20210514 Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu Teaches the Symptoms of a Vaiṣṇava to the Inhabitants of Kulīna-grāma (Part 1)

The following is a Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book Compilation given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on May 14th, 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!

Continuation of the compilation of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya book, Today's chapter is entitled as:

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu Teaches the Symptoms of a Vaiṣṇava to the Inhabitants of Kulīna-grāma – Part 1
Under the Section: The Lord Accepts Prasādam at the House of Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 15.93

śivānandake asañcayī vāsudeva dattera tattvā-vadhāyaka haite ādeśa

śivānanda sene kahe kariyā sammāna
vāsudeva-dattera tumi kariha samādhāna

Translation: The Lord also respectfully told Śivānanda Sena, “Take care of Vāsudeva Datta very nicely.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Śivānanda Sena was given responsibility for Vāsudeva Datta, like that the guru may order the disciple to do something and that disciple should therefore do it.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 15.94

parama udāra iṅho, ye dina ye āise
sei dine vyaya kare, nāhi rākhe śeṣe

Translation: “Vāsudeva Datta is very liberal. Every day, whatever income he receives, he spends. He does not keep any balance.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 15.95

gṛhastha vaiṣṇavera laukika kartavyopadeśa

‘gṛhastha’ hayena iṅho, cāhiye sañcaya
sañcaya nā kaile kuṭumba-bharaṇa nāhi haya

Translation: “Being a householder, Vāsudeva Datta needs to save some money. Because he is not doing so, it is very difficult for him to maintain his family.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Vāsudeva Dutta was a very charitable person and therefore he would give away all his income. But a gṛhastha should keep about 25% for emergencies, and he did not do it. So Lord Caitanya asked Śivānanda Sena to take care of Vāsudeva Dutta.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 15.96

ihāra gharera āya-vyaya saba—tomāra sthāne
‘sara khela’ hañā tumi kariha samādhāne

Translation: “Please take care of Vāsudeva Datta’s family affairs. Become his manager and make the proper adjustments.

Purport: Vāsudeva Datta and Śivānanda Sena were living in the same neighborhood, which is presently called Kumārahaṭṭa or Hālisahara.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 15.97

prativarṣe sakala bhaktake ‘ghāṭisamādhāna’-pūrvaka purīte ānite ājñā

prati-varṣe āmāra saba bhakta-gaṇa lañā
guṇḍicāya āsibe sabāya pālana kariyā

Translation: “Come every year and bring all My devotees with you to the Guṇḍicā festival. I also request you to maintain all of them.”

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 15.98

satyarāja rāmānandake prativarṣe paṭṭaḍorī ānite ādeśa —

kulīna-grāmīre kahe sammāna kariyā
pratyabda āsibe yātrāya paṭṭa-ḍorī lañā

Translation: The Lord then with great respect extended an invitation to all the inhabitants of Kulīna-grāma, asking them to come every year and bring silken rope to carry Lord Jagannātha during the Ratha-yātrā festival.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Lord Caitanya was giving seva, service to each devotee and in this way everyone was directly connected to the order of Lord Caitanya.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 15.99

śrīmukhe mālādhara vasukṛta ‘śrī-kṛṣṇa-vijaya’-mahimā varṇana –

guṇarāja-khāṅna kaila śrī-kṛṣṇa-vijaya
tāhāṅ eka-vākya tāṅra āche premamaya

Translation: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu then said, “Guṇarāja Khān of Kulīna-grāma compiled a book named Śrī Kṛṣṇa-vijaya, in which there is a sentence revealing the author’s ecstatic love of Kṛṣṇa.”

Purport: Śrī Kṛṣṇa-vijaya is a book of poems considered to be the first poetry book written in Bengal. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura states that this book was begun in the year 1395 Śakābda (A.D. 1473). After seven years, it was completed (in 1402 Śakābda). This book was written in plain language, and even half-educated Bengalis and women could read it very clearly. Even ordinary men with little knowledge of the alphabet could read this book and understand it. Its language is not very ornamental, and sometimes the poetry is not very sweet to hear. Although according to the sonnet style each line should contain fourteen syllables, there are sometimes sixteen, twelve or thirteen syllables in his verse. Many words used in those days could be understood only by local inhabitants, yet this book is still so popular that no bookstore is complete without it. It is very valuable for those who are interested in advancing in Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Śrī Guṇarāja Khān was one of the topmost Vaiṣṇavas, and he translated the Tenth and Eleventh Cantos of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam for the understanding of the common man. The book Śrī Kṛṣṇa-vijaya was highly praised by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and it is very valuable for all Vaiṣṇavas.

Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura gives a genealogical table and family history of Guṇarāja Khān. When a Bengali emperor named Ādiśūra first came from Kānyakubja, or Kānauj, he brought with him five brāhmaṇas and five kāyasthas. Since the king is supposed to be accompanied by his associates, the brāhmaṇas accompanied the King to help him in higher spiritual matters. The kāyasthas were to render other services. In the northern Indian high country, the kāyasthas are accepted as śūdras, but in Bengal the kāyasthas are considered among the higher castes. It is a fact that the kāyasthas came to Bengal from northern India, specifically from Kānyakubja, or Kānauj.

Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura says that the kāyasthas who came from Kānyakubja were high-class men. Of them, Daśaratha Vasu was a great personality, and the thirteenth generation of his family included Guṇarāja Khān. His real name was Mālādhara Vasu, but the title Khān was given to him by the Emperor of Bengal. Thus he became known as Guṇarāja Khān.

Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura gives the following genealogical table of Guṇarāja Khān: (1) Daśaratha Vasu; (2) Kuśala; (3) Śubhaśaṅkara; (4) Haṁsa; (5) Śaktirāma (Bāgāṇḍā), Muktirāma (Māinagara) and Alaṅkāra (Baṅgaja); (6) Dāmodara; (7) Anantarāma; (8) Guṇīnāyaka and Vīṇānāyaka. The twelfth generation included Bhagīratha, and the thirteenth Mālādhara Vasu, or Guṇarāja Khān. Śrī Guṇarāja Khān had fourteen sons, of whom the second son, Lakṣmīnātha Vasu, received the title Satyarāja Khān. His son was Śrī Rāmānanda Vasu; therefore Rāmānanda Vasu belonged to the fifteenth generation. Guṇarāja Khān was a very well known and wealthy man. His palace, fort and temples are still existing, and from these we can deduce that the opulence of Guṇarāja Khān was certainly very great. Śrī Guṇarāja Khān never cared for the artificial aristocracy introduced by Ballāl Sena.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 15.100

granthastha ekaṭī vākye prabhura tadvaṁśe ātmavikraya –

“nandanandana kṛṣṇa—mora prāṇa-nātha”
ei vākye vikāinu tāṅra vaṁśera hāta

Translation: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, “Kṛṣṇa, the son of Nanda Mahārāja, is my life and soul.’ By this statement I am sold into the hands of the descendants of Guṇarāja Khān.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, by Gunarāja Khān, Kṛṣṇa was His life and soul, He purchased Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

Purport: The full verse-referred to here is:

eka-bhāve vanda hari yoḍa kari’ hāta
nandanandana kṛṣṇa — mora prāṇa-nātha

“With folded hands I offer my prayers unto Kṛṣṇa, Nanda Mahārāja’s son, who is my life and soul.”

Haribol!