Page 27 - Viveka Satakam - Eng

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Introduction

According to several accounts, Śrīla Prabodhānanda
Sarasvatī was a dear associate of Lord Caitanya
Mahāprabhu and was also one of the pioneers in
praising His glories in Sanskrit poetry in his book
named Caitanya-candrāmṛta. At the same time, his figure
is one of the most controversial among the Gauḍīyas.
The utter silence of Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja and Śrīla
Vṛndāvanadāsa Ṭhākura about Prabodhānanda led to
different conjectures, and the conflicting narrations of
later Gauḍīya hagiographers overshadowed him in a
cloud of mystery and confusion. We find no date of his
birth, demise, travels or any incident of his life, about
which there is hardly anything known, apart from
whatever is mentioned in his own writings and the terse
verses of a few other authors. Furthermore, none of the
works attributed to Prabodhānanda seem to have ever
been quoted by his contemporaries or other Gauḍīyas
until the 18th century. Most of his writings were unknown
until they started to be published in late 19th century.
In particular, two controversies have been prevalent for
over a century – his alleged past as a māyāvādī sannyāsī
in Vārāṇasī under the name ‘Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī,’ and
his supposed relation with Śrī Hita Harivaṁśa, founder
of the Rādhā-vallabha-sampradāya. In order to establish
a plausible conclusion, it is commendable to first go
through an overview of the available data and assess its
integrity. What follows comprises most of the statements
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