10.102

ara dine aila svarupa damodara

prabhura atyanta marmi, rasera sagara

SYNONYMS

ara dine—next day; aila—came; svarupa damodara—Svarupa Damodara; prabhura—of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu; atyanta—very; marmi—intimate friend; rasera—of transcendental mellows; sagara—ocean.

Svarupa Damodara also arrived the next day.

He was a very intimate friend of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and he was an ocean of transcendental mellows.

PURPORT

“Svarupa” is one of the names of a brahmacari in Sankaracarya’s disciplic succession.

In the Vedic discipline there are ten names for sannyasis, and it is customary for a brahmacari assisting a sannyasi of the designation Tirtha or Asrama to receive the title Svarupa.

Damodara Svarupa was formerly a resident of Navadvipa, and his name was Purusottama Acarya.

When he went to Varanasi, he took sannyasa from a sannyasi designated Tirtha.

Although he received the title Svarupa in his brahmacari stage, he did not change his name when he took sannyasa.

Actually as a sannyasi he should have been called Tirtha, but he chose to retain his original brahmacari title as Svarupa.