How did the Chaitanya movement influence Bengali poetry?

The Chaitanya movement profoundly transformed Bengali poetry by elevating the padāvalī ("string of verse") genre, which focuses on the divine love between Krishna and Radha, to a central place in the literary tradition.1

Before the influence of the mystic and saint Chaitanya, padāvalī songs were primarily viewed as love poetry that utilized religious themes. Chaitanya’s philosophy fundamentally shifted this perspective: for his followers, love is religion, and the erotic elements of these poems were infused with intense religious fervour. By conceptualizing the legends of Krishna and Radha as symbols of the mutual love between God and the human soul, the movement established complete self-surrender to the divine as the highest form of expression.12

This shift catalyzed a great flowering of devotional poetry during the 16th and 17th centuries. The movement also inspired a new body of hagiographic literature, most notably the Caitanya-caritāmṛta by Krishnadasa, which further solidified the theological and emotional framework of the era's poetry.1