Candidasa

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CANDIDASA

Candidasa was born in the village of Nanura, which is also in the same

Birbhum district of Bengal as Jayadeva Goswami's birthplace. He was born of

a brahmana family, and it is said that he also took birth in the beginning

of the Fourteenth Century, Sakabda Era. It has been suggested that Candidasa

and Vidyapati were great friends because the writings of both express the

transcendental feelings of separation profusely, Before his conversion to

Vaisnavism however, Candidasa was a materialist who worshipped goddess

Candi, or Durga (hence the name Candidasa), one very ferocious form of Kali.

In his purport to Srimad-Bhagavatam 5.18.22 Srila Prabhupada comments,

"...The goddess of fortune, Laksmidevi, clearly states that she does not

bestow her favor on any materialistic person. Although sometimes a

materialist becomes very opulent in the eyes of another materialist, such

opulence is bestowed upon him by the goddess Durgadevi, a material expansion

of the goddess of fortune, not by Laksmidevi herself."

 

Candidasa coined a mantra which is even today used by worshippers of

Durgadevi: dhanang deji roopang dehi roopa-pati-bhaajang dehi. "O

worshippable Mother Durgadevi, please give me wealth, strength, fame, a good

wife and so on." So Candidasa was engaged in Durga worship, and naturally

when one worships Durga, so much material facility. He had a big garden, and

a palace. Candidasa's brother was a Vaisnava engaged in salagram worship.

Vaisnavas were generally quite poor. The Vaisnava brother had a salagram,

but he had no flower to offer. So he would look in his brother's garden, and

he would lust over it. "So many flowers, and my salagram gets no flower."

One day while he was looking at the garden, he mentally offered a flower

from that garden to his salagram. And somehow or other, Candidas picked the

very same flower the next day, and he offered to Candi.

 

Immediately she appeared. "I am pleased with you, Candidas. What benediction

do you want?" Candi said, "Wait, every day I am worshipping you. Why today

have you suddenly become present? Tell me that.Because," she said, "You

have offered me the flower which has been offered to Salagram. By seeing

that prasadam flower I became pleased, so I appeared before you.But if

salagram is superior to you," Candidas said, "Why did you not tell me,

stupid Candidas, why are you worshipping me? You should worship Salagram."

So Candi said, "Well you never asked me who was Supreme. Did you ever ask

me? I would have given you reply. I know who is Supreme, Krsna is Supreme,

and Salagram is the worshippable object, not me. But because you were at

least worshipping me, so I thought I would train you in worship. And when

you find out who is to be worshipped, then you will actually worship

properly." So Candidas when he heard this, said, "I'm really sorry that I've

wasted my life. Please excuse me, I'm going to worship Salagram. Is that

alright?" No no, I'm happy! Go worship Salagram," Candi said. And then in

lamentation, Candidas wrote many songs, and Caitanya Mahaprabhu used to

listen to these songs and get ecstasy.