Mahārāja Pratāparudra made various arrangements for Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's trip to Vṛndāvana. When He crossed the river Citrotpalā, Rāmānanda Rāya, Mardarāja and Haricandana went with Him. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu requested Gadādhara Paṇḍita to return to Nīlācala, Jagannātha Purī, but he did not abide by this order. From Kaṭaka, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu again requested Gadādhara Paṇḍita to return to Nīlācala, and He bade farewell to Rāmānanda Rāya from Bhadraka. After this, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu crossed the border of Orissa state, and He arrived at Pānihāṭi by boat. Thereafter He visited the house of Rāghava Paṇḍita, and from there He went to Kumārahaṭṭa and eventually to Kuliyā, where He excused many offenders. From there He went to Rāmakeli, where He saw Śrī Rūpa and Sanātana and accepted them as His chief disciples. Returning from Rāmakeli, He met Raghunātha dāsa and after giving him instructions sent him back home. Thereafter the Lord returned to Nīlācala and began to make plans to go to Vṛndāvana without a companion.
Kuliya-grama
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta
CC Adi-lila
Pradyumna Brahmacārī is described in the Antya-līlā, Second Chapter, of Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta. He was a great devotee of Lord Caitanya, who changed his name to Nṛsiṁhānanda. While coming from the house of Rāghava Paṇḍita at Pānihāṭi to the house of Śivānanda, Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu appeared in the heart of Nṛsiṁhānanda Brahmacārī. To acknowledge this, Nṛsiṁhānanda Brahmacārī used to accept as eatables the food of three Deities, namely Jagannātha, Nṛsiṁha-deva and Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. This is stated in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, Second Chapter, verses 48 through 78. Upon receiving information that Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu was proceeding toward Vṛndāvana from Kuliyā, Nṛsiṁhānanda absorbed himself in meditation and by his mental activities began constructing a very nice road from Kuliyā to Vṛndāvana. All of a sudden, however, he broke his meditation and told the other devotees that this time Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu would not go to Vṛndāvana but would travel only as far as the place known as Kānāi Nāṭaśālā. This is described in Madhya-līlā, Chapter One, verses 155 through 162. The Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā (74) says, āveśaś ca tathājñeyo miśre pradyumna-saṁjñake: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu changed the name of Pradyumna Miśra, or Pradyumna Brahmacārī, to Nṛsiṁhānanda Brahmacārī, for in his heart Lord Nṛsiṁha-deva was manifest. It is said that Lord Nṛsiṁha-deva used to talk with him directly.
In the Caitanya-bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa, Chapter Twenty-one, it is stated that Devānanda Paṇḍita and Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya's father, Viśārada, lived in the same village. Devānanda Paṇḍita was a professional reciter of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, but Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu did not like his interpretation of it. In the present town of Navadvīpa, which was formerly known as Kuliyā, Lord Caitanya showed such mercy to him that he gave up the Māyāvādī interpretation of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and learned how to explain Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in terms of bhakti. Formerly, when Devānanda was expounding the Māyāvādī interpretation, Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura was once present in his meeting, and when he began to cry, Devānanda's students drove him away.
In the Caitanya-bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa, Chapter Twenty-one, it is stated that Devānanda Paṇḍita and Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya's father, Viśārada, lived in the same village. Devānanda Paṇḍita was a professional reciter of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, but Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu did not like his interpretation of it. In the present town of Navadvīpa, which was formerly known as Kuliyā, Lord Caitanya showed such mercy to him that he gave up the Māyāvādī interpretation of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and learned how to explain Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam in terms of bhakti. Formerly, when Devānanda was expounding the Māyāvādī interpretation, Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura was once present in his meeting, and when he began to cry, Devānanda's students drove him away. Some days later, Caitanya Mahāprabhu passed that way, and when He met Devānanda He chastised him severely because of his Māyāvāda interpretation of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. At that time Devānanda had little faith in Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu as an incarnation of Lord Kṛṣṇa, but one night some time later Vakreśvara Paṇḍita was a guest in his house, and when he explained the science of Kṛṣṇa, Devānanda was convinced about the identity of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Thus he was induced to explain Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam according to the Vaiṣṇava understanding. In the Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā (106) it is described that he was formerly Bhāguri Muni, the sabhā-paṇḍita who recited Vedic literatures in the house of Nanda Mahārāja.
There are different islands in the Navadvīpa area for cultivation of these nine varieties of devotional service. They are as follows: (1) Antardvīpa, (2) Sīmantadvīpa, (3) Godrumadvīpa, (4) Madhyadvīpa, (5) Koladvīpa, (6) Ṛtudvīpa, (7) Jahnudvīpa, (8) Modadruma-dvīpa and (9) Rudradvīpa. According to the settlement map, our ISKCON Navadvīpa center is situated on the Rudradvīpa island. Below Rudradvīpa, in Antardvīpa, is Māyāpur. There Śrī Jagannātha Miśra, the father of Caitanya Mahāprabhu, used to reside. In all these different islands, Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, as a young man, used to lead His saṅkīrtana party. He thus inundated the entire area with the waves of love of Kṛṣṇa.
When Śrī Caitanya, after accepting the renounced order of life, went to Jagannātha Purī and then came back to the village of Kuliyā, upon His return that sinful man took shelter at the Lord's lotus feet. The Lord, being merciful to him, gave him instructions for his benefit.
Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, in his Anubhāṣya, has given the following note in connection with the village Kuliyā. The village originally known as Kuliyā has developed into what is now the city of Navadvīpa. In various authorized books like the Bhakti-ratnākara, Caitanya-carita-mahākāvya, Caitanya-candrodaya-nāṭaka and Caitanya-bhāgavata it is mentioned that the village of Kuliyā is on the western side of the Ganges. Even now, within the area known as Koladvīpa, there is a place known as kuliāra gañja and a place called kuliāra daha, both within the jurisdiction of the present municipality of Navadvīpa. In the time of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the two villages on the western side of the Ganges named Kuliyā and Pāhāḍapura both belonged to the jurisdiction of Bāhiradvīpa. At that time the place on the eastern side of the Ganges now known as Antardvīpa was known as Navadvīpa. At Śrī Māyāpur that place is still known as Dvīpera Māṭha. There is another place of the name Kuliyā near Kāṅcaḍāpāḍā, but it is not the same Kuliyā mentioned here. It cannot be accepted as aparādha-bhañjanera pāḍa, or the place where the offense was excused, for that occurred in the above-mentioned Kuliyā on the western side of the Ganges. For business reasons many envious persons oppose excavation of the real place, and sometimes they advertise unauthorized places as the authorized one.
CC Madhya-lila
For five consecutive days all the people gathered to see the Lord, and still there was no rest. Out of fear of the crowd, Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu left at night and went to the town of Kuliyā (present-day Navadvīpa).
If one considers the statements of the Caitanya-bhāgavata along with the description by Locana dāsa Ṭhākura, it is clear that present-day Navadvīpa was formerly known as Kuliyā-grāma. While at Kuliyā-grāma, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu bestowed His favor upon Devānanda Paṇḍita and delivered Gopāla Cāpala and many others who had previously committed offenses at His lotus feet. At that time, to go from Vidyānagara to Kuliyā-grāma one had to cross a branch of the Ganges. All of those old places still exist. Cināḍāṅgā was formerly situated in Kuliyā-grāma, which is now known as Kolera Gañja.
Hearing of the Lord's arrival in Kuliyā-grāma, many hundreds of thousands of people came to see Him.
First Nṛsiṁhānanda Brahmacārī contemplated a broad road starting from the city of Kuliyā. He bedecked the road with jewels, upon which he then laid a bed of stemless flowers.
Śrīla Nṛsiṁhānanda Brahmacārī was a great devotee of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu; therefore when he heard that from Kuliyā Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was going to Vṛndāvana, although he had no material wealth he began to construct within his mind a very attractive path or road for Caitanya Mahāprabhu to traverse. Some of the description of this path is given above. But even mentally he could not construct the road beyond Kānāi Nāṭaśālā. Therefore he concluded that Caitanya Mahāprabhu would not go to Vṛndāvana at that time.
For a pure devotee, it is the same whether he materially constructs a path or constructs one within his mind. This is because the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Janārdana, is bhāva-grāhī, or appreciative of the sentiment. For Him a path made with actual jewels and a path made of mental jewels are the same. Though subtle, mind is also matter, so any path—indeed, anything for the service of the Lord, whether in gross matter or in subtle matter—is accepted equally by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The Lord accepts the attitude of His devotee and sees how much he is prepared to serve Him. The devotee is at liberty to serve the Lord either in gross matter or in subtle matter. The important point is that the service be in relation with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā (9.26):
When Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu began to proceed from Kuliyā toward Vṛndāvana, thousands of men were with Him, and all of them were devotees.
The present name of Kumārahaṭṭa is Hālisahara. After Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu accepted sannyāsa, Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura left Navadvīpa due to separation from Him and went to Hālisahara to live.
From Kumārahaṭṭa, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu went to Kāñcanapallī (also known as Kāṅcaḍāpāḍā), where Śivānanda Sena lived. After staying two days at Śivānanda's house, the Lord went to the house of Vāsudeva Datta. From there He went to the western side of Navadvīpa, to the village called Vidyānagara. From Vidyānagara He went to Kuliyā-grāma and stayed at Mādhava dāsa's house. He stayed there one week and excused the offenses of Devānanda and others. Due to Kavirāja Gosvāmī’s mentioning the name of Śāntipurācārya, some people think that Kuliyā is a village near Kāṅcaḍāpāḍā. Due to this mistaken idea, they invented another place known as New Kuliyāra Pāṭa. Actually such a place does not exist. Leaving the house of Vāsudeva Datta, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu went to the house of Advaita Ācārya. From there He went to the western side of Navadvīpa, to Vidyānagara, and stayed at the house of Vidyā-vācaspati. These accounts are given in the Caitanya-bhāgavata, Caitanya-maṅgala, Caitanya-candrodaya-nāṭaka and Caitanya-carita-kāvya. Śrīla Kavirāja Gosvāmī has not vividly described this entire tour; therefore, on the basis of Caitanya-caritāmṛta, some unscrupulous people have invented a place called Kuliyāra Pāṭa near Kāṅcaḍāpāḍā.
The Lord remained some time at the house of Vidyā-vācaspati, but then, because it was too crowded, He went to Kuliyā.
The house of Vidyā-vācaspati was located at Vidyānagara, which was near Koladvīpa, or Kuliyā. It was here that Devānanda Paṇḍita was residing. This information is found in the Caitanya-bhāgavata (Madhya-khaṇḍa, Chapter Twenty-one). In the Caitanya-candrodaya-nāṭaka, the following statement is given about Kuliyā. Tataḥ kumārahaṭṭe śrīvāsa-paṇḍita-vāṭyām abhyāyayau: "From there the Lord went to the house of Śrīvāsa Paṇḍita in Kumārahaṭṭa"; tato ’dvaita-vāṭīm abhyetya haridāsenābhivanditas tathaiva taraṇī-vartmanā navadvīpasya pāre kuliyā-nāma-grāme mādhava-dāsa-vāṭyām uttīrṇavān. evaṁ sapta-dināni tatra sthitvā punas taṭa-vartmanā eva calitavān: "From the house of Śrīvāsa Ācārya, the Lord went to the house of Advaita Ācārya, where He was offered obeisances by Haridāsa Ṭhākura. The Lord then took a boat to the other side of Navadvīpa, to a place called Kuliyā, where He stayed seven days at the house of Mādhava dāsa. He then proceeded along the banks of the Ganges."
In the Śrī Caitanya-carita-mahā-kāvya, it is stated, anye-dyuḥ sa śrī-navadvīpa-bhūmeḥ pāre gaṅgāṁ paścime kvāpi deśe, śrīmān sarva-prāṇināṁ tat-tad-aṅgair netrānandaṁ samyag āgatya tene: "The Lord went to the western side of the Ganges at Navadvīpa, and everyone was pleased to see the Lord coming."
“When Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu stayed at Vidyā-vācaspati's house, many hundreds of thousands of people went to see Him and chant the holy name of Hari. It was so crowded that people could not even find a place to walk; therefore they made room by clearing out the jungles near the village. Many roads were automatically excavated, and many people also came by boat to see the Lord. So many came that it was difficult for the boatmen to get them across the river. When Vidyā-vācaspati suddenly arrived, he made arrangements for many boats to receive these people, but the people would not wait for the boats. Somehow or other they crossed the river and hurried toward the house of Vidyā-vācaspati. Due to this great crowd, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu secretly went to Kuliyā-nagara. After the Lord left Vidyānagara, however, all the people heard news of His leaving. They then accompanied Vācaspati to Kuliyā-nagara. Since the news of the Lord's arrival was immediately broadcast, large crowds arrived and greeted Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu with great jubilation. Indeed, when the crowd went to see Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, it increased ten thousand times in number. No one could say how many people crossed the river to see Him, but many hundreds of thousands made a great tumult when crossing the river Ganges. After crossing the river, everyone began to embrace one another because they heard the good news of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's arrival. Thus all the inhabitants of Kuliyā—the sinful, intermediate and spiritually advanced—were delivered and glorified by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.”
"Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu passed through Khānāyoḍā, Baḍagāchi and Dogāchiyā and then crossed the Ganges before arriving in Kuliyā."
As stated in the Caitanya-maṅgala:
- gaṅgā-snāna kari prabhu rāḍha-deśa diyā
- krame krame uttarilā nagara "kuliyā"
- māyera vacane punaḥ gelā navadvīpa
- vārakoṇā-ghāṭa, nija vāḍīra samīpa
"Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu walked through Rāḍha-deśa and gradually arrived at the Ganges. After bathing in the river, he crossed it and went to Kuliyā. Because He had promised His mother He would return to Navadvīpa, He went to Vārakoṇā-ghāṭa, a village near His house."
In the commentary of Premadāsa it is said:
nadīyāra mājhakhāne, sakala lokete
jāne, "kuliyā-pāhāḍapura" nāme sthāna
"Everyone knows that in the middle of Nadia is a village named Kuliyā-pāhāḍapura."
"Everyone knows that in the middle of Nadia is a village named Kuliyā-pāhāḍapura."
Śrī Narahari Cakravartī, or Ghanaśyāma dāsa, has written in his Bhakti-ratnākara:
- kuliyā pāhāḍapura dekha śrīnivāsa
- pūrve "koladvīpa"-parvatākhya—e pracāra
"He said, "O Śrīnivāsa, just see the town of Kuliyā-pāhāḍapura, which was previously known as Koladvīpa.""
In a book named Navadvīpa-dhāma-parikramā, also written by Ghanaśyāma dāsa, it is stated: kuliyā-pāhāḍapura grāma pūrve koladvīpa-parvatākhyānanda nāma. "The town of Kuliyā-pāhāḍapura was previously named Koladvīpa-parvatākhyānanda."
Therefore one can conclude that the present-day city of Navadvīpa and the places known as Bāhiradvīpa, Kolera Gañja, Kola-āmāda, Kolera Daha, Gadakhāli, etc., were known as Kuliyā, but the so-called Kuliyāra Pāḍa is not the original Kuliyā.
Mādhava dāsa is identified as follows. In the family of Śrīkara Caṭṭopādhyāya, Yudhiṣṭhira Caṭṭopādhyāya took his birth. Formerly, he and his family members lived in Bilvagrāma and Pāṭūli. From there he went to Kuliyā-pāhāḍapura, formerly known as Pāḍapura. The eldest son of Yudhiṣṭhira Caṭṭopādhyāya was known as Mādhava dāsa, the second son was called Haridāsa, and the youngest son was called Kṛṣṇasampatti Caṭṭopādhyāya. The three brothers' nicknames were Chakaḍi, Tinakaḍi and Dukaḍi. The grandson of Mādhava dāsa was named Vaṁśīvadana, and, during the time of Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, his grandson Rāmacandra and their descendants were still living at Vāghnāpāḍā, or Vaiñcī.
After leaving Kuliyā, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu visited the house of Advaita Ācārya at Śāntipura. It was there that the Lord's mother, Śacīmātā, met Him and was thus relieved of her great unhappiness.
Correspondence
1972 Correspondence
He has also mentioned that you are planning your Maidan Pandal from 7th October to November 5th tentatively. But these things must be consulted amongst all of you leaders, not that one man decides these things whimsically. My program is already sent to you earlier, I shall be in Vrndavana from middle October to middle November, but after that time I am free to come to Calcutta for holding our festival, but these things should be decided amongst all of you leaders in India, including Gurudasa, Giriraja, Tamala, Bhavananda, Gargamuni.
So far the people asking you what is the actual birth site of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, ask them to go to Tirtha Maharaja. We do not bother about these things. He is in charge of the Caitanya Math. We are foreigners and we have come here the last. There are so many other temples before us, why don't they go there for asking. They should inquire from our predecessors like Caitanya Math. This is a long controversial point, do not bother with it. We accept our predecessor's version, that's all. Navadvipa means nine islands or dvipas and the present Navadvipa city is Koladvipa.
| Page Title: | Kuliya-grama |
| Compiler: | Visnu Murti, RupaManjari |
| Created: | 23 of Nov, 2012 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=0, CC=20, OB=0, Lec=0, Con=0, Let=1 |
| No. of Quotes: | 21 |