Chaitanya Bhagavata
by Bhumipati Dāsa | 2008 | 1,349,850 words
The Chaitanya Bhagavata 1.16.237, English translation, including a commentary (Gaudiya-bhasya). This text is similair to the Caitanya-caritamrita and narrates the pastimes of Lord Caitanya, proclaimed to be the direct incarnation of Krishna (as Bhagavan) This is verse 237 of Adi-khanda chapter 16—“The Glories of Shri Haridasa Thakura”.
Verse 1.16.237
Bengali text, Devanagari and Unicode transliteration of verse 1.16.237:
‘জাতি, কুল, সব-নিরর্থক’ বুঝাইতে জন্মিলেন নীচ-কুলে প্রভুর আজ্ঞাতে ॥ ২৩৭ ॥
‘जाति, कुल, सब-निरर्थक’ बुझाइते जन्मिलेन नीच-कुले प्रभुर आज्ञाते ॥ २३७ ॥
‘jāti, kula, saba-nirarthaka’ bujhāite janmilena nīca-kule prabhura ājñāte || 237 ||
‘jati, kula, saba-nirarthaka’ bujhaite janmilena nica-kule prabhura ajnate (237)
English translation:
(237) “On the order of the Lord, Haridāsa was born in a low-class family to show that birth in a high caste or good family are useless.
Commentary: Gauḍīya-bhāṣya by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura:
Due to pious and sinful activities, the conditioned souls take birth in
higher or lower species of life. This is simply an example of the fruits of their karma. From the spiritual point of view there is no value at all in the prestige resulting from mundane caste and ancestry. By the supreme will of the all-auspicious Lord, Haridāsa Ṭhākura appeared in a Moslem family in order to preach this supreme truth to the entire world.