Sri Krishna Kathamrita
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Sri Krishna Kathamrita Tav k QaaMa*Ta& TaáJaqvNaMa( tava kathāmta tapta-jīvanam BBBiiinnndududu Issue No. 165 Fortnightly email mini-magazine from Gopal Jiu Publications 21 November 2007 Śrī Utthāna Ekādaśī, 26 Damodāra, 521 Gaurābda Circulation, 2,031 • KASHISHWAR GOSAI His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada • KASHISHWAR PANDIT AND THE DEITIES OF GOVINDAJI AND GAURA GOVINDA Adapted from Srila Narahari Chakravarti Thakur’s Śrī Bhakti-ratnākara • THE 16,000 QUEENS OF DWARKA Srila Sanatan Goswami Bhād-bhāgavatāmta 1.7.104-105 Highlights • RADHA AND KRISHNA’S CONVERSATION PAGE ONE TOP COLLUMN TWO Highlights The Poet Ghanashyam Highlights • WHAT IS PAINFUL FOR THE SAINTS? Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.1.58 the person in charge was a śaivite, Sri KASHISHWAR GOSAI Sivachandra Chaudhuri, who was a descen- His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta dant of Kashishwar Gosai’s brother. In Swami Prabhupada Vallabhapur there was a permanent arrange- Kashishwar Gosai was one of ment to cook nine kilos of rice, vegetables and the contemporaries of Sri other foodstuffs daily, and near the village there Chaitanya Mahaprabhu who was sufficient land belonging to the deity on was with the Lord in which this rice was grown. Unfortunately, the Jagannath Puri. Also known descendants of Kashishwar Gosai’s brother as Kashishwar Pandit, he was have sold a major portion of this land, and there- a disciple of Ishwar Puri and fore the deity worship has been hampered. son of Vasudev Bhattacharya, who be- It is said in the Gaura-gaoddeśa-dīpikā (137) longed to the dynasty of Kanjilal Kanu. His that the servant of Krishna in Vrindavan surname was Chaudhuri. His sister’s son, named Bhringar descended as Kashishwar who was named Rudra Pandit, was the Gosai during the pastimes of Lord Chaitanya original priest of Vallabhapur, which is Mahaprabhu. In our householder life we also situated about one mile from the Srirampur sometimes visited this temple of Vallabhapur railway station in the village of Chatara. and took prasādam there at noon. The dei- Installed there are the deities of Radha- ties of this temple, Sri Sri Radha-Govinda Govinda and Lord Sri Chaitanya and the Gauranga vigraha, are extremely Mahaprabhu. Kashishwar Gosai was a very beautiful. Near Vallabhapur is a beautiful strong man, and therefore when Lord temple of Jagannath. We sometimes used to Chaitanya visited the temple of Jagannath, take prasādam in this Jagannath temple also. he used to protect the Lord from the crowds. These two temples are situated within a one Another of his duties was to distribute mile-radius of the Srirampur railway sta- prasādam to the devotees after kīrtana. tion, near Calcutta. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakur vis- — Purport to Cc. ādi 8.67. Bhaktivedanta Book Trust. Los ited this temple at Vallabhapur. At that time Angeles. 1975. next column é[q k* Z<ak QaaMa*Ta ibNdu Issuetop left One 2 hundred sixty-five, Page — 2 Top right 2 KASHISHWAR PANDIT AND cow had been coming by and moistening the ground with her milk. The boy told the THE DEITIES OF GOVINDAJI Goswami that in this place, Sri Govindadev AND GAURA GOVINDA was hiding under the ground and getting Srila Narahari Chakravarti Thakur nourishment from this cow. Then he led Sri Adapted from Śrī Bhakti-ratnākara Rupa to Gomatil. After locating the place, the vrajavāsī sud- There are two famous associates of denly disappeared, and Rupa fell on the Mahaprabhu known as Kashishwar. One is ground unconscious. A long time later, he Kashishwar Brahmacari, also known as regained his senses, but he could not con- Kashishwar Gosai or Goswami, a disciple of trol the tears rolling down his face. Srila Srila Ishwar Puri (see Cc. ādi 10.138). He and Rupa Goswami understood the desire of the his godbrother Govinda were sent by Ishwar Lord; he checked his emotions and went to Puri to serve Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in tell the people of Vraja about the hidden deity Jagannath Puri. That Kashishwar is described of Sri Govindadev, whom they all came to by Srila Kavi Karnapur in his Śrī Gaura- help unearth. The vrajavāsīs dug very care- gaoddeśa-dīpikā (137 and 166) as being an fully until they at last uncovered the deity incarnation of Krishna’s servant in Vraja named of Govindadev, who was as beautiful as mil- Bhringar, as well as an incarnation of the gopi lions of Cupids. Shashirekha Devi. Everyone glorified the name of Sri The second Kashishwar, known as Kashishwar Govindadev, and people were coming to Pandit, is described by the Gauīya-vaiava- Gomatil, attracted by the deity. Even Lord abhidhān (Bengali encyclopedia of Gaudiya Brahma and other demigods came in the Vaishnavism) as being Keli Manjari in vraja-līlā. disguise of human beings to pay their re- This second Kashishwar was also staying in Puri spects to Sri Govindaji. The place over- for some time. His disappearance day is on the flowed with hundreds and thousands of full moon day of the bright fortnight of the month people. Rupa Goswami at once sent a letter of Kartika. As the following story describes, Sri to Mahaprabhu in Sri Kshetra, Jagannath Chaitanya Mahaprabhu later gave him a deity Puri. Upon receiving the news from of Krishna named Gaura Govinda and instructed Vrindavan, Mahaprabhu was overwhelmed him to go to Vrindavan. The deity of Gaura with happiness. Govinda is found today in Jaipur, sharing the Sri Chaitanya then privately told Sri altar with the famous deity of Govindaji. Kashishwar, who was staying with him in Sri After re-establishing the lost holy places, Kshetra, to go to Vrindavan. Kashishwar replied: Srila Rupa Goswami felt anxious on only one kāśiśvara-kahe, — “prabhu tomāre chā ite account: according to the scriptures, Sri vidare hdaya, ye ucita kara ithe” Govinda Vrajendra Kumar had been in- My Lord, if I leave you my heart will break. There- stalled as a deity in a holy place in fore, you should do whatever is proper. Vrindavan, but Sri Rupa had not found that deity. Although he had searched many kāśīśvara-antara bujhiyā gaurahari dilena nija-svarūpa-vigraha yatna kari’ places for a long time, and he even searched the houses of the people of Vraja, Sri Gaurahari understood the mind of Kashishwar, Govindadev was nowhere to be found. and gave Kashishwar a deity of himself. One day, as Rupa was sitting on the bank prabhu se vigraha-saha annādi bhuñjila of the Yamuna, a young vrajavāsī walked by. dekhi kāśiśvarera paramānanda haila He was beautiful, calm, and quiet in his man- Then Mahaprabhu together with that deity of ner, and he asked the Goswami why he looked Krishna ate rice and other foodstuffs. Seeing this, so sad. Rupa Goswami felt greatly attracted Kashishwar Pandit felt great ecstasy. (2.439-441) to the boy, and told him his story. The vrajavāsī Prabhu then taught Kashishwar how to wor- tried to alleviate his anxiety by telling him ship the deity, and sent him to Vrindavan. Upon about a spiritual place named Gomatil in reaching Vrindavan, Kashishwar placed the de- Vrindavan where every afternoon a certain ity of Sri Gaura Govinda on the right side of the TopSri Krishna-kathamritaleft 3 Bindu top right 3 Issue One hundred sixty-five, Page — 3 deity of Sri Govindadev, and served them both — Narahari Chakravarti. Śrī Bhakti-ratnākara. Gaudiya Mission. Bagbazar, Calcutta. 1987. Bengali. with great sincerity and devotion. — Narahari Chakravarti. Śrī Bhakti-ratnākara. English trans- govindera līlā ati adbhuta apāra lation by Sri Kusakratha Das. The Krishna Institute. Culver ke bujhite pāre kpā na ha-ile tā ’ra City, California. praka āpraka a-līlā dui mata haya HE UEENS OF WARKA apraka e mauna-mudrārūpe vilasaya T 16,000 Q D Srila Sanatan Goswami The pastimes of Sri Govinda are astonishing and unlimited. Only by the mercy of the Lord Bhād-bhāgavatāmta 1.7.104-105 can one understand them. The Lord has two o aśānā sahasrāā sa-śatānā mad-āptaye types of pastimes — praka a, manifest, and kta-kātyāyanī-pūjā-vratānā gopa-yo itām apraka a, unmanifest. His apraka a-līlā was mani- nidarśanād iva svīya kiñcit svasthayitu mana fest in his inanimate form. (2.446-447) tāvatya eva yūya vai mayātraitā vivāhitā Srila Narahari Chakravarti continues his de- Some 16,100 gopis had with vows wor- scription of the glories of Srila Kashishwar Pandit shiped Katyayani to obtain me. To bring my in the sixth wave of Bhakti-ratnākara: mind somewhat to peace by seeing a like- kāśīśvara-mahimā kahite kebā jāne ness of them, I married the same number śrī gaura-govinde ye ānilā vndāvane of you queens here in Dwarka. Who can describe the glories of Srila Kashishwar Goswami, who brought the deity COMMENTARY: Of the young gopis in Sri Gaura-Govinda to Vrindavan? (6.445) Vraja, sixteen thousand attained Krishna’s govindera dak iete tā ’re vasāiyā intimate association. The Mathurā- dekhi’ du hu-śobhā uma aye hiyā māhātmya states, gopyo gāyanti ntyanti He placed Lord Gaura at Lord Govinda’s right sahasrāi ca o aśa: “Sixteen thousand gopis side. Gazing at the glory of these two deities, were singing and dancing.” The present Srila Kashishwar Goswami felt his heart flooded verse specifies the number of those most with bliss. (6.446) fortunate gopis as 16,100, although the śrī caitanya śrī kāśīśvarera premavaśe word “ca” implies that there were actually śrī vigraha-rūpe āilā paścima pradeśe more. All the gopis were extremely attracted Conquered by Kashishwar Goswami’s pure to Sri Krishna, but only some of them love, Sri Chaitanya came in this deity form to earned Krishna’s complete satisfaction by that place in Western India. (6.447) undergoing the Kātyāyanī-vrata to obtain In Śrī Sādhana-dīpikā it is said: him as their husband.