Ratha-yatra, Svarupa Damodara, and Sivananda Sena

Giriraj Swami: On the auspicious day of Jagannatha Ratha-yatra in Puri, two of Lord Chaitanya’s most confidential associates—Srila Svarupa Damodara Gosvami and Srila Sivananda Sena—left this world to return to the supreme abode. 

The inner moods of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, especially in Puri, were not easy to understand, and they were unknown to most devotees. Only Svarupa Damodara Gosvami, who was the most intimate associate of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu in Puri, could really understand them, and by his grace we have been given the chance to understand them, too. 

varūpa-gosāñi — prabhura ati antaraṅga
tāhāte jānena prabhura e-saba prasaṅga

“Svarūpa Gosāñi is the most intimate associate of the Lord. He therefore knows all these topics well.” (Cc Adi 4.105)

In the purport to this verse, Srila Prabhupada tells us about Svarupa Damodara’s history and identity: “Prior to the Lord’s acceptance of the renounced order, Puruṣottama Bhattacharya, a resident of Navadvipa, desired to enter the renounced order of life. Therefore he left home and went to Benares, where he accepted the position of brahmacharya from a Mayavadi sannyasi. When he became a brahmachari, he was given the name Sri Damodara Svarupa. He left Benares shortly thereafter, without taking sannyasa, and he came to Nilacala, Jagannatha Puri, where Lord Chaitanya was staying. He met Chaitanya Mahaprabhu there and dedicated his life for the service of the Lord. He became Lord Chaitanya’s secretary and constant companion. He used to enhance the pleasure potency of the Lord by singing appropriate songs, which were very much appreciated.”

In the context of Lord Chaitanya’s experience of the Ratha-yatra in Puri, Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Madhya 13.167) confirms:

prabhura bhāvānurūpa svarūpera gāna
yabe yei rasa tāhā kare mūrtimān

“Svarūpa Dāmodara used to sing exactly according to the ecstatic emotion of the Lord. Whenever a particular mellow was being tasted by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Svarūpa Dāmodara would personify it by singing.” 

Srila Prabhupada’s purport continues: “Svarupa Damodara could understand the secret mission of Lord Chaitanya, and it was by his grace only that all the devotees of Lord Chaitanya could know the real purpose of the Lord.

“Svarupa Damodara has been identified as Lalita-devi, the second expansion of Radharani. However, Text 160 of Kavi-karṇapūra’s authoritative Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā describes Svarupa Damodara as the same Visakha-devi who serves the Lord in Goloka Vrindavan. Therefore it is to be understood that Sri Svarupa Damodara is a direct expansion of Radharani who helps the Lord experience the attitude of Radharani.”

Sri Svarupa Damodara Gosvami ki jaya!

Sivananda Sena is another confidential associate of the Lord who also assisted Him in His pastimes, especially at the time of the Puri Ratha-yatra. He is one of the important branches of the Chaitanya tree.

śivānanda sena — prabhura bhṛtya antaraṅga
prabhu-sthāne yāite sabe layena yāṅra saṅga

“Śivānanda Sena, the twenty-fourth branch of the tree, was an extremely confidential servant of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Everyone who went to Jagannātha Purī to visit Lord Caitanya took shelter and guidance from Śrī Śivānanda Sena.” 

prativarṣe prabhu-gaṇa saṅgete lā-iyā
nīlācale calena pathe pālana kariyā

“Every year he took a party of devotees from Bengal to Jagannātha Purī to visit Lord Caitanya. He maintained the entire party as they journeyed on the road.” (Cc Adi 10.54–55)

In a purport in the same part of Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Ādi 10.61), which describes Sivananda Sena, Srila Prabhupada writes,

[Cc Ādi 10.61 Purport]

Srila Sivananda Sena has been described by Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Maharaja as follows: “Sivananda Sena was a resident of Kumārahaṭṭa, which is also known as Hālisahara, and was a great devotee of the Lord. About one and a half miles from Kumārahaṭṭa is another village, known as Kāṅcaḍāpāḍā, in which there are Gaura-Gopala Deities installed by Sivananda Sena, who also established a temple of Kṛṣṇarāya that is still existing. Sivananda Sena was the father of Paramananda Sena, who was also known as Puri dasa or Kavi-karṇapūra. Paramananda Sena wrote in his Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā (176) that two of the gopīs of Vrndavana, whose former names were Vira and Duti, combined to become his father. Srila Sivananda Sena guided all the devotees of Lord Chaitanya who went from Bengal to Jagannatha Puri, and he personally bore all the expenses for their journey. This is described in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā, Chapter Sixteen, verses nineteen through twenty-seven. Srila Sivananda Sena had three sons, named Chaitanya dasa, Ramadasa, and Paramananda. As mentioned above, this last son later became Kavi-karṇapūra and wrote the Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā. His spiritual master was Srinatha Pandita, who was Sivananda Sena’s priest. Due to Vasudeva Datta’s lavish spending, Sivananda Sena was engaged to supervise his expenditures.”

Sri Sivananda Sena actually experienced Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s features of sākṣāt, āveśa, and āvirbhāva. He once took along a dog while on his way to Jagannatha Puri, and it is described in the Antya-līlā, First Chapter, that this dog later attained salvation by his association. When Srila Raghunatha dasa, who later became Raghunatha dasa Gosvami, fled his paternal home to join Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, his father wrote a letter to Sivananda Sena to get information about him. Sivananda Sena supplied him the details for which he asked, and later Raghunatha dasa Gosvami’s father sent some servants and money to Sivananda Sena to take care of Raghunatha dasa Gosvami. Once, Sri Sivananda Sena invited Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu to his home and fed Him so sumptuously that the Lord felt indigestion and was somewhat sick. This became known to Sivananda Sena’s eldest son, Chaitanya dasa, who gave the Lord the kinds of food that would help His digestion, and thus Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was very pleased. This is described in Antya-līlā, Tenth Chapter, verses 142 through 151.

Once while going to Jagannātha Purī, all the devotees had to stay underneath a tree, without the shelter of a house or even a shed, and Nityānanda Prabhu became very angry, as if He were greatly disturbed by hunger. Thus He cursed Śivānanda’s sons to die. Śivānanda’s wife was very much aggrieved at this, and she began to cry. She very seriously thought that since her sons had been cursed by Nityānanda Prabhu, certainly they would die. When Śivānanda later returned and saw his wife crying, he said, “Why are you crying? Let us all die if Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu desires.” When Śivānanda Sena returned and Śrīla Nityānanda Prabhu saw him, the Lord kicked him severely, complaining that He was very hungry, and asked why he had not arranged for His food. Such is the behavior of the Lord with His devotees. Śrīla Nityānanda Prabhu behaved like an ordinary hungry man, as if completely dependent on the arrangements of Śivānanda Sena.

A nephew of Śivānanda Sena’s named Śrīkānta left the company in protest of Nityānanda Prabhu’s curse and went directly to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu at Jagannātha Purī, where the Lord pacified him. On that occasion, Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu allowed His toe to be sucked by Purī dāsa, who was then a child. It is by the order of Caitanya Mahāprabhu that he could immediately compose Sanskrit verses. During the misunderstanding with Śivānanda’s family, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu ordered His personal attendant, Govinda, to give them all the remnants of His food. This is described in Antya-līlā, Chapter Twelve, verse Fifty-three.

As Svarupa Damodara Gosvami is considered the incarnation of Lalita-devi, the direct expansion of Srimati Radharani and one of Her most confidential gopī friends, Sivananda Sena is considered the incarnation of two gopīs of Vrindavan in kṛṣṇa-līlā. In Lord Chaitanya’s pastimes, Sivananda Sena played the part of a householder. He was very concerned for the welfare of all the devotees, and every year he would make the arrangements for the devotees to travel from Bengal to Jagannatha Puri during the rainy season to meet Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. He took care of them in every respect. He would arrange for their transportation, accommodations, and prasāda. Although they mainly walked, when they came to rivers that they had to cross by boat, he would pay the tolls and taxes. From his example we can understand the importance of service to the Vaishnavas. Sivananda Sena pleased Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu to the greatest extent just by being a humble servant of the Vaishnavas—not only by being a humble servant, but by being expert in his service of taking care of them and pleasing them. 

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, Chapter One begins by describing how all the devotees departed together for Jagannatha Puri. They assembled in Navadvipa, offered respects to Sacimata, and then prepared to leave.

TEXT 16

śivānanda kare sabāra ghāṭi samādhāna
sabāre pālana kare, deya vāsā-sthāna

TRANSLATION

Śivānanda Sena arranged for the journey. He maintained everyone and provided residential quarters.

TEXT 17

eka kukkura cale śivānanda-sane
bhakṣya diyā lañā cale kariyā pālane

TRANSLATION

While going to Jagannātha Purī, Śivānanda Sena allowed a dog to go with him. He supplied it food to eat and maintained it.

TEXT 18

eka-dina eka-sthāne nadī pāra haite
uḍiyā nāvika kukkura nā caḍāya naukāte

TRANSLATION

One day, when they needed to cross a river, an Orissan boatman would not allow the dog to get in the boat.

TEXT 19

kukkura rahilā, — śivānanda duḥkhī hailā
daśa paṇa kaḍi diyā kukkure pāra kailā

TRANSLATION

Śivānanda Sena, unhappy that the dog had to stay behind, paid the boatman ten paṇa of conchshells to take the dog across the river.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

One paṇa is eighty kaḍis, or small conchshells. Formerly, even fifty or sixty years ago, there was no paper currency in India. Coins were generally made not of base metal but of gold, silver and copper. In other words, the medium of exchange was really something valuable. Four pieces of kaḍi made one gaṇḍā, and twenty such gaṇḍās equaled one paṇa. This kaḍi was also used as a medium of exchange; therefore Śivānanda Sena paid for the dog with daśa paṇa, or eighty times ten pieces of kaḍi. In those days one paisa was also subdivided into small conchshells, but at the present moment the prices for commodities have gone so high that there is nothing one can get in exchange for only one paisa. With one paisa in those days, however, one could purchase sufficient vegetables to provide for a whole family. Even thirty years ago, vegetables were occasionally so inexpensive that one paisa’s worth could provide for a whole family for a day.

TEXT 20

eka-dina śivānande ghāṭiyāle rākhilā
kukkurake bhāta dite sevaka pāsarilā

TRANSLATION

One day while Śivānanda was detained by a tollman, his servant forgot to give the dog its cooked rice.

TEXT 21

rātre āsi’ śivānanda bhojanera kāle
‘kukkura pāñāche bhāta?’ — sevake puchile

TRANSLATION

At night, when Śivānanda Sena returned and was taking his meal, he inquired from the servant whether the dog had gotten its meals.

TEXT 22

kukkura nāhi pāya bhāta śuni’ duḥkhī hailā
kukkura cāhite daśa-manuṣya pāṭhāilā

TRANSLATION

When he learned that the dog had not been supplied food in his absence, he was very unhappy. He then immediately sent ten men to find the dog.

TEXT 23

cāhiyā nā pāila kukkura, loka saba āilā
duḥkhī hañā śivānanda upavāsa kailā

TRANSLATION

When the men returned without success, Śivānanda Sena became very unhappy and fasted for the night

TEXT 24

prabhāte kukkura cāhi’ kāṅhā nā pāila
sakala vaiṣṇavera mane camatkāra haila

TRANSLATION

In the morning they looked for the dog, but it could not be found anywhere. All the Vaiṣṇavas were astonished.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

Śivānanda Sena’s attachment to the dog was a great boon for that animal. The dog appears to have been a street dog. Since it naturally began to follow Śivānanda Sena while he was going to Jagannātha Purī with his party, he accepted it into his party and maintained it the same way he was maintaining the other devotees. It appears that although on one occasion the dog was not allowed aboard a boat, Śivānanda did not leave the dog behind but paid more money just to induce the boatman to take the dog across the river. Then when the servant forgot to feed the dog and the dog disappeared, Śivānanda, being very anxious, sent ten men to find it. When they could not find it, Śivānanda observed a fast. Thus it appears that somehow or other Śivānanda had become attached to the dog.

COMMENT

We find in the case of Raghunatha Bhatta that Lord Chaitanya instructed him to serve his parents in Varanasi until they passed away, and then to join Him at Jagannatha Puri. In the purport Srila Prabhupada remarks that Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu would never have advised Raghunatha Bhatta to serve ordinary parents, but because they were devotees, the Lord instructed him to serve them. 

In this case, Sivananda Sena extended his mercy even to a dog, just because it had followed the devotees. By the mercy of a Vaishnava even a dog can be elevated and ultimately delivered.

PURPORT (concluded)

As will be evident from the following verses, the dog got the mercy of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and was immediately promoted to Vaikuṇṭha to become an eternal devotee. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has therefore sung, tumi ta’ ṭhākura, tomāra kukkura, baliyā jānaha more (Śaraṇāgati 19). He thus offers to become the dog of a Vaiṣṇava. There are many other instances in which the pet animal of a Vaiṣṇava was delivered back home to Vaikuṇṭhaloka, back to Godhead. Such is the benefit of somehow or other becoming the favorite of a Vaiṣṇava. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has also sung, kīṭa-janma ha-u yathā tuyā dāsa (Śaraṇāgati 11). There is no harm in taking birth again and again. Our only desire should be to take birth under the care of a Vaiṣṇava. Fortunately we had the opportunity to be born of a Vaiṣṇava father who took care of us very nicely. He prayed to Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī that in the future we would become a servant of the eternal consort of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Thus somehow or other we are now engaged in that service. We may conclude that even as dogs we must take shelter of a Vaiṣṇava. The benefit will be the same as that which accrues to an advanced devotee under a Vaiṣṇava’s care.

COMMENT

Anyone in any condition of life who takes shelter of a Vaishnava can be purified and attain the highest destination. Sometimes people find fault with some of the devotees of Srila Prabhupada because of their birth, and they even suggest that because of their birth they cannot become pure devotees. But here we see that even a dog who takes shelter of a Vaishnava like Sivananda Sena can be purified and delivered, so why not living entities in various human bodies who take shelter of a Vaishnava like Srila Prabhupada—such an empowered Vaishnava? Why can’t they be purified, delivered?

TEXT 25

utkaṇṭhāya cali’ sabe āilā nīlācale
pūrvavat mahāprabhu mililā sakale

TRANSLATION

Thus in great anxiety they all walked to Jagannātha Purī, where Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu met them as usual.

TEXT 26

sabā lañā kailā jagannātha daraśana
sabā lañā mahāprabhu karena bhajana

TRANSLATION

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu went with them to see the Lord in the temple, and on that day He also took lunch in the company of all those devotees.

TEXT 27

pūrvavat sabāre prabhu pāṭhāilā vāsā-sthāne
prabhu-ṭhāñi prātaḥ-kāle āilā āra dine

TRANSLATION

As previously, the Lord provided them all with residential quarters. And the next morning all the devotees came to see the Lord.

TEXT 28

āsiyā dekhila sabe sei ta kukkure
prabhu-pāśe vasiyāche kichu alpa-dūre

TRANSLATION

When all the devotees came to the place of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, they saw the same dog sitting a little apart from the Lord.

COMMENT

The dog had disappeared, so the devotees were astonished to see the very same dog in the presence of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu.

TEXT 29

prasāda nārikela-śasya dena phelāñā
‘rāma’ ‘kṛṣṇa’ ‘hari’ kaha’ — balena hāsiyā

TRANSLATION

Furthermore, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was throwing remnants of green coconut pulp to the dog. Smiling in His own way, He was saying to the dog, “Chant the holy names ‘Rāma,’ ‘Kṛṣṇa’ and ‘Hari.’ ”

TEXT 30

śasya khāya kukkura, ‘kṛṣṇa’ kahe bāra bāra
dekhiyā lokera mane haila camatkāra

TRANSLATION

Seeing the dog eating the green coconut pulp and chanting “Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa” again and again, all the devotees present were very surprised.

TEXT 31

śivānanda kukkura dekhi’ daṇḍavat kailā
dainya kari’ nija aparādha kṣamāilā

TRANSLATION

When he saw the dog sitting in that way and chanting the name of Kṛṣṇa, Śivānanda, because of his natural humility, immediately offered his obeisances to the dog just to counteract his offenses to it.

COMMENT

This is the humility of a Vaishnava. He saw that the dog had received the mercy of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, and he, Sivananda Sena, felt guilty because he had not served the dog properly. So to get relief from his feeling of offense, he offered obeisances.

TEXT 32

āra dina keha tāra dekhā nā pāilā
siddha-deha pāñā kukkura vaikuṇṭhete gelā

TRANSLATION

The next day, no one saw that dog, for it had obtained its spiritual body and departed for Vaikuṇṭha, the spiritual kingdom.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

This is the result of sādhu-saṅga — consequent association with Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and promotion back home, back to Godhead. This result is possible even for a dog, by the mercy of the Vaiṣṇava. Therefore, everyone in the human form of life should be induced to associate with devotees.

COMMENT

Srila Prabhupada says that the effect of associating with a Vaishnava is that one gets the association of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and goes back home, back to Godhead. Devotees in ISKCON are getting the association of a Vaishnava—of an empowered Vaishnava such as Srila Prabhupada—by hearing from him through his books and by serving him through his mission and devoted servants. And the result will be that they will get the association of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu and be promoted back home, back to Godhead.

PURPORT (continued)

By rendering a little service, even by eating prasādam, what to speak of chanting and dancing, everyone can be promoted to Vaikuṇṭhaloka. It is therefore requested that all our devotees in the ISKCON community become pure Vaiṣṇavas. . .

COMMENT

Did you hear? “It is therefore requested that all our devotees in the ISKCON community”—not just in the temple but in the ISKCON community.

PURPORT (concluded)

It is therefore requested that all our devotees in the ISKCON community become pure Vaiṣṇavas, so that by their mercy all the people of the world will be transferred to Vaikuṇṭhaloka, even without their knowledge. Everyone should be given a chance to take prasādam and thus be induced to chant the holy names Hare Kṛṣṇa and also dance in ecstasy. By these three processes, although performed without knowledge or education, even an animal went back to Godhead.

Devotee: Even without their knowledge?

Giriraj Swami: Yes. Srila Prabhupada often said that Krishna consciousness consists of four elements—chanting, dancing, feasting, and philosophy. But here in the purport Srila Prabhupada says that just by chanting, dancing, and taking prasāda, one can go back to Godhead—in other words, even without being educated in the philosophy of Krishna consciousness. Of course, one has to be fortunate enough to be spontaneously attracted to chanting, dancing, and taking prasāda in order to continue the process without knowledge of the benefits. Generally, because of material contamination, conditioned souls are not so attracted to chanting, dancing, and taking prasāda. They are more attracted to material enjoyment and sinful activities. Therefore we preach the message of the Bhagavad-gītā, the message of Lord Chaitanya, to convince them of the value of Krishna consciousness, the value of austerity, the value of chanting, so that they will do it even if they do not feel like it. But if someone is prepared to chant and dance and take prasāda and refrain from sinful activities, then even without knowledge of the science, just by the potency of the process, he can be delivered. But actually, we do need to read Srila Prabhupada’s books. We do need to attend Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam class to remind ourselves of the importance of Krishna consciousness and the necessity of pure habits. Otherwise, we can very easily degenerate into animal life.

Sometimes in India we would go to a new place and some gentleman would become very enthusiastic about the devotees. He would receive the devotees, host them, and serve them day and night. He would arrange programs for them and invite people to meet them. He would take them to meet other gentlemen, and in general he would seem more enthusiastic than even the devotees themselves. Similarly, sometimes in South Africa we would do hari-nāma-saṅkīrtana in the townships and homelands and the Africans would seem more eager to chant and dance than the devotees in the party. We would become tired and want to return to the temple, but they would want to continue chanting and dancing. 

Srila Prabhupada has explained that someone may spontaneously become attracted to chanting and dancing or to serving the devotees who are spreading Krishna consciousness. Citing the example of some of our hosts in India, Srila Prabhupada said that as karma-yogis working for the sake of Krishna with great enthusiasm, they were actually acting on a more advanced level than the devotees following vaidhi-bhakti without much taste or enthusiasm. But Srila Prabhupada said that the difficulty with the spontaneous service is that the service may end. After some time these people may lose interest and start thinking of their wives and children and businesses. The enthusiasm they initially exhibited may wane and even disappear, whereas even if the devotees do not have so much taste or enthusiasm, if they follow the rules and regulations as a matter of duty, in pursuance of the orders of the spiritual master and the scriptures, they will continue to make progress gradually and eventually come to spontaneous devotional service—the purest love of Godhead.

So, every year, Sivananda Sena would lead the devotees from Bengal to Jagannatha Puri for Ratha-yatra, and it was a major effort. The party, which numbered two or three hundred, went by foot, and he arranged prasāda and accommodations for them, and sometimes boats to take them across rivers. One day, when the party was being checked by a toll collector, the other devotees went ahead while Sivananda Sena remained behind to pay the taxes. Because no one else could arrange for their accommodations, the devotees waited beneath a tree. Meanwhile, Nityananda Prabhu, who was with the party that year, became very hungry and upset. And when Sivananda finally arrived, Nityananda stood up and kicked him severely. Of course, Sivananda accepted the kicking as the greatest blessing. After bringing Nityananda Prabhu to His residence, he told Him, “The dust of Your lotus feet is not attainable even by Lord Brahma, yet Your lotus feet have touched my wretched body. Today my birth, my family, and my activities have all become successful.” We read in Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, Chapter Twelve:

TEXT 26

caraṇe dhariyā prabhure vāsāya lañā gelā
vāsā diyā hṛṣṭa hañā kahite lāgilā

TRANSLATION

“Śivānanda Sena touched the lotus feet of Nityānanda Prabhu and led Him to His residence. After giving the Lord His quarters, Śivānanda Sena, being very pleased, spoke as follows.

TEXT 27

“āji more bhṛtya kari’ aṅgīkāra kailā
yemana aparādha bhṛtyera, yogya phala dilā

TRANSLATION

“Today You have accepted me as Your servant and have properly punished me for my offense.

TEXT 28

‘śāsti’-chale kṛpā kara, — e tomāra ‘karuṇā’
trijagate tomāra caritra bujhe kon janā?

TRANSLATION

“My dear Lord, Your chastising me is Your causeless mercy. Who within the three worlds can understand Your real character?

TEXT 29 

brahmāra durlabha tomāra śrī-caraṇa-reṇu
hena caraṇa-sparśa pāila mora adhama tanu

TRANSLATION

“The dust of Your lotus feet is not attainable even by Lord Brahmā, yet Your lotus feet have touched my wretched body.

TEXT 30

āji mora saphala haila janma, kula, karma
āji pāinu kṛṣṇa-bhakti, artha, kāma, dharma”

TRANSLATION

“Today my birth, my family and my activities have all become successful. Today I have achieved the fulfillment of religious principles, economic development, satisfaction of the senses and ultimately devotional service to Lord Kṛṣṇa.”

TEXT 31

śuni’ nityānanda-prabhura ānandita mana
uṭhi’ śivānande kailā prema-āliṅgana

TRANSLATION

When Lord Nityānanda heard this, He was very happy. He rose and embraced Śivānanda Sena in great love.

TEXT 32

ānandita śivānanda kare samādhāna
ācāryādi-vaiṣṇavere dilā vāsā-sthāna

TRANSLATION

Being very much pleased by Nityānanda Prabhu’s behavior, Śivānanda Sena began to arrange residential quarters for all the Vaiṣṇavas, headed by Advaita Ācārya.

TEXT 33

nityānanda-prabhura saba caritra — ‘viparīta’
kruddha hañā lāthi māri’ kare tāra hita

TRANSLATION

One of Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu’s characteristics is His contradictory nature. When He becomes angry and kicks someone, it is actually for his benefit.

COMMENT

Sivananda Sena, a pure devotee, understood that Nityananda Prabhu’s kick was for his benefit, but Srikanta, Sivananda’s nephew, who was only a boy, felt offended and left the group. He traveled to Jagannatha Puri on his own to meet Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. When Srikanta reached Mahaprabhu’s residence, Lord Chaitanya’s servant told him to remove his coat and shirt, because the rule is that when one comes before the Deity one must remove such garments. But Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said, “Don’t disturb him. He has come in a distressed state of mind. Let him do as he pleases.” Lord Chaitanya considered the person’s emotional state, the person’s psychology. And when Srikanta heard the Lord say “He is distressed,” he understood that the Lord was omniscient. So when Lord Chaitanya asked him about all the Vaishnavas, the boy did not mention the incident of Lord Nityananda’s kicking Sivananda Sena.

In the meantime, Sivananda Sena and all the Vaishnavas arrived, and Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu bestowed extraordinary mercy upon him and his family.

TEXT 44

śivānanda tina-putre gosāñire milāilā
śivānanda-sambandhe sabāya bahu-kṛpā kailā

TRANSLATION

Śivānanda Sena introduced his three sons to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Because they were his sons, the Lord showed the boys great mercy.

TEXT 45

choṭa-putre dekhi’ prabhu nāma puchilā
‘paramānanda-dāsa’-nāma sena jānāilā

TRANSLATION

Lord Caitanya asked the youngest son’s name, and Śivānanda Sena informed the Lord that his name was Paramānanda dāsa.

TEXTS 46–47

pūrve yabe śivānanda prabhu-sthāne āilā
tabe mahāprabhu tāṅre kahite lāgilā

“e-bāra tomāra yei ha-ibe kumāra
‘purī-dāsa’ bali’ nāma dhariha tāhāra

TRANSLATION

Once before when Śivānanda Sena had visited Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu at His residence, the Lord had told him, “When this son is born, give him the name Purī dāsa.”

TEXT 48

tabe māyera garbhe haya sei ta’ kumāra
śivānanda ghare gele, janma haila tāra

TRANSLATION

The son was in the womb of Śivānanda’s wife, and when Śivānanda returned home the son was born.

TEXT 49

prabhu-ājñāya dharilā nāma — ‘paramānanda-dāsa’
‘purī-dāsa’ kari’ prabhu karena upahāsa

TRANSLATION

The child was named Paramānanda dāsa in accordance with the Lord’s order, and the Lord jokingly called him Purī dāsa.

TEXT 50

śivānanda yabe sei bālake milāilā
mahāprabhu pādāṅguṣṭha tāra mukhe dilā

TRANSLATION

When Śivānanda Sena introduced the child to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the Lord put His toe in the child’s mouth.

PURPORT by Srila Prabhupada

In this connection one may refer to Antya-līlā, chapter sixteen, verses 65–75, for information about the later manifestations of the Lord’s mercy on Purī dāsa.

TEXT 51

śivānandera bhāgya-sindhu ke pāibe pāra?
yāṅra saba goṣṭhīke prabhu kahe ‘āpanāra’

TRANSLATION

No one can cross over the ocean of Śivānanda Sena’s good fortune, for the Lord considered Śivānanda’s whole family His own.

COMMENT

From the example of Sivananda Sena, we can see how much mercy one can receive from the Lord by serving the Lord’s devotees. And we can also see how much mercy one can receive from the Lord if one comes under the care of the Lord’s devotee—even if one is a child or a dog.