Vandana - Offering Obeisances
Song 4 - Marahati raga and Disa
Refrain: Lord Hari, who was the two Ramas, and who is now the moon among the brahmanas, is my very life.
62. First I will tell a wonderful story, the story of how Advaita Gosai offered obeisances to Lord Gaura when the Lord was still an unborn child in his mother’s womb.
63. Accompanied by His associates, servants, weapons, and confidential companions, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the master of the three worlds, was born on the earth.
64. The Lord’s mother and father happily performed His anna-prasana (first grain) and nama-karana (name-giving) ceremonies for their son.
65. Now I will describe the boy-Lord’s pastimes. Even when He wore now anklets, the people still heard the sound of tinkling anklets on His feet.
66. He would touch unclean things. Then He would speak bewildering words of philosophy.
67. To test His powers, the village ladies asked Him to bring a coconut. Very quickly He brought it.
68. The Lord played with a puppy. Seeing this, everyone was pleased.
69. Murari Gupta saw that boy playing on the street with His friends.
70. With His friends the boy sang the names of Lord Hari and danced. Seeing this, everyone became blissful at heart.
71. The father placed a piece of writing chalk in the boy’s hand. Anyone who hears this pastime finds that sufferings and inauspiciousness flee far away.
72. Please carefully listen as I tell how the boy Visvambhara played with His brother Visvarupa.
73. Those two brothers were like Indra and Vamana. I will tell these stories and you will hear them.
74. I will tell how Visvarupa accepted sannyasa and how Visvambhara consoled His mother and father.
75. I will describe Visvambhara’s pastimes, how He played with the other boys and how He did mischief.
76. The boys would meet and play on the Ganga’s sandy banks. Once the Lord’s father followed the footprints he saw in the sand.
77. Seeing his son there, the Lord’s father became unhappy at heart. Taking Him home, the father loudly rebuked his son.
78. Later, the Lord gave His mercy in a dream. I will tell all these stories. Please hear them with a single heart.
79. With a joyful heart I will tell of the Lord’s karna-vedha (ear-piercing), cuda-karana (hair-cutting), and upavita (sacred thread) ceremonies.
80. When His childhood ended, the Lord’s teenage years entered. Day by day, the Lord’s spiritual Love became more completely manifest.
81. Then He studied at His teacher’s house. He would make fun of the way people spoke in East Bengal.
82. He commanded His mother to observe ekadasi. At the proper times I will describe many things.
83. At that time Jagannatha Misra went to the other world. Stricken with grief, the Lord wept for His father.
84. I will tell many other wonderful stories. I will tell of the shoreless ocean of bliss at the Lord’s wedding.
85. Please hear how The Lord and His bride secretly exchanged glances at the Ganga’s bank. I must tell that story.
86. I will tell how the Lord traveled to East Bengal and how Lakshmipriya ascended to the spiritual world.
87. Returning to West Bengal, the Lord married again, taught His students, and traveled to Gaya.
88. One by one I will tell all these stories. Everyone please hear them. You will taste many blisses. Please do not turn away.
89. I will tell how the Lord returned to West Bengal, manifested ecstatic spiritual love, and was always plunged in the nectar of the spiritual rasas.
90. O my brothers, the stories in this book’s Madhya-khanda are filled with many blisses. They are filled with nectar. When you hear them, the hairs on your bodies will stand erect.
91. By telling these stories to the devotees, I will feel ecstatic love. Even before I tell them I feel joy arise in my heart.
92. O my brothers, the stories of Madhya-khanda describe the Lord’s pastimes in Nadiya. These pastimes, where the Lord preached the religion of ecstatic love, are like flooding streams of nectar.
93. The Lord manifested very wonderful pastimes. In the four yugas no devotee had heard of such wonders.
94. In the Madhya-khanda I will tell these wonderful stories of the Lord’s pastimes in Nadiya, of the Lord’s preaching the religion of devotional service.
95. I will tell how every day the devotees would gather together. I know how to describe those pastimes.
96. First I will tell how Saci attained the gift of ecstatic love. I will tell how, walking on the street, the Lord heard flute music.
97. Then the Lord was overcome with ecstatic love, and then a divine voice suddenly spoke from the sky.
98. Being kind to Murari Gupta, the Lord assumed the role of Varaha. Brahma and the demigods saw the Lord assume that role.
99. Then Suklambara Brahmacari attained ecstatic love. I will tell all these stories. Please hear them with all attention.
100. By the Lord’s mercy Sri Gadadhara Pandita was overcome with ecstatic love. Day and night he wept.
101. One by one the Lord gave ecstatic love to everyone. I will tell all these stories.
102. Being kind to the devotees, the Lord planted a mango seed. Any doubts that may stay in the heart of a person who hears that story will perish.
103. Concealing His original spiritual identity, the Lord manifested ecstatic spiritual love. By following impersonalist jnana no one can understand Him. He reveals Himself to His own associates.
104-108. Then I will tell the wonderful stories of the first sight of Lord Nityananda, the first meeting with Haridasa, the first meeting of Advaita Acarya and Lord Nityananda, how Jagai and Madhai were delivered, how the Lord was merciful to a brahmana and his son, how the lord was a merciful to a person singing Lord Siva’s glories, how the Lord became unhappy to hear a brahmana’s misdeeds, and how the Lord then jumped into the Ganga. Anyone in the three worlds who hears these stories will feel his heart tremble.
109. You will also hear the wonderful story of how the Lord cleaned a temple.
110. You will hear many very wonderful stories. The Lord cured a leper. That was very wonderful.
111. I will tell the story of Lord Gaura assuming the mood of Lord Balarama. All who hear that story feel endless bliss.
112. At Candrasekhara’s house the Lord manifested ecstatic love that cast a shadow over the land and sky.
113. I will tell many secrets, the secrets of the Lord’s wonderful renunciation.
114. Seeing Kesava Bharati in Nadiya-nagara, the Lord felt joy in His heart. Then He decided to accept sannyasa.
115. At this all the devotees grieved. Saci and Vishnupriya lept into an ocean of grief.
116. To accept sannyasa, the Lord left Navadvipa. With Kesava Bharati’s help, He accepted sannyasa.
117. I will tell these stories in detail. Then Lord Gaura went to Lord Advaita Acarya’s house.
118. Then comes the story of the Lord meeting the devotees. Comforting everyone, the Lord began His travels.
119. Then the Lord went to see Jagannatha Puri. Then I will tell the confidential story of the Lord’s pastimes at Remuna-grama.
120. One by one I will tell of the Lord’s pastimes as He traveled on the path. Anyone who hears these stories will become filled with bliss and love.
121. I must tell the stories of the Lord’s secret pastimes at Ekamra-nagara on His way to Yajapura.
122. With a single heart you will hear the story of Lord Gaura seeing Lord Jagannatha and the story of Lord Gaura revealing His true identity to Sarvabhauma.
123. O my brothers, this Madhya-khanda is sweeter than nectar. Then I will speak the Sesha-khanda. Please hear it also.
124. At Madhya-khanda’s end, Lord Gaura manifests ecstatic spiritual love. With a blissful heart Locana dasa speaks these words.
Song 5 - Dhanasri raga and Tarajachanda
125. Glory, glory to You, O Sri Krishna Caitanya, who personally descended to this earth, who are the auspiciousness of the worlds, whose feet are the earth’s ornament, who are dearly loved by the whole earth!
126. The lamp that lights up the worlds has come to Navadvipa. Now He shines with His light of mercy. Thirsting to receive the gift of ecstatic love, after many days the devotees ran to Him.
127. The devotees were like black bees flying to nectar-laden blossoming lotus flowers, or like cakora birds gazing at the moon, or like cataka birds gazing at rainclouds and wildly singing “Piu! Piu!”
128. Overcome with ecstatic love, Lord Gaura danced. He showered a great monsoon of ecstatic love. He roared like a lion. Like poverty-stricken men who are suddenly rich, the devotees followed Him, worshiped Him, and wept.
129. As wild elephants jump into a nectar lake to escape a forest fire, so the devotees jumped into the nectar of ecstatic spiritual love to escape the burning sufferings of this world.
130. Someone called out, “Lord!” Someone else slapped his arms. Filled with the bliss of ecstatic love, the devotees forgot even themselves. The ecstatic love that Goddess Lakshmi begs for with folded palms, Lord Gaura freely gave to all.
131. What more can I say? Even Lord Ananta was overwhelmed by tasting the sweetness of that ecstatic love. Lord Ananta Sesha, who holds all the worlds on His head, came to the earth and assumed the name Nitai.
132. Overcome with bliss, He did not know who was a friend and who was not. He walked like a maddened elephant. The soles of His feet made the earth tremble.
133. Now hear of another wonder. Lord Siva, whose glories are beyond conception, assumed the name Advaita. Talking with Lord Caitanya about the nectar of ecstatic love, Lord Siva forgot all about yoga and jnana.
134. Staying among the rasika devotees, Lord Advaita and Lord Nityananda gave them ecstatic love without any restriction. Without these two Lords, Lord Gaura would not have given His mercy. They came to this world with Lord Gauracandra.
135. Glory, glory to the auspicious moment when the people of the world will chant “Hari!”, and when everyone will yearn to attain ecstatic spiritual love, when everyone will desire to attain the ecstatic spiritual love even the demigod Brahma finds only with difficulty. Smiling, Locana dasa speaks these words.
