jaya jaya śrī-caitanya jaya nityānanda
jayādvaita-candra jaya gaura-bhakta-vṛnda
All glories to Śrī Caitanya-deva! All glories to Śrī Nityānanda! All glories to Śrī Advaita! All glories to the devotees of Śrī Gaurāṅga!
pūrva-rīte prabhu āge gamana karilā
‘jiyaḍa-nṛsiṁha’-kṣetre katadine gelā
Śrīman Mahāprabhu continued His tour, and everywhere, as previously, He converted the people into Vaiṣṇavas, and submerged them in the ocean of prema-bhakti-rasa. After a few days, He came to the holy place named Jiyaḍa-Nṛsiṁha.
Jiyaḍa-Nṛsiṁha kṣetra. Five miles from Viśākhāpaṭṭanam is a place named Siṁhācala, where there is now a railway station. There, upon a mountain, is a temple of Lord Śrī Nṛsiṁha-deva. This temple in Viśākhāpaṭṭanam is the most famous and affluent above all others.
The excellence of its architecture captivates the minds of all. There is one engraved stone plaque commemorating that the devotionally minded wife of King Tṛtīya Goṁkāra decorated the deity with gold leaf.
The servants of Śrī Nṛsiṁha-deva reside there, along with the local people. On top of the mountain, adjoining the temple are many houses for the visiting pilgrims. The outer section of the main temple houses the śrī vijaya-vigraha, the smaller deity who is taken out on street processions during festivals, while the inner sanctum of the temple accommodates the original deity of Bhagavān Śrī Nṛsiṁha-deva.
Devotees of the Śrī Rāmānuja Vaiṣṇava sampradāya perform the worship of Śrī Nṛsiṁha-deva, under the patronage of the king of Vijaya-nagara. Some people also say that the deity of Bhagavān Śrī Nṛsiṁha-deva once gave His special mercy to a devotee named Jīyaḍa; and for this reason, the deity took the name Jiyaḍa-Nṛsiṁha. Thus the place came to be known as Jiyaḍa-Nṛsiṁha-kṣetra.
nṛsiṁha dekhiyā kaila daṇḍavat-praṇati
premāveśe kaila bahu nṛtya-gīta-stuti
Taking darśana of Bhagavān Śrī Nṛsiṁha-deva, Śrīman Mahāprabhu fully prostrated Himself before the deity. Then, absorbed in prema He sang and danced, and afterwards offered many types of prayers and glorifications of the Lord.
Here, some people may consider that because Śrī Gaurasundara is Vrajendra-nandana Śrī Kṛṣṇa, endowed with the mood and complexion of Śrīmatī Rādhikā (rādhā-bhāva-dyuti-suvalita śrī-kṛṣṇa-svarūpa), surely He will hold only the ecstatic mood of Śrīmatī Rādhikā, tasting exclusive prema for Śrī Kṛṣṇa of Vraja. Why, then, does He become absorbed in prema by having the darśana of Śrī Nṛsiṁha-deva, who is in the mood of awe and majesty?
Our Gosvāmīs provide the answer. They state that Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the quintessence of all the incarnations of Bhagavān, the Supreme Person. He is the personification of all transcendental mellows (akhila-rasāmṛta-murti), the shelter of unlimited varieties of rasa, and the personification of wonderful, extraordinary transcendental sentiments. Only by tasting each of the unique varieties of rasa does the taste of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s sweetness reach its fullness.
Śrī Nṛsiṁha-deva is also a form of Bhagavān. Thus, there is a particular variety of rasa, or flavor, in Him. Therefore, on the day when Śrīman Mahāprabhu had darśana of Śrī Nṛsiṁha-deva, His heart developed a desire to taste that special flavor. Upon that desire being completely satisfied, He became absorbed in prema and began to dance and perform kīrtana.
“śrī-nṛsiṁha, jaya nṛsiṁha, jaya jaya nṛsiṁha
prahlādeśa jaya padmā-mukha-padma-bhṛṅga”
“All glories to Bhagavān Śrī Nṛsiṁha-deva! All glories to the Lord of Śrī Prahlāda! All glories to You who are like a bumblebee always hovering about the lotus-like face of Śrī Lakṣmī-devī. All glories to You.
Śrīdhara Svāmī has composed the following two verses in his commentary on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.1.1 and 10.87.1), as a means of offering his obeisances to Lord Nṛsiṁha-deva:
prahlāda-hṛdayāhlādaṁ bhaktā-vidyā-vidāraṇam
śarad-indu-ruciṁ vande pārīndra-vadanaṁ harim
vāg-īśā yasya vadane lakṣmīr yasya ca vakṣasi
yasyāste hṛdaye saṁvit taṁ nṛsiṁha ahaṁ bhaje
“I offer my prayers to Lord Nṛsiṁha-deva, who always gives happiness to the heart of His devotee Śrī Prahlāda, who always dispels the ignorance of the devotees, and who is endowed with a complexion as effulgent as the autumnal full moon. I offer my prayers to that Bhagavān Śrī Nṛsiṁha, upon whose tongue Sarasvatī, the goddess of speech, eternally stays, upon whose chest Lakṣmī always resides, and in whose heart dwells the transcendental potency of spiritual consciousness.”
While describing the speciality of the mercy of Śrī Bhagavān, Śrīman Mahāprabhu glorifies Śrī Nṛsiṁha-deva through the following verse, personally composed by Śrī Śrīdhara Svāmī (in his commentary on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.9.1).
ugro ’py anugra evāyaṁ sva-bhaktānāṁ nṛ-keśarī
keśarīva sva-potānām anyeṣām ugra-vikramaḥ
“Just as a lion is exceedingly cruel, powerful, and a cause of great fear for others, yet is very affectionate and merciful to his own cubs, Bhagavān Śrī Nṛsiṁha-deva is exceedingly ferocious towards demons such as Hiraṇyakaśipu, yet He is always full of affection for Prahlāda and His other devotees.”
ei-mata nānā śloka paḍi’ stuti kaila
nṛsiṁha-sevaka mālā-prasāda āni’ dila
In this way, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu recited many different verses in glorification of Bhagavān Śrī Nṛsiṁha. Seeing Śrīman Mahāprabhu’s devotional sentiments, Lord Śrī Nṛsiṁha-deva’s servant then brought garlands and the remnants of the Lord’s food and offered them to Him.
pūrvavat kona vipre kaila nimantraṇa
sei rātri tāṅhā rahi’ karilā gamana
As happened before, a brāhmaṇa came with an invitation for Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. The Lord passed the night there, and early the next morning, He again commenced His tour.
prabhāte uṭhiyā prabhu calilā premāveśe
dig-vidik nāhi jñāna rātri-divase
The next morning, Śrīman Mahāprabhu rose and being absorbed in prema started out again on His tour. Owing to His great ecstasy, He had no knowledge of the proper direction, or whether it was day or night.
pūrvavat ‘vaiṣṇava’ kari’ sarva loka-gaṇe
godāvarī-tīre prabhu āilā katadine
As before, Śrīman Caitanya-deva converted all the jīvas there to Vaiṣṇavism, and after some days the Lord reached the banks of the river Godāvarī.
godāvarī dekhi’ ha-ila ‘yamunā’-smaraṇa
tīre vana dekhi’ smṛti haila vṛndāvana
As soon as Śrīman Mahāprabhu caught sight of the river Godāvarī, He remembered the river Śrī Yamunā, a vision of which manifested in His heart. Thus absorbed, when He saw the forest on the banks of the Godāvarī, Śrī Vṛndāvana appeared upon the screen of His heart. He understood the Godāvarī to be the Yamunā, and the forest there to be Vṛndāvana.
The symptom of the mahā-bhāgavata (the devotee on the highest platform of devotional service) is that wherever he goes and whatever he sees become uddīpana (stimulants or causes of remembrance) of his worshipable Lord and all that is related to Him.
Seeing the purifying holy water of the Godāvarī caused within Śrīman Mahāprabhu’s mind an awakening of the water-associated pastimes of Vraja. He remembered especially the emperor of all Vraja pastimes, the rāsa-līlā, because it occurred in Śrīdhāma Vṛndāvana on the banks of the river Yamunā. Therefore, He became immersed in the fathomless ocean of Vraja’s sweetness.
sei vane katakṣaṇa kari’ nṛtya-gāna
godāvarī pāra hañā tāṅhā kaila snāna
Mahāprabhu remained for some time in that sanctified forest, singing and dancing. Afterwards, the Lord crossed the river and took His bath on the other bank.
ghāṭa chāḍi’ kata-dūre jala-sannidhāne
vasi’ prabhu kare kṛṣṇa-nāma-saṅkīrtane
After bathing in the river, Śrī Caitanya-deva left the bathing place and walked a little distance from there. Sitting near the water, He engaged in chanting the holy name of Kṛṣṇa.
Here some may enquire as to why Mahāprabhu did not remain seated at that holy bathing place to perform nāma-saṅkīrtana. Why did He move a little distance away on the same shore? Our Gosvāmīs have explained that the continuous traffic of persons bathing at the ghāṭa, or bathing place, could have presented an obstacle to His tasting the nectar of chanting the holy name. Therefore, Mahāprabhu chose a place that was more suitable for kīrtana.
hena-kāle dolāya caḍi’ rāmānanda rāya
snāna karibāre āilā, bājanā bājāya
At that time, Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya, sitting in a special palanquin fit for a king, arrived there to take his bath. Accompanying him were musicians playing on their instruments.
Why were they playing music? Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura explains that it was customary at the time to have musicians preceding any famous royal officer on his journeys. Thus, Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya, seated in a palanquin and accompanied by instrumental music, was offered the appropriate royal respect as he traveled towards the bathing place where Mahāprabhu sat.
tāṅra saṅge bahu āilā vaidika brāhmaṇa
vidhi-mate kaila teṅho snānādi-tarpaṇa
Many Vedic brāhmaṇas were accompanying Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya, who took his bath according to the Vedic rituals and offered oblations.
In this Bengali verse, the word vidhi-mata, meaning “according to the Vedic system” does not indicate the smārta method of ritualistic worship, which is based simply on an external understanding of the system of varṇāśrama-dharma. Rather, it is understood that Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya performed his bathing and offering of oblations to his ancestors according to the Vaiṣṇava methods prescribed in literatures such as Śrī Hari-bhakti-vilāsa.
Some so-called intelligent and learned persons say that Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya was personally well-versed in the Vedas, and that although he was a pure devotee, he still followed varṇāśrama-dharma with complete faith; indeed, he himself was the foundation of the varṇāśrama system. Therefore, he performed the activities of taking bath and offering oblations to his forefathers according to the injunctions of the scriptures.
Yet the great and learned spiritual master Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura has refuted this by stating that Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya was a śuddha-bhakta, and that there is no need at all for such a pure devotee to follow the rules of varṇāśrama-dharma.
The term śuddha-bhakta actually means that such a person has abandoned varṇāśrama-dharma and follows only devotional service to Śrī Kṛṣṇa (śrī-kṛṣṇa-bhakti). It is for this reason that Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya is said to be the topmost of all devotees. From this it is clearly evident that Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya was not at all a follower of varṇāśrama-dharma.
prabhu tāṅre dekhi’ jānila—ei rāma-rāya
tāṅhāre milite prabhura mana uṭhi’ dhāya
When Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu saw Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya, He knew immediately who he was, and a great eagerness to meet him awoke within the Lord’s mind.
tathāpi dhairya dhari’ prabhu rahilā vasiyā
rāmānanda āilā apūrva sannyāsī dekhiyā
Although Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was very eager to meet him, He remained sitting patiently. Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya, a little distance away from the bathing place, saw the astonishing and wonderfully beautiful sannyāsī and came near.
sūrya-śata-sama kānti, aruṇa vasana
suvalita prakāṇḍa deha, kamala-locana
The bodily effulgence of that sannyāsī was as brilliant as unlimited suns. A saffron garment was covering the Lord, who was large in body and very strongly built, and whose eyes were like lotuses.
It should be known that even though His bodily effulgence was more brilliant than millions of suns, it did not give any pain to the eyes; rather it bestowed a great ecstasy.
dekhiyā tāṅhāra mane haila camatkāra
āsiyā karila daṇḍavat namaskāra
The sight of the astonishing sannyāsī struck the heart of Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya with wonder. He approached Him and respectfully prostrated himself, falling flat like a stick before Him.
Śrī Rāya Rāmānanda was astonished to see the extraordinary beauty of the Lord and His great otherworldly effulgence. Because he was a pure devotee, he fell flat like a stick at the divine feet of the Lord.
uṭhi’ prabhu kahe,—uṭha, kaha ‘kṛṣṇa’ ‘kṛṣṇa’
tāre āliṅgite prabhura hṛdaya satṛṣṇa
Śrīman Mahāprabhu, seeing him offering obeisances, stood up and said, “Please get up, please get up! Chant Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa!” Indeed, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was very eager to embrace him.
tathāpi puchila,—“tumi rāya rāmānanda?”
teṅho kahe,—“haṅa muñi dāsa śūdra manda”
Although Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu understood who he was, still He inquired, “Are you Rāya Rāmānanda?” To this, he replied with great humility, “Yes, this unfortunate śūdra is Your servant.”
tabe tāre kaila prabhu dṛḍha āliṅgana
premāveśe prabhu-bhṛtya, doṅhe acetana
Hearing this, Śrīman Mahāprabhu then embraced Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya very firmly. Indeed, both the master and the servant, absorbed in ecstatic love, lost consciousness.
svābhāvika prema doṅhāra udaya karilā
duṅhāke āliṅgiyā duṅhe bhūmite paḍilā
Natural love for each other awakened in both their hearts, and in their embrace, they both fell down to the ground unconscious.
In Śrī Saccidānanda Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura’s Amṛta-pravāha-bhāṣya it is stated that the prema between them was natural. Actually, Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya is Viśākhā Sakhī in Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes. Therefore, as Śrīman Mahāprabhu is the combined form of Śrī Rādhā and Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the natural love of the Divine Couple for Viśākhā Sakhī, and the love of Viśākhā Sakhī for Them manifested immediately upon their seeing each other.
Perfect, naturally occurring prema is not achievable by spiritual practice (sādhana). The relationship between the devotee and Bhagavān is something like this: when the devotee sees his worshipful Lord, unlimited towering waves of prema arise within his heart. And when Bhagavān sees His devotee, then His bhakta-vātsalya, or fathomless ocean of affection for the devotee, churns within His heart. Thus both of them become bewildered.
stambha, sveda, aśru, kampa, pulaka, vaivarṇya
duṅhāra mukhete śuni’ gadgada ‘kṛṣṇa’ varṇa
When they embraced each other, the eight ecstatic trans-formations such as becoming stunned, perspiration, tears, shivering, paleness, and horripilation, appeared on their bodies. Their voices became choked, and both began to chant “Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa.”
They both tried to conceal their natural eternally perfect love for each other, but they could not. Both became helpless due to the towering waves of prema, and their throats became choked.
dekhiyā brāhmaṇa-gaṇera haila camatkāra
vaidika brāhmaṇa saba karena vicāra
When the ritualistic Vedic brāhmaṇas who accompanied Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya saw this astonishing meeting, they were wonderstruck. They reflected within their minds:
‘ei ta’ sannyāsīra teja dekhi’ brahma-sama
śūdre āliṅgiyā kene karena krandana
ei mahārāja—mahā-paṇḍita, gambhīra
sannyāsīra sparśe matta ha-ilā asthira’
“The effulgence of this sannyāsī is like Brahman itself, but despite this, He is crying upon embracing this śūdra, Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya. Why is this?”
The Vedic brāhmaṇas considered Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya to be a supremely learned personality, naturally very grave; so why did he become so excited, like a mad person, upon touching this sannyāsī?
The Vedic brāhmaṇas were considering Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya to be a śūdra, a member of the lowest social class. The scriptures forbid sannyāsīs to touch members of the śūdra community. “This sannyāsī, who is certainly very effulgent,” the brāhmaṇas reflected, “is not only touching Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya, but He is binding him up in His tight embrace. How can this be?”
Śrī Rāmānanda had indeed described himself as a śūdra when he offered obeisances. In the district of Vidyānagara, he was the royal representative of King Pratāparudra and had experienced all the enjoyment befitting a ruler.
Due to performing service to a king, his nature and activities should have been inclined towards irreligion. His dress and ornaments were that of a servant of the king. Therefore, it was not proper for a sannyāsī to touch him at all.
In fact, Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya’s familial connection was with the kṣatriya, or administrative class of persons. Furthermore, he was a great śuddha bhakta, or pure devotee. By declaring himself a śūdra, he manifested the mood of tṛṇād-api sunīca, regarding himself lower in status than the straw on the street. Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya was a parama-bhāgavata, or a devotee of the topmost caliber, and a complete knower of bhakti-tattva.
Because the Vedic brāhmaṇas did not know the factual identity of Mahāprabhu, they took Him for a mere sannyāsī. They also considered Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya to be a supremely learned personality, naturally very grave. Why, then, did he become so restless, like a mad person, upon touching this sannyāsī? This was the cause of the Vedic brāhmaṇas’ astonishment.
ei-mata vipra-gaṇa bhāve mane mana
vijātīya loka dekhi’ prabhu kaila samvaraṇa
Śrīman Mahāprabhu is antaryāmī, or the indwelling Supersoul and supreme witness in the heart of all. Knowing that the brāhmaṇas’ sentiments were opposed to pure devotion, He concealed His emotions.
Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Prabhupāda says that these brāhmaṇas were opposed to Śrīman Mahāprabhu, whereas Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya was indeed most favorably disposed to Him, and was in fact a most surrendered and intimate devotee.
Despite being in close proximity to a pure devotee, those brāhmaṇas maintained their faith in the materialistic process of performing action with a desire for the fruits (karma-kāṇḍa). For precisely this reason, those brāhmaṇas are said to be non-devotees and opposing elements. It is proper for devotees to conceal loving exchanges in front of those who are not inclined to serving Bhagavān and who are fixed in following the materialistic path of karma.
sustha hañā duṅhe sei sthānete vasilā
tabe hāsi’ mahāprabhu kahite lāgilā
Concealing their emotions and regaining their external consciousness, they again became sober and sat down together. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu then smiled – it is never possible to obstruct the joyful bliss of the devotees – and began to speak.