Krishnadasa Kaviraja
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Krishnadasa (born 1496, date of death unknown), known by the honorific Kaviraja (Bengali: কৃষ্ণদাস কবিরাজ, romanized: Kṛṣṇôdas Kôviraj; IAST: Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja), was the author of the Chaitanya Charitamrita, a biography on the life of the mystic and saint Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486–1533), who is considered by the Gaudiya Vaishnava school of Hinduism to be an incarnation of Radha and Krishna combined.
Early life
There is scant information about the life of Krishnadasa Kaviraja. Krishnadasa was born in 1496 CE in a Baidya[1][2] family in the village of Jhamatpur, within the district of Bardhaman, Bengal (modern West Bengal). His father was called Bhagiratha, and his mother was named Sunanda. He also had a younger brother. Both his parents died when he was young and he and his brother were raised by relatives.
Instructions
Krishnadasa relates in his Chaitanya Charitamrita that once his brother argued with the prominent Vaishnava devotee Minaketana Ramadasa over the ontological positions of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Nityananda (Mahaprabhu's lifelong companion) and belittled the position of Nityananda. Krishnadasa considered this to be an unpardonable offence and rejected his brother forthwith.
After receiving instructions in a vision from Nityananda, Krishnadasa left Bengal and travelled to Vrindavan where he took initiation from Raghunatha dasa Goswami (1494–1586 CE), one of the direct followers of Chaitanya.
Chaitanya Charitamrita
At an advanced age and in poor health Krishnadasa commenced work on his magnum opus, the Chaitanya Charitamrita (c. 1557) after being repeatedly petitioned by the devotees in Vrindavan who had never met Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and who were eager for details. He vividly describes in the text itself: “I have now become too old and disturbed by invalidity. While writing, my hands tremble. I cannot remember anything, nor can I see or hear properly. Still, I write, and this is a great wonder.”
In composing his Charitamrita, Krishnadasa used the diaries of Murari Gupta and Svarupa Damodara, both of whom were intimate associates of Chaitanya. Krishnadasa was also given a great deal of information by his guru, Raghunatha Dasa Goswami, who had served Svarupa Damodara when the latter was Chaitanya's personal secretary.
Due to its amount of detail on the life of Chaitanya and his precepts, the Chaitanya Charitamrita became the definitive biography of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
In the Gaura-ganoddesha-dipika of Kavi Karnapura, Krishnadasa Kaviraja is identified as being an incarnation of the handmaiden of Radha called Kasturi Manjari.
Works
He wrote some short prayers in Sanskrit as well as Chaitanya Charitamrita and two other major works:
- Chaitanya Charitamrita — The most definitive biography of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
- Sri Govinda-lilamrita — A work explaining the daily pastimes of Krishna and his associates in Vrindavana.
- Saranga-rangada kangada tika — A commentary on the Krishna-karnamrita of Bilvamangala Thakura.
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