Chaitanya

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Arts & Culture

Chaitanya

Hindu mystic

Also known as: Caitanya, Gauranga, Shri Krishna Chaitanya, Vishvambhara Mishra

Written and fact-checked by The Editors of Encyclopaedia Britannica

Last Updated: Feb 20, 2024 • Article History

Chaitanya

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Category: Arts & Culture

Also spelled:: Caitanya

In full:: Shri Krishna Chaitanya

Also called:: Gauranga

Original name:: Vishvambhara Mishra

Born:: 1485, Navadvipa, Bengal, India

Died:: 1533, Puri, Orissa (aged 48)

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Chaitanya (born 1485, Navadvipa, Bengal, India—died 1533, Puri, Orissa) was a Hindu mystic whose mode of worshipping the god Krishna with ecstatic song and dance had a profound effect on Vaishnavism in Bengal. The son of a Brahman, he grew up in an atmosphere of piety and affection. He received a thorough education in the Sanskrit scriptures and, after the death of his father, set up a school of his own. At the age of 22 he made a pilgrimage to Gaya to perform his father’s shraddha (death anniversary ceremony). While there he underwent a profound religious experience that completely ...(100 of 314 words)

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