Reconstructing Tradition: Advaita Acarya and Gaudiya Vaisnavism at the Cusp of the Twentieth Century

RECONSTRUCTING TRADITION

AdvaitaAcarya and Gau4lya Vai~7:zavism at the Cusp of the Twentieth Century

REBECCA J. MANRING

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS NEW YORK

COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY PRESS

Publishers Since 1893 NEW YORK, CHICHESTER, WEST SUSSEX

Copyright © 2005 Columbia University Press All rights reserved LCCN 200504838 ISBN o-231-12954-8 Complete CIP data is on file with the Library of Congress. Casebound editions of Columbia University Press books are printed on permanent and durable acid-free paper. Printed in the United States of America

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Vii

NOTES ON TRANSLITERATION

Xiii

INTRODUCTION

1. THE BIRTH OP AN IMAGE

17

2. ADVAITA ACARYA: A NEW IMMINENCE

3·

44

VARIANT MESSAGES:

NONHAGIOGRAPHICAL TEXTS TREATING ADVAITA ACARYA

4·

5·

REVIVAL AND RETURN

103

ANOTHER "BLACK FORGERY" OR MERB PLAY?

6. 7·

ADVAITA PRAKASA

153

SITA DEVI: GATEWAY TO THE FUTURE

8.

ADVAITA ACARYA TODAY

9.

CONCLUSIONS

NOTES

253

BIBLIOGRAPHY INDEX

232

299

285

220

193

128

76

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

T

bears much resemblance to the dissertation it began as, has been well over a decade in the making and owes its completion to more people and institutions than I can properly thank. I began the studies that led to this book in Carol Salomon's study in Seattle, Washington, learning to read and write Bengali, and eventually to appreciate the richness of the Bengali literary tradition. Bengali led me to Sanskrit and to Richard Salomon, with whose help, as well as that of numerous Foreign Language and Area Studies fellowships, I was able to return to graduate school. My dissertation committee at the University of Washington also included Eugene Webb and the late Alan Entwistle, and I am grateful for the instruction and patient guidance all four of them provided. The Jackson School oflnternational Studies at the University of Washington awarded me numerous FLAS grants; the University's Graduate School dissertation fellowship and a teaching associateship in the Department of Asian Languages and Literature made my final year of writing possible. The American Institute oflndian Studies has provided tremendous support, beginning with the Advanced Language Study Fellowship for 1987-88 and, most recently (2ooo), a Senior Research Fellowship. Just as important has been the support of Dr. Pradip Mehendiratta in the Delhi office and of Dr. Tarun Mitra and Ms. Aditi Sen in Kolkata. I am particularly grateful for the Fulbright-Bayes Doctoral Dissertation Research Abroad Fellowship in 1992-93, which allowed me to spend the requisite time in West Bengal reading manuscripts in research libraries, traveling to sites associated with Advaita Acclrya, and discussing his movement with various scholars and devotees. The American Institute for Bangladesh Studies awarded me a similar doctoral dissertation fellowship, without which I would never have seen the birthplace of Advaita Acarya, or had the pleaHIS BOOK, WHICH NO LONGER

VIII

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

sure of working in the manuscript libraries of Dhaka University and the Bangia Academy. Dr. Uma Das Gupta, then eastern regional director, U.S. Educational Foundation in India, and her competent and compassionate staff took a personal interest in my success and well-being during my stay in their jurisdiction, as they have for countless other American scholars. Uma-di introduced me to numerous academics and library officials whose help was indispensable for my research and also did her best to ensure that I remained in good physical and emotional health throughout my stay. For that, and for her continued friendship, I am grateful. The late Professor Chinmayee Chatterjee of the Sanskrit Department of Jadavpur University spent countless hours reading and discussing the philosophical writings of }Iva Go swami with me. Her efforts instilled in me an appreciation for a theological philosophy centered in the heart rather than in the intellect. Professor Ramakanta Chakrabarty of Barddhaman University (retired) also was very generous with his time and his knowledge of the early years of Gauc;liya Vai~IJ.avism. Professor Chakrabarty directed me toward many scholars and references I would not likely have otherwise discovered and continues to provide helpful comments on my work. Dr. Candan Raychaudhuri, general secretary, and Mr. Citrabhanu Sen, librarian, of the Asiatic Society in Kolkata ensured that I was promptly supplied with needed materials housed in their collections. Professor S. Bhattacarya, secretary of the Bangiya Sahitya Pari~at in Kolkata, granted me special permission to read many manuscripts in the reading room of the BSP library as an exception to their rule allowing only two manuscripts out of the storage room at a time. Mr. Visvanath Mukherjee and Mrs. Aruna Chatterjee provided photocopies of needed materials and assisted me in locating obscure resources. The Shantipur Vai~IJ.ava community opened their homes and temples to me and provided valuable research assistance as well as kind hospitality and friendship. Mr. Balai Lal Mukherjee and Mr. Subal Candra Maitra arranged extensive programs for me during my several visits to Shantipur so that I was able to meet and interview many local scholars and devotees. Dr. Purnendunath Nath and Mr. Asoka Datta discussed my research with me on several occasions and provided valuable insights. Mrs. Manjulika Gosvami was kind enough to provide me with her hospitality on each of my visits, most recently in January 2001. Her son, "Ranju," is a fifteenth-generation direct descendant of Advaita Acarya. The family lives at Madana Gop ala Pada (whose temple houses Advaita Acarya's own images) and allowed me to observe and photograph both Advaita Acarya's birth celebrations and the rasa lila festivities. Mrs. Maitra and Manjulika-di's mother,

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

IX

the late Mrs. Sanyal, treated me to delicious Bengali cooking on each of my visits and fussed over me like the good Bengali mothers they are. The entire Sanyal family welcomed me into their midst, and their kindness allowed me to experience rural Bengali life during my time with them. Dr. and Mrs. Mohit Ray invited me to Krishnanagar for a lecture, opening their home to me and taking considerable trouble to locate a long out-of-print text for me. At the Vrndavana Research Institute Mr. Gopalacandra Ghosa provided me with a great deal of information regarding Advaita Acarya's activities and descendants in Vrndavana. Mr. Phulin Gosvami of the VRI photographic section assisted me in obtaining a complete copy of one manuscript and also kindly allowed me to photograph several old paintings and book covers relevant to this study in the VRI collection. The libraries of Dhaka were a delight to work in. Dr. Shamsuzzaman Khan and the librarian of the Bangia Academy, Mrs. Syeda Farida. Parvin, manuscript keeper at Dhaka University Library, the librarians at Dhaka University and Anima. and Bimal Majumdara and Indra Kumara Sinha ofRamamala Granthagara in Camilla all provided invaluable assistance and made it very easy for me to work in their facilities. Swami Ak$arananda Maharaja and Mintu Maharaja of the Ramakrishna Mission in Dhaka arranged my trips to Sylhet and Comilla and introduced me to key members of the Vais1,1ava and Ramakrishna communities in both cities who were able to assist me. Professor Bijit Kumar De and Mrs. De and family and Professor Pranab Kumar Sinha and Mrs. Sinha made my stay in Sylhet the highlight of my time in Bangladesh. The fifty members of the De household made me feel like another member of the family and provided hours of interesting conversation. Professors De and Sinha took several days out of their busy academic schedules to ensure that I met many local scholars and visited sites in the area associated with Advaita Acarya and Caitanya. Together with their Sunamgaiij colleagues Dr. Dhirendra Choudhury and Mr. Dipak Ranjan Das they somehow manifested a speedboat to take all of us twenty miles up river from Sunamgaftj to Advaita Acarya's birthplace in Navagra.ma, a journey that would have taken six hours each way by "country boat" and one that I would never have been able to make on my own. We made the last mile or two of the journey on land, barefoot, as befits a pilgrimage. I am tremendously grateful to have been able to visit the site where this story all began, for their spirited companionship on our pilgrimage, and for their kindness in making that visit possible. Several Dhaka University faculcy members also provided much assistance. Professor Anisuzzaman of the Bengali Department and the late Professor M.

X

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

R. Tarafdar of the Department of Islamic History and Culture discussed my research with me on numerous occasions and made many useful suggestions. The late Professor Ahmed Sharif, then retired professor of Bengali at Dhaka University, was kind enough to meet with me for several hours a day, several days a week, to read the Ad vaita Prakasa and one of the Advaita Kadaca Sotras. Thanks to his patient efforts I was able to understand not only the difficult Middle Bengali of the texts but also the subtle cultural underpinnings I would not have noticed on my own. More recently, Indiana University's College of Arts and Sciences awarded me a summer research fellowship, and in the summer of 2003 Research and the University Graduate School awarded me a faculty summer research fellowship, both of which freed my time over two summers to work exclusively on this book. I am immensely grateful for all the financial support I have received over the years. My time in South Asia would not have been spent productively were it not for the assistance and companionship of Ms. Hena Basu, a Kolkata scholar who has for many years helped foreign scholars attempting to navigate the many research libraries of West Bengal. She has tirelessly accompanied me to various destinations around the state, spent hours tediously copying, by hand, articles and even manuscripts I needed for this work, and always manages to find something to laugh about even when prospects for uncovering something seem most dim. Ms. Susmita Sen often accompanied us on our travels, and her companionship and assistance were delightful. Susmita managed to find a crucial but obscure footnote in a dusty old journal at the last minute for this project, and did so with her usual grace and alacrity. I am grateful to both of them, without whom this project would simply never have reached completion. Professor Abul Ahsan Chowdhury, now of Islamia College in Kushtia, performed ably as my research assistant during my time in Bangladesh and .very kindly introduced me to a number of scholars without whose help this work would have been much less than it is. He offered his kind services to me and became my de facto private instructor of Bangladeshi language, culture, and modern history. His efforts led me to an appreciation of his country and its current situation I would otherwise have missed. Professor Subhadra Kumar Sen, son of the late great scholar Sukumar Sen, and his family (Mrs. Krishna Sen; Nupur and Shorn) first entered this project when I was searching for manuscripts in his father's collection. We have all become friends, and that friendship led to the recovery, cataloguing, and microfilming of the Sukumar Sen Manuscript Collection (catalogue soon to be published) as well as many hours of good food and fascinating conversation. I am grateful to the Sen family.

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

XI

Pika Ghosh and Doris M. Srinivasan provided useful advice about some of the art historical issues in this study. Tim Callahan, assistant director of the Indiana University India Studies Program, produced the graphics for this book, as well as offering hours of computer wisdom and far more patience than seems humanly possible. Deep gratitude also to the staff in the Religious Studies Department, in particular Caroline Dowd-Higgins. Several of my colleagues in Religious Studies at Indiana University have kindly read through various drafts of this book; their suggestions have much improved the text. These include Rob Campany, John McRae, and Jan Nattier. Robert Orsi read and commented on the final draft of the manuscript, taking much time out of a seriously overcommitted schedule; I am grateful for his generosity and comments and in particular for his drawing my attention to the issue of marginality and its ramifications. And I also appreciate the comments of the anonymous reviewer for Columbia University Press, which comments led me to include the field work reports that comprise chapter 8. Finally, Dr. Kumble Subbaswamy, dean of the Indiana University College of Arts and Sciences, generously provided subvention funding to help offset production costs of this book. Susan Pensak, senior manuscript editor at Columbia University Press, has been very thorough in her editing and very patient with this first-time author, and her tireless efforts have improved my text. Wendy Lochner, senior executive editor for religion, philosophy, and anthropology, has been tremendously helpful throughout this process as well. All these colleagues have helped to make this a better work, and I hasten to add that any remaining inadequacies are entirely my own. I am also grateful for the intellectual support and friendship of my colleagues in the Religious Studies Department at Indiana University, especially (in addition to those already mentioned) Kevin Jaques and David Haberman. One colleague deserves the highest of praise and gratitude. Tony K. Stewart has been involved with this project since its inception. His storehouse of knowledge of and enthusiasm for Gauc;IIya Vaisl)ava literature have amazed and inspired me since our initial contact. Tony has spent countless hours discussing Vai~l)ava theology with me, and even more time reading drafts of my work. His patience in taking me beyond a rather naive grad student in love with language and languages is truly remarkable. He continues, in our conversations, to challenge my own understanding as well as common wisdom about the tradition. Our original teacher-student relationship has evolved to that of colleagues and friends, much to my delight.

XII

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

During all the time in South Asia, and the ensuing years of starting a new career, I have benefited tremendously from the wisdom, friendship, and support of many other people, most of whom had nothing to do with my research. Among these are Aditi Sen, Sushma Nayak, Rita Agarwal, Dipti Basu, Donetta Cothran, Baba Hari Dass, Gretchen Horlacher, Elizabeth Jasper, Shanti Marcotte, Anne Mongoven, Anne Monius, Ma Renu, Paula Righi, Andrea Singer, and the Tritt family. I must also mention my father, Ben Manring, who is no longer here but whose quiet confidence in me through the initial stages of this study continues to be a tremendous support. And, more recently, the Indianapolis flower garden of Camelia, Lily, and Rose Manring and their parents Keith and Ann have provided hours of distraction whenever it was needed. My last bit of thanks is for my husband, Tim Bagwell. We met as this project was in its final stages. His support and love, as well as his willingness to take over more than his share of domestic responsibilities, ensured that I met my deadlines for completion of the manuscript.

NOTES ON TRANSLITERATION

E

is in current English usage, I have used Standard Academic Transliteration for all Sanskrit and Bengali words and names. In so doing I treat Bengali according to the same transliteration rules as Sanskrit, that is, the inherent vowel is always indicated and consonant clusters are represented as spelled. In those cases where an individual uses a particular Romanization of his or her name, I have used that individual's preferred spelling. This has often resulted in a few inconsistencies. When I cite or refer to individuals in an English-language context, I spell the name according to their preference in English, with no diacritics. When referring to or citing the same individuals in a Bengali context where the name appears in the Bengali language and script, I use the transliterated spelling, with the requisite diacritical marks. Similarly, I use the most familiar spellings of the names of cities, reserving the use of diacritics for less-known toponyms. For cities I have used contemporary names. Recently Bombay, Madras, and Calcutta have officially changed to the older, precolonial designations Mumbai, Chennai, and Kolkata, and I use the latter. Unless otherwise indicated, all translations are my own. XCEPT WHEN ANOTHER SPELLING

RECONSTRUCTING TRADITION

Introduction

Advaita Praka~a is the oldest of all the (early Gauc;liya) texts. ISana Nagara was the disciple and companion ofShantipur's famous Advaita Acarya .... He described Advaita's life story as he had witnessed it. ... The book was composed in 1568, when I~ana was 70 years old. Vrndavana Dasa's

Caitanya Bhagavata was composed in 1570, so the Advaita Prakasa is two years older, and no major work in Bengali was composed prior to it. After a great deal of effort we have managed to collect a copy of a 1781 manuscript of the Advaita Praka§a. The original book is in Jhakpala, and I saw it there and copied it. 1

T

in 1896 in Bengal's most prestigious literary journal of the day, the Bangiya Sahitya Pari$at Patrika. But, as it turns out, the report is not entirely accurate, for the text was neither written in the sixteenth century, nor was its author isana Nagara. The Advaita Prakasa (AP) is a late-nineteenth-century hagiography authored not by !sana Nagara but by Acyutacara:o.a Caudhuri Tattvanidhi. The text treats the life of Advaita Acarya, the fifteenth- and sixteenth-century scholar unanimously hailed as the father ofGaudiya Vai~:o.avism. Advaita Acarya's years of austerities and constant pleading with Kr~:o.a to incarnate to solve the ills of the day, the movement's historians report, finally led to the advent of Kr~:o.a Caitanya. Acyutacara1;1a Caudhuri Tattvanidhi was a direct descendant of Advaita, a scholar of and from the Sylhet region of Advaita's birth. Why did AcyutacaraQa compose this text and promote it not as his own work but as that of a much earlier and otherwise unknown writer? And who was Advaita Acarya? HE ABOVE ANNOUNCEMENT APPEARED

2

INTRODUCTION

Advaita Acarya (1434-1559), 2 born Kamalak$a Bhattacarya, serves in many respects as the herald of the Gau 157-59. 190; death, 162 Labhyamati, 38 L~n1i (Caitanya's first wife), 177, 178 Lak~ml (consort ofVisuu), 13, 48, 49> 65, 196, 217 Laksmipati, 48, 56 Lalita Madhava, 184 Latin, 24 Lauc,la, 2 Lava,175 Liotard, L., 105 Macaulay, Thomas Babington, 104, 109 Madana Mohana (image), 165-67 Madhava Acarya, 206 Madhavananda, 38 madhurya bhava, 4, 12, 45, 47, 66, 71, 79, 87, 190,249 Madhva, 35, 133, 162, 190 Mahabharata, 19 (Sri) Mahabhativijayam, 2.8 Mahananda, 48 Mahavira, 27 Mahavi(l1,1u, 13, 26, 36, 39, 48, 59, 6o, 63, 74, 86, 89, 98, 121, 145. 157. 159. 172, 182, 190, 196, 210, 211, 215, 224 Maiti, Rabindranath, 45, 240 Maitreya, Madhu, 138, 144 Majumdar, Bimanbihari, 8, 9, 124, 134, 135, 148-50,242,245.246.247.249 ma/jilzat, 28 Manasa, 150, 199

INDEX

ma~;~gala kavya, 199 maiijari sadhana, 6o, 66, 67, 70, 79-83, Bs-88,

90,95,203--5

metaphor, 19, 25-26 Misra, Jagannatha, 69, 157, 178 Misra, Jayananda, 30, 38, 41, 42, 43, 189 Misra, Krsl)a (Advaita Acarya's son), 5, 54, 70, 78, So, 83, 84, 86, 89, 152, 175, 181, 186, zoo, 202, 209, 214, 215, 218, 221, 222; birth of sons, 186; eats Caitanya's bananas, 176; true maternity, 216-18 Misra, Sanatana, 178 Misra, Visl)u, 175 Misra, Visvambhara (Caitanya), 2, 30,174, 208 Mithila, 164 Mitra, Nabagopal, 113 monism (advaita[vada}), 4, 71, 72,133,179, 185

Muhammad, 17 Mukunda, 64 myth, 18-19, 22

Nabhadasa, 28 Nadiya, 2, 14, 30, 34, 38, 53, 61, 79, So, 83, 89, 90, 100, 108, 109, 111, 115, 120, 128, 136, 157> 181, 198

Nagara, Isana, 7, 125-26, 130, 148, 154--92, 195, 207-9, 212, 214, 222, 245, 246, 250; family history, 156; insects in hair, 208; see also Dasa, lsana Nagara, Kiimadeva, 83, 185, 216, 217 Nagara-Advaitas, 156 Nanak, Guru, 28 Nanda, 61, 69, 81 Nandana Acarya, 178 Nandini, 67, 88, 12.7, 202, 205-7, 213, 217, 219; also called Nandarama, 127, 204 Narada, 35 Narasirl!ha, 137-38, 143 Narayal)a, 59, 70, 160 Nasreen, Taslima, 132 NavadVipa, 14, 29, 66, 69, 92, 103, n8, 140, 163, 173> 174> 177> 201, 207, 234. 248, 249

Navagrama, 2, 47, 48, so, 98, 101, 154, 161, 228-31; photos 1

303

navya nyaya, 29, 109 Nayanars, 28 NI!ambara, 208 Nilamegha, 138 Nimbarka, 133 nirgu~;~a,

8, 28, 71

Nitai-Advaita- Tattva, 7, 91-92 Nityananda, 4, 5, 6, 11, 21, 31, 32, 35, 36, 37, 39, 40, 41, 67, 68, 69, 72, 73> 74> 79> 88, 91, 92, 94> 110, 115, 120, 121, 151, 168, 178, 179. 180,

banters with Advaita, 180-81; Caitanya orders to marry, 18~; death, 187; maiijari identities, 88, 91--92; marriage, 185-86 181, 186, 193, 2.12, 213, :n6, 235, 249;

Padavah,77.99-102,127,203 Padma Purii1Ja, 84 Padmavati, 68, 178 Pana Tirtha, 139, 147, 159 paiicaratra, 191 pailcatattva, 31, 32, 35, 41, 161, 22.6 Pal) 176, 179. 193-219; birth, 196; carried in palanquin, 208-9; credited

Saivism, 4, 28, 49, 6o, 81, 146, 191

with dual incarnation of Caitanya, 213;

sakhl bhava, 126, 127, 203-5, 218, 219, 251 sakhya, 12, 71

culinary skills, 194; initiates Knl;la Mi~ra and wife, 182; and Hilna Nagara, 154; man-

Sakti, 32, 52, 140, 146; Adydakti, 85, 89;

jan identities, 82-83, 85-86; marriage,

Iccha-~akti,

66; Mahasakti, 85, 89

Saktism, 4, 29, 49-51, 109, 129, 139-40, 146, 151, 159-61, 191, 220, 221 $ankara, 14, 28, 35, 133, 167, 186

197--98; treats Caitanya like son, 202; visits newborn Caitanya, 201, 112; wants to see Caitanya alone, 184

Sltadvaita-Tattva-NirapQ"tJa, 78

IN DBX

Srttt-Gu,a-Kadamba, 194, 198--99, 244, 246 Siva, 4, 37, 38, 41, 42, 51, 82, 94, 138, 157, 167, 179. 190, 223 Sivmara,akatha ratnakosa, 28 Smith, Joseph, 17 Sri, 54, 70, 88, 170, 193, 194, 196, 214, 217; mailjan identity, 67; marriage, 197-98 Sridhara, 120 Srihatta Sahitya Pari~at, 124, 131, 132, 228 Snhattera Itivrtta, 122, 124 Srinatha Acarya, 59, 64, 74 Srivasa (Srinivasa), 31, 32, 35, 36, 74, us, 198 STOtriyas, 138, 141, 142, 144i ka$ta §rotriya, 141; sacchrotriya, 138, 141; sadhya srotriya, 141; siddha srotriya, 138, 156; susiddha srotriya, 141 Subala,s4 Sunamgailj, 123 Soryadasa PauQita, 185 Sufism, 28, 29 Svarl;lamayi Devi, m-12, 114 Svarllpa (Advaita Acarya's son), 70, 175, 187, 214 Svayam Bhagavan, 30, 83, 90, 158, 160, 163, 168; Nityananda recognizes Caitanya as, 179 syarnadasa, 63, 65, 72, 74, 167, 197 Syama's Pond, 183 Sylhet, 1, 45, 52, s6, 69, 77, 123, 129, 131, 132, 137. 138, 151, 154· 155. 220, 228-31, 235· 248, 251 Tagore, Devendranatha, 14, ll3 Tagore, Rabindranatha, 104, 123 tantra, 29, 107 Tattvanidhi, Acyutacaral;la Caudhuri, see Caudhuri, Acyutacaral;la 'fhakura, Narottama, 99 theophany,58,59.71,72,74·89,I46,152,179• 197--98, 210, 2ll Trailanga Svami, 115-16

305 Tulasi (sakhi), 54 Tyagaraja, 25 Ujjvala, So Ujjvala-nilamani, n untouchability, 183, 184 Ur text, 12.9, 200 Vallabhacarya, 133 Vallabhacarya (Caitanya's father-in-law), 177 Vamana, 51, 59, 68 Vana Bibi, 206 Vasudeva, 68, 74, So, 81 Vasudeva, 49, 59, 6o, 70, 74 Vasudha (Nityananda's wife), 185 vatsalya, 12, 87 Vedanta, n, 13, 34, n3 Vedapailcanana (Advaita Acarya), 140, 167 Vidagdha Madhava, 184 Vidyabh~aua, Baladeva, 13, 133 Vidyapati, 164-65 Vijaya (Kr$1)8 Mi~ra's wife), 182 Virabhadra, 188; see also Viracandra Viracandra, s; see also Virabhadra Vi~akha, 54, 55, So, 166 Vi~I)U, 10, 68, 138 V!$,U Pura,a, 46 Vi~oudasa, 88,246 Vi$oupriya, 178, 188, 193 Vimropa, 69, 174 Vraja, 23, 31, 53, 54, 55, 74, 79, 85, 87, 91, 102, 166, 168, 180, 182, 190, 198, 211 Vraja lila, 10, 46, 158, 2.10, 249 Vrndavana, n, 52., 69, 125, 130, 182, 22.0, 225, 248; photos 3 Yama, 145, 147, 158 Ya~oda, 61, 69, 81 Yogamaya, 64, 82, 83, 86,198,201, 2.12. Yogava.Si$tha, 179 yugala seva, 47, 166, 190, 250