Sri Gauridasa Pandita
Krsna dasa Kaviraja Gosvami, in describing the branches of the main trunk (Nityananda)
of the tree nurtured by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, praised Gauri dasa Pandita in
this way:
"Gauri das Pandit's loving devotion was very intense and powerful. He especially
empowered himself to deliver, as well as to receive, love of Krsna. He
completely surrendered himself along with his caste distinction and his
religious dictates at the lotus feet of Nityananda Prabhu. Lord Caitanya and
Lord Nityananda Prabhu were the Lords of his life." [C.c. Adi 11.26-27]
His father's name was Sri Kamsari Misra and his mother's name Sri Kamala Devi.
Together they had six son: Damodara, Jagannatha, Surya dasa, Gauri dasa, Krsna
dasa and Nrsimha Caitanya. Amongst twelve cowherd boys in Vraja, Gauri dasa was
Subal Sakha.
Across the Ganges from Santipur, in a small town called Ambika Kalna, which is
within the present district of Barddhama, is where Gauri dasa Pandita's temple
is located. His worshippable Deities Sri Sri Gaura-Nityananda are still residing
in all their splendor there. There is a railway station at Ambika Kalna on the
Howrah-Navadvipa line. From there one can proceed by rickshaw to Mahaprabhu
Mandira. In the temple is an old copy of the Bhagavad-gita on palm leaves which
is supposed to have been written by the hand of Mahaprabhu Himself. There is
also an oar from a boat which has an interesting story behind it.
One day, the two Lords Caitanya and Nityananda came to Kalna from Santipur by
boat, paddling it themselves. Lord Caitanya kept the oar in His hand, and when
He entered Gauri dasa's house He gave it to him, saying, "With this you should
cross over the ocean of material existence, taking all the living entities with
you."
Gauri dasa Pandita's older brother, Surya dasa Sarakkali, had two daughters, Sri
Vasudha and Jahnava Devi. He gave them in marriage to Nityananda Prabhu. Near
the conclusion of His Navadvipa pastimes, when Mahaprabhu desired to accept
sannyasa, He came to Kalna to bid farewell to Gauri dasa. At that time Gauri
dasa became extremely afflicted by separation. Hereafter is a nice song which
describes what occurred at that time.
"In the Thakur Pandit's house, Lord Gauranga was dancing ecstatically, revolving
around and around, while Lord Nityananda chanted 'Hari! Hari!' Gauri dasa,
however, was crying very piteously and incessantly. He fell at the Lord's feet
and begged Him, 'Please don't ever go away from here! Just honor this one
request: stay here in Ambikanagar - this is my last submission at your lotus
feet. If You go away, surely I'll die. Don't try to trick me like You did the
gopis, giving some high philosophy about Your 'Bhava-murti' (or anything like
that). I must keep You here in such a way that I can see You. You two brothers
just stay here with me, thus everyone will become liberated. Again I am
petitioning You, don't leave me 'Gaur Hari (what's that mean exactly?). Then
I'll know that You are the deliverers of the fallen."
"Sri Gauranga Mahaprabhu replied, 'Gauri dasa! Give up this idea. You can just
serve My Deity form, for I am personally present in that form also. You should
know this to be a fact. Just accept what I am telling you as the truth."
"Hearing this, Gauri dasa simply let out a deep sigh and continued to cry
piteously. Again the two brothers tried to console him but his heart refused to
be pacified.
"Dina Krsna dasa is praying at the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya, that these two
brothers might remain there. Thus the two of them were bound by the love of
Gauri dasa and therefore the Lord is known as bhakta vatsala or one who is
affectionate to His devotees.
"Seeing that Gauri dasa was extremely distraught, Mahaprabhu spoke to him very
gently, 'All right, We'll stay with you. Know in all certainty that We two
brothers will stay in your house.'
"Consoling him in this way the two Lords came before him in the company of two
Deities. Seeing the four of them standing before him, Panditji was astonished,
and though tears continued to flow from his eyes, now it was not out of sadness.
The Lord again spoke to him, 'Whichever two you choose, you can keep in your
room. Whichever two you can recognise as Us will stay with you and depend on you
to feed Us. Know this to be the truth of truths within your heart.
"Having heard Mahaprabhu speak these words, Gauri dasa immediately began to
cook. He fed all four of them sumptuously and then offered them nice cloths and
garlanded them with garlands of lotus flowers. Then he offered pan and betal
nuts for chewing and smeared sandlewood paste on Their bodies. By serving them
in various ways, he gradually regained his former composure and at the same time
decided which two he would keep in his house. Due to the Pandita's pure love,
two Lords remained with him and asked him to feed them when they were hungry,
while the other two went to Nilacala Puri. Gauri dasa Pandita served his two
Lords according to Their whims and enjoyed many pastimes with Them.
"Praying at the lotus feet of such a rare devotee as Pandita Gauri das, Dina
Krsna dasa concludes his song. Becoming subservient to Gauri dasa' love, Sri Sri
Gaur-Nityananda accepted the arca vigraha form and remained with him to enjoy
sporting pastimes."
One day the two Lords smilingly spoke to Panditji "Gauri dasa! Previously you
were our friend, Subal. Don't you remember how we used to play and frolic,
enjoying different pastimes on the banks of the Yamuna?" Speaking in this sweet
way, suddenly they took the form of Krsna and Balarama. Dressed like cowherd
boys, They held buffalo horn, cane and flute in Their hands. Their heads were
decorated with peacock feathers and around their necks were garlands of forest
flowers, and their lotus feet were decorated with ankle bells. Gauri dasa also
assumed his previous appearance and in this way they enjoyed some fun together.
After some time, Gauri dasa calmed himself, and the two Lords agains at down on
the simhasana.
Every day, Gauri dasa used to cook many varieties of vegetables and offer them
to Their Lordships. He was always absorbed in their service and never perceived
his own bodily discomfort. As the years went by, gradually he attained a ripe
old age. Nevertheless he continued to serve his Lordships as before, cooking
many various preparations for Them. Seeing that he was having to exert himself
so much to do so much cooking, one day Sri Sri Gaura-Nityananda feigned anger
and refused to eat. Panditji was in turn hurt by this and said, "If You get
happiness by not eating, then why do You have me cook in the first place?" After
saying this he became silent.
Lord Gauranga smiled and replied softly, "Your cooking is no small
accomplishment. You prepare rice and so many varieties of vegetables. You won't
listen if We request you not to make so much but We can't bear to see your hard
labor. Whatever you can prepare easily that would be best."
Hearing Their statement, Gauri dasa replied, "Anyway, whatever I have prepared
today, please accept that. From tomorrow I won't feed You with so many
preparations. I'll just put some sak on Your plate." Having heard the reply of
Gauri dasa, the two Lords laughed and began to eat.
Sometimes Gauri dasa desired to decorate Their Lordships with ornaments. Coming
to know of this, Sri Gaura-Nityananda put on various ornaments and exhibited
themselves in Their full opulence. When Panditji entered the temple, he smiled
with wonder. "Where did so many ornaments come from?" He was simply astonished
in ecstasy. In this way Sri Sri Gaura-Nityananda began to manifest Their
opulence through various sporting pastimes in Gauri das's house.
Gauri dasa's dearmost disciple was Sri Hrdayananda. One time, on the occasion of
Lord Gaursundara's birth anniversary, Gauri dasa went to visit some of his
disciples. At the time of going he left Hrdayananda in charge of worshiping the
Deities, which Hrdayananda began to do in full love. Gradually the appearance
day of Mahaprabhu drew very near. When there were only three days remaining,
still Gauri dasa hadn't returned home yet. Hrdayananda deliberated for some time
about what should be done and finally, being prompted on his own, sent out
invitations to all the devotees and disciples to attend the festival.
Just after that, Gauri dasa returned. Hrdayananda informed his gurudeva that he
had written out invitations and had then sent them to the devotees. Within
himself, Gauri dasa was very pleased by Hrdayananda's service, but externally he
feigned great anger and said, "Even in my presence you show so much
independence, sending out invitations hither and thither. Anyway, whatever this
upstart has done is done, but he won't be able to remain here."
Hearing this, Hrdayananda offered his obeisances and went to sit underneath a
tree on the banks of the Ganga. Shortly there-after, a rich man passing by in a
boat hailed Hrdayananda, wishing to make a donation. But instead of accepting
the donation himself, Hrdayananda sent him to his guru. However, Gauri dasa sent
the man back to Hrdayananda and told him to accept the donation and with it to
hold a festival on the banks of the Ganga.
As per the order of his guru, Hrdayananda began to make the necessary
preparations. Gradually, the people that he had sent invitations to began to
arrive, but upon hearing that a festival was being held on the Ganges riverbank,
they proceeded there first. In the company of the many devotees, Hrdayananda
chanted and dance ecstatically. The sankirtan was so blissful and attractive
that Their Lordships themselves, Sri Sri Gaura-Nityananda, came to take part in
the dancing and singing. Hrdayananda was very fortunate to see all of this.
Meanwhile, Gauri dasa was also holding a festival in his house. When the time
came for making an offering, the pujari, Boro Ganga dasa Pandita entered the
Deity room only to find that there were no Deities. He immediately informed
Gauri dasa. Gauri dasa could understand the matter very well and, smiling, he
picked up a stick and proceeded towards the kirtana festival on the banks of the
Ganges. Arriving there, he saw the two transcendental brothers engaged in
ecstatic dancing. Sri Sri Gaura-Nityananda also saw Gauri dasa approaching in an
angry mood with a stick in his hand, and They quickly and silently entered the
temple of Hrdayananda's heart. Seeing this Gauri das couldn't restrain his tears
of ecstasy. He forgot his anger and ran towards Hrdayananda with his arms
outstretched. Firmly embracing him he said, "You are so fortunate! From today
your name is Hrday-caitanya."
Gauri dasa began to bathe him with his tears as Hrday-caitanya fell at his lotus
feet. Then Gauri dasa took Hrday-caitanya and all of the devotees to his
courtyard where intense chanting and dancing continued. The assembled Vaishnavas
filled the day with the vibrations of "Hari! Hari!" In this way the birth
anniversary celebration of Gaursundara was observed. Thereafter Gauri dasa
appointed Hrday-caitanya as the sevaka of the Deities.
His disappearance is on the thirteenth day of the bright fort-night of the month
of Sravana. In Vrindavana, on the banks of the Yamuna, there is a place called
Dhir Samir. Gauri dasa Pandita's samadhi is located here as are his worshippable
Deities, Sri Sri Shyama-Raya.
Note:: Special thanks to Jaya Tirtha Caran prabhu from NZ for allowing us to use some of the content from his site to compile these pages - http://www.hknet.org.nz
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