Continuing our presentation of the upcoming release Sharanagati, in this song Srila Bhakti Vinod Thakur describes sri guru’s descent into this world as the distributor of Mahaprabhu’s mercy to the fallen souls.
Sharangati
Song Nine
emana durmati, saṁsāra bhitare,
paḍiyā āchhinu āmi
tava nija-jana, kona mahājane,
pāṭhāiyā dile tumi [1]
emana–such; durmati–evil-hearted; saṁsāra–material world; bhitare–within; paḍiyā–falling; āchhinu–am; āmi–I; tava–Your; nija-jana (pārṣada)–own person (eternal, personal associate); kona–who; mahājane (āchārya śrī-gurudeva)–great soul (exemplary teacher, spiritual master); pāṭhāiyā–sending; dile–gave; tumi–You. [1]
(1) I am a most sinful-hearted person and have fallen into this material world, but You have sent a great soul, Your own associate (to rescue me).
dayā kari’ more, patita dekhiyā,
kahila āmāre giyā
ohe dīna-jana, śuna bhāla kathā,
ullasita habe hiyā [2]
dayā–mercy; kari’–doing; more–to me; patita–fallen; dekhiyā–seeing; kahila–said; āmāre–to me; giyā–going; ohe–oh!; dīna–humble; jana–person; śuna–please listen; bhāla–good; kathā–word; ullasita–elated; habe–will be; hiyā–heart. [2]
(2) Seeing my fallen condition and being merciful to me, they came to me and said, “O humble soul, please listen to this wonderful message and your heart will rejoice.
Sri Laghu-chandrika-bhashya
(2) śuna bhāla kathā: “Please listen to this wonderful message.” Krishna prefaces His final teaching in Srimad Bhagavad-gita (18.64) similarly:
sarva-guhyatamaṁ bhūyaḥ śṛṇu me paramaṁ vachaḥ
iṣṭo ’si me dṛḍham iti tato vakṣyāmi te hitam
“Now again hear from Me My supreme teaching, the most hidden treasure of all. I tell you this for your benefit as you are most dear to Me.”
Sriman Mahaprabhu also alludes to a wonderful message while narrating a parable to Srila Sanatan Goswami Prabhu in Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita (Madhya-lila, 20.127–8):
‘sarvajña’ āsi’ duḥkha dekhi’ puchhaye tāhāre
‘tumi kene duḥkhī, tomāra āchhe pitṛ-dhana’
“Coming to the house of a poor man (a fallen soul) and observing his suffering, Sarvajna (the personification of the revealed scriptures) questioned him, ‘Why are you so miserable? You have a great inheritance!’”
tomāre tārite, śrī-kṛṣṇa-chaitanya,
navadvīpe avatāra
tomā hena kata, dīna-hīna jane,
karilena bhava-pāra [3]
tomāre–to you; tārite–to deliver; śrī-kṛṣṇa-chaitanya–Sriman Mahaprabhu; navadvīpe–in Nabadwip; avatāra–descent; tomā–you; hena–similar; kata–so many; dīna–poor; hīna–lowly; jane–to persons; karilena–did; bhava–of the material existence; pāra–deliverance. [3]
(3) “‘Sri Krishna Chaitanya has descended in Nabadwip to deliver you. He has safely conducted many humble and fallen souls like you across the ocean of material existence.
(3) śrī kṛṣṇa chaitanya: “Sri Krishna Chaitanya.” This name of the Lord is mentioned in the Padma-purana:
nāma chintāmaṇiḥ kṛṣṇa-chaitanyo rasa-vigrahaḥ
pūrṇaḥ śuddho nitya-mukto ’bhinnatvān nāma-nāminoḥ
“The Name ‘Krishna Chaitanya’ is a wish-fulfilling jewel and an embodiment of rasa. He is complete, pure, eternally liberated, and non-different from whom He names.”
navadvīpe avatāra: “Descended in Nabadwip.” This is described in the Ananta-samhita:
avatīrṇo bhaviṣyāmi kalau nija-gaṇaiḥ saha
śāchī-garbhe navadvīpe svardhunī-parivārite
“In the Age of Kali, I will descend in Nabadwip with My own eternal associates beside the banks of the Ganges, taking birth from the womb of Shachi Devi.”
bhava-pāra: “The shore of the ocean of material existence.” In Srimad Bhagavatam (11.5.34), Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is described as the deliverer of the fallen souls from the ocean of material existence:
dhyeyaṁ sadā paribhava-ghnam abhīṣṭa-dohaṁ
tīrthāspadaṁ śiva-viriñchi-nutaṁ śaraṇyam
bhṛtyārti-haṁ praṇata-pāla bhavābdhi-potaṁ
vande mahā-puruṣa te charaṇāravindam
“O Mahaprabhu! I offer my obeisance unto Your lotus feet, which are the ultimate object of eternal meditation; which destroy illusion and fulfil all desires; which are the supreme place of pilgrimage; which are worshipped by Sadashiva and Brahma; which are the shelter of everything; which dispel the suffering of Your servants; which maintain all who surrender unto them; and which are the boat to cross the ocean of material existence.”
vedera pratijñā, rākhibāra tare,
rukma-varṇa vipra-suta
mahāprabhu nāme, nadīyā mātāya,
saṅge bhāi avadhūta [4]
vedera–of the Vedas; pratijñā–the prophecies; rākhibāra–to maintain; tare–for; rukma-varṇa (gaura-varṇa, puraṭa sundara dyuti)–golden-coloured (beautiful golden radiance); vipra–of a brahman; suta–a son; mahāprabhu–‘Mahaprabhu’; nāme–Named; nadīyā–Nadia, the whole world; mātāya–intoxicated; saṅge–in the company; bhāi–brother; avadhūta–Sri Nityananda Prabhu. [4]
(4) “‘To fulfil the prophecies of the Vedas, He has appeared with a golden complexion as a brahman’s son bearing the name ‘Mahaprabhu’ and driven all of Nadia mad with prem in the company of His brother Nityananda.
(4) vedera pratijñā: “The prophecies of the Vedas.” This refers to the promises made in the Vedas that the Supreme Lord would appear as Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.
rukma-varṇa: “Golden complexion.” That the Lord would appear with a golden complexion is prophesied in Sri Mundaka Upanishad (3.1.3):
yadā paśyaḥ paśyate rukma-varṇaṁ
kartāram īśaṁ puruṣaṁ brahma-yonim
tadā vidvān puṇya-pāpe vidhūya
nirañjanaḥ paramaṁ sāmyam upaiti
“When a jiva sees the golden Lord, who is the supreme controller and the source of Brahma, they become wise, free from the reactions of both pious and impious activities, and pure, and they obtain supreme equanimity.”
The Vishnu-sahasra-nama of the Mahabharata (Dana-dharma-parva, 189) has also prophesied the divine form and Pastimes of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu:
suvarṇa-varṇo hemāṅgo varāṅgaś chandanāṅgadī
sannyāsa-kṛch chhamaḥ śānto niṣṭhā-śānti-parāyaṇaḥ
“His complexion is golden, His limbs appear like molten gold, His beautiful body is adorned with sandalwood paste and flower garlands, He accepts sannyas, He is equanimous and peaceful, and He is the supreme abode of steadfast devotion (mahabhav).”
mahāprabhu: “Bearing the Name ‘Mahaprabhu’.” That the Lord would be known by the Name ‘Mahaprabhu’ is prophesied in Śrī Shvetashvatara Upanishad (2.12):
mahān prabhur vai puruṣaḥ sattvasyaiṣa pravartakaḥ
sunirmalam imaṁ prāptiṁ īśāno jyotir avyayaḥ
“Sri Mahaprabhu, the supreme master, is verily the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He is the originator of existence, the eternally effulgent Lord. By His grace one obtains ultimate purity.”
avadhūta: “Nityananda.” An ‘avadhut’ has been described by Srila Sridhar Swami in his commentary on Srimad Bhagavatam as avajnaya-janais tyakto yah, one who is abandoned by general people with disregard (because their ecstatic, purely devotional behaviour is incomprehensible).
nanda-sutayini, chaitanya gosāñi,
nija nāma kari’ dāna
tārila jagat, tumio yāiyā,
laha nija paritrāna [5]
nanda–of Nanda Mahārāj; suta–the son (Kṛṣṇa); yini–who; chaitanya–Chaitanya; gosāñi–great personage; nija–own; nāma–Name; kari’–doing; dāna–gift; tārila–delivered; jagat–the world; tumio–you also, too; yāiyā–going; laha–accept; nija–own; paritrāṇa–deliverance. [5]
(5) “‘Sri Chaitanya Gosani, who is Nanda Suta Himself, has delivered the universe by distributing His own Name. You too should go and accept your deliverance.’”
(5) nanda-suta: “The son of Nanda.” Srila Jiva Goswami Prabhu has described the identity of Sriman Mahaprabhu in his Tattva-sandarbha (2):
antaḥ kṛṣṇaṁ bahir gauraṁ darśitāṅgādi-vaibhavam
kalau saṅkīrtanādyaiḥ sma kṛṣṇa-chaitanyam āśritāḥ
“Sri Krishna Chaitanya is internally Krishna Himself and outwardly golden. He has manifest in the Age of Kali in all His glory, accompanied by His entourage. We take shelter of Him by performing Hari-nam-sankirtan and related devotional services.”
Sriman Mahaprabhu is also described in the Kapila-tantra:
premāliṅgana-yogena chāchintya-śakti-yogataḥ
rādhā-bhāva-kānti-yutāṁ mūrtim ekāṁ prakāśayet
“By the loving embrace of His inconceivable potency, Krishna has manifested a form enriched with the heart and halo of Sri Radha—the divine form of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.”
se kathā śuniyā, āsiyāchhi, nātha!
tomāra charaṇa-tale
bhakati-vinoda, kā̐diyā kā̐diyā,
āpana kāhinī bale [6]
se–this; kathā–message; śuniyā–hearing; āsiyāchhi–I have come; nātha!–O Lord!; tomāra–Your; charaṇa–feet; tale–beneath; bhakati-vinoda–Bhakti Vinod; kā̐diyā–crying; kā̐diyā–and crying; āpana–personal; kāhinī (kathā)–tale (narrative); bale–speaks. [6]
(6) O Lord! Hearing this message, I have come before Your feet. Crying incessantly, Bhakti Vinod tells the story of his life.