Before the Ratha-yātrā ceremony, all the devotees from Bengal started for Jagannātha Purī as usual. Rāghava Paṇḍita brought with him various kinds of food for Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. The food had been cooked by his sister, Damayantī, who then packed it in bags (jhāli). Thus the stock of food was generally known as rāghavera jhāli, "the bags of Rāghava." Makaradhvaja Kara, an inhabitant of Pānihāṭi who accompanied Rāghava Paṇḍita, was the secretary in charge of accounting for the rāghavera jhāli.
Makaradhvaja Kara
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta
CC Adi-lila
Rāghava Paṇḍita, Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's original follower, is understood to have been the seventh branch. From him proceeded another subbranch, headed by Makaradhvaja Kara.
Kara was the surname of Makaradhvaja. At present this surname is generally found in the Kāyastha community.
Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura writes in his Anubhāṣya, “In the Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā (167) it is mentioned, guṇamālā vraje yāsīd damayantī tu tat-svasā: The gopī named Guṇamālā appeared as Rāghava Paṇḍita's sister Damayantī. On the East Bengal railway line beginning from the Sealdah station in Calcutta, there is a station named Sodapura, which is not very far from Calcutta. Within one mile of this station, toward the western side of the Ganges, is a village known as Pānihāṭi, in which the residential quarters of Rāghava Paṇḍita still exist. On Rāghava Paṇḍita's tomb is a creeper on a concrete platform. There is also a Madana-mohana Deity in a broken-down temple nearby. This temple is managed by a local zamindar of the name Śrī Śivacandra Rāya Caudhurī. Makaradhvaja Kara was also an inhabitant of Pānihāṭi.”
CC Antya-lila
The superintendent for all those bags was Makaradhvaja Kara, who kept them with great attention like his very life.
Page Title: | Makaradhvaja Kara |
Compiler: | Sahadeva |
Created: | 30 of Sep, 2010 |
Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=0, CC=4, OB=0, Lec=0, Con=0, Let=0 |
No. of Quotes: | 4 |