A summary of the Third Chapter is given by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura as follows. A beautiful young brāhmaṇa girl in Jagannātha Purī had a very handsome son who was coming every day to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. This was not very much to the liking of Dāmodara Paṇḍita, however, who therefore told Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, "If You display so much love for this boy, people will doubt Your character." Hearing these words from Dāmodara Paṇḍita, the Lord sent him to Navadvīpa to supervise the affairs of His mother, Śacīdevī. He also especially requested Dāmodara Paṇḍita to remind His mother that He was sometimes going to her home to accept the food she offered. Thus, following the order of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Dāmodara Paṇḍita went to Navadvīpa, taking with him all kinds of prasādam from Lord Jagannātha.
Damodara Pandita
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta
CC Adi-lila
Dāmodara Paṇḍita, the tenth branch of the Caitanya tree, was so elevated in love of Lord Caitanya that he once unhesitatingly chastised the Lord with strong words.
Later in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta I shall describe this incident of chastisement in detail. The Lord, being very much satisfied by this chastisement, sent Dāmodara Paṇḍita to Navadvīpa.
Dāmodara Paṇḍita, who was formerly known as Śaibyā in Vraja-dhāma, used to carry messages from Lord Caitanya to Śacīmātā, and during the Ratha-yātrā festival he carried messages from Śacīmātā to Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
The eleventh branch, the younger brother of Dāmodara Paṇḍita, was known as Śaṅkara Paṇḍita. He was celebrated as the shoes of the Lord.
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu taught His principles through four chief followers. Among them, Rāmānanda Rāya is exceptional, for through him the Lord taught how a devotee can completely vanquish the power of Cupid. By Cupid's power, as soon as one sees a beautiful woman he is conquered by her beauty. Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya, however, vanquished Cupid's pride. Indeed, while rehearsing the Jagannātha-vallabha-nāṭaka he personally directed extremely beautiful young girls in dancing, but he was never affected by their youthful beauty. Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya personally bathed these girls, touching them and washing them with his own hands, yet he remained calm and passionless, as a great devotee should be. Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu certified that this was possible only for Rāmānanda Rāya. Similarly, Dāmodara Paṇḍita was notable for his objectivity as a critic. He did not even spare Caitanya Mahāprabhu from his criticism. This also cannot be imitated by anyone else. Haridāsa Ṭhākura is exceptional for his forbearance because although he was beaten with canes in twenty-two marketplaces, he was nevertheless tolerant. Similarly, Śrī Sanātana Gosvāmī, although he belonged to a most respectable brāhmaṇa family, was exceptional for his humility and meekness.
Among the devotees who accompanied the Lord in Jagannātha Purī, two of them—Paramānanda Purī and Svarūpa Dāmodara—were the heart and soul of the Lord. Among the other devotees were Gadādhara, Jagadānanda, Śaṅkara, Vakreśvara, Dāmodara Paṇḍita, Ṭhākura Haridāsa, Raghunātha Vaidya and Raghunātha dāsa.
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The two persons who accompanied Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu to Jagannātha Purī (Nīlācala) were Balabhadra Bhaṭṭācārya and Dāmodara Paṇḍita.
Residing with the Lord at Jagannātha Purī were Paṇḍita Gosāñi and other devotees, such as Vakreśvara, Dāmodara, Śaṅkara and Haridāsa Ṭhākura.
After this, the Lord punished Junior Haridāsa, and Dāmodara Paṇḍita gave some warning to the Lord.
Actually Dāmodara Paṇḍita was the eternal servant of the Lord. He could not punish the Lord at any time, nor had he any desire to, but he did give some warning to the Lord so that others would not blaspheme Him. Of course, he should have known that the Lord is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and is free to act in any way. There is no need to warn Him, and such an action is not very much appreciated by advanced devotees.
Śrī Advaita Ācārya sent four persons—Nityānanda Gosāñi, Jagadānanda Paṇḍita, Dāmodara Paṇḍita and Mukunda Datta—to accompany the Lord. After pacifying His mother, Śacīmātā, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu submitted prayers to her lotus feet.
“Dāmodara Paṇḍita and others are more advanced in receiving the mercy of Lord Kṛṣṇa; therefore they are independent of public opinion. As such, they want Me to enjoy sense gratification, even though it be unethical. But since I am a poor sannyāsī, I cannot abandon the duties of the renounced order, and therefore I follow them strictly.
A brahmacārī is supposed to assist a sannyāsī; therefore a brahmacārī should not try to instruct a sannyāsī. That is the etiquette. Consequently Dāmodara should not have advised Caitanya Mahāprabhu of His duty.
Śrī Nityānanda Rāya, Jagadānanda, Dāmodara Paṇḍita and Mukunda all became ecstatic in their happiness, and dancing along the way, they went to meet the Lord.
Śrīrāma Paṇḍita, Dāmodara Paṇḍita, Śrīmān Paṇḍita, Vijaya and Śrīdhara were also very pleased to hear it.
After seeing Śaṅkara, Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu told Dāmodara, “My affection for you is on the platform of awe and reverence.
Here the Lord is addressing Dāmodara Paṇḍita, who is different from Svarūpa Dāmodara. Dāmodara Paṇḍita is the elder brother of Śaṅkara. Thus the Lord informed Dāmodara that His affection toward him was on the platform of awe and reverence. However, the Lord's affection toward his younger brother, Śaṅkara, was on the platform of pure love.
Dāmodara Paṇḍita replied, "Śaṅkara is my younger brother, but from today he becomes my elder brother because of Your special mercy upon him."
Then Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī, Dāmodara Paṇḍita and Jagadānanda all began to distribute prasādam to the devotees with great pleasure.
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu continued, “What to speak of spiritual advancement—all the people will blaspheme Me. And what to speak of all the people—Dāmodara would chastise Me.
"I shall not meet the King at the request of all the devotees, but I shall do so if Dāmodara will give his permission."
From the spiritual point of view, a sannyāsī is strictly forbidden to see materialistic people, especially a king who is always engaged in counting pounds, shillings and pence. Indeed, the meeting between a sannyāsī and a king is always considered abominable. A sannyāsī is always subjected to public criticism, and a small fault on his part is taken seriously by the public. People actually expect a sannyāsī to preach and not take part in any social or political matters. If a sannyāsī is subject to public criticism, his preaching will not be fruitful. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu specifically wanted to avoid such criticism so that His preaching work would not be hampered. It so happened that while the Lord was talking to His disciples at that time, the devotee Dāmodara Paṇḍita was present. This Dāmodara Paṇḍita was a very faithful devotee and a staunch lover of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Whenever there was anything that might touch or taint the character of the Lord, Dāmodara Paṇḍita would immediately point it out, not even considering the exalted position of the Lord. It is sometimes said that fools rush in where angels dare not, and Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu wanted to point out Dāmodara Paṇḍita's foolishness in coming forward to criticize the Lord. This is why the Lord stated that if Dāmodara Paṇḍita would give Him permission, He would go to see the King. There was deep meaning in this statement, for it is a warning that Dāmodara should not dare criticize the Lord any more, for it was not befitting his position as a devotee. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was considered the guide and spiritual master of all the devotees living with Him. Dāmodara Paṇḍita was one of them, and the Lord rendered Dāmodara Paṇḍita a special favor by warning him to avoid criticizing Him any further. A devotee or a disciple should never attempt to criticize the Lord or His representative, the spiritual master.
Dāmodara immediately replied, “My Lord, You are the fully independent Supreme Personality of Godhead. Since everything is known to You, You know what is permissible and what is not permissible.
Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī, Jagadānanda, Dāmodara Paṇḍita, Kāśīśvara, Gopīnātha, Vāṇīnātha and Śaṅkara distributed prasādam, and the devotees chanted the holy names at intervals.
The five who responded to the singing of Svarūpa Dāmodara were Dāmodara Paṇḍita, Nārāyaṇa, Govinda Datta, Rāghava Paṇḍita and Śrī Govindānanda.
Advaita Ācārya Prabhu was ordered to dance in the first group. The Lord then formed another group with Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura as the chief man.
In the first group, Dāmodara Svarūpa was appointed chief singer, and the responding singers were Dāmodara Paṇḍita, Nārāyaṇa, Govinda Datta, Rāghava Paṇḍita and Govindānanda. Śrī Advaita Ācārya was appointed as a dancer. The next group was formed, and the chief singer was Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura.
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu remained at Jagannātha Purī, Nīlācala, with Paramānanda Purī, Jagadānanda, Svarūpa Dāmodara, Dāmodara Paṇḍita, Govinda and Kāśīśvara. It was Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's daily practice to see Lord Jagannātha in the morning.
This same narration was again related by Lord Nityānanda to all the devotees, and their transcendental bliss increased as they heard the story again.
The words mahāprabhura mukhe, "from the mouth of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu," are significant because Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu first heard the story of Mādhavendra Purī from His spiritual master, Śrīpāda Īśvara Purī. (See Madhya-līlā, Chapter Four, verse 18.) After staying at Śrī Advaita's house in Śāntipura for some time, the Lord narrated the story of Mādhavendra Purī to Nityānanda Prabhu, Jagadānanda Prabhu, Dāmodara Paṇḍita and Mukunda dāsa. When they went to Remuṇā, to the temple of Gopīnātha, He described Mādhavendra Purī’s installation of the Gopāla Deity as well as Gopīnātha's stealing condensed milk. Due to this incident, Lord Gopīnātha became well known as Kṣīracorā, the thief who stole condensed milk.
Paramānanda Purī Gosvāmī, Svarūpa Dāmodara, Jagadānanda, Mukunda, Govinda, Kāśīśvara, Haridāsa Ṭhākura, Vakreśvara Paṇḍita, Gopīnātha Ācārya, Dāmodara Paṇḍita, Rāmāi, Nandāi and many other devotees accompanied the Lord. I have mentioned only the chief devotees. No one can describe the total number.
Thus Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu accepted the request of Svarūpa Dāmodara Paṇḍita and agreed to take Balabhadra Bhaṭṭācārya with Him.
Devotees like Svarūpa Dāmodara, Gadādhara Paṇḍita, Jagadānanda, Kāśīśvara, Govinda and Vakreśvara all came to meet the Lord.
Kāśī Miśra, Pradyumna Miśra, Dāmodara Paṇḍita, Haridāsa Ṭhākura and Śaṅkara Paṇḍita also came there to meet the Lord.
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The boy came daily to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and offered Him respectful obeisances. He was free to talk with Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu because the Lord was his life and soul, but the boy's intimacy with the Lord and the Lord's mercy toward him were intolerable for Dāmodara Paṇḍita.
Dāmodara Paṇḍita again and again forbade the son of the brāhmaṇa to visit the Lord, but the boy could not bear staying home and not seeing Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
This was intolerable for Dāmodara Paṇḍita. He became greatly unhappy, but there was nothing he could say, for the boy would ignore his restrictions.
After some time, when the boy stood up and left, the intolerant Dāmodara Paṇḍita began to speak.
Dāmodara Paṇḍita impudently said to the Lord, “Everyone says that You are a great teacher because of Your instructions to others, but now we shall find out what kind of teacher You are.
Dāmodara Paṇḍita was a great devotee of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Sometimes, however, a person in such a position becomes impudent, being influenced by the external energy and material considerations. Thus a devotee mistakenly dares to criticize the activities of the spiritual master or the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Despite the logic that “Caesar's wife must be above suspicion,” a devotee should not be disturbed by the activities of his spiritual master and should not try to criticize him. A devotee should be fixed in the conclusion that the spiritual master cannot be subject to criticism and should never be considered equal to a common man. Even if there appears to be some discrepancy according to an imperfect devotee's estimation, the devotee should be fixed in the conviction that even if his spiritual master goes to a liquor shop, he is not a drunkard; rather, he must have some purpose in going there. It is said in a Bengali poem:
- yadyapi nityānanda surā-bāḍi yāya
- tathāpio haya nityānanda-rāya
"Even if I see that Lord Nityānanda has entered a liquor shop, I shall not be diverted from my conclusion that Nityānanda Rāya is the Supreme Personality of Godhead."
Although Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu knew that Dāmodara Paṇḍita was a pure and simple devotee, upon hearing this impudent talk the Lord said, "My dear Dāmodara, what nonsense are you speaking?"
Dāmodara Paṇḍita replied, “You are the independent Personality of Godhead, beyond all criticism.
"And You, my dear Lord, are a handsome, attractive young man. Therefore certainly people will whisper about You. Why should You give them such an opportunity?"
As a simple and staunch devotee of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Dāmodara Paṇḍita could not tolerate criticism of the Lord, but unfortunately he himself was criticizing Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu in his own way. The Lord could understand that it was because of Dāmodara Paṇḍita's simplicity that he impudently dared criticize Him. Nevertheless, such behavior by a devotee is not very good.
Having said this, Dāmodara Paṇḍita became silent. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu smiled, pleased within Himself, and considered the impudence of Dāmodara Paṇḍita.
(Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu thought:) "This impudence is also a sign of pure love for Me. I have no other intimate friend like Dāmodara Paṇḍita."
Thinking in this way, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu went to perform His noon duties. The next day, He called Dāmodara Paṇḍita to a solitary place.
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu told Dāmodara Paṇḍita, "Remind mother Śacī in this way again and again and worship her lotus feet in My name."
In this way Dāmodara Paṇḍita went to Nadia (Navadvīpa). After meeting mother Śacī, he stayed under the care of her lotus feet.
He delivered all the prasādam to such great Vaiṣṇavas as Advaita Ācārya. Thus he stayed there and behaved according to the order of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
Everyone knew that Dāmodara Paṇḍita was strict in practical dealings. Therefore everyone was afraid of him and dared not do anything independent.
Dāmodara Paṇḍita would verbally chastise every devotee of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu whom he found deviating even slightly from proper behavior. Thus he established the standard etiquette.
In this way I have described Dāmodara Paṇḍita's verbal chastisements. As one hears about this, atheistic principles and ignorance depart.
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu introduced Sanātana Gosvāmī to these and other selected devotees: Advaita Ācārya, Nityānanda Prabhu, Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura, Vakreśvara Paṇḍita, Vāsudeva Datta, Murāri Gupta, Rāghava Paṇḍita, Dāmodara Paṇḍita, Paramānanda Purī, Brahmānanda Bhāratī, Svarūpa Dāmodara, Gadādhara Paṇḍita, Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya, Rāmānanda Rāya, Jagadānanda Paṇḍita, Śaṅkara Paṇḍita, Kāśīśvara and Govinda.
Svarūpa Dāmodara, Jagadānanda, Kāśīśvara and Śaṅkara, along with Rāghava and Dāmodara Paṇḍita, took charge of distributing the prasādam.
In the Third Chapter is a description of the forceful glories of Haridāsa Ṭhākura. That chapter also mentions how Dāmodara Paṇḍita spoke words of criticism to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
| Page Title: | Damodara Pandita |
| Compiler: | Sahadeva |
| Created: | 14 of Oct, 2010 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=0, CC=47, OB=0, Lec=0, Con=0, Let=0 |
| No. of Quotes: | 47 |