Vishambhar Misra, famously known as Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (c.1486-1534), led one of the most pioneering movements within the Vaishnava tradition in medieval India, which influenced many of the famous modern Hindu mystics, including Ramakrishna Paramahansa, and certain modern-day world famous Hindu mystical organizations like ISCKON. This book deals with Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s life and his version of Vaishnavaite mysticism in Orissa (presently Odisha). The author in the first part deals with the sources attributed to the Vaishnava saint written in Bengali, Odia, and Sanskrit during medieval and early modern periods. These include his biographies and mystical compositions dedicated to Lord Krishna composed by his followers. The second part deals with the religiosity and asceticism of the said saint, and how it is different from the traditional Vaishnavism practiced in medieval Orissa. The final part of this book deals with the impact of Mahaprabhu on the history of medieval Orissa and his movement prevalent in modern times.
Prabhat Mukherjee was a retired Reader at the Department of History, Utkal University, Bhubaneshwar. He wrote books primarily on the history of the Orissan region, notably History of Medieval Vaishnavism in Orissa (1940).
Preface vii I Important literary sources on Chaitanya in Sanskrit and Bengali 1 II. Chaitanya in Oriya literature 11 III. Chaitanya in Orissa 19 IV. The Passing Away of Chaitanya V. Chaitanya and Jagannath Appendix—Chaitanya as the Embodiment of Buddha-Jagannath VI. Religious Outlook of Chaitanya 56 VII. Chaitanya's association with Five Comrades 62 Appendix—Differences between the Chaitanya faith and Orissan Vaishnavism 69 VIII. Other Oriya Followers of Chaitanya 73 IX. Chaitanya's Influence on History of Orissa Section 1—Political condition 80 Section 2—Society 83 Section 3—Religion 84 X. History of Vaishnavism in Orissa in the 16th century 95 XI. The Post-Chaitanya Oriya Vaishnava literature 98 XII. The Spread of the Chaitanya Movement in Orissa 102 XIII. Chaitanya Worship Today 113 Bibliography 117 Glossary 120 Index 122
