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Caitanya and his Followers
(CH. After some time Caitanya started for the South and first came to Kūrmasthāna, probably a place in the Ganjam district (South Orissa); he then passed on by the banks of the Godavari and met Rāmānanda Ray. In a long conversation with him on the subtle aspect of the emotion of bhakti Caitanya was very much impressed by him; he passed some time with him in devotional songs and ecstasies. He then resumed his travel again and is said to have passed through Mallikārjuna-tirtha, Ahobala-Nrsimha, Skandatirtha and other places, and later on came to Srirangam on the banks of the Kāverī. Here he lived in the house of Venkata Bhatta for four months, after which he went to the Rsabha mountain, where he met Paramānanda Puri. It is difficult to say how far he travelled in the South, but he must have gone probably as far as Travancore. It is also possible that he visited some of the places where Madhvācārya had great influence, and it is said that he had discussions with the teachers of the Madhva school. He discovered the Brahma-samhitā and the Krsna-karnāmrta, two importan manuscripts of Vaisnavism, and brought them with him. He is said to have gone a little farther in the East up to Nāsika; but it is difficult to say to what extent the story of these tours is correct. On his return journey he met Rāmānanda Ray again, who followed him to Puri.
After his return to Purí, Pratāparudra, then King of Purī, solicited his acquaintance and became his disciple. In Purī Caitanya began to live in the house of Kāśī Miśra. Among others, he had as his followers Janārdana, Krsnadāsa, Sikhi Māhiti, Pradyumna Misra, Jagannatha Dasa, Murāri Māhiti, Candaneśvara and Simheśvara. Caitanya spent most of his time in devotional songs, dances and ecstasies. In A.D. 1514 he started for Bệndāvana with a number of followers; but so many people thronged him by the time he came to Pānihāti and Kamarahāti that he cancelled his programme and returned to Puri. In the autumn of the next year he again started for Brndāvana with Balabhadra Bhattācārya and came to Benares; there he defeated in a discussion a well-known teacher, Prakāśānanda, who held monistic doctrines. In Bệndāvana he met Sri-rūpa Gosvāmī, Uddhavadāsa Mādhava, and others. Then he left Brndāvana and Mathurā and went to Allahabad by the side of the Ganges. There he met Vallabha Bhatta and Raghupati Upadhyâya, and gave elaborate religious instruction to
