Śrīkhaṇḍa village is situated one mile from Śrīpāṭa Śrīkhaṇḍa railway station on the line between Vardhamāna and Kaṭavā, and is the residence of Śrī Narahari Sarakāra Ṭhākura. Numerous eminent and celebrated Vaiṣṇavas resided here, such as Mukunda Ṭhākura, Śrī Raghunandana, Śrī Cirañjīva, Sulocana, Dāmodara Kavirāja, Rāmacandra Kavirāja, Govinda Kavirāja, Balarāma dāsa, Ratikānta Ṭhākura, Rāma-gopāla dāsa, Pītāmbara dāsa, Śacīnandana dāsa and Jagadānanda. Among the places of darśana here are Śrī Narahari Sarakāra’s house and place of bhajana, Madhu-puṣkariṇī, Baḍaḍāṅgā bhajana-sthalī, the deities of Śrī Gopīnātha and Śrī Gaurāṅga, as well as the deities established by Raghunandana’s son Kanhāī Ṭhākura – Viṣṇupriyā, Śyāma-rāya and Madana-gopāla.
Śrī Narahari Sarakāra Ṭhākura
In Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes Narahari Sarakāra Ṭhākura was the prāṇa-sakhī Madhumati. He appeared in 1405 of the Śaka Era (A.D. 1483). His father’s name was Nārāyaṇadeva and mother was Guī-devī. His elder brother was Mukunda Ṭhākura, whose son was the well-known Raghunandana Ṭhākura. Narahari Ṭhākura was a noted scholar, poet and a rasika Vaiṣṇava. Even before meeting Śrīman Mahāprabhu he composed poetry in both Sanskrit and Bengali about Śrī Rādhā-Govinda’s pastimes. He and Gadādhara Paṇḍita later lived with and served Śrīman Mahāprabhu. His own specific service to Mahāprabhu was fanning Him with a cāmara. He composed Bhakti-candrikakā Paṭala, Śrī Kṛṣṇa-bhajanāmṛtam, Śrī Caitanya-sahasra-nāma, Śrī Śacīnandanāṣṭaka and Śrī Rādhāṣṭaka. He also composed much sweet, nectar-like poetry. His deity of Śrī Gaurāṅga is still being worshipped here. Śrī Raghunandana, the son of his elder brother Mukunda Ṭhākura, continued his family line.
Once, Śrī Gauracandra and Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu came to Śrīkhaṇḍa and asked Śrī Narahari Ṭhākura for some honey to drink. With his powers Śrī Narahari Ṭhākura transformed the water of a nearby pond into honey, and in this way they were satisfied. That pond is still called Madhu-puṣkariṇī, the pond of honey.
Śrī Mukunda Sarakāra Ṭhākura
Mukunda Ṭhākura is the elder brother of Narahari Sarakāra Ṭhākura, who is in a branch of the Caitanya tree. His son was Raghunandana. Mukunda Ṭhākura married on the order of Mahāprabhu and was the royal physician of Hussein Shah, the emperor of Bengal. One day, while sitting on an elevated platform beside the king, Mukunda observed the royal servant fanning the king with a fan of peacock feathers. Seeing the peacock feathers, he became overwhelmed in ecstatic rapture and fell to the ground in a faint. When he regained consciousness he excused his behaviour by telling the inquisitive king that he suffered from epilepsy. The king, however, could understand that Mukunda’s fainting had been caused by his internal sentiments, and the king’s respect for him increased. Mukunda later left the post of royal physician to study devotional literature in Navadvīpa with Mahāprabhu.
One day in Jagannātha Purī, Śrīman Mahāprabhu asked Mukunda, “Is Raghunandana your son or are you his son?”
With great humility Mukunda answered, “Raghunandana is my father.”
“Why?” Mahāprabhu asked.
“Because through him I have attained bhagavad-bhakti and affection for You.”
These words greatly pleased Mahāprabhu and His devotees.
Narahari Sarakāra helped raise Raghunandana, the son of Mukunda Ṭhākura. In his early childhood, Raghunandana’s love-filled devotion induced Gopīnātha, the family deity, to eat a sweet ball made of rice. And, by the influence of Raghunandana a kadamba tree on Madhu-puṣkariṇī’s bank would give just two kadamba flowers daily, which he used in the worship of Śrī Gopīnātha.
Once Śrī Abhirāma Gosvāmī came to Śrīkhaṇḍa. Whomever Abhirāma Gosvāmī paid his obeisances to would die. But when, he offered his obeisances to Raghunandana Ṭhākura, he accepted them and embraced Abhirāma. Raghunandana then took him to the kīrtana at the bhajana-sthalī in Baḍaḍāṅgā.
Śrī Narahari Sarakāra once became so absorbed in dancing in the kīrtana at Baḍaḍāṅga that his anklebell (nūpura) broke off and landed in the home of his disciple, Kṛṣṇadāsa, who lived in Ākāīhāṭa some distance away. Even today there is a pond in Ākāīhāṭa known as Nūpura-kuṇḍa.
Śrīman Mahāprabhu, who inaugurated saṅkīrtana, considered Raghunandana His son. On the adhivāsa [the day before a function begins], of Śrīman Mahāprabhu’s saṅkīrtana-yajña, Mahāprabhu gave Raghunandana the privilege of offering garlands, sandalwood pulp and other articles to the devotees present, and on the day of the festival’s completion He had him perform the ritual of breaking the pot filled with yogurt and turmeric.
[Excerpted from the Gaudiya Vedanta Publications “Sri Sri Navadvipa-dhama“]