śrī-gadādhara dāsa śākhā sarvopari
kājī-gaṇera mukhe yeṅha bolāila hari
SYNONYMS
śrī-gadādhara dāsa-of the name Śrī Gadādhara dāsa; śākhā-another branch; sarva-upari-above all; kājī-gaṇera-of the Kāzīs (Muslim magistrates); mukhe-in the mouth; yeṅha-one who; bolāila-caused to speak; hari-the holy name of Hari.
TRANSLATION
Śrī Gadādhara dāsa, the twenty-third branch, was understood to be the topmost, for he induced all the Muslim Kāzīs to chant the holy name of Lord Hari.
PURPORT
About eight or ten miles from Calcutta on the banks of the Ganges is a village known as Eṅḍiyādaha-grāma. Śrīla Gadādhara dāsa was known as an inhabitant of this village (eṅḍiyādaha-vāsī gadādhara dāsa). The Bhakti-ratnākara (Seventh Wave), informs us that after the disappearance of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Gadādhara dāsa came from Navadvīpa to Katwa. Thereafter he came to Eṅḍiyādaha and resided there. He is stated to be the luster of the body of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, just as Śrīla Gadādhara Paṇḍita Gosvāmī is an incarnation of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī Herself. Caitanya Mahāprabhu is sometimes explained to be rādhā-bhāva-dyuti-suvalita, or characterized by the emotions and bodily luster of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. Gadādhara dāsa is this dyuti, or luster. In the Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā he is described to be the expansion potency of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. He counts among the associates of both Śrīla Gaurahari and Nityānanda Prabhu; as a devotee of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu he was one of the associates of Lord Kṛṣṇa in conjugal love, and as a devotee of Lord Nityānanda he is considered to have been one of the friends of Kṛṣṇa in pure devotional service. Even though he was an associate of Lord Nityānanda Prabhu, he was not among the cowherd boys but was situated in the transcendental mellow of conjugal love. He established a temple of Śrī Gaurasundara in Katwa.
In 1434 śakābda (A.D. 1513), when Lord Nityānanda Prabhu was empowered by Lord Caitanya to preach the saṅkīrtana movement in Bengal, Śrī Gadādhara dāsa was one of Lord Nityānanda’s chief assistants. He preached the saṅkīrtana movement by requesting everyone to chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. This simple preaching method of Śrīla Gadādhara dāsa can be followed by anyone and everyone in any position of society. One must simply be a sincere and serious servant of Nityānanda Prabhu and preach this cult door to door.
When Śrīla Gadādhara dāsa Prabhu was preaching the cult of hari-kīrtana, there was a magistrate who was very much against his saṅkīrtana movement. Following in the footsteps of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Śrīla Gadādhara dāsa one night went to the house of the Kāzī and requested him to chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. The Kāzī replied, “All right, I shall chant Hare Kṛṣṇa tomorrow.” On hearing this, Śrīla Gadādhara dāsa Prabhu began to dance, and he said, “Why tomorrow? You have already chanted the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, so simply continue.”
In the Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā (verses 154-55) it is said:
rādhā-vibhūti-rūpā yā
candrakāntiḥ purā vraje
sa śrī-gaurāṅga-nikaṭe
dāsa-vaṁśyo gadādharaḥ
pūrṇānandā vraje yāsīd
baladeva-priyāgraṇī
sāpi kārya-vaśād eva
prāviśat taṁ gadādharam
Śrīla Gadādhara dāsa is considered to be a united form of Candrakānti, who is the effulgence of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, and Pūrṇānandā, who is the foremost of Lord Balarāma’s very dear girlfriends. Thus Śrīla Gadādhara dāsa Prabhu was one of the associates of both Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Nityānanda Prabhu.
Once while Śrīla Gadādhara dāsa Prabhu was returning to Bengal from Jagannātha Purī with Nityānanda Prabhu, he forgot himself and began talking very loudly as if he were a girl of Vrajabhūmi selling yogurt, and Śrīla Nityānanda Prabhu noted this. Another time, while absorbed in the ecstasy of the gopīs, he carried a jug filled with Ganges water on his head as if he were selling milk. When Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu appeared in the house of Rāghava Paṇḍita while going to Vṛndāvana, Gadādhara dāsa went to see Him, and Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was so glad that He put His foot on his head. When Gadādhara dāsa Prabhu was present in Eṅḍiyādaha he established a Bāla Gopāla mūrti for worship there. Śrī Mādhava Ghoṣa performed a drama known as “Dāna-khaṇḍa” with the help of Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu and Śrī Gadādhara dāsa. This is explained in the Caitanya-bhāgavata, Antya-līlā 5.318-94.
The tomb of Gadādhara dāsa Prabhu, which is in the village of Eṅḍiyādaha, was under the control of the Saṁyogī Vaiṣṇavas and later under the direction of Siddha Bhagavān dāsa Bābājī of Kālnā. By his order, Śrī Madhusūdana Mullik, one of the members of the aristocratic Mullik family of the Nārikelaḍāṅgā in Calcutta, established a pāṭavāṭī (monastery) there in the Bengali year 1256 (A.D. 1849). He also arranged for the worship of a Deity named Śrī Rādhākānta. His son Balāicāṅda Mullik established Gaura-Nitāi Deities there in the Bengali year 1312 (A.D. 1905). Thus on the throne of the temple are both Gaura-Nityānanda Deities and Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa Deities. Below the throne is a tablet with an inscription written in Sanskrit. In that temple there is also a small Deity of Lord Śiva as Gopeśvara. This is all described on a stone by the side of the entrance door. link to this page: https://prabhupadabooks.com/cc/adi/10/53
khaṇḍavāsī mukunda-dāsa, śrī-raghunandana
narahari-dāsa, cirañjīva, sulocana
ei saba mahāśākhā–caitanya-kṛpādhāma
prema-phala-phula kare yāhāṅ tāhāṅ dāna
SYNONYMS
khaṇḍa-vāsī mukunda-dāsa—of the name Mukunda dāsa; śrī-raghunandana—of the name Raghunandana; narahari-dāsa—of the name Narahari dāsa; cirañjīva—of the name Cirañjīva; sulocana—of the name Sulocana; ei saba—all of them; mahā-śākhā—great branches; caitanya-kṛpā-dhāma—of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the reservoir of mercy; prema—love of God; phala—fruit; phula—flower; kare—does; yāhāṅ—anywhere; tāhāṅ—everywhere; dāna—distribution.
TRANSLATION
Śrī Khaṇḍavāsī Mukunda and his son Raghunandana were the thirty-ninth branch of the tree, Narahari was the fortieth, Cirañjīva the forty-first and Sulocana the forty-second. They were all big branches of the all-merciful tree of Caitanya Mahāprabhu. They distributed the fruits and flowers of love of Godhead anywhere and everywhere.
PURPORT
Śrī Mukunda dāsa was the son of Nārāyaṇa dāsa and eldest brother of Narahari Sarakāra. His second brother’s name was Mādhava dāsa, and his son was named Raghunandana dāsa. Descendants of Raghunandana dāsa still live four miles west of Katwa in the village named Śrīkhaṇḍa, where Raghunandana dāsa used to live. Raghunandana had one son named Kānāi, who had two sons-Madana Rāya, who was a disciple of Narahari Ṭhākura, and Vaṁśīvadana. It is estimated that at least four hundred men descended in this dynasty. All their names are recorded in the village known as Śrīkhaṇḍa. In the Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā, verse 175, it is stated that the gopī whose name was Vṛndādevī became Mukunda dāsa, lived in Śrīkhaṇḍa village and was very dear to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. His wonderful devotion and love for Kṛṣṇa are described in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā, Chapter Fifteen. It is stated in the Bhakti-ratnākara (Eighth Wave), that Raghunandana used to serve a Deity of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
Narahari dāsa Sarakāra was a very famous devotee. Locana dāsa Ṭhākura, the celebrated author of Śrī Caitanya-maṅgala, was his disciple. In the Caitanya-maṅgala it is stated that Śrī Gadādhara dāsa and Narahari Sarakāra were extremely dear to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, but there is no specific statement regarding the inhabitants of the village of Śrīkhaṇḍa.
Cirañjīva and Sulocana were both residents of Śrīkhaṇḍa, where their descendants are still living. Of Cirañjīva’s two sons, the elder, Rāmacandra Kavirāja, was a disciple of Śrīnivāsācārya and an intimate associate of Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura. The younger son was Govinda dāsa Kavirāja, the famous Vaiṣṇava poet. Cirañjīva’s wife was Sunandā, and his father-in-law was Dāmodara Sena Kavirāja. Cirañjīva previously lived on the bank of the Ganges River in the village of Kumāranagara. The Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā, verse 207, states that he was formerly Candrikā in Vṛndāvana. Link to this page: https://prabhupadabooks.com/cc/adi/10/78-79
śrī-rāmadāsa āra, gadādhara dāsa
caitanya-gosāñira bhakta rahe tāṅra pāśa
SYNONYMS
śrī-rāmadāsa—of the name Śrī Rāmadāsa; āra—and; gadādhara dāsa—of the name Gadādhara dāsa; caitanya-gosāñira—of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu; bhakta—devotees; rahe—stay; tāṅra pāśa—with Him.
TRANSLATION
Two devotees of Lord Caitanya, named Śrī Rāmadāsa and Gadādhara dāsa, always lived with Śrī Vīrabhadra Gosāñi.
PURPORT
Śrī Rāmadāsa, later known as Abhirāma Ṭhākura, was one of the twelve gopālas, cowherd boyfriends, of Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu. The Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā, verse 126, states that Śrī Rāmadāsa was formerly Śrīdāmā. In Bhakti-ratnākara (Fourth Wave), there is a description of Śrīla Abhirāma Ṭhākura. By the order of Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu, Abhirāma Ṭhākura became a great ācārya and preacher of the Caitanya cult of devotional service. He was a very influential personality, and nondevotees were very afraid of him. Empowered by Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu, he was always in ecstasy and was extremely kind to all fallen souls. It is said that if he offered obeisances to any stone other than a śālagrāma-śilā, it would immediately fracture.
Ten miles southwest of the Cāṅpāḍāṅgā railway station on the narrow-gauge railway line from Howrah, in Calcutta, to Āmtā, a village in the Hugalī district, is a small town named Khānākūla-kṛṣṇanagara, where the temple of Abhirāma Ṭhākura is situated. During the rainy season, when this area is inundated with water, people must go there by another line, which is now called the southeastern railway. On this line there is a station named Kolāghāṭa, from which one has to go by steamer to Rāṇīcaka. Seven and a half miles north of Rāṇīcaka is Khānākūla. The temple of Abhirāma Ṭhākura is situated in Kṛṣṇanagara, which is near the kūla (bank) of the Khānā (Dvārakeśvara River); therefore this place is celebrated as Khānākūla-kṛṣṇanagara. Outside of the temple is a bakula tree. This place is known as Siddha-bakula-kuñja. It is said that when Abhirāma Ṭhākura came there, he sat down under this tree. In Khānākūla-kṛṣṇanagara there is a big fair held every year in the month of Caitra (March-April) on the Kṛṣṇa-saptamī, the seventh day of the dark moon. Many hundreds and thousands of people gather for this festival. The temple of Abhirāma Ṭhākura has a very old history. The Deity in the temple is known as Gopīnātha. There are many sevaita families living near the temple. It is said that Abhirāma Ṭhākura had a whip and that whoever he touched with it would immediately become an elevated devotee of Kṛṣṇa. Among his many disciples, Śrīmān Śrīnivāsa Ācārya was the most famous and the most dear, but it is doubtful that he was his initiated disciple. Link to this page: https://prabhupadabooks.com/cc/adi/11/13
nityānande ājñā dila yabe gauḍe yāite
mahāprabhu ei dui dilā tāṅra sāthe
ataeva dui-gaṇe duṅhāra gaṇana
mādhava-vāsudeva ghoṣerao ei vivaraṇa
SYNONYMS
nityānande—unto Lord Nityānanda; ājñā—order; dila—gave; yabe—when; gauḍe—to Bengal; yāite—to go; mahāprabhu—Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu; ei dui—these two; dilā—gave; tāṅra sāthe—with Him; ataeva—therefore; dui-gaṇe—in both the parties; duṅhāra—two of them; gaṇana—are counted; mādhava—of the name Mādhava; vāsudeva—of the name Vāsudeva; ghoṣerao—of the surname Ghoṣa; ei—this; vivaraṇa—description.
TRANSLATION
When Nityānanda Prabhu was ordered to go to Bengal to preach, these two devotees [Śrī Rāmadāsa and Gadādhara dāsa] were ordered to go with Him. Thus they are sometimes counted among the devotees of Lord Caitanya and sometimes among the devotees of Lord Nityānanda. Similarly, Mādhava and Vāsudeva Ghoṣa belonged to both groups of devotees simultaneously.
PURPORT
There is a place named Dāṅihāṭa, near the Agradvīpa railway station and Pāṭuli in the district of Burdwan, where the Deity of Śrī Gopīnāthajī is still situated. This Deity accepted Govinda Ghoṣa as His father. Even until today, the Deity performs the śrāddha ceremony on the anniversary of the death of Govinda Ghoṣa. The temple of this Deity is managed by the rāja-vaṁśa family of Kṛṣṇanagara, whose members are descendants of Rājā Kṛṣṇacandra. Every year in the month of Vaiśākha, when there is a bāradola ceremony, this Gopīnātha Deity is taken to Kṛṣṇanagara. The ceremony is performed with eleven other Deities, and then Śrī Gopīnāthajī is brought back to the temple in Agradvīpa. Link to this page: https://prabhupadabooks.com/cc/adi/11/14-15
gadādhara dāsa gopībhāve pūrṇānanda
yāṅra ghare dānakeli kaila nityānanda
SYNONYMS
gadādhara dāsa—of the name Gadādhara dāsa; gopī-bhāve—in the ecstasy of the gopīs; pūrṇa-ānanda—fully in transcendental bliss; yāṅra ghare—in whose house; dāna-keli—performance of dānakeli-līlā; kaila—did; nityānanda—Lord Nityānanda Prabhu.
TRANSLATION
Śrīla Gadādhara dāsa was always fully absorbed in ecstasy as a gopī. In his house Lord Nityānanda enacted the drama Dānakeli. Link to this page: vhttps://prabhupadabooks.com/cc/adi/11/17
The following summary of this chapter is given by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura in his Amṛta-pravāha-bhāṣya. After the Ratha-yātrā festival, Śrī Advaita Ācārya Prabhu worshiped Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu with flowers and tulasī. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, in return, worshiped Advaita Ācārya with the flowers and tulasī that remained on the offered plate and said a mantra, yo ‘si so ‘si (“What You are, You are”). Then Advaita Ācārya Prabhu invited Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu for prasāda. When Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and His devotees performed the Nandotsava ceremony, the Lord personally dressed Himself as a cowherd boy. Thus, the ceremony was very jubilant. Then the Lord and His devotees observed Vijayādaśamī, the day of victory when Lord Rāmacandra conquered Laṅkā. The devotees all became soldiers of Lord Rāmacandra, and Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, in the ecstasy of Hanumān, manifested various transcendentally blissful activities. Thereafter, the Lord and His devotees observed various other ceremonies.
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu then asked all the devotees to return to Bengal. Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu sent Nityānanda Prabhu to Bengal for preaching and also sent Rāmadāsa, Gadādhara dāsa and several other devotees with Him. Then Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, with great humility, sent some Jagannātha prasāda and a cloth from Lord Jagannātha to His mother through Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura. When the Lord bade farewell to Rāghava Paṇḍita, Vāsudeva Datta, the residents of Kulīnagrāma and other devotees, He praised them for their transcendental qualities. Rāmānanda Vasu and Satyarāja Khān asked some questions, and Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu instructed them that all householder devotees must engage themselves in the service of Vaiṣṇavas exclusively devoted to chanting the holy name of the Lord. He also directed the Vaiṣṇavas from Khaṇḍa, instructed Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya and Vidyā-vācaspati, and praised Murāri Gupta for his firm faith in the lotus feet of Lord Rāmacandra. Considering the humble prayer of Vāsudeva Datta, He established that Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is qualified to deliver all the conditioned souls.
Thereafter, when Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was accepting prasāda at the house of Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya, Sārvabhauma’s son-in-law, Amogha, created trouble in the family with his criticisms. The following morning, he was attacked by the disease of visūcikā (cholera). Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu very kindly saved him from death and enlivened him in chanting the holy name of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Sri Caitanya-Caritamrta Madhya-Lila, Chapter 15, Summary
rāma-dāsa, gadādhara ādi kata jane
tomāra sahāya lāgi’ dilu tomāra sane
SYNONYMS
rāma-dāsa—Rāmadāsa; gadādhara—Gadādhara dāsa; ādi—and others; kata jane—some people;
tomāra—Your; sahāya—assistants; lāgi’-as; dilu—I give; tomāra sane—with You.
TRANSLATION
Nityānanda Prabhu was given assistants like Rāmadāsa, Gadādhara dāsa and several others. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, “I give them to You to assist You. Link to this page: https://prabhupadabooks.com/cc/madhya/15/43
uddhāraṇa datta ādi yata nija-gaṇa
upare vasilā saba, ke kare gaṇana?
SYNONYMS
uddhāraṇa datta—Uddhāraṇa Datta; ādi—and similar other persons; yata nija gaṇa—all personal associates; upare—above; vasilā—sat down; saba—all; ke—who; kare gaṇana—can count.
TRANSLATION
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, Gadādhara dāsa-10.53, His full name is Murāri Caitanya dāsa, and he is a personal associate of Nityānanda Prabhu. 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. Hoḍa Kṛṣṇadāsa-11.47. Uddhāraṇa Datta Ṭhākura-11.41. Link to this page: https://prabhupadabooks.com/cc/antya/6/63
ei-mata nimantraṇa karena yatna kari
vāsudeva, gadādhara-dāsa, gupta-murāri
kulīna-grāmī, khaṇḍa-vāsī, āra yata jana
jagannāthera prasāda āni’ kare nimantraṇa
SYNONYMS
ei-mata—like this; nimantraṇa—invitation; karena—execute; yatna kari—with devotion; vāsudeva—Vāsudeva; gadādhara-dāsa—Gadādhara dāsa; gupta-murāri—Murāri Gupta; kulīna-grāmī—the inhabitants of Kulīna-grāma; khaṇḍa-vāsī—the inhabitants of Khaṇḍa; āra—and; yata jana—many other persons; jagannāthera prasāda—remnants of the food of Jagannātha; āni’-bringing; kare nimantraṇa—invite.
TRANSLATION
They would extend invitations to the Lord. Vāsudeva Datta, Gadādhara dāsa, Murāri Gupta, the inhabitants of Kulīna-grāma and Khaṇḍa and many other devotees who were not brāhmaṇas by caste would purchase food offered to Lord Jagannātha and then extend invitations to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
PURPORT
The inhabitants of Kulīna-grāma, such as Satyarāja Khān and Rāmānanda Vasu, were not brāhmaṇas by caste, nor were the inhabitants of Khaṇḍa, such as Mukunda dāsa, Narahari dāsa and Raghunandana. Therefore they would purchase prasāda from the market where the remnants of Lord Jagannātha’s food was sold and then extend invitations to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, whereas Ācāryaratna, Ācāryanidhi and others who were brāhmaṇas by caste would cook at home when they invited the Lord. Caitanya Mahāprabhu observed the etiquette then current in society by accepting only prasāda cooked by members of the brāhmaṇa caste, but on principle He accepted invitations from His devotees, regardless of whether they were brāhmaṇas by caste. Link to this page: https://prabhupadabooks.com/cc/antya/10/140-141
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Krishna Dasa Kaviraja describe Lord Chaitanya as radha-bahva-dyuti suvalita, “characterized by the emotions and bodily luster of Shrimati Radharani.” Gadadhara Dasa is this dyuti, luster. Gadadhara Dasa is sometimes called “the personification of Sri Radhika’s divine effulgence.”