20210908 Seeing Mahāvana Part 1

The following is a Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book Compilation Given By His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on 8th September 2021 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!

Hare Kṛṣṇa! Dear Devotees! Today We will continuing with the compilation of Caitanya līlā book, today chapter is entitled:

Seeing Mahāvana Part 1 
Under the Section: The Lord Travels to Vṛndāvana

Caitanya Maṅgala, Śeṣa-khaṇḍa 2.132

paṭhamañjarī raga saptasamudrakuṇḍa ihāra uttare
devakīra sāta putra mārite pāthare

Translation: “North of Setubandha Sarovara is Saptasamudra-kuṇḍa, where Devakī’s six sons were dashed to death on a stone.”

Jayapatākā Swami: So, King Kaṁsā he killed all the six sons of Mother Devakī, and seventh son Balarāma, He appeared like a miscarriage, and He was transferred to Mother Rohiṇī and the eight son was Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa.

Caitanya Maṅgala, Śeṣa-khaṇḍa 2.133

ihāra uttare dekha liṅga-bhūteśbara
dekha sarasvatī-kuṇḍa purīra uttara

Translation: To the North of Saptasamudra-kunda is Liṅga-bhūteśvara. Sarasvatī-kuṇḍa sits north of the palace.

Jayapatākā Swami: So Kṛṣṇa dāsa is describing each holy place one after another.

Caitanya Maṅgala, Śeṣa-khaṇḍa 2.134

eikhāne dekha daśa-aśbamedha-ghāṭa
ihāra dakṣiṇe soma-tīrthera e bāṭa

Translation: Here is Daśa-aśvamedha Ghāṭa with Soma-tīrtha on its southern part.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Daśāśvamedha Ghāṭa means the ghāṭa where ten aśvamedha yajñas were performed. Soma tīrtha, Soma means moon, so this tīrtha is related to the Moon god.

Caitanya Maṅgala, Śeṣa-khaṇḍa 2.135

kaṇṭhābharaṇa-majjana ihāraakṣiṇe
nāgatīrtha-dhārā bahe pātālagamane

Translation: “Lord Krsna's necklaces once fell into a lake south of Soma-tīrtha, which has an underground stream called Nāga-tīrtha.”

Caitanya Maṅgala, Śeṣa-khaṇḍa 2.136

saṁyamana-ādi kuṇḍa ghāṭe gelā tabe
purī pradakṣiṇa kare nija anubhabe

Translation: They visited Saṁyamana-tīrtha, some other kuṇḍas, then circumambulated the palace according to their own ecstasy.

Caitanya Maṅgala, Śeṣa-khaṇḍa 2.137

eimane bhramite bhramite dina gela
bhikṣā kariyā prabhu rajanī bañcila

Translation: After traveling through the sacred places in Mathurā, Lord Caitanya begged alms and took rest.

Caitanya Maṅgala, Śeṣa-khaṇḍa 2.138

utkaṇṭhāya ākula-dīghala bhela rāti
pohāila pohāila puche hiyāra ārati

Translation: The night seemed terribly long due to Lord Caitanya's intense eagerness and anxiety and He constantly asked with heart’s desire if the night has ended.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Lord Caitanya was very eager to continue His parikramā, for Him the night was very long.

Caitanya Maṅgala, Śeṣa-khaṇḍa 2.139

rajanī prabhāta haila—hiyāra ullāsa
prātaḥkriyā kari’ bole-āisa kṛṣṇadāsa

Translation: The night ended and morning came and with happy heart, the Lord did His morning duties of bathing and said, “Come Kṛṣṇadāsa.”

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Lord Caitanya was very eager to see some more pastimes places and after finishing His morning duties He called Kṛṣṇa dāsa to take Him to some more

Caitanya Maṅgala, Śeṣa-khaṇḍa 2.140

kṛṣṇadāsa bole prabhu śunaha vacana
mathurāmaṇḍala-bhumi ekuiśa yojana

Translation: Kṛṣṇadāsa continued. "O my Lord Caitanya, Mathurā-maṇḍala covers twenty yojanas [ 160 miles] of land.

Caitanya Maṅgala, Śeṣa-khaṇḍa 2.141

dvādaśa bana haya chaya-yojana-bhitara
yekhāne ye kaila kṛṣṇa dekhāba sakala

Translation: The twelve forests occupy forty-eight miles. I will show You, Lord Caitanya, all the places of Lord Sri Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, he is taking Lord Caitanya to the twelve forests and showing various pastime places of Lord Kṛṣṇa.

Caitanya Maṅgala, Śeṣa-khaṇḍa 2.142

nāradacana kaṁsa śune eikhāne
vasudeva devakīre rākhe eisthāne

Translation: Here King Kamsa heard Nārada Muni telling about Kṛṣṇa’s birth. Over here is the place where Kamsa imprisoned Vasudeva and mother Devakī.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, King Kaṁsā was very cruel, and he arrested Vasudeva and Devakī, but after Kṛṣṇa was born, there is no use to arrest them anymore.

Caitanya Maṅgala, Śeṣa-khaṇḍa 2.143

eikhāne haila kṛṣṇa caturbhuja dekhi
ethā parihāra māge vāsudeva devakī

Translation: Here Lord Kṛṣṇa showed His four-armed Visnu form to Vasudeva and Devakī who pleaded to Kṛṣṇa to hide his four-armed Visnu form.

Jayapatākā Swami: Normally when children are born, they are not born with long hair, crown, yellow cloth and four arms, but Kṛṣṇa wanted to prove Vasudeva and Devakī that He was the Supreme Personality of Godhead who has come as their child.

Caitanya Maṅgala, Śeṣa-khaṇḍa 2.144

eikhāne vasudeva kṛṣṇa lañā kole
nidrāya praharigaṇa paḍi gela bhole

Translation: This is the spot where Vasudeva carried baby Kṛṣṇa and here King Kamsa’s guards were baffled sleeping.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Kṛṣṇa dāsa showed all the pastime places in Mathurā.

Caitanya Maṅgala, Śeṣa-khaṇḍa 2.145

phaṇā-chatra dhariyā vāsuki pāche dhāya
yamunāte pāra se śṛgālī āge yāya

Translation: At this place the servant Vāsuki protected Kṛṣṇa like an umbrella with his hoods walked behind, and in front walked the she-jackal as a guide to Vasudeva, who crossed the river Yamunā.

Jayapatākā Swami: Since there was stormy weather and rain and thunder, the serpent Vāsukī gave protection to Kṛṣṇa and Vasudeva and then a she-jackal was leading the way.

Caitanya Maṅgala, Śeṣa-khaṇḍa 2.146

ei mahāvane nandaghoṣera basati
nide prasavilā kanyā yaśodā puṇyavatī

Translation: “This forest is called Mahāvana, the site of Nanda Maharaja’s palace, where Yaśodā in her sleep gave birth to a daughter.”

Jayapatākā Swami: So, this was predicted to Vasudeva that Yaśoda would have a baby girl that he should take the girl and leave Kṛṣṇa in her place.

So, now we have entered into Māhavana.

Caitanya Maṅgala, Śeṣa-khaṇḍa 2.147

nanda ghare putra thuiyā kanyāre ānila
devakīra kanyā bali’ kaṁsere bhāṇḍila

Translation: Vasudeva came here with his baby son and exchanged Him for her new born daughter and told King Kamsa that she is the daughter of mother Devakī.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Devakī said, she is a daughter and there is no danger to you and she would marry your son, But King Kaṁsā was still determined to kill the eighth child

Caitanya Maṅgala, Śeṣa-khaṇḍa 2.148

pāpiṣṭha se kaṁsarāja mārite kanyāre
vidyut haiyā tehaṅ gela ākāśere

Translation: Thinking that the daughter was mother Devakī’s, the sinful King Kaṁsa threw her down on a stone to kill her. But the baby slipped from his hands, rising up in the air as fast as lightning.

Jayapatākā Swami: Since this girl manifested the form of Durgā-devī and she predicted the demise of King Kaṁsā and demons have respect for Durgā and Śiva so King Kaṁsā was embarrassed.

Caitanya Maṅgala, Śeṣa-khaṇḍa 2.149

aparādhe kaṁsa stuti karaye doṅhāre
gagane ākāśa vānī śune henakāle

Translation: Nervous and afraid of having committed an offense, Kaṁsa offered prayers to Vasudeva and Devakī. At this time, Kaṁsa heard an aerial message predicting his demise.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, this pastime of King Kaṁsā and Devakī and Vasudeva in the prison house is described in detail in Śrīmad-bhāgavatam, here it is given in a short form, to show Lord Caitanya the places where these pastimes occurred.

Thus ends the chapter entitled, Seeing Mahāvana Part 1 
Under the Section: The Lord Travels to Vṛndāvana

Jayapatākā Swami: So, all these pastimes are described in Caitanya-maṅgala and Murāri Gupta Kaḍacā. So, the details are not given in Caitanya-caritāmṛta. So, we are compiling all the works from the different scriptures so that you will get a more complete picture of Lord Caitanya’s pastimes.