Saturday, September 20, 2014

Vidyabhusana Project Update and Visvanatha Cakravarti's Gaura-gana-svarupa-tattva-candrika






 Colophon of Visvanatha Cakravarti's "Gaura-gana-svarupa-tattva-candrika"

In my last expeditions, besides finding several manuscripts of Srila Baladeva Vidyabhusana, I have also found a Sanskrit manuscript signed by Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti called “Gaura-gana-svarupa-tattva-candrika.” The author begins by corroborating the affiliation of the Gaudiya sampradaya with the Madhva sampradaya and then proceeds to describe the identities of Lord Caitanya’s associates in Krsna-lila. This is yet another work which corroborates the Gaudiya-Madhva link and dismisses the misconception that it was Vidyabhusana’s innovation. For many decades, Gaudiya authors like Radha-Govindanatha, Puri dasa, Sundarananda Vidyavinoda, Kanai Lal Adhikari, Shyam Lal Hakin, and others actively engaged in propaganda against Baladeva Vidyabhusana and the link with the Madhva sampradaya. Although a few attempts have been made to answer to their baseless allegations, some followers of the above mentioned authors keep on perpetrating their heresies. The time has come to expose them and show even further evidence that the guru-parampara presented by Vidyabhusana is accurate.


 Recently I also came across manuscripts of Srila Rasikananda’s “Bhagavatastakam” and a commentary written by Sri Bhajananandadeva Gosvami, who belonged to the fourth generation of Rasikananda’s descendants and was one of the Mahantas of the Syamanandi parivara in Gopivallabhpur during Vidyabhusana’s life time. I have rendered both the original and the commentary into English and will post them online shortly. Despite a busy schedule and extensive travelling, I have also translated Vidyabhusana’s “Tattva-dipika” and Prabodhananda Sarasvati’s “Viveka-satakam,” which at present are under revision. In sequence, other unpublished manuscripts will be given attention.


As previously promised, I have uploaded several old editions of Vidyabhusana’s books. So far at least one or two editions are uploaded, either in Devanagari or in Bengali script, and gradually the other editions will also be available for free here .

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