Sri Purusottam dasa Thakura Tirobhava tithi

[Joseph Langevin]

Saturday, February 11, 2012

Sri Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura Prabhupada's avirbhava tithi (appearance day)

Sri Purusottama dasa Thakura Tirobhava tithi (disappearance day)

rī-sadāśiva kavirāja--baḍa mahāśaya

śrī-puruṣottama-dāsa--tāṅhāra tanaya

SYNONYMS

śrī-sadāśiva kavirāja—of the name Śrī Sadāśiva Kavirāja; baḍa—great; mahāśaya—respectable gentleman; śrī-puruṣottama-dāsa—of the name Śrī Puruṣottama dāsa; tāṅhāra tanaya—his son.

TRANSLATION

The twenty-third and twenty-fourth prominent devotees of Nityānanda Prabhu were Sadāśiva Kavirāja and his son Puruṣottama dāsa, who was the tenth gopāla

Books : Sri Caitanya-caritamrta - 1975 Edition : Cc. Adi-lila : Adi 11: The Expansions of Lord Nityananda : Adi 11.38 :

ājanma nimagna nityānandera caraṇe

nirantara bālya-līlā kare kṛṣṇa-sane

SYNONYMS

ājanma—from birth; nimagna—merged; nityānandera—of Lord Nityānanda Prabhu; caraṇe—in the lotus feet; nirantara—always; bālya-līlā—childish play; kare—does; kṛṣṇa-sane—with Kṛṣṇa.

TRANSLATION

From birth, Puruṣottama dāsa was merged in the service of the lotus feet of Lord Nityānanda Prabhu, and he always engaged in childish play with Lord Kṛṣṇa.

PURPORT

Sadāśiva Kavirāja and Nāgara Puruṣottama, who were father and son, are described in the Caitanya-bhāgavata as mahā-bhāgyavān, greatly fortunate. They belonged to the vaidya caste of physicians. The Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā, verse 156, says that Candrāvalī, a most beloved gopī of Kṛṣṇa's, later took birth as Sadāśiva Kavirāja. In verses 194 and 200 it is said that Kaṁsāri Sena, the father of Sadāśiva Kavirāja, was formerly the gopī named Ratnāvalī in Kṛṣṇa's pastimes. All the family members of Sadāśiva Kavirāja were great devotees of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Puruṣottama dāsa Ṭhākura sometimes lived at Sukhasāgara, near the Cākadaha and Śimurāli railway stations. All the Deities installed by Puruṣottama Ṭhākura were formerly situated in Beleḍāṅgā-grāma, but when the temple was destroyed the Deities were brought to Sukhasāgara. When that temple merged into the bed of the Ganges, the Deities were brought with Jāhnavā-mātā's Deity to Sāhebaḍāṅgā Beḍigrāma. Since that place also has been destroyed, all the Deities are now situated in the village named Cānduḍe-grāma, which is situated one mile up from Pālapāḍā, as referred to above
Books : Sri Caitanya-caritamrta - 1975 Edition : Cc. Adi-lila : Adi 11: The Expansions of Lord Nityananda : Adi 11.39

tāṅra putra--mahāśaya śrī-kānu ṭhākura

yāṅra dehe rahe kṛṣṇa-premāmṛta-pūra

SYNONYMS

tāṅra putra—his son; mahāśaya—a respectable gentleman; śrī-kānu ṭhākura—of the name Śrī Kānu Ṭhākura; yāṅra—whose; dehe—in the body; rahe—remained; kṛṣṇa-prema-amṛta-pūra—the nectar of devotional service to Kṛṣṇa.

TRANSLATION

Śrī Kānu Ṭhākura, a very respectable gentleman, was the son of Puruṣottama dāsa Ṭhākura. He was such a great devotee that Lord Kṛṣṇa always lived in his body.

PURPORT

To go to the headquarters of Kānu Ṭhākura, one has to proceed by boat from the Jhikaragāchā-ghāṭa station to the river known as Kapotākṣa. Otherwise, if one goes about two or two and a half miles from the Jhikaragāchā-ghāṭa station, he can see Bodhakhānā, the headquarters of Kānu Ṭhākura. The son of Sadāśiva was Puruṣottama Ṭhākura, and his son was Kānu Ṭhākura. The descendants of Kānu Ṭhākura know him as Nāgara Puruṣottama. He was the cowherd boy named Dāma during kṛṣṇa-līlā. It is said that just after the birth of Kānu Ṭhākura, his mother, Jāhnavā, died. When he was about twelve days old, Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu took him to His home at Khaḍadaha. It is ascertained that Kānu Ṭhākura was born some time in the Bengali year 942 (A.D. 1535). It is said that he took birth on the Ratha-yātrā day. Because he was a great devotee of Lord Kṛṣṇa from the very beginning of his life, Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu gave him the name Śiśu Kṛṣṇadāsa. When he was five years old he went to Vṛndāvana with Jāhnavā-mātā, and upon seeing the ecstatic symptoms of Kānu Ṭhākura, the Gosvāmīs gave him the name Kānāi Ṭhākura.

In the family of Kānu Ṭhākura there is a Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa Deity known as Prāṇavallabha. It is said that his family worshiped this Deity long before the appearance of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. When there was a Maharashtrian invasion of Bengal, the family of Kānu Ṭhākura was scattered, and after the invasion one Harikṛṣṇa Gosvāmī of that family came back to their original home, Bodhakhānā, and re-established the Prāṇavallabha Deity. The descendants of the family still engage in the service of Prāṇavallabha. Kānu Ṭhākura was present during the Kheṭari utsava, when Jāhnavā-devī and Vīrabhadra Gosvāmī were also present. One of Kānu Ṭhākura's family members, Mādhavācārya, married the daughter of Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu, who was named Gaṅgādevī. Both Puruṣottama Ṭhākura and Kānu Ṭhākura had many disciples from brāhmaṇa families. Most of the disciplic descendants of Kānu Ṭhākura now reside in the village named Gaḍabetā, by the river Śilāvatī, in the Midnapore district.Books : Sri Caitanya-caritamrta - 1975 Edition : Cc. Adi-lila : Adi 11: The Expansions of Lord Nityananda : Adi 11.40 : TRANSLATION :

ājanma nimagna nityānandera caraṇe

nirantara bālya-līlā kare kṛṣṇa-sane

SYNONYMS

ājanma—from birth; nimagna—merged; nityānandera—of Lord Nityānanda Prabhu; caraṇe—in the lotus feet; nirantara—always; bālya-līlā—childish play; kare—does; kṛṣṇa-sane—with Kṛṣṇa.

TRANSLATION

From birth, Puruṣottama dāsa was merged in the service of the lotus feet of Lord Nityānanda Prabhu, and he always engaged in childish play with Lord Kṛṣṇa.

PURPORT

Sadāśiva Kavirāja and Nāgara Puruṣottama, who were father and son, are described in the Caitanya-bhāgavata as mahā-bhāgyavān, greatly fortunate. They belonged to the vaidya caste of physicians. The Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā, verse 156, says that Candrāvalī, a most beloved gopī of Kṛṣṇa's, later took birth as Sadāśiva Kavirāja. In verses 194 and 200 it is said that Kaṁsāri Sena, the father of Sadāśiva Kavirāja, was formerly the gopī named Ratnāvalī in Kṛṣṇa's pastimes. All the family members of Sadāśiva Kavirāja were great devotees of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Puruṣottama dāsa Ṭhākura sometimes lived at Sukhasāgara, near the Cākadaha and Śimurāli railway stations. All the Deities installed by Puruṣottama Ṭhākura were formerly situated in Beleḍāṅgā-grāma, but when the temple was destroyed the Deities were brought to Sukhasāgara. When that temple merged into the bed of the Ganges, the Deities were brought with Jāhnavā-mātā's Deity to Sāhebaḍāṅgā Beḍigrāma. Since that place also has been destroyed, all the Deities are now situated in the village named Cānduḍe-grāma, which is situated one mile up from Pālapāḍā, as referred to above


“Sadasiva Kaviraja was greatly fortunate. His son was named Sri Purusottama dasa. Purusottama dasa Thakura had no concern for his external body; Sri Nityananda Prabhu always resided within the core of his heart.”

-(Chaitanya Bhagvat Antya 5.741-742

Sadashiva Kaviraj was a great personality. Purushottam Das was his son. From birth, Purushottam das was absorbed in the service of the lotus feet of Lord Nityananda Prabhu, and he always engaged in childish play with Lord Krishna. His son was named Sri Kanu Thakur, a very respectable gentleman. His body was saturated with the nectar of Love for Lord Krishna.”

- (Chaitanya Charitamrita 1.11.38-40)

 Vrindavan Das Thakur has also named Purushottam Das as one of Nityananda Prabhu's chief associates.

 

“Sadashiva Kaviraj was very fortunate to have a son like Purushottam Das. Purushottam Das had no external consciousness of his body, for Nityananda Prabhu is constantly acting through him.”

- (Chaitanya Bhagavat 3.5.741-2) http://www.iskcondesiretree.net/page/srila-purusottama-dasa-thakura