20221225_Govardhana-śilā and Garland of Conchshells are Given to Raghunātha Dāsa by Lord Caitanya

The following is a Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book Compilation given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on December 25th, 2022 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! Today we will continue with the compilation of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book. Today's chapter is entitled as:

Govardhana-śilā and Garland of Conchshells are Given to Raghunātha Dāsa by Lord Caitanya
Under the section: The Meeting of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 6.287

nikhilabrahmajña-guru raghunāthake paramaśreṣṭha-jñāne svakīya giridhāri-vigraha o gāndharvā-rūpiṇī mālā-pradāna:—

eta bali’ tāṅre punaḥ prasāda karilā
‘govardhanera śilā’, ‘guñjā-mālā’ tāṅre dilā

Translation: After saying this, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu again bestowed His mercy upon Raghunātha dāsa by giving him a stone from Govardhana Hill and a garland of small conchshells.

Jayapatākā Swami: So,Raghunatha dasa was given special mercy by Lord Caitanya, by bestowing on him a Govardhana-sila. Garlanding him with a garland of small conch shells, He was giving special mercy to Raghunatha dasa.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 6.288

vigraha o mālikā-prāptira ādi-vṛttānta-varṇana:—

śaṅkarānanda-sarasvatī vṛndāvana haite āilā
teṅha sei śilā-guñjā-mālā lañā gelā

Translation: Previously, when Śaṅkarānanda Sarasvatī had returned from Vṛndāvana, he had brought the stone from Govardhana Hill and also the garland of conchshells.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 6.289

pārśve gāṅthā guñjā-mālā, govardhana-śilā
dui vastu mahāprabhura āge āni’ dilā

Translation: He presented Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu with these two items — the garland of conchshells and the stone from Govardhana Hill.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 6.290

kṛṣṇa-smaraṇa-kāle sākṣāt gāndharvā-giridhāri-jñāne prabhura sei mālā o vigraha-samādara:—

dui apūrva-vastu pāñā prabhu tuṣṭa hailā
smaraṇera kāle gale pare guñjā-mālā

Translation: Upon receiving these two uncommon items, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was extremely happy. While chanting, He would put the garland around His neck.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Raghunatha dāsa Gosvāmī he received a garland that Lord Caitanya had put many times around His neck, and to have the prasāda garland of Lord Caitanya is a very special thing, so we can begin to imagine the benefit of these things.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 6.291

govardhana-śilā prabhu hṛdaye-netre dhare
kabhu nāsāya ghrāṇa laya, kabhu śire kare

Translation: The Lord would put the stone to His heart or sometimes to His eyes. Sometimes He would smell it with His nose and sometimes place it on His head.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, we also find that this Govardhana śilā was very special to Lord Caitanya. This verse describes how He would put it on His heart, His head and His eyes. So it’s not that He received some gift that He didn’t appreciate and was giving it away, He was giving something that He appreciating very much, that He had held it in great devotion, He was giving that to Raghunatha dāsa. Raghunatha dāsa was receiving the extreme mercy of Lord Caitanya.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 6.292

netra-jale sei śilā bhije nirantara
śilāre kahena prabhu—‘kṛṣṇa-kalevara’

Translation: The stone from Govardhana was always moist with tears from His eyes. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu would say, “This stone is directly the body of Lord Kṛṣṇa.”

Jayapatākā Swami: Since the Govardhan Hill is accepted as Lord Kṛṣṇa, devotees do not climb on the top of the hill and Lord Caitanya would anoint this Govardhana śilā with His tears of love and this was given to Raghunatha dāsa.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 6.293

tinavatsara sevanānte raghunāthake pradāna:—

ei-mata tina-vatsara śilā-mālā dharilā
tuṣṭa hañā śilā-mālā raghunāthe dilā

Translation: For three years He kept the stone and garland. Then, greatly satisfied by the behavior of Raghunātha dāsa, the Lord delivered both of them to him.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Raghunatha dāsa’s behavior was so pleasing to Lord Caitanya that He gave these dear objects.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 6.294

arccya viṣṇuvigrahe śilā buddhi o vaiṣṇave jāti-buddhikārī pāṣaṇḍagaṇake śikṣādānārtha prabhura upadeśa:—

prabhu kahe,—“ei śilā kṛṣṇera vigraha
iṅhāra sevā kara tumi kariyā āgraha

Translation: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu instructed Raghunātha dāsa, “This stone is the transcendental form of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Worship the stone with great eagerness.”

Purport: Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura writes in his Anubhāṣya that in the opinion of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the govardhana-śilā, the stone from Govardhana Hill, was directly the form of Kṛṣṇa, the son of Mahārāja Nanda. The Lord used the stone for three years, and then in the heart of Raghunātha dāsa the Lord awakened devotional service to the stone. The Lord then gave the stone to Raghunātha dāsa, accepting him as one of His most confidential servants. However, some envious people conclude that because Raghunātha dāsa had not taken birth in the family of a brāhmaṇa, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu did not give him the right to worship the Deity directly but instead gave him a stone from Govardhana. This kind of thought is nārakī, or hellish. As stated in the Padma Purāṇa, arcye viṣṇau śilā-dhīr guruṣu nara-matir vaiṣṇave jāti-buddhiḥ . . . yasya vā nārakī saḥ. If one thinks that the worshipable śālagrāma-śilā is a mere stone, that the spiritual master is an ordinary human being or that a pure Vaiṣṇava preaching the bhakti cult all over the world is a member of a particular caste or material division of society, he is considered a nārakī, a candidate for hellish life. When Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu instructed that the Govardhana-śilā, the stone taken from Govardhana, is nondifferent from the body of Śrī Kṛṣṇa,the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He indirectly advised such foolish persons that one should not be envious of a Vaiṣṇava who belongs to a different caste or sect. One should accept a Vaiṣṇava as transcendental. In this way one can be saved; otherwise, one is surely awaiting a hellish life.

Jayapatākā Swami: In India there is still a very rigid conception of varṇāśrama and Lord Caitanya wanted to prove that bhakti was superior to varṇāśrama. Therefore Lord Caitanya had different devotees preach - Rāya Rāmānanda although a śūdra was instructing Lord Caitanya and also the caste brāhmaṇas on bhakti. Similarly, He made Haridāsa Ṭhākura who was born in a Muslim family to be the nāmācārya or the spiritual master of chanting the Holy names. So, in this way Lord Caitanya liked to establish that bhakti was superior to varṇāśrama.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 6.295

mahā-bhāgavatera śuddha-sāttvika-pūjā vā bhāvasevā prākṛta kaniṣṭhādhikāragata arcana nahe:—

ei śilāra kara tumi sāttvika pūjana
acirāt pābe tumi kṛṣṇa-prema-dhana

Translation: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu continued, “Worship this stone in the mode of goodness like a perfect brāhmaṇa, for by such worship you will surely attain ecstatic love of Kṛṣṇa without delay.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, worshipping this Govardhana-śilā would give ecstatic love of Kṛṣṇa to Raghunatha dāsa.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 6.296

śuddhasāttvika-sevāra praṇālī:—

eka kuṅjā jala āra tulasī-mañjarī
sāttvika-sevā ei—śuddha-bhāve kari

Translation: “For such worship, one needs a jug of water and a few flowers from a tulasī tree. This is worship in complete goodness when performed in complete purity.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Lord Caitanya was instructing Raghunatha dāsa how to worship the Govardhana-śilā in pure goodness.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 6.297

dui-dike dui-patra madhye komala mañjarī
ei-mata aṣṭa-mañjarī dibe śraddhā kari’”

Translation: “With faith and love, you should offer eight soft tulasī flowers, each with two tulasī leaves, one on each side of each flower.”

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 6.298

nikhila brahmajña-kulera guru prabhu-preṣṭha mahā-bhāgavata raghunāthera śuddha-sāttvika bhāva-sevā:—

śrī-haste śilā diyā ei ājñā dilā
ānande raghunātha sevā karite lāgilā

Translation: After thus advising him how to worship, Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu personally offered Raghunātha dāsa the Govardhana-śilā with His transcendental hand. As advised by the Lord, Raghunātha dāsa worshiped the śilā in great transcendental jubilation.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Raghunatha dāsa, he followed Lord Caitanya's orders and worshipped the Govardhana-śilā in that way and Lord Caitanya was accepting him as a pure Vaiṣṇava, that he was on the level of a pure brāhmaṇa or higher.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 6.299

eka-vitasti dui-vastra, piṅḍā eka-khāni
svarūpa dilena kuṅjā ānibāre pāni

Translation: Svarūpa Dāmodara gave Raghunātha dāsa two cloths, each about six inches long, a wooden platform and a jug in which to keep water.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Svarūpa Dāmodara was giving Raghunatha dāsa what he needed to worshiping the Govardhana-śilā.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 6.300

arccya-viṣṇute śilā o vaiṣṇave jātibuddhikārī pāṣaṇḍagaṇera kalpanā dhikkārapūrvaka raghunāthera giridhārīte sākṣāt vrajendranandana-jñāna:—

ei-mata raghunātha karena pūjana
pūjā-kāle dekhe śilāya ‘vrajendra-nandana’

Haribol!

Translation: Thus Raghunātha dāsa began worshiping the stone from Govardhana, and as he worshiped he saw the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, the son of Nanda Mahārāja, directly in the stone.

Haribol!

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Raghunatha dāsa he received the special mercy he saw Kṛṣṇa in the Govardhana-śilā. Everyone is looking for God but here it shows that by following the instructions of Lord Caitanya, Raghunatha dāsa worshiping his Govardhana-śilā, he could see Kṛṣṇa, the son of Nanda Mahārāja directly.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 6.301

raghunāthera apūrva prabhuprema:—

‘prabhura svahasta-datta govardhana-śilā’
ei cinti’ raghunātha preme bhāsi’ gelā

Translation: Thinking of how he had received the govardhana-śilā directly from the hands of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Raghunātha dāsa was always overflooded with ecstatic love.

Jayapatākā Swami: Since Raghunatha dāsa received the śilā directly from the hands of Caitanya Mahāprabhu, he always remembered this and thus he was in ecstatic love.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 6.302

jala-tulasīra sevāya tāṅra yata sukhodaya
ṣoḍaśopacāra-pūjāya tata sukha naya

Translation: The amount of transcendental bliss that Raghunātha dāsa enjoyed simply by offering water and tulasī is impossible to achieve even if one worships the Deity with sixteen kinds of paraphernalia.

Jayapatākā Swami: There is a very opulent way of worshipping the deities with sixteen items. Compared to that Raghunatha dāsa’s way of worshipping was simple, but the amount of prema, love of Kṛṣṇa that he was experiencing is incalculable.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 6.303

ekadina svarūpera anurodhakrame vigrahake govinda-pradatta sandeśa-samarpaṇa:—

ei-mata kata dina karena pūjana
tabe svarūpa-gosāñi tāṅre kahilā vacana

Translation: After Raghunātha dāsa had thus worshiped the govardhana-śilā for some time, Svarūpa Dāmodara one day spoke to him as follows.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 6.304

“aṣṭa-kauḍira khājā-sandeśa kara samarpaṇa
śraddhā kari’ dile, sei amṛtera sama”

Translation: “Offer the Govardhana stone eight kauḍis worth of the first-class sweetmeats known as khājā and sandeśa. If you offer them with faith and love, they will be just like nectar.”

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Raghunatha dāsa was just a renunciant. Now how would he offer sandeśa to his deity?

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 6.305

tabe aṣṭa-kauḍira khājā kare samarpaṇa
svarūpa-ājñāya govinda tāhā kare samādhāna

Translation: Raghunātha dāsa then began offering the costly sweetmeats known as khājā, which Govinda, following the order of Svarūpa Dāmodara, would supply.

Jayapatākā Swami: He began offering this costly sweets to the deity and he was experiencing great love for Kṛṣṇa.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 6.306

raghunāthera prabhu kṛpāra tātparyānudhābana:—

raghunātha sei śilā-mālā yabe pāilā
gosāñira abhiprāya ei bhāvanā karilā

Translation: When Raghunātha dāsa received from Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu the stone and the garland of conchshells, he could understand the Lord’s intention. Thus he thought as follows.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 6.307

mālā o śilā-pradānadvārā prabhura raghunāthake gāndharvā giridhārīra rāgamayī antaraṅga-sevāpradāna:—

“śilā diyā gosāñi samarpilā ‘govardhane’
guñjā-mālā diyā dilā ‘rādhikā-caraṇe’”

Translation: “By offering me the govardhana-śilā, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has offered me a place near Govardhana Hill, and by offering me the garland of conchshells, He has offered me shelter at the lotus feet of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī.”

Jayapatākā Swami: Hari bol! So, Raghunatha dāsa had this realization, how he was being offered the Lotus feet of Rādhārāṇī, and how he would be serving Kṛṣṇa following the raga-marga near the Govardhana Hill. Hari bol!

Thus ends the chapter entitled, Govardhana-śilā and Garland of Conchshells are Given to Raghunātha Dāsa by Lord Caitanya
Under the section: The Meeting of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī

Hare Kṛṣṇa!