(“nectar of Chaitanya’s deeds”) A name
shared by at least three separate texts, all
devoted to recounting the life of the
Bengali saint Chaitanya (1486–1533).
The earliest was written by Murari
Gupta, an associate of Chaitanya. Most
of this text focuses on Chaitanya’s early
life up to his southern Indian pilgrimage
ending in 1513, but it also briefly mentions his pilgrimage to the town of
Brindavan in 1514 and his final return
to the sacred city of Puri, in which he
lived until his death. The second
account was written nine years after
Chaitanya’s death by Kavikarnapura,
who freely acknowledged his debt to
Murari Gupta. The final account was
written by Krishnadas Kaviraj about
ninety years after Chaitanya’s death.
Kaviraj’s account focuses mainly on
Chaitanya’s later life, particularly his
time in Brindavan. This last version is
marked by the philosophical influence of Chaitanya’s most important
disciples, the Goswamis (Rupa Goswami,
Sanatana Goswami, and Jiva Goswami),
whose ideas were a major influence
in shaping the Gaudiya Vaishnava
religious community. None of these
texts gives an “objective” biography;
the works are hagiographies written
by passionate devotees (bhakta). See
also philosophy.