The First Gaura Purnima Festival

The Journey to Kheturi

In the morning the travelling party started for Kantaka Nagara and on
their way Krsnadasa of Akaihata joined them. Yadunandana and others
warmly welcomed them to the house of Gauranga. Meanwhile Sri
Raghunandana and his companions from Sri Khanda arrived there on their
way to Kheturi. The numerous mahantas in their party which was
travelling to Kheturi included Sivananda, Baninath Vraja, Vallabha,
Caitanyadasa, Sri Hari Acarya, Bhagavata Acarya, Nartaka Gopala, Jita
Misra, Kasinath Misra, Nayana Misra, Kastakata Jagannatha, Uddhava, Sri
Puspha Gopala, Raghunatha, Laksminath Pandita and others. People of
the village took great pleasure in the meeting of the Vaisnavas. When the
mahantas visited the place from where Mahaprabhu had started his
ascetic life they shed tears in grief. By the wish of Mahaprabhu they
controlled their emotions after sometime. They were glad to hear that
Dasa Gadadhara had seen Sri Gauranga in his dream.
Sri Jahnava cooked various types of delicious food which she first offered
to Gaura Candra and then fed affectionately to the different mahantas. Sri
Yadunandana and his followers did not take their meal until after Sri Isvari
had eaten. After the meal, they all engaged in nama sankirtana in the
courtyard of Gauranga. Thereafter Sri Yadunandana and his followers
prepared for the trip to Kheturi. Within each village, people were satisfied
to see the mahantas on their way to the great festival. Because of the
presence of the great Vaisnavas, each village they entered became a holy
place and the people of the village became fortunate. That day they
rested in the village of Telia Budhari and the happiness of the villagers
was boundless.
When they left Budhari for Kheturi, the villagers accompanied them to the
bank of the river Padmavati. Sri Santosh Dutta had hired a large boat
which took them to the opposite bank of the river. Upon the arrival of the
Vaisnavas and Mahantas, Kheturi village became the center point of
divine happiness.
Srinivasa and Sri Narottama led the party which came forward to receive
the honored guests and the village people fell at the feet of the great
Bhagavatas. Seeing the reception one man commented that formerly the
villagers had been heretics but by the association of Narottama they had
all become religious.
Srinivasa and Narottama arranged individual living places for each guest.
The vaisnavas were astonished to see so many living places, such a vast
stock of food and so many attendants taking responsibility for the festival.

The people of Kheturi forgot their individual miseries upon getting the
association of the great Bhagavatas, and they all looked forward to the
beginning of the grand festival. They considered themselves very
fortunate because the village was blessed by the dust of the feet of the
great devotees. They were impressed with the decorations on the houses
of the mahantas and on the throne of Mahaprabhu although the Lord had
not yet sat upon it. The next day was Phalguna Purnima and the six
deities of Krsna would be placed on the thrones. Tomorrow the great
devotees would assemble and even the demigods would observe the
grand festival. Everyone eagerly awaited the performance of sankirtana.
Someone spoke appreciatively of the fortunate king Santosh Dutta who
had taken great care to arrange everything for the festival. He decorated
the compound which would be used for sankirtana by erecting a beautiful
canopy and placing banana trees all around. Another person commented
that never in his life had he seen so many persons making flower
garlands and sandal paste. Another person said that he had never seen
so many types of musical instruments, nor so many singers and dancers
assemble in his life. Another man wished that the night would pass
quickly, for the next day he would see the Bhagavatas and pass the entire
day with them, feeling no need to return home. Then he chastised himself
for returning home simply to eat. Enthusiasm for the festival was
heightened by the sound of musical instruments, indicating that morning
was not far off.

Installation of the deities by Srinivasa Acarya

Early in the morning everyone went to the temple to see the beautiful
deities. The mahantas assembled in the courtyard of Sri Gauranga
wearing new clothes and decorated with vaisnava tilaka. They took their
respective seats and Sri Jahnava took her seat in a separate place.
Srinivasa Acarya and Narottama were pleased with the well decorated
area and Mahaprabhu's companions gave permission for Srinivasa to start
the ceremonial bathing of the deities. Srinivasa bowed to the Mahantas
and other Vaisnavas before he began the rituals and carefully installed
each of the six deities on His own throne. According to the wish of the
Lord he announced the names of the deities as Sri Gauranga, Sri Vallabhi
Kanta, Sri Vraja Mohana, Sri Krsna, Sri Radha Kanta and Sri Radha
Ramana. The mahantas shed tears as they observed the beauty of the six
deities, and even the demigods in heaven showered down flowers. The
name of Sri Hari resounded and the musicians began to play the different
instruments. The brahmins uttered hymns from the Vedas while Srinivasa
carefully dressed the deities in gorgeous clothes. He offered scented
sandal paste and flower garlands to Mahaprabhu. After performing the
ceremony of worship for the deities, Srinivasa arranged for an offering of
lamps before the deities. The mahantas called out the name of Hari and
prostrated themselves on the ground before the Lords. Narottama

composed a verse by which he paid his respects to the deities by singing

the names of Gauranga, Vallabhi Kanta, Sri Krsna, Vraja Mohan, Radha
Raman, and Radha Kanta.
Although the courtyard had insufficient space, many hundreds of people
assembled in the temple to watch the offering of lamps. After that
offering Srinivasa Acarya offered many tasteful food preparations to the
deities, placing each in a different utensil. He then offered water for
washing and betel leaves for chewing. He offered the deities flower
garlands and sandal paste and then fanned Them with a chamara. When
he opened the door of the temple, the sweet scent from the bodies of the
deities filled the entire courtyard. Everyone was overwhelmed by the
shining glow from the bodies of the Lords. Even Srinivasa lost control of
his emotions seeing the beauty of the deities and fell on the ground to
pay obeisances. He bowed humbly at the feet of the companions of
Mahaprabhu and embraced them all with tears of joy. He lay prostrate at
the feet of Sri Isvari who affectionately ordered him to distribute the
offered garlands and sandal paste to the assembled devotees. Srinivasa
carried each garland in a different vessel and offered them all to the
companions of Mahaprabhu. Sri Isvari ordered Nrsimha Caitanya to offer
the garlands to Srinivasa, Narottama and their followers. Sri Isvari was so
overwhelmed by the touch of the garland and sandal paste that she lost
control of her emotions.

Sankirtana of Thakura Narottama and his followers

Sri Jahnava Isvari stared continuously at Narottama, infusing him with
spiritual power beyond the comprehension of common men. The son of
Advaita Acarya, Sri Acyuta nanda, blessed Thakura Narottama and the
mahantas gave him their permission to begin the sankirtana. The
companions of Narottama were all expert in singing, dancing and musical
instruments.
Devidasa, who sat on the left side of Narottama, started by stroking the
sweet mardala. The other musical instruments joined in, each one
seeming to speak in sweet words. Narottama led the kirtana and Sri
Vallabha dasa and others repeated each line in turn. Sri Gauranga dasa
and others played other instruments and sang in a sweet pitch. There are
two methods of kirtana, namely unbinding and binding. Sri Gokula sang
the first method and his sweet voice impressed everyone. The audience
was mesmerized by the dramatic performance and the musicians.
Surrounded by his musicians, Narottama looked like the moon surrounded
by stars. During the kirtana Narottama and the other singers absorbed
themselves in thoughts of Caitanya, Nityananda and Advaita, dedicating
themselves to the mercy of those Lords. By their tuning, volume, scale
and modulation, the ragas and raginis they sang seemed to take life. The

depth of their songs increased the tempo of the instrumentalists and as

the volume of the song increased so also the pleasure of the Vaisnavas
increased. Khandavasi Sri Raghunandana offered sandal paste and flower
garlands to the Srikhola and Karatala, the personal instruments of
Mahaprabhu, and then embraced Narottama and the other singers in a
wave of emotion. He garlanded Narottama and each singer and they in
turn bowed to him.
Thereafter Narottama changed to the binding style of kirtana which
explained the mental condition of Nadia Candra in the mood of Sri
Radhika. The singers themselves became emotional during their
performance and this heightened the ecstasy of the audience. Sri Jahnava
Isvari cried when she listened to the song describing the spiritual and
devotional qualities of Sri Gaura. Sri Acyutananda, Sripati, Srinidhi and
others lost control of their emotions and shivered in ecstasy.
People discussed the kirtana recital of Narottama in various ways. One
person appreciated most the way Narottama expressed the inner
meaning of each song. Another person appreciated the overall masterful
prestentation. One person said that Narottama had attempted to
duplicate the method of kirtana enjoyed by Mahaprabhu at the house of
Svarupa Damodara in order to attract Mahaprabhu Himself to the kirtana.
Another man agreed that Mahaprabhu must be enjoying the kirtana with
His beloved companions. One devotee expessed his inner desire to see
the Lord and His companions manifest within the sankirtana. They all
appreciated the quality of the kirtana with its fine tuning, meaning and
rhythm, saying that the Gandharvas and Kinnaras would be ashamed of
their own songs.
During the kirtana recital, demigods from heaven poured flowers on the
singers. Narada and other famous saints and ascetics came in disguise
from heaven to attend the kirtana. Even the animals, birds, snakes and
other creatures were mesmerised by the songs. As the ocean of
sankirtana little by little overflowed its banks, the people in the
sankirtana pavilion forgot their own existence and bathed in their tears.

The
manifestation
sankirtana pavilion

of

Mahaprabhu

in

the

While listening to the sankirtana Lord Gaura Rai decided to reveal Himself.
Within the pavilion area Caitanya, Nityananda, Sri Advaita, and other
companions were suddenly manifest like lightning within a cloud.
Charming the universe with their appearance, they became the precious
jewels of the sankirtana. This pastime of Mahaprabhu enjoying and
participating in sankirtana was beyond the comprehension of even Lord
Brahma and other demigods. The audience was enchanted by the
beautiful dress and graceful gestures of those divine beings. In the midst

of the sankirtana they danced gracefully in time with the increasing beat
of the musical instruments. Mahaprabhu's indescribable dance in that
kirtana seemed to shower love throughout the world. Sri Nityananda's
dance caused the whole world to tremble, while Sri Advaita Candra
danced like a mad lion and roared in joy. Pandita Gadadhara danced
jovially with Srinivasa. The joyful dancing of Srivasa Pandita, Murari
Gupta, Vakresvara, Haridasa Thakura, Svarupa Gosvami, Dasa
Gadadhara, Rai Ramananda, Vasudeva Sarvabhauma and Vidya
Vachaspati
lifted
the
people
out
of
their
sorrows
and
miseries. Acyutananda danced with tears of joy flowing from his eyes
while the dance of Mukunda, Sri Narahari, Sri Raghunandana, Gauridasa
Pandita, Sripati, Sri Nidhi, Govinda, Madhava and Vasu Ghosh enchanted
the world. Hundreds and thousands of people participated in that dance
including Mukunda, Sri Acarya Pundara, Vasudeva Dutta, Brahmacari
Suklambara, Sriman Pandita, Yadu, Sri Mukunda Dutta, Sri Madhusudana,
Sri Natha, Mahesa, Sridhara, Sankara, Jagadish, Sri Yadunandana,
Kasiwara, Sri Raghunatha Bhatta, Rupa, Sanatana, Sri Nakula Brahmacari,
Dhanajaya, Vipra Vaninatha, Sikhi, Kanai, Vijaya, Suryadasa, Sri Nrsimha,
Hrdaya Caitanya, Syamananda, Srinivasa, Sri Narottama and others. Even
the demigods and Gandharvas danced with them.
Gauracandra loves His disciples and thus He fulfilled the desires of
Srinivasa and Narottama by appearing before them during the sankirtana.
When He embraced Srinivasa and Narottama He softly told them
something confidential which others could not hear. Then Mahaprabhu
and His companions disappeared, leaving His followers in utter despair.
Their pitiful lamentation broke the hearts of all who witnessed the scene.
The sudden disappearance of Mahaprabhu within that sankirtana created
a sense of despair amongst the entire audience. Upon the disappearance
of the Lord, people were struck by the reality of their miserable lives and
in disappointment they lamented piteously. One person cried out for
Mahaprabhu while another looked everywhere, trying to find Sri Advaita
or Nityananda. Someone else longed for another glance of Sri Pandita
Gadadhara while still another asked for Haridasa and Vakresvara. One
person called out for Srivasa and Murari while another asked about Sri
Mukunda and Narahari. One devotee wanted to see Gauridasa and
Gadadhara while another looked for Sri Svarupa Damodara. At last they
all abandoned hope, rolling on the ground and crying loudly because they
would never see Mahaprabhu and His associates again. Their tears flowed
so profusely that the ground became muddy. Even heretics who had come
to the sankirtana only for fun also began to cry. Lifting their hands high in
the air, they prayed to Mahaprabhu to protect them from sin and misery.
When Sripati, Srinivasa and others regained their external senses they
could not believe that they had actually enjoyed the association of the
Lord. The people in the audience were also amazed by the vision they had

seen. Srinivasa and Narottama explained to them that they had been
witness to another lila of Mahaprabhu and that the Lord's pastimes are
always beyond the comprehension of the laymen. Sri Jahnava Isvari
confirmed this by saying that Mahaprabhu had fulfilled the great desires
of His beloved devotees by appearing in living form during their
sankirtana. By this merciful appearance Mahaprabhu delivered many
heretics from sin and damnation and lifted mankind out of its ocean of
sorrow.
From rla Narahari Cakravart hkuras Bhakti-ratnkara
Ch. 10