Å›rÄ«-rÄmadÄsa Ära, gadÄdhara dÄsa
caitanya-gosÄñira bhakta rahe tÄá¹…ra pÄÅ›a

 Å›rÄ«-rÄmadÄsa - ÅšrÄ« RÄmadÄsa; Ära - and; gadÄdhara dÄsa - GadÄdhara dÄsa; caitanya-gosÄñira - of Lord ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu; bhakta - devotees; rahe - stay; tÄá¹…ra pÄÅ›a - with Him.


Text

Two devotees of Lord Caitanya named ÅšrÄ« RÄmadÄsa and GadÄdhara dÄsa always lived with ÅšrÄ« VÄ«rabhadra GosÄñi.

Purport

ÅšrÄ« RÄmadÄsa, later known as AbhirÄma ṬhÄkura, was one of the twelve gopÄlas, or cowherd boyfriends, of ÅšrÄ« NityÄnanda Prabhu. The Gaura-gaṇoddeÅ›a-dÄ«pikÄ (126) states that ÅšrÄ« RÄmadÄsa was formerly ÅšrÄ«dÄmÄ. In the Bhakti-ratnÄkara (Fourth Wave), there is a description of ÅšrÄ«la AbhirÄma ṬhÄkura. By the order of ÅšrÄ« NityÄnanda Prabhu, AbhirÄma ṬhÄkura became a great ÄcÄrya and preacher of the Caitanya cult of devotional service. He was a very influential personality, and nondevotees were very much afraid of him. Empowered by ÅšrÄ« NityÄnanda Prabhu, he was always in ecstasy and was extremely kind to all fallen souls. It is said that if he offered obeisances to any stone other than a Å›ÄlagrÄma-Å›ilÄ, it would immediately fracture.

ÅšrÄ«la BhaktisiddhÄnta SarasvatÄ« ṬhÄkura writes in his AnubhÄá¹£ya, “Ten miles southwest of the CÄá¹…pÄá¸Äá¹…gÄ railway station on the narrow-gauge railway line from Howrah, in Calcutta, to Ä€mtÄ, a village in the Hugli district, is a small town named KhÄnÄkÅ«la-kṛṣṇanagara, where the temple in which AbhirÄma ṬhÄkura worshiped is situated. During the rainy season, when this area is inundated with water, people must go there by another line, which is now called the South Eastern railway. On this line there is a station named KolÄghÄá¹­a, from which one has to go by steamer to RÄṇīcaka. Seven and a half miles north of RÄṇīcaka is KhÄnÄkÅ«la. The temple where AbhirÄma ṬhÄkura worshiped is situated in Kṛṣṇanagara, which is near the kÅ«la (bank) of the KhÄnÄ (DvÄrakeÅ›vara River); therefore this place is celebrated as KhÄnÄkÅ«la-kṛṣṇanagara. Outside of the temple is a bakula tree. This place is known as Siddha-bakula-kuñja. It is said that when AbhirÄma ṬhÄkura came there, he sat down under this tree. In KhÄnÄkÅ«la-kṛṣṇanagara there is a big fair held every year in the month of Caitra [March-April] on the Kṛṣṇa-saptamÄ«, the seventh day of the dark moon. Many hundreds and thousands of people gather for this festival. The temple where AbhirÄma ṬhÄkura worshiped has a very old history. The Deity in the temple is known as GopÄ«nÄtha. There are many sevaita families living near the temple. It is said that AbhirÄma ṬhÄkura had a whip and that whoever he touched with it would immediately become an elevated devotee of Kṛṣṇa. Among his many disciples, ÅšrÄ«mÄn ÅšrÄ«nivÄsa Ä€cÄrya was the most famous and the most dear, but it is doubtful that he was his initiated disciple.â€