Breakdown of Sri Chaitanya's Life

Sri Caitanya enacted His earthly pastimes for 48 years (1486-1534). His youth was dedicated to scholastic excellence, His middle age to mass preaching, and His final years to deep communion with Krishna. It was a remarkable life.

In Caitanya-Bhagavata (the first major biography of Sri Caitanya), Vrindavana das Thakur’s primary focus was to describe the Lord’s first 24 years in Navadvip, West Bengal. Krishnadasa Kaviraja Goswami summarises these accounts in the Adi-Lila of Caitanya-Caritamrita. His focus, however, was to narrate the later pastimes of Sri Caitanya, which form the entire Madhya-Lila and Antya-Lila of his work.

Caitanya-Caritamrita contains over 11,000 verses spread over 62 chapters. Krishnadasa draw from two primary historical sources:

• Birth to 24 years – Murari Gupta, a physician and close associate of Sri Caitanya, scribed extensive notes on the Navadvip years, culminating in the Lord’s acceptance of the renounced order (sannyasa).

• 24-48 years – The second half of Sri Caitanya’s life was recorded in the diary of Svarupa Damodara Goswami, who acted as His personal secretary in Jagannatha Puri.