20231210 Chapter 9 Śrī-caitanyotkarṣatā (Part 1)

Śrī Caitanya-candrāmṛtam

By His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on 10^th December 2023 in

Śrī Mayapur, 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: The following is Śrī Caitanya-candrāmṛtam purports given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja, Continuing the commentary on the Śrī Caitanya-candrāmṛtam, śrī-caitanyotkarṣatā — Śrī Caitanya’s excellence, Part 1

Ninth Chapter

śrī-caitanyotkarṣatā — Śrī Caitanya’s excellence

Śrī Caitanya-candrāmṛtam 100

gauraharira rūpa-guṇa-mādhugya-vīrya-audārya dvārā sarvotkarṣatā-varṇana

Description of the excellence of Gaurahari’s form, qualities, sweetness, prowess and magnanimity

matta-keśari-kiśora-vikramaḥ
prema-sindhu-jagad-āplavodyamaḥ
ko’pi divya-nava-hema-kandalī-
komalo jayati gauracandramāḥ

matta-keśari-kiśora-vikramaḥ—powerful like a young lion i.e. in destroying the age of Kali, who is mighty like a young lion; prema-sindhu-jagad-āplavodyamaḥ—who is endeavoring to flood the world with the ocean of love; kaḥ api—a certain indescribable; divya-nava-hema-kandalī-komalaḥ—wonderful and soft like a newely blossomed golden kadalī plant; jayati—is gloriously present with all splendor; gauracandramāḥ—the moon of Gauracandra.

Anuvāda: Kalinigrahe matta taruṇa siṁhera nyāya prabhāva-viśiṣṭa, manohara nava-prasphuṭita-suvarṇakalikā haiteo sukomala, premasindhuke udvelita kariyā viśvaplāvane ceṣṭāviśiṣṭa kona anirvacanīya śrī-gauracandramā sarvotkarṣera sahita virāja karitechena.

Translation: He, who is mighty like a young lion in destroying the Age of Kali, who is softer than a newely blossomed wonderful golden bud and who is endeavoring to flood the world by exciting and overflowing the ocean of love, a certain indescribable Gauracandra moon is excellently present with all splendor.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, this verse is describing the super excellence of Lord Caitanya, how He is like a lion to destroy the age of Kali, but He is like a softer newly blossomed golden lotus flower. Lord Caitanya is trying to flood this world with Kṛṣṇa-prema, by overflowing the ocean of love. So rarely we see any avatāra who is committed to delivering all the fallen souls. Even Kṛṣṇa, He would kill the demoniac entities because by killing them He gives them a blessing, but they would get the nirākara liberation. But Lord Caitanya, He gives love of the Personality of Godhead and He is committed to all the sinful entities to go back home back to Godhead and give everyone love of Kṛṣṇa. Other avatāras, they give liberation but giving love of Kṛṣṇa is very rare. Only Kṛṣṇa can do that. Lord Caitanya, is Kṛṣṇa Himself, He is dedicated to delivering the fallen souls. So those who come in the pastimes of Lord Caitanya they are blessed. Some people, they don’t take advantage of the Lord’s all merciful form. Still, He is determined that somehow or another He will deliver them. Even Lord Nityānanda was hit on the head and caused Him to bleed, He said just because you caused Me to bleed does it mean I won’t give you love of Godhead? So Nitāi Gaura, They are personified mercy!

Śrī Caitanya-candrāmṛtam 101

rādhābhāva-dyuti-suvalita kṛṣṇera saundaryāhlādana-vātsalyaudārya-gāmbhīrya-mādhuryera sarvotkarṣatā

Kṛṣṇa’s excellence of beauty, joy, affection, magnanimity, gravity and sweetness with the sentiment and complexion of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī

saundarye kāma-koṭih sakala-jana-samāhlādane candra-koṭir
vātsalye mātṛ-koṭis tri-daśa-viṭapināṁ koṭir audārya-sāre
gāmbhīrye’mbhodhi-koṭir madhurimaṇi sudhā-kṣīra-mādhvīka-koṭiḥ
gauro devaḥ sa jīyāt praṇaya-rasa-pade darśitāścarya-koṭiḥ

saundarye—in beauty; kāma-koṭih—crores of kandarpa, i.e. whose beauty belittles countless cupids; sakala-jana-samāhlādane—in cooling all living entities; candra-koṭiḥ—crores of moons, i.e. coolness of countless moons is made insignificant; vātsalye—in affection; mātṛ-koṭiḥ—crores of mothers, i.e. whose affection is more than that of countless mothers; tri-daśa-viṭapināṁ koṭiḥ—crores of desire trees, i.e. whose magnanimity puts to shame unlimited desire trees; audārya-sāre—excellent magnanimity; gāmbhīrye—in gravity; ambhodhi-koṭiḥ—crores of oceans, i.e. whose gravity defeats the gravity of thousands and thousands of oceans; madhurimaṇi—in sweetness; sudhā-kṣīra-mādhvīka-koṭiḥ—crores of essence of all nectar, milk, honey – mādhvīka is a liquor from honey, in this instance, by the term ‘sudhā’, immortality and wonderful relishness, by the term ‘kṣīra’, tuṣṭi (satisfaction) and puṣṭi (nourishment) and by the term mādhvīka, intoxication due to love is indicated; gauraḥ devaḥ saḥ—that Gaurasundara who is full of pastimes; jīyāt—be victorious; praṇaya-rasa-pade—in the matter of conjugal mellow; darśitāścarya-koṭiḥ—he who has exhibited crores of wonder, i.e. the loving mellow exhibited by Śrī Gaurasundara is crores of times more wonderful than the sweet conjugal mellow exhibited by the previous relishers of mellow.

Anuvāda: Yini saundarye koṭi kandarpa, sarvajīvera susnigdhatā-vidhāne koṭi candra, snehe koṭi mātā, vadānyatāra parākāṣṭhāya koṭi kalpataru, gāmbhīrye koṭi samudra, mādhurye koṭi amṛtasāra, koṭi dugdhasāra o koṭi madhusāra, śṛṅgāra rasaviṣaye koṭi camatkāritā (rasavaicitrya) -pradarśaka, sei līlāmaya gaurahari jayayukta haun.

Translation: He who has exhibited, crores of kandarpa (cupid) in beauty, crores of moons in bestowing cooling to all living entities, crores of mothers in affection, crores of desire trees in excellent magnanimity, crores of oceans in gravity, crores of essence of all milk, honey and nectar in sweetness, and crores of wonderful variegated mellows in the matter of conjugal mellow, that Gaurasundara who is full of pastimes be victorious.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, the author is writing the description of Lord Gaurāṅga, tens of millions of cupids, tens and millions of moons and providing cooling rays to the conditioned souls. Tens and millions of mothers in affection and tens and millions of desire trees in magnanimity. Like this, if you combine all these things then you will get some idea of the greatness of Mahāprabhu. He ends up by saying that Gaurāṅga Mahāprabhu, who is filled with pastimes be victorious. Actually, Lord Caitanya, He not only has all these good qualities, He associates with His devotees in the most compelling way.

Śrī Caitanya-candrāmṛtam 102

śiva-brahmādirao vismayaprada svīya bhakta-vṛndera nikaṭa nija-mahimā-pradarśanakārī śrī-gaurahari

Śrī Gaurahari exhibits his own glory to his devotees by whom even Śiva and Brahmā are wonderstruck

sva-pādāmbhojaika-praṇaya-laharī-sādhana-bhṛtāṁ
śiva-brahmādīnām api ca su-mahā-vismaya-bhṛtām
mahā-premāveśāt kim api naṭatām unmada iva
prabhur gauro jīyāt prakaṭa-paramāścarya-mahimā

sva-pādāmbhojaika-praṇaya-laharī-sādhana-bhṛtāṁ—of the sādhana-bhaktas who do the sādhana to manifest the super excellent (ekā) waves of bhāva (praṇaya-laharī) in the heart to the two of His lotus feet, i.e. of all those practitioners of sādhana who are present to manifest the super excellent waves of bhāva in the heart to the two of His lotus feet; śiva-brahmādīnām api ca—even Śiva and Brahmā; su-mahā-vismaya-bhṛtām—giving great wonder; mahā-premāveśāt—due to the absorption in mahābhāva; kim api naṭatām—devotees who are dancing wonderfully; unmada iva—like mad; prabhuḥ—independent controller; gauraḥ—Gaurasundara; jīyāt—be victorious; prakaṭa-paramāścarya-mahimā—He who has exhibited very wonderful glory.

Anuvāda: Sbīya pādapadmayugalera sarbotkarṣiṇī premabhakti-laharīprāptira upāyasbarūpa sādhanabhaktite abasthita bhaktagaṇera ebaṁ śiba-brahmādirao atyanta bismaya pradānakārī mahābhābe ābeśa-nibandhana unmattera nyāya camatkāra nṛtyaśīla bhaktagaṇera paramāścarya-mahimā yini prakāśa kariyāchena, sei sbayaṁ bhagabān gaurasundara sarbotkarṣera sahita birāja karuna.

Translation: The practicing devotees are situated in sādhana-bhakti as a means of attaining the supreme waves of prema-bhakti of His lotus feet. Then there are those devotees who are wonderfully dancing like mad due to the absorption in mahā-bhāva which creates wonder even in Śiva, Brahmā and so on. He, Gaurasundara, who has manifested the wonderful glories of both of these devotees, let that original Supreme Personality of Godhead be victorious.

Jayapatākā Swami: Be victorious means that they say the divine personality, Lord Caitanya, jaya ho! The devotees very graciously describing Lord Caitanya’s qualities here. Lord Caitanya, His understanding the different pastimes that He is performing and appreciating them. So may there be all victory to Him! Normally, only Rādhārāṇī performs Mahābhāva, the highest ecstasy of pure love in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, and She is doing prema bhāva just to share the transcendental emotion with everyone who is present. So, Lord Caitanya is dancing like mad and all the devotees are dancing like mad. I was in Canada when I came down to Boston. There in the airport we were waiting for Śrīla Prabhupāda. There was a type of barricade which was blocking up the view of the passengers who were arriving. We could only see the feet and we could not see above. Someone saw Śrīla Prabhupāda’s feet and then Śrīla Prabhupāda lifted his hands with the bead bag on it. Devotees responded - Śrīla Prabhupāda jai! They started jumping up and down. And when Śrīla Prabhupāda, he came out of the doorway of the airport, still inside the airport next to the Customs area, everybody all the devotees bowed down except the newspaper people. The journalists were a bit amazed how everybody bowed down to this elderly man from India. Then Śrīla Prabhupāda sat down and everybody started offering garlands to Śrīla Prabhupāda. It went above his head. Then he took off the garlands, and handed them down, then more came like this several times his head was covered. Because a guru is representing Kṛṣṇa. He is representing God. Therefore, he is offered all the respect like God. But if he thinks he is God, he is the opposite, he is not G O D, he is D O G, Dog! That was Śrīla Prabhupāda’s arrival lecture. So, anyway he said other things. Apparently when Śrīla Prabhupāda came out some devotee hit his head with the cymbal and he started bleeding and the journalist saw this but the devotee was oblivious the blood was flowing down but he was blissful because he was seeing Śrīla Prabhupāda. So they put that in the paper - the guy who was bleeding. They had a house they were in, the temple in Boston, it was previously a funeral home. So they had a lift that went down to the basement where they takes coffins. In the basement they had a printing press of Śrīla Prabhupāda books, they were publishing it. Śrīla Prabhupāda gave a lecture and they gave him a big plate of prasāda and he took some prasāda. Then he went to the car and drove off because he was staying somewhere else. Then I thought prasāda! I ran upstairs there was already a sannyāsī in front of me, he was eating the prasada. I sat down and started grabbing the prasāda. The pūjārī came in and said what are you doing, Śrīla Prabhupāda’s plate! He took the plate and went in. So apparently the car skid off the road and had a snow accident because it was snowing outside. Like that Śrīla Prabhupāda brought the mercy of Lord Gaurasundara all over the world. Śrīla Prabhupāda ki jaya! Gaurasundara ki jaya! Talking about wild dancing I was reminded of that, how the devotees seeing Śrīla Prabhupāda were dancing like anything. Haribol!

Thus ends the commentary of the above verses of the Caitanya-candrāmṛtam by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja.

Transcribed by Jayarāseśvarī devī dāsī and Verified by JPS Archives 20^th December 2023