# Panca-Tattva *The five principal associates of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu representing aspects of the Absolute Truth* ## The Five Forms (Panca-Tattva) ### 1. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu - [[index/entries/caitanya-mahaprabhu|Caitanya Mahaprabhu]] - The Supreme Personality of Godhead - Krishna in the form of a devotee - Appeared in Bengal in the 15th century - Golden avatar of Krishna ### 2. Sri Nityananda Prabhu - [[index/entries/nityananda-lord|Nityananda Prabhu]] - The first expansion - Balarama in Caitanya's form - Merciful distributor of Krishna's love - Goes everywhere preaching ### 3. Sri Advaita Acharya - [[index/entries/advaita-acarya|Advaita Acharya]] - The incarnation aspect - Initiated the movement through prayer - Mahavishnu in Caitanya's pastimes - Brought Caitanya to earth ### 4. Sri Gadadhara Pandit - [[index/entries/gadadhara-pandita|Gadadhara Pandit]] - The internal potency - Radharani in female form - Intimate associate of Caitanya - Expert in bhakti-yoga ### 5. Sri Srivasa Thakur - [[index/entries/srivasa|Srivasa Thakur]] - The marginal potency - Householder devotee - Host of Caitanya's pastimes - Symbol of family devotion ## Meaning of the Tattvas Each member of the Panca-Tattva represents: - Different aspects of divinity - Different levels of consciousness - Different types of relationship with Krishna - Different approaches to devotion ## The Panca-Tattva Prayer The five forms together represent: - Complete manifestation of Krishna consciousness - Perfect balance of all devotional attitudes - The complete divinity in human form - The full potential of bhakti-yoga ## Historical Context ### Pre-Panca-Tattva - Advaita prayed for Krishna to come - Nityananda prepared the ground ### The Panca-Tattva Era - Together they introduced the Hare Krishna movement - Distributed Krishna consciousness widely - Established the foundation for modern bhakti ### Followers - Founded the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition - Led by the Six Goswamis - Continues to modern ISKCON ## Related Topics - [[index/personalities/caitanya-associates|Caitanya Associates]] - Broader group - [[index/personalities/six-goswamis|Six Goswamis]] - Appointed successors - [[index/personalities/acaryas|Acaryas]] - Spiritual teachers in lineage - [[index/personalities/devotees|Devotees]] - All devotees --- *This index is under development. Additional entries from Śrīla Prabhupāda's books, lectures, conversations and letters will be added as the indexing work progresses.*