Shri Svarupa Damodara

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Shri Svarupa Damodara.

 

 

"Shri Svarupa Damodara is an eternal associate and friend of Shri Chaitanya

Mahaprabhu. Previously his name was Shri Purushottama Acharya. He lived in

Nabadwipa. He always stayed with Mahaprabhu. When Shriman Mahaprabhu took

sannyasa, he became half-mad. He went to Varanasi and took sannyasa from a

sannyasi named Chaitanyananda, who ordered him to study Vedanta and teach it

to the people in general.

 

 

Shri Purushottama Acharya did not accept the dress of a sannyasi, but only

gave up the shikha and sacred thread. His name became Svarupa. After this,

taking up the order of his sannyasa-guru, Shri Purushottama Acharya went to

Jagannatha Puri. At that time, he again met with Shri Chaitanya. The

Chaitanya Charitamrita (ML 10:102-104) records this meeting as follows: "One

day, Svarupa Damodara arrived. His mystic awareness of the Lord's inner

purpose was deep and unfathomable. He was an ocean of rasa. In his previous

ashrama, his name had been Purushottama Acharya. When he was in Nabadwipa,

he had attained the Lord's lotus feet. But when he saw the sannyasa of Shri

Chaitanya, he went half-mad. And so, he went straight to Varanasi to take

sannyasa. In connection with Svarupa Damodara, Shrimad Krishnadasa Kaviraja

Goswami has written further, as follows: "Shri Svarupa Damodara was the

limit of scholarship; still, he did not generally converse with anyone. He

kept to himself. He liked to remain alone, and did not see others. He was

the very embodiment of Krishna-prem. He was like a second Mahaprabhu, in the

sense that he fully understood the Lord's conclusions on Krishna-tattva and

Krishna-bhakti, and could fully represent them. As such, whoever wanted to

bring before the Lord a book, poem, or song would first bring it to Svarupa

Damodara, who would examine it before the Lord would hear it. The Lord did

not delight in hearing literature and song which was opposed to the

conclusions of bhakti (bhaktisiddhanta-viruddha), or which contained

rasabhasa, conflicting devotional mellows. Therefore, Svarupa Damodara would

examine these things, and if he decided that they were pure, then he would

arrange for the Lord to hear them.

 

 

Svarupa Damodara would sing for Shri Chaitanya the songs of Vidyapati,

Chandidasa, and Gita-Govinda, and this gave the Lord much pleasure. Svarupa

Damodara could sing like a Gandharva, and he knew the scriptures like

Brihaspati, the guru of the gods. No one was a greater soul than he. He was

most dear to Advaita and Nityananda and the life and soul of the devotees

headed by Shrivasa Thakura."

 

 

In this way, it is said that Svarupa Damodara was like a second form of

Mahaprabhu, in song he was like a Gandharva, and in scripture, he was like

Brihaspati. Svarupa Damodara was very expert in music as well as Vedic

scriptures. Shri Chaintaya used to call him Damodara, becasue of his expert

singing and musical skills. The name Damodara was given by Shri Chaitanya

and added tothe name given by his sannyasa guru. He was therefore known as

Svarupa Damodara. He compiled a book of music called Sangita-Damodara.

 

 

When anyone wanted to submit a song, a verse, or a book to Shriman

Mahaprabhu, they first had to submit it to the examination of Svarupa

Damodara, before it would be heard by the Lord. When Svarupa Damodara came

from Kashi, he submitted a verse before the Lord, glorifying Him. This verse

has been recorded by Kavi Karnapura in his Chaitanya Chandrodaya Nataka as

follows: heloddhunita khedaya vishadaya pronmila-damodarau shamyacchastra

vivadaya rasadaya cittarpitonmadaya shashvad-bhaktivinodaya sa-madaya

madhurya-maryadaya shri chaitanya dayanidhe tava daya bhuyadamandodaya

 

 

"O Ocean of Mercy, Shri Chaitanya! Let that which easily drives away

whatever pain we have been experiencing in this material world; that which

is all-purifying, that which manifests the greatest transcendental bliss;

that which by its sunrise casts away all the doubtful conclusions of the

shastra; that which rains rasa on our hearts and minds, rules our

consciousness and thus causes jubilation; that all-liberating,

all-auspiciousness-giving, the limit of madhurya-rasa mercy of yours-let it

arise within our hearts. "

 

 

Shri Svarupa Damodara made his dandavats before the Lord, and the Lord

embraced him, saying, "Today I saw in a dream that you were arriving here.

Everything was just right. Just as one who is blind becomes happy getting

eyes, so I have become happy upon getting you."

 

 

Shri Svarupa Goswami said, "O Lord! Please forgive me. Forgetting you, I

deserted your lotus feet. Not having a trace of prema within me, I left your

service, and being sinful, I went to a foreign land. But, although I

abandoned you, you didn't abandon me. By the ropes of your mercy, you have

bound me by the neck and dragged me back to your lotus feet."

 

 

Hearing Svarupa Damodara saying these words in great humility, the Lord

again embraced him and said, "Shri Krishna is very kind. By his mercy we

have met once again."

 

 

Svarupa Damodara always stayed near the Lord. Whatever mood the Lord was in,

Svarupa Damodara would perform kirtan to augment the Lord's internal

sentiments. Around the same time that Svarupa Damodara came to Puri, Shri

Ramananda Raya arrived from Vidyanagara. Shri Ramananda Raya was a great

poet and could explain everything in a very elegant style. Shri Chaitanya

Mahaprabhu heard rasatattva from Ramananda's mouth.

 

 

In the daytime, Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu used to perform kirtan with his

devotees. At night, in the company of Ramananda Raya and Svarupa Damodara,

he would relish the truths about the pastimes and mellows of Radha and

Krishna. In the same way that Lalita and Vishakha are the internal

confidantes of Shri Radha, Svarupa Damodara and Ramananda Raya are the

internal confidantes of Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

 

 

At the time of Shri Gaurasundara's final pastimes, Shri Svarupa Damodara was

constantly with the Lord. Shri Svarupa Damodara's right hand was Raghunatha

Dasa Goswami.

 

 

On the second day of the day of full moon in the month of Asharh, Shri

Svarupa Damodara Goswami passed away from this earth and entered into the

Lord's unmanifest pastimes."