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Library » Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta » Ādi-līlā » CHAPTER FIVE

CC Ādi 5.149

Bengali

নিত্যানন্দ–স্বরূপ পূর্বে হইলা লক্ষ্মণ ।
লঘুভ্রাতা হৈয়া করে রামের সেবন ॥ ১৪৯ ॥

Text

nityānanda-svarūpa pūrve ha-iyā lakṣmaṇa
laghu-bhrātā haiyā kare rāmera sevana

Synonyms

nityānanda-svarūpa — Lord Nityānanda Svarūpa; pūrve — formerly; ha-iyā — becoming; lakṣmaṇa — Lakṣmaṇa, Lord Rāmacandra’s younger brother; laghu-bhrātrā haiyā — becoming the younger brother; kare — does; rāmera sevana — service to Lord Rāmacandra.

Translation

Lord Nityānanda Svarūpa formerly appeared as Lakṣmaṇa and served Lord Rāmacandra as His younger brother.

Purport

Among the sannyāsīs of the Śaṅkara-sampradāya there are different names for brahmacārīs. Each sannyāsī has some assistants, known as brahmacārīs, who are called by different names according to the names of the sannyāsī. Among such brahmacārīs there are four names: Svarūpa, Ānanda, Prakāśa and Caitanya. Nityānanda Prabhu maintained Himself as a brahmacārī; He never took sannyāsa. As a brahmacārī His name was Nityānanda Svarūpa, and therefore the sannyāsī under whom He was living must have been from the tīrthas or āśramas of the Śaṅkara-sampradāya, because one of the names for the assistant brahmacārī of such a sannyāsī is Svarūpa.