Live Caitanya Caritamrta · CC Madhya 10.102
Svarūpa Dāmodara's Intimacy and Retained Name
“Svarūpa Dāmodara also arrived the next day. He was a very intimate friend of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s, and he was an ocean of transcendental mellows.”
What the purport teaches
- Svarūpa Dāmodara arrived the next day. He was a very intimate friend of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and an ocean of transcendental mellows.
- In Śaṅkarācārya's disciplic succession, Svarūpa is a customary title for a brahmacārī assisting a sannyāsī designated Tīrtha or Āśrama.
- Formerly Puruṣottama Ācārya of Navadvīpa, he took sannyāsa in Vārāṇasī from a sannyāsī designated Tīrtha. Although he should then have been called Tīrtha, he retained his brahmacārī title, Svarūpa.
Try this today
Write one sentence recalling who Svarūpa Dāmodara was and why he retained the title Svarūpa.
Ask yourself
What stands out to me about Svarūpa Dāmodara's relationship with Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
The study points are short summaries drawn from Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport; the practice and question are plain words for trying the verse today.