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SriNityanandaPrabhu
Wooden vigraha of Nityananda, Nitai Bari, Nabadwip
Personal life
Born	c. 1474 Ekachakra, Bengal Sultanate (present-day Rampurhat, West Bengal, India)
Died	c. 1540
Spouse	Jahnava and Vasudha
Parents	Hadai Pandit (father) Padmavati Devi (mother)
Known for	Expounded Gaudiya Vaishnavism, Bhakti yoga along with Chaitanya Mahaprabhu
Religious life
Religion	Hinduism
Philosophy	Bhakti yoga, Achintya Bheda Abheda
Religious career
Guru	Madhavendra Puri (mantra guru)
Disciples Gopalas

Nityananda (Bengali: নিত্যানন্দ, IAST: Nityānanda; c. 1474-c. 1540), also called Nityananda Prabhu and Nitai, was a primary religious figure within the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition of Bengal. Nityananda was Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's friend and disciple. Chaitanya and Nityananda are often mentioned together as Gaura-Nitai (Gaura, referring to Chaitanya) or Nimai-Nitai (Nimai being a name of Chaitanya).

According to Gaudiya-Vaishnava tradition, Nityananda is Balarama Himself (so is also called Nityananda Rama, where Rama refers to Balarama), with Chaitanya being His eternal brother and friend, Krishna. Chaitanya is considered the "most merciful" incarnation of Krishna as Svayam bhagavan.

Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, the early 20th-century Gaudiya-Vaishnava reformer, writes about Nityananda's theological position as the embodiment of the mercy of the guru: "Nityananda is the Primary Manifestive Constituent of the Divinity. Nityananda alone possesses the distinctive function of the guru. In Nityananda, the function is embodied. Nityananda is the servant-God."

Life

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Nityananda was born to a religious Bengali Brahmin called Pandit Hadai, and his wife, Padmavati, in Ekachakra around 1474. His devotion and great talent for singing Vaishnava hymns (bhajan) were apparent from a very early age. In his youth, he generally played the part of Lakshman, the god Rama's younger brother, in dramatic re-enactments of Rama's pastimes, along with the other boys of Ekachakra.

At the age of thirteen, Nityananda left home with a travelling renunciate (sannyasi) known as Lakshmipati Tirtha. Nityananda's father, Hadai, offered Lakshmipati anything he wished as a gift, who replied that he was in need of someone to assist him in his travels to the holy places, and that Nityananda would be perfect for the job. As he had given his word, Hadai agreed, and Nityananda joined Lakshmipati in his travels. Apart from Lakshmipati, who at some point initiated him, Nityananda was also associated with Lakshmipati's other disciples: Madhavendra Puri, Advaita Acharya, and Ishvara Puri, the spiritual master of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

He died sometime between the years 1540 and 1544.

Marriage and descendants

Nityananda married two daughters of Suryadasa Sarakhela: Vasudha and Jahnava Devi with the help of Uddharan Dutta Thakura of Saptogram. After marriage, he settled in Khardaha, 24 Parganas, West Bengal. He had a son, Virachandra Goswami or Virabhadra (who was later initiated to Vaishnava rites by his co-mother Jahnava Devi) and a daughter, Ganga, by his first wife, Vasudha.

Legacy

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Chaitanya and Nityananda's deeds have deep religious and cultural implications in Bengal. They are credited with the revival of Hinduism in Eastern India. Much of Vaishnava literature, regarded as one of the finest literary heritages of medieval Bengal, came from them or their disciples. Chief among Nityananda's disciples were the Twelve Gopalas, who spread the faith throughout the region.

See also

• Chaitanya Mahaprabhu
• Gaudiya Vaishnavism
• Pancha Tattva (Vaishnavism)
• Gopalas
• Ekachakra

References

1. Dimock, E.C. (1958). "The Place of Gauracandrika in Bengali Vaisnava Lyrics". Journal of the American Oriental Society. 78 (3): 153–169. doi:10.2307/595285. JSTOR 595285.
2. Chaitanya Charitamrita Adi-lila, 5.6 Archived 3 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine
3. Rosen, S.J. (2004). "Who Is Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu>". The Hare Krishna Movement: The Postcharismatic Fate of a Religious Transplant. ISBN 978-0-231-12256-6. Retrieved 7 June 2008.
4. 'Associates of Sri Caitanya – Part Two, Sri Nityananda Prabhu'
5. Sen, Sukumar (1991, reprint 2007). Bangala Sahityer Itihas, Vol.I, (in Bengali), Kolkata: Ananda Publishers, ISBN 81-7066-966-9, p.293
6. Chaitanya Charitamrita Adi-lila,13.61, purport Archived 3 May 2008 at the Wayback Machine
7. "Kolkata Durga Puja Festival added a new photo to the album 💟 শ্রী নিত্যানন্দ মহাপ্রভু 💟". Facebook (in Bengali). 23 September 2018. Archived from the original on 26 February 2022. Retrieved 19 June 2021.
8. Sen, Sukumar (1991, reprint 2007). Bangala Sahityer Itihas, Vol.I, (in Bengali), Kolkata: Ananda Publishers, ISBN 81-7066-966-9, pp.236, 321-2

External links

• Works by or about Nitai at the Internet Archive
• Works by or about Nityananda at the Internet Archive
• Learn more about the Life and pastimes of Lord Nitai. Checkout this widely appreciated enlightening book : Nitai Karuna Sindhu (Lord Nityananda – An Ocean of mercy)

v t e Krishna
Forms	Bala Krishna Gopala-Krishna Govinda Jagannath Radha Krishna Shrinathji Vāsudeva-Krishna Vithoba Other names
Consorts	Radha Ashtabharya Rukmini Satyabhama Jambavati Kalindi Nagnajiti Mitravinda Lakshmana Bhadra Other 16000 - 16100 Junior wives Rohini
Other relatives	Aniruddha Arjuna Balarama Devaki Kamsa Kunti Nanda Pradyumna Samba Subhadra Ugrasena Vasudeva Yashoda More
Worship	Sects Krishnaism Vaishnavism Festivals Krishna Janmashtami Gita Mahotsav Holi Pilgrimage circuits 48 Kos Parikrama of Kurukshetra Vraja Parikrama
Holy sites	Associated with Krishna's life Mathura Gokul Govardhan Hill Vrindavan Dvaraka Kurukshetra Jyotisar Bhalka Other sites: Guruvayur Nathdwara Pandharpur Puri Udupi
Epigraphy	Hathibada Ghosundi Heliodorus pillar Mora Well Naneghat Vasu Doorjamb
Texts	Bhagavata Purana Gita Govinda Mahabharata Bhagavad Gita Krishna's role Brahma Samhita Uddhava Gita
See also	Svayam Bhagavan Avatar Dashavatara Vishnu Guru–shishya tradition

v t e Jagannath worship
Deities	Jagannath Balabhadra Subhadra Sudarshana Chakra
Temples	Odisha Puri Gundicha Baripada Gunupur Koraput Nayagarh Bhubaneswar Kendrapara Chhatia Bata Dharakote Patali Srikhetra Barbil Rest of India Agartala Ahmedabad Alwar Bangalore Chennai Delhi Digha Hajo Hyderabad Ranchi Medinipur Mahesh Abroad Comilla Dhamrai Pabna South Africa Sialkot
Festivals	Chandan Yatra Dola Yatra Panchaka Nabakalebara 2015 Rath Yatra Snana Yatra Besha Suna Besha
Texts	Bhagavata Purana Brahma Purana Gita Govinda Kapila Purana Madala Panji Skanda Purana Dahuka boli
Devotees	Indradyumna Jayadeva Sarala Dasa Balarama Dasa Atibadi Jagannatha Dasa Jasobanta Dasa Ananta Dasa Achyutananda Salabega Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Madhavi Pattanayak Dinakrushna Das Banamali Dasa Upendra Bhanja Kabisurjya Baladeba Ratha Gopalakrusna Pattanayaka
See also	Odissi music Gahana Vije Mahaprasad Nilachal Nila Chakra Neela Madhava Samkha Kshetra Shri Jagannath Temple Act, 1955 ISKCON
Category

• 1474 births
• 16th-century Hindu religious leaders
• Bengali Hindus
• Bengali Hindu saints
• 15th-century Bengalis
• People from Birbhum district
• Devotees of Krishna
• Devotees of Jagannath
• Kirtan performers
• Scholars from West Bengal
• Gaudiya religious leaders
• Hindu revivalists
• Indian Vaishnavites
• Vaishnava saints