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Nityananda (, ; c. 1474-c. 1540), also called Nityananda Prabhu and Nitai, was a primary religious figure within the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition of Bengal. Nityananda was Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's friend and disciple. Chaitanya and Nityananda are often mentioned together as Gaura-Nitai ( Gaura, referring to Chaitanya) or Nimai-Nitai ( Nimai being a name of Chaitanya).
According to Gaudiya-Vaishnava tradition, Nityananda is Balarama Himself (so is also called Nityananda Rama, where Rama refers to Balarama), with Chaitanya being His eternal brother and friend, Krishna. Chaitanya Charitamrita Adi-lila, 5.6 Chaitanya is considered the "most merciful" incarnation of Krishna as Svayam bhagavan.
Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, the early 20th-century Gaudiya-Vaishnava reformer, writes about Nityananda's theological position as the embodiment of the mercy of the guru: "Nityananda is the Primary Manifestive Constituent of the Divinity. Nityananda alone possesses the distinctive function of the guru. In Nityananda, the function is embodied. Nityananda is the servant-God."'Associates of Sri Caitanya – Part Two, Sri Nityananda Prabhu'
At the age of thirteen, Nityananda left home with a travelling renunciate ( sannyasi) known as Lakshmipati Tirtha. Nityananda's father, Hadai, offered Lakshmipati anything he wished as a gift, who replied that he was in need of someone to assist him in his travels to the holy places, and that Nityananda would be perfect for the job. As he had given his word, Hadai agreed, and Nityananda joined Lakshmipati in his travels. Apart from Lakshmipati, who at some point initiated him, Nityananda was also associated with Lakshmipati's other disciples: Madhavendra Puri, Advaita Acharya, and Ishvara Puri, the guru of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
He died sometime between the years 1540 and 1544.
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