The Chira-dadhi Festival of Panihati 2002

[Guest guest]

Dear Devotees

 

Dandavat Pranams

 

This year I had the opportunity to visit Panihatti for the Chira Dadhi

festival, it was a unique experience and very enlighten for me, the

environment was full of mercy and bliss of Lord Nityananda and his intimate

associates, all the devotees were very helpful from all the sampradayas and

spiritual lines present at that place, everyone was generous in providing to

the pilgrims whatever they had, the weather was nice it was raining before

we arrived with a group of devotees from our temple in Calcutta and other

group came a day before from Mayapur, We had a pandal where devotees were

preparing a lot of prasadam with rice, yogurts, bananas, mangos, etc. Also

there was a pandal program so on the stage devotees were doing bhajans and

some performing some dramas according to the celebration, it was over

crowded that day, and in many places there were the same thing, (please see

pics attached), everything was organized from each group, it was very

blissful to visit the house of Raghava Pandit (Raghava Pandita is a Gopi in

Krsna Lila and her name is Dhanistha,) and see the Beautiful Deities, as

well to visit the banyan tree where the Supreme Merciful Lord Nityananda

Prabhu placed his transcendental & pure lotus feet over the head of the

great Vaishnavas Ragunath Das Goswami, devotees had many programs under that

tree, ( please see pics). Also they made a big Deities of Gaur-nitai and

decorated the Banyan tree with garlands and flowers, I went all over the

place to take pics, and also went to the Ganges were pilgrims were still

arriving by boat chanting Hare Krsna. Since I wanted to send this story and

pics to all of you I requested Vakresvari dd to please write the story of

this festival and now I am adding this part below, so I hope all you get the

same mercy of Lord Nityananda, Ragunath Das Goswami and Raghava Pandit by

reading it and seeing the pics. There is one thing that called my attention

is while I was walking on the streets of the village I found a place with a

deity of Sri Gauranga Mahaprabhu as a sanyasa and I took few pics and I am

adding it to this article I hope also you will like all these pics and have

the association of the dham through them.

 

Sri Gauranga Mahaprabhu Ki jaya...!

Sri Nityananda Prabhu Ki jaya...!

Sri Ragunath das Goswami..!

Srila Raghava Pandit...!

Srila Ragunath das Goswami...!

 

Your Servant

 

Tusti Mohan Krsna das

 

***********************************************************************

 

The Chira-dadhi Festival of Panihati

 

The crest jewel of the Vaishnavas society, Srila Raghunatha dasa Goswami was

the

only son of the king of Saptagram. Those days India was the greatest country

in

the world; Bengal was her most glorious province, and the port of Bengal

Saptagram was the most opulent place. The annual income of Raghunatha dasa's

family was twenty lakhs rupees. His standard of material happiness was equal

to

that of Indra, the King of heaven. In his boyhood Raghunatha dasa became

attracted to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and got mad with ecstasy of love of the

Lord. Time and time again he tried to run away from home and go to Nilachala

to

meet Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, but his father's men caught him and brought

him

back. His father locked him up and appointed eleven guards to watch him.

 

When Lord Caitanya came to Santipur from Puri Raghunatha went to see Him. He

revealed his heart to the Lord and begged Him to take him to Puri. But the

Lord

instructed him to go back home, take care of his duties with a mood of

detachment and worship Sri Sri Radha-Krishna in the mind. He assured him

that

he would meet Him in Jagannatha Puri as He returned there from Vrindavan.

With

broken heart Raghunatha went back home, and took care of his worldly duties

according to that instruction of the Lord. His parents became very pleased

to

see this transformation. Thus he spent about two years at home.

 

Then with the ropes of His causeless mercy, Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu

employed a trick to deliver Raghunatha dasa Goswami from the blind well of

contemptible family life.

 

It happened as follows. One day, Raghunatha got the news that Nityananda

Prabhu

came to Panihati. He immediately went to meet Him there. Sitting on a rock

under a tree on the bank of the Ganges with all His main associates, Lord

Nityananda seemed as effulgent as hundreds and thousands of rising suns.

Many

devotees sat on the ground surrounding Him. (The banyan tree, under which

Lord

Nityananda sat is still here and nowadays during this festival the place as

crowded as it was 500 years ago.)

 

Seeing the influence of Nityananda Prabhu, Raghunatha dasa was astonished.

Therefore he offered Him obeisances from a distance. Seeing him Nityananda

Prabhu became very pleased and being by nature very merciful and funny, He

told

Raghunatha with great affection. 'You thief! Now you have come to see Me.

Come

here. Today I shall punish you!"

 

But embarrassed Raghunatha did not go near to Him. Then the Lord forcibly

caught

him, 'You thief, instead of coming near, you stay away at distant place. Now

that I caught you, I will punish you! Make a festival and feed all my

associates yogurt and chipped rice (dadhi and chira).

 

Hearing this Raghunatha became very pleased, and immediately sent his own

men

to the village to purchase chipped rice, yogurt, milk, sweets, sugar and

bananas and organized a wonderful feast. Innumerable brahmanas and saintly

persons came to attend that festival.

 

Chipped-rice was first soaked in hot milk, then half the rice was mixed with

yogurt, sugar and bananas. The other half was mixed with condensed milk and

bananas, the sugar, ghee and camphor were added. Nityananda Prabhu sat on a

raised platform and in a circle around Him, all the most important

associates

sat there.

 

No one could count how many people gathered were, so many so that there was

no

room left on the bank of the Ganges, therefore many people had to go into

the

river and stand there eating their chipped rice. Everyone was offered two

earthen pots--one of chipped rice soaked in yogurt and the other of chipped

rice soaked in condensed milk.

 

Then Lord Nityananda in meditation, brought Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu who was

unseen. From each and every pot of the devotees Lord Nityananda took one

morsel

of chipped rice and playfully put it into the mouth of Lord Caitanya. Sri

Caitanya Mahaprabhu also did the same to Lord Nityananda, and laughed as He

made Him eat it. In this way Lord Nityananda was walking through all the

groups

of eaters, and all the Vaishnavas there saw the fun. No one could understand

what Nityananda Prabhu was doing as He walked about. Some, however, who were

very fortunate, could see that Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was also

present.

 

Lord Nityananda offered Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu a place and had Him sit

down.

Then together the two brothers began eating chipped rice. Seeing Lord

Caitanya

eating with Him, Lord Nityananda Prabhu became very happy and exhibited

varieties of ecstatic love.

 

Lord Nityananda asked everyone to chant the holy name of the Lord and eat.

Immediately the holy names "Hari, Hari" resounded, filling the entire

universe.

When all the Vaishnavas were chanting the holy names and eating, they

remembered

how Krsna and Balarama ate with Their companions the cowherd boys on the

bank

of the Yamuna.

 

When shopkeepers of many other villages heard about the festival, they

arrived

there to sell chipped rice, yogurt, sweets and bananas. Raghunatha dasa

purchased it all, and fed them the very same food. Anyone who come to see

the

festival, was also fed chipped rice, yogurt and bananas.

 

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Lord Nityananda Prabhu are extremely merciful

and

liberal. It was Raghunatha dasa's good fortune that They accepted all these

dealings.

 

The next morning, after taking His bath in the Ganges, Nityananda Prabhu sat

down with His associates beneath the same tree under which He had previously

sat.

Raghunatha dasa went there and worshiped Lord Nityananda's lotus feet.

Through

Raghava Pandita, he submitted his desire.

"No one can attain the shelter of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu without Your

mercy.

Although I am unfit and greatly afraid to submit this plea, I nevertheless

request You to be especially merciful toward me by granting me shelter at

the

lotus feet of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu."

 

Then Lord Nityanada Prabhu placed His lotus feet upon Raghunatha dasa's head

and said to him that since he arranged the feast on the bank of the Ganges,

Sri

Caitanya Mahaprabhu came here just to show him His mercy eating

chipped rice and milk. Now all the impediments meant for Raghunatha's

bondage

are gone.

 

Thus everybody can easily get the mercy of Lord Nityananda and Lord

Caitanya,

taking part in the Panihati festival, which is very dear to Them.

Therefore His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada instructed

his

disciples to organize this chira-dadhi Festival at Panihati and other places

in

the world. Thousands of people come to Panihati that day, and ISKCON

devotees

feed them all. We invite you all to come to that festival at Panihati and

receive the mercy of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Nityananda Prabhu, who are

none other than Krishna and Balarama.

 

There is a continuation of this story connected with the famous house of

Raghava Pandit in Panihati, which are especially visited during the

chira-dadhi

Festival by all visitors.

 

The next day after festival was over Nityananda Prabhu at night went to the

temple of Raghava Pandita and began congregational chanting of the holy name

of

the Lord.

Lord Nityananda Prabhu first influenced all the devotees to dance, and

finally

He Himself began dancing, thus inundating the entire world in ecstatic love.

 

Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was observing the dancing of Lord Nityananda

Prabhu. Nityananda Prabhu could see this, but the others could not. No one

can

properly describe the sweetness of Lord Nityananda's dancing. Sri Caitanya

Mahaprabhu personally comes to see it.

 

 

After the dancing and after Lord Nityananda had rested, Raghava Pandita

submitted his request that the Lord take supper.

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu came there unseen and sat down at His place. Raghava

Pandita however could see Him and He felt increasing happiness. He would

bring

and distribute prasada to the two brothers, feeding Them with great

attention.

They ate everything with great satisfaction leaving no remnats. Thereafter

Raghava Pandita distributed prasada to all the other Vaisnavas.

 

There were varieties of cakes, sweet rice and fine cooked rice that

surpassed

the taste of nectar. There were also varieties of vegetables. Aromatic and

pleasing to see, the food was the essence of all sweetness. He brought so

many

presentations that no one could know them perfectly. Indeed, it was a fact

that

the supreme mother, Radharani, personally cooked in the house of Raghava

Pandita.

 

Every day, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu would eat at the house of Raghava

Pandita.

Sometimes He would give Raghava Pandita the opportunity to see Him.

 

It is said that Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu is always present in three places:

wherever Lord Nityananda is dancing, when prasada is offered to Him in the

house of mother Saci and in the house of Raghava Pandita.

 

So in this particular day of festival you could be fortunate enough to offer

prasadam to the Deity of Modan-Mohan in the house of Raghava Pandit as most

of

the pilgrims have done and beg the Lord for mercy to appear and be

established

in your heart and thus deliver you from clutches of material existence. On

the

samadhi of Raghava Pandita is a creeper, which is on a concrete platform.

Raghava Pandita was one of the main associates of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

Close to his house was a lemon tree on which kadamba flowers grew. Raghava

Pandita would make garlands from the flowers from this tree and offer them

to

his Deities. In Krishna-lila Raghava Pandita was a confidential gopi named

Dhanistha, who would always be engaged in preparing foodstuffs for Krishna.

Raghava Pandita's sister Damayanti also lived here. With great love and

affection she would collect various ingredients which were used in cooking

for

Lord Caitanya. In Krishna-lila she was the gopi named Gunamala.

 

Every year Raghava Pandita and his sister would prepare wonderful dried

foods

to be taken to Lord Caitanya. When Raghava went to Jagannatha Puri for

Rathayatra he would take these food items to Lord Caitanya. Three bearers

would

carry these items there in the bags called raghavera-jhali or "the bags of

Raghava".

 

Such was wonderful pastimes of the Lord and His associates in Panihati.