Sri Jiva Gosvami & Sri Jagadisha Pandit (Disappearance day)

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Disappearance day of Srila Jiva Gosvami

 

SRILA JIVA GOSVAMI

 

Sri Sanatana, Sri Rupa and Sri Vallabha were three

brothers, all

employed in the service of the Badsa Hussain Shah.

Amongst the three,

there

was only one descendent, Sri Jiva. Having been

rewarded richly by the

Badsa

for their sevices, their household life was very

opulent. There was

nothing

lacking in whatever was necessary for the upbringing

of the only son.

The

house was illuminated by the effulgence of the child's

golden

complexion;

his eyes were like the expanded petals of the lotus;

every part of his

body

was graced with a lusterous, radiant splendor.

 

When Sri Gaurasundara came to Ramakeli, Sri Jiva was

blessed by

having darsana of His worshippable Lord, though he was

just a baby at

the

time. Placing the dust of His lotus feet on the

child's head,

Mahaprabhu

indicated him to be the future sovereign preceptor of

the Gaudiya

sampradaya. Though he was only a child, Sri Jiva kept

the form of the

Lord,

which fascinates all the world, within his heart. As

he grew up, while

eating, lying down, in his dreams, while he was awake,

at all times, he

would meditate on that form.

 

Later on, when his father and uncles renounced their

family life in

order to be with Mahaprabhu, the only child, Sri Jiva,

was left with

his

mother in the family palace at Fateyabad. Lying in her

lap, which was

wet

with tears of separation, he gradually began to grow

as the waxing

moon.

Seeing that the mother and the child's face were

always wet with tears,

their friends also fell under the shadow of sadness

and only with great

difficulty managed to assuage their grief. Whenever

Sri Jiva would

remember

his father and uncles, or the lotus feet of Sri Gaura

Hari, he would

lose

consiousness and fall to the ground.

 

As he got a little older, Sri Jiva took up the

worship of the

Deities of Sri-Sri Rama-Krsna. He would carefully

decorate Them and

offer

bhoga and aroti, serving Them with his full attention.

Even in his

play,

whatever games he played were connected with Sri

Krsna's pastimes.

 

While studying under the local panditas he became

proficent in

grammar, poetry and rhetoric. Noting his great

intellect, his teachers

commented, "Such brilliance is not often found in a

child so young as

this.

No doubt he will be a very high-souled, saintly

person."

 

Even while engaged in his studies Jiva always thought

of Sri Sri

Nitai-Gauranga. Once he saw in a dream that Sri

Rama-Krsna had taken

the

forms of Nitai-Gauranga and were dancing. [b.R.1.732]

Giving him the

dust of

Their lotus feet, the Two Lords then disappeared.

Having seen such a

wonderful dream, Sri Jiva was consoled somewhat. Then

he began to

think,

"When will I be able to crawl out of this well of

family life and

devote my

full time and energy, my very self, to serving these

two most

magnanimous

Lords?" But he was the only son of the family. Only in

his company

could his

mother forget somewhat the pangs of separation in her

heart. When Sri

Jiva

learned that his father had given up his life on the

banks of the

Ganga, he

was compeletely unsettled. After that his eyes were

never dry. The

family

members and friends tried to console him but to little

avail. Family

life

had become the source of his utter sadness.

 

Someone suggested to Jiva to go to Navadwipa and

bathe himself in

the coolness emanating from the lotus feet of Lord

Nityananda Prabhu so

that

his mind and body, burning with with grief, could be

refreshed. Thus

Sri

Jiva set our for Navadwipa with a group of pilgrims.

[bhakti Ratnakara 1/741]

 

Nityananda Prabhu, the omniscient Lord, could

understand that Sri

Jiva was on his way to Navadwipa. Therefore He also

left for there from

Khardaha. After a few days, Jiva arrived at Navadwipa.

Seeing the

beauty of

that place he was charmed. Falling down on the ground,

he offered his

dandavats to Mother Ganges. Inquiring from the

villagers the directions

to

Mayapura, he learned that Nityananda Prabhu was

residing at Srivasa

Pandita's house. At last arriving there, he fell down

at the door to

offer

his dandavats. Nityananda Prabhu came out with Srivasa

Pandita and

picked

him up and embraced him, asking, "Are you the nephew

of Sri Rupa and

Sri

Sanatana?"

 

As an answer, Jiva again fell down on the ground at

the lotus feet

of Nityananda Prabhu. This time Nityananda Prabhu

brought him in the

house

and began to inquire after the welfare of his family

at Fateyabad. Then

Sri

Jiva was introduced to the devotees present in

Navadwipa; he offered

his

salutations at their lotus feet. Everyone was very

happy to meet the

nephew

of Sri Rupa and Sanatana. That day Sri Jiva received

the remnants of

Nityananda Prabhu's prasadam.

 

The next day, the two of them came to Saci Mata'a

house. Seeing the

birthplace of Sri Gaurasundara, which was filled with

such splendor,

Sri

Jiva was greatly pacified and fell down on the ground

to roll in the

dust.

In the large courtyard the devotees were singing songs

praising the

glories

of Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Seeing Nityananda

Prabhu, everyone

stood

up and then fell down, offering their dandavats at His

lotus feet. Then

Jiva

saw Saci Mata sitting on the veranda.

 

Dressed in white with silk chadder around her

shoulders she looked

radiant, the white of her hair blending with her white

sari. Though her

body

trembled with old age and was very thin, still the

courtyard was

illuminated

by her divine effulgence. Forgetting herself in

remembrance of Sri

Gaurasundara, she was sitting with her eyes closed.

Becoming aware that

Nityananda Prabhu had arrived, she covered her head

with her sari and

called

her servant. "Isana! Sripada has arrived. Please wash

His feet."

 

After this was done, Nityananda offered namaskar to

the mother of

the Supreme Lord and took His seat. He then introduced

Sri Jiva to her.

Saci

Mata placed her hand on his head to bless him, and Sri

Jiva floated in

the

ocean of happiness. Saci Mata then requested the two

of them to honor

the

Lord's prasada. "Take prasada here at your mother's

house today, my

children. I offered there preparations in secret to

Sri Gauracandra."

 

Sri Jiva spent some days with Nityananda Prabhu,

touring the nine

islands of Navadwipa, in order to have darsana of the

holy places of

the

Lord's pastimes there. Then, as ordered by Nityananda

Prabhu, he set

out for

Kasi (Varanasi). At Kasi he studied Vedanta under Sri

Madhusudana

Vacaspati,

a disciple of Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya. The conclusions

of Vedanta

contained

in Srimad-Bhagavatam that were expounded by Sri

Caitanya Mahaprabhu to

Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya in Puri had been in turn

taught by the

Bhattacarya

to Madhusudana Vacaspati, who established a tol at

Kasi. From him, Sri

Jiva

mastered the same conclusions.

 

From here Sri Jiva set out for Sri Vrindavana where

he received

shelter at the lotus feet of his two uncles, Sri Rupa

and Sanatana.

They

were very pleased to see him and received from him all

the news. Jiva

stayed

with Sri Rupa, who began to teach him

Srimad-Bhagavatam. After

initiating

him with the divine mantra, Rupa engaged him in the

service of Sri Sri

Radha-Damodara. According to Sadhana-dipika, this

Deity of Damodara was

fashioned by Rupa Gosvami's own hand for his dear

disciple Sri Jiva.

Sri Sri

Radha-Damodara are presently being worshipped in

Jaipur, Rajasthan.

 

Seeing that Jiva had quickly become conversant with

the conclusion

of the Srimad-Bhagavatam, Sri Rupa engaged him in

proofreading his

Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu. At this time Sri Jiva compiled

a commentary on

Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu called Durgama-sangamani. In

the year 1476

(Sakabda)

Sri Sanatana Gosvami compiled Sri Vaisnava-tosani, a

commentary on the

tenth

canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam, which he gave to Sri Jiva

for proofreading.

Under the order of Sri Sanatana, Sri Jiva compiled a

commentary on

that,

named Laghu Vaisnava-tosani, in the year 1500

(Sakabda). His writings,

along

with those of Sri Rupa and Sri Sanatana, Sri Gopal

Bhatta, Sri

Raghunatha

Bhatta, Sri Raghunath das, Sri Krsna das, Sri Kasisvar

Pandit, and Sri

Madhu

Pandit, completely captivated the learned men of that

time. It was the

beginning of a golden age at Sri Vraja-dhama.

 

Sri Jiva regularly brought water for Sri Rupa and

Sanatana's bath.He

massaged their heads with oil, cleaned their ashram,

worship the Deity,

cooked and corrected manuscripts.

 

After the disappearance of Sri Rupa and Sanatana, Sri

Jiva continued

the tradition that they had inaugurated. Once Sri Jiva

travelled to

Agra to

debate with the Rajputs concerning the glories of

Jamuna and Ganga

rivers.

He established that the Jamuna is more glorious than

the Ganga as the

Ganga

emananates from Krsna's lotus feet whereas the Jamuna

is His own

consort. At

this the Moghul emperor was very much satisfied and

wanted to present

him

something. Sri Jiva replied that he would accept some

blank papers. So

the

emperor presented Jiva some stained paper. (At that

time paper was very

rare

and most manuscripts were usually composed on leaves.)

 

There is also a legend that once, when a Moghul

emperor (possibly

Akbar) wanted to confer something on the Gosvamis of

Vrindavana, they

requested a ferman (emperor's order) that no living

beings would be

killed

within Vraja. As a result of this no king would come

to hunt there

anymore.

The disciple of Lokanatha Gosvami, Narottama dasa

Thakura Mahasaya, Sri

Gopala Bhatta Gosvami's disciple Srinivasa Acarya

Prabhu, and the

disciple

of Hrdaya Caitanya Prabhu, Sri Syamananda Prabhu, were

greatly favored

by

Srila Jiva Goswami. Under his tutelage they studied

all the literatures

of

the Gosvamis. Later he sent them to preach this

knowledge in Bengal.

 

Srila Jiva Gosvami composed many literatures, amongst

them:

 

1. Harinamamrta-vyakarana

2. Sutra-malika

3. Rasamrta-sesa

4. Gopala-virudavali

5. Sri-Madhava-mahotsava

6. Sri-Sankalpa-kalpavrksa

7. Brahma-Samhita-tika

8. Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu-tika (Durgama-sangamani)

9. Ujjvala-nilamani-tika (Locana-rocani)

10. Gopala-campu

11. Sat-sandharbha (Tattva-sandarbha,

Bhagavata-sandarbha,

Paramatma-sandarbha, Krsna-sandarbha,

Bhakti-sandharbha,

Priti-sandarbha)

12. Srimad-Bhagavata-tika (Krama-sandarbha)

13. Laghu-vaisnava-tosani (Tenth Canto Bhagavatam

commentary)

14. Sarva-sambadina (commentary on Sat-sandarbha)

15. Gopala-tapani-tika (Sri-Suhkha-bodhini)

16. Padma-puranastha-yogasara-stotra-tika

17. Gayatri-vyakhya-vivrti (a commentary on the

Gayatri mantra as

described

in the Agni Purana, chapters 216-217)

18. Radha-Krsnarcana-candrika

19. Dhatu-sangraha

20. Bhavartha-sucaka-campu.

 

Birth: 1533 (Christian calendar), 1455 (Sakabda), 12th

day of the

bright

fortnight in the month of Bhadra.

 

Disappearance: 1540 (Sakabda), 3rd day of bright

fortnight, Pausa.

 

Age: 85 years

 

------

 

SRI JAGADISA PANDITA

 

"Sri Jagadisa Pandita is the savior of the world. He

distributes

the nectar of love of Krsna just like a dense mass of

dark clouds in

the sky

distributes rainfall." [C.c. Adi 11.30] Sri Jagadisa

Bhatta took his

birth

in the region of Gaihati. His father's name was Sri

Kamalaksa Bhatta,

who

was the son of Bhatta Narayana, who hailed from

Goyghar Bandyaghata.

Both

the mother and father of Jagadisa were very devoted

Visnu-bhaktas.

After his

parents passed away he came with his wife to live on

the banks of the

Ganges. His wife's name was Dukhini-devi. (His younger

brother Mahesa

also

came with him to reside on the banks of the Ganga.)

They built their

house

near the home of Jagannatha Misra. Sri Gaurasundara

instructed Jagadisa

to

preach Hari Nam at Nilacala. Thus he took shelter of

the lotus feet of

Lord

Jagannatha. At that time he prayed at the feet of Lord

Jagannatha and

was

rewarded by obtaining a Deity of the lotus-eyed Lord.

This he brought

to

Yasora, on the banks of the Ganga near Cakdaha. This

Deity was brought

suspended from a staff which is still being worshipped

in the temple of

Lord

Jagannatha at Jasora. This temple is presently under

the charge of Sri

Gaudiya Math, and is a rickshaw ride away from Cakdaha

railway station,

on

the Sealdah-Krsnanagar line.

 

Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityananda sometimes used to go

to Jasora to

have

festivals of sankirtana. Jagadisa Pandita's son was

Sri Rambhadra

Gosvami.

In the temple are Deities of Sri Jagannatha Deva, Sri

Radha-Vallabhaji

and

Sri Goura-Gopala. It is said that the Goura Gopala

Deity was

established by

Sri Duhkhini Devi. The Deity is a golden color. After

Lord Caitanya

conducted a sankirtan festival at the home of Jagadisa

Pandita, He

planned

to go to Nilacala. Duhkhini, however, knowing the

Lord's mind, was very

distressed by feelings of impending separation. At

that time Mahaprabhu

gave

her this Deity and said, "I will eternally remain in

your house in the

form

of this Deity." From that day this Deity of

Gaura-Gopala is being

worshipped there. In Gaur-ganoddesa-dipika it is

revealed that Jagadisa

and

Hiranya were wives of the Vedic brahmanas in Krsna

lila. According to

another opinion, "He who was previously known as

Candrahasa, a famous

dancer

in Krsna-lila, is now famous as Jagadisa Pandita, who

also takes great

pleasure in ecstatic dancing." On one Ekadasi day, the

young Sri

Gaurahari

wanted to eat rice from the house of Jagadisa and

Hiranya. The Lord

said to

His parents, "If you don't want Me to die, then

immediately go to the

house

of two brahmanas by the names of Jagadisa and Hiranya,

with whom I am

very

pleased. They are both fasting for Ekadasi, but they

have prepared some

offerings for Lord Visnu. If you can obtain some of

that Visnu-prasada

then

I'll recover my health and be able to move about."

[C.B. Adi 6.20-23]

 

One day, child Gaurahari was crying incessantly. His

parents told him,

"First tell us what you want. We'll bring it, but

please don't cry." He

replied, "On this Ekadasi day in Jagadisa and

Hiranya's house are many

preparations of Visnu-prasada. If I can eat that then

I'll be alright."

Hearing this impossible request of her son, Saci Mata

put her hand on

her

head and began to lament. Upon hearing the words of

the child, the

neighbors

laughed in amazement. "How is it that such a young

child as this is

aware

that today is Ekadasi?" Then the ladies told Him, "Bap

Nimai, don't cry

anymore, we'll bring what you have requested." When

the two brahmanas

heard

of the child's request they were very pleased. Both of

them were very

intimate friends of Jagannath Misra and they were

well-aware that the

Supreme Personality of Godhead Sri Hari had appeared

in his house.

Therefore, whatever they had prepared for Lord Hari

they brought before

Sri

Gaurahari and told Him, "Bap, VisvamYbhara! We have

brought everything

which

You requested. Now please eat it in great happiness

and don't cry

anymore."

Bhagavana Sri Gaurasundara, along with His friends,

then enjoyed that

feast.

While doing so, He showed His transcendental

BalaYGopala form to

Jagadisa

and Hiranya. His bodily lustre, appearing like a fresh

rain cloud, with

a

peacock feather adorning His head, the splendor of His

beauty was

reflected

in the faces of the other boys in whose company He was

enjoying this

feast.

Such a charming and beautiful sight was revealed

before the eyes of

Jagadisa

and Hiranya. Seeing this scene, the two brahmanas

loudly chanted,

"Hari!

Hari!" [Gauranga Campu 20] Jagadisa Pandita probably

came to Yasora

after

Mahaprabhu took sannyasa. He went every year to Puri

and was also

present at

Cira-doy Danda Mahotsava at Panihati. His

disappearance is on the third

 

 

 

 

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