CHAPTER ELEVEN
The Expansions of Lord Nityānanda
As the branches and subbranches of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu were described in the tenth chapter, in this eleventh chapter the branches and subbranches of Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu are similarly listed.
Bengali
নত্বাখিলান্ তেষু মুখ্যা লিখ্যন্তে কতিচিন্ময়া ॥ ১ ॥
Text
bhṛṅgān prema-madhūnmadān
natvākhilān teṣu mukhyā
likhyante katicin mayā
Synonyms
nityānanda — of Lord Śrī Nityānanda; pada-ambhoja — lotus feet; bhṛṅgān — the bumblebees; prema — of love of Godhead; madhu — by the honey; unmadān — maddened; natvā — offering obeisances; akhilān — to all of them; teṣu — out of them; mukhyāḥ — the chief; likhyante — being described; katicit — a few of them; mayā — by me.
Translation
After offering my obeisances unto all the devotees of Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu, who are like bumblebees collecting honey from His lotus feet, I shall try to describe those who are the most prominent.
Bengali
তাঁহার চরণাশ্রিত যেই, সেই ধন্য ॥ ২ ॥
Text
tāṅhāra caraṇāśrita yei, sei dhanya
Synonyms
Translation
All glories to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu! Anyone who has taken shelter at His lotus feet is glorious.
Bengali
জয় জয় মহাপ্রভুর সর্বভক্তবৃন্দ ॥ ৩ ॥
Text
jaya jaya mahāprabhura sarva-bhakta-vṛnda
Synonyms
Translation
All glories to Śrī Advaita Prabhu, Nityānanda Prabhu and all the devotees of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu!
Bengali
উর্ধ্বস্কন্ধাবধূতেন্দোঃ শাখারূপান্ গণান্নুমঃ ॥ ৪ ॥
Text
sat-premāmara-śākhinaḥ
ūrdhva-skandhāvadhūtendoḥ
śākhā-rūpān gaṇān numaḥ
Synonyms
tasya — His; śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya — Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu; sat-prema — of eternal love of Godhead; amara — indestructible; śākhinaḥ — of the tree; ūrdhva — very high; skandha — branch; avadhūta-indoḥ — of Śrī Nityānanda; śākhā-rūpān — in the form of different branches; gaṇān — to the devotees; numaḥ — I offer my respects.
Translation
Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu is the topmost branch of the indestructible tree of eternal love of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu. I offer my respectful obeisances to all the subbranches of that topmost branch.
Bengali
তাহাতে জন্মিল শাখা–প্রশাখা বিস্তর ॥ ৫॥
Text
tāhāte janmila śākhā-praśākhā vistara
Synonyms
Translation
Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu is an extremely heavy branch of the Śrī Caitanya tree. From that branch grow many branches and subbranches.
Bengali
প্রেম–ফুল–ফলে ভরি’ ছাইল ভুবন ॥ ৬ ॥
Text
prema-phula-phale bhari’ chāila bhuvana
Synonyms
Translation
Watered by the desire of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, these branches and subbranches have grown unlimitedly and covered the entire world with fruits and flowers.
Bengali
আপনা শোধিতে কহি মুখ্য মুখ্য জন ॥ ৭ ॥
Text
āpanā śodhite kahi mukhya mukhya jana
Synonyms
Translation
These branches and subbranches of devotees are innumerable and unlimited. Who could count them? For my personal purification I shall try to enumerate only the most prominent among them.
Purport
One should not write books or essays on transcendental subject matter for material name, fame or profit. Transcendental literature must be written under the direction of a superior authority because it is not meant for material purposes. If one tries to write under superior authority, he becomes purified. All Kṛṣṇa conscious activities should be undertaken for personal purification (āpanā śodhite), not for material gain.
Bengali
তাঁর উপশাখা যত, অসংখ্য তার লেখা ॥ ৮ ॥
Text
tāṅra upaśākhā yata, asaṅkhya tāra lekhā
Synonyms
Translation
After Nityānanda Prabhu, the greatest branch is Vīrabhadra Gosāñi, who also has innumerable branches and subbranches. It is not possible to describe them all.
Purport
Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura writes in his Anubhāṣya, “Vīrabhadra Gosāñi was the direct son of Śrīla Nityānanda Prabhu and a disciple of Jāhnavā-devī. His real mother was Vasudhā. In the Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā (67) He is mentioned as an incarnation of Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu. Therefore Vīrabhadra Gosāñi is nondifferent from Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu. In a village of the name Jhāmaṭapura, in the district of Hugli, Vīrabhadra Gosāñi had a disciple named Yadunāthācārya, who had two daughters — a real daughter named Śrīmatī and a foster daughter named Nārāyaṇī. Both these daughters married, and they are mentioned in the Bhakti-ratnākara (Thirteenth Wave). Vīrabhadra Gosāñi had three disciples who are celebrated as his sons — Gopījana-vallabha, Rāmakṛṣṇa and Rāmacandra. The youngest, Rāmacandra, belonged to the Śāṇḍilya dynasty and had the surname Vaṭavyāla. He established his family at Khaḍadaha, and its members are known as the gosvāmīs of Khaḍadaha. The eldest disciple, Gopījana-vallabha, was a resident of a village known as Latā, near the Mānakara railway station in the district of Burdwan. The second, Rāmakṛṣṇa, lived near Māladaha, in a village named Gayeśapura.” Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura notes that since these three disciples belonged to different gotras, or dynasties, and also had different surnames and lived in different places, it is not possible to accept them as real sons of Vīrabhadra Gosāñi. Rāmacandra had four sons, of whom the eldest was Rādhāmādhava, whose third son was named Yādavendra. Yādavendra’s son was Nandakiśora, his son was Nidhikṛṣṇa, his son was Caitanyacāṇḍa, his son was Kṛṣṇamohana, his son was Jaganmohana, his son was Vrajanātha, and his son was Śyāmalāla Gosvāmī. This is the genealogical table given by Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura for the descendants of Vīrabhadra Gosāñi.
Bengali
বেদধর্মাতীত হঞা বেদধর্মে রত ॥ ৯ ॥
Text
veda-dharmātīta hañā veda-dharme rata
Synonyms
Translation
Although Vīrabhadra Gosāñi was the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He presented Himself as a great devotee. And although the Supreme Godhead is transcendental to all Vedic injunctions, He strictly followed the Vedic rituals.
Bengali
চৈতন্যভক্তিমণ্ডপে তেঁহো মূলস্তম্ভ ॥ ১০ ॥
Text
caitanya-bhakti-maṇḍape teṅho mūla-stambha
Synonyms
Translation
He is the main pillar in the hall of devotional service erected by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. He knew within Himself that He acted as the Supreme Lord Viṣṇu, but externally He was prideless.
Bengali
চৈতন্য–নিত্যানন্দ গায় সকল জগতে ॥ ১১ ॥
Text
caitanya-nityānanda gāya sakala jagate
Synonyms
Translation
It is by the glorious mercy of Śrī Vīrabhadra Gosāñi that people all over the world now have the chance to chant the names of Caitanya and Nityānanda.
Bengali
যাঁহার প্রসাদে হয় অভীষ্ট–পূরণ ॥ ১২ ॥
Text
yāṅhāra prasāde haya abhīṣṭa-pūraṇa
Synonyms
Translation
I therefore take shelter of the lotus feet of Vīrabhadra Gosāñi, so that by His mercy my great desire to write Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta will be properly guided.
Bengali
চৈতন্য–গোসাঞির ভক্ত রহে তাঁর পাশ ॥ ১৩ ॥
Text
caitanya-gosāñira bhakta rahe tāṅra pāśa
Synonyms
Translation
Two devotees of Lord Caitanya named Śrī Rāmadāsa and Gadādhara dāsa always lived with Śrī Vīrabhadra Gosāñi.
Purport
Śrī Rāmadāsa, later known as Abhirāma Ṭhākura, was one of the twelve gopālas, or cowherd boyfriends, of Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu. The Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā (126) states that Śrī Rāmadāsa was formerly Śrīdāmā. In the Bhakti-ratnākara (Fourth Wave), there is a description of Śrīla Abhirāma Ṭhākura. By the order of Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu, Abhirāma Ṭhākura became a great ācārya and preacher of the Caitanya cult of devotional service. He was a very influential personality, and nondevotees were very much afraid of him. Empowered by Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu, he was always in ecstasy and was extremely kind to all fallen souls. It is said that if he offered obeisances to any stone other than a śālagrāma-śilā, it would immediately fracture.
Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura writes in his Anubhāṣya, “Ten miles southwest of the Cāṅpāḍāṅgā railway station on the narrow-gauge railway line from Howrah, in Calcutta, to Āmtā, a village in the Hugli district, is a small town named Khānākūla-kṛṣṇanagara, where the temple in which Abhirāma Ṭhākura worshiped is situated. During the rainy season, when this area is inundated with water, people must go there by another line, which is now called the South Eastern railway. On this line there is a station named Kolāghāṭa, from which one has to go by steamer to Rāṇīcaka. Seven and a half miles north of Rāṇīcaka is Khānākūla. The temple where Abhirāma Ṭhākura worshiped is situated in Kṛṣṇanagara, which is near the kūla (bank) of the Khānā (Dvārakeśvara River); therefore this place is celebrated as Khānākūla-kṛṣṇanagara. Outside of the temple is a bakula tree. This place is known as Siddha-bakula-kuñja. It is said that when Abhirāma Ṭhākura came there, he sat down under this tree. In Khānākūla-kṛṣṇanagara there is a big fair held every year in the month of Caitra [March-April] on the Kṛṣṇa-saptamī, the seventh day of the dark moon. Many hundreds and thousands of people gather for this festival. The temple where Abhirāma Ṭhākura worshiped has a very old history. The Deity in the temple is known as Gopīnātha. There are many sevaita families living near the temple. It is said that Abhirāma Ṭhākura had a whip and that whoever he touched with it would immediately become an elevated devotee of Kṛṣṇa. Among his many disciples, Śrīmān Śrīnivāsa Ācārya was the most famous and the most dear, but it is doubtful that he was his initiated disciple.”
Bengali
মহাপ্রভু এই দুই দিলা তাঁর সাথে ॥ ১৪ ॥
অতএব দুইগণে দুঁহার গণন ।
মাধব–বাসুদেব ঘোষেরও এই বিবরণ ॥ ১৫ ॥
Text
mahāprabhu ei dui dilā tāṅra sāthe
mādhava-vāsudeva ghoṣerao ei vivaraṇa
Synonyms
nityānande — unto Lord Nityānanda; ājñā — order; dila — gave; yabe — when; gauḍe — to Bengal; yāite — to go; mahāprabhu — Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu; ei dui — these two; dilā — gave; tāṅra sāthe — with Him; ataeva — therefore; dui-gaṇe — in both the parties; duṅhāra — two of them; gaṇana — are counted; mādhava — Mādhava; vāsudeva — Vāsudeva; ghoṣerao — of the surname Ghoṣa; ei — this; vivaraṇa — description.
Translation
When Nityānanda Prabhu was ordered to go to Bengal to preach, these two devotees [Śrī Rāmadāsa and Gadādhara dāsa] were ordered to go with Him. Thus they are sometimes counted among the devotees of Lord Caitanya and sometimes among the devotees of Lord Nityānanda. Similarly, Mādhava Ghoṣa and Vāsudeva Ghoṣa belonged to both groups of devotees simultaneously.
Purport
Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura writes in his Anubhāṣya, “There is a place named Dāṅihāṭa, near the Agradvīpa railway station and Pāṭuli in the district of Burdwan, where the Deity of Śrī Gopīnāthajī is still situated. This Deity accepted Govinda Ghoṣa as His father. Even until today, the Deity performs the śrāddha ceremony on the anniversary of the death of Govinda Ghoṣa. The temple of this Deity is managed by the rāja-vaṁśa family of Kṛṣṇanagara, whose members are descendants of Rājā Kṛṣṇacandra. Every year in the month of Vaiśākha, when there is a bāradola ceremony, this Gopīnātha Deity is taken to Kṛṣṇanagara. The ceremony is performed with eleven other Deities, and then Śrī Gopīnāthajī is brought back to the temple in Agradvīpa.”
Bengali
ষোলসাঙ্গের কাষ্ঠ যেই তুলি’ কৈল বাঁশী ॥ ১৬ ॥
Text
ṣolasāṅgera kāṣṭha yei tuli’ kaila vaṁśī
Synonyms
Translation
Rāmadāsa, one of the chief branches, was full of fraternal love of Godhead. He made a flute from a stick with sixteen knots.
Bengali
যাঁর ঘরে দানকেলি কৈল নিত্যানন্দ ॥ ১৭ ॥
Text
yāṅra ghare dānakeli kaila nityānanda
Synonyms
Translation
Śrīla Gadādhara dāsa was always fully absorbed in ecstasy as a gopī. In his house Lord Nityānanda enacted the drama Dāna-keli.
Bengali
নিত্যানন্দপ্রভু নৃত্য করে যাঁর গানে ॥ ১৮ ॥
Text
nityānanda-prabhu nṛtya kare yāṅra gāne
Synonyms
Translation
Śrī Mādhava Ghoṣa was a principal performer of kīrtana. While he sang, Nityānanda Prabhu danced.
Bengali
কাষ্ঠ–পাষাণ দ্রবে যাহার শ্রবণে ॥ ১৯ ॥
Text
kāṣṭha-pāṣāṇa drave yāhāra śravaṇe
Synonyms
Translation
When Vāsudeva Ghoṣa described Lord Caitanya and Nityānanda while performing kīrtana, even wood and stone would melt upon hearing it.
Bengali
ব্যাঘ্র–গালে চড় মারে, সর্প–সনে খেলা ॥ ২০ ॥
Text
vyāghra-gāle caḍa māre, sarpa-sane khelā
Synonyms
Translation
There were many extraordinary activities performed by Murāri, a great devotee of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Sometimes in his ecstasy he would slap the cheek of a tiger, and sometimes he would play with a venomous snake.
Purport
Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura writes in his Anubhāṣya, “Murāri Caitanya dāsa was born in the village of Sar-vṛndāvana-pura, which is situated about two miles from the Galaśī station on the Burdwan line. When Murāri Caitanya dāsa came to Navadvīpa, he settled in the village of Modadruma, or Māmagāchi-grāma. At that time he became known as Śārṅga or Sāraṅga Murāri Caitanya dāsa. The descendants of his family still reside in Sarer Pāṭa. In the Caitanya-bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa, chapter five, there is the following statement: ‘Murāri Caitanya dāsa had no material bodily features, for he was completely spiritual. Thus he would sometimes chase after tigers in the jungle and treat them just like cats and dogs. He would slap the cheek of a tiger and take a venomous snake on his lap. He had no fear for his external body, of which he was completely forgetful. He could spend all twenty-four hours of the day chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra or speaking about Lord Caitanya and Nityānanda. Sometimes he would remain submerged in water for two or three days, but he would feel no bodily inconvenience. Thus he behaved almost like stone or wood, but he always used his energy in chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. No one can describe his specific characteristics, but it is understood that wherever Murāri Caitanya dāsa passed, whoever was present would be enlightened in Kṛṣṇa consciousness simply by the atmosphere he created.’ ”
Bengali
শৃঙ্গ–বেত্র–গোপবেশ, শিরে শিখিপাখা ॥ ২১ ॥
Text
śṛṅga-vetra-gopaveśa, śire śikhi-pākhā
Synonyms
Translation
All the associates of Lord Nityānanda were formerly cowherd boys in Vrajabhūmi. Their symbolic representations were the horns and sticks they carried, their cowherd dress and the peacock plumes on their heads.
Purport
Jāhnavā-mātā is also within the list of Lord Nityānanda’s followers. She is described in the Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā (66) as Anaṅga-mañjarī of Vṛndāvana. All the devotees who are followers of Jāhnavā-mātā are counted within the list of Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu’s devotees.
Bengali
যাঁহার দর্শনে কৃষ্ণপ্রেমভক্তি হয় ॥ ২২ ॥
Text
yāṅhāra darśane kṛṣṇa-prema-bhakti haya
Synonyms
Translation
The physician Raghunātha, also known as Upādhyāya, was so great a devotee that simply by seeing him one would awaken his dormant love of Godhead.
Bengali
যাঁর সঙ্গে নিত্যানন্দ করে ব্ৰজনৰ্ম ॥ ২৩ ॥
Text
yāṅra saṅge nityānanda kare vraja-narma
Synonyms
sundarānanda — Sundarānanda; nityānandera śākhā — a branch of Nityānanda Prabhu; bhṛtya marma — very intimate servant; yāṅra saṅge — with whom; nityānanda — Lord Nityānanda; kare — performs; vraja-narma — activities of Vṛndāvana.
Translation
Sundarānanda, another branch of Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu, was Lord Nityānanda’s most intimate servant. Lord Nityānanda Prabhu perceived the life of Vrajabhūmi in his company.
Purport
Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura writes in his Anubhāṣya, “In the Caitanya-bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa, chapter five, it is stated that Sundarānanda was an ocean of love of Godhead and the chief associate of Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu. In the Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā (127) he is stated to have been Sudāmā in kṛṣṇa-līlā. Thus he was one of the twelve cowherd boys who came down with Balarāma when He descended as Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu. The holy place where Sundarānanda lived is situated in the village known as Maheśapura, which is about fourteen miles east of the Mājadiyā railway station of the Eastern Railway from Calcutta to Burdwan. This place is within the district of Jessore, [which is now in Bangladesh]. Among the relics of this village, only the old residential house of Sundarānanda still exists. At the end of the village resides a bāula [pseudo Vaiṣṇava], and all the buildings, both the temples and the house, appear to be newly constructed. In Maheśapura there are Deities of Śrī Rādhāvallabha and Śrī Śrī Rādhāramaṇa. Near the temple is a small river of the name Vetravatī.
“Sundarānanda Prabhu was a naiṣṭhika-brahmacārī: he never married in his life. Therefore he had no direct descendants except his disciples, but the descendants of his family still reside in the village known as Maṅgalaḍihi in the district of Birbhum. In that same village is a temple of Balarāma, and the Deity there is regularly worshiped. The original Deity of Maheśapura, Rādhāvallabha, was taken by the Saidābād Gosvāmīs of Berhampur, and since the present Deities were installed, a zamindar family of Maheśapura has looked after Their worship. On the full-moon day of the month of Māgha (January-February), the anniversary of Sundarānanda’s disappearance is regularly celebrated, and people from the neighboring areas gather together to observe this festival.”
Bengali
অলৌকিক প্রেম তাঁর ভুবনে বিদিত ॥ ২৪ ॥
Text
alaukika prema tāṅra bhuvane vidita
Synonyms
Translation
Kamalākara Pippalāi is said to have been the third gopāla. His behavior and love of Godhead were uncommon, and thus he is celebrated all over the world.
Purport
Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura writes in his Anubhāṣya, “In the Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā (128) Kamalākara Pippalāi is described as the third gopāla. His former name was Mahābala. The Jagannātha Deity at Māheśa in Śrī Rāmapura was installed by Kamalākara Pippalāi. This village of Māheśa is situated about two and a half miles from the Śrī Rāmapura railway station. The genealogy of the family of Kamalākara Pippalāi is given as follows. Kamalākara Pippalāi had a son named Caturbhuja, who had two sons named Nārāyaṇa and Jagannātha. Nārāyaṇa had one son named Jagadānanda, and his son’s name was Rājīvalocana. During the time of Rājīvalocana, there was a scarcity of finances for the worship of the Jagannātha Deity, and it is said that the Nawab of Dacca, whose name was Shah Sujā, donated 1,185 bighās of land [about 395 acres] in the Bengali year 1060 [A.D. 1653]. The land being the possession of Jagannātha, the village was named Jagannātha-pura. It is said that when Kamalākara Pippalāi left home his younger brother Nidhipati Pippalāi searched for him and in due course of time found him in the village of Māheśa. Nidhipati Pippalāi tried his best to bring his elder brother home, but he would not return. Under these circumstances, Nidhipati Pippalāi, with all his family members, came to Māheśa to reside. The members of this family still reside in the vicinity of the Māheśa village. Their family name is Adhikārī, and they are a brāhmaṇa family.
“The history of the Jagannātha temple in Māheśa is as follows. One devotee of the name Dhruvānanda went to see Lord Jagannātha, Balarāma and Subhadrā at Jagannātha Purī, wanting to offer food to Jagannāthajī that he had cooked with his own hands. This being his desire, one night Jagannāthajī appeared to him in a dream and asked him to go to Māheśa on the bank of the Ganges and there start worship of Him in a temple. Thus Dhruvānanda went to Māheśa, where he saw the three deities — Jagannātha, Balarāma and Subhadrā — floating in the Ganges. He picked up all those deities and installed them in a small cottage, and with great satisfaction he executed the worship of Lord Jagannātha. When he became old, he was very anxious to hand over the worship to the charge of someone reliable, and in a dream he got permission from Jagannātha Prabhu to hand it over to a person whom he would meet the next morning. The next morning he met Kamalākara Pippalāi, who was formerly an inhabitant of the village Khālijuli in the Sundaravana forest area of Bengal and was a pure Vaiṣṇava, a great devotee of Lord Jagannātha; thus he immediately gave him charge of the worship. In this way, Kamalākara Pippalāi became the worshiper of Lord Jagannātha, and since then his family members have been designated as Adhikārī, which means ‘one who is empowered to worship the Lord.’ These Adhikārīs belong to a respectable brāhmaṇa family. Five types of upper-class brāhmaṇas are recognized by the surname Pippalāi.”
Bengali
নিত্যানন্দে দৃঢ় বিশ্বাস, প্রেমের নিবাস ॥ ২৫ ॥
Text
nityānande dṛḍha viśvāsa, premera nivāsa
Synonyms
Translation
Sūryadāsa Sarakhela and his younger brother Kṛṣṇadāsa Sarakhela both possessed firm faith in Nityānanda Prabhu. They were a reservoir of love of Godhead.
Purport
In the Bhakti-ratnākara (Twelfth Wave), it is stated that a few miles from Navadvīpa is a place called Śāligrāma that was the residence of Sūryadāsa Sarakhela. He was employed as a secretary in the Muslim government of that time, and thus he amassed a good fortune. Sūryadāsa had four brothers, all of whom were pure Vaiṣṇavas. Vasudhā and Jāhnavā were two daughters of Sūryadāsa Sarakhela.
Bengali
কৃষ্ণপ্রেমা দিতে, নিতে, ধরে মহাশক্তি ॥ ২৬ ॥
Text
kṛṣṇa-premā dite, nite, dhare mahāśakti
Synonyms
Translation
Gaurīdāsa Paṇḍita, the emblem of the most elevated devotional service in love of Godhead, had the greatest potency to receive and deliver such love.
Purport
Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura writes in his Anubhāṣya, “It is said that Gaurīdāsa Paṇḍita was always patronized by King Kṛṣṇadāsa, the son of Harihoḍa. Gaurīdāsa Paṇḍita lived in the village of Śāligrāma, which is situated a few miles from the railway station Muḍāgāchā, and later he came to reside in Ambikā-kālanā. It is stated in the Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā (128) that formerly he was Subala, one of the cowherd boyfriends of Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma in Vṛndāvana. Gaurīdāsa Paṇḍita was the younger brother of Sūryadāsa Sarakhela, and with the permission of his elder brother he shifted his residence to the bank of the Ganges, living there in the town known as Ambikā-kālanā. Some of the names of the descendants of Gaurīdāsa Paṇḍita are as follows: (1) Śrī Nṛsiṁha-caitanya, (2) Kṛṣṇadāsa, (3) Viṣṇudāsa, (4) Baḍa Balarāma dāsa, (5) Govinda, (6) Raghunātha, (7) Baḍu Gaṅgādāsa, (8) Āuliyā Gaṅgārāma, (9) Yādavācārya, (10) Hṛdaya-caitanya, (11) Cānda Hāladāra, (12) Maheśa Paṇḍita, (13) Mukuṭa Rāya, (14) Bhātuyā Gaṅgārāma, (15) Āuliyā Caitanya, (16) Kāliyā Kṛṣṇadāsa, (17) Pātuyā Gopāla, (18) Baḍa Jagannātha, (19) Nityānanda, (20) Bhāvi, (21) Jagadīśa, (22) Rāiyā Kṛṣṇadāsa and (22 ) Annapūrṇā. The eldest son of Gaurīdāsa Paṇḍita was known as big Balarāma, and the youngest was known as Raghunātha. The sons of Raghunātha were Maheśa Paṇḍita and Govinda. Gaurīdāsa Paṇḍita’s daughter was known as Annapūrṇā.
“The village Ambikā-kālanā, which is situated just across the river Ganges from Śāntipura, is two miles east of the Kālanā-korṭa railway station, on the Eastern Railway. In Ambikā-kālanā there is a temple constructed by the zamindar of Burdwan. In front of the temple there is a big tamarind tree, and it is said that Gaurīdāsa Paṇḍita and Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu met underneath this tree. The place where the temple is situated is known as Ambikā, and because it is in the area of Kālanā, the village is known as Ambikā-kālanā. It is said that a copy of the Bhagavad-gītā written by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu still exists in this temple.”
Bengali
শ্রীচৈতন্য–নিত্যানন্দে করি’ প্রাণপতি ॥ ২৭ ॥
Text
śrī-caitanya-nityānande kari prāṇapati
Synonyms
Translation
Making Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityānanda the Lords of his life, Gaurīdāsa Paṇḍita sacrificed everything for the service of Lord Nityānanda, even the fellowship of his own family.
Bengali
প্রেমার্ণব–মধ্যে ফিরে যৈছন মন্দর ॥ ২৮ ॥
Text
premārṇava-madhye phire yaichana mandara
Synonyms
Translation
The thirteenth important devotee of Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu was Paṇḍita Purandara, who moved in the ocean of love of Godhead just like the Mandara Hill.
Purport
Paṇḍita Purandara met Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu at Khaḍadaha. When Nityānanda Prabhu visited this village, He danced very uncommonly, and His dancing captivated Purandara Paṇḍita. The paṇḍita was in the top of a tree, and upon seeing the dancing of Nityānanda he jumped down on the ground and proclaimed himself to be Aṅgada, one of the devotees in the camp of Hanumān during the pastimes of Lord Rāmacandra.
Bengali
কৃষ্ণভক্তি পায়, তাঁরে যে করে স্মরণ ॥ ২৯ ॥
Text
kṛṣṇa-bhakti pāya, tāṅre ye kare smaraṇa
Synonyms
Translation
Parameśvara dāsa, said to be the fifth gopāla of kṛṣṇa-līlā, completely surrendered to the lotus feet of Nityānanda. Anyone who remembers his name, Parameśvara dāsa, will get love of Kṛṣṇa very easily.
Purport
Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura writes in his Anubhāṣya, “The Caitanya-bhāgavata states that Parameśvara dāsa, known sometimes as Parameśvarī dāsa, was the life and soul of Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu. The body of Parameśvara dāsa was the place of Lord Nityānanda’s pastimes. Parameśvara dāsa, who lived for some time at Khaḍadaha village, was always filled with the ecstasy of a cowherd boy. Formerly he was Arjuna, a friend of Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma. He was the fifth among the twelve gopālas. He accompanied Śrīmatī Jāhnavā-devī when she performed the festival at Khetari. It is stated in the Bhakti-ratnākara that by the order of Śrīmatī Jāhnavā-mātā, he installed Rādhā-Gopīnātha in the temple at Āṭapura, in the district of Hugli. The Āṭapura station is on the narrow-gauge railway line between Howrah and Āmatā. Another temple in Āṭapura, established by the Mitra family, is known as the Rādhā-Govinda temple. In front of the temple, in a very attractive place among two bakula trees and a kadamba tree, is the tomb of Parameśvarī Ṭhākura, and above it is an altar with a tulasī bush. It is said that only one flower a year comes out of the kadamba tree. It is offered to the Deity.
“Parameśvarī Ṭhākura belonged, it is said, to a vaidya family. A descendant of his brother’s is at present a worshiper in the temple. Some of their family members still reside in the district of Hugli, near the post office of Caṇḍītalā. The descendants of Parameśvarī Ṭhākura took many disciples from brāhmaṇa families, but as these descendants gradually took to the profession of physicians, persons from brāhmaṇa families ceased becoming their disciples. The family titles of Parameśvarī’s descendants are Adhikārī and Gupta. Unfortunately, his family members do not worship the Deity directly; they have engaged paid brāhmaṇas to worship the Deity. In the temple, Baladeva and Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Gopīnātha are together on the throne. It is supposed that the Deity of Baladeva was installed later because according to transcendental mellow, Baladeva, Kṛṣṇa and Rādhā cannot stay on the same throne. On the full-moon day of Vaiśākha (April-May), the disappearance festival of Parameśvarī Ṭhākura is observed in this temple.”
Bengali
কৃষ্ণপ্রেমামৃত বর্ষে, যেন বর্ষা ঘন ॥ ৩০ ॥
Text
kṛṣṇa-premāmṛta varṣe, yena varṣā ghana
Synonyms
Translation
Jagadīśa Paṇḍita, the fifteenth branch of Lord Nityānanda’s followers, was the deliverer of the entire world. Devotional love of Kṛṣṇa showered from him like torrents of rain.
Purport
Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura writes in his Anubhāṣya, “Descriptions of Jagadīśa Paṇḍita are available from the Caitanya-bhāgavata, Ādi-khaṇḍa, chapter six, and the Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā, chapter fourteen. He belonged to the village of Yaśaḍā-grāma, in the district of Nadia near the Cākadaha railway station. His father, the son of Bhaṭṭa Nārāyaṇa, was named Kamalākṣa. Both his father and mother were great devotees of Lord Viṣṇu, and after their death, Jagadīśa, with his wife Duḥkhinī and brother Maheśa, left his birthplace and came to Śrī Māyāpur to live in the company of Jagannātha Miśra and other Vaiṣṇavas. Lord Caitanya asked Jagadīśa to go to Jagannātha Purī to preach the hari-nāma-saṅkīrtana movement. After returning from Jagannātha Purī, on the order of Lord Jagannātha he established Deities of Jagannātha in the village of Yaśaḍā-grāma. It is said that when Jagadīśa Paṇḍita brought the Deity of Jagannātha to Yaśaḍā-grāma, he tied the heavy Deity to a stick and thus brought Him to the village. The priests of the temple still show the stick used by Jagadīśa Paṇḍita to carry the Jagannātha Deity.”
Bengali
অত্যন্ত বিরক্ত, সদা কৃষ্ণপ্রেমময় ॥ ৩১ ॥
Text
atyanta virakta, sadā kṛṣṇa-premamaya
Synonyms
Translation
The sixteenth dear servant of Nityānanda Prabhu was Dhanañjaya Paṇḍita. He was very much renounced and always merged in love of Kṛṣṇa.
Purport
Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura writes in his Anubhāṣya, “Paṇḍita Dhanañjaya was a resident of the village in Katwa named Śītala. He was one of the twelve gopālas. His former name, according to the Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā (127), was Vasudāma. Śītala-grāma is situated near the Maṅgalakoṭa police station and Kaicara post office in the district of Burdwan. On the narrow railway from Burdwan to Katwa is a railway station about nine miles from Katwa known as Kaicara. One has to go about a mile northeast of this station to reach Śītala. The temple was a thatched house with walls made of dirt. Some time ago, the zamindars of Bājāravana Kābāśī, the Mulliks, constructed a big house for the purpose of a temple, but for the last sixty-five years the temple has been broken down and abandoned. The foundation of the old temple is still visible. There is a tulasī pillar near the temple, and every year during the month of Kārttika (October-November) the disappearance day of Dhanañjaya is observed. It is said that for some time Paṇḍita Dhanañjaya was in a saṅkīrtana party under the direction of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and then he went to Vṛndāvana. Before going to Vṛndāvana, he lived for some time in a village named Sāṅcaḍāpāṅcaḍā, which is six miles south of the Memārī railway station. Sometimes this village is also known as ‘the place of Dhanañjaya’ (Dhanañjayera Pāṭa). After some time, he left the responsibility for worship with a disciple and went back to Vṛndāvana. After returning from Vṛndāvana to Śītala-grāma, he established a Deity of Gaurasundara in the temple. The descendants of Paṇḍita Dhanañjaya still live in Śītala-grāma and look after the temple worship.”
Bengali
ঢক্কাবাদ্যে নৃত্য করে প্রেমে মাতোয়াল ॥ ৩২ ॥
Text
ḍhakkā-vādye nṛtya kare preme mātoyāla
Synonyms
Translation
Maheśa Paṇḍita, the seventh of the twelve gopālas, was very liberal. In great love of Kṛṣṇa he danced to the beating of a kettledrum like a madman.
Purport
Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura writes in his Anubhāṣya, “The village of Maheśa Paṇḍita, which is known as Pālapāḍā, is situated in the district of Nadia within a forest about one mile south of the Cākadaha railway station. The Ganges flows nearby. It is said that formerly Maheśa Paṇḍita lived on the eastern side of Jirāṭ in the village known as Masipura or Yaśīpura, and when Masipura merged into the riverbed of the Ganges, the Deities there were brought to Pālapāḍā, which is situated in the midst of various villages such as Beleḍāṅgā, Berigrāma, Sukhasāgara, Cānduḍe and Manasāpotā. (There are about fourteen villages, and the entire neighborhood is known as Pāñcanagara Paragaṇā.) It is mentioned that Maheśa Paṇḍita joined the festival performed by Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu at Pānihāṭi. Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura also joined in the festival, and Maheśa Paṇḍita saw him on that occasion. In the temple of Maheśa Paṇḍita there are Deities of Gaura-Nityānanda, Śrī Gopīnātha, Śrī Madana-mohana and Rādhā-Govinda, as well as a śālagrāma-śilā.”
Bengali
নিত্যানন্দ–নামে যাঁর মহোন্মাদ হয় ॥ ৩৩ ॥
Text
nityānanda-nāme yāṅra mahonmāda haya
Synonyms
navadvīpe puruṣottama — Puruṣottama of Navadvīpa; paṇḍita mahāśaya — a very learned scholar; nityānanda-nāme — in the name of Lord Nityānanda Prabhu; yāṅra — whose; mahā-unmāda — great ecstasy; haya — becomes.
Translation
Puruṣottama Paṇḍita, a resident of Navadvīpa, was the eighth gopāla. He would become almost mad as soon as he heard the holy name of Nityānanda Prabhu.
Purport
It is stated in the Caitanya-bhāgavata that Puruṣottama Paṇḍita was born in Navadvīpa and was a great devotee of Lord Nityānanda Prabhu. As one of the twelve gopālas, his former name was Stokakṛṣṇa.
Bengali
নিত্যানন্দ–নামে হয় পরম উন্মাদী ॥ ৩৪ ॥
Text
nityānanda-nāme haya parama unmādī
Synonyms
Translation
Balarāma dāsa always fully tasted the nectar of love of Kṛṣṇa. Upon hearing the name of Nityānanda Prabhu, he would become greatly maddened.
Bengali
যাঁহার হৃদয়ে নৃত্য করে নিত্যানন্দ ॥ ৩৫ ॥
Text
yāṅhāra hṛdaye nṛtya kare nityānanda
Synonyms
mahā-bhāgavata — a great devotee; yadunātha kavicandra — Yadunātha Kavicandra; yāṅhāra — whose; hṛdaye — in the heart; nṛtya — dancing; kare — does; nityānanda — Lord Nityānanda Prabhu.
Translation
Yadunātha Kavicandra was a great devotee. Lord Nityānanda Prabhu always danced in his heart.
Purport
In the Caitanya-bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa, chapter one, it is said that a gentleman known as Ratnagarbha Ācārya was a friend of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s father. They had been residents of the same village. Ratnagarbha Ācārya had three sons — Kṛṣṇānanda, Jīva and Yadunātha Kavicandra.
Bengali
শ্রীনিত্যানন্দের তেঁহো পরম কিঙ্কর ॥ ৩৬ ॥
Text
śrī-nityānandera teṅho parama kiṅkara
Synonyms
Translation
The twenty-first devotee of Śrī Nityānanda in Bengal was Kṛṣṇadāsa Brāhmaṇa, who was a first-class servant of the Lord.
Purport
In this verse the word rāḍhe refers to Rāḍhadeśa, the part of Bengal where the Ganges does not flow.
Bengali
নিত্যানন্দ–চন্দ্র বিনু নাহি জানে আন ॥ ৩৭ ॥
Text
nityānanda-candra vinu nahi jāne āna
Synonyms
Translation
The twenty-second devotee of Lord Nityānanda Prabhu was Kālā Kṛṣṇadāsa, who was the ninth cowherd boy. He was a first-class Vaiṣṇava and did not know anything beyond Nityānanda Prabhu.
Purport
In the Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā (132) it is said that Kālā Kṛṣṇadāsa, who was also known as Kāliyā Kṛṣṇadāsa, was formerly a gopa (cowherd boy) of the name Lavaṅga. He was one of the twelve cowherd boys.
Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura writes in his Anubhāṣya, “Kāliyā Kṛṣṇadāsa had his headquarters in a village named Ākāihāṭa, which is situated in the district of Burdwan within the jurisdiction of the post office and police station of Katwa. It is situated on the road to Navadvīpa. To reach Ākāihāṭa, one has to go from the Bandel junction station to the Katwa railway station and then go about two miles, or one has to get off at the Dāṅihāṭa station and from there go one mile. The village of Ākāihāṭa is very small. In the month of Caitra, on the day of Vāruṇī, there is a festival commemorating the disappearance day of Kālā Kṛṣṇadāsa.”
Bengali
শ্রীপুরুষোত্তম দাস—তাঁহার তনয় ॥ ৩৮ ॥
Text
śrī-puruṣottama-dāsa — tāṅhāra tanaya
Synonyms
Translation
The twenty-third and twenty-fourth prominent devotees of Nityānanda Prabhu were Sadāśiva Kavirāja and his son Puruṣottama dāsa, who was the tenth gopāla.
Bengali
নিরন্তর বাল্য–লীলা করে কৃষ্ণ–সনে ॥ ৩৯ ॥
Text
nirantara bālya-līlā kare kṛṣṇa-sane
Synonyms
Translation
From birth, Puruṣottama dāsa was merged in the service of the lotus feet of Lord Nityānanda Prabhu, and he always engaged in childish play with Lord Kṛṣṇa.
Purport
Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura writes in his Anubhāṣya, “Sadāśiva Kavirāja and Nāgara Puruṣottama, who were father and son, are described in the Caitanya-bhāgavata as mahā-bhāgyavān, greatly fortunate. They belonged to the vaidya caste of physicians. text 156 of the Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā says that Candrāvalī, a most beloved gopī of Kṛṣṇa’s, later took birth as Sadāśiva Kavirāja. In texts 194 and 200 it is said that Kaṁsāri Sena, the father of Sadāśiva Kavirāja, was formerly the gopī named Ratnāvalī in Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes. All the family members of Sadāśiva Kavirāja were great devotees of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Puruṣottama dāsa Ṭhākura sometimes lived at Sukhasāgara, near the Cākadaha and Śimurāli railway stations. All the Deities installed by Puruṣottama Ṭhākura were formerly situated in Beleḍāṅgā-grāma, but when the temple was destroyed the Deities were brought to Sukhasāgara. When that temple merged into the bed of the Ganges, the Deities were brought with Jāhnavā-mātā’s Deity to Sāhebaḍāṅgā Beḍigrāma. Since that place also has been destroyed, all the Deities are now situated in the village named Cānduḍe-grāma, which is situated one mile up from Pālapāḍā, as referred to above.”
Bengali
যাঁর দেহে রহে কৃষ্ণ–প্রেমামৃতপূর ॥ ৪০ ॥
Text
yāṅra dehe rahe kṛṣṇa-premāmṛta-pūra
Synonyms
Translation
Śrī Kānu Ṭhākura, a very respectable gentleman, was the son of Puruṣottama dāsa Ṭhākura. He was such a great devotee that Lord Kṛṣṇa always lived in his body.
Purport
Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura writes in his Anubhāṣya, “To go to the headquarters of Kānu Ṭhākura, one has to proceed by boat from the Jhikaragāchā-ghāṭa station to the river known as Kapotākṣa. Otherwise, if one goes about two or two and a half miles from the Jhikaragāchā-ghāṭa station, he can see Bodhakhānā, the headquarters of Kānu Ṭhākura. The son of Sadāśiva was Puruṣottama Ṭhākura, and his son was Kānu Ṭhākura. The descendants of Kānu Ṭhākura know him as Nāgara Puruṣottama. He was the cowherd boy named Dāma during kṛṣṇa-līlā. It is said that just after the birth of Kānu Ṭhākura, his mother, Jāhnavā, died. When he was about twelve days old, Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu took him to His home at Khaḍadaha. It is ascertained that Kānu Ṭhākura was born some time in the Bengali year 942 [A.D. 1535]. It is said that he took birth on the Ratha-yātrā day. Because he was a great devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa from the very beginning of his life, Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu gave him the name Śiśu Kṛṣṇadāsa. When he was five years old he went to Vṛndāvana with Jāhnavā-mātā, and the Gosvāmīs, upon seeing the ecstatic symptoms of Kānu Ṭhākura, gave him the name Kānāi Ṭhākura.
“In the family of Kānu Ṭhākura there is a Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa Deity known as Prāṇavallabha. It is said that his family worshiped this Deity long before the appearance of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. When there was a Maharashtrian invasion of Bengal, the family of Kānu Ṭhākura was scattered, and after the invasion one Harikṛṣṇa Gosvāmī of that family came back to their original home, Bodhakhānā, and re-established the Prāṇavallabha Deity. The descendants of the family still engage in the service of Prāṇavallabha. Kānu Ṭhākura was present during the Kheṭari utsava, when Jāhnavā-devī and Vīrabhadra Gosvāmī were also present. One of Kānu Ṭhākura’s family members, Mādhavācārya, married the daughter of Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu, who was named Gaṅgādevī. Both Puruṣottama Ṭhākura and Kānu Ṭhākura had many disciples from brāhmaṇa families. Most of the disciplic descendants of Kānu Ṭhākura now reside in the village named Gaḍabetā, by the river Śilāvatī, in the Midnapore district.”
Bengali
সর্বভাবে সেবে নিত্যানন্দের চরণ ॥ ৪১ ॥
Text
sarva-bhāve seve nityānandera caraṇa
Synonyms
Translation
Uddhāraṇa Datta Ṭhākura, the eleventh among the twelve cowherd boys, was an exalted devotee of Lord Nityānanda Prabhu. He worshiped the lotus feet of Lord Nityānanda in all respects.
Purport
Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura writes in his Anubhāṣya, “The Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā (129) states that Uddhāraṇa Datta Ṭhākura was formerly the cowherd boy of Vṛndāvana named Subāhu. Uddhāraṇa Datta Ṭhākura, previously known as Śrī Uddhāraṇa Datta, was a resident of Saptagrāma, which is situated on the bank of the Sarasvatī River near the Triśabighā railway station in the district of Hugli. At the time of Uddhāraṇa Ṭhākura, Saptagrāma was a very big town, encompassing many other places such as Vāsudeva-pura, Bāṅśabeḍiyā, Kṛṣṇapura, Nityānanda-pura, Śivapura, Śaṅkhanagara and Saptagrāma.”
Calcutta was developed under British rule by the influential mercantile community, and especially by the suvarṇa-vaṇik community who came down from Saptagrāma to establish their businesses and homes all over Calcutta. They were known as the Saptagrāmī mercantile community of Calcutta, and most of them belonged to the Mullik and Sil families. More than half of Calcutta belonged to this community, as did Śrīla Uddhāraṇa Ṭhākura. Our paternal family also came from this district and belonged to the same community. The Mulliks of Calcutta are divided into two families, namely the Sil family and De family. All the Mulliks of the De family originally belong to the same family and gotra. We also formerly belonged to the branch of the De family whose members, intimately connected with the Muslim rulers, received the title Mullik.
In the Caitanya-bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa, chapter five, it is said that Uddhāraṇa Datta was an extremely elevated and liberal Vaiṣṇava. He was born with the right to worship Nityānanda Prabhu. It is also stated that Nityānanda Prabhu, after staying for some time in Khaḍadaha, came to Saptagrāma and stayed in the house of Uddhāraṇa Datta. The suvarṇa-vaṇik community to which Uddhāraṇa Datta belonged was actually a Vaiṣṇava community. Its members were bankers and gold merchants (suvarṇa means “gold,” and vaṇik means “merchant”). Long ago there was a misunderstanding between Ballāl Sena and the suvarṇa-vaṇik community because of the great banker Gaurī Sena. Ballāl Sena was taking loans from Gaurī Sena and spending money extravagantly, and therefore Gaurī Sena stopped supplying money. Ballāl Sena took revenge by instigating a social conspiracy to make the suvarṇa-vaṇiks outcastes, and since then they have been ostracized from the higher castes, namely the brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas and vaiśyas. But by the grace of Śrīla Nityānanda Prabhu, the suvarṇa-vaṇik community was again elevated. It is said in the Caitanya-bhāgavata, yateka vaṇik-kula uddhāraṇa haite pavitra ha-ila dvidhā nāhika ihāte: there is no doubt that all the community members of the suvarṇa-vaṇik society were again purified by Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu.
In Saptagrāma there is still a temple with a six-armed Deity of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu that was personally worshiped by Śrīla Uddhāraṇa Datta Ṭhākura. On the right side of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is a Deity of Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu, and on the left side is Gadādhara Prabhu. There are also a Rādhā-Govinda mūrti and a śālagrāma-śilā, and below the throne is a picture of Śrī Uddhāraṇa Datta Ṭhākura. In front of the temple there is now a big hall, and in front of the hall is a Mādhavī-latā plant. The temple is in a very shady, cool and nicely situated location. When we returned from America in 1967, the executive committee members of this temple invited us to visit it, and thus we had the opportunity to visit this temple with some American students. Formerly, in our childhood, we visited this temple with our parents because all the members of the suvarṇa-vaṇik community enthusiastically take interest in this temple of Uddhāraṇa Datta Ṭhākura.
Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura adds in his Anubhāṣya: “In the Bengali year 1283 [A.D. 1876] a bābājī of the name Nitāi dāsa arranged for a donation of twelve bighās of land (about four acres) for the temple where Uddhāraṇa Datta Ṭhākura worshiped. The management of the temple later deteriorated, but then in 1306 (A.D. 1899), through the cooperation of the famous Balarāma Mullik of Hugli, who was a subjudge, and many rich suvarṇa-vaṇik community members, the management of the temple improved greatly. Not more than fifty years ago, one of the family members of Uddhāraṇa Datta Ṭhākura named Jagamohana Datta established a wooden mūrti [statue] of Uddhāraṇa Datta Ṭhākura in the temple, but that mūrti is no longer there; at present, a picture of Uddhāraṇa Datta Ṭhākura is worshiped. It is understood, however, that the wooden mūrti of Uddhāraṇa Ṭhākura was taken away by Śrī Madana-mohana Datta and is now being worshiped with a śālagrāma-śilā by Śrīnātha Datta.
“Uddhāraṇa Datta Ṭhākura was the manager of the estate of a big zamindar in Naihāṭī, about one and a half miles north of Katwa. The relics of this royal family are still visible near the Dāiṅhāṭa station. Since Uddhāraṇa Datta Ṭhākura was the manager of the estate, it was also known as Uddhāraṇa-pura. Uddhāraṇa Datta Ṭhākura installed Nitāi-Gaura Deities that were later brought to the house of the zamindar, which was known as Vanaoyārībāda. Śrīla Uddhāraṇa Datta Ṭhākura remained a householder throughout his life. His father’s name was Śrīkara Datta, his mother’s name was Bhadrāvatī, and his son’s name was Śrīnivāsa Datta.”
Bengali
পূর্বে নাম ছিল যাঁর ‘রঘুনাথ পুরী’ ॥ ৪২ ॥
Text
pūrve nāma chila yāṅra ‘raghunātha purī’
Synonyms
ācārya — teacher; vaiṣṇavānanda — Vaiṣṇavānanda; bhakti — devotional service; adhikārī — fit candidate; pūrve — previously; nāma — name; chila — was; yāṅra — whose; raghunātha purī — Raghunātha Purī.
Translation
The twenty-seventh prominent devotee of Nityānanda Prabhu was Ācārya Vaiṣṇavānanda, a great personality in devotional service. He was formerly known as Raghunātha Purī.
Purport
In the Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā (97) it is said that Raghunātha Purī was previously very powerful in the eight mystic successes. He was an incarnation of one of the successes.
Bengali
পূর্বে যাঁর ঘরে ছিলা ঠাকুর নিতাই ॥ ৪৩ ৷৷
Text
pūrve yāṅra ghare chilā ṭhākura nitāi
Synonyms
Translation
Another important devotee of Lord Nityānanda Prabhu was Viṣṇudāsa, who had two brothers, Nandana and Gaṅgādāsa. Lord Nityānanda Prabhu sometimes stayed at their house.
Purport
The three brothers Viṣṇudāsa, Nandana and Gaṅgādāsa were residents of Navadvīpa and belonged to the Bhaṭṭācārya brāhmaṇa family. Both Viṣṇudāsa and Gaṅgādāsa stayed for some time with Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu at Jagannātha Purī, and the Caitanya-bhāgavata states that formerly Nityānanda Prabhu stayed at their house.
Bengali
শ্রীজীব পণ্ডিত নিত্যানন্দ–গুণ গায় ॥ ৪৪ ॥
Text
śrī-jīva paṇḍita nityānanda-guṇa gāya
Synonyms
nityānanda-bhṛtya — servant of Nityānanda Prabhu; paramānanda upādhyāya — Paramānanda Upādhyāya; śrī-jīva paṇḍita — Śrī Jīva Paṇḍita; nityānanda — Lord Nityānanda Prabhu; guṇa — qualities; gāya — glorified.
Translation
Paramānanda Upādhyāya was Nityānanda Prabhu’s great servitor. Śrī Jīva Paṇḍita glorified the qualities of Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu.
Purport
Śrī Paramānanda Upādhyāya was an advanced devotee. His name is mentioned in the Caitanya-bhāgavata, where Śrī Jīva Paṇḍita is also mentioned as the second son of Ratnagarbha Ācārya and a childhood friend of Hāḍāi Ojhā, the father of Nityānanda Prabhu. In the Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā (169) it is said that Śrī Jīva Paṇḍita was formerly the gopī named Indirā.
Bengali
পূর্বে যাঁর ঘরে নিত্যানন্দের বসতি ॥ ৪৫ ॥
Text
pūrve yāṅra ghare nityānandera vasati
Synonyms
Translation
The thirty-first devotee of Lord Nityānanda Prabhu was Paramānanda Gupta, who was greatly devoted to Lord Kṛṣṇa and highly advanced in spiritual consciousness. Formerly Nityānanda Prabhu also resided at his house for some time.
Purport
Paramānanda Gupta composed a prayer to Lord Kṛṣṇa known as Kṛṣṇa-stavāvalī. In the Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā (194 and 199) it is stated that he was formerly the gopī named Mañjumedhā.
Bengali
দেবানন্দ—চারি ভাই নিতাই–কিঙ্কর ॥ ৪৬ ॥
Text
devānanda — cāri bhāi nitāi-kiṅkara
Synonyms
Translation
The thirty-second, thirty-third, thirty-fourth and thirty-fifth prominent devotees were Nārāyaṇa, Kṛṣṇadāsa, Manohara and Devānanda, who always engaged in the service of Lord Nityānanda.
Bengali
নিত্যানন্দ–পদ বিনু নাহি জানে আন ॥ ৪৭ ॥
Text
nityānanda-pada vinu nāhi jāne āna
Synonyms
Translation
The thirty-sixth devotee of Lord Nityānanda was Hoḍa Kṛṣṇadāsa, whose life and soul was Nityānanda Prabhu. He was always dedicated to the lotus feet of Nityānanda, and he knew no one else but Him.
Purport
The residence of Kṛṣṇadāsa Hoḍa was Baḍagāchi, which is now in Bangladesh.
Bengali
রামানন্দ বসু, জগন্নাথ, মহীধর ॥ ৪৮ ॥
Text
rāmānanda vasu, jagannātha, mahīdhara
Synonyms
Translation
Among Lord Nityānanda’s devotees, Nakaḍi was the thirty-seventh, Mukunda the thirty-eighth, Sūrya the thirty-ninth, Mādhava the fortieth, Śrīdhara the forty-first, Rāmānanda the forty-second, Jagannātha the forty-third and Mahīdhara the forty-fourth.
Purport
Śrīdhara was the twelfth gopāla.
Bengali
শিবাই, নন্দাই, অবধূত পরমানন্দ ॥ ৪৯ ॥
Text
śivāi, nandāi, avadhūta paramānanda
Synonyms
śrī-manta — Śrīmanta; gokula-dāsa — Gokula dāsa; hariharānanda — Hariharānanda; śivāi — Śivāi; nandāi — Nandāi; avadhūta paramānanda — Avadhūta Paramānanda.
Translation
Śrīmanta was the forty-fifth, Gokula dāsa the forty-sixth, Hariharānanda the forty-seventh, Śivāi the forty-eighth, Nandāi the forty-ninth and Paramānanda the fiftieth.
Bengali
বিষ্ণাই হাজরা, কৃষ্ণানন্দ, সুলোচন ॥ ৫০ ॥
Text
viṣṇāi hājarā, kṛṣṇānanda, sulocana
Synonyms
Translation
Vasanta was the fifty-first, Navanī Hoḍa the fifty-second, Gopāla the fifty-third, Sanātana the fifty-fourth, Viṣṇāi the fifty-fifth, Kṛṣṇānanda the fifty-sixth and Sulocana the fifty-seventh.
Purport
Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura writes in his Anubhāṣya, “Navanī Hoḍa appears to have been the same person as Hoḍa Kṛṣṇadāsa, the son of the King of Baḍagāchi. His father’s name was Hari Hoḍa. One can visit Baḍagāchi by taking the Lālagolā-ghāṭa railway line. Formerly the Ganges flowed by Baḍagāchi, but now it has become a canal known as the Kālśira Khāla. Near the Muḍāgāchā station is a village known as Śāligrāma in which King Kṛṣṇadāsa arranged for the marriage of Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu, as described in the Bhakti-ratnākara (Twelfth Wave). It is sometimes said that Navanī Hoḍa was the son of Rāja Kṛṣṇadāsa. His descendants still live in Rukuṇapura, a village near Bahiragāchi. They belong to the dakṣiṇa-rāḍhīya-kāyastha community, but, having been reformed as brāhmaṇas, they still initiate all classes of men.”
Bengali
গোবিন্দ, শ্রীরঙ্গ, মুকুন্দ, তিন কবিরাজ ॥ ৫১ ॥
Text
govinda, śrīraṅga, mukunda, tina kavirāja
Synonyms
Translation
The fifty-eighth great devotee of Lord Nityānanda Prabhu was Kaṁsāri Sena, the fifty-ninth was Rāmasena, the sixtieth was Rāmacandra Kavirāja, and the sixty-first, sixty-second and sixty-third were Govinda, Śrīraṅga and Mukunda, who were all physicians.
Purport
Śrī Rāmacandra Kavirāja, the son of Khaṇḍavāsī Cirañjīva and Sunanda, was a disciple of Śrīnivāsa Ācārya and the most intimate friend of Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura, who prayed several times for his association. His youngest brother was Govinda Kavirāja. Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī very much appreciated Śrī Rāmacandra Kavirāja’s great devotion to Lord Kṛṣṇa and therefore gave him the title Kavirāja. Śrī Rāmacandra Kavirāja, who was perpetually disinterested in family life, greatly assisted in the preaching work of Śrīnivāsa Ācārya and Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura. He resided at first in Śrīkhaṇḍa but later in the village of Kumāranagara, on the bank of the Ganges.
Govinda Kavirāja was the brother of Rāmacandra Kavirāja and youngest son of Cirañjīva of Śrīkhaṇḍa. Although at first a śākta, or worshiper of goddess Durgā, he was later initiated by Śrīnivāsa Ācārya Prabhu. Govinda Kavirāja also resided first in Śrīkhaṇḍa and then in Kumāra-nagara, but later he moved to the village known as Teliyā Budhari, on the southern bank of the river Padmā. Since Govinda Kavirāja, the author of two books, Saṅgīta-mādhava and Gītāmṛta, was a great Vaiṣṇava kavi, or poet, Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī gave him the title Kavirāja. He is described in the Bhakti-ratnākara (Ninth Wave).
Kaṁsāri Sena was formerly Ratnāvalī in Vraja, as described in the Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā (194 and 200).
Bengali
শঙ্কর, মুকুন্দ, জ্ঞানদাস, মনোহর ॥ ৫২ ॥
Text
śaṅkara, mukunda, jñāna-dāsa, manohara
Synonyms
Translation
Among the devotees of Lord Nityānanda Prabhu, Pītāmbara was the sixty-fourth, Mādhavācārya the sixty-fifth, Dāmodara dāsa the sixty-sixth, Śaṅkara the sixty-seventh, Mukunda the sixty-eighth, Jñāna dāsa the sixty-ninth and Manohara the seventieth.
Bengali
নৃসিংহচৈতন্য, মীনকেতন রামদাস ॥ ৫৩ ॥
Text
nṛsiṁha-caitanya, mīnaketana rāmadāsa
Synonyms
nartaka gopāla — the dancer Gopāla; rāmabhadra — Rāmabhadra; gaurāṅga-dāsa — Gaurāṅga dāsa; nṛsiṁha-caitanya — Nṛsiṁha-caitanya; mīnaketana rāma-dāsa — Mīnaketana Rāmadāsa.
Translation
The dancer Gopāla was the seventy-first, Rāmabhadra the seventy-second, Gaurāṅga dāsa the seventy-third, Nṛsiṁha-caitanya the seventy-fourth and Mīnaketana Rāmadāsa the seventy-fifth.
Purport
The Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā (68) describes Mīnaketana Rāmadāsa as an incarnation of Saṅkarṣaṇa.
Bengali
‘চৈতন্য–মঙ্গল’ যেঁহো করিল রচন ॥ ৫৪ ॥
Text
‘caitanya-maṅgala’ yeṅho karila racana
Synonyms
Translation
Vṛndāvana dāsa Ṭhākura, the son of Śrīmatī Nārāyaṇī, composed Śrī Caitanya-maṅgala [later known as Śrī Caitanya-bhāgavata].
Bengali
চৈতন্য–লীলাতে ব্যাস—বৃন্দাবন দাস ॥ ৫৫ ॥
Text
caitanya-līlāte vyāsa — vṛndāvana dāsa
Synonyms
Translation
Śrīla Vyāsadeva described the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. The Vyāsa of the pastimes of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu was Vṛndāvana dāsa.
Purport
Śrīla Vṛndāvana dāsa Ṭhākura was an incarnation of Vedavyāsa and also a friendly cowherd boy named Kusumāpīḍa in kṛṣṇa-līlā. In other words, the author of Śrī Caitanya-bhāgavata, Śrīla Vṛndāvana dāsa Ṭhākura, the son of Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura’s niece Nārāyaṇī, was a combined incarnation of Vedavyāsa and the cowherd boy Kusumāpīḍa. There is a descriptive statement by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura in his commentary on Śrī Caitanya-bhāgavata giving the biographical details of the life of Vṛndāvana dāsa Ṭhākura.
Bengali
তাঁর উপশাখা যত, তার অন্ত নাই ॥ ৫৬ ॥
Text
tāṅra upaśākhā yata, tāra anta nāi
Synonyms
Translation
Among all the branches of Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu, Vīrabhadra Gosāñi was the topmost. His subbranches were unlimited.
Bengali
আত্মপবিত্রতা–হেতু লিখিলাঙ কত জন ॥ ৫৭ ॥
Text
ātma-pavitratā-hetu likhilāṅ kata jana
Synonyms
Translation
No one can count the unlimited followers of Nityānanda Prabhu. I have mentioned some of them just for my self-purification.
Bengali
যারে দেখে, তারে দিয়া ভাসাইল সকলে ॥ ৫৮ ॥
Text
yāre dekhe, tāre diyā bhāsāila sakale
Synonyms
Translation
All these branches, the devotees of Lord Nityānanda Prabhu, being full of ripened fruits of love of Kṛṣṇa, distributed these fruits to all they met, flooding them with love of Kṛṣṇa.
Bengali
প্রেম দিতে, কৃষ্ণ দিতে ধরে মহাবল ॥ ৫৯ ॥
Text
prema dite, kṛṣṇa dite dhare mahābala
Synonyms
Translation
All these devotees had unlimited strength to deliver unobstructed, unceasing love of Kṛṣṇa. By their own strength they could offer anyone Kṛṣṇa and love of Kṛṣṇa.
Purport
Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has sung, kṛṣṇa se tomāra, kṛṣṇa dite pāra, tomāra śakati āche. In this song, Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura describes that a pure Vaiṣṇava, as the proprietor of Kṛṣṇa and love of Kṛṣṇa, can deliver both to anyone and everyone he likes. Therefore to get Kṛṣṇa and love of Kṛṣṇa one must seek the mercy of pure devotees. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura also says, yasya prasādād bhagavat-prasādo yasyāprasādān na gatiḥ kuto ’pi: “By the mercy of the spiritual master one is blessed by the mercy of Kṛṣṇa. Without the grace of the spiritual master one cannot make any advancement.” By the grace of a Vaiṣṇava or bona fide spiritual master one can get both love of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, and Kṛṣṇa Himself.
Bengali
যাঁহার অবধি না পায় ‘সহস্র–বদন’ ॥ ৬০ ॥
Text
yāṅhāra avadhi nā pāya ‘sahasra-vadana’
Synonyms
Translation
I have briefly described only some of the followers and devotees of Lord Nityānanda Prabhu. Even the thousand-mouthed Śeṣa Nāga cannot describe all of these unlimited devotees.
Bengali
চৈতন্যচরিতামৃত কহে কৃষ্ণদাস ॥ ৬১ ॥
Text
caitanya-caritāmṛta kahe kṛṣṇadāsa
Synonyms
Translation
With an ardent desire to serve the purpose of Śrī Rūpa and Śrī Raghunātha, I, Kṛṣṇadāsa, narrate Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, following in their footsteps.
Purport
Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports to Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā, eleventh chapter, in the matter of the expansions of Lord Nityānanda.