Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrī Caitanya Caritāmṛta Madhya 5.142-143

kapoteśvara dekhite gelā bhakta-gaṇa sańge

ethā nityānanda-prabhu kaila daṇḍa-bhańge

tina khaṇḍa kari' daṇḍa dila bhāsāñā

bhakta-sańge āilā prabhu maheśa dekhiñā

SYNONYMS

kapoteśvara — the Śiva temple of the name Kapoteśvara; dekhite — to see; gelā — went; bhakta-gaṇa sańge — with the devotees; ethā — here; nityānanda-prabhu — Lord Nityānanda Prabhu; kaila — did; daṇḍa — of the sannyāsa staff; bhańge — breaking; tina khaṇḍa — three parts; kari' — making; daṇḍa — the staff; dila — threw in; bhāsāñā — washing away; bhakta-sańge — with the devotees; āilā — returned; prabhu — Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu; maheśa dekhiñā — having seen the temple of Lord Śiva.

TRANSLATION

When Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu went to the temple of Lord Śiva known as Kapoteśvara, Nityānanda Prabhu, who was keeping His sannyāsa staff in custody, broke the staff in three parts and threw it into the river Bhārgīnadī. Later this river became known as Daṇḍa-bhāńgā-nadī.

PURPORT

The mystery of the sannyāsa-daṇḍa (staff) of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has been explained by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu accepted the order of sannyāsa from a Māyāvādī sannyāsī. The Māyāvādī sannyāsīs generally carry one staff, or daṇḍa. Taking advantage of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's absence, Śrīla Nityānanda Prabhu broke the staff into three parts and threw it into the river later known as the Daṇḍa-bhāńgā-nadī. In the sannyāsa order there are four divisions — kuṭīcaka, bahūdaka, haḿsa and paramahaḿsa. Only when the sannyāsī remains on the kuṭīcaka and bahūdaka platforms can he carry a staff. However, when one is elevated to the status of haḿsa or paramahaḿsa, after touring and preaching the bhakti cult, he must give up the sannyāsa staff.

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It is therefore said, śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya, rādhā-kṛṣṇa nahe anya: "Two personalities — Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī and Śrī Kṛṣṇa — are combined in the incarnation of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu." Therefore, considering Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu to be an extraordinary person, Lord Nityānanda Prabhu did not wait for the paramahaḿsa stage. He reasoned that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is automatically on the paramahaḿsa stage; therefore He does not need to carry the sannyāsa-daṇḍa. This is the reason Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu broke the staff into three pieces and threw it into the water.

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