Text 135
eta kahi’ sandhyā-kale cāle gaurarāya
kīrtanera kaila prabhu tina sampradāya
eta kahi’ — saying this; sandhyā-kāle — in the evening; cale — went out; gaura-rāya — Gaurasundara; kīrtanera — of performing saṅkīrtana; kaila — made; prabhu — the Lord; tina — three; sampradāya — parties.
In the evening Lord Gaurasundara went out and formed three parties to perform kīrtana.
This is a scheme for performing kīrtana in a procession. During Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s time, one party was composed of twenty-one men: four people playing mṛdaṅgas, one leading the chanting, and sixteen others striking karatālas, responding to the leading chanter. If many men join the saṅkīrtana movement, they may follow in the footsteps of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and form different parties according to the time and the number of men available.