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Gadadhara Dasa Goswami – Video

Shri Gadadhara dasa Thakura previously lived at Navadwip. When the Lord went to live at Nilachala Shri Dasa Gadadhara also went there to be with Him. Later on Mahaprabhu sent him back with Nityananda Prabhu to preach in Bengal. He first stayed at Eriyadahagram, which is situated on the banks of the Ganges. Then he spent some time in Navadwipa, taking care of Sachi Mata and Vishnupriya, but after their disappearance he came to live at Katwa, where Mahaprabhu had accepted sannyasa from Keshava Bharati.
He was a very confidential associate of Sri Sri Gaura-Nityananda. In Gaura-ganoddesa-dipika it is stated that he is an incarnation of the effulgence of Shrimati Radharani’s body, as well as an expansion of Purnananda gopi. Though he was one of the associates of Nityananda Prabhu, the majority of whom were cowherd boys and thus situated in the mellow of friendship, he was always absorbed in the mood of a gopi.

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Gadadhara Dasa Thakura – Biography

Sri Gadadhara dasa Thakura used to live in Navadwipa dhama, but after the disappearance of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, he moved to Katwa. Finally he moved to a village called Endiyadaha-grama, where he made his ultimate residence.

Gadadhara dasa Thakura had a disciple in Katwa named Yadunandana Chakravarti. Gadadhara dasa was one of the eternal associates of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Nityananda Prabhu. The Gaura-ganodesa-dipika mentions Gadadhara dasa as the extension of Shrimati Radharani's beauty and luster. There it is written:

"The gopi named Chandrakanti, who was a vibhuti (expansion) of Sri Radha, appeared in Gaura-lila as Gadadhara dasa, a close associate of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu."

The Gaura-ganodesa-dipika mentions Gadadhara dasa as the extension of Shrimati Radharani's beauty and luster. (In the image: Shrimati Radharani, Chandra doya Mandir, Shri Mayapur Dham).

Sri Gadadhara dasa was not one of the Gopalas who served Nityananda Prabhu in the mood of sakhya-rasa, friendship. Rather he was always merged in the mellow of madhurya-rasa. Shripad Bhaktivedanta Swami Maharaja writes as follows of Gadadhara dasa in his Chaitanya-Charitamrta commentary: "About eight or ten miles from Calcutta on the banks of the Ganges is a village known as Endiyadaha-grama. Shrila Gadadhara dasa was known as an inhabitant of this village…After the disappearance of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu Gadadhara dasa came from Navadwipa to Katwa. Thereafter he came to Endiyadaha-grama and resided there. He is stated to be the luster of the body of Srimati Radharani, just as Shrila Gadadhara Pandita is an incarnation of Shrimati Radharani Herself. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is sometimes explained to be radha-bhava-dyuti-suvalita, or characterized by the emotions and bodily luster of Shrimati Radharani. Gadadhara dasa is this dyuti or luster. He counts among the associates of both Shrila Gaurahari and Nityananda Prabhu….Even though he was an associate of Lord Nityananda Prabhu, he was not among the cowherd boys but was situated in the transcendental mellow of conjugal love. He established a Temple of Shri Gaurasundara in Katwa."

In 1434 sakabda (1534 A.D.) when Lord Nityananda Prabhu was empowered by Lord Chaitanya to preach the sankirtana movement in Bengal, Shri Gadadhara dasa was one of Lord Nityananda's chief assistans. He preached the sankirtana movement by requesting everyone to chant the Hare Krishna maha-mantra. When Srila Gadadhara dasa was preaching the cult of hari-kirtana, there was a magistrate who was very much against his sankirtana movement. Following in the footsteps of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, Shrila Gadhadhara dasa one night went to the house of the Kazi and requested him to chant the "Hare Krishna" mantra. The Kazi replied, "All right, I shall chant "Hare Krishna" tomorrow." On hearing this, Shrila Gadadhara dasa Prabhu began to dance, and he said, "Why tomorrow? You have already chanted the "Hare Krishna" mantra, so simply continue."

"…Srila Gadadhara dasa is considered to be a united form of Chandrakanti, who is the effulgence of Shrimati Radharani, and Purnananda, who is an expansion of Lord Balarama's dear girlfriend. Thus Srila Gadadhara dasa was one of the associates of both Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Nityananda Prabhu. Once while Srila Gadadhara dasa Prabhu was returning to Bengal from Jagannatha Puri with Nityananda Prabhu, he forgot himself and began talking very loudly as if he were a girl of Vrajabhumi selling yogurt, and Srila Nityananda Prabhu noted this.

Another time, while absorbed in the ecstasy of the gopis, he carried a jug filled with Ganges water on his head as if he were selling milk. When Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu appeared in the house of Raghava Pandita while going to Vrindavana, Gadadhara dasa went to see Him, and Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was so glad that He put His foot on his head. When Gadadhara dasa Prabhu was present in Endiyadaha he established a Balagopala murti for worship there. Shri Madhava Ghosh performed a drama known as Dana-khanda with the help of Shri Nityananda Prabhu and Shri Gadadhara dasa."

"The tomb of Gadadhara dasa Prabhu, which is in the village of Endiyadaha, was under the control of the Satyogi Vaishnavas and later under the direction of Siddha Bhagavan dasa Babaji of Kalna. By his order, Shri Madhusudana Mullik, one of the members of the aristocratice Mullik family of the Narikeladanga in Calcutta, established a padavadi (monastery) there in the Bengali year 1256. He also arranged for the worship of a Deity named Sri Radhakanta. His son, Balaichanda Mullik, established Gaura-Nitai Deities there in the Bengali year 1312. Thus on the throne of the Temple are both Gaura-Nityananda Deities and Radha-Krishna Deities."

When Chaitanya Mahaprabhu sent Nityananda Prabhu to Bengal to preach the nectar of the Holy Name, he sent Shri Rama dasa and Shri Gadadhara dasa with him. Once when he was carrying a waterpot on his head, Gadadhara dasa, in the mood of a gopi called out "Who will buy milk? Who will buy yogurt?" Saying this, he laughed at the joke.

The details of how Gadadhara dasa delivered the Kazi are as follows: One day, Gadadhara dasa went to the house of the Kazi, overwhelmed with Krishna-prema, madly dancing and performing hari-sankirtana. When he arrived at the Kazi's door, he began loudly calling for the Kazi. The Kazi, enraged, went outside his house ready to chastise Gadadhara dasa for disturbing the peace. But when he beheld the beautiful form of Gadadhara dasa, who was the personification of Shri Radhika's divine luster, he was stunned. When Gadadhara dasa embraced the Kazi with great affection the Kazi said, "Thakura! Why have you come?" Gadadhara dasa said, "I want to have a talk with you."

"What do you wish to talk about?"

"Gaura-Nityananda have appeared upon this earth to deliver humankind with divine love by distributing the sweet nectar of the Holy Name of Hari. Why don't you chant this sweet name of Hari?"

"Tomorrow I shall chant the name Hari."

"Why chant the Holy Name tomorrow? I have come to deliver you with the Holy Name of Krishna. Now you have begun your life of auspiciousness by vibrating the Holy Name of Hari. From today on all your sins and miseries will disappear by the grace of the Holy Name if you simply continue this chanting – this is why I have come: to deliver you."

Hearing the words of Gadadhara dasa, the Kazi was bewildered. At length, he smiled and again said, "Tomorrow I will chant the Holy Name of Hari."

Upon hearing the Holy Name of Hari issuing from the mouth of the Muslim Kazi, Gadadhara dasa at once became mad in the ecstasy of Krishna prema.

At last he said, "Why tomorrow! Just now you have said the name "Hari". All your sins will now melt away and you will become supremely purified by the power of the Holy Name."

Purified by the grace of Gadadhara dasa and the Holy Name of Krishna, the Kazi took shelter of the holy feet of Gadadhara dasa. In this way, Gadadhara dasa delivered countless sinners, nonbelievers, and yavanas with the Holy Name of Krishna. He disappeared on the eight day of the full moon in the month of Kartika.

Gadadhara Dasa Gosawami – Biography

He was a very confidential associate of Sri Sri Gaura-Nityananda. In Gaura-ganoddesa-dipika it is stated that he is an incarnation of the effulgence of Shrimati Radharani's body, as well as an expansion of Purnananda gopi. Though he was one of the associates of Nityananda Prabhu, the majority of whom were cowherd boys and thus situated in the mellow of friendship, he was always absorbed in the mood of a gopi.

In Gaura-ganoddesa-dipika it is stated that he is an incarnation of the effulgence of Shrimati Radharani's body, as well as an expansion of Purnananda gopi. Though he was one of the associates of Nityananda Prabhu, the majority of whom were cowherd boys and thus situated in the mellow of friendship, he was always absorbed in the mood of a gopi. (In the image: Shrimati Radharani, Krishna-Valley, ISKCON Hungary).

Once, as he was carrying a pot of Ganges water on his head, he called loudly, "Who wants to buy some milk?" Sometimes he would say, "Here is some first class yogurt. Whoever wants to buy some, come here." Calling out like this, he would then laugh very loudly.

When Mahaprabhu instructed Nityananda Prabhu to preach in Bengal, He sent Shri Rama dasa and Shri Gadadhara dasa along with Him. [C.C. Adi 11.13,14]

One day Nityananda Prabhu came to Dasa Gadadhar's Temple at Eriyadahagram. In the Temple was a very beautiful Deity of Sri Bala Gopala, which Nityananda Prabhu carefully picked up from the altar. While holding Him against His chest, He began to dance in ecstasy. When all of the Devotees saw that Gopala had taken shelter of the heart of Shri Anantadeva, they made the heavens resound with the vibrations of "Hari! Hari!" Nityananda Prabhu, who was very robust and heroic, then began to roar very loudly while engaging in His ecstatic dance with Gopalaji.

Then Madhavananda Ghosa began to sing some songs describing Krishna's dan-lila (from Dan-keli-Kaumadi). Hearing his sweet voice and the poetic descriptions of Krishna's dan-lila, Nityananda exhibited all of the ecstatic symptoms within His body simultanously as He danced like one intoxicated. The gestures He exhibited while dancing were like slashes of lightning; His limbs moved with unparalleled grace. His expressive eye movements, His sweet smiling and eruptive laughter, and the shivering and quaking of His head, provided a feast for the Devotees' eyes and ears. Bringing His two beautiful lotus feet together, He would then jump in such a way as to completely captivate ones mind. Whomever He would look at would find themselves floating in an ocean of the mellows of love of Krishna, and by His merciful glance they forgot about the existence of their physical body. The level of devotion that is sought by great yogis and munis was attained that day by the ordinary men and women of that place, as they relished the remnants of Lord Nityananda's love for Krishna.

Hearing his sweet voice and the poetic descriptions of Krishna's dan-lila, Nityananda exhibited all of the ecstatic symptoms within His body simultanously as He danced like one intoxicated. The gestures He exhibited while dancing were like slashes of lightning; His limbs moved with unparalleled grace. His expressive eye movements, His sweet smiling and eruptive laughter, and the shivering and quaking of His head, provided a feast for the Devotees' eyes and ears. Bringing His two beautiful lotus feet together, He would then jump in such a way as to completely captivate ones mind. Whomever He would look at would find themselves floating in an ocean of the mellows of love of Krishna, and by His merciful glance they forgot about the existence of their physical body. The level of devotion that is sought by great yogis and munis was attained that day by the ordinary men and women of that place, as they relished the remnants of Lord Nityananda's love for Krishna. (In the image: Lord Nityananda).

Someone as fat as an elephant becomes so thin and weak if he fasts for three days that he can barely walk. However, by the mercy of Nityananda Prabhu, one small child of that village didn't eat anything for one month, yet his movements and behavior were like those of a lion. Such was the mysterious influence of Nityananda Prabhu, though no one could understand His activities due to the Lord's yogamaya potency. Nityananda Prabhu thus enjoyed various pastimes at the Temple of Gadadhar dasa Thakura.

In Shri Chaitanya-bhagavata, Shri Vrindavana dasa Thakura has described the glories of Dasa Gadadhara in this way: "Nityananda Prabhu was personally present within the body of Shri Gadadhara das; such are his glories."

Amongst Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's associates, no one wanted to go near the Mohammedan Kazi for fear that he might lose his caste. Simply by looking at the face of a Mohammedan, a Hindu would lose his name in society. It was Dasa Gadadhara who had the power to influence the notorious Kazi, and so he bestowed his merciful glance upon him. Even at their first meeting, he was able to lift that Kazi beyond the limits of his caste and creed, and thus those limitations completely fell away.

One day Shri Gadadhara dasa Thakura, intoxicated in ecstatic love while chanting the Holy Names of Hari, came to the house of the Kazi at Eriyadahagram and began to call him. The Kazi, in a fit of anger, came storming out of his internal apartment, but upon seeing the transcendentally serene appearance and mood of Dasa Gadadhara Prabhu, he became stunned. His anger softened and his expression became friendly. The Kazi inquired, "Thakur, why have you come just now?"

Dasa Gadadhara Thakura answered, "I should like to have a few words with you." "Yes, whatever you have to say, just speak up."

"Shri Shri Gaura-Nityananda have appeared on this earth to distribute the nectar of the Holy Names to all classes of men, from the highest to the lowest, even to the most sinful, despicable persons. Why haven't you accepted this sweet treat? Why haven't you taken up the chanting of these nectarean Holy Names?"
"We'll accept it tomorrow."

"Why tomorrow?! Today you should accept. I have come here today to deliver you from the depths of ignorance and sin by the power of these Holy Names. So you please take this supremely auspicious Harinama. I will deliver you from all your sinful activities this very day."

Having listened to Gadahara dasa Thakura's sweet speech, the Kazi became a little bewildered. He began to laugh and said, "Tomorrow I'll say Hari."

When he heard the two syllables 'ha' and 'ri' emanate from the Kazi's mouth, Dasa Gadadhara Thakura became overwhelmed in the happiness of ecstatic love and exclaimed, "Tomorrow?! Sir, you said Hari just now! All of your sins have fled far away. You have become supremely pure." Saying this he began to dance in ecstasy.

Lord Shri Shri Nitay Gauranga and Lord Shri Jagannath, Kattwa.

The Kazi, having been purified by the transcendental vibration of Hari, took shelter at das Gadadhara Thakura's lotus feet. In this way, das Gadadhara Thakura delivered many sinful, wicked yavanas and other such people.

He disappeared on the eighth day of the bright fortnight in the month of Kartik.

Eriyadaha gram is reached from Calcutta by bus from Esplanade. Gadadhara dasa Thakura's samadhi-mandir and the samadhi of the hair of Lord Chaitanya shaved off by the barber Madhi Sil when He accepted sannyasa are united within the same tomb at Keshava Bharati's ashrama at Katwa.

Sri Dasa Gadadhara Thakura established a Temple at the place where Mahaprabhu accepted sannyasa, and the Deity of Lord Gauranga was personally installed by him. This Deity is one of three Deities which were carved from one Nimba tree as per the order of Shriman Mahaprabhu, which he communicated to Narahari Sarkar Thakura and the bhakar (Deity-maker) on the same night through the medium of their dreams. The next day, when the two met and learned that they had both had the same dream, they could understand that they should carry out the Lord's instruction immediately. The other two Deities are at Sri Khanda. There is also a Deity of Balarama (Nityananda) who is about half the size of Mahaprabhu and who came later on. Thus the Deities here are known as Shri Shri Nitai-Gauranga.

There is a local anecdote concerning this Deity of Balarama. He is said to have once been worshiped by Mineketana Rama dasa, who used to carry this Deity of Balarama with him wherever he went. Mineketana Rama's body was very strongly built, so he would carry Balarama upon a simhasana mounted on his back. The simhasana itself weighed perhaps twenty kilos. When he became somewhat advanced in years and it was difficult to carry the simhasana, he entrusted the worship of his Balarama to the pujari of Lord Gauranga here.

There is another story that claims that as Mineketana was a non-Bengali, his native tongue was a non-Bengali dialect. In his language, the word for hair was awa. Thus the name of the place where Mahaprabhu accepted sannyasa became Katwa, literally meaning 'cutting hair' or 'the place where Prabhu's head was shorn of its beautiful locks.' The previous name of this place was Kantak Nagar, supposedly given by Sachi Mata. Kantak means thorn. The disciple of Dasa Gadadhara was Yadunandana Chakravarti. The present sevakas of this Temple are his descendents. This is a very nice Temple where many of the local people attend the arati ceremonies and classes on the devotional scriptures. There is a railway station at Katwa. From there one should go by ricksaw to Gauranga Bari.

Gadadhara Dasa Goswami

...Krishna Dasa Kaviraja describe Lord Chaitanya as radha-bahva-dyuti suvalita, "characterized by the emotions and bodily luster of Shrimati Radharani." Gadadhara Dasa is this dyuti, luster. Gadadhara Dasa is sometimes called "the personification of Sri Radhika's divine effulgence." (In the image: Shrimati Radharani).

Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu has basically two groups of associated. One group such as the dvadasa gopalas (Abhirama Gopalas, Gauridasa Pandit, Dhananjaya and others) serve Sri Nityananda Prabhu in the mood of sakhya rasa (Friendship). The second group always stay merged in the mellow of madhurya rasa (conjugal love).

Sri Gadadhara Goswami is a united form of Chandrakanti gopi (an expansion of Radharani's effulgence) and Purnanada (an expansion of Lord Balarama's dear girlfriend). Thus, Gadadhara Dasa was an associate of both Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and Sri Nityananda Prabhu. Krishna Dasa Kaviraja describe Lord Chaitanya as radha-bahva-dyuti suvalita, "characterized by the emotions and bodily luster of Shrimati Radharani." Gadadhara Dasa is this dyuti, luster. Gadadhara Dasa is sometimes called "the personification of Sri Radhika's divine effulgence."

While traveling with Lord Nityananda Gadadhara would sometimes become absorbed in madhurya prema and begin acting and speaking like a Vraja gopi. Putting a clay pot of Ganges water on his head, as if he were a gopi, he would call out, "Who wants to buy milk? Who wants to buy yogurt?"

As one of Lord Nityananda's chief preachers in Bengal Gadadhara Dasa delivered countless sinner, and yavanas once while tasting Krishna prema he began dancing madly and chanting Krishna's Holy Names outside the Kazi's mansion. The irate Muslim magistrate stormed out of his house to chastize him for "disturbing the peace." But beholding the dazzingly attractive form of Gadadhara Dasa, the Kazi became stunned and dropped his anger.

Gadadhara affectionately embraced the Kazi and said, "Gaura-Nityananda have appeared to deliver everyone with divine love by distributing the sweet nectar of the Holy Name of Hari. Why don't you chant this sweet name of Hari?"

"Tomorrow I shall chant the name of Hari," replied the Kazi. Hearing the Kazi inadvertanly chant the Holy Name filled Gadadhara with happiness. He said, "Why tomorrow? You have already chanted today. And this powerful name of Hari will destroy your sins and purify your existence." From that day on the Kazi took shelter of Sri Gadadhara Dasa Goswami. His samadhi is in the 64 Samadhis Area.

"Gaura-Nityananda have appeared to deliver everyone with divine love by distributing the sweet nectar of the Holy Name of Hari. Why don't you chant this sweet name of Hari?" (In the image: Sri Sri Nitai Gaurachandra, ISKCON Chowpatty, Mumbai).