The Nine Islands of Navadwip Dhama

Transcription

1 The Nine Islands of Navadwip Dhama (Madan Mohan Class)

2 Name Class The Nine Islands of Navadwip Dham Compiled by: Tapasvini devi dasi Vishnu das Hare Krishna Sunday School

3 This book is dedicated to His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, the founderacharya ofthe Hare Krishna Movement. He brought us the teachings of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, instilling within our hearts a desire to serve Lord Krishna.

4 Contents Navadwip Islands Page No. 1. Antaradwip 3 2. Simantadwip 8 3. Godrumadwip Madhyadwip Koladwip Ritudwip Jahnudwip Modadrumadwip Rudradwip 32

5 ..., ( 11Ie <>rtpul Na.lIltrip, M8J8lNrlBIrthplace 1 01Lor4 Chaituya BANGLADESH (East Bengal) ""-~"-",""'-oj""" I Arabian Sea Bay of Bengal o, o N miles JIO ldjomctera io INDWINSET NAVADVIP With the exception of a shortjourneyto EastBengal and anotherto Gaya, Lord Chaitanya spent the first twenty-four years of His life in Navadvip.

6 Introduction Lord Chaitanya is non-different from Lord Sri Krishna. In the same way, His place ofpastimes, Sri Navadwip Dham, is non-different from Sri Vrindavan Dham. Both are totally transcendental. Navadwip Dham is in the shape of a lotus flower. It is composed ofnine islands separated by different holy rivers. Eight ofthe islands form an eight-petaled lotus surrounding the island of Antardwip, which is the center of the lotus. In the center of Antardwip is Sri Mayapur, the appearance place oflord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Every year at the time of Lord Chaitanya's Appearance, many devotees gather from all over the world to visit the holy places in Navadwip Dham. They walk from one island to another over the course ofone week, visiting the places where the Lord had performed His pastimes. In this course, we will learn about the nine islands of Navadwip and construct our own lotus flower representing Navadwip Dham. We will learn about many of the holy sites, some with histories dating back millions ofyears.

7 SRI NAVADWIP DHAMA Lord Chaitanya appeared He appeared in the land of years ago. _ He was an incarnation of Lord Chaitanya's reason for coming to this world was 2

8 The Nine Islands of Navadwip Dhama Antaradwi]! (The first island ofnavadwip Dham) Yoga Pitha: The glorious appearance place of Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is located on the island of Sri Antardwip. Before the time ofthe Lord's birth, the area was knows as Nadia. Later, after the Lord's birth, this area became known as Navadwip. It is today known as Mayapura. The appearance place of Lord Chaitanya is known as Sri Yoga Pitha. At the time of Lord Chaitanya's birth, there was a lunar eclipse. Because that is considered to be an inauspicious time, all the people were gathered together, bathing in the Ganges river, and chanting the Holy Names. "Hari! Hari! Hare Krishna! Haribol!" Lord Chaitanya had remained in His mother's womb for 14 months. Now was the time for Him to appear. It is only right that He appear when millions were chanting His name. i In heaven, the demigods were dancing and playing musical, instruments like the mridanga drum and karatalas. Everyone became full ofjoy! The Lord had come! 3

9 The newborn child had a complexion like shining gold, and His body was perfectly formed in every way. The wives of the demigods came to see Him, disguising themselves in human forms. In Navadwip, chanters chanted, dancers danced, and brahmanas recited the Vedic hymns. The Lord's father, Jagannatha Mishra, gave in charity to the brahmanas, singers, dancers and to the poor. Everyone who came and ~aw the child appreciated His wonderful bodily effulgence, looking as if He were lighting up the whole world. And many could understand that here is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the same Lord Krishna, in a golden form. He had come to deliver the world from the evils ofkali-yuga. 4

10 JAGAI AND MADRAI GHAT: In the Chaitanya Charitamrita the story of Jagai and Madhai is told. They were two extremely sinful brothers. Madhai was the one who struck Lord Nityananda with a pot. Because oflord Nityananda's mercy, however, both brothers changed completely and became strong devotees. Everyday they woke up early, bathed in the Ganges and put on clean clothes. They applied tilak on their bodies and sat down to chant the Holy Names. Once they saw Lord Nityananda wandering nearby. Madhai always felt sorry for his earlier actions and now he begged Lord Nityananda to tell him how he could become free from his terrible sins. The Lord told him to clean this certain bathing pond every day. Madhai agreed to this and every day for the rest ofhis life he did his service at this bathing ghat. Whenever he saw anyone with tulasi beads or tilak on, he would immediately go to that person and bow down, begging their forgiveness. He built steps leading down to the water out ofstone and cleaned these every day with his own hands. Thus, this ghat became known as Jagai and Madhai Ghat. SRIVAS ANGAN (THE HOUSE OF SRIVASA THAKUR): Srivasa Thakura is the manifestation of a perfect devotee and is considered to be the leader of all the devotees of the Lord. Lord Chaitanya began the Sankirtana movement at Srivasa angan, the house ofsrivasa Thakura.. Lord Chaitanya used to come to Srivasa's home often to perform kirtan with his close followers. One night, while Sri Chaitanya was dancing with His devotees at the house of Srivasa Thakura, Srivasa's only son, who had been suffering from disease, passed away. Srivasa Thakura knew about his son's death but didn't want the kirtan to be 5

11 disturbed so he did not allow anyone to cry. He forbade his wife and relatives to show their broken-heartedness. When the kirtan was over, Lord Chaitanya, who could understand everything, said, "What has happened? There must have been some calamity in this house." Srivasa informed the Lord ofhis son's death and the Lord asked, "Why didn't you give me this news sooner?" Lord Chaitanya immediately went to the place where the boy's body was lying dead. Calling the boy's soul back to his body, the Lord asked him, "My dear boy, why are you leaving the house of your mother and father?" The dead boy replied, "I lived in this house only as long as my past karma has allowed. Now that time is over and I am going somewhere else, according to Your direction, my Lord. I am Your eternal servant and I must act however You desire. I have no power to do anything that is not Your desire." All the members of Srivasa Thakura's house heard these amazing words of the dead son. They received transcendental knowledge from the boy so they were no longer unhappy. Lord Chaitanya bade farewell to the boy's soul and all the Vaisnavas cheered, "Haribol!" Lord Caitanya then told Srivasa Thakura, "You have lost your son, but Nityananda Prabhu and I are your eternal sons. We shall never be able to give up your company." This made Srivas Thakur very happy. 6

12 Sri Sad-bhui!, (The six-armed form shown by Lord Chaitanya) This six-armed form ofthe Supreme Lord was revealed by Lord Chaitanya five hundred years ago. He showed this form to Nityananda Prabhu at Srivasa Angan. In two ofhis hands He holds a bow and arrow, the symbols of Lord Rama. Two hands hold a flute, the symbol of Lord Krishna. And two hands hold a waterpot and a danda, the symbols oflord Chaitanya. Color the picture, making sure to color the arms the correct color ofthat particular form ofkrishna. 7

13 Sri Simantadwil! (The second island ofnavadwip Dham) Chand Kazi's Samadhi: On the island ofsri Simantadwipa there is a stone samadhi (gravesite) ofthe Muslim ruler Chand Kazi. This place is located just outside Sri Antaradwipa. Lord Chaitanya wanted to spread His sankirtan movement all over the world. He ordered the citizens of Navadwipa to chant the Hare Krishna mantra and to hold kirtan continuously in each and every home. When the sankirtan movement thus started, no one in Navadwip could hear any sound other than the words, "Hari, Hari!" and the beating ofthe mrdanga and the clashing ofhand bells. Hearing the vibration of the Hare Krishna mantra, the local Mohammedans submitted an angry complaint to the Kazi. The Kazi marched to the first home where he heard a kirtan. He smashed the drum and angrily shouted, "Why, all of a sudden, are you so enthusiastic to follow your religion? Who told you to do this? No one should perform sankirtan on the streets of the city. Today I am excusing the offense but in the future I will punish you! I will have you converted to Mohammedans!" In those days it was thought that if a Hindu was sprinkled with water by a Mohammedan, then the Hindu would never be a Hindu again. Sometimes the Mohammedans would force cow's flesh into the Hindu's mouths and then the Hindu would become contaminated and fall down from his religion. After saying this the Kazi went home. The devotees were shocked that they would not be able to chant Hare Krishna and they 8

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15 went sadly to Lord Chaitanya. Lord Chaitanya heard about the Kazi's threat but reassured them, "Go perform sankirtan! Today I shall kill all ofthe Mohammedans!" Returning home, all the people began to perform sankirtan, but because ofthe order from the Kazi, they were very scared. The Lord saw their fear and said, "In the evening I shall perform sankirtan in each and every town. Therefore, you should all decorate the city tonight. Burn torchlights in every lane. I will protect all ofyou. Let us see what kind ofkazi comes to stop our kirtan." That evening Lord Chaitanya went out and formed three parties for kirtan. In the front party danced Haridasa Thakur and in the middle party Adwaita Acharya danced. Lord Chaitanya and Lord Nityananda danced in the rear party. Performing kirtan in this way, they covered every comer of the city, finally ending up at the door of the Kazi's palace. Angrily making roaring sounds, the people under the protection of Lord Chaitanya became mad. The loud sound oftheir chanting frightened the Kazi and he hid in his room. Hearing the angry and protesting people, the Kazi refused to come out ofhis house. Lord Chaitanya sent for someone to get the Kazi. At last he came down with his head bowed down. In a friendly way, the Lord asked him, "Sir, I have come to your house as a guest but you hid yourselfin your room. Why?" The Kazi replied, "You came to my house in an angry mood so I went to hide. Now that I see you are peaceful, I am happy to honor You as my guest." Then the Lord began to speak to the Kazi very seriously about meat-eating. He said, "You drink cow's milk; therefore the cow is your mother. The bull plows the field and you produce grains; 10

16 therefore he is your father. Since the cow and the bull are your mother and father, how can you kill them and eat them? How could you commit such a sin!" The Kazi tried to argue with Mahaprabhu. He said that the Mohammedan scriptures allow meat-eating. But in the end Lord Chaitanya defeated him and he agreed that the scriptures of the meateaters are not correct. Lord Chaitanya was very pleased to hear him say this and wanted to ask him another question. "My dear sir, please tell me the truth. Don't try to trick me. In your city there is always chanting of the holy name. Music, singing and dancing are always going on. You have the right to stop these activities but now you are NOT stopping them. What is the reason you changed your mind?" The Kazi quietly told Him, "After I went to the Hindu's home and broke the drum and forbade the performance of kirtan, I returned home and had a very frightening dream that night. In my dreams I saw a fierce lion, roaring very loudly. His body was like a human being's body but his face was like a great lion. While I was sleeping the lion jumped on my chest, laughing ferociously and gnashing his teeth. Putting his sharp nails on my chest, he said in a very grave voice, 'I shall immediately split open your chest, just the way you broke the mrdanga drum! You have forbidden the chanting of My name. Therefore I must destroy you!' "I was so afraid I closed my eyes, trembling. The lion, seeing my fear, said, 'I have defeated you just to teach you a lesson. But I will be merciful to you. You didn't really create a very big disturbance today, so I have excused you and will let you live. But if you do such a thing again, I will kill you, your family and all the meat-eaters!' "Then the lion left but I was still so very fearful. Look! See the marks left by his nails on my heart!" 11

17 The Kazi showed his chest to the Lord. The scratches from the ferocious lion were there. The Kazi continued, "I didn't tell anyone about this but a little later that day one ofmy servants came to see me. He reported that when he had tried to stop the chanting, flames suddenly struck his face! His beard was burned and there were blisters on his cheeks. Every other servant who tried to stop the chanting had the same report. Being afraid, I told them not to stop the chanting. "The meat-eaters then came to me complaining that if the chanting is not stopped, the Hindu's religion will spread and everywhere there will be the chanting of, 'Hari, Hari!' One person told me that he imitated a chanter, trying to make fun, but now his tongue also chants, 'Krishna! Krishna!' He can't make his tongue stop chanting. " The Kazi continued, "I promised them that I would make You stop this chanting. But within my mind I feel that You are Lord Narayana. You are the Supreme God ofthe Hindus." Lord Chaitanya was happy to hear him speaking so nicely. He touched him and spoke as follows, "The chanting ofthe Holy Name of Krishna from your mouth has performed a miracle. Now you are free from all your sins. You have become pure. You chanted the names ofkrishna, Hari and Narayana, and because ofthat you are the most fortunate person. " The Lord said, "I want to beg one favor from you. You must promise that this sankirtan movement will not be stopped, at least in the district ofnadia. " "No one shall stop this sankirtan movement!" Kazi. "I will make sure ofit." promised the 12

18 Hearing this, the Lord got up, chanting, "Hari! Hari!" Following Him, all the other devotees also got up and chanted the Holy Name. Very jubilantly, the Kazi also went with them. The Samadhi Tomb ofchand Kazi. Mayamari: When the battle ofkuruksetra was about to take place, Lord Balarama did not want to be a part ofthe fighting. Instead, He went on a pilgrimage to visit the holy places. He traveled to many places in India. Finally, when He reached the land ofnavadwipa, he stopped here for some rest. A group of brahmans came, requesting Him to kill a very viscious demon named Mayasura. Lord Balarama became very angry at hearing of the demon's trouble and He iinmediately rushed to meet the demon with His plow in His hand., When Balarama killed the demon, all the local people were greatly relieved and glorified the Lord. This place is called Mayamari or the place where the Mayasura demon was killed. 13

19 Sri Godrumadwi{! (The third island of Navadwip Dham) Amaghatta: One day the Lord was performing sankirtan with his devotees. They chanted and danced for a long time. Finally they became very tired and sat down to rest. Seeing how tired they were, the Lord took a mango seed and planted it into the ground. The minute it was planted, the seed sprouted and began to grow. All the devotees were very astonished; before their eyes the tree grew to a full size and had many mangoes. Lord Chaitanya reached up and picked two hundred fruits. He washed them nicely and offered them to Lord Krishna. These mangoes were red and yellow and they had a very special quality. They had no seeds inside and no skins outside. The mangoes were so sweet and filled with so much juice that after eating only one each, the devotees were completely satisfied. Every day for one year Lord Chaitanya went to that place with his devotees and together they they would have a mango-eating festival. The tree provided the mangoes non-stop for twelve months. Hari Hara Ksetra: Here, at Hari Hara Ksetra, is the temple ofhari Hara, a deity half-vishnu and half-siva. He manifested this form to show how dear Lord Siva is to Him and how Lord Siva is nondifferent from Him. The deity is half-white and half-black. 14

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21 Narasimha Palli: This place, Narasimha Palli, has been famous for almost three million years. You are probably familiar with the pastime of Lord Narasimhadeva fighting and killing the demon named Hiranyakasipu who was bothering his young devotee, Prahlad Maharaj. This happened many many years ago in Satya yuga. After Lord Narasimhadeva saved Prahlad and killed Hiranyakasipu, he came and rested at this place. The river named Mandakini flowed here and Lord Narasimhadeva came and drank from her clear, pure waters to refresh himself Hundreds of demigods, hearing about the Lord's arrival, came and built a wonderful palace for Lord Narasimhadeva. They also built hundreds ofpalaces for themselves. From the palaces the demigods worshiped Lord Narasimhadeva. 16

22 Sri Madhyadwi{! (The fourth island of Navadwip) NAIMISARANYA: On the island of Madhyadwip, there is a forest area called Naimisaranya. In the beginning ofkali Yuga, at this place, thirty-three thousand sages asembled here to hear the Srimad Bhagavatam spoken by Srila Suta Goswami. HAMSA VAHANA: Hamsa Vahana is close to Naimisaranya. You will find a lake here. In that lake is a deity of Lord Siva riding upo~ Lord Brahma's swan carrier. For the whole year, Lord Siva remains under the water in the lake. Once a year he is raised up and worshiped.m his altar. Then, Lord Siva is taken in procession for two days to different temples in Navadwip. After this, he returns in a procession to his lake for another year. When the sages came to Naimisaranya at the beginning ofkali Yuga, Lord Siva heard that a narration of Srimad Bhagavatam would be given. He was very eager to hear this. He immediately left his abode in Mount Kailash and mounted his bull carrier, Nandi, and began to travel down to planet Earth. But Nandi was too slow. Lord Siva was afraid that the narration might finish before he got there. So he abandoned Nandi and mounted Brahma's swan carrier, who was much faster. Lord Siva, hastily flew down to Naimisaranya, along with his followers. He arrived on time to sit and listen to Suta Goswami. Because Lord Siva traveled here on Brahma's swan carrier, this place is called "Hamsa", which means swan, and "Vahana", which means earner, 17

23 Sri Koladwi(! (The Fifth Island of Navadwip Dham) Samadhi of Jagannatha das Babaji: This great acharya in our line lived over 150 years ago. He was regarded as the chief of the Vaisnavas. Whenever Srila Jagannatha das Babaji received a donation, he would put it in an old burlap bag in one comer ofhis hut. One day he asked one ofhis servants to take all the donations and buy a big pot of rasagullas. He offered the rasagullas to the Deities and then told his disciples to distribute them all to the cows and the dogs in Navadwip. His disciples couldn't understand and suggested that it would be better to distribute them to the sannyasis and babajis. But Jagannatha das Babaji told them that instead of feeding fake sannyasis, who performed sinful activities in secret, it would be better to feed the cows and dogs. He took the rasagullas and with his own hands distributed them to the animals in the holy dham. He was so old that he could not walk and his body was all stooped over. His eyelids drooped so much that if he wanted to see something, his disciples would have to hold his eyelids open with their fingers. His disciples would carry him in a basket which they would hold on their head. In this way he traveled to the holy places ofgodrumadwip and Mayapur. In 1893, when Jagannatha das Babaji was 142 years old, he went with Bhaktivinoda Thakur to try to find the real birth place oflord Chaitanya. When they reached the Yoga Pitha, he jumped out ofhis basket twelve feet into the air and began to dance in ecstacy and perform kirtan. Two years later, at the age of 144, he left this world. samadhi is located here at Sri Koladwip. His 18

24 Champahatti: Four hundred years before Lord Chaitanya appeared, a great Vaisnava poet, Jayadeva Goswami, and his wife, Padmavati, arrived in Navadwip. They were looking for a peaceful place to perform devotional service and they were astonished at the wonderful beauty of this place. The lake's crystal clear waters were decorated with pink and white lotus flowers and lilies. Swans and cranes wandered about, bathing, drinking, resting and playing. They happily made this their new home and built a humble cottage under a large tree. In Champahatti, Jayadeva Goswami began to write a beautiful set ofpoems called Gita Govinda. We sing part ofhis Gita Govinda every day at the temple when we chant the song to Lord Narasimhadeva: keshava dhrita narahari rupa,jayajagadisha hare jayajagadisha hare, jayajagadisha hare 19

25 Once while he was wntmg about Radha's feelings towards Krishna, he had an idea that, in the situation he was writing about, Krishna would bow down His head to Radha's lotus feet. After he thought this he wanted to write it down, but he became very afraid that that thought was offensive. His hand shook and his pen fell. He wouldn't write it down just in case it was an offense. After all, Krishna is the Supreme Lord! How could He lower His head to Radha's feet? That would be improper! Afraid ofhis offense ofjust thinking of such a thing, he stopped his writing and quickly went to the Ganges to purify himselfby bathing. In the meantime, Sri Krishna, who had been enjoying the verses ofjayadeva's Gila Govinda, took the form ofjayadeva and entered his house. He looked just like Jayadeva Goswami. He asked Padmavati to give him his pen and paper and He at once sat down to complete the verse which Jayadeva had feared to finish. He finished it just as Jayadeva had imagined, with Krishna bowing His head to Radharani's feet. After finishing the verse, Lord Krishna disappeared. Jayadeva returned a few minutes later from his bath. His hair and clothes were still wet. Padmavati saw her husband again come in the house but now his hair was wet! She was confused and asked him how he managed to take his bath so quickly. He had left, returned and wrote a bit more in his poem, left again to bathe but now he was back only a few minutes later, already having taken his bath? Jayadeva Goswami didn't know what his wife was talking about. He had been at the river the whole time, just now returning. He went to look at his papers and saw the verse completed in his own handwriting. He realized what had happened, and feeling very humble, began weeping. After some time, he wiped his eyes and told his wife, flyou are very fortunate for you have just received the darshan oflord Krishna, The Lord has come to complete a verse that I feared to finish." 20

26 After this experience, Jayadeva was totally inspired and finished his wonderful poems glorifying the Lord. Lord Chaitanya manifested Himselfto Jayadeva Goswami and his wife at that time. He told them that in the future he would take birth in Navadwip Dham. 21

27 Sri RitudwiJ! (The sixth island of Navadwip Dham) Once Lord Nityananda, along with His associates, entered the wonderful forests of Ritudwip and was astounded by the beautiful atmosphere. As Lord Nityananda witnessed the beauty, His mind became absorbed in the mood of Lord Balarama. Lord Nityananda is the same as Lord Balarama so sometimes He would forget Himself and act as Lord Balarama acted when He was with Krishna. Nityananda called, "Quickly bring me my hom! My cowherd friends are far ahead ofme. Krishna is fast asleep and won't get up. I can't herd these cows alone." The devotees with Him tried to pacify Him. They reminded Him who and where He was. They said, "Oh, Nityananda Prabhu, Your brother, Lord Chaitanya, has gone and taken sannyasa, leaving us here alone." Lord Nityananda became so sad at hearing this that He lost consciousness. The devotees became very worried when Lord Nityananda didn't regain consciousness after a few hours. Only when they began to discuss the pastimes oflord Chaitanya did He finally awaken. Rising to His feet, he told the devotees, "On this island of Ritudwip, are hidden Radha Kunda and Syama Kunda. All the forests ofvmdavan are here. Whoever lives here will surely attain love ofgod." VIDYANAGAR: This place is extremely glorious. It is the original ~ource of the Vedas, the Upanishads, and the Smritis. It is the main center ofeducation, learning and teaching in the universe. At Vidyanagar: Lord Brahma teaches sages and demigods. 22

28 The sage, Valmiki, composed the Ramayana here and taught it to his disciples. Dhanvantari received the knowledge ofayur Veda. Kapila received sandhya philosophy. Buddha received nyaya philosophy. Sri Vyasadeva received Vedanta, the Puranas, the Mahabharat and the Srimad Bhagavatam. Narada Muni received the Pancaratra. In Vidyanagara, all these famous sages manifested their philosophies. Here also they taught their disciples who distributed what they had learned around the world. 23

29 Sri Jahnudwil! (The seventh island of Navadwip Dham) The following is a very amazing story about something that happened at Jahnudwip. This story also explains how the island got its name. Pay close attention as you read. Long, long ago there lived a king named Sagara. He was a great devotee and he was very kind and merciful. His spiritual master had instructed him to perform many horse sacrifices. At that time, this was a way to purify oneselfin order to go back to Godhead. Lord Indra is very famous for having performed 100 horse sacrifices. He heard ofking Sagara's plans and became very envious. After all, by performing all the horse sacrifices, he had won his post as the king of heaven. He was afraid that Sagara would try to take his position. So Indra came down from the sky and stole King Sagara's horse, just as he was about to make a sacrifice. King Sagara had 60,000 sons who became very angry when they saw what Indra had done. They immediately began to chase Lord Indra and searched for him all over the earth, digging up big portions of land. They came to the place where Lord Kapiladeva, the incarnation of Lord Vishnu, had His ashram. As they came near Him they saw their father's sacrificial horse tied up nearby. With great anger they began to shout, "Here is the man who has stolen the horse! He is staying here pretending to meditate with His eyes half-closed." As they surrounded the Lord, fire blazed from their bodies and they immediately burned to ashes. They had committed the offense of disrespecting a great person. After many days King Sagara began to worry because his sons had not yet returned. He became so anxious that he sent his grandson, Amsuman, to search for his sons and the lost horse. 24

30 Following the same course as his 60,000 uncles, Amsuman soon arrived at the ashram of Lord Kapiladeva. He was horrified to see ashes everywhere--the remains of his uncles. He then noticed his grandfather's sacrificial horse and his horror turned to confusion. Entering Lord Kapila's ashram, Amsuman offered his obeisances at the Lord's feet and began to offer prayers. The Lord was pleased with his devotion and blessed him, saying, "My dear Amsuman, here is the horse your grandfather is looking for. Please take it. As for your uncles, they can only be purified by the water from the Ganges. Amsuman returned to Sagara's kingdom. After many years, King Sagara decided to give up the kingdom to prepare himself for death by becoming spiritually realized. He gave charge of the kingdom to Amsuman and retired to the forest. Now Amsuman had a great responsibility. How was he to bring the Ganges down to this planet? At that time, the Ganges River was only in the spiritual world. He decided that ifhe performed penances and austerities he might be able to attract Mother Gange's attention. He performed many severe austerities but he was not able to attract Mother Ganga's mercy. In the course oftime, he died. Amsuman's son, Dilipa, followed in his father's footsteps, also trying to bring the Ganges down but he was not successful either. After some time, he also died. Dilipa had a son named Bhagiratha. Bhagiratha was a great devotee who possessed all good qualities. He performed very severe austerities to bring the Ganges down to this world. Without eating or even sleeping, he meditated intently on attracting her attention. One day, as the king was performing his vows, Mother Ganges appeared before him in the form of a demigoddess. She said, "I am very pleased with you and am ready to give you any benediction you 25

31 desire." King Bhagiratha bowed before her and explained what had happened to his relatives and what Kapiladeva had said. Mother Ganges replied, "When I fall from the sky to the earth, my waters will surely be very forceful. Who can sustain that force? If no one sustains my waters, then I shall pierce the earth's surface and go down to the hellish planets. People will bathe in me because my waters purify them and they leave their sinful reactions in me after bathing. More and more sins will come. How can I become free from all the sinful reactions left in my water?" Bhagiratha reassured her, "There will be many saintly persons who will bathe in your waters. They are so glorious and pure that they will counteract the sinful reactions." Bhagiratha also explained that Lord Siva, who is almost as good as Krishna, was strong enough to sustain the forceful Ganges water on his head. After King Bhagiratha pleased Lord Siva with severe austerities, Lord Siva agreed to sustain the Ganges water on his head. He was happy to do this because he knew that the Ganges water had emanated from the lotus feet oflord Vishnu. Passing through the heavenly planets, Mother Ganges was carried through the demigod's planets on billions ofcelestial airplanes. As she gushed down Mount Meru, Lord Siva sustained her forceful current upon his head. Finally Mother Ganges reached the surface of the earth and many sages, heavenly beings and humans gathered to glorify her and touch her sparkling waters for purification. Having reached the earth she began to flow very swiftly. Sometimes she narrowed to force her way through a gorge and then widened, covering a plain. Sometimes she rushed over a cliff in a wonderful waterfall, tossing her foamy waters high. Seeing her incredible force, Bhagiratha jumped aboard his powerful chariot and drove before her, digging a path for her to follow. 26

32 He was afraid that Mother Ganges would flood the entire earth! Traveling swiftly, they crossed many countries. From the Himalayas the king guided the Ganges to the southern side ofindia. Near Kapila's ashram, in this island of Jahnudwip, a great muni named Jahnu had his ashram. One day while sitting in meditation, he heard an incredible roaring sound. He opened his eyes and saw King Bhagiratha coming towards him on his chariot with the Ganges river right behind him! They were traveling at such a high speed that Jahnu Muni thought the river would flood the whole planet. As the Ganges approached, Jahnu Muni opened this mouth and swallowed her up in one gulp. All of a sudden Bhagiratha couldn't hear the deafening roar of the Ganges behind him anymore. Looking over his shoulder, he saw that she was no longer in sight. He was overwhelmed with anxiety. "How will my ancestors be purified? What has happened?" He was very disturbed and turned back. When he arrived at Jahnu Muni's ashram, he saw the Muni sitting there and could immediately understand what had happened. With great devotion, Bhagiratha began to worship Jahnu Muni, offering beautiful prayers. Jahnu Muni was pleased with the king and stuck out his foot towards Bhagiratha. Suddenly gushing out from his toe came the Ganges River. Bhagiratha quickly mounted his chariot and led Mother Ganges to the south where his ancestor's ashes had lain for so many years. As they were sprinkled by the Ganges water, the sons of Sagara became freed from the effect oftheir offense to Lord Kapila. They were now able to enter the heavenly planets. Because Mother Ganges appeared from the foot of Jahnu Muni, she is also known as Jahnavi devi, the daughter ofjahnu Muni. 27

33 BHISMA TILA: Bhisma was born from Mother Ganga. His father is King Santanu. Bhisma lived with his mother in the heavenly planets until he had completed his studies. At that time he came down to Navadwip to see his grandfather, Jahnu Muni. Bhisma built a simple hut close to Jahnu Muni's ashram. He would hear Srimad Bhagavatam each day from Jahnu Muni here at Bhisma Tila. Jahnu Muni also revealed that in the beginning of Kali-yuga, the Lord would appear in a golden form. He explained that this form of Gauranga would spread the holy name ofkrishna and love ofkrishna. 28

34 Sri Modadrumadwi)! (The eighth island of Navadwip) In Treta yuga. Lord Rama, Sita, and Laksman came here during their exile. They remained in this beautiful forest for several months. At that time there was a very huge banyan tree whose branches spread far and wide. Under its cooling shade they built a small cottage of bamboo, mud and other things from the jungle. Inside their cottage they kept a large altar with a fresh fire constantly burning on it. The walls were decorated with the Lord's bow and His quivers of sharp arrows which flamed like the sun. One day Lord Rama sat thinking about the beauty of the Navadwip forest. He was smiling to Himself and Sita noticed. She asked him why he was laughing. 29

35 He informed her, "Dear Sita, in the future, in Kali-yuga, I will appear here in Navadwip with a golden complexion. I will give the gift of transcendental love of God and will tell the glories of the holy name of Krishna. After this, I will take sannyasa and will travel to Puri. My mother and wife, Vishnupriya, will be heartbroken and will cry when I leave. You, Sita, will be Vishnupriya. After I leave, you will worship a Deity of me and will spread my glories. But do not reveal this to anyone for now. When Kali-yuga arrives, this huge banyan tree that our cottage is under will disappear, but it will remain here in an unmanifested form." In this way Lord Rama informed Sita Devi of His future appearance as Lord Chaitanya in Navadwip. After spending some time there in the forest of Modadruma they returned to Dandakaranya to complete their 14 years ofexile. SRI SARANGADEVA: There was once a devotee during Lord Chaitanya's time named Saranga Thakur. Lord Chaitanya was very pleased with Sarangadeva's devotion and asked him to make some disciples. He wanted Sarangadeva to become a guru and instruct others. Sarangadeva was very humble and didn't want to do this. He felt that he wasn't qualified and also that it would be hard to find a person qualified to be a good disciple. Lord Chaitanya laughed and told him that whoever Sarangadeva accepted as a disciple would become qualified. Sarangadeva understood Lord Chaitanya's wish and told him that the next day he would initiate the first person he saw. Early the next morning, he went to the Ganges to bathe. As he was about to step into the water, he saw a boy's dead body float past. Remembering his promise to the Lord, he brought the dead boy's body to the shore and chanted the initiating mantras into his ear. 30

36 As soon as the dead boy heard the mantra he came back to life. He offered his obeisances to the feet of Sarangadeva and told him, "Yesterday I was undergoing a ceremony to accept initiation but a black snake came and bit me. I can't remember anything after that." The boy's family came to know oftheir son's recovery and came to take him home. The boy, Murari, refused to go and he wanted only to stay with Sarangadeva, his guru. This he did, and served the lotus feet ofhis guru as long as he lived. There is a tree that was present at that time that is still here today. 31

37 Sri Rudradwi{! (The ninth island of Navadwip dham) Mount Kailash is the heavenly abode of Lord Siva. His abode is a reflection of Rudradwip in Navadwip. In Rudradwip, Rudra, along with his eleven expansions, constantly chant the holy names of Lord Gauranga. They each have five faces, three eyes and ten arms. With their ten arms raised, they dance like madmen ecstatically chanting, "Nitai Gauranga, 0 Gaurahari!" NIRDAYA: In Rudradwip there is a place named Nirdaya, which means merciless. When Lord Chaitanya left His home in Mayapura to take sannyas, He left behind His devoted wife and loving mother. All ofhis devoted followers were sleeping except Mother Sacidevi. She begged and pleaded with Him to stay but He had a more important mission of delivering the fallen souls in the world. From His home in Antardwip, the Lord travelled to the west and crossed the Ganges river to this village. Because He seemed so merciless in leaving behind all His devoted friends and family members, He was accused ofbeing "nirdaya". For that reason the this village is called Nirdaya. 32