Purport
This chapter is chiefly devoted to describing the essential nature and glories of ĹrÄŤ NityÄnanda Prabhu. Lord ĹrÄŤ KášášŁáša is the absolute Personality of Godhead, and His first expansion in a form for pastimes is ĹrÄŤ BalarÄma.Beyond the limitation of this material world is the spiritual sky, paravyoma, which has many spiritual planets, the supreme of which is called KášášŁášaloka. KášášŁášaloka, the abode of KášášŁáša, has three divisions, which are known as DvÄrakÄ, MathurÄ and Gokula. In that abode the Personality of Godhead expands Himself into four plenary portions â KášášŁáša, BalarÄma, Pradyumna (the transcendental Cupid) and Aniruddha. They are known as the original quadruple forms.In KášášŁášaloka is a transcendental place known as ĹvetadvÄŤpa or VášndÄvana. Below KášášŁášaloka in the spiritual sky are the Vaikuášášha planets. On each Vaikuášášha planet a four-handed NÄrÄyaáša, expanded from the first quadruple manifestation, is present. The Personality of Godhead known as ĹrÄŤ BalarÄma in KášášŁášaloka is the original Saáš
karᚣaáša (attracting Deity), and from this Saáš
karᚣaáša expands another Saáš
karᚣaáša, called MahÄ-saáš
karᚣaáša, who resides in one of the Vaikuášášha planets. By His internal potency, MahÄ-saáš
karᚣaáša maintains the transcendental existence of all the planets in the spiritual sky, where all the living beings are eternally liberated souls. The influence of the material energy is conspicuous there by its absence. On those planets the second quadruple manifestation is present.Outside of the Vaikuášášha planets is the impersonal manifestation of ĹrÄŤ KášášŁáša, which is known as Brahmaloka. On the other side of Brahmaloka is the spiritual kÄraáša-samudra, or Causal Ocean. The material energy exists on the other side of the Causal Ocean, without touching it. In the Causal Ocean is MahÄ-Viᚣášu, the original puruᚣa expansion from Saáš
karᚣaáša. MahÄ-Viᚣášu places His glance over the material energy, and by a reflection of His transcendental body He amalgamates Himself within the material elements.As the source of the material elements, the material energy is known as pradhÄna, and as the source of the manifestations of the material energy it is known as mÄyÄ. But material nature is inert in that she has no independent power to do anything. She is empowered to make the cosmic manifestation by the glance of MahÄ-Viᚣášu. Therefore the material energy is not the original cause of the material manifestation. Rather, the transcendental glance of MahÄ-Viᚣášu over material nature produces that cosmic manifestation.MahÄ-Viᚣášu again enters every universe as the reservoir of all living entities, GarbhodakaĹÄyÄŤ Viᚣášu. From GarbhodakaĹÄyÄŤ Viᚣášu expands KᚣčrodakaĹÄyÄŤ Viᚣášu, the Supersoul of every living entity. GarbhodakaĹÄyÄŤ Viᚣášu also has His own Vaikuášášha planet in every universe, where He lives as the Supersoul or supreme controller of the universe. GarbhodakaĹÄyÄŤ Viᚣášu reclines in the midst of the watery portion of the universe and generates the first living creature of the universe, BrahmÄ. The imaginary universal form is a partial manifestation of GarbhodakaĹÄyÄŤ Viᚣášu.On the Vaikuášášha planet in every universe is an ocean of milk, and within that ocean is an island called ĹvetadvÄŤpa, where Lord Viᚣášu lives. Therefore this chapter describes two ĹvetadvÄŤpas â one in the abode of KášášŁáša and the other in the ocean of milk in every universe. The ĹvetadvÄŤpa in the abode of KášášŁáša is identical with VášndÄvana-dhÄma, which is the place where KášášŁáša appears Himself to display His loving pastimes. In the ĹvetadvÄŤpa within every universe is a Ĺeᚣa form of Godhead who serves Viᚣášu by assuming the form of His umbrella, slippers, couch, pillows, garments, residence, sacred thread, throne and so on.Lord Baladeva in KášášŁášaloka is NityÄnanda Prabhu. Therefore NityÄnanda Prabhu is the original Saáš
karᚣaáša, and MahÄ-saáš
karᚣaáša and His expansions as the puruᚣas in the universes are plenary expansions of NityÄnanda Prabhu.In this chapter the author has described the history of his leaving home for a personal pilgrimage to VášndÄvana and his achieving all success there. In this description it is revealed that the authorâs original paternal home and birthplace were in the district of Katwa, in the village of JhÄmaášapura, which is near NaihÄášÄŤ. KášášŁášadÄsa KavirÄjaâs brother invited ĹrÄŤ MÄŤnaketana RÄmadÄsa, a great devotee of Lord NityÄnanda, to his home, but a priest named GuášÄrášava MiĹra did not receive him well, and KášášŁášadÄsa KavirÄja GosvÄmÄŤâs brother, not recognizing the glories of Lord NityÄnanda, also took sides with the priest. Therefore RÄmadÄsa became sorry, broke his flute and went away. This was a great disaster for the brother of KášášŁášadÄsa KavirÄja GosvÄmÄŤ. But on that very night Lord NityÄnanda Prabhu Himself graced KášášŁášadÄsa KavirÄja GosvÄmÄŤ in a dream and ordered him to leave on the next day for VášndÄvana.