Caitanya-caritamrta: Adi-lila

10.106

sankararanya--acarya-vrksera eka sakha

mukunda, kasinatha, rudra--upasakha lekha

SYNONYMS

sankararanya—of the name Sankararanya; acarya-vrksera—of the tree of acaryas; eka—one; sakha—branch; mukunda—of the name Mukunda; kasinatha—of the name Kasinatha; rudra—of the name Rudra; upasakha lekha—they are known as subbranches.

The acarya Sankararanya was considered the forty-eighth branch of the original tree.

From him proceeded the subbranches known as Mukunda, Kasinatha and Rudra.

PURPORT

It is said that Sankararanya was the sannyasa name of Srila Visvarupa, who was the elder brother of Visvambhara (the original name of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu).

Sankararanya expired in 1432 sakabda (A.D 1512) at Sholapur, where there is a place of pilgrimage known as Panderapura.

This is referred to in the Madhya-lila, Chapter Nine, verses 299 and 300.

Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu opened a primary school in the house of Mukunda, or Mukunda Sanjaya, and Mukunda’s son, whose name was Purusottama, became the Lord’s student.

Kasinatha arranged the marriage of Lord Caitanya in His previous asrama, when His name was Visvambhara.

Kasinatha induced the court pandita, Sanatana, to offer Visvambhara his daughter.

In the Gaura-ganoddesa-dipika, verse 50, it is mentioned that Kasinatha was an incarnation of the brahmana Kulaka, whom Satrajit sent to arrange the marriage of Krsna and Satyabhama, and it is mentioned in verse 135 that Rudra, or Sri Rudrarama Pandita, was formerly a friend of Lord Krsna’s named Varuthapa.

Sri Rudrarama Pandita constructed a big temple at Vallabhapura, which is one mile north of Mahesa, for the Deities named Radhavallabha.

The descendants of his brother, Yadunandana Vandyopadhyaya, are known as Cakravarti Thakuras, and they are in charge of the maintenance of this temple as sevaits.

Formerly the Jagannatha Deity used to come to the temple of Radhavallabha from Mahesa during the Ratha-yatra festival, but in the Bengali year 1262 (A.D 1855), due to a misunderstanding between the priests of the two temples, the Jagannatha Deity stopped coming.