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Vallabhacharya, a prominent Vaishnava acharya of the Rudra Sampradaya, was known to have had a close rapport with the Gaudiya Vaishnava saint, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, who is considered an incarnation of Krishna Himself by Gaudiya Vaishnavas. Their friendship has been described in details in the biography of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Chaitanya Charitamrita.

Now, there was one particular incident in the Chaitanya Charitamrita, where Vallabhacharya criticises Sridhara Swami's commentary on the Srimad Bhagavatam. This angers Mahaprabhu who terms Sridhara Swami's commentary authoritative. The day after this incident, Vallabhacharya returns to Mahaprabhu and asks for forgiveness for blaspheming against Sridhara Swami. Now, Vallabhacharya in one of the verses of the Chaitanya Charitamrita, declares Chaitanya Mahaprabhu to be an incarnation of Sri Krishna Himself:

“My dear Lord, You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead. You have showed mercy to me in a way just befitting Your position by insulting me to cut down all my false pride.'' (Chaitanya Charitamrita, Antya Lila, 7.127)

My questions, however, are:

  • Does Vallabhacharya ever talk about Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in his works?
  • If yes, does he call Him to be Sri Krishna Himself?
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    As far as I know Vallabhachaya never mentions Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in his works. But I think later works of the Pushtimarga sect at least mention them meeting. Feb 28, 2018 at 11:09
  • @KeshavSrinivasan Does the meeting in the later works differ much from the account in the Chaitanya Charitamrita?
    – user9969
    Feb 28, 2018 at 11:11
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    Yes, I think Pushtimarga accounts of their meeting don't characterize Vallabhacharya as a follower of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Feb 28, 2018 at 11:13
  • Which Pushti literature describes the meeting of Mahaprabhu and Vallabhacharya? @KeshavSrinivasan
    – user9969
    Mar 1, 2018 at 15:47
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    IN attempt of proving our egos superior, we start comparing poojya mahaprabhus . Pity of these minds. The purpose of both these avtars in the same time is very obvious. Pushti and Maryada are to feet of the Lord and are inseparable. Clear purpose of chaitanya mahaprabhu's incarnation was to deliver Maryada jeev who follow vaidi bhakti and vallabhacharya mahaprabhu incarnation was to take home pushti jeev who follow prem bhakti. Ultimate aim of both is to achieve Krishna Prem. I read these arguments and attempts to prove themselves superiors everywhere. I don't know the origin of this. , May 9, 2018 at 18:33

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Does Vallabhacharya ever talk about Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in his works?

No

If yes, does he call Him to be Sri Krishna Himself?

No

As @Kruns4u has already mentioned there are later texts that do mention Shri Chaitanya. But I will add that unlike Chaitanya Charitamrita, which again is a later work - they are written in a tone of mutual respect even if the views differ.

For eg. about smaran in the Nij-Varta 27 it is said: Shri Chaitanyaji: If a jeev concentrates on the lotus feet of Shri Krishna even for a moment he would attain his life's purpose. Shri Vallabhacharyaji: If a jeev is distracted from the lotus feet of Shri Krishna for even a moment he could get lost.

That is it - nowhere do you find one "insulting" the other or calling each other "Gods"

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