Śrī Navadvīpa-dhāma Māhātmya – Chapter Fourteen

jaya jaya pañca-tattvātmaka gaurahari
jaya jaya navadvīpa-dhāma sarvopari [1]

All glory to the life of the Pañca Tattva, Śrī Gaurahari, and the best of all abodes, Śrī Navadvīpa!

māmagācchi-grāme giyā nityānanda-rāya
bale, “ei modadruma, ayodhyā hethāya [2]

Proceeding to Māmgācchi Grāma, Nityānanda Rāya said, “This is Modadrumadvīpa. Ayodhyā is present here.

pūrva-kalpe yabe rāma haila vana-vāsī
lakṣaṇa jānakī laye ei sthāne āsi’ [3]

mahāvaṭa vṛkṣa tale kuṭīra bāṅdhiyā
kata-dina vāsa kaila ānandita haiyā [4]

“In a previous manifestation of the universe, while He was residing in the forest, Rāma came here with Lakṣmaṇa and Sītā, built a cottage under a massive banyan tree, and lived here joyfully for some time.

navadvīpa-prabhā rāma kari’ daraśana
alpa alpa hāsya kare śrī-raghu-nandana [5]

“Seeing the lustre of Navadvīpa, Rāma smiled slightly.

kibā durvā-dala-śyāma-rūpa manohara
rājīva-locana haste dhanuka sundara [6]

“His lotus eyes, His beautiful bow in hand—how enchanting was His dark grass-green form!

brahmacārī-veśa śire jaṭā śobhā kare
darśane sakala prāṇī-gaṇa manohare [7]

“He wore the dress of a brahmacārī, and dreadlocks shone atop His head. Seeing Him captivated all living beings.

hāsi’ hāsi’ mukha dekhi’ jānakī takhana
jijñāse śrī-rāme devī hāsyera kāraṇa [8]

“Seeing His smiling face, Sītā Devī asked Śrī Rāma about the reason for His smile.

rāma bale, ‘śuna sītā janaka-nandini
ati gopanīya eka āchhe ta kāhinī [9]

“Rāma replied, ‘O Sītā, listen! There is a very confidential answer.

dhanya kali yabe haya ei nadīyāya
pīta-varṇa-rūpa mora dekhibāre pāya [10]

“‘When the glorious Kali-yuga takes place, souls will see My golden form here in Nadīyā.

jagannātha-miśra-gṛhe śrī-śacī-udare
gaurāṅga-rūpete janma labhiba satvare [11]

“‘I will soon take birth as Gaurāṅga from the womb of Śacī Devī in the home of Jagannātha Miśra.

bālya-līlā dekhibe ye saba bhāgyavāna
kariba se sabe āmi parā prema dāna [12]

“‘The fortunate souls will see My childhood Pastimes, and I will give them all the highest form of divine love.

kariba se kāle priye vidyāra vilāsa
śrī-nāma-māhātmya āmi kariba prakāśa [13]

“‘Dear Sītā, at that time, I will perform Pastimes of scholarship and reveal the glories of My Name.

sannyāsa kariyā āmi yāba nīlācale
kāṅdibe jananī svīya vadhū laye kole’ [14]

“‘Later, I will take sannyāsa and go to Nīlācala. My mother will embrace My wife and cry.’

ei kathā śuni’ sītā balena vacana
‘jananī kāṅdābe kena rājīva-locana [15]

“Hearing this, Sītā said, ‘O lotus-eyed Lord, why will You make Your mother cry?

sannyāsa karibe kena chāḍiyā gṛhiṇī
patnī duḥkha diyā sukha kibā nāhi jāni’ [16]

“‘Why will You take sannyāsa and leave Your wife? What happiness is there in making Your wife unhappy? I do not understand.’

śrī-rāma balena, ‘priye tumi saba jāna
jīvere śikhāte ebe ha-ila ajñāna [17]

“Śrī Rāma answered, ‘My dear, You actually understand everything, but to teach the souls, You now act as if You were unaware.

āmāte ye prema-bhakti tāra āsvādana
dui mate haya sītā śunaha vacana [18]

“‘Loving devotion to Me is relished in two ways. O Sītā, please hear My words.

āmāra saṁyoge sukha sambhoga bolaya
āmāra viyoge sukha vipralambha haya [19]

“‘The joy felt during union with Me is called sambhoga. The joy felt during separation from Me is called vipralambha.

bhakta mora nitya-saṅgī sambhoga vāñchaya
mama kṛpā-vaśe tāra vipralambha haya [20]

“‘My devotees, My eternal associates, desire sambhoga, and by My grace, they experience vipralambha.

vipralambhe duḥkha yei āmāra kāraṇa
parama ānanda tāhā jāne bhakta-jana [21]

“‘Devotees know that the sadness felt for My sake during vipralambha is actually the greatest joy.

vipralambha śeṣe yabe sambhoga udaya
pūrvāpekṣā koṭi-guṇa sukha tāhe haya [22]

“‘When sambhoga occurs after vipralambha, the happiness felt is ten million times greater than before.

sei ta sukhera hetu āmāra viccheda
svīkāra karaha tumi bale cāri veda [23]

“‘Separation from Me is the cause of that happiness. Accept this as truth; the four Vedas affirm it.

śrī-gaurāṅga-avatāre kauśalyā jananī
śacī-devī aditi vedete yāra dhvani [24]

“‘During My Pastimes as Śrī Gaurāṅga, Mother Kauśalyā, who is known in the Vedas as Aditi, will appear as Śacī Devī.

tumi viṣṇu-priyā-rūpe sevibe āmāre
vicchede śrī-gaura-mūrti karibe pracāre [25]

“‘You will serve Me as Viṣṇu Priyā. In separation from Me, You will make a Deity of My golden form.

tomāra vicchede kabhu svarṇa-sītā kari’
bhajiba tomāre āmi ayodhyā nagarī [26]

“‘In separation from You, I will make a golden Sītā and worship You in Ayodhyā.

tāra vinimaye tumi nadīyā-nagare
gaurāṅga-pratimā kari’ pūjibe āmāre [27]

“‘In exchange, You will make a Deity of My golden form and worship Me in Nadīyā.

ei gūḍha kathā sītā gopanīya ati
lokete prakāśa nāhi ha-ibe samprati [28]

“‘O Sītā, these profound topics are very confidential. They will not be revealed to the public now.

ei navadvīpa mora baḍa priya sthāna
ayodhyādi nāhi haya ihāra samāna [29]

“‘Navadvīpa is very dear to Me: neither Ayodhyā nor any other place is equal to it.

ei rāma-vaṭa vṛkṣa kali āgamane
adarśana haye sītā rabe saṅgopane’ [30]

“‘O Sītā, when Kali-yuga arrives, this banyan tree, Rāma Vaṭa, will disappear but invisibly remain.’

ei rūpe rāma sītā lakṣaṇa sahita
ei sthāne kata-dina haye avasthita [31]

“In this way Rāma, Sītā, and Lakṣmaṇa resided here for some time.

daṇḍaka araṇye gelā kārya sādhibāre
rāmera kuṭīra sthāna pāo dekhibāre [32]

“Eventually, They went to the Daṇḍaka forest to perform Their Pastimes. See here the place of Rāma’s cottage.

rāma-mitra guhaka prabhura icchā-vaśe
ei sthāne janmilena viprera aurase [33]

“By the will of the Lord, Rāma’s friend Guhaka took birth here as the son of a brāhmaṇa.

sadānanda vipra bhaṭṭācārya nāma tāṅra
rāma vinā trijagate nāhi jāne āra [34]

“His name became Sadānanda Vipra Bhaṭṭācārya. He knew nothing other than Rāma within the three worlds.

yei dina prabhu mora janme māyāpure
sei dina sadānanda chila miśra ghare [35]

“On the day that our Lord took birth in Māyāpura, Sadānanda was present in the home of Jagannātha Miśra.

prabhura janama-kāle yata deva-gaṇa
miśrera bhavane śiśu kare daraśana [36]

“At the time of the Lord’s birth, all the gods observed the child in the home of Jagannātha Miśra.

parama sādhaka vipra cine deva-gaṇe
jānila āmāra prabhu janmila ekhāne [37]

“The brāhmaṇa, a great devotee, recognised the gods and understood that our Lord had taken birth there.

parama kautuke vipra āila nija ghare
iṣṭa-dhyāne dekhe vipra gaurāṅgasundare [38]

“With great delight, the brāhmaṇa returned to his home. In meditation on his worshippable Lord, he saw Gaurāṅga-sundara.

siṁhāsane basiyāchhe śrī-gaurāṅga-rāya
brahmā ādi deva-gaṇe cāmara ḍhulāya [39]

“Śrī Gaurāṅga Rāya was sitting on a throne, and Brahmā and the other gods were waving cāmaras beside Him.

punaḥ dekhe rāmacandra durvādala-śyāma
nikaṭe lakṣmaṇa-vīra śrī-ananta-dhāma [40]

“Then, the brāhmaṇa saw the dark, grass-green Rāmacandra and heroic Lakṣmaṇa, the abode of Ananta, nearby.

bāme sītā sammukhe bhakata hanumāna
dekhiyā viprera haila prabhu-tattva-jñāna [41]

“On His left was Sītā, and His devotee Hanumān sat in front of Him. Seeing this, the brāhmaṇa understood the identity of the Lord.

parama ānande vipra māyāpure giyā
ānande gaurāṅga dekhe nayana bhariyā [42]

“With great joy, the brāhmaṇa went to Māyāpura and joyfully saw Gaurāṅga to the satisfaction of his eyes.

‘dhanya āmi dhanya āmi’ bale bāra-bāra
‘gaura-rūpe rāmacandra sammukhe āmāra’ [43]

“‘I am blessed! I am blessed!’ said the brāhmaṇa again and again. ‘Rāmacandra has appeared before me as Gaurāṅga!’

kata-dine saṅkīrtana ārambha ha-ila
sadānanda ‘gaura’ bali’ tāhāte nācila [44]

“Later, when the saṅkīrtana Pastimes of the Lord started, Sadānanda would dance and chant the Name of Gaura.

ohe jīva ei sthāne śrī-bhāṇḍīravana
nirmala bhakata-gaṇa kare daraśana” [45]

“O Jīva, here pure devotees see Śrī Bhāṇḍīravana.”

sei saba kathā śuni’ nitya-dhāme heri’
nācena bhakata-gaṇa nityānande gheri’ [46]

Hearing this and seeing the eternal abode, the devotees surrounded Nityānanda and danced.

śrī-jīvera aṅge haya sāttvika vikāra
“hā gaurāṅga” bali’ jīva karena citkāra [47]

Divine ecstasy manifested in the body of Śrī Jīva, and he exclaimed, “O Gaurāṅga!”

sei grāme sei dina nārāyaṇī-ghare
rahilena nityānanda praphulla antare [48]

With a jubilant heart, Nityānanda stayed in that village in the home of Nārāyaṇī that day.

parama pavitra satī vyāsera jananī
śrī-vaiṣṇava-gaṇe sevā karila āpani [49]

The perfectly pure and chaste Nārāyaṇī, the mother of Vyāsa, personally served the devotees.

para-dina prāte sabe cali’ kata dūra
praveśila anāyāse śrī-vaikuṇṭha-pura [50]

The next day in the morning, the devotees walked some distance and peacefully entered Śrī Vaikuṇṭhapura.

nitāi-jāhnavā-ājñā karite pālana
nadīyā-māhātmya gāya dīna akiñcana [51]

To fulfil the order of Nitāi and Jāhnavā, this poor, lowly soul chants the glories of Nadīyā.