Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Sri Caitanya Caritamrita Adi 7.34

cabbisa vatsara chila grihastha-asrame

panca-vimsati varshe kaila yati-dharme

SYNONYMS

cabbisa -- twenty-four; vatsara -- years; chila -- He remained; grihastha -- householder life; asrame -- the order of; panca -- five; vimsati -- twenty; varshe -- in the year; kaila -- did; yati-dharme -- accepted the sannyasa order.

TRANSLATION

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu remained in householder life for twenty-four years, and on the verge of His twenty-fifth year He accepted the sannyasa order.

PURPORT

There are four orders of spiritual life, namely, brahmacarya, grihastha, vanaprastha and sannyasa, and in each of these asramas there are four divisions. The divisions of the brahmacarya-asrama are savitrya, prajapatya, brahma and brihat, and the divisions of the grihasthasrama are varta (professionals), sancaya (accumulators), salina (those who do not ask anything from anyone) and silonchana (those who collect grains from the paddy fields). Similarly, the divisions of the vanaprastha-asrama are vaikhanasa, valakhilya, audumbara and phenapa, and the divisions of sannyasa are kuticaka, bahudaka, hamsa and nishkriya. There are two kinds of sannyasis, who are called dhiras and narottamas, as stated in Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.13.26-27). At the end of the month of January in the year 1432 sakabda (A.D. 1510), Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu accepted the sannyasa order from Kesava Bharati, who belonged to the Sankara-sampradaya.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder Acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness