Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (; ), born Vishvambhara Mishra () (28 February 1486 â 14 June 1534), was an Indian Hindu saint from Bengal and the founder of Gaudiya Vaishnavism. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's mode of worshipping Krishna with bhajan-kirtan and dance influenced Vaishnavism in Bengal.
He is considered the chief proponent of the Vedantic philosophy of Achintya Bheda Abheda. The concept of inconceivable difference in non-difference, known as achintya-bhedabheda, was explained later by Jiva Goswami in his book Bhagavat Sandharbha, and in his Sarva-samvadini.
Mahaprabhu founded Gaudiya Vaishnavism. He expounded Bhakti yoga and popularised the chanting of the Hare Krishna Maha-mantra. He composed the Shikshashtakam (eight devotional prayers).
Chaitanya is sometimes called Gauranga () or Gaura due to his molten goldâÂÂlike complexion. His birthday is celebrated as Gaura-purnima. He is also called Nimai because he was born underneath a Neem tree.
The religious hagiographies of Gauá¸Âëya sampradÃÂya are the only sources available for the reconstruction of Caitanya's life. These texts (in Sanskrit and Bengali), consider Caitanya to be an avatÃÂra of Kråṣá¹Âa, Svayaá¹ BhagavÃÂn, RÃÂdhÃÂ-Kråṣá¹Âa (joint and separate), NÃÂrÃÂyaá¹Âa, Viá¹£á¹Âu, and JagannÃÂtha. A canonical narrative was established in early 1600s through the Caitanya CaritÃÂmrÃÂ¥ta of Kråṣá¹ÂadÃÂsa KavirÃÂja, which is regarded within the tradition as the "final word" on Gauá¸Âëya history and theology.
Chaitanya was born in a Brahmin family as Vià Âvambhara Mià Âra aka NimÃÂi, the second son of JagannÃÂtha Mià Âra and his wife à Âacë Devë, the daughter of Nilambara Chakrabarti, both Brahmins of Sylhet region. JagannÃÂtha Mià Âra's family were from the village of Dhakadakshin in Sylhet District (now in Bangladesh), where the ruins of their ancestral home still survive. Hagiographies describe his birth as a divine event and state that it predicted his future mission of propagating harinÃÂma saá¹Âkërtana in Kali Yuga.
While still a student, his father died, and he soon married Laká¹£mëpriyÃÂ. He travelled to east Bengal to become a scholar and support his family, but his wife died in his absence. He then married Viá¹£nupriyÃÂ, the daughter of paá¹Âá¸Âit SanÃÂtana Mià Âra. Vià Âhvambara, also known as NimÃÂi Paá¹Âá¸Âit, was a promising Sanskrit scholar and is said to have once defeated Keà Âava Bhaá¹Âá¹Âa of the NimbÃÂrka school in a debate on Sanskrit prosody, an example of his "superhuman erudition".
Around 1508-1509, he left Nabadvip for Gaya to perform à ÂrÃÂddha, a ritual homage to his dead father. There, he met an ascetic named êà Âvara Purë, who initiated him using a mantra for Kråṣá¹Âa worship. Gaudiya texts describe that after this meeting Vià Âvambhara abandoned all scholarly and domestic pursuits, developing an intense desire to hear and speak about Krishna. Within a year he took a vow of saá¹ÂnyÃÂsa (renunciation) from his guru, Keà Âava BhÃÂratë, and changed his name to Kråṣá¹Âa Caitanya. His mother then asked him to at least live in the city of Puri so that he would not be too far from Bengal.
After his renunciation, Caitanya spent his time teaching Kråṣá¹Âa bhakti and engaging in communal saá¹Âkërtana. Hagiographies describe debates with followers of Advaita VedÃÂnta and other theological opponents in form of digvijaya (conquest through debate). He spent two months in Vrindavan in c. 1515, where he instructed SanÃÂtana GosvÃÂmë and Rà «pa GosvÃÂmë. He spent the last two decades of his life in Puri, where his ecstatic seizures yearning for Kråṣá¹Âa and his consorts, mainly RÃÂdhÃÂ, intensified. He died in c. 1528-1534.
The à Âiká¹£ÃÂá¹£á¹Âaka is the only work accepted to be composed by Caitanya. The poem expounds upon the subjects of harinÃÂmajapa, saá¹Âkërtana, the relationship between individual souls and Kråṣá¹Âa, devotional submission to Kråṣá¹Âa, and Caitanya's personal virahabhakti. Scholars debate the extent to which Caitanya played in the development of the complex Gauá¸Âëya Vaiá¹£á¹Âava theology.
According to Murari Gupta, one of Caitanya's close associates, Caitanya taught that kirtana (chanting God's name) is the most effective spiritual practice in the Kali Age. He first gathered the community for kirtana in Srivasa's courtyard. Caitanya revealed bhakti as the primary means to approach Krishna, and he appointed the Goswamis, such as Srinivasa Acarya and Narottama Dasa, to gather and compose texts explaining this devotion.
According to Dinesh Chandra Sen's analysis, Caitanya's teaching is centered on prema (divine love), described in Vaishnava texts as progressing through different spiritual phases. Sen also states that Caitanya integrated compassionate service and taught that devotion to God is higher than social distinctions, quoting Caitanya's words "The moment that you say you love God, all human beings will be your brethren; there will be no Brahmin, no Sudra".
Works on Chaitanya:
Chaitanya has influenced the cultural legacy in Bengal, Odisha and Manipur, with many residents performing daily worship to him as an avatar of Krishna. Some attribute to him a Renaissance in Bengal, different from the more well-known 19th-century Bengal Renaissance. Salimullah Khan (b. 1958), a noted Bangladeshi linguist, maintains, "Sixteenth-century is the time of Chaitanya Dev, and it is the beginning of Modernism in Bengal. The concept of 'humanity' that came into fruition is contemporaneous with that of Europe".
Noted Bengali biographical film on Chaitanya, Nilachaley Mahaprabhu (1957), was directed by Kartik Chattopadhyay (1912âÂÂ1989). A Bengali film based on Chaitanya's demise, Lawho Gouranger Naam Rey (2025), is directed by Srijit Mukherji.