Episode notes
This episode collectively examines the spiritual life and the enduring, unsolved mystery surrounding the death of the Bengali Hindu religious leader, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, who galvanized the medieval Bhakti movement through his emphasis on communal chanting and devotion to Krishna. While sources document his profound influence and various life events—including his fame as a scholar and subsequent life as an ascetic—they present several contradictory accounts of his disappearance in Puri around 1534, including theories of drowning in the ocean, death by septicemia after a Ratha Yatra injury, or his mystical absorption into the Jagannath deity. Several accounts strongly suggest assassination, citing historical opinions that Chaitanya was murdered and secretly disposed of (ghumkhun) inside the temple, possibly due to conflict with the powerful Panda ...