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CHAPTER TEN

The Trunk, Branches and Subbranches of the Caitanya Tree

This chapter describes the branches of the tree named Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

Text 1:
Let me repeatedly offer my respectful obeisances unto the beelike devotees who always taste the honey of the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. If even a doggish nondevotee somehow takes shelter of such devotees, he enjoys the aroma of the lotus flower.
Text 2:
All glories to Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Lord Nityānanda! All glories to Advaita Prabhu, and all glories to the devotees of Lord Caitanya, headed by Śrīvāsa!
Text 3:
The description of Lord Caitanya as the gardener and the tree is inconceivable. Now hear with attention about the branches of this tree.
Text 4:
The associates of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu were many, but none of them should be considered lower or higher. This cannot be ascertained.
Text 5:
All the great personalities in the line of Lord Caitanya enumerated these devotees, but they could not distinguish between the greater and the lesser.
Text 6:
I offer my obeisances unto them as a token of respect. I request them not to consider my offenses.
Text 7:
I offer my obeisances to all the dear devotees of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the eternal tree of love of Godhead. I offer my respects to all the branches of the tree, the devotees of the Lord who distribute the fruit of love of Kṛṣṇa.
Text 8:
The two brothers Śrīvāsa Paṇḍita and Śrī Rāma Paṇḍita started two branches that are well known in the world.
Text 9:
Their two brothers were named Śrīpati and Śrīnidhi. These four brothers and their servants and maidservants are considered one big branch.
Text 10:
There is no counting the subbranches of these two branches. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu held congregational chanting daily at the house of Śrīvāsa Paṇḍita.
Text 11:
These four brothers and their family members fully engaged in the service of Lord Caitanya. They knew no other god or goddess.
Text 12:
Another big branch was Ācāryaratna, and his associates were subbranches.
Text 13:
Ācāryaratna was also named Śrī Candraśekhara Ācārya. In a drama in his house, Lord Caitanya played the goddess of fortune.
Text 14:
Puṇḍarīka Vidyānidhi, the third big branch, was so dear to Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu that in his absence Lord Caitanya Himself would sometimes cry.
Text 15:
Gadādhara Paṇḍita, the fourth branch, is described as an incarnation of the pleasure potency of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. No one, therefore, can equal him.
Text 16:
His disciples and granddisciples are his subbranches. To describe them all would be difficult.
Text 17:
Vakreśvara Paṇḍita, the fifth branch of the tree, was a very dear servant of Lord Caitanya’s. He could dance with constant ecstasy for seventy-two hours.
Text 18:
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu personally sang while Vakreśvara Paṇḍita danced, and thus Vakreśvara Paṇḍita fell at the lotus feet of the Lord and spoke as follows.
Text 19:
“O Candramukha! Please give me ten thousand Gandharvas. Let them sing as I dance, and then I will be greatly happy.”
Text 20:
Lord Caitanya replied, “I have only one wing like you, but if I had another, certainly I would fly in the sky!”
Text 21:
Paṇḍita Jagadānanda, the sixth branch of the Caitanya tree, was celebrated as the life and soul of the Lord. He is known to have been an incarnation of Satyabhāmā [one of the chief queens of Lord Kṛṣṇa].
Text 22:
Jagadānanda Paṇḍita [as an incarnation of Satyabhāmā] always wanted to see to the comfort of Lord Caitanya, but since the Lord was a sannyāsī He did not accept the luxuries that Jagadānanda Paṇḍita offered.
Text 23:
They sometimes appeared to fight over trifles, but these quarrels were based on their affection, of which I shall speak later.
Text 24:
Rāghava Paṇḍita, Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s original follower, is understood to have been the seventh branch. From him proceeded another subbranch, headed by Makaradhvaja Kara.
Text 25:
Rāghava Paṇḍita’s sister Damayantī was the dear maidservant of the Lord. She always collected various ingredients with which to cook for Lord Caitanya.
Text 26:
The foods Damayantī cooked for Lord Caitanya when He was at Purī were carried in bags by her brother Rāghava without the knowledge of others.
Text 27:
The Lord accepted these foods throughout the entire year. Those bags are still celebrated as rāghavera jhāli [“the bags of Rāghava Paṇḍita”].
Text 28:
I shall describe the contents of the bags of Rāghava Paṇḍita later in this book. Hearing this narration, devotees generally cry, and tears glide down from their eyes.
Text 29:
Paṇḍita Gaṅgādāsa was the eighth dear branch of the tree of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. One who remembers his activities attains freedom from all bondage.
Text 30:
Śrī Ācārya Purandara, the ninth branch, was a constant associate of Lord Caitanya’s. The Lord accepted him as His father.
Text 31:
Dāmodara Paṇḍita, the tenth branch of the Caitanya tree, was so elevated in love of Lord Caitanya that he once unhesitatingly chastised the Lord with strong words.
Text 32:
Later in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta I shall describe this incident of chastisement in detail. The Lord, being very much satisfied by this chastisement, sent Dāmodara Paṇḍita to Navadvīpa.
Text 33:
The eleventh branch, the younger brother of Dāmodara Paṇḍita, was known as Śaṅkara Paṇḍita. He was celebrated as the shoes of the Lord.
Text 34:
Sadāśiva Paṇḍita, the twelfth branch, was always eager to serve the lotus feet of the Lord. It was his good fortune that when Lord Nityānanda came to Navadvīpa He resided at his house.
Text 35:
The thirteenth branch was Pradyumna Brahmacārī. Since he was a worshiper of Lord Nṛsiṁhadeva, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu changed his name to Nṛsiṁhānanda Brahmacārī.
Text 36:
Nārāyaṇa Paṇḍita, the fourteenth branch, a great and liberal devotee, did not know any shelter but Lord Caitanya’s lotus feet.
Text 37:
The fifteenth branch was Śrīmān Paṇḍita, who was a constant servitor of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. He used to carry a torch while the Lord danced.
Text 38:
The sixteenth branch, Śuklāmbara Brahmacārī, was very fortunate because Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu jokingly or seriously begged food from him or sometimes snatched it from him forcibly and ate it.
Text 39:
Nandana Ācārya, the seventeenth branch of the Caitanya tree, is celebrated within the world because the two Prabhus [Lord Caitanya and Nityānanda] sometimes hid in his house.
Text 40:
Mukunda Datta, a class friend of Lord Caitanya’s, was another branch of the Caitanya tree. Lord Caitanya danced while he sang.
Text 41:
Vāsudeva Datta, the nineteenth branch of the Śrī Caitanya tree, was a great personality and a most confidential devotee of the Lord. One could not describe his qualities even with thousands of mouths.
Text 42:
Śrīla Vāsudeva Datta Ṭhākura wanted to suffer for the sinful activities of all the people of the world so that Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu might deliver them.
Text 43:
The twentieth branch of the Caitanya tree was Haridāsa Ṭhākura. His character was wonderful. He used to chant the holy name of Kṛṣṇa 300,000 times a day without fail.
Text 44:
There was no end to the transcendental qualities of Haridāsa Ṭhākura. Here I mention but a fraction of his qualities. He was so exalted that Advaita Gosvāmī, when performing the śrāddha ceremony of his father, offered him the first plate.
Text 45:
The waves of his good qualities were like those of Prahlāda Mahārāja. He did not even slightly raise an eyebrow when persecuted by the Muslim ruler.
Text 46:
After the passing away of Haridāsa Ṭhākura, the Lord Himself took his body on His lap and danced with it in great ecstasy.
Text 47:
Śrīla Vṛndāvana dāsa Ṭhākura has vividly described the pastimes of Haridāsa Ṭhākura in his Caitanya-bhāgavata. Whatever has remained undescribed I shall try to explain later in this book.
Text 48:
One subbranch of Haridāsa Ṭhākura consisted of the residents of Kulīna-grāma. The most important among them was Satyarāja Khān, or Satyarāja Vasu, who was a recipient of all the mercy of Haridāsa Ṭhākura.
Text 49:
Murāri Gupta, the twenty-first branch of the tree of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, was a storehouse of love of Godhead. His great humility and meekness melted the heart of Lord Caitanya.
Text 50:
Śrīla Murāri Gupta never accepted charity from friends, nor did he accept money from anyone. He practiced as a physician and maintained his family with his earnings.
Text 51:
As Murāri Gupta treated his patients, by his mercy both their bodily and spiritual diseases subsided.
Text 52:
Śrīmān Sena, the twenty-second branch of the Caitanya tree, was a very faithful servant of Lord Caitanya. He knew nothing else but the lotus feet of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
Text 53:
Śrī Gadādhara dāsa, the twenty-third branch, was understood to be the topmost, for he induced all the Muslim Kazis to chant the holy name of Lord Hari.
Text 54:
Śivānanda Sena, the twenty-fourth branch of the tree, was an extremely confidential servant of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Everyone who went to Jagannātha Purī to visit Lord Caitanya took shelter and guidance from Śrī Śivānanda Sena.
Text 55:
Every year he took a party of devotees from Bengal to Jagannātha Purī to visit Lord Caitanya. He maintained the entire party as they journeyed on the road.
Text 56:
Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu bestows His causeless mercy upon His devotees in three features: His own direct appearance [sākṣāt], His prowess within someone He empowers [āveśa], and His manifestation [āvirbhāva].
Text 57:
The appearance of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu in every devotee’s presence is called sākṣāt. His appearance in Nakula Brahmacārī as a symptom of special prowess is an example of āveśa.
Text 58:
The former Pradyumna Brahmacārī was given the name Nṛsiṁhānanda Brahmacārī by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
Text 59:
In his body there were symptoms of āvirbhāva. Such appearances are uncommon, but Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu displayed many such pastimes through His different features.
Text 60:
Śrīla Śivānanda Sena experienced the three features of sākṣāt, āveśa and āvirbhāva. Later I shall vividly describe this transcendentally blissful subject.
Text 61:
The sons, servants and family members of Śivānanda Sena constituted a subbranch. They were all sincere servants of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
Text 62:
The three sons of Śivānanda Sena, named Caitanya dāsa, Rāmadāsa and Karṇapūra, were all heroic devotees of Lord Caitanya.
Text 63:
Śrīvallabha Sena and Śrīkānta Sena were also subbranches of Śivānanda Sena, for they were not only his nephews but also unalloyed devotees of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
Text 64:
Govindānanda and Govinda Datta, the twenty-fifth and twenty-sixth branches of the tree, were performers of kīrtana in the company of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Govinda Datta was the principal singer in Lord Caitanya’s kīrtana party.
Text 65:
Śrī Vijaya dāsa, the twenty-seventh branch, another of the Lord’s chief singers, gave the Lord many books written by hand.
Text 66:
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu gave Vijaya dāsa the name Ratnabāhu [“jewel-handed”] because he copied many manuscripts for Him. The twenty-eighth branch was Kṛṣṇadāsa, who was very dear to the Lord. He was known as Akiñcana Kṛṣṇadāsa.
Text 67:
The twenty-ninth branch was Śrīdhara, a trader in banana-tree bark. He was a very dear servant of the Lord. On many occasions, the Lord played jokes on him.
Text 68:
Every day Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu jokingly snatched fruits, flowers and pulp from Śrīdhara and drank from his broken iron pot.
Text 69:
The thirtieth branch was Bhagavān Paṇḍita. He was an extremely dear servant of the Lord, but even previously he was a great devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa who always kept the Lord within his heart.
Text 70:
The thirty-first branch was Jagadīśa Paṇḍita, and the thirty-second was Hiraṇya Mahāśaya, unto whom Lord Caitanya in His childhood showed His causeless mercy.
Text 71:
In their two houses Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu begged food on the Ekādaśī day and personally ate it.
Text 72:
The thirty-third and thirty-fourth branches were the two students of Caitanya Mahāprabhu named Puruṣottama and Sañjaya, who were stalwart students in grammar. They were very great personalities.
Text 73:
Vanamālī Paṇḍita, the thirty-fifth branch of the tree, was very much celebrated in this world. He saw a golden club and plow in the hands of the Lord.
Text 74:
The thirty-sixth branch, Buddhimanta Khān, was extremely dear to Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. He was always prepared to carry out the Lord’s orders, and therefore he was considered to be a chief servant of the Lord.
Text 75:
Garuḍa Paṇḍita, the thirty-seventh branch of the tree, always engaged in chanting the auspicious name of the Lord. Because of the strength of this chanting, even the effects of poison could not touch him.
Text 76:
Gopīnātha Siṁha, the thirty-eighth branch of the tree, was a faithful servant of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. The Lord jokingly addressed him as Akrūra.
Text 77:
Devānanda Paṇḍita was a professional reciter of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, but by the mercy of Vakreśvara Paṇḍita and the grace of the Lord he understood the devotional interpretation of the Bhāgavatam.
Texts 78-79:
Śrī Khaṇḍavāsī Mukunda and his son Raghunandana were the thirty-ninth branch of the tree, Narahari was the fortieth, Cirañjīva the forty-first and Sulocana the forty-second. They were all big branches of the all-merciful tree of Caitanya Mahāprabhu. They distributed the fruits and flowers of love of Godhead anywhere and everywhere.
Text 80:
Satyarāja, Rāmānanda, Yadunātha, Puruṣottama, Śaṅkara and Vidyānanda all belonged to the twentieth branch. They were inhabitants of the village known as Kulīna-grāma.
Text 81:
All the inhabitants of Kulīna-grāma village, headed by Vāṇīnātha Vasu, were servants of Lord Caitanya, who was their only life and wealth.
Text 82:
The Lord said, “What to speak of others, even a dog in the village of Kulīna-grāma is My dear friend.
Text 83:
“No one can describe the fortunate position of Kulīna-grāma. It is so sublime that even sweepers who tend their hogs there also chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra.”
Text 84:
On the western side were the forty-third, forty-fourth and forty-fifth branches — Śrī Sanātana, Śrī Rūpa and Anupama. They were the best of all.
Text 85:
Among these branches, Rūpa and Sanātana were principal. Anupama, Jīva Gosvāmī and others, headed by Rājendra, were their subbranches.
Text 86:
By the will of the supreme gardener, the branches of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī and Sanātana Gosvāmī grew many times over, expanding throughout the western countries and covering the entire region.
Text 87:
Extending to the borders of the river Sindhu and the Himalayan Mountain valleys, these two branches expanded throughout India, including all the places of pilgrimage, such as Vṛndāvana, Mathurā and Haridvāra.
Text 88:
The fruits of love of Godhead which fructified on these two branches were distributed in abundance. Tasting these fruits, everyone became mad after them.
Text 89:
The people in general on the western side of India were neither intelligent nor well behaved, but by the influence of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī and Sanātana Gosvāmī they were trained in devotional service and good behavior.
Text 90:
In accordance with the directions of the revealed scriptures, both Gosvāmīs excavated the lost places of pilgrimage and inaugurated the worship of Deities in Vṛndāvana.
Text 91:
Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī, the forty-sixth branch of the tree, was one of the most dear servants of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. He left all his material possessions to surrender completely unto the Lord and live at His lotus feet.
Text 92:
When Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī approached Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu at Jagannātha Purī, the Lord entrusted him to the care of Svarūpa Dāmodara, His secretary. Thus they both engaged in the confidential service of the Lord.
Text 93:
He rendered confidential service to the Lord for sixteen years at Jagannātha Purī, and after the disappearance of both the Lord and Svarūpa Dāmodara, he left Jagannātha Purī and went to Vṛndāvana.
Text 94:
Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī intended to go to Vṛndāvana to see the lotus feet of Rūpa and Sanātana and then give up his life by jumping from Govardhana Hill.
Text 95:
Thus Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī came to Vṛndāvana, visited Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī and Sanātana Gosvāmī and offered them his obeisances.
Text 96:
These two brothers, however, did not allow him to die. They accepted him as their third brother and kept him in their company.
Text 97:
Because Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī was an assistant to Svarūpa Dāmodara, he knew much about the external and internal features of the pastimes of Lord Caitanya. Thus the two brothers Rūpa and Sanātana always used to hear of this from him.
Text 98:
Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī gradually gave up all food and drink but a few drops of buttermilk.
Text 99:
As a daily duty, he regularly offered one thousand obeisances to the Lord, chanted at least one hundred thousand holy names and offered obeisances to two thousand Vaiṣṇavas.
Text 100:
Day and night he rendered service within his mind to Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, and for three hours a day he discoursed about the character of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
Text 101:
Śrī Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī took three baths daily in the Rādhā-kuṇḍa lake. As soon as he found a Vaiṣṇava residing in Vṛndāvana, he would embrace him and give him all respect.
Text 102:
He engaged himself in devotional service for more than twenty-two and a half hours a day, and for less than two hours he slept, although on some days that also was not possible.
Text 103:
I am struck with wonder when I hear about the devotional service he executed. I accept Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī and Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī as my guides.
Text 104:
I shall later explain very elaborately how all these devotees met Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
Text 105:
Śrī Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī, the forty-seventh branch, was one of the great and exalted branches of the tree. He always engaged in discourses about love of Godhead in the company of Rūpa Gosvāmī and Sanātana Gosvāmī.
Text 106:
The ācārya Śaṅkarāraṇya was considered the forty-eighth branch of the original tree. From Him proceeded the subbranches known as Mukunda, Kāśīnātha and Rudra.
Text 107:
Śrīnātha Paṇḍita, the forty-ninth branch, was the beloved recipient of all the mercy of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Everyone in the three worlds was astonished to see how he worshiped Lord Kṛṣṇa.
Text 108:
Jagannātha Ācārya, the fiftieth branch of the Caitanya tree, was an extremely dear servant of the Lord, by whose order he decided to live on the bank of the Ganges.
Text 109:
The fifty-first branch of the Caitanya tree was Kṛṣṇadāsa Vaidya, the fifty-second was Paṇḍita Śekhara, the fifty-third was Kavicandra, and the fifty-fourth was Ṣaṣṭhīvara, who was a great saṅkīrtana performer.
Text 110:
The fifty-fifth branch was Śrīnātha Miśra, the fifty-sixth was Śubhānanda, the fifty-seventh was Śrīrāma, the fifty-eighth was Īśāna, the fifty-ninth was Śrīnidhi, the sixtieth was Śrī Gopīkānta, and the sixty-first was Miśra Bhagavān.
Text 111:
The sixty-second branch of the tree was Subuddhi Miśra, the sixty-third was Hṛdayānanda, the sixty-fourth was Kamala-nayana, the sixty-fifth was Maheśa Paṇḍita, the sixty-sixth was Śrīkara, and the sixty-seventh was Śrī Madhusūdana.
Text 112:
The sixty-eighth branch of the original tree was Puruṣottama, the sixty-ninth was Śrī Gālīma, the seventieth was Jagannātha dāsa, the seventy-first was Śrī Candraśekhara Vaidya, and the seventy-second was Dvija Haridāsa.
Text 113:
The seventy-third branch of the original tree was Rāmadāsa, the seventy-fourth was Kavicandra, the seventy-fifth was Śrī Gopāla dāsa, the seventy-sixth was Bhāgavata Ācārya, and the seventy-seventh was Ṭhākura Sāraṅga dāsa.
Text 114:
The seventy-eighth branch of the original tree was Jagannātha Tīrtha, the seventy-ninth was the brāhmaṇa Śrī Jānakīnātha, the eightieth was Gopāla Ācārya, and the eighty-first was the brāhmaṇa Vāṇīnātha.
Text 115:
The three brothers Govinda, Mādhava and Vāsudeva were the eighty-second, eighty-third and eighty-fourth branches of the tree. Lord Caitanya and Nityānanda used to dance in their kīrtana performances.
Text 116:
Rāmadāsa Abhirāma was fully absorbed in the mellow of friendship. He made a flute of a bamboo stick with sixteen knots.
Text 117:
By the order of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, three devotees accompanied Lord Nityānanda Prabhu when He returned to Bengal to preach.
Text 118:
These three were Rāmadāsa, Mādhava Ghoṣa and Vāsudeva Ghoṣa. Govinda Ghoṣa, however, remained with Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu at Jagannātha Purī and thus felt great satisfaction.
Text 119:
Bhāgavata Ācārya, Cirañjīva, Śrī Raghunandana, Mādhavācārya, Kamalākānta and Śrī Yadunandana were all among the branches of the Caitanya tree.
Text 120:
Jagāi and Mādhāi, the eighty-ninth and ninetieth branches of the tree, were the greatest recipients of Lord Caitanya’s mercy. These two brothers were the witnesses who proved that Lord Caitanya was rightly named Patita-pāvana, “the deliverer of the fallen souls.”
Text 121:
I have given a brief description of the devotees of Lord Caitanya in Bengal. Actually His devotees are innumerable.
Text 122:
I have especially mentioned all these devotees because they accompanied Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu in Bengal and Orissa and served Him in many ways.
Text 123:
Let me briefly describe some of the devotees of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu in Jagannātha Purī.
Texts 124-126:
Among the devotees who accompanied the Lord in Jagannātha Purī, two of them — Paramānanda Purī and Svarūpa Dāmodara — were the heart and soul of the Lord. Among the other devotees were Gadādhara, Jagadānanda, Śaṅkara, Vakreśvara, Dāmodara Paṇḍita, Ṭhākura Haridāsa, Raghunātha Vaidya and Raghunātha dāsa.
Text 127:
All these devotees were associates of the Lord from the very beginning, and when the Lord took up residence in Jagannātha Purī, they remained there to serve Him faithfully.
Text 128:
All the devotees who resided in Bengal used to visit Jagannātha Purī every year to see the Lord.
Text 129:
Now let me enumerate the devotees of Bengal who first came to see the Lord at Jagannātha Purī.
Text 130:
There was Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya, one of the biggest branches of the tree of the Lord, and his sister’s husband, Śrī Gopīnātha Ācārya.
Text 131:
In the list of devotees at Jagannātha Purī [which begins with Paramānanda Purī, Svarūpa Dāmodara, Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya and Gopīnātha Ācārya], Kāśī Miśra was the fifth, Pradyumna Miśra the sixth and Bhavānanda Rāya the seventh. Lord Caitanya took great pleasure in meeting with them.
Text 132:
Embracing Rāya Bhavānanda, the Lord declared to him, “You formerly appeared as Pāṇḍu, and your five sons appeared as the five Pāṇḍavas.”
Text 133:
The five sons of Bhavānanda Rāya were Rāmānanda Rāya, Paṭṭanāyaka Gopīnātha, Kalānidhi, Sudhānidhi and Nāyaka Vāṇīnātha.
Text 134:
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu told Bhavānanda Rāya, “Your five sons are all My dear devotees. Rāmānanda Rāya and I are one, although our bodies are different.”
Texts 135-136:
King Pratāparudra of Orissa, the Oriyā devotees Kṛṣṇānanda and Śivānanda, and Paramānanda Mahāpātra, Bhagavān Ācārya, Brahmānanda Bhāratī, Śrī Śikhi Māhiti and Murāri Māhiti constantly associated with Caitanya Mahāprabhu while He resided in Jagannātha Purī.
Text 137:
Mādhavīdevī, the seventeenth of the prominent devotees, was the younger sister of Śikhi Māhiti. She is considered to have formerly been a maidservant of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī.
Text 138:
Brahmacārī Kāśīśvara was a disciple of Īśvara Purī, and Śrī Govinda was another of his dear disciples.
Text 139:
In the list of prominent devotees at Nīlācala [Jagannātha Purī], Kāśīśvara was the eighteenth and Govinda the nineteenth. They both came to see Caitanya Mahāprabhu at Jagannātha Purī, being thus ordered by Īśvara Purī at the time of his passing away.
Text 140:
Both Kāśīśvara and Govinda were Godbrothers of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and thus the Lord duly honored them as soon as they arrived. But because Īśvara Purī had ordered them to give Caitanya Mahāprabhu personal service, the Lord accepted their service.
Text 141:
Govinda cared for the body of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, whereas Kāśīśvara went in front of the Lord when He went to see Jagannātha in the temple.
Text 142:
When Caitanya Mahāprabhu went to the temple of Jagannātha, Kāśīśvara, being very strong, cleared the crowds aside with his hands so that Caitanya Mahāprabhu could pass untouched.
Text 143:
Rāmāi and Nandāi, the twentieth and twenty-first among the important devotees in Jagannātha Purī, always assisted Govinda twenty-four hours a day in rendering service to the Lord.
Text 144:
Every day Rāmāi filled twenty-two big waterpots, whereas Nandāi personally assisted Govinda.
Text 145:
The twenty-second devotee, Kṛṣṇadāsa, was born of a pure and respectable brāhmaṇa family. While touring southern India, Lord Caitanya took Kṛṣṇadāsa with Him.
Text 146:
As a bona fide devotee, Balabhadra Bhaṭṭācārya, the twenty-third principal associate, acted as the brahmacārī of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu when He toured Mathurā.
Text 147:
Baḍa Haridāsa and Choṭa Haridāsa, the twenty-fourth and twenty-fifth devotees in Nīlācala, were good singers who always accompanied Lord Caitanya.
Text 148:
Among the devotees who lived with Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu at Jagannātha Purī, Rāmabhadra Ācārya was the twenty-sixth, Siṁheśvara the twenty-seventh, Tapana Ācārya the twenty-eighth, Raghunātha Bhaṭṭācārya the twenty-ninth and Nīlāmbara the thirtieth.
Text 149:
Siṅgābhaṭṭa was the thirty-first, Kāmābhaṭṭa the thirty-second, Śivānanda the thirty-third and Kamalānanda the thirty-fourth. They all formerly served Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu in Bengal, but later these servants left Bengal to live with the Lord in Jagannātha Purī.
Text 150:
Acyutānanda, the thirty-fifth devotee, was the son of Advaita Ācārya. He also lived with Lord Caitanya, taking shelter of His lotus feet at Jagannātha Purī.
Text 151:
Nirloma Gaṅgādāsa and Viṣṇudāsa were the thirty-sixth and thirty-seventh among the devotees who lived at Jagannātha Purī as servants of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
Texts 152-154:
The prominent devotees at Vārāṇasī were the physician Candraśekhara, Tapana Miśra and Raghunātha Bhaṭṭācārya, Tapana Miśra’s son. When Lord Caitanya came to Vārāṇasī after seeing Vṛndāvana, for two months He lived at the residence of Candraśekhara Vaidya and accepted prasādam at the house of Tapana Miśra.
Text 155:
When Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu stayed at the house of Tapana Miśra, Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa, who was then a boy, washed His dishes and massaged His legs.
Text 156:
When Raghunātha grew to be a young man, he visited Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu at Jagannātha Purī and stayed there for eight months. Sometimes he offered prasādam to the Lord.
Text 157:
Later, by the order of Lord Caitanya, Raghunātha went to Vṛndāvana and remained there under the shelter of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī.
Text 158:
While he stayed with Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, his engagement was to recite Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam for him to hear. As a result of this Bhāgavatam recitation, he attained perfectional love of Kṛṣṇa, by which he remained always maddened.
Text 159:
I list in this way only a portion of the innumerable devotees of Lord Caitanya. To describe them all fully is not possible.
Text 160:
From each branch of the tree have grown hundreds and thousands of subbranches of disciples and granddisciples.
Text 161:
Every branch and subbranch of the tree is full of innumerable fruits and flowers. They inundate the world with the waters of love of Kṛṣṇa.
Text 162:
Each and every branch of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s devotees has unlimited spiritual power and glory. Even if one had thousands of mouths, it would be impossible to describe the limits of their activities.
Text 163:
I have briefly described the devotees of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu in different places. Even Lord Śeṣa, who has thousands of mouths, could not list them all.
Text 164:
Praying at the lotus feet of Śrī Rūpa and Śrī Raghunātha, always desiring their mercy, I, Kṛṣṇadāsa, narrate Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, following in their footsteps.