Nityananda Caritamrta
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sri<br />
<strong>Nityananda</strong><br />
<strong>Caritamrta</strong><br />
“All glories to Nityänanda Prabhu! Maddened by ecstatic<br />
love of Godhead, He overwhelmed the universe with<br />
ecstasy. He slapped His hands together like a warrior who<br />
is about to attack, and upon seeing this, the wicked Kali<br />
fled in terror, fearing for his life. All souls were drowned<br />
in happiness because of the dancing of Çré Nityänanda and<br />
Çré Gauräìga. Seeing such dancing or even hearing about<br />
it melts the hearts of great atheists.”<br />
(Çréla Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura, Gétävalé)
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ÇRÉ GURU-GAURÄÌGAU JAYATAÙ<br />
sri<br />
<strong>Nityananda</strong><br />
<strong>Caritamrta</strong><br />
The Nectarean Life and Pastimes of Lord Nityänanda<br />
(SECOND EDITION)<br />
compiled from the writings of<br />
Çréla Våndävana däsa Öhäkura<br />
Adapted and Published by Éçvara däsa<br />
Translated by Bhümipati däsa<br />
Second Edition Edited by Pürëaprajïa däsa
Licensed for Personal Use Only<br />
Çré Nityänanda-caritämåta (2nd Edition)<br />
Adapted and Published by Éçvara däsa<br />
Translated by Bhümipati däsa<br />
First edition edited by Deena Bandhu däsa<br />
Second edition edited by Pürëaprajïa däsa<br />
Proofread by Kåñëa-kåpä däsa<br />
Cover painting by Saccidänanda däsa<br />
Line Arts by Çatadhäma däsé<br />
Title Page Painting by Çyämapriyä däsé<br />
Layout and design by Éçvara däsa<br />
ISBN 81-87897-20-1<br />
© 2008 Éçvara däsa and Touchstone Media. No parts of<br />
this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system,<br />
photocopied or transmitted, except brief extracts for the<br />
purpose of review, without the written permission of the<br />
publisher.<br />
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Dedication<br />
This book is dedicated to Çréla Gour Govinda Svämé<br />
Mahäräja, who was a stalwart preacher of the glories of<br />
Lord Nityänanda. His contribution to the spread of love of<br />
Gaura and Govinda will forever be remembered by the devotees<br />
of Lord Caitanya.<br />
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CONTENTS<br />
Introduction 1<br />
Biographical Sketch of Çréla Våndävana däsa Öhäkura 4<br />
Maìgaläcaraëa 9<br />
ADI-LÉLÄ<br />
CHAPTER ONE<br />
The Birth and Childhood Activities of<br />
Lord Nityänanda 15<br />
CHAPTER TWO<br />
Lord Nityänanda’s Traveling to the Holy Places 21<br />
CHAPTER THREE<br />
Lord Nityänanda’s Meeting with<br />
Çrépad Mädhavendra Puré 27<br />
MADHYA-LÉLÄ<br />
CHAPTER ONE<br />
Lord Nityänanda’s Meeting with<br />
Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu 35<br />
CHAPTER TWO<br />
Lord Nityänanda’s Stay With Çréväsa and<br />
His Vyäsa-püjä Ceremony 47<br />
CHAPTER THREE<br />
Lord Nityänanda Offers Prayers to the<br />
Six-armed Form of Lord Caitanya 55<br />
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CHAPTER FOUR<br />
Çréväsa’s Love for Lord Nityänanda and<br />
the Dream of Mother Çacé 61<br />
CHAPTER FIVE<br />
Eating Pastimes of Çrémän Mahäprabhu and<br />
Lord Nityänanda 65<br />
CHAPTER SIX<br />
Nityänanda’s Pastimes at the House of Çréväsa 69<br />
CHAPTER SEVEN<br />
Çrémän Mahäprabhu Glorifies Lord Nityänanda 75<br />
CHAPTER EIGHT<br />
The Deliverance of Jagäi and Mädhäi 81<br />
CHAPTER NINE<br />
Prayers of Jagäi and Mädhäi to Lord Nityänanda and<br />
Gauräìga Mahäprabhu 99<br />
CHAPTER TEN<br />
Mädhäi’s Prayers to Nityänanda Prabhu<br />
and His Devotional Service 103<br />
CHAPTER ELEVEN<br />
Lord Gauräìga Discusses His Sannyäsa with<br />
Lord Nityänanda 109<br />
ANTYA-LÉLÄ<br />
CHAPTER ONE<br />
Lord Nityänanda and Mahäprabhu Meet<br />
the Residents of Navadvépa 115<br />
CHAPTER TWO<br />
Lord Nityänanda Breaks Mahäprabhu’s<br />
Sannyäsa-daëòa 121<br />
CHAPTER THREE<br />
Lord Nityänanda’s Darçana of Lord Jagannätha 127<br />
CHAPTER FOUR<br />
Lord Nityänanda’s Grand Bathing Ceremony at the<br />
House of Räghava Paëòita 131<br />
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CHAPTER FIVE<br />
Lord Nityänanda’s Meeting with Gadädhara Däsa 139<br />
CHAPTER SIX<br />
Lord Nityänanda’s Deliverance of the Merchants of<br />
Saptagräma and His Meeting with Advaita Äcärya 145<br />
CHAPTER SEVEN<br />
Lord Nityänanda Delivers the Thieves at the<br />
House of Hiranya Paëòita 149<br />
CHAPTER EIGHT<br />
A Brähmaëa’s Doubt About the Character of<br />
Lord Nityänanda and its Removal by Lord Caitanya 159<br />
CHAPTER NINE<br />
Lord Nityänanda’s Departure for Néläcala and<br />
His Glorification by Lord Caitanya 169<br />
CHAPTER TEN<br />
Lord Nityänanda’s Pastimes of Accepting Lunch<br />
at the House of Gadädhara Paëòita 175<br />
CHAPTER ELEVEN<br />
Lord Caitanya Instructs Nityänanda Prabhu to Marry 179<br />
CHAPTER TWELVE<br />
The Marriage of Lord Nityänanda 185<br />
CHAPTER THIRTEEN<br />
The Birth of Véracandra Prabhu and<br />
Disappearance of Lord Nityänanda 195<br />
APPENDICES<br />
Descriptions of the Associates of Lord Nityänanda 205<br />
A Song by Vrindavana dasa Thakura 210<br />
Prayers to Lord <strong>Nityananda</strong> 213<br />
Lord Nityänanda Prabhu’s Appearance Day Lecture 229<br />
Glossary 237<br />
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Introduction<br />
Sréla Narottama däsa Öhäkura has sung, hena nitäi bine<br />
bhäi rädhä kåñëa päite nai; without the mercy of Lord<br />
Nityänanda, no one can attain Çré Çré Rädhä and Kåñëa.<br />
The ultimate goal of life is the attainment of kåñëa-prema,<br />
or love for Kåñëa. This is possible only by the mercy of a<br />
sädhu-guru. Çré Nityänanda Prabhu is the sum total of all gurus<br />
(samañöi-guru). Indeed, He is guru-tattva. All individual<br />
gurus (vyañöi) are representations of Çré Nityänanda. Çréla<br />
Bhaktisiddhänta Sarasvaté Öhäkura wrote in his Harmonist<br />
magazine about the manifestation of guru as the representative<br />
of Çré Nityänanda:<br />
“The guru is the embodiment of the manifestation of the<br />
Divinity to the pure receptive spiritual essence of the disciple.<br />
Nityänanda is the primary manifestive constituent of the Divinity.<br />
Nityänanda alone possesses the distinctive function of the<br />
guru. In Nityänanda the function is embodied. Nityänanda is<br />
the servant-God. He serves Çré Gaurasundara by the distinctive<br />
method of reverential servitude. He is identical with Çré Balaräma<br />
of kåñëa-lélä. Çré Balaräma is not the chum of Kåñëa, but<br />
His respected elder brother. It is an intimate relationship characterized<br />
by becoming reserved on one side, and of respectful<br />
deference on the other. Individual souls are under the direction<br />
of Nityänanda. They receive their service of Çré Gaurasundara,<br />
i.e., of Kåñëa, at His hands. Nityänanda is not a jéva. He is Divinity.<br />
He is the ultimate source of the jéva. The jéva is a potency<br />
of Nityänanda. No jéva can be the medium of the service of the<br />
Absolute to another jéva. The Absolute alone may communicate<br />
1<br />
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ÇRÉ NITYÄNANDA CARITÄMÅTA<br />
His service to the separable constituents of Himself. This is the<br />
real nature of the function of the guru.<br />
“But Nityänanda does not directly instruct in the confidential<br />
service of Kåñëa. Çrématé Rädhikä is the guru of the<br />
inner circle of the servants of Kåñëa. Çrématé Rädhikä, however,<br />
accepts the offer of service of only those souls who are<br />
specially favored by Nityänanda and are deemed by Him to<br />
be fit for Her service. There is, therefore, a most intimate<br />
relationship between the function of Nityänanda and that<br />
of Çrématé Rädhikä, which is at once supplementary to and<br />
inclusive of the former.<br />
“But all jévas are not liable to be eclipsed by the deluding<br />
potency. Those who are so liable are again distinct from the<br />
eternally free jévas. The eternally free jévas are inseparable associates<br />
of Nityänanda. They are integrated parts and parcels<br />
of Himself. They never fall into the clutches of mäyä. When<br />
Nityänanda manifests His appearance on the mundane plane,<br />
His inseparable constituents also appear in His company. They<br />
sometimes manifest their function on this lower place in a visible<br />
form on the errands of Nityänanda. They are Vaiñëavas<br />
whose subordination to Nityänanda is natural and ingrained<br />
in their nature. It is not necessary for such souls to undergo<br />
the process of enlightenment for being restored to the spiritual<br />
plane. Unless this fact is borne in mind, the conditioned soul<br />
may be tempted to undervalue the constant guidance of the<br />
guru on the hypocritical plea of following in the footsteps of<br />
the eternally free pure devotees. Those, therefore, who suppose<br />
that deliverance from the bondage of this world should be practicable<br />
without the constant guidance of the spiritual preceptor,<br />
confound the conditioned state with the free.”<br />
There is no difference between Lord Caitanya and Lord<br />
Nityänanda. Just as Lord Kåñëa and Lord Balaräma are essentially<br />
the same and original forms of Godhead, Lord Caitanya<br />
and Lord Nityänanda, who are directly Kåñëa and Balaräma,<br />
are the same personality. Lord Kåñëa manifested Himself as the<br />
separate form of Lord Balaräma for the performance of His léläs<br />
and to benefit the jévas by showing them the path of cultivating<br />
loving service unto Himself.<br />
2<br />
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Introduction<br />
In Çré Caitanya-caritämåta, Çréla Kåñëadäsa Kaviräja Gosvämé<br />
explains that Lord Kåñëa eternally enjoys Himself in<br />
Goloka Våndävana, along with His unlimited associates. It is<br />
Lord Balaräma who is the source of all spiritual and material<br />
manifestations. All the Näräyaëa and Viñëu expansions come<br />
from Lord Balaräma. As such, Lord Balaräma is the source of all<br />
incarnations in this material world.<br />
Just as Lord Caitanya’s pastimes are even more pleasing than<br />
Kåñëa’s pastimes, Lord Nityänanda’s pastimes are even more<br />
pleasing than those of Lord Balaräma. Lord Balaräma is famous<br />
for His pastimes of chastising the miscreants, such as His killing<br />
of many demons, His determination to drag the city of Hastinäpura<br />
into the River Ganges, and His killing of Romaharñaëa<br />
Sutä. Lord Balaräma’s form as Lord Nityänanda, however, is described<br />
as akrodha paramänanda nityänanda-räya—He never<br />
becomes angry.<br />
Lord Nityänanda is the most merciful form of Lord Kåñëa,<br />
for He is the giver of kåñëa-prema-bhakti. Lord Caitanya Himself<br />
declared (Çré Nityänanda-caritämåta, Antya-khaëòa, Chapter<br />
three):<br />
“Those who develop love, affection, and respect for Çré Nityänanda,<br />
develop love and affection for Me (Lord Caitanya). All<br />
the demigods, headed by Lord Çiva and Lord Brahmä, worship<br />
Nityänanda Svärüpa. If somebody thinks ill of Çré Nityänanda,<br />
or blasphemes Him; whoever he may be, he will fall down. Even<br />
if such a person professes to be My devotee, he is not really My<br />
devotee.”<br />
Çré Nityänanda-caritämåta is an authentic Vaiñëava literature<br />
compiled from the writings of Vedavyäsa Çréla Våndävana<br />
däsa Öhäkura. This book describes the transcendental glories<br />
of Lord Nityänanda. The birth of Nityänanda, His childhood<br />
pastimes, His leaving home, His travelling to holy places, His<br />
arrival at Navadvépa and meeting with Lord Caitanya, His<br />
preaching of the chanting of the holy names of the Lord by<br />
the order of Lord Gauräìga, His pastimes with Çré Caitanya<br />
Mahäprabhu at Nadia, His presence at the Lord’s pastime of accepting<br />
sannyäsa, His accompanying the Lord to Néläcala, His<br />
return to Navadvépa by the order of the Lord, His marriage,<br />
3<br />
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ÇRÉ NITYÄNANDA CARITÄMÅTA<br />
His distribution of love of God, and His disappearance from<br />
this world are elaborately and properly described in this book.<br />
Çréla Våndävana däsa Öhäkura is forever remembered in<br />
the communities of Vaiñëavas for his wonderful literary work,<br />
Çré Caitanya-bhägavata. The glories of Çré Caitanya-bhägavata<br />
were nicely described by Çréla Kåñëadäsa Kaviräja Gosvämé in<br />
his book Çré Caitanya-caritämåta as follows:<br />
manuñye racite näre aiche grantha dhanya<br />
våndävana-däsa-mukhe vaktä çré-caitanya<br />
“No human being can compose such a book. Actually,<br />
Lord Caitanya Mahäprabhu speaks through the<br />
mouth of Çréla Våndävana däsa Öhäkura.”<br />
(Çré Caitanya-caritämåta Ädi-léla 8:39)<br />
Çré Caitanya-bhägavata is a biography of Çré Caitanya<br />
Mahäprabhu written in the Bengali language that was compiled<br />
before Çré Caitanya-caritämåta. Following in the footsteps of the<br />
statements of Çré Caitanya-bhägavata, other books, such as Çré<br />
Caitanya-caritämåta, were compiled. Çré Nityänanda-caritämåta<br />
has been compiled from the statements of Çré Caitanya-bhägavata<br />
about Lord Nityänanda and additional pastimes have<br />
been added. These include the affection of Häòäi Paëòita for<br />
Lord Nityänanda, the marriage of Vasudhä and Jahnavä with<br />
Lord Nityänanda, and the disappearance of Lord Nityänanda.<br />
For this reason, Çré Nityänanda-caritämåta is very similar to Çré<br />
Caitanya-bhägavata. It is hoped that this book narrating the pastimes<br />
of Lord Nityänanda will serve as a great inspiration for<br />
Vaiñëavas worldwide.<br />
A Short Biographical Sketch of<br />
Çréla Våndävana Däsa Öhäkura<br />
Çréväsa Paëòita, an intimate associate of Çré Caitanya<br />
Mahäprabhu, had an elder brother named Nalina Paëòita. His<br />
daughter, Çré Näräyaëé-devé, was the mother of Çréla Våndävana<br />
4<br />
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Introduction<br />
däsa Öhäkura. Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu advented in this world<br />
to distribute love of God. He inaugurated His pastimes of distribution<br />
of love of God by first giving prema to four-year-old<br />
Näräyaëé-devé. The Lord gave Näräyaëé-devé remnants of His<br />
chewed betel nuts and thus empowered her. Later on, because of<br />
Lord Caitanya’s favor, Çréla Våndävana däsa Öhäkura was born<br />
as her son. Çré Näräyaëé-devé personally witnessed the pastimes<br />
of Lord Gauräìga. Whatever Çréla Våndävana däsa Öhäkura<br />
heard from his mother, and whatever he later found in Muräri<br />
Gupta’s diary, which recorded the transcendental pastimes of<br />
Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu, he wrote in Çré Caitanya-bhägavata.<br />
Çréla Våndävana däsa Öhäkura was a direct disciple of Lord<br />
Nityänanda and His associate in various pastimes. This book,<br />
Nityänanda-caritämåta, was compiled from his writings.<br />
There is no direct evidence that Çréla Våndävana däsa<br />
Öhäkura ever met Lord Gauräìga Mahäprabhu, but he was born<br />
as the Lord’s manifested pastimes were in progress. The book Çré<br />
Prema-viläsa describes his birth and family as follows:<br />
“There was a brähmaëa named Vaikuëöha däsa who lived<br />
in the village of Kumärahaööa. Çré Näräyaëé-devé was married<br />
to him. From the womb of Näräyaëé-devé, Çréla Våndävana däsa<br />
Öhäkura, the incarnation of Çréla Vyäsadeva, was born. When<br />
Çréla Våndävana däsa Öhäkura was within the womb of his<br />
mother, his father, Vaikuëöha däsa, left this world and went to<br />
the spiritual world. When Çréväsa Paëòita saw that his niece<br />
was pregnant and a widow, he brought her to his home.<br />
Thereafter, when Çréla Våndävana däsa Öhäkura was five<br />
years old, he lived with his mother at Mämagäcchi. Väsudeva<br />
Datta, a celebrated recipient of Lord Caitanya’s mercy, took<br />
responsibility for the maintenance of Çréla Våndävana däsa<br />
Öhäkura and his mother. At the house of Väsudeva Datta, Çréla<br />
Våndävana däsa Öhäkura grew up and studied various scriptures.<br />
After the disappearance of Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu, Çré<br />
Nityänanda Prabhu, and Çré Advaita Prabhu, Çréla Våndävana<br />
däsa Öhäkura resided at a village called Denuòa.”<br />
Regarding the eternal identity of Çréla Våndävana däsa<br />
Öhäkura, Çréla Kavi Karëapüra wrote (Çré Gaura-gaëoddeçadépikä.<br />
verse 109):<br />
5<br />
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ÇRÉ NITYÄNANDA CARITÄMÅTA<br />
vedavyäso ya eväsiddäso våndävanodhunä<br />
sakha yaù kusumäpiòa karyatstaà samävisat<br />
“The combined form of Vedavyäsa, the son of Satyavaté,<br />
and Kusumäpiòa, a cowherd boy in Vraja, is<br />
Çréla Våndävana däsa Öhäkura.”<br />
Çréla Våndävana däsa Öhäkura spent some time at<br />
Mämagächi and then went to Denuòa, where he compiled Çré<br />
Caitanya-bhägavata. By the causeless mercy of Lord Nityänanda,<br />
the storekeeper of Lord Gauräìga’s love, we hope we will be<br />
successful in our attempt to glorify Him. May Lord Nityänanda<br />
destroy all our obstacles and help us spread the understanding<br />
of His transcendental qualities and glories, and those of His associates.<br />
This is our heartfelt desire.<br />
We conclude this life sketch of Çréla Våndävana däsa Öhäkura<br />
by singing the following songs composed by the Öhäkura<br />
himself.<br />
antare nitäi bähire nitäi nitäi jagatamaya<br />
nägara nitäi nägari nitäi kathä ye kaya<br />
sädhana nitäi bhajana nitäi nitäi nayana tärä<br />
daçadika maya nitäi sundara nitäi bhuvana bharä<br />
rädhära mädhuri anaìga maïjaré nitäi nitu se seve<br />
koöi çaçadhara vadana sundara sakhä sakhé baladeve<br />
rädhära bhagini çyämasohäginé sava sakhégaëa präëa<br />
jäìhära läbari mandapa säjani çré maëi mandira näma<br />
nitäi sundara yogapéöha dhare ratna siàhäsana seje<br />
basana nitäi bhuñana nitäi vilase sakhéra mäjhe<br />
ki kahiba ära nitäi sabära aìkhi mukha sava aìga<br />
nitäi nitäi nitäi nitäi nitäi nutara raìga<br />
nitäi baliyä dubahu tuliyä caliba vrajera pure<br />
däsa våndävana ei nivedana nitäi nä chäòo more<br />
“Nitäi is within and without. He is everywhere<br />
within this world. He is the lover and He is the sweetheart.<br />
Everyone says this. Nitäi is my regulative principles,<br />
my object of worship, and the light of my eyes.<br />
6<br />
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Introduction<br />
Nitäi is in all ten directions. In fact, He fills all the<br />
three worlds. Nitäi as Anaìga-maïjaré eternally serves<br />
Çrématé Rädhikä. He is non-different from Baladeva,<br />
whose beautiful face resembles millions of moons, and<br />
who is surrounded by sakhäs and sakhés. The sister of<br />
Rädhäräëé, Anaìga-maïjaré, is very dear to Çré Çyäma,<br />
and she is the life and soul of all the sakhés. She decorates<br />
the arena of the temple named Maëi-mandira. Nitäi sustains<br />
the yogapéöha and becomes a throne for the Lord<br />
to rest on. Nitäi also becomes the Lord’s garments and<br />
ornaments. He enjoys pastimes with the sakhés. What<br />
more can I say? Nitäi is the eyes, mouth, and limbs of<br />
everyone. Nitäi, Nitäi, Nitäi, Nitäi; I see only Nitäi<br />
dancing. Raising my hands and chanting Nitäi, I will go<br />
to Vraja. I, Våndävana däsa, only request Nitäi that He<br />
kindly never leaves me.”<br />
Éçvara däsa<br />
This revised edition completed in January 2008,<br />
Çrédhäma Mäyäpura, India.<br />
7<br />
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Maìgaläcaraëa<br />
äjänu-lambita-bhujau kanakävadätau<br />
sankértanaika-pitarau kamaläyatäksau<br />
viçvambharau dvija-varau yuga-dharma-pälau<br />
vande jagat priya-karau karuëävatärau<br />
offer my respectful obeisances unto Çré Caitanya<br />
I Mahäprabhu and Çré Nityänanda Prabhu, whose<br />
long arms extend to Their knees. They have splendid<br />
golden complexions, and They inaugurated the congregational<br />
chanting of the holy names of the Lord. Their<br />
eyes resemble the petals of lotus flowers. They are the<br />
maintainers of all the worlds, the best of the brähmaëas,<br />
and the protectors of the religious principles for this<br />
age. They bring happiness to the people of the world<br />
and are the most merciful of all incarnations.<br />
namas trikala satyäya jagannätha sutäya ca<br />
sa-bhåtyäya sa-puträya sa-kalaträya te namaù<br />
O my Lord! You eternally exist in the past, present,<br />
future, yet You are the son of Jagannätha Miçra. I offer<br />
my repeated obeisances unto You, along with Your<br />
servants, Your sons, and Your consorts.<br />
Note: In this verse, servants refers to His associates. Sons refers<br />
to His gosvämé disciples, or the different forms of bhakti, such as the<br />
chanting of the holy name. Consorts can refer to Viñëupriyä as<br />
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ÇRÉ NITYÄNANDA CARITÄMÅTA<br />
Bhü-çakti, Lakñmépriyä as Çré-çakté, and Navadvépa as Nélä, Lélä,<br />
or Durga. It can also refer to His very dear associates; Narahari,<br />
Rämänanda, Jagadänanda and others, and the two Gadädharas;<br />
Gadädhara Paëòita and Gadädhara Bhaööa.<br />
Muräri Gupta 1 writes in his kaòacä:<br />
avatirnau sa-karunyau paricchinnau sad éçvara<br />
çré kåñëa caitanya-nityänandau dvau bhratau bhaje<br />
I worship the two brothers, Çré Kåñëa Caitanya and<br />
Çré Nityänanda, who have descended into this world as<br />
the supreme controllers. Concealing Their true forms,<br />
They have mercifully descended to this world.<br />
sa jayati visuddha-vikramaù kanakäbhaù kamaläyatekñnaù<br />
vara-jänu-vilambi-sad-bhujo bahudhä bhakti-rasäbhinartakaù<br />
All glories to Çré Gaurasundara, whose powerful<br />
activities are supremely pure, whose bodily complexion<br />
is like molten gold, whose eyes are like lotus petals,<br />
whose six beautiful arms extend to His knees, and<br />
whose heart is flooded with loving devotional bliss as<br />
He enjoys dancing in various ways in kértana.<br />
1 Muräri Gupta appeared in a vaidya (physician) family at the<br />
village of Çré Haööa. Later he came to live in Navadvépa. He was a<br />
great devotee of Lord Rämacandra and is considered to be an incarnation<br />
of Hanumän, the foremost devotee of Lord Rämacandra. He was<br />
greatly learned in the medical science. Çré Gauräìgadeva disclosed<br />
the glories of Muräri Gupta on the pretext of enjoying His pastimes.<br />
After hearing the glorification of Çré Räma from his mouth, the Lord<br />
wrote the name “Rämadäsa” on his forehead. Muräri Gupta composed<br />
the pastimes of Çré Gauräìga in Sanskrit, in the form of verses known<br />
as the kaòacä of Muräri Gupta. This is the original Sanskrit literature<br />
describing the pastimes of Lord Caitanya. He composed this kaòacä<br />
in the month of July in the year 1435 Çaka era.<br />
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Maìgaläcaraëa<br />
jayati jayati devaù kåñëa-caitanya-candro<br />
jayati jayati kértis tasya nityä paviträ<br />
jayati jayati bhåtyäs tasya viçveça-mürter<br />
jayati jayati nåtyaà tasya sarva-priyäëäm<br />
All glories to the Supreme Personality of Godhead,<br />
Çré Kåñëa Caitanyacandra! All glories to His eternally<br />
pure fame! All glories to the servants of the great master<br />
of the worlds! All glories to the dancing of His beloved<br />
associates!<br />
First I offer my unlimited obeisances to the feet of the loving<br />
confidential devotees of Lord Caitanya Mahäprabhu. I then<br />
offer my obeisances to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Çré<br />
Kåñëa Caitanya. He incarnated in Navadvépa and is known as<br />
Viçvambhara. That same Supreme Personality of Godhead has<br />
declared in the Vedas and in the Çrémad-Bhägavatam:<br />
ädaraù paricaryäyäà sarväìgair abhivandanam<br />
mad-bhakta-püjäbhyadhikä sarva-bhüteñu man-matiù<br />
“Great respect for My devotional service, offering<br />
obeisances with the entire body, worshipping My devotees<br />
more than Me, consciousness of Me in all living<br />
entities.”<br />
I therefore offered my prayers first to the devotees, as this<br />
is the secret for attaining perfection. I now offer my respectful<br />
obeisances unto my worshipable Lord, Çré Nityänanda Räya.<br />
By His mercy, the glories of Lord Caitanya became manifest.<br />
I offer my respectful obeisances unto the thousand-headed<br />
Lord Balaräma. His thousands of mouths are the abode of Lord<br />
Kåñëa’s transcendental glories. As valuable jewels are kept in a<br />
favorite place, so the jewel-like glories of Lord Kåñëa are kept in<br />
the jewellery case of Lord Ananta’s mouths.<br />
I thus offer my prayers to Lord Balaräma so that the glories<br />
of Lord Caitanya Mahäprabhu will manifest from my mouth.<br />
Lord Balaräma is thousand-headed Lord Ananta and all His activities<br />
are extraordinary. The Supreme Lord, Balaräma, carries<br />
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ÇRÉ NITYÄNANDA CARITÄMÅTA<br />
a plough and possesses a gigantic body. Although exceptionally<br />
grave, He is intoxicated by the glories of Lord Caitanya.<br />
There is no one dearer to Lord Caitanya than Lord Nityänanda.<br />
Therefore, Lord Caitanya eternally enjoys pastimes with Him.<br />
Çré Kåñëa Caitanya becomes most satisfied with one who hears<br />
or chants the glories of Lord Nityänanda. I have thus described<br />
a portion of Lord Ananta’s glories. Please, therefore, develop attachment<br />
for Lord Nityänanda.<br />
Those who wish to cross the ocean of material existence<br />
and drown in the ocean of devotional service should worship<br />
Lord Nityänanda. My only desire at the feet of the Vaiñëavas is<br />
that I may worship the lotus feet of Lord Balaräma, birth after<br />
birth. Just as dvija, vipra, and brähmaëa are different names of<br />
the same person, so Nityänanda, Ananta, and Baladeva are different<br />
names of the same Lord. Therefore, Çré Ananta is the<br />
embodiment of Lord Caitanya’s glories. I have thus described a<br />
fragment of the glories of Lord Ananta. Hearing the pastimes of<br />
Çré Nityänanda brings all auspiciousness. Know for certain that<br />
they are revealed only by the mercy of the devotees.<br />
Who can understand the pastimes of Lord Nityänanda?<br />
They are confidential even to the Vedas. I write only what I<br />
have heard from the devotees. I find no beginning or end to<br />
the pastimes of Lord Nityänanda. I write whatever He inspires<br />
me to write. Just as a puppet dances only by the control of the<br />
puppeteer, whatever I describe is simply by the direction of Lord<br />
Nityänanda. Let me offer my respectful obeisances at the feet of<br />
the Vaiñëavas, so that I may not commit any offences to them.<br />
My dear brothers, please hear with rapt attention the narrations<br />
of the pastimes that Lord Nityänanda performs with<br />
His devotees. The pastimes of Lord Nityänanda are the abode<br />
of all happiness. These pastimes are divided into three parts;<br />
Ädi-khaëòa, Madhya-khaëòa and Antya-khaëòa. O Lord Gauracandra,<br />
please give me shelter at the lotus feet of Lord Nityänanda<br />
Prabhu, who sustains the universes as Ananta Çeña. O<br />
dear brothers, please hear attentively the topics of Ädi-khaëòa<br />
that describe the appearance of Lord Nityänanda.<br />
Accepting Çré Caitanya and Çré Nityänanda as my life and<br />
soul, I, Våndävana däsa, sing the glories of Their lotus feet.<br />
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CHAPTER ONE<br />
The Birth and Childhood Activities of<br />
Lord Nityänanda<br />
All glories to Çré Kåñëa Caitanya, the ocean of mercy!<br />
All glories to Lord Nityänanda, the friend of the fallen<br />
souls! All glories to Çré Advaita Äcärya, whose life and soul are<br />
Çré Caitanya and Çré Nityänanda! All glories to Çréväsa and<br />
Gadädhara Prabhus! All glories to Çré Viçvambhara, the beloved<br />
son of Jagannätha and Çacé! All glories to all the devotees and<br />
associates of the Lord!<br />
There is a village called Ekacakra in Räòha-deça in West<br />
Bengal, where the Supreme Lord, Nityänanda, appeared. From<br />
the day of His appearance, the whole of Räòha-deça became<br />
all-auspicious. Famine, poverty, and other distresses at once disappeared.<br />
A short distance from Ekacakra, the Deity of Maureçvara<br />
is located. Lord Nityänanda, who is non-different from<br />
Lord Balaräma, had worshipped this Deity. In the village of<br />
Ekacakra lived Häòäi Paëòita. He was a qualified brähmaëa,<br />
very detached, and full of compassion. His wife’s name was Pad-<br />
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ÇRÉ NITYÄNANDA CARITÄMÅTA<br />
mavaté, who was a very chaste woman and exalted devotee. She<br />
was the mother of the universe. Both Häòäi Paëòita and Padmavaté-devé<br />
were very magnanimous. Lord Nityänanda appeared<br />
in their family out of His own sweet will.<br />
On the auspicious thirteenth day of the waxing moon in the<br />
month of Mägha (January-February), Lord Nityänanda made<br />
His appearance. He was the eldest among the sons of Häòäi<br />
Paëòita. Seeing His all-auspicious characteristics, everyone’s<br />
eyes filled with joy. In due course of time, Lord Nityänanda<br />
grew. Due to the influence of His illusory energy, however, no<br />
one could recognize Him. He concealed His real identity and<br />
happily played with His boyhood friends. Whatever pastimes<br />
He enjoyed with His childhood friends were related to the pastimes<br />
of Lord Kåñëa.<br />
Once, He and His friends formed an assembly of demigods,<br />
and one of them acted as mother earth praying for their mercy.<br />
The demigods then led mother earth to the riverbank, where<br />
all the children began offering prayers. One boy, hiding from<br />
the rest, loudly declared, “I will soon take birth in Mathurä,<br />
Gokula.”<br />
One night, the Lord and His friends enacted the marriage of<br />
Vasudeva and Devaké. Another night, while everyone else was<br />
asleep, they made a jail cell and enacted the birth of Lord Kåñëa.<br />
They made a place represent Gokula. Taking baby Kåñëa there,<br />
He was exchanged with Mahämäyä, thus tricking Kaàsa. Another<br />
time, they dressed someone as Pütanä. Someone climbed<br />
on her chest to suck her breast. One day, Lord Nityänanda and<br />
His friends made a çakaöa, or handcart, out of reeds and then<br />
broke it. Another day, the Lord and His friends stole from the<br />
houses of the neighboring cowherd men.<br />
The boys never left Nityänanda to go home, but sported<br />
with Him, day and night. The children’s parents never complained;<br />
rather they affectionately embraced Nityänanda. They<br />
said, “We’ve never seen such transcendental sports. How does<br />
this child know so many of Kåñëa’s pastimes?”<br />
One day the Lord made snakes out of leaves and took His<br />
friends to the water. One of them jumped into the water and<br />
did not move. Later, the Lord brought him back to conscious-<br />
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Birth and Childhood Activities of Lord Nityänanda<br />
ness. Another day, the Lord and His friends went to Tälavana,<br />
where they killed Dhenukäsura and then ate täla fruit. Lord<br />
Nityänanda and his childhood friends went to the fields and<br />
enjoyed various pastimes, such as the killing of Bakäsura,<br />
Aghäsura, and Vatsäsura. In the afternoon, the Lord and His<br />
friends returned home, blowing their buffalo horns.<br />
One day they enjoyed the pastime of lifting Govardhana<br />
Hill, and another day they created a Våndävana, where they<br />
enjoyed various sports. Once, they enacted Kåñëa’s pastime of<br />
stealing the gopés’ clothes, and another day they enacted His<br />
meeting the wives of the brähmaëas performing sacrifices. On<br />
one occasion, a boy dressed up with a false beard as Närada and<br />
gave Kaàsa some secret news. Another day, a boy dressed as<br />
Akrüra and took Kåñëa and Balaräma to Kaàsa’s capital. As<br />
Lord Nityänanda cried in the mood of the gopés, it seemed to<br />
His friends that a river flowed from His eyes. By the influence<br />
of Lord Viñëu’s illusory energy, no one could recognize Lord<br />
Nityänanda as He enjoyed pastimes with His friends.<br />
The children arranged a city of Mathurä and then wandered<br />
through its streets. Someone played the role of a gardener,<br />
while another accepted a flower garland from him. Someone<br />
dressed as Kubjä and someone else accepted sandalwood paste<br />
from her. They made a large bow and shouted with joy when it<br />
was broken. They also enacted the pastimes of killing the elephant,<br />
Kuvalayäpéòa, and the wrestlers, Cäëüra and Muñöika.<br />
Thereafter the Lord chastised Kaàsa by grabbing him by the<br />
hair and throwing him upon the ground. After killing Kaàsa,<br />
the Lord danced with His friends in such a way that everyone<br />
watching Him began to laugh. In this way, Lord Nityänanda<br />
and His friends imitated the pastimes of various incarnations.<br />
One day, Lord Nityänanda dressed as Vämana and went<br />
to cheat Bali Mahäräja out of his kingdom, which covered the<br />
three worlds. Someone playing an aged Çukräcärya forbade Bali<br />
to give the three steps of land requested by Lord Vämana. Accepting<br />
the gift, the Lord placed His last step on Bali’s head.<br />
One day, Lord Nityänanda enacted the pastime of building a<br />
bridge across the ocean with the boys playing the role of monkeys.<br />
They cut castor plants and made a bridge across the water. Then<br />
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ÇRÉ NITYÄNANDA CARITÄMÅTA<br />
all the boys shouted, “Jaya Raghunätha!” Nityänanda Prabhu,<br />
taking the role of Lakñmaëa with a bow in His hand, went in anger<br />
to rebuke Sugréva. He said,“O king of the monkeys, My Lord<br />
is in distress. Come quickly or I will kill you! How can you sit here<br />
enjoying with women while Lord Rämacandra is lamenting on<br />
Mälyavän Mountain?”<br />
Another day, Nityänanda spoke in anger to Paraçuräma, “O<br />
brähmaëa, I’m not at fault. Leave here at once.”<br />
Lord Nityänanda was thus absorbed in the mood of Lakñmaëa.<br />
The boys, unable to understand this, thought it was just<br />
a game. Another time, the boys took the role of five monkeys<br />
and the Lord took the role of Lakñmaëa. He asked, “Who are<br />
you monkeys, wandering in the forest? I am the servant of Lord<br />
Rämacandra. Please tell me who you are!”<br />
The boys replied: “We are wandering in fear of Bali. Please<br />
take us to Lord Rämacandra. We wish to take the dust of His<br />
lotus feet.”<br />
Nityänanda, in the role of Laksmana, embraced them and<br />
led them to Lord Rämacandra, where they all fell at His lotus<br />
feet.<br />
Once, the Lord enacted the pastime of killing Indrajit, the<br />
son of Rävaëa. Another day, in the mood of Lakñmaëa, He accepted<br />
defeat. They brought someone in the role of Vibhéñaëa<br />
before Lord Rämacandra, and Lord Räma crowned him as the<br />
King of Laìkä.<br />
One boy said, “I am mighty Rävaëa. Now I’ll release the<br />
çakti-çela weapon. Stop it if You can, Lakñmaëa!”<br />
Saying this, the boy threw a lotus flower at Lord Nityänanda,<br />
who in the mood of Lakñmaëa fell to the ground. After He fell<br />
unconscious, all the boys tried in vain to revive Him. When<br />
they found no symptom of life in the body of Lord Nityänanda,<br />
they all held their heads and cried. The Lord’s father and mother<br />
came running there and saw their son without a sign of life. They<br />
too fell senseless to the ground. Everyone who saw this tragedy<br />
was struck with wonder. As the boys described the entire incident,<br />
one person said, “I know why He’s unconscious. There’s a<br />
boy who is dressed as Hanumän. If he gives Nityänanda medicine,<br />
then He’ll be cured.”<br />
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Birth and Childhood Activities of Lord Nityänanda<br />
Before the play, the Lord had instructed His friends, “When<br />
I fall unconscious, you all surround Me and cry. After a while,<br />
send Hanumän for some medicine. I will be revived when he<br />
puts the medicine to My nose.”<br />
The Lord fell unconscious by His own sweet will, but this<br />
bewildered all the boys. Since everyone there was confused,<br />
they forgot the Lord’s instructions. They simply cried loudly, “O<br />
brother, please get up!”<br />
Hearing the people’s comments, the boys remembered Lord<br />
Nityänanda’s order and the boy dressed as Hanumän immediately<br />
went for the medicine. Another boy who was dressed as a<br />
renunciate welcomed Hanumän with fruits and roots. He said to<br />
Hanumän, “My dear sir, please stay and grace my äçrama. It’s a<br />
wonderful fortune to meet such a person as you.”<br />
“I must go and complete my important mission.” Hanumän<br />
replied. “I’d like to stay, but I cannot delay. You must have heard<br />
that Lakñmaëa, the younger brother of Lord Rämacandra, is<br />
unconscious from the çakti-çela weapon of Rävaëa. I’m on my<br />
way to Gandhamädana Hill to bring medicine. Only then He’ll<br />
survive.”<br />
The renunciate then said: “If you must go, first take a bath<br />
and have something to eat.”<br />
The two boys repeated whatever Lord Nityänanda had instructed<br />
them. Everyone gazed at them in astonishment as they<br />
listened to their dialogue. On the request of the renunciate,<br />
Hanumän went to take a bath in the lake where another boy<br />
grabbed hold of his feet. The boy playing a crocodile tried to pull<br />
Hanumän into the water, but Hanumän pulled the boy onto the<br />
shore. After a short fight, Hanumän defeated the crocodile. On<br />
returning to the renunciate’s äçrama, Hanumän saw a mighty<br />
warrior. A boy dressed as a Räkñasa tried to swallow Hanumän.<br />
He challenged,<br />
“You defeated the crocodile, but how will you defeat me? I<br />
will eat you. Then how will you revive Lakñmaëa?”<br />
Hanumän replied: “Your Rävaëa’s a dog! I think him most<br />
insignificant. Get out of my way.”<br />
After first exchanging some harsh words, Hanumän and<br />
the Räkñasa began pulling each other’s hair. Finally, they be-<br />
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ÇRÉ NITYÄNANDA CARITÄMÅTA<br />
gan striking each other with their fists. After swiftly defeating<br />
the demon, Hanumän went to Gandhamädana Hill. There he<br />
fought with some boys dressed as Gandharvas. After defeating<br />
the Gandharvas, Hanumän took Gandhamädana Hill on his<br />
head to Laìkä. Another boy playing a doctor meditated on Lord<br />
Räma as he held the medicine to Lakñmaëa’s nose. At that very<br />
moment, Lord Nityänanda came to His senses. His parents and<br />
others smiled in relief. Häòäi Paëòita embraced his son and all<br />
the boys were overjoyed.<br />
Everyone asked, “Dear son, where have You learned all<br />
these plays?”<br />
“These are all My pastimes,” The Lord smilingly said.<br />
In His early childhood, the Lord was most attractive. No one<br />
wanted Him to leave his lap. Everyone had more affection for<br />
Lord Nityänanda than for his own son, but none could recognize<br />
Him due to the influence of Lord Viñëu’s illusory energy.<br />
In His childhood, Lord Nityänanda had no other happiness<br />
than enjoying the pastimes of Lord Kåñëa. All His friends left<br />
their parents to constantly sport in the company of the Lord. I<br />
offer repeated obeisances at the feet of those boys who enjoyed<br />
the association of Lord Nityänanda. From His childhood, Lord<br />
Nityänanda had no interest other than enacting the pastimes<br />
of Lord Kåñëa. Who can describe the pastimes of Lord Ananta?<br />
They are only manifest to one who has received His mercy.<br />
Accepting Çré Caitanya and Çré Nityänanda Prabhu as my<br />
life and soul, I, Våndävana däsa, sing the glories of Their lotus<br />
feet.<br />
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CHAPTER TWO<br />
Lord Nityänanda’s Traveling to the Holy Places<br />
Lord Nityänanda enjoyed His pastimes at the house of<br />
Häòäi Paëòita for some time. Then, He decided to leave<br />
home. However, from fear of separation, His mother and father<br />
were unable to allow Him to leave. If His mother Padmavaté did<br />
not see Him for a moment, she felt this as more than a yuga. His<br />
father felt the same. Fearful of His leaving, Häòäi Paëòita never<br />
went anywhere. Whether he went to the field for farming, or<br />
to the temple, or the market, or anywhere else, Häòäi Paëòita<br />
repeatedly looked back at Lord Nityänanda, so that He might<br />
not leave home. Häòäi Paëòita embraced Lord Nityänanda<br />
again and again, and the Lord’s butter-soft body merged in<br />
His father’s. Häòäi went everywhere with Lord Nityänanda.<br />
Häòäi Paëòita’s life and soul was Lord Nityänanda and Lord<br />
Nityänanda’s body was Häòäi Paëòita’s. Lord Nityänanda is the<br />
indwelling Supersoul of everyone. Knowing all this, He tried to<br />
give pleasure to His father.<br />
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One day, by providence, a very attractive sannyäsé came<br />
to Häòäi Paëòita’s house. Knowing the etiquette for receiving<br />
guests, Häòäi Paëòita welcomed the sannyäsé and happily fed<br />
him. Lord Nityänanda and His father spent the whole night<br />
discussing topics of Lord Kåñëa with the sannyäsé. In the early<br />
morning, the sannyäsé was about to leave. He then spoke to<br />
Häòäi Paëòita: “I would like to request something from you.”<br />
“Please tell me whatever it is that you desire,” replied Häòäi<br />
Paëòita.<br />
“I wish to travel to the holy places,” the sannyäsés said, “but<br />
I don’t have a good brähmaëa companion. Will you please give<br />
me your eldest son for a few days? I’ll take good care of Him,<br />
treating Him as being dearer than my own life, and at the same<br />
time, He’ll be able to visit all the holy places.”<br />
Hearing the words of the sannyäsé, pure-hearted Häòäi<br />
Paëòita felt intense distress. He thought, “This sannyäsé has<br />
begged for my very life. At the same time, if I refuse his request,<br />
I’ll be ruined. It is a well known fact that in the past many pious<br />
men became glorious by offering their lives to satisfy mendicant<br />
sannyäsés. Lord Rämacandra was the life and soul of King<br />
Daçaratha. The holy sage Viçvämitra asked Daçaratha to give<br />
him his son. The Puräëas say that although King Daçaratha<br />
was unable to live without Lord Rämacandra, he still offered<br />
Him to the sage. Today, the same thing has happened to me. O<br />
Kåñëa, please protect me from this dilemma. The same situation<br />
is here, so why should I not have the same mind as Daçaratha?<br />
Lakñmaëa has now appeared in my family as Nityänanda.”<br />
Thinking like this, the brähmaëa, Häòäi Paëòita, went before<br />
his wife and explained the situation to her in detail. Hearing<br />
of the dilemma from her husband, the chaste Padmavaté,<br />
the mother of the universe, said, “My lord, do what you think is<br />
best. That is my opinion.”<br />
Häòäi Paëòita then came before the sannyäsé and, with<br />
his head bent down, offered him his son. Taking Nityänanda<br />
with him, the sannyäsé dep a r te d . I n t h i s w ay, L ord Nit y ä-<br />
nanda left home. As soon as Lord Nityänanda left home,<br />
Häòäi Paëòita fell senseless to the ground. Who can describe<br />
the lamentation and crying of Haòai Paëòita? Even wood and<br />
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Lord Nityänanda’s Traveling to the Holy Places<br />
stone melted hearing his lamentation. Häòäi became stunned<br />
due to his absorption in devotional mellows and people began<br />
to say that he had become a madman. He did not eat<br />
any grain for three months. He survived only by the mercy of<br />
Lord Kåñëa.<br />
It is natural that, due to attachment, both the Lord and<br />
His servants are unable to leave one another. This is the inconceivable<br />
nature of the Lord and the Vaiñëavas. Lord Kapila<br />
manifested indifference and left His widowed mother Devahüti.<br />
Çukadeva Gosvämé left his Vaiñëava father, Çréla Vyäsadeva,<br />
without even looking back. Lord Caitanya, the crest-jewel among<br />
sannyäsés, left home, leaving His mother Çacé-devé alone. From<br />
the spiritual point of view, such leaving is never actual leaving.<br />
Some intelligent persons will understand this.<br />
All these pastimes are performed for the deliverance of<br />
the fallen souls. Hearing of such pastimes melts even stones. If<br />
even a Muslim hears of such pastimes, as the lamentation of<br />
Lord Rämacandra when He lost Sétä, he will certainly cry. Lord<br />
Nityänanda Prabhu left home, wandering to the holy places by His<br />
own sweet will and ecstasy. The Lord first went to Vakreçvara,<br />
and then He went alone to Vaidyanätha. From Vaidyanätha, he<br />
went to Gayä and then to Käçé, the abode of Lord Çiva where<br />
the Ganges flows towards the north.<br />
Lord Nityänanda was extremely pleased to see the Ganges.<br />
He took bath and drank some water, yet this could not relieve<br />
His grief. In the month of Mägha (January), the Lord took early<br />
morning baths at Prayäga. Then He went to Mathurä, His former<br />
birthplace. Lord Nityänanda sported in the waters of the<br />
River Yamunä at Viçräma-ghäöa. Then He went with great curiosity<br />
to see Govardhana Hill. He visited each of the twelve<br />
forests, beginning with Våndävana. When He saw the house<br />
and courtyard of Nanda Mahäräja at Gokula, He sat down and<br />
cried profusely.<br />
After offering His obeisances to Madana-Gopäla, Lord<br />
Nityänanda left for Hastinäpura, the abode of the Päëòavas.<br />
Seeing the Päëòavas’ home, He began to cry. The local people,<br />
due to lack of devotion, were unable to understand the Lord’s<br />
sentiments. Remembering Lord Balaräma’s glorious activities in<br />
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ÇRÉ NITYÄNANDA CARITÄMÅTA<br />
Hastinäpura, He called out, “O Haladhara, please save Me!” and<br />
then offered obeisances.<br />
<strong>Nityananda</strong> Prabhu then went to Dvärakä, where He joyfully<br />
took bath in the ocean. He next went to Siddhapura, the<br />
place of Lord Kapila. Then He went to Matsya-tértha, where<br />
He served prasäda at a festival. He then visited Çiva-käïci and<br />
neighboring Viñëukäïci. He smiled when He saw the followers<br />
of Lord Viñëu and Lord Çiva quarreling with each other.<br />
He also visited Kurukñetra, Påthüdaka, Bindu-sarovara,<br />
Prabhäsa, and Sudarçana-tértha. He then visited the exalted<br />
holy place called Trita-küpa. He went to Viçäla, Brahma-tértha,<br />
and Cakra-tértha. The Lord visited Pratisrotä, where the Sarasvaté<br />
River flows in the opposite direction. The most magnanimous<br />
Lord Nityänanda then went to Naimiñäraëya. He next<br />
visited the city of Ayodhyä, where He cried upon seeing the<br />
birthplace of Lord Räma.<br />
From Ayodhya, He proceeded to Caëòäla-Guhaka’s kingdom,<br />
where He fell unconscious. By remembering the activities<br />
of Caëòäla-Guhaka, Lord Nityänanda remained in an ecstatic<br />
trance for three days. Seeing the forest where Lord Rämacandra<br />
had resided, He rolled on the ground in separation. He then<br />
went to both the Sarayü and Kauçiké rivers and took bath. He<br />
saw the äçrama of Pulastya Åñi and next took bath in the Gomaté,<br />
Gaëòaké, and Çoëa rivers. He also climbed to the top of<br />
Mahendra Mountain. There He offered obeisances to Lord Paraçuräma.<br />
He then visited Haridvära, the source of the Ganges.<br />
The Lord took bath in the Pampä, Bhémarathi, Veëvä, and<br />
Vipäçä rivers.<br />
After seeing Kärttikeya at Madurai, the most intelligent<br />
Lord Nityänanda went to Çré Çaila, the abode of Çiva and Pärvaté.<br />
Çiva and Pärvaté live on this mountain in the form of a<br />
brähmaëa couple. When Lord Nityänanda arrived there, Çiva<br />
and Pärvaté understood that their most worshipable Lord was<br />
wandering on pilgrimage as a mendicant. Most satisfied to receive<br />
such a guest, Pärvaté happily cooked for the Lord. They<br />
fed the Lord with loving affection and Lord Nityänanda smiled<br />
and offered them His respects. Only Lord Kåñëa knows about<br />
their confidential discussions.<br />
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Lord Nityänanda’s Traveling to the Holy Places<br />
Lord Nityänanda then continued His journey, going to<br />
Draviòa-deça. The Lord visited Veìkaöanätha, Kämakoñöhé<br />
Puri, Käïcé, and the River Käveré. There the Lord visited the<br />
sacred place of Çré Raìganätha. Then He went to Hari-kñetra,<br />
Åñabha Mountain, Madurai, and the Kåtamälä, Tämraparëé,<br />
and Uttara Yamunä rivers. He visited the äçrama of Agastya<br />
Åñi in the Malaya Hills. The residents there were all jubilant<br />
to see the Lord. The Lord stayed as a guest in their äçrama and<br />
then departed in deep ecstasy for Badarikäçrama.<br />
Lord Nityänanda stayed in seclusion for some days at the<br />
äçrama of Nara-Näräyäëa Åñis. He went to the äçrama of Çréla<br />
Vyäsadeva, who recognized that He was Lord Balaräma. Çréla<br />
Vyäsadeva personally received Lord Nityänanda as a guest, and<br />
the Lord offered His obeisances to him. The Lord then visited<br />
a Buddhist monastery where He found the residents all sitting<br />
together. The Lord asked a question, but no one replied. Becoming<br />
angry with them, the Lord kicked them in the head. They<br />
all simply smiled and ran away.<br />
Lord Nityänanda thus fearlessly continued His travels<br />
through the forest. He eventually arrived in Kanyä-kumäré. After<br />
seeing Goddess Durgä there, He went to see the Southern<br />
Ocean. He then went to Anantapura, and thereafter, He went<br />
to Païcäpsarä-kuëòa. He next visited the temple of Lord Çiva<br />
known as Gokarëa. He visited Kerala and the various places<br />
in Trigarta. He also visited Goddess Pärvaté, who dwells on an<br />
island near Gokarëa. The Lord then visited the Nirvindhyä,<br />
Payoñëé, and Täpi rivers. He went to the city of Mähiñmaté on<br />
the banks of the Revä River and saw Malla-tértha. The Lord<br />
then passed through the holy district of Sürpäraka on His way<br />
to the West.<br />
In ecstasy, Nityänanda Prabhu traveled in this way without<br />
fear of anyone. He had no control over His body due to ecstatic<br />
love for Kåñëa. Sometimes He cried and sometimes He laughed.<br />
Who could understand His ecstatic moods?<br />
Accepting Çré Caitanya and Nityänanda Prabhu as my life<br />
and soul, I, Våndävana däsa, sing the glories of Their lotus feet.<br />
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CHAPTER THREE<br />
Lord Nityänanda’s Meeting with<br />
Çrépad Mädhavendra Puré<br />
As Lord Nityänanda traveled, by the will of providence<br />
He met Çré Mädhavendra Puré. The body of Çré Mädhavendra<br />
Puré was imbued with ecstatic love of God and his followers<br />
shared the same sentiments. He did not relish anything<br />
other than loving sentiments for Lord Kåñëa, who enjoyed performing<br />
pastimes in the body of Mädhavendra Puré. What can I<br />
say about the devotion of he who was the spiritual master of Çré<br />
Advaita Äcärya?<br />
Seeing Mädhavendra Puré, <strong>Nityananda</strong> Prabhu at once fell<br />
unconscious onto the ground, stunned in ecstatic prema. Seeing<br />
Lord Nityänanda, Mädhavendra Puré forgot himself and also fell<br />
unconscious. Çré Gauracandra repeatedly said that Çré Mädhavendra<br />
Puré is the original root of worship in ecstatic love. After<br />
both Lord Nityänanda and Mädhavendra Puré swooned, the<br />
disciples, headed by Éçvara Puri, began to cry.<br />
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ÇRÉ NITYÄNANDA CARITÄMÅTA<br />
Recovering after some time, Lord Nityänanda and<br />
Mädhavendra Puré embraced each other and cried. Overwhelmed<br />
by ecstatic love for Kåñëa, they rolled on the sand and<br />
cried out loudly. The tears of love flowing from their eyes like<br />
rain soaked mother Earth, making her feel gratified. Shivering,<br />
shedding of tears, and the hair of their bodies standing on end,<br />
as well as other ecstatic symptoms manifested themselves one<br />
after another endlessly. This ecstasy was caused by Lord Kåñëa<br />
personally residing in their bodies.<br />
Lord Nityänanda said, “The results of visiting all the holy<br />
places of pilgrimage have now born fruit. Today I have seen the<br />
lotus feet of Mädhavendra Puré. Seeing his ecstatic love of God,<br />
My life has become successful.”<br />
Çré Mädhavendra Puré embraced Nityänanda Prabhu but<br />
was unable to reply because his throat was choked up due to ecstatic<br />
love. Mädhavendra Puré was so pleased that he was unable<br />
to release Nityänanda Prabhu from his embrace. Éçvara Puré,<br />
Brahmänanda Puré, and all the other disciples of Mädhavendra<br />
Puré felt intense attachment for Nityänanda Prabhu. They had<br />
met many sädhus, but never before had they seen such symptons<br />
of prema. Feeling distress at the thought of mixing with materialistic<br />
people, they had wandered in the forests. But now, after<br />
meeting Lord Nityänanda, their distress was relieved and their<br />
kåñëa-prema was aroused.<br />
Nityänanda Prabhu traveled for some time with Mädhavendra<br />
Puré, relishing kåñëa-kathä. The qualities of Mädhavendra<br />
Puré were most wonderful. He would swoon just by seeing a dark<br />
cloud. Out of love for Kåñëa, he laughed and cried throughout<br />
the day and night, shouting, “Haya! Haya!” like a drunkard.<br />
Lord Nityänanda was intensely absorbed in His loving sentiments<br />
for Govinda. He laughed loudly, swaying to and fro.<br />
Mädhavendra Puré’s disciples constantly chanted the holy name<br />
of Lord Hari, seeing the extraordinary symptoms of love manifested<br />
by Nityänanda Prabhu and Mädhavendra Puré. The two<br />
forgot whether it was day or night in their absorption of ecstatic<br />
love of Kåñëa.<br />
Although remaining together for a number of days, Nityänanda<br />
Prabhu and Mädhavendra Puré felt that period to be as hardly a mo-<br />
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Lord Nityänanda’s Meeting with Çrépad Mädhavendra Puré<br />
ment. Who knows all that took place between the Lord and Mädhavendra<br />
Puré? Only Kåñëa knows! Unable to give up the company<br />
of Nityänanda Prabhu, Mädhavendra Puré constantly remained<br />
with Him.<br />
mädhavendra bale ‘prema nä dekhilun kathä<br />
sei mora sarvatértha hena prema yathä<br />
jänilu kåñëera kåpä ache mora prati<br />
nityänanda hena bandhu päinu saàhati<br />
ye se stäne yadi nityänanda saìga haya<br />
sei stäna sarvatértha vaikuëöhädi maya<br />
nityänanda hena bhakta çunile çravane<br />
avaçya päiba kåñëacandra sei jane<br />
nityänanda yächära tilaka dveña rahe<br />
bhakta haile o se kåñëera priya nahe’<br />
Mädhavendra Puré said, “I’ve never seen such ecstatic<br />
love. Wherever there is such prema is my favorite<br />
holy place. I know Kåñëa has given me His mercy<br />
because He has given me such a friend as Nityänanda.<br />
Wherever one finds Nityänanda’s company is the most<br />
sacred and transcendental place. That devotee who<br />
hears the name of Nityänanda will certainly attain the<br />
lotus feet of Kåñëacandra. If one has the slightest envy<br />
for Nityänanda, Kåñëa never favors him even if he’s a<br />
devotee.”<br />
Mädhavendra Puré exhibited great affection for Lord<br />
Nityänanda throughout the day and night with his speech<br />
and deeds. Nityänanda Prabhu considered Mädhavendra Puré<br />
to be nothing other than His guru. These two vastly learned<br />
personalities did not know whether it was day or night due to<br />
their ecstatic love for Kåñëa. After staying together for some<br />
days, Nityänanda Prabhu left for Setubandha (Rämeçvaram)<br />
and Mädhavendra Puré went to see the Sarayü River. In their absorption<br />
for love of Kåñëa, both Lord Nityänanda and Mädhavendra<br />
Puré forgot their bodies. Feelings of separation for the Lord maintain<br />
a devotee’s life. Otherwise, how could one tolerate such intense<br />
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ÇRÉ NITYÄNANDA CARITÄMÅTA<br />
feelings? Whoever hears about the meeting of Lord Nityänanda<br />
and Mädhavendra Puré will certainly achieve the wealth of love<br />
for Kåñëa.<br />
After traveling in an ecstatic mood for some days, Lord Nityänanda<br />
arrived at Setubandha. After taking bath at Dhanustértha,<br />
He went to see Lord Rämeçvara. Lord Nityänanda next<br />
went to Vijayanagara. He visited the Mäyäpuré, Avanti, and<br />
Godävaré rivers, and then went to the abode of Jiyaòa Nåsiàha.<br />
He visited Tirimalla and Kürma-kñetra, and eventually arrived at<br />
Jagannätha Puri to see Lord Jagannätha, the Lord of Néläcala.<br />
As He approached Çré Néläcala, Lord Nityänanda fell unconscious<br />
after seeing the flag atop the temple. He saw Lord<br />
Jagannätha as the source of the catur-vyüha: Väsudeva, Saìkarñaëa,<br />
Pradyumna and Aniruddha. Immediately upon seeing Lord<br />
Jagannätha, Lord Nityänanda fell into a trance of ecstatic love<br />
so that His hair stood on end. When He recovered his senses,<br />
He fell to the floor. Ecstatic symptoms of love of Krishna, such<br />
as shivering of the body, perspiring, crying, swooning, and loud<br />
roaring manifested in His body.<br />
After remaining at Néläcala for some time, Nityänanda<br />
Prabhu departed in great jubilation for Gaìgä-sägara. Who can<br />
describe the Lord’s pilgrimage? I have only written briefly about<br />
it by His mercy. After visiting many more holy places, Nityänanda<br />
Prabhu returned to Mathurä. He remained in Våndävana,<br />
being so absorbed in thought of Kåñëa that He was unable to<br />
tell whether it was day or night. He did not eat, but occasionally<br />
drank some milk if someone offered it to Him.<br />
Nityänanda Prabhu knew very well that Lord Gauracandra<br />
was residing in Navadvépa. He thought to Himself, “I will go and<br />
serve Lord Gauräìga when He manifests His opulence.”<br />
Nityänanda Prabhu therefore did not go to Navadvépa immediately,<br />
but remained at Mathurä. He regularly enjoyed sporting<br />
in the water of the Yamunä and playing with the children in<br />
Våndävana. Although Lord Nityänanda is omnipotent, He did<br />
not distribute devotional service to the Lord at that time.<br />
yabe gauracandra prabhu kariba prakäça<br />
ta’ra se äjïäya bhaktidänera viläsa<br />
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Lord Nityänanda’s Meeting with Çrépad Mädhavendra Puré<br />
“When Lord Gauracandra manifests His opulence,<br />
then I will begin to distribute bhakti on His order.”<br />
The devotees of Lord Caitanya did not like to do anything<br />
without His order, but this did not diminish their glories in the<br />
least. Brahmä, Ananta, Çiva, and other demigods create, maintain,<br />
and destroy by the order of Lord Caitanya. Sinners who do<br />
not like to hear such things are not fit to be seen by Vaiñëavas.<br />
Just see for yourself how Lord Nityänanda Prabhu blessed the<br />
people of this universe with the treasure of prema. Nityänanda<br />
Räya is the foremost devotee of Lord Caitanya because the<br />
glories of Lord Caitanya always dance on His tongue. Day and<br />
night Lord Nityänanda chants the glories of Lord Caitanya.<br />
When one worships Lord Nityänanda, he surely attains devotion<br />
for Lord Caitanya.<br />
All glories to Nityänanda Räya, the first manifestation of<br />
Lord Caitanya! The glories of Lord Caitanya became manifest<br />
only by the mercy of Lord Nityänanda. One becomes attached<br />
to Lord Nityänanda by the mercy of Lord Caitanya. One who<br />
knows Lord Nityänanda never faces any adversities. Those who<br />
wish to cross the ocean of material existence and drown in the<br />
ocean of devotional service must worship Nitäicända.<br />
Someone said, “Nityänanda is just like Balaräma.”<br />
Another person said: “He is most dear to Lord Caitanya.”<br />
Someone may consider Lord Nityänanda to be a sannyäsé,<br />
someone may consider Him a devotee, or someone may consider<br />
Him a jïäné. They may all say whatever they like. Even if Lord<br />
Nityänanda were the most insignificant servant of Lord Caitanya,<br />
I would still keep His lotus feet in my heart. Therefore, I<br />
kick the head of any sinner who disregards the glories of Lord<br />
Nityänanda and dares to criticize Him. If you find any follower<br />
of Lord Caitanya apparently saying something bad about Lord<br />
Nityänanda, you should know that what he said is actually glorification.<br />
Vaiñëavas are always pure and full of knowledge. So, if there<br />
is ever any quarrel between them, know it simply to be part of<br />
their pastimes. If a person takes the side of one Vaiñëava and<br />
criticizes another, he will certainly be vanquished. Anyone who<br />
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ÇRÉ NITYÄNANDA CARITÄMÅTA<br />
follows Lord Nityänanda without finding fault in Him will surely<br />
attain the shelter of Çré Gauracandra.<br />
When will that day come when I will see Lord Caitanya and<br />
Lord Nityänanda surrounded by Their devotees? Let me serve<br />
Lord Gauracandra under the instructions of Lord Nityänanda,<br />
who is my worshipable Lord in all respects. All glories to the Supreme<br />
Lord, Çré Gauräìga! I beg for Your mercy so that my mind<br />
may remain absorbed in the lotus feet of You both. Nityänanda<br />
Räya is Your greatest devotee. No one can attain Him without<br />
Your sanction.<br />
Lord Nityänanda wandered about in the forests of Våndävana<br />
until Lord Gauracandra displayed His opulences. Whoever<br />
hears these descriptions of Lord Nityänanda’s visit to the<br />
holy places will certainly attain the treasure of divine prema.<br />
Accepting Çré Caitanya and Çré Nityänanda as my life and<br />
soul, I, Våndävana däsa, sing the glories of Their lotus feet.<br />
END OF ÄDI LÉLÄ<br />
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MADHYA-LÉLÄ<br />
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CHAPTER ONE<br />
Lord Nityänanda’s Meeting with<br />
Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu<br />
All glories to Çré Kåñëa Caitanya and all glories to Çré<br />
Nityänanda! All glories to Çré Advaita Äcärya and all<br />
glories to all the devotees of Çré Gaura! All glories to the Lord,<br />
who is the life and soul of Narahari and Gadädhara! O Lord,<br />
please glance mercifully upon me. All glories to Çré Gauräìga,<br />
along with His devotees! If one hears the topics of Lord Nityänanda,<br />
he will certainly achieve pure devotional service.<br />
The topics of Madhya-khaëòa are pure nectar. Hearing<br />
them destroys one’s atheistic mentality. Please behold beautiful<br />
Lord Nityänanda to your eyes’ full satisfaction. He is personified<br />
love and affection for Lord Gauräìga. Lord Nityänanda’s limbs<br />
are filled with transcendental mellows for Lord Gauräìga.<br />
Speaking in a faltering voice and unable to walk properly,<br />
Lord Nityänanda resided in Våndävana. Meanwhile, Çré Gauracandra<br />
revealed Himself in Navadvépa. Lord Gauräìga constantly<br />
performed saìkértana in great ecstasy. He felt distressed,<br />
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ÇRÉ NITYÄNANDA CARITÄMÅTA<br />
however, not seeing Lord Nityänanda. Lord Nityänanda could<br />
understand the manifestation of Lord Gauracandra. He resided<br />
in Våndävana, waiting for this auspicious moment. Understanding<br />
that His Lord had revealed Himself, Lord Nityänanda immediately<br />
went to Navadvépa and stayed at the house of Nandana<br />
Äcärya 2 .<br />
Nandana Äcärya was a mahä-bhägavata, a pure devotee of<br />
the Lord. He saw Lord Nityänanda, who is non-different from<br />
Lord Balaräma, as being as effulgent as the sun. Lord Nityänanda<br />
was dressed as an avadhüta, or mendicant. He possessed a very attractive<br />
body. He was always in a deep and sober mood. Lord<br />
Nityänanda chanted the holy names of Kåñëa throughout<br />
the day and night. He was the abode of Lord Caitanya’s mercy<br />
within the three worlds. He often shouted loudly because of His<br />
ecstasy, being maddened with love of God.<br />
The enchanting beauty of His face defeated millions of<br />
moons. His sweet smile enlivened all the people of the world.<br />
His beautiful brilliant teeth were just like rows of pearls, and<br />
His two broad lotus eyes increased the beauty of His face. His<br />
hands reached to His knees and His chest was very broad. His<br />
lotus feet were expert in walking. Lord Nityänanda spoke to<br />
everyone with burning compassion. Hearing the words from<br />
His lotus mouth completely destroyed one’s bondage to fruitive<br />
activities.<br />
When <strong>Nityananda</strong> Prabhu arrived in Nadia, all the people<br />
there began to chant, “Jaya Jaya!” Who is so expert to describe<br />
Lord Nityänanda’s glories? It is Lord Nityänanda who broke the<br />
sannyäsa daëòa of Lord Gaurasundara. It is He who enlivened<br />
all the fallen foolish traders of Bengal. If anyone simply chants<br />
His holy names, he will certainly be purified. Seeing Lord<br />
Nityänanda, Nandana Äcärya became very happy. He<br />
offered Him lunch and kept Him at his house. Whoever hears<br />
2 Nandana Äcärya was the son of Caturbhuja Paëòita, a resident<br />
of Navadvépa. Çrémän Mahäprabhu, Çré Nityänanda Prabhu and Çré<br />
Advaita Prabhu stayed at his house during the course of Their pastimes.<br />
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Lord Nityänanda’s Meeting with Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu<br />
about Lord Nityänanda’s arrival at Navadvépa will certainly obtain<br />
the treasure of love and devotion.<br />
Aware of Lord Nityänanda’s arrival in Navadvépa, Çré Viçvambhara<br />
became extremely happy within His heart. The Lord<br />
had already, on some pretext or other, disclosed the news of<br />
Nityänanda Prabhu’s arrival to the Vaiñëavas. However, none of<br />
them could understand the meaning of His words. Lord Viçvambhara<br />
had said, “Within a day or two, an exalted personality<br />
will come here.”<br />
By providence, Lord Nityänanda arrived at Navadvépa that<br />
very day. Lord Viçvambhara, after completing His worship of<br />
Lord Viñëu, came and sat with the Vaiñëavas. The Lord said<br />
to everyone, “Today I had a wonderful dream. I saw a beautiful<br />
chariot, bedecked with an auspicious flag, came and stop near<br />
My door. Seated upon that chariot was a remarkable personality.<br />
He carried a large plough on His shoulder, and He appeared<br />
very restless. He had a stick tucked into His clothing, and He<br />
carried a pitcher in His left hand. He was dressed in blue garments,<br />
and a blue cädara covered His chest. A wonderful earring<br />
hung from His left ear. By His features, I assume He is none<br />
other than Haladhara Balaräma.<br />
“He repeatedly asked, ‘Is this the house of Nimäi Paëòita?’<br />
“I have never seen such a noble and powerful personality.<br />
He was effulgent and He was dressed as an avadhüta, or mendicant.<br />
I was struck with wonder just by seeing Him. I asked Him,<br />
‘Who are you?’ He smilingly replied, ‘I am Your brother. We will<br />
meet tomorrow and get to know one another.’ By hearing His<br />
words, My happiness increased. I consider Myself as being very<br />
similar to that personality.”<br />
Speaking like this, Lord Caitanya became absorbed in<br />
an ecstatic trance and began to roar loudly in the mood of<br />
Haladhara Balaräma. The Lord demanded, “Bring Me wine!”<br />
His loud voice almost shattered the ears of everyone present.<br />
Çréväsa Paëòita then said, “Please listen, O Gosäi! The wine<br />
that You are asking for is right here in front of You. Only those<br />
You give it to can relish it.”<br />
All the devotees remained trembling at a distant place. They<br />
all thought there must be some reason behind the Lord’s actions. The<br />
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lotus-eyed Lord loudly talked in a way that appeared incoherent.<br />
He smiled and moved His body to and fro in the mood of<br />
Saìkarñaëa. After a short while, the Lord returned to external<br />
consciousness.<br />
Explaining the meaning of His dream, The Lord was in the<br />
mood of Balaräma. The Lord said, “I have a feeling in My heart<br />
that some holy personality has arrived at Navadvépa. I already<br />
told all of you that we would meet Him soon. O Haridäsa, O<br />
Çréväsa Paëòita, go and find out who has come and where He<br />
has come from.”<br />
By the order of the Lord, both pure devotees (Haridäsa<br />
Öhäkura 3 and Çréväsa Paëòita 4 ) happily wandered throughout<br />
the town, searching all over Navadvépa for Lord Nityänanda.<br />
While wandering here and there, they happily talked to one<br />
another. They considered that Lord Saìkarñaëa might have<br />
come. They happily wandered through the streets of Navadvépa,<br />
but were unable to receive any news. After searching the entire<br />
town of Navadvépa for nine hours, they returned to the Lord<br />
without success.<br />
Haridäsa Öhäkura and Çréväsa Paëòita humbly reported to<br />
the Lord: “We did not find the person You spoke of anywhere<br />
in Navadvépa. We looked in the houses of sannyäsés, Vaiñëavas,<br />
jïänis, and atheists. We saw all of Navadvépa, but did not go to<br />
villages outside Navadvépa.”<br />
Hearing them, Çré Gaurasundara began to smile. On the<br />
pretext of ordering the search, He showed that Lord Nityä-<br />
3 Haridäsa Öhäkura was a famous devotee of Lord Gauräìga.<br />
He was the combined form of Lord Brahmä, the creator, and Prahläda<br />
Mahäräja, the devotee among the demons. Haridäsa was born in a<br />
Muslim family in the village of Burdwan. He took initiation from Advaita<br />
Äcärya and spent some time at Çäntipura and Pulia. He was<br />
beaten in twenty-two market places by the Muslim king of Bengal. He<br />
participated in the pastimes of Lord Caitanya in Navadvépa. Later, he<br />
came to Jagannätha Puré, where he spent the rest of his life. He left is<br />
body by his own sweet will while looking at the face of Lord Caitanya<br />
Mahäprabhu.<br />
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Lord Nityänanda’s Meeting with Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu<br />
nanda’s presence is most confidential. Some people glorify Lord<br />
Gauracandra, but as soon as they hear the name of Nityänanda,<br />
they get up and leave. This is just like one who worships Lord<br />
Govinda but does not respect Lord Çiva. For that offence, such a<br />
person will surely go to the abode of Yamaräja. The incarnation<br />
of Lord Nityänanda is most confidential. Without the consent<br />
of Lord Caitanya, no one can even see Him. If anyone criticizes<br />
Lord Nityänanda’s unfathomable qualities, even though he may<br />
possess devotion to Lord Kåñëa, such devotion will become obstructed.<br />
Devotees, headed by Çréväsa Paëòita, are fully conversant<br />
with the understanding of Lord Nityänanda. But because<br />
the Lord wants to enjoy pastimes, they could not find<br />
Him.<br />
Lord Caitanya then said with a smile, “Come with Me. Let<br />
us go see Him.”<br />
All the devotees joyfully went with the Lord while chanting,<br />
“All glories to Lord Kåñëa!”<br />
On the way, Lord Caitanya called out, “Muräri, Muräri!<br />
Have you not seen Avadhüta Nityänanda?” Saying this, He<br />
began to smile. He then said, “He’s now staying at Nandana<br />
Äcärya’s house. Come with Me, we are going there. I’m telling<br />
you the truth.”<br />
While walking, the Lord repeatedly chanted, “Hari Hari!”<br />
His entire body trembled, and His voice became choked. Five or<br />
seven lines of tears flowed from His eyes. The lustrous golden<br />
Lord was unable to walk. Sometimes He leaped five steps ahead<br />
like a powerful lion, and sometimes He looked behind like a mad<br />
elephant. Out of ecstasy, the Lord repeatedly made a loud sound<br />
again and again that was as grave as the rumbling of clouds. In<br />
this way, Çré Gaurasundara, along with His associates, finally<br />
reached the house of Nandana Äcärya.<br />
Thereafter, everyone saw a jewel-like personality sitting in<br />
the house of Nandana Äcärya. His effulgence was equal to that<br />
of millions of suns. He was sitting in His own mood, deeply absorbed<br />
in ecstatic meditation, smiling all the while. Aware that<br />
Lord Nityänanda was in a deep trance of pure devotion, Lord<br />
Viçvambhara and His associates offered obeisances. Everyone<br />
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stood aside with awe and reverence. No one said a word; they<br />
simply stared at Him.<br />
Mahäprabhu Viçvambhara then came before Nityänanda<br />
Prabhu, who at once understood His beloved and worshipable<br />
Lord was present. The form of Viçvambhara was as beautiful<br />
as that of Cupid. He wore attractive garments and was decorated<br />
with a flower garland. Sandalwood paste decorated His<br />
forehead. The luster of gold appeared most insignificant before<br />
the transcendental body of Lord Nityänanda. Even the moongod<br />
hankers to see His enchanting face. The Lord’s teeth resembled<br />
rows of pearls, and upon seeing His attractive hair,<br />
one would practically lose consciousness. While gazing at His<br />
two broad pinkish eyes, one wonders, “Are these lotus flowers?”<br />
His two long arms reached to His knees. A fine thin sacred<br />
thread beautified His broad chest. His forehead was wonderfully<br />
decorated with marks of tilaka and His body looked enchanting<br />
even without ornaments. His fingernails defeated the<br />
beauty of millions of jewels. His attractive smile was sweeter<br />
than nectar.<br />
Viçvambhara stood in front of Nityänanda Prabhu, who<br />
at once recognized the Lord of His heart. Nityänanda Prabhu,<br />
out of joy, became stunned with ecstasy. He stared at Lord<br />
Viçvambhara without blinking His eyes. He desired to lick<br />
Viçvambhara with His tongue and drink His beauty through<br />
His eyes. Nityänanda Prabhu desired to embrace Viçvambhara<br />
with His arms and smell Him with His nose, but He was simply<br />
stunned. No one could speak or move, being astonished. Lord<br />
Gauräìga, the life and soul of everyone, beheld the situation<br />
and began to invent ways to reveal Nityänanda Prabhu.<br />
With a gesture, the Lord instructed Çréväsa to recite a verse<br />
from Çrémad-Bhägavatam. Understanding the Lord’s intention,<br />
Çréväsa Paëòita at once recited a verse from Çrémad Bhägavatam<br />
glorifying Kåñëa’s attractive form.<br />
barhäpéòaà naöa-vara-vapuù karëayoù karëikäraà<br />
bibhrad väsaù kanaka-kapiçaà vaijayantéà ca mäläm<br />
randhrän veëor adhara-sudhayäpürayan gopa-våndair<br />
våndäraëyaà sva-pada-ramaëaà präviçad géta-kértiù<br />
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Lord Nityänanda’s Meeting with Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu<br />
“Wearing a peacock feather ornament upon His<br />
head, blue karëikära flowers on His ears, a yellow garment<br />
as brilliant as gold, and the Vaijayanté garland,<br />
Lord Kåñëa exhibited His transcendental form as the<br />
greatest of dancers as He entered the forest of Våndävana,<br />
beautifying it with the marks of His footprints.<br />
He filled the holes of His flute with the nectar of His<br />
lips, and the cowherd boys sang His glories” (Çrémad-<br />
Bhägavatam 10.21.5)<br />
Upon hearing this verse, Nityänanda Prabhu fell to the<br />
ground unconscious. In great ecstasy, He remained inert as Lord<br />
Gauräìga urged Çréväsa to continue. Awaking after a short<br />
while, Nityänanda Prabhu began to cry. Repeatedly hearing<br />
the verses of Çrémad-Bhägavatam, He became maddened. He<br />
roared like a lion, and the sound shook the universe. He jumped<br />
into the air, and fell to the ground so forcefully that everyone<br />
thought His bones would break to pieces. What to speak of others,<br />
even the Vaiñëavas became afraid. They prayed, “O Kåñëa,<br />
please save Him! O Kåñëa, please save Him!”<br />
Nityänanda Prabhu rolled on the ground and His entire<br />
body became wet with tears. While gazing at the attractive form<br />
of Lord Viçvambhara, He breathed heavily. Sometimes He would<br />
laugh loudly, and sometimes He felt great happiness within His<br />
heart. Sometimes He danced, sometimes He clapped His hands,<br />
and sometimes He jumped with great force.<br />
How wonderful was Nityänanda Prabhu’s transcendental<br />
form! A golden effulgence emanated from His beautiful body.<br />
Brightly shining ornaments decorated His charming bodily<br />
limbs. Yellow cloth adorned His waist and He wore a cloth turban<br />
decorated with campaka flowers on His head. Tinkling ankle-bells<br />
sounded as He walked. Tears filled His deer-like eyes.<br />
His enchanting smile appeared as if lightening had fallen upon<br />
the earth. His captivating smile disturbed the chastity of women.<br />
His grave voice resembled the rumbling of a cloud. His roaring<br />
subdued the mad elephant in the form of Kali. He walked like<br />
an intoxicated elephant. Tears of love constantly flowed down<br />
His smiling face.<br />
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Overflooded with love of God, Nityänanda Prabhu’s body<br />
displayed symptoms of ecstatic love, including shivering, standing<br />
of the hair on end, and perspiration. He held a golden stick<br />
in His hand as He defeated the pride of Kali. His lotus-like palms<br />
were simply wonderful. He was decorated with armlets, bangles,<br />
a necklace, bracelets, and ankle-bells. His two earrings were as<br />
bright as the sun. He rolled upon the ground. Sometimes He<br />
stood up saying, “Please hold Me.” Then He would ask everyone,<br />
“Where is that cowherd boy, Känäi (Kåñëa).”<br />
Sometimes Nityänanda Prabhu uttered strange words and<br />
sometimes He cried or laughed. Sometimes He asked for honey<br />
and sometimes He praised His consort, Revaté. Sometimes He<br />
hopped. Sometimes He said one thing and the next moment<br />
something else. No one could understand what He said. The<br />
fragrance of His bodily limbs caused all young girls and even<br />
married women to leave their houses without hesitation. Nityänanda<br />
Prabhu fell on the ground to offer obeisances to Lord<br />
Viçvambhara and humbly offered Him prayers with sweet words.<br />
He fell at the lotus feet of His Lord. Both of Them tried to catch<br />
hold of each other’s feet. Both the Lords embraced each other<br />
and cried.<br />
Nityänanda Prabhu looked at Viçvambhara’s face and smilingly<br />
said, “Where were You? I searched the entire world but<br />
could not find any news of You. Finally, I heard that the son of<br />
Nanda Mahäräja is now living at Navadvépa in Gauòadeça, hiding<br />
His real identity. I have come here to catch this thief. Today,<br />
I have caught You. How will You escape?”<br />
Saying this, Nityänanda Prabhu began to laugh, cry, and<br />
dance. Lord Gauräìga also danced with Nityänanda. Seeing<br />
Lord Nityänanda’s ecstatic madness for Kåñëa, Gauracandra<br />
cried along with all the Vaiñëavas. The happiness of Nityänanda<br />
increased without limit. Although everyone tried to<br />
pacify Him, they were unable. When all the devotees failed<br />
to calm Him, Viçvambhara personally embraced Nityänanda<br />
Prabhu. As soon as Viçvambhara embraced Him, Nityänanda<br />
Prabhu surrendered His life to Him and remained motionless.<br />
Nityänanda Prabhu offered His life to Him to whom it belongs<br />
and thus fell on the lap of Lord Caitanya.<br />
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Lord Nityänanda’s Meeting with Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu<br />
Lord Nityänanda floated on the water of Lord Caitanya’s<br />
love just as Lakñmaëa lay on the lap of Lord Rämacandra after<br />
being hit by the çakti weapon of Rävaëa. Lord Nityänanda<br />
swooned, being pierced by the arrows of love and devotion.<br />
Gauracandra cried along with Nityänanda as He lay on His lap.<br />
Both Lords felt an indescribable happiness. Their love and affection<br />
for each other was like that of Çré Räma and Lakñmaëa.<br />
There is no other comparison that can be made of the affection<br />
exhibited by Lord Gauracandra and Lord Nityänanda.<br />
After awhile, Lord Nityänanda regained His composure.<br />
All the devotees began to chant, “Hari! Hari!” Seeing Lord<br />
Nityänanda on the lap of Viçvambhara, Gadädhara smiled<br />
and thought, “This is contradictory! Lord Ananta always carries<br />
Viçvambhara on His lap. Today His pride has been smashed<br />
because He is on the lap of His Lord.”<br />
Gadädhara Paëòita knows the influence of Lord Nityänanda,<br />
and Nityänanda knows the heart of Gadädhara. Seeing<br />
Nityänanda Prabhu, the hearts of all the devotees became filled<br />
with ecstasy. Nityänanda and Gauracandra simply stared at<br />
one another without uttering a word. Tears flowed incessantly<br />
from Their eyes. Indeed, the tears from Their eyes flooded the<br />
earth.<br />
Lord Viçvambhara said, “Today is a very auspicious day for<br />
Me because I have witnessed pure devotional symptoms that are<br />
the essence of the four Vedas. This manifestation of shivering,<br />
incessant tears, and loud chanting is not possible for anyone<br />
except one who is empowered by the Lord. If one personally sees<br />
this manifestation of pure devotional service, Kåñëa will never<br />
reject him. I am firmly convinced that You are the full manifestation<br />
of the Lord’s energy. By worshiping You, a living entity<br />
achieves devotion to Lord Kåñëa.<br />
“You can purify the fourteen worlds. Your qualities are inconceivable,<br />
unfathomable, and confidential. There is no one<br />
existing who can defy You. You are the personification of love of<br />
Kåñëa, and the treasury of devotional service. If anyone meets<br />
You even for a moment, he will be delivered, even if he has committed<br />
millions of sins. I think Kåñëa has a desire to deliver Me.<br />
That is why He brought You to Me. By great fortune I have seen<br />
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ÇRÉ NITYÄNANDA CARITÄMÅTA<br />
Your lotus feet. By worshiping You, I will most surely obtain the<br />
treasure of love for Kåñëa.”<br />
Fully absorbed in ecstasy, the most enchanting Lord Gauräìga<br />
relentlessly offered prayers to <strong>Nityananda</strong> Prabhu. There<br />
were many talks between the two Lords, but most of them were<br />
accomplished with gestures. Lord Caitanya then said, “I am<br />
afraid to ask You. Where are You from?”<br />
The mentality of Nityänanda was very childish, and He<br />
was overwhelmed with intense ecstasy. He spoke like a restless<br />
boy. Lord Nityänanda knew the cause for the appearance of His<br />
Lord. He thus folded His hands and spoke very humbly. Hearing<br />
the words of Lord Caitanya, Lord Nityänanda felt shy. Then,<br />
He began to reveal His real identity, saying, “I have traveled to<br />
many holy places. I have seen all the holy places where Kåñëa<br />
performed His pastimes. However, I saw only the holy places,<br />
but I could not find Kåñëa.<br />
“I asked an exalted personality, ‘Why do I see only thorns?<br />
The places of the Lord’s pastimes are all empty and covered.<br />
Can you tell Me where Kåñëa went?’ That personality told Me<br />
that Kåñëa has gone to Bengal. He said that recently He was at<br />
Gaya but now had returned to Navadvépa.<br />
“I have heard that joyous saìkértana of the holy names is<br />
being performed in Nadia. Some people say that Lord Näräyaëa<br />
has appeared there. I have also heard that Nadia is famous for<br />
the deliverance of the fallen souls. So, being most sinful as I am,<br />
I have come here.”<br />
Lord Caitanya said, “We are all immensely fortunate to see a<br />
pure devotee like You. Today we are most satisfied, having seen<br />
the flow of Your tears of ecstasy.”<br />
Muräri smilingly said, “O Lord, we are confused by hearing<br />
words such as ‘Your’ and ‘Our’ that are spoken by You.”<br />
Çréväsa Paëòita said, “How can we understand Their dealings?<br />
This is similar to how it is hard to understand how Kåñëa<br />
and Çiva worship each other.”<br />
Gadädhara Paëòita 4 said, “O Çréväsa Paëòita, what you say is<br />
correct. Their qualities resemble that of Räma and Lakñmaëa.”<br />
4 Gadädhara Paëòita was born in a village called Bekti in<br />
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Lord Nityänanda’s Meeting with Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu<br />
Someone else said, “Both of Them are just like two Cupids.”<br />
Others said, “They are just like Kåñëa and Balaräma.”<br />
Another person said, “I do not know much about Them, but<br />
I have a feeling that Ananta Çeña has taken shelter of the lap<br />
of Kåñëa.”<br />
Still others said, “They are just like the two friends, Kåñëa<br />
and Arjuna, in the way They exchanged great affection.”<br />
Someone said, “It appears that They are closely related to<br />
one another. Whatever They say to each other is done by gestures.”<br />
In this way, all the devotees happily described the glories of<br />
Lord Nityänanda and Lord Gauracandra. Anyone who hears<br />
about the meeting of Nitäicäìda with Gauracandra will no<br />
doubt be released from material bondage.<br />
Accepting Çré Caitanya and Çré Nityänanda as my life and<br />
soul, I, Våndävana däsa, sing the glories of Their lotus feet.<br />
Caööagräma. His father was Mädhava Miçra and his mother was Ratnavaté.<br />
He left his native village and came to reside at Navadvépa.<br />
After assisting Lord Gauräìga in His scholastic and saìkértana pastimes<br />
in Navadvépa, he came to Néläcala and engaged in the service<br />
of Çré Gopénätha. He entered into the eternal pastimes of the Lord<br />
after the disappearance of Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu. Later on, Nayänanda,<br />
the son of Väëénätha, who was the brother of Gadädhara,<br />
took the Gopénätha Deity that hung around Gadädhara’s neck, as<br />
well as Gadädhara’s Bhagavad-gétä, and installed them in a temple<br />
at Bhäratapüra. Çré Gadädhara Paëòita was a manifestation of Çré<br />
Rädhä combined with Rukmiëé and Lakñmé.<br />
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CHAPTER TWO<br />
Lord Nityänanda’s Stay With Çréväsa and<br />
His Vyäsa-püjä Ceremony<br />
Discussing topics of Kåñëa in the association of Lord<br />
Nityänanda overwhelmed all the devotees. All of<br />
them were pure devotees and most magnanimous. They remained<br />
intoxicated, drinking the nectar of Kåñëa’s topics and<br />
shouted loudly in ecstasy. Nityänanda Prabhu smiled and looked<br />
all around as the devotees shed tears of joy. Seeing Nityänanda,<br />
Mahäprabhu Viçvambhara was extremely pleased. He said to<br />
Lord Nityänanda, “Listen, O Çrépäda Nityänanda Gosäi, where<br />
will You perform Vyäsa-püjä? Tomorrow is the auspicious full<br />
moon day when one offers special worship to Çréla Vyäsadeva.<br />
Consider this matter and let us know.”<br />
Nityänanda Prabhu understood the intention of the Lord.<br />
He caught hold of Çréväsa Paëòita’s hand and brought him before<br />
Lord Viçvambhara. Nityänanda smilingly said, “Listen, Viçvambhara.<br />
I will perform Vyäsa-püjä at this brähmaëa’s house.”<br />
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ÇRÉ NITYÄNANDA CARITÄMÅTA<br />
Lord Viçvambhara then said to Çréväsa, “You have been entrusted<br />
with a very heavy responsibility.”<br />
Çréväsa Paëòita replied, “This is not at all difficult for me.<br />
By Your mercy, everything is available at my house. All the necessary<br />
items, such as cloth, fragrant flowers, a sacred thread,<br />
ghee, betel nuts, and pän leaves are there in my house. I will<br />
only have to borrow a book that describes how to perform the<br />
Vyäsa-püjä ceremony. With great fortune, I will celebrate Vyäsapüjä<br />
tomorrow.”<br />
Hearing the words of Çréväsa Paëòita, Mahäprabhu was very<br />
pleased and all the Vaiñëavas happily chanted the holy names of<br />
Lord Hari. Lord Viçvambhara then said, “Listen, Çrépäda Gosäi.<br />
Please give Me permission so that we can all go to Çréväsa<br />
Paëòita’s house.”<br />
Nityänanda Prabhu was very happy to hear these words<br />
of the Lord. Thereafter, they all started for the house of<br />
Çréväsa Paëòita. Nityänanda and Viçvambhara, along with all<br />
the devotees, exactly resembled Balaräma and Kåñëa surrounded<br />
by the cowherd boys of Gokula. As soon as they entered Çréväsa<br />
Paëòita’s house, everyone felt boundless happiness within his<br />
heart. The Lord ordered them to lock the main entrance of<br />
Çréväsa Paëòita’s house. He allowed no one except the relatives<br />
of Çréväsa Paëòita to remain inside. The Lord then said to begin<br />
kértana. Everyone began an ecstatic kértana and thus lost<br />
external consciousness. Both Lords jubilantly danced while the<br />
devotees sang around Them.<br />
Çré Caitanya and Çré Nityänanda, who are eternally absorbed<br />
in love for each other, danced together while meditating<br />
on one another.<br />
Someone loudly shouted, someone else roared, another person<br />
fell senseless to the ground, and others simply cried. Symptoms<br />
of ecstasy, such as shivering, perspiration, the standing of<br />
the hair on end, and being unconscious due to love of God, were<br />
visible on the bodies of the two Lords. The two Lords danced,<br />
absorbed in Their own happiness. Sometimes They embraced<br />
and sometimes They cried. Both of Them tried to catch the other’s<br />
feet, but neither attained success. They both rolled on the<br />
ground in infinite happiness. They forgot Themselves, absorbed<br />
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Lord Nityänanda’s Stay With Çréväsa and His Vyäsa-püjä Ceremony<br />
in Their internal moods. They became absorbed in an ecstatic<br />
trance so that They became unmindful of Their clothing. The<br />
Vaiñëavas tried to quiet Them, but failed in all their attempts.<br />
Who can hold Those who hold the three worlds? Both Lords<br />
were intoxicated due to relishing the kértana.<br />
“Chant more! Chant more!” Çré Gaurasundara loudly exclaimed.<br />
His entire body became wet due to His tears of ecstasy.<br />
Fulfilling His desire to be with Nityänanda, Lord Caitanya lost<br />
all external awareness and floated on the ocean of bliss. The<br />
dancing of Viçvambhara was so astonishing that while dancing,<br />
His lotus feet would often touch His head.<br />
As Lord Nityänanda danced, the earth shook. All the Vaiñëavas<br />
thought there were earthquakes. The two Lords thus<br />
danced in ecstasy. Who can describe Their happiness? To reveal<br />
the glories of Lord Nityänanda, Lord Viçvambhara suddenly<br />
climbed on the throne of Lord Viñëu in the mood of Lord<br />
Balaräma. The Lord, overwhelmed by the mood of Balaräma,<br />
repeatedly demanded, “Bring wine, bring wine!”<br />
“Give me a plough and club right away!” Çré Gaurasundara<br />
said to Çré Nityänanda. Instructed by Lord Caitanya, Lord Nityänanda<br />
placed something in His hands, and He accepted it.<br />
Some of the devotees saw only the movements of hands and<br />
nothing else. Someone directly saw the plough and club. Only<br />
one who favored by the Lord can understand Him. Others, even<br />
if they see the Lord, cannot recognize Him. This is a very confidential<br />
pastime. Only a few persons were that were favored by<br />
Lord Nityänanda were able to perceive it.<br />
Receiving a plough and club from Lord Nityänanda, Lord<br />
Gaurasundara became mad with ecstasy and asked for väruëé<br />
(honeyed wine). Everyone was confused, unable to decide what<br />
to do. They simply looked at each other’s faces. Finally, after due<br />
consideration, the devotees brought a pitcher of Ganges water<br />
and gave it to the Lord. Everyone offered water and the Lord<br />
drank it. On all sides, the devotees recited prayers glorifying<br />
Lord Balaräma.<br />
The Lord repeatedly called out, “Näòä! Näòä!” The Lord<br />
moved His head back and forth asking for Näòä repeatedly.<br />
None of the devotees could grasp the meaning of this word. The<br />
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devotees inquired, “O Lord, who are You calling by the name<br />
Näòä?”<br />
“It is He by whose loud call I have appeared,” the Lord replied.<br />
“The one you all call Advaita Äcärya 5 is known as Näòä.<br />
I have appeared because of Him.”<br />
mohare änilä näòä vaikunöha thäkiyä<br />
niçcinte rohila giyä haridäsa laiyä<br />
sankértana ärasbhe mohära avatära<br />
ghare ghare karimu kértana paracära<br />
5 Advaita Äcärya appeared on the seventh day of the waxing<br />
moon in the month of February in the year 1356 Çaka era, in the<br />
village of Çréhaööa within the subdivision of Läur. His father’s name<br />
was Kuvera Paëòita and His mother’s name was Labhä Devé. Kuvera<br />
Paëòita was a minister in the assembly of King Divya Siàha. The<br />
son of Kuvera Paëòita was given the name Kamaläkña and was the<br />
combined form of Mahä-Viñëu, Ujjvala Sakhä, Sampürëa Major, and<br />
Sadäçiva. Later, he was known as Advaita Äcärya. When He was<br />
twelve years old, Advaita Äcärya came to reside at Çäntipura. After<br />
the death of his parents, he went to Gayä to offer oblations to His<br />
forefathers. Thereafter, He traveled to many holy places of pilgrimage<br />
and in the course of his journey, He arrived at Våndävana. In Våndävana,<br />
He discovered the Deity of Madana Gopäla that was previously<br />
worshiped by Kubjä. He entrusted the Deity of Madana Gopäla to<br />
a Chaube brähmaëa of Mathurä. (This Deity became famous as the<br />
Madana-mohana Deity of Çréla Sanätana Gosvämé). Advaita Äcärya<br />
returned to Çäntipura, taking with Him a picture painted by Viçäkhä<br />
at Nikuïjavana. He took initiation from Mädhavendra Puré when<br />
he came to Çäntipura on the way to Néläcala to collect sandalwood<br />
for his Lord. Later Advaita Äcärya married the two daughters of<br />
Nåsiàha Badhuri, a resident of Saptagräma. The two girls’ names were<br />
Çré and Sétä Öhäkuräëé. In due course of time, He begot six sons—<br />
Acyutänanda, Kåñëa Miçra, Gopäla, Balaräma, Çvarüpa and Jagadéça.<br />
In response to the worship and prayers of Advaita Äcärya, Çré Çré<br />
Nitäi-Gauräìgadeva, along with Their associates, appeared upon the<br />
surface of the earth and delivered all the residents of the three worlds.<br />
After assisting Lord Caitanya in His pastimes, Advaita Äcärya disappeared<br />
from this world in the year 1480 Çaka era.<br />
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Lord Nityänanda’s Stay With Çréväsa and His Vyäsa-püjä Ceremony<br />
bidyä dhana kule jïäna tapasyära made<br />
mora bhakta stäne ñära äche aparädhe<br />
se adhama sabäre nä dimu premasoga<br />
nagariyä prati dimu brakñädira bhoga<br />
“Näòä brought Me here from Vaikuëöha, but He is<br />
living peacefully with Haridäsa. I descended to inaugurate<br />
the näma-saìkértana movement. I will preach this<br />
chanting in each and every house. However, I will not<br />
give love of God to those fallen souls who offend My<br />
devotees, being proud of their learning, wealth, high<br />
birth, knowledge, and austerity. I will freely give to<br />
everyone this love of God, which even Lord Brahmä<br />
rarely attains.”<br />
While hearing the Lord, all the devotees floated on the<br />
ocean of bliss. After some time, the son of Çacé 6 became calm.<br />
“What mischief have I done?” the Lord inquired. The devotees<br />
replied, “Nothing serious.” The Lord then embraced everyone,<br />
saying, “Please excuse My offenses.”<br />
Hearing the Lord’s words, the devotees began to smile as Nityänanda<br />
Prabhu rolled on the ground. He was unable to check<br />
His emotions. Love of God overwhelmed Lord Nityänanda,<br />
who is non-different from Lord Çeña. Sometimes He laughed,<br />
sometimes He cried, and sometimes He loosened His clothes. He<br />
appeared to be very childish. What remained of His sannyäsa<br />
daëòa, what remained of His water pot, and what remained of<br />
His clothes? He scattered everything all over the ground.<br />
6 Çacé was the mother of Lord Gauräìga. She was a combined<br />
form of Kauçalyä, Devaké, Påçni, Aditi, and Yaçodä. Nélämbara Cakravarté,<br />
a resident of Çréhaööa, came to Navadvépa and took up residence<br />
there. He had two sons, named Yogeçvara Paëòita and Ratnagarbha<br />
Äcärya, and two daughters, named Çacé and Sarvajäyä. The Lord of<br />
the universe agreed to become Çacé’s son. What could be more glorious<br />
than this?<br />
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The extremely grave Lord Nityänanda became very agitated.<br />
Then Lord Caitanya personally caught and pacified Him.<br />
Appearing like one who is intoxicated, Lord Nityänanda was<br />
pacified by the words of the Lord. The Lord said, “Please be<br />
quiet now. We will celebrate Vyäsa-püjä tomorrow.”<br />
After calming Lord Nityänanda, the Lord returned home.<br />
All the devotees also returned to their respective residences.<br />
Lord Nityänanda, however, remained at the house of Çréväsa<br />
Paëòita. That same night, Lord Nityänanda loudly shouted and<br />
broke His sannyäsa daëòa and water pot to pieces. Early the<br />
next morning, when Rämäi Paëòita got up from his bed, he<br />
was astonished to see the broken daëòa and water pot. Rämäi<br />
Paëòita at once told Çréväsa Paëòita about this. Çréväsa said,<br />
“Go tell this to Lord Caitanya.”<br />
Hearing of this incident from Rämäi Paëòita, Lord Caitanya<br />
hurried to Çréväsa Paëòita’s house. He saw Nityänanda<br />
Prabhu laughing loudly as if devoid of external perception.<br />
Lord Caitanya picked up the broken sannyäsa daëòa and then<br />
went to bathe in the Ganges with Nityänanda Prabhu. All the<br />
devotees, headed by Çréväsa Paëòita, also went with Them to<br />
bathe in the Ganges. There, the Lord personally threw the broken<br />
daëòa into the water.<br />
Unable to pacify the greatly agitated Nityänanda Prabhu<br />
by His words, the Lord had to chastise Him. Seeing a crocodile,<br />
Lord Nityänanda tried to catch it. Gadädhara and Çréväsa<br />
Paëòita exclaimed, “Alas! Alas!”<br />
Nityänanda Prabhu fearlessly swam to the middle of the<br />
Ganges. Only the words of the Lord made Him become somewhat<br />
peaceful. Viçvambhara called to Nityänanda, “Hurry up.<br />
Today we will celebrate Vyäsa-püjä.”<br />
Upon hearing the call of the Lord, Nityänanda Prabhu came<br />
back to the shore of the Ganges. After completing His bath,<br />
He returned home with Lord Caitanya. Soon all the devotees<br />
gathered at the house of Çréväsa Paëòita and began to perform<br />
näma-saìkértana.<br />
Çré Caitanya appointed Çréväsa Paëòita as the head priest<br />
for the Vyäsa-püjä ceremony. Thus, by the Lord’s order, Çréväsa<br />
Paëòita performed whatever was required. Everyone chanted the<br />
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Lord Nityänanda’s Stay With Çréväsa and His Vyäsa-püjä Ceremony<br />
holy names of the Lord in a very sweet melody. The house of<br />
Çréväsa Paëòita was transformed into Vaikuëöha. Knowing all<br />
scriptural conclusions, Çréväsa Paëòita executed the prescribed<br />
rituals with utmost care and expertise. Placing sandalwood paste<br />
and beautiful flower garlands in the hands of Nityänanda Prabhu,<br />
he said, “Listen, Nityänanda. Offer this garland and recite these<br />
prayers while offering obeisances to Çréla Vyäsadeva. It is the<br />
injunction of the scriptures that one should personally worship<br />
Çréla Vyäsadeva, for by satisfying him, one achieves all success.”<br />
Nityänanda kept saying, “Yes, yes,” but He did not quite<br />
know what prayers to recite. Nobody could understand the<br />
whispering sounds of Nityänanda Prabhu. Holding the garland<br />
in His hands, He repeatedly looked around Him. The most magnanimous<br />
Çréväsa Paëòita then told Nityänanda, “My dear sir,<br />
You are not worshiping Çréla Vyäsadeva.”<br />
Hearing the words of Çréväsa Paëòita, Çré Gaurasundara<br />
quickly rushed in front of Nityänanda and told Him, “Listen to<br />
Me. Please place this garland on Çréla Vyäsadeva at once and<br />
thus complete the Vyäsa-püjä ceremony.”<br />
All the Vaiñëavas were overwhelmed by ecstasy as they observed<br />
the Vyäsa-püjä ceremony with great pomp. Some of them<br />
danced, some sang, and some rolled on the ground. Everyone<br />
tried to catch hold of each other’s feet. Çacé, the mother of Çré<br />
Caitanya Mahäprabhu and the entire universe saw the fun from<br />
a distance. Seeing both Viçvambhara and Nityänanda, she considered<br />
Them equally as her sons.<br />
The Vyäsa-püjä was a most magnanimous event. Only Lord<br />
Ananta could properly describe it. I am simply trying to glorify<br />
the qualities of Nityänanda Prabhu in codes. If one somehow or<br />
other glorifies Lord Kåñëa, he will be benefited.<br />
Vyäsa-püjä ceremony was concluded at the end of the day.<br />
All of the devotees then began to dance with Viçvambhara.<br />
They were all maddened with feelings of jubilation. They<br />
cried out, “O Kåñëa!” Exhibiting His own devotional service,<br />
Viçvambhara was peaceful. He then advised Çréväsa Paëòita,<br />
“Bring all the prasäda of Vyäsadeva right away.”<br />
When Çréväsa Paëòita brought all the prasäda, the Lord<br />
personally served everyone with His own hands. Being person-<br />
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ally served by Lord Caitanya, the devotees joyfully honored<br />
the prasäda. The Lord personally invited and then served all<br />
the members of Çréväsa Paëòita’s household. The servants and<br />
maidservants of the Vaiñëavas easily received what the demigods,<br />
headed by Lord Brahmä, rarely attain.<br />
All these wonderful pastimes were performed at the house<br />
of Çréväsa Paëòita. Who can describe his good fortune? In this<br />
way, various wonderful pastimes were performed at Navadvépa<br />
that were unknown to ordinary people. Mahäprabhu then told<br />
everyone, “Now that the Vyäsa-püjä ceremony is completed,<br />
chant the holy names of Kåñëa.”<br />
Accepting Çré Caitanya and Nityänanda Prabhu as my life<br />
and soul, I, Våndävana däsa, sing the glories of Their pastimes.<br />
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CHAPTER THREE<br />
Lord Nityänanda Offers Prayers to the<br />
Six-armed Form of Lord Caitanya<br />
One day, Çréväsa Paëòita invited Nityänanda Avadhüta<br />
for lunch at his house, and the Lord accepted his invitation.<br />
Nityänanda Prabhu was very satisfied by the service of<br />
Çréväsa Paëòita. After lunch, He stayed at the house of Çréväsa<br />
Paëòita throughout the day. At that time, Mahäprabhu Lord<br />
Gauräìga happily arrived there. The Lord entered the temple<br />
room of Çréväsa Paëòita and sat on the throne of Lord Viñëu. He<br />
told <strong>Nityananda</strong> Prabhu to look at Him. Hearing these words,<br />
<strong>Nityananda</strong> Prabhu, the topmost sannyäsé, respectfully looked<br />
at Viçvambhara, not understand His intention. Considering<br />
Nityänanda to be His most intimate associate, Mahäprabhu<br />
Viçvambhara made a special request of the devotees: “All of you<br />
go outside.”<br />
All the devotees were astonished to hear this. Following the<br />
Lord’s order, all the devotees left Çréväsa Paëòita’s house. Who<br />
can understand the intentions of the Lord? The Lord then spoke<br />
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ÇRÉ NITYÄNANDA CARITÄMÅTA<br />
something confidential to <strong>Nityananda</strong> Prabhu. No one could<br />
understand the meaning of Their conversation. Nityänanda<br />
then saw Lord Viçvambhara assume a six-armed form, holding<br />
a conch, club, disc, lotus, plough, and stick. Seeing this form of<br />
the Lord, Nityänanda Prabhu fell unconscious upon the floor.<br />
There were no symptoms of life visible in His body.<br />
All the Vaiñëavas became very afraid. They remembered<br />
Lord Kåñëa, praying to Him to protect Nityänanda Prabhu.<br />
When Lord Nityänanda fainted upon seeing His six-armed<br />
form, Çré Caitanya personally picked Him up, saying, “Please get<br />
up, Nityänanda. Calm Yourself. Hear the Lord’s holy names being<br />
chanted in front of You. You appeared to preach the chanting<br />
of the holy names. Now this is being fulfilled. What more do<br />
You want? You are filled with love of God and loving devotional<br />
service is Your property. Unless You bestow this love of God,<br />
no one can possess it. Please pacify Yourself and get up. Glance<br />
mercifully towards Your associates. Distribute love of God to<br />
whomever You desire. If one maintains even a tinge of envy towards<br />
You, he is never dear to Me, in spite of worshiping Me.”<br />
Hearing these sweet words of the Lord, Nityänanda returned<br />
to external consciousness. He had become ecstatic by<br />
seeing the six-armed form of His Lord. Çré Gauracandra, who<br />
eternally reclines on the bed of Ananta Çeña, certainly knows<br />
Lord Nityänanda as being non-different from Lord Ananta.<br />
Seeing the six-armed form of the Lord is not very astonishing<br />
for Nityänanda. Such are the pastimes of the Lord’s various incarnations.<br />
Seeing that wonderful and extraordinary form of the Lord,<br />
Nityänanda Avadhüta remembered His previous incarnations<br />
and prayed, “All glories to Lord Viçvambhara, the father of everyone!<br />
He incarnated to initiate the saìkértana movement of<br />
chanting the holy names of the Lord. All glories to the Lord,<br />
the protector of Vedic religious principles and maintainer of the<br />
brähmaëas! All glories to the time factor, a representation of<br />
the Lord and destroyer of all nondevotees! All glories to the Absolute<br />
Truth! All glories to eternal bliss personified! All glories<br />
to the supremely independent Lord of lords!<br />
“You are the source of innumerable universes, yet You<br />
manifested Yourself within the womb of mother Çacé. Who can<br />
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Lord Nityänanda Offers Prayers to the Six-armed Form of Lord Caitanya<br />
understand Your supreme will? Creation, maintenance, and destruction<br />
are simply parts of Your pastimes. You can easily destroy<br />
the entire universe simply by Your will. Are You unable<br />
to kill Kaàsa and Rävaëa simply by words? Still, You appeared<br />
in the house of Vasudeva and Daçaratha and sportingly killed<br />
these demons. Who can understand the cause of Your appearance?<br />
Only You Yourself know Your mind. Even one of Your<br />
servants can deliver countless universes by Your order. Yet, to<br />
glorify the earth and restore the principles of religion, You personally<br />
advent Yourself.<br />
“O Lord, You appeared in Satya-yuga with a white complexion.<br />
You taught meditation and austerity by performing them<br />
Yourself. Wearing a deerskin and holding a stick and water pot<br />
in Your hands, You appeared as a brahmacäré to establish the<br />
principles of religion.<br />
“O Lord, You appeared in Tretä-yuga in a beautiful reddish<br />
form. Being the only enjoyer of sacrifices, You preached<br />
the performance of sacrifice. Holding the articles for performing<br />
sacrifice in Your hands as a sacrificial priest, You personally<br />
performed sacrifices and thus induced others to do so.<br />
“O Lord, You appeared in Dväpara-yuga as a divine personality<br />
having a blackish complexion the color of a fresh monsoon<br />
cloud. You personally established the principles of temple worship.<br />
Dressed in yellow garments and marked with such signs as<br />
Çrévatsa, You engaged in gorgeous worship as a king. In Kali-yuga,<br />
You have appeared with a golden complexion as a brähmaëa<br />
preaching the performance of näma-saìkértana. This form is<br />
unknown to the Vedas.<br />
“O Lord, You have innumerable incarnations. Who has<br />
the power to count them all? In the form of Matsya, You enjoyed<br />
Your pastimes in the waters of devastation. As Kürma,<br />
You were the shelter of all living entities. You protected the<br />
Vedas as Hayagréva. In that form, You killed the two original<br />
demons, Madhu and Kaiöabha. O Lord, as Varäha, You delivered<br />
the planet earth. You took the form of Nåsiàha and tore<br />
apart the body of Hiraëyakaçipu. Assuming the wonderful form<br />
of Vämanadeva, You deceived Bali Mahäräja. As Paraçuräma,<br />
You killed the kñatriyas and thus rid the earth of its rulers. Appearing<br />
as Rämacandra, You killed Rävaëa, and in the form of<br />
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Haladhara, You enjoyed unlimited pastimes. As Buddha, You<br />
manifested the principles of compassion, and in the form of<br />
Kalki, You will kill the mlecchas.<br />
“As Dhanvantari, You delivered nectar to the demigods. As<br />
the Haàsa incarnation, You imparted transcendental knowledge<br />
to the demigods, headed by Lord Brahmä. As Närada, You<br />
hold a véëä while singing Your own glories. As Vyäsadeva, You<br />
explain Your own truths. As Kåñëa, You appeared in Gokula to<br />
enjoy transcendental pastimes. You had wonderful qualities and<br />
enjoyed very sweet pastimes with Your devotees.<br />
The opening verse of Bhakti-rasämåta-sindhu states:<br />
akhila-rasämåta-mürtiù prasåmara-ruci-ruddha-tärakä-päliù<br />
kalita-çyämä-lalito rädhä-preyän vidhur jayati<br />
Let Kåñëa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead,<br />
be glorified! By virtue of His expanding attractive features,<br />
He subjugated the gopés named Tärakä and Päli<br />
and absorbed the minds of Çyämä and Lalitä. He is the<br />
most attractive lover of Çrématé Rädhäräëé and is the<br />
reservoir of pleasure for devotees in all devotional<br />
mellows.<br />
The Tenth Canto of Çrémad-Bhägavatam (33.5) states:<br />
valayänäà nüpuräëäà kiìkiëénäà ca yoñitäm<br />
sa-priyäëäm abhüc chabdas tumu,m,lo räsa-maëòale<br />
A tumultuous sound arose from the armlets, ankle<br />
bells and waist bells of the gopés as they sported with<br />
their beloved Kåñëa in the circle of the räsa dance.<br />
<strong>Nityananda</strong> Prabhu continued praying, “You will fill the<br />
entire universe with kåñëa-näma-saìkértana. Loving devotional<br />
service to the Lord will be preached in each and every house.<br />
You will fill the entire world with ecstasy when You dance, along<br />
with Your devotees. Inauspiciousness disappears simply by the<br />
influence of those who eternally meditate on Your lotus feet.<br />
Your steps will nullify the misfortune of the entire world when<br />
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Lord Nityänanda Offers Prayers to the Six-armed Form of Lord Caitanya<br />
You dance in kértana. You will purify all the four directions by<br />
Your glance. When You raise Your hands while dancing, all that<br />
is inauspicious on the planets will be destroyed. Such is Your<br />
glory, such is Your dancing, and such are Your servants.<br />
“O Lord, You personally appear in this world to distribute<br />
love of God by bestowing kåñëa-näma to the fallen conditioned<br />
souls. Who has the power to describe Your wonderful glories?<br />
You will distribute devotional services to Lord Viñëu that are<br />
unknown to the Vedas. We intensely desire that devotional<br />
service. You had formerly kept it hidden while awarding liberation.<br />
“O Lord, now You will distribute the hidden wealth of bhakti<br />
to everyone in the world. This is proof of Your causeless mercy.<br />
Simply by chanting the holy names of the Lord, one performs<br />
all kinds of sacrifice.<br />
“Out of compassion, You appeared at Navadvépa. Yogés meditate<br />
on You as the Supersoul in their hearts. This same Supersoul<br />
has now appeared in the village of Navadvépa. I also offer<br />
my respectful obeisances to Navadvépa-dhäma, where You have<br />
incarnated at the house of Çacé and Jagannätha Miçra.<br />
“All glories to Viçvambhara, the life and soul of everyone!<br />
All glories to Gauracandra, the ocean of mercy! All glories to<br />
the Lord who appears to fulfill the words of His devotees! All<br />
glories to Mahäprabhu, the most magnanimous incarnation! All<br />
glories to the beloved Lord of the goddess of fortune! All glories<br />
to the enchanting Personality of Godhead, who is decorated<br />
with the mark of Çrévatsa and the Kaustubha gem! All glories to<br />
the Lord, who distributes the Hare Kåñëa mahämantra! All glories<br />
to the Lord’s pastimes of accepting love and devotion from<br />
His devotees!<br />
“All glories to Mahäprabhu, who lies on the bed of Ananta!<br />
All glories to the Lord, who is the only shelter of all living entities!<br />
You are Lord Viñëu. You are Lord Kåñëa. You are Lord<br />
Näräyaëa. You are Matsya. You are Kürma. You are the original<br />
Personality of Godhead. You are Varäha and You are Vämana.<br />
“O Lord, You appear in every yuga to protect the Vedas. You<br />
are the killer of Rävaëa and his entire family. You are the life<br />
and soul of Jänaké. As Lord Räma, You blessed Guhaka-caëòäla<br />
and delivered Ahalyä.<br />
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ÇRÉ NITYÄNANDA CARITÄMÅTA<br />
To protect Your devotee, Prahläda, You incarnated as<br />
Nåsiàha and killed Hiraëyakaçipu. You are the crest jewel<br />
among the demigods. You are the best of the brähmaëas. You<br />
are the same Jagannätha who accepts opulent offerings at Néläcala.<br />
The four Vedas try to search for You, because You have<br />
appeared in a hidden form. You are very expert in concealing<br />
Yourself, but Your devotees always recognize You. You are the<br />
most peaceful personality.<br />
“To inaugurate the näma-saìkértana movement, You have<br />
now appeared in this world. There is no truth other than You<br />
within the unlimited universes. Lord Çiva and Goddess Pärvaté<br />
are overwhelmed by the transcendental glories of Your lotus<br />
feet. Lakñmé, the goddess of fortune, serves Your lotus feet. Çré<br />
Ananta Çeña, with His thousands of mouths, glorifies these lotus<br />
feet. Lord Brahmä constantly worships these lotus feet. The<br />
Vedas, småtis and Puräëas sing the glories of Your lotus feet.<br />
These lotus feet touched the topmost planet, Satyaloka. The<br />
head of Mahäräja Bali became glorious by the touch of these<br />
lotus feet. Mother Ganges emanated from these lotus feet. Lord<br />
Çiva became jubilant by holding the water of the Ganges on<br />
his head.<br />
“You are celebrated as the son of Vasudeva and the son of<br />
Nanda Mahäräja. Now You have appeared to deliver the most<br />
sinful Kali. By the touch of Your lotus feet, a piece of wood<br />
turns into gold and a stone turns into a living force.”<br />
<strong>Nityananda</strong> Prabhu thus offered prayers with folded hands.<br />
He concluded by saying, “O Lord, the three worlds worship<br />
You.”<br />
Nityänanda Prabhu then began to dance in ecstasy. He<br />
floated in the ocean of love of God and became fully absorbed<br />
in that love. Viçvambhara awards love of God not only to one<br />
who carefully sings these topics, but to the friends of that person<br />
as well. The holy names of Viçvambhara are very rarely found in<br />
this world. Lord Caitanya is the life and soul of everyone. Hearing<br />
about Nityänanda Prabhu’s witnessing the six-armed form<br />
of the Lord will certainly free one from material bondage.<br />
Accepting Çré Caitanya and Nityänanda Prabhu as my life<br />
and soul, I, Våndävana däsa, sing the glories of Their lotus feet.<br />
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CHAPTER FOUR<br />
Çréväsa’s Love for Lord Nityänanda and the<br />
Dream of Mother Çacé<br />
<strong>Nityananda</strong> Prabhu thus remained at the house of Çréväsa<br />
Paëòita. He was constantly absorbed in a childish mood,<br />
and He would not eat food with His own hand but had Mälinédevé<br />
feed Him just like her own son. Mäliné-devé 7 , the chaste<br />
wife of Çréväsa Paëòita, knew very well the glories of Lord<br />
Nityänanda, so she served Him as an affectionate mother.<br />
One day, as Lord Gauräìga discussed Kåñëa with Çréväsa<br />
Paëòita, He spoke as follows to test him: “Why do you keep this<br />
mendicant in Your house? We do not know anything about His<br />
7 Mäliné-devé was the wife of Çréväsa Paëòita, the beloved devotee<br />
of Gaurasundara. In her previous incarnation, she was an elderly<br />
gopé of Vraja who gave her breast milk to Kåñëa. That is why Nitäi and<br />
Gauräìga treated her as a mother in this incarnation. According to<br />
her previous mood, she lavishly nourished both Nitäi and Gauräìga.<br />
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ÇRÉ NITYÄNANDA CARITÄMÅTA<br />
family background. I must say that you are overly magnanimous.<br />
If you want to protect your family’s good name, get rid of this<br />
beggar at once.”<br />
Çréväsa Paëòita smilingly replied, “O Lord, You are certainly<br />
testing me. This is most unfair. Anyone who worships You even<br />
for a day is very dear to me. Nityänanda is nondifferent from<br />
You. There is no doubt about this. Even if Nityänanda is seen<br />
carrying a pot of wine or if He marries a Muslim girl, my heart<br />
will still not deviate even an inch from His glorious lotus feet,<br />
even though this may destroy my caste, life, and wealth. I indeed<br />
tell You the truth.”<br />
When the Lord heard this from Çréväsa Paëòita, He roared<br />
loudly and climbed on his chest. The Lord said, “What did you<br />
say, Çréväsa Paëòita? You have so much faith in Nityänanda?<br />
You have actually understood the most confidential glories of<br />
Nityänanda. I am so pleased with you that I will give you a<br />
benediction. Even if Lakñmé, the goddess of fortune, begs in the<br />
street, there will never be any poverty in your house. Everyone<br />
in your house, including the cats and dogs, will achieve undivided<br />
devotional service unto Me. I offer Nityänanda to your<br />
care. Therefore, please maintain Him in all respects.”<br />
After blessing Çréväsa Paëòita, the Lord returned home.<br />
Lord Nityänanda would regularly wander throughout Nadia.<br />
Sometimes He swam in the middle of the Ganges so that the<br />
current of the water carried Him away. Sometimes He happilly<br />
enjoyed sporting with local boys, and sometimes He would visit<br />
the house of Gaìgädäsa 8 and Muräri.<br />
8 Gaìgädäsa was the son of Çré Caturbhuja Paëòita, a resident<br />
of Navadvépa. He had two brothers, named Viñëudäsa and Vandana<br />
Äcärya. Both the Lords stayed incognito at his house during Their<br />
pastimes. Before the advent of Gauräìga, he was once attacked by<br />
Muslims, and so he came to Navadvépa with his family. When he arrived<br />
on the bank of the Ganges at night, he was unable to find a<br />
boat to cross the river. At that time, the Lord showed His affection<br />
for His devotees by personally sailing them to the other side of the<br />
River Ganges. The Lord revealed this fact during the His display of<br />
the pastimes of opulence at the house of Çréväsa Paëòita.<br />
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Çréväsa’s Love for Lord Nityänanda and the Dream of Mother Çacé<br />
Lord Nityänanda would sometimes visit the house of Lord<br />
Caitanya. Then mother Çacé would show great affection to<br />
Him. In a childish mood, Nityänanda would try to catch hold of<br />
mother Çacé’s feet, but she would run away.<br />
One day, mother Çacé saw something in a dream. She secretly<br />
related the story to her son, Viçvambhara, saying, “At the end of<br />
the night, I saw both You and Nityänanda in my dream. Both<br />
of You were five-year-old boys, fighting and running all over the<br />
house. I saw both of You enter the Deity room and then come<br />
out with the Deities of Kåñëa and Balaräma. Nityänanda held<br />
Kåñëa in His hands, and You held Balaräma in Yours. I clearly<br />
saw all four of You fighting amongst Yourselves. Then the Deities<br />
of Kåñëa and Balaräma said in an angry mood, ‘Who are You two<br />
pretenders? Get out of here. This house, these rooms, the milk,<br />
sandeça, yogurt, and everything else here belong to Us.’<br />
“Then Nityänanda said: ‘Those days are gone when You<br />
would steal and eat butter and yogurt. The power of the cowherd<br />
boys is finished. Now the rule of the brähmaëas is in force.<br />
Now recognize Us and give up accepting all the offerings. If You<br />
don’t give up out of love, then We will beat You. If You continue<br />
to steal the offerings, We are not going to leave You alone.’<br />
“Both Kåñëa and Balaräma replied: ‘Do not blame Us. We<br />
are going to bind both of You pretenders right now.’<br />
“Balaräma then challenged Nityänanda in an angry mood:<br />
‘If You continue Your mischief, then I swear on Kåñëa that You<br />
will have to face the consequences.’<br />
“Nityänanda replied, ‘I am not afraid of Your Kåñëa. My<br />
Lord is Gauracandra Viçvambhara.’<br />
“In this way, all four of You quarreled amongst Yourselves<br />
while eating food by snatching it from one another. First someone<br />
snatched a morsel of food from another’s hand and ate<br />
it. Then someone else took that food right from His mouth.<br />
Nityänanda then called me, ‘Mother, please give Me some rice,<br />
for I am very hungry.’<br />
“Just then I woke up. I could not understand anything of<br />
this dream and so I have told You about it.”<br />
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While listening to His mother, Lord Viçvambhara smiled<br />
and then spoke to her in a sweet voice: “O mother, You indeed<br />
had an auspicious dream, but please do not describe it to anyone.<br />
Now I am firmly convinced that the Deities worshiped in Your<br />
house are directly the Supreme Personality of Godhead. My<br />
faith has become strengthened by hearing about your dream.<br />
After offering food to the Lord, I repeatedly found half of it<br />
missing, but I was hesitant to tell this to anyone. Actually, I had<br />
a doubt about your daughter-law, but today that doubt has been<br />
removed from My mind.”<br />
While hearing her husband’s words, Lakñmépriyä, who is directly<br />
the goddess of fortune, simply smiled. She heard about the<br />
dream from inside an adjoining room.<br />
“Mother, please listen,” Viçvambhara said. “I will at once<br />
invite Nityänanda and feed Him.”<br />
Upon hearing the words of her son, Çacé was very pleased<br />
and began making arrangements for lunch.<br />
Accepting Çré Caitanya and Nityänanda Prabhu as my life<br />
and soul, I, Våndävana däsa, sing the glories of Their lotus feet.<br />
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CHAPTER FIVE<br />
Eating Pastimes of Çrémän Mahäprabhu<br />
and Lord Nityänanda<br />
Lord Viçvambhara went to the residence of Lord Nityänanda<br />
to invite Him for lunch. “O Gosäi, today kindly<br />
accept lunch at My house,” Lord Caitanya said. “But one thing<br />
You must remember, do not make any mischief.”<br />
Nityänanda closed His ears and murmured, “Viñëu, Viñëu.”<br />
He continued acting like a madman, being very mischievous,<br />
and then said, “You consider Me a to be a naughty boy. Actually,<br />
You see everyone as being just like Yourself.”<br />
At this, both began to laugh, and They left for Viçvambhara’s<br />
home while discussing Kåñëa on the way. When They reached<br />
the Lord’s house, Gadädhara and others welcomed Them. They<br />
sat down together inside the house after Éçäna 9 had given both<br />
Viçvambhara and Nityänanda water for washing Their feet.<br />
9 Éçäna was the family servant of Lord Gauräìga. The Lord<br />
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ÇRÉ NITYÄNANDA CARITÄMÅTA<br />
As the two Lords sat together to have Their lunch, all were<br />
reminded of Çré Räma and Lakñmaëa eating together at the<br />
house of Kauçalyä. They thus began eating together with loving<br />
exchanges just like in Their former pastimes. Mother Çacé happily<br />
served Them Their food.<br />
Suddenly, the two plates of food became three plates right in<br />
front of her eyes. At this, the two Lords began to smile. Mother<br />
Çacé then went and brought more food. However, instead of the<br />
two Lords, she found two small boys no more than five years of<br />
age sitting together. She saw two exceedingly attractive boys,<br />
one having a blackish complexion and the other very fair. Both<br />
were four-handed and naked. They held a conch, disc, club, lotus,<br />
plough, and stick. They were decorated with the mark of<br />
Çrévatsa and the Kaustubha gem, and wore shark-shaped earrings.<br />
Mother Çacé saw her daughter-in-law within the heart of<br />
her son. Then, all of a sudden, she could not see anything as she<br />
fell unconscious to the floor. Her entire body and clothes had<br />
become wet due to her tears of love. The rice she was carrying<br />
scattered all over the room.<br />
used to call him Baòäi. He was born in a brähmaëa family and took<br />
initiation from Advaita Äcärya. When he expressed his desire to<br />
serve Advaita Prabhu, He sent him to the house of mother Çacé.<br />
When he came to the Lord’s house, the Lord was at that time a baby.<br />
Çacé-mätä kept him at her house and entrusted him with the responsibility<br />
of protecting and nourishing Çré Gauräìga. Since that time,<br />
Éçäna stayed at the house of the Lord and served Him while tolerating<br />
all kinds of mischievous behavior from Him. After Çré Gauräìga took<br />
sannyäsa, Éçäna looked after mother Çacé and Viñëupriyä. When both<br />
Çacé and Viñëupriyä left this world, Éçäna returned to the house of Advaita<br />
Äcärya in Çäntipura. Later, by the order of Sétä Öhäkuräëé, the<br />
consort of Advaita Äcärya, he married at an elderly age. Thereafter,<br />
he lived in a place called Bhaìga Math. It is said that both Jagannätha<br />
and Baladeva used to beg food from him and eat. By the blessing<br />
of Sétä Öhäkuräëé, Éçäna begot three sons that delivered the entire<br />
world. As soon as people heard the kértana of Éçäna’s eldest son, they<br />
would become overwhelmed with ecstatic love of God.<br />
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Eating Pastimes of Çrémän Mahäprabhu and Lord Nityänanda<br />
Mahäprabhu quickly got up and washed His hands. He then<br />
picked up His mother, saying, “O mother, please get up. Please<br />
calm yourself. Why have you suddenly fallen onto the floor?”<br />
After awhile, mother Çacé regained her senses and quickly<br />
tied her hair. She spoke not a word, but simply went and cried<br />
within her room. While breathing heavily, her entire body<br />
trembled. She was filled with love of God and had forgotten<br />
everything else. Éçäna then cleaned the room after taking the<br />
leftover food and washed the kitchen paraphernalia.<br />
Éçäna served mother Çacé constantly. He was the most fortunate<br />
person within the fourteen worlds. Similar pastimes were<br />
enacted every day. No one but the confidential servants of the<br />
Lord know the actual purport of these pastimes.<br />
After Çré Gauräìga and Nityänanda Prabhu finished Their<br />
lunch, mother Çacé anointed Their bodies with sandalwood<br />
paste. She then offered Them various items for worship, including<br />
flower garlands. Seeing Nityänanda satiated the eyes of<br />
mother Çacé. She continued staring at Nityänanda’s face, having<br />
become maddened by her affection for Him.<br />
Çré Gauräìga told His mother, “You must treat Nityänanda<br />
as Your own son. Take care of Him more affectionately than<br />
you do Me.”<br />
Mother Çacé looked at Nityänanda’s face, thinking Him to<br />
be her own son. She said, “From now on, You are my son. Please<br />
be kind to my Viçvambhara. From today on, both of You are my<br />
sons.”<br />
As she spoke, tears flowed constantly from mother Çacé’s<br />
eyes. Out of motherly affection, she took Nityänanda on her<br />
lap. Nityänanda offered obeisances at mother Çacé’s feet, thinking<br />
her to be His affectionate mother. He sweetly said to her,<br />
“Mother, what you say is true. I can declare with confidence<br />
that I am actually your son 10 . O mother, please do not consider<br />
10 The meaning of this is: “I am nondifferent from your son,<br />
Viçvarüpa.” Çré Viçvarüpa merged within the body of Nityänanda. It<br />
is for this reason that mother Çacé felt the same happiness from Nityänanda<br />
as she felt while seeing Viçvarüpa.<br />
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ÇRÉ NITYÄNANDA CARITÄMÅTA<br />
My offences. Know for certain that I am without a doubt Your<br />
son.”<br />
Filled with the emotion of being Nityänanda’s mother, tears<br />
flowed from mother Çacé’s eyes, and her voice became choked.<br />
Both Çré Gauräìga and Nityänanda Prabhu merged in the<br />
ocean of her motherly affection. By seeing the two sons, mother<br />
Çacé became pleased and pacified.<br />
Accepting Çré Caitanya and Nityänanda Prabhu as my life<br />
and soul, I, Våndävana däsa, sing the glories of Their lotus feet.<br />
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CHAPTER SIX<br />
Nityänanda’s Pastimes at the House of Çréväsa<br />
Sré Nityänanda resided at the house of Çréväsa Paëòita.<br />
With great affection, He would address Çréväsa Paëòita<br />
as “father.” He was always in trance, absorbed in the mood of<br />
a child. He regularly drank Mäliné-devé’s breast milk. Though<br />
there was no milk in Maliné’s breasts, by the touch of Nityänanda’s<br />
hand, they became filled with an abundance of milk.<br />
This was possible only by Nityänanda’s inconceivable potency.<br />
Mother Mäliné experienced such wonderful things, but, on the<br />
order of Lord Caitanya, she never revealed them to anyone.<br />
Mäliné-devé constantly beheld the childhood pastimes of Nityänanda.<br />
Lord Viçvambhara once said, “Please listen, Nityänanda. I<br />
am afraid that You will quarrel with others. Please be calm and<br />
do not make any mischief at Çréväsa Paëòita’s house.”<br />
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Upon hearing this, Lord Nityänanda at once remembered<br />
Kåñëa and said, “I assure You that You will never find Me to be<br />
naughty. Do not think of Me as being like Yourself.”<br />
“I know You very well,” Viçvambhara said.<br />
“Then tell Me My faults,” Nityänanda replied.<br />
“You want to know Your faults?” Gauracandra smilingly<br />
said. “It seems that You have incarnated to shower rice all over<br />
the room.”<br />
“O Lord, only a madman does such a thing,” Nityänanda<br />
replied. “I think You are trying to find an excuse not to feed Me.<br />
You enjoy Your rice, but do not want to give Me My share. How<br />
long will You continue such shameful behavior?”<br />
“Actually, I am ashamed of Your conduct,” Lord Viçvambhara<br />
said. “That is why I always try to instruct You.”<br />
“This is indeed very good,” <strong>Nityananda</strong> Prabhu replied with<br />
a smile. “Please teach Me whenever You find me misbehaving.<br />
You clearly understand that I am a very naughty boy.”<br />
Saying this, Nityänanda Prabhu looked at the Lord and<br />
laughed heartily. In ecstatic love, Nityänanda hardly knew what<br />
He was doing. Suddenly, He took off His cloth and tied it around<br />
His head. He repeatedly jumped and laughed while wandering<br />
about the courtyard like a drunkard. Gadädhara, Çréväsa, and<br />
Haridäsa began to laugh. For the sake of understanding, they<br />
were allowed to see this behavior of Lord Nityänanda.<br />
Viçvambhara called to Nityänanda, “What are You doing?<br />
This is most improper behavior at the home of a householder.<br />
Just now You told Me that You are not a madman. Just see; You<br />
have proven Your words to be false.”<br />
How can words make a person ashamed if he is totally devoid<br />
of external consciousness? This was the case with Nityänanda<br />
Prabhu. He simply floated on the ocean of transcendental<br />
bliss. Lord Caitanya then personally dressed Nityänanda.<br />
Such were the inconceivable activities of Nityänanda<br />
Prabhu. Nityänanda Prabhu is just like a maddened lion. He is<br />
only controlled by the words of Çré Caitanya and nobody else.<br />
Nityänanda never ate food with His own hands. Mäliné-devé<br />
fed Him like a loving son. This chaste woman knew the transcendental<br />
glories of Nityänanda and so she served Him exactly<br />
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Nityänanda’s Pastimes at the House of Çréväsa<br />
as a mother serves her son. One day, a crow came, picked up a<br />
bell metal bowl in its beak and flew away into the forest. When<br />
the crow flew out of sight, mother Mäliné became anxious. The<br />
crow left the bowl in its nest and then returned. Mäliné-devé saw<br />
the crow’s mouth to be empty.<br />
Çréväsa Paëòita was very strict in his behavior. The bowl<br />
taken by the crow was used to keep ghee for the service of Lord<br />
Kåñëa, and so she was afraid that her husband would be very upset<br />
when he heard about what had happened. Unable to think<br />
of what to do, Mäliné-devé began to cry.<br />
At that time, Nityänanda came there and saw Mäliné-devé<br />
crying. He smilingly said, “Why are you crying? Tell me about<br />
your distress and I will surely relieve it.”<br />
“Please listen, Çrépäda Gosäi,” Mäliné devé replied. “A crow<br />
has taken the bowl in which we keep Lord Kåñëa’s ghee.”<br />
“Mother, do not worry,” Nityänanda replied. “I will bring<br />
back the bowl.”<br />
Turning to the crow, Nityänanda said, “O crow, go at once<br />
and bring back the bowl you have taken.”<br />
<strong>Nityananda</strong> Prabhu is within everyone’s heart. Who can<br />
disobey His order? Ordered by Nityänanda Prabhu, the crow<br />
instantly flew away. Mäliné-devé looked on, overwhelmed with<br />
lamentation. Soon the crow went out of sight and in a short<br />
while returned with the bowl in its beak. The crow placed the<br />
bowl in front of Mäliné-devé and left. Mäliné-devé knew very<br />
well the glories of Lord Nityänanda. Seeing this wonderful incident,<br />
she fell to the ground in ecstatic love.<br />
After composing herself, Mäliné-devé stood up with folded<br />
hands and began to offer prayers: “He brought back the dead<br />
son of His guru. He maintains the entire universe. He can bring<br />
anyone back from the house of Yamaräja. For Him to bring the<br />
bowl from a crow is not at all wonderful. On His head, innumerable<br />
universes rest, and He maintains them by His own sweet<br />
pastimes. His holy names destroy all kinds of ignorance. For<br />
Him to bring the bowl from a crow is not at all wonderful.<br />
“In an earlier incarnation, You constantly protected Sétä<br />
while in exile as Lakñmaëa. You never saw any of Sétä’s body<br />
except her lotus feet. Your formidable arrows killed the family<br />
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of Rävaëa. For You to bring the bowl from a crow is not a wonderful<br />
thing. After seeing Your great prowess, Kälindé fell at<br />
Your lotus feet and offered prayers. You possess the strength to<br />
maintain the fourteen worlds. For You to bring the bowl from<br />
a crow is not a wonderful thing. Your activities are never ordinary.<br />
Whatever You do is an eternal truth. This is confirmed<br />
by all the four Vedas.”<br />
While hearing Mäliné-devé’s prayers, Lord Nityänanda<br />
smiled. In His childhood mood He said, “O mother, I want to<br />
eat something.”<br />
Whenever Mäliné-devé saw Nityänanda, milk would flow<br />
from her breasts. Nityänanda in the mood of a child would<br />
drink that milk. Nityänanda Prabhu’s activities are inconceivable.<br />
What more can I describe? All the world knows about His<br />
mysterious and extraordinary activities. One who knows them<br />
in truth accepts them as facts.<br />
Nityänanda Prabhu, the abode of effulgence, was always<br />
fully absorbed in ecstatic love as He wandered all over Nadia<br />
throughout the day and night. Someone may call Nityänanda a<br />
yogé, or someone else may call Him a knower of the truth. Let<br />
them say whatever they want. Let Nityänanda be anybody to<br />
Çré Caitanya. Still, I keep the treasure of His lotus feet within<br />
my heart. Thus, Nityänanda resided at the house of Çréväsa<br />
Paëòita. Çré Gauräìga constantly protected Him.<br />
One day, as Lord Viçvambhara sat peacefully at home with<br />
Lakñmépriyä, she gave Her Lord betel nuts with great happiness.<br />
Absorbed in the service of the Lord, Lakñmépriyä was unable<br />
to tell whether it was day or night. Whenever mother Çacé saw<br />
Lakñmépriyä and Viçvambhara together, she became extremely<br />
happy. Knowing that seeing Them together pleased His mother,<br />
the Lord would spend time with Lakñmépriyä.<br />
At that time, Nityänanda came to Lord Caitanya’s house,<br />
overwhelmed and agitated due to ecstasy. In a childish mood,<br />
Nityänanda stood naked before the Lord and Lakñmépriyä. Fully<br />
absorbed in love of God, He did not feel shy in front of anyone.<br />
“Nityänanda, where are Your clothes?” Çré Gauräìga asked.<br />
Nityänanda replied, “Yes, yes.”<br />
Çré Gauräìga said, “O Gosäi, why are You doing this?”<br />
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Nityänanda’s Pastimes at the House of Çréväsa<br />
Nityänanda replied, “I can’t eat today.”<br />
Gauräìga then said, “I’m asking You something, so why are<br />
You answering something else?”<br />
Nityänanda replied, “I went there ten times.”<br />
Becoming angry, Çré Gauräìga said, “It’s not My fault.”<br />
Nityänanda replied, “Your mother is not here.”<br />
Çré Gauräìga then said, “Please get dressed.”<br />
Nityänanda replied, “Yes, now I’ll eat.”<br />
Nityänanda Prabhu was fully maddened with love for Çré<br />
Caitanya. He heard something and then answered something<br />
else. He kept on laughing. Çré Gauräìga got up and personally<br />
dressed Lord Nityänanda. Nityänanda, the son of Padmävaté,<br />
kept on laughing in a trance of ecstasy. Seeing the wonderful<br />
nature of Nityänanda, mother Çacé simply smiled. She considered<br />
Nityänanda as her son, Viçvarüpa, because she had heard<br />
from everyone that Nityänanda is non-different from him. She<br />
sometimes witnessed this truth with her own eyes. However, she<br />
did not reveal these secrets to anyone. She exhibited spontaneous<br />
affection for Nityänanda, treating Him and Viçvarüpa<br />
equally.<br />
After coming to His senses, Nityänanda dressed Himself<br />
properly. Mother Çacé then gave Him five pieces of sandeça.<br />
Nityänanda ate one of them and threw the other four pieces<br />
away. Mother Çacé said, “What will You eat now?”<br />
“If you want more, you’ll surely receive more,” Nityänanda<br />
replied.<br />
After entering her kitchen, mother Çacé found, much to<br />
her surprise, that the same four pieces of sandeça were there.<br />
Mother Çacé murmured to herself, “These sweets were thrown<br />
far away. How are they now inside the kitchen?”<br />
In jubilant wonder, Çacé brought the sweets to again offer<br />
to Nityänanda. To her astonishment, however, she saw that<br />
Nityänanda was already eating them. Mother Çacé said, “My<br />
son, where did You get these sweets?”<br />
“At first I threw them away,” Nityänanda replied, “but seeing<br />
your distress, I brought them back.”<br />
After witnessing this wonderful act, mother Çacé thought,<br />
“Who is there that is unaware of the glories of Nityänanda?”<br />
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She then said to Nityänanda, “Why are You deceiving me?<br />
I know You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead, so please<br />
remove the influence of Your illusory energy upon me.”<br />
The transcendental qualities of Nityänanda are unfathomable.<br />
They are a source of great pleasure for the devotees and a<br />
cause of distress for miscreants. Even mother Ganges runs away<br />
from that sinful person who dares to blaspheme Lord Nityänanda.<br />
Lord Nityänanda, who as Lord Ananta Çeña holds the universes<br />
on His hoods, is the king of the devotees. This is my heart’s<br />
desire and prayer at the feet of the Vaiñëavas. May Lord Nityänanda,<br />
who is Lord Balaräma, become my life and soul.<br />
Accepting Çré Caitanya and Nityänanda Prabhu as my life<br />
and soul, I, Våndävana däsa, sing the glories of Their lotus feet.<br />
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CHAPTER SEVEN<br />
Çrémän Mahäprabhu Glorifies Lord Nityänanda<br />
Both Lord Viçvambhara and Nityänanda Prabhu resided<br />
at Navadvépa, enjoying Their transcendental pastimes.<br />
Nityänanda Prabhu was always merged in an ocean of transcendental<br />
love of Kåñëa. He constantly behaved like an ordinary<br />
child. He loved everyone and always spoke with them in a sweet<br />
voice. He danced, sang, played musical instruments, and laughed<br />
to Himself. Sometimes, out of His deep sentiment, He roared<br />
loudly, causing everyone to become filled with wonder. In the<br />
rainy season, when the Ganges was filled with fierce waves and<br />
crocodiles, Lord Nityänanda fearlessly swam and floated in her<br />
water. Although everyone who saw Him floating in the Ganges<br />
became afraid for Him, shouting, “Alas! Alas!” Nityänanda continued<br />
floating in ecstasy among the crocodiles. He floated in<br />
the Ganges, absorbed in the mood of Ananta. Not understanding<br />
this, common people lamented.<br />
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Sometimes, Nityänanda would fall down unconscious in<br />
ecstasy and remain in this state for three or four days. In this<br />
way, He enjoyed countless inconceivable pastimes. I could not<br />
describe them all, even if I possessed millions of mouths.<br />
One day, by the will of providence, Nityänanda Prabhu arrived<br />
where Viçvambhara was sitting. He was naked and smiling<br />
and tears of love were streaming from His eyes. He repeatedly<br />
shouted, “Nimäi Paëòita of Nadia is my life and soul.”<br />
Seeing Nityänanda’s enchanting and radiant naked form,<br />
Çré Gauräìga began to smile. He quickly took off the cloth that<br />
was tied around His head and put it on Nityänanda Prabhu.<br />
Nityänanda simply laughed. The Lord personally smeared sandalwood<br />
paste over the body of Nityänanda and then placed a<br />
flower garland around His neck.<br />
Çré Gauräìga then put Nityänanda in front of Him and<br />
began offering prayers as the devotees listened attentively. He<br />
prayed to Lord Nityänanda,<br />
name nityänanda tumi rüpe nityänanda<br />
ei tumi nityänanda-räma murtimanta<br />
nityänanda paryyaöana bhojana vyavahära<br />
nityänanda bine kichu nähika tomära<br />
tomäre bhujite çakté maëusyera kothä?<br />
parama susatya tumi yathä kåñëa tathä<br />
“Your name is Nityänanda, and Your form is<br />
Nityänanda. You are indeed the abode of eternal<br />
bliss, nondifferent from Balaräma. You wander to<br />
the holy places. Your pastimes of accepting food are<br />
filled with eternal bliss. Who has the power to understand<br />
You? You are the Supreme Absolute Truth<br />
and are as good as Lord Kåñëa.”<br />
Most magnanimous Nityänanda was completely absorbed in<br />
the mellows of love for Çré Caitanya. Lord Caitanya wholly approved<br />
of whatever He said and did.<br />
Once, Çré Gauräìga asked Nityänanda, “Please give Me one<br />
of Your kaupénas. I have a desire to keep it.”<br />
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Çrémän Mahäprabhu Glorifies Lord Nityänanda<br />
After saying this, the Lord took a kaupéna from Lord<br />
Nityänanda and tore it into small pieces. He distributed<br />
those pieces of Nityänanda Prabhu’s kaupéna to all the<br />
Vaiñëavas.<br />
prabhu bale e vastra vändhana çire<br />
anyera ki däya ihä väïche yogeçvare<br />
nityänanda prasäde se haya viñëu-bhakti<br />
jäniha kåñëera nityänanda pürëa çakti<br />
krñëera dutéya nityänanda bai nähi<br />
saìgé-sadhä nityänanda caritra<br />
sarva jéva janaka rakñaka sarva mitra<br />
ihäna vyabhära sava kåñëa rasamaya<br />
ihäna sebile kåñëa premabhakti haya<br />
bhakti kari ihäna kaigéra väïchä çire<br />
mahäyatre ihä püjä kara giyäghare<br />
Lord Caitanya then said to all the Vaiñëavas, “All<br />
of you tie this piece of cloth around your heads. What<br />
to speak of Vaiñëavas, even masters of mystic perfection<br />
desire this piece of kaupéna. One can attain devotional<br />
service to Lord Viñëu only by the mercy of Nityänanda.<br />
Know that Nityänanda possesses the complete potency of<br />
the Supreme Lord. There is no one dearer to Kåñëa then<br />
Nityänanda. He eternally serves Kåñëa as a companion,<br />
bed, ornament, associate, and brother. The qualities of<br />
Nityänanda are incomprehensible even to the Vedas. He<br />
is the father, protector, and friend of all living entities.<br />
His dealings are full of the transcendental mellows of<br />
love for Kåñëa.<br />
“If one serves Nityänanda, he will attain loving devotional<br />
service to Kåñëa without a doubt. All of you<br />
should tie this piece of Nityänanda’s kaupéna around<br />
your head with devotion. You should worship this piece<br />
of cloth in your homes with great respect.”<br />
Receiving the order of the Lord, all the devotees respectfully<br />
tied the pieces of kaupéna around their heads.<br />
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prabhu bale çunaha sakala bhaktagaëa<br />
nityänanda pädodara karaha prahaëa<br />
karilehi mätra ei padodaka päna<br />
kåñëa dåö bhakata haya ithe nähi äna<br />
Çré Gauräìga continued, “Listen, My dear devotees.<br />
All of you drink the water that has washed Nityänanda’s<br />
lotus feet. Just by drinking that water, one will attain unflinching<br />
devotion to Kåñëa. There is no doubt of this.”<br />
Being thus, instructed by the Lord, all the devotees washed<br />
the lotus feet of Lord Nityänanda and drank the water with<br />
great respect. In fact, every devotee drank the water five or seven<br />
times. Nityänanda Prabhu was, however, completely lost in<br />
an ecstatic trance as He continued to laugh.<br />
Mahäprabhu Çré Gauräìga personally distributed the caraëämåta<br />
of Lord Nityänanda with great jubilation. After drinking<br />
the water, all the devotees became mad with ecstasy and<br />
loudly chanted, “Hari, Hari.”<br />
“Today my life has become successful,” someone said.<br />
“Today I have become a servant of Kåñëa,” said another<br />
person.<br />
“Today has been a very auspicious day for me,” someone<br />
else said.<br />
“The water that washed the lotus feet of Nityänanda is very<br />
tasty,” said still another person. “In fact, the sweetness in my<br />
mouth does not diminish at all.”<br />
What a wonderful influence the caraëämåta of Lord<br />
Nityänanda has! As soon as the devotees drank it, they became<br />
agitated, being infused with love of God. They danced,<br />
sang, rolled on the ground, and chanted the holy name of the<br />
Lord very loudly. They thus performed näma-saìkértana, overwhelmed<br />
with ecstasy while dancing in great jubilation.<br />
Soon Çré Gauracandra rose and began to dance very wonderfully.<br />
Instantly, Nityänanda got up and joined Mahäprabhu.<br />
Both the Lords began to dance all around the devotees. In great<br />
jubilation, one devotee fell upon another, while still another<br />
caught him in his arms. A devotee tried to take the dust of an-<br />
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Çrémän Mahäprabhu Glorifies Lord Nityänanda<br />
other devotee and put it on his head. There was thus intense<br />
competition among the devotees as to who would take the dust<br />
of another devotee and place it on his head. They cried and<br />
repeatedly embraced one another.<br />
It is very difficult to describe the activities of the devotees<br />
at that time. Both the two Lords and Their servants danced together.<br />
The two Lords embraced each other joyfully and danced<br />
in ecstasy. Being maddened in the ecstasy of the transcendental<br />
loving mellows, the Lord of Vaikuëöha danced with His associates.<br />
The pastimes of the Lord are endless. The Vedas describe<br />
these pastimes from His appearance to His disappearance.<br />
After dancing throughout the entire day, Lord Gaurahari<br />
sat down, surrounded by His associates. He clapped His hands<br />
three times and said in a grave voice, “Whoever places his faith<br />
and devotion in Nityänanda Çvarüpa places his faith and devotion<br />
in Me. Even Lord Brahmä and Lord Çiva constantly worship<br />
His lotus feet. Therefore, all of you should maintain you<br />
love and devotion for Him. If anyone maintains even a tinge of<br />
enmity towards Nityänanda, although he may claim to be My<br />
devotee, he is not dear to Me. If the air that touched Nityänanda’s<br />
body touches anyone, Lord Kåñëa will never leave that person.”<br />
Hearing these words from the Lord, all the devotees loudly<br />
exclaimed, “Jaya! Jaya!”<br />
If one hears these topics with devotion, Lord Gauracandra<br />
becomes his life and soul. Those who have personally seen these<br />
pastimes of Nityänanda Çvarüpa certainly know His glories.<br />
The dear and fortunate associates of Lord Caitanya know many<br />
such wonderful glories of Nityänanda.<br />
Accepting Çré Caitanya and Nityänanda Prabhu as my life<br />
and soul, I, Våndävana däsa, sing the glories of Their lotus feet.<br />
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CHAPTER EIGHT<br />
The Deliverance of Jagäi and Mädhäi<br />
One day, Lord Caitanya ordered Nityänanda and Haridäsa<br />
Öhäkura as follows:<br />
çuna çuna nityänanda! çuna haridäsa!<br />
sarvatra ämära äjïä karaha prakäça<br />
prati ghare ghare giyä kara ei bhikña<br />
“bala kåñëa bhaja kåñëa kåñëa kara çikña”<br />
ihä nahi ära nä baläbe nä baliba<br />
dina avasäne äsi ämäre kahiba<br />
“Listen, listen, Nityänanda! Listen, Haridäsa.<br />
Go and preach My order everywhere. Beg everyone,<br />
‘Chant Kåñëa, worship Kåñëa, and learn the science<br />
of Kåñëa.’ Do not preach anything other than this. At<br />
the end of the day, come and report to Me. If, in spite<br />
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ÇRÉ NITYÄNANDA CARITÄMÅTA<br />
of Your begging, anyone refuses to accept Your offer, I<br />
will come with a cakra to kill him.”<br />
Hearing this command of Lord Caitanya, all Vaiñëavas<br />
smiled. No one has the power to disobey the Lord’s order. Ordered<br />
by the Lord, Lord Nityänanda and Haridäsa departed.<br />
Nityänanda Prabhu eternally carries the Lord’s orders on His<br />
head. Anyone who doubts this is certainly a fool.<br />
Following the order of Lord Caitanya, Nityänanda Prabhu<br />
and Haridäsa went to each house in Nadia. They requested everyone<br />
to chant and sing the holy names of the Lord and worship<br />
Kåñëa. They instructed that Kåñëa is the life, soul, and wealth of<br />
everyone. They said, “Dear brothers, attentively chant the holy<br />
names of Lord Kåñëa.”<br />
Dressed as sannyäsés, they wandered all over Nadia, preaching<br />
Mahäprabhu’s message to everyone. Whoever met them<br />
would immediately offer respects and invite them for lunch.<br />
Nityänanda Prabhu and Haridäsa Öhäkura would beg only<br />
one thing: “Chant Kåñëa, worship Kåñëa, and learn the topics<br />
of Kåñëa.”<br />
After pleading with people in this way, the two would leave<br />
that place. All saintly persons were pleased by their requests.<br />
Hearing the wonderful topics from the mouths of these two<br />
lords, people would happily respond to it in their own way.<br />
Someone thought, “I will certainly follow their order.”<br />
Another person considered, “These two have become mad<br />
due to their fault of chanting mantras.”<br />
There were people who had been forbidden to enter<br />
Çréväsa Paëòita’s house while Lord Caitanya danced with His<br />
followers. As soon as Nityänanda Prabhu and Haridäsa Öhäkura<br />
approached those people’s houses, they would charge at them,<br />
shouting, “Beat them! Beat them!”<br />
“You have become crazy due to bad association,” those people<br />
would admonish, “and now you have come here to make us<br />
crazy. Respected, civilized people have become crazy because of<br />
Nimäi Paëòita.”<br />
“It seems that these two are spies of a thief,” some of them<br />
would say. “In the guise of preaching, they are surveying each<br />
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The Deliverance of Jagäi and Mädhäi<br />
house. If they are saintly persons, then why are they acting like<br />
this? If they come again, we will take them to the authorities.”<br />
Hearing such things, Nityänanda Prabhu and Haridäsa<br />
Öhäkura would simply laugh. They were not in the least afraid,<br />
because of the strength of Lord Caitanya’s order. Both of them<br />
thus regularly visited every house to preach. In the evening, they<br />
would return to Viçvambhara and report their days’ activities.<br />
One day, while preaching the message of Mahäprabhu,<br />
Nityänanda Prabhu and Haridäsa came across two drunkards<br />
that were brothers. They were plunderers and murderers, and<br />
addicted to wine and women. There was no end to their misdeeds.<br />
There was no sin they had not committed. Despite being<br />
born in a brähmaëa family, they regularly ate beef and drank<br />
wine. They plundered people’s wealth and set fire to their houses.<br />
Perpetually intoxicated, they roamed the streets of Navadvipa<br />
and severely beat whomever they caught. People watched<br />
them from a distance, not daring to come close.<br />
Nityänanda Prabhu and Haridäsa thus arrived where these<br />
two brothers were attracting a crowd in a drunken state. They<br />
were sometimes very friendly towards each other and at other<br />
times, they would pull each other’s hair in anger and abuse one<br />
another with filthy words.<br />
“We’ll degrade the caste of the brähmaëas of Nadia!” they<br />
exclaimed, fully intoxicated from drinking wine. Their bodies<br />
were reservoirs of innumerable sins.<br />
However, the sin of blaspheming Vaiñëavas was not yet<br />
committed by them. Since they spent their days and nights in<br />
the company of other drunkards, there was no opportunity for<br />
them to commit an offense against Vaiñëavas.<br />
ye sabhäya vaiñëava nindä mätra haya<br />
sarva dharma thäkileo tära haya kñaya<br />
sannyäsé sabhäya yadi haya nindyä karsma<br />
madyapera sabhä éte se sabhä adharsma<br />
madyapera niñkåti ächaye kona käle<br />
paracacrccakara pati kabhu nähi bhäle<br />
çästra paòiyäo käro käro buddhinäça<br />
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“Wherever there is blasphemy of Vaiñëavas, even<br />
in holy places, that place and the blasphemers will be<br />
destroyed. If there is blasphemy in the assembly of sannyäsés,<br />
then such a gathering is worse than a den of<br />
drunkards. A drunkard can be delivered in the course<br />
of time, but there is no salvation for those who criticize<br />
a Vaiñëava. Even after having studied the scriptures,<br />
such a blasphemer’s intelligence will be ruined.”<br />
Nityänanda Prabhu and Haridäsa watched from a distance<br />
as the two drunkards punched each other and abused one another<br />
with filthy language. Nityänanda asked some of the spectators,<br />
“What is the caste of these two? Why are they acting like<br />
this?”<br />
“O Gosäi, these two drunkards are brähmaëas,” the people<br />
replied. “They were born of respected parents in a high-class<br />
family. Many of their forefathers resided in Nadia. In fact, there<br />
is not even a tinge of fault in their dynasty. Only these two gave<br />
up their social responsibilities to commit all kinds of sins. They<br />
have been acting in this way since childhood. Considering the<br />
two brothers most sinful, their family members rejected them.<br />
The people of Nadia are always afraid of them because at any<br />
time they can set someone’s house on fire. There are no sins<br />
these brother have not committed. They rob, steal, kill, rape, eat<br />
meat and drink wine.”<br />
After hearing about these two drunkards, the most compassionate<br />
Nityänanda Prabhu began to ponder their deliverance:<br />
pätaké tärite prabhu kaiÿe avatära<br />
emata pätaké päibena ära<br />
lukäiyä kare prabhu äpanä prakäça<br />
prabhäva nä dekhi loke kare upahäsa<br />
e duiyere prabhu yadi anugraha kare<br />
tabe se prabhava dekhe sakala saàsäre<br />
tare hao nityänanda caitanyera däsa<br />
e duiyera karo yadi caitanya prakäça<br />
edhana yemana matta äpanä nä jäne<br />
eimata haya yadi çré kåñëera näme<br />
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The Deliverance of Jagäi and Mädhäi<br />
‘more prabhu’ bali yadi kände duijana<br />
tabe se särthaka more yata paryyaöana<br />
ye se jana e duiyera chäyä paraçiyä<br />
bastrera sahita gaìgä snäna kare giyä<br />
sei sava jana yadi e doìhäre dekhi<br />
gaìgä snäna hena mäne tabe more likhi<br />
“Lord Caitanya has descended to deliver the fallen<br />
people of this age. Where will He find anyone more<br />
fallen than these two? The Lord has not yet revealed<br />
Himself to the ordinary people. Not seeing His uncommon<br />
influence, they are ridiculing Him. If the Lord bestows<br />
mercy on these two sinful drunkards, then the<br />
people of the entire world will see His transcendental<br />
glories. Being known as Nityänanda, the servant of<br />
Lord Caitanya, will have meaning only if I can purify<br />
their hearts and deliver them. How wonderful it will be<br />
if they become intoxicated by chanting Kåñëa’s names<br />
the same way they are now intoxicated. If I can make<br />
these two take the Lord’s name and cry, I will then consider<br />
all My travels to holy places a success. At present,<br />
whoever even touches the shadow of these two drunkards<br />
at once bathes in the Ganges with his clothes on. I<br />
will be extremely fortunate if I am able to get people to<br />
accept that simply seeing these drunkards is the same as<br />
bathing in the Ganges.”<br />
The glories of Lord Nityänanda are unlimited. He descended<br />
to save the fallen souls of this world. Thinking to deliver the<br />
two drunkards, Nityänanda said to Haridäsa, “Just see how miserable<br />
these two drunkards are. They were born in a brähmaëa<br />
family, but their behavior is most sinful. They will be unable to<br />
escape the most severe punishments of Yamaräja.<br />
“Dear Haridäsa, the Muslims beat you so severely that you<br />
almost died. Still, you desired the welfare of such people in your<br />
mind. If you really desire these drunkards’ welfare in your heart,<br />
surely they will be delivered. The Lord never ignores your will.<br />
He has often confirmed this fact. Let the people of the entire<br />
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ÇRÉ NITYÄNANDA CARITÄMÅTA<br />
world see the uncommon influence of our Lord, by which He<br />
will deliver these two drunkards. Just as the deliverance of<br />
Ajämila is described in the Puräëas, let the people of the three<br />
worlds directly see how the Lord delivers these drunkards.”<br />
Haridäsa was well-acquainted with the glories of Lord<br />
Nityänanda. He thought, “He will certainly deliver these<br />
two drunkards.”<br />
Haridäsa said to Nityänanda Prabhu, “Listen, O Lord.<br />
Whatever You desire is indeed the desire of Çré Gauräìga<br />
Mahäprabhu. You deceive me just as a person deceives an animal.<br />
You always kindly teach me in that way.”<br />
Smiling, Nityänanda embraced Haridäsa and very gently<br />
said, “Let us go and repeat the Lord’s order to these two drunkards.<br />
The Lord commands everyone to worship Kåñëa. This is<br />
particularly fitting for those who are most sinful. Our duty is<br />
to simply repeat the Lord’s orders. Even after repeating them, if<br />
they are not accepted, that is also the Lord’s will.”<br />
To impart the message of Lord Caitanya, both Nityänanda<br />
Prabhu and Haridäsa went towards Jagäi and Mädhäi 11 . Some<br />
pious people forbade them to go. “If you go near them, you may<br />
lose your lives,” they warned. “We are very much afraid of these<br />
two drunkards. That is why we generally remain inside our<br />
houses. How can you dare go near them? These two do not care<br />
for sannyäsés. In fact, they are accustomed to killing brähmaëas<br />
and cows without discrimination.”<br />
In spite of the warnings of many pious people, Nityänanda<br />
and Haridäsa approached the two brothers while chanting,<br />
“Kåñëa, Kåñëa!”<br />
11 The original names of Jagäi and Mädhäi were Jagannätha<br />
and Mädhava. In their previous lives, they were two doorkeepers of<br />
Vaikuëöha, Jaya and Vijaya. They were born in a respectable brähmaëa<br />
family. Çubhananda Räya, a landlord of Navadvépa, had two<br />
sons named Raghunätha and Janärdana. Jagäi was the son of Raghunätha<br />
and Mädhäi was the son of Janärdana. By bad association,<br />
these two brothers became sinful drunkards. Later, by the mercy of<br />
Gaura-Nitäi, they became pure devotees.<br />
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Approaching them, Nityänanda and Haridäsa loudly repeated<br />
the Lord’s message to the two debauches. They said:<br />
bala kåñëa bhaja kåñëa laha kåñëa näma<br />
kåñëa mätä kåñëa pita kåñëa dhana präëa<br />
“Chant Kåñëa, worship Kåñëa, and sing the glories<br />
of Kåñëa. Kåñëa is your mother, father, wealth, and life.<br />
Lord Kåñëa will mercifully deliver you. Please give up<br />
your sinful life and worship Him.”<br />
Upon hearing the loud voices of Nityänanda and Haridäsa,<br />
the two drunkards raised their hands and looked around. Their<br />
eyes became red with anger. Seeing the sannyäsa features of<br />
Nityänanda and Haridäsa, they began to chase them, screaming,<br />
‘‘Catch them, catch them!”<br />
Nityänanda and Haridäsa quickly fled. The two drunkards<br />
chased them, yelling, “Wait! Wait!” running behind Nityänanda<br />
and Haridäsa like a raging storm. The two Lords ran<br />
away as if in great fear. All the pious people thought, “We tried<br />
to stop these two sannyäsés from going near the drunkards. Now<br />
they are in great danger.”<br />
However, the impious persons present there smiled and said,<br />
“Today Lord Näräyaëa has awarded fit punishment to these<br />
pseudo sannyäsés.”<br />
The pious brähmaëas prayed, “O Kåñëa, please save them.<br />
O Kåñëa, please save them.”<br />
At this time, everyone ran away out of fear of the two brothers,<br />
Jagäi and Mädhäi. They chased Nityänanda Prabhu and<br />
Haridäsa and the two Lords ran as fast as they could. Although<br />
the drunkards shouted, “We have almost caught them!” still,<br />
they were unable to catch hold of Nityänanda and Haridäsa.<br />
While running, Nityänanda said to Haridäsa, “O Vaiñëava<br />
Haridäsa, what do you think? If we survive today, it will be our<br />
good fortune.”<br />
Haridäsa replied, “O Lord, what can I say? It is all my fault<br />
that we will soon lose our lives. This is the result of trying to<br />
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teach drunkards about Kåñëa. We will soon get our just reward<br />
in the form of death.”<br />
Speaking like this, both Nityänanda and Haridäsa smiled<br />
as they ran. Because the two drunkards were fat, they were<br />
unable to run as swiftly as the two Lords, even though they<br />
tried. They shouted, “O brothers, where are you going? How<br />
will you escape the grip of Jagäi and Mädhäi? You do not<br />
know who is chasing you. Turn around and see. We are Jagäi<br />
and Mädhäi.”<br />
Feigning great fear, the two Lords ran very swiftly while listening<br />
to the threats of the drunkards. They prayed, “O Kåñëa!<br />
O Govinda! Please save us!”<br />
“I cannot run anymore,” Haridäsa said. “Alas, why did I<br />
come with this mischievous Nityänanda, even after knowing<br />
about His restless nature? Kåñëa saved me before from the wrath<br />
of the Muslims; but now I am going to surely lose my life because<br />
of this mischievous person.”<br />
Nityänanda replied, “I am not restless. Think carefully and<br />
you will see that it is your Lord Caitanya who is restless. Your<br />
Lord is but a simple brähmaëa, yet He gives orders like a king.<br />
Only by His order are we going door to door to preach His message.<br />
Although we carry out His orders, preaching door to door,<br />
so far we have not found anyone heeding our request. In fact,<br />
people simply call us thieves, cheaters, and nothing else. If we do<br />
not follow His order, we will become ruined and if we follow it,<br />
then this is the result. I know you will not find fault with your<br />
Lord, so ultimately it is I who am to blame.”<br />
In this way, Nityänanda Prabhu and Haridäsa quarreled<br />
humorously while the two drunkards continued the chase. Finally,<br />
Nityänanda and Haridäsa reached Lord Caitanya’s house.<br />
Dulled by drinking wine, the two drunkards became confused<br />
and had lost sight of Nityänanda Prabhu and Haridäsa. Being<br />
baffled, they began to push and pull one another. They were too<br />
intoxicated to understand where they were before, or how they<br />
had reached this place.<br />
When Nityänanda Prabhu and Haridäsa Öhäkura looked<br />
back and did not see the two drunkards following them, they<br />
heaved a sigh of relief and embraced each other. Then they went<br />
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to meet Lord Viçvambhara, who was sitting inside His house. He<br />
appeared very charming, His beauty conquering that of Cupid.<br />
The Lord was seated, surrounded by many Vaiñëavas, explaining<br />
the truth of Himself to the assembly, just as Lord<br />
Näräyaëa, the Lord of Çvetadvépa, had previously instructed<br />
great sages, headed by Sanaka.<br />
In this way, Nityänanda and Haridäsa arrived before the<br />
Lord to report the day’s activities. They said, “Today we saw two<br />
drunkards who still claim to be brähmaëas. We politely asked<br />
them to chant the holy names of Kåñëa, but they chased us in<br />
anger. We are fortunate to be alive.”<br />
The Lord asked, “Who were those two drunkards? What<br />
are their names? Being brähmaëas, why are they acting in such<br />
a degraded manner?”<br />
Gaìgädäsa and Çréväsa Paëòita, who were sitting in the<br />
assembly, described all the sinful activities committed by the<br />
drunkards. “O Lord, their names are Jagäi and Mädhäi,” they<br />
said. “They are sons of a pious brähmaëa, but due to bad association,<br />
they have become exceedingly degraded. Indeed, they cannot<br />
live without wine for even a single day. The people of Nadia<br />
are very afraid of them. There is no house in Nadia where these<br />
two have not committed theft. There is no end to their sins. O<br />
Gosäi, You must have seen them and know everything.”<br />
“Yes, yes, I know them very well. If they come here, I will cut<br />
them both to pieces,” Lord Caitanya replied.<br />
“You can do whatever You want, but as long as these two<br />
drunkards are around, I am not going to preach,” Nityänanda<br />
said. “Why do You needlessly brag about Yourself? First, make<br />
them chant the names of Govinda. By nature, a pious person<br />
chants the holy names of Kåñëa, but these two drunkards do<br />
nothing but commit sinful activities. If You deliver these two<br />
drunkards by awarding them devotional service, then Your reputation<br />
as the deliverer of the fallen souls will have meaning.<br />
Your glories were broadcast after delivering Me, but Your reputation<br />
will be enhanced to a much greater extent if You deliver<br />
these two fallen souls.”<br />
“These drunkards were already delivered the moment<br />
they had Your darçana,” Lord Viçvambhara smilingly replied.<br />
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“Since You desire their ultimate welfare, Kåñëa will soon deliver<br />
them.”<br />
Hearing this from the lotus mouth of the Lord, all the Vaiñëavas<br />
chanted, “Hari, Hari.” The Lord’s statement convinced everyone<br />
that these two drunkards would surely be saved.<br />
Haridäsa Öhäkura said to Advaita Äcärya, “The Lord sent<br />
me with this restless boy. I remain somewhere, while He goes<br />
somewhere else. The Ganges is filled with crocodiles in the<br />
rainy season, but Nityänanda sometimes tries to catch them<br />
while swimming. I loudly call out to warn Him from the<br />
shore, but alas, He floats fearlessly on the water, along with<br />
the crocodiles.<br />
“When He comes out of the water, if He sees some of His<br />
friends, He chases them to beat them. When the parents of<br />
these boys come with sticks in their hands, I fall at their feet<br />
and beg pardon on His behalf. Sometimes, He steals ghee and<br />
yogurt from cowherd men and runs away. These cowherd men<br />
then catch me and try to beat me instead of Him.<br />
“He does things He is not supposed to do. Whenever He sees<br />
an unmarried girl, He tells her, ‘I will marry you.’ Sometimes<br />
He rides on the back of an ox and calls Himself Mahädeva. At<br />
other times, He milks others’ cows and drinks the milk. If I try<br />
to teach Him something, He scolds me. He boldly says, ‘What<br />
can your Advaita Äcärya do to Me?’ He also says, ‘What can<br />
your Caitanya, who you think is the Lord, do to Me? I am not<br />
afraid of Him.’<br />
“I never disclose these things to the Lord. Today, providence<br />
saved us from imminent danger. We saw two drunkards lying in<br />
a stupor on the street. Nityänanda went before them, repeating<br />
the message of the Lord. With great anger the two drunkards<br />
chased us to beat us. I think it is by Your mercy alone that we<br />
were saved today.”<br />
Advaita Äcärya smilingly replied, “This does not surprise<br />
Me at all. A drunkard will naturally keep company with other<br />
drunkards. Three drunkards can nicely remain together. Being<br />
a strict celibate, why do you mingle with Him? You will see how<br />
this Nityänanda turns everyone into a drunkard. I know Him<br />
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very well. Just you wait and see. Within a few days He will bring<br />
those two drunkards to the assembly of devotees.”<br />
While speaking this way, Advaita Äcärya became somewhat<br />
agitated. In a grave voice, He said, “We will soon see Lord<br />
Caitanya’s wonderful love and devotion towards Lord Kåñëa<br />
become manifest, as well as His power to induce everyone to<br />
dance and chant for Kåñëa. Tomorrow Nimäi and Nitäi will<br />
bring these two drunkards here and dance with them. Nimäi<br />
and Nitäi will not neglect them in consideration of their degraded<br />
condition, but I think you and I had better leave this<br />
place to safeguard our social prestige.”<br />
Seeing Advaita Äcärya’s angry mood, Haridäsa Öhäkura<br />
began to laugh. He was convinced that without a doubt the two<br />
drunkards would soon be delivered. Who can understand the<br />
words of Advaita Äcärya? Only Haridäsa Prabhu understood<br />
their meaning. Nowadays, so many sinful persons take shelter<br />
of Advaita Äcärya and criticize Gadädhara Paëòita. Thus, they<br />
are soon vanquished. A sinful person who takes the side of one<br />
Vaiñëava while criticizing another will surely be destroyed.<br />
The two drunkards, Jagäi and Mädhäi, wandered all over<br />
Navadvépa. One day, they came to the bathing ghäöa at the<br />
Ganges where Lord Caitanya usually bathed. By the will of<br />
providence, the drunkards made their camp at that ghäöa. During<br />
the day, they would wander around Navadvépa, searching<br />
for their prey. All the people, including highly respectable, rich<br />
and famous artisans were very afraid of them. After dusk, no<br />
one dared go to the Ganges to bathe. If someone went, he would<br />
go with a group of ten or twenty men.<br />
At night, the two drunkards stayed near the Lord’s house<br />
and thus remained awake all night hearing the sounds of kértana.<br />
As the mådaìgas and karatälas sounded during kértana,<br />
the two drunkards would happily dance. They could hear the<br />
kértana from afar. As soon as they heard the sacred sounds of<br />
kértana, they would dance and drink more wine. Whenever kértana<br />
began, they got up and danced. Wine bewildered their intelligence<br />
to such a degree that they never knew where they had<br />
just been, nor did they consider where they would go next.<br />
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Whenever Jagäi and Mädhäi met the Lord at the ghäöa,<br />
they said, “Nimäi Paëòita, did You finish singing Your prayers<br />
to Goddess Durga? You all sing very nicely and so we like to<br />
hear You. We will give You everything we collect during the<br />
day.”<br />
The Lord stayed aloof from them, knowing them to be most<br />
sinful. Everyone else also avoided them. One day, after traveling<br />
around Nadia, as Nityänanda Prabhu returned home in the<br />
evening, He was suddenly confronted by the two brothers, Jagäi<br />
and Mädhäi. They screamed, “Who are You?”<br />
“I am going to Lord Caitanya’s house,” Nityänanda Prabhu<br />
replied.<br />
Intoxicated as usual, they asked Lord Nityänanda, “What is<br />
Your name?”<br />
“My name is Avadhüta,” Nityänanda replied.<br />
Absorbed in the mood of a child as one of His sweet pastimes,<br />
<strong>Nityananda</strong> Prabhu began conversing with the two<br />
drunkards. He had already decided to deliver these two fallen<br />
souls, and so He had purposely come to their place. Hearing the<br />
name “Avadhüta,” Mädhäi became extremely angry. He picked<br />
up his clay pitcher and struck Lord Nityänanda on the head. As<br />
the wound on His head bled, Nityänanda Prabhu simply remembered<br />
Lord Govinda.<br />
Seeing Nityänanda’s bleeding head, Jagäi became compassionate<br />
and so forbade Mädhäi from hitting Him again. “Why<br />
did you do such a cruel thing?” Jagäi said. “What will you gain by<br />
killing a beggar? Leave Him. It is not good to kill a sannyäsé.”<br />
People quickly went and informed Lord Caitanya of this incident.<br />
The Lord instantly rushed to that spot, along with His<br />
associates. Blood flowed from Lord Nityänanda’s head, but He<br />
simply smiled while standing between the two sinners. Seeing<br />
blood on Nityänanda Prabhu’s head, Lord Caitanya began to<br />
invoke His Sudarçana cakra.<br />
Jagäi and Mädhäi saw the Sudarçana cakra instantly come<br />
before them. At this time, all the devotees became bewildered in<br />
mind. Seeing the mood of Lord Caitanya, Nityänanda Prabhu<br />
implored, “O Lord, when Mädhäi tried to hit Me a second time,<br />
Jagäi restrained him. Although I am bleeding a little, I do not<br />
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feel any pain. O Lord, I beg that please give me these two souls<br />
as alms. Kindly give up Your anger.”<br />
When Lord Caitanya heard that Jagäi had spared Nityänanda<br />
Prabhu, He became pleased with him and embraced<br />
him. The Lord said to Jagäi, “May Kåñëa be merciful to you. You<br />
have purchased Me by rescuing Nityänanda. Ask for any benediction,<br />
according to you desire. From today you will achieve<br />
loving devotional service to the Lord.”<br />
When the Vaiñëavas heard the Lord’s benediction upon<br />
Jagäi, they jubilantly chanted, “All glories to Lord Hari!”<br />
As soon as the Lord awarded pure devotional service to<br />
Jagäi, he at once fell senseless onto the ground. “Jagäi, get up<br />
and look at Me,” the Lord said. “I have awarded you love and<br />
devotion for Lord Kåñëa.”<br />
Jagäi then saw the beautiful four-armed form of Lord<br />
Viçvambhara, holding a conch, disc, club, and lotus. Seeing<br />
this form of Lord Caitanya, Jagäi again fell senseless onto the<br />
ground. Çré Gauräìga then placed His lotus feet upon Jagäi’s<br />
chest, so that he obtained the treasure that is the life and soul<br />
of Lakñmé. Jagäi caught hold of those invaluable jewels that<br />
were placed upon his chest. Holding the Lord’s lotus feet, Jagäi<br />
began to cry. Such is the wonderful pastime of Çré Gauräìga.<br />
Jagäi and Mädhäi were one, but they had appeared in two<br />
different bodies. Their piety and sins were also one. As soon the<br />
Lord bestowed mercy upon Jagäi, Mädhäi’s heart became purified.<br />
With folded hands, he fell at Lord Caitanya’s lotus feet and<br />
said, “O Lord, both Jagäi and I committed sins together. Why<br />
then do You discriminate while giving Your mercy? Please be<br />
merciful to me, and I will surely chant Your holy names. There<br />
is no one else in the world that can save me.”<br />
“I see no hope for your salvation,” The Lord said. “You dared<br />
to strike Nityänanda’s body, making it bleed.”<br />
“O Lord, please do not say this,” Mädhäi sorrowfully replied.<br />
“Why are You covering Your merciful nature? When demons<br />
released arrows at You, why did You still give them shelter at<br />
Your lotus feet?”<br />
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“Your offense is much graver, because you made Nityänanda<br />
bleed,” the Lord said. “Actually, Nityänanda is far greater than I.<br />
I declare this to be the truth.”<br />
“O Lord, if You have indeed told me the truth, then please<br />
tell me how I can be saved? You are the crest jewel among physicians<br />
expert in curing all diseases. Only if You cure me will<br />
my disease be removed. O Lord of the universe, please do not<br />
cheat me. Now I know who You are, and so please give up Your<br />
pretenses.”<br />
“You committed a grave offense at the feet of Nityänanda,”<br />
The Lord said. “Now you must fall at His lotus feet and beg for<br />
His pardon.”<br />
Thus ordered by the Lord, Mädhäi went and caught hold of<br />
the invaluable wealth that is Lord Nityänanda’s lotus feet, the<br />
wealth that is the property of Revaté. Viçvambhara said to Nityänanda<br />
Prabhu, “Listen, Nityänanda. It is proper that if someone<br />
falls at Your lotus feet, You should be merciful to him. Because<br />
Mädhäi made You bleed, only You can forgive him. Now<br />
he has surrendered unto You.”<br />
“O Lord, what can I say?” Nityänanda replied. “You can bestow<br />
mercy to anyone, even a tree. If I have any piety amassed<br />
from previous births, I will give it all to Mädhäi. I am telling You<br />
the truth. I do not care for the offenses he has committed. O<br />
Lord, please remove Your illusory energy and be merciful. This<br />
Mädhäi belongs to You.”<br />
“If You have indeed forgiven all his offenses, then please<br />
embrace him so his life will be successful.” Viçvambhara said.<br />
As instructed by the Lord, Nityänanda Prabhu tightly embraced<br />
Mädhäi so that his material bondage and mass of sins<br />
were at once destroyed. Nityänanda Prabhu entered the body of<br />
Mädhäi so that he became fully empowered with all the energies<br />
of the Lord. In this way, both Jagäi and Mädhäi were delivered.<br />
They then offered prayers at the lotus feet of Çré Caitanya and<br />
Nityänanda Prabhu.<br />
Çré Gauräìga Mahäprabhu then commanded them, “Sin no<br />
more.”<br />
“Dear father, no more, not again,” Jagäi and Mädhäi<br />
replied.<br />
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“Listen, both of you,” The Lord continued. “I have indeed<br />
saved you from all your sinful reactions. If you do not sin again,<br />
then I will destroy all your sinful reactions from millions of<br />
births. This is My responsibility. I will eat offerings in your<br />
mouths and incarnate through your bodies.”<br />
While hearing these words from the Lord, both Jagäi and<br />
Mädhäi fell unconscious onto the ground in ecstasy. Their illusions<br />
thus removed, they floated in an ocean of happiness.<br />
The all-knowing Lord instructed His followers: “Take these two<br />
brothers to My house. Tonight we will perform kértana with<br />
them. I will reward these two with what even Lord Brahmä rarely<br />
attains. I will transform them into the foremost of persons in<br />
this world. The same people who took bath in the Ganges after<br />
touching these brothers will now say that they are as good as the<br />
Ganges. Nityänanda’s promise never goes in vain. Know that<br />
this is indeed the desire of Nityänanda Prabhu.”<br />
The Vaiñëavas carefully escorted Jagäi and Mädhäi to the<br />
house of the Lord. When all the associates and relatives of the<br />
Lord came inside, they closed the door, allowing no outsiders<br />
to enter. Mahäprabhu Viçvambhara sat in the middle and Nityänanda<br />
Prabhu sat to His right, while Gadädhara Paëòita sat to His<br />
left. Advaita Äcärya, the greatest recipient of the Lord’s mercy,<br />
sat in front of the Lord. All the Vaiñëavas, headed by Pundarika<br />
Vidyänidhi 12 , Garuòa, Ramäi 13 , Çréväsa, and Gaìgädäsa sat<br />
surrounding Their Lordships. Also present were Vakreçvara<br />
12 Pundarika Vidyänidhi was the spiritual master of Gadädhara<br />
Paëòita, a beloved associate of Lord Caitanya. In his previous incarnation,<br />
he was King Våñabhänu of Vraja, Çrématé Rädhäräëé’s father.<br />
He was a wealthy landowner of Cakrasala in the district of Caööagräma,<br />
which is now in Bangladesh. Later he moved to Navadvépa. Çré Gauräìga<br />
addressed him as “father.” Due to his loving qualities, the Lord<br />
awarded him the title “Premanidhi.”<br />
13 Ramäi Paëòita was the youngest brother of Çréväsa Paëòita.<br />
In his previous incarnation, he was the great sage, Parvata Muni. Being<br />
a constant companion of Çréväsa, he relished the love of Çré Gauräìga.<br />
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ÇRÉ NITYÄNANDA CARITÄMÅTA<br />
Paëòita 14 and Candraçekhara Äcärya 15 . Both of them knew<br />
very well the mission of Lord Caitanya.<br />
Many other devotees sat around Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu,<br />
floating in the ocean of bliss, along with Jagäi and Mädhäi. Symptoms<br />
of ecstatic love, including standing of the hair on end,<br />
shedding of tears, and trembling of the body were visible in all<br />
their bodies. Both Jagäi and Mädhäi continuously rolled upon<br />
the ground. Who could understand the intention of Lord Caitanya?<br />
He transformed the two notorious plunderers into exalted<br />
devotees.<br />
“These two are no longer drunkards,” the Lord said to the<br />
devotees. “From now on, they are My servants. All of you please<br />
bestow mercy on these two so that they may never forget Me,<br />
life after life. In whatever way you may have been offended by<br />
them, forgive them and bestow your mercy upon them.”<br />
After hearing these words of the Lord, Jagäi and Mädhäi<br />
fell at the feet of all the assembled Vaiñëavas and begged their<br />
pardon. All the great devotees then blessed Jagäi and Mädhäi,<br />
who were thus instantly freed from all their offenses.<br />
“Please get up, Jagäi and Mädhäi,” the Lord said. “Do not<br />
worry. From now on, you are My servants.”<br />
“Personally, I will no longer consider their offenses,” the<br />
Lord said to the devotees. “No one should think of them as sin-<br />
14 Vakreçvara Paëòita came in the line of Çré Gadädhara Paëòita.<br />
He was the combined form of Aniruddha, one of the quadruple<br />
forms of Çré Kåñëa, Çaçrekhä of Vraja, and Tuìgavidyä of Vraja. Once,<br />
he asked the Lord to give him one thousand Gandharvas and he<br />
would then dance. He engaged in worshiping Çré Rädhäkänta at<br />
Jagannätha Puré.<br />
15 Candraçekhara Äcärya was a resident of Navadvépa. In his<br />
previous incarnation, he was the moon-god. He was also known as<br />
Äcäryaratna. He left Çréhaööa and came to reside in Navadvépa. He<br />
married Sarvajayä, the youngest sister of Çacé, the mother of Lord<br />
Caitanya. He accompanied Lord Caitanya when He visited Gayä. He<br />
was also present when the Lord took sannyäsa, arranging all the required<br />
formalities.<br />
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The Deliverance of Jagäi and Mädhäi<br />
ful anymore. Such an act as this is never possible in one lifetime.<br />
Know for certain that this was done by the mercy of<br />
Nityänanda Prabhu. Actually, I have personally accepted all<br />
their sinful reactions. My dear brothers, you can directly see<br />
the proof of this.”<br />
To convince everyone of this fact, the golden body of the<br />
Lord immediately turned black. Converting the two plunderers<br />
and drunkards into pure devotees, Lord Çré Gauräìga, who is<br />
nondifferent from Lord Hari, began to dance along with His<br />
associates. In this way, Çré Gauracandra, the life and soul of<br />
the universe, delivered Jagäi and Mädhäi. Çré Gauracandra will<br />
certainly deliver whoever hears of the salvation of Jagäi and<br />
Mädhäi.<br />
Accepting Çré Caitanya and Nityänanda Prabhu as my life<br />
and soul, I, Våndävana däsa, sing the glories of Their lotus feet.<br />
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CHAPTER NINE<br />
Prayers of Jagäi and Mädhäi to Lord Nityänanda<br />
and Gauräìga Mahäprabhu<br />
Sré Gauräìga with His associates listened as Jagäi and Mädhäi<br />
began to offer prayers. By the order of Çré Caitanya,<br />
the goddess of learning appeared on their tongues as soon as<br />
they began to pray.<br />
Jagäi and Mädhäi prayed: “All glories to Çré Caitanya<br />
Mahäprabhu! All glories to Çré Viçvambhara! All glories to<br />
Nityänanda Prabhu, the beloved of Viçvambhara! All glories<br />
to the Lord, the original äcärya for preaching His holy<br />
names! All glories to Nityänanda Prabhu, who fulfills the<br />
mission of Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu!<br />
“All glories to the son of Jagannätha Miçra! All glories to<br />
Nityänanda Prabhu, who is completely surrendered to Lord<br />
Caitanya Mahäprabhu!<br />
“All glories to the most merciful son of mother Çacé! All glories<br />
to Nityänanda Prabhu, the dearest friend of Çré Caitanya!<br />
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“All glories to the beloved Lord of the daughter of the royal<br />
priest! All glories to Nityänanda Prabhu, the embodiment of<br />
compassion!<br />
“All glories to Your transcendental activities, O Lord! All<br />
glories to Nityänanda Prabhu, the king of the Vaiñëavas!<br />
“All glories to the Lord who holds a conch, disc, club, and<br />
lotus in His hands!<br />
All glories to Avadhüta Nityänanda, who is nondifferent<br />
from the Lord!<br />
“All glories to Gauracandra, the life and soul of Advaita<br />
Äcärya! All glories to thousand-headed Nityänanda Prabhu!<br />
“All glories to the life and soul of Gadädhara and master<br />
of Muräri! All glories to the benefactor of Haridäsa and Väsudeva<br />
16 !<br />
“In Your previous incarnation, You delivered many sinful<br />
persons. Those wonderful pastimes are glorified throughout the<br />
universe. Delivering us, who are the most sinful persons, will<br />
certainly diminish the glory of Your previous pastimes. Our deliverance<br />
now overshadows Your pastime of delivering Ajämila.<br />
We are not exaggerating—we simply speak the truth.<br />
“Ajämila was a natural candidate for attaining liberation. A<br />
person who has killed a million brähmaëas is at once liberated if<br />
he simply utters Your holy names. This is the conclusion of the<br />
Vedas. Ajämila chanted Your holy name and so his deliverance<br />
was not at all astonishing.<br />
“You incarnate to confirm the statements of the Vedas. If<br />
You did not deliver the most fallen souls, then the statements of<br />
the Vedas would prove false. We harmed the person who is dearest<br />
to You and yet, You delivered us. Just consider the kind of<br />
16 In his previous incarnation, Väsudeva Datta was a famous<br />
singer-associate of Çré Kåñëa named Madhuvrata. He was born in<br />
the village of Cakrasala at Caööagräma, which is located in presentday<br />
Bangladesh. Later, he came to reside at Navadvépa. His youngest<br />
brother, Mukunda Datta, was a singer-associate of Çré Gauräìga.<br />
Once, he requested the Lord to give everyone’s sinful reactions to him,<br />
so that they could be delivered immediately.<br />
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Prayers of Jagäi and Mädhäi to Lord Nityänanda and Gauräìga Mahäprabhu<br />
persons we are. What a big difference is there between Ajämila<br />
and us. Upon hearing the holy name of Lord Näräyaëa being<br />
uttered by Ajämila, four exalted personalities instantly came to<br />
deliver him. Ajämila clearly saw them.<br />
“Because of injuring Nityänanda Prabhu, we were able to<br />
see You, Your weapons, Your associates, and Your entourage.<br />
O Lord, You had concealed these glories, but now the extent<br />
of Your glories has been revealed. Now, the Vedic literature<br />
will be more widely accepted as the supreme authority. Lord<br />
Ananta will sing Your glories with more pride and enthusiasm.<br />
Now, Your hidden transcendental qualities are exposed.<br />
Your quality of delivering the most unworthy sinners is now<br />
confirmed.<br />
“O Lord, You may say that demons, such as Kaàsa, were<br />
also liberated, despite being envious of You. However, please<br />
carefully consider how many good qualifications they had. Because<br />
of constantly seeing You and Your associates, they were<br />
certainly eligible for liberation.<br />
“Kaàsa wanted to kill You by any means possible. For this<br />
reason, he constantly remembered You, out of great fear. Still,<br />
he could not escape the offense of being envious. Thus, he with<br />
his entire family were destroyed. O Lord, the same devotees that<br />
formerly bathed in the Ganges to purify themselves if they even<br />
touched our shadows are now touching us without hesitation.<br />
This is indeed due to Your unlimited glories. How will You<br />
deceive anyone now? Everyone has understood Your actual<br />
identity.<br />
The great devotee, Gajendra, the king of elephants, offered<br />
beautiful prayers to You. Seeing his unalloyed surrender, You<br />
delivered him. There were many demons, such as Pütanä, Agha,<br />
and Baka, who were envious of You and were ultimately killed<br />
by You. After being killed, they left their material bodies and<br />
attained Your eternal abode. However, only the Vedas saw their<br />
destinations. On the other hand, everyone in this world directly<br />
saw the miracle You just performed with our most sinful bodies.<br />
Whatever sinners You saved until now possessed some kind of<br />
piety. However, now You have delivered the fiercest of demons.<br />
This is certainly Your causeless mercy.”<br />
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After praying in this way, both Jagäi and Mädhäi cried piteously.<br />
Such were the wonderful pastimes of Lord Caitanya.<br />
Seeing this wonderful incident, all the Vaiñëavas stood up with<br />
folded hands and offered prayers to the Lord.<br />
Jagäi and Mädhäi concluded their prayers, saying, “O Lord,<br />
who can understand how and upon whom You bestow Your<br />
causeless mercy by means of Your inconceivable potencies?”<br />
Accepting Çré Caitanya and Nityänanda Prabhu as my life<br />
and soul, I Våndävana däsa, sing the glories of Their lotus feet.<br />
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CHAPTER TEN<br />
Mädhäi’s Prayers to Nityänanda Prabhu<br />
and His Devotional Service<br />
By the mercy of Lord Caitanya, both Jagäi and Mädhäi<br />
continued to reside at Nadia as the most pious persons.<br />
They woke up early in the morning and bathed in the Ganges<br />
at a solitary place. They regularly chanted the holy names of<br />
Kåñëa two hundred thousand times a day. They constantly condemned<br />
themselves for all their past misdeeds and cried while<br />
chanting the holy names. Receiving the mercy of Kåñëa, they<br />
became most magnanimous, seeing everyone as being dear to<br />
Kåñëa. Remembering their former envy, they would constantly<br />
cry and fall onto the ground.<br />
“Gauracandra, O dear father, You are the deliverer of the<br />
fallen souls.” Remembering this constantly, they constantly shed<br />
tears. In ecstatic love for Kåñëa, they forgot to eat. Remembering<br />
the causeless mercy of Lord Caitanya, they would cry piteously.<br />
Lord Viçvambhara and His followers repeatedly consoled<br />
them with sweet and assuring words. Although the<br />
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Lord personally made them take prasäda, this did not pacify<br />
their hearts. Mädhäi, especially, often cried while remembering<br />
his violence toward Nityänanda Prabhu. Though Nityänanda<br />
Prabhu forgave all his offenses, his mind did not become peaceful.<br />
“I made Nityänanda bleed.” Lamenting in this way, he would<br />
beat his chest with his fists. “The body in which Çré Caitanya<br />
enjoys pastimes, I, the most sinful man, violently struck.”<br />
Remembering this, Mädhäi would lose consciousness. He<br />
seemed to have no other activity than crying.<br />
Nityänanda Prabhu happily wandered all over Nadia in<br />
the mood of a young boy, without any pride. He was naturally<br />
filled with ecstasy. One day, upon seeing Nityänanda Prabhu<br />
alone, Mädhäi fell down and caught hold of His feet. Indeed, He<br />
washed Lord Nityänanda’s feet with the tears of love streaming<br />
from his eyes.<br />
Placing straw in his mouth, Mädhäi prayed, “O Lord, as<br />
Viñëu You maintain the entire universe. As Ananta You hold<br />
innumerable universes on Your hoods. You are the epitome of<br />
devotional service. Lord Çiva and Pärvaté always remember You.<br />
You bestow devotional service unto Yourself to everyone. There<br />
is no one dearer to Lord Caitanya than You. You chant the glories<br />
of Kåñëa with Your unlimited mouths. You teach people<br />
that devotional service to the Lord is their only duty. The great<br />
sage Närada forever sings Your glories. Lord Caitanya is Your<br />
only wealth.<br />
“Another of Your names is Divider of River Kälindé. King<br />
Janaka received transcendental knowledge by worshiping You.<br />
You are the embodiment of all religious principles, and You are<br />
the original Personality of Godhead. The Vedas describe You<br />
as Ädideva, or the primeval Lord. You are the father of the<br />
universe and master of all mystic perfections. You are the great<br />
wielder of the bow, Lakñmaëacandra.<br />
“You punish the atheists, and You are the master of all those<br />
who relish devotional mellows. You know the internal mood and<br />
mission of Lord Caitanya. By seeing You, Mahämäyä became<br />
worshipable. The innumerable universes desire the shade of<br />
Your lotus feet. You are the foremost devotee of Lord Caitanya<br />
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Mädhäi’s Prayers to Nityänanda Prabhu and His Devotional Service<br />
and the origin of pure devotional service. You are everything to<br />
Çré Caitanya. You are the omnipotent Personality of Godhead.<br />
“You are the companion, friend, resting place, umbrella,<br />
and life and soul of Çré Caitanya. No one is dearer to Kåñëa<br />
than You. You are the origin of all the incarnations of Çré<br />
Gauracandra.<br />
“O Lord, You deliver the fallen souls and You destroy the<br />
lives of the atheists. You always protect the Vaiñëavas and You<br />
teach everyone the principles of Vaiñëavism. By Your mercy,<br />
Lord Brahmä creates the universe. Your consorts, Revaté and<br />
Väruëé, eternally serve you. You are the original cause of everything,<br />
yet You are aloof from all things. You hold the Lord of<br />
countless universes on Your chest. Your transcendental body,<br />
the reservoir of all happiness, is as soft as the petals of lotus<br />
flowers. Lord Kåñëa enjoys His pastimes within Your body. I<br />
harmed Your transcendental body and so there is none more<br />
sinful than I. Shame on me! Shame on me!<br />
“Lord Çiva, and Pärvaté, as well as millions of chaste<br />
women, worship Your transcendental form as their very life.<br />
Worshiping Your form destroys one’s material bondage. It is<br />
I who injured Your body. By adoring Your divine form, King<br />
Citraketu became the foremost Vaiñëava and thus live a happy<br />
and prosperous life. People in innumerable universes meditate<br />
upon Your transcendental body. I am so sinful; I tried to<br />
harm Your body. Service to Your divine form freed the sages<br />
at Naimiñäraëya, headed by Çaunaka, from material bondage.<br />
Being envious of this body, Indrajit was destroyed. Being envious<br />
of this body, Dvivida was killed. Jaräsandha was destroyed<br />
because of offenses to this body. Because I cut this body, I have<br />
no hope for good fortune.<br />
“What to speak of wounding You, simply because of insulting<br />
Your transcendental personality, You crushed Rukmé, the<br />
brother-in-law of Lord Kåñëa. Romaharñaëa Süta, who had a<br />
lifespan equal to Lord Brahmä, disregarded You by not welcoming<br />
You and was burnt to ashes. By insulting You, King Duryodhana<br />
was killed, along with his entire family. By providence,<br />
renowned devotees could easily know You as the cause of all<br />
causes. Queen Kunté, Yudhiñöhira, Bhiñma, Vidura and Arjuna<br />
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confirm Your supremacy and greatness. By neglecting You, one’s<br />
life is doomed. Then, where will I, the most sinful person, go?”<br />
While praying in this way, Mädhäi floated on an ocean<br />
of love of God. Falling to the ground, he placed the lotus<br />
feet of Lord Nityänanda on his chest and continued, “O<br />
Lord Nityänanda, You are the protector of the surrendered<br />
souls. You are the wealth, life and soul of Mädhäi. All glories to<br />
the son of Padmävaté! All glories to Nityänanda, the treasure of<br />
the Vaiñëavas! All glories to the most blissful Nityänanda, who<br />
is never overcome by anger. It is befitting to forgive a person who<br />
has surrendered unto You. I am the most abominable dog-eater<br />
and ungrateful ass. O Lord, please forgive all my offenses.”<br />
After hearing the humble prayers of Mädhäi, Nityänanda<br />
Prabhu smiled and said, “Get up, get up, Mädhäi. You are My<br />
servant. I have manifested myself in your body. Can an affectionate<br />
father become upset if his child hurts him? I took your<br />
striking Me in this way. Anyone who hears your prayers to Me<br />
will become devoted to My lotus feet. You are the recipient of<br />
My Lord’s mercy. As far as I am concerned, I do not take even<br />
a hint of your offenses. Whoever worships Çré Caitanya is My<br />
life and soul. I deliver such a person, millennium after millennium.<br />
If someone worships Me alone, without worshiping Çré<br />
Caitanya, I feel unbearable distress.”<br />
After saying this, Nityänanda Prabhu embraced Mädhäi.<br />
All of Mädhäi’s miseries vanished at once. Mädhäi again caught<br />
hold of Lord Nityänanda’s feet and begged, “My Lord, I have<br />
one more request. You reside in the heart of every living entity.<br />
I was envious of and violent toward many such living entities.<br />
I do not even remember those who I have hurt. If I could recognize<br />
them, I would apologize to them all. I wish that those<br />
who I have offended would somehow forgive my offenses. O my<br />
Lord, if You kindly tell me how to accomplish this, I will forever<br />
remain grateful to You.”<br />
The Lord replied, ”Listen as I tell you the means for this.<br />
Regularly clean and decorate the bathing ghäöas on the shore<br />
of the Ganges. When people are thus able to bathe happily and<br />
comfortably, they will certainly bless you. This will nullify all<br />
your offenses and serve the Ganges as well. What more good<br />
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Mädhäi’s Prayers to Nityänanda Prabhu and His Devotional Service<br />
fortune do you need than this? Humbly offer obeisances to everyone.<br />
Then all your offenses will be forgiven.”<br />
Being advised in this way by Lord Nityänanda, Mädhäi circumambulated<br />
Him and departed. When Mädhäi chanted the<br />
holy names, “Kåñëa, Kåñëa,” tears flowed from his eyes. People<br />
were astonished to see how Mädhäi cleansed and decorated the<br />
bathing ghäöas at the Ganges. They considered him a wonderful<br />
person. He offered humble obeisances in return and appealed<br />
to everyone: “Please forgive all the offenses I have knowingly or<br />
unknowingly committed, and bestow your mercy upon me.”<br />
Seeing Mädhäi crying, everyone else began to cry. While<br />
looking at him, they remembered Lord Govinda. When the<br />
people of Nadia heard this, they understood that Nimäi<br />
Paëòita had transformed Jagäi and Mädhäi into glorious<br />
Vaiñëavas. Hearing this, people were highly astonished, concluding<br />
that Nimäi Paëòita could not be an ordinary human<br />
being.<br />
“Many sinful people criticize Nimäi Paëòita without understanding<br />
His real identity,” they said. “He performs wonderul<br />
kértana, being truly Kåñëa’s servant. Anyone who ridicules Him<br />
is doomed. Anyone who can rectify the most degraded persons,<br />
Jagäi and Mädhäi, must be God Himself, or at least empowered<br />
by God. Anyway, Nimäi Paëòita is not an ordinary mortal being.<br />
Now His actual glories have been revealed.”<br />
The people of Nadia spoke like this among themselves and<br />
gave up indulging in needless criticism of Lord Caitanya. Mädhäi<br />
performed severe austerities and he soon became celebrated<br />
in Nadia as a brahmacäré, or celibate person. Living by the shore<br />
of the Ganges, he always saw her flowing waves. He personally<br />
dug the earth with a shovel to build a bathing ghäöa. By<br />
the mercy of Lord Caitanya, even today, one can see the ruins<br />
of his ghäöa, which was popularly known as Mädhäira-ghäöa.<br />
The causeless mercy of Lord Caitanya and Prabhu Nityänanda<br />
transformed both plunderers into pure devotees.<br />
The topics of Madhya-khaëòa are like drops of nectar describing<br />
the salvation of formidable atheists. The principle cause<br />
of all these wonders is Mahäprabhu Gauracandra. Anyone who<br />
feels distress while hearing these narrations is certainly a cheater.<br />
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The topics of Çré Caitanya are unknown even to the four Vedas.<br />
Therefore, please continue hearing them attentively.<br />
Accepting Çré Caitanya and Nityänanda Prabhu as my life<br />
and soul, I, Våndävana däsa, sing the glories of Their lotus feet.<br />
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CHAPTER ELEVEN<br />
Lord Gauräìga Discusses His Sannyäsa<br />
with Lord Nityänanda<br />
One day, as Mahäprabhu sat, surrounded by all His followers,<br />
He suddenly uttered a wonderful word. No one<br />
understood its meaning, and so they were astonished.<br />
Nityänanda, however, understood the Lord’s intention; that<br />
He would soon leave home and accept sannyäsa. Nityänanda<br />
Prabhu became overwhelmed with lamentation, convinced that<br />
the Lord would surely accept sannyäsa. Realizing that the Lord’s<br />
beautiful hair would soon be cut off from His head, Nityänanda<br />
became almost inert. After a short while, Çré Gauräìga caught<br />
hold of Nityänanda’s hands and sat alone with Him in a secluded<br />
place.<br />
The Lord said, “Listen, Nityänanda. I will tell You My heart’s<br />
desires. I descended to deliver the people of the entire world. Instead<br />
of delivering them, I am simply destroying them. Instead<br />
of becoming free from material bondage by seeing Me, people<br />
are becoming more and more entangled. When they thought of<br />
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beating 17 Me, they were at once became entangled in unbreakable<br />
bondage simply by this thought.<br />
“I appeared to deliver the people of this world, but instead<br />
I have personally ruined them all. You will see how tomorrow I<br />
will shave My head and accept the renounced order, sannyäsa. I<br />
will then beg arms door to door. Those who wanted to kill Me,<br />
I will go to their doors tomorrow as a beggar. Seeing Me in that<br />
form, people will fall at My feet. I will thus deliver the entire<br />
world. People generally respect a sannyäsé and would not dare<br />
beat him. I will take sannyäsa and wander door to door begging<br />
for alms. Let us see who will beat Me.<br />
“I have thus disclosed My heart to You. I am determined to<br />
give up My household life. Please do not feel sad because of this.<br />
Rather, You should encourage Me to take sannyäsa. I will do<br />
whatever You make Me do. Suggest to Me the means whereby<br />
I can accept sannyäsa. If You really want to deliver the entire<br />
world, then do not forbid Me in this matter. Do not even feel<br />
distressed, for You know the reason for My incarnation.<br />
“Please hear one more thing, dear Çrépäda Nityänanda Gosäi.<br />
You should disclose My intention to only five persons. During<br />
the coming summer solstice, when the sun moves from one<br />
17 Once, Mahäprabhu, fully absorbed in gopé-bhäva in the mood<br />
of Rädhäräëé, chanted, “Gopé, gopé.” One of His students happened to<br />
hear Him. The student was unable to understand why Mahäprabhu<br />
was chanting, “Gopé, gopé.” He told the Lord, “Chant Kåñëa!, Kåñëa!<br />
What will You get by chanting gopé, gopé? The çästras say that it is<br />
Kåñëa’s name that bears fruit and not the name of gopé.”<br />
Mahäprabhu was fully absorbed in rädhä-bhäva and considered<br />
the student to be a messenger of Kåñëa. Mahäprabhu said, “What<br />
is the use of chanting the name of Kåñëa, who is full of faults and<br />
vices.”<br />
Mahäprabhu had been describing all the faults of Kåñëa, and<br />
the student had protested. In a fit of rage, Mahäprabhu picked up a<br />
stick, being ready to beat the student. The student ran away in fear<br />
while Mahäprabhu was ran after him. Somehow, the devotees pacified<br />
Mahäprabhu. The unfortunate student told everything to his friends.<br />
Finding fault with Mahäprabhu’s chanting the name gopé, the students<br />
conspired to beat Him.<br />
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Lord Gauräìga Discusses His Sannyäsa with Lord Nityänanda<br />
sign of the zodiac to the next, I will certainly leave home to take<br />
sannyäsa.<br />
“There is a village called Katwa near the village of Indräëé,<br />
where the renowned Keçava Bhärati resides. I am destined to<br />
accept sannyäsa from him. Tell this to only five persons: My<br />
mother, Gadädhara, Brahmänanda, Çré Candraçekara Äcärya,<br />
and Mukunda.”<br />
Upon learning that the Lord’s wonderfully attractive hair<br />
would be shaved, Nityänanda’s heart, mind, body and life seemed<br />
to shatter. He was so bewildered in mind that He could not even<br />
think of what to suggest. All that He knew was that the Lord<br />
would certainly take sannyäsa.<br />
“My Lord, You are supremely independent,” Nityänanda<br />
Prabhu said. “Whatever You desire will certainly happen. Who<br />
can instruct You about the rules and regulations for accepting<br />
sannyäsa? Whatever You desire is the confirmed truth. You are<br />
the maintainer and Lord of all the universes. Therefore, You<br />
know best what is most appropriate. Who else but You knows<br />
the ways and means for delivering the fallen souls of this world?<br />
Your nature is that You are supremely blissful and independent.<br />
Therefore, whatever You desire will take place. Still, You inquire<br />
from Your servants as a formality, just to see what they will say.<br />
You will do whatever You desire. Who can oppose Your will?”<br />
Çré Gauräìga Mahäprabhu was pleased to hear these words<br />
of Nityänanda Prabhu, and He embraced Him again and again.<br />
After discussing His plans with Nityänanda, Gaurahari returned<br />
to the assembly of Vaiñëavas. Realizing that the Lord<br />
would soon leave home and accept sannyäsa, Nityänanda was<br />
stunned and could hardly utter a word.<br />
When Nityänanda finally composed Himself, He began to<br />
contemplate as follows: “How will mother Çacé survive after the<br />
Lord’s departure? How will she spend her cruel days and nights?”<br />
These thoughts made magnanimous Nityänanda Prabhu<br />
practically lose consciousness. Thinking about the imminent<br />
miseries that mother Çacé would experience, He cried constantly<br />
in a solitary place.<br />
Accepting Çré Caitanya and Nityänanda Prabhu as my life<br />
and soul, I, Våndävana däsa, sing the glories of Their lotus feet.<br />
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ANTYA-LÉLÄ<br />
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CHAPTER ONE<br />
Lord Nityänanda and Mahäprabhu Meet the<br />
Residents of Navadvépa<br />
avatirnau sa-karunyau paricchinau sad isvarau<br />
çré kåñëa caitanya nityänandau dvau bhratarau bhaje<br />
worship the two brothers, Çré Kåñëa Caitanya<br />
I and Çré Nityänanda, who descended in this world<br />
as the Supreme Controllers. They appeared in covered<br />
forms as incarnations of mercy.<br />
All glories to Çré Kåñëa Caitanya and all glories to the beloved<br />
Lord of Goddess Lakñmé! All glories to Nityänanda, the<br />
most intimate associate of Çré Caitanya! All glories to the Lord<br />
of Vaikuëöha, the king of sannyäsés! All glories to all the devotees<br />
of Çré Caitanya! All glories to Gauracandra, the deliverer<br />
of fallen souls!<br />
O Lord, please place Your lotus feet within my heart.<br />
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My dear brothers, listen with utmost attention to the topics<br />
of Çeña-khaëòa that describe Lord Nityänanda’s meeting with<br />
His devotees.<br />
One auspicious day, after having taken sannyäsa, Lord Caitanya,<br />
along with His devotees, happily departed for Néläcala.<br />
“Listen, magnanimous Nityänanda. Go at once to Navadvépa,”<br />
the Lord said. “Try to relieve the distress of all the devotees,<br />
headed by Çréväsa Paëòita. Tell everyone in Navadvépa that I<br />
am going to Néläcala to see Lord Jagannätha. On the way to<br />
Néläcala, I will visit the house of Advaita Äcärya in Çäntipura,<br />
and I will wait there for everyone. You should gather all the<br />
devotees and bring them to Çäntipura. In the meantime, I will<br />
visit Phuliyä 18 , the place of Haridäsa Öhäkura.”<br />
By the order of the Lord, Nityänanda Prabhu set out for<br />
Navadvépa, intoxicated by transcendental mellows of love of<br />
God. Overwhelmed with ecstasy, Nityänanda Prabhu constantly<br />
roared like an intoxicated lion. His pastimes are beyond the<br />
Vedic prescriptions and prohibitions. Sometimes He climbed up<br />
a kadamba tree, and sometimes He played a flute while standing<br />
in a threefold bending posture.<br />
Sometimes He rolled in the pastures, and sometimes He<br />
drank milk from a cow, just like a calf. He danced along the<br />
entire path out of His own sweet will. He was merged so deeply<br />
in the ocean of bliss that He completely forgot Himself. Sometimes<br />
He would sit down on the road and cry. Hearing His crying<br />
melted the hearts of the people. Sometimes He laughed out<br />
loud, and sometimes He took off His cloth and tied it around<br />
His head. Sometimes, in His mood of Ananta, He floated enchantingly<br />
on the waves of the Ganges.<br />
The glories of Nityänanda Prabhu are inconceivable and<br />
unfathomable. His causeless mercy is matchless within the three<br />
worlds. Floating like this, Nityänanda finally reached the bathing<br />
ghäöas of Navadvépa. Controlling His ecstasy, Nityänanda<br />
18 The village of Phuliyä is in the district of Nadia. From Sealdah<br />
railway station one can take a train on the Lal Gola route, get off<br />
at Ränaghat, and then go to Çäntipura.<br />
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Lord Nityänanda and Mahäprabhu Meet the Residents of Navadvépa<br />
went to the home of Lord Caitanya, where He found that mother<br />
Çacé had been fasting for twelve days. She remained alive<br />
simply by the mercy of Lord Kåñëa.<br />
Mother Çacé was absorbed in the mood of Yaçodä. Tears of love<br />
continuously flowed from her eyes. She asked everyone she saw,<br />
“Are you from Mathurä? Tell me, how are Kåñëa and Balaräma?”<br />
Saying this, she would fall senseless to the ground. Sometimes<br />
mother Çacé would say, “I can hear a horn. Maybe Akrüra<br />
has come again to the pastures.”<br />
Mother Çacé, was thus completely merged in the ocean of<br />
separation from Kåñëa. Nityänanda Prabhu offered His obeisances<br />
to mother Çacé. Seeing Lord Nityänanda, all the devotees<br />
began to cry. Mother Çacé swooned onto the ground saying, “O<br />
dear father, O dear father!”<br />
No one knew who fell or on which side he fell. Nityänanda<br />
picked everyone up and embraced them. Bathing everyone with<br />
His tears of love, He told everyone the auspicious news of Lord<br />
Caitanya’s journey to Çäntipura.<br />
“All of you quickly go and see Lord Caitanya,” Nityänanda<br />
Prabhu said. “The Lord has gone to Advaita Äcärya’s house in<br />
Çäntipura. I came here to take you all there.”<br />
In separation from Çré Caitanya, all the devotees had become<br />
exceedingly morose and emaciated. However, the words<br />
of Nityänanda Prabhu brought them back to life. Overwhelmed<br />
with ecstasy, they began glorifying Lord Kåñëa.<br />
Mother Çacé had been completely fasting since the day Lord<br />
Caitanya left home to take sannyäsa. Thus twelve days had<br />
passed since she last ate. Only by the influence of Çré Caitanya<br />
was she able to maintain her life.<br />
Seeing the condition of mother Çacé, Nityänanda Prabhu<br />
felt very unhappy. He spoke the following sweet words to console<br />
her: “There is no mystery of Kåñëa that you are not aware<br />
of. What can I tell you? Please do not lament. Be happy. Even<br />
the Vedas will never receive the mercy you have attained. The<br />
Lord, whom the Vedas forever seek, is your son. He is the life<br />
and soul of everyone.<br />
“That same Lord has placed His hand on your heart and<br />
promised to take full responsibility for you. The Lord repeatedly<br />
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said that all your spiritual and worldly responsibilities are on His<br />
shoulders. He knows what is best for you, so please surrender to<br />
the Lord and live happily.<br />
“O mother, please go and quickly cook for Kåñëa. Let all the<br />
devotees honor the Lord’s remnants of food and be happy. Everyone<br />
hankers to relish the food cooked by you. If you fast, then<br />
Lord Kåñëa will fast. Quickly cook many palatable offerings for<br />
Kåñëa. I, too, have a great desire to eat food cooked by you.”<br />
Hearing the words of Nityänanda, mother Çacé forgot her<br />
pangs of separation and quickly went to cook. Most pious mother<br />
Çacé cooked numerous offerings for Kåñëa. After offering them,<br />
she gave the remnants to Nityänanda Svarüpa and then served<br />
all the Vaiñëavas. Finally, after pleasing everyone, mother Çacé<br />
personally honored prasäda.<br />
When mother Çacé finally ate after fasting for twelve days,<br />
the devotees became felt great satisfaction. All the devotees,<br />
along with Nityänanda Prabhu, jubilantly prepared to go and<br />
see Lord Caitanya. Soon, all the residents of Navadvépa heard<br />
about the sannyäsa of Gauracandra. Hearing the Lord’s wonderful<br />
sannyäsa name, Çré Kåñëa Caitanya, everyone chanted,<br />
“Hari, Hari!” and said, “May You attain glory!”<br />
Even the atheists who had previously criticized the Lord<br />
went to see Him, along with their families. They all repented:<br />
“We took birth as fools in Navadvépa and, unaware of the position<br />
of the Lord, we criticized Him. Now let us go and take<br />
shelter of His lotus feet. In this way we will counteract all our<br />
offenses.”<br />
In this way, the people hurried towards Çäntipura in a highly<br />
ecstatic mood. No one could estimate how many people there<br />
were. They soon reached Phuliyä, loudly chanting the names of<br />
Hari. Indeed, that sound pierced the coverings of the universe.<br />
Hearing the wonderful loud chanting of the name of Hari, the<br />
Lord, the crest jewel among sannyäsés, came out from His room.<br />
He incessantly chanted the mahä-mantra as tears of love continuously<br />
flowed from His eyes:<br />
Hare Kåñëa Hare Kåñëa Kåñëa Kåñëa Hare Hare,<br />
Hare Räma Hare Räma Räma Räma Hare Hare<br />
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Lord Nityänanda and Mahäprabhu Meet the Residents of Navadvépa<br />
All the people raised their hands and cried: “Save us! Save<br />
us!” Such were the wonderful pastimes of Gauracandra. His<br />
enchanting face overwhelmed everyone with ecstasy. Then<br />
Nityänanda Prabhu, who is Lord Ananta, arrived from Nadia,<br />
along with many devotees. When the devotees, headed by Çréväsa<br />
Paëòita, saw the Lord, they began to chant the holy names<br />
of Hari in ecstasy. The devotees offered obeisances at the Lord’s<br />
lotus feet and cried profusely. Lord Caitanya embraced all the<br />
devotees for they were as dear to Him as His own life. The pathetic<br />
cries of the devotees purified the entire universe.<br />
As the devotees continued singing the glories of the Lord,<br />
Gauracandra repeatedly shouted, “Chant! Chant!”<br />
How can anyone describe the sweetness of these loving<br />
exchanges? The Lord raised His hands and jubilantly chanted,<br />
“Hari! Hari!” The Lord’s dancing was full of sweet wonder. Seeing<br />
His dancing, all the devotees merged in an ocean of great<br />
happiness. Their ecstasy increased as they blissfully danced<br />
around the Lord. Somebody fell on someone, and someone else<br />
caught hold of another devotee. Someone held another’s feet to<br />
his chest.<br />
Nityänanda Prabhu, the abode of great effulgence, danced<br />
exuberantly around the Lord. Advaita Äcärya danced and<br />
shouted loudly in ecstasy. Everyone tried to grab one another’s<br />
feet. Any fortunate person who hears the narrations of these<br />
pastimes will certainly receive the service of Gauracandra’s lotus<br />
feet. Lord Caitanya Mahäprabhu was thus reunited with His<br />
devotees, jubilantly performing näma-saìkértana. Anyone who<br />
hears the story of this meeting will attain the treasure of kåñëaprema.<br />
Accepting Çré Caitanya and Nityänanda Prabhu as my life<br />
and soul, I, Våndävana däsa, sing the glories of Their lotus feet.<br />
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CHAPTER TWO<br />
Lord Nityänanda Breaks Mahäprabhu’s<br />
Sannyäsa-daëòa<br />
After meeting the devotees, Çréman Mahäprabhu departed<br />
for Néläcala. He soon arrived on the bank of the River<br />
Suvarëarekhä. The Lord, along with all the Vaiñëavas, bathed<br />
in the crystal-clear water of the Suvarëarekhä, thus making the<br />
river most glorious.<br />
Çré Gaurasundara, the Supreme Personality of Godhead in a<br />
humanlike form, then proceeded towards Néläcala. Nityänanda<br />
Prabhu, accompanied by Sri Jagadänanda, walked far behind<br />
Gaurasundara. At a short distance, Gauracandra sat down, waiting<br />
for Nityänanda Svarüpa to join Him. Nityänanda Prabhu was<br />
fully absorbed in ecstatic love for Çré Caitanya. All of His dealings<br />
were like those of a madman. Sometimes He roared loudly,<br />
and sometimes He cried. Sometimes He laughed, and sometimes<br />
He shouted loudly. He swam in the River Suvarëarekhä and<br />
then smeared dust all over His body.<br />
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At times, out of love for the Lord, Nityänanda would fall to<br />
the ground so hard that people thought His limbs would break<br />
into pieces. Other times, He would simply dance according to<br />
His own sweet will. When He danced, the whole world seemed<br />
to tremble. This is not at all astonishing for Him because He is<br />
nondifferent from Lord Anantadeva. He has now incarnated<br />
in this world as Lord Nityänanda. Everything is possible by the<br />
mercy of Nityänanda Prabhu, in whose heart Lord Gauracandra<br />
constantly resides.<br />
Leaving Nityänanda somewhere, Jagadänanda 19 went out<br />
for begging alms. Çré Jagadänanda had been entrusted with the<br />
responsibility of carrying Lord Caitanya’s sannyäsa-daëòa, and<br />
so he gave it to Nityänanda Svarüpa before departing, saying,<br />
“Please keep the Lord’s daëòa very carefully. I am going to<br />
beg alms and will soon return.”<br />
Nityänanda took the daëòa from Jagadänanda and sat<br />
down, His mind somewhat agitated. Holding the daëòa, Nityänanda<br />
began to laugh. He then said to the daëòa, “O daëòa, it<br />
is wrong that the Lord I carry in My heart carries you.”<br />
Saying this, unlimitedly powerful Nityänanda Balaräma<br />
broke the daëòa into three pieces and threw them away. Only<br />
the Supreme Lord knows His own desires. How can I know<br />
why Nityänanda Prabhu broke the Lord’s daëòa? Nityänanda<br />
Prabhu knows the internal mood of Gauracandra, and Çré Gau-<br />
19 Jagadänanda Paëòita was an associate of Gauräìga Mahäprabhu.<br />
In his previous incarnation, he was Krñëa’s beloved queen,<br />
Satyabhämä. In his childhood, he stayed with Çivänanda Sena and<br />
studied Bhagavad-gétä and Çrémad-Bhägavatam under his guidance.<br />
He also learned the art of cooking from him. Çivänanda Sena brought<br />
Jagadänanda to Navadvépa to meet the Lord. Since the time of that<br />
meeting, he stayed at Navadvépa and enjoyed playing and studying<br />
with the Lord. After the Lord took sannyäsa, Jagadänanda accompanied<br />
Him to Néläcala. At Néläcala, he established the service of Çré<br />
Giridhäri. By the order of the Lord, he returned to Navadvépa to meet<br />
mother Çacé. Breaking a pot of sandalwood oil, preparing the Lord’s<br />
bed, and leaving for Våndävana were some of his wonderful loving<br />
pastimes and services.<br />
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Lord Nityänanda Breaks Mahäprabhu’s Sannyäsa-daëòa<br />
racandra knows the heart of Nityänanda. They are just like the<br />
two brothers, Çré Räma and Lakñmaëa. They know each other’s<br />
hearts.<br />
To teach devotional service, the one Absolute Truth appeared<br />
in two forms. We can understand Gauracandra only by<br />
the mercy of Nityänanda Prabhu. Who is there more powerful<br />
than Nityänanda Prabhu, who could also break the daëòa of Çré<br />
Caitanya? Çré Gaurasundara explains all these things in some<br />
way or other. Anyone who understands this pastime in truth is<br />
easily delivered from material existence.<br />
After breaking the daëòa, Nityänanda sat down peacefully.<br />
A short time later, Jagadänanda returned. Upon seeing<br />
the Lord’s daëòa broken into pieces, Jagadänanda became very<br />
anxious and astonished.<br />
“Who broke the daëòa?” Jagadänanda asked.<br />
“He who accepted the daëòa. The Lord Himself broke<br />
His daëòa,” Nityänanda replied. “Who else could break His<br />
daëòa?”<br />
Hearing this reply, Jagadänanda said nothing more. He<br />
picked up the broken pieces of daëòa and left at once. He went<br />
further along the road to where he found Çré Gaurasundara sitting<br />
and placed the broken pieces before Him.<br />
“How did the daëòa break?” The Lord asked. “You must<br />
have quarreled with someone on the way.”<br />
Jagadänanda Paëòita narrated the entire incident to the<br />
Lord and said, “The one overwhelmed with grief, Nityänanda,<br />
broke this daëòa.”<br />
Later, Lord Caitanya asked <strong>Nityananda</strong> Prabhu, “Tell Me;<br />
why did You break My daëòa.”<br />
“It is true that I broke this bamboo stick. If You cannot forgive<br />
Me, then punish Me as You like,” Nityänanda replied.<br />
“All the demigods are present within this daëòa and yet<br />
You call it a bamboo stick?” the Lord said.<br />
Who can understand the pastimes of Gaurasundara? If one<br />
understands them in a particular way, there will always remain<br />
something unexplained. Anyone who claims to know the heart<br />
of the Lord is certainly a great fool. If the Lord wants to kill<br />
someone, He may apparently show him affection. He displays<br />
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ÇRÉ NITYÄNANDA CARITÄMÅTA<br />
indifference even to those who are as dear to Him or even dearer<br />
to Him than His own life. Such are the inconceivable and incomprehensible<br />
pastimes of the Lord. Only a person favored by<br />
the Lord can understand them. The fact is that the Lord, out of<br />
His own sweet will, broke the daëòa and then became angry.<br />
“This daëòa was My only remaining possession,” the Lord<br />
said. “But today, by the will of Kåñëa, that also has been broken.<br />
I think I should travel alone. So, either all of you go first, or else<br />
I will go first.”<br />
“O Lord, You go first,” Mukunda 20 said. “We have some duties<br />
to perform and then we will follow You.”<br />
“Good.” Saying this, Gaurasundara departed like an invincible,<br />
ferocious lion. After only a few moments, the Lord reached<br />
the village of Jaleçvara. There, He visited the temple of Jaleçvara.<br />
The servants and worshipers of Lord Çiva were astonished<br />
to see the Lord. They concluded that it was none other than<br />
Lord Çiva who had personally come before them. With great<br />
enthusiasm and jubilation, the Çaivites sang and played musical<br />
instruments as the Lord danced in ecstasy.<br />
After awhile, the Lord’s associates, headed by Mukunda, arrived<br />
there, and they also began to sing. Seeing His dear devotees,<br />
the Lord became more blissful and continued dancing as<br />
they surrounded Him.<br />
Who has the power to describe the symptoms of prema that<br />
were visible on the body of Lord Caitanya? Tears poured from<br />
His eyes like the flow of the Ganges. This abode of Çiva became<br />
most glorious as the Lord of Vaikuëöha personally danced there.<br />
After manifesting spiritual bliss for some time, the Lord became<br />
calm and sat down with His dear associates. He then embraced<br />
everyone with love, making them happy and fearless.<br />
Seeing Nityänanda Prabhu, the Lord embraced Him and<br />
said, “You were supposed to look after Me so that I could protect<br />
My renounced order of life, but on the contrary, You want to<br />
20 Mukunda was one of the Lord’s singers. He was born in a<br />
Datta family of Caööagräma in present-day Bangladesh. Later, he<br />
came to reside at Navadvépa. His elder brother was Väsudeva Datta.<br />
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Lord Nityänanda Breaks Mahäprabhu’s Sannyäsa-daëòa<br />
make Me mad. If You continue Your mischief, it will be just like<br />
killing Me. Whatever You had wanted Me to do, I did. That is a<br />
fact and I tell this to everyone.”<br />
Lord Gauracandra then instructed everyone to be extremely<br />
careful in their dealings with Nityänanda. The Lord said, “Nityänanda<br />
is more dear to Me than My very life. I boldly declare<br />
this. The love and devotion of anyone who commits offenses at<br />
the lotus feet of Nityänanda will certainly be checked. There<br />
is no fault of Mine in this regard. Anyone who maintains even<br />
the slightest envy towards Nityänanda, although he may be My<br />
devotee, he is not dear to Me.”<br />
Hearing His own praise, Nityänanda Mahäçaya felt shy and<br />
did not raise His head. All the devotees, however, felt great joy<br />
upon hearing the Lord’s words. Such are the pastimes of the son<br />
of Çacé.<br />
Accepting Çré Caitanya and Nityänanda Prabhu as my life<br />
and soul, I, Våndävana däsa, sing the glories of Their lotus feet.<br />
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CHAPTER THREE<br />
Lord Nityänanda’s Darçana of Lord Jagannätha<br />
Lord Caitanya walked as swiftly, like an infuriated lion. He<br />
soon reached Jagannätha Puré and entered the temple of<br />
Lord Jagannätha. By the Lord’s will, Särvabhauma Bhaööäcärya<br />
was present in the temple, having the darçana of Jagannätha,<br />
Baladeva, and Subhadrä, when Gauracandra, the life and soul<br />
of the universe, came to see Them.<br />
As soon as the Lord saw Jagannätha, He loudly roared and<br />
went to embrace Him. While doing so, however, the Lord fell<br />
unconscious onto the floor in ecstasy. Who can understand the<br />
unfathomable qualities of the Supreme Lord? Just by seeing Jagannätha,<br />
who is non-different from Him, Lord Caitanya fainted<br />
onto the floor.<br />
Särvabhauma Bhaööäcärya personally attended to the Lord,<br />
but was unable to bring Him back to external consciousness.<br />
Finally, Särvabhauma Bhaööäcärya decided to take Lord Caitanya<br />
home.<br />
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ÇRÉ NITYÄNANDA CARITÄMÅTA<br />
“Brothers, please pick up this jewel-like personality, and<br />
bring Him to my house,” Särvabhauma instructed the temple<br />
guards. The guards, along with the servants of the Deities who<br />
participated in the Päëòu-vijaya ceremony, picked up Lord Caitanya<br />
and carried Him out of the temple to Särvabhauma’s<br />
house. As they blissfully carried the Lord, they continually<br />
chanted the holy names of Hari.<br />
At that time, the devotees who had accompanied the Lord<br />
from Navadvépa reached the Siàha-dvära (Lion Gate) at the<br />
main entrance to the temple. They were highly astonished by<br />
what they saw. It appeared as if ants were carrying a particle of<br />
grain, as many people were seen happily carrying Lord Caitanya<br />
to the home of Särvabhauma Bhaööäcärya.<br />
After offering obeisances to Jagannätha at the main entrance,<br />
all the devotees followed the Lord as the temple servants<br />
brought Him to Särvabhauma’s house. As soon as the Lord was<br />
brought inside, the temple servants locked the door. Seeing the<br />
devotees that had come with the Lord from Navadvépa, Särvabhauma<br />
was especially pleased. While loudly exchanging greetings<br />
with everyone, Särvabhauma’s doubts regarding Lord Caitanya<br />
were removed. He thus became very satisfied at heart.<br />
Who can estimate the good fortune of Särvabhauma<br />
Bhaööäcärya? He whose glories all the Vedas describe personally<br />
came to his house. Seeing Nityänanda Prabhu, Särvabhauma<br />
Mahäçaya humbly took the dust from His lotus feet. Särvabhauma<br />
arranged a guide so that the devotees could see Lord Jagannätha.<br />
The guide made this request of the devotees with folded<br />
hands: “Please remain peaceful while seeing Lord Jagannätha.<br />
Do not act like the previous Gosäi. I do not understand what<br />
kind of people you are. If you promise to remain peaceful, only<br />
then will I take you to see Lord Jagannätha. What can I say?<br />
The way that sannyäsé fell to the floor—no ordinary man could<br />
survive that! I request all of you to please see Lord Jagannätha<br />
with utmost restraint.”<br />
Hearing these words, all the devotees began to laugh, saying,<br />
“Do not worry.” All the devotes then left to see Lord Jagannätha.<br />
Thereafter, they entered the temple and saw the Lord of<br />
the universe, the origin of the first quadruple expansion, hap-<br />
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Lord Nityänanda’s Darçana of Lord Jagannätha<br />
pily manifested in the midst of His devotees. Seeing Lord Jagannätha,<br />
all the devotees began to cry. They offered obeisances to<br />
Him, circumambulated Him, and prayed before Him.<br />
Nityänanda, absorbed in love for Lord Caitanya, became<br />
terribly agitated upon seeing Lord Jagannätha, so that He was<br />
unable to remain steady. As soon as He saw Lord Jagannätha,<br />
Nityänanda ran to embrace Him. The guards could not check<br />
Him, and so Nityänanda climbed onto the altar and embraced<br />
the Deity of Balaräma. As Nityänanda climbed onto the Deities’<br />
throne, the guards tried to stop Him, catching hold of His<br />
hand, but He simply pushed them away. He then took the garland<br />
from Lord Balaräma and placed it around His neck.<br />
At this time, the temple priests took garlands from Lord<br />
Jagannätha and happily offered them to the devotees. Receiving<br />
Lord Jagannätha’s mercy in the form of His garlands, all the<br />
devotees became extremely pleased. Thereafter, they returned<br />
to Särvabhauma’s house.<br />
Wearing the garland of Balaräma, Nityänanda walked like<br />
the king of elephants. The temple guards thought, “This mendicant<br />
is not an ordinary man. How could anyone survive after<br />
touching Balaräma? We control even mad elephants, and so<br />
what to speak of ordinary men. We tried to grab Him, but He<br />
scattered us like straws.”<br />
Remembering this incident, the temple guards showed great<br />
respect to Nityänanda whenever they saw Him. In His mood<br />
as a child, Nityänanda Svarüpa often embraced the Lord with<br />
loving affection.<br />
Meanwhile, Lord Caitanya remained unconscious at the<br />
house of Särvabhauma Bhaööäcärya. Särvabhauma Bhaööäcärya<br />
sat at His feet while the devotees surrounding the Lord chanted<br />
the names of Räma and Kåñëa. The transcendental qualities of<br />
Gauracandra are inconceivable and unfathomable. Even after<br />
nine hours, He did not regain consciousness. It was only after a<br />
long time that Lord Caitanya, the life and soul of the universe,<br />
returned to external consciousness. All the devotees chanted<br />
the holy name of Lord Hari.<br />
Becoming composed, the Lord asked everyone, “What happened<br />
to Me today?”<br />
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ÇRÉ NITYÄNANDA CARITÄMÅTA<br />
“When You saw Lord Jagannätha, You fell unconscious onto<br />
the ground,” Lord Nityänanda explained. Fortunately, Särvabhauma<br />
Bhaööäcärya was present at that time. He picked You<br />
up and brought You to his home. In ecstatic bliss, You remained<br />
in trance for nine hours. Here is Särvabhauma Bhaööäcärya, offering<br />
You his respectful obeisances.”<br />
The Lord embraced Särvabhauma and said, “Lord Jagannätha<br />
is very merciful. He kindly brought Me to the house of<br />
Särvabhauma Bhaööäcärya. I had grave doubts about how I<br />
would attain your good association. Today, Lord Kåñëa has effortlessly<br />
fulfilled My desire.”<br />
Saying this and looking at Särvabhauma, the Lord began<br />
to smile. He continued, “Listen. Today I saw Lord Jagannätha<br />
directly. Seeing Lord Jagannätha, I intensely desired to embrace<br />
Him, but as soon as I ran toward Him, I lost consciousness and<br />
so was unaware of anything thereafter. Fortunately, Särvabhauma<br />
was there and so I was protected from danger. I vow that,<br />
from today on, I will see Lord Jagannätha only from a distance.<br />
I will never enter the temple room, rather I will see Jagannätha<br />
while standing beside the Garuòa-stambha. By good fortune, I<br />
did not embrace Lord Jagannätha. Had I done so, it would have<br />
been a great impediment.”<br />
Nityänanda Prabhu replied, “Today You’ve been saved. Now<br />
it is already quite late. Please go and take bath.”<br />
“Nityänanda, You can control Me at all times,” Lord Caitanya<br />
said. “I surrender unto You.”<br />
The Lord happily bathed and then smilingly sat with<br />
the devotees. Särvabhauma Bhaööäcärya brought varieties of<br />
mahäprasäda and placed it before the Lord. Lord Caitanya offered<br />
His obeisances to the mahäprasäda and then began to<br />
honor it, along with His devotees. Anyone who hears of the ecstatic<br />
eating pastimes of Çré Gauräìga at Néläcala will obtain the<br />
association of Nityänanda Prabhu without a doubt. By hearing<br />
of Nityänanda’s visit to Néläcala as described in Antya-khaëòa,<br />
one will float in the ocean of kåñëa-prema.<br />
Accepting Çré Caitanya and Nityänanda Prabhu as my life<br />
and soul, I, Våndävana däsa, sing the glories of Their lotus feet.<br />
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CHAPTER FOUR<br />
Lord Nityänanda’s Grand Bathing Ceremony at<br />
the House of Räghava Paëòita<br />
brothers, listen attentively to the topics of Antyakhaëòa<br />
that describe the pastimes of Nitäicandra. One<br />
O<br />
day, Çré Gaurasundara, the Supreme Personality of Godhead appearing<br />
in a humanlike form, sat alone with Nityänanda.<br />
prabhu bale çuna nityänanda mahämati<br />
satvare calaha tumi nabadvépa prati<br />
pratijïä kariyä ächi äpanära mukhe<br />
murkha néca daridra bhäsäva prema mukhe<br />
tumio thäkilä yadi munidharma kari<br />
äpana uddäma bhäva sava parihari<br />
tabe murkha néca yata patita saàsära<br />
bala dekhi ära keba kariba uddhara<br />
bhakti rasa dätä tumi tumi sasvarile<br />
tabe avatära bä ki nimitte karile<br />
eteke ämära bäkya yadi satya cäo<br />
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ÇRÉ NITYÄNANDA CARITÄMÅTA<br />
tabe äbilasve tumi gauòadeça yäo<br />
murkha néca patita duùkhiya yata jana<br />
bhakti diyä kara giyä saväre mocana<br />
Lord Caitanya said, “Listen, magnanimous Nityänanda.<br />
Go immediately to Navadvépa. I had promised<br />
that I would drown everyone, including fools, fallen,<br />
and sinful people, in the ocean of kåñëa-prema. If You<br />
remain here with Me as an ascetic, keeping a vow of<br />
silence and concealing Your enthusiasm, then who will<br />
deliver the fallen souls of this world? You are the bestower<br />
of love and devotion. Please tell Me, if You always<br />
restrain Yourself, then what is the use of Your<br />
incarnation? If You want to make My words prove true,<br />
go to Bengal at once. Deliver everyone by giving premabhakti<br />
to all the foolish, fallen, low-class and distressed<br />
people.”<br />
Instructed thus by Lord Caitanya, Nityänanda Prabhu<br />
promptly left for Bengal, along with His own associates. Rämadäsa,<br />
Gadädhara däsa, and Raghunätha Vaidya, Kåñëadäsa<br />
Paëòita, Parameçvara däsa, and the most blissful Purandara<br />
Paëòita went with Nityänanda Svarüpa to Bengal. As He began<br />
His journey, He first induced His associates to become greatly<br />
ecstatic so that they practically forgot themselves. There was no<br />
end to the ecstatic symptoms that arose in their bodies.<br />
The mood of Çré Gopäla manifested in the body of Rämadäsa,<br />
the foremost among all the Vaiñëavas. On the way to Bengal,<br />
Rämadäsa transformed into a threefold bending form and<br />
remained unconscious for nine hours. Gadädhara däsa, absorbed<br />
in the mood of Rädhikä, suddenly began to laugh loudly while<br />
saying, “Who will buy yogurt?” Greatly magnanimous Raghunätha<br />
Vaidya Upädhyäya displayed the mood of Revaté. Both<br />
Kåñëadäsa and Parameçvara däsa constantly made mischief in<br />
the mood of cowherd boys. Purandara Paëòita climbed up a tree<br />
and then jumped down, saying, “I am the great Aìgada.”<br />
Nityänanda Prabhu, the origin of Çré Ananta, inspired everyone<br />
to revive his original constitutional mood. The devo-<br />
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Lord Nityänanda’s Grand Bathing Ceremony at the House of Räghava Paëòita<br />
tees walked very fast, sometimes forgetting themselves so that<br />
they walked in the wrong direction. They often asked the local<br />
people: “Brothers, please tell us how to reach the shore of the<br />
Ganges.”<br />
“Alas! Alas! You are on the wrong path,” the people would<br />
reply. “You just wasted six hours of your journey.”<br />
Getting proper directions, they would return to the correct<br />
path. Later on, when they again asked for the right path, the<br />
people told them to take a twenty-mile detour to reach the correct<br />
path. All of them smilingly walked along the road. They<br />
hardly knew their own selves, and so what to speak of the roads.<br />
None of them felt the urges of the body, such as hunger, thirst,<br />
fear, or distress. They were completely merged in transcendental<br />
ecstasy. No one can describe the unlimited pastimes Nityänanda<br />
Prabhu performed on the way to Bengal.<br />
Nityänanda, the origin of Çré Ananta, finally reached the<br />
village of Pänihäöi by the shore of the Ganges. Nityänanda<br />
Prabhu and His associates then arrived at the house of Räghava<br />
Paëòita 21 at Pänihäöi. Räghava Paëòita was overjoyed to see Nityänanda<br />
Prabhu. Çré Makaradhvaja Kara 22 , who was a disciple of<br />
Räghava Paëòita, also became very pleased.<br />
21 Çré Räghava Paëòita was Dhaniñöhä-sakhé in his previous incarnation.<br />
Every year, Räghava Paëòita would go to Jagannätha Puré.<br />
His sister, Damayanté-devé, would prepare varieties of sweets for Lord<br />
Caitanya. Räghava Paëòita would take them in a basket to Jagannätha<br />
Puré for the Lord. This basket was well-known as räghavera<br />
jhäli, or the basket of Räghava. Çréman Mahäprabhu would eat these<br />
preparations throughout the year.<br />
22 Çré Makaradhvaja Kara was the famous dancer called Candramukha<br />
in vraja-lélä. He appeared in the village of Pänihäöi. He<br />
was a disciple of Räghava Paëòita who served him with his body and<br />
mind. He carried the basket of Räghava to Néläcala. His ancestral<br />
house stands on the eastern side of Cätu Bäbä’s garden within the<br />
Bhavänépura wood of Pänihäöi, by the side of the road that leads to<br />
the village Sukhacara.<br />
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ÇRÉ NITYÄNANDA CARITÄMÅTA<br />
Nityänanda Prabhu, along with His associates, happily resided<br />
at the village of Pänihäöi for some time. Always overwhelmed<br />
with prema, Nityänanda would often go into a trance of ecstasy.<br />
When He desired to dance, three famous singers would hurriedly<br />
come. Greatly pious Mädhava Ghoña was very expert in<br />
performing kértana. Indeed, there was no better singer in the<br />
world. He was known as the singer of Våndävana and was very<br />
dear to Nityänanda Svarüpa.<br />
As soon as the three brothers, Mädhava, Govinda, and<br />
Väsudeva, would begin to sing, the Supreme Lord Nityänanda<br />
would begin to dance. When supremely powerful Avadhüta<br />
Nit-yänanda danced, the earth would shake with His every<br />
step. He continually chanted the Holy name of Lord Hari. Seeing<br />
His towering figure and ecstatic dancing, the people were<br />
struck with wonder. Sometimes, when He glanced at someone<br />
while dancing, that person would fall onto the ground, being<br />
filled with love of God and absorbed in transcendental mellows.<br />
This marked the auspicious beginning of Lord Nityänanda’s<br />
deliverance of the fallen conditioned souls. He would<br />
dance for a long time, manifesting all the signs of ecstatic love<br />
of Çré Kåñëa.<br />
After some time, Nityänanda Prabhu sat down on a throne<br />
and ordered His servants to perform His abhiñeka. All the devotees,<br />
headed by Räghava Paëòita, quickly arranged for the abhiñeka,<br />
bringing thousands of pitchers of Ganges water that was<br />
then mixed with varieties of perfume. With great satisfaction,<br />
they poured this scented water on Lord Nityänanda’s head.<br />
Everyone chanted, “Hari, Hari!” on all sides. They recited<br />
suitable mantras while performing the abhiñeka and sang songs<br />
in glorification of Nityänanda Prabhu. All the Lord’s associates<br />
became submerged in an ocean of bliss. After the abhiñeka, the<br />
devotees dressed Nityänanda Prabhu in new cloth and applied<br />
sandalwood paste to His body. They decorated His broad chest<br />
with a garland of beautiful flowers and tulasé leaves. They then<br />
placed a throne decorated with gold before the Lord.<br />
Lord Nityänanda sat upon the throne while Çré Räghavänanda<br />
held an umbrella above His head. The devotees began<br />
to glorify Nityänanda Prabhu so that there arose a great cry on<br />
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Lord Nityänanda’s Grand Bathing Ceremony at the House of Räghava Paëòita<br />
all sides. Everyone raised their hands and exclaimed, “Save us!”<br />
They all became absorbed in the ecstasy of kåñëa-prema.<br />
Lord Nityänanda, absorbed in His own blissful mood,<br />
glanced at everyone, showering love of God upon them. He ordered,<br />
“Räghava Paëòita, make a garland of kadamba flowers<br />
and bring it to Me quickly. I am very fond of kadamba flowers.<br />
In fact, I always reside in a forest of kadamba trees.”<br />
Räghavänanda folded his hands and said, “Lord, it is not yet<br />
the season for kadamba trees to flower.”<br />
“Go to your home and look carefully,” Lord Nityänanda told<br />
Räghava. “There may be a flower or two somewhere.”<br />
Räghava Paëòita went straight to his house. To his great<br />
surprise, he saw something most wonderful! Beautiful kadamba<br />
flowers blossomed on the lemon tree in his courtyard! How wonderful<br />
were the colors and fragrance of those flowers! Just seeing<br />
them freed one from material bondage. Seeing those beautiful<br />
kadamba flowers, Räghava Paëòita began losing consciousness<br />
in ecstasy. Controlling himself, he quickly made a garland of<br />
kadamba flowers and then brought it before Lord Nityänanda.<br />
Nityänanda Prabhu was very pleased and put the garland<br />
around His neck. The sweet fragrance of the kadamba flowers<br />
overwhelmed the Vaiñëavas and they all felt very blissful.<br />
Suddenly, the most wonderful thing happened. Everyone could<br />
smell the scent of another wonderful flower. The enchanting<br />
aroma of damanaka flowers filled the ten directions.<br />
Nityänanda Prabhu smilingly said, “Listen, brothers. Can<br />
you tell Me what you are smelling?”<br />
They all folded their hands and replied, “We smell the fragrance<br />
of wonderful flowers. The fragrance is coming from all<br />
directions.”<br />
Nityänanda Prabhu, out of His causeless mercy, began to<br />
explain a most confidential topic: “Listen all of you to this mystery,<br />
for you must know the truth in detail. Today, Caitanya<br />
Gosäi came here from Néläcala to hear our kértana. He wore a<br />
garland of damanaka flowers and sat in a tree, unseen. The four<br />
directions are filled with the aroma of that wonderful garland.<br />
To see your chanting and dancing, the Lord came here from<br />
Néläcala. Give up all other affairs and always sing the glories of<br />
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ÇRÉ NITYÄNANDA CARITÄMÅTA<br />
Kåñëa. May all of you forever glorify Çré Kåñëa Caitanyacandra<br />
and be fully merged in the ocean of kåñëa-prema.”<br />
Saying this, Nityänanda Prabhu shouted loudly and showered<br />
love of God in all directions. Being drenched by the rain of<br />
prema, everyone fainted in ecstasy.<br />
My dear brothers, please hear about the potency of Nityänanda<br />
Prabhu whereby He awarded prema-bhakti to everyone<br />
in this world. By His mercy, everyone easily received the premabhakti<br />
of the gopés of Våndävana that is described in Çrémad-<br />
Bhägavatam.<br />
When Nityänanda sat on the golden throne, all His associates<br />
danced in front of Him. Someone climbed a tree and walked<br />
on the leaves, and yet did not fall down. Out of ecstasy, someone<br />
shouted loudly and jumped from a tree. Someone roared like a<br />
lion and caught the root of a tree, pulling it out of the ground<br />
while chanting, “Hari! Hari!” Someone went to a forest of betel<br />
nuts and gathered five or six trees together. With immense<br />
strength due to love of God, he uprooted them all.<br />
All the symptoms of love of God mentioned in Çrémad-<br />
Bhägavatam, such as the shedding of tears, becoming stunned,<br />
breathing heavily, perspiring, the standing of the hair on end,<br />
roaring loudly, the faltering of the voice, paleness, and falling<br />
unconscious were fully manifest in the bodies of everyone by<br />
the causeless mercy of Lord Nityänanda. Wherever Nityänanda<br />
Mahäçaya mercifully glanced, He showered love and devotion.<br />
Anyone Nityänanda looked upon would thus fall unconscious<br />
due to ecstatic kåñëa-prema.<br />
The devotees tried to grab hold of Nityänanda Svarüpa’s<br />
feet as He smiled, sitting on His golden throne. The Lord invested<br />
His energies in all His chief associates. They became omniscient<br />
and their statements became infallible. They appeared<br />
to be as beautiful as Cupid. Whomever they touched with their<br />
hands became overwhelmed with love of God and thus forgot<br />
everything else.<br />
Nityänanda Prabhu resided like this in the village of Pänihäöi<br />
for three months, continuing His pastimes of distributing<br />
love and devotion. For three months, all the devotees were<br />
absorbed in an ecstatic trance so that they stopped perform-<br />
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Lord Nityänanda’s Grand Bathing Ceremony at the House of Räghava Paëòita<br />
ing their ordinary activities. Indeed, they did not eat for three<br />
months. All they did was continuously dance in ecstasy.<br />
The blissful pastimes Nityänanda Prabhu performed in the<br />
village of Pänihäöi can not even be found in the four Vedas.<br />
Who can describe the extent of the pastimes performed by Lord<br />
Nityänanda? From time to time, He would personally dance,<br />
surrounded by His associates. Sometimes He would sit in a hero’s<br />
posture and encourage all the devotees to dance. The dancing<br />
of only one of His servants flooded the surrounding area<br />
with kåñëa-prema. Just as banana trees fall flat onto the ground<br />
by the force of a great storm, so the devotees fell flat onto the<br />
ground, overwhelmed by the ecstasy of prema.<br />
As Lord Nityänanda was personally overwhelmed by ecstatic<br />
love of Kåñëa, He transformed all the devotees into images of<br />
Himself. He constantly engaged in the congregational chanting<br />
of the holy names of Kåñëa as introduced by Çré Caitanya (the<br />
mahä-mantra) and encouraged all the devotees to follow His<br />
example. Anyone who came to see Lord Nityänanda became<br />
overwhelmed with kåñëa-prema. Such was the example of His<br />
distribution of love of Kåñëa.<br />
Whenever a servant of Lord Nityänanda desired to have<br />
something, he would instantly receive it. Everyone thus merged<br />
into an ocean of transcendental bliss so that they did not know<br />
how three months passed.<br />
Accepting the lotus feet of Çré Caitanya and Nityänanda<br />
Prabhu, I, Våndävana däsa, sing the glories of Their lotus feet.<br />
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CHAPTER FIVE<br />
Lord Nityänanda’s Meeting with<br />
Gadädhara Däsa<br />
Once, <strong>Nityananda</strong> Prabhu desired to wear some fine ornaments.<br />
As soon He desired this, varieties of valuable<br />
and enchanting ornaments made with silver, gold, and diamonds<br />
were immediately brought before Him. Fortunate people<br />
brought these ornaments that were bedecked with jewels and<br />
coral. They also brought fine cloth and pearl necklaces, which<br />
they presented to the Lord while offering obeisances.<br />
The Lord then decorated Himself according to His own<br />
sweet will. He decorated His two hands with golden bangles<br />
and put ten golden rings beset with diamonds on each of His<br />
ten fingers. He decorated His neck with necklaces studded with<br />
jewels, pearls, and coral. To please Lord Çiva, He took a string<br />
of rudräkña and cat’s eyes decorated with gold and silver, respectively,<br />
and placed it around His neck. He placed two beautiful<br />
golden earrings bedecked with pearls on His ears. He decorated<br />
His lotus feet with silver ankle-bells and placed very attractive<br />
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ÇRÉ NITYÄNANDA CARITÄMÅTA<br />
rings on His toes. He dressed fine white, blue, and yellow clothing.<br />
The Lord looked very enchanting dressed in this way.<br />
Garlands of Arabian jasmine and campaka flowers swung<br />
around His neck. Sandalwood paste was applied to His beautiful<br />
limbs. His head was adorned with a turban made of fine cloth<br />
that was decorated with flowers of various colors. The beauty<br />
of His supremely attractive face defeated the beauty of millions<br />
of moons. He continuously smiled and chanted the holy<br />
name of Lord Hari. In whichever direction Nityänanda Prabhu<br />
glanced, His lotus eyes would sprinkle showers of kåñëa-prema.<br />
He sported with a stick that was made of fine gold-plated sculptured<br />
iron. He always carried this stick in His hand in the mood<br />
of Lord Balaräma, who had carried a similar stick.<br />
Nityänanda Prabhu’s associates, who were in the mood of<br />
cowherd boys of Våndävana, offered varieties of ornaments,<br />
such as bracelets, bangles, anklets, rings, garlands, a horn, stick,<br />
flute, rope, and garland of guïjä to their beloved Nityänanda.<br />
Nityänanda, by His own sweet will, enjoyed varieties of pastimes<br />
with His associates.<br />
Lord Nityänanda, along with His associates, visited the<br />
houses of the devotees. He traveled to all the villages on both<br />
sides of the Ganges, spreading the glories of the holy name of<br />
Kåñëa. He constantly enjoyed the transcendental mellows of loving<br />
relationships. His name and form are nondifferent. Simply<br />
seeing Him, all living entities became captivated. Even atheists<br />
would immediately offer prayers to Nityänanda as soon as they<br />
saw Him and at once desired to offer everything to Him.<br />
The transcendental body of Nityänanda Svarüpa was very<br />
sweet and attractive. He generously bestowed His mercy upon<br />
everyone. Whether eating, sleeping, or traveling, He did not<br />
waste a moment by not performing näma-saìkértana. Wherever<br />
Nityänanda performed saìkértana and danced in ecstasy,<br />
He captivated the minds of hundreds of people. Even illiterate<br />
village children, being infused with the potency of Nityänanda<br />
Prabhu, would pull big trees out of the ground without difficulty.<br />
They would roar loudly as they uprooted the trees, shouting,<br />
“We are cowherd boys!” The strength of one child was such that<br />
even seven men could not control him.<br />
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Lord Nityänanda’s Meeting with Gadädhara Däsa<br />
The children happily roared like lions and chanted, “All<br />
glories to Çré Kåñëa Caitanya! All glories to Çré Nityänanda!”<br />
Nityänanda Prabhu, the life and soul of everyone, captivated<br />
the hearts of even small children. Some children ate nothing for<br />
an entire month. People were astonished to seeing such things.<br />
All the devotees became overwhelmed with ecstatic love, and<br />
Nityänanda Prabhu was their sole protector. Lord Nityänanda<br />
fed everyone with His own hands, treating them like His sons.<br />
Sometimes, He bound someone with rope, or even beat him,<br />
and then laughed loudly with joy.<br />
One day, to show affection to Gadädhara däsa, Nityänanda<br />
came to his house. Gadädhara däsa Mahäçaya was fully absorbed<br />
in transcendental bliss in the mood of the gopés. He placed a<br />
pot of Ganges water on his head and cried out, “Who will buy<br />
milk?” He had a beautiful Deity of Çré Bäla-gopäla at his house.<br />
The beauty and sweetness of this Deity were matchless. Seeing<br />
this enchanting Deity of Bäla-gopäla, Nityänanda Prabhu held<br />
Him to His chest with great love and affection. When everyone<br />
saw Çré Bäla-gopäla clinging to Nityänanda Prabhu’s heart, they<br />
loudly chanted the holy name of Lord Hari. Absorbed in the<br />
mood of a cowherd boy, Lord Nityänanda shouted and began<br />
to dance. Mädhavänanda Ghoña sang about Kåñëa’s pastime of<br />
demanding taxes from the gopés.<br />
While listening to this song, Avadhüta Nityänanda became<br />
very pleased. The sweet voice of fortunate Mädhavänanda<br />
captivated the heart of Nityänanda. The Lord danced,<br />
imitating the pastimes of Kåñëa in Våndävana. The fortunate<br />
Gadädhara däsa forgot himself, being absorbed in the mood<br />
of the gopés.<br />
While hearing the pastimes of Kåñëa in Våndävana, Nityänanda<br />
Prabhu danced so emotionally that it was beyond description.<br />
He matchlessly danced, exhibiting all the symptoms<br />
of ecstatic love and devotion. The movements of His dancing<br />
could be compared only to lightning. His legs and hands appeared<br />
incredibly enchanting. How wonderfully He moved His<br />
eyes and smiled! The shaking of His head was wonderful! He<br />
put His beautiful feet together and jumped up and down in a<br />
most spectacular way.<br />
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All the men and women floated in the happiness of<br />
kåñëa-prema by the merciful glance of Nityänanda. His<br />
merciful glance was so intense that everyone forgot himself<br />
in spiritual ecstasy. By His mercy, everyone easily achieved<br />
the love and devotion aspired to by great sages and yogés.<br />
When a person even as big as an elephant does not eat for<br />
three days, he will certainly become weak and hardly able<br />
to walk. Therefore, when a child eats nothing for a month<br />
and still behaves like a lion, it is certainly the manifestation<br />
of Lord Nityänanda’s mercy and potency. Still, by the<br />
illusory energy of Çré Caitanya, no one could understand<br />
this fact.<br />
Completely absorbed in love of God, Nityänanda Prabhu<br />
stayed at the house of Gadädhara däsa. Gadädhara däsa was<br />
absorbed in trance as he induced everyone to chant the holy<br />
name of Lord Hari.<br />
In Gadädhara däsa’s village there lived a most sinful Kazi<br />
who was vehemently opposed to the chanting of the holy name<br />
of the Lord. Fully absorbed in spiritual bliss, Gadädhara Mahäçaya<br />
fearlessly went one night to the house of this Kazi, of whom<br />
everyone was afraid. Chanting the holy names of Lord Hari, he<br />
entered the Kazi’s house. All the guards and servants of the Kazi<br />
saw him, but no one dared to confront him.<br />
Gadädhara said, “Where is the Kazi? Chant the name of<br />
Kåñëa right now or I’ll tear off all your heads.”<br />
The Kazi came out of his room, with anger that blazed like<br />
fire. Seeing Gadädhara däsa, however, he became somewhat<br />
calm. The Kazi asked,<br />
“Gadädhara, why did you come here?”<br />
“I have something to tell you,” Gadädhara replied. “Çré Caitanya<br />
and Çré Nityänanda Prabhu have appeared in this world<br />
and have made everyone chant the holy name of Lord Hari.<br />
You are the only one who has not chanted the holy name of<br />
the Lord. This is why I have come to you. Chant now the most<br />
auspicious holy names of Lord Hari, for they will deliver you<br />
from all your sins.”<br />
By nature, the Kazi was a most envious person. Becoming<br />
stunned, he did not utter a word. The Kazi smiled and said,<br />
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Lord Nityänanda’s Meeting with Gadädhara Däsa<br />
“Listen, Gadädhara, tomorrow I will chant the holy name of<br />
Lord Hari, but for today, please go home.”<br />
As soon as Gadädhara däsa heard the name of Hari from<br />
the mouth of the Kazi, he became filled with ecstatic love. “Why<br />
tomorrow?” He said. “You have just chanted the name of Hari.<br />
Now no misfortune will ever befall you because you have chanted<br />
the name of Lord Hari.”<br />
Saying this, Gadädhara däsa became overwhelmed with<br />
ecstasy so that he danced and clapped his hands. Later, Gadädhara<br />
däsa returned home. Lord Nityänanda resided in the<br />
body of Gadädhara däsa. Such was the extraordinary glory of<br />
Gadädhara däsa, who was considered an associate of Lord Caitanya.<br />
He mercifully glanced upon the Kazi, who the devotees<br />
avoided at a great distance. The Kazi had forcibly converted<br />
many Hindus into Muslims and was a most sinful person. Yet,<br />
even a person as sinful as the Kazi gives up his violent nature by<br />
the merciful association of Kåñëa’s devotees.<br />
It is indeed a fact that even snakes, fire, or tigers cannot<br />
threaten one who is absorbed in Kåñëa consciousness. By Nityänanda<br />
Prabhu’s mercy, His associates easily received the love<br />
and devotion desired by Lord Brahmä and the attachment for<br />
Kåñëa aspired for by the gopés.<br />
O brothers, please worship the lotus feet of Nityänanda<br />
Prabhu. It is by His mercy that one obtains the lotus feet of Çré<br />
Caitanya.<br />
Accepting Çré Caitanya and Nityänanda Prabhu as my life<br />
and soul, I, Våndävana däsa, sing the glories of Their lotus feet.<br />
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CHAPTER SIX<br />
Lord Nityänanda’s Deliverance of the Merchants<br />
of Saptagräma and His Meeting with<br />
Advaita Äcärya<br />
Nityänanda Prabhu stayed at Khaòadaha for some time<br />
and then went to Saptagräma, accompanied by His associates.<br />
Saptagräma is famous because the seven sages had<br />
previously resided there. It is also known as Triveëé-ghäöa.<br />
The seven sages performed austerities there on the bank of<br />
the Ganges and thus achieved the lotus feet of Çré Govinda.<br />
The three rivers—Ganges, Yamunä, and Sarasvaté—join at<br />
this place. Triveëé-ghäöa is well-known throughout the universe.<br />
Simply seeing this holy place eradicates one’s sinful<br />
reactions.<br />
With great happiness, Nityänanda Prabhu bathed at the<br />
confluence of the three rivers with His devotees. The Lord<br />
stayed at the house of the most fortunate Uddhäraëa Datta<br />
near the shore of Triveëé-ghäöa. Uddhäraëa Datta faithfully<br />
served the lotus feet of Nityänanda Prabhu with his body, mind,<br />
and words. Who can estimate the fortune of Uddhäraëa Datta,<br />
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for he received the chance to serve the lotus feet of Nityänanda<br />
Prabhu?<br />
Nityänanda Svarüpa is the Lord of Uddhäraëa Datta, birth<br />
after birth, and Uddhäraëa Datta is the servant of Nityänanda<br />
Prabhu, birth after birth. Due to Uddhäraëa Datta, the entire<br />
mercantile community became purified. There is no doubt about<br />
this. Lord Nityänanda incarnated to deliver the merchant caste.<br />
He bestowed love and devotion upon all of them.<br />
In Saptagräma, He personally performed kértana at the<br />
house of each and every merchant. The merchants worshiped<br />
His lotus feet with their hearts and souls. Everyone became astonished<br />
upon seeing the merchants’ worship of Lord Kåñëa. The<br />
glories of Nityänanda Prabhu are unlimited. He delivered fools,<br />
fallen souls, and merchants. He happily enjoyed His pastimes<br />
of näma-saìkértana at Saptagräma. No one could adequately<br />
describe these ecstatic pastimes of chanting and dancing, even<br />
in a hundred years.<br />
The residents of Saptagräma now enjoyed the happiness the<br />
people of Nadia had previously enjoyed. Everyone performed<br />
näma-saìkértana without experiencing the influence of thirst,<br />
sleep, or fear. Lord Nityänanda performed kértana in everyone’s<br />
house, on every street of Saptagräma. As soon as people would<br />
see the wonderful emotions displayed by Nityänanda Svarüpa,<br />
they could not remain steady, but became overwhelmed. What<br />
to speak of others, even Muslims who were naturally averse to<br />
Lord Viñëu took shelter of Nityänanda’s lotus feet.<br />
When the brähmaëas of Saptagräma saw tears of love in<br />
the eyes of Muslims, they condemned themselves. All glories<br />
to Avadhüta Nityänanda, whose mercy makes these wonderful<br />
pastimes possible! Nityänanda Prabhu happily enjoyed His pastimes<br />
throughout Saptagräma.<br />
After some days, <strong>Nityananda</strong> Prabhu came to Çäntipura,<br />
to the house of His most dear Advaita Äcärya. When Advaita<br />
Äcärya saw the beautiful face of Nityänanda Prabhu, His happiness<br />
knew no bounds. He shouted and offered Him obeisances.<br />
He repeatedly embraced Nityänanda Prabhu, drenching His<br />
body with tears of ecstatic love. Seeing one another intoxicated<br />
both Nityänanda Prabhu and Advaita Äcärya. They experi-<br />
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Lord Nityänanda’s Deliverance of the Merchants of Saptagräma<br />
enced indescribable feelings. They rolled on the ground while<br />
holding onto each other, trying to touch one another’s feet. Both<br />
roared like lions and their madness could not be controlled.<br />
After awhile, Lord Nityänanda became calm and sat down<br />
in a grave mood. Magnanimous Advaita Äcärya folded His<br />
hands and happily began offering prayers to Nityänanda:<br />
tumi nityänanda murti nityänanda näma<br />
murtimanta tumi caitanyera suëadhäma<br />
sarva jéva pariträëa tumi mahähetu<br />
mahäpralayete tumi satya dharmasetu<br />
tumi se bujhao caitanyera premabhakti<br />
tumi se caitanya bakñe dhara pürëa çakti<br />
brahmä çiva näradädi bhakta näma yära<br />
tumi se parama upadeñöä saväkära<br />
viñëu bhakti sabei päyena tomä haite<br />
tathäpio abhimäna nä sparçe tomäte<br />
patita pävana tumi doya dåñöi çunya<br />
tomäre se jäne yära ache bahupünya<br />
sarva yajïamaya ei vigraha tomära<br />
abidya bandhana khao smareëa yähära<br />
yadi tumi prakäça nä kara äpanäre<br />
tabe kara çakti ache jänite tomäre<br />
akrodha paramananda tumi maheçvara<br />
sahasra badana ädi deba mahédhara<br />
rakña kula hastä tumi çrélakñmaëacandra<br />
tumi gopa-putra ùaladhara murtimanta<br />
murkha néca adhama patita uddhärite<br />
tumi avatérëa haiyächa påthibéte<br />
ye bhakti banchaye yogeçvara munigaëe<br />
tomä haite tähä päibe yete jane<br />
“Your name is Nityänanda and indeed You are nityänanda,<br />
eternal bliss. You are the form of Çré Caitanya’s<br />
transcendental qualities. You deliver all living<br />
beings and protect religious principles at the time of<br />
annihilation. You descended to give caitanyapremabhakti.<br />
Indeed, You are the full potency of Lord Caitanya.<br />
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You teach supreme knowledge to devotees, headed by<br />
Lord Brahmä, Lord Çiva, and Närada. Everyone receives<br />
viñëu-bhakti from You, yet You are untouched by<br />
pride. You deliver the fallen souls without seeing their<br />
faults. Only the very pious can know You. You are the<br />
only enjoyer of sacrifices. Simply remembering You destroys<br />
the bondage of ignorance at once. If You do not<br />
manifest Yourself, then who will understand You?<br />
“You are the most blissful Supreme Lord, completely<br />
free from anger. You are the thousand-headed<br />
Ananta, who holds the universes on His hoods. You are<br />
Çré Lakñmaëacandra, destroyer of the Räkñasa dynasty.<br />
You are Haladhara, the son of a cowherd. You descended<br />
to save the fallen, wretched, foolish, and low-class<br />
people. By Your mercy, everyone easily achieves the<br />
devotional service that is aspired for by great sages and<br />
mystic yogés”<br />
While describing the glories of Nityänanda Prabhu, Advaita<br />
Äcärya became absorbed in a trance of love of God. Advaita<br />
Äcärya knew the glories of Nityänanda Prabhu. Some rare<br />
great souls also know these facts. The quarreling that one sees<br />
between Them is nothing but an expression of transcendental<br />
bliss. Who can understand this statement of Advaita Äcärya:<br />
“Know for certain that He is nondifferent from the Supreme<br />
Lord.”<br />
Both Nityänanda Prabhu and Advaita Äcärya spent Their<br />
time happily discussing auspicious topics of Lord Kåñëa. After<br />
exchanging many jokes and increasing His love and affection<br />
for Him, Nityänanda Prabhu took permission from Advaita<br />
Äcärya and left for Navadvépa.<br />
Accepting Çré Caitanya and Nityänanda Prabhu as my life<br />
and soul, I, Våndävana däsa, sing of the glories of Their lotus<br />
feet.<br />
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CHAPTER SEVEN<br />
Lord Nityänanda Delivers the Thieves at the<br />
House of Hiraëya Paëòita<br />
Nityänanda Prabhu wanted to see Lord Caitanya’s mother,<br />
Çacé. He left for Navadvépa on an auspicious day, along<br />
with His dear associates. Arriving at Navadvépa, He went to the<br />
house of mother Çacé and offered her His respectful obeisances.<br />
Seeing Nityänanda Svarüpa, mother Çacé became unlimitedly<br />
happy.<br />
“My dear son, You are indeed the Supersoul,” she said. “Just<br />
now, I wanted to see You. Knowing my heart, You came here at<br />
once. Who in this world can recognize You?<br />
“My dear Nityänanda, please stay at Navadvépa for some<br />
time so that I can see You once a month, once a fortnight, or<br />
once a week. I was distressed and wanted to see You. By providence,<br />
You have now come to relieve my distress.”<br />
Hearing the words of mother Çacé, Nityänanda Prabhu began<br />
to smile, for He knew perfectly well her glories.<br />
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“Listen, mother of the universe, I came here just to see you,”<br />
Nityänanda said. “I want to reside here so that I can see you<br />
more often. By your order, I will remain at Navadvépa.”<br />
After conversing with mother Çacé, Nityänanda Prabhu began<br />
happily wandering throughout Navadvépa. Accompanied by<br />
His associates, Nityänanda Prabhu performed kértana in every<br />
house of Navadvépa. He became the personification of ecstatic<br />
chanting of the holy names of the Lord. He visited every house,<br />
performing saìkértana with His devotees.<br />
The pious people of Navadvépa received unlimited happiness<br />
by seeing the supremely enchanting saìkértana dress of<br />
Nityänanda. He expertly decorated His head with fine cloths<br />
adorned with beautiful flowers. He wore many necklaces of jewels<br />
and pearls and decorated His ears with beautiful gold and<br />
pearl earrings. He wore bangles and bracelets on His arms. I am<br />
unable to describe how many lovely flower garlands decorated<br />
His body. He smeared His entire body with sandalwood paste.<br />
He enjoyed His pastimes like Bäla-gopäla.<br />
How wonderful was the stick Nityänanda held in His hand!<br />
His ten fingers were decorated with ten golden rings. He dressed<br />
very wonderfully with fine cloths of different colors, including<br />
white, blue, and yellow. A stick and a flute adorned His waist. His<br />
enchanting beauty captivated the minds of everyone. He enhanced<br />
the beauty of His two lotus feet with silver ankle bells that made<br />
beautiful sweet sounds as He walked like an intoxicated elephant.<br />
Wherever Lord Nityänanda glanced, kåñëa-prema appeared.<br />
Nityänanda happily resided at Navadvépa, the birthplace of<br />
Lord Caitanya, which is nondifferent from Mathurä. I am unable<br />
to estimate how many types of people resided there. There<br />
were many holy devotees of the Lord residing at Navadvépa.<br />
Seeing them freed a sinner from all sinful reactions. Many miscreants<br />
also lived in Navadvépa. Touching their shadows just<br />
once destroyed one’s piety. Even those miscreants became attached<br />
to the lotus feet of Lord Kåñëa by Nityänanda Prabhu’s<br />
causeless mercy. Lord Caitanya delivered many fallen souls, and<br />
through Nityänanda, He liberated the three worlds. Lord Nityänanda<br />
saved everyone, including thieves, plunderers, and all<br />
other wretched and fallen souls.<br />
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Lord Nityänanda Delivers the Thieves at the House of Hiraëya Paëòita<br />
O brothers, listen to Nityänanda Prabhu’s salvation of<br />
thieves and plunderers. A young brähmaëa, a dreaded thief<br />
and plunderer, resided at Navadvépa. No one was equal to or<br />
greater than him in terms of plundering. Indeed, he was the<br />
commander-in-chief of all the thieves and plunderers in that<br />
locality. He was a brähmaëa in name only. Actually, he was a<br />
most evil-minded person. He had not a tinge of mercy in his<br />
body. He did not hesitate to kill others, and he associated with<br />
similarly minded men.<br />
When this rogue saw the beautiful ornaments and valuable<br />
necklaces worn by Nityänanda Svarüpa, he decided to steal<br />
them. In the guise of a friend, he wandered with Nityänanda<br />
Prabhu, just so that he could take His ornaments.<br />
Nityänanda Prabhu understood that the so-called brähmaëa<br />
was actually a mischievous and cunning dacoit. There was a pious<br />
brähmaëa named Hiraëya Paëòita who lived in Navadvépa.<br />
He was a most humble devotee of the Lord. Çré Nityänanda Prabhu<br />
stayed at the house of this fortunate soul because his house<br />
was in a secluded place. It was during this period that the evilminded<br />
brähmaëa made plans, along with his friends.<br />
“Brothers, why should we continue to suffer?” He addressed<br />
his friends. “Goddess Caëòé has blessed us with a treasure. All<br />
the jewellery this mendicant wears is made of gold, pearls, diamonds,<br />
and other precious gems. I cannot estimate how many<br />
millions of rupees these ornaments are worth. Goddess Caëòé<br />
has kindly given us a wonderful opportunity. He lives in the<br />
house of Hiraëya Paëòita, which is in a very lonely place. We<br />
can snatch all these ornaments within an hour. Prepare yourselves<br />
with swords and shields so that tonight, we will invade<br />
Hiraëya Paëòita’s house and plunder it.”<br />
Having made this plan, all the thieves left for home. That<br />
night they gathered at the designated spot. They had swords,<br />
knives, and tridents, and they surrounded the house where<br />
Nityänanda Prabhu was staying. They had sent a spy ahead to<br />
observe the situation in the house. The spy saw Nityänanda<br />
Prabhu taking His meal, surrounded by devotees that were<br />
chanting the holy names of the Lord. These servants of Nityänanda<br />
Prabhu were intoxicated with kåñëa-prema. Some roared<br />
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ÇRÉ NITYÄNANDA CARITÄMÅTA<br />
like lions and others shouted wildly. Some wept in ecstasy while<br />
others clapped their hands, laughing loudly. Some made noises<br />
like hai, hai. They were all absorbed in the mellows of ecstatic<br />
love.<br />
The spy returned and informed the others that Avadhüta<br />
was eating and the others were awake. The thieves decided: “Let<br />
Him eat and go to bed. Then we will invade the house. For now,<br />
we will simply wait and watch.”<br />
The thieves sat beneath a tree, waiting for the right time to<br />
plunder Nityänanda’s wealth. One of the thieves said, “I’ll take<br />
the golden bangles.” Another said, “I’ll take the pearl necklace.”<br />
Someone said, “The golden earrings are mine.” Yet another said,<br />
“I’ll take the golden necklace.” Another thief said, “I’ll take the<br />
silver ankle bells.”<br />
In this way, the thieves were living in the abode of imagination.<br />
That night, by the will of Nityänanda Prabhu, Nidrä-devé,<br />
the deity of sleep, captured all the thieves. They fell asleep right<br />
where they patiently waited, being bewildered by the Lord’s illusory<br />
energy. The night passed, and yet they did not awaken.<br />
At dawn, when the crows began to caw, the thieves finally<br />
woke up. When they found that it was morning, they became<br />
very sad. They hurriedly hid their weapons in the forest and<br />
went to bathe in the Ganges. Finally, they returned to their<br />
homes and began to accuse each other.<br />
One of the thieves said to another, “It was you who first fell<br />
asleep.” Another one replied, “Oh, you are talking like you were<br />
awake all night, keeping track of who was asleep and who was<br />
awake.” Then another thief said, “Stop this fighting! Goddess<br />
Caëòé kindly saved us from disgrace.”<br />
Finally, the sinful brähmaëa, the leader of the thieves, said,<br />
“There’s no use in fighting. By the mercy of Goddess Caëòé,<br />
whatever happened has happened. This does not mean that every<br />
day we will fail. I think Goddess Caëòé baffled us last night<br />
because we went to rob without first worshiping her. Therefore,<br />
let us go and worship Goddess Caëòé very nicely. We should offer<br />
her the best meat and wine.”<br />
After discussing in this way, the thieves worshiped Goddess<br />
Caëòé with offerings of meat and wine. The next day, the<br />
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Lord Nityänanda Delivers the Thieves at the House of Hiraëya Paëòita<br />
thieves armed themselves again with various weapons. They<br />
wore dark-blue garments, like a band of warriors. In the dead of<br />
night, when all were sleeping, the thieves surrounded the Lord’s<br />
house. Then, from a distance, the thieves saw that many huge<br />
guards surrounded the Lord’s house. They were armed with<br />
fierce weapons and were loudly chanting the holy names of Lord<br />
Hari. They were very strongly built and decorated with garlands<br />
and sandalwood paste.<br />
The thieves understood that only one guard could kill hundreds<br />
of thieves like them without strain. Lord Nityänanda slept<br />
peacefully within the house while these guards chanted the holy<br />
name of Kåñëa on all sides. The thieves were astonished. They<br />
gave up the idea of invading the house and retreated a short<br />
distance to decide upon what should be done. One thief said,<br />
“Where did these guards come from?” Another said, “I guess<br />
that somehow or other Nityänanda Avadhüta came to know of<br />
our plans and so He hired these guards.”<br />
“Brothers, I have often heard people say that this Avadhüta<br />
is a very learned scholar,” another thief said. “This Avadhüta<br />
Mahäçaya is certainly a wise fellow. Just see how he has protected<br />
himself. The guards that we saw do not appear to be ordinary<br />
human beings. Because of His extraordinary powers, people address<br />
Him as Gosäi, or Lord.”<br />
“Oh, keep quiet!” another thief retorted. “How can He be a<br />
Gosäi when He eats such opulent food and wears such extravagant<br />
clothes?”<br />
Then the sinful brähmaëa commander-in-chief of the<br />
thieves then began to speak: “I know the reason for these guards’<br />
presence. Many people come from distant places to see this<br />
avadhüta. I would guess that a very wealthy person has come<br />
here and these are his guards. The guards are very emotional<br />
and constantly chant the holy names of Lord Hari. Even though<br />
He has these guards today, how long can He go on avoiding us?<br />
Let us go home today. We will patiently wait for ten days to<br />
pass.”<br />
The thieves returned home while Avadhüta Nityänanda<br />
peacefully enjoyed His sleep. After some time, the sinful thieves<br />
planned another raid to steal Nityänanda Prabhu’s ornaments.<br />
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ÇRÉ NITYÄNANDA CARITÄMÅTA<br />
However, the night they chose to break into the Lord’s house<br />
was, by providence, the darkest night imaginable. It was so dark<br />
that people were unable to move about.<br />
At the dead of this black night, the thieves armed themselves<br />
with weapons and assembled. When they approached<br />
the Lord’s house, they were suddenly blinded and could not see<br />
anything. This sudden blindness so shocked the thieves that<br />
their minds, intelligence, and life airs almost ceased to function.<br />
One fell in a ditch and was immediately covered by mosquitoes,<br />
leeches, and gadflies. Another fell into the pit where people<br />
wash their hands after eating and scorpions and bugs bit him.<br />
Another thief fell onto a heap of thorns. He suffered miserably<br />
from the pricking of thorns and could not move. Another one<br />
fell in a ditch and broke his hands and legs. Some of the thieves<br />
got a very high fever.<br />
As the thieves were in this state of confusion, Indra, the<br />
king of heaven, happily sent forth showers of rain, creating<br />
a great storm. First, the thieves were tortured by the bites of<br />
leeches and bugs, and now they suffered from a hailstorm.<br />
They wished for death to come, but life would not leave them<br />
and so they floated on an ocean of miseries. The force of the<br />
heavy gale and pounding hail and the loud peals of thunder<br />
rendered them almost unconscious. The downpour completely<br />
drenched the thieves and due to the cold, they shivered<br />
uncontrollably.<br />
Because the thieves had come to steal from Nityänanda<br />
Prabhu, Indra, the king of heaven, angrily tortured them. At<br />
last, the sinful brähmaëa leader of the thieves had a change of<br />
heart. He thought to himself, “Nityänanda is not an ordinary<br />
human being. He must be God. What the people say is true. The<br />
first day, He bewildered us by making us fell into deep sleep. By<br />
the influence of His illusory energy, we could not understand a<br />
thing. Then, the next day, He displayed His prowess by manifesting<br />
many wonderful guards. Yet, still I could not comprehend<br />
His greatness. The agony we are now suffering is proper<br />
for a sinner like me. I dared to steal from the Lord! Who can<br />
save me now? There is no alternative for me. I must surrender to<br />
this Avadhüta Nityänanda.”<br />
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Lord Nityänanda Delivers the Thieves at the House of Hiraëya Paëòita<br />
Thinking like this, the brähmaëa took shelter of the lotus<br />
feet of Nityänanda Prabhu with undivided attention. Remembering<br />
the lotus feet of the Lord frees one from all danger.<br />
Taking shelter of the Lord’s lotus feet instantly relieves even<br />
a most grave offender. When the thieves began to think like<br />
this, they regained their eyesight. By the remembrance of Nityänanda<br />
Svarüpa, the thieves were relieved from the torments of<br />
the storm. They soon found their way so that they could return<br />
home after having been on the verge of death.<br />
Thereafter, the thieves went to bathe in the Ganges. However,<br />
the brähmaëa leader of the thieves simply ran weeping to<br />
the shelter of Nityänanda Prabhu’s lotus feet. Nityänanda, the<br />
Lord of the universe, was sitting in His room, glancing mercifully<br />
upon His devotees, who were chanting the holy names of<br />
Lord Hari. The Lord, the crest jewel of avadhütas, shouted in<br />
ecstasy.<br />
When the leader of the thieves arrived, he raised his hands<br />
and cried out, “Please save me!” He then offered respectful obeisances.<br />
His hair stood on end, tears of love began flowing from<br />
his eyes and his entire body began to tremble. The brähmaëa<br />
cried out loud and then became submerged in an ocean of transcendental<br />
ecstasy.<br />
Seeing the power of Nityänanda Svarüpa, he was amazed<br />
and danced jubilantly. He raised his hands and repeatedly said,<br />
“My dear Lord Nityänanda, You are the savior of the fallen!”<br />
Everyone was astonished to see the behavior of the brähmaëa<br />
and began speculating as to its cause. “He must be pretending<br />
while actually planning to rob us when the chance<br />
arises,” someone said. “Because Lord Nityänanda is the savior<br />
of the fallen souls, his heart must have changed by the Lord’s<br />
mercy,” another person said.<br />
Seeing the wonderful change in the brähmaëa, Nityänanda<br />
Prabhu smilingly asked him, “O brähmaëa, please tell Me what<br />
you want? I am very surprised to see your wonderful qualities.<br />
Please tell Me all about the glories of Kåñëa that you have witnessed<br />
or heard about. Speak freely. Do not worry.”<br />
After hearing the Lord’s words, the brähmaëa was unable to<br />
utter a reply. Rather, he began to cry. He rolled on the ground<br />
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all over the courtyard. He laughed, cried, and danced in his own<br />
mood. Finally, the brähmaëa calmed down and narrated the entire<br />
story to the Lord.<br />
He said, “O Lord, I live in Navadvépa. I am a brähmaëa<br />
in name only. My behavior is worse than that of a hunter or<br />
dog-eater. O Lord, I always remain in the association of thieves<br />
whose only business is to plunder. I do nothing but commit violence<br />
to others. Everyone in Navadvépa trembles upon seeing<br />
me. There is no sin I have not committed. Seeing Your valuable<br />
ornaments, I wanted to steal them.<br />
“One day, I picked up my weapons and came with other<br />
thieves to steal Your riches. That day, You bewildered me with<br />
sleep. However, by the influence of Your illusory energy, I was<br />
unable to recognize You. Another day, after worshiping Goddess<br />
Caëòé, I came to Your house, along with my men, armed<br />
with swords, knives, and tridents. However, to my surprise, I saw<br />
a wonderful thing. Many huge guards surrounded Your house.<br />
Each appeared like a drunken elephant. They were adorned<br />
with flower garlands hanging down to their knees, and they<br />
constantly chanted the Holy names of Lord Hari as You peacefully<br />
slept inside.<br />
“O Lord, I was so sinful that I still could not understand<br />
Your glories. That night, we returned home, thinking You had<br />
hired some guards for Your safety. After a gap of a few days, we<br />
came again yesterday, but as soon as we got near Your house,<br />
we lost our eyesight and fell down. We suffered terribly, being<br />
pricked by thorns, bitten by leeches and bugs, and pounded<br />
by a hailstorm. We were so tormented that we could hardly<br />
move.<br />
“After being punished by Yamaräja in this way, we finally<br />
attained pure devotion for Your lotus feet. By Your causeless<br />
mercy, we can remember Your lotus feet without deviation. It is<br />
by Your mercy alone that we regained our sight.<br />
“O Lord, You are indeed the savior of the fallen. You have<br />
saved us from further misery. This is the glory of remembering<br />
You.<br />
“O Nityänanda, O Çré Bäla-gopäla, please protect me. You<br />
are the only maintainer of all living beings. They say that al-<br />
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Lord Nityänanda Delivers the Thieves at the House of Hiraëya Paëòita<br />
though a person falls heavily on the ground, mother Earth again<br />
becomes kind to him. Similarly, even if one commits offenses<br />
at Your lotus feet, he is ultimately saved from further misery by<br />
Your remembrance.<br />
“O Lord, You forgive all kinds of offenses and display mercy<br />
on the fallen souls. I am the most sinful person because I kill<br />
brähmaëas and cows. You will not find anyone more offensive<br />
than me. Still, even the most sinful person, if he takes shelter<br />
of Your lotus feet, then You will liberate him without a doubt.<br />
You protect the lives of all living beings from their very birth.<br />
You are the ultimate deliverer of everyone. Anyone who remembers<br />
You will be freed from ignorance and easily go back<br />
to Godhead.”<br />
In this way, the brähmaëa prayed to Nityänanda Prabhu<br />
while crying aloud. Such are the pastimes of the Avadhüta.<br />
Hearing the brähmaëa’s prayers, everyone was struck with wonder.<br />
They all offered him respects.<br />
“O Lord, I now take Your leave forever,” the brähmaëa addressed<br />
the Lord. “I do not want to maintain this sinful body<br />
anymore. Because I was envious of You, I should end my life by<br />
jumping into the Ganges as atonement.”<br />
Upon hearing the brähmaëa’s truthful words, the Lord and<br />
all the devotees became very pleased. “O brähmaëa, you are indeed<br />
fortunate,” the Lord said. “You are a staunch devotee of<br />
Lord Kåñëa, birth after birth. Otherwise, why did He bestow<br />
mercy upon you like this? Who could experience such a wonderful<br />
influence except a devotee? Lord Çré Caitanya has incarnated<br />
to deliver all the fallen souls. There is no doubt about this.<br />
“Listen, O brähmaëa, I will accept all your sinful reactions,<br />
but you must not sin again. From now on, do not steal or commit<br />
violence toward anyone. Lead a pious life by always chanting<br />
the holy names of Lord Hari. You will then be able to deliver<br />
others. Assemble all the plunderers and preach to them that<br />
they should lead a pious life.”<br />
Lord Nityänanda took off His garland and happily placed<br />
it around the brähmaëa’s neck. Everyone loudly chanted, “Jaya!<br />
Jaya!” The brähmaëa clutched Nityänanda Prabhu’s feet and with<br />
a faltering voice, began to pray: “O my dear Lord Nityänanda, sav-<br />
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ior of the fallen, please give this sinner shelter at Your lotus feet. I<br />
dared to envy You. I am so sinful. Now, what is my destiny?”<br />
The ocean of mercy, Lord Nityänanda, placed His lotus feet<br />
on the head of the brähmaëa. Having Nityänanda’s merciful<br />
lotus feet on his head nullified all his offenses. Later on, this<br />
brähmaëa convinced many other thieves to take shelter of Çré<br />
Caitanya’s lotus feet. They gave up the sins of stealing and committing<br />
violence, and they began to behave like saintly persons.<br />
They chanted the holy names of Lord Hari millions of times.<br />
They became expert in performing viñëu-bhakti and were maddened<br />
with prema, always singing the glories of Lord Kåñëa.<br />
Such was the causeless mercy of Lord Nityänanda.<br />
In other incarnations, the Lord did not give such prema,<br />
but Lord Nityänanda convinced everyone to take up Kåñëa consciousness<br />
so that they could attain the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya.<br />
The brähmaëa, who had previously wanted to rob Nityänanda<br />
Svarüpa, now preached to his plunderer friends that<br />
they should accept Nityänanda as their deliverer. The symptoms<br />
of prema, such as the shedding of tears, shivering and the standing<br />
of the hair on end, which are eagerly desired by great mystic<br />
yogés were easily achieved by these plunderers. This is an exhibition<br />
of the wonderful prowess of Nityänanda Svarüpa.<br />
O brothers, please worship the lotus feet of Nityänanda.<br />
Only by His mercy can one attain the lotus feet of Gauräìga.<br />
Anyone who hears about the mercy of Lord Nityänanda will no<br />
doubt achieve the association of Gauracandra. One who attentively<br />
hears about the deliverance of these thieves will certainly<br />
meet Nityänanda and Çré Caitanya. One who happily sings the<br />
glories of Nityänanda Svarüpa will float on the ocean of transcendental<br />
bliss.<br />
Accepting Çré Caitanya and Nityänanda Prabhu as my life<br />
and soul, I, Våndävana däsa, sing the glories of Their lotus feet.<br />
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CHAPTER EIGHT<br />
A Brähmaëa’s Doubt About the Character of Lord<br />
Nityänanda and Its Removal by Lord Caitanya<br />
All glories to Çré Gauracandra! All glories to Nityänanda<br />
Prabhu! All glories to all the devotees of the Lord!<br />
Lord Nityänanda happily enjoyed pastimes of näma-saìkértana<br />
with His servants. As He previously enjoyed His pastimes<br />
in Våndävana, the Lord enacted His pastimes in Navadvépa,<br />
making everyone greatly attached to the lotus feet of Çré Kåñëa<br />
Caitanya. Nityänanda Prabhu, the abode of transcendental effulgence,<br />
wandered throughout Navadvépa with His enthusiastic<br />
associates. He decorated Himself with beautiful ornaments<br />
and flower garlands. Betel nuts and camphor reddened His lips.<br />
Seeing the extraordinary pastimes of Lord Nityänanda, many<br />
people became happy while others did not know what to make<br />
of Him.<br />
There was a brähmaëa who had been a classmate of Çré<br />
Caitanya Mahäprabhu that resided in Navadvépa. Seeing the<br />
mysterious behavior of Nityänanda, this brähmaëa maintained<br />
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a doubt. He had firm faith in and devotion for the lotus feet of<br />
Caitanyacandra, but he failed to understand the influence of<br />
Nityänanda Svarüpa.<br />
Once, this brähmaëa went to Néläcala for some days. He<br />
regularly visited Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu, for he had firm faith<br />
in His lotus feet. One day, the brähmaëa said in private, “O<br />
Lord, I would like to ask You something, if You will allow me. If<br />
You really think of me as Your servant, then please answer my<br />
question. I do not understand what Nityänanda Avadhüta is doing<br />
in Navadvépa.<br />
“Everyone says that He is a sannyäsé, but He chews betel<br />
nuts with camphor. A sannyäsé is not supposed to touch gold<br />
and other such opulences, but Nityänanda decorates His entire<br />
body with gold, silver, and pearls. Abandoning the kaupéna<br />
and saffron robes, He dresses in gorgeous clothing. He also puts<br />
sandalwood paste on His body. Why does He carry an iron rod<br />
instead of a sannyäsa-daëòa? He always mingles with çüdras. I<br />
do not find His behavior in accordance with the scriptures, and<br />
so I have a doubt in my heart about His character. Everyone<br />
addresses Him as an exalted personality, but He does not follow<br />
the rules and regulations of His äçrama.<br />
“O Lord, if You think of me as Your servant, then please<br />
explain to me the truth.”<br />
Because the pious brähmaëa inquired from the Lord at an<br />
auspicious moment, Çré Gaurasundara explained everything to<br />
him.<br />
çuna bipra mahä adhikäré ye ba haya<br />
tabe täëra doya guëa kichu nä janmaya<br />
“Listen, my dear brähmaëa. Faults or defects do<br />
not affect an exalted person.<br />
Çrémad-Bhägavatam 11.20.36 states:<br />
na mayy ekänta-bhaktänäà guëa-doñodbhavä guëäù<br />
sädhünäà sama-cittänäà buddheù param upeyuñäm<br />
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A Brähmaëa’s Doubt about the Character of Lord Nityänanda and Its Removal by Lord Caitanya<br />
Material piety and sin, which arise from the good<br />
and evil of this world, cannot exist within My unalloyed<br />
devotees, who, being free from material hankering,<br />
maintain steady spiritual consciousness in all circumstances.<br />
Indeed, such devotees have achieved Me,<br />
the Supreme Lord, who am beyond anything that can<br />
be conceived by material intelligence.<br />
padma patre yena kabhu nähi loge jala<br />
ei mata nityänanda svärüpa nirmala<br />
paramärtha kåñëacandra tähäna çarére<br />
niçcaya jäniha bipra sarvadä bihare<br />
adhikäré bai kare tähäna ämära<br />
duùkha päya sei jana päpa janma täya<br />
rudra bine anye yadi kare biñagäna<br />
sarvathäya mare sarva puräëa pramäëa<br />
“Just as water does not touch a lotus leaf, no faults<br />
touch Nityänanda Svarüpa. O brähmaëa, know that<br />
Kåñëacandra eternally resides in Nityänanda’s body.<br />
Those disregarding an exalted person will suffer miseries<br />
and reap sinful reactions. The Puräëas say that<br />
if anyone other than Lord Çiva drinks poison, he will<br />
surely die.<br />
Çrémad-Bhägavatam (10.33.29-30) also says:<br />
çré-çuka uväca<br />
dharma-vyatikramo dåñöa éçvaräëäà ca sähasam<br />
tejéyasäà na doñäya vahneù sarva-bhujo yathä<br />
“Çukadeva Gosvämé said: The status of powerful<br />
controllers is not harmed by any apparently audacious<br />
transgression of morality we may see in them, for they<br />
are just like fire, which devours everything fed into it<br />
and remains unpolluted.<br />
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ÇRÉ NITYÄNANDA CARITÄMÅTA<br />
¡naitat samäcarej jätu manasäpi hy anéçvaraù<br />
vinaçyaty äcaran mauòhyäd yathärudro ’bdhi-jaà viñam<br />
“One who is not a great controller should never<br />
imitate the behavior of ruling personalities, even mentally.<br />
If out of foolishness an ordinary person does imitate<br />
such behavior, he will simply destroy himself, just<br />
as a person who is not Rudra would destroy himself if<br />
he tried to drink an ocean of poison.<br />
eteke ye nä janiyä ninda täna karma<br />
nija dose sei duùkha päya janma janma<br />
garhito karaye yadi mahä adhikäré<br />
nindäya ki däya tänre häsilei mari<br />
bhagavata haite se e sava tattva jäni<br />
täho yadi vaiñëava-gurura murkhe çuni<br />
“Those criticizing an exalted person without knowing<br />
his glories suffer miseries life after life from this<br />
fault. Even if an exalted person does something improper,<br />
what to speak of criticizing him, if one even laughs<br />
at him, he is doomed.<br />
“Çrémad-Bhägavatam describes all these truths. One can<br />
also hear this from the mouth of a bona fide spiritual master.<br />
Listen attentively to the results of laughing at the behavior of an<br />
exalted person that are described in Çrémad-Bhägavatam:<br />
“Once, Kåñëa and Balaräma went to the äçrama of Sändépani<br />
Muni to study. After completing Their studies, They wanted<br />
to go home. They asked Their teacher, ‘What dakñiëä should<br />
We give?’ After consulting his wife, the teacher asked Kåñëa<br />
and Balaräma to bring back his dead son. Kåñëa and Balaräma<br />
started at once for the abode of Yamaräja. After destroying all<br />
the child’s karma, They brought the boy back to Their teacher<br />
from the abode of Yamaräja. When Devaké heard of this most<br />
wonderful incident, she too asked Kåñëa to bring back her dead<br />
sons.<br />
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A Brähmaëa’s Doubt about the Character of Lord Nityänanda and Its Removal by Lord Caitanya<br />
“One day, Devaké addressed both Kåñëa and Balaräma pathetically,<br />
‘Listen, Kåñëa and Balaräma, You are the Lords of<br />
all mystic perfections. You are both the eternal Personalities of<br />
Godhead. Both of You are the fathers of the entire universe. I<br />
know that both of You are the cause of all the causes. Creation,<br />
maintenance, and annihilation are carried out by the portion of<br />
Your plenary portion. Yet, to diminish the burden of the earth,<br />
You have descended as my sons. You brought back the dead son<br />
of Your teacher from the abode of Yamaräja as dakñiëä. I, too,<br />
have a great desire to see my six sons who were killed by Kaàsa.<br />
Though the son of Your teacher died long ago, You brought him<br />
back by Your extraordinary potency. So both of You please fulfill<br />
my desire by bringing back my six sons.’<br />
“After hearing mother Devaké’s request, Kåñëa and Balaräma<br />
left at once for the abode of Bali Mahäräja. When Bali<br />
Mahäräja saw his own worshipable Lords, he was merged in the<br />
ocean of transcendental bliss. He promptly surrendered everything,<br />
including his house, children, body, wealth, and friends<br />
at the lotus feet of Kåñëa. In ecstasy, his hair stood on end, tears<br />
of love flowed from his eyes, and he shivered in bliss. He caught<br />
hold of Kåñëa’s lotus feet and began to offer prayers: ‘All glories<br />
to Kåñëacandra, the ornament of Gokula! All glories to<br />
Saìkarñaëa, who is nondifferent from Ananta! All glories to<br />
Haladhara, the leader of the cowherd boys! All glories to the<br />
merciful devotees of Kåñëa who fulfill all one’s desires!<br />
“‘Although the demigods and sages are situated in pure goodness,<br />
still Your darçana is rare for them. O Lord, You are so merciful<br />
that You manifest Yourself even before the demons, who<br />
are generally in ignorance. You do not discriminate between<br />
friends and enemies. The Vedas confirm it, and I can directly<br />
see it. Pütanä came to kill You by smearing her breast with poison,<br />
still You sent her to Vaikuëöha. Neither the Vedas, nor the<br />
scriptures, nor the great mystic yogés can understand Your heart.<br />
If the great mystic yogés are unable to know Your glories, then<br />
how can I, a sinful demon, know You? O Lord of the universe,<br />
please be merciful to me so that I may not fall down in the dark<br />
well of family life. I wish to hold Your lotus feet within my heart<br />
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ÇRÉ NITYÄNANDA CARITÄMÅTA<br />
and live peacefully beneath a tree. O Lord, please make me a<br />
servant of Your servant. I have no other desire.’<br />
“‘Holding the lotus feet of Kåñëa and Balaräma within his<br />
heart, Bali Mahäräja offered prayers. He and his family members<br />
drank and touched their heads with the water that washed<br />
the lotus feet of the Lord and felt immensely fortunate. Such<br />
water purifies the abodes of Lord Brahmä and Lord Çiva, just as<br />
the Ganges purifies the entire three worlds. He also offered worship<br />
with sandalwood paste, flowers, ghee lamp, incense, cloth,<br />
and ornaments. Finally, he offered his respectful obeisances and<br />
continued: ‘O Lord, please instruct me if You really think me to<br />
be your servant. Anyone who follows Your instructions reaches<br />
beyond the jurisdiction of rules and regulations.’<br />
“‘Lord Kåñëa, exceedingly pleased with Bali, began to explain<br />
the reason for His visit. ‘Listen, Bali Mahäräja,’ the Lord<br />
addressed him. “The sinful Kaàsa killed My mother’s six sons.<br />
Thus he also finally died. Remembering her sons, mother Devaké<br />
continually cries in lamentation. Those six sons are with<br />
you, and I want to take them back for the pleasure of My mother.<br />
Those six sons are actually perfected demigods, grandsons of<br />
Lord Brahmä. Let Me explain to you why they had to undergo<br />
such tribulations. These six sons were previously the sons of Prajäpati<br />
Maréci, a son of Brahmä. Once, Lord Brahmä was bewildered<br />
by lusty desires and shamelessly chased his own daughter.<br />
Seeing the behavior of Brahmä, the six sons of Maréci laughed<br />
at him. Because of this fault, they at once fell from their positions.<br />
Since they ridiculed the activities of an exalted person,<br />
they were forced to take birth among demons. Leaving their<br />
demigod bodies, they took birth in the family of Hiraëyakaçipu,<br />
who terrorized the entire universe. They suffered various miseries<br />
and were ultimately killed by the thunderbolt of Indra. By<br />
the arrangement of Yogamäyä, these six sons of Maréci took<br />
birth from the womb of Devaké. Simply by laughing at Brahmä’s<br />
misbehavior, they incurred so many sinful reactions. They thus<br />
had to undergo these punishments. From their birth, they suffered<br />
unlimited distress. Though they were nephews of Kaàsa,<br />
he killed them all. Devaké is unaware of these mysteries. She<br />
simply cries, considering them as her own sons. I wish to return<br />
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A Brähmaëa’s Doubt about the Character of Lord Nityänanda and Its Removal by Lord Caitanya<br />
those six sons to my mother. That is why I have come here to<br />
you. Drinking milk from Devaké’s breast will release these six<br />
from Brahmä’s curse.<br />
“‘Lord Kåñëa continued, “O Bali, consider the consequences<br />
of ridiculing a Vaiñëava. If perfect personalities like these received<br />
so much misery, what will be the fate of ordinary men? A<br />
sinner who criticizes a Vaiñëava suffers misery birth after birth.<br />
Take this lesson to your heart. Never blaspheme or laugh at a<br />
Vaiñëava. If one worships Me and chants My holy names, but<br />
blasphemes devotees, he will be vanquished. Those who show<br />
love and respect to My devotees will surely obtain My favor.<br />
There is no doubt about this.<br />
‘The Varäha Puräëa states:<br />
siddhir bhavati va neti saàçayohucyata sevinäm<br />
niùsaàçayastta tadbha-garicaryyaratätmanäna<br />
‘One may doubt whether the servant of the Supreme<br />
Lord will attain perfection, but there is absolutely<br />
no doubt that those who are attached to serving<br />
His devotees will attain perfection.’<br />
‘In Çré Hari-bhakti-sudhodaya it says:<br />
arcaittva tu govindam tadéyännäccayatmane<br />
na te viñëu prasädasya bhäjanaà dänbhikä janäù<br />
‘If one does not worship My devotees but only worships<br />
Me then he is simply a proud person and not a<br />
recipient of My mercy.’<br />
‘O Bali, I explained this confidential topic to you because<br />
you are My eternal and dear servant.’<br />
“Bali Mahäräja was very pleased to hear the teachings of<br />
Lord Kåñëa. Obeying the Lord’s order, he at once brought the<br />
six sons and offered them to the Lord. Kåñëa and Balaräma took<br />
these six sons and returned them to mother Devaké. When Devaké<br />
saw her sons, out of affection she happily fed them breast<br />
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ÇRÉ NITYÄNANDA CARITÄMÅTA<br />
milk. Drinking the remnants of Lord Kåñëa as Devaké’s breast<br />
milk, they were filled with transcendental knowledge. They<br />
promptly offered obeisances to the Lord, falling flat on the<br />
ground. Everyone witnessed this.<br />
“Lord Kåñëa, glancing mercifully on them, began to compassionately<br />
instruct them, ‘O demigods, now you may go home.<br />
Never blaspheme an exalted person again. Lord Brahmä is the<br />
energy of the Supreme Lord. Even if he acts wrongly, one should<br />
not blaspheme him. You have suffered so much by ridiculing<br />
him. Now give up such a mentality. Go to Lord Brahmä and beg<br />
his pardon. You will then regain your happiness.’<br />
“The six demigods offered obeisances to their mother and<br />
father, Devaké and Vasudeva. Then, after offering their obeisances<br />
to Kåñëa and Balaräma, they returned to their heavenly<br />
abode.”<br />
Lord Caitanya continued, “O brähmaëa, I have explained<br />
the topics of Çrémad-Bhägavatam to you. Do not maintain the<br />
slightest doubt about Nityänanda Svarüpa. He is the most exalted<br />
personality. Unfortunate people are unable to understand<br />
Him. Accept His uncommon activities, and then you will surely<br />
be delivered. He incarnated simply to deliver the fallen souls, and<br />
so He will liberate all living beings. His dealings are above all<br />
Vedic rules and regulations. Who has the power to understand<br />
Him? Anyone who blasphemes Nityänanda without knowing<br />
His unfathomable qualities, even if that person has achieved<br />
viñëu-bhakti, is doomed.<br />
“O brähmaëa, go to Navadvépa and explain this truth to<br />
everyone. If anyone blasphemes Nityänanda Prabhu in any way,<br />
no one will be able to protect that person from Yamaräja’s punishment.<br />
One who loves Him actually loves Me. I am telling you<br />
the truth. Even if Nityänanda marries a Muslim girl or enters a<br />
wine shop, He is still worshipable by Lord Brahmä. This is My<br />
verdict.”<br />
The Lord’s words made the pious brähmaëa very happy.<br />
He gained immense faith in the lotus feet of Nityänanda and<br />
returned to Navadvépa. Arriving at Navadvépa, the fortunate<br />
brähmaëa first went to Nityänanda Prabhu’s house. He begged<br />
Nityänanda forgiveness for his offenses, and Nityänanda fully<br />
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A Brähmaëa’s Doubt about the Character of Lord Nityänanda and Its Removal by Lord Caitanya<br />
bestowed His mercy upon him. Such are the dealings of Nityänanda<br />
Svarüpa. They are unknown to the Vedas and incomprehensible<br />
to ordinary men.<br />
From the spiritual point of view, Nityänanda Prabhu is the<br />
master of mystic yoga. He is also known as Ädideva Dharaëidhara,<br />
the original personality who holds the universes on His<br />
hoods. He has thousands of heads, and His body is eternal and<br />
pure. Without the mercy of Çré Caitanya, no one can know Him.<br />
Some said, “He is Balaräma,” while others said, “He is the dearmost<br />
associate of Çré Caitanya.” Other persons said, “He is the<br />
most effulgent plenary portion of the Personality of Godhead.”<br />
Still others declared, “We do not understand. If one calls Nityänanda<br />
a living entity, a devotee, or a learned scholar, it does<br />
not matter. Nityänanda Prabhu may be anyone to Çré Caitanya,<br />
but still I keep His lotus feet within my heart. He is my Lord,<br />
and I am His servant, birth after birth. I pray to everyone to<br />
bless me to always remain this way.”<br />
Çré Gaurasundara is the Lord of my Lord. I always keep this<br />
faith within my heart. Will that day ever come when I will see<br />
Caitanya and Nityänanda, surrounded by Their devotees? All<br />
glories to Mahäprabhu Gauracandra! You kindly gave me the<br />
association of Nityänanda and then took Him away from me.<br />
Still, O Gaurahari, favor me so that I will never forget You and<br />
Nityänanda Prabhu. Wherever You both appear, let me also appear<br />
as Your eternal servant.<br />
Accepting Çré Caitanya and Nityänanda Prabhu as my life<br />
and soul, I, Våndävana däsa, sing the glories of Their lotus feet.<br />
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CHAPTER NINE<br />
Lord Nityänanda’s Departure for Néläcala and<br />
His Glorification by Lord Caitanya<br />
Lord Nityänanda resided at Navadvépa, completely merged<br />
in an ocean of prema-bhakti. He inspired everyone to<br />
chant the holy names of the Lord so that singing and dancing<br />
for Kåñëa’s pleasure were people’s only duties. Previously, He had<br />
sported with the cowherd boys in every house of Gokula. Now,<br />
Nityänanda Balaräma manifested the same Gokula pastimes by<br />
happily performing näma-saìkértana.<br />
Once, supremely independent Nityänanda Prabhu desired<br />
to see Lord Caitanya and so, after taking permission from mother<br />
Çacé, He departed for Néläcala. He traveled with His devotees<br />
through the countryside, always overwhelmed with prema, while<br />
singing the glories of Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu. The devotees<br />
danced, shouted, and cried with joy as Nityänanda Prabhu made<br />
His way to Néläcala in ecstasy.<br />
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After a few days, Nityänanda Prabhu reached Néläcala. Arriving<br />
at Kamalapura 23 and seeing the top of the Jagannätha<br />
temple, He fell senseless to the ground. Tears of love incessantly<br />
streamed from His eyes as He called out, “Çré Kåñëa Caitanya.”<br />
After entering Néläcala, Nityänanda Prabhu remained within<br />
a flower garden. Who except Çré Caitanya can understand the<br />
mind of Nityänanda?<br />
Aware that Nityänanda had arrived, Çré Gauracandra left<br />
all the devotees behind and went to greet Him. He soon reached<br />
the spot where Nityänanda sat in deep meditation. When Çré<br />
Caitanya saw Nityänanda absorbed in meditation, He became<br />
filled with ecstatic prema. He then recited His own verses in<br />
glorification of Nityänanda while circumambulating Him.<br />
O readers, please hear the glories of Nityänanda spoken by<br />
Çré Caitanya. Hearing them causes one’s attachment for Him to<br />
increase.<br />
gåhniyad yavané pänià viçed ba sausnukälayam<br />
tathäpi brahmaëä bandyaà nityänanda padäsvujam<br />
“Even if Lord Nityänanda marries a meat-eater girl<br />
or enters a wine shop, He is still worshipable by Lord<br />
Brahmä.”<br />
Gaurahari repeatedly recited this verse with great devotion<br />
while circumambulating Nityänanda Prabhu. Realizing that the<br />
Lord had come, Nityänanda Svarüpa instantly arose with awe<br />
and reverence, uttering, “Hari! Hari!”<br />
No one would be able to describe the happiness felt by Nityänanda<br />
upon seeing Gauracandra. He roared like a lion and<br />
23 Kamalapura is a village on the bank of the River Daëòabhaìga<br />
in Orissa. This village comes after Mätali and Patpura railway<br />
stations. After taking sannyäsa, when Lord Caitanya traveled to Néläcala,<br />
He came to this village after visiting Bhuvaneçvara. The Lord<br />
became fully absorbed in ecstasy after seeing the dome of the Jagannätha<br />
temple from Kamalapura.<br />
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fell forcefully onto the ground in ecstatic love. The two Lords<br />
circled one another and offered obeisances to each other. Then,<br />
both Lords embraced with love and cried. Sometimes They<br />
rolled on the ground with joy and roared in such a way that it<br />
defeated the sound of ferocious lions. The love and affection<br />
They exchanged was like that between Çré Rämacandra and<br />
Lakñmaëa. They glorified each other, reciting favorite verses<br />
and offered obeisances to one another with folded hands. The<br />
shedding of tears, shivering, laughing, becoming unconscious,<br />
the standing of the hairs of the body on end, paleness and many<br />
other symptoms of kåñëa-prema were clearly visible in both of<br />
Their bodies. Only the Lords’ most intimate associates saw the<br />
wonderful love and devotion displayed by Them.<br />
Lord Gaurahari folded His hands and offered prayers to Nityänanda:<br />
“O Nityänanda, You are actually nityänanda, eternal<br />
bliss. You are the support of the Vaiñëavas, and You are Lord<br />
Ananta. All the ornaments decorating Your body are incarnations<br />
of prema-bhakti. You have happily decorated Yourself with<br />
the ornaments of nine types of bhakti.<br />
“Your causeless mercy will certainly liberate all kinds of<br />
wretched sinners. Even demigods, great sages, and mystic yogés<br />
desire the devotion You awarded to the merchants of Saptagräma.<br />
Lord Kåñëa, who is glorified by the Vedas, is Your property,<br />
and so You can sell Him to anyone.<br />
“Who has the power to understand Your glories? You are<br />
ecstatic kåñëa-prema personified. When You perform nämasaìkértana,<br />
You lose Yourself in ecstasy. You glorify Kåñëa’s<br />
transcendental qualities throughout the entire day and night.<br />
Kåñëacandra always resides within Your heart. In fact, Your<br />
body is the abode of Kåñëa’s pastimes. If anyone offers love and<br />
respect to You, Kåñëa never ever rejects him.”<br />
After hearing this eulogy of Lord Caitanya, Nityänanda<br />
Prabhu folded His hands and spoke very humbly, “Although You<br />
are My Lord, somehow You are praising Me. This shows Your<br />
affection for Your devotees. You can circumambulate Me, offer<br />
obeisances to Me, kill Me, or save Me. You can do anything You<br />
wish. What more can I say, O Lord?<br />
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“What do You not see with Your divine vision? You are the<br />
supreme controller of everyone’s mind and life. Whatever You<br />
inspire Me to do, I will do. Before, You made Me accept the<br />
renounced order of life. Now You have turned Me into this. I<br />
left the life of an ascetic and now carry a flute, stick, horns,<br />
and bracelets. You gave the treasure of austerity and devotion to<br />
Your dear associates, headed by Çré Advaita Äcärya, but just see<br />
what You have done to Me. You have made Me leave the life of<br />
an ascetic so that ordinary people now laugh at Me. I am Your<br />
puppet. Make Me dance for Your pleasure. Are You are punishing<br />
Me or rewarding Me? Only You know. By Your causeless<br />
mercy, You can even make a tree chant Your holy names.”<br />
Lord Caitanya replied, “The ornaments You wear represent<br />
the nine kinds of devotional service and nothing else. Hearing,<br />
chanting, remembering, offering obeisances, and so on are<br />
eternally Your decorations. Ordinary people cannot understand<br />
why Lord Çiva holds the king of snakes on his head. From the<br />
spiritual point of view, Lord Ananta is the life and soul of Lord<br />
Çiva. Mahädeva holds his worshipable Lord in the guise of holding<br />
a snake. Without knowing the depth of his character, if anyone<br />
blasphemes him, his spiritual progress is checked. I do not<br />
find anything but bhakti-rasa in You. I am telling You this from<br />
My heart.<br />
“You are fully absorbed in the happiness of Våndävana as<br />
one of Nanda Mahäräja’s family members. You have decorated<br />
Yourself with various ornaments as an expression of Your happiness.<br />
A fortunate person, one who feels pleasure by seeing Your<br />
mysterious qualities, will surely meet Kåñëa.<br />
“A stick, flute, garland of guïjä and flowers, and sandalwood<br />
paste naturally decorate Your transcendental body. Your associates<br />
appear to Me as being none other than Çrédäma, Sudäma,<br />
and others. I consider that all the cowherd boys of Våndävana<br />
that formerly played with You are now Your associates. They<br />
all have the same mood, complexion, and potency of Nanda<br />
Mahäräja’s relatives. Anyone who loves You and Your devotees<br />
certainly loves Me.”<br />
Who can describe the two Lords’ glorification of one another?<br />
While praising each other, They were filled with transcen-<br />
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Lord Nityänanda’s Departure for Néläcala and His Glorification by Lord Caitanya<br />
dental ecstasy. After Caitanya and Nityänanda regained Their<br />
composure, They sat down together in a secluded flower garden.<br />
The talks between the Controller and the Supreme Controller<br />
in that garden are known only to the Vedas.<br />
Whenever Lord Nityänanda and Lord Caitanya met each<br />
other like this, They would do so without any associates. By the<br />
supreme will of Çré Caitanya, not a single person heard the blissful<br />
talks that the two Lords enjoyed. Knowing the Lord’s mind,<br />
Nityänanda Svarüpa purposely met Him alone.<br />
Nityänanda Prabhu always tried to conceal Himself, because<br />
the Lord did not wish for Him to manifest Himself to everyone.<br />
The heart of the Supreme Lord is most soft and mysterious.<br />
This is the opinion of the Vedas, as well as authorities like Lord<br />
Brahmä. No one knows Him in truth and yet, as far as they are<br />
able, they attempt to glorify Him. This is the verdict of Goddess<br />
Lakñmé: The Lord’s wonderful qualities are such that everyone<br />
thinks that He loves them the most.<br />
<strong>Nityananda</strong> Prabhu often spoke very confidentially to Çré<br />
Caitanya. He once said, “I would like to live the life of an ascetic<br />
and worship Kåñëa wholeheartedly. I do not know why He<br />
had me give up that life to carry a stick, flute, books, peacock<br />
feathers, guïjä-mälä, and ropes. It is understood that of all the<br />
devotees of the Lord, the cowherd boys and girls are the best.<br />
The devotional service performed by the cowherd boys and girls<br />
of Våndävana is the result of their severe austerities. Exalted<br />
personalities, such as Lord Brahmä and Lord Çiva, also desire to<br />
attain this mood. Only a recipient of the Lord’s mercy is qualified<br />
to receive vraja-bhakti.<br />
That Çré Uddhava desires this devotional mood of Vraja is<br />
found in Çrémad-Bhägavatam 10.47.63.<br />
vande nanda-vraja-stréëäà päda-reëum abhékñëaçaù<br />
yäsäà hari-kathodgétaà punäti bhuvana-trayam<br />
“I repeatedly offer my respects to the dust from the<br />
feet of the women of Nanda Mahäräja’s cowherd village.<br />
When these gopés loudly chant the glories of Çré<br />
Kåñëa, the vibration purifies the three worlds.”<br />
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Whatever the Vaiñëavas offer to Çré Gauracandra, He gladly<br />
accepts. By the mercy of Kåñëa, all the devotees remain merged<br />
in the ocean of transcendental bliss. However, the devotees<br />
sometimes engage in mock fighting. Seeing this mock fighting,<br />
if a person takes the side of one devotee and criticizes another,<br />
then he should be considered most unfortunate. All the devotees<br />
of the Lord are nondifferent from the Lord, just as the<br />
hands, fingers, and legs are inseparable parts of the body. Still,<br />
it is the conviction of all Vaiñëavas that Çré Kåñëa Caitanya is<br />
the worshipable Lord of everyone in all respects. They always<br />
glorify the Lord as the supreme controller, sole maintainer, supreme<br />
witness, and unfathomable truth.<br />
One can achieve the wealth of bhakti by the mercy of those<br />
in whom the Supreme Lord mercifully manifests Himself. Even<br />
if the Lord invests all His energies and the quality of omniscience<br />
in a devotee, He still punishes him when he commits<br />
offenses.<br />
It is the special feature of Lord Caitanya that He never failed<br />
to glorify Nityänanda and Advaita. Even if these two personalities<br />
performed uncommon activities, Gauracandra still did not<br />
say anything to criticize Them.<br />
After spending some blissful moments with Avadhüta Nityänanda,<br />
Lord Gauräìga bade farewell and returned to His<br />
residence. Nityänanda Svarüpa then happily went to see Lord<br />
Jagannätha. Anyone who hears this description of the meeting<br />
between Caitanya and Nityänanda will be relieved from material<br />
bondage.<br />
Accepting Lord Çré Caitanya and Nityänanda Prabhu as my<br />
life and soul, I, Våndävana däsa, sing the glories of Their lotus<br />
feet.<br />
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CHAPTER TEN<br />
Lord Nityänanda’s Pastimes of Accepting Lunch<br />
at the House of Gadädhara Paëòita<br />
When Lord Nityänanda saw Lord Jagannätha, He became<br />
overwhelmed with ecstasy and began to roll<br />
on the floor. Indeed, He repeatedly fell to the floor with great<br />
force, and even a hundred people could not control Him. Seeing<br />
Lord Jagannätha, Lord Balaräma, Subhadrä, and the Sudarçana<br />
cakra, Nityänanda began to weep.<br />
Knowing the glories of Nityänanda, the brähmaëa priest offered<br />
Him the flower garlands from Jagannätha, Baladeva, and<br />
Subhadrä. When the servants of Lord Jagannätha saw Nityänanda<br />
Prabhu, they became extremely joyful. Those who did<br />
not know Him asked others who He was. These people replied<br />
that He was the brother of Kåñëa Caitanya.<br />
Nityänanda Svarüpa embraced everyone, drenching them<br />
with His tears. After seeing Lord Jagannätha, Nityänanda very<br />
happily went to see Gadädhara Paëòita. Only the Supreme<br />
Lord possesses the love and affection that Nityänanda and<br />
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Gadädhara exchanged. The most enchanting Deity of Lord<br />
Gopénätha resided at the house of Gadädhara Paëòita. He appeared<br />
to be directly the son of Nanda Mahäräja. Lord Caitanya<br />
had personally embraced this Deity. Seeing this Deity bewilders<br />
even a staunch atheist.<br />
When Nityänanda Prabhu saw the beautiful flute and attractive<br />
face of Gopénätha, tears of love incessantly streamed<br />
from His eyes. Knowing that Nityänanda had arrived, Gadädhara<br />
left his recitation of Çrémad-Bhägavatam and in great<br />
haste came to greet Him. As soon as they saw each other, they<br />
embraced and began to cry. They offered their obeisances to<br />
one another and began to glorify one another.<br />
One of them said, “Today my eyes are purified.” The other<br />
said, “Today my life is successful.” Both of them rapturously<br />
floated in the ocean of prema. The love and devotion manifested<br />
from their meeting was so intense that all the servants<br />
began to weep. The love and affection between Nityänanda and<br />
Gadädhara is so wonderful that neither spoke to the other’s enemies.<br />
Gadädhara’s vow was that he would never see the face<br />
of a person who blasphemes Nityänanda. Gadädhara Paëòita<br />
Gosäi does not even manifest himself to those who have no love<br />
for Nityänanda Gosäi.<br />
When they became peaceful, Gadädhara Paëòita and Nityänanda<br />
Prabhu sat down to discuss the auspicious glories of Çré<br />
Caitanya. Thereafter, Gadädhara invited Nityänanda Prabhu to<br />
accept lunch at his home. Nityänanda Prabhu had brought forty<br />
kilos of very fine white rice from Bengal for Gadädhara to offer<br />
to Lord Gopénätha. He also brought a beautifully colored piece<br />
of cloth for the Lord, which He placed before Gadädhara.<br />
Nityänanda said, “My dear Gadädhara, please take this rice<br />
and cook for Gopénätha. After offering it to the Lord, You may<br />
honor the remnants.”<br />
Seeing the fine rice, Gadädhara smilingly said, “I’ve never<br />
seen such rice before. Did You bring this rice from Vaikuëöha<br />
for Gopénätha? Mother Lakñmé cooks this rice, and Kåñëa enjoys<br />
it. The devotees then honor the remnants.”<br />
After happily praising the rice, Gadädhara took the piece<br />
of cloth and went before Lord Gopénätha. He dressed Gopé-<br />
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Lord Nityänanda’s Pastimes of Accepting Lunch at the House of Gadädhara Paëòita<br />
nätha in the divinely colored cloth and upon seeing His beauty,<br />
Gadädhara floated in the ocean of bliss. He then began to arrange<br />
for cooking by first picking spinach from the garden of<br />
the Öoöä-gopénätha temple. Nobody plants this spinach. It grows<br />
by itself.<br />
Gadädhara collected some spinach to cook for Gopénätha.<br />
He then picked the tender leaves of a tamarind tree and, after<br />
making a paste with them, he mixed it with the boiled spinach<br />
and added salt. The most fortunate Gadädhara thus cooked a<br />
sour preparation and then brought it before Gopénätha to offer.<br />
Just at that moment, Gauracandra arrived. Smiling while<br />
chanting the mahä-mantra, Lord Gauracandra called out,<br />
“Gadädhara! Gadädhara!” Gadädhara immediately appeared<br />
and offered his obeisances to the Lord with awe and reverence.<br />
The Lord smilingly said, “What is this, Gadädhara? Am I<br />
not fit to be invited? Actually, I am not separate from both of<br />
you. Even if you do not offer Me prasäda, I will eat it by force.<br />
The ingredients supplied by Nityänanda, the remnants of Gopénätha,<br />
and your cooking—I certainly deserve a share of it.”<br />
While listening to these words of the Lord, both Nityänanda<br />
and Gadädhara floated in the ocean of happiness. With<br />
immense satisfaction, Gadädhara brought the prasäda of Gopénätha<br />
and placed it before Gauracandra. The fragrance of the<br />
rice filled the entire compound of the Öoöä-gopénätha Temple,<br />
and the Lord repeatedly praised it.<br />
“Divide the prasäda into three parts,” the Lord said. “Today<br />
we will sit together and eat.”<br />
Attracted by Nityänanda’s rice, Mahäprabhu sat down to<br />
take His meal. Both Mahäprabhu and Nityänanda Prabhu sat<br />
down to eat, facing each other. They happily glorified the rice<br />
and the vegetables. The Lord said, “Just the fragrance of this<br />
rice guarantees one’s attainment of devotion for Kåñëa. There is<br />
no doubt about this.<br />
“O Gadädhara, what wonderful cooking! I have never eaten<br />
such a spinach preparation before. O Gadädhara, what an attractive<br />
way you have of cooking. How did you make such a<br />
preparation with tender tamarind leaves? I think you must cook<br />
for the Lord in Vaikuëöha. Why are you hiding yourself?”<br />
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While smiling and joking in this way, the three personalities<br />
happily enjoyed their meal. Only these three know the loving<br />
sentiments of each other. Gauracandra never discloses them<br />
to anyone else. After the Lords completed their meal and departed,<br />
all the devotees eagerly accepted the remnants. Anyone<br />
favored by the merciful glance of Gadädhara can actually know<br />
the science of Nityänanda Svarüpa. In the same way, anyone<br />
inspired by Nityänanda Svarüpa can understand the glories of<br />
Gadädhara.<br />
<strong>Nityananda</strong> Prabhu happily enjoyed the association of Gauracandra.<br />
Çré Kåñëa Caitanya, Nityänanda, and Gadädhara always<br />
resided together. They saw Lord Jagannätha together and<br />
became overwhelmed when they performed näma-saìkértana.<br />
Anyone who reads or hears about these pastimes of the Lord’s<br />
taking prasäda will certainly achieve Kåñëa and His devotional<br />
service.<br />
Accepting Çré Caitanya and Nityänanda Prabhu as my life<br />
and soul, I, Våndävana däsa, sing the glories of Their lotus feet.<br />
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CHAPTER ELEVEN<br />
Lord Caitanya Instructs<br />
Nityänanda Prabhu to Marry<br />
One day, at Néläcala, Gauracandra Mahäprabhu discussed<br />
something alone with Nityänanda.<br />
tumi yao gauòadeçe karaha saàsära<br />
tabe e sava lokera haibe nistära<br />
punaha äsiba ämi tomära mandire<br />
tomära gåhe habe ämära avatäre<br />
bhakti bilaiya punaù äriba saàsära<br />
gupu avatära çastre naheta pracära<br />
acintya ämära çakti keha nähi jäne<br />
sei se jänaye tumi jänäha ñahäne<br />
purva yadu bistära nä karilä dväpare<br />
ebe tomära baça-båddhi haibe saàsäre<br />
“Dear Çrépäda, return to Bengal and get married, then<br />
all the people will be delivered. I will again manifest in Your<br />
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ÇRÉ NITYÄNANDA CARITÄMÅTA<br />
family and stay in Your home. I will distribute kåñëa-bhakti and<br />
deliver the entire world. These incarnations of Mine are secret<br />
and hidden in the scriptures. No one knows the extent of My<br />
inconceivable energies. Only You know them perfectly and others<br />
know them partially by Your mercy. In Dväpara-yuga, You<br />
did not expand Your family as a member of the Yadu dynasty,<br />
but this time Your family will increase in this world.”<br />
Nityänanda Prabhu replied, “You are the original cause of<br />
everything. You are the operator, and I am the machine. You<br />
can do with Me as You please. No one can direct his intelligence<br />
independently. You are My personal protector, benefactor,<br />
and maintainer. Whatever I do is dependent upon Your<br />
will. You made Me a mendicant who traveled all over the country.<br />
Yet, You put a curtain over My eyes and remained hidden<br />
from Me. After a time, You gave Me darçana and satisfied Me<br />
by keeping Me with You. You made Me dance happily in Your<br />
ecstatic love. You awarded Me bhakti and made Me a Vaiñëava.<br />
Again, You made Me a materialist by changing My duties. I<br />
am unable to understand what is happening to Me. Now You<br />
tell Me to enter family life, although You abandoned such an<br />
existence. You gave up all attachment to women and simply<br />
became attached to the chanting of Lord Kåñëa’s holy name.<br />
You have given up all kinds of enjoyment and taken up the<br />
profession of a beggar.<br />
“O Gosäi, why do You trouble Me like this? Actually, I have<br />
no one other than You. I am Your eternal servant, and so I am<br />
unable to deny Your order. I always follow Your order as My very<br />
life and soul.”<br />
After saying this much, Nityänanda Prabhu fell silent. The<br />
Lord then caught hold of His hands and said, “O Nityänanda,<br />
You are the form of eternal bliss and the abode of My happiness<br />
and prosperity. You are My energy, and I am the energetic.<br />
Without energy, the existence of the energetic is useless. You<br />
and I are not separate at any time. To fulfill Our mission, We<br />
have descended in this age of Kali. Just as a grain of däl has<br />
two parts, so You and I are not separate. We are one. My happiness<br />
lies in You alone. Sometimes, I experience transcendental<br />
happiness directly by Your presence and sometimes through<br />
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inspiration. Whatever I speak and do and wherever I travel is<br />
all due to Your desire. All My servants are Your servants.”<br />
Nityänanda replied, “Your words are full of deceit because<br />
it is Your nature to speak in many different ways. Previously,<br />
You sent a message to the gopés through Uddhava, in which You<br />
taught them the importance of cultivating spiritual knowledge.<br />
They had given up everything and still, they could not attain<br />
Your association. It is Your eternal habit to harass Your own<br />
people. You even disappointed Your mother, father, sons, and<br />
friends, so what can be said about us? We are Your menial servants.<br />
I am destined to follow Your orders without fail. Who can<br />
deny Your infallible commands?<br />
“O Lord, please tell Me in truth—when will I see You again?<br />
How will I tolerate the agony of Your separation?”<br />
“You do not need to come here every year,” the Lord replied.<br />
“Whenever You wish to see Me, You will see Me. Whenever You<br />
dance in kértana, or whenever My mother cooks for Me, I will<br />
come there without a doubt. I am going to spend My days and<br />
nights absorbed in the mood of Rädhäräëé. After relishing the<br />
mood of separation from Kåñëa, I will wind up these pastimes<br />
and return home.”<br />
The Lord’s intimate devotees who realized these secret talks<br />
between Çré Caitanya and Nityänanda Prabhu have disclosed<br />
them.<br />
“This present incarnation of Mine is not known to the Vedas.<br />
I am revealing My mind only to You. I am telling You the truth,<br />
that I will certainly appear in Your house in the near future.”<br />
After hearing these words of Lord Caitanya, Nityänanda<br />
Prabhu fell to the ground. Taking advantage of this, Caitanya<br />
Mahäprabhu took the dust from His feet. Both the Lords<br />
embraced and continuously cried. They stayed awake the entire<br />
night. Early the next morning, both Lords finished Their<br />
morning duties and then went to see Lord Jagannätha in the<br />
temple. From that day onwards, the condition of Lord Caitanya<br />
became most pathetic. He constantly lamented, being afflicted<br />
with feelings of separation from Kåñëa. Nobody could understand<br />
this most confidential mood of the Lord. Only the Lord<br />
comprehended His own mentality. However, some intimate<br />
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ÇRÉ NITYÄNANDA CARITÄMÅTA<br />
devotees understood the Lord’s mood by various hints. Others<br />
knew nothing.<br />
On the plea of going on pilgrimage, all the devotees bid<br />
farewell to the Lord, one by one. Nityänanda Prabhu also bade<br />
farewell to the Lord and started for Bengal with some devotees.<br />
He traveled along the road, absorbed in ecstatic kåñëa-prema.<br />
He appeared as if intoxicated from drinking honey. After some<br />
time, He arrived on the bank of the Ganges and entered Räghava<br />
Paëòita’s house in the village of Pänihäöi. Hearing about Nityänanda<br />
Prabhu’s arrival, everyone, including children and<br />
the elderly, happily rushed to see Him. People from Pänihäöi to<br />
Triveëé poured in nonstop to join in the kértana. Many people<br />
took prasäda there, and many people carried it to their houses.<br />
Nobody could estimate how many people brought ingredients<br />
and how many people distributed prasäda.<br />
During the day, they distributed prasäda and at night, they<br />
arranged huge näma-saìkértana parties. Even Lord Ananta<br />
was unable to count the visitors. Many devotee singers sang and<br />
danced while others fanned them with peacock feather fans.<br />
Nityänanda Prabhu decorated His head with a turban made<br />
of colourful cloths. He wore beautiful earrings, and His brightly<br />
shining face defeated the beauty of the moon. He had bracelets<br />
on His hands and rings on His fingers. He wore a golden chain<br />
with a blue sapphire locket. His lotus feet were decorated with<br />
golden ankle bells whose tinkling sound banished one’s miseries.<br />
Tears of love flowed constantly from His lotus eyes. Honeybees<br />
poured their honey on His lotus feet. His head resembled<br />
that of a lion, and His shoulders those of an elephant. He had<br />
a huge body whose two arms reached to His knees. His large<br />
hands resembled those of a wrestler. His golden limbs exuded<br />
prema. He was attached to chanting the holy names of Çré<br />
Caitanyacandra.<br />
Nityänanda Prabhu swung back and forth while chanting,<br />
“Kåñëa! Kåñëa!” just like an elephant in rut when struck by a<br />
goad. Sometimes He laughed while rolling his eyes and speaking<br />
very sweetly. At other times, He closed His eyes and remained<br />
silent. He sometimes cried loudly, saying, “O My dear Kåñëa!”<br />
Sometimes, folding His hands, He chanted, “O My Lord!” and<br />
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Lord Caitanya Instructs Nityänanda Prabhu to Marry<br />
sometimes He covered His face with His cloth while softly uttering,<br />
“O Lord of My life!” and then fell to the ground with great<br />
force. Sometimes He laughed loudly, calling, “O My dear brother!<br />
O My dear brother!” Sometimes He asked Lord Brahmä for<br />
wings to fly in the sky.<br />
Nityänanda Prabhu’s manifestation of prema was thus full<br />
of mysteries to the common people.<br />
Accepting Çré Caitanya and Nityänanda as my life and soul,<br />
I, Våndävana däsa, sing the glories of Their lotus feet.<br />
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CHAPTER TWELVE<br />
The Marriage of Lord Nityänanda<br />
One day, Lord Nityänanda woke up early in the morning<br />
and set out for Ambikä-nagara. He took a servant with<br />
him, Uddhäraëa Datta, who was a merchant by profession and<br />
His intimate associate. When Lord Nityänanda arrived at the<br />
door of Süryadäsa Paëòita, He sent Uddhäraëa Datta inside the<br />
house. Uddhäraëa Datta went inside and informed Suryädäsa<br />
of the Lord’s arrival, and so he rushed out to greet the Lord.<br />
Falling at the feet of Nityänanda Prabhu, Süryadäsa offered<br />
his obeisances. Then, with folded hands he said, “What good<br />
fortune!”<br />
The Lord said, “I have come to you with a purpose. Please<br />
give Me your daughter’s hand in marriage.”<br />
The Paëòita knew the glories of Nityänanda Prabhu, but<br />
at that moment he forgot everything, being bewildered by the<br />
Lord’s illusory energy. “How is it possible?” the brähmaëa humbly<br />
said. “We first have to weigh many considerations, such<br />
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ÇRÉ NITYÄNANDA CARITÄMÅTA<br />
caste, the stars, and family. Although You are the Supreme Personality<br />
of Godhead, Näräyaëa, You are an outcaste, and I am<br />
a brähmaëa.”<br />
Hearing this reply, Nityänanda Prabhu left that place while<br />
everyone watched in wonder. Süryadäsa Paëòita felt disappointed<br />
and went inside his house.<br />
“Will my dream come true?” He thought. “O Lord Kåñëa,<br />
will it ever come to be by the arrangement of providence that<br />
Nityänanda Prabhu will become my son-in-law?”<br />
Pondering over this, Süryadäsa assembled his relatives and<br />
informed them of the Lord’s proposal. “Last night, I had an astonishing<br />
dream,” he said. “I saw a wonderful person come to<br />
my house, sitting on a chariot with a flag. He was huge, like a<br />
mighty wrestler. His complexion was golden and His eyes were<br />
reddish. He got down from the chariot and smilingly asked, ‘Is<br />
this Paëòitajé’s house?’ He carried a plough on His shoulder and<br />
held a stick in His hand. He gestured for me to come. Flowers<br />
decorated His hair, and He wore golden earrings. He was dressed<br />
in blue garments and anklets decorated His feet. He said to me,<br />
‘I am going to marry your daughter. You have not recognized Me<br />
until today.’ Saying this, He suddenly disappeared. I then got<br />
out of bed and found that it was morning.”<br />
As Jähnavä listened to her father’s talks from within her<br />
room, her natural love for the Lord arose within her heart. Indeed,<br />
tears of love began to flow from her eyes. She covered her<br />
face with a cloth, but the cloth became soaked with her tears.<br />
“My dear friends, I have told you about my wonderful<br />
dream,” Paëòita continued.<br />
“We see so many things in our dreams, someone replied.<br />
“Nityänanda Prabhu is the Supreme Brahman, and we are but<br />
householders. How can we offer Him our daughter?”<br />
Süryadäsa Paëòita was naturally very soft-hearted. Upon hearing<br />
this, he became distressed and cried, “Save me! Save me!”<br />
Suddenly, everyone heard a cry coming from inside the<br />
house. Something had happened to Jahnavä. They rushed inside<br />
and picked her up and then brought her out onto the front<br />
veranda. She was unconscious and her eyes had rolled upwards<br />
in their sockets. Her entire body had become cold, and her face<br />
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The Marriage of Lord Nityänanda<br />
was covered with perspiration. A doctor came and diagnosed<br />
that she had epilepsy, saying that there was no cure for this disease.<br />
He informed the girl’s relatives that seldom does a person<br />
with epilepsy live for long. He then treated her according to the<br />
prescriptions of the scriptures.<br />
“Even after applying proper medication there is no improvement,”<br />
the physician said. “Take your daughter to the bank of<br />
the Ganges and arrange for her funeral rites to be performed.”<br />
Süryadäsa began to cry when he heard these words. Gaurédäsa,<br />
while consoling him, said, “I think we have committed<br />
an offense at the feet of Avadhüta Nityänanda. We must beg<br />
His pardon, and bring Him back here as soon as possible. As<br />
long as we live in this world, we should try to maintain relationships.<br />
After death, relationships no longer exist. If He can revive<br />
our daughter, then we should arrange for her marriage with<br />
Him. This is my advice to all of you. Let us all go to Nityänanda<br />
Prabhu and fall at His feet.”<br />
Lord Nityänanda was sitting under a banyan tree on the<br />
bank of the Ganges. Tears glided from His eyes as He chanted<br />
the holy name of Kåñëa. Gaurédäsa, along with his relatives,<br />
went to Nityänanda Prabhu and fell at His lotus feet. The Lord<br />
quickly picked him up while patting him on the back. “My dear<br />
cowherd men, have you all forgotten Me?” the Lord said.<br />
Nityänanda Prabhu placed His hands on Süryadäsa’s shoulders.<br />
Süryadäsa Paëòita fell at the feet of Nityänanda Prabhu<br />
and lamented, “You completely bewildered my intelligence. Although<br />
You are capable of doing anything, You did not inspire<br />
me to give up my attachment for varëäçrama-dharma. Please<br />
give us the shelter of Your lotus feet and thus save us.”<br />
Saying this, the Paëòita took Lord Nityänanda to his home.<br />
His daughter, Jahnavä, was lying at the doorstep, covered with a<br />
cloth as the sunshine fell upon her. This appeared like lightning<br />
striking a cloud. Her eyes bulged in their sockets as tears incessantly<br />
fell from them. Her curly hair enhanced the beauty of<br />
her forehead. The symptoms of impending death appeared on<br />
her body. At that moment, the aroma of the Lord’s body entered<br />
her nostrils. By smelling this aroma, she immediately regained<br />
consciousness.<br />
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ÇRÉ NITYÄNANDA CARITÄMÅTA<br />
Jahnavä hurriedly covered her face with her cloth and said,<br />
“Where am I? What is happening?”<br />
She then got up and entered her house. At that time, Nityänanda<br />
Prabhu, the reservoir of transcendental pastimes,<br />
displayed His six-armed form in the courtyard of Süryadäsa<br />
Paëòita. His two upper hands held a bow and an arrow, His<br />
two middle hands held a plough and a stick, and His lower two<br />
hands carried a sannyäsa daëòa and water pot. His head was<br />
adorned with a crown, and His ears were decorated with earrings.<br />
His entire body was radiant with valuable jewels and ornaments.<br />
Upon seeing this form of the Lord, everyone fell at<br />
His feet. Paëòita prayed to the Lord with folded hands. All the<br />
brähmaëas who had gathered there were struck with wonder<br />
upon seeing this wonderful form of the Lord.<br />
Soon the six-armed form of Lord Nityänanda disappeared<br />
from everyone’s vision and only two-armed Lord Nityänanda<br />
remained. Smiling at everyone, Lord Nityänanda sat on the<br />
doorstep of the Viñëu temple there as all the brähmaëas and<br />
Vaiñëavas chanted, “Long life! Long life!”<br />
They then served Nityänanda Prabhu with great care and<br />
affection and made Him comfortable. The learned brähmaëas<br />
and the family priest then decided to award Nityänanda the<br />
sacred thread, according to the Vedic injunctions. When they<br />
disclosed their plan to the Lord, He accepted it with a laugh,<br />
saying, “Do whatever you like. I have nothing to say. Only Caitanya<br />
Gosäi is independent.”<br />
When they heard about the Lord’s approval, everyone became<br />
very happy. Then Paëòita then began to make arrangements<br />
for the marriage of his daughter. He collected whatever<br />
articles were necessary so that the marriage ceremony would be<br />
performed as opulently as that of a prince. He gathered whatever<br />
things he lacked by begging and then invited all his neighbors<br />
to attend the marriage ceremony. He then brought a large<br />
quantity of betel nuts and pän.<br />
Thereafter, the brähmaëa called for his family priest and<br />
carefully chose an auspicious day for the marriage. From that<br />
day on, there was constant celebration at the Paëòita’s house.<br />
Day after day, more of his friends and relatives arrived. The<br />
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The Marriage of Lord Nityänanda<br />
musicians played and hundreds of brähmaëas were fed every<br />
day. The women distributed vermilion, betel nuts, pän, oil, and<br />
sweets to all the visiting ladies.<br />
On the day of the marriage, the brähmaëas came to Süryadäsa<br />
Paëòita’s house after finishing their regular duties. They<br />
brought the required paraphernalia, such as flowers, kuça grass,<br />
sitting mats made of kuça grass, wooden mortars, and spoons<br />
for performing sacrifices. They also brought a stick, water pot,<br />
umbrella, pair of shoes, belt, kaupéna, deerskin, sacred thread,<br />
and ghee.<br />
After the brähmaëas had prepared the sacrificial arena, the<br />
head priest asked Nityänanda Prabhu to come. As Nityänanda<br />
Prabhu sat in the midst of the brähmaëas, they offered ghee in<br />
the sacrificial fire while chanting Vedic mantras. After completing<br />
the formalities prescribed by the scriptures, the brähmaëas<br />
put a stick and water pot in Nityänanda’s hands. He wore<br />
a saffron-colored kaupéna and cädara, and carried a saffron bag<br />
on His shoulder.<br />
The Lord then begged, “Mother, please give Me alms.”<br />
The wife of Süryadäsa Paëòita respectfully placed gold, silver,<br />
and money in the Lord’s bag. When the priest told Süryadäsa<br />
Paëòita to bring the bride, Nityänanda Prabhu said, “Do<br />
that later.” Then He whispered something in the ear of the<br />
priest, who quickly said, “That is alright.”<br />
Holding a stick and water pot, Lord Nityänanda repeatedly<br />
laughed aloud. He wore wooden shoes and held an umbrella.<br />
He appeared just like a young brähmaëa and while gazing at<br />
His enchanting form, the ladies smilingly said, “He must be the<br />
younger brother of Çré Rämacandra. That is what we feel.”<br />
The Lord then entered a secluded inner room and continuously<br />
remained there for three days. Rising early in the morning<br />
of the forth day, the Lord looked at the sun and the brähmaëas<br />
before coming out of the house. All-attractive Nityänanda<br />
Prabhu then offered His obeisances to Lord Viñëu and sat on<br />
a wooden throne. Hundreds of women from Navadvépa came<br />
to the house of Süryadäsa Paëòita, holding each other’s hands<br />
and shoulders. They decorated their eyes with black ointment<br />
and chewed betel nuts. They arrived at the house of the Paëòita<br />
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ÇRÉ NITYÄNANDA CARITÄMÅTA<br />
while swinging their hands and bodies. The priest came to perform<br />
the necessary duties prior to the marriage, while the ladies<br />
made auspicious sounds on all sides.<br />
The priest tied yellow threads on Lord Nityänanda’s and<br />
Jähnavä’s hands. Jahnavä then went inside the house, bowing<br />
down her head. The musicians played auspicious rägas as all the<br />
people dove and surfaced in the ocean of great happiness.<br />
As the ladies brought water for the ceremony, some of them<br />
said, “Jähnavä is indeed most fortunate. Who else could have<br />
such a beautiful groom, except Revaté, who previously had such<br />
a wonderful husband?”<br />
“They look just like Çaìkara and Parvaté,” someone said.<br />
“They look like Lakñmé and Näräyaëa.” others said.<br />
“It is like the union of Kämadeva and Raté,” another said.<br />
Yet others said, “They are like Räma and Sétä.”<br />
In this way, people revealed their minds to one another.<br />
They laughed and fell on each other as if intoxicated. Many<br />
of the ladies were simple young girls, attending the marriage<br />
of their friend, and were unable to check their jubilation. The<br />
whole day passed in blissful preparation. Finally, the auspicious<br />
time for the marriage ceremony arrived.<br />
Süryadäsa Paëòita told his relatives to decorate both the<br />
bride and groom. Hearing this, everyone became very happy. Nityänanda<br />
Prabhu came out and sat in the courtyard of the Viñëu<br />
temple and Gaurédäsa Paëòita began to decorate Him. Nityänanda<br />
was naturally very enchanting. The Paëòita put tilaka and<br />
sandalwood paste on His forehead. Naturally intoxicated with<br />
prema, Nityänanda’s eyes always moved in circles. The Paëòita<br />
put black ointment on those eyes. The Lord’s beautifully raised<br />
nose was marked with tilaka and sandalwood paste. The beauty<br />
of His face defeated the beauty of the full moon. His broad chest<br />
was decorated with sandalwood paste and flower garlands. He<br />
wore white garments and a white sacred thread. That thread appeared<br />
just like Lord Ananta Çeña covering Lord Balaräma. A<br />
crown adorned His head, and He wore beautiful earrings. The<br />
golden ornaments decorating His body shone brightly.<br />
The artistic ladies sat in a private place and decorated Jähnavä<br />
with undivided attention. They combed and braided her<br />
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The Marriage of Lord Nityänanda<br />
hair in various attractive ways. Two colourful clusters of jute<br />
hung from her head to her back, covering both her ears. The<br />
ladies made many beautiful braids with her hair, beginning from<br />
her forehead. Wiping her face with the corner of their särés,<br />
they decorated it with kuìkuma. They adorned her forehead<br />
with marks of tilaka and applied black ointments to her eyes.<br />
They enhanced the beauty of her forehead and cheeks with<br />
many beautiful dots of sandalwood paste. They put tilaka on<br />
her nose and became captivated by her beauty.<br />
Then the ladies began to dress Jähnavä. They put a golden<br />
ring with a pearl hanging from it on the tip of her nose. It swung<br />
on the top of her upper lip as she moved. It appeared as if honeybees<br />
were falling over a sesame flower. She was wearing a golden<br />
känti-mälä with a locket that hung to her chest. She was decorated<br />
in a most attractive manner and her beauty was matchless.<br />
Golden earrings resembling campaka flowers decorated her ears,<br />
appearing like lightening. The earrings were fixed at one place,<br />
yet they desired to touch her other limbs. Golden bracelets and<br />
bangles bedecked her hands. She wore golden ankle bells on her<br />
beautiful reddish feet.<br />
After decorating Jähnavä to the best of their ability, the<br />
ladies put betel nut in her mouth and hung garlands of fragrant<br />
flowers around her neck. They then sprinkled scented oil all<br />
over her body.<br />
Thereafter, all the relatives and friends of Süryadäsa Paëòita<br />
told him to take his daughter and circle the groom. Paëòita<br />
at once accepted the proposal, saying, “Whatever you all say, I<br />
must follow.”<br />
Everyone rushed in all directions to gather the necessary<br />
items for the marriage ceremony. They brought numerous articles<br />
to Süryadäsa Paëòita and then set them before Lord Nityänanda.<br />
They then made the Lord sit on a palanquin. The<br />
musicians began to play, filling the entire sky with their sound.<br />
The singers and dancers sang and danced perfectly in time with<br />
the music. Lord Nityänanda beheld all this while dressed in divine<br />
garments. Sitting on a palanquin, He was taken in procession<br />
through the streets while auspicious sounds of joy filled the<br />
four directions. The women of the city came out of their houses<br />
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ÇRÉ NITYÄNANDA CARITÄMÅTA<br />
and sat on their doorsteps with their babies on their laps to have<br />
a glimpse of the groom. Young boys rushed to where the procession<br />
was passing and became overwhelmed with happiness as<br />
they joined in the singing.<br />
After touring all over the city, Nityänanda Prabhu, resembling<br />
a full moon, came back to the house of Süryadäsa Paëòita.<br />
Süryadäsa Paëòita offered incense, a ghee lamp, sandalwood<br />
paste, and flower garlands to Nityänanda Prabhu. He then led<br />
Him by the hand to the marriage arena. Someone sprinkled<br />
scented water before Nityänanda as He walked. The ladies made<br />
auspicious sounds of ulu-dhvani.<br />
Nityänanda Prabhu was then made to stand on a low wooden<br />
platform. His radiance filled all directions. Holding ghee<br />
lamps and flower garlands, the brähmaëas circled Nityänanda<br />
seven times. The ladies smiled while covering their mouths with<br />
their särés and falling on one another. They then brought the<br />
bride on a beautiful throne and made her circle Nityänanda<br />
seven times.<br />
Jähnavä and Nityänanda glanced at each other as everyone<br />
threw flowers and pän. Their spontaneous love for each other<br />
awakened. After a long time, when Jähnavä finally saw her beloved<br />
Lord, she held her head down in shyness. The ladies then<br />
took Jähnavä inside a room while the brähmaëas completed the<br />
formalities, according to the scriptural injunctions.<br />
Süryadäsa Paëòita offered jewellery, clothes, and other items<br />
to Nityänanda Prabhu and formally accepted Him as a son-inlaw.<br />
Then he brought his daughter and offered her to Nityänanda<br />
Prabhu in charity, as per the Vedic injunctions. Taking<br />
his daughter and son-in-law inside, he made them sit on a divine<br />
bed decorated with flowers. Many young girls also entered the<br />
room, teasing the new groom and joking with Him. The whole<br />
night thus passed in great mirth.<br />
In the morning, Nityänanda Prabhu bathed and then sat<br />
down for the Vedic ceremony of putting sindüra (vermilion) on<br />
the bride’s head. The brähmaëas performed the fire sacrifice,<br />
according to the Vedic rules and regulations. Finally, hundreds<br />
of brähmaëas were served a feast. Nityänanda Prabhu thereafter<br />
lived happily at Süryadäsa Paëòita’s house for a few days.<br />
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The Marriage of Lord Nityänanda<br />
One day, as Çré Jähnavä was serving Nityänanda His lunch of<br />
Kåñëa prasäda with utmost care, the younger daughter of Süryadäsa<br />
Paëòita, named Vasudhä, whose mind had been firmly attached<br />
to Nityänanda since her childhood, came to assist her<br />
sister. As she was serving prasäda to Nityänanda Prabhu, the<br />
part of her säré covering her head suddenly fell. Since both her<br />
hands were engaged in serving, she manifested two more hands<br />
to again cover her head with her säré. Seeing this, Nityänanda<br />
Prabhu caught hold of her hand and made her sit to His right.<br />
Nityänanda said to Süryadäsa Paëòita, “I will take your<br />
younger daughter with Me as dowry.”<br />
“I have no objection,” Süryadäsa Paëòita replied. “There is<br />
nothing I could refuse You. I have surrendered my caste, life,<br />
wealth, house, associates, and everything else at Your lotus<br />
feet.”<br />
Saying this, the Paëòita raised his hands and danced in ecstasy<br />
while chanting “Hari! Hari!” He then prayed: “O Kåñëa,<br />
O Yädava, please be merciful to me so that I may fix my mind,<br />
body, and speech at the lotus feet of Nityänanda Prabhu.”<br />
When the Paëòita explained this new development to his<br />
relatives, they all smilingly approved. “We have also become fortunate<br />
by your association,” they said. “Who has the power to<br />
disobey the Lord?”<br />
With folded hands, everyone said to Süryadäsa Paëòita,<br />
“You have actually purchased Kåñëa in Kali-yuga.”<br />
Nityänanda Prabhu thus inspired all the residents of Ambikä-kälnä<br />
to float in an ocean of bliss.<br />
Accepting the lotus feet of Caitanya and Nityänanda as my<br />
life and soul, I, Våndävana däsa, sing the glories of Their lotus<br />
feet.<br />
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CHAPTER THIRTEEN<br />
The Birth of Véracandra Prabhu and<br />
Disappearance of Lord Nityänanda<br />
Lord Nityänanda enjoyed unlimited and inconceivable<br />
pastimes at Ambikä-kälnä. In spite of manifesting so<br />
many pastimes, no one could recognize Him, as fish are unable<br />
to see the moon reflected on the surface of the ocean.<br />
Once, Lord Nityänanda thought, “I will build an äçrama<br />
at Khaòadaha to follow the orders of My Lord. I will open up a<br />
marketplace for distributing the holy names of the Lord.”<br />
After contemplating in this way, Nityänanda Prabhu went<br />
to Khaòadaha to manifest His pastimes. He followed the principles<br />
of household life and manifested the service of the Deity,<br />
Çré Çyämasundara.<br />
Çré Jähnavä and Çré Vasudhä constantly worshiped the lotus<br />
feet of Nityänanda. The Lord empowered them with His energies.<br />
He enjoyed various pastimes with both consorts, fulfilling<br />
their hearts’ desires. The happiness of Jähnavä and Vasudhä knew<br />
no bounds, for they had Nityänanda Prabhu as their husband.<br />
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Both had prayed to the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya that Lord<br />
Nityänanda would be their husband, birth after birth.<br />
On an auspicious day, at an auspicious time, and during a<br />
most auspicious conjunction of the stars, the fortunate Vasudhä<br />
bore a son who was as bright as the moon. The people of<br />
the three worlds floated in an ocean of bliss, chanting the holy<br />
names of Lord Hari. The multitudes in heaven and on earth<br />
glorified Vasudhä for having such a beautiful child. He was born<br />
on the fourth day in the bright fortnight of the moon in the<br />
month of January. Vasudhä gave birth to this child after keeping<br />
him in her womb for fifteen months.<br />
It was Lord Gauracandra who manifested as Çré Véracandra<br />
Prabhu. Those who never saw Gauracandra were able to see<br />
Him in the form of Véracandra. This most enchanting child<br />
enjoyed numerous childhood pastimes as he grew up.<br />
One day, while Lord Nityänanda was sitting in the courtyard,<br />
Abhiräma 24 arrived. He called out loudly, “O dear brother,<br />
Balaräma,” and entering the courtyard, began to laugh. Lord<br />
Nityänanda rushed to embrace him. Abhiräma sweetly said to<br />
Nityänanda, “I heard that You have a son. Let me see him. I<br />
want to offer him obeisances.”<br />
“You know everything,” Nityänanda said. “I do not know<br />
who has come as My son.”<br />
Nityänanda Prabhu and Abhiräma mostly communicated<br />
with each other by gestures and postures. Out of love and affection,<br />
they embraced one another and cried. When Vasudhä<br />
heard that Abhiräma had come, she thought, “I do not know<br />
what plan Kåñëa has. I have heard lately that any Deity Abhiräma<br />
offers obeisances to immediately cracks.”<br />
The child Véracandra was lying on a wooden cot holding a<br />
colorful piece of cloth on his chest, his eyes half-closed so that<br />
it appeared as if lotus petals were trapping bumblebees in the<br />
24 Abhiräma was the cowherd boy of Vraja named Çrédäma. He<br />
did not take birth from the womb of a mother. In his eternal spiritual<br />
body he came to Bengal and established his äçrama at Khänäkulakåñëa-nagara.<br />
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The Birth of Véracandra Prabhu and Disappearance of Lord Nityänanda<br />
evening. The mark of black ointment on his eyes extended to<br />
his ears. His forehead was marked with a dot of cow dung. His<br />
curly hair was tied in a topknot. Whoever saw him wanted to<br />
keep him within his heart.<br />
Abhiräma came and looked at the child without blinking<br />
his eyes. He felt as if his eyes were being smeared with an ointment<br />
of nectar. The sight of the child calmed his entire body.<br />
The child lying on his cot appeared like the morning sun arisen<br />
within the room. He had a raised nose and a beautiful forehead.<br />
His arms were long and his chest was broad. His two lotus feet<br />
bore the signs of an exalted personality and defeated the beauty<br />
of the full moon.<br />
Upon seeing the child, Abhiräma became very happy. He<br />
went near his feet and offered obeisances three times. The Lord<br />
in the form of a sleeping child then woke up from His yoganidrä<br />
and began to smile. He began licking His feet just like<br />
an ordinary child. Abhiräma repeatedly offered his obeisances<br />
and then circumambulated the child. With great joy, he began<br />
to chant the holy names of Lord Hari. He played his flute and<br />
horn before the child and then came out from the room.<br />
Nityänanda Prabhu respectfully offered Abhiräma a place<br />
to sit. Abhiräma was decorated with a peacock feather and<br />
guïjä bead garland. He wore earrings shaped like fish and thin<br />
bangles on his wrists. He had a waistband with bells and anklets<br />
on his feet with bells. His complexion was the color of a ketaké<br />
flower and he was strongly built. He was the eternally perfect<br />
cowherd boy, Çrédäma, the son of King Våñabhänu, having now<br />
appeared as Abhiräma. He stayed at the house of the Lord for<br />
one night and then joyfully departed for other places.<br />
Vérabhadra Prabhu would often reveal Himself during His<br />
childhood pastimes, and thus He gave immense pleasure to<br />
Lord Nityänanda. Advaita Äcärya came from Çäntipura and,<br />
after seeing the child, carefully concluded: “A child born in the<br />
house of a thief will naturally be a thief. But, how to catch this<br />
thief?”<br />
Advaita Äcärya was naturally expert in speaking riddles.<br />
Only one He favors can understand His words. After circling<br />
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the child, Advaita Prabhu returned to Çäntipura. All the Vaiñëavas<br />
visited the child and then returned home.<br />
Véracandra Prabhu continually enjoyed His attractive childhood<br />
pastimes. How can I describe the sweetness of Véracandra’s<br />
beauty? Whoever saw Him continued staring at Him. He wore<br />
anklets on His feet and a tiger’s claw tied on a chain around his<br />
neck. What a wonderful combination of beauty and transcendental<br />
mellows the creator made!<br />
There is no difference between the pastimes of Véracandra<br />
and Gauracandra. Çré Caitanya Gosäi is the fountainhead of<br />
all incarnations. His brother, Nityänanda Prabhu, is but another<br />
body of Çré Caitanya. Lord Nityänanda constantly lamented<br />
in separation from Çré Caitanya. Very seldom did He<br />
regain His external awareness, and that too, He used only for<br />
discussing topics of Caitanya. He constantly meditated on<br />
Lord Caitanya with His body, mind, and speech. He always<br />
sang loudly the glories of Caitanya. He remained in Khaòadaha<br />
and sometimes He saw the Deity of Lord Çyämasundara<br />
as Gauräìga. Who can understand the glories of Nityänanda<br />
Prabhu?<br />
One day, Nityänanda Prabhu entered His temple room and<br />
disappeared. After some time, He reappeared and came out of<br />
the Deity room. He then took Vasudhä and Jähnavä and left<br />
Khaòadaha. From there He went to Ekacakra, where He saw<br />
Lord Bäìkä Räya. After staying at Ekacakra for a few days, the<br />
Lord entered the temple of Bäìkä Räya and merged within the<br />
Deity. All the Vaiñëavas became overwhelmed by separation<br />
from the Lord. Somehow or other their lives did not depart due<br />
to the presence of Véracandra.<br />
Véracandra Prabhu became very restless in separation from<br />
the Lord. He would sit alone, contemplating, “Now, what will I<br />
do? Where will I go? I am completely confused. The Lord disappeared,<br />
leaving Me alone. The Lord, the master of the fallen<br />
souls, has left us drowning in an ocean of separation.”<br />
All the devotees cried in lamentation and repeatedly fell<br />
unconscious. They constantly chanted the holy names of Lord<br />
Hari. “What is the use of our wealth, followers, and life? Lord<br />
Nityänanda has left us,” they lamented. They held their heads<br />
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and forcefully slapped their chests crying, “O Lord Hari! O Lord<br />
Nityänanda! You have left us.”<br />
The devotees cried and rolled in the dust. Hearing the news<br />
of the Lord’s disappearance, all the people of Nadia came to Ekacakra.<br />
They became terribly distressed, being unable to see Lord<br />
Nityänanda anymore. They also held their heads and cried. All<br />
the local devotees cried continuously. Everyone, including children,<br />
the elderly, women, and men cried in separation. However,<br />
the atheists laughed, thinking, “We will no longer have to see<br />
this Nityänanda.”<br />
Lord Nityänanda is the deliverer of the fallen souls. Never<br />
serve anyone other than Him. Only a most foolish person unaware<br />
of the glories of Nityänanda takes shelter of others. I consider<br />
such a person to be the most sinful person in this world.<br />
jaya nityänanda caitanyera priyatama<br />
tri jagate ära keha nähi tomä sama<br />
änanda kanda mahäprabhu premabhakti dätä<br />
ye sebaye sei bhakti päye ta sarvathä<br />
sarva jévera prabhu ! karilä prasäda<br />
kñemilä sakala mahä mahä aparädha<br />
çré kåñëa caitanya deva nityänanda näma<br />
påthivéra bhägya avatäri anüpäma<br />
All glories to Lord Nityänanda, the dearest associate<br />
of Çré Caitanya! No one is equal to You within the<br />
three worlds. You are the reservoir of transcendental<br />
bliss who bestows prema-bhakti for Mahäprabhu. Those<br />
who serve You achieve pure devotional service. O Lord,<br />
You delivered all the fallen souls, forgiving their grave<br />
offenses. Çré Kåñëa Caitanya and Çré Nityänanda are<br />
the two matchless Lords who appeared for the good fortune<br />
of this world.<br />
ära ki kahiba kathä bhägye avadhi<br />
çré caitanya nityänanda mahäguëanidhi<br />
abhimäna duranta tathi nä päi kåñëa rati<br />
ihä jäni nityänanda karaha bhakati<br />
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yähära prasäde pämara päila nistära<br />
hena prabhu näma häya hauka galära<br />
Who can describe the good fortune of the people of<br />
this world? Çré Caitanya and Çré Nityänanda, the oceans<br />
of transcendental qualities, have descended to this world.<br />
False ego makes people devoid of attachment to Çré<br />
Kåñëa. Knowing this, worship Lord Nityänanda. May<br />
the holy names of these Lords, whose mercy delivered all<br />
the fallen souls, be the garland around your neck.<br />
jaya jaya nityänanda premamaya dhäma<br />
çvabhäve parama çuddha nityänanda näma<br />
jagata täraëa hetu yäìra avatära<br />
ye jana nä bhaje sei päpera äkära<br />
çré kåñëa caitanya nityänanda eka deha<br />
ihäte niçcaya kari kara eka leha<br />
paränanda maya duhuì murati rasäla<br />
nitäi caitanya prabhu çréräma gopäla<br />
ihäte karaye bhinna ati buddhi héna<br />
ära nä dekhiye tära viñëubhakti cina<br />
All glories to Lord Nityänanda, the abode of love<br />
of God. The holy name of Nityänanda is naturally<br />
supremely pure. To save the entire universe, He descended<br />
to this world. Those not worshipping Him are<br />
surely piles of sin. Çré Kåñëa Caitanya and Nityänanda<br />
are one. Firmly believe this and take shelter of Them.<br />
Both Lords are full of transcendental bliss and devotional<br />
mellows. Lord Nityänanda and Lord Caitanya are<br />
Lord Balaräma and Lord Kåñëa. Those who reject this<br />
are certainly wretched fools. There is no hope for such<br />
fools to achieve devotional service to Kåñëa.<br />
jaya jaya çacé-süta änanda bihära<br />
patita pävana näma bidita yäìhära<br />
nija näma diyä jéva nistära karilä<br />
dena dayämaya prabhu bhajite närilä<br />
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The Birth of Véracandra Prabhu and Disappearance of Lord Nityänanda<br />
käya bäkyamane mora prabhura çaraëa<br />
mora sava patita nähika tribhuvana<br />
All glories to Çacé-suta, the enjoyer of transcendental<br />
pastimes! His name is well known as patita-pävana,<br />
savior of the fallen. The Lord delivered all beings, giving<br />
His own holy names. Unfortunate as I am, I did not<br />
worship such a merciful Lord. Now I take shelter of<br />
my Lord with body, mind, and speech. No one is more<br />
fallen than I in all the three worlds.<br />
jaya jaya gauracandra bhuvana sundara<br />
prakäçaha pada mora hådaya bhitara<br />
yata yata bihära karilä gauòadeçe<br />
sakala prakäça mora hauka biçeñe<br />
All glories to Gauracandra, the most enchanting<br />
personality in the world! O Lord, please reveal Your lotus<br />
feet within my heart. Let all Your pastimes in Bengal<br />
manifest within my heart.<br />
jaya jaya lakñmékänta tribhuvana nätha<br />
caraëe çaraëa mora hauka ekänta<br />
ära avatäre kahi nänäbidha dharma<br />
kevala kahila ebe premabhakti marma<br />
ihate yähära mati nahila änanda<br />
ähärei jäniha päpiñöha mahä andha<br />
All glories to the husband of the goddess of fortune,<br />
the Lord of the three worlds! Let me take shelter<br />
of Your lotus feet without deviation. In other incarnations,<br />
You gave various religious principles, but now<br />
You only prescribe loving devotional service. Anyone<br />
who is unhappy about this must be blinded by sinful<br />
reactions.<br />
I offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of all<br />
the Vaiñëavas so that they may overlook my offenses. Anyone<br />
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who wants to cross beyond the ocean of material existence and<br />
merge into the ocean of devotional service must worship the lotus<br />
feet of Nitäicandra. Çré Gaurasundara is the Lord of my Lord<br />
Nitäi. I always keep this firm conviction in my heart. Someone<br />
says Lord Nityänanda is Lord Balaräma, and someone says He is<br />
the dearest associate of Lord Caitanya. Some say He is the most<br />
influential personality, yet others are unable to know who He is.<br />
Whether Nityänanda is a renunciate or a learned devotee, let<br />
them say whatever they want. Let Lord Nityänanda be anyone<br />
to Lord Caitanya, still I keep His lotus feet within my heart.<br />
All glories to Lord Nityänanda, the life and soul of Çré Caitanya!<br />
Please allow me to take shelter of Your lotus feet. O Lord,<br />
let me sing the glories of Çré Gauräìga, following in Your footsteps.<br />
Let me also remain Your eternal servant, birth after birth.<br />
My only wish is to have the darçana of Lord Caitanya. Anyone<br />
who reads or hears about Your pastimes will receive the treasure<br />
of kåñëa-prema. They say that Your devotees are fully dependent<br />
upon You, and that You are the supremely independent<br />
Lord. There is no end to the Your pastimes. The Vedas describe<br />
them as being manifest and unmanifest.<br />
Accepting Çré Kåñëa Caitanya and Nityänanda Prabhu as<br />
my life and soul, I, Våndävana däsa, sing the glories of Their<br />
lotus feet.<br />
END OF ANTYA LILA<br />
Thus ends the book Çré Nityänanda-caritämåta, compiled<br />
from the writings of Çréla Våndävana däsa Öhäkura.<br />
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APPENDICES<br />
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Descriptions of the Associates of<br />
Lord Nityänanda<br />
brothers, please worship Lord Nityänanda. By His<br />
O mercy, one can attain the lotus feet of Lord Gauracandra.<br />
The associates of Nityänanda Svarüpa constantly swam in<br />
the ocean of transcendental bliss. They had no other activity<br />
besides performing näma-saìkértana. Always absorbed in the<br />
mood of cowherd boys, they decorated themselves with bangles,<br />
ankle bells, and garlands of guïjä beads. They carried sticks,<br />
flutes, horns, and ropes in their hands.<br />
Symptoms of kåñëa-prema, such as tears, shivering, and<br />
standing of the hair on end were constantly visible in their bodies.<br />
Their beauty defeated the beauty of Cupid. They always engaged<br />
in performing näma-saìkértana. Having received their<br />
fearless Lord Nityänanda, all the devotees remained in a most<br />
happy condition of life.<br />
I would be unable to describe the glories of the servants of<br />
Nityänanda Svarüpa, even in a hundred years. Still, I will at<br />
least attempt to mention their names. I know that remembering<br />
their names will deliver me from entanglement in this material<br />
world. All the associates of Lord Nityänanda with whom He<br />
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ÇRÉ NITYÄNANDA CARITÄMÅTA<br />
enjoyed His pastimes were incarnations of gopas and gopés of<br />
Vraja. Being forbidden by Nityänanda Svarüpa, I will not mention<br />
their previous names or many details of their activities. The<br />
foremost among Lord Nityänanda’s associates was Rämadäsa,<br />
who always spoke in the mood of the Supreme Lord. Nobody<br />
could understand his words. Lord Nityänanda always resided in<br />
his heart. Rämadäsa was fully absorbed in love of God. Lord<br />
Kåñëa once lived in his body for three months.<br />
Caitanya däsa 25 was a very famous associate of Nityänanda.<br />
Muräri Paëòita 26 was an associate of Nityänanda who sported<br />
with a serpent and a tiger. The most magnanimous Raghunätha<br />
Vaidya was an associate of Nityänanda, by whose desire one’s<br />
mind becomes attached to Lord Kåñëa.<br />
Gadädhara däsa 27 was a reservoir of devotional mellows. His<br />
very sight destroyed all of one’s sins.<br />
Çré Sundaränanda 28 was an ocean of devotional mellows<br />
and he was one of the principal associates of Nityänanda.<br />
Gaurédäsa Paëòita was a most fortunate devotee of the Lord. He<br />
assisted in Nityänanda’s pastimes with his body, mind, and speech.<br />
25 The identity of Caitanya däsa is unknown, but the book<br />
Prema-viläsa mentions the a Caitanya däsa who was a disciple of<br />
Jähnavä-devé, the consort of Nityänanda. He was a resident of Vanaviñëupura<br />
in the district of Baìkura.<br />
26 Muräri Paëòita was another name of Muräri Caitanya däsa.<br />
His glories are equal to those of Prahläda Mahäräja. Absorbed in<br />
prema, he once slapped the face of a tiger and on another occasion,<br />
played with a snake.<br />
27 Çréla Gadädhara däsa was the combined form of Candrakänti<br />
and Pürnänanda gopés of Vraja. His birthplace was at Ediyadaha.<br />
His samädhé is at Katwa, where Lord Caitanya took sannyäsa.<br />
28 Sundaränanda Öhäkura was the cowherd boy of Vraja named<br />
Sudäma. His birthplace was in the village of Halda Maheçpura in the<br />
district of Jessore in present-day Bangladesh. He made kadamba flowers<br />
appear from a blackberry tree.<br />
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Associates of Lord <strong>Nityananda</strong><br />
The pious Kåñëadäsa 29 of Baòagächi was one of the associates<br />
of Nityänanda with whom the Lord enjoyed pastimes at his<br />
house.<br />
Purandara Paëòita 30 was the most peaceful, humble, and intimate<br />
associate of Nityänanda Svarüpa.*<br />
Another associate of Nityänanda was Parameçvara däsa 31 ,<br />
whose life and soul was Nityänanda. Through his body, Lord<br />
Nityänanda enjoyed many pastimes.<br />
Dhanaïjaya Paëòita 32 , in whose heart the Lord constantly<br />
resided, was a great devotee of Lord Nityänanda .<br />
Balaräma däsa, who was intoxicated with bhakti-rasa, was<br />
a follower of Nityänanda Prabhu. If the breeze that touched<br />
Balaräma däsa touched someone, it would eradicate all of that<br />
person’s sins. Balaräma däsa lived in the village of Dogächiyä.<br />
His contribution to Vaiñëava song is unlimited.<br />
29 Kåñëadäsa was the son of Hari Hoòa, the King of Baòagächi.<br />
He was also known as Vihari Kåñëadäsa. He bore the entire expenditure<br />
of Lord Nityänanda’s marriage, and the arrangements for the<br />
marriage were made at his house.<br />
30 In his previous incarnation, Purandara Paëòita was Aìgada,<br />
the son of Bali. His birthplace was at Khaòadaha. After His marriage,<br />
Lord Nityänanda stayed in Purandara Paëòita’s home, so that at present,<br />
it is known as the house of Nityänanda.<br />
31 Parameçvara däsa was the cowherd boy of Vraja named Arjuna.<br />
His birthplace was in the village of Jada at Pura. He established<br />
the service of Çré Gopénätha in this village under the order of Çré<br />
Jähnavä-devé.<br />
32 Dhanaïjaya Paëòita was the cowherd boy of Vraja named<br />
Vasudäma. He was born in the village of Jaragräma. His father and<br />
mother were Çrépati and Kälindé and his wife was Haripriyä. After<br />
the disappearance of his parents, he inherited a huge fortune, but he<br />
renounced it, taking shelter of the lotus feet of Lord Nityänanda.<br />
He lived at various places, such as Kaicarapura, Jalaìgé and Çétalagräma.<br />
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ÇRÉ NITYÄNANDA CARITÄMÅTA<br />
Yädunätha Kavicandra was full of love of God. Lord Nityänanda<br />
was always merciful to him.<br />
The most effulgent Jagadéça Paëòita 33 was a devotee of Nityänanda.<br />
Lord Nityänanda was his and his family’s very life<br />
and wealth.<br />
Paëòita Puruçottama was born in Navadvépa. He was a great<br />
devotee of Nityänanda Svarüpa. Lord Nityänanda had previously<br />
resided at his house. By his mercy, one’s mind becomes<br />
fixed at the lotus feet of Nityänanda.<br />
Dvija Kåñëadäsa, who was born in Räòha-deça, was counted<br />
among the associates of Nityänanda.<br />
Käliya Kåñëadäsa 34 was a devotee famous throughout the three<br />
worlds. Remembering him, one attains Gauracandra’s lotus feet.<br />
The most fortunate Sadäçiva Kaviräja 35 was an associate of<br />
Nityänanda. The name of his son was Puruçottama däsa 36 . Due<br />
to love of God, Puruçottama däsa was always absorbed in ecstasy.<br />
Lord Nityänanda constantly remained within his heart.<br />
33 Jagadéça Paëòita was the famous dancer of Vraja named Candrahäsa.<br />
His birthplace was in Jessore. Maheça Paëòita was his younger<br />
brother. The two brothers came to Navadvépa to reside. Jagadéça’s<br />
wife, Duùkhiné-devé, was Gauräìga’s nurse. Jagadéça Paëòita brought<br />
a Deity of Jagannätha from Néläcala and installed Him at Jessore. Later,<br />
Mahäprabhu, out of affection for Duùkhiné-devé, came to Jessore<br />
and took the form of Gaura-gopäla. This Deity of Gaura-gopäla is still<br />
present there.<br />
34 In his previous incarnation, Käliya Kåñëadäsa was a friend of<br />
Kåñëa known as Lavaìga. He resided at the village of Akäihäöa. He<br />
was a companion of Çré Gauräìga when He visited South India.<br />
35 Sadäçiva Kaviräja was the gopé of Vraja named Candrävalé.<br />
He was born in the village of Bodhakhänä. His father’s name was<br />
Kaàsäri Sena, his son was Puruçottama däsa, and his grandson was<br />
Känu Öhäkura. All of them were the Lord’s associates in Vraja.<br />
36 Puruçottama däsa, the son of Sadäçiva Kaviräja, was a friend of<br />
the Lord in Vraja named Däma. He lived in the village of Sukhasägara.<br />
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Associates of Lord <strong>Nityananda</strong><br />
Uddhäraëa Datta was a magnanimous Vaiñëava. He had<br />
full authority in the service of Lord Nityänanda.<br />
Maheça Paëòita 37 was a great devotee of Nityänanda, and<br />
Paramänanda Upädhyäya was also an unalloyed Vaiñëava.<br />
Caturbhuja Paëòita 38 and Nandana Gaìgädäsa were both<br />
devotees of Lord Nityänanda. The Lord had previously performed<br />
His pastimes in their houses.<br />
Äcärya Vaiñëavänanda 39 was a magnanimous devotee. He<br />
was previously known as Raghunätha Puré.<br />
Kåñëa däsa and Devänanda were both staunch followers of<br />
Lord Nityänanda. Mahänta Äcärya Candra’s only goal was the<br />
lotus feet of Nityänanda.<br />
The singers Mädhavänanda Ghoña 40 and Vasudeva Ghoña<br />
were full of love of God.<br />
Jéva Paëòita 41 was the most fortunate devotee. Lord Nityänanda<br />
enjoyed numerous pastimes at his house. Çré Manohara,<br />
37 Maheça Paëòita was the cowherd boy of Vraja named<br />
Mahäbähu. He was born in the village of Pälapäòä.<br />
38 Caturbhuja was a resident of Navadvépa. He had three sons,<br />
named Nandana Äcärya, Gaìgädäsa and Viñëudäsa. Lord Caitanya,<br />
Lord Nityänanda and Advaita Äcärya stayed together at the house of<br />
Nandana Äcärya.<br />
39 In his previous incarnation, Äcärya Vaiñëavänanda was<br />
one of the eight mystic perfections known as laghimä. The famous<br />
Paramänanda Gupta was a follower of Nityänanda in whose house<br />
the Lord remained for some time.<br />
40 In his previous incarnation, Mädhavänanda Ghoña was a<br />
gopé of Vraja named Rasolläsä. His birthplace was Tamluka. Mädhava<br />
Ghoña, Govinda Ghoña and Väsu Ghoña were three brothers and favorite<br />
singers of the Lord. They wrote many Vaiñëava songs. Being<br />
satisfied by Mädhava Ghoña’s singing, the Lord blessed him with a<br />
sweet, melodious voice. Väsudeva Ghoña was the gopé of Vraja named<br />
Guëatuìgä. His place of worship is at Gauräìgapura.<br />
41 Çré Jéva Paëòita was Indirä gopé of Vraja. He was the son of<br />
Ratnagarbha Äcärya, the maternal uncle of Gauräìga.<br />
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ÇRÉ NITYÄNANDA CARITÄMÅTA<br />
Çré Näräyaëa, Çré Kåñëadäsa, and Çré Devänanda were also associates<br />
of Lord Nityänanda.<br />
I would be unable to disclose the names of all the innumerable<br />
servants of Lord Nityänanda even in one hundred years.<br />
Each of Lord Nityänanda’s servants had innumerable followers<br />
and, by the mercy of Lord Nityänanda, they were equal to their<br />
spiritual master. All of them were absorbed in the transcendental<br />
mellows of loving service to Çré Caitanya. Çré Caitanya and<br />
Nityänanda were their life and only treasure. I have only described<br />
the few associates of Lord Nityänanda I knew. More will<br />
be disclosed later by Vedavyäsa.<br />
The last servant of Lord Nityänanda was Våndävana däsa<br />
Öhäkura, who was the son of Näräyaëé, the recipient of Lord<br />
Caitanya’s mercy. Even today, Näräyaëé is accepted as the recipient<br />
of Lord Caitanya’s mercy among the Vaiñëavas who had received<br />
it. Take shelter of those devotees of the Lord, O brothers,<br />
and worship the most merciful Nityänanda and Çré Gauräìga.<br />
Accepting the lotus feet of Çré Caitanya and Nityänanda<br />
Prabhu as my life and soul, I, Våndävana däsa, sing the glories<br />
of Their lotus feet.<br />
A Song by Çréla Våndävana däsa Öhäkura<br />
mana nityänanda bali òäka<br />
emana dayäla prabhu ära nä päibe kabhu<br />
hådaya kamale kari räkha<br />
kiba se madura lélä naöana kértana kalä<br />
atéba gambhéra avatära<br />
äpanära gupudhane äni martte kari däne<br />
träëa kaila e tina saàsära<br />
paraça maëira guëe tuccha läge mora mane<br />
lei paraçile hema kare<br />
nitäi caitanya guëe gäna kare katajane<br />
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Associates of Lord <strong>Nityananda</strong><br />
ratana haila ghare ghare<br />
ämode baliyä hari näma saìkértana kari<br />
premäbeçe paòe loöäiyä<br />
kahe våndävana däsa emata karilä äça<br />
banchita rahinu abhägiyä<br />
O my mind, please chant the name of Nityänanda.<br />
You will never get such a merciful Lord again.<br />
Keep Him within the lotus of your heart.<br />
His sweet pastimes of chanting and dancing are<br />
wonderful.<br />
He is the most merciful avatära.<br />
He distributed His hidden treasure to everyone.<br />
He thus delivered the three worlds.<br />
The touchstone’s quality of turning iron into gold<br />
seems insignificant to me.<br />
But many persons glorify the qualities of Nitäi-<br />
Caitanya. They made jewels in every house.<br />
I happily perform hari-näma-saìkértana.<br />
I roll on the ground in ecstatic prema.<br />
Våndävana däsa says, “I desire the lotus feet of<br />
Nitäi-Caitanya, because I am the most unfortunate.”<br />
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Prayers to Lord Nityänanda<br />
All Translations Adapted from Lectures of<br />
Çréla Gour Govinda Svämé<br />
Çré-Nityänandäñöaka<br />
Eight Prayers Glorifying Lord Nityänanda<br />
by Çréla Våndävana däsa Öhäkura<br />
TEXT 1<br />
sarac-candra-bhräntià sphurad-amala-käntià gaja-gatià<br />
hari-premonmattaà dhåta-parama-sattvaà smita-mukham<br />
sadäghürëan-netraà kara-kalita-vetraà kali-bhidaà<br />
bhaje nityänandaà bhajana-taru-kandaà niravadhi<br />
Çré Nityänanda Prabhu’s face is more beautiful and<br />
cooling than the autumnal moon. The effulgence emanating<br />
from His body is supremely beautiful. He always<br />
moves like a maddened elephant, since He is always<br />
intoxicated with kåñëa-prema. He is always mad after<br />
kåñëa-prema. His body is completely composed of pure<br />
spiritual energy. He always has a smiling face. His eyes<br />
are very fickle, moving to and fro. His lotus hand always<br />
holds a glowing staff. Yes, that is Çré Nityänanda,<br />
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ÇRÉ NITYÄNANDA CARITÄMÅTA<br />
who, by the beating of that staff, destroys all our reactions<br />
of Kali-yuga. We should take shelter of Çré Nityänanda<br />
and cry for the mercy of Çré Nityänanda! He<br />
is the root of kåñëa-prema bhakti-kalpa-taru, the root<br />
of the tree of loving devotion unto Kåñëa. I perform<br />
my bhajana of Lord Nityänanda, the very root of the<br />
kåñëa-bhakti-vrkña.<br />
TEXT 2<br />
rasänäm ägäraà svajana-gaëa-sarvasvam atulaà<br />
tadéyaika-präëa-pramita-vasudhä-jähnava-patim<br />
sadä-premonmädaà param aviditaà manda-manasäm<br />
bhaje nityänandaà bhajana-taru-kandaà niravadhi<br />
Çré Nityänanda Prabhu is the reservoir of all transcendental<br />
mellows. He is the life and soul of all the<br />
devotees. Nobody can be compared to Him in all the<br />
three planetary systems. He is very dear to one and<br />
all. He is the beloved husband of Çré Vasudhä and Çré<br />
Jähnavä. He is always in an ecstatic mood of love and<br />
always maddened and intoxicated with that mellow of<br />
love, kåñëa-prema. He is unknown to crooked and evilminded<br />
persons. I perform my bhajana of Lord Nityänanda,<br />
the very root of the kåñëa-bhakti-vrkña.<br />
TEXT 3<br />
çacé-sünu-preñöhaà nikhila-jagad-iñöaà sukha-mayaà<br />
kalau majjaj-jivoddharaëa-karaëoddäma-karuëam<br />
harer äkhyänäd vä bhava-jaladhi-garvonnati-haraà<br />
bhaje nityänandaà bhajana-taru-kandaà niravadhi<br />
Lord Nityänanda is very dear to Çréman Gauräìga<br />
Mahäprabhu. He always does good to the whole universe.<br />
He is always supremely blissful. He is the embodiment<br />
of supreme happiness and blissfulness. He<br />
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Prayers to Lord <strong>Nityananda</strong><br />
comes to this material world in this Kali-yuga to deliver<br />
sinful persons. There is no limit to His mercy. He constantly<br />
performs näma-saìkértana, destroying the pride<br />
of this dreadful ocean of material existence. I perform<br />
my bhajana of Lord Nityänanda, the very root of the<br />
kåñëa-bhakti-vrkña.<br />
TEXT 4<br />
aye bhrätar néëäà kali-kaluñiëäà kià nu bhavitä<br />
tathä präyaçcittaà racaya yad-anäyäsata ime<br />
vrajanti tväm itthaà saha bhagavatä mantrayati yo<br />
bhaje nityänandaà bhajana-taru-kandaà niravadhi<br />
Lord Nityänanda tells Çréman Gauräìga Mahäprabhu:<br />
“O brother, what will happen to those most distressed<br />
and fallen jévas of Kaliyuga? What will happen<br />
to them unless You shower Your mercy upon them?<br />
Please show them a way for their deliverance by which<br />
they can approach and obtain Your lotus feet.” He always<br />
talks to Çréman Mahäprabhu like this. I perform<br />
my bhajana of Lord Nityänanda, the very root of the<br />
kåñëa-bhakti-vrkña.<br />
TEXT 5<br />
yatheñöhaà re bhrätaù kuru hari-hari-dhvänam aniçaà<br />
tato vaù saàsärämbudhi-taraëa-däyo mayi laget<br />
idaà bähu-sphoöair aöati raöayan yaù pratigåham<br />
bhaje nityänandaà bhajana-taru-kandaà niravadhi<br />
Lord Nityänanda goes to every doorstep and requests<br />
everyone with folded hands: “My dear brothers,<br />
all of you engage yourselves in the chanting of hari-näma.<br />
If you do this and follow My instruction, I promise that<br />
you will very easily cross over this dreadful ocean of<br />
material existence.” I perform my bhajana of Lord Nityänanda,<br />
the very root of the kåñëa-bhakti-vrkña.<br />
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ÇRÉ NITYÄNANDA CARITÄMÅTA<br />
TEXT 6<br />
balät saàsärämbhonidhi-harana-kumbhodbhavam aho<br />
satäà çreyaù-sindhünnati-kumuda-bandhuà samuditaà<br />
khala-çreëé-sphürjit-timira-hara-sürya-prabham ahaà<br />
bhaje nityänandaà bhajana-taru-kandaà niravadhi<br />
Like Agastya Muné, who by drinking a handful of<br />
water made all the oceans dry up, He forcibly swallows<br />
the ocean of repeated birth and death. He arose like a<br />
moon to swell up the ocean of mercy for the welfare of<br />
the jévas. He very easily destroys the sinful reactions of<br />
the most sinful and degraded persons. He is very dear to<br />
the devotees. He is always busy doing good to the devotees.<br />
He is like the sun that dispels the darkness of the<br />
ignorant fools that descended by their sinful activities. I<br />
perform my bhajana of Lord Nityänanda, the very root<br />
of the kåñëa-bhakti-vrkña.<br />
TEXT 7<br />
naöantaà gäyantaà harim anuvadantaà pathi pathi<br />
vrajantaà paçyantaà svam api na dayantaà jana-gaëam<br />
prakurvantaà santaà sa-karuëa-dåg-antaà prakalanäd<br />
bhaje nityänandaà bhajana-taru-kandaà niravadhi<br />
He is always dancing and chanting, “Haribol! Haribol!”<br />
Uttering the name of Hari, He always engages in<br />
hari-näma-saìkértana. He always wanders on the streets<br />
of every city, town, and village, casting His merciful<br />
glance over His dear devotees. I perform my bhajana<br />
of Lord Nityänanda, the very root of the kåñëa-bhaktivrkña.<br />
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Prayers to Lord <strong>Nityananda</strong><br />
TEXT 8<br />
su-bibhräëaà bhrätuù kara-sarasijaà komalataraà<br />
mitho vakträlokocchalita-paramänanda-hådayam<br />
bhramantaà mädhuryair ahaha madayantaà pura-janän<br />
bhaje nityänandaà bhajana-taru-kandaà niravadhi<br />
He moves with Çré Gauräìga Mahäprabhu, holding<br />
His very soft lotus-like palm. He always looks at<br />
the moon-like beautiful face of Çré Gauräcandra and<br />
becomes ecstatic and blissful. And Çréman Gauräìga<br />
Mahäprabhu also looks at the moon-like, beautiful face<br />
of Çré Nitäi. In this way, the two of Them are completely<br />
filled with blissfulness. He always makes all<br />
the inhabitants of the towns and cities where He goes<br />
mad with the intoxication of His beauty. I perform my<br />
bhajana of Lord Nityänanda, the very root of the kåñëabhakti-vrkña.<br />
TEXT 9<br />
rasänäà ädhäraà rasika-vara-sad-vaiñëava-dhanaà<br />
rasägäraà säraà patita-tati-täraà smaraëataù<br />
paraà nityänandäñöakam idam apürvaà pathati yaù<br />
tad-aìghri-dvandväbjaà sphuratu nitaräà tasya hådaye<br />
Çréla Våndävana däsa Öhäkura says, “Whoever<br />
reads and recites with firm faith this Çré Nityänandäñöakam<br />
will have the lotus feet of Çré Nityänanda Prabhu<br />
soon revealed to him. These eight verses are the<br />
essence of bhakti-rasa. They are the life and soul of all<br />
rasika-bhaktas and the reservoir of all mellows. Lord<br />
Nityänanda is the essence of the universe, the three<br />
planetary systems, and by His remembrance, the sinful<br />
reactions of all sinful persons are destroyed.”<br />
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ÇRÉ NITYÄNANDA CARITÄMÅTA<br />
Nitäi Amar Dayar Avadhi<br />
My Most Merciful Nitäi<br />
By Çréla Våndävana däsa Öhäkura<br />
äre bhäi! nitäi amar doyära avadhi!<br />
jivere karuëä kori,’ deçe deçe phiri’ phiri’<br />
prema-dhana jäche nirabadhi<br />
advaitera saìge raìga, dharäëe nä jäya aìga,<br />
gorä-preme gadä tanu khäni<br />
òhuliya òhuliya chale, bähu tuli’ hari bole,<br />
du-nayane bahe nitäiera päni<br />
kapäle tilaka çobhe, kutila-kuntala-lole<br />
guïjarä äìöuni chüòa täya<br />
keçarijiniyä kaöi, kaöi taöe néladhati<br />
bäjana nüpura ränga päya<br />
bhubana-mohana beça! majäila sava deça!<br />
rasä beçe aööa aööa häsa!<br />
prabhu mora nityänanda kevala änanda-kanda<br />
guëa gäya våndävana däsa<br />
TRANSLATION<br />
1. O Brothers! My Nitäi’s mercy is limitless. He<br />
wanders, village-to-village, giving prema-dhana to one<br />
and all.<br />
2. He always jokes with Çré Advaita Äcärya. His<br />
entire body is made of love for Gauräìga Mahäprabhu.<br />
He is always intoxicated with prema-rasa. An intoxicated<br />
person is unable to walk properly. How does He<br />
walk? Like this: òhuliyä òhuliyä chale. Raising His arms<br />
and saying, “Haribol! Haribol! Haribol!” and shedding<br />
tears from His two lotus eyes.<br />
3. Nice tilaka and curly locks beautifully decorate<br />
His forehead. His hair is bound with red guìjä. A blue<br />
belt encircles His lion-like waist. His feet appear reddish.<br />
He wears nupura on his reddish feet that always<br />
make a tinkling, tinkling sound.<br />
4. His beauty enchants the entire world. Always<br />
absorbed in prema-rasa, He smiles and laughs! Aööa aööa<br />
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Prayers to Lord <strong>Nityananda</strong><br />
häsa! Våndävana däsa sings. “Lord Nityänanda is my<br />
Prabhu. He is full of nothing but pleasure.”<br />
Nitäi Guna-Mani Ämara<br />
My Lord Nitäi is the Jewel Mine<br />
of All Transcendental Qualities<br />
By Çréla Locana däsa Öhäkura<br />
nitäi guëa-maëi ämara, nitäi guëa-maëi<br />
äniya premera banyä bhäsäilo avané<br />
premera banyä loiyä nitäi äilä gauòa-deçe<br />
òubilo bhakata-gaëa déna héna bhäse<br />
déna héna patita pämara nähi bächhe<br />
brahmära durlabha prema sabäkäre jäche<br />
äbaddha karuëä-sindhu katiyä muhäna<br />
ghare ghare bule prema-amiyära bäna<br />
lochan bole hena nitäi jebä na bhajilo<br />
jäniya çuniya sei ätma-ghäté hoilo<br />
TRANSLATION<br />
It is said that Çréla Nityänanda Prabhu is more<br />
merciful, more magnanimous, more munificent than<br />
Çrémän Gauräìga Mahäprabhu.<br />
1. My Nitäi is the jewel mine of transcendental<br />
qualities, the jewel mine of transcendental qualities.<br />
Bringing the flood of prema, He inundated the earth.<br />
2. Çré Nitai came to Gauòa-deça with a flood of<br />
kåñëa-prema. Òubilo bhakata-gaëa déna héna bhäse,<br />
those who are bhaktas drowned in that flood, premera<br />
banya, but the déna héna, the fallen souls and those who<br />
were unfortunate, floated on the surface!<br />
3. Lord Nityänanda Prabhu offers this pure love<br />
of Godhead, pure love of Kåñëa, indiscriminately. He<br />
distributes this prema with two hands! He never discriminates<br />
whether one is patita, most degraded or fallen,<br />
or one is pämara, most elevated, or whether one is<br />
qualified or not qualified. He never discriminates. Even<br />
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ÇRÉ NITYÄNANDA CARITÄMÅTA<br />
though it is very difficult for Brahmä to get such prema,<br />
Çré Nitäi gives it indiscriminately.<br />
4. That prema is karuëä-sindhu—like an ocean of<br />
mercy. Nitäi broke down the strong embankment of the<br />
ocean of love. He completely devastated that dam! That<br />
ocean of love is unlimited, and so there was a torrential<br />
flooding that inundated every home. Indeed, that flood<br />
of love inundated the entire world!<br />
5. Locana däsa says, “He is an unfortunate fellow<br />
who does not take shelter of Nitäi and does not perform<br />
the bhajana of Çré Nityänanda Prabhu, begging for the<br />
mercy of Çré Nitäi. He willingly commits suicide.<br />
Çré Nagar Kértana<br />
The Marketplace of the Holy Name<br />
By Çréla Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura<br />
nadéyä-godrume nityänanda mahäjana<br />
pätiyäche näm-haööa jévera käraëa<br />
(çraddhävän jana he, çraddhävän jana he)<br />
prabhura äjïäy, bhäi, mägi ei bhikñä<br />
bolo kåñëa, bhajo kåñëa, koro kåñëa-çikñä<br />
aparädha-çunya ho ’ye leha kåñëa-näma<br />
kåñëa mätä, kåñëa pitä, kåñëa dhana-präëa<br />
kåñëera saàsära koro chäòi anäcära<br />
jéve doya, kåñëa-näma-sarva-dharma-sära<br />
TRANSLATION<br />
1. Nityänanda Mahäjana so mercifully opened a<br />
marketplace in Godruma, Nadia, for the welfare of the<br />
suffering souls. In that marketplace only the holy name<br />
is traded.<br />
2. What is the price? çraddhäväna jana he! çraddhäväna<br />
jana he! Those who have faith in the holy<br />
name and faith in the words of sädhu, çästra and guru.<br />
This is the price! Faith! Only those persons are allowed<br />
to enter that marketplace. They can buy and sell the<br />
holy name. Çré Nityänanda Prabhu requests faithful<br />
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Prayers to Lord <strong>Nityananda</strong><br />
persons, those who have developed faith in the holy<br />
name, to come and take it! Çré Nityänanda Prabhu says,<br />
“This is the order of My Lord! My prabhu! My master!<br />
Therefore, I have come to your doorstep, O brother!<br />
I am a beggar! I beg for these alms. ‘Utter the name<br />
of Kåñëa! Perform kåñëa-bhajana! Accept what Kåñëa<br />
has taught us!’ These are the alms I am begging from<br />
you.”<br />
3. Chant this holy name without offense. Chant the<br />
pure name of Çré Kåñëa. Çré Kåñëa is mother, Çré Kåñëa<br />
is father, Çré Kåñëa is wealth and asset. Çré Kåñëa is the<br />
Lord of my heart, Çré Kåñëa is my life and soul, Kåñëa<br />
is everything.<br />
4. Give up all your bad dealings, habits, and behavior<br />
and enter into kåñëa-saàsära. The only relationship<br />
is with Çré Kåñëa and so establish yourself in that relationship.<br />
Shower mercy on all the jévas, seeing them<br />
as Çré Kåñëa’s, and completely surrender unto the holy<br />
name of Çré Kåñëa. This is the essence of all dharma.<br />
Madhur E Harinäm<br />
This Holy Name is So Sweet<br />
By Çréla Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura<br />
Refrain:<br />
hare krsna hare<br />
nitäi ki näm eneche re<br />
(nitäi) näm eneche, nämer häte<br />
çraddhä-mülye näm diteche re<br />
hare kåñëa hare kåñëa kåñëa kåñëa hare hare re<br />
hare räma hare räma räma räma hare hare re<br />
(nitäi) jéver daça malina dekhe’,<br />
näm eneche braja theke re<br />
e näm çiva jape païca-mukhe re<br />
(madhur e harinäm)<br />
e näm brahmä jape catur-mukhe re<br />
(madhur e harinäm)<br />
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ÇRÉ NITYÄNANDA CARITÄMÅTA<br />
e näm närada jape béëä-jantre re<br />
(madhur e harinäm)<br />
e näm äbase ajämilo vaikuëöhe gelo re<br />
e näm bolte bolte braje calo re<br />
(bhaktivinoda bole)<br />
PURPORT<br />
Çré Çré Gaura-Nitäi are so wonderfully merciful. They brought<br />
this hari-näma from Goloka-Våndävana. Golokera prema-dhana<br />
hari-näma saìkértana. It does not belong to this material world.<br />
Çré Çré Gaura-Nitäi brought it here because they are so wonderfully<br />
merciful. Who is the custodian of näma-haööa? Çré Nitäi!<br />
Näma-haööa means “marketplace.” A marketplace where the<br />
name is sold and purchased. What is the price? The price is unflinching<br />
faith. He who has strong faith, unflinching faith in<br />
the holy name and faith in the words of sädhu, çastra, Çré Guru<br />
and Çré Kåñëa—only he can purchase it. The market is always,<br />
eternally open.<br />
hare kåñëa hare kåñëa kåñëa kåñëa hare hare re<br />
hare räma hare räma åäma räma hare hare re<br />
Çré Nitäi is more merciful than Çrémän Gauräìga Mahäprabhu.<br />
Çré Gaurasundara is wonderfully merciful. Çré Nitäi is more<br />
merciful than Çré Gaurasundara. Çré Nitäi is so merciful, He saw<br />
that the jévas have been suffering here, drowning in this ocean of<br />
materialistic existence from time immemorial. His heart bleeds,<br />
so Çré Nitai felt love, affection and compassion for them. He became<br />
sympathetic toward the suffering souls, so He brought the<br />
holy name from Çré Vrajabhümi for the people of Kali-yuga. Lord<br />
Çivajé with His five faces chants this madhura e harinäm; this<br />
so-sweet harinäm! Lord Brahmä chants this Çré-näma with His<br />
four faces, because it is so sweet! Çré Närada Muni sings this holy<br />
name with his stringed instrument:<br />
hare kåñëa hare kåñëa kåñëa kåñëa hare hare<br />
hare räma hare räma räma räma hare hare<br />
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Prayers to Lord <strong>Nityananda</strong><br />
All are chanting because it is so sweet! Çréla Bhaktivinoda<br />
Öhäkura says, “By only obtaining the nämäbhäsa stage, Ajämila,<br />
a greatly sinful person, was delivered. All his sinful reactions<br />
were destroyed and at last he went to Vaikuëöha!” So Çréla<br />
Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura says, “Just chant this name, utter this<br />
holy name and go to Çré Vrajabhumi.”<br />
Akrodha Paramänanda Nityänanda Räya<br />
Çré Nityänanda Prabhu Never Gets Angry<br />
By Çréla Locana däsa Öhäkura<br />
akrodha paramänanda nityänanda räya<br />
abhimäna çünya nitäi nagare beòäya<br />
adhama patita jévera dväre giyä<br />
harinäma mahä mantra dena biläiya<br />
järe dekhe täre kahe dante tåëa dhori’<br />
ämäre kiniyä laha bhaja gaurahari<br />
eta boli’ nityänanda bhüme gadi jäya<br />
sonära parvata jena dhüläte loöäya<br />
hena avatäre jära rati nä janmilo<br />
locana bole sei päpé elo ära gelo<br />
TRANSLATION<br />
1. Lord Nityänanda Räya never gets angry. He is<br />
always in the ecstasy of supreme bliss. He has no false<br />
ego. He wanders to every town and village in Nadia,<br />
chanting Hare Kåñëa, dancing, and offering kåñëaprema<br />
indiscriminately to everyone.<br />
2. Çré Nitäi goes to every doorstep and knocks on<br />
the door, “Tap! Tap!Tap!” He goes to those who are<br />
very much distressed, degraded, and fallen. He goes<br />
to them and gives them kåñëa-prema. He says, “Please<br />
Chant! Please Chant!”<br />
hare kåñëa hare kåñëa kåñëa kåñëa hare hare<br />
hare räma hare räma räma räma hare hare<br />
If they do not chant and shut the door, then He<br />
rolls there on the ground and cries!<br />
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ÇRÉ NITYÄNANDA CARITÄMÅTA<br />
3. Whoever He meets, catching a straw between<br />
His teeth, He begs, “O Brothers! Please perform the<br />
bhajana of Çré Gaurahari and purchase Me, purchase<br />
Me, purchase Me.”<br />
4. Saying this, Lord Nityänanda rolls on the ground<br />
in the dust, cries, and sheds tears, looking like a mountain<br />
of gold rolling on the ground.<br />
5. Such a merciful incarnation is Lord Nityänanda!<br />
If someone does not develop love for such an incarnation<br />
as Çré Nityänanda Räma, Locana däsa says, “Such<br />
a sinful person wastes his life, remaining in the cycle of<br />
birth and death. He cannot be delivered.”<br />
Doya Koro More Nitäi<br />
My Dear Lord Nitäi! Please Be Merciful to Me!<br />
By Çré1a Kanu Rämadäsa Öhäkura<br />
doyä koro more nitäi, doyä koro more<br />
agatira gati nitäi sädhu loke bole<br />
jaya prema bhakti dätä-patäkä tomära<br />
uttama adhama kichhu nä kailä bichära<br />
prema däne jagajanera mana kailä sukhé<br />
tumi hena doyära öhäkura ämi kene dukhé<br />
känu räma däsa bole ki boliba ämi<br />
e baòa bharasä more kulera öhäkura tumi<br />
TRANSLATION<br />
1. O my Nitäi, please shower your mercy upon me.<br />
All sädhus say, “You are so merciful, You give the right<br />
destination to the fallen souls.”<br />
2. Lord Nityänanda has a flag. That flag gives prema-bhakti.<br />
He never discriminates whether one is uttama<br />
or adhama, most elevated or most degraded. He<br />
gives prema-bhakti to one and all.<br />
3. Çré Nityänanda Prabhu gives prema to everyone<br />
and thus makes the whole world happy. You are such a<br />
merciful Öhäkura, then why am I so unhappy?<br />
4. Kanu Rämadäsa says, “What more shall I say? O<br />
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Prayers to Lord <strong>Nityananda</strong><br />
Lord Nityänanda, You are the Lord of our paramparä;<br />
so this is a great hope for me, that You are such a merciful<br />
Lord.”<br />
Nitäi-Pada-Kamala<br />
The Lotus Feet of Lord Nityänanda<br />
By Çréla Narottama däsa Öhäkura.<br />
nitäi-päda-kamala, koöi-candra-suçétala,<br />
je chäyäy jagata juräy<br />
heno nitäi bine bhäi, rädhä-kåñëa päite näi,<br />
dåòha kori’ dharo nitäir päy<br />
se sambandha nähi jä’r, båthä janma gelo tä’r,<br />
se paçu boòo duräcära<br />
nitäi nä bolilo mukhe, majilo saàsära-sukhe,<br />
vidyä-kule ki koribe tära<br />
ahaìkare matta hoiyä, nitäi-päda päsariyä,<br />
asatyere satya kori mäni<br />
nitäiyer karuna habe, braje rädhä-kåñëa päbe,<br />
dharo nitäi-caraëa du’khäni<br />
nitäiyer caraëa satya, täìhära sevaka nitya,<br />
nitäi-pada sadä koro äça<br />
narottama boòo dukhé, nitäi more koro sukhé,<br />
räkho räìga-caraëera päça<br />
TRANSLATION<br />
1. The lotus feet of Çré Nityänanda are as cooling<br />
as millions of moons. The entire universe attains peace<br />
by the shade of those lotus feet. Without the mercy of<br />
Çré Nityänanda, nobody can attain Rädhä and Kåñëa,<br />
the aim of human life. Therefore, catch hold of the two<br />
lotus feet of Çré Nityänanda Prabhu very tightly.<br />
2. One who has not established a relationship with<br />
Çré Nityänanda is a two-legged animal. A great beast!<br />
His whole life is spoiled. He cannot be called a human<br />
being. He never utters the name of Çré Nityänanda. He<br />
is forever immersed in enjoying material happiness and<br />
has forgotten Çré Nitäi. He may have acquired great<br />
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ÇRÉ NITYÄNANDA CARITÄMÅTA<br />
material scholarship and learning, but what is the value<br />
of such an education? This will never help him.<br />
3. They are so puffed-up with their mundane education<br />
and scholarship. They are never humble at all.<br />
They have forgotten the lotus feet of Çré Nitäi because<br />
of their false ego and pride. They are completely under<br />
the clutches of mäyä. They accept the untruth as truth.<br />
If Çré Nityänanda showers His mercy upon someone,<br />
he will attain Çré Çré Rädhä-Kåñëa in Vrajabhümi. So<br />
catch hold of the two lotus feet of Lord Nityänanda<br />
very tightly.<br />
4. The lotus feet of Çré Nityänanda are eternally<br />
true and the followers or servants of those lotus feet<br />
of Çré Nityänanda are also eternal. Always aspire for<br />
the lotus feet of Çré Nityänanda. Çréla Narottama däsa<br />
Öhäkura says, “I am a very distressed and unhappy person,<br />
drowning in this dreadful ocean of material existence.<br />
O Çré Nityänanda Prabhu, please make me very<br />
happy! Please keep me at Your lotus feet.”<br />
Dalalera Gita<br />
By Çréla Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura<br />
1) boro çukher khabor gai<br />
suräbhi-kunjete namera haööa khule’che (khoòa nitäi)<br />
2) boro mojara kotha taya<br />
çräddha-mulye çuddha-näma sei hatete bikaya<br />
3) jata bhakta-bånda basi’<br />
adhikari dekhe’ näma becche daro käçi<br />
4) jadi näma kinbe, bhäi<br />
ämära sange calo, mahäjanera kache jai<br />
5) tumi kinbe kåñëa-näma<br />
dasturi loibo ämi, pürna ha’be käma<br />
6) boro dayäla nityänanda<br />
çräddha-mätra lo’ye den parama-änanda<br />
7) ek-bar dekhle cakhe jala<br />
‘gaura’ bole’ nitäi den sakala sambäla<br />
8) den çuddha kåñëa-sikña<br />
jäti, dhäna, bidyä, bala na kore apekha<br />
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9) amani chare mäyä-jäla<br />
gåhe thako, vane thako, na thake janjäl<br />
10) ära naiko kalir bhoy<br />
acandale den näma, nitäi doya-moya<br />
11) bhaktivinoda daki’ koy<br />
nitäi-caraëa binä ära nahi açraya<br />
TRANSLATION:<br />
1. I sing news of happy and holy tidings. Nitäi has<br />
opened a marketplace of the holy name in Surabhi-kuïja.<br />
2. He is selling the pure holy name in that marketplace<br />
for the price of only one’s faith.<br />
3. Lord Nityänanda, seeing all the devotees becoming<br />
attracted, is bargaining with them and selling them<br />
the holy name.<br />
4. O brother, if you want the holy name then come<br />
with me. Come to that great soul, Nityänanda.<br />
5. You will get the name of Kåñëa. I will take my<br />
commission, and all of our desires will be fulfilled.<br />
6. Lord Nityänanda is very merciful. Taking only<br />
one’s faith, He gives the highest ecstasy.<br />
7. If He sees only once tears in the eyes while chanting<br />
the name, Gaura, then He gives everything to that<br />
person.<br />
8. He gives the pure teachings of Kåñëa to everyone,<br />
not caring for their birth, wealth, knowledge, or<br />
strength.<br />
9. Now, giving up the illusory snare of mäyä, either<br />
remain in household life or in the forest as a sannyäsé,<br />
and no more troubles will remain.<br />
10. There is no more fear of the age of Kali. The<br />
merciful Nitäi gives the holy name to even caëòälas.<br />
11. Bhaktivinoda calls out, “Except for the lotus<br />
feet of Lord Nityänanda, there is no other shelter!”<br />
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Lord Nityänanda Prabhu’s<br />
Appearance Day Lecture<br />
By His Divine Grace<br />
A. C. Bhaktivedänta Swamé Prabhupäda<br />
Bhubaneswar, Orrisa on February 2, 1977<br />
Nityänanda Prabhu is Baladeva, Baladeva-tattva.<br />
vrajendra-nandana yei, çacé-suta haila sei,<br />
balaräma haila nitäi<br />
“Who was formerly the son of Nanda Mahäräja, He has appeared<br />
as the son of Çacé-devé.” Caitanya Mahäprabhu’s mother’s<br />
name was Çacé-devé. Kåñëa is Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu, and<br />
Balaräma is Nityänanda Prabhu.<br />
In the Vedic literature it is said, näyam ätmä bala-hénena<br />
labhyaù na bahunä çrutena. bala means strength. Sometimes<br />
some rascal philosophers take it that bala means bodily strength.<br />
They propagate this philosophy that unless you are bodily stout<br />
and strong, you cannot achieve spiritual salvation. You must be<br />
very strong and stout and eat meat and fight, and then you’ll get<br />
next spiritual birth. No. This bala, strength, is different. This is<br />
spiritual strength.<br />
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ÇRÉ NITYÄNANDA CARITÄMÅTA<br />
The difficulty of the present situation is that, actually, we<br />
are moving on account of spiritual strength, but they have no<br />
information of the spiritual strength. They are thinking of material<br />
strength. That is expressed here, that,<br />
ahaìkäre matta hoiyä, nitäi-pada päsariyä,<br />
asatyere satya kori mäni<br />
This is due to ahaìkära. Ahaìkära-vimüòhätmä kartäham iti<br />
manyate (BG. 3.27). Those who are vimüòha, especially rascal,<br />
müòha, rascals, and vi means viçeña, viçeñanam, particularly. Ahankara-vimudhätmä.<br />
The same thing which is spoken in the Bhagavad-gétä,<br />
Narottama däsa Öhäkura says the same thing in a plain<br />
Bengali language. ahaìkäre matta haiyä, nitäi-pada. By the spell<br />
of mäyä—ahaìkära-vimüòhätmä kartäham iti manyate— they<br />
are thinking that, “We are independent. We can do whatever we<br />
like.” This is called ahaìkära-vimüòhätmä. Under false pretext,<br />
false prestige, everyone is thinking that, “We are independent. We<br />
can find out the solution of the problems of life by material adjustment,”<br />
so on, so on. So that is our material disease.<br />
Ahaìkära-vimüòhätmä. Bewildered, they do not understand<br />
that the real strength is spiritual strength. We see daily<br />
a very strong man, a very powerful man, a man with very good<br />
brain, a very good scientist and so on. So what is the strength?<br />
The strength is ätmä. As soon as the ätmä, or the soul, goes<br />
out of the body; the so-called intelligent, strength, and so many<br />
things, become nothing. That is the difference between dead<br />
man and the living man. A living man is very powerful, very<br />
good position, everything. As soon as he dies, he is lying down<br />
on the floor, and if you kick him on his face, he’ll not protest.<br />
So where is that strength? The strength is gone. That is spiritual<br />
strength. On the spiritual strength, the body moves. Suppose<br />
you have got a very good car, Mercedes car or Rolls Royce car,<br />
but when there is no petrol, how the car will move? It is not possible.<br />
There is spirit, petrol spirit. Similarly, real strength is spiritual<br />
strength. That spiritual strength is Balaräma. Bala means<br />
strength. Therefore we have to take shelter of the lotus feet of<br />
Balaräma, guru-tattva.<br />
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Lord Nityänanda Prabhu’s Appearance Day Lecture<br />
Balaräma means guru-tattva. Balaräma represents guru.<br />
Yasya prasädäd bhagavat-prasädaù. If we want to understand<br />
Caitanya Mahäprabhu, if we want to understand Kåñëa, then<br />
we must take shelter of Balaräma. Näyam ätmä bala-hénena<br />
labhyaù. This bala-hénena labhyaù, this Vedic injunction,<br />
means, “Without the mercy of Balaräma, you cannot understand,<br />
you cannot realize your spiritual identification. So<br />
that Balaräma comes as Nityänanda Prabhu, balaräma hailä<br />
nitäi. Therefore we must take shelter of Balaräma.<br />
This song has been sung by Narottama däsa Öhäkura. nitäipada-kamala,<br />
koöi-candra-suçétala. If we take shelter of Nityänanda<br />
Prabhu, then we get peace. Koöi-candra-suçétala. Just like<br />
in daytime, especially in the summer season, we become very<br />
much exasperated. But at night, in the evening, as soon as there<br />
is moonshine, we become very much satisfied. All day’s labor<br />
and fatigue is immediately vanished. So nitäi-pada-kamala, the<br />
shade of Nityänanda Prabhu’s lotus feet, is koöi-candra-suçétala,<br />
as pleasing as millions of moonshine. One moon shining gives<br />
us so much pleasure. So if we want actually peace of mind, if<br />
we actually want to be freed from this material fatigue, then we<br />
must take shelter of Nityänanda Prabhu. Nityänanda Prabhu is<br />
the strength, spiritual strength. And without spiritual strength,<br />
you cannot approach Kåñëa. Näyam ätmä pravacanena labhyaù.<br />
If you are a good speaker, that does not mean you’ll understand<br />
yourself. Na medhayä: “Neither by good brain.” Just because you<br />
have got very good brain you’ll understand Kåñëa—no. Näyam<br />
ätmä pravacanena labhyo na medhayä na bahunä çrutena. If<br />
you think that you are a very good scholar, university degreeholder,<br />
then you’ll understand—no. This is not possible.<br />
So we must have spiritual strength. That source of spiritual<br />
strength is Balaräma, Kåñëa’s next manifestation, prakäçavigraha.<br />
Kåñëa is manifesting Himself through Balaräma. So we<br />
have to take shelter of Nityänanda Prabhu.<br />
nitäi-pada-kamala, koöi-candra-suçétala,<br />
je chäyäy jagata juräy<br />
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ÇRÉ NITYÄNANDA CARITÄMÅTA<br />
The whole world is suffering, but if you want peace, then<br />
you take shelter of Nityänanda Prabhu.<br />
heno nitäi bine bhäi, rädhä-kåñëa päite näi<br />
dhåha kori’ dharo nitäir päy<br />
Our real aim of life is how to go back home back to Godhead<br />
and associate with Rädhä Kåñëa. In another song the same<br />
author says,<br />
manuñya-janama päiyä, rädhä-kåñëa nä bhajiyä,<br />
jäniyä çuniyä biña khäinu<br />
Unless you come to Rädhä-Kåñëa, you cannot get real pleasure.<br />
If you want to dance and get pleasure, don’t dance independently.<br />
Dance with Kåñëa. Then you’ll be happy. The dancing<br />
is there, but dancing without association of Kåñëa. Just like<br />
here, in our temple, we are also eating, but we are eating the<br />
remnants of foodstuff left by Kåñëa. That is real pleasure. It is<br />
not that we are stopping eating. We are not stopping eating. We<br />
are not dry philosophers. Kåñëa baro doyämoy, koribäre jihvä<br />
jay, sva-prasäd-anna dilo bhäi. All over the world we are eating<br />
Kåñëa prasädam, and we have got good experience. At least ten<br />
thousand men and women, they are taking Kåñëa prasädam, but<br />
we have no anxiety. A family consists of a few members. They<br />
are full of anxiety how to maintain the family. And we are maintaining<br />
a family of ten thousand men. We have no anxiety. Just<br />
see practically. We require thousands and thousands of rupees<br />
for maintaining Europe, America; a costly affair. But because<br />
we are under the shelter of Nityänanda Prabhu, Balaräma, we<br />
have no anxiety. That means material life means anxiety. You<br />
cannot avoid anxiety if you lead a material life. You will always<br />
be anxious.<br />
That is Prahläda Mahäräja’s instruction. He was asked by<br />
his father, “My dear son, what have you learned, the best thing<br />
from your teachers?” He replied, “My dear best of the asuras.”<br />
Tat sädhu manye ’sura-varya dehinäà sadä samudvigna-dhiyäm<br />
asad-grahät. The whole human society is suffering, at least suf-<br />
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Lord Nityänanda Prabhu’s Appearance Day Lecture<br />
fering from one disease— anxiety. Ask anybody. Take one small<br />
ant and take the big elephant; take the President of United<br />
States or take one street beggar. Ask him, “Whether you are<br />
free from anxiety?” Everybody will say, “No, I am full of anxiety.”<br />
That’s a fact. So why are they in anxiety, full of anxiety?<br />
That Prahläda Mahäräja had replied, “sadä samudvigna-dhiyäm<br />
asad-grahät.” Because we have taken to asad-vastu, what does<br />
not exist. Everything, whatever you have got. Our, this body will<br />
not exist. And this is the main platform of our existence. In the<br />
material world, so long the body is there, you exist. So Prahläda<br />
Mahäräja said that, “Real solution of problems of life is to get<br />
out of this material condition. That is best thing in my opinion.”<br />
Sadä samadvigna-dhiyäm asad. That is Vedic injunction also.<br />
ASATO mä sad gamaya: “Don’t live in this asat, in this material<br />
condition.” SAD gamaya: “Go to real existence.” That real<br />
existence means spiritual life. NA hanyate hanyamäne çarére.<br />
So if we actually want life, blissful life, then we must get out<br />
of this material existence. That is Prahläda Mahäräja’s instruction.<br />
samudvigna-dhiyäm. And if you remain in the material<br />
existence, you must suffer some anxiety. There is no excuse.<br />
So Prahläda Mahäräja advises that hitvätma-pütaà gåham<br />
andha-küpaà vanaà gato yad dharim äçrayeta. Real problem<br />
is anxiety. And this anxiety will continue so long you are in<br />
material existence. Therefore the real life is to get out of this<br />
material hitvätma-pütam. Ätma-ghätam means killing the soul.<br />
This material civilization is killing the soul. They have no information<br />
of the soul. They do not know how to become peaceful,<br />
how to become blissful. They are trying to be peaceful, bahirartha-mäninaù,<br />
by external material energy. They are thinking<br />
by constructing big, big buildings, just like in Bhubaneswar they<br />
are doing, and having good, very big, big roads and motorcars,<br />
that is advancement of civilization. No. That is not advancement<br />
of civilization. That is increasing their anxiety. There is<br />
no solution of the anxiety. Formerly there was no university.<br />
The university was in the cottage—Vyäsadeva. Vyäsadeva was<br />
writing Çrémad-Bhägavatam and all the Puräëas in a cottage.<br />
The university was there. Who can produce such literature as<br />
Vyäsadeva has given? From any angle of vision, from literary<br />
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ÇRÉ NITYÄNANDA CARITÄMÅTA<br />
point of view, from philosophical point of view—everything, so<br />
perfect, every literature, Mahäbhärata, Puräëas, and Vedänta.<br />
Veda-vyäsa has given. So there was no need of university. It<br />
required clear brain. That was to be done by the brahminical<br />
qualifications, çamo damo titikña ärjava, jïänaà-vijïänam ästikyaà<br />
brahma-karma svabhäva. Where is that education? This<br />
education, technical education, how you can very nicely hammer,<br />
this will not solve the problem. So if we want real solution<br />
of the problems, then our duty is first of all to take the shelter<br />
of nitäi-pada-kamala. Then we’ll be happy, and we’ll get moonshine,<br />
and all our fatigue will subside.<br />
Sambandha nähi jär, båthä janma gelo tär. So if you have<br />
no connection with Nityänanda Prabhu, Nityänanda means always<br />
blissful. Nitya means always, änanda means pleasure. This<br />
is another meaning you can draw. So therefore, if you have no<br />
connection with Nityänanda Prabhu, “It’s simply wasting time.”<br />
Båthä means useless. Uselessly wasting time. Sei paçu boro duräcär.<br />
And Narottama däsa Öhäkura has used very strong word.<br />
“Anyone who has no connection with Nityänanda Prabhu, is<br />
a paçu.” Paçu means animal. So how one animal can get happiness?<br />
That is not possible. The dog, from the childhood he’s<br />
searching after food, searching after food. And cannot get food.<br />
Unless a dog has got a master, he’s a street dog and he’s always<br />
unhappy. So better to become a dog of Nityänanda Prabhu.<br />
Then we shall be happy. Instead of becoming dog of so many<br />
other people. Everyone is searching to serve a master. But none<br />
of them are satisfied because that is false master. You take real<br />
master, Nityänanda Prabhu. You’ll be happy. se paçu boro duräcära.<br />
He does not know where is happiness. Where shall I<br />
become a dog? Our Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura, has sung,<br />
vaisnava öhäkur, tomära kukkura,<br />
boliyä jänaha more<br />
“My dear Vaiñëava Öhäkura, kindly accept me as your dog.<br />
I am a dog already, but I am mäyä’s dog. I’m not Vaiñëava’s dog.<br />
So kindly accept me.” If you become a Vaiñëava’s dog, chäòiyä<br />
vaiñëava sevä, nistära päyeche kebä. If you do not become a dog<br />
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Lord Nityänanda Prabhu’s Appearance Day Lecture<br />
of Nityänanda Prabhu, Vaiñëava, or guru, there is no question<br />
of happiness. SE sambandha nähi yär, båthä janma gelo, sei paçu<br />
boro duräcär.<br />
Nitäi nä bolilo mukhe, majilä saàsära-sukhe. He who has<br />
no connection with Nityänanda Prabhu, and does not say, “Jaya<br />
Nitäi! Jaya Gaura!” And majilo saàsära-sukhe, thinks that this<br />
society, family, friendship and love, are divinely bestowed upon<br />
man. These materialist persons say like that. That is called majilo<br />
saàsära sukhe. In saàsära there cannot be any sukha, but<br />
he’s attracted by that. MAJILO saàsära sukhe. Vidyä-kule ki<br />
koribe tär. What we’ll do with university education or born in<br />
big family? This will not help. This is not possible. Vidyä-kule<br />
ki karibe tär. Why they’re accepting this false? AHAÌKÄRE<br />
matta hoiyä, nitäi-pada päsariyä, asatyere satya kori mäni. On<br />
account of being misled by false prestige and false egotism, asatyere<br />
satya kori mäni, we are accepting this body which is asat,<br />
which will not exist. That we have taken as reality. Ahaìkare<br />
matta hoiya, nitäi pada päsariyä. But if we take shelter of Nityänanda<br />
Prabhu, then we get the enlightenment.<br />
Nitäiyer koruëä habe, braje rädhä-kåñëa päbe, dharo nitäicaraëa<br />
du’khäni. Therefore Narottama däsa Öhäkura advises<br />
that the reality is nitäi-caraëa, and anyone who is servant,<br />
nitäiyer caraëa satya, tähära sevaka nitya. One who has become<br />
the dog of Nityänanda Prabhu, he gets his eternal life.<br />
We are eternal, but under misconception of material identification,<br />
we are under the subjugation of mäyä. BHÜTVÄ bhütvä<br />
praléyate. TATHÄ dehäntara. It is very botheration, but they<br />
do not know. I am going from one body to another body. And<br />
that is not guaranteed, what body. They have no science, no<br />
knowledge about understanding tathä dehäntara, the very first<br />
instruction of Bhagavad-gétä. They are so rascals, and they are<br />
proud of their education, their universities.<br />
Nitäi caraëa satya, tähära sevaka nitya, nitäi-pada sadä<br />
koro äçä. Therefore we should always expect to be under the<br />
shelter of nitäi-pada-kamala. NAROTTAMA boro duùkhé,<br />
Narottama däsa Öhäkura, he’s äcärya. He is presenting himself.<br />
That is äcärya. Means he is not duùkhé, but he’s presenting himself<br />
as duùkhé. That is äcärya. Äcäryas are never duùkhé. But<br />
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taking the common man’s position, he says, “NAROTTAMA<br />
boro duùkhé.” Narottama means the best of the human beings.<br />
So here in this material world one may be the best of the human<br />
being, very exalted position, but everyone is duùkhé, unhappy.<br />
NAROTTAMA boro duùké, nitäi more koro sukhé: “Only Nityänanda<br />
can make me happy. Otherwise not possible.”<br />
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Glossary<br />
A<br />
Abhiñeka—bathing ceremony<br />
Aìgada—son of Bali, brother of Sugriva<br />
Ananta—unlimited, another name of Lord Nityänanda<br />
Äçrama—hermitage<br />
Avadhüta—transcendental madman<br />
B<br />
Bakäsura—one of demons killed by Lord Kåñëa in His Vrajalélä<br />
Bäla-gopäla—Kåñëa as a cowherd boy<br />
Bhakti—devotional service<br />
Bhakti-rasämåta-sindhu—nectarean ocean of devotional<br />
service<br />
Brahmacäré—celibate monk<br />
Brahmänanda Puré—a godbrother of Çré Ésvara Puri<br />
C<br />
Cädara—shawls<br />
Caëòäla-Guhaka—the tribal chief who helped Lord Rämacandra<br />
Campaka—a special fragrant flower<br />
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ÇRÉ NITYÄNANDA CARITÄMÅTA<br />
Catur-vyüha—quadruple expansions of the Lord<br />
D<br />
Darçana—spiritual vision<br />
Daçaratha—Lord Rämacandra’s father<br />
Devahüti —Lord Kapila’s mother<br />
Devaké—Lord Kåñëa’s mother<br />
Dhanvantari—Lord Viñëu’s incarnation who introduced<br />
medicine<br />
E<br />
Ekacakrä—birthplace of Lord Nityänanda<br />
G<br />
Gadädhara Prabhu—a member of Panca-tattva<br />
Gaëòaké— a holy river presently in Nepal<br />
Gandhamädana Hill—medicinal hill carried by Hanuman<br />
Gandharvas—heavenly angels<br />
Gayä—a sacred place of pligrimage that contains Viñëu’s<br />
footprints<br />
Gopés—cowherd girlfriends of Kåñëa<br />
Gosäi—a shortened word of Gosvämé<br />
Gosvämé—a controller of his senses and a pure devotee<br />
H<br />
Haladhara—another name of Lord Balaräma<br />
Hanumän—considered to be one of three servants of Hari<br />
Häòäi Paëòita—Lord Nityänanda’s father<br />
Haridäsa Öhäkura—incarnation of Brahmä<br />
Haridvära—gate of Hari, a sacred places of pilgrimage<br />
Hayagréva—Horse incarnation<br />
I<br />
Indrajit—son of Rävaëa<br />
Éçvara Puré—spiritual master of Lord Caitanya<br />
J<br />
Jagannätha Miçra—Lord Caitanya’s father<br />
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Glossary<br />
Jïäné—a person who knows the scriptures, often an impersonalist<br />
Jiyaòa Nåsiàha—a temple of Lord Nåsiàhadeva<br />
K<br />
Kaiöabha—one of original demons<br />
Kälindé—river Yamunä<br />
Kali-yuga—age of quarrel<br />
Känäi—a sweet name of Kåñëa<br />
Kåñëa-kathä—topics about Kåñëa<br />
Kaòacä—diaries on the pastimes of Lord Caitanya<br />
Kauçalyä—Lord Rämacandra’s mother<br />
Kaustubha—a gem on the chest of Viñëu<br />
Kértana—chanting of the holy name<br />
Kürma—tortoise incarnation<br />
L<br />
Laìkä—kingdom of Rävaëa<br />
Lakñmépriyä—first wife of Lord Caitanya<br />
M<br />
Madhu—another of the original demon killed by Lord Viñëu<br />
Mahä-bhägavata—a topmost devotee<br />
Mahä-prasäda—remnants of the offerings to the Lord<br />
Mäliné devé—wife of Çréväsa Paëòita<br />
Mantras—various chants<br />
Matsya—fish incarnation<br />
Mlecchas—meat-eaters<br />
Muräri—killer of demon Mura<br />
N<br />
Nadia —the district in Bengal where Navadvipa is situated<br />
Naimiñäraëya—a sacred forest where the Bhägavatam was<br />
narrated<br />
Nandana Äcärya—Lord Nityänanda first stayed at his house<br />
Näòä—a name of Advaita Äcärya<br />
Néläcala—blue hill, Jagannätha Puri<br />
Nitäicända—moonlike Lord Nityänanda<br />
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ÇRÉ NITYÄNANDA CARITÄMÅTA<br />
P<br />
Padmävaté Devé—Lord Nityänanda’s mother<br />
Päëòu Vijaya—festival celebrating the victory of the Päëòavas<br />
R<br />
Raghunätha—another name of Lord Rämacandra<br />
Räkñasa—man-eating demon<br />
Rudräkña—a bead of Lord Çiva<br />
S<br />
Çakaöa—cart<br />
Çakti-çela—a special Vedic weapon<br />
Çacé—Lord Caitanya’s mother<br />
Çréväsa—incarnation of Narada Muni and member of Païcatattva<br />
Çrévatsa—white hair on the chest of the Lord<br />
Çukräcärya—spiritual master of the demons<br />
Çiva-käïcé—an abode of Lord Çiva in South India<br />
Çré Advaita Äcärya—combined form of Mahäviñëu and Lord<br />
Çiva<br />
Çré Mädhavendra Puré—the originator of prema-bhäva-bhakti<br />
Sädhus—saintly devotees<br />
Saìkértana—congregational chanting of the holy names<br />
Sandeça—sweet preparation from milk<br />
Sannyäsa daëòa—stick carried by the renunciates<br />
Satya-yuga—age of truthfulness<br />
Setubandha—bridge built to connect Rameçvara to Laìkä<br />
Småtis—Vedic scriptures<br />
T<br />
Täla—a tree<br />
Tälavana—forest of täla<br />
Tretä-yuga—age of sacrifice<br />
Tridaëòa—a rod made of three sticks carried by sannyäsis<br />
Triveëé-ghat—a meeting point of Gaìges, Yamunä, and<br />
Sarasvaté<br />
V<br />
Vaijayanté—a special flower garland worn by Lord Kåñëa<br />
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Glossary<br />
Varäha—boar incarnation<br />
Väruëé—horneyed wine which is a favorite of Lord Balaräma<br />
Vasudeva—Lord Kåñëa’s father in Mathurä<br />
Vedas—scriptures<br />
Véëa—stringed instrument<br />
Viçvambhara—maintainer of the universe<br />
Viñëupriyä—second wife of Lord Caitanya<br />
Vyäsa-püjä—worship of Çréla Vyäsadeva<br />
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