20201231 The Four-armed and Six-armed Form of Lord Caitanya

Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book Compilation

By His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on 31^st December 2020 in

Śrīdhāma Māyāpur, India

mūkaṁ karoti vācālaṁ paṅguṁ laṅghayate girim
yat-kṛpā tam ahaṁ vande śrī-guruṁ dīna-tāraṇam
paramānandaṁ mādhavaṁ śrī caitanya iśvaram

hariḥ oṁ tat sat

Introduction: Today we are continuing with the compilation of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya book, today’s chapter entitled:

The Four-armed and Six-armed Form of Lord Caitanya

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 3.99

sārvabhaumera vismaya—
vyākhyāśuni' sārvabhauma parama vismita
mane bhāve “ei kibāīśvara vidita”

Jayapatākā Swami: Hearing the interpretation by Lord Caitanya, Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya was greatly bewildered or astonished and He was thinking to himself, “Is He the Supreme Lord, Himself?”

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 6.199

sārvabhaumera ātmaglāni :—
śuni’ bhaṭṭācāryera mane haila camatkāra
prabhuke kṛṣṇa jāni’ kare āpanā dhikkāra

Translation: Upon hearing Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s explanation of the ātmārāma verse, Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya was struck with wonder. He then understood Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu to be Kṛṣṇa in person, and he thus condemned himself in the following words.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 6.200

‘iṅho ta’ sākṣāt kṛṣṇa,—muñi nā jāniyā
mahā-aparādha kainu garvita ha-iyā’

Translation: “Caitanya Mahāprabhu is certainly Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself. Because I could not understand Him and was very proud of my own learning, I have committed many offenses.”

Caitanya Carita Mahā Kāvya 12.31

tad eṣa kaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ khalu nānyathaiva
caritram etad gamakaṁ hi tatra
itthaṁ vicintyaiva hṛdā hṛdīśaṁ
nanāma romāṣca-samaṣcitāṅgaḥ

Translation: “He must be Kṛṣṇa.  This can be understood from his actions.” Thinking in this way, he offered respects to the Lord of his heart, while his hairs stood on end.

Jayapatākā Swami:  Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya was in complete ecstasy and some of those symptoms were like his hairs standing on end.

Caitanya Maṅgala, Madhya-khaṇḍa 16.241

ekhane śunila e vedāntasiddhānta
ei mahāprabhu sei sarasvatī-kānta

Jayapatākā Swami: Now that I have heard the conclusion of Vedānta, this Caitanya Mahāprabhu must be the Lord of Goddess Sarasvatī, the Goddess of learning.

Caitanya Maṅgala, Madhya-khaṇḍa 16.242

eta anumāni sārvabhauma dvijarāja
karajoḍe stuti kare dekhiyā se kāja

Jayapatākā Swami: Contemplating in this way, Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya, the king of the brāhmaṇas with folded palm, he started offering his prayers having seen the action of the Lord Caitanya.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 6.201

sārvabhaumera prabhupade śaraṇāgati o prabhura kṛpā :—
ātmanindā kari’ laila prabhura śaraṇa
kṛpā karibāre tabe prabhura haila mana

Translation: When Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya denounced himself as an offender and took shelter of the Lord, the Lord desired to show him mercy.

Jayapatākā Swami: Hari Bol! If one even commits offences at the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya, later after denouncing himself and begging for pardon, and taking shelter of the Lord, the Lord reciprocates and wants to show His mercy.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 6.202

prabhura pūrve caturbhuja, pare dvibhuja rūpa-pradarśana :—
nija-rūpa prabhu tāṅre karāila darśana
caturbhuja-rūpa prabhu hailā takhana

Translation: To show him mercy, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu allowed him to see His Viṣṇu form. Thus He immediately assumed four hands.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 6.203

dekhāila tāṅre āge caturbhuja- rūpa
pāche śyāma-vaṃśī-mukha svakīya svarūpa

Translation: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu first showed him the four-handed form and then appeared before him in His original form of Kṛṣṇa, with a blackish complexion and a flute to His lips.

Caitanya Carita Mahā Kāvya 12.32

niryad-vilolākṣi-sarāḥ sa reme
samudgamo’sau stuti-naty-upetaḥ
prasādayāmāsa vibhuṁ sa cāpi
kṛpaika-sindhuḥ prasasāda tatra

Translation: With tears flowing from his rolling eyes, singing verses of praise and offering respects, hairs standing on end, he pleased the Lord.  The Lord, an ocean of mercy, pleased him.

Caitanya Carita Mahā Kāvya 12.33

pradarśayāmāsa caturbhujatvaṁ
divākarāṇāṁ śata-koṭi-bhāsvat
tato’dhikaṁ so’pi nananda vipras
tato’dhikaṁ ca stavam apy akārṣīt

Translation: The Lord showed his four-armed form, shining brighter than a million suns. The brāhmaṇa became ever more blissful and recited praises.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Lord Caitanya showed His Nārāyaṇa for with four hands, and then showed His two-handed form as Kṛṣṇa with a flute. In this way Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya he was overwhelmed with the mercy of the Lord.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 3.100

sārvabhaumera nikaṭa prabhura ṣaḍbhuja mūrti prakāśa o prabhura sannyāsera gūḍha-uddeśya-kathana-līlā—
śloka vyākhyā kare prabhu kariyā huṅkāra
ātma-bhāve hailā ṣaḍ-bhuja-avatāra

Jayapatākā Swami: After explaining the ātmārāma verse, Lord Caitanya He loudly roared and showing His spiritual form, showing His own transcendental form with the incarnation of six arms.

Caitanya Maṅgala, Madhya-khaṇḍa 16.243

henai samaye prabhu ṣaḍbhuja śarīra
dekhi’ sārvabhauma hailā ānande asthira

Jayapatākā Swami: At that time Lord Gaurāṅga manifested His six-armed form and Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya seeing this form of Lord, he became overwhelmed in ecstasy. Even today in Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya’s house, there is a painting of Lord Caitanya with six arms. So, this six-armed form was shown here to Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya, two arms of Lord Rāmacandra, two arms of Lord Kṛṣṇa and two arms of Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

Caitanya Maṅgala, Madhya-khaṇḍa 16.244

ūrddha duihāthe dhare dhanu āra śara
madhya duihāte dhare muralī adhara

Jayapatākā Swami: In the upper hands the Lord held a bow and arrow, the form of Lord Rāma. In His middle hands, He was holding a flute to His lips, with His two hands, this was Kṛṣṇa.

Caitanya Maṅgala, Madhya-khaṇḍa 16.245

namra duihāte dhare daṇḍa kamuṇḍala
dekhi’ sārvabhauma hailā ānande vihvala

Jayapatākā Swami: In His lower two hands, He was holding the sannyāsa daṇḍa and kamaṇḍalu, representing Lord Caitanya. When Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya saw this, he became overwhelmed with ecstasy.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 3.101

prabhu bale,—“sārvabhauma, ki tora vicāra
sannyāse āmāra nāhi haya adhikāra?

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Caitanya said, “O Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya, what is your judgement? Am I qualified to take sannyasa, or be a sannyāsī?

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 3.102

`sannyāsī' ki āmi hena tora citte laya?
tora lāgi' ethā āmi hailuṅ udaya

Jayapatākā Swami: “What do you consider me? Do you think  I am a mere sannyāsī? I came here, appeared here for your sake.”

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 3.103

bahu janma mora preme tyajili jīvana
ataeva tore āmi diluṅ daraśana

Jayapatākā Swami: Many lives you have tried to achieve pure love for Me, and thus spending lives in renunciation. Therefore, I am revealing Myself to you.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 3.104

saṅkīrtana ārambhe mohāra avatāra
ananta-brahmāṇḍe muñi vahi nāhi āra

Jayapatākā Swami: I have incarnated to inaugurate the saṅkīrtana, congregational chanting of the Holy name movement. Throughout the unlimited universes There is nothing other than Me.

Purport by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura: Sārvabhauma had said that since Gaurasundara was young, He was not qualified for sannyāsa. In protest of this statement, Śrī Gaurasundara displayed His six-armed form and said, “I alone am qualified. Since you performed severe austerities for many lifetimes in your eagerness to see Me, I have come to you in Nīlācala. Innumerable universes are within Me. You hankered for My affection birth after birth.”

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Lord Caitanya, He is fulfilling this desire of Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya, by giving him pure love of Kṛṣṇa, showing Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya His transcendental form, I don’t think He had shown this six-handed form anyone previously in this pastime.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 3.105

janma janma tumi mora śuddha-prema-dāsa
ataeva tore muñi hailuṅ prakāśa

Jayapatākā Swami: Birth after birth, You are My pure loving servant, therefore I have revealed Myself to you.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 3.106

sādhu uddhārimu, duṣṭa vināśimu saba
cintā kichu nāhi tora, paḍa mora stava”

Jayapatākā Swami: “I shall deliver the pious persons and destroy the miscreants. Do not worry about anything. Just offer prayers to Me.”

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 3.107

sārvabhaumera stava:—
apūrva ṣaḍ-bhuja-mūrti—koṭi sūrya-maya
dekhi' mūrcchā gelā sārvabhauma mahāśaya

Jayapatākā Swami: The six-armed form of Lord Caitanya was incomparably wonderful and was more effulgent than millions of suns. When Sārvabhauma Bhattacarya Mahāśaya saw this form, he lost consciousness and fell to the ground.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 3.108

viśāla karena prabhu huṅkāra garjana
ānande ṣaḍ-bhuja gauracandra nārāyaṇa

Jayapatākā Swami: When this happened, Lord Caitanya in His six-armed loudly roared in ecstasy, Lord Gauracandra Nārāyaṇa in His six-handed form was very blissful.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 6.204

sārvabaumer stava:—
dekhi’ sārvabhauma daṇḍavat kari’ paḍi’
punaḥ uṭhi’ stuti kare dui kara yuḍi’

Translation: When Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya saw the form of Lord Kṛṣṇa manifested in Caitanya Mahāprabhu, he immediately fell down flat to offer Him obeisances. Then he stood up and with folded hands began to offer prayers.

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Caitanya was giving His special mercy to Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya. Usually, Lord Caitanya covered Himself by His different potencies and He would not let people to understand who He was, but with Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya, He was so pleased that He revealed to him His actual identity. That He was Kṛṣṇa, He was the source of all avatāras and that He had come as a sannyāsī to establish the saṅkīrtana sacrifice.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 6.205

prabhu- kṛpāya tāṅhāra citte tattva-sphuṛtti :—
prabhura kṛpāya tāṅra sphurila saba tattva
nāma-prema-dāna-ādi varṇena mahattva

Translation: By the mercy of the Lord, all truths were revealed to Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya, and he could understand the importance of chanting the holy name and distributing love of Godhead everywhere.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, in this way, we can see that the special mercy of Lord Caitanya and the importance of spreading the chanting of the holy names, is special dispensation for us to be part of this Caitanya Mahāprabhu saṅkīrtana movement.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 6.206

druta racanā-śakti:—
śata śloka kaila eka daṇḍa nā yāite
bṛhaspati taiche śloka nā pāre karite

Translation: Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya composed one hundred verses in a very short time. Indeed, not even Bṛhaspati, the priest of the heavenly planets, could compose verses as quickly.

Purport: The name of the book of one hundred beautiful verses composed by Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya is Suśloka-śataka.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 6.207

prabhura āliṅgane sārvabhaumera sāttvika-bhāva :—
śuni’ sukhe prabhu tāṅre kaila āliṅgana
bhaṭṭācārya premāveśe haila acetana

Translation: After hearing the one hundred verses, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu happily embraced Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya, who was immediately overwhelmed in ecstatic love of Godhead and fell unconscious.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 6.208

aśru, stambha, pulaka, sveda, kampa tharahari
nāce, gāya, kānde, paḍe prabhu-pada dhari’

Translation: Out of ecstatic love of God, the Bhaṭṭācārya shed tears, and his body was stunned. He exhibited an ecstatic mood, and he perspired, shook and trembled. He sometimes danced, sometimes chanted, sometimes cried and sometimes fell down to touch the lotus feet of the Lord.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, we can see if one gets the mercy of Lord Caitanya, they get pure love of Godhead and they are dancing in ecstasy. All the ecstatic symptoms are manifested in their body. Gauranga!

Thus ends the chapter entitled, The Four-armed and Six-armed Form of Lord Caitanya.