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Jagannatha
Swami nayana pata gami bhavatu me!
"O Jagannatha, Lord of the
Universe, please be visible before my eyes."
"Now please hear about Lord
Jagannatha's going to the Gundica temple while Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu danced
before the Ratha car. The Lord performed kirtana for some time and, through His
own endeavor, inspired all the devotees to dance. When the Lord Himself wanted
to dance, all seven groups combined together. The Lord's devotees--including Srivasa,
Ramai, Raghu, Govinda, Mukunda, Haridasa, Govindananda, Madhava and Govinda--all
combined together. When Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu desired to jump high while dancing,
He placed these nine people in the charge of Svarupa Damodara. These devotees
[Svarupa Damodara and the devotees in his charge] sang along with the Lord, and
they also ran beside Him. All the other groups of men also sang.
Offering
obeisances to the Lord with folded hands, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu raised His face
toward Jagannatha and prayed as follows. 'Let me offer my respectful obeisances
unto Lord Krsna, who is the worshipable Deity for all brahminical men, who is
the well-wisher of cows and brahmanas, and who is always benefiting the whole
world. I offer my repeated obeisances to the Personality of Godhead, known as
Krsna and Govinda.'
'All
glories unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead who is known as the son of Devaki.
All glories to the Supreme Personality of Godhead who is known as the light of
the dynasty of Vrsni. All glories to the Supreme Personality of Godhead whose
bodily luster is like that of a new cloud and whose body is as soft as a lotus
flower. All glories to the Supreme Personality of Godhead who appeared on this
planet to deliver the world from the burden of demons and who can offer liberation
to everyone.'
'Lord
Sri Krsna is He who is known as jana-nivasa, the ultimate resort of all living
entities, and who is also known as Devaki-nandana or Yasoda-nandana, the son of
Devaki and Yasoda. He is the guide of the Yadu dynasty, and with His mighty arms
He kills everything inauspicious as well as every man who is impious. By His presence
He destroys all things inauspicious for all living entities, moving and inert.
His blissful smiling face always increases the lusty desires of the gopis of Vrndavana.
May He be all glorious and happy!'
'I
am not a brahmana, I am not a ksatriya, I am not a vaisya or a sudra. Nor am I
a brahmacari, a householder, a vanaprastha or a sannyasi. I identify Myself only
as the servant of the servant of the servant of the lotus feet of Lord Sri Krsna,
the maintainer of the gopis. He is like an ocean of nectar, and He is the cause
of universal transcendental bliss. He is always existing with brilliance.' "
Having
recited all these verses from scripture, the Lord again offered His obeisances,
and all the devotees, with folded hands, also offered prayers to the Supreme Personality
of Godhead.
When
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu danced and jumped high, roaring like thunder and moving
in a circle like a wheel, He appeared like a circling firebrand. Wherever Sri
Caitanya Mahaprabhu stepped while dancing, the whole earth, with its hills and
seas, appeared to tilt.
When
Caitanya Mahaprabhu danced, He displayed various blissful transcendental changes
in His body. Sometimes He appeared as though stunned. Sometimes the hairs of His
body stood on end. Sometimes He perspired, cried, trembled and changed color,
and sometimes He exhibited symptoms of helplessness, pride, exuberance and humility.
When
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu fell down with a crash while dancing, He would roll on
the ground. At such times it appeared that a golden mountain was rolling on the
ground. Nityananda Prabhu would stretch out His two hands and try to catch the
Lord when He was running here and there. Advaita Acarya would walk behind the
Lord and loudly chant "Hari bol! Hari bol!" again and again.
Just
to check the crowds from coming too near the Lord, they formed three circles.
The first circle was guided by Nityananda Prabhu, who is Balarama Himself, the
possessor of great strength. All the devotees headed by Kasisvara and Govinda
linked hands and formed a second circle around the Lord. Maharaja Prataparudra
and his personal assistants formed a third circle around the two inner circles
just to check the crowd from coming too near. With his hands on the shoulders
of Haricandana, King Prataparudra could see Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu dancing,
and the King felt great ecstasy. While the King beheld the dancing, Srivasa Thakura,
standing in front of him, became ecstatic as he saw the dancing of Sri Caitanya
Mahaprabhu.
Seeing
Srivasa Thakura standing before the King, Haricandana touched Srivasa with his
hand and requested him to step aside. Absorbed in watching Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu
dance, Srivasa Thakura could not understand why he was being touched and pushed.
After he was pushed again and again, he became angry. Srivasa Thakura slapped
Haricandana to stop him from pushing him. In turn, this made Haricandana angry.
As the angered Haricandana was about to speak to Srivasa Thakura, Prataparudra
Maharaja personally stopped him. King Prataparudra said, "You are very fortunate,
for you have been graced by the touch of Srivasa Thakura. I am not so fortunate.
You should feel obliged to him."
Everyone
was astonished by the dancing of Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and even Lord Jagannatha
became extremely happy to see Him. The car came to a complete standstill and remained
immobile while Lord Jagannatha, with unblinking eyes, watched the dancing of Sri
Caitanya Mahaprabhu. The goddess of fortune, Subhadra, and Lord Balarama both
felt great happiness and ecstasy within Their hearts. Indeed, They were seen smiling
at the dancing.
When
Caitanya Mahaprabhu danced and jumped high, eight wonderful transformations indicative
of divine ecstasy were seen in His body. All these symptoms were visible simultaneously.
His skin erupted with goose pimples, and the hairs of His body stood on end. His
body resembled the simuli [silk cotton tree], all covered with thorns. Indeed,
the people became afraid just to see His teeth chatter, and they even thought
that His teeth would fall out.
Sri
Caitanya Mahaprabhu's whole body flowed with perspiration and at the same time
oozed blood. He made the sounds "jaja gaga, jaja gaga" in a voice choked with
ecstasy. Tears came forcefully from the eyes of the Lord, as if from a syringe,
and all the people surrounding Him became wet. Everyone saw the complexion of
His body change from white to pink, so that His luster resembled that of the mallika
flower.
Sometimes
He appeared stunned, and sometimes He rolled on the ground. Indeed, sometimes
His legs and hands became as hard as dry wood, and He did not move. When the Lord
fell on the ground, sometimes His breathing almost stopped. When the devotees
saw this, their lives also became very feeble. Water flowed from His eyes and
sometimes through His nostrils, and foam fell from His mouth. These flowings appeared
to be torrents of nectar descending from the moon.
The
foam which fell from the mouth of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was taken and drunk
by Subhananda because he was very fortunate and expert in relishing the mellow
of ecstatic love of Krsna. After performing His devastating dance for some time,
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's mind entered into a mood of ecstatic love.
After
abandoning the dancing, the Lord ordered Svarupa Damodara to sing. Understanding
His mind, Svarupa Damodara began to sing as follows. "Now I have gained the Lord
of My life, in the absence of whom I was being burned by Cupid and was withering
away." When this refrain was loudly sung by Svarupa Damodara, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu
again began rhythmically dancing in transcendental bliss.
The
car of Lord Jagannatha began to move slowly while the son of mother Saci went
ahead and danced in front. While dancing and singing, all the devotees in front
of Lord Jagannatha kept their eyes on Him. Caitanya Mahaprabhu then went to the
end of the procession with the sankirtana performers.
His
eyes and mind fully absorbed in Lord Jagannatha, Caitanya Mahaprabhu began to
play the drama of the song with His two arms. When Caitanya Mahaprabhu was dramatically
enacting the song, He would sometimes fall behind in the procession. At such times,
Lord Jagannatha would come to a standstill. When Caitanya Mahaprabhu again went
forward, Lord Jagannatha's car would slowly start again.
Thus
there was a sort of competition between Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Lord Jagannatha
in seeing who would lead, but Caitanya Mahaprabhu was so strong that He made Lord
Jagannatha wait in His car.
Purport
After
giving up the company of the gopis in Vrndavana, Sri Krsna, the son of Maharaja
Nanda, engaged in His pastimes at Dvaraka. When Krsna went to Kuruksetra with
His brother and sister and others from Dvaraka, He again met the inhabitants of
Vrndavana. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu is radha-bhava-dyuti-suvalita, that is, Krsna
Himself assuming the part of Srimati Radharani in order to understand Krsna. Lord
Jagannatha-deva is Krsna, and Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu is Srimati Radharani.
Caitanya Mahaprabhu's leading Lord Jagannatha toward Gundica temple corresponded
to Srimati Radharani's leading Krsna toward Vrndavana. Sri Ksetra, Jagannatha
Puri, was taken as the kingdom of Dvaraka, the place where Krsna enjoys supreme
opulence. However, He was being led by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu to Vrndavana, the
simple village where all the inhabitants are filled with ecstatic love for Krsna.
Sri
Ksetra is a place of aisvarya-lila, just as Vrndavana is the place of madhurya-lila.
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's following at the rear of the ratha indicated that Lord
Jagannatha, Krsna, was forgetting the inhabitants of Vrndavana. Although Krsna
neglected the inhabitants of Vrndavana, He could not forget them. Thus in His
opulent Ratha-yatra, He was returning to Vrndavana. In the role of Srimati Radharani,
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was examining whether the Lord still remembered the inhabitants
of Vrndavana. When Caitanya Mahaprabhu fell behind the Ratha car, Jagannatha-deva,
Krsna Himself, understood the mind of Srimati Radharani. Therefore, Jagannatha
sometimes fell behind the dancing Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu to indicate to Srimati
Radharani that He had not forgotten. Thus Lord Jagannatha would wait on the ratha
for their forward march. In this way Lord Jagannatha agreed that without the ecstasy
of Srimati Radharani He could not feel satisfied. While Jagannatha was thus waiting,
Gaurasundara, Caitanya Mahaprabhu, in His ecstasy of Srimati Radharani, immediately
came forward to Krsna. At such times, Lord Jagannatha would proceed ahead very
slowly. These competitive exchanges were all part of the love affair between Krsna
and Srimati Radharani. In that competition between Lord Caitanya's ecstasy for
Jagannatha and Jagannatha's ecstasy for Srimati Radharani, Caitanya Mahaprabhu
emerged successful.
Caitanya-caritamrta,
Madyam lila 13:70-119
HDG A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada
Sri
Jagannatha - Lord of the Universe
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