Verse 1.7.77

Bengali text, Devanagari and Unicode transliteration of verse 1.7.77:

বিশ্বরূপ-সন্ন্যাস-দেখিযা ভক্ত-গণ অদ্বৈতাদি সবে বহু করিলা ক্রন্দন ॥ ৭৭ ॥

विश्वरूप-सन्न्यास-देखिया भक्त-गण अद्वैतादि सबे बहु करिला क्रन्दन ॥ ७७ ॥

viśvarūpa-sannyāsa-dekhiyā bhakta-gaṇa advaitādi sabe bahu karilā krandana || 77 ||

visvarupa-sannyasa-dekhiya bhakta-gana advaitadi sabe bahu karila krandana (77)

English translation:

(77) Understanding that Viśvarūpa has taken sannyāsa, Advaita and the other devotees all began weeping.

Commentary: Gauḍīya-bhāṣya by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura:

At the time of Śrīmān Mahāprabhu, the study of Vedic scriptures was prominent in Navadvīpa, which was referred to as Gauḍapura by Maharṣi Pāṇini. In order to demonstrate that one’s material attachment is not destroyed without such study, many personalities headed by Śrī Gaurasundara’s elder brother, Śrī Viśvarūpa, accepted sannyāsa and thus increased the glories of Gauḍapura, the center of education at that time.

The acceptance of sannyāsa by Śrī Gaurasundara and Śrī Puruṣottama Bhaṭṭācārya is mentioned in many Gauḍīya devotional scriptures. Apart from them, many other jewel-like scholars like Śrī Īśvara Purī, the disciple of Śrī Mādhavendra, often visited Gauḍapura, the center of education. After traveling to the holy places with His sannyāsa guru, Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu also came to Gauḍapura and met Śrī Gaurasundara.

The sannyāsī disciples of both Keśava Bhāratī and Śrī Mādhavendra Purīpāda illuminated the path of accepting sannyāsa for members of the varṇāśrama society. Surrounded by many Māyāvādī sannyāsīs, Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī of Kāśī simply wasted his time in arguments based on mental speculation. Śrīmad Prabodhānanda Sarasvatī, a tridaṇḍi-sannyāsī of the Śrī Rāmānuja-sampradāya, and other tridaṇḍipādas like Śrī Madhvācārya accepted tridaṇḍi-sannyāsa and engaged in the service of Lord Hari as practiced in the line of the original Sarvajña Viṣṇusvāmī. In the varṇāśrama society of that time, respect and honor was offered to sannyāsīs by all communities. Later on the dāri-

sannyāsīs engaged in pañca-makāra 11 like eating fish and meat and drinking wine and thus brought deformation and harm to the principles of the sannyāsa order. This is certainly a matter of great concern. In order to check this degradation, the pure Gauḍīya devotees have now reintroduced the process of tridaṇḍa-sannyāsa, which was more recently present in this world by name only, and thus bestowed happiness and great

auspiciousness on the community of Vaiṣṇavas.

Although the crying of Śrī Advaita Prabhu appeared to be caused by feelings of separation, it is understood by the solacing words of Jagannātha Miśra’s friends that the learned scholars were overjoyed from this incident. The tears of lamentation of the attached householders, who are averse to the sannyāsīs’ renunciation, and the tears of ecstasy of the devotees, who are fond of the sannyāsīs’ service at the lotus feet of Mukunda, are not of the same nature.