Sita Thakurani

Expressions researched:
"Sita Thakurani" |"Sitadevi"

CC Adi-lila

CC Adi 12.17, Purport:

Commenting on verses 13 through 17, Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura gives an extensive description of the descendants of Advaita Ācārya. The Caitanya-bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa, Chapter One, states that Acyutānanda was the eldest son of Advaita Ācārya. The Sanskrit book Advaita-carita states, "Advaita Ācārya Prabhu had three sons who were devotees of Lord Caitanya. Their names were Acyuta, Kṛṣṇa Miśra and Gopāla dāsa, and they were all born of the womb of His wife, Sītādevī. Advaita Ācārya also had three more sons, whose names were Balarāma, Svarūpa and Jagadīśa. Thus there were six sons of Advaita Ācārya." Among the six sons, three were strict followers of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and of these three, Acyutānanda was the eldest.

Advaita Prabhu married in the beginning of the fifteenth century Śakābda (late fifteenth century A.D.). When Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu wanted to visit the village of Rāmakeli while going from Jagannātha Purī to Vṛndāvana during the Śakābda years 1433 and 1434 (A.D. 1511 and 1512), Acyutānanda was only five years old. The Caitanya-bhāgavata, Antya-khaṇḍa, Fourth Chapter, describes Acyutānanda at that time as pañca-varṣa vayasa madhura digambara, "only five years old and standing naked." Therefore it is to be concluded that Acyutānanda was born sometime in the year 1428 (A.D. 1506). Before the birth of Acyutānanda, Advaita Prabhu's wife, Sītādevī, came to see Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu at His birth. Thus it is not impossible that she had the other three sons by Advaita within the twenty-one years between 1407 and 1428 Śakābda (A.D. 1486 and 1507).

CC Adi 13.111, Translation and Purport:

One day shortly after Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu was born, Advaita Ācārya's wife, Sītādevī, who is worshipable by the whole world, took her husband's permission and went to see that topmost child with all kinds of gifts and presentations

It appears that Advaita Ācārya had two different houses, one at Śāntipura and one at Navadvīpa. When Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu was born, Advaita Ācārya was residing not at His Navadvīpa house but at His Śāntipura house. Therefore, as formerly explained (text 99), from Advaita's old paternal house (nijālaya) in Śāntipura, Sītā came to Navadvīpa to present gifts to the newborn child, Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

CC Adi 13.113, Translation and Purport:

There were also tiger nails set in gold, waist decorations of silk and lace, ornaments for the hands and legs, nicely printed silken saris, and a child's garment, also made of silk. Many other riches, including gold and silver coins, were also presented to the child.

From the gifts presented by Sītā Ṭhākurāṇī, Advaita Ācārya's wife, it appears that Advaita Ācārya was at that time a very rich man. Although brāhmaṇas are not the rich men of society, Advaita Ācārya, being the leader of the brāhmaṇas in Śāntipura, was considerably well-to-do. Therefore He presented many ornaments to the baby, Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. But Kamalākānta Viśvāsa's asking for three hundred rupees from the King of Jagannātha Purī, Mahārāja Pratāparudra, on the plea that Advaita Ācārya was in debt for that amount, indicates that such a rich man, who could present many valuable ornaments, saris, etc., thought it difficult to repay three hundred rupees. Therefore the value of a rupee at that time was many thousands of times what it is now. At present, no one feels difficulty over a debt of three hundred rupees, nor can an ordinary man accumulate such valuable ornaments to present to a friend's son. Probably the value of three hundred rupees at that time was equal to the present value of thirty thousand rupees.

CC Adi 13.114, Translation and Purport:

Riding in a palanquin covered with cloth and accompanied by maidservants, Sītā Ṭhākurāṇī came to the house of Jagannātha Miśra, bringing with her many auspicious articles such as fresh grass, paddy, gorocana, turmeric, kuṅkuma and sandalwood. All these presentations filled a large basket.

The words vastra-gupta dolā are very significant in this verse. Even fifty or sixty years ago in Calcutta, all respectable ladies would go to a neighboring place riding on a palanquin carried by four men. The palanquin was covered with soft cotton, and in that way there was no chance of seeing a respectable lady traveling in public. Ladies, especially those coming from respectable families, could not be seen by ordinary men. This system is still current in remote places. The Sanskrit word asūrya-paśyā indicates that a respectable lady could not be seen even by the sun. In the oriental culture this system was very prevalent and was strictly observed by respectable ladies, both Hindu and Muslim. We have actual experience in our childhood that our mother would not walk even next door to observe an invitation; rather, she would go in either a carriage or a palanquin carried by four men. This custom was also strictly followed five hundred years ago, and the wife of Advaita Ācārya, being a very respectable lady, observed the customary rules current in that social environment.

CC Adi 13.115, Translation:

When Sītā Ṭhākurāṇī came to the house of Śacīdevī, bringing with her many kinds of eatables, dresses and other gifts, she was astonished to see the newborn child, for she appreciated that except for a difference in color, the child was directly Kṛṣṇa of Gokula Himself.

CC Adi 13.116, Translation:

Seeing the transcendental bodily effulgence of the child, each of His nicely constructed limbs full of auspicious signs and resembling a form of gold, Sītā Ṭhākurāṇī was very pleased, and because of her maternal affection, she felt as if her heart were melting.

CC Adi 13.117, Translation and Purport:

She blessed the newborn child by placing fresh grass and paddy on His head and saying, "May You be blessed with a long duration of life." But being afraid of ghosts and witches, she gave the child the name Nimāi.

Ḍākinī and Śāṅkhinī are two companions of Lord Śiva and his wife who are supposed to be extremely inauspicious, having been born of ghostly life. It is believed that such inauspicious living creatures cannot go near a nima tree. At least medically it is accepted that nima wood is extremely antiseptic, and formerly it was customary to have a nima tree in front of one's house. On very large roads in India, especially in Uttar Pradesh, there are hundreds and thousands of nima trees. Nima wood is so antiseptic that the Āyurvedic science uses it to cure leprosy. Medical scientists have extracted the active principle of the nima tree, which is called margosic acid. Nima is used for many purposes, especially to brush the teeth. In Indian villages ninety percent of the people use nima twigs for this purpose. Because of all the antiseptic effects of the nima tree and because Lord Caitanya was born beneath a nima tree, Sītā Ṭhākurāṇī gave the Lord the name Nimāi. Later in His youth He was celebrated as Nimāi Paṇḍita, and in the neighborhood villages He was called by that name, although His real name was Viśvambhara.

CC Adi 13.118, Translation and Purport:

On the day the mother and son bathed and left the maternity home, Sītā Ṭhākurāṇī gave them all kinds of ornaments and garments and then also honored Jagannātha Miśra. Then Sītā Ṭhākurāṇī, being honored by mother Śacīdevī and Jagannātha Miśra, was greatly happy within her mind, and thus she returned home.

On the fifth day from the birth of a child, as also on the ninth day, the mother bathes either in the Ganges or in another sacred place. This is called niṣkrāmaṇa, or the ceremony of coming out of the maternity home. Nowadays the maternity home is a hospital, but formerly in every respectable house one room was set aside as a maternity home where children would take birth, and on the ninth day after the birth of a child the mother would come into the regular rooms in the ceremony called niṣkrāmaṇa. Of the ten purificatory processes, niṣkrāmaṇa is one. Formerly, especially in Bengal, the higher castes observed four months after the birth of a child as a quarantine. At the end of the fourth month, the mother could see the sun rise. Later the higher castes, namely the brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas and vaiśyas, observed only twenty-one days as a quarantine, whereas the śūdras had to observe thirty days. For the sections of society known as kartābhajā and satīmā, the mother of the child was immediately purified after the quarantine by the throwing of hari-nuṭa, small pieces of sweetmeat, in saṅkīrtana. Śacīdevī and Jagannātha Miśra, with the newborn child, were honored by Sītā Ṭhākurāṇī. Similarly, while Sītā Ṭhākurāṇī was returning home, she was also honored by Śacīdevī and Jagannātha Miśra. That was the system in respectable families of Bengal.

CC Madhya-lila

CC Madhya 16.21, Translation:

That year all the devotees' wives (ṭhākurāṇīs) also went to see Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Sītādevī, the mother of Acyutānanda, went with Advaita Ācārya.