foot suffered a sprain. He fell flat on the ground and became unconscious. His associates in the kirtan procession in that evening were Jagannatha Das, Kasiswara Mishra, Josobanta Das, Sribaisha, Ananta Das, and they took him on their shoulders to the northern mandapa inside the Jagannatha temple. His face was washed and after some time he responded to the call of his associates. The evil moment had disappeared and there was a sign of happiness in all the faces present. The temple was filled with the voice of chanting the name of Hari. Gradually Chaitanya could regain the senses and talked freely with his friends and comrades. The inquisitive public and the comrades slowly left the temple with the belief that Chaitanya Maha-prabhu suffered only a minor injury and he was safe.

 

to be continued....

 

[This message has been edited by jijaji (edited 11-22-2001).]

[suryaz]

When I was last in Puri (1986), I came across a temple wherein there was a deity of Krsna who had a crack in his foot. The pujari told me that Mahapraabhu merged into this deity, through the crack in the foot of the deity, at the time of his disappearance. I wonder if this is a sublimation of the account given in the "Vaishnava Leelamrita” (Madhav Patnaik) manuscript.

 

 

[This message has been edited by suryaz (edited 11-22-2001).]

 

[This message has been edited by suryaz (edited 11-22-2001).]

[suryaz]

Originally posted by jijaji:

In Madhav Patnaik's 'Vaishnava Leelamrita'. we find the earliest reference to the death of Chaitanya since it was written in the year 1525 A.D., much before Lochan das and Jayananda. Madhav writes that " while dancing in kirtan procession on the evening of Rukmini amabasya (Vaisakha amabasya), his left toe was pierced by a piece of brick lying on the road

"Madhav Patnaik's 'Vaishnava Leelamrita'. we find the earliest reference to the death of Chaitanya since it was written in the year 1525 A.D"

 

Humm 1525 AD??

 

Most record Mahaprabhu's earthly display as 1486-1532 AD

 

 

 

[jijaji]

Originally posted by suryaz:

"Madhav Patnaik's 'Vaishnava Leelamrita'. we find the earliest reference to the death of Chaitanya since it was written in the year 1525 A.D"

 

Humm 1525 AD??

 

Most record Mahaprabhu's earthly display as 1486-1532 AD

 

 

 

apology ..my bad editing skills!

the year is 1535 A.D.

written 2 years after the death of Mahaprabhu..

 

thanks

 

 

[jijaji]

Originally posted by jijaji:

In Madhav Patnaik's 'Vaishnava Leelamrita'. we find the earliest reference to the death of Chaitanya since it was written in the year 1535 A.D., much before Lochan das and Jayananda. Madhav writes that " while dancing in kirtan procession on the evening of Rukmini amabasya (Vaisakha amabasya), his left toe was pierced by a piece of brick lying on the road and was some bleeding caused to him. The joint of his left foot suffered a sprain. He fell flat on the ground and became unconscious. His associates in the kirtan procession in that evening were Jagannatha Das, Kasiswara Mishra, Josobanta Das, Sribaisha, Ananta Das, and they took him on their shoulders to the northern mandapa inside the Jagannatha temple. His face was washed and after some time he responded to the call of his associates. The evil moment had disappeared and there was a sign of happiness in all the faces present. The temple was filled with the voice of chanting the name of Hari. Gradually Chaitanya could regain the senses and talked freely with his friends and comrades. The inquisitive public and the comrades slowly left the temple with the belief that Chaitanya Maha-prabhu suffered only a minor injury and he was safe.

 

to be continued....

 

[This message has been edited by jijaji (edited 11-22-2001).]

thanks again suryaz...

 

 

 

[suryaz]

Originally posted by suryaz:

"Madhav Patnaik's 'Vaishnava Leelamrita'. we find the earliest reference to the death of Chaitanya since it was written in the year 1525 A.D"

 

Humm 1525 AD??

 

Most record Mahaprabhu's earthly display as 1486-1532 AD

 

 

 

 

Also my bad memory - This should have read

 

Most record Mahaprabhu's earthly display as 1486-1533 AD

 

However in Ling (1968) "A history of religion east and west" the recorded appearance date is 1485.

 

 

[jijaji]

Indeed..!

[suryaz]

Originally posted by jijaji:

thanks again suryaz...

 

 

 

My pleasure

 

 

[talasiga]

(Chipmunks discussing Chaitanya ?)

 

 

 

.

.

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NUTS !

[jijaji]

Madhav categorically states that the injury which Chaitanya met with on his toe and the sprain which he incured on the joint of the foot were the causes of his death.

Due to the little wound on the left toe and the sprain on his foot, his whole body gradually got swelled with a constant high temperature and finally early in the morning on the auspicious day of Akshaya Tritiya he breathed his last.

The above statement of Madhav Patnail is believable because it refers to a natural death. Perhaps he was the eye-witness who has recorded the events just two years of the passing away of Sri Chaitanya. But no other contemporary writer has narrated the above incident. Among a host of Bengali biographiers, only Jayanaanda in his 'Chaitanya Mangal' (written in 1568) informs us that 'Chaitanya decided to go back to Vaikuntha on the seventh day of the full moon in the month of Ashadha. While dancing before the chariots in the month of Ashadha his left toe was pierced by a brick (lying on the road). On the sixth day, the pain in his toe became severe and he was forced to take shelter in the Tota (garden). He told Gadadhar Pandit tha he would leave the world next night in the tenth hour. His mortal frame lay behind, while he went to Vaikuntha in Vishnu's chariot"

Without giving any importance to the additions and alternations made by the subsequent Bengali or Oriya devotees, we can now emphatically say that the statement offered by Madhav Patnaik about the injury Chaitanya met with, during the time of dancing in kirtan procession, is the actual cause of his passing away. The primary contents of both the statements of Madhav Patnaik and Jayananda appear to be punctiliously similar and therfore we are tempted to accept the account given by Madhav Patnaik as the truth.

 

to be continued....

[Guest guest]

Suryaz: When I was last in Puri (1986), I came across a temple wherein there was a deity of Krsna who had a crack in his foot.

 

Satyaraj: This deity is Tota-Gopinatha, and actually he has a yellow scar in his knee. It is said that he is the only deity of Krsna who is seated in a yoga-mudra position. Supposedly this yellow scar was caused by Caitanya’s merge on him.

 

Gaudiyas are the holders of this deity and they venerate him as the deity who has amalgamated Caitanya. It said that Caitanya has merged into this deity all of sudden and healthy.

 

Orias, however, state that Caitanya had merged into Jagannatha’s deity and countless witness could see it!

 

The version present by Madhv Patnaik is commented by Kapoor in one of his books. He says that Caitanya got a septicemia due a wound in his toe and has died of a natural cause. His body was buried by Gadadhara and other of his associates in the garden of the Tota-Gopinatha temple, where Gadadhara was the main pujari. They did not build a samadhi for Caitanya in the place of the grave fearing a huge crowd of people gathering there every day to visit the samadhi.

 

[jijaji]

I have more to post on 'Vaishnava Leelamrita', tune-in for the update coming soon!

[Guest guest]

Dear Jijaji.

If the story of the death of this great spritual leader is like below then we the new India will surely find the truth by real research using science of forensic and criminalogy on the subject,and will not forget our past.

" HE WAS MURDERED INSIDE THE GARVA GRIHA OF LORD JAGANNATH-CLOSING THE DOOR AND HIS BODY WAS PUT IN SIDE THE WALL OF THAT TEMPLE"

now if you have the real guts like modern Indian who can soar missiles to sky and send gestationary staelites or execl in scientific endevours -do prove it and write real stories than chanting all this drama and dharma and misleading us.OTHERWISE

(Chipmunks discussing Chaitanya ?)