20230225 Bathing ceremony of Nityānanda by Rāghava Paṇḍita and Associates

The following is a Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book Compilation given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on february 25th,2023 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:

Bathing ceremony of Nityānanda by Rāghava Paṇḍita and associates
Under the section: The Pastimes of Nityānanda

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 5.251

pānīhāṭī rāghava-gṛhe śrī-nityānanda—

hena-mate nityānanda śrī-ananta-dhāma
āilena gaṅgā-tīre pānihāṭī-grāma

Jayapatākā Swami: In this way Lord Nityānanda, the origin of Lord Śrī Anantadeva, He came on the bank of the Ganges to the village of Pānihāṭi.

Lord Nityānanda was travelling by boat on the Ganges until He reached Pānihāṭi grāma.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 5.252

rāghava-paṇḍita-gṛhe sarvādye āsiyāra
hilena sakala pārṣada-gaṇa laiyā

Jayapatākā Swami: He came first to Rāghava Paṇḍita’s house, He stayed there with all His associates.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 5.253

sagoṣṭhī makaradhvajakara o rāghava-paṇḍitera paramānanda—

parama ānanda hailā rāghava-paṇḍita
śrī-makaradhvaja-kara goṣṭhīra sahita

Jayapatākā Swami: Rāghava Paṇḍita, Śrī Makaradhvaja Kara, along with their families experienced transcendental ecstasy and happiness after the coming of Lord Nityānanda and His associates.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 5.254

hena-mate nityānanda pānihāṭī-grāme
rahilena sakala-pārṣada-gaṇa-sane

Jayapatākā Swami: In this way Lord Nityānanda stayed along with all His associates in the village of Pānihāṭi.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 5.255

premavihvala avadhūta nityānanda—

nirantara parānande karena huṅkāra
vihvalatā vinā dehe bāhya nāhi āra

Jayapatākā Swami: He would constantly roar loudly in transcendental ecstasy, except transcendental ecstasy, He was always overwhelmed with no sign of external consciousness.

Lord Nityānanda was not conscious of the external world or His body, he was fully Kṛṣṇa conscious and in that mood He was chanting loudly.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 5.256

nṛtya karibāre icchā haila antare
gāyaka sakala āsi’ mililā satvare

Jayapatākā Swami: When Lord Nityānanda felt the desire to dance, all the singers quickly gathered around Him.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 5.257

pṛthivīra madhye śreṣṭha-kīrtanīyā mādhavaghoṣa—

sukṛti mādhava-ghoṣa—kīrtane tatpara
hena kīrtanīyā nāhi pṛthivī-bhitara

Jayapatākā Swami: The most pious Mādhava Ghoṣa was most expert in performing kīrtana. In the whole world there was no kīrtana singer like him.

Purport (By His Divine Grace Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Śrīla Prabhupāda): Śrī Mādhava, Vāsudeva, and Govinda Ghoṣa were all expert in performing kīrtana. They were not like ordinary mundane kīrtana leaders. Therefore they were addressed as the singers of Vṛndāvana. When one’s mundane conceptions are completely destroyed, one’s propensity for serving Hari increases. Specifically, Mādhava, Vāsudeva, and Govinda were personal expansions of [Rādhārāṇī] the āśraya-vigraha of the madhura-rasa of Vraja.

These three associates are glorified as being expansions of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī in the context of singing, Mādhava Ghoṣa, Vāsudeva Ghoṣa, and Govinda Ghoṣa.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 5.258

yāhāre kahena—vṛndāvanera gāyana
nityānanda-svarūpera mahā-priyatama

Jayapatākā Swami: The devotees called him as the singer of Vṛndāvana, and Lord Nityānanda Svarūpa held him as most dear.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 5.259

mādhava, govinda o vāsudeva bhrātṛtrayera gāna o nityānandera nṛtya—

mādhava, govinda, vāsudeva—tina bhāi
gāite lāgilā, nāce īśvara-nitāi

Jayapatākā Swami: Mādhava, Govinda and Vāsudeva Ghoṣa, were three brothers. When they began to sing, Lord Nityānanda would dance.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 5.260

hena se nācena avadhūta mahābala
pada-bhare pṛthivī karaye ṭala-mala

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Nityānanda Avadhūta would dance in such a way that His most powerful weight of His llotus feet would make the earth sway.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 5.261

niravadhi ‘hari’ bali’ karaye huṅkāra
āchāḍa dekhite loka pāya camatkāra

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Nityānanda would always chant the name of Hari! Hari Bol! Hari Bol! and roar loudly. Seeing His activities, the people would become struck with wonder.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 5.262

yāhāre karena dṛṣṭi nācite nācite
sei preme ḍhaliyā paḍena pṛthivīte

Jayapatākā Swami: Anyone who Lord Nityānanda would glance on, as He was dancing, would receive love of Godhead and fall to the ground in ecstatic love.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 5.263

paripūrṇa prema-rasa-maya nityānanda
saṁsāra tārite karilena śubhārambha

Jayapatākā Swami: Filled with the mellows of prema-rasa, ecstatic love, Lord Nityānanda, began His auspicious task of delivering the entire world.

Purport (By His Divine Grace Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura Śrīla Prabhupāda): Śrī Nityānanda began His auspicious task of delivering the people of this world by distributing ecstatic love of God. He personally demonstrated how one can fully surrender in the service of the Supreme Lord so that one can attain perfection in devotional service.

Jayapatākā Swami: As we said Lord Caitanya had given Him a task, to deliver the fools, low-born, the fallen and the unhappy and Lord Nityānanda Prabhu does that simply by bestowing His loving glance on people and dancing in total ecstasy.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 5.264

yateka āchila prema-bhaktira vikāra
saba prakāśiyā nṛtya karena apāra

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Nityānanda manifested all the manifestations of loving devotional service as He danced wonderfully.

So, Lord Nityānanda's dancing was so special that Lord Caitanya said, that wherever Lord Nityānanda dances.He would appear there to watch His dancing.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 5.265

ājñā haila abhiṣeka karibāra tare

Jayapatākā Swami: After some time He sat down on the cot and He gave the instruction to the devotees to perform abhiṣeka to Him.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 5.266

rāghava-paṇḍita-pramukha pārṣadagaṇera nityānanda-abhiṣeka

rāghava-paṇḍita-ādi pāriṣada-gaṇe
abhiṣeka karite lāgilā sei-kṣaṇe

Jayapatākā Swami: Rāghava Paṇḍita and the Lord’s associates they immediately began to perform abhiṣeka, the bathing ceremony.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 5.267

sahasra sahasra ghaṭa āni’ gaṅgā-jala
nānā gandhe suvāsita kariyā sakala

Jayapatākā Swami: Thousands and thousands of pots filled with Ganges water were brought and various scented oils were mixed in the pots.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 5.268

santoṣe sabei dena śrī-mastakopari
catur-dike sabei balena ‘hari hari’

Jayapatākā Swami: Being very satisfied everyone put the water on His head from all the four direction everybody was chanting the names Hari Hari! Hari Bol! Hari Bol!

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 5.269

abhiṣeka-mantra pāṭha o gīta—

sabei paḍena abhiṣeka-mantra-gīta
parama santoṣe sabe haila pulakita

Jayapatākā Swami: They all chanted the mantras and songs that were used for abhiṣeka, and everyone became filled with great satisfaction and all the hairs on their body stood on end.

So, these devotees who were participating in this abhiṣeka, they became most satisfied and they were experiencing symptoms of loving ecstasy.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 5.270

abhiṣeka karāiyā, nūtana vasana
parāiyā, lepilena śrī-aṅge candana

Jayapatākā Swami: Completing the abhiṣeka, bathing ceremony they gave Lord Nityānanda new clothes to wear and they smeared on His transcendental body with sandalwood pulp.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 5.271

divya vana-mālā tāya tulasī-sahite
pīna-vakṣa pūrṇa karilena nānā-mate

Jayapatākā Swami: The associates gave forest flowers and tulasī leaves on His broad chest and thus He was filled with garlands.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 5.272

tabe divya-khaṭṭā svarṇe kariyā bhūṣita
sammukhe āniyā karilena upanīta

Jayapatākā Swami: The associates brought an opulent throne decorated with gold and other ornaments and they placed that in front of Lord Nityānanda.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 5.273

śrī-rāghavānandera chatradhāraṇa—

khaṭṭāya vasilā prabhuvara nityānanda
chatra dharilena śire śrī-rāghavānanda

Jayapatākā Swami: As Lord Nityānanda sat on the golden throne, Śrī Rāghavānanda held an umbrella over His head.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 5.274

bhaktagaṇera jayadhvani o mahotsava—

jaya-dhvani karite lāgilā bhakta-gaṇa
catur-dike haila mahā-ānanda-vādana

Jayapatākā Swami: All the assembled devotees began to chant, “jaya-dhvani! Victory sound of Hari Bol! Hari Bol! Jaya! Jaya! And in this in the four directions there were great blissful vibrations of various musical instruments.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 5.275

‘trāhi trāhi’ sabei balena bāhu tuli’
kāro bāhya nahi, sabe mahākutūhalī

Jayapatākā Swami: “Save us! Save us!” Everyone exclaimed lifting their arms raised high in the air, no one was conscious and everybody forgot their external consciousness and everyone was chanting in such ecstasy.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 5.276

nityānandera premadṛṣṭi-vṛṣṭi—

svānubhāvānande prabhu nityānanda-rāya
prema-dṛṣṭi-vṛṣṭi kari’ cāri dike cāya

Jayapatākā Swami: In His own ecstatic blissful mood, Lord Nityananda Prabhu showered everyone in the four directions giving them His merciful glance of ecstatic love.

So just by Lord Nityānanda glance in the four directions He could distribute love of Kṛṣṇa and all the associates being glanced at by the Lord experienced incomparable ecstasy of love of Kṛṣṇa.

Thus ends the chapter entitled, Bathing ceremony of Nityānanda by Rāghava Paṇḍita and Associates
Under the section: The Pastimes of Nityānanda