Pratāparudra Deva and Krishna Chaitanya

Abstract

Jan Brzezinski’s article delves into the politically and spiritually charged relationship between King Pratāparudra Deva of Orissa and Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu, examining how their interactions reflect a creative tension between temporal authority and spiritual charisma. Brzezinski contextualizes the historical Pratāparudra (r. 1497–1540) as a devout ruler whose patronage was essential to maintaining Jagannātha temple traditions, even as Chaitanya—initially resistant to engaging with kings—championed an uncompromising renunciatory bhakti ethos. The article follows the arc of their eventual encounter during the Ratha-yātrā, narrating how Chaitanya’s emotional response to the king’s recitation of the Gopī-gīta from the Bhāgavatam signaled a moment of transcendental reconciliation. Brzezinski explores this episode as a theological and political parable, illustrating the ideal fusion of bhakti humility and royal responsibility. Drawing on Gauḍīya texts and Orissan chronicles, the essay underscores how Chaitanya’s spiritual sovereignty reshaped royal religiosity, enabling a devotional model of kingship that blurred the divide between ruler and renunciate in early modern Vaiṣṇavism.