Sri Caitanya Caritamrita

Adi-lila
Chapter 5: The Glories Of Lord Nityananda Balarama

Text* 1: Let me offer my obeisances to Lord ÅšrÄ« NityÄnanda, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, whose opulence is wonderful and unlimited. By His will, even a fool can understand His identity.
Text* 2: All glories to ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu! All glories to Lord NityÄnanda! All glories to Advaita Ä€cÄrya! And all glories to all the devotees of Lord Caitanya MahÄprabhu!
Text* 3: I have described the glory of ÅšrÄ« Kṛṣṇa Caitanya in six verses. Now, in five verses I shall describe the glory of Lord NityÄnanda.
Text 4: The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, is the fountainhead of all incarnations. Lord BalarÄma is His second body.
Text 5: These two are one and the same identity. They differ only in form. Lord BalarÄma is the first bodily expansion of Kṛṣṇa, and He assists in Lord Kṛṣṇa’s transcendental pastimes.
Text* 6: That original Lord Kṛṣṇa appeared in NavadvÄ«pa as Lord Caitanya, and BalarÄma appeared with Him as Lord NityÄnanda.
Text 7: May ÅšrÄ« NityÄnanda RÄma be the object of my constant remembrance. Saá¹…kará¹£aṇa, Åšeá¹£a NÄga and the Viṣṇus who lie on the KÄraṇa Ocean, Garbha Ocean and ocean of milk are His plenary portions and the portions of His plenary portions.
Text* 8: Lord BalarÄma is the original Saá¹…kará¹£aṇa. He assumes five other forms to serve Lord Kṛṣṇa.
Text* 9: He Himself helps in the pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa, and He does the work of creation in four other forms.
Text 10: He executes the orders of Lord Kṛṣṇa in the work of creation, and in the form of Lord Śeṣa He serves Kṛṣṇa in various ways.
Text* 11: In all the forms He tastes the transcendental bliss of serving Kṛṣṇa. That same BalarÄma is Lord NityÄnanda, the companion of Lord Gaurasundara.
Text* 12: I have explained the seventh verse in four subsequent verses. By these verses all the world can know the truth about Lord NityÄnanda.
Text 13: I surrender unto the lotus feet of ÅšrÄ« NityÄnanda RÄma, who is known as Saá¹…kará¹£aṇa in the midst of the catur-vyÅ«ha [consisting of VÄsudeva, Saá¹…kará¹£aṇa, Pradyumna and Aniruddha]. He possesses full opulences and resides in Vaikuṇṭhaloka, far beyond the material creation.
Text 14: Beyond the material nature lies the realm known as paravyoma, the spiritual sky. Like Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself, it possesses all transcendental attributes, such as the six opulences.
Text* 15: That Vaikuṇṭha region is all-pervading, infinite and supreme. It is the residence of Lord Kṛṣṇa and His incarnations.
Text* 16: In the highest region of that spiritual sky is the spiritual planet called Kṛṣṇaloka. It has three divisions — DvÄrakÄ, MathurÄ and Gokula.
Text* 17: ÅšrÄ« Gokula, the highest of all, is also called Vraja, Goloka, ÅšvetadvÄ«pa and Vá¹›ndÄvana.
Text 18: Like the transcendental body of Lord Kṛṣṇa, Gokula is all-pervading, infinite and supreme. It expands both above and below, without any restriction.
Text 19: That abode is manifested within the material world by the will of Lord Kṛṣṇa. It is identical to that original Gokula; they are not two different bodies.
Text 20: The land there is touchstone [cintÄmaṇi], and the forests abound with desire trees. Material eyes see it as an ordinary place.
Text* 21: But with the eyes of love of Godhead one can see its real identity as the place where Lord Kṛṣṇa performs His pastimes with the cowherd boys and cowherd girls.
Text 22: “I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, the first progenitor, who is tending cows yielding all desires in abodes built with spiritual gems and surrounded by millions of purpose trees. He is always served with great reverence and affection by hundreds and thousands of goddesses of fortune.â€
Text* 23: Lord Kṛṣṇa manifests His own form in MathurÄ and DvÄrakÄ. He enjoys pastimes in various ways by expanding into the quadruple forms.
Text* 24: VÄsudeva, Saá¹…kará¹£aṇa, Pradyumna and Aniruddha are the primary quadruple forms, from whom all other quadruple forms are manifested. They are all purely transcendental.
Text* 25: Only in these three places [DvÄrakÄ, MathurÄ and Gokula] does the all-sporting Lord Kṛṣṇa perform His endless pastimes with His personal associates.
Text* 26: In the Vaikuṇṭha planets of the spiritual sky the Lord manifests His identity as NÄrÄyaṇa and performs pastimes in various ways.
Text 27-28: Kṛṣṇa’s own form has only two hands, but in the form of Lord NÄrÄyaṇa He has four hands. Lord NÄrÄyaṇa holds a conchshell, disc, club and lotus flower, and He is full of great opulence. The Å›rÄ«, bhÅ« and nÄ«lÄ energies serve at His lotus feet.
Text* 29: Although His pastimes are His only characteristic functions, by His causeless mercy He performs one activity for the fallen souls.
Text 30: He delivers the fallen living entities by offering them the four kinds of liberation — sÄlokya, sÄmÄ«pya, sÄrṣṭi and sÄrÅ«pya.
Text* 31: Those who attain brahma-sÄyujya liberation cannot gain entrance into Vaikuṇṭha; their residence is outside the Vaikuṇṭha planets.
Text* 32: Outside the Vaikuṇṭha planets is the atmosphere of the glowing effulgence, which consists of the supremely bright rays of the body of Lord Kṛṣṇa.
Text* 33: That region is called Siddhaloka, and it is beyond the material nature. Its essence is spiritual, but it does not have spiritual varieties.
Text 34: It is like the homogeneous effulgence around the sun. But inside the sun are the chariots, horses and other opulences of the sun-god.
Text 35: “As through devotion to the Lord one can attain His abode, many have attained that goal by abandoning their sinful activities and absorbing their minds in the Lord through lust, envy, fear or affection.â€
Text 36: “Where it has been stated that the Lord’s enemies and devotees attain the same destination, this refers to the ultimate oneness of Brahman and Lord Kṛṣṇa. This may be understood by the example of the sun and the sunshine, in which Brahman is like the sunshine and Kṛṣṇa Himself is like the sun.â€
Text* 37: Thus in the spiritual sky there are varieties of pastimes within the spiritual energy. Outside the Vaikuṇṭha planets appears the impersonal reflection of light.
Text* 38: That impersonal Brahman effulgence consists only of the effulgent rays of the Lord. Those fit for sÄyujya liberation merge into that effulgence.
Text 39: “Beyond the region of ignorance [the material cosmic manifestation] lies the realm of Siddhaloka. The Siddhas reside there, absorbed in the bliss of Brahman. Demons killed by the Lord also attain that realm.â€
Text 40: In that spiritual sky, on the four sides of NÄrÄyaṇa, are the second expansions of the quadruple expansions of DvÄrakÄ.
Text 41: VÄsudeva, Saá¹…kará¹£aṇa, Pradyumna and Aniruddha constitute this second quadruple. They are purely transcendental.
Text* 42: There [in the spiritual sky] the personal feature of BalarÄma called MahÄ-saá¹…kará¹£aṇa is the shelter of the spiritual energy. He is the primary cause, the cause of all causes.
Text* 43: One variety of the pastimes of the spiritual energy is described as pure goodness [viśuddha-sattva]. It comprises all the abodes of Vaikuṇṭha.
Text* 44: The six attributes are all spiritual. Know for certain that they are all manifestations of the opulence of Saṅkarṣaṇa.
Text* 45: There is one marginal potency, known as the jÄ«va. MahÄ-saá¹…kará¹£aṇa is the shelter of all jÄ«vas.
Text* 46: Saṅkarṣaṇa is the original shelter of the puruṣa, from whom this world is created and in whom it is dissolved.
Text* 47: He [Saṅkarṣaṇa] is the shelter of everything. He is wonderful in every respect, and His opulences are infinite. Even Ananta cannot describe His glory.
Text* 48: That Saá¹…kará¹£aṇa, who is transcendental pure goodness, is a partial expansion of NityÄnanda BalarÄma.
Text* 49: I have briefly explained the eighth verse. Now please listen with attention as I explain the ninth verse.
Text* 50: I offer my full obeisances unto the feet of ÅšrÄ« NityÄnanda RÄma, whose partial representation called KÄraṇodakaÅ›ÄyÄ« Viṣṇu, lying on the KÄraṇa Ocean, is the original puruá¹£a, the master of the illusory energy, and the shelter of all the universes.
Text 51: Outside the Vaikuṇṭha planets is the impersonal Brahman effulgence, and beyond that effulgence is the KÄraṇa Ocean, or Causal Ocean.
Text* 52: Surrounding Vaikuṇṭha is a mass of water that is endless, unfathomed and unlimited.
Text* 53: The earth, water, fire, air and ether of Vaikuṇṭha are all spiritual. Material elements are not found there.
Text* 54: The water of the KÄraṇa Ocean, which is the original cause, is therefore spiritual. The sacred Ganges, which is but a drop of it, purifies the fallen souls.
Text* 55: In that ocean lies a plenary portion of Lord Saṅkarṣaṇa.
Text* 56: He is known as the first puruá¹£a, the creator of the total material energy. He, the cause of the universes, the first incarnation, casts His glance over mÄyÄ.
Text* 57: MÄyÄ-Å›akti resides outside the KÄraṇa Ocean. MÄyÄ cannot touch its waters.
Text 58: MÄyÄ has two varieties of existence. One is called pradhÄna or praká¹›ti. It supplies the ingredients of the material world.
Text* 59: Because prakṛti is dull and inert, it cannot actually be the cause of the material world. But Lord Kṛṣṇa shows His mercy by infusing His energy into the dull, inert material nature.
Text* 60: Thus prakṛti, by the energy of Lord Kṛṣṇa, becomes the secondary cause, just as iron becomes red-hot by the energy of fire.
Text 61: Therefore Lord Kṛṣṇa is the original cause of the cosmic manifestation. Prakṛti is like the nipples on the neck of a goat, for they cannot give any milk.
Text* 62: The mÄyÄ aspect of material nature is the immediate cause of the cosmic manifestation. But it cannot be the real cause, for the original cause is Lord NÄrÄyaṇa.
Text* 63: Just as the original cause of an earthen pot is the potter, so the creator of the material world is the first puruá¹£a incarnation [KÄraṇÄrṇavaÅ›ÄyÄ« Viṣṇu].
Text* 64: Lord Kṛṣṇa is the creator, and mÄyÄ only helps Him as an instrument, just like the potter’s wheel and other instruments, which are the instrumental causes of a pot.
Text* 65: The first puruá¹£a casts His glance at mÄyÄ from a distance, and thus He impregnates her with the seed of life in the form of the living entities.
Text 66: The reflected rays of His body mix with mÄyÄ, and thus mÄyÄ gives birth to myriad universes.
Text* 67: The puruá¹£a enters each and every one of the countless universes. He manifests Himself in as many separate forms as there are universes.
Text* 68: When the puruá¹£a exhales, the universes are manifested with each outward breath.
Text 69: Thereafter, when He inhales, all the universes again enter His body.
Text* 70: Just as atomic particles of dust pass through the openings of a window, so the networks of universes pass through the pores of the skin of the puruá¹£a.
Text 71: “The BrahmÄs and other lords of the mundane worlds appear from the pores of MahÄ-Viṣṇu and remain alive for the duration of His one exhalation. I adore the primeval Lord, Govinda, of whom MahÄ-Viṣṇu is a portion of a plenary portion.â€
Text 72: “Where am I, a small creature of seven spans the measure of my own hand? I am enclosed in the universe composed of material nature, the total material energy, false ego, ether, air, water and earth. And what is Your glory? Unlimited universes pass through the pores of Your body just like particles of dust passing through the opening of a window.â€
Text* 73: A part of a part of a whole is called a kalÄ. ÅšrÄ« BalarÄma is the counterform of Lord Govinda.
Text* 74: BalarÄma’s own expansion is called MahÄ-saá¹…kará¹£aṇa, and His fragment, the puruá¹£a, is counted as a kalÄ, or a part of a plenary portion.
Text* 75: I say that this kalÄ is MahÄ-Viṣṇu. He is the MahÄ-puruá¹£a, who is the source of the other puruá¹£as and who is all-pervading.
Text 76: GarbhodaÅ›ÄyÄ« and KṣīrodaÅ›ÄyÄ« are both called puruá¹£as. They are plenary portions of KÄraṇodaÅ›ÄyÄ« Viṣṇu, the first puruá¹£a, who is the abode of all the universes.
Text 77: “Viṣṇu has three forms called puruá¹£as. The first, MahÄ-Viṣṇu, is the creator of the total material energy [mahat], the second is GarbhodaÅ›ÄyÄ«, who is situated within each universe, and the third is KṣīrodaÅ›ÄyÄ«, who lives in the heart of every living being. He who knows these three becomes liberated from the clutches of mÄyÄ.â€
Text* 78: Although KÄraṇodaÅ›ÄyÄ« Viṣṇu is called a kalÄ of Lord Kṛṣṇa, He is the source of Matsya, KÅ«rma and the other incarnations.
Text 79: “All these incarnations of Godhead are either plenary portions or parts of the plenary portions of the puruá¹£a-avatÄras. But Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself. In every age He protects the world through His different features when the world is disturbed by the enemies of Indra.â€
Text* 80: That puruá¹£a [KÄraṇodakaÅ›ÄyÄ« Viṣṇu] is the performer of creation, maintenance and destruction. He manifests Himself in many incarnations, for He is the maintainer of the world.
Text* 81: That fragment of the Supreme Lord, known as the MahÄ-puruá¹£a, appears for the purpose of creation, maintenance and annihilation and is called an incarnation.
Text* 82: That MahÄ-puruá¹£a is identical with the Personality of Godhead. He is the original incarnation, the seed of all others, and the shelter of everything.
Text 83: “The puruá¹£a [MahÄ-Viṣṇu] is the primary incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Time, nature, praká¹›ti (as cause and effect), the mind, the material elements, false ego, the modes of nature, the senses, the universal form, complete independence and the moving and nonmoving beings appear subsequently as His opulences.â€
Text 84: “In the beginning of the creation, the Lord expanded Himself in the form of the puruá¹£a incarnation, accompanied by all the ingredients of material creation. First He created the sixteen principal energies suitable for creation. This was for the purpose of manifesting the material universes.â€
Text* 85: Although the Lord is the shelter of everything and although all the universes rest in Him, He, as the Supersoul, is also the support of everything.
Text 86: Although He is thus connected with the material energy in two ways, He does not have the slightest contact with it.
Text 87: “This is the opulence of the Lord. Although situated within the material nature, He is never affected by the modes of nature. Similarly, those who have surrendered to Him and have fixed their intelligence upon Him are not influenced by the modes of nature.â€
Text* 88: Thus the Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ also states again and again that the Absolute Truth always possesses inconceivable power.
Text 89: [Lord Kṛṣṇa said:] “I am situated in the material world, and the world rests in Me. But at the same time I am not situated in the material world, nor does it rest in Me in truth.
Text* 90: “O Arjuna, you should know this as My inconceivable opulence.†This is the meaning propagated by Lord Kṛṣṇa in the Bhagavad-gÄ«tÄ.
Text* 91: That MahÄ-puruá¹£a [KÄraṇodakaÅ›ÄyÄ« Viṣṇu] is known as a plenary part of Him who is Lord NityÄnanda BalarÄma, the favorite associate of Lord Caitanya.
Text* 92: I have thus explained the ninth verse, and now I shall explain the tenth. Please listen with rapt attention.
Text 93: I offer my full obeisances unto the feet of ÅšrÄ« NityÄnanda RÄma, a partial part of whom is GarbhodakaÅ›ÄyÄ« Viṣṇu. From the navel of GarbhodakaÅ›ÄyÄ« Viṣṇu sprouts the lotus that is the birthplace of BrahmÄ, the engineer of the universe. The stem of that lotus is the resting place of the multitude of planets.
Text* 94: After creating millions of universes, the first puruá¹£a entered into each of them in a separate form, as ÅšrÄ« GarbhodakaÅ›ÄyÄ«.
Text* 95: Entering the universe, He found only darkness, with no place in which to reside. Thus He began to consider.
Text* 96: Then He created water from the perspiration of His own body and with that water filled half the universe.
Text* 97: The universe measures five hundred million yojanas. Its length and breadth are one and the same.
Text 98: After filling half the universe with water, He made His own residence therein and manifested the fourteen worlds in the other half.
Text* 99: There He manifested Vaikuṇṭha as His own abode and rested in the waters on the bed of Lord Śeṣa.
Text 100-101: He lay there with Ananta as His bed. Lord Ananta is a divine serpent having thousands of heads, thousands of faces, thousands of eyes and thousands of hands and feet. He is the seed of all incarnations and is the cause of the material world.
Text* 102: From His navel grew a lotus flower, which became the birthplace of Lord BrahmÄ.
Text* 103: Within the stem of that lotus were the fourteen worlds. Thus the Supreme Lord, as BrahmÄ, created the entire creation.
Text 104: And as Lord Viṣṇu He maintains the entire world. Lord Viṣṇu, being beyond all material attributes, has no touch with the material qualities.
Text 105: Assuming the form of Rudra, He destroys the creation. Thus creation, maintenance and dissolution are created by His will.
Text* 106: He is the Supersoul, Hiraṇyagarbha, the cause of the material world. The universal form is conceived as His expansion.
Text* 107: That Lord NÄrÄyaṇa is a part of a plenary part of Lord NityÄnanda BalarÄma, who is the source of all incarnations.
Text* 108: I have thus explained the tenth verse. Now please listen to the meaning of the eleventh verse with all your mind.
Text* 109: I offer my respectful obeisances unto the feet of ÅšrÄ« NityÄnanda RÄma, whose secondary part is the Viṣṇu lying in the ocean of milk. That KṣīrodakaÅ›ÄyÄ« Viṣṇu is the Supersoul of all living entities and the maintainer of all the universes. Åšeá¹£a NÄga is His further subpart.
Text* 110: The material planets rest within the stem that grows from the lotus navel of Lord NÄrÄyaṇa. Among these planets are seven oceans.
Text 111: There, in part of the ocean of milk, lies Śvetadvīpa, the abode of the sustainer, Lord Viṣṇu.
Text 112: He is the Supersoul of all living entities. He maintains this material world, and He is its Lord.
Text 113: In the ages and millenniums of Manu, He appears as different incarnations to establish the principles of real religion and vanquish the principles of irreligion.
Text 114: Unable to see Him, the demigods go to the shore of the ocean of milk and offer prayers to Him.
Text* 115: He then descends to maintain the material world. His unlimited opulences cannot be counted.
Text 116: That Lord Viṣṇu is but a part of a part of a plenary portion of Lord NityÄnanda, who is the source of all incarnations.
Text* 117: That same Lord Viṣṇu, in the form of Lord Śeṣa, holds the planets upon His heads, although He does not know where they are, for He cannot feel their existence upon His heads.
Text* 118: His thousands of extended hoods are adorned with dazzling jewels surpassing the sun.
Text 119: The universe, which measures five hundred million yojanas in diameter, rests on one of His hoods like a mustard seed.
Text 120: That Ananta Śeṣa is the devotee incarnation of Godhead. He knows nothing but service to Lord Kṛṣṇa.
Text* 121: With His thousands of mouths He sings the glories of Lord Kṛṣṇa, but although He always sings in that way, He does not find an end to the qualities of the Lord.
Text* 122: The four KumÄras hear ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam from His lips, and they in turn repeat it in the transcendental bliss of love of Godhead.
Text* 123: He serves Lord Kṛṣṇa, assuming all the following forms: umbrella, slippers, bedding, pillow, garments, resting chair, residence, sacred thread and throne.
Text* 124: He is thus called Lord Śeṣa, for He has attained the ultimate end of servitude to Kṛṣṇa. He takes many forms for the service of Kṛṣṇa, and thus He serves the Lord.
Text* 125: That person of whom Lord Ananta is a kalÄ, or part of a plenary part, is Lord NityÄnanda Prabhu. Who, therefore, can know the pastimes of Lord NityÄnanda?
Text* 126: From these conclusions we can know the limit of the truth of Lord NityÄnanda. But what glory is there in calling Him Ananta?
Text* 127: But I accept it as the truth because it has been said by devotees. Since He is the source of all incarnations, everything is possible in Him.
Text* 128: They know that there is no difference between the incarnation and the source of all incarnations. Previously Lord Kṛṣṇa was regarded in the light of different principles by different people.
Text* 129: Some said that Kṛṣṇa was directly Lord Nara-NÄrÄyaṇa, and some called Him Lord VÄmanadeva incarnate.
Text* 130: Some called Lord Kṛṣṇa an incarnation of Lord KṣīrodakaÅ›ÄyÄ«. All these names are true; nothing is impossible.
Text* 131: When the Supreme Personality of Godhead Kṛṣṇa appears, He is the shelter of all plenary parts. Thus at that time all His plenary portions join in Him.
Text 132: In whatever form one knows the Lord, one speaks of Him in that way. In this there is no falsity, since everything is possible in Kṛṣṇa.
Text* 133: Therefore Lord Caitanya MahÄprabhu has exhibited to everyone all the pastimes of all the various incarnations.
Text* 134: Thus Lord NityÄnanda has unlimited incarnations. In transcendental emotion He calls Himself a servant of Lord Caitanya.
Text* 135: Sometimes He serves Lord Caitanya as His guru, sometimes as His friend and sometimes as His servant, just as Lord BalarÄma played with Lord Kṛṣṇa in these three different moods in Vraja.
Text* 136: Playing like a bull, Lord BalarÄma fights with Kṛṣṇa head to head. And sometimes Lord Kṛṣṇa massages the feet of Lord BalarÄma.
Text* 137: He considers Himself a servant and knows Kṛṣṇa to be His master. Thus He regards Himself as a fragment of His plenary portion.
Text 138: “Acting just like ordinary boys, They played like roaring bulls as They fought each other, and They imitated the calls of various animals.â€
Text* 139: “Sometimes when Lord Kṛṣṇa’s elder brother, Lord BalarÄma, felt tired after playing and lay His head on the lap of a cowherd boy, Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself served Him by massaging His feet.â€
Text 140: “Who is this mystic power, and where has she come from? Is she a demigod or a demoness? She must be the illusory energy of My master, Lord Kṛṣṇa, for who else can bewilder Me?â€
Text 141: “What is the value of a throne to Lord Kṛṣṇa? The masters of the various planetary systems accept the dust of His lotus feet on their crowned heads. That dust makes the holy places sacred, and even Lord BrahmÄ, Lord Åšiva, Laká¹£mÄ« and I Myself, who are all portions of His plenary portion, eternally carry that dust on our heads.â€
Text* 142: Lord Kṛṣṇa alone is the supreme controller, and all others are His servants. They dance as He makes them do so.
Text* 143: Thus Lord Caitanya is also the only controller. All others are His associates or servants.
Text* 144-145: His elders such as Lord NityÄnanda, Advaita Ä€cÄrya and ÅšrÄ«vÄsa ṬhÄkura, as well as His other devotees — whether His juniors, equals or superiors — are all His associates who help Him in His pastimes. Lord GaurÄá¹…ga fulfills His aims with their help.
Text* 146: ÅšrÄ« Advaita Ä€cÄrya and ÅšrÄ«la NityÄnanda Prabhu, who are plenary parts of the Lord, are His principal associates. With these two the Lord performs His pastimes in various ways.
Text 147: Lord Advaita Ä€cÄrya is directly the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Although Lord Caitanya accepts Him as His preceptor, Advaita Ä€cÄrya is a servant of the Lord.
Text* 148: I cannot describe the truth of Advaita Ä€cÄrya. He has delivered the entire world by making Lord Kṛṣṇa descend.
Text 149: Lord NityÄnanda SvarÅ«pa formerly appeared as Laká¹£maṇa and served Lord RÄmacandra as His younger brother.
Text* 150: The activities of Lord RÄma were full of suffering, but Laká¹£maṇa, of His own accord, tolerated that suffering.
Text* 151: As a younger brother He could not stop Lord RÄma from His resolution, and so He remained silent, although unhappy in His mind.
Text* 152: When Lord Kṛṣṇa appeared, He [BalarÄma] became His elder brother to serve Him to His heart’s content and make Him enjoy all sorts of happiness.
Text 153: ÅšrÄ« RÄma and ÅšrÄ« Laká¹£maṇa, who are plenary portions of Lord Kṛṣṇa and Lord BalarÄma respectively, entered into Them at the time of Kṛṣṇa’s and BalarÄma’s appearance.
Text* 154: Kṛṣṇa and BalarÄma present Themselves as younger brother and elder brother, but in the scriptures They are described as the original Supreme Personality of Godhead and His expansion.
Text 155: “I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, who by His various plenary portions appears in the world in different forms and incarnations such as Lord RÄma, but who personally appears in His supreme original form as Lord Kṛṣṇa.â€
Text* 156: Lord Caitanya is the same Lord Kṛṣṇa, and Lord NityÄnanda is Lord BalarÄma. Lord NityÄnanda fulfills all of Lord Caitanya’s desires.
Text* 157: The ocean of Lord NityÄnanda’s glories is infinite and unfathomable. Only by His mercy can I touch even a drop of it.
Text* 158: Please listen to another glory of His mercy. He made a fallen living entity climb to the highest limit.
Text* 159: To disclose it is not proper, for it should be kept as confidential as the Vedas, yet I shall speak of it to make His mercy known to all.
Text* 160: O Lord NityÄnanda, I write of Your mercy out of great exultation. Please forgive me for my offenses.
Text* 161: Lord NityÄnanda Prabhu had a servant named ÅšrÄ« MÄ«naketana RÄmadÄsa, who was a reservoir of love.
Text* 162: At my house there was saṅkīrtana day and night, and therefore he visited there, having been invited.
Text* 163: Absorbed in emotional love, he sat in my courtyard, and all the Vaiṣṇavas bowed down at his feet.
Text* 164: In a joyful mood of love of God he sometimes climbed upon the shoulder of someone offering obeisances, and sometimes he struck others with his flute or mildly slapped them.
Text* 165: When someone saw the eyes of MÄ«naketana RÄmadÄsa, tears would automatically flow from his own eyes, for a constant shower of tears flowed from the eyes of MÄ«naketana RÄmadÄsa.
Text* 166: Sometimes there were eruptions of ecstasy like kadamba flowers on some parts of his body, and sometimes one limb would be stunned while another would be trembling.
Text* 167: Whenever he shouted aloud the name NityÄnanda, the people around him were filled with great wonder and astonishment.
Text* 168: One respectable brÄhmaṇa named ÅšrÄ« GuṇÄrṇava MiÅ›ra was serving the Deity.
Text* 169: When MÄ«naketana was seated in the yard, this brÄhmaṇa did not offer him respect. Seeing this, ÅšrÄ« RÄmadÄsa became angry and spoke.
Text* 170: “Here I find the second Romahará¹£aṇa-sÅ«ta, who did not stand to show honor when he saw Lord BalarÄma.â€
Text 171: After saying this, he danced and sang to his heart’s content, but the brÄhmaṇa did not become angry, for he was then serving Lord Kṛṣṇa.
Text* 172: At the end of the festival MÄ«naketana RÄmadÄsa went away, offering his blessings to everyone. At that time he had some controversy with my brother.
Text* 173: My brother had firm faith in Lord Caitanya but only a dim glimmer of faith in Lord NityÄnanda.
Text* 174: Knowing this, ÅšrÄ« RÄmadÄsa felt unhappy in his mind. I then rebuked my brother.
Text* 175: “These two brothers,†I told him, “are like one body; They are identical manifestations. If you do not believe in Lord NityÄnanda, you will fall down.
Text* 176: “If you have faith in one but disrespect the other, your logic is like the logic of accepting half a hen.*
Text* 177: “It would be better to be an atheist by slighting both brothers than a hypocrite by believing in one and slighting the other.â€
Text* 178: Thus ÅšrÄ« RÄmadÄsa broke his flute in anger and went away, and at that time my brother fell down.
Text* 179: I have thus described the power of the servants of Lord NityÄnanda. Now I shall describe another characteristic of His mercy.
Text* 180: That night Lord NityÄnanda appeared to me in a dream because of my good quality in chastising my brother.
Text 181: In the village of JhÄmaá¹­apura, which is near NaihÄá¹­i, Lord NityÄnanda appeared to me in a dream.
Text* 182: I fell at His feet, offering my obeisances, and He then placed His own lotus feet upon my head.
Text* 183: “Arise! Get up!†He told me again and again. Upon rising, I was greatly astonished to see His beauty.
Text* 184: He had a glossy blackish complexion, and His tall, strong, heroic stature made Him seem like Cupid himself.
Text* 185: He had beautifully formed hands, arms and legs, and eyes like lotus flowers. He wore a silk cloth, with a silk turban on His head.
Text* 186: He wore golden earrings on His ears, and golden armlets and bangles. He wore tinkling anklets on His feet and a garland of flowers around His neck.
Text* 187: His body was anointed with sandalwood pulp, and He was nicely decorated with tilaka. His movements surpassed those of a maddened elephant.
Text* 188: His face was more beautiful than millions upon millions of moons, and His teeth were like pomegranate seeds because of His chewing betel.
Text* 189: His body moved to and fro, right and left, for He was absorbed in ecstasy. He chanted “Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa†in a deep voice.
Text* 190: His red stick moving in His hand, He seemed like a maddened lion. All around the four sides of His feet were bumblebees.
Text* 191: His devotees, dressed like cowherd boys, surrounded His feet like so many bees and also chanted “Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa,†absorbed in ecstatic love.
Text* 192: Some of them played horns and flutes, and others danced and sang. Some of them offered betel nuts, and others waved cÄmara fans about Him.
Text* 193: Thus I saw such opulence in Lord NityÄnanda SvarÅ«pa. His wonderful form, qualities and pastimes are all transcendental.
Text* 194: I was overwhelmed with transcendental ecstasy, not knowing anything else. Then Lord NityÄnanda smiled and spoke to me as follows.
Text* 195: “O my dear KṛṣṇadÄsa, do not be afraid. Go to Vá¹›ndÄvana, for there you will attain all things.â€
Text* 196: After saying this, He directed me toward Vá¹›ndÄvana by waving His hand. Then He disappeared with His associates.
Text* 197: I fainted and fell to the ground, my dream broke, and when I regained consciousness I saw that morning had come.
Text* 198: I thought about what I had seen and heard and concluded that the Lord had ordered me to proceed to Vá¹›ndÄvana at once.
Text* 199: That very second I started for Vá¹›ndÄvana, and by His mercy I reached there in great happiness.
Text* 200: All glory, all glory to Lord NityÄnanda BalarÄma, by whose mercy I have attained shelter in the transcendental abode of Vá¹›ndÄvana!
Text* 201: All glory, all glory to the merciful Lord NityÄnanda, by whose mercy I have attained shelter at the lotus feet of ÅšrÄ« RÅ«pa and ÅšrÄ« SanÄtana!
Text 202: By His mercy I have attained the shelter of the great personality ÅšrÄ« RaghunÄtha dÄsa GosvÄmÄ«, and by His mercy I have found the refuge of ÅšrÄ« SvarÅ«pa DÄmodara.
Text 203: By the mercy of SanÄtana GosvÄmÄ« I have learned the final conclusions of devotional service, and by the grace of ÅšrÄ« RÅ«pa GosvÄmÄ« I have tasted the highest nectar of devotional service.
Text 204: All glory, all glory to the lotus feet of Lord NityÄnanda, by whose mercy I have attained ÅšrÄ« RÄdhÄ-Govinda!
Text* 205: I am more sinful than JagÄi and MÄdhÄi and even lower than the worms in the stool.
Text* 206: Anyone who hears my name loses the results of his pious activities. Anyone who utters my name becomes sinful.
Text* 207: Who in this world but NityÄnanda could show His mercy to such an abominable person as me?
Text* 208: Because He is intoxicated by ecstatic love and is an incarnation of mercy, He does not distinguish between the good and the bad.
Text* 209: He delivers all those who fall down before Him. Therefore He has delivered such a sinful and fallen person as me.
Text* 210: Although I am sinful and I am the most fallen, He has conferred upon me the lotus feet of ÅšrÄ« RÅ«pa GosvÄmÄ«.
Text* 211: I am not fit to speak all these confidential words about my visiting Lord Madana GopÄla and Lord Govinda.
Text* 212: Lord Madana GopÄla, the chief Deity of Vá¹›ndÄvana, is the enjoyer of the rÄsa dance and is directly the son of the King of Vraja.
Text* 213: He enjoys the rÄsa dance with ÅšrÄ«matÄ« RÄdhÄrÄṇī, ÅšrÄ« LalitÄ and others. He manifests Himself as the Cupid of Cupids.
Text 214: “Wearing yellow garments and decorated with a flower garland, Lord Kṛṣṇa, appearing among the gopÄ«s with His smiling lotus face, looked directly like the charmer of the heart of Cupid.â€
Text* 215: With RÄdhÄ and LalitÄ serving Him on His two sides, He attracts the hearts of all by His own sweetness.
Text* 216: The mercy of Lord NityÄnanda showed me ÅšrÄ« Madana-mohana and gave me ÅšrÄ« Madana-mohana as my Lord and master.
Text* 217: He granted to one as low as me the sight of Lord Govinda. Words cannot describe this, nor is it fit to be disclosed.
Text* 218-219: On an altar made of gems in the principal temple of Vá¹›ndÄvana, amidst a forest of desire trees, Lord Govinda, the son of the King of Vraja, sits upon a throne of gems and manifests His full glory and sweetness, thus enchanting the entire world.
Text* 220: By His left side is ÅšrÄ«matÄ« RÄdhÄrÄṇī and Her personal friends. With them Lord Govinda enjoys the rÄsa-lÄ«lÄ and many other pastimes.
Text 221: Lord BrahmÄ, sitting on his lotus seat in his own abode, always meditates on Him and worships Him with the mantra consisting of eighteen syllables.
Text* 222: Everyone in the fourteen worlds meditates upon Him, and all the denizens of Vaikuṇṭha sing of His qualities and pastimes.
Text 223: The goddess of fortune is attracted by His sweetness, which ÅšrÄ«la RÅ«pa GosvÄmÄ« has described in this way:
Text 224: “My dear friend, if you are indeed attached to your worldly friends, do not look at the smiling face of Lord Govinda as He stands on the bank of the YamunÄ at KeśīghÄá¹­a. Casting sidelong glances, He places His flute to His lips, which seem like newly blossomed twigs. His transcendental body, bending in three places, appears very bright in the moonlight.â€
Text* 225: Without a doubt He is directly the son of the King of Vraja. Only a fool considers Him a statue.
Text 226: For that offense, he cannot be liberated. Rather, he will fall into a terrible hellish condition. What more should I say?
Text* 227: Therefore who can describe the mercy of the lotus feet of Him [Lord NityÄnanda] by whom I have attained the shelter of this Lord Govinda?
Text* 228: All the groups of Vaiṣṇavas who live in Vá¹›ndÄvana are absorbed in chanting the all-auspicious name of Kṛṣṇa.
Text* 229: Lord Caitanya and Lord NityÄnanda are the life and soul of those Vaiṣṇavas, who do not know anything but devotional service to ÅšrÄ« ÅšrÄ« RÄdhÄ-Kṛṣṇa.
Text* 230: The dust and shade of the lotus feet of the Vaiṣṇavas have been granted to this fallen soul by the mercy of Lord NityÄnanda.
Text* 231: Lord NityÄnanda said, “In Vá¹›ndÄvana all things are possible.†Here I have explained His brief statement in detail.
Text 232: I have attained all this by coming to Vá¹›ndÄvana, and this was made possible by the mercy of Lord NityÄnanda.
Text* 233: I have described my own story without reservations. The attributes of Lord NityÄnanda, making me like a madman, force me to write these things.
Text* 234: The glories of Lord NityÄnanda’s transcendental attributes are unfathomable. Even Lord Åšeá¹£a, with His thousands of mouths, cannot find their limit.
Text 235: Praying at the lotus feet of ÅšrÄ« RÅ«pa and ÅšrÄ« RaghunÄtha, always desiring their mercy, I, KṛṣṇadÄsa, narrate ÅšrÄ« Caitanya-caritÄmá¹›ta, following in their footsteps.
Text 0: Chapter Summary