20210320 King Pratāparudra Meets Advaita Ācārya

The following is a Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book Compilation given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on March 20th, 2021 in Śrī Dhāma 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!

Hare Kṛṣṇa! Today we will continue with the compilation of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya book, today’s chapter is entitled as:

King Pratāparudra Meets Advaita Ācārya

Murāri-Gupta-Kaḍaca 4.16.6

Translation: Later, when the king was informed that the Supreme Lords were tasting the delights of congregational kīrtana, he came and gazed upon those two oceans of mercy.

Murāri-Gupta-Kaḍaca 4.16.7

Translation: The Lords' bodies were decorated by tears, eruptions and trembling, and from Their noses and mouths flowed nectarean saliva. Gazing upon those two Lords thus ornamented, the king also wept and his hairs thrilled in rapture.

Murāri-Gupta-Kaḍaca 4.16.8

Translation: Very satisfied, he returned to his home and went to sleep. Then in a dream he saw the two Lords. Their forms exhibited the bliss of kīrtana, and They were seated upon jeweled lion-thrones.

Murāri-Gupta-Kaḍaca 4.16.9

Translation: With great happiness, he beheld those enemies of Pralamba and Mura (Balarāma and Kṛṣṇa), perpetually and totally absorbed in Their glorious pastimes. "Oh! What is this? What is this?" Pratāparudra cried as he fainted, falling to the earth with great force. When he arose, he again saw the two Prabhus.

Murāri-Gupta-Kaḍaca 4.16.10

Translation: Thrice he saw this dream. Losing all sobriety because of prema, he wept. Then arising swiftly he went nearby Gaurāṅga's lotus feet.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, in Jagannātha Purī, The Lord is present as Jagannātha, Baladeva and Subhadrā. So, seeing the two Lords, Jagannātha, Baladeva are present, he saw like Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma present, and then Lord Caitanya and Lord Nitāi, Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma.

Murāri-Gupta-Kaḍaca 4.16.11

Translation: Again and again he fell flat to the earth before them offering obeisances. Then weeping profusely and holding the lotus feet of Prabhu to his heart, he offered praises to the Lord of all beings, the first among all persons:

Jayapatākā Swami: So, in his dream he was holding the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya.

Murāri-Gupta-Kaḍaca 4.16.12

Translation: "Glories! Glories, O Lord of the universe! O, the revealer of the complete spectrum of love of God! O You who reside in the hearts of all beings! O bliss personified. O You who lie on the bed of Ananta Śeṣa Nāga, the king of snakes! Your lotus feet are kissed by the intoxicated bees of the devotees’ minds. Friend of the distressed! Kindly protect me, who am afflicted by separation from You.

Murāri-Gupta-Kaḍaca 4.16.13

Translation: While the king offered praise, Mahāprabhu, the protector of all sentient beings, displayed a radiant, wonderful, magnificent and filled with immense opulence form of six-arms revealing His own greatness.

Murāri-Gupta-Kaḍaca 4.16.14

Translation: Glory to the golden moon of Kṛṣṇa Caitanya, who displays unbounded love, complete joy and ultimate charm. His eyes forever rove to and fro like bees in search of honey. Glory to the forever blissful Nityānanda, who is Balarāma Himself. His personality is filled with divine sweetness and intoxicated by Gaura-prema His form is sublimely personal and peaceful.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, King Pratāparudra is having this realization of Kṛṣṇa Caitanya and Lord Nityānanda. By the mercy of the Lord, one is able to understand His true position

Murāri-Gupta-Kaḍaca 4.16.15

Translation: With His upper pair of hands, Gaura Candra brandished a bow and arrow, with the middle pair He held an excellent flute to His broad chest, and the lower pair of hands were held in a very graceful dancing posture. Thus, the monarch saw the complete form of Gaura Candra, which was filled with love of Kṛṣṇa.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, this six handed form of Lord Caitanya, displayed the upper arms as Lord Rāma, holding the bow and arrows. In His middle hands He displayed as Kṛṣṇa holding the flute, and in the lower two hands, He showed as Lord Caitanya, dancing in ecstasy.

Murāri-Gupta-Kaḍaca 4.16.16

Translation: Having seen that six-armed form of the Lord, Pratāparudra Mahārāja was reminded of the intense sweetness of Śrī Hari and Rāma's rāsa-līlā pastimes, and his body became covered by ecstatic eruptions and tears of love. Thus, while dancing he recited a few auspicious verses describing Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma, in Their ecstatic intoxicated mood arising from Their own spiritual bliss, amidst the assembled gopīs, which form the supreme relishable essence of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

Murāri-Gupta-Kaḍaca 4.16.17

Translation: It is stated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Tenth Canto, Thirty-fourth Chapter, verses 20 - 23: “Once (Holikā-pūrṇimā, a day also known as Gaura-pūrṇimā) Lord Govinda and Lord Rāma, the performers of wonderful feats, were playing in the forest at night with the young girls of Vraja.

Murāri-Gupta-Kaḍaca 4.16.18

Translation: "Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma wore flower garlands and spotless garments, and Their limbs were beautifully decorated and anointed. The women sang Their glories in a charming way, bound to Them by affection.

Murāri-Gupta-Kaḍaca 4.16.19

Translation: "The two Lords praised the nightfall, signaled by the rising of the moon and the appearance of stars, a lotus-scented breeze and bees intoxicated by the fragrance of jasmine flowers.

Murāri-Gupta-Kaḍaca 4.16.20

Translation: When all the great souls headed by Sārvabhauma saw their great Master, the illustrious son of Śacī, displaying His six-armed form, and Nityānanda Rāma appearing as Balarāma, the son of Rohiṇī, they also became completely decorated by tears and thrill-bumps. Thus, they became overwhelmed and immersed in singing immortal nectarean songs describing the qualities of Śrī Kṛṣṇa.

Jayapatākā Swami: So the associates of Lord Caitanya were in Jagannātha Purī also could see this six-handed form of Lord Caitanya. They could see Lord Caitanya, Kṛṣṇa and Nitāi as Balarāma. So, in this way their bodies erupted with hairs standing on end and tears of love flowed from their eyes.

Caitanya Carita Mahā Kāvya 14 .59

Translation: Pratāparudra, after having a dream, sent a palanquin and put Advaita on it, and brought him.

Caitanya Carita Mahā Kāvya 14 .60

Translation: Advaita was worried. “Knowing that I am conversing with a king, what will Gauracandra say to me?”

Caitanya Carita Mahā Kāvya 14 .61

Translation: Though Advaita was the Lord he trembled in fear of Gauracandra. He brought Vāsudeva Datta with him.

Caitanya Carita Mahā Kāvya 14 .62

Translation: Some followers of Advaita, surrendered to Gaurāṅga’s lotus feet, went with him on the road to Kaṭaka.

Caitanya Carita Mahā Kāvya 14 .63

Translation: Hari-dāsa and other great devotees, letting Śrīvāsa go ahead, went to Haṁseśvara.

Caitanya Carita Mahā Kāvya 14 .64

Translation: Spending the day there, they saw the deity of Śiva, and the next morning rose thoroughly refreshed and continued walking in joy.

Caitanya Carita Mahā Kāvya 14 .65

Translation: At some distance, Śrīvāsa and others who had gone ahead were waiting. Their eagerness doubled as the other devotees approached.

Caitanya Carita Mahā Kāvya 14 .66

Translation: The great-minded Advaita met with them, while thinking, “We will see the effulgence of Gaurāṅga’s toe-nails.”

Caitanya Carita Mahā Kāvya 14 .67

Translation: Together then went to Kamalaka-pura in great joy, spreading kīrtana everywhere.

Caitanya Carita Mahā Kāvya 14 .68

Translation: Coming to the river, they bathed and gazed at the temple, for a long time. With its towering pinnacle, it seemed the sun had fallen from the sky.

Caitanya Carita Mahā Kāvya 14 .69

Translation: With joy they saw the temple of Jagannātha shining like a million suns, endowed with nectar.

Caitanya Carita Mahā Kāvya 14 .70

Translation: The great devotees gazed at the temple which gives bliss to all beings.

Caitanya Carita Mahā Kāvya 14 .71

Translation: Seeing the temple, their hairs stood on end in joy as great as the size of the temple.

Caitanya Carita Mahā Kāvya 14 .72

Translation: Seeing the temple, they felt an ocean of happiness. They trembled and offered respects while performing kīrtana.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, seeing the temple from the distance they felt great ecstasy. Actually, when one comes to Jagannātha Purī, from a distance one can see the temple, and one feels great spiritual joy. So, that’s why the temple is made high, so that we can see it from a distance and remember Kṛṣṇa. Devotees seeing the temple from a distance were trembling in ecstasy and they offered their respects.

Caitanya Carita Mahā Kāvya 14 .73

Translation: Receiving a pure garland sent by Gauracandra, Advaita was overjoyed.

Caitanya Carita Mahā Kāvya 14 .74

Translation: Overcome with happiness, Advaita danced along with the devotees who, joyful with prema, were doing constant kīrtana.

Caitanya Carita Mahā Kāvya 14 .75

Translation: Dancing and chanting, greedy for Gaurāṅga, they arrived at the bank of Narendra Lake and proceeded happily.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, in Narendra Sarovar, they perform the Candana Yātrā for 21 days and Lord Jagannātha, He goes on a boat. In Māyāpur we observe the Candana Yātrā, but with the boat festival we observe it for a week. But here in Narendra Sarovar they observe it for twenty-one days and it is a very big lake, and the deity goes around the lake. So the devotees are very blissful while the Lord is taking His boat ride.

Thus, ends the chapter entitled, King Pratāparudra Meets Ādvaita Ācārya.