20210927 Nikunja, Yamunā, Nandīśvara, Kāmyavana and Khadiravana, Kumudavana, Ambikāvana etc… Part 1

Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book Compilation

By His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on 27^th September 2021 in

Śrīdhāma 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

Introduction: We are continuing with the compilation of Caitanya līlā book, the chapter entitled today is:

Nikunja, Yamunā, Nandīśvara, Kāmyavana and Khadiravana, Kumudavana, Ambikāvana Part 1

Under the Section: Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s Visit to Śrī Vṛndāvana

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 18.56

vṛndāvane saba līlā-sthala-darśana:—

prabhura gamana-rīti pūrve ye likhila
sei-mata vṛndāvane tāvat dekhila

Translation: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s touring Vṛndāvana has been previously described. In the same ecstatic way, He traveled all over Vṛndāvana.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, different scriptures give different details about the extensive Parikramā of Vṛndāvana's holy places. So, the places where He went earlier were  explained by other scriptures, and the others are xplained in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta.

Murāri Gupta Kaḍaca, 4.10. 1

tataś ca paśyātra vasanta-veśau
śrī-rāma-kṛṣṇau vraja-sundarībhiḥ
cikrīḍituḥ sva-sva-yūtheśvarībhiḥ
samaṁ rasa-jñau kala-dhauta-maṇḍitau

Translation: Kṛṣṇa Dāsa continued, "Oh! Here You may see the spot where Rāma and Kṛṣṇa, the Masters of rasa, were appareled in spring vestments and adorned with softly ringing gold and silver ornaments. They sported playfully with the fair maidens of Vraja dhāma, who are the leaders of the various groups of gopīs.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, as Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma were travelling around Vṛndāvana, enjoying Their different līlās, pastimes, the Sanoḍiyā Brāhmaṇa, Kṛṣṇa dāsa took Lord Caitanya and explained what had happened in each of the places.

Murāri Gupta Kaḍaca, 4.10.2

nṛtyantau gopībhiḥ sārdhaṁ gāyantau rabhasānvitau
gāyantībhiś ca rāmābhir nṛtyantībhiś ca śobhitau

Translation: “The heroic dancing and singing of Rāma and Kṛṣṇa was embellished by the dancing and singing of their charming sweethearts, the gopīs.”

Jayapatākā Swami: So, the pastimes of Gopīs and Kṛṣṇa are explained where Rāma, Lord Balarāma danced and sang.

Murāri Gupta Kaḍaca, 4.10.3

tayor itthaṁ viharatoḥ śaṅkhacūḍaś ca durmatiḥ
kadarthayan gopī-janān tābhyāṁ samupalakṣitaḥ

Translation: “As the two brothers were enjoying thus, an evil demon named Śaṅkha-cūḍā, who was notable by the conch-shaped jewel upon his head, began ogling the gopīs. He was closely observed by Rāma and Kṛṣṇa.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, the demon named Śaṅkha-cūḍā was teasing the Gopīs and Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma were observing him, thinking what to do!

Murāri Gupta Kaḍaca, 4.10.4

hṛtam asya śiro-ratnaṁ kṛṣṇenāpi hataḥ khalaḥ
dattaṁ śrī-baladevāya maṇi-ratnaṁ syamantakam

Translation: “After slaying that rogue, Kṛṣṇa took that jewel named Syamantaka from the dead demon's turban and placed it in the hand of Baladeva.”

Jayapatākā Swami: So, this Syamantaka jewel was given to Lord Balarāma.

Murāri Gupta Kaḍaca, 4.10.5

paśyantīnāṁ ca gopīnāṁ śrī-kṛṣṇena sa-kautukam
tenāpi tan nija-preṣṭhair dattaṁ tat-preyasīṁ prati

Translation: “While the gopīs looked on, Śrī Kṛṣṇa playfully gave that jewel to Baladeva. Baladeva in turn gave it to His own dear gopīs, and they ultimately gave it to Kṛṣṇa's most beloved Śrī Rādhā.”

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Balarāma had a set of gopīs, Lord Kṛṣṇa had a set of Gopīs and all the gopīs are expanded from Śrīmatī Rādhārānī, so She is the dear most of all the gopīs and She got the rare jewel.

Murāri Gupta Kaḍaca, 4.10.6

gobhiḥ samaṁ prativanaṁ pratigacchatoḥ śrī-
vaktraṁ mukunda-balayor vraja-sundarībhiḥ
akṣaṇvatāṁ phalam idam iti gītam atra
śṛṇvan prabhuḥ pulakitaḥ kila roravīti

Translation: Seeing the beautiful lotus face of Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma as they went forth to graze their cows in all the forests of Vraja, the beautiful maidens of Vraja sang, “The real benefit of having eyes is to see the beautiful faces of Mukunda and Bala(deva).” When the Lord heard this, His hairs thrilled with rapture and He roared very loudly.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, as Kṛṣṇa promises that He will reciprocates with each devotee appropriately, so the Gopīs were praising that the real benefit of having eyesight was to witness Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma. So, this thrilled Lord Kṛṣṇa, and He loudly roared in ecstasy.

Murāri Gupta Kaḍaca, 4.10.7

kumudākhya-vanaṁ paśya śrīdāma-subalādibhiḥ
saha saṅkrīḍataḥ kṛṣṇa-rāmau yatra sunirbharam

Translation: Kṛṣṇa Dāsa continued, “Just see the forest named Kumuda, where Kṛṣṇa and Rāma together with Śrīdāma, Subala and the other cowherd boys played with great exhilaration.”

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Lord Caitanya was shown Kumuda-vana, where Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma and their cowherd friends played.

Murāri Gupta Kaḍaca, 4.10.8

atra sarasvatī-tīre ambikākhyaṁ vanaṁ janaiḥ
pūjyate śaṅkaro devo gaurī ca vraja-vāsibhiḥ

Translation: “Here on the bank of the Sarasvatī is the forest called Ambikā-vana, where Śaṅkara-deva and his wife Gaurī are worshipped by the Vraja-vāsīs.”

Jayapatākā Swami: So, this Ambikā-vana worship of Lord Śiva and His wife, Gaurī is performed by the Vraja-vāsīs.

Murāri Gupta Kaḍaca, 4.10.9-10

muneḥ śapāt sarpa-dehaṁ prāpto nāma sudarśanaḥ
nandārdhaṁ gilite kṛṣṇenoddhṛtaḥ pāda-saṁspṛśan
gandharva iti vikhyātas tasthau santoṣayan harim
yayāv atra nijaṁ dhāma kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtanair mudā

Translation: “By the curse of a sage, the Gandharva of the name Sudarśana received the body of a serpent. One day, half of Nanda Mahārāja's body was swallowed up by him, but merely by the touch of His foot, Kṛṣṇa delivered him. The Gandharva then stood in this place and satisfied Śrī Hari by his prayers. Then he departed for his own abode, joyously singing the names of Kṛṣṇa.”

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Kṛṣṇa delivered the Gandharva, Sudarśana from the curse of his becoming a snake, simply by the touch of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s lotus foot.

Murāri Gupta Kaḍaca, 4.10.11

vṛṣbhānu-puraṁ paśya yatra vṛndāvaneśvarī
prādurbhūtā mahā-lakṣmī rādhā kṛṣṇa-vilāsinī

Translation: “Behold the city of King Vṛṣabhānu. Here Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, the Queen of Vṛndāvana, made Her appearance. She is the supreme goddess of fortune who enjoys pleasure-pastimes with Kṛṣṇa.”

Jayapatākā Swami: So, now Lord Caitanya has come to the city of King Vṛṣabhānū, in Barsāna, He was feeling great ecstasy seeing all these places.

Murāri Gupta Kaḍaca, 4.10.12

giriṁ raivatakaṁ paśya baladevo rasāgraṇīḥ
yatra gopī-janaiḥ krīḍan dvividaṁ paricūrṇayat

Translation: “See the Raivataka mountain where Baladeva, the foremost among those expert in tasting rasa, sported with the gopīs. And this is where He pulverized the gorilla demon named Dvivida.”

Jayapatākā Swami: So, the demon Dvivida was displaying obscene things in front of the gopīs and so a fight ensued between Lord Balarāma and Dvivida and the demon Dvivida was pulverized by Lord Balarāma.

Murāri Gupta Kaḍaca, 4.10.13

yayau yāmunakaṁ tīraṁ kalindīṁ tāṁ vikarṣayan
yathecchaṁ jalam āviśya krīḍan gopībhir acyutaḥ

Translation: Once Balarāma went to the bank of the Yamunā, and with His celebrated plow He dragged Kalindī to Him. The infallible Lord entered her waters and amused Himself with the gopīs as He liked.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Kṛṣṇa dāsa was showing Lord Caitanya all these pastime places in Vṛndāvana, In this place Lord Balarāma had performed pastimes with Kalindī and the gopīs.

Murāri Gupta Kaḍaca, 4.10.14

tīram āsādya vāsobhir vibhūya bhūṣaṇair varaiḥ
gopībhis tā bhūṣayitvā krīḍati kṛṣṇa-kautukī

Translation: “After Balarāma had remounted Yamunā's bank, the gopīs dressed Him brilliantly and adorned Him with excellent ornaments. Then He who is ever eager to satisfy His brother Kṛṣṇa enjoyed sporting amongst them.”

Jayapatākā Swami: So, since Balarāma is first expansion of Kṛṣṇa, He alone is able to have a place and similar pastimes as Lord Kṛṣṇa. He has His own gopīs and He sports with them.

Murāri Gupta Kaḍaca, 4.10.15

nanda-grāmottare paśya pāvanākhyaṁ sarovaram
yatra nandasya go-vatsāś caranti kṛṣṇa-pālitāḥ

Translation: “Behold the beautiful lake named Pāvana which lies to the north of the town of Nanda. There Nanda's cows and calves graze as they are tended by Kṛṣṇa.”

Jayapatākā Swami: So, the pastime place of Lord Kṛṣṇa where He would take his calves and cows, and the Pāvana sarovar where they would drink water is being shown by Kṛṣṇa dāsa to Lord Caitanya.

Caitanya Maṅgala, Śeṣa-khaṇḍa 2.338

pāvana sarovara nandīśvarera uttare
caudige dekhaha khuṅṭā bāndhite bāchure

Jayapatākā Swami: Pāvana Sarovara lies to the north of the town of Nandīśvara. See all around, the calves are tied to the poles.

So, Nanda Mahārāja Nandagaon, Nanda grāma, was also known as Nandīśvara and Rādhārānī’s place of residence is the hill of Barśāna

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 18.55

mahāprabhura kāmyavane āgamana:—

prastāve kahiluṅ gopāla-kṛpāra ākhyāna
tabe mahāprabhu gelā ‘śrī-kāmyavana’

Translation: In the course of this story, I have given a description of Lord Gopāla’s mercy. After seeing the Gopāla Deity, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu went to Śrī Kāmyavana.

Purport: Kāmyavana is mentioned in the Ādi-varāha Purāṇa:

caturthaṁ kāmyaka-vanaṁ vanānāṁ vanam uttamam
tatra gatvā naro devi mama loke mahīyate

Lord Śiva said, “The best of all forests is the fourth of these, named Kāmyaka. O goddess Devī, any person who goes there is eligible to enjoy the glories of my abode.”

In the Bhakti-ratnākara (Fifth Wave) it is also said:

ei kāmyavane kṛṣṇa-līlā manohara
karibe darśana sthāna kuṇḍa bahutara
kāmyavane yata tīrtha lekhā nāhi tāra

“In this Kāmyavana, Kṛṣṇa performed enchanting pastimes. Here you will be able to take darśana of many ponds and other transcendental spots. I cannot even describe in writing all the sacred tīrthas found at Kāmyavana.”

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Lord Caitanya was taken to Kāmyavana which is the place of many of Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes. So we can understand that Lord Caitanya was very ecstatic to visit all these places.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā, 18.57

vṛndāvana haite nandīśvare nandālaya-darśana o prema-vihvalatā:—

tāhāṅ līlā-sthalī dekhi’ gelā ‘nandīśvara’
‘nandīśvara’ dekhi’ preme ha-ilā vihvala

Translation: After visiting the places of Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes at Kāmyavana, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu went to Nandīśvara. While there, He was overwhelmed with ecstatic love.

Purport: Nandīśvara is the house of Mahārāja Nanda.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, when Lord Caitanya visited the house where as Lord Kṛṣṇa, He had stayed, he was overwhelmed with great spiritual ecstasy.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā, 18.58

pāvana-sarovare snāna, vigraha-sambandhe jijñāsā:—

‘pāvanādi’ saba kuṇḍe snāna kariyā
lokere puchila, parvata-upare yāñā

Translation: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu bathed in all the celebrated lakes, beginning with Lake Pāvana. Thereafter He climbed a hill and spoke to the people.

Purport: The Pāvana-sarovara is described in the Mathurā-māhātmya:

pāvane sarasi snātvā kṛṣṇaṁ nandīśvare girau
dṛṣṭvā nandaṁ yaśodāṁ ca sarvābhīṣṭam avāpnuyāt

“One who bathes in Pāvana Lake by Nandīśvara Hill will see Kṛṣṇa there along with Nanda and Yaśodā and will fulfill all his desires.”

Jayapatākā Swami: So, the glories of Pāvana Sarovara are mentioned herein.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā, 18.59

lokera nikaṭa gophāstha nanda, yaśodā o kṛṣṇamūrtira avasthāna vārttā-śravaṇa:—

kichu deva-mūrti haya parvata-upare?
loka kahe,—mūrti haya gophāra bhitare

Translation: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu asked, “Are there any deities on top of this hill?” The local people replied, “There are deities on this hill, but they are located within a cave.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Lord Caitanya he wanted to know where were the Deities of Nanda and Yaśoda and Child Kṛṣṇa!

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā, 18.60

dui-dike mātā-pitā puṣṭa kalevara
madhye eka ‘śiśu’ haya tribhaṅga-sundara

Translation: “There are a father and mother with well-built bodies, and between them is a very beautiful child who is curved in three places.”

Jayapatākā Swami: So, when Lord Caitanya heard this He was especially ecstatic.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā, 18.61

śuni’ mahāprabhu mane ānanda pāñā
‘tina’ mūrti dekhilā sei gophā ughāḍiyā

Translation: Hearing this, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu became very happy. After excavating the cave, He saw the three deities.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Lord Caitanya in His Vṛndāvana Parikramā,  He discovered many hidden tīrthas like Rādhā-kuṇḍa and Śyāma-kuṇḍa and the deities of Yaśodā and Nanda.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā, 18.62

prabhura nanda-yaśodā vandana o kṛṣṇa-sparśana

vrajendra-vrajeśvarīra kaila caraṇa vandana
premāveśe kṛṣṇera kaila sarvāṅga-sparśana

Translation: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu offered His respects to Nanda Mahārāja and mother Yaśodā, and with great ecstatic love He touched the body of Lord Kṛṣṇa.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu touched the lotus feet of Yasodā and Nanda and touched all over the body of Lord Kṛṣṇa.

Murāri Gupta Kaḍaca, 4.10.16

nandīśvara-paścime ca vanaṁ hi kāmya-pūrvakam
picchalākhyaḥ parvato’yam atra tiṣṭhati nirmalaḥ

Translation: To the west of Nandīśvara is the forest of Kāmyavana, where the immaculate mountain named Picchala stands.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, some versions have Lord Kṛṣṇa went to Nandīśvara first and in some versions He went to Kāmyavana first and then to Nandīśvara, whatever the version of Caitanya-caritāmṛta we accept that.

Thus ends the chapter entitled, Nikuṣja, Yamunā, Nandīśvara, Kāmyavana and Khadiravana, Kumudavana, Ambikāvana etc… Part 1

Under the Section: Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s Visit to Śrī Vṛndāvana

Transcribed and Verified by JPS Archives 01^st Oct 2021