338 Sri-Caitanya-carita mrta

TRANSLATION

King Prataparudra of Orissa, the Oriya devotees Krsnananda and Sivananda,
Paramananda Mahapatra, Bhagavan Acarya, Brahmananda Bharati, Sri Sikhi Mahiti
and Murari Mahiti constantly associated with Caitanya Mahaprabhu while He
resided in Jagannatha Puri.

PURPORT

Prataparudra Maharaja, who belonged to the dynasty of the Ganga kings and
whose capital was in Cuttak, was the Emperor of Orissa and a great devotee of
Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu. !t was by the arrangement of Ramananda Raya and
Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya that he was able to serve Lord Caitanya. In the Gaura-
ganoddesa-dipikd (118) it is said that King Indradyumna, who established the
temple of Jagannatha thousands of years ago, later took birth again in his own
family as Maharaja Prataparudra during the time of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
Maharaja Prataparudra was as powerful as King Indra. The drama named Cajitanya-
candrodaya was written under his direction.

In the Caitanya-bhagavata, Antya-lila, Chapter Five, Paramananda Mahapatra is
described as follows: ‘‘Paramananda Mahapatra was among the devotees who took
birth in Orissa and accepted Caitanya Mahaprabhu as their only asset. In the ecstasy
of conjugal love, he always thought of Caitanya Mahaprabhu.” Bhagavan Acarya,
a very learned scholar, was formerly an inhabitant of Halisahara, but he Seft every-
thing to live with Caitanya Mahaprabhu in Jagannatha Puri. His relationship with
Caitanya Mahaprabhu was friendly, like that of a cowherd boy. He was always
friendly to Svaripa Gosani, but he was staunchly devoted to the lotus feet of Lord
Caitanya Mahaprabhu. He sometimes invited Caitanya Mahaprabhu to his house.

Bhagavan Acarya was very liberal and simple. His father, Satananda Khan, was
completely materialistic, and his younger brother, Gopala Bhattacarya, was a
staunch Mayavadi philosopher who had studied very elaborately. When his brother
came to J agannatha Pari, Bhagavan Acarya wanted to hear from him about Mayavada
philosophy, but Svaripa Damodara forbade him to do so, and there the matter
stopped. Once a friend of Bhagavan Acarya’s from Bengal wanted to recite a drama
that he had written that was against the principles of devotional service, and although
Bhagavan Acarya wanted to recite this drama before Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu,
Svaripa Damodara, the Lord’s secretary, did not allow him to do so. Later Svaripa
Damodara pointed out in the drama many mistakes and disagreements with the
conclusion of devotional service, and the author became aware of the faults in his
writing and then surrendered to Svariipa Damodara, begging his mercy. This is
described in the Antya-/i/la, Chapter Five, verses 91-166.

In the Gaura-ganoddesa-dipikd, verse 189, it is said that Sikhi Mahiti was formerly
an assistant of Srimati Radharani named Ragalekha. His sister Madhavi was also
an assistant of Srimati Radharani and was named Kalakeli. Sikhi Mahiti, Madhavi
and their brother Murari Mahiti were all unalloyed devotees of Sri Caitanya
Mahaprabhu who could not forget Him for a moment of their lives. There is a book
in the Oriya language called Caitanya-carita-mahadkavya in which there are many
narrations about Sikhi Mahiti. One narration concerns his seeing an ecstatic dream.
