Question: What is the çästric pramäëa for the special appearance of Lord Caitanya in this Kali Yuga, as usually a different Vishnu avatar comes and establishes the Yuga Dharma through Harinama Sankirtan, but he’s not the same as Mahaprabhu. Our Lord Caitanya’s special contribution to the jivas is madhurya rasa, which Gaura Narayana, the usual incarnation does not give this.
Answer by Romapada Swami:
From Bhanu Swami’s translation of Laghu-bhāgavatāmṛta 1.2.2
Commentary by Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa
In Garga’s statement, the word pīta occurs with avatāras who appeared previously. It should be understood however that this avatāra appears only in the Kali-yuga of the twenty-eighth cycle of Vaivasvata Manu’s reign in the Śveta-varāha-kalpa. This avatāra can only be Caitanya since the present verse describes only his qualities. In other Kali-yugas the Lord appears in śyāma or the color of a śirīṣa leaf (green) and these are empowered jīvas rather than the Lord himself. Prayakṣa-rūpa dhṛg devo dṛśyate na kalau hariḥ: the lord does not appear in Kali-yuga personally. Viṣṇu-dharma 108
Laghu-bhāgavatāmṛta 1.4.25
kathyante varṇanāmābhyāṁ śuklaḥ satya-yuge hariḥ |
raktaḥ śyāmaḥ kramāt kṛṣṇas tretāyāṁ dvāpare kalau ||25|
TRANSLATION
The yugāvatāras will be described by name and color. In Satya-yuga, the Lord is white and is called Śukla. In Treta-yuga, he is red, and is called Rakta. In Dvāpara, he is blackish and called Śyāma, and in Kali-yuga, he is black and called Kṛṣṇa.
COMMENTARY by Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa
Name and color are given for the four yugas. In general, for all Kali-yugas the color is black (kṛṣṇa). Hari-vaṁśa says kṛṣṇaḥ kaliyuge vibhuḥ: the Lord is black in Kali-yuga. In that Kali-yuga when golden colored Lord Caitanya appears, the regular black colored avatāra resides within him. One should see the statement of Karabājana in the Eleventh Canto (SB 11.5.20-34).
