Sri Mahesa Pandita Tirobhava Tithi (disappearance)

Monday, January 11, 2021 (Mayapur, West Bengal, Bharata Bbhumi time)
Sri Mahesa Pandita Tirobhava tithi (disappearance day)
Sri Uddharana datta Thakura Tirobhava tithi
Compiled by Yasoda nandana dasa and Damaghosa dasa

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Srila Prabhupada expains the glories to Sri Mahesa Pandita

jagadīśa paṇḍita, āra hiraṇya mahāśaya

yāre kṛpā kaila bālye prabhu dayāmaya

SYNONYMS

jagadīśa paṇḍita—of the name Jagadīśa Paṇḍita; āra—and; hiraṇya—of the name Hiraṇya; mahāśaya—great personality; yāre—unto whom; kṛpā—mercy; kaila—showed; bālye—in childhood; prabhu—the Lord; dayāmaya—merciful.

TRANSLATION

The thirty-first branch was Jagadīśa Paṇḍita, and the thirty-second was Hiraṇya Mahāśaya, unto whom Lord Caitanya in His childhood showed His causeless mercy.

PURPORT

Jagadīśa Paṇḍita was formerly a great dancer in kṛṣṇalīla and was known as Candrahāsa. Regarding Hiraṇya Paṇḍita, it is said that once when Lord Nityānanda, decorated with valuable jewels, was staying at his home, a great thief attempted all night long to plunder these jewels but was unsuccessful. Later he came to Nityānanda Prabhu and surrendered unto Him. Link to this page: https://prabhupadabooks.com/cc/adi/10/70

It is said that GaurīdāsaPaṇḍita was always patronized by King Kṛṣṇadāsa, the son of Harihoḍa. GaurīdāsaPaṇḍita lived in the village of Śāligrāma, which is situated a few miles from the railway station Muḍāgāchā, and later he came to reside in Ambikā-kālanā. It is stated in the Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā, verse 128, that formerly he was Subala, one of the cowherd boyfriends of Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma in Vṛndāvana. GaurīdāsaPaṇḍita was the younger brother of SūryadāsaSarakhela, and with the permission of his elder brother he shifted his residence to the bank of the Ganges, living there in the town known as Ambikā-kālanā. Some of the names of the descendants of GaurīdāsaPaṇḍita are as follows: (1) Śrī Nṛsiṁhacaitanya, (2) Kṛṣṇadāsa, (3) Viṣṇudāsa, (4) BaḍaBalarāmadāsa, (5) Govinda, (6) Raghunātha, (7) Baḍu Gaṅgādāsa, (8) Āuliyā Gaṅgārāma, (9) Yādavācārya, (10) Hṛdayacaitanya, (11) Cānda Hāladāra, (12) MaheśaPaṇḍita, (13) MukuṭaRāya, (14) Bhātuyā Gaṅgārāma, (15) Āuliyā Caitanya, (16) KāliyāKṛṣṇadāsa, (17) PātuyāGopāla, (18) BaḍaJagannātha, (19) Nityānanda, (20) Bhāvi, (21) Jagadīśa, (22) Rāiyā Kṛṣṇadāsa and (22 12) Annapūrṇā. The eldest son of GaurīdāsaPaṇḍita was known as big Balarāma, and the youngest was known as Raghunātha. The sons of Raghunātha were Maheśa Paṇḍita and Govinda. Gaurīdāsa Paṇḍita’s daughter was known as Annapūrṇā.The village Ambikā-kālanā, which is situated just across the river Ganges from Śāntipura, is two miles east of the Kālanā-korṭa railway station, on the eastern railway. In Ambikā-kālanā there is a temple constructed by the Zamindar of Burdwan. In front of the temple there is a big tamarind tree, and it is said that GaurīdāsaPaṇḍita and Lord CaitanyaMahāprabhu met underneath this tree. The place where the temple is situated is known as Ambikā, and because it is in the area of Kālanā, the village is known as Ambikā-kālanā. It is said that a copy of the Bhagavad-gītā written by Śrī CaitanyaMahāprabhu still exists in this temple.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta – 1975 Edition : Cc. Adi-lila : Adi 11: The Expansions of Lord Nityananda : Adi 11.26 : PURPORT :

maheśa paṇḍita–vrajera udāra gopālaḍhakkā-vādye nṛtya kare preme mātoyāla

MaheśaPaṇḍita, the seventh of the twelve gopālas, was very liberal. In great love of Kṛṣṇa he danced to the beating of a kettledrum like a madman.

PURPORT

The village of Maheśa Paṇḍita, which is known as Pālapāḍā, is situated in the district of Nadia within a forest about one mile south of the Cākadaha railway station. The Ganges flows nearby. It is said that formerly MaheśaPaṇḍita lived on the eastern side of Jirāṭ in the village known as Masipura or Yaśīpura, and when Masipura merged into the riverbed of the Ganges, the Deities there were brought to Pālapāḍā, which is situated in the midst of various villages such as Beleḍāṅgā, Berigrāma, Sukhasāgara, Cānduḍe and Manasāpotā. (There are about fourteen villages, and the entire neighborhood is known as Pāñcanagara Paragaṇā.) It is mentioned that Maheśa Paṇḍita joined the festival performed by Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu at Pāṇihāṭī. Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura also joined in the festival, and Maheśa Paṇḍita saw him on that occasion. In the temple of Maheśa Paṇḍita there are Deities of GauraNityānanda, Śrī Gopīnātha, Śrī Madanamohana and RādhāGovinda, as well as a śālagrāmaśilā.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta – 1975 Edition : Cc. Adi-lila : Adi 11: The Expansions of Lord Nityananda : Adi 11.32 : SYNONYM

Sri Uddharana datta Thakura.

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mahā-bhāgavata-śreṣṭha datta uddhāraṇasarva-bhāve seve nityānandera caraṇa

Uddhāraṇa Datta Ṭhākura, the eleventh among the twelve cowherd boys, was an exalted devotee of Lord Nityānanda Prabhu. He worshiped the lotus feet of Lord Nityānanda in all respects

Purport
The Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā, verse 129, states that Uddhāraṇa Datta Ṭhākura was formerly the cowherd boy of Vṛndāvana named Subāhu. UddhāraṇaDatta Ṭhākura, previously known as Śrī UddhāraṇaDatta, was a resident of Saptagrāma, which is situated on the bank of the Sarasvatī River near the Triśabighā railway station in the district of Hugalī. At the time of Uddhāraṇa Ṭhākura, Saptagrāma was a very big town, encompassing many other places such as Vāsudevapura, Bāṅśabeḍiyā, Kṛṣṇapura, Nityānandapura, Śivapura, Śaṅkhanagara and Saptagrāma.

Calcutta was developed under British rule by the influential mercantile community, and especially by the suvarṇavaṇik community who came down from Saptagrāma to establish their businesses and homes all over Calcutta. They were known as the Saptagrāmī mercantile community of Calcutta, and most of them belonged to the Mullik and Sil families. More than half of Calcutta belonged to this community, as did Śrīla Uddhāraṇa Ṭhākura. Our paternal family also came from this district and belonged to the same community. The Mulliks of Calcutta are divided into two families, namely, the Sil family and De family. All the Mulliks of the De family originally belong to the same family and gotra. We also formerly belonged to the branch of the De family whose members, intimately connected with the Muslim rulers, received the title Mullik.

In the Caitanyabhāgavata, Antyakhaṇḍa, Chapter Five, it is said that Uddhāraṇa Datta was an extremely elevated and liberal Vaiṣṇava. He was born with the right to worship Nityānanda Prabhu. It is also stated that Nityānanda Prabhu, after staying for some time in Khaḍadaha, came to Saptagrāma and stayed in the house of Uddhāraṇa Datta. The suvarṇavaṇik community to which UddhāraṇaDatta belonged was actually a Vaiṣṇava community. Its members were bankers and gold merchants (suvarṇa means “gold,” and vaṇik means “merchant”). Long ago there was a misunderstanding between Balla Sena and the suvarṇavaṇik community because of the great banker GaurīSena. Balla Sena was taking loans from GaurīSena and spending money extravagantly, and therefore GaurīSena stopped supplying money. Balla Sena took revenge by instigating a social conspiracy to make the suvarṇa-vaṇiks outcastes, and since then they have been ostracized from the higher castes, namely, the brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas and vaiśyas. But by the grace of Śrīla NityānandaPrabhu, the suvarṇavaṇik community was again elevated. It is said in the Caitanyabhāgavata, yateka vaṇikkula uddhāraṇa haite pavitra haila dvidhā nāhika ihāte: there is no doubt that all the community members of the suvarṇavaṇik society were again purified by Śrī NityānandaPrabhu.

In Saptagrāma there is still a temple with a six-armed Deity of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu that was personally worshiped by Śrīla Uddhāraṇa Datta Ṭhākura. On the right side of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is a Deity of Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu, and on the left side is Gadādhara Prabhu. There are also a RādhāGovinda mūrti and a śālagrāmaśilā, and below the throne is a picture of Śrī Uddhāraṇa Datta Ṭhākura. In front of the temple there is now a big hall, and in front of the hall is a Mādhavīlatā plant. The temple is in a very shady, cool and nicely situated location. When we returned from America in 1967, the executive committee members of this temple invited us to visit it, and thus we had the opportunity to visit this temple with some American students. Formerly, in our childhood, we visited this temple with our parents because all the members of the suvarṇavaṇik community enthusiastically take interest in this temple of UddhāraṇaDatta Ṭhākura. In the Bengali year 1283 (A.D. 1876) one bābājī of the name Nitāidāsa arranged for a donation of twelve bighās of land for this temple. The management of the temple later deteriorated, but then in 1306 (A.D. 1899), through the cooperation of the famous Balarāma Mullik of Hugalī, who was a subjudge, and many rich suvarṇavaṇik community members, the management of the temple improved greatly. Not more than fifty years ago, one of the family members of UddhāraṇaDatta Ṭhākura named JagamohanaDatta established a wooden mūrti(statue) of UddhāraṇaDatta Ṭhākura in the temple, but that mūrti is no longer there; at present, a picture of UddhāraṇaDatta Ṭhākura is worshiped. It is understood, however, that the wooden mūrti of Uddhāraṇa Ṭhākura was taken away by Śrī MadanamohanaDatta and is now being worshiped with a śālagrāmaśilā by Śrīnātha Datta.

UddhāraṇaDatta Ṭhākura was the manager of the estate of a big Zamindar in Naihāṭī, about one and a half miles north of Katwa. The relics of this royal family are still visible near the Dāiṅhāṭa station. Since UddhāraṇaDatta Ṭhākura was the manager of the estate, it was also known as Uddhāraṇapura. UddhāraṇaDatta Ṭhākura installed NitāiGaura Deities that were later brought to the house of the Zamindar, which was known as Vanaoyārībāda. Śrīla UddhāraṇaDatta Ṭhākura remained a householder throughout his life. His father’s name was Śrīkara Datta, his mother’s name was Bhadrāvatī, and his son’s name was Śrīnivāsa Datta.
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta – 1975 Edition : Cc. Adi-lila : Adi 11: The Expansions of Lord Nityananda : Adi 11.41 : TEXT : maha-bhagavata-srestha datta uddharana :

uddhāraṇa datta ādi yata nija-gaṇaupare vasilā saba, ke kare gaṇana?
Similarly, Uddhāraṇa Datta Ṭhākura and many other personal associates of the Lord sat on the raised platform with Nityānanda Prabhu. No one could count them all.

Purport

The devotees mentioned herein are described by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura in his Anubhāṣya. For further information one may consult the following references in the Ādi-līlā.Rāmadāsa-Chapter Ten, texts 116 and 118, and Chapter Eleven, texts 13 and 16. Sundarānanda-11.23, Gadādharadāsa-10.53, His full name is MurāriCaitanyadāsa, and he is a personal associate of NityānandaPrabhu. Thus one should consult Chapter Eleven, text 20. Kamalākara-11.24. Sadāśiva-11.38. Purandara-11.28. Dhanañjaya-11.31. Jagadīśa-11.30. Parameśvara-11.29. Maheśa-11.32. Gaurīdāsa-11.26. HoḍaKṛṣṇadāsa-11.47. UddhāraṇaDatta Ṭhākura-11.41
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta – 1975 Edition : Cc. Antya-lila : Antya 6: The Meeting of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Raghunatha dasa Gosvami : Antya 6.63 : TRANSLATION :