20230411 Some of the Names and Characters of the Associates of Nityānanda [Part 1]

The following is a Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book Compilation given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on April 11th, 2023 in Dallas, Texas, USA.

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! Welcome to the Gurumahārāja's Class. We are continuing from the compilation of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book. Today's chapter is entitled as:

Some of the Names and Characters of the Associates of Nityānanda [Part 1]
Under the Section: The Pastimes of Nityānanda

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 5.722

katipaya nityānanda-pārṣadera nāma o caritra; rāmadāsa—

parama pārṣada—rāmadāsa mahāśaya
niravadhi īśvara-bhāve se kathā kaya

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Nityānanda’s principal associate was Rāmadāsa Mahāśaya, he always spoke in the mood of the Supreme Lord.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 5.723

yāṅra vākya keha jhāṭa nā pāre bujhite
niravadhi nityānanda yāṅra hṛdayete

Jayapatākā Swami: No one could quickly understand his words. Lord Nityānanda always resided in his heart.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 5.724

sabāra adhika bhāva-grasta rāmadāsa
yāṅra dehe kṛṣṇa āchilena tina māsa

Jayapatākā Swami: Of all the devotees, Ramadasa had the most intense feelings of ecstatic love. Lord Kṛṣṇa resided in his body for three months.

Purport: Rāmadāsa, who was the topmost associate of Śrī Nityānanda, always spoke in the mood of the viṣaya-vigraha, the object of worship, yet he was not a Māyāvādī follower of Śaṅkarācārya. Many people who did not understand his actual position misunderstood him as an ahaṅgrahopāsaka, or one who worships himself as the Supreme. Actually Rāmadāsa was always eager to gratify the senses of the Supreme Lord. Since foolish Māyāvādīs consider the living entities and the Supreme Brahman as one, .... as a servant and Kṛṣṇa entered his body and resided there for three months. If one takes advantage of this incident and independently acts like Kṛṣṇa, his attainment of hell is guaranteed. Many followers of the Rāmānandi-sampradāya [This sampradāya is a branch of the Rāmānuja-sampradāya and is not associated with Rāmadāsa.] follow the path of ahaṅgrahopāsanā. Since the Māyāvāda philosophy is prominently found in their literature, the Vaiṣṇavas of the four authorized sampradāyas do not agree with them on all matters.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā, 11.13

śrī-rāmadāsa āra, gadādhara dāsa
caitanya-gosāñira bhakta rahe tāṅra pāśa

Jayapatākā Swami: Two devotees of Lord Caitanya named Śrī Rāmadasa and Gadādhara dāsa always lived with Śrī Vīrabhadra Gosāñī.

Purport: Śrī Rāmadāsa, later known as Abhirāma Ṭhākura, was one of the twelve gopālas, or cowherd boyfriends, of Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu. The Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā (126) states that Śrī Rāmadāsa was formerly Śrīdāmā. In the Bhakti-ratnākara (Fourth Wave), there is a description of Śrīla Abhirāma Ṭhākura. By the order of Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu, Abhirāma Ṭhākura became a great ācārya and preacher of the Caitanya cult of devotional service. He was a very influential personality, and nondevotees were very much afraid of him. Empowered by Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu, he was always in ecstasy and was extremely kind to all fallen souls. It is said that if he offered obeisances to any stone other than a śālagrāma-śilā, it would immediately fracture.

Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura writes in his Anubhāṣya, “Ten miles southwest of the Cāṅpāḍāṅgā railway station on the narrow-gauge railway line from Howrah, in Calcutta, to Āmtā, a village in the Hugli district, is a small town named Khānākūla-kṛṣṇanagara, where the temple in which Abhirāma Ṭhākura worshiped is situated. During the rainy season, when this area is inundated with water, people must go there by another line, which is now called the South Eastern railway. On this line there is a station named Kolāghāṭa, from which one has to go by steamer to Rāṇīcaka. Seven and a half miles north of Rāṇīcaka is Khānākūla. The temple where Abhirāma Ṭhākura worshiped is situated in Kṛṣṇanagara, which is near the kūla (bank) of the Khānā (Dvārakeśvara River); therefore this place is celebrated as Khānākūla-kṛṣṇanagara. Outside of the temple is a bakula tree. This place is known as Siddha-bakula-kuñja. It is said that when Abhirāma Ṭhākura came there, he sat down under this tree. In Khānākūla-kṛṣṇanagara there is a big fair held every year in the month of Caitra [March-April] on the Kṛṣṇa-saptamī, the seventh day of the dark moon. Many hundreds and thousands of people gather for this festival. The temple where Abhirāma Ṭhākura worshiped has a very old history. The Deity in the temple is known as Gopīnātha. There are many sevaita families living near the temple. It is said that Abhirāma Ṭhākura had a whip and that whoever he touched with it would immediately become an elevated devotee of Kṛṣṇa. Among his many disciples, Śrīmān Śrīnivāsa Ācārya was the most famous and the most dear, but it is doubtful that he was his initiated disciple.”

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 5.725

murāri-paṇḍita—

prasiddha caitanya-dāsa murāri paṇḍita
yāṅra khelā mahāsarpa-vyāghrera sahita

Jayapatākā Swami: Famous as Caitanya dāsa was Murāri Paṇḍita. He sported with large snakes and tigers.

Jayapatākā Swami: This Murāri Caitanya dāsa was actually dead. He was floating in the Ganges and in those days, people would tie the dead bodies on banana rafts when they died of snake bite. Hoping that some great yogī or paṇḍita would bring back that person to life. So, Lord Caitanya repeatedly requested him that he should accept at least one disciple. He was in the… of Jahnudvīpa and Rudradvīpa. He decided that the first person I meet tomorrow I will initiate him. He went down to the Ganges to take his early morning bath and a dead body floated up and touched him. So he gave the body the mantra:

Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare
Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare!

And the dead body came back to life! Your name is Murāri Caitanya dāsa, he said. Since he was already dead and had been brought back to life, he wasn’t afraid of tigers and pythons and so on, rather they were afraid of him. He would ride into a village on the back of a tiger, the tigers are huge, about nine feet long. He would ride in on the tiger and tell all the people, surrender to Kṛṣṇa!

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā, 11.20

murāri-caitanya-dāsera alaukika līlā
vyāghra-gāle caḍa māre, sarpa-sane khelā

Translation: There were many extraordinary activities performed by Murāri, a great devotee of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Sometimes in his ecstasy he would slap the cheek of a tiger, and sometimes he would play with a venomous snake.

Purport: Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura writes in his Anubhāṣya, “Murāri Caitanya dāsa was born in the village of Sar-vṛndāvana-pura, which is situated about two miles from the Galaśī station on the Burdwan line. When Murāri Caitanya dāsa came to Navadvīpa, he settled in the village of Modadruma, or Māmagāchi-grāma. At that time he became known as Śārṅga or Sāraṅga Murāri Caitanya dāsa. The descendants of his family still reside in Sarer Pāṭa. In the Caitanya-bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa, chapter five, there is the following statement: ‘Murāri Caitanya dāsa had no material bodily features, for he was completely spiritual. Thus he would sometimes chase after tigers in the jungle and treat them just like cats and dogs. He would slap the cheek of a tiger and take a venomous snake on his lap. He had no fear for his external body, of which he was completely forgetful. He could spend all twenty-four hours of the day chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra or speaking about Lord Caitanya and Nityānanda. Sometimes he would remain submerged in water for two or three days, but he would feel no bodily inconvenience. Thus he behaved almost like stone or wood, but he always used his energy in chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. No one can describe his specific characteristics, but it is understood that wherever Murāri Caitanya dāsa passed, whoever was present would be enlightened in Kṛṣṇa consciousness simply by the atmosphere he created.’”

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 5.726

raghunātha upādhyāya—

raghunātha-vaidya upādhyāya mahāmati
yāṅra dṛṣṭi-pāte kṛṣṇe haya rati mati

Jayapatākā Swami: Raghunātha Vaidya Upādhayāya was most magnanimous. When he would glance at someone they would get attachment for Kṛṣṇa, that attachment for Kṛṣṇa would awaken in one’s mind.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā, 11.22

raghunātha vaidya upādhyāya mahāśaya
yāṅhāra darśane kṛṣṇa-prema-bhakti haya

Translation: The physician Raghunātha, also known as Upādhyāya, was so great a devotee that simply by seeing him one would awaken his dormant love of Godhead.

Jayapatākā Swami: So these were the associates of Lord Nityānanda. Just by seeing them, one’s love for Kṛṣṇa would be awakened. These are not ordinary souls, they are liberated souls that have come down from the spiritual world.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 5.727

gadādhara-dāsa—

prema-bhakti-rasamaya gadādhara-dāsa
yāṅra daraśana-mātra sarva-pāpa-nāśa

Jayapatākā Swami: Gadādhara dāsa was filled with the transcendental mellows of ecstatic love of Kṛṣṇa. Simply by seeing him, all the sinful reactions were destroyed.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā, 10.53

śrī-gadādhara dāsa śākhā sarvopari
kājī-gaṇera mukhe yeṅha bolāila hari

Jayapatākā Swami: Śrī Gadādhara dāsa, the twenty-third branch, was understood to be the topmost, for he induced all the Muslim Kazis to chant the holy name of Lord Hari.

Purport: About eight or ten miles from Calcutta, on the banks of the Ganges, is a village known as Eṅḍiyādaha-grāma. Śrīla Gadādhara dāsa was known as an inhabitant of this village (eṅḍiyādaha-vāsī gadādhara dāsa). The Bhakti-ratnākara (Seventh Wave), informs us that after the disappearance of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Gadādhara dāsa went from Navadvīpa to Katwa. Thereafter he came to Eṅḍiyādaha and resided there. He is stated to be the luster of the body of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, just as Śrīla Gadādhara Paṇḍita Gosvāmī is an incarnation of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī Herself. Caitanya Mahāprabhu is sometimes explained to be rādhā-bhāva-dyuti-suvalita, or characterized by the emotions and bodily luster of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. Gadādhara dāsa is this dyuti, or luster. In the Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā (154) he is described to be an expansion of the potency of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. He counts among the associates of both Śrīla Gaurahari and Nityānanda Prabhu; as a devotee of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu he was one of the associates of Lord Kṛṣṇa in conjugal love, and as a devotee of Lord Nityānanda he is considered to have been one of the friends of Kṛṣṇa in pure devotional service. Even though he was an associate of Lord Nityānanda Prabhu, he was not among the cowherd boys but was situated in the transcendental mellow of conjugal love. He established a temple of Śrī Gaurasundara in Katwa.

In 1434 Śakābda (A.D. 1512), when Lord Nityānanda Prabhu was empowered by Lord Caitanya to preach the saṅkīrtana movement in Bengal, Śrī Gadādhara dāsa was one of Lord Nityānanda’s chief assistants. He preached the saṅkīrtana movement by requesting everyone to chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra.

Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare
Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare

This simple preaching method of Śrīla Gadādhara dāsa can be followed by anyone and everyone in any position of society. One must simply be a sincere and serious servant of Nityānanda Prabhu and preach this cult door to door.

When Śrīla Gadādhara dāsa Prabhu was preaching the cult of hari-kīrtana, there was a magistrate who was very much against his saṅkīrtana movement. Following in the footsteps of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Śrīla Gadādhara dāsa one night went to the house of the Kazi and requested him to chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. The Kazi replied, “All right, I shall chant Hare Kṛṣṇa tomorrow.” On hearing this, Śrīla Gadādhara dāsa Prabhu began to dance, and he said, “Why tomorrow? You have already chanted the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, so simply continue.”

In the Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā (verses 154-55) it is said:

Śrīla Gadādhara dāsa is considered to be a united form of Candrakānti, who is the effulgence of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, and Pūrṇānandā, who is the foremost of Lord Balarāma’s very dear girlfriends. Thus Śrīla Gadādhara dāsa Prabhu was one of the associates of both Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Nityānanda Prabhu.

Once while Śrīla Gadādhara dāsa Prabhu was returning to Bengal from Jagannātha Purī with Nityānanda Prabhu, he forgot himself and began talking very loudly as if he were a girl of Vrajabhūmi selling yogurt, and Śrīla Nityānanda Prabhu noted this. Another time, while absorbed in the ecstasy of the gopīs, he carried a jug filled with Ganges water on his head as if he were selling milk. When Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu appeared in the house of Rāghava Paṇḍita while going to Vṛndāvana, Gadādhara dāsa went to see Him, and Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was so glad that He put His foot on his head. When Gadādhara dāsa Prabhu was present in Eṅḍiyādaha, he established a Bāla Gopāla mūrti for worship there. Śrī Mādhava Ghoṣa performed a drama known as Dāna-khaṇḍa with the help of Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu and Śrī Gadādhara dāsa. This is explained in the Caitanya-bhāgavata (Antya 5.318-94).

The tomb of Gadādhara dāsa Prabhu, which is in the village of Eṅḍiyādaha, was under the control of the Saṁyogī Vaiṣṇavas and later under the direction of Siddha Bhagavān dāsa Bābājī of Kālnā. By his order, Śrī Madhusūdana Mullik, one of the members of the aristocratic Mullik family of the Nārikelaḍāṅgā in Calcutta, established a pāṭhabāḍī (monastery) there in the Bengali year 1256 (A.D. 1849). He also arranged for the worship of a Deity named Śrī Rādhākānta. His son Balāicāṅda Mullik established Gaura-Nitāi Deities there in the Bengali year 1312 (A.D. 1905). Thus on the throne of the temple are both Gaura-Nityānanda Deities and Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa Deities. Below the throne is a tablet with an inscription written in Sanskrit. In that temple there is also a small Deity of Lord Śiva as Gopeśvara. This is all described on a stone by the side of the entrance door.

So how the associates helped Lord Nityānanda spread the saṅkīrtana movement is described here.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 5.728

sundarānanda—

prema-rasa-samudra—sundarānanda nāma
nityānanda-svarūpera pārṣada-pradhāna

Jayapatākā Swami: Sundarānanda was an ocean of mellows of ecstatic love. He was the chief of Lord Nityānanda Svarūpa’s associates.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā, 11.23

sundarānanda—nityānandera śākhā, bhṛtya marma
yāṅra saṅge nityānanda kare vraja-narma

Jayapatākā Swami: Sundarānanda, another branch of Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu, was Lord Nityānanda’s most intimate servant. Lord Nityānanda Prabhu perceived the life of Vrajabhūmi in his company.

Purport: Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura writes in his Anubhāṣya, “In the Caitanya-bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa, chapter five, it is stated that Sundarānanda was an ocean of love of Godhead and the chief associate of Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu. In the Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā (127) he is stated to have been Sudāmā in kṛṣṇa-līlā. Thus he was one of the twelve cowherd boys who came down with Balarāma when He descended as Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu. The holy place where Sundarānanda lived is situated in the village known as Maheśapura, which is about fourteen miles east of the Mājadiyā railway station of the Eastern Railway from Calcutta to Burdwan. This place is within the district of Jessore, [which is now in Bangladesh]. Among the relics of this village, only the old residential house of Sundarānanda still exists. At the end of the village resides a bāula [pseudo Vaiṣṇava], and all the buildings, both the temples and the house, appear to be newly constructed. In Maheśapura there are Deities of Śrī Rādhāvallabha and Śrī Śrī Rādhāramaṇa. Near the temple is a small river of the name Vetravatī.

“Sundarānanda Prabhu was a naiṣṭhika-brahmacārī: he never married in his life. Therefore he had no direct descendants except his disciples, but the descendants of his family still reside in the village known as Maṅgalaḍihi in the district of Birbhum. In that same village is a temple of Balarāma, and the Deity there is regularly worshiped. The original Deity of Maheśapura, Rādhāvallabha, was taken by the Saidābād Gosvāmīs of Berhampur, and since the present Deities were installed, a zamindar family of Maheśapura has looked after Their worship. On the full-moon day of the month of Māgha (January-February), the anniversary of Sundarānanda’s disappearance is regularly celebrated, and people from the neighboring areas gather together to observe this festival.”

Jayapatākā Swami: So, the associates of Lord Nityānanda are mentioned here and all these festivals which are still being observed, they are also described. Śrīla Prabhupāda wanted to preserve these holy places of Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityānanda’s associates. So he established the Bhaktivedanta Charity Trust to preserve these holy places.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 5.729

paṇḍita kamalākānta—

paṇḍita-kamalākānta—parama-uddāma
yāṅhāre dilena nityānanda saptagrāma

Jayapatākā Swami: Paṇḍita Kamalākānta was most grave. Lord Nityānanda entrusted the village of Saptagrāma to him.

Saptagrāma was a village of vaiśyas and Lord Nityānanda established these vaiśyas as devotees of Lord Caitanya. Paṇḍita Kamalākānta helped Him in this activity.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 5.730

gaurīdāsa-paṇḍita—

gaurīdāsa-paṇḍita—parama-bhāgyavān
kāya-mano-vākye nityānanda yāṅra prāṇa

Jayapatākā Swami: Gaurīdāsa Paṇḍita was most fortunate, for he accepted Lord Nityānanda as his life and soul with his body, mind and speech. Kāya, mana, vākya – body, mind and speech.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā, 11.26

gaurīdāsa paṇḍita yāṅra premoddaṇḍa-bhakti
kṛṣṇa-premā dite, nite, dhare mahāśakti

Translation: Gaurīdāsa Paṇḍita, the emblem of the most elevated devotional service in love of Godhead, had the greatest potency to receive and deliver such love.

Purport: Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura writes in his Anubhāṣya, “It is said that Gaurīdāsa Paṇḍita was always patronized by King Kṛṣṇadāsa, the son of Harihoḍa. Gaurīdāsa Paṇḍita lived in the village of Śāligrāma, which is situated a few miles from the railway station Muḍāgāchā, and later he came to reside in Ambikā-kālanā. It is stated in the Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā (128) that formerly he was Subala, one of the cowherd boyfriends of Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma in Vṛndāvana. Gaurīdāsa Paṇḍita was the younger brother of Sūryadāsa Sarakhela, and with the permission of his elder brother he shifted his residence to the bank of the Ganges, living there in the town known as Ambikā-kālanā. Some of the names of the descendants of Gaurīdāsa Paṇḍita are as follows: (1) Śrī Nṛsiṁha-caitanya, (2) Kṛṣṇadāsa, (3) Viṣṇudāsa, (4) Baḍa Balarāma dāsa, (5) Govinda, (6) Raghunātha, (7) Baḍu Gaṅgādāsa, (8) Āuliyā Gaṅgārāma, (9) Yādavācārya, (10) Hṛdaya-caitanya, (11) Cānda Hāladāra, (12) Maheśa Paṇḍita, (13) Mukuṭa Rāya, (14) Bhātuyā Gaṅgārāma, (15) Āuliyā Caitanya, (16) Kāliyā Kṛṣṇadāsa, (17) Pātuyā Gopāla, (18) Baḍa Jagannātha, (19) Nityānanda, (20) Bhāvi, (21) Jagadīśa, (22) Rāiyā Kṛṣṇadāsa and (23) Annapūrṇā. The eldest son of Gaurīdāsa Paṇḍita was known as big Balarāma, and the youngest was known as Raghunātha. The sons of Raghunātha were Maheśa Paṇḍita and Govinda. Gaurīdāsa Paṇḍita’s daughter was known as Annapūrṇā.

“The village Ambikā-kālanā, which is situated just across the river Ganges from Śāntipura, is two miles east of the Kālanā-korṭa railway station, on the Eastern Railway. In Ambikā-kālanā there is a temple constructed by the zamindar of Burdwan. In front of the temple there is a big tamarind tree, and it is said that Gaurīdāsa Paṇḍita and Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu met underneath this tree. The place where the temple is situated is known as Ambikā, and because it is in the area of Kālanā, the village is known as Ambikā-kālanā. It is said that a copy of the Bhagavad-gītā written by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu still exists in this temple.”

Jayapatākā Swami: When you go there to see the Deity, after a few minutes they close the Deity, like jhalaka darśana, then they open, then they close, then they open, then they close. So I asked, “Why are they doing that?” They said, since the Deity had run away to join Hṛdaya Caitanya; they were afraid that He might become attached to some devotee and run away, so that is why they kept closing and opening every few minutes.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 11.27

nityānande samarpila jāti-kula-pāṅti
śrī-caitanya-nityānande kari prāṇapati

Translation: Making Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityānanda the Lords of his life, Gaurīdāsa Paṇḍita sacrificed everything for the service of Lord Nityānanda, even the fellowship of his own family.

Jayapatākā Swami: I found the village of Śāligrāma and there are some ruins there. There the Ganges used to flow and then the Ganges shifted. So that is why Gaurīdāsa Paṇḍita and Sūryadāsa Sarakhela they switch, Sūryadāsa Sarakhela is the elder brother, the dādā of Gaurīdāsa Paṇḍita and his two daughters became the wives of Lord Nityānanda.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 5.731

purandarapati—

purandara-paṇḍita—parama śānta-dānta
nityānanda-svarūpera vallabha ekānta

Jayapatākā Swami: Purandara Paṇḍita was greatly peaceful and self-controlled. He was extremely dear to Lord Nityānanda Svarūpa.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 11.28

nityānanda prabhura priya—paṇḍita purandara
premārṇava-madhye phire yaichana mandara

Translation: The thirteenth important devotee of Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu was Paṇḍita Purandara, who moved in the ocean of love of Godhead just like the Mandara Hill.

Purport: Paṇḍita Purandara met Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu at Khaḍadaha. When Nityānanda Prabhu visited this village, He danced very uncommonly, and His dancing captivated Purandara Paṇḍita. The paṇḍita was in the top of a tree, and upon seeing the dancing of Nityānanda he jumped down on the ground and proclaimed himself to be Aṅgada, one of the devotees in the camp of Hanumān during the pastimes of Lord Rāmacandra.

Jayapatākā Swami: Dancing of Lord Nityānanda was something extremely special. Lord Caitanya had said that when Lord Nityānanda dances, I will be there. Haribol!

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 5.732

parameśbarī-dāsa—

nityānanda-jīvana parameśvarī-dāsa
yāṅhāra vigrahe nityānandera vilāsa

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Nityānanda was the life and soul of Parameśvarī dāsa. Lord Nityānanda enjoyed pastimes in his body.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā, 11.29

parameśvara-dāsa—nityānandaika-śaraṇa
kṛṣṇa-bhakti pāya, tāṅre ye kare smaraṇa

Translation: Parameśvara dāsa, said to be the fifth gopāla of kṛṣṇa-līlā, completely surrendered to the lotus feet of Nityānanda. Anyone who remembers his name, Parameśvara dāsa, will get love of Kṛṣṇa very easily.

Jayapatākā Swami: Parameśvara dāsa! Parameśvara dāsa! Parameśvara dāsa!

Purport: Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura writes in his Anubhāṣya, “The Caitanya-bhāgavata states that Parameśvara dāsa, known sometimes as Parameśvarī dāsa, was the life and soul of Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu. The body of Parameśvara dāsa was the place of Lord Nityānanda’s pastimes. Parameśvara dāsa, who lived for some time at Khaḍadaha village, was always filled with the ecstasy of a cowherd boy. Formerly he was Arjuna, a friend of Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma. He was the fifth among the twelve gopālas. He accompanied Śrīmatī Jāhnavā-devī when she performed the festival at Kheturi. It is stated in the Bhakti-ratnākara that by the order of Śrīmatī Jāhnavā-mātā, he installed Rādhā-Gopīnātha in the temple at Āṭapura, in the district of Hugli. The Āṭapura station is on the narrow-gauge railway line between Howrah and Āmatā. Another temple in Āṭapura, established by the Mitra family, is known as the Rādhā-Govinda temple. In front of the temple, in a very attractive place among two bakula trees and a kadamba tree, is the tomb of Parameśvarī Ṭhākura, and above it is an altar with a tulasī bush. It is said that only one flower a year comes out of the kadamba tree. It is offered to the Deity.

“Parameśvarī Ṭhākura belonged, it is said, to a vaidya family. A descendant of his brother’s is at present a worshiper in the temple. Some of their family members still reside in the district of Hugli, near the post office of Caṇḍītalā. The descendants of Parameśvarī Ṭhākura took many disciples from brāhmaṇa families, but as these descendants gradually took to the profession of physicians, persons from brāhmaṇa families ceased becoming their disciples. The family titles of Parameśvarī’s descendants are Adhikārī and Gupta. Unfortunately, his family members do not worship the Deity directly; they have engaged paid brāhmaṇas to worship the Deity. In the temple, Baladeva and Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Gopīnātha are together on the throne. It is supposed that the Deity of Baladeva was installed later because according to transcendental mellow, Baladeva, Kṛṣṇa and Rādhā cannot stay on the same throne. On the full-moon day of Vaiśākha (April-May), the disappearance festival of Parameśvarī Ṭhākura is observed in this temple.”

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 5.733

dhanañjaya paṇḍita—

dhanañjaya-paṇḍita—mahānta vilakṣaṇa
yāṅhāra hṛdaye nityānanda sarva-kṣaṇa

Jayapatākā Swami: Dhañanjaya Paṇḍita, he was a very extraordinary leading devotee. He was like a Mahānta. Lord Nityānanda always resided in his heart.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā, 11.31

nityānanda-priyabhṛtya paṇḍita dhanañjaya
atyanta virakta, sadā kṛṣṇa-premamaya

Translation: The sixteenth dear servant of Nityānanda Prabhu was Dhanañjaya Paṇḍita. He was very much renounced and always merged in love of Kṛṣṇa.

Purport: Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura writes in his Anubhāṣya, “Paṇḍita Dhanañjaya was a resident of the village in Katwa named Śītala. He was one of the twelve gopālas. His former name, according to the Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā (127), was Vasudāma. Śītala-grāma is situated near the Maṅgalakoṭa police station and Kaicara post office in the district of Burdwan. On the narrow railway from Burdwan to Katwa is a railway station about nine miles from Katwa known as Kaicara. One has to go about a mile northeast of this station to reach Śītala. The temple was a thatched house with walls made of dirt. Some time ago, the zamindars of Bājāravana Kābāśī, the Mulliks, constructed a big house for the purpose of a temple, but for the last sixty-five years the temple has been broken down and abandoned. The foundation of the old temple is still visible. There is a tulasī pillar near the temple, and every year during the month of Kārttika (October-November) the disappearance day of Dhanañjaya is observed It is said that for some time Paṇḍita Dhanañjaya was in a saṅkīrtana party under the direction of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and then he went to Vṛndāvana. Before going to Vṛndāvana, he lived for some time in a village named Sāṅcaḍāpāṅcaḍā, which is six miles south of the Memārī railway station. Sometimes this village is also known as ‘the place of Dhanañjaya’ (Dhanañjayera Pāṭa). After some time, he left the responsibility for worship with a disciple and went back to Vṛndāvana. After returning from Vṛndāvana to Śītala-grāma, he established a Deity of Gaurasundara in the temple. The descendants of Paṇḍita Dhanañjaya still live in Śītala-grāma and look after the temple worship.”

Jayapatākā Swami: Sometimes it is said that there is a rail gauge in Katwa but that was maybe before the early 1900s. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura he wrote the details. But now it is a large complete railway gauge.

Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa 5.734

balarāma-dāsa—

prema-rase mahāmatta—balarāma-dāsa
yāṅhāra vātāse saba pāpa yāya nāśa

Jayapatākā Swami: Intoxicate with the ecstatic mellows of Lord Kṛṣṇa was Balarāma dāsa. If the wind, the breeze that touched Balarāma dasa’s body reached someone, they would be freed of all sins.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā, 11.34

balarāma dāsa—kṛṣṇa-prema-rasāsvādī
nityānanda-nāme haya parama unmādī

They were all very ecstatic devotees. And we are like halfway through and will continue tomorrow.