Parishads: Sri Ramachandra Kaviraj
BY: SUN STAFF
Sri Caitanya's Sankirtana Party
Early Bengal School, c. 1890
Apr 25, 2016 — CANADA (SUN) — The parishad associates of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
svardhunyas tira-bhumau sarajani-nagare gauda-bhupadi-patrad
brahmanyad vishnu-bhaktad api suparicitat shri-ciraïjiva-senat
yah shri-ramendu-nama samajani paramah shri-sunandabhidhayam
so’yam shriman narakhye sa hi kavi-nripatih samyag asid abhinnah
The king of poets, Ramachandra, was born in the town of Sarajani on the banks of the Ganges as the son of Sunanda and Ciraïjiva Sena, a well-known minister of the king of Gauda, a devotee of the Brahmins and Vishnu. Ramachandra was not in any way different from Narottama Das Thakur.
(Sangita-madhava-nataka, quoted at Bhakti- ratnakara 1.270)
Ciraijiva Sena was a resident of Shrikhanda, whose wife’s name was Sunanda. They had two sons, the older was Ramachandra, the younger Govinda. Ramachandra was a disciple of Srinivas Acharya who took the title Kaviraj. His siddha name was Karuna Manjari.
(Verses quoted in Gaudiya Vaishnava Abhidhana.)
After the death of his father, Ramachandra went to live in Kumaranagara with his maternal grandfather, Damodar Kaviraj, who was a disciple of Narahari Sarakara. Later he went to live with his younger brother Govinda Kaviraj in the village of Tiliya Budhuri in Murshidabad district. This place has the distinction of being his Shripata.
Ramachandra’s wedding
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Goswami Thakur has written that Ramachandra never married, but was a lifelong renunciate. Hari Das Das, on the other hand, writes that Ramachandra did get married, but never lived with his wife. Srinivas Acharya saw Ramachandra on the very day of his wedding and said a few words to him about the temporary nature of material life, thus awakening within him an indifference to worldly life such that he never took up the duties of householder life. This story has been taken from a book which is not accepted as authoritative by everyone. The following quote is taken from there:
[Srinivas Acharya said,] “Just look! Out of enthusiasm for this marriage, so much money has been spent just to buy illusory conflict. You don’t know that Maya has placed a noose around your neck and so you enjoy the performance of the auspicious invocations. People celebrate weddings thinking that they are auspicious when they are not, and always think that they have been fulfilled.”
The Kaviraj title
Srinivas Acharya was overcome with affection for Ramachandra that he gave him the diksha mantra and engaged him as his personal servant. Though Vira Hambira became Srinivas Acharya’s disciple, Ramachandra acted as his shiksha-guru. Ramachandra also visited Vrindavan where he associated with Jiva Goswami and the other Vaishnavas, receiving their blessings. They were very pleased to hear his poetry, so much so that Jiva Goswami gave him the Kaviraj title. He was thus one of the eight Kavirajs (Ashta-kaviraja). He was Narottama Thakur’s favored companion in spiritual association and preaching.
Paramananda Bhattacharya, an ocean of love, Jiva Goswami and the other residents of Vraja, listened to Ramachandra recite his own poetic compositions and they joyfully awarded him the title of kaviraja. Ramachandra Kaviraj is full of all virtues and is the second self of Narottama Das.
(Bhakti-ratnakara 1.267-9)
Kamsari Sena, Rama Sena, Ramachandra Kaviraj, and the three Kavirajs: Govinda, Shriranga and Mukunda [are branches of Nityananda].
(Chaitanya Charitamrita 1.11.51)
His writings include Smarana-camatkara, Smarana-darpana, Siddhanta-candrika, and Srinivas Acaryera Jivana-carita.
Ramachandra in Vrindavan
All who saw Ramachandra Kaviraj were attracted by his physical beauty. Narahari Chakravarti has written an extensive description of him in the ninth wave of his Bhakti-ratnakara. Ramachandra Kaviraj’s transformations when he visited the Radha Damodar temple with Jiva Goswami and saw Rupa Goswami’s samadhi are amazing. Gopal Bhatta Goswami, Lokanatha Goswami and Bhugarbha Goswami all blessed him. He went to bathe in Radhakunda and Shyamakunda and met Raghunath Das Goswami there. When he payed obeisances to Raghunath, the venerable saint affectionately embraced him.
yau shashvad-bhagavat-parayana-parau samsara-parayanau
samyak satvata-tantra-vada-paramau nihshesha-siddhantagau
shashvad-bhakti-rasa-pradana-rasikau pashanda-hrin-mandalav
anyonya-priyatabharena yugali-bhutav imau tau numah
I pay my obeisances to Narottama and Ramachandra who are devoted to all those who have dedicated their lives to the Supreme Lord, who help people to cross over the ocean of material life, who know all the scriptures completely and have understood all the transcendental doctrines, who are the most generous with the distribution of bhakti-rasa and who win the hearts of the atheists, who are constantly attached to each others affectionate company.
(Sangita-madhava-nataka, quoted at Bhakti-ratnakara 1.277)
In his Prarthana, Narottama Das prays for the association of Ramachandra Kaviraj.
daya kara shri-acarya prabhu shrinivasa
ramacandra sanga mage narottama dasa
Please be merciful, Prabhu Srinivas Acharya! Narottama Das begs for Ramachandra’s association.
Ramachandra’s disappearance day is the Krishna tritiya of Magh month. He passed away in Vrindavan after the disappearance of Srinivas Acharya.
Excerpted from "Sri Chaitanya: His Life & Associates" by Srila Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Maharaj
Mandala Publishing 2001.
