No Subject

January 21, 2006

hare krishna

Dear Devotees

PAMHO,AGTSGM,AGTSP

Pl find below some nectar on Sri

Locana Dasa Thakura on his disappearence day

..(21-1-06)

yr hs

radhabhava gaur das

SRI LOCANA DASA THAKURA

Caitanya Mangala overview:

Songs by Locan dasa Thakur:

Srila Locana Dasa Thakura appeared in this world in

1520 A.D., thirty-four years after the appearance of

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Locana Dasa wrote a biography

on Lord Caitanya, entitled Sri Caitanya Mangala, and

he wrote many devotional songs.

Sri Locana dasa Thakura took birth in a family of

Rarhiya physicians who resided in the village of

Kogram, within the Mahakumar (Katna) district of

Barddhaman. His guru was Sri Narahari Sarkar Thakura.

"I am the servant of Thakura Sri Narahari, who is the

master of my life. The desire of all my desires, I

place at his lotus feet; which is that this vile

creature (myself) might describe some-thing about the

wonderful qualities of Sri Gaurasundara. In this

expectation, he is my only refuge. [Caitanya-mangala,

Satvakhan-da].

His father's name was Sri Kamalakara dasa and his

mother's name, Sri Sadananda. He was the only son of

his parents. He was raised in his maternal

grandfather's home and his education was completed

there. When he was only a little boy, he enjoyed the

good fortune of meeting the devotees of Sri Gauranga.

He was married at a very young age. From his youth he

was very attached to Sri Gaursundara and consequently

very disinterested in material life, though he was

surrounded by family, friends and society. In his

youth he spent the major part of his time at his

guru's Sripat, Srikhanda, where he learned how to do

kirtana.

The book that he composed Caitanya-mangala was from

the diary of Sri Murari Gupta. "Murari Gupta, who

resides at Nadia, composed many beautiful verses about

the life of Sri Gauranga. These include the youthful

pastimes of Nimai, which Murari Gupta personally took

part in, and His later pastime in Nilacala, after He

accepted sannyasa, which were narrated by Sri Damodara

Pandita. Having heard these verses of Murari Gupta,

composed in sanskrit, I have become very attracted and

so I have composed them in the village folk poetry

meter of Bengali."

In his Caitanya Mangala, Srila Locana Dasa Thakura has

written: "My hope of hopes is to be near the lotus

feet of Sri Narahari Thakura, to serve and worship him

with my very life. The cherished desire of the fallen

Locana Dasa is to be allowed by the grace of Narahari

to sing the glories of Sri Gauranga. My Lord is Sri

Narahari Thakura and I am his servant. Bowing and

praying before him I beg him to allow me his service.

This is my only aspiration."

Previously in Bengal (especially East Bengal, now

Bangladesha) the poets used to compose sacred songs

and verses in different forms of classic rhymes and

rythmic meters called Panchali (such as Laxmir

Panchali, Sanir Panchali and Manasa Bhasan). The

Panchali style of composition was especially used for

glorifying the Lord. Srila Locana Dasa Thakura used

the Panchali form of verse-meter in composing his

famous work, Sri Caitanya Mangala. The Panchali form

employs five different kinds of song-styles or meters.

The principle source material that was drawn upon by

Sri Locana Dasa Thakura in composing his Caitanya

Mangala was a Sanskrit book by Murari Gupta called Sri

Caitanya Caritamritam.(see more books on Mahaprabhu

here)

Locana Dasa Thakura explains this in his Caitanya

Mangala as follows: "That very Murari Gupta who lived

in Nadiya composed many Sanskrit verses about the life

of Sri Gauranga, which he later arranged in the form

of a book. Having heard these verses from Murari

Gupta, Damodara Pandit taught them to me, and I

memorized them with great delight. As these Sanskrit

verses, and the conception of Caitanya Mahaprabhu

imparted to me through Damodara Pandita, developed

within my mind, it flowed forth from me in the form of

these Panchali verses in Bengali, which I write in

glorification of the life and pastimes of Sri

Caitanya." (C.M. Sutra-Khanda)

In his preface to the Caitanya Mangala, Srila Locana

Dasa Thakura offers his prayers to Vrindavan dasa

Thakura before proceeding with the narrative. He says,

"I offer my prayers of submission to Vrindavana Dasa

Thakura with all my heart. The sweet song of his

Caitanya Bhagavata has enchanted the whole world."

(C.M. Sutra-Khanda)

Vrindavan Dasa Thakura's Caitanya Bhagavata was

originally called Caitanya Mangala. It is said that

Srila Locana Dasa Thakura and Srila Krishna Dasa

Kaviraja Goswami gave it the name Caitanya Bhagavata.

Krishnadasa Kavriaja Goswami writes:

krishna lila bhagavate kahe vedadvyasa,

chaitanya lilara vyasa-vrindavana dasa.

"Vedavyasa has described the pastimes of Krishna in

his Bhagavata. The Vyasa of Caitanya Lila is Vrindavan

Dasa."

>From this comparison between Vedavyasa and Vrindavana

Dasa, it has been concluded that Kaviraja Goswami is

probably responsible for Vrindavan Dasa Thakur's work

becoming known as the Bhagavata of Caitanya Lila or

Chaitanya-Bhagavata.

There are many pastimes of Sri Caitanya that have only

been touched on briefly by Vrindvana Dasa Thakura.

These are described in detail in the Caitanya Mangala

of Locana Dasa Thakura.

The Caitanya Mangala is divided into four parts: Sutra

Khanda, Adi Khanda, Madhyama Khanda and Shesha Khanda.

The Sutra Khanda has two chapters, Adi Khanda has

seven chapters, the Madhyama Khanda twelve, and the

Shesha Khanda three. The contents of the Adi Khanda

are as follows.

The first chapter in the Sutra Khanda is called

Mangalaracharanam, or auspicious invocation. It begins

with a song of the glories of Sri Caitanya and then

praises the Vaishnavas who were personal associates of

Sri Caitanya. After this, Locana Dasa Thakura offers

respects to his gurudeva, Narahari Sarakara Thakura,

and prays for his guru's mercy. He offers his

obeisances at the lotus feet of the countless devotees

and personal associates of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu,

known and unknown. Having prayed for the blessings of

guru and vaishnavas, Locana Dasa explains that Murari

Gupta had written a book in Sanskrit called the

Caitanya Caritamritam, and that since that book is no

longer available, he is giving its essence in the form

of Bengali verse called Panchali. He then briefly

describes the subjects found in the Adi, Madhya, and

Shesha Khandas.

The second chapter of the Sutra Khanda is called

Grantharambha, for here the book actually begins. In

this chapter Locana Dasa relates how he heard from

Damodara Pandita the story of Jaimini's Mahabharata

recital, wherein he describes a conversation between

Narada and Uddhava. In that conversation Narada

explained the cause of Krishna's appearance in the

golden form of Sri Gauranga.

One time Narada saw that with the coming of the age of

Kali the living beings had fallen into great

suffering. He began to worry about how they could be

delivered and the principles of dharma restored.

Thinking in this way, he decided that only Krishna's

descent into this world would deliver the fallen souls

and restore the principles of religion. Wanting to

appeal to Krishna to descend as an avatara, he set out

for Dwaraka dham. At that time, Krishna was staying in

the palace of Sri Rukmini devi.

Just then, upon learning that Sri Krishna would soon

appear on earth in a golden form, with the golden

luster and devotional mood of Radharani, Rukminidevi

became deeply troubled. Feeling separation from the

Lord, she fell at the lotus feet of Krishna and began

praising the qualities of Sri Radha - whose devotion

was so glorious that Krishna wanted to honor her by

assuming her luster and mood. At that time Narada

entered the room. He explained to Krishna the reason

for his trip - that he wanted Krishna to descend to

the earth planet in order to deliver the fallen souls.

At that time, Krishna revealed to him how in the

future he would appear as the son of Sacidevi and

Jagannatha Mishra in Nabadwipa dham: in a golden form

with all his transcendental associates.

Having seen that golden form revealed, Narada was

overwhelmed with ecstasy. Constantly thinking of this

golden form and the Lord's plans to appear in

Navadwipa dhama as Sri Gauranga, Narada the best of

munis went to visit Naimisharanya, all the while

singing the glories of the Lord. There, in answer to

Uddhava's inquiries about the welfare of the living

beings, he explained how in Kali-yuga - the best of

all ages because of Sri Gauranga's advent - Krishna

would appear in a golden form as Sri Gauranga and

perform the kirtan of the holy name of Hari. Narada

told Uddhava how the Lord would come to establish the

Sankirtana of the holy name of Krishna as the

yuga-dharma, the religious principle for the age of

Kali. Narada explained the glories of kirtana.

Thereafter, Narada Muni related to Uddhava the

discussion that had previously taken place when he had

gone to Kailasa and visited Lord Shiva, the best of

Vaishnavas. There, Narada and Parvati discussed the

glories of Mahaprasada, having heard of the glories of

Mahaprasada from Narada, Parvati had performed 12

years of Lakshmi-seva. By her mercy, Parvati got some

of Laksmidevi's own mahaprasada and also gave shiva a

small bit of that prasada. Not able to tolerate the

dancing of Lord Shiva upon obtaining this Mahaprasada,

the earth came before Parvati, begging her to give the

Mahaprasada of the Vaishanvas to all the jivas. With

this proposal, Parvati explained how the Gaura-avatara

would come in kaliyuga and distribute Mahaprasada to

all the fallen souls.

After this, Narada went to Brahma and discussed the

Gaura-avatara with him. Brahma, the creator, at that

time explained to him the essential subject of the

Shrimad Bhagavatam, and showed him how the version of

the Bhagavatam supported the gaura-avatara. After

this, Narada began wandering here and there. As he

went from place to place he became concerned about he

sufferings of the jivas. As he was worrying about the

living entities in this way, he came near Jagannatha

Puri. There he heard a divine voice discussing the

avatara of Jagannatha. On the order of the divine

voice he went to Puri. From there, the Lord ordered

him to go to Goloka. First he came to Vaikuntha. After

this, he arrived in Goloka, where he saw many pastimes

of the Lord. There he saw the Lord in his golden form

as Sri Gaura, and fainted in ecstasy. After this, he

went all over the universe, informing all the gods of

the news.

In Shwetadwipa he saw the supernatural pastimes of

Balarama, the very figure of service. After this, all

the demigods began taking birth on earth. As

previously mentioned by Krishna in his conversation

with Rukmini, the Lord, along with Satyabhama,

Rukmini, and all his eternal associates from the

spiritual world came with the luster and mood of

Radharani in a golden form as Sri Gauranga. He came to

spread the sankirtan of the holy name of Krishna.

Balarama came as Nityananda, Shiva came as Advaita

Prabhu, and other great souls descended as his other

eternal associates like Murari, Mukunda, Shrivasa,

Raya Ramananda, Ishvara Puri, and Madhavendra Puri.

Locana Dasa Thakur concludes the chapter by praising

the glories of his guru, Sri Narahari Sarakara

Thakura, and his nephew Raghunandana Thakura.

The first chapter of the Adi lila of Caitanya Mangala

describes the Janma-lila, or birth pastimes, of Sri

Caitanya Mahaprabhu. The chapter first describes the

advent of the Lord's eternal associates, who appeared

in this world before Mahaprabhu Himself.

Locana Thakura describes the Lord as the remote and

immediate cause of creation, the Parabrahman, Sri

Narayana Himself. That Supreme Personality of Godhead

descended within the womb of Sacidevi and advented

Himself upon this earth. In this way, gradually Saci's

womb grew day by day, and her body assumed a

supernatural effulgence. Seeing her wonderful bodily

effulgence, everyone was astonished, and thought,

"Surely a great personality is about to take birth

from the womb of Sri Sacidevi."

When her "pregnancy" was in its sixth month, one day

Advaita Acharya Prabhu went to the house of Sacidevi

and Jagannatha Mishra. Arriving there, he offered his

obeisances to the child in the womb of Mother Saci and

then circumambulated her. Sacidevi and Jagannatha

Mishra could not understand the cause of Advaita's

unusal behavior. In this way, Brahma, Shiva, and the

other gods came to offer their respects to that

Supreme Personality of Godhead who had hidden himself

within the womb of Sacidevi, knowing well that he

would soon advent Himself in this world to deliver the

lowest of men with the highest nectar of Krishna

prema. Detecting their presence, Sacidevi felt great

joy. When the heart of Sacidevi was full of mercy for

the whole world, that is to say, when the most

merciful Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu had completely filled

her heart, gradually the tenth month came. After this,

taking advantage of an auspicious moment on the full

moon day in the month of Phalguna, in the midst of

Hari-sankirtana, Sri Guarachandra appeared like a

golden moon from the ocean of the womb of Mother Saci.

In this way, the Lord appeared on earth, and the ten

directions were jubilant. The gods and godesses, men

and women, eager to see the moonlike face of the son

of Saci, hurried to the house of Jagannatha Mishra and

Sacidevi. In this way, their home was transformed into

Vaikuntha.

Jagannatha Mishra and all the residents of Nadiya who

had turned out to see that divine child were all

struck with wonder to see his beauty. He had a neck

like a lion, arms like the trunks of elephants, and a

broad chest. His lotus feet were marked with the

auspicious symbols of Lord Vishnu: a flag, a

thunderbolt, a rod for driving elephants.

Seeing all these wonderful and superhuman

manifestations of divinity in the child, the people

there were all astonished. Everyone speculated about

his supernatural origin, saying, "He is definitely not

an ordinary human." For eight days, the newborn child

and its mother were quarantined, as is traditional for

childbirth in Bengal, and on the ninth day a great

festival was held. At that time, all the neighbors

were filled with great joy to see the boy, and their

attraction for him increased.

The second chapter of the Adi Khanda describes the

Lord's bala-lila childhood pastimes. Here, Locana dasa

Thakura describes how after six months, the

grain-eating ceremony of Sri Gaurasundara was held,

and after this the name-giving ceremony was performed.

At the appearance of the Lord, the whole world was

delighted. Since the Lord gave pleasure to the whole

world, the brahmanas said his name should be

Vishvambhara. Soon, Vishvambara began to walk, by

holding onto Jagannatha Mishra's finger with his tiny

hand. The different women in the village used to

decorate him with different ornaments, and they would

wonder at the beautiful effulgence that emanated from

the child, which was as bright as millions of

moons.The moon outside can brighten the darkness of

night only slightly, but the moon of Sri Gaurachandra

can eliminate all darkness, both within and without.

Sacidevi would sing to her son while threshing wheat,

and at that time, all the demigods are offer prayers

to her son. Seeing this, Sacidevi was quite amazed.

Sometimes she would see Gaurahari chanting the glories

of Radha-Krishna with the gods and would become

astonished and faint. When she heard ankle-bells

ringing on the bare feet of her child, again she was

bewildered. Sometimes she was afraid that ghosts were

causing a disturbance, and sometimes she would look in

the mouth of her child, and, beholding the universal

form, become completely astonished.

In this way, gradually Gaurahari grew old enough to

play outside, where he astounded his newfound

childhood friends with his divine antics. His

playmates were quite attached to him. Sacidevi would

carry the baby Gaurahari in her arms and watch after

him carefully as he ran about, to keep him from

smashing everything as he played. Once, he explained

to Mother Saci the nature of things pure and impure,

instructing her on the aprakrita nature of Krishna,

who is master of everything.

While sitting on a heap of broken clay pots soiled

with leftovers, he instructed his mother on jnana.

Seeing his mother bewildered, he brought her some

coconut fruit. In this way, he performed many

childhood pranks. He used to play with puppydogs. When

Sacidevi chastised him for playing with a dog, and

Gaurahari had to give up his pet, he cried tears of

anger before Sacidevi. At that time, he bestowed a

divine spiritual body upon that dog while performing

Harikirtana. The dog went to Vaikuntha, and as Brahma,

Shiva, and the other demigods saw the good fortune of

the dog they were all amazed. Sacidevi was astonished

at the activities of her son, who made her understand

his Supreme Position as the Absolute Lord.

The fourth chapter of the Adi Lila of Caitanya Mangala

describes the Lord's pauganda, or boyhood lila. Having

heard Murari Gupta reciting the yogashastras, the Lord

mimicked his gestures and speech, making fun of him

and then began to laugh uproariously. Thus Murari

Gupta was enraged and chastised the Lord with words of

anger. In return, the boy, intending to express his

contempt for the conclusions of yogis went to Murari's

afternoon lunch and urinated on Murari Gupta's plate.

After this, he instructed Murari Gupta on the

superiority of Krishna-bhakti.

Finally, the author discusses Mahaprabhu's boyhood

performance of sankirtana, and relates what he heard

from Damodara Pandit of Murari Gupta's notes on the

sannyasa of Vishvarupa, the Lord's older brother. He

also relates the lamentation of Sacidevi and

Jagannatha upon their son's taking sannyasa. He also

recounts many other pastimes performed by the Lord as

a boy.

At that time the Lord's hair-cutting ceremony took

place. And soon thereafter, the day of Hate-khare, or

the first holding of chalk, came. On that day, to

signify the beginning of a child's formal education

begins, he is given a piece of chalk and a chalkboard,

upon which he is to draw the letters of the alphabet.

Upon beginning his studies, the Lord was overjoyed to

meet many new classmates. On the day that his son's

education began, Jagannatha Mishra was very pleased.

That night, however, he had a dream in which a

brahmana appeared to him and told him that his son

Vishvambhara was Bhagavan Himself. Who can educate the

Supreme Lord, or discipline him as a small boy? From

this, Jagannatha Mishra could understand the supreme

position of his child. When his dream broke, he was

again overwhelmed with the sentiments of parental love

and soonforgot the dream.

At a particular time, the sacred thread ceremony of

the boy was performed. After this, there is a

discussion of the four ages and the yuga-avatara. In

Dvapara-yuga, the Supreme Lord Himself, Sri Krishna

the son of Nanda in Vrindavana, makes his appearance

on earth. In Kaliyuga, Sri Krishna, appearing with the

luster and mood of Sri Radha, advents himself as Sri

Gauranga. By performing Sankirtana, he establishes the

religious principle for the age of Kali:

hari-nama-sankirtana. In order to establish the

yuga-dharma, he comes as a preacher. Maddened with

Krishna-prema, he delivers all souls with the ecstasy

of love of God, by moving here and there and

distributing divine love. While in his grihastha-lila,

he ordered his mother to refrain from eating grains on

Ekadashi, in this way instructed everyone to follow

this injunction.

Gradually, Jagannatha Mishra fell ill, and passed

away, entering into the Lord's unmanifest pastimes. At

that time, the Lord instructed Sacidevi on the

fleeting nature of a man's short life within the

material world. He also explained many other important

principles of divine reality to her. With the passing

of her husband, Sacidevi greatly lamented. Gaurahari

Himself also lamented the passing of his father. After

this time, he began paying close attention to his

studies.

Chapter four describes the Lord's pastimes of youth

and marriage. One day, after school, the Lord was

walking home from his teacher's house and at that time

he met Vanamali Acarya. As they talked, the Acharya

made the Lord understand that he had just been to see

his mother Sacidevi, where he had been making

arrangements for the Lord's wedding. Sacidevi had

rebuffed him, and unable to secure her permission for

the match, Vanamali was a little unhappy. In this way,

he was returning to his home, downcast. Sri Gaurahari

returned home. Without intimating anything of his

conversation with the matchmaker, the Lord informed

her of his intentions to wed, saying that she should

seek out Vanamali and make the necessary arrangements

for the wedding of her son.

She did so, and on the orders of Sacimata, Vanamali

Acharya went to Vallabhacharya's house. There he

informed Vallabhacarya of the Lord's intent to wed

Vallabhacarya's daughter Lakshmidevi.

Having made all the arrangements for the wedding,

Sacidevi informed all her friends and relatives of the

auspicious event and invited them to the occasion.

Everyone floated in the waves of the joyful ocean. In

this way, Sacidevi made preparations for her son's

wedding.

All the residents of Nadia turned out to see the

wedding. The relatives saw to it that all the old

traditional Bengali wedding customs were followed. The

Hindu ceremony of besmearing the bridegroom and bride

with a paste of turmeric and then bathing them on the

eve of the wedding was performed, as were many other

rituals. The place where the wedding was to be

performed was cleansed with sanctified water, and all

the Vedic purificatory rites were observed. All this

took place at the house of Vallabhacharya. At last,

with great pomp and grandeur, in the midst of a great

assembly of devotees, relatives and friends, the

wedding of Sri Gaurahari and Lakshmidevi was performed

in the house of Vallabhacarya.

The Acharya himself performed the Vedic wedding

ceremony. He offered his new son-in-law sanctified

water and arghya to sweeten his lotus mouth. After

this, he brought Lakshmidevi up on the wedding stage

and presented her to Gaurahari. Finally, the

scriptural sacrifice that is performed at weddings

took place. After this, the brahmanas were fed

sumptuous prasadam at the conclusion of the wedding,

and Sri Lakshmidevi was escorted to her new home as

the bride of Sri Gaurahari.

The Fifth Chapter of the Adi Khanda of Caitanya

Mangala describes more of the Lord's pastimes of

youth, including his tour of Bengal. After some time

the Lord journeyed down the banks of the Ganges,

sanctifying that holy river even further by the touch

of his lotus footsteps. In order to provide for his

new family, the Lord set out for East Bengal, where he

took up the occupation of teaching. In this way he

gave his mercy to the residents of East Bengal who

lived on the banks of the Padmavati river. When he

returned to Bengal, he found that Lakshmidevi had been

unable to tolerate the pain of his absence. She was

bitten by the snake of separation and passed away into

the unmanifest pastimes of the Lord. Sacidevi was

heartbroken and was consoled in her lamentation by

Gaurahari who glorified the sublime qualities of

Lakshmidevi.

The Sixth Chapter of the Adi Khanda of Caitanya

Mangala describes the arrangements made by Sacidevi

for the Lord's second wedding. Through

Dvija-Kashishvara it was arranged that he was to be

wed to the daughter of Sanatana Pandita, Vishnupriya

devi. Here, the wedding of Vishnupriya and Gaurahari

is elaborately described.

The seventh chapter of the Adi Khanda describes the

Lord's journey to Gaya. Some time after the wedding of

Gaurahari and Vishnupriyadevi, the Lord, having

completed his education busied himself in his teaching

work. One day, he left for Gaya to offer respects to

his departed father. As he walked down the road,

everywhere, the birds and animals who saw him were

stunned with ecstasy upon beholding his lotus feet.

After instructing a brahmana in Krishna-bhakti, the

Lord allowed a brahmana to drink the water of his

lotus feet. That brahmana immediately became free from

all his bodily distress.

At that time, the Lord also instructed how the

mysteries of Krishna-bhajana cannot be understood

simply on the basis of one's birth in a brahmana

family. At last arriving in Gaya, the Lord performed

worship of the devas and pitris, in order to do his

duty regarding his departed father. While so engaged,

he went to see the lotus feet of the Vishnu Deity. At

that time, the Lord met that best of Vaishnavas, Sri

Ishvara Puri. He prayed for the mercy of Ishvara Puri

Prabhu, who, soon thereafter, initiated him in the

Krishnamantra.

With this, the Lord's transcendental ecstasy became

manifest. After this, he went to take darshan of the

lotus feet of Vishnu. Upon seeing the Lord's holy

feet, Sri Gaurahari was overwhelmed with prema and

exhibited his ecstasy by laughing, singing and

dancing. Only a few days later, he returned home.

>From this point the first chapter of the Madhya Khanda

begins.

In the first chapter of the Madhya Khanda the author

describes the Lord's pastimes as a teacher, and

explains how he showed mercy to his students. Praising

her good fortune, the Lord showed his grace to

Sachimata. Soon after this he revealed symptoms of

mahaprema at the home of Suklambara Brahmacari. This

was the first time that he publicly revealed his

absorption in Krishna-prema, by showing the symptoms

of great ecstasy, such as swooning, tears shooting

from the eyes, hairs of the body standing on end,

choking up of the voice, laughing madly, and so on.

Performing sublime kirtan, Sri Gaurahari drowned

everyone in the waves of bliss. In this way the

Supreme Lord appeared as his own devotee in order to

glorify the position of Bhakti. After this, the Lord

began his pastimes of preaching the glories of Sri

Krishna prema, engaging many devotees in preaching. He

began organizing all the devotees, beginning with

Gadadhara, as well as many devotees from within and

wihtout Bengal. One day the Lord went to the house of

Shrivasa and his brothers. At that time, the devotees

could hear the flute of Krishna. At that time the Lord

became overwhelmed by the mood of Shrimati Radhika. In

the madness of separation, he began laughing and

crying. Sometimes he would fall completely silent and

his mood became grave. In this way he manifest

differing divine moods. At that time, a divine voice

siad, "O Vishvambhara! You are the Lord Himself. For

the purpose of preaching Krishna-prema, you have

descended within this world."

Later, at the house of Murari Gupta, the Lord would

reveal his form as the Varaha avatara. At that time,

Murari offered prayers before the Lord in great

ecstasy, and the Lord told him to serve Krishna the

son of Nanda, following in the footsteps of the

residents of Vrindvana. Murari Gupta wanted to see the

form of Sri Ramachandra.

At that time the Lord instructed him on the glories of

the holy name of Krishna. At last, the devatas headed

by Lord Brahma appeared before the Lord, praying for

Krishna-prema and attained Krishna-prema by the mercy

of Sri Gauranga. After this, the kirtan-performer

Suklambhara Brahmachari began chanting "Jai Radhe! Jai

Govinda!" and attained the mercy of Sri Caitanya.

After this, Locana dasa Thakura describes the glories

of Sri Sri Gaura-Gadadhara.

In the second chapter of the Madhya Khanda, the author

describes the beauty of Sri Gauranga's divine form.

The Lord performed a miracle by planting a mango seed

that immediately became a mango tree with fully

ripened fruit for the satisfaction of the devotees.

Whoever ate the fruit of that tree was delivered from

the tree of material existence. The Lord instructed

Mukunda Datta on the supremacy of Krishna bhakti, and

how one should give up thinking of the body and mind

and think only of the worshipable service of Krishna.

The Lord gave his blessings to Murari Gupta. The

Lord's pastimes of kirtana at the house of Shrivasa

Thakura are described. When a foolish brahman remarked

that the murti of Sri Krishna is a product of Maya,

the Lord jumped in the Ganges with his clothes on, to

purify himself from the offender.

The third chapter of the Madhya-Khanda describes the

glories of Sri Advaita. Here, the author describes the

Lord's pastimes with Advaita, how he performed kirtan

in the house of Advaita, and how they embraced in

ecstasy. A brahman who tried to stop the kirtan of

Mahaprabhu by attempting to frighten Shrivasa Pandita

was bewildered by the Lord's mayic potency. Also

described is how the Lord, in the house of Shrivasa,

performed the worship known as Gada-puja, wherein the

club of Vishnu is worshiped in order to invoke the

Lord's power in smashing the atheists.

This chapter also explains the visit paid by Advaita

to Nabadwipa, how Advaita bowed before Sri Gauranga,

and danced in ecstasy before him, realizing that his

prayers for Krishna's descent had been fulfilled. When

Shrivasa Thakura inquired into the glories of Advaita,

Mahaprabhu described Advaita-tattva, and advised

everyone to worship Sri Hari.

In the fourth chapter of the Madhyama Khanda, Sri

Gaurahari explains the esoteric meaning of "Shrivasa."

Murari Gupta's book, 3Raghubhirashtaka2 is discussed.

The Lord writes 3Ramdasa2 on Murari's forehead. He

reveals himself as Rama and orders Rama Pandita, the

brother of Shrivasa Pandita to serve Shrivasa. The

devotees are sent to search for Nityananda. The Lord

meets Nityananda at the house of Nandana Acharya. The

Lord explains the glories of Sri Nityananda and how it

is that by Nityananda's mercy one may attain

Krishna-prema. At that time, the Lord reveals his

six-armed, four-armed, and two-armed forms to

Nityananda.

The fifth chapter of the Madhya-Khanda reveals how,

late at night, the Lord was weeping tears of ecstatic

love for Krishna. He discussed his dream with

Sacidevi. The story of how Nityananda Prabhu spent two

days at the house of Advaita Acharya is recounted.

Nityananda Prabhu's prema is described. The worship by

Advaita of Mahaprabhu in the house of Shrivasa Pandita

is described. The meeting of the Lord and Haridasa

Thakura. The author also tells how Nityananda's kaupin

was saved by Mahaprabhu, who later had the devotees

wear it as a kavacha. Mahaprabhu's trance and the

devotees' separation from the Lord is also described.

The ecstasy of the devotees upon the Lord's

reawakening is also described.

The sixth chapter of the Madhya-Khanda discusses the

following subjects: How Gaurahari enjoyed pastimes of

prema in the midst of the devotees; his meeting with

Haridasa Thakura; His visit at the house of Advaita;

his order to Advaita to preach Krishna-prema without

any consideration of fitness and unfitness; His order

to all the devotees to preach nama-prema and thus

deliver everyone; the effects of nama-bhasa; How the

Lord would wander through the streets of Nadiya

performing Nama-kirtana; the story of the deliverance

of Jagai and Madhai.

After this, the author glorifies the mercy of Sri

Nityananda and Sri Gauranga.

The seventh chapter of the Madhyama-Khanda describes

the following subjects: How the Lord cast his merciful

glance upon the son of an East Bengal brahmana named

Vanamali; the brahmana seeing the Shyamansundara form

of the Lord offered many prayers to Sri Gauranga.

After this, the Lord revealed his Nrishimha

manifestation at the house of Shrivasa. He bestowed

mercy upon a follower of Shiva. After a brahman lady

touched his feet, he jumped into the Ganges. The Lord

gave instructions regarding the worship of Sri Hari.

His mercy towards Shrivasa is described as are

Mukunda's prayers, the Lord's manifestation of His

Godhead, and Shrivas Pandit's abhishek of Mahaprabhu.

The author's glorification of the qualities of Sri

Gauranga and his instructions on the worship of Sri

Gauranga conclude the chapter.

The eighth chapter of the Madhyama Khanda describes

the following subjects: How the envious brahmana who

was stricken with leprosy prayed for forgiveness in

order to become freed from the sin of Vaishnava

aparadha and was delivered by the mercy of Shrivasa

Thakura; how a brahmana was forbidden to enter the

Lord's nocturnal kirtan and how the Lord danced in

ecstasy when that brahmana then cursed the Lord never

to enjoy the pleasures of samsara. How the Lord in the

mood of Balarama demanded honey is described. The

assembly of devotees at the house of Advaita is

described. The visit of the devotees headed by

Acharyaratna is recorded. How all of them saw the

Lord's manifestation of Balarama and bathed in the

Ganges is also described.

The ninth chapter of the Madhyama Khanda of Sri

Caitanya Mangala records the following subjects: the

Lord's manifestation of Varaha; How the devotees

headed by Advaita were ordered to preach and perform

sankirtana; how the mood and qualities of the gopis

was glorified in kirtan; how Shrivasa in the dress of

Narada glorified Gadadhara Pandita; a discussion of

the divine correlation between Sri Gadadhara and Sri

Radhika; Thakur Haridas' visit; the ecstasy of

Sankirtana; the Lord's mad manifestation of the mood

of Vaikuntha opulence; How the Lord, in the dress of

Lakshmidevi rendered service to the Lord in great

ecstasy; How the Lord expressed the inner moods of the

personality of Godhead.

The tenth chapter of the Madhyama-Khanda of Caitanya

Mangala describes the following: The Lord tells

Shrivasa of the different religious principles for the

different ages and how Sankirtan is the best religious

principle in the age of Kali. In the mood of Sri Radha

the Lord began asking "Where is Vrindavan? Where is

Lalita?" in great anxiety. Murari Gupta consoled him,

and they all performed kirtana. In a dream Sacidevi

sees Gaurahari receive the sannyasa mantra from

Keshava Bharati. The Lord's powerful separation from

Krishna is described. Worried that the Lord will take

sannyasa, the devotees are heartbroken. Mahaprabhu

consoles the devotees.

The eleventh chapter of Madhyama Khanda describes the

following: Upon hearing of the Lord's sannyasa,

Sacidevi's lamentation; Her entreaty to Gaurahari to

remain a grihastha; The Lord's advice to everyone to

worship Krishna; His different attempts to console his

mother and his revelation of the divine form of

Krishna to her.

The twelfth chapter of the Madhyama Khanda discusses

the following subjects: The lamentation of

Vishnupriyadevi; the Lord's sweet words of

pacification to her and his instructions regarding

divine reality, as well as his revelation of of his

four-handed Narayana form; the visit by Shrivasa and

Murari, the Lord's attempt to pacify them.

The thirteenth chapter describes the following: The

Lord's attemtp to console the devotees, and his

instructions on different truths; with the aim to take

sannyasa, he swims across the Ganges and meets Keshava

Bharati at Katwa; Sacimata and Vishnupriya faint;

Nityananda Prabhu tries to pacify them; Headed by

Chandrashekhara Acharya and Damodara Pandit, all the

devotees follow Nityananda Prabhu to Katwa where the

sannyasa is taking place. The Lord asks for the

sannyasa mantra from Keshava Bharati; The Lord first

gives the sannyasa mantra to Bharati and then hears it

from him; the lamentation of all the devotees at the

sannyasa of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu; The Lord's

attempt to pacify them; the Lord's eagerness for

Krishna-bhakti; the giving of the name Sri Krishna

Caitanya; At the conclusion of sannyasa the Lord's

wandering half-mad in the Radadesha.

The fourteenth chapter describes how Chandrashekara

returns from Katwa to Nadia bearing news to Sacimata

and Vishnupriya; their lamentation; Nityananda Prabhu

causes Mahaprabhu to detour to Shantipura; the Lord's

vist there; Nityananda's conversation with Sacidevi;

the devotees of Nadiya go to the house of Advaita in

Shantipur to see the Lord; the Lord's reciprocation of

affection with the residents of Nadiya, and their

separation.

The fifteenth chapter describes the Lord's deliverance

of all souls through the performance of nam-sankirtan,

and how he bestowed upon all the jivas the supreme

goal of life. After this his journey to Jagannatha

Puri is described as well as the humility of Haridasa

Thakura, the exodus of devotees who went to Puri to be

with the Lord, His sweet words of consolation, how the

Lord used to chant the shloka, "rama-raghava raksha

mam," on his way to Puri, how Nityananda Prabhu broke

his sannyasa danda, and how the Lord manifest his

pastimes of anger with Nityananda after the breaking

of his danda.

The sixteenth chapter of the Madhyama Khanda describes

how on the way to Jagannatha Puri, the devotees bathed

in a place called Brahma-kunda; how they went to

Remuna and had darshan of the Lord there; how the Lord

danced before the Gopal deity; how after bathing in

the Vaitarani river they had darshan of Varaha-deva;

how the Lord went to Yajapura; How the Lord took

darshan of a Shiva-linga there; Then, from

Brahma-kunda, he visited Nabhigaya and Shivanagara;

how he received the darshan of Kshirodakshayi Vishnu;

how in a grove of mangos he took up the question of

Shiva Prasada and prayers to Shiva; after this, how he

went from Kapoteshwara and bathed in the Bhargavi

river; How the Lord fainted before the Jagannatha

deities while having darshan there; his visit to the

house of Sarvabhauma; How the Lord would go from the

house of Sarvabhauma, take a position west of the

Garuda Stambha, and see the deity of Lord Jagannatha;

how Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya and the Lord discussed

Vedanta; How Sarvabhauma was converted; How the Lord

revealed his six-armed form to Sarvabhauma

Bhattacharya.

>From here, the Shesha Khanda begins.

The first chapter of the Shesha Khanda describes: the

Lord's kirtan pastimes in which Sarvabhauma took part;

the Lord's tour of South India and his journey to

Setubandha; his mercy on Vasudeva Vipra, the brahmana

who had leprosy; the Lord's visit to Jiyada-Nrishimha

and its ancient history; the Lord's meeting with

Ramananda Raya on the banks of the Godavari;

Ramananda's vision of Mahaprabhu's dual feature as

Rasaraja and Mahabhava; the Lord's visit to Panchavati

and Sri Rangam; How he bestowed mercy on Trimalla

Bhatta; His four month stay in Sri Rangam during the

period of Chatur Masya; his meeting with Paramananda

Puri; the prayers by Paramananda Puri to Gaura

Bhagavan.

The second chapter of the Shesha Khanda describes the

following: How the Lord continued on his South Indian

tour and delivered the seven trees that had been

standing since the time of Lord Ram; How at Setubandha

in great ecstasy, the Lord chanted the names of Rama,

Lakshman, Sita, and Hanuman; how the Lord returned to

Alalanatha by way of the Godavari; his return to

Jagannatha Puri; His visit to Mathura; His meeting

with Rupa and Sanatana; How with Balabhadra

Bhattacharya, he wandered down the banks of the Yamuna

and through the twelve forests of Vrindavana.

The third and final chapter of the Shesha Khanda of

Caitanya Mangala records: How the Lord returned to

Jagannatha Puri; the Lord's trip to Gauda-desha; how

he passed through in the Rada-desha; how he stopped in

Kuliya; How everyone in Navadwip turned out to see the

Lord; How they prayed for His mercy and he bestowed

amnesty on all; How, to satisfy his mother's desire,

he went to Nabadwipa and instructed her on of

Krishna-bhajan; How the Lord went to Shantipura where

he visited Sri Advaita; His kirtan there; How the Lord

left Shantipura; His return to Jagannatha Puri; How he

visited the deity of Jagannatha; How he performed

kirtana day and night; How King Prataparudra attained

the Lord's mercy; His revelation of the six-armed form

to Prataparudra Raja; The Dravidian brahmana who came

to visit the Lord, how he was fasting for seven days,

and how he was delivered by the Lord's mercy.

In the Caitanya Mangala, Locana Dasa Thakura mentions

the details of certain pastimes not revealed by

Vrindavana Dasa Thakura. For example, Vrindavana Dasa

Thakura does not record the conversation that took

place between Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Vishnupriya

Devi just before the Lord left to take sannyasa. But

Locana Dasa Thakura describes this as follows:

«Seeing Mahaprabhu's eagerness to take sannyasa, the

moon-faced Vishnupirya-devi said, with her voice

choked in emotion, "Tell me, O Prananatha, Lord of my

life, and I shall take your order upon my head. Will

you take sannyasa? I have heard this rumor being

circulated among the people in general. Hearing this,

my heart is broken. If it is true, I shall enter into

fire. You are the treasure of my life. Your beautiful

form is always everfresh and newly youthful. Will you

give up everything and go away? If am deprived of your

association, I might as well give up my life by

drinking poison."

Hearing the pitiful words of lamentation spoken by

Vishnupriya devi, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu smiled a

little, and spoke as follows: "Listen, O you who are

dear as life itself: Please don't be in any anxiety.

There is no need to worry at all. What I am about to

say is for your own benefit. Please hear me

attentively, with your whole mind. Whatever you see in

this world is all false; the only truth is Bhagavan

and theVaishnavas, without that whatever you see is

all illusion. Know this for a fact. Sons, wives,

husbands, ladies, fathers, mothers, and everything

else?all these relationships are illusory. They are

temporary and transitional. In one lifetime we have

one set of sons, wives, husbands, mothers and fathers,

and in our next life this changes. Other than the

lotus feet of Krishna, we have no real family.

Everything else that we see as our family is an

illusion of maya. What we see as man and woman is

unreal.

Beneath the surface all souls are spiritual energy;

the relationship between men and women is an illusory

connection of maya. Sri Krishna is the real husband of

everyone; he is the master. Everything else is

material, but unfortunately this is not understood by

the people in general. The souls is embedded in a

mixture of semen and blood from which it is born into

a body composed of stool and urine. In this way the

soul moves upon this earth in ignorance. From boyhood

to youth to old age, we suffer different miseries, all

the while mistaking the housing of this body as our

real self. Absorbed in false ego, we make friends,

maintain attachments, suffering abuse, and are

gradually cheated by old age. Even hearing the truth,

however, still our eyes are blind, and while our

suffering in the material world brings us to tears, we

never worship Govinda.

Forsaking Krishna's service, we maintain these bodies

in the material world of birth and death, trapped in

the bondage of maya. Mad with false ego we have

forgotten our Lord, and so we insure our passage to

hell. Your name is Vishnupriya, however. Fulfill the

real purport of Vishnupriya, and do not lament for

what is false. Remembering what I have said here, cast

your worries at a distance, and always think of

Krishna within your heart, day and night."

Having conveyed all these divine instructions to

Vishnupriya devi, the Supreme Lord, Sri Gaurasundara

revealed to her His four-armed form, thus making her

understand his absolute position. At that time, he

told Vishnupriya devi, "You see before you the Supreme

Lord, cast your mayik lamentaion away." At this,

Vishnupriya devi became joyful within. Her grief and

pain vanished, and her heart became blissful upon

suddenly seeing the Lord's four-armed form.

After hearing the instructions of the Lord and seeing

his absolute form, Vishnupriya cast off her

bewilderment, but her mentality of taking the Lord as

her husband was intact. At that point, she fell at the

feet of the Lord and said: "O Lord, please listen to

my entreaty. Falling at your feet again and again, I

implore you to accept my humble submission. I am

certainly the lowest, having taken birth in this world

of samsara; but you are my most dear Lord of life.

This is my only wealth; without you I have nothing.

Without your service, I will certainly go down."

Saying this, Vishnupriya devi began loudly weeping,

sobbing and sobbing again and again in ever-increasing

frenzy of sorrow. Seeing the affliction of someone so

dear, the Lord bestowed his merciful glance upon

Vishnupriya devi, embracing her with his eyes and so

giving her his mercy.

At that time, the Lord said, "Listen O Vishnupriya

devi, and give close attention to my answer to your

words. I shall go there and there, but wherever I go,

I shall still remain at your place: This truth I have

spoken with great determination."

Upon hearing the order of the Lord, Vishnupriya devi

could understand that the Lord is supremely

independent. At that time she said, "You must do what

makes you happy. Let no one be an obstacle to your

divine mission."

Addressing the Lord in this way, Vishnupriya tearfully

averted her eyes from the Lord's glance and fell

silent. Thus went the conversation between the Lord

and Vishnupriya, which is painful to hear.»

This is reported by Locana Dasa.

Locana Dasa Thakura also sings the glories of Sri

Gauranga and Nityananda in the following beautiful

song:

parama karuna pahun dui jana

nitai gaurachandra

saba avatara, sara shiromani

kevala ananda kanda

bhaja bhaja bhai, chaitanya nitai

sudhrida visvasa kori

vishaya chariya se rase majiya

mukha bolo hari hari

dekho ore bhai, tribhuvane nai

emona doyala data

pashu-pakhi jhure, pashana vidore

shuni yar guna gantha

samsare majiya, rahile pariya

se pade nahilo asha

apana koroma, bhunjaye shamana,

kohoye locana dasa

This song was especially dear to His Divine Grace A.C.

Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada who translates it as

follows:

""This is a song by Locana dasa Thakura. Locana dasa

declares that the two Lords, Nitai-Gauracandra?Lord

Nitai and Lord Caitanya?are very merciful. They are

the essence of all incarnations. The specific

significance of these incarnations is that prosecuting

their way of self-realization is simply joyful, for

they introduced chanting and dancing. There are many

incarnations, like Lord Rama and even Krishna, who

taught Bhagavad-gita, which requires knowledge and

understanding. But Lord Caitanya introduced a process

which is simply joyful? simply chant and dance.

Therefore Locana Das requests everyone: "My dear

brother, I request that you just worship Lord Caitanya

and Nityananda with firm conviction and faith." Don't

think that this chanting and dancing will not lead to

the desired goal. It will. It is the assurance of Lord

Caitanya Mahaprabhu that one will get all perfection

by this process. Therefore one must chant with firm

faith and conviction.

But what is the process? If one wants to be Krishna

conscious by this process, one has to give up his

engagement in sense gratification. That is the only

restriction. If one gives up sense gratification, it

is sure that he will reach the desired goal. One

simply has to chant "Hari Hari!" without any motive of

sense gratification.

Locana das says, "My dear brother, you just try and

examine this. Within the three worlds there is no one

like Lord Caitanya or Lord Nityananda, because Their

merciful qualities are so great that They make even

birds and beasts cry, what to speak of human beings."

Actually, when Lord Caitanya passed through the forest

known as Jharikhanda, the tigers, elephants, snakes,

deer, and all other animals joined Him in chanting

Hare Krishna. It is so nice that anyone can join. Even

the animals can join, what to speak of human beings.

Of course, it is not possible for ordinary men to

induce animals to chant, but if Caitanya Mahaprabhu

could inspire animals to chant, at least we can

encourage human beings to adopt this path of Hare

Krishna mantra chanting. It is so nice that even the

most stonehearted man will be melted. It is so nice

that even stone will melt.

But Locana dasa Thakura regrets that he is entrapped

by sense gratification. He addresses himself, "My dear

mind, you are entrapped in this sense gratification

process, and you have no attraction for chanting Hare

Krishna. Since you have no attraction for the lotus

feet of Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityananda, what can I

say? I can simply think of my misfortune. Yamaraja,

the superintendent of death, is punishing me by not

allowing me to be attracted by this movement.""

Sri Locana Dasa Thakura was born in Shakabda 1445 and

disappeared in 1540.

Songs by Locan dasa Thakur:

Nitai Guna Mani by Lochan Das Thakur

Nitai - the jewel of all good qualities

nitai guna-mani amar nitai guna-mani

aniya premer vanya bhasailo avani

premer vanya loiya nitai aila gauda-dese

dubilo bhakata-gana dina hina bhase

dina hina patita pamara nahi bache

brahmar durlabha prema sabakare jace

abaddha karuna-sindhu nitai katiya muhan

ghare ghare bule prema-amiyar ban

locan bole mor nitai jeba na bhajilo

janiya suniya sei atma-ghati hoilo

Translation:

1) My Lord Nityananda, the jewel of all good

qualities. My Lord Nityananda, the jewel of all good

qualities, has brought the flood of ecstatic love of

God that drowned the entire world.

2) Bringing this overwhelming deluge of prema when he

returned fron Bengal fron Jagannnath Puri onLord

Chaitanya's order, Nitai inundated the assembley of

devotees. The fallen non-devotees did not drown,

however, but remained floating on that ecstatic ocean.

3) Lord Nityananda freely offered this exalted prema,

which is difficult for Lord Brahma to attain, even to

the fallen and wretched souls who had no desire to

recieve it.

4) The ocean of mercy had formerly been tightly

sealed, but Nitai cut a channel in it's boundary to

allow the great flooding waves of nectarian prema to

splash from house to house.

5) Lochan Das sings, "Whoever has not worshipped my

Nitai or taken advantage of this excellent opportunity

offered by Him, knowingly commits suicide".

Akrodha Paramananda by Lochana Das Thakur

akrodha paramananda nityananda ray

abhimana shunya nitai nagare beday

adhama patita jiver dvare dvare giya

hari-nama maha-mantra deno bilaiya

jare dekhe tare kohe dante trna dhori

amare kiniya loho bhajo gaura-hari

eto boli' nityananda bhume gadi jay

sonara parvata jeno dhulate lotay

heno avatarejar rati na janmilo

locan bole sei papi elo ar gelo

Translation:

The noble Lord Nityananda Ray is never angry, for He

is the personification of supreme transcendental

bliss. Devoid of any concept of false ego, Nitai

wanders about the town.

Going from door to door in the residences of the most

fallen and wretched souls, He freely distributes the

gift of the

Hari-nama maha mantra.

He exclaims to whomever he sees while holding straw

between his teeth, "please purchase me by worshipping

GauraHari"!

Saying this, Nityananda Prabhu rolls about on the

ground, appearing like a golden mountain tumbling in

the dust.

Lochan das says, "whoever has not experienced the

awakening of affection for such an avatar as this,

that sinful person simply comes and goes uselessly in

the cycle of birth and death".

Parama Karuna