ÄcÄryaratnera nÄma 'Å›rÄ«-candraÅ›ekhara' —
yÄá¹…ra ghare devÄ«-bhÄve nÄcilÄ Ä«Å›vara
ÄcÄryaratnera - of Ä€cÄryaratna; nÄma - name; Å›rÄ«-candraÅ›ekhara - ÅšrÄ« CandraÅ›ekhara; yÄá¹…ra - of whom; ghare - in the home; devÄ«-bhÄve - as the goddess; nÄcilÄ - danced; īśvara - ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu.
Dramatic performances were enacted during the presence of ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu, but the players who took part in such dramas were all pure devotees; no outsiders were allowed. The members of ISKCON should follow this example. Whenever they stage dramatic performances about the lives of ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu or Lord Kṛṣṇa, the players must be pure devotees. Professional players and dramatic actors have no sense of devotional service, and therefore although they can perform very artistically, there is no life in such performances. ÅšrÄ«la BhaktisiddhÄnta SarasvatÄ« ṬhÄkura used to refer to such an actor as yÄtrÄ-dale nÄrada, which means “farcical NÄrada.†Sometimes an actor in a drama plays the part of NÄrada Muni, although in his private life he is not at all like NÄrada Muni because he is not a devotee. Such actors are not needed in dramatic performances about the lives of ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu and Lord Kṛṣṇa.
ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu used to perform dramas with Advaita Prabhu, ÅšrÄ«vÄsa ṬhÄkura and other devotees in the house of CandraÅ›ekhara. The place where CandraÅ›ekhara’s house was situated is now known as Vrajapattana. ÅšrÄ«la BhaktisiddhÄnta SarasvatÄ« ṬhÄkura established the ÅšrÄ« Caitanya Maá¹ha at this place. When ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu decided to accept the renounced order of life, CandraÅ›ekhara Ä€cÄrya was informed of this by ÅšrÄ« NityÄnanda Prabhu, and therefore he was present when Lord Caitanya accepted sannyÄsa from KeÅ›ava BhÄratÄ« in Katwa. It is he who first spread the word in NavadvÄ«pa of Lord Caitanya’s accepting sannyÄsa. ÅšrÄ« CandraÅ›ekhara Ä€cÄrya was present during many important incidents in the pastimes of Lord Caitanya MahÄprabhu. He therefore forms the second branch of the tree of Lord Caitanya.