Verse 2.1.414-418

Bengali text, Devanagari and Unicode transliteration of verse 2.1.414-418:

প্রভুর আবেশে দেখি’ সর্ব-ভক্ত-গণ পরম-অপূর্ব সবে ভাবে মনে-মন পরম-সন্তোষ সবে হৈলা অন্তরে “এবে সে কীর্তন হৈল নদীযা-নগরে এমন দুর্লভ ভক্তি আছযে জগতে? নযন সফল হয এ ভক্তি দেখিতে! যত ঔদ্ধত্যের সীমাএই বিশ্বম্ভর প্রেম দেখিলাঙ নারদাদিরো দুষ্কর হেন উদ্ধতের যদি হেন ভক্তি হয না বুঝি কৃষ্ণের ইচ্ছা,—এ বা কিবা হয” ॥ ৪১৪-৪১৮ ॥

प्रभुर आवेशे देखि’ सर्व-भक्त-गण परम-अपूर्व सबे भावे मने-मन परम-सन्तोष सबे हैला अन्तरे “एबे से कीर्तन हैल नदीया-नगरे एमन दुर्लभ भक्ति आछये जगते? नयन सफल हय ए भक्ति देखिते! यत औद्धत्येर सीमाएइ विश्वम्भर प्रेम देखिलाङ नारदादिरो दुष्कर हेन उद्धतेर यदि हेन भक्ति हय ना बुझि कृष्णेर इच्छा,—ए वा किबा हय” ॥ ४१४-४१८ ॥

prabhura āveśe dekhi’ sarva-bhakta-gaṇa parama-apūrva sabe bhāve mane-mana parama-santoṣa sabe hailā antare “ebe se kīrtana haila nadīyā-nagare emana durlabha bhakti āchaye jagate? nayana saphala haya e bhakti dekhite! yata auddhatyera sīmāei viśvambhara prema dekhilāṅa nāradādiro duṣkara hena uddhatera yadi hena bhakti haya nā bujhi kṛṣṇera icchā,—e vā kibā haya” || 414-418 ||

prabhura avese dekhi’ sarva-bhakta-gana parama-apurva sabe bhave mane-mana parama-santosa sabe haila antare “ebe se kirtana haila nadiya-nagare emana durlabha bhakti achaye jagate? nayana saphala haya e bhakti dekhite! yata auddhatyera simaei visvambhara prema dekhilana naradadiro duskara hena uddhatera yadi hena bhakti haya na bujhi krsnera iccha,—e va kiba haya” (414-418)

English translation:

(414-418) When the devotees saw the Lord overwhelmed with ecstasy, they thought they had never experienced anything so wonderful. They became fully satisfied at heart, thinking, “Now kīrtana has been inaugurated in the town of Nadia. Is there such rare devotion in the world? The purpose of the eyes is fulfilled by the sight of such devotion. This Viśvambhara was the ultimate limit of all arrogance, yet now we have seen in Him love of God that is rare for even persons like Nārada. If such an arrogant person can attain such devotion, then we cannot understand the will of Kṛṣṇa or what this person will become.

Commentary: Gauḍīya-bhāṣya by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura:

In verse 417, the word sīmā means “ultimate” or “supreme,” and the word

duṣkara means “rare,” “difficult to obtain,” or “uncommon.”

The incarnation of Gaura and the glories of kīrtana are elaborately described by Tridaṇḍi Gosvāmī Śrīpāda Prabodhānanda Sarasvatī in his Śrī Caitanya-candrāmṛta (111-121, 124, 126-128, 133, 134) as follows: “When the most merciful Śrī Caitanyadeva suddenly appeared in this world, then there was no longer need for yoga, meditation, chanting of mantras, undergoing austerities, renunciation, following strict vows, studying the Vedas, or strict principles of behavior. What to speak of these, even those who were reluctant to give up their sinful activities happily plundered the topmost love, which is the crest jewel of all goals of life.

“When the most wonderful and opulent Śrī Caitanyadeva appeared in this world, even the fruitive workers’ minds, which were merged in the currents of formidable fruitive activities, became pacified by attaining

love of God and, though such minds were harder than the hardest stone, they melted by the transcendental mellows of devotional service. Even the hearts of persons engaged in the performance of intense yoga practice retired from such temporary practice and began to dance. In other words, they relished love of God in the spiritual kingdom of Adhokṣaja.

“Now that Lord Caitanyacandra has revealed the path of pure devotional service, the materialists have given up talking about their wives, children, and material affairs; the scholars have given up debating the scriptures; the yogis have given up the trouble to control their breath; the ascetics have given up their austerities; and the impersonalists have given up studying Vedānta. No one is attracted to anything other than the sweet taste of devotional service to Kṛṣṇa.

“In every home there is a tumult of hari-saṅkīrtana. In everyone’s body the symptoms of ecstasy like shedding tears and hairs standing on end are seen. In every heart is the most exalted and sweet spiritual path that leads far from the path of the four Vedas. All this has appeared now that Lord Gaura has descended to this world.

“When the most attractive and enchanting Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa appeared in this world with a golden complexion, the whole world was suddenly flooded with the nectarean ocean of pure love for Kṛṣṇa and struck with wonder by seeing extraordinary transformations of ecstatic love that were never seen or heard of before.

“In the past many scholars became extremely proud, thinking themselves the omniscient masters of all scriptures, and many others thought they had become perfect through the performance of austerities or the constitutional and conditional duties mentioned in the smṛtis. Some persons situated on the preliminary or advanced stages of sāṅkhya-yoga chanted the holy names of Lord Hari two or three times. Yet the hearts of all such persons were full of the cheating propensity. That was in the past. But now that Lord Gauracandra has appeared, love for Lord Kṛṣṇa has become common. In other words, it has become available to all, including the most sinful.

“Now the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrī Caitanyadeva, who is the enjoyer of transcendental pastimes and whose lotus feet the demigods aspire to serve, has descended to this world and totally flooded it with the sweet nectarean waves of pure love for Kṛṣṇa. Now who is a child? Who is an old man? Who is a fool? Who is a woman? Who is fallen, and who is unfortunate? Everyone of this world is now qualified to attain devotional service, and the wonderful unalloyed mellows of love for the lotus feet of Śrī Hari has manifested in their hearts.

“Now that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Gauracandra, the crest jewel of those who relish the mellows of love of God, has descended to this earth, the demigods headed by Śiva and Nārada (as the devotees headed by Advaita and Śrīvāsa) appeared with Him. Goddess Lakṣmīdevī, herself (as Śrī Lakṣmīpriyā and Śrī Viṣṇupriyā) also appeared with Him.

Lord Baladeva, who is nondifferent from svayam-bhagavān and who is the plenary manifestation of the Lord (as Nityānanda Prabhu, who smashed the atheists), was also present. The Yādavas (Śacī and Jagannātha) also manifested. What more can I say? The Vrajavāsīs headed by Nanda Mahārāja, the cowherd boys headed by Subala, the Lord’s śaktis headed by the gopīs, the Lord’s servants headed by Raktaka and Citraka—in other words, all the eternally perfect associates from Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes—appeared in the pastimes of Gaura.

“Now that the golden-complexioned Lord is distributing pure extraordinary love of Kṛṣṇa in this world, His servants, friends, and eternally perfect maidservants situated in mādhurya-rasa devoid of conceptions of opulence have all come to His lotus feet to relish the invaluable wealth of pure love for Kṛṣṇa, which is more palatable than anything they had relished before (in Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes).

“When the most glorious and extraordinary Śrī Caitanya appeared in this world, married women laughed loudly (after giving up their shyness due to love of Kṛṣṇa), the stonelike hearts of materialists attached to sense gratification completely melted, and those devoid of spiritual knowledge ridiculed the society of learned scholars (after receiving spiritual

knowledge through the mercy of Śrī Caitanya, in other words, they ridiculed the scriptural knowledge of the so-called learned persons who claimed to be expert scholars).

“Before the advent of Śrī Caitanya in this world, the constitutional propensities, in the form of service to Kṛṣṇa, of scholars proud of knowing all scriptures were practically covered. They did not endeavor to achieve love of Kṛṣṇa, which is the crest jewel of life’s objectives, because their intelligence was ordinary and irresolute. But since Gauracandra has mercifully appeared in this world, who has not merged into the most incomprehensible and wonderful loving devotional service that is full of the most elevated radiant mellow of conjugal love and nourished by ingredients like vibhāva and anubhāva?

“Although the great omniscient sages established their respective doctrines on the basis of reason and argument, no one was firmly convinced by their prejudiced philosophy. But since Śrī Gauracandra, whose glories are inexhaustible, has appeared in this world, who has not confidently accepted that devotional service to Hari is the only spiritual activity and purpose of the Vedas?

“Some persons have become successful in achieving the abode of Vaikuṇṭha with the support of some most pious ancient great personalities, but no one has ever before immersed the entire world in the ocean of love of God like Śrī Caitanyacandra has.

“Even after maintaining incomparable attachment for religiosity and properly taking shelter of pure devotional service people live in this world with hearts as hard as iron; but how wonderful (through the mercy of Śrī Gaurahari), sinful persons who are lower than the cow-killers (after becoming totally freed from sinful propensities) have flooded the entire world with their flowing tears of love.

“How wonderful! Who can understand the incomprehensible pastimes of the golden-complexioned Śrī Gaurāṅga-sundara? He has amazed the entire world with His unfathomable glories. Absorbed in the mood of Kṛṣṇa, sometimes He crawled like child Kṛṣṇa, sometimes He manifested

the characteristics of the cowherd boys, sometimes He made various gestures as He danced, and sometimes He pathetically cried in separation while chanting ‘Hari! Hari! Hari!’ in the mood of Rādhārāṇī.

“When Śrī Gaurasundara was intoxicated with love for Himself and began to dance and jump high in this world, the demigods played drums, the principal Gandharvas congregationally chanted the Lord’s names, and the Siddhas constantly showered flowers that covered the entire earth. At that time great sages who were expert in reciting selected verses offered Him their prayers with love.

“Being absorbed in the nectarean mellows of mahābhāva, Śrī Gaurahari sometimes laughed, sometimes cried, sometimes fell unconscious, sometimes rolled on the ground, sometimes walked swiftly, sometimes sighed deeply, and sometimes loudly exclaimed, ‘Ha! Ha!’ In this way He enjoyed His pastimes in this world.”