Śrī Caitanya Upaniṣad

Translated by Swami Bhaktivijñāna Giri

The Caitanyopaniṣad of the Atharva Veda is indeed a rare text, and Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura searched for this book in many places. From Sambalpur, the exalted scholar, Paṇḍita Madhusūdana Dāsa, sent a copy in the form of an ancient manuscript to the Ṭhākura in 1886. Paṇḍita Śrī Madhusūdana Dāsa tried very hard to become the first disciple of Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura, but at that time, the Ṭhākura did not accept disciples.

At the request of the Vaiṣṇavas, Ṭhākura Bhaktivinoda composed a Sanskrit commentary on the Caitanya Upaniṣad called the Caitanya–caraṇāmṛta. The following year, 1887, was the 400th appearance of Śrī Caitanya and thus, Bhaktivinoda printed and published the Caitanya Upaniṣad for the first time from the Śrī Caitanya Press located at his home, Bhakti Bhavan, in Calcutta, along with his Sanskrit commentary, and Paṇḍita Madhusūdana Dāsa’s Bengali translation named Amṛta-bindu.

This translation of the Ṭhākura’s Sanskrit commentary, and Paṇḍita Madhusūdana Dāsa’s Bengali rendition of the verses, are based upon the original publication from 1887.

In recent times, some persons have claimed that Śrīla Bhaktivinoda fabricated the Caitanya Upaniṣad. However, several Sanskrit scholars at the Sanskrta Sansodhana-Samsat Academy of Sanskrit Research in Melukote, South India, have noted that the text is in perfect classical Vedic Sanskrit and the svara (precise tonal accent) found in the text,(which is not practiced in Bengal) “shows its origin to be from antiquity.”

Furthermore, at least two manuscripts of the Caitanya Upaniṣad that predate Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura by almost 200 years have been discovered in Varanasi.