20210418 Lord Caitanya’s Devastating Dance of Ecstatic Love and Competitive Exchanges with Lord Jagannātha

The following is a Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book Compilation given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on April 18th, 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! Dear Devotees! We are continuing with the Compilation of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book, today's chapter is entitled as

Lord Caitanya’s Devastating Dance of Ecstatic Love and Competitive Exchanges with Lord Jagannātha

Jayapatākā Swami: Hari Bol! Gaurāṅga!

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 13.98

niṣpalakanetre niścala-bhāve jagannāthera prabhu-nṛtya-darśane paramānanda:—
prabhura nṛtya dekhi’ loke haila camatkāra
anya āchuk, jagannāthera ānanda apāra

Translation: Everyone was astonished by the dancing of Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and even Lord Jagannātha became extremely happy to see Him.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, in the Bengali verse, its mentions that what to speak of others, even Jagannātha was very happy. So Lord Jagannātha, He was experiencing great bliss to see Lord Caitanya’s astonishing dance.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 13.99

ratha sthira kaila, āge nā kare gamana
animiṣa-netre kare nṛtya daraśana

Translation: The car came to a complete standstill and remained immobile while Lord Jagannātha, with unblinking eyes, watched the dancing of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Lord Jagannātha to see the dancing of Lord Caitanya, he stopped His car and He just watched Lord Caitanya’s dancing.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 13.100

prabhu-nṛtya-darśane subhadrā o balarāmera harṣa:—
subhadrā-balarāmera hṛdaye ullāsa
nṛtya dekhi’ dui janāra śrī-mukhete hāsa

Translation: The goddess of fortune, Subhadrā, and Lord Balarāma both felt great happiness and ecstasy within their hearts. Indeed, they were seen smiling at the dancing.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, all the Three were smiling at seeing Lord Caitanya’s dancing.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 13.101

aṣṭa-sāttvika-bhāva-kadamba-śobhita prabhura rūpa o līlā:—
uddaṇḍa nṛtye prabhura adbhuta vikāra
aṣṭa sāttvika bhāva udaya haya sama-kāla

Translation: When Caitanya Mahāprabhu danced and jumped high, eight wonderful transformations indicative of divine ecstasy were seen in His body. All these symptoms were visible simultaneously.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, normally very advanced devotee may experience one or two of the symptoms, that too one after another. But here it is said that Lord Caitanya, He was experiencing all the eight sāttvika-bhāva simultaneously.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 13.102

māṁsa-vraṇa sama roma-vṛnda pulakita
śimulīra vṛkṣa yena kaṇṭaka-veṣṭita

Translation: His skin erupted with goose pimples, and the hairs of His body stood on end. His body resembled the śimulī [silk cotton tree], all covered with thorns.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, the śimulī tree is the tree that has thorns allover and it produces a kind of cotton, somehow Lord Caitanya looked like one of these trees, because throughout His body his skin was erupting goosebumps and hairs standing on end .

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 13.103

eka eka dantera kampa dekhite lāge bhaya
loke jāne, danta saba khasiyā paḍaya

Translation: Indeed, the people became afraid just to see His teeth chatter, and they even thought that His teeth would fall out.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Lord Caitanya was manifesting such extreme ecstatic symptoms like His teeth chattering, they thought maybe He will lose His teeth, Lord Caitanya was in an extreme ecstasy.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 13.104

sarvāṅge prasveda chuṭe tāte raktodgama
‘jaja gaga’ ‘jaja gaga’—gadgada-vacana

Translation: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s whole body flowed with perspiration and at the same time oozed blood. He made the sounds “jaja gaga, jaja gaga” in a voice choked with ecstasy.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Lord Caitanya was manifesting such ecstasies, simultaneously His teeth would chatter, His hairs were standing on end, while perspiring sometimes blood came out through His pores and then His voice chocked out and instead of saying Jagannātha, He said, “jaja gaga, jaja gaga”.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 13.105 (15:45)

jalayantra-dhārā yaiche vahe aśru-jala
āśa-pāśe loka yata bhijila sakala

Translation: Tears came forcefully from the eyes of the Lord, as if from a syringe, and all the people surrounding Him became wet.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 13.106

deha-kānti gaura-varṇa dekhiye aruṇa
kabhu kānti dekhi yena mallikā-puṣpa-sama

Translation: Everyone saw the complexion of His body change from white to pink, so that His luster resembled that of the mallikā flower.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, His bodily luster would also change color, sometimes white sometimes pink so He was in such ecstatic mood, that even His bodily color changed.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 13.107

kabhu stambha, kabhu prabhu bhūmite loṭāya
śuṣka-kāṣṭha-sama pada-hasta nā calaya

Translation: Sometimes He appeared stunned, and sometimes He rolled on the ground. Indeed, sometimes His legs and hands became as hard as dry wood, and He did not move.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, some of the ecstatic symptoms of the Lord are described in this verse.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 13.108

kabhu bhūme paḍe, kabhu śvāsa haya hīna
yāhā dekhi’ bhakta-gaṇera prāṇa haya kṣīṇa

Translation: When the Lord fell to the ground, sometimes His breathing almost stopped. When the devotees saw this, their lives also became very feeble.

Jayapatākā Swami: Since the devotees were so much depending on the Lords mercy, when they saw that He stopped breathing, they became so worried and weak at heart.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 13.109

prabhura mukhacandre pheṇāmṛta-dhārā:—
kabhu netre nāsāya jala, mukhe paḍe phena
amṛtera dhārā candra-bimbe vahe yena

Translation: Water flowed from His eyes and sometimes through His nostrils, and foam fell from His mouth. These flowing’s’ appeared to be torrents of nectar descending from the moon.

Jayapatākā Swami: These ecstatic symptoms are not visible normally, Lord Caitanya would manifest, and this was astonishing for the people, and not only the people even Lord Jagannātha was stunned to see.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 13.110

śubhānandera pāna:—
sei phena lañā śubhānanda kaila pāna
kṛṣṇa-prema-rasika teṅho mahā-bhāgyavān

Translation: The foam that fell from the mouth of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was taken and drunk by Śubhānanda because he was very fortunate and expert in relishing the mellow of ecstatic love of Kṛṣṇa.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Subhānanda took the foam that fell from Lord Caitanya's mouth, by eating that he was experiencing the blessing of ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 13.111

narttanānte prabhura kāntasaha kāntāra milanagīti-śravaṇa:—
ei-mata tāṇḍava-nṛtya kaila kata-kṣaṇa
bhāva-viśeṣe prabhura praveśila mana

Translation: After Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu had performed His devastating dance for some time, His mind entered into a mood of ecstatic love.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Lord Caitanya was dancing very intensively and then His mind entered into a special ecstatic loving mood.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 13.112

tāṇḍava-nṛtya chāḍi’ svarūpere ājñā dila
hṛdaya jāniyā svarūpa gāite lāgila

Translation: After abandoning the dancing, the Lord ordered Svarūpa Dāmodara to sing. Understanding His mind, Svarūpa Dāmodara began to sing as follows.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 13.113

śrī-dāmodara-svarūpera gīta:— tathāhi padam—
“‘sei ta parāṇa-nātha pāinu
yāhā lāgi’ madana-dahane jhuri’ genu’”

Translation: “‘Now I have gained the Lord of My life, in the absence of whom I was being burned by Cupid and was withering away.’”

Purport: This song refers to Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī’s meeting with Kṛṣṇa at the holy place of Kurukṣetra, where Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa and His brother and sister came to visit when there was a solar eclipse. It is a song of separation from Kṛṣṇa. When Rādhārāṇī met Kṛṣṇa at Kurukṣetra, She remembered His intimate association in Vṛndāvana, and She thought, “Now I have gained the Lord of My life. In His absence I was being burned by the arrow of Cupid, and thus I was withering away. Now I have My life again.”

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 13.114

gīta-śravaṇe prabhura nṛtya –
ei dhuyā uccaiḥ-svare gāya dāmodara
ānande madhura nṛtya karena īśvara

Translation: When this refrain was loudly sung by Svarūpa Dāmodara, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu again began rhythmically dancing in transcendental bliss.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Svarūpa Dāmodara understood the mood of Lord Caitanya. Lord Caitanya was in the mood of Rādhārāṇī, then Svarūpa Dāmodara sang in that mood that put Lord Caitanya in very deep ecstasy.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 13.115

jagannāthera prabhu-paścāte gamana:—
dhīre dhīre jagannātha karena gamana
āge nṛtya kari’ calena śacīra nandana

Translation: The car of Lord Jagannātha began to move slowly while the son of mother Śacī went ahead and danced in front.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 13.116

jagannāthe netra diyā sabe nāce, gāya
kīrtanīyā saha prabhu pāche pāche yāya

Translation: While dancing and singing, all the devotees in front of Lord Jagannātha kept their eyes on Him. Caitanya Mahāprabhu then went to the end of the procession with the saṅkīrtana performers.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 13.117

bahukāla-virahānte śrī-rādhā-bhāvānvita prabhura dayita śrī-kṛṣṇasaha milana:—
jagannāthe magna prabhura nayana-hṛdaya
śrī-hasta-yuge kare gītera abhinaya

Translation: His eyes and mind fully absorbed in Lord Jagannātha, Caitanya Mahāprabhu began to play the drama of the song with His two arms.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 13.118

śrī-rādhā-bhāva-subalita prabhutei kṛṣṇāpekṣā adhika prema:—
gaura yadi pāche cale, śyāma haya sthire
gaura āge cale, śyāma cale dhīre-dhīre

Translation: When Caitanya Mahāprabhu was dramatically enacting the song, He would sometimes fall behind in the procession. At such times, Lord Jagannātha would come to a standstill. When Caitanya Mahāprabhu again went forward, Lord Jagannātha’s car would slowly start again.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 13.119

ei-mata gaura-śyāme, doṅhe ṭhelāṭheli
svarathe śyāmere rākhe gaura mahā-balī

Translation: Thus ,there was a sort of competition between Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Lord Jagannātha in seeing who would lead, but Caitanya Mahāprabhu was so strong that He made Lord Jagannātha wait in His car.

Purport: In his Anubhāṣya, Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura describes the ecstasy of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu as follows. After giving up the company of the gopīs in Vṛndāvana, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the son of Mahārāja Nanda, engaged in His pastimes at Dvārakā. When Kṛṣṇa went to Kurukṣetra with His brother and sister and others from Dvārakā, He again met the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is rādhā-bhāva-dyuti-suvalita, that is, Kṛṣṇa Himself assuming the part of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī in order to understand Kṛṣṇa. Lord Jagannātha-deva is Kṛṣṇa, and Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu is Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s leading Lord Jagannātha toward the Guṇḍicā temple corresponded to Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī’s leading Kṛṣṇa toward Vṛndāvana. Śrī Kṣetra, Jagannātha Purī, was taken as the kingdom of Dvārakā, the place where Kṛṣṇa enjoys supreme opulence. But He was being led by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu to Vṛndāvana, the simple village where all the inhabitants are filled with ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa. Śrī Kṣetra is a place of aiśvarya-līlā, just as Vṛndāvana is the place of mādhurya-līlā. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s following at the rear of the ratha indicated that Lord Jagannātha, Kṛṣṇa, was forgetting the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana. Although Kṛṣṇa neglected the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana, He could not forget them. Thus in His opulent Ratha-yātrā, He was returning to Vṛndāvana. In the role of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was examining whether the Lord still remembered the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana. When Caitanya Mahāprabhu fell behind the Ratha car, Jagannātha-deva, Kṛṣṇa Himself, understood the mind of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. Therefore, Jagannātha sometimes fell behind the dancing Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu to indicate to Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī that He had not forgotten. Thus Lord Jagannātha would stop the forward march of the ratha and wait at a standstill. In this way Lord Jagannātha agreed that without the ecstasy of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī He could not feel satisfied. While Jagannātha was thus waiting, Gaurasundara, Caitanya Mahāprabhu, in His ecstasy of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, immediately came forward to Kṛṣṇa. At such times, Lord Jagannātha would proceed ahead very slowly. These competitive exchanges were all part of the love affair between Kṛṣṇa and Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. In that competition between Lord Caitanya’s ecstasy for Jagannātha and Jagannātha’s ecstasy for Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, Caitanya Mahāprabhu emerged successful.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Lord Caitanya is Kṛṣṇa with the heart and color of Rādhārāṇī . So, by having the mood and heart of Rādhārāṇī, He was playing the part of Rādhārāṇī with Lord Jagannātha. So, this is the example of ecstatic exchange between Lord Caitanya and Lord Jagannātha, Kṛṣṇa.