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Manuscript (Books)

Bhagavad-gita As It Is

BG Preface and Introduction

The present attempt is to offer the original manuscript of this great book of knowledge with full paramparā explanation in order to establish the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement more soundly and progressively.
BG Preface:

Originally I wrote Bhagavad-gītā As It Is in the form in which it is presented now. When this book was first published, the original manuscript was, unfortunately, cut short to less than 400 pages, without illustrations and without explanations for most of the original verses of the Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā. In all of my other books—Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Śrī Īśopaniṣad, etc.—the system is that I give the original verse, its English transliteration, word-for-word Sanskrit-English equivalents, translations and purports. This makes the book very authentic and scholarly and makes the meaning self-evident. I was not very happy, therefore, when I had to minimize my original manuscript. But later on, when the demand for Bhagavad-gītā As It Is considerably increased, I was requested by many scholars and devotees to present the book in its original form. Thus the present attempt is to offer the original manuscript of this great book of knowledge with full paramparā explanation in order to establish the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement more soundly and progressively.

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta

CC Adi-lila

Precious books were kept in manuscript form in temples or other important places, and anyone who was interested in a book had to copy it by hand.
CC Adi 10.65, Translation and Purport:

Śrī Vijaya dāsa, the twenty-seventh branch, another of the Lord's chief singers, gave the Lord many books written by hand.

Formerly there were no printing presses or printed books. All books were handwritten. Precious books were kept in manuscript form in temples or other important places, and anyone who was interested in a book had to copy it by hand. Vijaya dāsa was a professional writer who copied many manuscripts and gave them to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

CC Adi 10.66, Translation:

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu gave Vijaya dāsa the name Ratnabāhu ("jewel-handed") because he copied many manuscripts for Him. The twenty-eighth branch was Kṛṣṇadāsa, who was very dear to the Lord. He was known as Akiñcana Kṛṣṇadāsa.

Jīva Gosvāmī was informed that all the manuscripts that had been collected from Vṛndāvana and sent to Bengal for preaching purposes were plundered near Viṣṇupura, in Bengal, but later he received the information that the books had been recovered.
CC Adi 10.85, Purport:

. In Vṛndāvana he established the Rādhā-Dāmodara temple, where, after retirement, we had the opportunity to live from 1962 until 1965, when we decided to come to the United States of America. When Jīva Gosvāmī was still present, Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī compiled his famous Caitanya-caritāmṛta. Later, Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī inspired Śrīnivāsa Ācārya, Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura and Duḥkhī Kṛṣṇadāsa to preach Kṛṣṇa consciousness in Bengal. Jīva Gosvāmī was informed that all the manuscripts that had been collected from Vṛndāvana and sent to Bengal for preaching purposes were plundered near Viṣṇupura, in Bengal, but later he received the information that the books had been recovered. Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī awarded the designation Kavirāja to Rāmacandra Sena, a disciple of Śrīnivāsa Ācārya's, and to Rāmacandra's younger brother Govinda. While Jīva Gosvāmī was alive, Śrīmatī Jāhnavā-devī, the pleasure potency of Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu, went to Vṛndāvana with a few devotees. Jīva Gosvāmī was very kind to the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas, the Vaiṣṇavas from Bengal. Whoever went to Vṛndāvana he provided with a residence and prasādam. His disciple Kṛṣṇadāsa Adhikārī listed all the books of the Gosvāmīs in his diary.

Another story fabricated to defame Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī states that when Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī showed him the newly-completed manuscript of Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Jīva Gosvāmī thought it would hamper his reputation as a big scholar and therefore threw it into a well.
CC Adi 10.85, Purport:

Another story fabricated to defame Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī states that when Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī showed him the newly-completed manuscript of Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Jīva Gosvāmī thought it would hamper his reputation as a big scholar and therefore threw it into a well. Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī was greatly shocked, according to this story, and he died immediately. Fortunately a copy of the manuscript of Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta had been kept by a person named Mukunda, and therefore later it was possible to publish the book. This story is another ignominious example of blasphemy against a guru and Vaiṣṇava. Such a story should never be accepted as authoritative.

CC Madhya-lila

CC Madhya 9.208, Translation:

Indeed, when Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu heard these conclusive statements from the Kūrma Purāṇa, He felt great happiness. After asking the brāhmaṇas' permission, He took possession of the manuscript leaves of the Kūrma Purāṇa.

CC Madhya 9.209, Translation:

Since the Kūrma Purāṇa was very old, the manuscript was also very old. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu took possession of the original leaves in order to have direct evidence. The text was copied onto new leaves in order that the Purāṇa be replaced.

CC Madhya 9.210, Translation:

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu returned to southern Mathurā (Madurai) and delivered the original manuscript of the Kūrma Purāṇa to Rāmadāsa Vipra.

CC Madhya 9.213, Translation:

Rāmadāsa Vipra was very pleased to receive the original leaf manuscript of the Kūrma Purāṇa, and he immediately fell down before the lotus feet of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and began to cry.

CC Madhya 9.214, Translation:

After receiving the manuscript, the brāhmaṇa, being very pleased, said, “Sir, You are Lord Rāmacandra Himself and have come in the dress of a sannyāsī to give me audience.

CC Antya-lila

After examining the manuscripts of these two books, Rāmānanda Rāya approved and appreciated them very much.
CC Antya 1 Summary:

One day Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Rāmānanda Rāya, Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya and others went to the place of Haridāsa Ṭhākura and heard some of the verses Rūpa Gosvāmī had composed for his books Lalita-mādhava and Vidagdha-mādhava. After examining the manuscripts of these two books, Rāmānanda Rāya approved and appreciated them very much. After the period of Cāturmāsya, all the devotees who had come from Bengal returned to their homes. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, however, remained at Jagannātha Purī for some time.

CC Antya 1.96, Translation:

The Lord inquired, "What kind of book are you writing?" He held up a palm leaf that was a page of the manuscript, and when He saw the fine handwriting, His mind was very pleased.

CC Antya 1.98, Translation:

While reading the manuscript, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu saw a verse on that page, and as soon as He read it He was overwhelmed by ecstatic love.

CC Antya 5.91, Translation:

A brāhmaṇa from Bengal wrote a drama about the characteristics of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and came with his manuscript to induce the Lord to hear it.

When I was a householder, I had written on Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā and had completed about eleven hundred pages, but somehow or other the manuscript was stolen.
CC Antya Concluding Words:

After he passed away, I started the fortnightly magazine Back to Godhead sometime in 1944 and tried to spread the cult of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu through this magazine. After I took sannyāsa, a well-wishing friend suggested that I write books instead of magazines. Magazines, he said, might be thrown away, but books remain perpetually. Then I attempted to write Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Before that, when I was a householder, I had written on Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā and had completed about eleven hundred pages, but somehow or other the manuscript was stolen. In any case, when I had published Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, First Canto, in three volumes in India, I thought of going to the U.S.A. By the mercy of His Divine Grace, I was able to come to New York on September 17, 1965. Since then, I have translated many books, including Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, Teachings of Lord Caitanya (a summary) and many others.

Other Books by Srila Prabhupada

Teachings of Lord Caitanya

I beg to thank Sriman Rayarama Brahmachary (Mr. Raymond Marais), Sriman Satsvarupa Brahmachary (Mr. Stephen Guarino and Sriman Madhusudana Brahmachary (Mr. Michael Blumert) for editing and typing the manuscript.
Teachings of Lord Caitanya, Chapter Acknowledgement:

My thankful acknowledgement is due to Sriman Brahmananda Brahmachary (Mr. Bruce Scharf), Sriman Gargamuni Brahmachary (Mr. Gregory Scharf) and Sriman Satyabrata Brahmachary (Mr. Stanley Moskowitz) for their financial help for this publication, and I beg to thank Sriman Rayarama Brahmachary (Mr. Raymond Marais), Sriman Satsvarupa Brahmachary (Mr. Stephen Guarino and Sriman Madhusudana Brahmachary (Mr. Michael Blumert) for editing and typing the manuscript, and Sriman Goursundar Das Adhikary (Mr. Gary McElroy) and his good wife Srimati Govinda Dasi (Mrs. Bonny McElroy) who are always engaged to see to my personal comforts and I am so much obliged to them for their drawing all the nice pictures contained in this great publication.

Page Title:Manuscript (Books)
Compiler:Visnu Murti
Created:16 of May, 2010
Totals by Section:BG=1, SB=0, CC=14, OB=1, Lec=0, Con=0, Let=0
No. of Quotes:16