ei-mata yÄite yÄite gelÄ kÅ«rma-sthÄne
kÅ«rma dekhi' kaila tÄá¹…re stavana-praṇÄme
ei-mata - in this way; yÄite yÄite - while passing; gelÄ - He went; kÅ«rma-sthÄne - to the place of pilgrimage known as KÅ«rma-ká¹£etra; kÅ«rma dekhi' - seeing Lord KÅ«rma; kaila - offered; tÄá¹…re - unto Him; stavana - prayers; praṇÄme - and obeisances.
When Lord ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu came to the holy place known as KÅ«rma-ká¹£etra, He saw the Deity and offered prayers and obeisances.
KÅ«rma-sthÄna is a well-known place of pilgrimage. There is a temple there of KÅ«rmadeva. In the PrapannÄmá¹›ta it is said that Lord JagannÄtha took ÅšrÄ« RÄmÄnujÄcÄrya from JagannÄtha PurÄ« and one night threw him to KÅ«rma-ká¹£etra. KÅ«rma-ká¹£etra is situated on the line of the Southern Railway in India. One has to go to the railway station known as Srikakulam Road. From this station one goes eight miles to the east to reach the holy place known as KÅ«rmÄcala. Those who speak the Telugu language consider this holy place very important. This statement is reported in the government gazette known as GañjÄma Manual. There is the Deity of KÅ«rma there, and, as mentioned above, ÅšrÄ«la RÄmÄnujÄcÄrya was thrown from JagannÄtha PurÄ« to this place. At that time he thought that the Deity of KÅ«rma was Lord Åšiva’s deity; therefore he was fasting there. Later, when he understood that the kÅ«rma-mÅ«rti was another form of Lord Viṣṇu, he instituted very gorgeous worship of Lord KÅ«rma. This statement is found in the PrapannÄmá¹›ta (chapter thirty-six). The holy place of KÅ«rma-ká¹£etra, or KÅ«rma-sthÄna, was actually reestablished by ÅšrÄ«pÄda RÄmÄnujÄcÄrya under the influence of Lord JagannÄtha-deva at JagannÄtha PurÄ«. Later the temple came under the jurisdiction of the king of Vijaya-nagara. The Deity was worshiped by the Vaiṣṇavas of the MadhvÄcÄrya-sampradÄya. In the temple there are some inscriptions said to be written by ÅšrÄ« Narahari TÄ«rtha, who was in the disciplic succession of MadhvÄcÄrya. ÅšrÄ«la BhaktisiddhÄnta SarasvatÄ« ṬhÄkura explains those inscriptions as follows: (1) ÅšrÄ« Puruá¹£ottama Yati appeared as the instructor of many learned men. He was a very favorite devotee of Lord Viṣṇu. (2) His preaching was accepted throughout the world with great respect, and by his power he liberated many nondevotees with strong reason and logic. (3) He initiated Ä€nanda TÄ«rtha and converted many foolish men to accept sannyÄsa and punished them with his rod. (4) All his writings and words are very potent. He gave people devotional service to Lord Viṣṇu so they could be elevated to liberation in the spiritual world. (5) His instructions in devotional service were able to elevate any man to the lotus feet of the Lord. (6) Narahari TÄ«rtha was also initiated by him and became the ruler of Kaliá¹…ga Province. (7) Narahari TÄ«rtha fought with the Åšabaras, who were caṇá¸Älas, or hunters, and thus saved the temple of KÅ«rma. (8) Narahari TÄ«rtha was a very religious and powerful king. (9) In the Åšaka Era 1203, in the month of VaiÅ›Äkha, in the fortnight of the moon’s waxing period, on the day of EkÄdaśī, Narahari Ṭīrtha dedicated to the holy name of YogÄnanda Ná¹›siá¹hadeva the temple he had constructed on His order. [The tablet is dated that very day, corresponding to Saturday, March 29, 1281 A.D.]
