CHAITANYA: A LIFE AND LEGACY

A saint, a reformer, an avatar of Lord krishna—chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486–1533) is perceived as all these and many others. In this book on Chaitanya, amiya br. Sen focuses on the discourses surrounding the mystical life, which ended rather mysteriously at the age of 48. Written in a lucid manner and for a wider audience, this book is a fresh attempt to historically reconstruct Chaitanya’s life and times in Bengal and Odisha, as well as Vrindavan, the key centre of medieval Vaishnavism in North India. This work critically evaluates how Chaitanya has been understood contemporaneously and posthumously, particularly as an icon in colonial Bengal.