RASA-RAJA-
SRI
SRI GAURANGA
A
Study of Sri Gauranga’s intimate, hidden side (like Sri Krsna) as the Enjoyer
of madhura rasa, collected from a host of Gaudiya mahajana authors
The highest form of God (Paratattva
Sima)
(A Reverential Offering)
Many mahatmas have left substantial
contributions in the Vaisnava world; but one in particular stands out in my
mind — a humble bhakta (devotee) who
never made a disciple, and who hid from recognition. Still, amongst scholars
and bhaktas he is a favorite, regarded
author; for the 65 various Gosvamis and
Mahajana shastras that he translated and published serve as an indispensable
aid for many.
So Sri Haridasa
dasa Baba of Navadvipa’s Haribola Kutira doesn’t need an introduction. However,
through his own voluminous research also, one finds perhaps the most in-depth
study on Gaudiya Vaisnavism.
Those reading
Haridasa dasa’s books easily gain a trust for his credibility. For his vast
scholarship, unbiased opinion and broad outlook reveal a deep admiration for
every Gaudiya Mahajana and true follower of Gauranga Mahaprabhu. Thus his vast
array of Vaisnava literature is worthy of admiration.
This volume has
been graced by his insight on Rasaraja Sri Gauranga
Sri Haridasa dasa Maharaja-ji
Appearance 1898
— Disappearance 1957
Foreword
jaya rupa
sanatana bhatta raghnatha
sri jiva gopala
bhatta dasa raghunatha
ei chaya gosai
kari carana vandana
jaha haite
vighnanasa abistha purana
Before our topic
begins, let us invoke auspiciousness by taking shelter of the followers of Sri
Rupa and Sri Sanatana Gosvami; those who tread the raganuga bhakti path
which culminates in the madhura seva
of Sri Sri Radha Govinda.
An ideal example
of how bhaktas may awaken such bhakti is examplified in the live of Sri
Raghunatha dasa Gosvami. Raghunatha, once the pampered son of a wealthy
landlord whose young wife rivaled the beauty of an apsara, keenly desired to join Sri Caitanya’s bhakta assembly. Every time he attempted to leave home, however,
his parents would somehow catch and bring him back. Thus his repeated attempts
to join the Lord all failed — until one day, when he got Sri Nitai Candra’s
mercy. This remarkable incident happaned at Panihati village, where, by a
stroke of luck, Raghunatha fortuned to satisfy Sri Nityananda and His associates
by arranging a huge feast. Thus securing Nitai’s blessings, the means to escape
samsara1 presented itself,
and Raghunatha soon reached the lotus feet of Sri Caitanya deva at Puri.
But Raghunatha’s
fortune went on increasing — for being pleased, Sriman Mahaprabhu placed him
under Svarupa Damodara’s care for learning the intimate matters of rasa-tattva and prema-seva. Thus in such exalted association Raghunatha passed his
days in paramananda. But later, after
the disappearance of the Lord and Svarupa Damodara, Raghunatha felt destitute
and wanted to end his life! Thus he thought: "I shall go to Vraja, take
Sri Rupa and Sri Sanatana’s darsana,
and then jump from Govardhana!"
Upon arriving
before Rupa and Sanatana, however, they forbade him to commit suicide. Rather,
they kept him within their inner-circle and imparted upon him the last course
of his bhajana-siksa, manjari upasana. Thus is the mood of
Srimati Radharani’s helpless maidservant, Sri Raghunatha passed the last days
of his live weeping in her separation on the banks of Radhakunda... and entered
Radha Krsna’s nitya lila in manjari bhava.
To the belief of
many Gaudiya Vaisnava’s, Sri Raghunatha’s life story is an excellent example
illustrating that Sri Caitanya’s prema
dharma culminates in manjari bhava.
And suffice it to say, this is not a false assertion. For after sending the Six
Gosvamis to Vrndavana, and empowering
them to establish a cult centered around Radha Krsna worship, Sri Caitanya
certainly did desire that His followers attain the prema seva of the manjaris.
But from the consumate Gaura bhaktas,
surely a befitting question can arise:
"If manjari bhava is the final word and the
highest attainment of Caitanya Vaisnavim, what about Gaura lila and its worship? Was Gaura Avatara
simply meant for providing the opportunity to enter madhura Sri Vrndavana?"
Introspective
Gaudiya Vaisnavas know, Gaura lila
has a deeper purport:
it represents
the continuing further expressions of prema
bhakti which Rasaraja Krsna
yearns to relish with Radhika and Her gopi
confidantes. So herein, we can discover that along with our eternal Vraja lila role — we have an eternal role
with Gaurasundara, which is, indeed, the sadhya
(ultimate goal) to all our spiritual practices as well.
Yet raga marga Rupanuga bhaktas do worship
Gaura lila. Knowing that Krsna
advents as Gauranga to accept Radha bhava,
they meditate on Gaura’s Radha bhava
lilas before meditating on Vraja lila
in manjari bhava. But the outcome
that often occurs when following this system is that one’s attraction for Radha
Krsna’s lila far outmatches one’s
attraction for Gaura’s. Hence, only briefly dipping into Gaura lila, such worshippers fully submerge
themselves within Krsna’s Vraja lila
sindhu.
· At this point, however, a whole new world
of rasamaya bhakti can begin — and
this path, inspired by Rasaraja Gauranga,
is the topic of this book. In other words, after a brief worship of Gaura in Radha bhava, and after submerging
oneself for a long time in Radha Krsna’s nikunja
lilas — one my re-surface in Navadvipa again to take up Gauranga’s rasaraja worship. Because Sri Gauranga
is mahabhava svarupini Radha and rasaraja Krsna combined, both features
form an excuisite enrapture for His bhakta
followers to share with Him.
When viewing the
entirety of Gaudiya Vaisnavism, we find that the Six Gosvamis’ teachings form a major pillar of Sri Caitanya’s prema dharma. And when sampling the Vraja rasa, who wouldn’t agree? ... the manjari seva which can be had by following in Sri Rupa and Sri
Raghunatha’s footsteps is unmatched. And hence, Sri Caitanya dispatched them to
Vrndavana for teaching such mellows. But to learn the confidential secrets of
Gaura lila, one will greatly profit
to hear about Sri Gauranga’s amazing qualities from the mahajanas whose attraction mainly focuses on Him.
So, to do so, we
shall now take shelter of Advaita Acarya, Gadadhara Pandita, Narahari Sarkara,
Vasudeva Ghosa, Murari Gupta, sivananda Sena, Kavikarnapura, Locana dasa, and
many others, who are steeped in the mellows of Sri Gauranga’s rasaraja worship. Then, from their
versions, we shall find that along with the Vraja
mannjari bhava, Nadiya nagari bhava
is a very sweet mellow that Sri Gauranga wishes to share with all of His
followers.
Learned
Vaisnavas know that the mahajanas
mentioned above wrote about Nadiya nagari
bhava; but when saying `many
others’, examples from Rupa Gosvami, Sanatana Gosvami, Krsna dasa Kaviraja,
Narottama dasa, Visvanatha Cakravarti and even Bhaktivinoda Thakura will be
presented which support this bhava.
Hence, a
noteworthy feature of this essay is that a comparison of the Vrndavana and the
Navadvipa mode of raganuga bhajana is
presented to form a bridge of understanding between the two schools.
· Invocation ·
(1)
sriman navadvipa
kisora candra
ha natha
visvambhara nagarendra
ha sacinandana
citta caura
prasida he
Visnupriyesa gaura
(Sri
Prabhodananda Sarasvati)
" Oh
handsome, youthful moon of Navadvipa! Oh Lord Visvambhara — You are the Lord of
all nagaras! Oh hey sacinandana!
Although You are steeling my mind, I know very well that You are Visnupriya’s
golden Pranesvara."
(2).
sacira
konara, gauranga
sundara,
dekhinu akhira
kone
alakhite
citta, hariya laila,
aruna nayane bane
sei marama kahinu
tore
eteka divase, nadiya nagare,
nagari na rabe
ghare
ramani dekhiya hasiya hasiya
rasamaya katha kaya
bhaviya
cintiya mana darainu
kona
punyavati jubati ihara
bujhaye rasa
vilasa
tahara
carane hrdaya dhariya
kahaye govinda
dasa
"Oh sakhi! I’ll tell you a secret: when looking from the corner of my
eye, I saw the Son of saci, Sri Gauranga sundara.
But when no-one was watching — He shot me with the arrow of His reddish
tinted glance! And nowadays not one Nadiya
nagari can remain at home; for
seeing a sundari ramani, He smilingly
speaks all sorts of rasamaya
entreaties. While thinking over the matter, I am trying like anything to hold
onto my patience — still my heart
races after Him! So who is the pious, young girl who can fathom His rasa vilasa1? Govinda dasa sais , my heart grasps her
lotus feet."
(3)
Locana dasa Thakura’s Invitation
cala go sajani,
piriti nagare, basati karige mora
marama na jane,
dharama vakhane, caurasi bhrammibe tara
sadaa duyare,
kapata haniye, khirki daraja khola
cala go sajani,
niscinta haiye, adhare dekhige ala
alara bhitare,
gorare dekhibi, nayana rakhibi tatha
se desera katha, e
dese kabile, marame paibi byatha
se dese e dese,
mesamisi ache, e katha na kaba kake
se dese e dese,
anek antara, janaye sakala loke
piriti nagare,
manusa ratana, viraje sahaja ghare
dharma karama,
kulera acara, sekhane jaite nare
ei dasa locana,
kahaye vacana, dasadik tara ala
1) rasa vilasa : conjugal, loving pastimes —
Dhamali
"Oh come sakhi! Let’s go reside in piriti nagara1. But we’ll
have to be careful, for even staunch religionists can’t fathom this realm. Let
them go on wandering through eight million, four hundred thousand births. But sakhi, come! We’ll latch the front door,
and fearlessly enter through a secret passage ... to see the light! Aho! Within the effulgence we’ll see Gora —
ans satiate our eyes! But don’t tell about piriti nagara,
lest you’ll become sad (as the people will scorn you.)
We’ll just have
to keep the news of our going a secret.
Listen ...
In piriti nagara there is a jewel-like
(golden) purusa, and it is easy to
enter his bedroom. But first one must discard dharma, karma and wordly chastity to go — for they cannot stand
beside Him. Thus Locana sais ,
Gora’s effulgence fills every direction."
These poems by
Locana dasa, and the previous two selections from Srila Visvanatha and Govinda
dasa, certainly reveal a mysterious topic that will surely puzzle most
Vaisnavas. Although these three Gaudiya mahajanas
are males in Gaura lila, they are
talking just like young, attractive girls of Nadiya. So what does Locana mean
by `piriti nagara’ (the abode of
love)? And doesn’t the means to go there sound mysterious too? Because such lilas are `praccanna’(hidden within an inner-realm amongst Sriman Gaurasundara’s
other pastimes), only a few fortune to know about them and fathom their
sweetness. So as this volume is devoted to understanding and glorifying Sri
Gauranga’s most intimate rasaraja aspect,
we hope that our readers protect this lofty, controversial topic as one
conceals a rare and priceless gem.
—
The madhukara2
1) piriti nagara: the abode of love
2) madhukara: a honey collector (bee)
A Prelude to the Lila
In the invocations
first sloka, Visvanatha Cakravarti addresses
Sriman Mahaprabhu as Nagarendra, the
Lord amongst nagaras (flirtatious
romantics), but Srila Advaita Acarya calls Him `Nagara
siromani’, the Crown-jewel amongst such personalities. Before probing
deeper into the significance of these statements, however, let us speak
something to help broaden our appreciation for the absolute authority which Sri
Advaita wields. Although He is known for His heart-rending cries which bring
about Gaura Avatara, Caitanya Caritamrta,
Antya 19 goes on:
"Advaita Acarya
is an experienced pujari Who knows
all of the sastras imports. Thus to
worship, He performs austerity, calls the Devata, and upon completing the puja, sends Him away."
Sri Caitanya
spoke this riddle to disclose that His entire lila is directed by Advaita. Yet should this appear astonishing?
For Advaita’s sakti, Sita Thakurani, is Yogamaya, by Whose omnipotency everything happens in Gaura lila. Thus with His inside knowledge
about the Lord’s internal affairs, He reveals the following confidential siddhantas in His prayers entitled
"Sri Sri Gauranga pratyanga varnanakhya stavaraja":
Verse 6
ardhacandrollasbhala
kasturitilakanvitam
bhangura
bhrulatakeli-jita-kamasorasanam
"Gaurasundara’s
forehead is like a brilliant half-moon adorned with beautiful musk tilaka; yet below lurks His flirting eyebrow-bows which defeat the might
of Kama deva’s flower arrows."
Verse 17
kotikandarpa-labanya-keli-lila-manoharam
saksatlilatanum
kelitanum srngara vigraham
"Sri
Gaurasundara’s prema keli is
absolutely manohara1— like
that of millions of Cupids; for He
is the Abode of prema keli and a srngara rasa vigraha."
Prema keli and srngara
rasa renowned traits of Sri Krsna in
His kisora lila with the gopa sundaris. But here Advaita’s depicting
Gaurasundara in this way is remarkable. Still, He goes on:
Verse 26
nijabhava
rasasvada vibasaikadasenriyam
vidagdha nagari
bhava-kala keli manoramam
"Although
Mahaprabhu’s eleven senses are completely overwhelmed by His own bhava, rupa and rasa — His
divine keli vilasa with the clever
and rasa-skilled Nadiya nagaris is simply enchanting!"
1) manohara: mind stealing
Thus Advaita
reveals with whom Gauranga srngara rasa affairs
take place; but who are the nagaris? The next sloka begins telling:
Verse 27
gadadhara
premabhava kalakranta manoratham
sriman narahari
premarasavihabalamanasam
"Gauranga
keenly desires to taste the sweetness of Gadadharas prema bhava and rasa keli skill.
Moreover, Sriman Narahari’s prema rasa
enslaves Him."
Owing to their
internal nari bhava and rupa, Gadadhara and Narahari are chiefs
amongst the Nadiya nagaris, for
previously they shared similar bhavas
with Krsna, as Radha and Madhumati sakhi.
But one might wonder: `how extensive
are such moods amongst Gaura’s other associates?’ The next verse reveals:
Verse 28
sarvabhagavatahuta
kantabhava prakasakam
prema
pradanalalita dvibhujam bhaktavatsalam
"Bhakta-vatsala Sri Gaurahari hankers to
take up his splendid kanta bhava with
every bhagavata associate. Using His
graceful, two arms He embraces them to award (madhura) prema."
Kanta bhava means the Lord’s mood as a lover, or
amorous hero. Through this mellow we find the inner purport of Gaurangas bhakta-vatsala feature, His affectionate
submission to the love of His devotees. Thus Sri Advaita says:
Verse 32
nataraja
siroratnam sri nagara siromanim
asesa rasika
sphujjanmauli bhusana bhusanam
"Sri
Gauranga is the Crown-jewel amongst all dancers, the Crown-jewel amongst all nagaras (including Sri Krsna) — and thus
the Ornament of ornaments amongst all rasika
persons."
More than a mahajana, and more than the Lord’s
eternal associate, Srila Advaita Acarya is saksat
isvara, the Lord Himself. Thus His merciful siddhantas can benefit all. However, in His "Krsna
Bhajanamrta", Srila Narahari Sarakara elaborates to reveal more about Sri
Gauranga’s magnificence:
pasya pasya,
niguratiniguram nirupyate
sakalendriyaih
sabdhana mahantah parammmangalam
rahasyam
srnvahtu sri Krsnacaitanyadevah
prakataparamananda-vigrahohapi
sarvavatara
sarbhutohapi
sarvavatarasakti prakasasamarthohapi
sarvavatarabyaktaye
dasadasisangavanapi
radhasangaprakasam
na krtavan asya
sarvavatarprakasatvam
sarvaireva niscitamaste
tathapi
rahasyamekam juktameva sruyatam
sri Krsnah
sakalvilasa vinoda-rupa kaisoradi
guna
sampannohapi strinam vanacarinam
mohanam cakara; kimetat?
sri Krsnacaitanyastu
kaupinadhari
dinavesah sannyasasramalankrto
hatyantadurdantam
balavantam
mahavrsabhaduradurudam
dhyatmavadinam
vishayandham
kujoginam jadamjasara madyapam
papam candalam
javanam murkam kulastriyanca
premasindhou
patayamasa; anandena vaikunthopari
stapaya masa
kevalam premadharayaiva
sarvesamasayam
sodhittavan asurabhanca
curnitavan
kimanyadva bahu bavtavyam ?
purusan eva
prakrtibhavam ninaya
sri
Krsnacaitanya bhavakala mohitah
srigadadhara
pandita bhava darsansamudita
gopiganabhava
vedantinohapi vimayinhapi
prakrtibhavairnanrtuh
Sri Krsna Bhajanamrta 28-11
"Look, look
now I shall disclose the most secret of all secrets! So listen carefully to
this confidential tattva — for it
can deliver supreme auspiciousness to even the self-controlled mahajanas:
Sri Krsna
Caitanya Deva is Himself a paramananda
murati, the Essence of all Avataras,
and completely capable of displaying every divine potency of any form of Bhagavan along with the servants or
maidservants of such Bhagavat svarupas.
Yet He didn’t disclose about His affairs with Radha (Gadadhara). This is
confirmed by the learned who know about the bhavas
and the tattvas concerning all Avataras. But nevertheless, please
listen to a logically proven mystery:
Sri Krsna displays
His vilasa (lovemaking), vinoda rupa (enticing bodily features)
and all of His youthful qualities to attract the Vraja gopis into the forest — and what can be said of this?
But Sri Krsna
Caitanya, wearing a kaupina and
mendicant sannyasi dress, takes
greater pleasure in converting the most rebellious, stubborn, bull-headed
spiritualists, blind enjoyers, pseudo yogis,
materialists, thousands of drunkards, sinful meat eaters, Muslims, the
illiterate, as well as the chaste young girls, to drown them all in a prema samudra and send them beyond
Vaikuntha’s highest regions to His supreme abode, Goloka. Only with `prema’ did He purify the hearts of all,
after grinding their demoniac natures to dust! And moreover, He converted males
into conceiving themselves as females. When Sri Krsna Caitanya became decorated
with the ornaments of bhava, and when
the moods of the Vraja-gopis bhavas
overwhelmed Him, upon seeing the bhavas
of Srila Gadadhara Pandita — then He converted every Vedantist and gross materialists to dance in the mood of a
woman!"
Sri
Krsna Bhajanamrta 28-11
When comparing
Srila Advaita’s stavas with these
passages from Narahari, a remarkable conclusion can be drawn:
Owing to His parama karuna, Sriman Mahaprabhu wishes
to reciprocate with His highly exalted `kanta
bhava’ with not only His intimate devotees — but with every type of grossly
fallen jiva in this age of Kali!
Indeed, as
Narahari’s list concludes by mentioning `kula
strianca’, meaning the Nadiya
nagaris, he is saying that all of the aforementioned sinners or
non-devotees were promoted to Goloka Navadvipa with `nagari prema’ to dance besides Sri Gauranga in the form of a woman.
Sri Nagara siromani1
A nagara is a playboy, or an unchaste man
who loves to indulge in sensuous pleasure amongst many female companions. And,
in our world, such characterless men are hardly praiseworthy. Rather, they
become notorious and condemned in society.
So now a good
question arises:
"Why would Svayam Bhagavan, the very emblem of dharma Himself, stoop to perform such
behaviour?"
The answer we
can imbibe from the Bhagavatam, 10-33-36, where the main reason for His advent
is stated:
anugrahaya
bhaktanam manusam dehamasrita
bhajate tadrsih
krida jah srutva tatparobhavet
"In order
to give mercy to the devotees, Sri Bhagavan assumes a human form to enact
loving pastimes with them. Thus, those
hearing about His activities may also become attracted to the Lord."
Giving mercy, or
love, to His bhaktas is Bhagavan’s
sole activity and foremost source of pleasure. Hence, introspective devotees
can begin to appreciate why Svayam Bhagavan becomes a nagara. For how many bhaktas
would receive His greatest gift— madhura
prema bhakti — if He were to display the role of an ideal, chaste husband?
True, for those who want to admire the Lord as such, He certainly provides them
the opportunity in Rama Avatar. For Lord Ramacandra never cast His amorous
glances upon anyone accept Sita. Yet what about the forest sages who saw Rama’s
immaculate beauty? After coveting the chance to serve Him as a consort, they
had to wait until His advent as Sri Krsna. And only then could they fulfill
their cherished ambition by becoming gopis.
Hence, Krsna is more merciful then Rama. But our Sri Gauranga is far more
magnanimous than even Sri Krsna, because as Sri Narahari states, in his
previous "Krsna bhajanamrta” passages, he awards His most intimate prema rasa to all. And therefore, Srila
Advaita Acarya‘s declaring Sriman Mahaprabhu as the greatest nagara is justly befitting.
1) Sri Nagara
siromani: Gauranga, the greatest nagara (flirtatious romantic)
What Does This Book Discuss?
In the Introduction,
pages
After revealing
Mahaprabhu’s svarupa as the form of Rasaraja and Mahabhava combined, three approaches to Gaura upasana1 are presented: those of Vrindavana dasa, Krsnadasa Kaviraja and Locana dasa.
Owing to Locana’s focus on Gaura’s rasaraja
feature, his "Caitanya Mangala" is filled with madhurya. Locana’s birth signifies the fulfillment of Narahari
Sarakara’s desire to broadcast Gauranga’s madhura
pastimes with Gadadhara; thus an
excerpt of Their maharasa sankirtana from
"Caitanya Mangala" is inserted. But Locana’s "Dhamali"
further reveals Gauranga’s intimate, madhura
Navadvipa lila’s. This leads into the
topic of how Gauranga’s male associates have female identities; the examples of Narahari and
Gadadhara’s nagari svarupa’s are
shown. Supporting evidence is presented from Kavikarnapura and sivananda Sena
in context with the holi pastime.
Then "Caitanya Caritamrita" shows how Gadadhara’s followers worship
Gauranga in madhura rasa. Svarupa
Damodara and Rupa Gosvami state that Gadadhara is directly Radha.
Chapter One, Pages
Since Sri Krsna
and Sri Gauranga are non-different, wouldn’t Gauranga posses all of Sri Krsna’s
qualities? Examples from "Caitanya Caritamrta", "Dhamali"
and "Caitanya caritra Maha kavya" show that, indeed, They are Both srngara rasa nayakas1. Then
Sri Gauranga Vastra harana lila and Rasa lila are described from Murari
Gupta’s "Korca2"
and Narahari Cakravarti’s "Sri Gaura carita cintamani." The latter
discloses the wish to follow in the Nadiya nagaris’ footsteps, and Narottama
dasa Thakura reveals a similar mood. Govinda dasa’s padavali3 contributes to the nagari school, but their history link Srinivasa Acarya and Jiva
Gosvami as supporters. Then Narahari Cakravarti shows how it is impossible for
Krsna to give up His rasika nature
when becoming Gaura. Locana dasa tells that Radhika and the gopis won’t allow Krsna to escape Gokula
alone, lest they will reveal all of the scandals that He left behind. So after
taking on His new disquise, can Gauranga be called a sadhu? The nagaris’ purva
raga for Gauranga is related in context with Srimati Radharani’s svapna vilasa: She has an astonishing dream — sees Gaura rasa raja — and races to embrace Him, even while lying in Sri Krsna’s
tender embrace! Locana presents some examples of the nagaris purva raga from "Dhamali", and goes on to
describe his stark fascination — "Let them call me gaura kalankini!" (scandalized by Gaura) he implores. Locana
even tells why no-one should fear such disgrace. Then Vasudeva Ghosa and
Govinda Ghosa describe their attraction for Gauranga in nagari bhava, followed by Murari Gupta’s testimony. Because Murari’s
"Korca" serves as the basis
for Vrndavana dasa, Krsna dasa and Locana dasa’s biographies of Sri Caitanya,
and because he also relates about the nagari
bhava of
1) srngara rasa nayakas: Amorous heros
2) korca:
diary
3) padavali: Bengali poetry in rhyming metre
Nadiya, this
proves that such mellows with the Lord existed from the very beginning.
Why is Nadiya nagari bhava controversial? This chapter
tell why many Vaisnavas fail to understand and even take to criticizing such
exalted mellows. Because Sri Caitanya is Svayam
Bhagavan, His prema rasa
exchanges with His eternal, svarupa sakti
counterparts are natural. But taking the role of a `Yuga Avatara’, He preaches religion in the dress of a sadhu as well. Thus after explaining the
inner purport of Vrndavan dasa’s warning not to openly address Sriman
Mahaprabhu as a `nagara’, the
utility of both His Yuga Avatara and Svayam Bhagavan features is discussed.
More evidence supporting Gauranga’s rasika
nature is presented from Sri Narahari Caravarti, Sri Prabodananda Sarasvati,
Sri Acyutananda and Sri Madhavi dasi, Sri Sikhi Mahiti’s sister.
Chapter Four, Pages
As Sri Krsna is
the source of all avataras, Radha is
the source of every consort of His limitless Bhagavata manifestations. But
Narahari Sarakara states that Gadadhara is directly Radha. Then he goes on to
say that Gadadhara and Gauranga’s yugala
milana is real — just as Radha Krsna’s. Nayanananda Misra’s padavali tells about the mood in which
Gadadhara’s followers worship Gaura. Mahaprabhu’s sankirtana Maha Rasa tattva is related from Caitanya
Caritamrta. Then Rupa Gosvami’s intimate "Stava mala" sloka is
discussed in conjunction with Nayanananda’s padavali.
Chapter Five, Pages
This chapter
deals with Gaurasundara’s intimate sambhoga
affairs.
Examples from
"Dhamali" tell about the nagaris’
svapna sambhoga, conjugal exchanges
during dreams. "Ujjvala nilamani" reveals how such dreams are vivid
as waking experiences. Vasudeva Ghosa and Narahari Cakravarti tell of their svapna sambhoga experiences. Pradhurabhava sambhoga is discussed, followed by Gauranga’s nari vesa milana with the nagaris.
Gauranga’s prema vilasa vivarta bhava
shows how He can even assume the kanta
role as His bhaktas reciprocate in kanta bhava. Gadadhara and Gauranga’s prema vilasa vivarta lila illustrates.
Gora nama madhuri is explained.
Chapter Six, Pages
A comparison of
Rupanuga devotion and Nadiya nagari bhava.
Rupanuga
Vaisnavism essentially means Radha dasya
seva. However, Radha is Gadadhara in Gaura lila. Hence Rupa Gosvami follows Gadadhara; Locana’s padavali
affirms and Svarupa Damodara gives more evidence. Because the Six Gosvamis are
Gauranga’s ‘sancarita sakti’ it is
only natural that they follow Gauranga’s `mula
sakti’ Pandita Gadadhara. Sanatana Gosvami states that Gadadhara’s wealth
lies in nagari prema. Sri Rupa tells
about the special `prema ratna’ that
Gauranga is distributing. Nayananda Misra confirms that this is nagari prema. How did the Gosvamis
secretely reveal Gauranga’s intimate affairs? Rupa Gosvami supports Gauranga’s rasaraja feature. Sri Caitanya
instructed the rasaraja doctrine to
Vamsivadana. Sri Caitanya is non-different from Rasaraja Sri Krsna. A
commentary of Rupa’s`anarpito carim’ sloka along with Locana’s padavali. Some asta kala lila tattva. The essays key note.
Chapter Seven, Pages
More supporing
versions from Gaudiya Acarya s such as Jagannatha dasa Babaji, Bhaktivinoda
Thakura, and Siddha Caitanya dasa Babaji. One amusing encounter between
Caitanya dasa Baba and Bhagavan dasa Baba.
Chapter Eight, Pages
Sri Nityananda
Prabhu as a nagara and as a nagari. A closer look into Srila
Vrndavana dasa Thakura’s intimate siddhantas
found in "Caitanya Bhagavata."Visnupriya’s kaAdita bhava.
Introduction
tabe hasi tare
prahbu dekhaila svarupa
rasa-raja,
mahabhava dui ekarupa
Caitanya caritamrta,
Madhya 8
"Then
Caitanya Mahaprabhu smiled and showed Ramananda Raya His svarupa — The form of Rasaraja and Mahabhava combined!"
Thus our
Gauranga is revealed — He is Krsna, the rasaraja
amongst the Vraja-gopis, plus
Mahabhava Svarupini Radha, combined in one form.
Volumes One and
Two1 have already dealt with Gauranga’s Radha bhava aspect at length;
so now a study of His rasaraja trait
begins.
Although many
biographers have written about Caitanya Mahaprahu’s lila, the works of Vrndavana dasa, Krsna dasa and Locana dasa are
the foremost. In "Caitanya Bhagavata", Vrndavana dasa Thakura mostly
depicts Gauranga in His ‘Bhagavata’
feature (as being the supreme Lord);
in "Caitanya Caritamrta", Krsna dasa Kaviraja’s Gauranga is the `Radha bhava’ Nilacala vihari
of Svarupa Damodara, Raya Ramananda,
Rupa and Sanatana; yet in
"Caitanya Mangala", Locana dasa Thakura’s `Gora’ is Gadadhara and
Narahari’s hrdaya vallabha2,
rasaraja.
Thus each author
depicts a different mood of Sri Caitanya which are relishable and parama upasya (supremely worshipable).
Yet in Sri Locanana’s Rasaraja Gora
we find a special madhurya. The
following story3 shows an example why:
Locana dasa was
Sri Narahari Sarkara’s disciple, and under his direction he wrote
"Caitanya Mangala" in the secluded place known as Ko grama. Upon finishing the task, he
returned to the feet of his guru at Srikhanda. But as Narahari read locana’s
manuscript, He said: "Vrndavana
dasa Thakura has already written a biography about
Sri Caitanya
called "Caitanya Mangala". So if you want to distribute your book,
you should go on and take his permission first." Thus Locana went to see
Vrndavana dasa and presented his writing after informing him about his Gurudeva’s
order. But as Vrndavana dasa read Locana’s manuscript, he came to the following
lines and fainted in the ecstasy of prema:
abinna caitanya
se Thakura avadhuta
sri nityananda
vanda rohinika suta
"I offer my
pranamas to Thakura Nityananda
nvadhuta, Who is non-different from Sri Caitanya, and Who was previously known
as the son of Rohini." Upon regaining consciousness, Vrndavana dasa said: "Locana, by Sri Narahari’s grace
you have exactly understood the position of Lord Nityananda — for indeed, His
body is non-different from Sri Caitanya’s. From today onward your book shall be
celebrated as
"Caitanya
Mangala", and mine will be called "Caitanya Bhagavata."
1) Volumes One
and Two: "Why did Caitanya
Mahaprabhu come, and what did He come to give?"
2) hrdaya vallabha: heart’s beloved
3) Story: taken from "Srikhander pracina Vaisnava" (The Ancient
Vaisnavas of Srikhanda) by Sri Gaura gunananda Thakura (published in 1910)
At the time of
this incident, Vrndavana dasa’s book had already gained vast acclaim amongst
the Vrndavana Vaisnava community under the name of "Caitanya
Mangala". And hence, Krsna dasa Kaviraja refers to it as such in his
Caitanya Caritamrta. Bit owing to Locana’s describing Gaura-Nityananda as being
non different, Nityananda prana, Sri
Vrndavana dasa, couldn’t hold unto his patience for showing gratitude. Thus he
wrote a personal declaration for the Vrndavana Vaisnavas which stated:
"My book
describes Sri Gauranga’s Bhagavata
feature, whereas Sri Locana dasa’s describes about His madhurya. So henceforeward my book should be called "Caitanya
Bhagavata", and his should be known as "Caitanya Mangala."
And thus it came
to be. Here is a sample of Caitanya Mangala’s madhurya.
angera chataya jena dinapara pradipa hena
tahe lila rasera
vilasa
koti kusuma
dhanu jiniya vinoda tanu
tahe kare
premera vikasa
kamini mohana
vesa herite bhulila desa
madana vedana
heri paya
ki diba upama tara
karuna vigraha sara
hena rupa mora
gora raya
"Gauranga
effulgent limbs dazzle like the sun ...
and herein we find His rasa vilasa (conjugal pastimes). His bodily
splendor defeats millions of Cupids weilding their flower bows ... and herein He displays His prema. His dress is kamini mohana (alluring to every pretty, young girl of Nadiya) —
for they forget everything else when viewing Him! Thus cupid pierces their
hearts and binds them to His lotus feet. So who can compare with Gora Raya? His
beautiful form is the essence of all karuna."
Sri Narahari Sarakara’s Longing
Locana dasa
Thakura’s birth signifies the fulfillment of Sri Narahari’s ambition to
broadcast Gaura and Gadadhara’s madhura
lilas. Narahari’s following pada relates:
gaura lila
darasane vancha bara haya mane
bhasaya likhiya
kichu rakhi
mui ati
adhama likhite na jani
krama
kemana koriya
taha likhi
gaura gadadhara
lila adraba karaye sililaa
kara sadhya
koraye varnana
sarada likhena
jadi nirantara nirabadi
kahe sadasiva
pancanana
e granta likhibe
je ekhana janme nai se
janmite vilamba
ache bahu
bhasate racana
bale bhujibe loka sakale
kabe vancha
puraibe pahu
kichu kichu pada
likhi jadi iha keha dekhe
prakasa karaye
prabhu lila
narahari pabe
sukha ghucibe manera dukha
granthagane
darabibe sila
"In seeing
Gauranga’s lila, a great hankering
awakens to note down some of these events. But haya! I am very fallen, and I don’t know the means to write them; so how will this great task become
accomplished?
Gaura and
Gadadhara’s lila can melt the stones
— yet who can narrate them? If Goddess Sarasvati as the five-faced Sada siva
unceasingly dictates — still these lilas
would remain unsatiated! Haya! The fit person to write hasn’t taken birth ... and still a long time awaits! Oh
when will Gaura and Gadadhara’s pastimes become narrated for the people? Oh
when will Caitanya Mahaprabhu fulfill my desire? Meanwhile, I shall write a few
padas1 to broadcast His lila;
Thus my melancholy will vanquish. For seeing the stone-like hearts of
my readers melting — Narahari will become very happy."
This sample from
"Caitanya Mangala" shows how Locana wrote to fulfill his gurudeva’s ambition:
srivasera ghare
nace rasa vinodiya
gaura dehe syama
tanu dekhe bhaktagana
gadadhara
radha-rupa haila takhana
madhumati
narahari haila sei kale
dekhiya Vaisnava
saba hari hari bole
vrndavana
prakasa haila sei stane
go gopi gopala
sange sacira nandane
purbe sakha
sakhigana je rupa achila
rasa asvadane
prahbu sange bhakta haila
abhinava
kamadeva sri raghunandana
aprakrta madana
boliya je ganana
dekhi anya
avatara sangi saba kade
navadvipa udaya
korila vraja-cande
khone gaura lila
gadadhara kori sange
khone syama lila
radha rasa rasa range
camatkara lila
dekhi saba bhaktagana
hari hari jaya
bole ghane ghana
"Rasa vinodiya2 Gauracanda
dances at Srivasa’s house ... but as
the bhaktas see Gaurasundara turning
into syamasundara — Gadadhara becomes Radha! Then Narahari becomes Madhumati sakhi ... and all of the cows, the gopas
and the gopis all join to relish
mellows with Sri Sacinandana — just as they did previousely in Vraja. Sri
Raghunandana becomes the ever-youthful Kamadeva,
Vrndavana’s transcendental cupid. Thus
everyone takes up their Vrndavana svarupas
to dance around Mahaprabhu. Aho! The associates of other Avataras will cry to see Vrndavana’s canda3 rising in
Navadvipa! Thus Gauranga performs pastimes with Gadadhara ... but sometimes They become Radha and syama to enoy the Rasa lila ranga4. Seeing such
camatkara pastimes, the bhaktas loudly cry, `Hari, Hari!’ and `Jaya, Jaya!’"
1) padas: poetry written in rhying Bengali meter
2) rasa vinodiya: The Enchanter of the Rasa
lila (here, Gaura takes on His rasa-raja
feature)
3)Vrndavana’s
canda: Sri Krsna the moon of Vraja.
4) Rasa lila ranga: the Rasa lila amusement
Sri Locana’s Dhamali
Goes deeper
Camatkara means amazing or fantastic, and Locana dasa labels Gaura and Gadadhara’s sankirtana pastimes as simply camatkara. For even Caitanya Bhagavata
and Caitanya Caritamrta don’t describe that Radha, Krsna and all of Their gopi associates directly manifest in
Sriman Mahaprabhu’s pastimes. But Locana’s pen goes on. After narrating
"Caitanya Mangala", he presents an even deeper look into Sriman
Gaurasundara’s camatkara Nadiya vihara in "Dhamali". Here
Locana’s Gora is a Kamera kora1,
a Rupera nagara2, a Rasa sagara, a Citta cora3, Manohara4
and the Nava kisora natabara5
whose stealthy glances steal Nadiya nagaris’
hearts! But there is a mystery about the nagaris madhura bhava with Gauranga that needs clarification: These bhavas that Sri Locana and other Gaudiya Mahajanas describe are
shared amongst Gauranga’s male assoiates who have subtle nagari forms within.
Gauranga’s Associates Have Female Identities
Although the
Vraja gopis have assumed male forms
in following Krsna’s transformation to Gora — still they cannot forget their
previous madhura tie. Rather, with
Gora, these loving pastimes continue to unfold with newer and newer relish.
Thus their internal nagari bhava is
their overriding service mood to him. Concerning Narahari Sarakara and this tattva, Sri Gaura gunananda Thakura of
Srikhanda explains as follows:
"Sri
Narahari Sarakara Thakura serves and gives pleasure to his prana Gauranga in basically three ways: 1) in his parsada svarupa as
Narahari, 2) in his previous nitya-siddha
svarupa as Madhumati Sakhi, and 3) in his nagari svarupa. In this connection the last bhava, (the nagari bhava
or kanta bhava) is his internal mood; the other two moods are occassional.
Sriman Mahaprabhu prakata svarupa
(visible form) is the visaya
(affectionat object) of Narahari’s kanta
bhava. Hence this kanta bhava forms
his stayi bhava (permanent mellow)
and the other rasas of dasya, sakhya and vatsalya bhava are contained within it."
—
Srikhanda’s pracina Vaisnavas
Gadadhara Pandita’s Nagari Svarupa
In Gaura
ganodesa dipika, Srila Kavikarnapura confirms this siddhanta in context with Gadadhara Pandita as follows:
sri radha
prema-rupa ja pura vrndavanesvari
sa sri gadadharo
gauravallabhah panditakhyah
pura vrndavane
laksmih syamasundara ballabha
sadya gaura
prema laksmih sri gadadhara pandita
"She Who
was previously Vrndavanesvari Radha is now Sri Gauranga ballabha,
1) Kamera kora: reservoir of divine kama
2) Rupera nagara: A Handsome flirtatious romantic
3) Citta cora: mind thief
4) Manohara: Simply enchanting
5) Nava kisora natabara: dressed like an attractive, youthful dancer
Gadadhara
Pandita. And She Who was Vraja Laksmi Radha, Sri syamasundara vallabha, now appears as Sri Gauranga’s
prema Laksmi Gadadhara."
Thus Gadadhara
Pandita Gosvami (although being directly Vrndavanesvari Radha) has a female
Navadvipa svarupa referred to as
Gauranga’s prema vallabha, or prema Laksmi.
Sri Sivananda Sena’s Contribution
Now one might
ask, "How does Srila Kavikarnapura know about Sri Gadadhara’s nagari svarupa, and why would he write
about such mellows?"
The answer is
that he imbibed this intimate service mood from his father, sivananda Sena; and his writing about such bhavas simply represents the overall
trend of many of Gauranga’s eternal associates. For example, sivananda, who was
previously Campakalata Sakhi in Vraja (one of Radha’s asta sakhis), now worships Vrndavana’s yugala kisora in the form of Gadadhara and Gauranga. His following pada explains about this:
jaya jaya
pandita gosai
jara krpabale se
caitanya guna gai
hena se
gauracandre jahara piriti
gadadhara prananatha jahe lage khyati
gauragata prana
prema ke bujhite pare
khetra vasa Krsna
seva jara lagi chare
gadaira gauranga
gaurangera gadadhara
sri rama janaki jena eka kalebara
tena gaura
gadadhara prema taranga
kahe sivananda
pahu jara anurage
syama tanu
gauranga haiya prema mage
"All
glories, all glories to Gadadhara Pandit by Whose mercy we can sing Sri
Caitanya’s glories. His love is such that Gauranga is celebrated as `Gadadhara’s
prananatha’ (the Lord of Gadadhara).
Aho! As Gadadhara’s life is Gauranga, His prema
is unfathomable — for He renounced his ksetra
sannyasa1 and Gopinatha’s seva
smply for Gaura. Thus Gauranga belongs
to Him, and He belongs to Gaura — as Rama and Sita are one body. And just as
Radha and Vrndavana candra are one life — so do the waves of prema capsise from Gaura and Gadadhara’s
lila. Thus sivananda says: `Krsna eagerly discards his syama body and becomes Gauranga simply
to beg for Radharani’s prema!"
In the Holi pastime, sivananda Sena elaborates
about Gaura and Gadadhara’s madhura
tie as follows:
holi khelata gaura
kisora
rasabati nari
gadadhara kora
sveda bindu
mukhe pulaka sarira
bhava bhore
galatahi nayane nira
vraja rasa gaota
narahari sange
mukunda murari vasu nacata range
khene khene
murchai pandita kora
heraite sabacara
bhave bhela bhora
1) ksetra sannyasa: Gadadhara’s vow to never leave Sri Ksetra (Jagannatha Puri)
nikunja mandire
pahu kayala vithara
bhume pori kahe kaho murali
hamara
kaha govardhana
yamunaka kula
kaha malati
juthi campaka phula
sivananda kahe
pabu suni rasa vani
jaha pahu
gadadhara taha rasa khani
"Gaura kisora plays Holi in the arms of the rasavati
nari 1, Gadadhara. Aho! Drops of pespiiration cover Their faces,
They horripulate and tears flow from Their eyes due to intense bhava! As Gauranga sings abut Vrndavana’s
mellows with Narahari — Murari, Mukunda and Vasudava Ghosa dance in ecstacy!
But Gauranga repeatedly faints falling in Gadadhara’s lap! And seeing them the priya bhaktas swoon! Then comming to
rest in a nikunja mandire, Gauranga
faints again after exclaiming:
`where is My murali, the Yamuna and
Govardhana? And where are Vrndavana’s malati,
juthi and campaka flowers?’ Thus
sivananda says, `listen to my rasa vani 2; with Gaura and Gadadhara we find a
jewel mine of divine mellows!’"
Here sivananda’s
addressing gd as a `rasavati nari’(young
rasika damsel) is significant, for if
he had not seen such form, and revealed
about it, who would have known?
Gadadhara’s Followers are actually female
Krsna dasa
Kaviraja confirms about Gadadhara’s rasavati
nari svarupa by revealing that Gadadhara’s followers have femala identities
as well:
paAditera gana
saba bhagavata dhanya
prana vallabha
sabhara sri Krsna caitanya
C.C.
Adi 12
"All of
Gadadhara’s followers are maha bhagavatas
and very fortunate — for their prana
vallabha is Sri Krsna Caitanya."
Most of us will
pass over this siddhanta without
recognising its deep purport. But here the point to grasp is that only a woman
adresses her beloved as `prana vallabha3’
And hence, we
learn that Srila Gadadhara’s followers have a hidden female svarupa within their male forms. So
Gaura is their prana vallabha — just
as Krsna is gopi jana vallabha, the
beloved of the gopis. When pondering
this topic, we see that Gaura and Krsna’s pastimes unfold in a parallel pattern: for a Sri Radhika is the source of
all Krsna’s kantas the Nadiya nagaris expand from Gadadhara. And this
key Caitanya Caritamrta verse presents the evidence. Yet, Sri Sanatana Gosvami
comes o the same conclusion in his "Sri Radha Gadadhara astakam",
verse 2:
navarasacalacittam
nagaripremavittvam
pramadarasikabhupam
naumi radhasvarupam
"I offer my
prostated obeisances unto Srila Radha-Gadadhara Whose heart is always restless
to relish the ever-new expressions of madhura
rasa. He is the Lord of all rasika
enjoyers whose wealt lies in nagari
prema."
1) rasavati nari: a young, rasika damsel
2) rasa vani: rasa-filled message
3) prana vallabha: dearly beloved (masculine)
Srila Gadadhara’s
disciple, Sri Yadunatha dasa, also states:
panditasya ganah
sarve srngarartha kalevarah
"All of Gadadhara
Pandita’s followers have female forms meant for exchanging srngara rasa (conjugal pastimes)."
—
Gadadhara Pandita Gosvamira sakha-nirnayamrta
In his `Korca’ (diary), Sri Svarupa Damodara
says:
avanisurabarah
sri panditakhyo jatindrah
sa halu bhavati
radha sri gauravatare
narahari
sarkarasyapi damodarasya
prabhu nija
dayitanam tacca saram matam me
"There is
no doubt, Sri Gaura Gosvami, the greatest of the brahminas, known by the title of `pandita’, is Radha in Gauranga’s pastimes. This is the conclusion
of Sri Narahari Sarakara, Mahaprabhu’s other priya bhaktas, and myself."
Sri Rupa Gosvami
says:
vrndavanesvari
radha premabhakti pradayini
kalou
srigauradayitah srigadadharapanditah
—
Srila Radha-Gadadharadasakam, sloka 1
"Vrndavanesvari
Radha, the Bestower of prema bhakti,
now appears in Kali yuga as Sri
Gauranga’s confidante, Srila Gadadhara Pandita."
Chapter One
Krsna and Gauranga are Non-different
All of the Mahajanas certainly affirm:
vrajendra nandana
jei sacaryai suta haila sei
"Vrajendra
nandana Sri Krsna is saci nandana Sri Gauranga."
But when
investigating closer, we find that Gauranga’s qualities even exceed Krsna’s,
owing to His beeing the form of Radha and Krsna combined. Hence, Srila Kaviraja
Gosvami adressess Gauranga as the `paratattva
sima1’, the highest limit of Supreme transcendence. And he also
states:
na caitanyat
Krsnajjagati paratattvam paramiha
C.C.
Adi 1
"There is
no higher feature of Sri Krsna’s divinity than that found in Sri Caitanya’s."
So now a
question arises:
"Since
Gauranga is Krsna’s highest feature, wouldn’t all of Krsna’s best qualities be
found in Gauranga as well? For example, as Krsna is deeply attached to the
Vraja gopis and loves to enoy parakiya rasa exchanges with them, is
Gauranga able to display smilar pastimes?"
If the answer
were "No", then certainly we would have to say that the Kaviraja is
mistaken - Sri Krsna must be the paratattva
sima, and not Gaura; for when
considering the splendour of Sri Krsna’s Rasa
dance with the gopis, what could
match this?
But why should
we doubt the Kaviraja’s version? Rather, let us now begin to examine the sastric evidence which reveals that,
like Sri Krsna, Sri Gauranga has the same rasika
nature.
In Caitanya
Caritamrta’s Chapter 4, Srila Kaviraja Gosvami presents the verses which form
the basis of our discussion:
sri Krsna
caitanya gosai vrajendra kumara
rasamaya murti
Krsna saksat srngara
sei rasa
asvadite kaila avatara
anusange kaila
saba rasera pracara
"Sri Krsna Caitanya Gosai is that selfsame Rasamaya Bhagavan, Vrajendra Nandana,
1) paratattva sima:
ataeve caitanya
gosai para tattva sima
tare khirodasayi
kahi ki tara mahima
C.C.
Adi-2
"Therefore
Caitanya Gosai is the Paratattva sima; and since even Ksirodasayi Visnu
praises His glories what more can be said."
Chapter One
Who is srngara rasa (conjugal love)
personified. And He has specifically come to
relish srngara rasa. Yet, in so doing, He
promotes all of the other rasas too."
Thus Gauranga
and Krsna are both srngara rasamaya
(The Embodiment of erotic pleasure). And moreover, Gauranga’s advent is
specifically linked with His tasting srngara
rasa, as Krsna did wih the gopis. To
substantiate, Krsna dasa next quotes Gita Govindam:
visvesamanuranjanena
janayannandam indibara
sreni syamala
komalairupanayannangair anangotsavam
scacchandam
vrajasundari bhirabhitah pratyangal ingitah
srngarah sakhi
murtimaniva madhou mughdho harih kridati
"Oh sakhi, just look! In Caitra, the month of madhu (spring), our Sri Krsna appears
just like a srngara rasa murti. With
His soft, blue lotus hued body He is inaugurating Ananga’s utsava1 amongst the shapely Vraja sundaris as they embrace all of His limbs!"
Then Srila
Kaviraja Gosvami returns to Gauranga to equate Him with Krsna:
sri Krsna
caitanya gosai rasere sadana
asese visese
kaila rasa asvadana
C.C. Adi 4
"Sri Krsna
Caitanya is an Abode of rasa — for
His rasa asvadana (relishing mellows)
extends extensively and unlimitedly."
This covered
language hints ar every form of rasa imaginable.
Krsna dasa Kaviraja is very clever. After equating Gaura with Krsna, he doesn’t
directly say how srngara rasamaya Gauranga
enjoys srngara rasa; for this would expose Him to the
ignorant scrutiny of the masses. Rather, he says: `asese visese’ (in all sorts of unlimited ways) so
that only the rasika bhaktas can
understand the matter. Or, to put it in his own words:
e saba siddhanta
gura kahite na juyaya
na kahile keha
ihara anta nahi paya
ataeva kahi kichu
koriya nigura
bujhibe rasika
bhakta na bujhibe mura
hrdaya dharaye je
saitanya nityananda
e saba siddhanta
sei paibe ananda
C.C. Adi 4
"All of
these siddhantas are very
confidential and should not be discussed openly. Yet if I don’t tell about
them, no-one will understand. Therefor I am writing these intimate topics in
such a way that the rasikas2
can understand, and the unintelligent won’t. Those holding Caitanya and
Nityananda in their hearts will be happy to hear these siddhantas."
Although he
hints about it throughout Caitanya Caritamrta, Krsna dasa Kaviraja wasn’t
deputed to reveal Sri Gauranga’s rasaraja
trait; this task he has saved
for
1) Ananga’s utsava: rati keli
2) rasikas: Those bent on understanding and relishing the Lord’s intimate,
loving exchanges with His devotees.
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Locana dasa and others. When requested by the Vrndavana
Vaisnava community to
write about
Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s concluding pastimes, Krsna dasa predominantly depicts
Gauranga’s Radha bhava feature in a lila filled with viraha feelings for Krsna. Indeed, this version is camatkara and rasa purna (fascinating and filled with rasa). Yet it is noteworthy that these descriptions center on only
half of Sriman Mahaprabhu’s rasaraja /
mahabava personality.
Yet, Srila
Kaviraja Gosvami does begin his prabatika
(early morning) Gaura kirtana pada saying:
smaraye nava
gauracandra nagara vanayari
"Just
remember youthful Gauracandra, Nagara
vanamali."
And in Caitanya
Caritamrta’s 17th. Chapter, he tells about Gauranga’s sambhoga as follows.
vidya saundarya
sadhesa sambhoga nrtya kirtanaih
prema nama
pradannais ca gaura divyati jauvane
"In His
youth, Sri Gauranga’s knowledge, beauty, fine dress, sambhoga, dancing and sankirtana
all flourish in the distribution of prema
and the Hari nama."
The term `sambhoga’means Gauranga’s conjugal
affairs, which are a prime feature of His youthful pastimes. Although Caitanya
Caritamrta only slightly touches on Gauranga’s mid-kaisora sambhoga
activities here, Locana dasa depicts
these scenes with colorful detail. Here is a sample from Dhamali:
amara gauranga
nace hema kironiya
hemera gache
premera rasa parche cuyaiya
rupa dekhite
jati kula harai harai vasi
adhuta natera
thama gora angera chata
rupa dekhite
hura pareche nava jubatira ghata
mana maila kula
dubila baiche premera bana
locana bale
madana bhole ara ke ache ana
"As my
Gauranga dances, His prema rasa seeps
from His brilliant, golden effulgence— like nectar-honey oozing from a golden
desire tree. nha! What a form! His hips are cocked crooked, while a sweet,
spreading smile adornes His face. Thus seeing His mohana rupa (enticing form) — my familly attachment is going ... going ... gone! What amazing dancing poses and bodily effulgence! The
young kisori girls of Nadiya are
simply stunned! ... Their minds are
churning ... their family ties
sinking ... and Cupid’s arrows sail!
Locana says, since even Cupid is spellbound — who can remain sober?"
Sri Kavikarnapura’s Contribution
Sri Gaura kisora’s madhura pastimes at Srivasa Angana thus unfold in Srila
Kavikarnapura’s "Caitanya carita Mahakavya", Chapter 6:
"Aho!
Gaurasundara begins His madhura
dancing! Wearing golden rings on His fingers and jeweled armlets and bracelets
on His lovely arms, His beauty forms an
Chapter One
indescribable
picture. Even Cupid is enchanted. His palms look like blooming red lotus, His
bodily effulgence streams out in waves and His broad chest appears like the
golden peak of Mount Sumeru. Gaurasundara’s lips are very sweet to behold, His
silken dhoti hangs in elegant folds,
and a chain of ringing bells dangle over His nitamba1. Aho — He is the Crown-jewel of all dancers.
Thus vilasa rasika Gauracandra
stimulates the moods of madhura rasa,
as if He were Ananga (Cupid) himself.
nha! The sound of mrdangas, karatalas, jingling
ankle bells and enchanting singing mixes along with the high pitched ulu ulu vibrations emanating from the
lotus lips of young brahmina women.
And now as they ecstatically watch Mahaprabhu’s dancing, their bodies erupt
with goose bumps. Thus taking up ankle bells in their hands, they ring them and
sing madhura songs with their
alluring, kokila-like voices."
Srila
Kavikarnapura goes on:
aslosaih katica
tathaisa kanscidanya
nacumbaistadanca
carbbitaistathanyan
iteyavam
paramkrpanidhih sutrptan
cakre
sadvilasitalilaya mahatya
Chapter 6, verse 92
"In showing
His magnficence, the Jewel of mercy, Sri Gaurasundara, embraced some bhaktas, kissed others and then
transferred His chewed pan into their
mouths. Thus He performed lila vihara
to His full satisfaction2!"
Sri Gauranga’s vastra harana
lila
In his "korca", Part 2, Chapter 10, Sri
Murari Gupta further relates about such affairs:
Translation: "Then those brahmina Vaisnavas went to bathe in the Suradhuni Ganga,
and after
finishing their Hari puja, they
returned to Gauranga’s house at dusk. Gaurahari danced, sang and performed vihara with them. And as He embraced
them with His lotus-arms, He began ecstatically rolling on the ground with them
too! Aho! Overtaken by waves of ecstacy, Gaurahari danced lika a lion, and
while holding Srivasa’s hands, He swiftly led him away. But back at the kirtana, Haridasa and the other bhaktas became surprised and stunned
when no longer seeing the Lord! So they began seaching, yet they could not find
Him. Understanding their melancholy, the Supreme Prabhu again returned in their
midsts. Thus the bhaktas eagerly
surrounded Sriman Mahaprabhu; yet
seeing Him just like Vanamali Sri
Krsna, they began to offer prayers in gopi
bhava as follows:
`Oh hey Bhagavan
Mahesvara (siva)! Please bestow Your mercy so that He (Gaura) may become our Vallabha (lover).’
Thus
understanding their minds, Sri Krsna Caitanya began vastra harana (stealing their clothes), and similar related lilas. Later, during mid-evening on another
occassion, the bhaktas Rasa data (Bestower of loving mellows), Rasika Sriman Mahaprabhu (using His wo
lotus hands) stole their clothes rendering them naked! And after performing krida 3 with them, the Lord
returned their garments. Then these
1) nitamba: buttocks
2) Full
satisfaction: Such exchanges are
only possible with the nagari svarupas of
these bhaktas.
3) Such krida (love making) is only possible with the unseen nagari svarupas of theses
bhaktas.
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bhaktas redressed en enjoyed vihara with Mahaprabhu in paramananda! Returning to
His Hari nama sankirtana, Sri Gauracandra
fully purified their hearts with the rays of His maha ujjvala golden effulgence!"
Srila
Kavikarnapura also mentions this lila in
his "Caitanya carita Maha Kavya".
Gaurasundara’s Rasa Lila
Krsna performed Vastra harana lila to assure the gopis; thus they learn that Krsna accepted their prayers — He will
become their Prana vallabha (hearts
beloved). Then Rasa lila follows.
Similarly, Gauranga performed vastra
harana lila to offer His bhaktas
the same assurance. So it isn’t surprising that Narahari Cakravarti describes
Gauranga’s Maha Rasa sankirtana pastimes
in his "Gaura carita Cintamani".
yamuna puline rasa
vilasadi je rupa korila syama
sei rupa gora
suradhuni tire rocila rasera dhama
laja kula bhaya
saba teyagiya nadiya nagari jata
manorathe cari
cale juthe juthe eraya kantaka sata
praphulita haiya
dhainu kahara pane na palati dekhi
lohara pinjara
haite jemana palaya navina pakhi
jaiya turite
nayana bhariya dehinu gaura raya
jubati mandali
majhe saje bhala ki diba upama taya
nana jati jantra
baje caridige sukhera nahika para
gaoye madhura
sura narigana barise amiya dhara
o mukha kamala
madhu pane mati mo punah nacinu sukhe
narahari natha
ta dekhi hasiya amare korila buke
"Just as
syamasundara enjoys Rasa vilasa and
other pastimes near the Yamuna’s banks, Sri Gora’s Rasa dhama rests beside the Suradhuni Ganga. Last night, many
groups of Nadiya nagaris renounced
their shyness, chastity and fear — as their Gaura anuraga carried them over hundreds of obstacles. They were joyful
as they secretly flew like young birds released from a cage. And seeing
Gauranga Raya, their eyes became satiated with His darsana ananda. Aho! Who can describe His beauy amidst these
beautiful women? Then the nagaris surrounded
Gauranga and played many instruments with boundless pleasure. Meanwhile, the devis of heaven sweetly sang as nectar
sprinkled from the sky. So while repeatedly drinking the inoxicating madhu from Gauranga’s lotus-face (by
kissing Him) I danced in jubilation. Then Narahari’s Lord, Sri Gauranga, smiled
and embraced me to His chest."
Purport:
This madhura scene unfolds in Srivasa Thakura’s
flower gardens beside the picturesque Ganga .
The nagaris described here are
Gauranga’s male associates who have arrived at Srivasa Angana in the mood of abhisarika ramanis (young, married girls
who secretly fled home home to meet Gauranga.) As the sankirtana begins, it appears that a group of men are performing
congregational chanting. But as the moods of Vrndavana overtake Gaurasundara
and as He dances into the moonlit garden — the devotees follow to assume their nagari svarupas. Thus Maha sankirtana Rasa begins.
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Narahari Cakravarti’s Madhura
bhava
Narahari (Ghana syama)
Cakravarti is the grand-disciple of Visvanatha Cakravarti. Knowing wel the
Post-Caitanya period of Gaudiya Vaisnava
history, he has skillfully documented this era in "Bhakti Ratnakara".
Thus, as an experienced Gaura bhakta initiated
in Sri Narottama dasa Thakura’s parampara,
his siddhantas certainly match those
of his previous masters. In his asta kala
gaura lila book entitled "Gaura carita Cintamani", (amongst
nearly 150 other nagari padas) he has revealed his heart’s firm
resolution as follows:
nadiya nagariganera
carane mati rohu mora jivane
marane
emana kakhana na
dekhi na suni priya lagi saba
tiyagiya amani
gaura preme tanu
gathita sabara ke bujhibe iha
sakati kahara
ei asa
naraharira hiyaya ei sabara guna
gaiye sadaya
"In life or
in death my mind rests at the lotus-feet of the Nadiya nagaris. I have never seen such renounciation; for they quickly forsake everything for their priya Gauranga’s seva. Their bodies are molded from Gaura prema; so who can
estimate their sakti? Thus Narahari
always desires to sing their glories."
Sri Narottama
dasa Thakura depicts a similar mood:
kancana
darpana varana sugora re
bara vidhu
jiniya bayana
duti akhi
nimitha murukha vara vidhi
re
na dile adhika
nayana
hari hari kene
va janama haila mora
kanaka mukura
jini gora anga suvalani
heriya na kene
hailam bhora
ajanulambita
bhuja vanamala virajita
malati kusuma
suranga
heri gora
murati kata sata kulavati
hanata madana
taranga
anukhana
premabhare se ranga nayana
jhore
na jani ki jape
niravadi
visaye avesa
mana na bhajinu se carana
vanchita karila
more vidhi
nadiya
nagari seha bhela vrajapuri
priya gadadhara
bama pasa
mohe natha
angikuru vanchakalapa taru
kahe dina narottama
dasa
"Oh re
(Sakhi)! Gaura’s lovely complexion shines like a golden mirror, and
His face defeats the splendour of the moon. But what a fool is the Creator —
for He only gave me two eyes which blink! Oh Hari! Why was I ever born in the
first place? Gora’s strongly-shaped limbs defy the elegance of a golden mirror.
So why couldn’t I become overwhelmed by seeing Him? His arms extend to His
knees, a forest garland graces His neck and malati
flowers decorate His hair. Thus seeing Gaura’s splended murati — hundreds of kulavati
ramanis1 become drenched by Cupid’s splashing waves. Tears
incessantly stream from Gora’s eyes, and what sort of mantra does He
1)
kulavati
ramanis:
chaste housewives
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repeatedly
utter? nha! Providence
has deprived me — for owing to my absorbtion in
maya I couldn’t understand the melows of His
carana seva. But aho! As priya Gadadhara stands on Gauranga’s
left side — Nadiya beomes transformed into Vraja! Fallen Narottama says: Oh vancha kalpa taru Gora, Oh Natha (Lord), please accept me."
Sri Govinda dasa’s Contribution
sri nanda
nandana gopijana vallabha
sri radhika nayaka
nagara syama
so saci
nandana nadiya purandara
sura munigana mano
mohana dhama
jaya nija
kanta kanti kalevara
jaya nija preyasi
bhava vinoda
vraja
tarunigana locana mangala
nadiya badhugana
nayana amoda 1
"Our
sacinandana is Nandanandana, Gopijana vallabha,
Radha’s nayaka and Nagara syamasundara. He is full with all
opulences in Nadiya; thus He is the
attractve pleasure abode for all the munis
and devatas. So all glories to
His kantas (sweethearts), to His
effulgence, and to His beautiful form! And all glories to the mind enchanting bhavas of His consorts — for He is
Auspiciousness personified. For the Vraja tarunis’eyes,
and Pleasure personified for the Nadiya nagaris."
This madhura pada is instructive not only
because it likens Radhika’s beloved Nagara
syama with Sri sacinandana — but it also equates Krsna’s kantas (sweethearts), along with their vinoda bhavas (enchanting moods), with Gauranga’s kantas. In other words, the Nadiya nagaris are non-other than the Vraja gopis. Thus, from this perspective a
vast new relish of Gauranga’s pastimes opens. Vaisnavas traditionally sing this
popular song before listening to the Bhagavata. Yet moreover, Sri Govinda dasa is acclaimed as one of the
greatest Vaisnava poets to ever appear. As the son of Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s
associate, Ciranjiva Sena of Srikhanda, Govinda dasa wrote during the peak of a
renaissance when Gauranga’s prema dharma
was resurging in Bengal after gaining
remendous momentum in Vraja from the Six Gosvamis’preaching. During this era
many other rasika Gaudiya Mahajanas
also helpt to increase the breadth and the depth of Sriman Mahaprabhu’s prema ratnakara (ocean of prema rasa) With their extensive
contribution of Vaisnava padavali.
For indeed these padas represent the
mature culmination of the essence found in the Gosvami sastras.
In early life
Govinda dasa wasn’t a Vaisnava, until a traumatic incident happened: He fell very ill and was on the verge
of death. It was then that his older brother, Sri Ramacandra Kaviraja1,
brought Srinivasa Acarya to the place
where he lie in a coma. But by Srinivasa Acarya ‘s merciful touch (on the
forehead) Govinda’s high fever suddenly broke — and he was cured. Then Govinda’s
life changed, and on the spur of the moment he composed his famous poem:
bhaja hunre
mana sri nanda nandana
abhaya
caranaravindare ...
1)
Ramacandra Kaviraja1: Sri Narottama dasa’s most intimate
friend
Chapter One
... to praise the value of Vaisnava sat sanga. Later after
becomming Srinivasa’s disiple, Govinda dasa’s poetic skill fully blossomed; and then Srinivasa would often come to
listen to his poetic discriptions of Gaura and Govinda’s sweet lila. Srinivasa was indeed pleased with
his disciple, and blessed him with the title, `kaviraja’.
But when Govinda
dasa’s poetry reached the Vrndavana Vaisnava community, his acclaim increased,
for Jiva Gosvami re-confirmed Srinivasa’s blessings by sending a letter to Bengal declaring Govinda dasa as the `kaviraja’ for his amazing poetic
prowess.
These historical
events lend support to the Nadiya nagari doctrine
because many of Govinda dasa’s padas
about Gauranga capture Him in this spirit. Thus we may conclude that Srinivasa Acarya
and Jiva Gosvami also support these
mellows. If otherwise, why would they
honour such poetry so highly? Here is a sample:
dekha dekha
nagara gaura sudhakara
jagat
ahaladankari
nadiya
purabara ramani mandala
mantana gunamani
dhari
sahajei
rasamaya sahacara urugana
majhe virajita
nagara raja
madana
parabhava badana hasa dekhi
vinasai
ranginigana bhaya laja
bhakata vrnda
citta kairava phullita
nisidisi udita
hiyaka vilasa
rasiya
ramanicita rohini lasaka
anuksana purala
na rahe hrase
aiche vilasa
prakasa vinodini vilasai
ulasai bhavini
bhava
pada pankaja
para govinda dasa cita
bhramari ki
paoaba madhuri labha
Oh Sakhi! "Look, look at that Nagara!
He’s the Golden full moon Who elates the entire universe. And while surrounded
by the sundari ramanis of Nadiya, He’s
a Jewel of qualities. Being carefree and rasamaya,
He appears like the Nagara raja
amongst His associates. Although His smiling face conquers Cupid, it also
smites every playful, young girl’s fear and shyness. Thus the bhaktas1 lily-like hearts are
overjoyed as He continuously plays within their minds. And just as the moon
enjoys vilasa (love making) with the
Rohini star Gauranga excites the young ramanis’minds
with unceasing erotic rapture. Such prema
vilasa He enjoys with the Nadiya vinodinis
while refreshing their bhavas. Thus
the lady-bee of Govinda dasa’s mind hankers to sip the sweet honey from His
lotus feet.
Can Gauranga Give Up His Previous Nature?
Narahari
Cakravarti offers a logical explanatioin for Sri Gauranga’s nagarali affairs in the following pada:
nadiya nagare
nagarali jata nahika tahara lekha
anyera kathate je
hauka se hauka iha ta amara dekha
1) bhaktas: Using a long `a’ over
the last syllable Govinda dasa refers to the bhaktas of feminine gender
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jadi bala ei
avatare iha sambhava ki rupe hoy
achaye tahara
karana prasidha sakala lokete kaya
jara je svabhava
thake taha keha kabhu na charite pare
svabhavanarupa
kore krda karu nizsdha kichu na kore
jadi mane kora e
rupa ihara svabhava kotha na dekhi
tahate tomara
nivediye suna ihate jagat saksi
ei sacisuta
jasoda nandana taha ki na jana tumi
vrndavane jata
nigura vilasa taha ki janaba ami
ei sei, sei ei,
saba priya parikara sangete laiya
viharaye sada
nadiya nagare nija gunagane magana haiya
nava nava kulabati
kula kula kalanka laji tilanjali diya
narahari saksi
sara kaila sabe sukhamaya gora parana
priya
— Gaura
carita Cintamani
As two devis from heaven peak through the
clouds, they discuss Gauranga’s similarity with Krsna:
"There is no end to
Gauranga’s Nadiya nagara antics1,
and I don’t care a fig about what others say — for I’ve seen them with my own
eyes. Yet if someone questions, `In this Avatara
how is that possible?’ I’ll anwser, `look, everybody knows that no-one can
change their nature. So (even if restricted) won’t He act according to His
nature anyway?’ But if they reply, `I haven’t witnessed this nature of His’,
then I will anwser, `the whole world is a witness — for don’t you know that
saci’s dulala was previously Yasoda
Nandana? So must I mention all about Vrndavana’s nigura vilasa (intimate love affairs)?’And Vrndavana is
Nadiya, and Nadiya is Vrndavana —but now Krsna’s Vraja associates have become
Gauranga’s priya companions, and as
they sing His glories, they enjoy Nadiya vihara
with Him. Thus stepping over their fear from family disgrace — all of the kulavati ramanis 2 rush to
please their prana priya Gora; and Narahari is a witness."
But Would the Vraja Gopis
allow Krsna to Escape?
Let’s relish
Locana dasa’s pada which candidly
portrays two nagaris viewing Krsna’s
transformation in Navadvipa:
jahara eka
bara gaura natabara
nayana konete
here
asite pare ki
phire
sunechi
purane radhikara sane
tahari premera
katha
tila adha
jare na dekhile more
se kena asibe
hetha
preme rhini
haiya ela palaiya
yamuna haiya
para
gopa kula
chari ela naide puri
dvijakula
avatara
bara bhaya
mone pache keha sune
lukayeche kala rupa
kaca sona
mekhe nija anga deke
hoyeche rai
svarupa
1) nagara antics: flirtatious activities
2) kulavati ramanis: chaste and beautiful
newly married girls
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iha jadi
suni vraja gopigane
eseche dvijera
puri
nagarali
pana tabe jabe jana
bhenge dibe
bhari bhuri
se raja kumari navina kisori
jahara koreche
dhara
duti pathaiya jabe bedhe laiya
dohai na manibe
kara
gokula nagare kalanka sagare
majayeche kula
badhu
dese ke na
jane cora kanu bole
videse hoyeche
sadhu
"Sakhi! The young married girls who view
Gaura nataraja (just once) surely
become chaste — for they cannot
remove their eyes from Him. Yet I’ve heard all about His love escapades with
Radha in the Puranas. nha! He’d die if He missed seeing Her for
only a split second! But why would He come here? "
The other sundari ramani answers:
"Usurping a debt for the gopis unconditional love, Krsna crossed
the Yamuna and fled the His gopa
community! Thus comming to Nadiya, He advented amongst the brahmanas. Yet still fearing like anything, He smeared His black
form with gold to take on Radha’s svarupa.
But if the Vraja gopis catch wind of
His hiding amongst the brahmanas —
they will certainly spill all of the evidence revealing Him as Gokula’s Nagara. Then Navina kisori raja kumari Radha
will send Her sakhis to collect
Her dues; and they won’t listen to
any excuses! Rather, they’ll bind and take Him away, saying: `Aho! You’ve left our Gokula village an ocean of scandal — for
who doesn’t know that You’re a gopi-cora
(thief of others’ wives)! So do You have the gall to hide in a foreign country
calling Yourself a sadhu’?"
This is rasa.
Here we discover
why Nadiya nagari bhava is the
logical outcome of the gopis’ plight
after Krsna left them to become Gora. As He wanted to hide Himself for the
chance to relish their sweet mellows — would they let Him get away with it
alone?
Hence, a new
sensational rasa is born as they
rejoin Him in Nadiya. But this time the Vraja sundaris are equally clever as their Master — for they hide their nari svarupas to take up malae forms. In
Sri Narottama dasa Thakura’s song, "hede
he nagara bara - suno he muralidhara ..."
Radhika prays to take birth as a male so that She may always remain in Krsna’s
company. Her heartache is thus expressed:
"Oh My nagara bara! Oh hey Muralidhara! Please listen. When You go
cowherding in the forest with Sridama and Sudama, I watch by the kitchen door —
and My heart follows as I gaze upon Your sweet face. But dreading being
discovered by my relatives, I pretend that the stove from the kitchen stove
makes Me cry. Oh My jewel-like Ramana
(Lover)! Alas! If providence had not created Me a woman — surely I could have
always roamed with You from place to place."
Before going on
to the next chapter to relish the nagaris’purva
raga for Gora, it will be appropriate to say a few words about the type of adhikara required for appreciating such
intimate affairs. For such thoughts, hankering and anubhava (divine realization)
Chapter One
may awaken in a sadhaka bhakta’s heart only after the
mature ripening of his Vraja
gopi bhava. In other words, when one becomes adept
in manjari sadhana and receives the
fortune to meet an experienced Mahatma absorbed
in nagari bhava — only then can such
an advanced form of raganuga bhakti begin.
For one’s praccanna (hidden) Nadiya nagari form is an extended feature of one’s manjari svarupa ideal for serving in rasika Nagara and rasika
Nagari’s (Radha Krsna’s) continuing pastimes in Navadvipa.
To perform Sri
Sri Gaura Govinda’s manasi seva, one
is advised to first meditate on Sri Gaurasundara’s Radha bhava lilas. Following Gaura’s mood into Vraja, one then meditates
on servong in each Vraja pastime as Radharani’s dasi. But when the sadaka
is adept in such seva, he may
re-enter Navadvipa to focus on Sri Gauranga’s rasaraja feature. In essence Vraja lila and Gaura lila are
one. The Navadvipa pastimes represent Rasaraja
Sri Krsna’s `parisistha lila’,
further adventures meant for relishing prema’s
ever-new expressions.
Chapter Two
The Nadiya Nagaris’ Purva Raga
Taking up where
we left off, this chapter will continue disclosing how srngara rasamaya Gauranga has all of Krsna’s
captivating features. Yet moreover, Gauranga’s alluring side-long glances,
power of subjugation and bhuvana mohana
rupa (universally enchanting form) even outmatch Krsna’s. A striking
example is found in the story of `Svapna
vilasamrta’, where Srimati Radharani has an amazing dream. As the scene
opens, Srimati is lying asleep while tenderly embracing Her prana Govinda after They enjoyed nikunja vilasa. But then a startling
dream frightens Radha: She sees a
beautiful, Golden purusa who is madly
crying "Krsna!, Krsna!" — Just as She does when weeping for Him. Aho!
Srimati’s mind races after Gora — eventhough She is tightly embraacing
syamasundara! Thus overwhelmed, Srimati’s slumber breaks — "Haya,
haya!" She exclaims. "What did I see?" Then restlessly pushing
on Krsna’s side, She asks Him. And after relating Her dream, Krsna smiles, and
replies:
"Oh Prana priye! You have seen Rasaraja Gauranga — but don’t think
otherwise, Your prema has molded Me
as such."
The moral of the
story is that Gora’s incredible alluring power can kidnap even Maha bhava svarupini Radha — and right
from Krsna’s lap! So when this happens, what will be the plight for the young taruni ramanis of Nadiya? As Gauranga’s
beauty can break Radharani’s chastity for Krsna, will their chastity for their
so-called husbands remain? Indeed, it is only after attaining Gauranga that a
woman’s chastity can fully blossem. And why is that? Once seeing Him, could she
think of anyone else? In "Dhamali", Locana dasa offers testimony by
describing his purva raga1
for Gauranga in nagari bhava:
sacira gora kamera
kora dekhlam ghatera kule
cacara cule
beriya bhale nava malatira male
kaca sosa lage
ghrna rupere tulana dite
hena citacora
manohara naiko avanite
ki ara balcho go
sai tomaya bujhaba ki
snane jete
sakhira sathe gaura dekhechi
se rupa dekhi duti
akhi phiraite nari
punah tare dekhbar
tore kata sadha kori
ki ara balbo go
sai tumi ta acha bhala
amara maramer katha
maramei rakhila
jagite ghumate sada
gaura jage mane
locana bale je
dekheche sei se uha jane
"Oh sakhi! Mother saci’s Gora is a Kamera kora (Abode of kama ) ... and I jst saw Him by the Ganga ’s
ghata! His lovely curling hair tossed
so elegantly over His forehead ... and
His cura (topknot of hair) was bound
with malati garlands. Uh! Now even
molte gold irks me — for it’s incomparable with His effulgent limbs. So is
there such a Heart-stealer, or Mind-thief, anywhere else in the whole creation?
But what are you saying, sakhi? ... And how can I explain it to you? ... when I went with the sakhis to bathe — I saw Gora! Then I
couldn’t retract my eyes from Him ...
and now I only
hanker to see
His exquisit form again! Oh sakhi, what
more can I say? You’re still
acting normal ... so I guess that my heart’s
confession will have to remain inside. For
1)
purva
raga: the
stage before meeting the beloved (preliminary attraction)
Chapter Two
during waking,
or sleeping, Gora always fills my mind. Locana says, only those who see Him
will know what I’m talking about."
And having seen,
Vrndavana dasa Thakura confirms Locana’s addressing Gauranga as the Abode of
divine kama :
visvambara murti
jena madana
samana
divya gandha
malya divya vasa paridhana
—
Sri Caitanya Bhagavata
"Visvambhara’s
bidy is just like Madana’s (Cupid’s) decorated with divine garlands, pleasing
parfume and fine dress."
But this is an
under-estimation for Locana, who says:
manamatha
gauranga rupa heri prana kade
manamatha koti
koti jiniya gauranga tanu
sarva ange
labanya apara
— Dhamali
"nha!
Seeing Gauranga’s madhura form my
heart cries; for His every limb
defeats the amour of millions of Cupids!"
Hence Locana
goes on describing his deep attraction:
rupa lagi akhi
jhure gune mana bhora
prati anga lagi
kade prati anga mora
hiyara parasa lagi
hiya mora kade
parana putali mora
hiya nahi badhe
ami kena suradhuni
gelam
kena gaura rupe
nayane dilam
ami kena cahilam
gaura pane
amaya hanle duti
nayana bane
amara nayana
bole o rupa dekhe asi
amara mona bole
haige tara dasi
kore nayana
pathe anagona
amara pajara
kete kallo khana
gaura rupa
sagarera pichala ghate
amara mana giya
taya par lo chute
eke gaura rupa
taya piriti makha
tate isata hasi
nayanabaka
gorara jat rupa
tata vesa
o se bhav te pajara
sesa
gora rupa lagi
akhi jhore
gora gune mana
bhora kore
tila adha
pasarite nari
sadai hiyara
majhe dhori
ei buke ciriya
rakhi paraneri sange
mone hole bahira
kore dekhi mukha cande
gaura rupa hei
sabara antara ullasa
ananda hrdaya
kahe e locana dasa
"Gauranga’s
rupa soothes my eyes, and His
qualities captivate my mind! Thus my limbs cry to embrace His limbs! Yet when
His form envelopes my mind, it cries too! so haya! haya! I’m unable to bind my
heart (like a doll) with His.
Chapter Two
Oh why did I go
to the Suradhuni Ganga? ... Why did
I alow my eyes to see Gora’s beautiful form? And why did I look upon His sweet
face? For His flower-arrow-glance has pierced me! Hence my eyes are telling —
`just go see Him again.’ And my mind dictates — `just become His dasi.’ When my eyes glanced up a down
His sweet form, my heart tore to pieces! In fact, the Ganga ’s
ghata turned slippery from the madhuri of Gauranga’s rupa sagara. But nha! As my mind raced to embrace Him, it
slipped and fell."
On the other
hand, the thick butter of piriti
(love, prema) is spread over His
entire body — but there’s a slight smile on His face, and His eyes are shifty.
Thus contemplating Gora’s insatiable form, my chest bursts! nha! His rupa
steals my eyes, and His qualities drive me mad. Oh, I can’t forget Him —
even for half a second; for He is
always on my mind. So I would just like to tear out my heart and paste it to
His moon-face! Thus Locana dasa ‘s heart overflows with ananda seeing everyones’joy."
It is lamentable
that the madhurya of Locana’s padavali can never be duplicated in
English. For his down to earth village style colloquial Bengali has a
soul-stirring twist that English words just can’t capture. Yet for those
knowing Bengali, a graceful, exhorbitant Sarasvati river of rasa can be discovered flowing with
every beat of his simple, sweet and life full poetry. On the other hand,
however, sometimes Locana’s stark fascinations for preaching Gauranga’s parakiya rasa gets the better of him.
Then, due to the excessive churning of his Gaura anuraga, he even becomes oblivious, or fearless, to public scandal.
Or, as Sri Haridasa dasa Baba puts it:
"In order to show Gauranga’s srngara
rasaraja svarupa, and to relish such bhavas, Locana has placed the garland of Gauranga’s kalankas (disgraceful scandal)
upon his own
chest."
Gaura Kalankini1
And here is an
example:
baluk baluk
sakala loke gaure kalankini
dhik jara kula
rakhe kulera kamini
nadiya nagare
gauracanda cale jaya
canchala nayana
kori dui dike caya
nagaridera netra
jena bhramarara
pati
gaura mukha
padma madhu piye mati mati
padma madhu pane
tadera dekhiya ullasa
gaura guna gaya e locana dasa
— from Dhamali
"Oh let
them say it, just let everyone call me, `Gaura kalankini (scandalized by Gaura)! And damn those yooung damsels who
cling to their so-called family prestige. When Gauranga walks through Nadiya,
His flirtatious glances roam both sides of the path. Thus the nagaris’ eyes soar like thirsty bees to
sip the honey from His lotus face. Seeing them happily relishing, Locana dasa
joyfully sings about Gauranga’s qualities."
Has Locana’s
chest overflowed with the pride of his unconditional Gaura prema? Perhaps; yet
there is another reason too which causes him to run amuck in the ecstacy
1) Gaura kalankini: a young girl who is disgraced
by Gauranga
Chapter Two
of his madhura tie with Gora. Thus he aassures
another Navadvipa vasini as follows:
dhara ara nahi
sai dhara ara nai
buka sthira kori
sabe raha eka thai
je je baluk ta baluk
taha na sunibe
kalanka pathara
majhe satara eriba
baluk sakal loke
gaura kalankini
dik dik dik sai
kulera kamini
gaura paribada e
ta sabai paibe
locana bole kare
bhaya kora ara tabe
— from Dhamali
Why Fear?
"Don’t fear
sakhi! There’s nothing more to fear.
Let’s take the load of our chests and try to remain calm. Whomever may
criticise — let them, we won’t listen. We’ll just swim across the ocean of
scandal to escape. Oh let them adress us `Gaura kalankini’! And sakhi,
damn, damn, damn those chaste, young housewifes! Look, everyone is going to end
up disgraced by Gora! Thus Locana says, then we’ll have nothing more to
fear."
This pada is meant for two types of
listeners, those taing part in Gauranga’s madhura
lila, and us too. Locana’s fearlesness is born from deep realization and
confidence. On one hand he knows about Gauranga’s magnanimity which spurs His
inner desire to share madhura rasa
with every bhakta. Yet he is
confident too that no-one can resist His insurmountable beauty and charm.
Hence, the conclusion is that everyone will become `Gaura kalankini ‘ (like himself). Then who will be left to criticise? But
for those who oppose nagari bhava,
herein we can imbibe a hint:
If
someone were to mercifully tell them about Gauranga rasika nature, could they resist? In other words, when properly
informed about the full spectrum of Gauranga’s parama karuna, — they too would become attracted, no doubt. For
such is the all encompacing power of Gauranga’s mercy. Indeed, this is what
Gauranga hankers for; yet He laments
because such bhaktas are very rare:
prithibite asiya
amio iha cai
khoje hena jana
more kathao na pai
— Caitanya
Bhagavata
"My desire
in comming to this world is to find those who just search after Me; but such people are very rare."
Because the
majority of His followers lose sight of Him as their ultimate goal, Gauranga
has spoken.
Sri Vasudeva Ghosa’s Padavali
The three
brothers, Govinda, Madhava and Vasudeva Ghosa were very dear parsadas of Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and expert singers in His sankirtana pastimes. Yet of the three,
Vasudeva became the most prolific, and popular, for his vast contribution of
Vaisnava padavali. Because he
composed his padas after directly
witnessing
Chapter Two
Gauranga’s
activities, they are valuable for their historical accuracy, besides the deep bhavas which they express. Thus Srila
Kaviraja Gosvami praises in Caitanya Caritamrta:
vasudeva gita
kore prabhu varnone
kastha pasana
drabe jahara sravane
"When the
songs composed by Vasudeva Ghosa are heard — even the stones melt."
In context with
this essay, it is noteworthy that a large percentage of Vasudeva Ghosa’s pada’s describe Nadiya nagari bhava. Yet by sampling them we
can learn that he (along with his brothers) not only support this mode of
worshipping Gauranga — they are counted amongst the nagaris of whom their songs describe. Hence their songs form a living account, or first-hand testimony to
Sri Gauranga’s rasika nature. Here is
a sample:
madana mohana
mani gauranga badana khani
rupa heri ki na
haila more
sonara varana
tanu ei chila kala kanu
nahile ki mana
curi kore?
rasera parana jara kule ki koribe tara
nadiya
nagara hena jana
ki chara daruna
mati majila jubati sati
ghare ghare
premera kadana
nayana kamala
nava aruna parabhava
dhara bahe mukha
buka bahiya
aha mari mari
sai marama tomara kai
jiva na go gora
na dekhiya
hiyaya premera
sara tanu kaila jara jara
probodha na mane
more prani
suradhuni tire
jaiya bhasaiba kula krida
bhajiba se gora
gunamani
purabe suninu
jata sei saba abhimata
eve bhela
kalatanu gora
vasudeva ghosera
Visnuani rasika nagara jani
nahila ki gopira
mana cora
Rupa Anuraga
" I
consider Gauranga’s face to be like Madana
mohana’s; and when viewing His
body — I am unable to describe my captivation! Oh, this Golden youth must have
been that Black youth Krsna — for how else could He have stolen my mind? But
what about the Nadiya damsels who have a rasika
heart, will their so-called family tie be able to stop them? How will they
resist Him? And what can we say about the intense agony of Nadiya’s chaste
young girls — for their love-lorn crying can be heard from every home. Hence
their soft, lotus-eyes, conquered by the Gauranga-sun, now pour tears that
stream over their breasts. Oh sakhi!
I’m going to pass away ... so just
hear my confession:
Without properly
knowing never classify Gora as ordinary — for my mind has fathomed the sweetnes
of His prema — my body is burning in
a fever — and my heart cannot be pacified without Him! Just let me go to the Ganga and drown all of my family obligations; then I shall full worship Gora guna mani. nha! Concerning everything
that I ‘ve heard about dark-complexioned Krsna — the same applies to
Gora. Thus
Vasudeva Ghosa says, I know that He is a Rasika
nagara — for how else
Chapter Two
could He have
stolen the gopis’ minds?"
From the
selected padas that we have selected
so far, we can see that the Mahajanas
who write them look upon themseves as young, married girls in Gaura lila. Thus there is an unseen mystery
taking place here that can baffle even the learned scholars. One might ask,
therefore —
"Is this type of rasa that Govinda dasa, Narahari
Sarakara, Locana dasa, Vasudeva Ghosa and others describe really taking place,
or is it just a kind of fascination, or bhava,
that they relish within their minds?"
We won’t try to
answer this question now, for this chapter only deals with purva raga (tha stage of preliminary attraction for Gauranga). So
after presenting more evidence, the right moment for this discussion will
automatically present itself in an upcomming chapter. At present, however, in
context with Vasudeva and Govinda Ghosa, their `nari abhimana’ (female mentality) appears natural, for previously
they were attracted to Krsna as the twin sisters, Sudevi and Rangadevi of
Vraja. Sri Govinda Ghosa writes as follows:
nadiya
nagarigana kade tara anukhana
basana bhusana
nahi bhaya
suradhuni tire
jaite dekiba gaurana pathe
canda mukhera
vani suni juraba tapita
prane
govinda ghosa
deha khina
"The Nadiya
nagaris cry continuously, and they
have lost all care for their dres and ornaments. On the way to the Suradhuni
they simply contemplate: `Oh when
will we see Gauranga coming along this path? ... Oh, how many days will
we have to wait for His auspicious darsana?
And when will we again hear sweet words emanating from His moon-face? For only
this will sooth our depressed hearts. Thus Govinda Ghosa’s body has become
thin."
Vasudeva Ghosa’s
next pada further reveals about his
internal mood:
niravadi mora
mone gora rupa lagiache
bala sakhi ki
kori upaya
na dekhile gora
rupa vidariya jaya buka
parane bahire
haite caya
kaha sakhi ki
buddhi koriba
grhapati
gurujana bhaya nahi mora mana
gora lagi parana tyajiba
saba sukha
teyaginu kule jalanjali dinu
gora vinu ara
nahi bhaya
ujhore jhoraye
akhi suno go marama sakhi
vasu ghosa ki
koribe taya
"Oh sakhi! Please advise me what to do? ... My mind is always fixed on Gora.
And without seeing His form my heart is breaking — so my soul wants to leave my
body! Oh sakhi ! What can I do? The
fear of my husband and family superiors has gone — so I am thinking to commit
suicide for Gora! I’ve disgarded all other happiness and
thrown aside my
family dharma — for I know nothing
else but Him. Thus, with tear filled eyes, Vasu Ghosa emplores: Oh prana sakhi! What shall I do?"
Here, with the
mention of a husband, and suggesting the presence of a mother-in-law,
sister-in-law etc., Vasu Ghosa fully merges with his Nadiya nagari svarupa. And this is not a
daydream, or the play of his imagination, but the testimony of an inner-world
that many other Gaura associates take part in. For there are literally
thousands of padas written by
countless Gaudiya Mahajanas which
verify Vasudeva’s experiences.
Nadiya nagari bhava is not simply excluded to
those who were previously gopis in
Vraja. And we find the example with Murari Gupta who was previously Hanumana.
Sri Murari Gupta’s Padavali
Here is a sample
of Murari’s akhepa anuraga (intense
feelings of remorse) in the pangs of Gaura viraha:
sakhi he gora
kena nisturai mohe
jagate koriya
daya diya sei padachaya
vancala e abhagire
kahe
gaura preme sapi
prana jiu kore anacana
stira haiya
rohita nari ghare
age jadi
janitam piriti na koritam
jaciya na ditu
prana pare
ami bhuji jara
tore se jadi na caya phire
emana pitite
kiva sukha
cataka salila
cahe bajara khepile tahe
jaya phati jaya
kina buka
murari gupta
kaya piriti sahaja naya
visese gaurana
premera jvala
kula mana saba
chara carana asraya koro
tabe se paibe
sacira bala
" Oh sakhi, why is Gora torturing me? Although mercifully offering the whole world
the shelter of His lotus feet, He neglected an unfortunate girl like me. I gave
my life for Gauranga’s love but now my soul is burning; thus I cannot remain peaceful at home! If I would have known
(what would have happened) I wouldn’t have surrendered my heart. For as I
suffer from for Him — He’s indifferent. So what is the happiness in such love?
It’s just like the cataka bird who
tries to relieve its thirst from the cloud — yet becomming struck by lightning
— its chest blows to pieces!" Thus Murari Gupta says, "Love isn’t
simple, especially when suffering the pain of Gauranga’s prema. First a young girl must give up her family and her pride,
and then after taking shelter at His feet, she can attain the Son of sacaryai."
Here is another
example where Murari Gupta totally merges in nagari bhava:
dande dande tile
tile gora rupa na herile
marama moriya jena thaki
sadha haya
nirantara hemakanti kalevara
hiyara majhare
sada rakhi
bareka na dekhi
taya pajaradhasiya jaya
dhairaja dhorite
nahi pari
anuragera duri
diya antare ki kore hiya
na jani tara katai
dhara dhari
suradhuni tire
giya kula diba bhasaiya
anala jvaliya
diba laje
gauranga
sanmukhe kori gauranga kalanka
mala
galaya porite sadha
lage
murari gupta
bale bhale dage dage dile
gupta gauranga
anurage
"From hour
to hour, and from second to second, my heart is dying for want of Gora’s rupa darsana. My ambition is to always
hold Gauranga’s hemakanti kalevara (golden body) within my mind.
But alas! Without seeing Him — my heart breaks, and my patience is fleeing.
Aho! The rope of anuraga is pulling
my mind — for I failed to estimate the power of His subjugation. So I’ll just
go to the Suradhuni Ganga and drown my family attachment — and burn my shyness
in a bonfire. Then I shall satiate my eyes seeing Gauranga standing before me —
why should I perform my housework needlessly? As I am a chaste young girl, a
yearn to wear the garland of Gauranga’s scandals around my neck. Thus Murari
Gupta says; `Gauranga has placed a
fine scar on me for my secret anuraga!’"
Murari Gupta
lived in the same neighborhood as Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and was the Lord’s
senior classmate in Gangadasa Pandita’s sanskrit toll (school). Thus witnessing Gauranga’s pastimes from the
beginning, he kept a korca (diary) to
record all of Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s
Navadvipa activities. This `korca’
later became a great source wherefrom Vrndavana dasa, Locana dasa and Krsnadasa
Kaviraja gathered their information to write Caitanya Bhagavata, Caitanya
Mangala and Caitanya Caritamrta. Hence, as the forerunner of Caitanya deva’s other biographers, his pen
certainly commands a lot of weight concerning authority. Therefore, as he
writes songs about nagari bhava alsRASA-RAJA-
SRI
SRI GAURANGA
A
Study of Sri Gauranga’s intimate, hidden side (like Sri Krsna) as the Enjoyer
of madhura rasa, collected from a host of Gaudiya mahajana authors
The highest form of God (Paratattva
Sima)
(A Reverential Offering)
Many mahatmas have left substantial
contributions in the Vaisnava world; but one in particular stands out in my
mind — a humble bhakta (devotee) who
never made a disciple, and who hid from recognition. Still, amongst scholars
and bhaktas he is a favorite, regarded
author; for the 65 various Gosvamis and
Mahajana shastras that he translated and published serve as an indispensable
aid for many.
So Sri Haridasa
dasa Baba of Navadvipa’s Haribola Kutira doesn’t need an introduction. However,
through his own voluminous research also, one finds perhaps the most in-depth
study on Gaudiya Vaisnavism.
Those reading
Haridasa dasa’s books easily gain a trust for his credibility. For his vast
scholarship, unbiased opinion and broad outlook reveal a deep admiration for
every Gaudiya Mahajana and true follower of Gauranga Mahaprabhu. Thus his vast
array of Vaisnava literature is worthy of admiration.
This volume has
been graced by his insight on Rasaraja Sri Gauranga
Sri Haridasa dasa Maharaja-ji
Appearance 1898
— Disappearance 1957
Foreword
jaya rupa
sanatana bhatta raghnatha
sri jiva gopala
bhatta dasa raghunatha
ei chaya gosai
kari carana vandana
jaha haite
vighnanasa abistha purana
Before our topic
begins, let us invoke auspiciousness by taking shelter of the followers of Sri
Rupa and Sri Sanatana Gosvami; those who tread the raganuga bhakti path
which culminates in the madhura seva
of Sri Sri Radha Govinda.
An ideal example
of how bhaktas may awaken such bhakti is examplified in the live of Sri
Raghunatha dasa Gosvami. Raghunatha, once the pampered son of a wealthy
landlord whose young wife rivaled the beauty of an apsara, keenly desired to join Sri Caitanya’s bhakta assembly. Every time he attempted to leave home, however,
his parents would somehow catch and bring him back. Thus his repeated attempts
to join the Lord all failed — until one day, when he got Sri Nitai Candra’s
mercy. This remarkable incident happaned at Panihati village, where, by a
stroke of luck, Raghunatha fortuned to satisfy Sri Nityananda and His associates
by arranging a huge feast. Thus securing Nitai’s blessings, the means to escape
samsara1 presented itself,
and Raghunatha soon reached the lotus feet of Sri Caitanya deva at Puri.
But Raghunatha’s
fortune went on increasing — for being pleased, Sriman Mahaprabhu placed him
under Svarupa Damodara’s care for learning the intimate matters of rasa-tattva and prema-seva. Thus in such exalted association Raghunatha passed his
days in paramananda. But later, after
the disappearance of the Lord and Svarupa Damodara, Raghunatha felt destitute
and wanted to end his life! Thus he thought: "I shall go to Vraja, take
Sri Rupa and Sri Sanatana’s darsana,
and then jump from Govardhana!"
Upon arriving
before Rupa and Sanatana, however, they forbade him to commit suicide. Rather,
they kept him within their inner-circle and imparted upon him the last course
of his bhajana-siksa, manjari upasana. Thus is the mood of
Srimati Radharani’s helpless maidservant, Sri Raghunatha passed the last days
of his live weeping in her separation on the banks of Radhakunda... and entered
Radha Krsna’s nitya lila in manjari bhava.
To the belief of
many Gaudiya Vaisnava’s, Sri Raghunatha’s life story is an excellent example
illustrating that Sri Caitanya’s prema
dharma culminates in manjari bhava.
And suffice it to say, this is not a false assertion. For after sending the Six
Gosvamis to Vrndavana, and empowering
them to establish a cult centered around Radha Krsna worship, Sri Caitanya
certainly did desire that His followers attain the prema seva of the manjaris.
But from the consumate Gaura bhaktas,
surely a befitting question can arise:
"If manjari bhava is the final word and the
highest attainment of Caitanya Vaisnavim, what about Gaura lila and its worship? Was Gaura Avatara
simply meant for providing the opportunity to enter madhura Sri Vrndavana?"
Introspective
Gaudiya Vaisnavas know, Gaura lila
has a deeper purport:
it represents
the continuing further expressions of prema
bhakti which Rasaraja Krsna
yearns to relish with Radhika and Her gopi
confidantes. So herein, we can discover that along with our eternal Vraja lila role — we have an eternal role
with Gaurasundara, which is, indeed, the sadhya
(ultimate goal) to all our spiritual practices as well.
Yet raga marga Rupanuga bhaktas do worship
Gaura lila. Knowing that Krsna
advents as Gauranga to accept Radha bhava,
they meditate on Gaura’s Radha bhava
lilas before meditating on Vraja lila
in manjari bhava. But the outcome
that often occurs when following this system is that one’s attraction for Radha
Krsna’s lila far outmatches one’s
attraction for Gaura’s. Hence, only briefly dipping into Gaura lila, such worshippers fully submerge
themselves within Krsna’s Vraja lila
sindhu.
· At this point, however, a whole new world
of rasamaya bhakti can begin — and
this path, inspired by Rasaraja Gauranga,
is the topic of this book. In other words, after a brief worship of Gaura in Radha bhava, and after submerging
oneself for a long time in Radha Krsna’s nikunja
lilas — one my re-surface in Navadvipa again to take up Gauranga’s rasaraja worship. Because Sri Gauranga
is mahabhava svarupini Radha and rasaraja Krsna combined, both features
form an excuisite enrapture for His bhakta
followers to share with Him.
When viewing the
entirety of Gaudiya Vaisnavism, we find that the Six Gosvamis’ teachings form a major pillar of Sri Caitanya’s prema dharma. And when sampling the Vraja rasa, who wouldn’t agree? ... the manjari seva which can be had by following in Sri Rupa and Sri
Raghunatha’s footsteps is unmatched. And hence, Sri Caitanya dispatched them to
Vrndavana for teaching such mellows. But to learn the confidential secrets of
Gaura lila, one will greatly profit
to hear about Sri Gauranga’s amazing qualities from the mahajanas whose attraction mainly focuses on Him.
So, to do so, we
shall now take shelter of Advaita Acarya, Gadadhara Pandita, Narahari Sarkara,
Vasudeva Ghosa, Murari Gupta, sivananda Sena, Kavikarnapura, Locana dasa, and
many others, who are steeped in the mellows of Sri Gauranga’s rasaraja worship. Then, from their
versions, we shall find that along with the Vraja
mannjari bhava, Nadiya nagari bhava
is a very sweet mellow that Sri Gauranga wishes to share with all of His
followers.
Learned
Vaisnavas know that the mahajanas
mentioned above wrote about Nadiya nagari
bhava; but when saying `many
others’, examples from Rupa Gosvami, Sanatana Gosvami, Krsna dasa Kaviraja,
Narottama dasa, Visvanatha Cakravarti and even Bhaktivinoda Thakura will be
presented which support this bhava.
Hence, a
noteworthy feature of this essay is that a comparison of the Vrndavana and the
Navadvipa mode of raganuga bhajana is
presented to form a bridge of understanding between the two schools.
· Invocation ·
(1)
sriman navadvipa
kisora candra
ha natha
visvambhara nagarendra
ha sacinandana
citta caura
prasida he
Visnupriyesa gaura
(Sri
Prabhodananda Sarasvati)
" Oh
handsome, youthful moon of Navadvipa! Oh Lord Visvambhara — You are the Lord of
all nagaras! Oh hey sacinandana!
Although You are steeling my mind, I know very well that You are Visnupriya’s
golden Pranesvara."
(2).
sacira
konara, gauranga
sundara,
dekhinu akhira
kone
alakhite
citta, hariya laila,
aruna nayane bane
sei marama kahinu
tore
eteka divase, nadiya nagare,
nagari na rabe
ghare
ramani dekhiya hasiya hasiya
rasamaya katha kaya
bhaviya
cintiya mana darainu
kona
punyavati jubati ihara
bujhaye rasa
vilasa
tahara
carane hrdaya dhariya
kahaye govinda
dasa
"Oh sakhi! I’ll tell you a secret: when looking from the corner of my
eye, I saw the Son of saci, Sri Gauranga sundara.
But when no-one was watching — He shot me with the arrow of His reddish
tinted glance! And nowadays not one Nadiya
nagari can remain at home; for
seeing a sundari ramani, He smilingly
speaks all sorts of rasamaya
entreaties. While thinking over the matter, I am trying like anything to hold
onto my patience — still my heart
races after Him! So who is the pious, young girl who can fathom His rasa vilasa1? Govinda dasa sais , my heart grasps her
lotus feet."
(3)
Locana dasa Thakura’s Invitation
cala go sajani,
piriti nagare, basati karige mora
marama na jane,
dharama vakhane, caurasi bhrammibe tara
sadaa duyare,
kapata haniye, khirki daraja khola
cala go sajani,
niscinta haiye, adhare dekhige ala
alara bhitare,
gorare dekhibi, nayana rakhibi tatha
se desera katha, e
dese kabile, marame paibi byatha
se dese e dese,
mesamisi ache, e katha na kaba kake
se dese e dese,
anek antara, janaye sakala loke
piriti nagare,
manusa ratana, viraje sahaja ghare
dharma karama,
kulera acara, sekhane jaite nare
ei dasa locana,
kahaye vacana, dasadik tara ala
1) rasa vilasa : conjugal, loving pastimes —
Dhamali
"Oh come sakhi! Let’s go reside in piriti nagara1. But we’ll
have to be careful, for even staunch religionists can’t fathom this realm. Let
them go on wandering through eight million, four hundred thousand births. But sakhi, come! We’ll latch the front door,
and fearlessly enter through a secret passage ... to see the light! Aho! Within the effulgence we’ll see Gora —
ans satiate our eyes! But don’t tell about piriti nagara,
lest you’ll become sad (as the people will scorn you.)
We’ll just have
to keep the news of our going a secret.
Listen ...
In piriti nagara there is a jewel-like
(golden) purusa, and it is easy to
enter his bedroom. But first one must discard dharma, karma and wordly chastity to go — for they cannot stand
beside Him. Thus Locana sais ,
Gora’s effulgence fills every direction."
These poems by
Locana dasa, and the previous two selections from Srila Visvanatha and Govinda
dasa, certainly reveal a mysterious topic that will surely puzzle most
Vaisnavas. Although these three Gaudiya mahajanas
are males in Gaura lila, they are
talking just like young, attractive girls of Nadiya. So what does Locana mean
by `piriti nagara’ (the abode of
love)? And doesn’t the means to go there sound mysterious too? Because such lilas are `praccanna’(hidden within an inner-realm amongst Sriman Gaurasundara’s
other pastimes), only a few fortune to know about them and fathom their
sweetness. So as this volume is devoted to understanding and glorifying Sri
Gauranga’s most intimate rasaraja aspect,
we hope that our readers protect this lofty, controversial topic as one
conceals a rare and priceless gem.
—
The madhukara2
1) piriti nagara: the abode of love
2) madhukara: a honey collector (bee)
A Prelude to the Lila
In the invocations
first sloka, Visvanatha Cakravarti addresses
Sriman Mahaprabhu as Nagarendra, the
Lord amongst nagaras (flirtatious
romantics), but Srila Advaita Acarya calls Him `Nagara
siromani’, the Crown-jewel amongst such personalities. Before probing
deeper into the significance of these statements, however, let us speak
something to help broaden our appreciation for the absolute authority which Sri
Advaita wields. Although He is known for His heart-rending cries which bring
about Gaura Avatara, Caitanya Caritamrta,
Antya 19 goes on:
"Advaita Acarya
is an experienced pujari Who knows
all of the sastras imports. Thus to
worship, He performs austerity, calls the Devata, and upon completing the puja, sends Him away."
Sri Caitanya
spoke this riddle to disclose that His entire lila is directed by Advaita. Yet should this appear astonishing?
For Advaita’s sakti, Sita Thakurani, is Yogamaya, by Whose omnipotency everything happens in Gaura lila. Thus with His inside knowledge
about the Lord’s internal affairs, He reveals the following confidential siddhantas in His prayers entitled
"Sri Sri Gauranga pratyanga varnanakhya stavaraja":
Verse 6
ardhacandrollasbhala
kasturitilakanvitam
bhangura
bhrulatakeli-jita-kamasorasanam
"Gaurasundara’s
forehead is like a brilliant half-moon adorned with beautiful musk tilaka; yet below lurks His flirting eyebrow-bows which defeat the might
of Kama deva’s flower arrows."
Verse 17
kotikandarpa-labanya-keli-lila-manoharam
saksatlilatanum
kelitanum srngara vigraham
"Sri
Gaurasundara’s prema keli is
absolutely manohara1— like
that of millions of Cupids; for He
is the Abode of prema keli and a srngara rasa vigraha."
Prema keli and srngara
rasa renowned traits of Sri Krsna in
His kisora lila with the gopa sundaris. But here Advaita’s depicting
Gaurasundara in this way is remarkable. Still, He goes on:
Verse 26
nijabhava
rasasvada vibasaikadasenriyam
vidagdha nagari
bhava-kala keli manoramam
"Although
Mahaprabhu’s eleven senses are completely overwhelmed by His own bhava, rupa and rasa — His
divine keli vilasa with the clever
and rasa-skilled Nadiya nagaris is simply enchanting!"
1) manohara: mind stealing
Thus Advaita
reveals with whom Gauranga srngara rasa affairs
take place; but who are the nagaris? The next sloka begins telling:
Verse 27
gadadhara
premabhava kalakranta manoratham
sriman narahari
premarasavihabalamanasam
"Gauranga
keenly desires to taste the sweetness of Gadadharas prema bhava and rasa keli skill.
Moreover, Sriman Narahari’s prema rasa
enslaves Him."
Owing to their
internal nari bhava and rupa, Gadadhara and Narahari are chiefs
amongst the Nadiya nagaris, for
previously they shared similar bhavas
with Krsna, as Radha and Madhumati sakhi.
But one might wonder: `how extensive
are such moods amongst Gaura’s other associates?’ The next verse reveals:
Verse 28
sarvabhagavatahuta
kantabhava prakasakam
prema
pradanalalita dvibhujam bhaktavatsalam
"Bhakta-vatsala Sri Gaurahari hankers to
take up his splendid kanta bhava with
every bhagavata associate. Using His
graceful, two arms He embraces them to award (madhura) prema."
Kanta bhava means the Lord’s mood as a lover, or
amorous hero. Through this mellow we find the inner purport of Gaurangas bhakta-vatsala feature, His affectionate
submission to the love of His devotees. Thus Sri Advaita says:
Verse 32
nataraja
siroratnam sri nagara siromanim
asesa rasika
sphujjanmauli bhusana bhusanam
"Sri
Gauranga is the Crown-jewel amongst all dancers, the Crown-jewel amongst all nagaras (including Sri Krsna) — and thus
the Ornament of ornaments amongst all rasika
persons."
More than a mahajana, and more than the Lord’s
eternal associate, Srila Advaita Acarya is saksat
isvara, the Lord Himself. Thus His merciful siddhantas can benefit all. However, in His "Krsna
Bhajanamrta", Srila Narahari Sarakara elaborates to reveal more about Sri
Gauranga’s magnificence:
pasya pasya,
niguratiniguram nirupyate
sakalendriyaih
sabdhana mahantah parammmangalam
rahasyam
srnvahtu sri Krsnacaitanyadevah
prakataparamananda-vigrahohapi
sarvavatara
sarbhutohapi
sarvavatarasakti prakasasamarthohapi
sarvavatarabyaktaye
dasadasisangavanapi
radhasangaprakasam
na krtavan asya
sarvavatarprakasatvam
sarvaireva niscitamaste
tathapi
rahasyamekam juktameva sruyatam
sri Krsnah
sakalvilasa vinoda-rupa kaisoradi
guna
sampannohapi strinam vanacarinam
mohanam cakara; kimetat?
sri Krsnacaitanyastu
kaupinadhari
dinavesah sannyasasramalankrto
hatyantadurdantam
balavantam
mahavrsabhaduradurudam
dhyatmavadinam
vishayandham
kujoginam jadamjasara madyapam
papam candalam
javanam murkam kulastriyanca
premasindhou
patayamasa; anandena vaikunthopari
stapaya masa
kevalam premadharayaiva
sarvesamasayam
sodhittavan asurabhanca
curnitavan
kimanyadva bahu bavtavyam ?
purusan eva
prakrtibhavam ninaya
sri
Krsnacaitanya bhavakala mohitah
srigadadhara
pandita bhava darsansamudita
gopiganabhava
vedantinohapi vimayinhapi
prakrtibhavairnanrtuh
Sri Krsna Bhajanamrta 28-11
"Look, look
now I shall disclose the most secret of all secrets! So listen carefully to
this confidential tattva — for it
can deliver supreme auspiciousness to even the self-controlled mahajanas:
Sri Krsna
Caitanya Deva is Himself a paramananda
murati, the Essence of all Avataras,
and completely capable of displaying every divine potency of any form of Bhagavan along with the servants or
maidservants of such Bhagavat svarupas.
Yet He didn’t disclose about His affairs with Radha (Gadadhara). This is
confirmed by the learned who know about the bhavas
and the tattvas concerning all Avataras. But nevertheless, please
listen to a logically proven mystery:
Sri Krsna displays
His vilasa (lovemaking), vinoda rupa (enticing bodily features)
and all of His youthful qualities to attract the Vraja gopis into the forest — and what can be said of this?
But Sri Krsna
Caitanya, wearing a kaupina and
mendicant sannyasi dress, takes
greater pleasure in converting the most rebellious, stubborn, bull-headed
spiritualists, blind enjoyers, pseudo yogis,
materialists, thousands of drunkards, sinful meat eaters, Muslims, the
illiterate, as well as the chaste young girls, to drown them all in a prema samudra and send them beyond
Vaikuntha’s highest regions to His supreme abode, Goloka. Only with `prema’ did He purify the hearts of all,
after grinding their demoniac natures to dust! And moreover, He converted males
into conceiving themselves as females. When Sri Krsna Caitanya became decorated
with the ornaments of bhava, and when
the moods of the Vraja-gopis bhavas
overwhelmed Him, upon seeing the bhavas
of Srila Gadadhara Pandita — then He converted every Vedantist and gross materialists to dance in the mood of a
woman!"
Sri
Krsna Bhajanamrta 28-11
When comparing
Srila Advaita’s stavas with these
passages from Narahari, a remarkable conclusion can be drawn:
Owing to His parama karuna, Sriman Mahaprabhu wishes
to reciprocate with His highly exalted `kanta
bhava’ with not only His intimate devotees — but with every type of grossly
fallen jiva in this age of Kali!
Indeed, as
Narahari’s list concludes by mentioning `kula
strianca’, meaning the Nadiya
nagaris, he is saying that all of the aforementioned sinners or
non-devotees were promoted to Goloka Navadvipa with `nagari prema’ to dance besides Sri Gauranga in the form of a woman.
Sri Nagara siromani1
A nagara is a playboy, or an unchaste man
who loves to indulge in sensuous pleasure amongst many female companions. And,
in our world, such characterless men are hardly praiseworthy. Rather, they
become notorious and condemned in society.
So now a good
question arises:
"Why would Svayam Bhagavan, the very emblem of dharma Himself, stoop to perform such
behaviour?"
The answer we
can imbibe from the Bhagavatam, 10-33-36, where the main reason for His advent
is stated:
anugrahaya
bhaktanam manusam dehamasrita
bhajate tadrsih
krida jah srutva tatparobhavet
"In order
to give mercy to the devotees, Sri Bhagavan assumes a human form to enact
loving pastimes with them. Thus, those
hearing about His activities may also become attracted to the Lord."
Giving mercy, or
love, to His bhaktas is Bhagavan’s
sole activity and foremost source of pleasure. Hence, introspective devotees
can begin to appreciate why Svayam Bhagavan becomes a nagara. For how many bhaktas
would receive His greatest gift— madhura
prema bhakti — if He were to display the role of an ideal, chaste husband?
True, for those who want to admire the Lord as such, He certainly provides them
the opportunity in Rama Avatar. For Lord Ramacandra never cast His amorous
glances upon anyone accept Sita. Yet what about the forest sages who saw Rama’s
immaculate beauty? After coveting the chance to serve Him as a consort, they
had to wait until His advent as Sri Krsna. And only then could they fulfill
their cherished ambition by becoming gopis.
Hence, Krsna is more merciful then Rama. But our Sri Gauranga is far more
magnanimous than even Sri Krsna, because as Sri Narahari states, in his
previous "Krsna bhajanamrta” passages, he awards His most intimate prema rasa to all. And therefore, Srila
Advaita Acarya‘s declaring Sriman Mahaprabhu as the greatest nagara is justly befitting.
1) Sri Nagara
siromani: Gauranga, the greatest nagara (flirtatious romantic)
What Does This Book Discuss?
In the Introduction,
pages
After revealing
Mahaprabhu’s svarupa as the form of Rasaraja and Mahabhava combined, three approaches to Gaura upasana1 are presented: those of Vrindavana dasa, Krsnadasa Kaviraja and Locana dasa.
Owing to Locana’s focus on Gaura’s rasaraja
feature, his "Caitanya Mangala" is filled with madhurya. Locana’s birth signifies the fulfillment of Narahari
Sarakara’s desire to broadcast Gauranga’s madhura
pastimes with Gadadhara; thus an
excerpt of Their maharasa sankirtana from
"Caitanya Mangala" is inserted. But Locana’s "Dhamali"
further reveals Gauranga’s intimate, madhura
Navadvipa lila’s. This leads into the
topic of how Gauranga’s male associates have female identities; the examples of Narahari and
Gadadhara’s nagari svarupa’s are
shown. Supporting evidence is presented from Kavikarnapura and sivananda Sena
in context with the holi pastime.
Then "Caitanya Caritamrita" shows how Gadadhara’s followers worship
Gauranga in madhura rasa. Svarupa
Damodara and Rupa Gosvami state that Gadadhara is directly Radha.
Chapter One, Pages
Since Sri Krsna
and Sri Gauranga are non-different, wouldn’t Gauranga posses all of Sri Krsna’s
qualities? Examples from "Caitanya Caritamrta", "Dhamali"
and "Caitanya caritra Maha kavya" show that, indeed, They are Both srngara rasa nayakas1. Then
Sri Gauranga Vastra harana lila and Rasa lila are described from Murari
Gupta’s "Korca2"
and Narahari Cakravarti’s "Sri Gaura carita cintamani." The latter
discloses the wish to follow in the Nadiya nagaris’ footsteps, and Narottama
dasa Thakura reveals a similar mood. Govinda dasa’s padavali3 contributes to the nagari school, but their history link Srinivasa Acarya and Jiva
Gosvami as supporters. Then Narahari Cakravarti shows how it is impossible for
Krsna to give up His rasika nature
when becoming Gaura. Locana dasa tells that Radhika and the gopis won’t allow Krsna to escape Gokula
alone, lest they will reveal all of the scandals that He left behind. So after
taking on His new disquise, can Gauranga be called a sadhu? The nagaris’ purva
raga for Gauranga is related in context with Srimati Radharani’s svapna vilasa: She has an astonishing dream — sees Gaura rasa raja — and races to embrace Him, even while lying in Sri Krsna’s
tender embrace! Locana presents some examples of the nagaris purva raga from "Dhamali", and goes on to
describe his stark fascination — "Let them call me gaura kalankini!" (scandalized by Gaura) he implores. Locana
even tells why no-one should fear such disgrace. Then Vasudeva Ghosa and
Govinda Ghosa describe their attraction for Gauranga in nagari bhava, followed by Murari Gupta’s testimony. Because Murari’s
"Korca" serves as the basis
for Vrndavana dasa, Krsna dasa and Locana dasa’s biographies of Sri Caitanya,
and because he also relates about the nagari
bhava of
1) srngara rasa nayakas: Amorous heros
2) korca:
diary
3) padavali: Bengali poetry in rhyming metre
Nadiya, this
proves that such mellows with the Lord existed from the very beginning.
Why is Nadiya nagari bhava controversial? This chapter
tell why many Vaisnavas fail to understand and even take to criticizing such
exalted mellows. Because Sri Caitanya is Svayam
Bhagavan, His prema rasa
exchanges with His eternal, svarupa sakti
counterparts are natural. But taking the role of a `Yuga Avatara’, He preaches religion in the dress of a sadhu as well. Thus after explaining the
inner purport of Vrndavan dasa’s warning not to openly address Sriman
Mahaprabhu as a `nagara’, the
utility of both His Yuga Avatara and Svayam Bhagavan features is discussed.
More evidence supporting Gauranga’s rasika
nature is presented from Sri Narahari Caravarti, Sri Prabodananda Sarasvati,
Sri Acyutananda and Sri Madhavi dasi, Sri Sikhi Mahiti’s sister.
Chapter Four, Pages
As Sri Krsna is
the source of all avataras, Radha is
the source of every consort of His limitless Bhagavata manifestations. But
Narahari Sarakara states that Gadadhara is directly Radha. Then he goes on to
say that Gadadhara and Gauranga’s yugala
milana is real — just as Radha Krsna’s. Nayanananda Misra’s padavali tells about the mood in which
Gadadhara’s followers worship Gaura. Mahaprabhu’s sankirtana Maha Rasa tattva is related from Caitanya
Caritamrta. Then Rupa Gosvami’s intimate "Stava mala" sloka is
discussed in conjunction with Nayanananda’s padavali.
Chapter Five, Pages
This chapter
deals with Gaurasundara’s intimate sambhoga
affairs.
Examples from
"Dhamali" tell about the nagaris’
svapna sambhoga, conjugal exchanges
during dreams. "Ujjvala nilamani" reveals how such dreams are vivid
as waking experiences. Vasudeva Ghosa and Narahari Cakravarti tell of their svapna sambhoga experiences. Pradhurabhava sambhoga is discussed, followed by Gauranga’s nari vesa milana with the nagaris.
Gauranga’s prema vilasa vivarta bhava
shows how He can even assume the kanta
role as His bhaktas reciprocate in kanta bhava. Gadadhara and Gauranga’s prema vilasa vivarta lila illustrates.
Gora nama madhuri is explained.
Chapter Six, Pages
A comparison of
Rupanuga devotion and Nadiya nagari bhava.
Rupanuga
Vaisnavism essentially means Radha dasya
seva. However, Radha is Gadadhara in Gaura lila. Hence Rupa Gosvami follows Gadadhara; Locana’s padavali
affirms and Svarupa Damodara gives more evidence. Because the Six Gosvamis are
Gauranga’s ‘sancarita sakti’ it is
only natural that they follow Gauranga’s `mula
sakti’ Pandita Gadadhara. Sanatana Gosvami states that Gadadhara’s wealth
lies in nagari prema. Sri Rupa tells
about the special `prema ratna’ that
Gauranga is distributing. Nayananda Misra confirms that this is nagari prema. How did the Gosvamis
secretely reveal Gauranga’s intimate affairs? Rupa Gosvami supports Gauranga’s rasaraja feature. Sri Caitanya
instructed the rasaraja doctrine to
Vamsivadana. Sri Caitanya is non-different from Rasaraja Sri Krsna. A
commentary of Rupa’s`anarpito carim’ sloka along with Locana’s padavali. Some asta kala lila tattva. The essays key note.
Chapter Seven, Pages
More supporing
versions from Gaudiya Acarya s such as Jagannatha dasa Babaji, Bhaktivinoda
Thakura, and Siddha Caitanya dasa Babaji. One amusing encounter between
Caitanya dasa Baba and Bhagavan dasa Baba.
Chapter Eight, Pages
Sri Nityananda
Prabhu as a nagara and as a nagari. A closer look into Srila
Vrndavana dasa Thakura’s intimate siddhantas
found in "Caitanya Bhagavata."Visnupriya’s kaAdita bhava.
Introduction
tabe hasi tare
prahbu dekhaila svarupa
rasa-raja,
mahabhava dui ekarupa
Caitanya caritamrta,
Madhya 8
"Then
Caitanya Mahaprabhu smiled and showed Ramananda Raya His svarupa — The form of Rasaraja and Mahabhava combined!"
Thus our
Gauranga is revealed — He is Krsna, the rasaraja
amongst the Vraja-gopis, plus
Mahabhava Svarupini Radha, combined in one form.
Volumes One and
Two1 have already dealt with Gauranga’s Radha bhava aspect at length;
so now a study of His rasaraja trait
begins.
Although many
biographers have written about Caitanya Mahaprahu’s lila, the works of Vrndavana dasa, Krsna dasa and Locana dasa are
the foremost. In "Caitanya Bhagavata", Vrndavana dasa Thakura mostly
depicts Gauranga in His ‘Bhagavata’
feature (as being the supreme Lord);
in "Caitanya Caritamrta", Krsna dasa Kaviraja’s Gauranga is the `Radha bhava’ Nilacala vihari
of Svarupa Damodara, Raya Ramananda,
Rupa and Sanatana; yet in
"Caitanya Mangala", Locana dasa Thakura’s `Gora’ is Gadadhara and
Narahari’s hrdaya vallabha2,
rasaraja.
Thus each author
depicts a different mood of Sri Caitanya which are relishable and parama upasya (supremely worshipable).
Yet in Sri Locanana’s Rasaraja Gora
we find a special madhurya. The
following story3 shows an example why:
Locana dasa was
Sri Narahari Sarkara’s disciple, and under his direction he wrote
"Caitanya Mangala" in the secluded place known as Ko grama. Upon finishing the task, he
returned to the feet of his guru at Srikhanda. But as Narahari read locana’s
manuscript, He said: "Vrndavana
dasa Thakura has already written a biography about
Sri Caitanya
called "Caitanya Mangala". So if you want to distribute your book,
you should go on and take his permission first." Thus Locana went to see
Vrndavana dasa and presented his writing after informing him about his Gurudeva’s
order. But as Vrndavana dasa read Locana’s manuscript, he came to the following
lines and fainted in the ecstasy of prema:
abinna caitanya
se Thakura avadhuta
sri nityananda
vanda rohinika suta
"I offer my
pranamas to Thakura Nityananda
nvadhuta, Who is non-different from Sri Caitanya, and Who was previously known
as the son of Rohini." Upon regaining consciousness, Vrndavana dasa said: "Locana, by Sri Narahari’s grace
you have exactly understood the position of Lord Nityananda — for indeed, His
body is non-different from Sri Caitanya’s. From today onward your book shall be
celebrated as
"Caitanya
Mangala", and mine will be called "Caitanya Bhagavata."
1) Volumes One
and Two: "Why did Caitanya
Mahaprabhu come, and what did He come to give?"
2) hrdaya vallabha: heart’s beloved
3) Story: taken from "Srikhander pracina Vaisnava" (The Ancient
Vaisnavas of Srikhanda) by Sri Gaura gunananda Thakura (published in 1910)
At the time of
this incident, Vrndavana dasa’s book had already gained vast acclaim amongst
the Vrndavana Vaisnava community under the name of "Caitanya
Mangala". And hence, Krsna dasa Kaviraja refers to it as such in his
Caitanya Caritamrta. Bit owing to Locana’s describing Gaura-Nityananda as being
non different, Nityananda prana, Sri
Vrndavana dasa, couldn’t hold unto his patience for showing gratitude. Thus he
wrote a personal declaration for the Vrndavana Vaisnavas which stated:
"My book
describes Sri Gauranga’s Bhagavata
feature, whereas Sri Locana dasa’s describes about His madhurya. So henceforeward my book should be called "Caitanya
Bhagavata", and his should be known as "Caitanya Mangala."
And thus it came
to be. Here is a sample of Caitanya Mangala’s madhurya.
angera chataya jena dinapara pradipa hena
tahe lila rasera
vilasa
koti kusuma
dhanu jiniya vinoda tanu
tahe kare
premera vikasa
kamini mohana
vesa herite bhulila desa
madana vedana
heri paya
ki diba upama tara
karuna vigraha sara
hena rupa mora
gora raya
"Gauranga
effulgent limbs dazzle like the sun ...
and herein we find His rasa vilasa (conjugal pastimes). His bodily
splendor defeats millions of Cupids weilding their flower bows ... and herein He displays His prema. His dress is kamini mohana (alluring to every pretty, young girl of Nadiya) —
for they forget everything else when viewing Him! Thus cupid pierces their
hearts and binds them to His lotus feet. So who can compare with Gora Raya? His
beautiful form is the essence of all karuna."
Sri Narahari Sarakara’s Longing
Locana dasa
Thakura’s birth signifies the fulfillment of Sri Narahari’s ambition to
broadcast Gaura and Gadadhara’s madhura
lilas. Narahari’s following pada relates:
gaura lila
darasane vancha bara haya mane
bhasaya likhiya
kichu rakhi
mui ati
adhama likhite na jani
krama
kemana koriya
taha likhi
gaura gadadhara
lila adraba karaye sililaa
kara sadhya
koraye varnana
sarada likhena
jadi nirantara nirabadi
kahe sadasiva
pancanana
e granta likhibe
je ekhana janme nai se
janmite vilamba
ache bahu
bhasate racana
bale bhujibe loka sakale
kabe vancha
puraibe pahu
kichu kichu pada
likhi jadi iha keha dekhe
prakasa karaye
prabhu lila
narahari pabe
sukha ghucibe manera dukha
granthagane
darabibe sila
"In seeing
Gauranga’s lila, a great hankering
awakens to note down some of these events. But haya! I am very fallen, and I don’t know the means to write them; so how will this great task become
accomplished?
Gaura and
Gadadhara’s lila can melt the stones
— yet who can narrate them? If Goddess Sarasvati as the five-faced Sada siva
unceasingly dictates — still these lilas
would remain unsatiated! Haya! The fit person to write hasn’t taken birth ... and still a long time awaits! Oh
when will Gaura and Gadadhara’s pastimes become narrated for the people? Oh
when will Caitanya Mahaprabhu fulfill my desire? Meanwhile, I shall write a few
padas1 to broadcast His lila;
Thus my melancholy will vanquish. For seeing the stone-like hearts of
my readers melting — Narahari will become very happy."
This sample from
"Caitanya Mangala" shows how Locana wrote to fulfill his gurudeva’s ambition:
srivasera ghare
nace rasa vinodiya
gaura dehe syama
tanu dekhe bhaktagana
gadadhara
radha-rupa haila takhana
madhumati
narahari haila sei kale
dekhiya Vaisnava
saba hari hari bole
vrndavana
prakasa haila sei stane
go gopi gopala
sange sacira nandane
purbe sakha
sakhigana je rupa achila
rasa asvadane
prahbu sange bhakta haila
abhinava
kamadeva sri raghunandana
aprakrta madana
boliya je ganana
dekhi anya
avatara sangi saba kade
navadvipa udaya
korila vraja-cande
khone gaura lila
gadadhara kori sange
khone syama lila
radha rasa rasa range
camatkara lila
dekhi saba bhaktagana
hari hari jaya
bole ghane ghana
"Rasa vinodiya2 Gauracanda
dances at Srivasa’s house ... but as
the bhaktas see Gaurasundara turning
into syamasundara — Gadadhara becomes Radha! Then Narahari becomes Madhumati sakhi ... and all of the cows, the gopas
and the gopis all join to relish
mellows with Sri Sacinandana — just as they did previousely in Vraja. Sri
Raghunandana becomes the ever-youthful Kamadeva,
Vrndavana’s transcendental cupid. Thus
everyone takes up their Vrndavana svarupas
to dance around Mahaprabhu. Aho! The associates of other Avataras will cry to see Vrndavana’s canda3 rising in
Navadvipa! Thus Gauranga performs pastimes with Gadadhara ... but sometimes They become Radha and syama to enoy the Rasa lila ranga4. Seeing such
camatkara pastimes, the bhaktas loudly cry, `Hari, Hari!’ and `Jaya, Jaya!’"
1) padas: poetry written in rhying Bengali meter
2) rasa vinodiya: The Enchanter of the Rasa
lila (here, Gaura takes on His rasa-raja
feature)
3)Vrndavana’s
canda: Sri Krsna the moon of Vraja.
4) Rasa lila ranga: the Rasa lila amusement
Sri Locana’s Dhamali
Goes deeper
Camatkara means amazing or fantastic, and Locana dasa labels Gaura and Gadadhara’s sankirtana pastimes as simply camatkara. For even Caitanya Bhagavata
and Caitanya Caritamrta don’t describe that Radha, Krsna and all of Their gopi associates directly manifest in
Sriman Mahaprabhu’s pastimes. But Locana’s pen goes on. After narrating
"Caitanya Mangala", he presents an even deeper look into Sriman
Gaurasundara’s camatkara Nadiya vihara in "Dhamali". Here
Locana’s Gora is a Kamera kora1,
a Rupera nagara2, a Rasa sagara, a Citta cora3, Manohara4
and the Nava kisora natabara5
whose stealthy glances steal Nadiya nagaris’
hearts! But there is a mystery about the nagaris madhura bhava with Gauranga that needs clarification: These bhavas that Sri Locana and other Gaudiya Mahajanas describe are
shared amongst Gauranga’s male assoiates who have subtle nagari forms within.
Gauranga’s Associates Have Female Identities
Although the
Vraja gopis have assumed male forms
in following Krsna’s transformation to Gora — still they cannot forget their
previous madhura tie. Rather, with
Gora, these loving pastimes continue to unfold with newer and newer relish.
Thus their internal nagari bhava is
their overriding service mood to him. Concerning Narahari Sarakara and this tattva, Sri Gaura gunananda Thakura of
Srikhanda explains as follows:
"Sri
Narahari Sarakara Thakura serves and gives pleasure to his prana Gauranga in basically three ways: 1) in his parsada svarupa as
Narahari, 2) in his previous nitya-siddha
svarupa as Madhumati Sakhi, and 3) in his nagari svarupa. In this connection the last bhava, (the nagari bhava
or kanta bhava) is his internal mood; the other two moods are occassional.
Sriman Mahaprabhu prakata svarupa
(visible form) is the visaya
(affectionat object) of Narahari’s kanta
bhava. Hence this kanta bhava forms
his stayi bhava (permanent mellow)
and the other rasas of dasya, sakhya and vatsalya bhava are contained within it."
—
Srikhanda’s pracina Vaisnavas
Gadadhara Pandita’s Nagari Svarupa
In Gaura
ganodesa dipika, Srila Kavikarnapura confirms this siddhanta in context with Gadadhara Pandita as follows:
sri radha
prema-rupa ja pura vrndavanesvari
sa sri gadadharo
gauravallabhah panditakhyah
pura vrndavane
laksmih syamasundara ballabha
sadya gaura
prema laksmih sri gadadhara pandita
"She Who
was previously Vrndavanesvari Radha is now Sri Gauranga ballabha,
1) Kamera kora: reservoir of divine kama
2) Rupera nagara: A Handsome flirtatious romantic
3) Citta cora: mind thief
4) Manohara: Simply enchanting
5) Nava kisora natabara: dressed like an attractive, youthful dancer
Gadadhara
Pandita. And She Who was Vraja Laksmi Radha, Sri syamasundara vallabha, now appears as Sri Gauranga’s
prema Laksmi Gadadhara."
Thus Gadadhara
Pandita Gosvami (although being directly Vrndavanesvari Radha) has a female
Navadvipa svarupa referred to as
Gauranga’s prema vallabha, or prema Laksmi.
Sri Sivananda Sena’s Contribution
Now one might
ask, "How does Srila Kavikarnapura know about Sri Gadadhara’s nagari svarupa, and why would he write
about such mellows?"
The answer is
that he imbibed this intimate service mood from his father, sivananda Sena; and his writing about such bhavas simply represents the overall
trend of many of Gauranga’s eternal associates. For example, sivananda, who was
previously Campakalata Sakhi in Vraja (one of Radha’s asta sakhis), now worships Vrndavana’s yugala kisora in the form of Gadadhara and Gauranga. His following pada explains about this:
jaya jaya
pandita gosai
jara krpabale se
caitanya guna gai
hena se
gauracandre jahara piriti
gadadhara prananatha jahe lage khyati
gauragata prana
prema ke bujhite pare
khetra vasa Krsna
seva jara lagi chare
gadaira gauranga
gaurangera gadadhara
sri rama janaki jena eka kalebara
tena gaura
gadadhara prema taranga
kahe sivananda
pahu jara anurage
syama tanu
gauranga haiya prema mage
"All
glories, all glories to Gadadhara Pandit by Whose mercy we can sing Sri
Caitanya’s glories. His love is such that Gauranga is celebrated as `Gadadhara’s
prananatha’ (the Lord of Gadadhara).
Aho! As Gadadhara’s life is Gauranga, His prema
is unfathomable — for He renounced his ksetra
sannyasa1 and Gopinatha’s seva
smply for Gaura. Thus Gauranga belongs
to Him, and He belongs to Gaura — as Rama and Sita are one body. And just as
Radha and Vrndavana candra are one life — so do the waves of prema capsise from Gaura and Gadadhara’s
lila. Thus sivananda says: `Krsna eagerly discards his syama body and becomes Gauranga simply
to beg for Radharani’s prema!"
In the Holi pastime, sivananda Sena elaborates
about Gaura and Gadadhara’s madhura
tie as follows:
holi khelata gaura
kisora
rasabati nari
gadadhara kora
sveda bindu
mukhe pulaka sarira
bhava bhore
galatahi nayane nira
vraja rasa gaota
narahari sange
mukunda murari vasu nacata range
khene khene
murchai pandita kora
heraite sabacara
bhave bhela bhora
1) ksetra sannyasa: Gadadhara’s vow to never leave Sri Ksetra (Jagannatha Puri)
nikunja mandire
pahu kayala vithara
bhume pori kahe kaho murali
hamara
kaha govardhana
yamunaka kula
kaha malati
juthi campaka phula
sivananda kahe
pabu suni rasa vani
jaha pahu
gadadhara taha rasa khani
"Gaura kisora plays Holi in the arms of the rasavati
nari 1, Gadadhara. Aho! Drops of pespiiration cover Their faces,
They horripulate and tears flow from Their eyes due to intense bhava! As Gauranga sings abut Vrndavana’s
mellows with Narahari — Murari, Mukunda and Vasudava Ghosa dance in ecstacy!
But Gauranga repeatedly faints falling in Gadadhara’s lap! And seeing them the priya bhaktas swoon! Then comming to
rest in a nikunja mandire, Gauranga
faints again after exclaiming:
`where is My murali, the Yamuna and
Govardhana? And where are Vrndavana’s malati,
juthi and campaka flowers?’ Thus
sivananda says, `listen to my rasa vani 2; with Gaura and Gadadhara we find a
jewel mine of divine mellows!’"
Here sivananda’s
addressing gd as a `rasavati nari’(young
rasika damsel) is significant, for if
he had not seen such form, and revealed
about it, who would have known?
Gadadhara’s Followers are actually female
Krsna dasa
Kaviraja confirms about Gadadhara’s rasavati
nari svarupa by revealing that Gadadhara’s followers have femala identities
as well:
paAditera gana
saba bhagavata dhanya
prana vallabha
sabhara sri Krsna caitanya
C.C.
Adi 12
"All of
Gadadhara’s followers are maha bhagavatas
and very fortunate — for their prana
vallabha is Sri Krsna Caitanya."
Most of us will
pass over this siddhanta without
recognising its deep purport. But here the point to grasp is that only a woman
adresses her beloved as `prana vallabha3’
And hence, we
learn that Srila Gadadhara’s followers have a hidden female svarupa within their male forms. So
Gaura is their prana vallabha — just
as Krsna is gopi jana vallabha, the
beloved of the gopis. When pondering
this topic, we see that Gaura and Krsna’s pastimes unfold in a parallel pattern: for a Sri Radhika is the source of
all Krsna’s kantas the Nadiya nagaris expand from Gadadhara. And this
key Caitanya Caritamrta verse presents the evidence. Yet, Sri Sanatana Gosvami
comes o the same conclusion in his "Sri Radha Gadadhara astakam",
verse 2:
navarasacalacittam
nagaripremavittvam
pramadarasikabhupam
naumi radhasvarupam
"I offer my
prostated obeisances unto Srila Radha-Gadadhara Whose heart is always restless
to relish the ever-new expressions of madhura
rasa. He is the Lord of all rasika
enjoyers whose wealt lies in nagari
prema."
1) rasavati nari: a young, rasika damsel
2) rasa vani: rasa-filled message
3) prana vallabha: dearly beloved (masculine)
Srila Gadadhara’s
disciple, Sri Yadunatha dasa, also states:
panditasya ganah
sarve srngarartha kalevarah
"All of Gadadhara
Pandita’s followers have female forms meant for exchanging srngara rasa (conjugal pastimes)."
—
Gadadhara Pandita Gosvamira sakha-nirnayamrta
In his `Korca’ (diary), Sri Svarupa Damodara
says:
avanisurabarah
sri panditakhyo jatindrah
sa halu bhavati
radha sri gauravatare
narahari
sarkarasyapi damodarasya
prabhu nija
dayitanam tacca saram matam me
"There is
no doubt, Sri Gaura Gosvami, the greatest of the brahminas, known by the title of `pandita’, is Radha in Gauranga’s pastimes. This is the conclusion
of Sri Narahari Sarakara, Mahaprabhu’s other priya bhaktas, and myself."
Sri Rupa Gosvami
says:
vrndavanesvari
radha premabhakti pradayini
kalou
srigauradayitah srigadadharapanditah
—
Srila Radha-Gadadharadasakam, sloka 1
"Vrndavanesvari
Radha, the Bestower of prema bhakti,
now appears in Kali yuga as Sri
Gauranga’s confidante, Srila Gadadhara Pandita."
Chapter One
Krsna and Gauranga are Non-different
All of the Mahajanas certainly affirm:
vrajendra nandana
jei sacaryai suta haila sei
"Vrajendra
nandana Sri Krsna is saci nandana Sri Gauranga."
But when
investigating closer, we find that Gauranga’s qualities even exceed Krsna’s,
owing to His beeing the form of Radha and Krsna combined. Hence, Srila Kaviraja
Gosvami adressess Gauranga as the `paratattva
sima1’, the highest limit of Supreme transcendence. And he also
states:
na caitanyat
Krsnajjagati paratattvam paramiha
C.C.
Adi 1
"There is
no higher feature of Sri Krsna’s divinity than that found in Sri Caitanya’s."
So now a
question arises:
"Since
Gauranga is Krsna’s highest feature, wouldn’t all of Krsna’s best qualities be
found in Gauranga as well? For example, as Krsna is deeply attached to the
Vraja gopis and loves to enoy parakiya rasa exchanges with them, is
Gauranga able to display smilar pastimes?"
If the answer
were "No", then certainly we would have to say that the Kaviraja is
mistaken - Sri Krsna must be the paratattva
sima, and not Gaura; for when
considering the splendour of Sri Krsna’s Rasa
dance with the gopis, what could
match this?
But why should
we doubt the Kaviraja’s version? Rather, let us now begin to examine the sastric evidence which reveals that,
like Sri Krsna, Sri Gauranga has the same rasika
nature.
In Caitanya
Caritamrta’s Chapter 4, Srila Kaviraja Gosvami presents the verses which form
the basis of our discussion:
sri Krsna
caitanya gosai vrajendra kumara
rasamaya murti
Krsna saksat srngara
sei rasa
asvadite kaila avatara
anusange kaila
saba rasera pracara
"Sri Krsna Caitanya Gosai is that selfsame Rasamaya Bhagavan, Vrajendra Nandana,
1) paratattva sima:
ataeve caitanya
gosai para tattva sima
tare khirodasayi
kahi ki tara mahima
C.C.
Adi-2
"Therefore
Caitanya Gosai is the Paratattva sima; and since even Ksirodasayi Visnu
praises His glories what more can be said."
Chapter One
Who is srngara rasa (conjugal love)
personified. And He has specifically come to
relish srngara rasa. Yet, in so doing, He
promotes all of the other rasas too."
Thus Gauranga
and Krsna are both srngara rasamaya
(The Embodiment of erotic pleasure). And moreover, Gauranga’s advent is
specifically linked with His tasting srngara
rasa, as Krsna did wih the gopis. To
substantiate, Krsna dasa next quotes Gita Govindam:
visvesamanuranjanena
janayannandam indibara
sreni syamala
komalairupanayannangair anangotsavam
scacchandam
vrajasundari bhirabhitah pratyangal ingitah
srngarah sakhi
murtimaniva madhou mughdho harih kridati
"Oh sakhi, just look! In Caitra, the month of madhu (spring), our Sri Krsna appears
just like a srngara rasa murti. With
His soft, blue lotus hued body He is inaugurating Ananga’s utsava1 amongst the shapely Vraja sundaris as they embrace all of His limbs!"
Then Srila
Kaviraja Gosvami returns to Gauranga to equate Him with Krsna:
sri Krsna
caitanya gosai rasere sadana
asese visese
kaila rasa asvadana
C.C. Adi 4
"Sri Krsna
Caitanya is an Abode of rasa — for
His rasa asvadana (relishing mellows)
extends extensively and unlimitedly."
This covered
language hints ar every form of rasa imaginable.
Krsna dasa Kaviraja is very clever. After equating Gaura with Krsna, he doesn’t
directly say how srngara rasamaya Gauranga
enjoys srngara rasa; for this would expose Him to the
ignorant scrutiny of the masses. Rather, he says: `asese visese’ (in all sorts of unlimited ways) so
that only the rasika bhaktas can
understand the matter. Or, to put it in his own words:
e saba siddhanta
gura kahite na juyaya
na kahile keha
ihara anta nahi paya
ataeva kahi kichu
koriya nigura
bujhibe rasika
bhakta na bujhibe mura
hrdaya dharaye je
saitanya nityananda
e saba siddhanta
sei paibe ananda
C.C. Adi 4
"All of
these siddhantas are very
confidential and should not be discussed openly. Yet if I don’t tell about
them, no-one will understand. Therefor I am writing these intimate topics in
such a way that the rasikas2
can understand, and the unintelligent won’t. Those holding Caitanya and
Nityananda in their hearts will be happy to hear these siddhantas."
Although he
hints about it throughout Caitanya Caritamrta, Krsna dasa Kaviraja wasn’t
deputed to reveal Sri Gauranga’s rasaraja
trait; this task he has saved
for
1) Ananga’s utsava: rati keli
2) rasikas: Those bent on understanding and relishing the Lord’s intimate,
loving exchanges with His devotees.
Chapter One
Locana dasa and others. When requested by the Vrndavana
Vaisnava community to
write about
Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s concluding pastimes, Krsna dasa predominantly depicts
Gauranga’s Radha bhava feature in a lila filled with viraha feelings for Krsna. Indeed, this version is camatkara and rasa purna (fascinating and filled with rasa). Yet it is noteworthy that these descriptions center on only
half of Sriman Mahaprabhu’s rasaraja /
mahabava personality.
Yet, Srila
Kaviraja Gosvami does begin his prabatika
(early morning) Gaura kirtana pada saying:
smaraye nava
gauracandra nagara vanayari
"Just
remember youthful Gauracandra, Nagara
vanamali."
And in Caitanya
Caritamrta’s 17th. Chapter, he tells about Gauranga’s sambhoga as follows.
vidya saundarya
sadhesa sambhoga nrtya kirtanaih
prema nama
pradannais ca gaura divyati jauvane
"In His
youth, Sri Gauranga’s knowledge, beauty, fine dress, sambhoga, dancing and sankirtana
all flourish in the distribution of prema
and the Hari nama."
The term `sambhoga’means Gauranga’s conjugal
affairs, which are a prime feature of His youthful pastimes. Although Caitanya
Caritamrta only slightly touches on Gauranga’s mid-kaisora sambhoga
activities here, Locana dasa depicts
these scenes with colorful detail. Here is a sample from Dhamali:
amara gauranga
nace hema kironiya
hemera gache
premera rasa parche cuyaiya
rupa dekhite
jati kula harai harai vasi
adhuta natera
thama gora angera chata
rupa dekhite
hura pareche nava jubatira ghata
mana maila kula
dubila baiche premera bana
locana bale
madana bhole ara ke ache ana
"As my
Gauranga dances, His prema rasa seeps
from His brilliant, golden effulgence— like nectar-honey oozing from a golden
desire tree. nha! What a form! His hips are cocked crooked, while a sweet,
spreading smile adornes His face. Thus seeing His mohana rupa (enticing form) — my familly attachment is going ... going ... gone! What amazing dancing poses and bodily effulgence! The
young kisori girls of Nadiya are
simply stunned! ... Their minds are
churning ... their family ties
sinking ... and Cupid’s arrows sail!
Locana says, since even Cupid is spellbound — who can remain sober?"
Sri Kavikarnapura’s Contribution
Sri Gaura kisora’s madhura pastimes at Srivasa Angana thus unfold in Srila
Kavikarnapura’s "Caitanya carita Mahakavya", Chapter 6:
"Aho!
Gaurasundara begins His madhura
dancing! Wearing golden rings on His fingers and jeweled armlets and bracelets
on His lovely arms, His beauty forms an
Chapter One
indescribable
picture. Even Cupid is enchanted. His palms look like blooming red lotus, His
bodily effulgence streams out in waves and His broad chest appears like the
golden peak of Mount Sumeru. Gaurasundara’s lips are very sweet to behold, His
silken dhoti hangs in elegant folds,
and a chain of ringing bells dangle over His nitamba1. Aho — He is the Crown-jewel of all dancers.
Thus vilasa rasika Gauracandra
stimulates the moods of madhura rasa,
as if He were Ananga (Cupid) himself.
nha! The sound of mrdangas, karatalas, jingling
ankle bells and enchanting singing mixes along with the high pitched ulu ulu vibrations emanating from the
lotus lips of young brahmina women.
And now as they ecstatically watch Mahaprabhu’s dancing, their bodies erupt
with goose bumps. Thus taking up ankle bells in their hands, they ring them and
sing madhura songs with their
alluring, kokila-like voices."
Srila
Kavikarnapura goes on:
aslosaih katica
tathaisa kanscidanya
nacumbaistadanca
carbbitaistathanyan
iteyavam
paramkrpanidhih sutrptan
cakre
sadvilasitalilaya mahatya
Chapter 6, verse 92
"In showing
His magnficence, the Jewel of mercy, Sri Gaurasundara, embraced some bhaktas, kissed others and then
transferred His chewed pan into their
mouths. Thus He performed lila vihara
to His full satisfaction2!"
Sri Gauranga’s vastra harana
lila
In his "korca", Part 2, Chapter 10, Sri
Murari Gupta further relates about such affairs:
Translation: "Then those brahmina Vaisnavas went to bathe in the Suradhuni Ganga,
and after
finishing their Hari puja, they
returned to Gauranga’s house at dusk. Gaurahari danced, sang and performed vihara with them. And as He embraced
them with His lotus-arms, He began ecstatically rolling on the ground with them
too! Aho! Overtaken by waves of ecstacy, Gaurahari danced lika a lion, and
while holding Srivasa’s hands, He swiftly led him away. But back at the kirtana, Haridasa and the other bhaktas became surprised and stunned
when no longer seeing the Lord! So they began seaching, yet they could not find
Him. Understanding their melancholy, the Supreme Prabhu again returned in their
midsts. Thus the bhaktas eagerly
surrounded Sriman Mahaprabhu; yet
seeing Him just like Vanamali Sri
Krsna, they began to offer prayers in gopi
bhava as follows:
`Oh hey Bhagavan
Mahesvara (siva)! Please bestow Your mercy so that He (Gaura) may become our Vallabha (lover).’
Thus
understanding their minds, Sri Krsna Caitanya began vastra harana (stealing their clothes), and similar related lilas. Later, during mid-evening on another
occassion, the bhaktas Rasa data (Bestower of loving mellows), Rasika Sriman Mahaprabhu (using His wo
lotus hands) stole their clothes rendering them naked! And after performing krida 3 with them, the Lord
returned their garments. Then these
1) nitamba: buttocks
2) Full
satisfaction: Such exchanges are
only possible with the nagari svarupas of
these bhaktas.
3) Such krida (love making) is only possible with the unseen nagari svarupas of theses
bhaktas.
Chapter One
bhaktas redressed en enjoyed vihara with Mahaprabhu in paramananda! Returning to
His Hari nama sankirtana, Sri Gauracandra
fully purified their hearts with the rays of His maha ujjvala golden effulgence!"
Srila
Kavikarnapura also mentions this lila in
his "Caitanya carita Maha Kavya".
Gaurasundara’s Rasa Lila
Krsna performed Vastra harana lila to assure the gopis; thus they learn that Krsna accepted their prayers — He will
become their Prana vallabha (hearts
beloved). Then Rasa lila follows.
Similarly, Gauranga performed vastra
harana lila to offer His bhaktas
the same assurance. So it isn’t surprising that Narahari Cakravarti describes
Gauranga’s Maha Rasa sankirtana pastimes
in his "Gaura carita Cintamani".
yamuna puline rasa
vilasadi je rupa korila syama
sei rupa gora
suradhuni tire rocila rasera dhama
laja kula bhaya
saba teyagiya nadiya nagari jata
manorathe cari
cale juthe juthe eraya kantaka sata
praphulita haiya
dhainu kahara pane na palati dekhi
lohara pinjara
haite jemana palaya navina pakhi
jaiya turite
nayana bhariya dehinu gaura raya
jubati mandali
majhe saje bhala ki diba upama taya
nana jati jantra
baje caridige sukhera nahika para
gaoye madhura
sura narigana barise amiya dhara
o mukha kamala
madhu pane mati mo punah nacinu sukhe
narahari natha
ta dekhi hasiya amare korila buke
"Just as
syamasundara enjoys Rasa vilasa and
other pastimes near the Yamuna’s banks, Sri Gora’s Rasa dhama rests beside the Suradhuni Ganga. Last night, many
groups of Nadiya nagaris renounced
their shyness, chastity and fear — as their Gaura anuraga carried them over hundreds of obstacles. They were joyful
as they secretly flew like young birds released from a cage. And seeing
Gauranga Raya, their eyes became satiated with His darsana ananda. Aho! Who can describe His beauy amidst these
beautiful women? Then the nagaris surrounded
Gauranga and played many instruments with boundless pleasure. Meanwhile, the devis of heaven sweetly sang as nectar
sprinkled from the sky. So while repeatedly drinking the inoxicating madhu from Gauranga’s lotus-face (by
kissing Him) I danced in jubilation. Then Narahari’s Lord, Sri Gauranga, smiled
and embraced me to His chest."
Purport:
This madhura scene unfolds in Srivasa Thakura’s
flower gardens beside the picturesque Ganga .
The nagaris described here are
Gauranga’s male associates who have arrived at Srivasa Angana in the mood of abhisarika ramanis (young, married girls
who secretly fled home home to meet Gauranga.) As the sankirtana begins, it appears that a group of men are performing
congregational chanting. But as the moods of Vrndavana overtake Gaurasundara
and as He dances into the moonlit garden — the devotees follow to assume their nagari svarupas. Thus Maha sankirtana Rasa begins.
Chapter One
Narahari Cakravarti’s Madhura
bhava
Narahari (Ghana syama)
Cakravarti is the grand-disciple of Visvanatha Cakravarti. Knowing wel the
Post-Caitanya period of Gaudiya Vaisnava
history, he has skillfully documented this era in "Bhakti Ratnakara".
Thus, as an experienced Gaura bhakta initiated
in Sri Narottama dasa Thakura’s parampara,
his siddhantas certainly match those
of his previous masters. In his asta kala
gaura lila book entitled "Gaura carita Cintamani", (amongst
nearly 150 other nagari padas) he has revealed his heart’s firm
resolution as follows:
nadiya nagariganera
carane mati rohu mora jivane
marane
emana kakhana na
dekhi na suni priya lagi saba
tiyagiya amani
gaura preme tanu
gathita sabara ke bujhibe iha
sakati kahara
ei asa
naraharira hiyaya ei sabara guna
gaiye sadaya
"In life or
in death my mind rests at the lotus-feet of the Nadiya nagaris. I have never seen such renounciation; for they quickly forsake everything for their priya Gauranga’s seva. Their bodies are molded from Gaura prema; so who can
estimate their sakti? Thus Narahari
always desires to sing their glories."
Sri Narottama
dasa Thakura depicts a similar mood:
kancana
darpana varana sugora re
bara vidhu
jiniya bayana
duti akhi
nimitha murukha vara vidhi
re
na dile adhika
nayana
hari hari kene
va janama haila mora
kanaka mukura
jini gora anga suvalani
heriya na kene
hailam bhora
ajanulambita
bhuja vanamala virajita
malati kusuma
suranga
heri gora
murati kata sata kulavati
hanata madana
taranga
anukhana
premabhare se ranga nayana
jhore
na jani ki jape
niravadi
visaye avesa
mana na bhajinu se carana
vanchita karila
more vidhi
nadiya
nagari seha bhela vrajapuri
priya gadadhara
bama pasa
mohe natha
angikuru vanchakalapa taru
kahe dina narottama
dasa
"Oh re
(Sakhi)! Gaura’s lovely complexion shines like a golden mirror, and
His face defeats the splendour of the moon. But what a fool is the Creator —
for He only gave me two eyes which blink! Oh Hari! Why was I ever born in the
first place? Gora’s strongly-shaped limbs defy the elegance of a golden mirror.
So why couldn’t I become overwhelmed by seeing Him? His arms extend to His
knees, a forest garland graces His neck and malati
flowers decorate His hair. Thus seeing Gaura’s splended murati — hundreds of kulavati
ramanis1 become drenched by Cupid’s splashing waves. Tears
incessantly stream from Gora’s eyes, and what sort of mantra does He
1)
kulavati
ramanis:
chaste housewives
Chapter One
repeatedly
utter? nha! Providence
has deprived me — for owing to my absorbtion in
maya I couldn’t understand the melows of His
carana seva. But aho! As priya Gadadhara stands on Gauranga’s
left side — Nadiya beomes transformed into Vraja! Fallen Narottama says: Oh vancha kalpa taru Gora, Oh Natha (Lord), please accept me."
Sri Govinda dasa’s Contribution
sri nanda
nandana gopijana vallabha
sri radhika nayaka
nagara syama
so saci
nandana nadiya purandara
sura munigana mano
mohana dhama
jaya nija
kanta kanti kalevara
jaya nija preyasi
bhava vinoda
vraja
tarunigana locana mangala
nadiya badhugana
nayana amoda 1
"Our
sacinandana is Nandanandana, Gopijana vallabha,
Radha’s nayaka and Nagara syamasundara. He is full with all
opulences in Nadiya; thus He is the
attractve pleasure abode for all the munis
and devatas. So all glories to
His kantas (sweethearts), to His
effulgence, and to His beautiful form! And all glories to the mind enchanting bhavas of His consorts — for He is
Auspiciousness personified. For the Vraja tarunis’eyes,
and Pleasure personified for the Nadiya nagaris."
This madhura pada is instructive not only
because it likens Radhika’s beloved Nagara
syama with Sri sacinandana — but it also equates Krsna’s kantas (sweethearts), along with their vinoda bhavas (enchanting moods), with Gauranga’s kantas. In other words, the Nadiya nagaris are non-other than the Vraja gopis. Thus, from this perspective a
vast new relish of Gauranga’s pastimes opens. Vaisnavas traditionally sing this
popular song before listening to the Bhagavata. Yet moreover, Sri Govinda dasa is acclaimed as one of the
greatest Vaisnava poets to ever appear. As the son of Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s
associate, Ciranjiva Sena of Srikhanda, Govinda dasa wrote during the peak of a
renaissance when Gauranga’s prema dharma
was resurging in Bengal after gaining
remendous momentum in Vraja from the Six Gosvamis’preaching. During this era
many other rasika Gaudiya Mahajanas
also helpt to increase the breadth and the depth of Sriman Mahaprabhu’s prema ratnakara (ocean of prema rasa) With their extensive
contribution of Vaisnava padavali.
For indeed these padas represent the
mature culmination of the essence found in the Gosvami sastras.
In early life
Govinda dasa wasn’t a Vaisnava, until a traumatic incident happened: He fell very ill and was on the verge
of death. It was then that his older brother, Sri Ramacandra Kaviraja1,
brought Srinivasa Acarya to the place
where he lie in a coma. But by Srinivasa Acarya ‘s merciful touch (on the
forehead) Govinda’s high fever suddenly broke — and he was cured. Then Govinda’s
life changed, and on the spur of the moment he composed his famous poem:
bhaja hunre
mana sri nanda nandana
abhaya
caranaravindare ...
1)
Ramacandra Kaviraja1: Sri Narottama dasa’s most intimate
friend
Chapter One
... to praise the value of Vaisnava sat sanga. Later after
becomming Srinivasa’s disiple, Govinda dasa’s poetic skill fully blossomed; and then Srinivasa would often come to
listen to his poetic discriptions of Gaura and Govinda’s sweet lila. Srinivasa was indeed pleased with
his disciple, and blessed him with the title, `kaviraja’.
But when Govinda
dasa’s poetry reached the Vrndavana Vaisnava community, his acclaim increased,
for Jiva Gosvami re-confirmed Srinivasa’s blessings by sending a letter to Bengal declaring Govinda dasa as the `kaviraja’ for his amazing poetic
prowess.
These historical
events lend support to the Nadiya nagari doctrine
because many of Govinda dasa’s padas
about Gauranga capture Him in this spirit. Thus we may conclude that Srinivasa Acarya
and Jiva Gosvami also support these
mellows. If otherwise, why would they
honour such poetry so highly? Here is a sample:
dekha dekha
nagara gaura sudhakara
jagat
ahaladankari
nadiya
purabara ramani mandala
mantana gunamani
dhari
sahajei
rasamaya sahacara urugana
majhe virajita
nagara raja
madana
parabhava badana hasa dekhi
vinasai
ranginigana bhaya laja
bhakata vrnda
citta kairava phullita
nisidisi udita
hiyaka vilasa
rasiya
ramanicita rohini lasaka
anuksana purala
na rahe hrase
aiche vilasa
prakasa vinodini vilasai
ulasai bhavini
bhava
pada pankaja
para govinda dasa cita
bhramari ki
paoaba madhuri labha
Oh Sakhi! "Look, look at that Nagara!
He’s the Golden full moon Who elates the entire universe. And while surrounded
by the sundari ramanis of Nadiya, He’s
a Jewel of qualities. Being carefree and rasamaya,
He appears like the Nagara raja
amongst His associates. Although His smiling face conquers Cupid, it also
smites every playful, young girl’s fear and shyness. Thus the bhaktas1 lily-like hearts are
overjoyed as He continuously plays within their minds. And just as the moon
enjoys vilasa (love making) with the
Rohini star Gauranga excites the young ramanis’minds
with unceasing erotic rapture. Such prema
vilasa He enjoys with the Nadiya vinodinis
while refreshing their bhavas. Thus
the lady-bee of Govinda dasa’s mind hankers to sip the sweet honey from His
lotus feet.
Can Gauranga Give Up His Previous Nature?
Narahari
Cakravarti offers a logical explanatioin for Sri Gauranga’s nagarali affairs in the following pada:
nadiya nagare
nagarali jata nahika tahara lekha
anyera kathate je
hauka se hauka iha ta amara dekha
1) bhaktas: Using a long `a’ over
the last syllable Govinda dasa refers to the bhaktas of feminine gender
Chapter One
jadi bala ei
avatare iha sambhava ki rupe hoy
achaye tahara
karana prasidha sakala lokete kaya
jara je svabhava
thake taha keha kabhu na charite pare
svabhavanarupa
kore krda karu nizsdha kichu na kore
jadi mane kora e
rupa ihara svabhava kotha na dekhi
tahate tomara
nivediye suna ihate jagat saksi
ei sacisuta
jasoda nandana taha ki na jana tumi
vrndavane jata
nigura vilasa taha ki janaba ami
ei sei, sei ei,
saba priya parikara sangete laiya
viharaye sada
nadiya nagare nija gunagane magana haiya
nava nava kulabati
kula kula kalanka laji tilanjali diya
narahari saksi
sara kaila sabe sukhamaya gora parana
priya
— Gaura
carita Cintamani
As two devis from heaven peak through the
clouds, they discuss Gauranga’s similarity with Krsna:
"There is no end to
Gauranga’s Nadiya nagara antics1,
and I don’t care a fig about what others say — for I’ve seen them with my own
eyes. Yet if someone questions, `In this Avatara
how is that possible?’ I’ll anwser, `look, everybody knows that no-one can
change their nature. So (even if restricted) won’t He act according to His
nature anyway?’ But if they reply, `I haven’t witnessed this nature of His’,
then I will anwser, `the whole world is a witness — for don’t you know that
saci’s dulala was previously Yasoda
Nandana? So must I mention all about Vrndavana’s nigura vilasa (intimate love affairs)?’And Vrndavana is
Nadiya, and Nadiya is Vrndavana —but now Krsna’s Vraja associates have become
Gauranga’s priya companions, and as
they sing His glories, they enjoy Nadiya vihara
with Him. Thus stepping over their fear from family disgrace — all of the kulavati ramanis 2 rush to
please their prana priya Gora; and Narahari is a witness."
But Would the Vraja Gopis
allow Krsna to Escape?
Let’s relish
Locana dasa’s pada which candidly
portrays two nagaris viewing Krsna’s
transformation in Navadvipa:
jahara eka
bara gaura natabara
nayana konete
here
asite pare ki
phire
sunechi
purane radhikara sane
tahari premera
katha
tila adha
jare na dekhile more
se kena asibe
hetha
preme rhini
haiya ela palaiya
yamuna haiya
para
gopa kula
chari ela naide puri
dvijakula
avatara
bara bhaya
mone pache keha sune
lukayeche kala rupa
kaca sona
mekhe nija anga deke
hoyeche rai
svarupa
1) nagara antics: flirtatious activities
2) kulavati ramanis: chaste and beautiful
newly married girls
Chapter One
iha jadi
suni vraja gopigane
eseche dvijera
puri
nagarali
pana tabe jabe jana
bhenge dibe
bhari bhuri
se raja kumari navina kisori
jahara koreche
dhara
duti pathaiya jabe bedhe laiya
dohai na manibe
kara
gokula nagare kalanka sagare
majayeche kula
badhu
dese ke na
jane cora kanu bole
videse hoyeche
sadhu
"Sakhi! The young married girls who view
Gaura nataraja (just once) surely
become chaste — for they cannot
remove their eyes from Him. Yet I’ve heard all about His love escapades with
Radha in the Puranas. nha! He’d die if He missed seeing Her for
only a split second! But why would He come here? "
The other sundari ramani answers:
"Usurping a debt for the gopis unconditional love, Krsna crossed
the Yamuna and fled the His gopa
community! Thus comming to Nadiya, He advented amongst the brahmanas. Yet still fearing like anything, He smeared His black
form with gold to take on Radha’s svarupa.
But if the Vraja gopis catch wind of
His hiding amongst the brahmanas —
they will certainly spill all of the evidence revealing Him as Gokula’s Nagara. Then Navina kisori raja kumari Radha
will send Her sakhis to collect
Her dues; and they won’t listen to
any excuses! Rather, they’ll bind and take Him away, saying: `Aho! You’ve left our Gokula village an ocean of scandal — for
who doesn’t know that You’re a gopi-cora
(thief of others’ wives)! So do You have the gall to hide in a foreign country
calling Yourself a sadhu’?"
This is rasa.
Here we discover
why Nadiya nagari bhava is the
logical outcome of the gopis’ plight
after Krsna left them to become Gora. As He wanted to hide Himself for the
chance to relish their sweet mellows — would they let Him get away with it
alone?
Hence, a new
sensational rasa is born as they
rejoin Him in Nadiya. But this time the Vraja sundaris are equally clever as their Master — for they hide their nari svarupas to take up malae forms. In
Sri Narottama dasa Thakura’s song, "hede
he nagara bara - suno he muralidhara ..."
Radhika prays to take birth as a male so that She may always remain in Krsna’s
company. Her heartache is thus expressed:
"Oh My nagara bara! Oh hey Muralidhara! Please listen. When You go
cowherding in the forest with Sridama and Sudama, I watch by the kitchen door —
and My heart follows as I gaze upon Your sweet face. But dreading being
discovered by my relatives, I pretend that the stove from the kitchen stove
makes Me cry. Oh My jewel-like Ramana
(Lover)! Alas! If providence had not created Me a woman — surely I could have
always roamed with You from place to place."
Before going on
to the next chapter to relish the nagaris’purva
raga for Gora, it will be appropriate to say a few words about the type of adhikara required for appreciating such
intimate affairs. For such thoughts, hankering and anubhava (divine realization)
Chapter One
may awaken in a sadhaka bhakta’s heart only after the
mature ripening of his Vraja
gopi bhava. In other words, when one becomes adept
in manjari sadhana and receives the
fortune to meet an experienced Mahatma absorbed
in nagari bhava — only then can such
an advanced form of raganuga bhakti begin.
For one’s praccanna (hidden) Nadiya nagari form is an extended feature of one’s manjari svarupa ideal for serving in rasika Nagara and rasika
Nagari’s (Radha Krsna’s) continuing pastimes in Navadvipa.
To perform Sri
Sri Gaura Govinda’s manasi seva, one
is advised to first meditate on Sri Gaurasundara’s Radha bhava lilas. Following Gaura’s mood into Vraja, one then meditates
on servong in each Vraja pastime as Radharani’s dasi. But when the sadaka
is adept in such seva, he may
re-enter Navadvipa to focus on Sri Gauranga’s rasaraja feature. In essence Vraja lila and Gaura lila are
one. The Navadvipa pastimes represent Rasaraja
Sri Krsna’s `parisistha lila’,
further adventures meant for relishing prema’s
ever-new expressions.
Chapter Two
The Nadiya Nagaris’ Purva Raga
Taking up where
we left off, this chapter will continue disclosing how srngara rasamaya Gauranga has all of Krsna’s
captivating features. Yet moreover, Gauranga’s alluring side-long glances,
power of subjugation and bhuvana mohana
rupa (universally enchanting form) even outmatch Krsna’s. A striking
example is found in the story of `Svapna
vilasamrta’, where Srimati Radharani has an amazing dream. As the scene
opens, Srimati is lying asleep while tenderly embracing Her prana Govinda after They enjoyed nikunja vilasa. But then a startling
dream frightens Radha: She sees a
beautiful, Golden purusa who is madly
crying "Krsna!, Krsna!" — Just as She does when weeping for Him. Aho!
Srimati’s mind races after Gora — eventhough She is tightly embraacing
syamasundara! Thus overwhelmed, Srimati’s slumber breaks — "Haya,
haya!" She exclaims. "What did I see?" Then restlessly pushing
on Krsna’s side, She asks Him. And after relating Her dream, Krsna smiles, and
replies:
"Oh Prana priye! You have seen Rasaraja Gauranga — but don’t think
otherwise, Your prema has molded Me
as such."
The moral of the
story is that Gora’s incredible alluring power can kidnap even Maha bhava svarupini Radha — and right
from Krsna’s lap! So when this happens, what will be the plight for the young taruni ramanis of Nadiya? As Gauranga’s
beauty can break Radharani’s chastity for Krsna, will their chastity for their
so-called husbands remain? Indeed, it is only after attaining Gauranga that a
woman’s chastity can fully blossem. And why is that? Once seeing Him, could she
think of anyone else? In "Dhamali", Locana dasa offers testimony by
describing his purva raga1
for Gauranga in nagari bhava:
sacira gora kamera
kora dekhlam ghatera kule
cacara cule
beriya bhale nava malatira male
kaca sosa lage
ghrna rupere tulana dite
hena citacora
manohara naiko avanite
ki ara balcho go
sai tomaya bujhaba ki
snane jete
sakhira sathe gaura dekhechi
se rupa dekhi duti
akhi phiraite nari
punah tare dekhbar
tore kata sadha kori
ki ara balbo go
sai tumi ta acha bhala
amara maramer katha
maramei rakhila
jagite ghumate sada
gaura jage mane
locana bale je
dekheche sei se uha jane
"Oh sakhi! Mother saci’s Gora is a Kamera kora (Abode of kama ) ... and I jst saw Him by the Ganga ’s
ghata! His lovely curling hair tossed
so elegantly over His forehead ... and
His cura (topknot of hair) was bound
with malati garlands. Uh! Now even
molte gold irks me — for it’s incomparable with His effulgent limbs. So is
there such a Heart-stealer, or Mind-thief, anywhere else in the whole creation?
But what are you saying, sakhi? ... And how can I explain it to you? ... when I went with the sakhis to bathe — I saw Gora! Then I
couldn’t retract my eyes from Him ...
and now I only
hanker to see
His exquisit form again! Oh sakhi, what
more can I say? You’re still
acting normal ... so I guess that my heart’s
confession will have to remain inside. For
1)
purva
raga: the
stage before meeting the beloved (preliminary attraction)
Chapter Two
during waking,
or sleeping, Gora always fills my mind. Locana says, only those who see Him
will know what I’m talking about."
And having seen,
Vrndavana dasa Thakura confirms Locana’s addressing Gauranga as the Abode of
divine kama :
visvambara murti
jena madana
samana
divya gandha
malya divya vasa paridhana
—
Sri Caitanya Bhagavata
"Visvambhara’s
bidy is just like Madana’s (Cupid’s) decorated with divine garlands, pleasing
parfume and fine dress."
But this is an
under-estimation for Locana, who says:
manamatha
gauranga rupa heri prana kade
manamatha koti
koti jiniya gauranga tanu
sarva ange
labanya apara
— Dhamali
"nha!
Seeing Gauranga’s madhura form my
heart cries; for His every limb
defeats the amour of millions of Cupids!"
Hence Locana
goes on describing his deep attraction:
rupa lagi akhi
jhure gune mana bhora
prati anga lagi
kade prati anga mora
hiyara parasa lagi
hiya mora kade
parana putali mora
hiya nahi badhe
ami kena suradhuni
gelam
kena gaura rupe
nayane dilam
ami kena cahilam
gaura pane
amaya hanle duti
nayana bane
amara nayana
bole o rupa dekhe asi
amara mona bole
haige tara dasi
kore nayana
pathe anagona
amara pajara
kete kallo khana
gaura rupa
sagarera pichala ghate
amara mana giya
taya par lo chute
eke gaura rupa
taya piriti makha
tate isata hasi
nayanabaka
gorara jat rupa
tata vesa
o se bhav te pajara
sesa
gora rupa lagi
akhi jhore
gora gune mana
bhora kore
tila adha
pasarite nari
sadai hiyara
majhe dhori
ei buke ciriya
rakhi paraneri sange
mone hole bahira
kore dekhi mukha cande
gaura rupa hei
sabara antara ullasa
ananda hrdaya
kahe e locana dasa
"Gauranga’s
rupa soothes my eyes, and His
qualities captivate my mind! Thus my limbs cry to embrace His limbs! Yet when
His form envelopes my mind, it cries too! so haya! haya! I’m unable to bind my
heart (like a doll) with His.
Chapter Two
Oh why did I go
to the Suradhuni Ganga? ... Why did
I alow my eyes to see Gora’s beautiful form? And why did I look upon His sweet
face? For His flower-arrow-glance has pierced me! Hence my eyes are telling —
`just go see Him again.’ And my mind dictates — `just become His dasi.’ When my eyes glanced up a down
His sweet form, my heart tore to pieces! In fact, the Ganga ’s
ghata turned slippery from the madhuri of Gauranga’s rupa sagara. But nha! As my mind raced to embrace Him, it
slipped and fell."
On the other
hand, the thick butter of piriti
(love, prema) is spread over His
entire body — but there’s a slight smile on His face, and His eyes are shifty.
Thus contemplating Gora’s insatiable form, my chest bursts! nha! His rupa
steals my eyes, and His qualities drive me mad. Oh, I can’t forget Him —
even for half a second; for He is
always on my mind. So I would just like to tear out my heart and paste it to
His moon-face! Thus Locana dasa ‘s heart overflows with ananda seeing everyones’joy."
It is lamentable
that the madhurya of Locana’s padavali can never be duplicated in
English. For his down to earth village style colloquial Bengali has a
soul-stirring twist that English words just can’t capture. Yet for those
knowing Bengali, a graceful, exhorbitant Sarasvati river of rasa can be discovered flowing with
every beat of his simple, sweet and life full poetry. On the other hand,
however, sometimes Locana’s stark fascinations for preaching Gauranga’s parakiya rasa gets the better of him.
Then, due to the excessive churning of his Gaura anuraga, he even becomes oblivious, or fearless, to public scandal.
Or, as Sri Haridasa dasa Baba puts it:
"In order to show Gauranga’s srngara
rasaraja svarupa, and to relish such bhavas, Locana has placed the garland of Gauranga’s kalankas (disgraceful scandal)
upon his own
chest."
Gaura Kalankini1
And here is an
example:
baluk baluk
sakala loke gaure kalankini
dhik jara kula
rakhe kulera kamini
nadiya nagare
gauracanda cale jaya
canchala nayana
kori dui dike caya
nagaridera netra
jena bhramarara
pati
gaura mukha
padma madhu piye mati mati
padma madhu pane
tadera dekhiya ullasa
gaura guna gaya e locana dasa
— from Dhamali
"Oh let
them say it, just let everyone call me, `Gaura kalankini (scandalized by Gaura)! And damn those yooung damsels who
cling to their so-called family prestige. When Gauranga walks through Nadiya,
His flirtatious glances roam both sides of the path. Thus the nagaris’ eyes soar like thirsty bees to
sip the honey from His lotus face. Seeing them happily relishing, Locana dasa
joyfully sings about Gauranga’s qualities."
Has Locana’s
chest overflowed with the pride of his unconditional Gaura prema? Perhaps; yet
there is another reason too which causes him to run amuck in the ecstacy
1) Gaura kalankini: a young girl who is disgraced
by Gauranga
Chapter Two
of his madhura tie with Gora. Thus he aassures
another Navadvipa vasini as follows:
dhara ara nahi
sai dhara ara nai
buka sthira kori
sabe raha eka thai
je je baluk ta baluk
taha na sunibe
kalanka pathara
majhe satara eriba
baluk sakal loke
gaura kalankini
dik dik dik sai
kulera kamini
gaura paribada e
ta sabai paibe
locana bole kare
bhaya kora ara tabe
— from Dhamali
Why Fear?
"Don’t fear
sakhi! There’s nothing more to fear.
Let’s take the load of our chests and try to remain calm. Whomever may
criticise — let them, we won’t listen. We’ll just swim across the ocean of
scandal to escape. Oh let them adress us `Gaura kalankini’! And sakhi,
damn, damn, damn those chaste, young housewifes! Look, everyone is going to end
up disgraced by Gora! Thus Locana says, then we’ll have nothing more to
fear."
This pada is meant for two types of
listeners, those taing part in Gauranga’s madhura
lila, and us too. Locana’s fearlesness is born from deep realization and
confidence. On one hand he knows about Gauranga’s magnanimity which spurs His
inner desire to share madhura rasa
with every bhakta. Yet he is
confident too that no-one can resist His insurmountable beauty and charm.
Hence, the conclusion is that everyone will become `Gaura kalankini ‘ (like himself). Then who will be left to criticise? But
for those who oppose nagari bhava,
herein we can imbibe a hint:
If
someone were to mercifully tell them about Gauranga rasika nature, could they resist? In other words, when properly
informed about the full spectrum of Gauranga’s parama karuna, — they too would become attracted, no doubt. For
such is the all encompacing power of Gauranga’s mercy. Indeed, this is what
Gauranga hankers for; yet He laments
because such bhaktas are very rare:
prithibite asiya
amio iha cai
khoje hena jana
more kathao na pai
— Caitanya
Bhagavata
"My desire
in comming to this world is to find those who just search after Me; but such people are very rare."
Because the
majority of His followers lose sight of Him as their ultimate goal, Gauranga
has spoken.
Sri Vasudeva Ghosa’s Padavali
The three
brothers, Govinda, Madhava and Vasudeva Ghosa were very dear parsadas of Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and expert singers in His sankirtana pastimes. Yet of the three,
Vasudeva became the most prolific, and popular, for his vast contribution of
Vaisnava padavali. Because he
composed his padas after directly
witnessing
Chapter Two
Gauranga’s
activities, they are valuable for their historical accuracy, besides the deep bhavas which they express. Thus Srila
Kaviraja Gosvami praises in Caitanya Caritamrta:
vasudeva gita
kore prabhu varnone
kastha pasana
drabe jahara sravane
"When the
songs composed by Vasudeva Ghosa are heard — even the stones melt."
In context with
this essay, it is noteworthy that a large percentage of Vasudeva Ghosa’s pada’s describe Nadiya nagari bhava. Yet by sampling them we
can learn that he (along with his brothers) not only support this mode of
worshipping Gauranga — they are counted amongst the nagaris of whom their songs describe. Hence their songs form a living account, or first-hand testimony to
Sri Gauranga’s rasika nature. Here is
a sample:
madana mohana
mani gauranga badana khani
rupa heri ki na
haila more
sonara varana
tanu ei chila kala kanu
nahile ki mana
curi kore?
rasera parana jara kule ki koribe tara
nadiya
nagara hena jana
ki chara daruna
mati majila jubati sati
ghare ghare
premera kadana
nayana kamala
nava aruna parabhava
dhara bahe mukha
buka bahiya
aha mari mari
sai marama tomara kai
jiva na go gora
na dekhiya
hiyaya premera
sara tanu kaila jara jara
probodha na mane
more prani
suradhuni tire
jaiya bhasaiba kula krida
bhajiba se gora
gunamani
purabe suninu
jata sei saba abhimata
eve bhela
kalatanu gora
vasudeva ghosera
Visnuani rasika nagara jani
nahila ki gopira
mana cora
Rupa Anuraga
" I
consider Gauranga’s face to be like Madana
mohana’s; and when viewing His
body — I am unable to describe my captivation! Oh, this Golden youth must have
been that Black youth Krsna — for how else could He have stolen my mind? But
what about the Nadiya damsels who have a rasika
heart, will their so-called family tie be able to stop them? How will they
resist Him? And what can we say about the intense agony of Nadiya’s chaste
young girls — for their love-lorn crying can be heard from every home. Hence
their soft, lotus-eyes, conquered by the Gauranga-sun, now pour tears that
stream over their breasts. Oh sakhi!
I’m going to pass away ... so just
hear my confession:
Without properly
knowing never classify Gora as ordinary — for my mind has fathomed the sweetnes
of His prema — my body is burning in
a fever — and my heart cannot be pacified without Him! Just let me go to the Ganga and drown all of my family obligations; then I shall full worship Gora guna mani. nha! Concerning everything
that I ‘ve heard about dark-complexioned Krsna — the same applies to
Gora. Thus
Vasudeva Ghosa says, I know that He is a Rasika
nagara — for how else
Chapter Two
could He have
stolen the gopis’ minds?"
From the
selected padas that we have selected
so far, we can see that the Mahajanas
who write them look upon themseves as young, married girls in Gaura lila. Thus there is an unseen mystery
taking place here that can baffle even the learned scholars. One might ask,
therefore —
"Is this type of rasa that Govinda dasa, Narahari
Sarakara, Locana dasa, Vasudeva Ghosa and others describe really taking place,
or is it just a kind of fascination, or bhava,
that they relish within their minds?"
We won’t try to
answer this question now, for this chapter only deals with purva raga (tha stage of preliminary attraction for Gauranga). So
after presenting more evidence, the right moment for this discussion will
automatically present itself in an upcomming chapter. At present, however, in
context with Vasudeva and Govinda Ghosa, their `nari abhimana’ (female mentality) appears natural, for previously
they were attracted to Krsna as the twin sisters, Sudevi and Rangadevi of
Vraja. Sri Govinda Ghosa writes as follows:
nadiya
nagarigana kade tara anukhana
basana bhusana
nahi bhaya
suradhuni tire
jaite dekiba gaurana pathe
canda mukhera
vani suni juraba tapita
prane
govinda ghosa
deha khina
"The Nadiya
nagaris cry continuously, and they
have lost all care for their dres and ornaments. On the way to the Suradhuni
they simply contemplate: `Oh when
will we see Gauranga coming along this path? ... Oh, how many days will
we have to wait for His auspicious darsana?
And when will we again hear sweet words emanating from His moon-face? For only
this will sooth our depressed hearts. Thus Govinda Ghosa’s body has become
thin."
Vasudeva Ghosa’s
next pada further reveals about his
internal mood:
niravadi mora
mone gora rupa lagiache
bala sakhi ki
kori upaya
na dekhile gora
rupa vidariya jaya buka
parane bahire
haite caya
kaha sakhi ki
buddhi koriba
grhapati
gurujana bhaya nahi mora mana
gora lagi parana tyajiba
saba sukha
teyaginu kule jalanjali dinu
gora vinu ara
nahi bhaya
ujhore jhoraye
akhi suno go marama sakhi
vasu ghosa ki
koribe taya
"Oh sakhi! Please advise me what to do? ... My mind is always fixed on Gora.
And without seeing His form my heart is breaking — so my soul wants to leave my
body! Oh sakhi ! What can I do? The
fear of my husband and family superiors has gone — so I am thinking to commit
suicide for Gora! I’ve disgarded all other happiness and
thrown aside my
family dharma — for I know nothing
else but Him. Thus, with tear filled eyes, Vasu Ghosa emplores: Oh prana sakhi! What shall I do?"
Here, with the
mention of a husband, and suggesting the presence of a mother-in-law,
sister-in-law etc., Vasu Ghosa fully merges with his Nadiya nagari svarupa. And this is not a
daydream, or the play of his imagination, but the testimony of an inner-world
that many other Gaura associates take part in. For there are literally
thousands of padas written by
countless Gaudiya Mahajanas which
verify Vasudeva’s experiences.
Nadiya nagari bhava is not simply excluded to
those who were previously gopis in
Vraja. And we find the example with Murari Gupta who was previously Hanumana.
Sri Murari Gupta’s Padavali
Here is a sample
of Murari’s akhepa anuraga (intense
feelings of remorse) in the pangs of Gaura viraha:
sakhi he gora
kena nisturai mohe
jagate koriya
daya diya sei padachaya
vancala e abhagire
kahe
gaura preme sapi
prana jiu kore anacana
stira haiya
rohita nari ghare
age jadi
janitam piriti na koritam
jaciya na ditu
prana pare
ami bhuji jara
tore se jadi na caya phire
emana pitite
kiva sukha
cataka salila
cahe bajara khepile tahe
jaya phati jaya
kina buka
murari gupta
kaya piriti sahaja naya
visese gaurana
premera jvala
kula mana saba
chara carana asraya koro
tabe se paibe
sacira bala
" Oh sakhi, why is Gora torturing me? Although mercifully offering the whole world
the shelter of His lotus feet, He neglected an unfortunate girl like me. I gave
my life for Gauranga’s love but now my soul is burning; thus I cannot remain peaceful at home! If I would have known
(what would have happened) I wouldn’t have surrendered my heart. For as I
suffer from for Him — He’s indifferent. So what is the happiness in such love?
It’s just like the cataka bird who
tries to relieve its thirst from the cloud — yet becomming struck by lightning
— its chest blows to pieces!" Thus Murari Gupta says, "Love isn’t
simple, especially when suffering the pain of Gauranga’s prema. First a young girl must give up her family and her pride,
and then after taking shelter at His feet, she can attain the Son of sacaryai."
Here is another
example where Murari Gupta totally merges in nagari bhava:
dande dande tile
tile gora rupa na herile
marama moriya jena thaki
sadha haya
nirantara hemakanti kalevara
hiyara majhare
sada rakhi
bareka na dekhi
taya pajaradhasiya jaya
dhairaja dhorite
nahi pari
anuragera duri
diya antare ki kore hiya
na jani tara katai
dhara dhari
suradhuni tire
giya kula diba bhasaiya
anala jvaliya
diba laje
gauranga
sanmukhe kori gauranga kalanka
mala
galaya porite sadha
lage
murari gupta
bale bhale dage dage dile
gupta gauranga
anurage
"From hour
to hour, and from second to second, my heart is dying for want of Gora’s rupa darsana. My ambition is to always
hold Gauranga’s hemakanti kalevara (golden body) within my mind.
But alas! Without seeing Him — my heart breaks, and my patience is fleeing.
Aho! The rope of anuraga is pulling
my mind — for I failed to estimate the power of His subjugation. So I’ll just
go to the Suradhuni Ganga and drown my family attachment — and burn my shyness
in a bonfire. Then I shall satiate my eyes seeing Gauranga standing before me —
why should I perform my housework needlessly? As I am a chaste young girl, a
yearn to wear the garland of Gauranga’s scandals around my neck. Thus Murari
Gupta says; `Gauranga has placed a
fine scar on me for my secret anuraga!’"
Murari Gupta
lived in the same neighborhood as Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and was the Lord’s
senior classmate in Gangadasa Pandita’s sanskrit toll (school). Thus witnessing Gauranga’s pastimes from the
beginning, he kept a korca (diary) to
record all of Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s
Navadvipa activities. This `korca’
later became a great source wherefrom Vrndavana dasa, Locana dasa and Krsnadasa
Kaviraja gathered their information to write Caitanya Bhagavata, Caitanya
Mangala and Caitanya Caritamrta. Hence, as the forerunner of Caitanya deva’s other biographers, his pen
certainly commands a lot of weight concerning authority. Therefore, as he
writes songs about nagari bhava also,
this reveals that such sentiments with the Lord have excisted from the very
beginning.
Before
investigating further about how deeply involved Gauranga’s nagarali pastimes are, let us go on to the next chapter to confront
the reasons why many Vaisnavas misunderstand, or oppose these types of mellows.
o,
this reveals that such sentiments with the Lord have excisted from the very
beginning.
Before
investigating further about how deeply involved Gauranga’s nagarali pastimes are, let us go on to the next chapter to confront
the reasons why many Vaisnavas misunderstand, or oppose these types of mellows.
gadadhapran@gmail.com 9332660732
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