Sri Caitanya Caritamrta - Summary and Study Guide - Antya Lila

 Chapter 1: Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī’s Second Meeting with the Lord

This chapter is about Rupa Gosvami meeting Caitanya Mahaprabhu, who says don’t take Krsna out of Vrndavan and quotes from Rupa Gosvami’s Laghu-bhagavatamrta. (See text 67)

This chapter further describes Rupa Gosvami writing the two works Vidagdha-mādhava and the Lalita-mādhava. They are two theatre plays. The Vidagdha-mādhava describes pastimes in Vṛndāvana, and the Lalita-mādhava describes pastimes in Dvārakā and Mathurā. (See text 71)

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu also quotes from Rupa Gosvami’s Sri Padyavali. (See text 79)

This verse explains that Radharani who meets Krsna at the battlefield of Kuruksetra, wants to see Him in Vrindavana. Caitanya Mahaprabhu asks Rupa Gosvami how he knows his mood, as Lord Caitanya is none different from Radha and Krsna combined, or Lord Krsnain the mood of Radharani, sri krsna caitanya radha krsna nahi anya

When Caitanya Mahaprabhu leaves, Haridas Thakur embraces Rupa Gosvami. (See text 209)

Chapter 2: The Chastisement of Junior Haridāsa

Junior Haridasa committed an offense by talking intimately with a woman although he was in the renounced order. Because of this, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu rejected Junior Haridāsa. One year after this incident, Junior Haridāsa went to the confluence of the Ganges and Yamunā and committed suicide. In his spiritual body, however, he continued to sing devotional songs, and Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu heard them. 

Chapter 3: The Glories of Śrīla Haridāsa Ṭhākura

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu once inquired from Haridāsa Ṭhākura, how the persons bereft of Vedic culture, would be delivered in Kali-yuga. Haridāsa Ṭhākura replied that their deliverance would be possible if they very loudly chanted the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, for hearing the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra chanted loudly, even with but little realization, would help them.

A person named Rāmacandra Khān, who was envious of Haridāsa Ṭhākura, sent a professional prostitute to attempt to defame him, but by the mercy of Haridāsa Ṭhākura, even the prostitute was delivered. 

Another time Haridāsa Ṭhākura went to the house of Advaita Ācārya, where he was tested by Māyādevī, the personification of the external energy. She also received his favor by being blessed with the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra.

Chapter 4: Sanātana Gosvāmī Visits the Lord at Jagannātha Purī

Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī came alone from Mathurā to Jagannātha Purī to see Lord Caitanya. Because of bathing in bad water and not getting enough food every day while traveling on the path through Jhārikhaṇḍa (Jharkhand) Forest, he developed a disease that made his body itch. Suffering greatly from this itching, he resolved that in the presence of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu he would throw himself under the wheel of Jagannātha’s car and in this way commit suicide.

When Sanātana Gosvāmī came to Jagannātha Purī, he stayed under the care of Haridāsa Ṭhākura for some time, and Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was very happy to see him. One day Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said to Sanātana Gosvāmī, “Your decision to commit suicide is the result of the mode of ignorance. One cannot get love of God simply by committing suicide. You have already dedicated your life and body to My service; therefore your body does not belong to you, nor do you have any right to commit suicide. I have to execute many devotional services through your body. I want you to preach the cult of devotional service and go to Vṛndāvana to excavate the lost holy places.” 

After having thus spoken, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu left, and Haridāsa Ṭhākura and Sanātana Gosvāmī had many talks about this subject. 

One day Sanātana Gosvāmī was summoned by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, who wanted him to come to Yameśvara-ṭoṭā. Sanātana Gosvāmī reached the Lord through the path along the beach by the sea. When Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu asked Sanātana Gosvāmī which way he had come, Sanātana replied, “Many servitors of Lord Jagannātha come and go on the path by the Siṁha-dvāra gate of the Jagannātha temple. Therefore, I did not go by that path, but instead went by the beach.” Sanātana Gosvāmī did not realize that there were burning blisters on his feet because of the heat of the sand. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was pleased to hear about Sanātana Gosvāmī’s great respect for the temple of Lord Śrī Jagannātha.

Because his disease produced wet sores on his body, Sanātana Gosvāmī used to avoid embracing Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, but nevertheless the Lord would embrace him by force. This made Sanātana Gosvāmī very unhappy, and therefore he consulted Jagadānanda Paṇḍita about what he should do. Jagadānanda advised him to return to Vṛndāvana after the car festival of Jagannātha, but when Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu heard about this instruction, He chastised Jagadānanda Paṇḍita and reminded him that Sanātana Gosvāmī was senior to him and also more learned. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu informed Sanātana Gosvāmī that because Sanātana was a pure devotee, the Lord was never inconvenienced by his bodily condition. Because the Lord was a sannyāsī, He did not consider one body better than another. The Lord also informed him that He was maintaining Sanātana and the other devotees just like a father. Therefore the moisture oozing from Sanātana’s itching skin did not affect the Lord at all. After speaking with Sanātana Gosvāmī in this way, the Lord again embraced him, and after this embrace, Sanātana Gosvāmī became free from the disease. The Lord ordered Sanātana Gosvāmī to stay with Him for that year, and the next year, after seeing the Ratha-yātrā festival, he left Puruṣottama-kṣetra and returned to Vṛndāvana.

After meeting Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī also returned to Bengal, where he remained for one year. Whatever money he owned, he distributed among his relatives, the brāhmaṇas and the temples. In this way he completely retired and returned to Vṛndāvana to meet Sanātana Gosvāmī.

After narrating these incidents, Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī has given a list of the main books of Sanātana Gosvāmī, Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī and Jīva Gosvāmī. 

Sanātana Gosvāmī:

Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta. From this book one can understand who is a devotee, what is the process of devotional service, and who is Kṛṣṇa, the Absolute Truth.

Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī wrote a commentary on the Tenth Canto known as Daśama-ṭippanī, from which we can understand the transcendental pastimes and ecstatic love of Lord Kṛṣṇa.

He also compiled the Hari-bhakti-vilāsa, from which we can understand the standard behavior of a devotee and the full extent of a Vaiṣṇava’s duty.

Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī also compiled many other books. Who can enumerate them? The basic principle of all these books is to show us how to love Madana-mohana and Govindajī.

Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī:  

Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī also wrote many books, the most famous of which is the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu. From that book one can understand the essence of devotional service to Kṛṣṇa and the transcendental mellows one can derive from such service.

 Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī also compiled the book named Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi, from which one can understand, to the fullest limits, the loving affairs of Śrī Śrī Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa.

 Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī also compiled two important dramas named Vidagdha-mādhava and Lalita-mādhava, from which one can understand all the mellows derived from the pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa.

Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī compiled 100,000 verses, beginning with the book Dāna-keli-kaumudī. In all these scriptures he elaborately explained the transcendental mellows of the activities of Vṛndāvana.

Jīva Gosvāmī:

The son of Śrī Vallabha, or Anupama, Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī’s younger brother, was the great learned scholar named Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī.

In particular, Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī compiled the book named Bhāgavata-sandarbha, or Ṣaṭ-sandarbha, which is the essence of all scriptures. From this book one can obtain a conclusive understanding of devotional service and the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

He also compiled the book named Gopāla-campū, which is the essence of all Vedic literature. In this book he has exhibited the ecstatic loving transactions and pastimes of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa in Vṛndāvana.

In the Ṣaṭ-sandarbha Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī set forth the truths about transcendental love of Kṛṣṇa. In this way he expanded 400,000 verses in all his books.