Verse 3.2.289

Bengali text, Devanagari and Unicode transliteration of verse 3.2.289:

বড সুখী হৈলা প্রভু দেখি’ যাজপুর পুনঃ পুনঃ বাডে আনন্দাবেশ প্রচুর ॥ ২৮৯ ॥

बड सुखी हैला प्रभु देखि’ याजपुर पुनः पुनः बाडे आनन्दावेश प्रचुर ॥ २८९ ॥

baḍa sukhī hailā prabhu dekhi’ yājapura punaḥ punaḥ bāḍe ānandāveśa pracura || 289 ||

bada sukhi haila prabhu dekhi’ yajapura punah punah bade anandavesa pracura (289)

English translation:

(289) The Lord was greatly pleased to see Yājapura. His ecstasy repeatedly increased there.

Commentary: Gauḍīya-bhāṣya by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura:

It is said that Yājapura is a corrupted form of Yayātipura, which is derived from the name Yayāti Keśarī, a Śaivite king of Orissa. In other’s opinion the name Yājapura is derived from the word yajñānuṣṭhāna (“a place of sacrifice”) or yājana (“worship”). Śrīman Mahāprabhu made His auspicious arrival in Yājapura in A.D. 1511. The temple of Śrī

Varāhadeva is situated in Yājapura. Śrīman Mahāprabhu displayed the pastime of offering obeisances, chanting, and dancing before Śrī Varāhadeva. It is described in Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Madhya 5.3-4):

calite calite āilā yājapura-grāma varāha-ṭhākura dekhi’ karilā praṇāma

nṛtya-gīta kaila preme bahuta stavana yājapure se rātri karilā yāpana

“Walking and walking, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and His party finally arrived at Yājapura, on the river Vaitaraṇī. There He saw the temple of Varāhadeva and offered His obeisances unto Him. In the temple of Varāhadeva, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu engaged in chanting and dancing and offered prayers. He passed that night in the temple.”

In Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta there is an indication that Mahāprabhu came to Yājapura another time. In the year when Śrīman Mahāprabhu had a disagreement with Śrīla Gadādhara Paṇḍita Gosvāmī Prabhu regarding his residing in Nīlācala as a resident sannyāsī, Śrī Gaurasundara came to Yājapura with Śrī Rāya Rāmānanda and the two Mahāpātras, Maṅgarāja and Haricandana. Mahāprabhu then bid farewell to the two Mahāpātras at Yājapura. (See Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā, Chapter Sixteen, verse 150.)

The two stone Deities of Śrī Varāhadeva are attached to each other. On the left of the Deities there is a stone deity of Śrī Lakṣmī, and on her left there is a Deity of Śrī Jagannāthadeva. In front of them there is a smaller set of Lakṣmī-Varāha deities made of metal. From the Yājapura Road railway station one must take three buses and cross two rivers to travel the seventeen miles to the temple of Varāhadeva. On both banks of both rivers there are connecting buses waiting to transport passengers. After traveling nine miles in one bus, one crosses the first river called Yamunā Khāi. Then one has to walk six miles to the next river called Buḍā. After crossing this river, one catches a connecting bus. There is a dharmaśālā in Yājapura known as Rādhābāi Dharmaśālā or Jagannātha Dharmaśālā. It

is situated near the ancient temple of Jagannātha. The footprints of Śrī Caitanya were established in Yājapura on December 25, 1930. For an elaborate description of this one should see Gauḍīya, Volume 10, Part 2.