Panca-tattva - Origin of the concept? - origin and development
jiva - Fri, 17 May 2002 00:37:59 +0530
Vrndavana Goswamins do not,in their authoritative Sanskrit works,explicitly recognize the doctrine of Panca-Tattva,and seldom mention Advaita and Nityananda.Only in the introductory verses to the "Vaisnava Tosani",obeisance is made to Advaita and Nityananda but there is nothing there to distinguish them from the other disciples and associates of Caitanya,mentioned along with them in a fairly long list.
Recognition is found,however,in the works of Kavikarnapura (especially "Gaura-ganoddesa-dipika") and in the Bengali lives of Caitanya;and the promotion to the exclusive dignity is thus of popular growth in the Navadvipa,rather than in the Vrndavana ,circle.
Kavikarnapura,however,attributes the origin of the doctrine of Panca-Tattva to Svarupa Damodara("Gaura-tattva-nirupana"),the five Tattvas being Caitanya,Nityananda,Advaita,Gadadhara and Srivasa (Locana substitutes his own guru Narahari Sarakara for Srivasa).Advaita is mentioned in the first "Caitanyastaka" of Rupa Goswamin(verse 3).
Comments?
jiva
Recognition is found,however,in the works of Kavikarnapura (especially "Gaura-ganoddesa-dipika") and in the Bengali lives of Caitanya;and the promotion to the exclusive dignity is thus of popular growth in the Navadvipa,rather than in the Vrndavana ,circle.
Kavikarnapura,however,attributes the origin of the doctrine of Panca-Tattva to Svarupa Damodara("Gaura-tattva-nirupana"),the five Tattvas being Caitanya,Nityananda,Advaita,Gadadhara and Srivasa (Locana substitutes his own guru Narahari Sarakara for Srivasa).Advaita is mentioned in the first "Caitanyastaka" of Rupa Goswamin(verse 3).
Comments?
jiva
Raga - Fri, 17 May 2002 02:30:40 +0530
Krishnadas Kaviraja based the historical accounts of Caitanya Caritamrta mainly on the notes of Svarupa and Murari. Caitanya Caritamrta, completed 1615 AD, presents very elaborately the concept of Panca Tattva.
Are there any theories on when the theology of "Panca-tattva" would have been "imported" to Braja, if ever?
Are there any theories on when the theology of "Panca-tattva" would have been "imported" to Braja, if ever?
adiyen - Fri, 17 May 2002 08:17:05 +0530
See Jagat's comments on the importance of the Kheturi festival (on the SP thread?) for uniting the Vrindavan and Bengali followers of Sri Chaitanya, also the central importance in this of Ma Jahnava who would have brought the doctrine to Vrindavan along with Krishnadas Kaviraj, yes?
Adi.
Adi.
Raga - Fri, 17 May 2002 08:28:03 +0530
Are you sure it was on this board? I remotely recall reading something like that, but can't figure out where it was.
Could you just copy/post it here please, if you find it?
Could you just copy/post it here please, if you find it?
adiyen - Fri, 17 May 2002 17:12:34 +0530
Yes, here it is from Indiadivine SiddhaPranali thread p1, quoting Sri Jagat:
"The following is an excerpt from an article I wrote recently, which briefly summarizes how and when "siddha pranali" came about. The footnoted comments are relevant. My excuses for the lengthy post:
quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Perhaps predicably, the early period of the fledgling Vaishnava movement in post-Chaitanya times was not without a certain amount of turmoil, particularly in its homeland of Gauda. The principal reasons for this conflict were the conflicting visions of who Chaitanya himself was and the nature of his teaching, as well as a certain amount of jostling for supremacy among the followers of his leading associates, particularly Advaita and Nityananda.
It was only when the influence of the Vrindavan school, carried east by Narottam, Shyamananda and Srinivas Acharya, was brought to bear in the last third of the sixteenth century, that the Gaudiya Vaishnava world was consolidated and took on the characteristics that held it in good stead for several hundred years. The writing of the Chaitanya Charitamrita by Krishna Das in 1612, which reproduced the principal ideas of the Vrindavan school in the Bengali language, may be said to mark the completion of the consolidation process, but the festival at Kheturi in the early 1570s was its defining moment.
Along with the theology of Radha and Krishna as the supreme form of the Godhead, the Vrindavan doctrine emphasized the idea that Chaitanya was something more than a yuga avatar—he was the combined form of Radha and Krishna. What this did was to strengthen the basis for the legitimacy of the entire movement by adding layers of meaning to the Chaitanya symbol; the need for him to be legitimized by any external agent became even less important. Thus though certain passages in the scriptures were reinterpreted—and others invented—to support Chaitanya’s claims to being an incarnation of Krishna, these played a secondary role in creating faith in his followers and inspiring new converts to the movement.
Expanded liturgical norms were also established at Kheturi, in particular that of lila kirtan. In particular, the songs of Jnana Das and Govinda Das, who were both more profoundly influenced by the poetic writings of Rupa Goswami than by the Bhagavata itself, the avowed ultimate scriptural authority of the school, had a tremendous impact on the Bengali popular culture of the time.
Besides firmly establishing the Vrindavan theology, which presented a clear hierarchical understanding of religious experience culminating in service to Radha and Krishna in the madhura-rasa, the principal doctrine with practical effects for subsequent developments established at Kheturi was that of the Pancha Tattva.(1) This doctrine confirmed the status of Nityananda and Advaita as incarnations of the Deity in their own right, gave specific prominence to Gadadhar as the incarnation of KrishnaÂ’s shakti, i.e. Radha, and identified all of ChaitanyaÂ’s other associates as descents of KrishnaÂ’s eternal companions in the spiritual world.(2) This had the effect of confirming the descendants of these now deceased members of the movementÂ’s first generation as participants in their charisma. It is notable that the Gaura-ganoddesa-dipika even identifies NityanandaÂ’s wife Jahnava, as RadhaÂ’s sister Ananga Manjari, and Virabhadra, his son, as a form of Vishnu, even though neither of them ever met Chaitanya.
It also seems likely that the particular esoteric practices of identifying as a participant in KrishnaÂ’s pastimes became a part of the Gaudiya Vaishnava culture of raganuga bhakti at this time (siddha-pranali).(3) This concept first appeared textually in the writings of Gopal Guru and Dhyana Chandra Goswami, the monks responsible for the prestigious Radha Kanta Math, which stood on the grounds of the Cha
itanya residence in Puri. Jahnava, an important organizer of the Kheturi festival, was a major force in sixteenth century who changed the orientation of the Nityananda group from the mood of friendship to that of madhura-rasa.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTES:
(1) Both the doctrine of Chaitanya as the combined form of Radha and Krishna and that of the Pancha Tattva are credited to Svarupa Damodar, a close associate of Chaitanya in Puri. Though the Pancha Tattva idea seems to have come to Kheturi without passing through Vrindavan, the other doctrine certainly received is potent force through the theological efforts of the Vrindavan school.
(2) This doctrine was put to paper in the Gaura-ganoddesa-dipika by Kavi Karnapur in 1572, around the same time as the Kheturi festival, where he was present.
(3) The principle of siddha pranali was that the possibility of attaining the ultimate goal of spiritual life, a role in the eternal pastimes of Radha and Krishna, came through establishing a connection with ChaitanyaÂ’s original companions through disciplic succession."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"The following is an excerpt from an article I wrote recently, which briefly summarizes how and when "siddha pranali" came about. The footnoted comments are relevant. My excuses for the lengthy post:
quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Perhaps predicably, the early period of the fledgling Vaishnava movement in post-Chaitanya times was not without a certain amount of turmoil, particularly in its homeland of Gauda. The principal reasons for this conflict were the conflicting visions of who Chaitanya himself was and the nature of his teaching, as well as a certain amount of jostling for supremacy among the followers of his leading associates, particularly Advaita and Nityananda.
It was only when the influence of the Vrindavan school, carried east by Narottam, Shyamananda and Srinivas Acharya, was brought to bear in the last third of the sixteenth century, that the Gaudiya Vaishnava world was consolidated and took on the characteristics that held it in good stead for several hundred years. The writing of the Chaitanya Charitamrita by Krishna Das in 1612, which reproduced the principal ideas of the Vrindavan school in the Bengali language, may be said to mark the completion of the consolidation process, but the festival at Kheturi in the early 1570s was its defining moment.
Along with the theology of Radha and Krishna as the supreme form of the Godhead, the Vrindavan doctrine emphasized the idea that Chaitanya was something more than a yuga avatar—he was the combined form of Radha and Krishna. What this did was to strengthen the basis for the legitimacy of the entire movement by adding layers of meaning to the Chaitanya symbol; the need for him to be legitimized by any external agent became even less important. Thus though certain passages in the scriptures were reinterpreted—and others invented—to support Chaitanya’s claims to being an incarnation of Krishna, these played a secondary role in creating faith in his followers and inspiring new converts to the movement.
Expanded liturgical norms were also established at Kheturi, in particular that of lila kirtan. In particular, the songs of Jnana Das and Govinda Das, who were both more profoundly influenced by the poetic writings of Rupa Goswami than by the Bhagavata itself, the avowed ultimate scriptural authority of the school, had a tremendous impact on the Bengali popular culture of the time.
Besides firmly establishing the Vrindavan theology, which presented a clear hierarchical understanding of religious experience culminating in service to Radha and Krishna in the madhura-rasa, the principal doctrine with practical effects for subsequent developments established at Kheturi was that of the Pancha Tattva.(1) This doctrine confirmed the status of Nityananda and Advaita as incarnations of the Deity in their own right, gave specific prominence to Gadadhar as the incarnation of KrishnaÂ’s shakti, i.e. Radha, and identified all of ChaitanyaÂ’s other associates as descents of KrishnaÂ’s eternal companions in the spiritual world.(2) This had the effect of confirming the descendants of these now deceased members of the movementÂ’s first generation as participants in their charisma. It is notable that the Gaura-ganoddesa-dipika even identifies NityanandaÂ’s wife Jahnava, as RadhaÂ’s sister Ananga Manjari, and Virabhadra, his son, as a form of Vishnu, even though neither of them ever met Chaitanya.
It also seems likely that the particular esoteric practices of identifying as a participant in KrishnaÂ’s pastimes became a part of the Gaudiya Vaishnava culture of raganuga bhakti at this time (siddha-pranali).(3) This concept first appeared textually in the writings of Gopal Guru and Dhyana Chandra Goswami, the monks responsible for the prestigious Radha Kanta Math, which stood on the grounds of the Cha
itanya residence in Puri. Jahnava, an important organizer of the Kheturi festival, was a major force in sixteenth century who changed the orientation of the Nityananda group from the mood of friendship to that of madhura-rasa.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
NOTES:
(1) Both the doctrine of Chaitanya as the combined form of Radha and Krishna and that of the Pancha Tattva are credited to Svarupa Damodar, a close associate of Chaitanya in Puri. Though the Pancha Tattva idea seems to have come to Kheturi without passing through Vrindavan, the other doctrine certainly received is potent force through the theological efforts of the Vrindavan school.
(2) This doctrine was put to paper in the Gaura-ganoddesa-dipika by Kavi Karnapur in 1572, around the same time as the Kheturi festival, where he was present.
(3) The principle of siddha pranali was that the possibility of attaining the ultimate goal of spiritual life, a role in the eternal pastimes of Radha and Krishna, came through establishing a connection with ChaitanyaÂ’s original companions through disciplic succession."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Mahadeva - Sun, 19 May 2002 15:53:56 +0530
Some scholars think that before the Panca-tattva doctrine was fully established,the faith believed in the Caitanya-Gadadhara Tattva in Navadvipa lila?
Mahadeva
paJca-tattvAtmakaM kRSNaM
bhakta-rUpa-svarUpakam
bhaktAvatAraM bhaktAkhyaM
namAmi bhakta-zaktikam
Considering the extent to which Kavi Karnapura draws from Svarupa's kadaca, it indeed seems that the kadaca was much more than a biographical account.
Mahadeva
Madhava - Sat, 01 Jun 2002 04:10:47 +0530
I just browsed through Kavi Karnapura's Gaura Ganoddesa Dipika. He draws much of its contents from Svarupa Damodara. In verses 9-10, he attributes the famous Panca-tattva sloka to him.bhakta-rUpa-svarUpakam
bhaktAvatAraM bhaktAkhyaM
namAmi bhakta-zaktikam
Considering the extent to which Kavi Karnapura draws from Svarupa's kadaca, it indeed seems that the kadaca was much more than a biographical account.
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