Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu then asked all the devotees to return to Bengal. Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu sent Nityānanda Prabhu to Bengal for preaching and also sent Rāmadāsa, Gadādhara dāsa and several other devotees with Him. Then Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, with great humility, sent some Jagannātha prasādam and a cloth from Lord Jagannātha to His mother through Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura. When the Lord bade farewell to Rāghava Paṇḍita, Vāsudeva Datta, the residents of Kulīna-grāma and other devotees, He praised them for their transcendental qualities. Rāmānanda Vasu and Satyarāja Khān asked some questions, and Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu instructed them that all householder devotees must engage themselves in the service of Vaiṣṇavas exclusively devoted to chanting the holy name of the Lord. He also instructed the Vaiṣṇavas from Khaṇḍa, as well as Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya and Vidyā-vācaspati, and He praised Murāri Gupta for his firm faith in the lotus feet of Lord Rāmacandra. Considering the humble prayer of Vāsudeva Datta, He established that Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is qualified to deliver all the conditioned souls.
Vidya-vacaspati
Sri Caitanya-caritamrta
CC Adi-lila
Śrī Sanātana Gosvāmī is described in the Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā (181). He was formerly known as Rati-mañjarī or sometimes Lavaṅga-mañjarī. In the Bhakti-ratnākara it is stated that his spiritual master, Vidyā-vācaspati, sometimes stayed in the village of Rāmakeli, and Sanātana Gosvāmī studied all the Vedic literatures from him. He was so devoted to his spiritual master that this cannot be described. According to the Vedic system, if someone sees a Muslim he must perform rituals to atone for the meeting. Sanātana Gosvāmī always associated with Muslim kings. Not giving much attention to the Vedic injunctions, he used to visit the houses of Muslim kings, and thus he considered himself to have been converted into a Muslim. He was therefore always very humble and meek. When Sanātana Gosvāmī presented himself before Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, he said, "I am always in association with lower-class people, and my behavior is therefore very abominable." He actually belonged to a respectable brāhmaṇa family, but because he considered his behavior to be abominable, he did not try to place himself among the brāhmaṇas but always remained among people of the lower castes.
In the Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā (195) it is said that Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī was formerly Vilāsa-mañjarī gopī. From his very childhood Jīva Gosvāmī was greatly fond of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. He later came to Navadvīpa to study Sanskrit, and, following in the footsteps of Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu, he circumambulated the entire Navadvīpa-dhāma. After visiting Navadvīpa-dhāma he went to Benares to study Sanskrit under Madhusūdana Vācaspati, and after finishing his studies in Benares he went to Vṛndāvana and took shelter of his uncles, Śrī Rūpa and Sanātana. This is described in the Bhakti-ratnākara.
CC Madhya-lila
When Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu reached Vidyānagara, Bengal, on the way to Vṛndāvana, He stopped at the house of Vidyā-vācaspati, who was the brother of Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya. When Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu suddenly arrived at his house, great crowds of people gathered.
Gopīnātha Ācārya was a resident of Nadia, the son-in-law of Viśārada and a devotee of Caitanya Mahāprabhu. He knew the true identity of His Lordship.
Maheśvara Viśārada was a classmate of Nīlāmbara Cakravartī’s. He lived in the Nadia, district in a village called Vidyānagara, and had two sons named Madhusūdana Vācaspati and Vāsudeva Sārvabhauma. His son-in-law was Gopīnātha Ācārya.
Out of His causeless mercy, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu gave the following directions to the brothers Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya and Vidyā-vācaspati.
“Lord Jagannātha is the Supreme Lord Himself in the form of wood, and the river Ganges is the Supreme Lord Himself in the form of water.
The Vedas enjoin, sarvaṁ khalv idaṁ brahma: everything is the energy of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Supreme Brahman or Parambrahma. Parasya brahmaṇaḥ śaktis tathedam akhilaṁ jagat: everything is a manifestation of the energy of the Supreme Brahman. Since the energy and energetic are identical, actually everything is Kṛṣṇa, Parambrahma. In the Bhagavad-gītā (BG 9.4) Lord Kṛṣṇa confirms this:
- mayā tatam idaṁ sarvaṁ jagad avyakta-mūrtinā
- mat-sthāni sarva-bhūtāni na cāhaṁ teṣv avasthitaḥ
"By Me, in My unmanifested form, this entire universe is pervaded. All beings are in Me, but I am not in them."
Kṛṣṇa is spread throughout the whole universe in His impersonal form. Since everything is a manifestation of the Lord's energy, the Lord can manifest Himself through any energy. In this age, the Lord is manifest through wood as Lord Jagannātha, and He is manifest through water as the river Ganges. Therefore Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu ordered the two brothers—Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya and Vidyā-vācaspati—to worship Lord Jagannātha and the river Ganges.
"Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya, you should engage in the worship of Lord Jagannātha Puruṣottama, and Vācaspati should worship mother Ganges."
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."
In the Caitanya-bhāgavata (Antya-khaṇḍa, Chapter Three), it is stated, sarva-pāriṣada-saṅge śrī-gaurasundara/ ācambite āsi' uttarilā tāṅra ghara: "The Lord suddenly came to Vidyānagara with a full party and stayed there in the house of Vidyā-vācaspati." Navadvīpādi sarva-dike haila dhvani: “Thus throughout Navadvīpa, the Lord's arrival was made known.” Vācaspati-ghare āilā nyāsi-cūḍāmaṇi: "Thus the chief of all the sannyāsīs, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, arrived at the house of Vidyā-vācaspati." As further stated:
- ananta arbuda loka bali' "hari" "hari"
- calilena dekhibāre gaurāṅga śrī-hari
- patha nāhi pāya keho lokera gahale
- vanaḍāla bhāṅgi' loka daśa-dike cale
- lokera gahale yata araṇya āchila
- kṣaṇeke sakala divya pathamaya haila
- kṣaṇeke āila saba loka kheyā-ghāṭe
- kheyārī karite pāra paḍila saṅkaṭe
- satvare āsilā vācaspati mahāśaya
- karilena aneka naukāra samuccaya
- naukāra apekṣā āra keho nāhi kare
- nānā mate pāra haya ye yemate pāre
- hena-mate gaṅgā pāra ha-i' sarva-jana
- sabhei dharena vācaspatira caraṇa
- lukāñā gelā prabhu kuliyā-nagara
- kuliyāya āilena vaikuṇṭha-īśvara
- sarva-loka "hari" bali' vācaspati-saṅge
- sei-kṣaṇe sabhe calilena mahā-raṅge
- kuliyā-nagare āilena nyāsi-maṇi
- sei-kṣaṇe sarva-dike haila mahā-dhvani
- sabe gaṅgā madhye nadīyāya-kuliyāya
- śuni' mātra sarva-loke mahānande dhāya
- vācaspatira grāme (vidyānagare) chila yateka gahala
- tāra koṭi koṭi-guṇe pūrila sakala
- lakṣa lakṣa naukā vā āila kothā haite
- nā jāni kateka pāra haya kata-mate
- lakṣa lakṣa loka bhāse jāhnavīra jale
- sabhe pāra hayena parama kutūhale
- gaṅgāya hañā pāra āpanā-āpani
- kolākoli kari' sabhe kare hari-dhvani
- kṣaṇeke kuliyā-grāma—nagara prāntara
- paripūrṇa haila sthala, nāhi avasara
- kṣaṇeke āilā mahāśaya vācaspati
- teṅho nāhi pāyena prabhura kothā sthiti
- kuliyāya prakāśe yateka pāpī chila
- uttama, madhyama, nīca,—sabe pāra haila
- kuliyā-grāmete āsi' śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya
- hena nāhi, yāre prabhu nā karilā dhanya
“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.”
As stated in the Caitanya-bhāgavata (Antya-khaṇḍa, Chapter Six):
- khānāyoḍā, baḍagāchi, āra dogāchiyā
- gaṅgāra opāra kabhu yāyena "kuliyā"
"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."
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.
| Page Title: | Vidya-vacaspati |
| Compiler: | Sahadeva |
| Created: | 31 of Oct, 2010 |
| Totals by Section: | BG=0, SB=0, CC=10, OB=0, Lec=0, Con=0, Let=0 |
| No. of Quotes: | 10 |