eta kahi' sandhyÄ-kale cÄle gaurarÄya
kÄ«rtanera kaila prabhu tina sampradÄya
eta kahi' - saying this; sandhyÄ-kÄle - in the evening; cale - went out; gaura-rÄya - Gaurasundara; kÄ«rtanera - of performing saá¹…kÄ«rtana; kaila - made; prabhu - the Lord; tina - three; sampradÄya - parties.
In the evening Lord Gaurasundara went out and formed three parties to perform kīrtana.
This is a scheme for performing kÄ«rtana in a procession. During ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu’s time, one party was composed of twenty-one men: four people playing má¹›daá¹…gas, one leading the chanting, and sixteen others striking karatÄlas, responding to the leading chanter. If many men join the saá¹…kÄ«rtana movement, they may follow in the footsteps of ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu and form different parties according to the time and the number of men available.
