“Jahnava’s pilgrimage.” Sadhu Priya Prabhu
English
Sādhu Priya Prabhu
Jāhnavā’s pilgrimage
After the departure of Nityānanda Prabhu from this world, His consort Jāhnavā Devī became the leader of the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas. The most significant event at this time was the grand festival in Kheturi Gram.
The festival at Kheturi was held on the full moon day in March, the anniversary of the appearance of Śrī Chaitanya in the house of Rāja Santoṣa Datta. He was a king and the nephew and disciple of Narottam Dās Ṭhākur. Narottam was accompanied by Śyāmananda Prabhu and Śrīnivāsa Āchārya and their associates to take part in the festival.
Jāhnavā Devī was accompanied on the journey to Kheturi by her various associates, her uncle Śrī Kṛṣṇa Miśra, Śripati, Śrīnidhi, Minaketana Rāmadās, Murāri Chaitanya, Jñāna Dās, Parameśvari Dās, Balarām Dās, Vṛndāvan Dās Ṭhākur and many others. First, they travelled to Ambikā Kālnā to the home of Gauridās Paṇḍit. They were welcomed by Hṛday Chaitanya who was the disciple of Gauridās and also the Guru of Śyāmananda Prabhu.
Jāhnavā cooked the offering for the Gaura-Nityānanda deities there and after the evening festivities they set out for Nabadwīp the following morning.
They went to the home of Śachī Devī, Śrī Chaitanya’s mother, but she had left. Jāhnavā Devī felt great separation and sadness. Śrīpati and Śrīnidhi then took her to their family home, Śrīvās Āṅgan. Śrīvās and Mālini had left and again she was heart-broken. They stayed there for the night and went to Śāntipur the next morning.
Upon arriving in Śāntipur, they found that Śrī Advaita and his consort Śrī Sitā Ṭhākurāṇī had also departed from this world. Again, Jāhnavā Devī was filled with the pain of separation. She was welcomed with great respect by Advaita’s sons Achyutānanda and Gopāl.
From Śāntipur they all travelled together to Teliyabudhir. Here they were met by Govinda Kavirāj the brother of Rāmachandra Kavirāj. He received Jāhnavā Devī and all of the Vaiṣṇavas with great respect and they stayed with him for the night.
The next day they made the journey to Kheturi. King Santoṣa arranged for boats to bring the devotees across the broad Padma river. He organised all accommodations and prasādam for all the guests. He came out to the road to greet Jāhnavā Devī as the leading guest of the festival and offered garlands and gifts to the travelling party.
They travelled in processing chanting and dancing their way into the village of Kheturi. They were also welcomed by Narottam, Śyāmananda and Śrīnivās who had already arrived. They humbly bowed to Jāhnavā Devī and everyone embraced after not seeing each other for some time. The chanting and dancing increased and all of the devotees ecstatically made their way to the King’s home.
The following day was the appearance day of Śrī Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Within the newly constructed mandir, six deities were to be installed. In the evening, the devotees began chanting in congregation. Śrī Raghunandan, from the town Śrī Khaṇḍa, began the preliminary chanting.
Everyone in Kheturi attended the occasion. Jāhnavā Devī was dressed very beautifully and even atheists and miscreants were charmed to see the Lord’s divine consort with the entourage of devotees. The ecstatic chanting festival continued all through the day up until midnight.
The following day, in grand style, and before a huge crowd, Śrīnivās Āchārya performed the bathing ceremony for the installation of the six deities. On the order of Jāhnavā and the devotees, Narottam began to lead the chanting. In the midst of that chanting and dancing, Śrī Chaitanya Himself, accompanied by Nityānanda Prabhu and all of Their eternal associates, made Their divine appearance. Who can describe the overflowing ecstasy felt by the assembled devotees there in Kheturi on that day?
On the third day of the festival, Jāhnavā cooked the food offering for the deities. “Śrī Jāhnavā Devī was extremely delighted by the chanting festival. After bathing in the Gaṅga at midday with great enthusiasm she cooked many wonderful preparations of rice, vegetables and other foods. Her cooking was unprecedented.” (Bhakti Ratnakāra, 10th Wave).
Śrī Jāhnavā Mata herself distributed the prasādam by her own hand to the fortunate souls present at the grand festival. After the festival was completed, Jāhnavā left Kheturi accompanied by her entourage of devotees, and set out for Vṛndāvan.
On the way there, they passed through Prayāga and Kāśi and arrived in Mathurā. There they visited Kṛṣṇa’s holy birthplace, and, after bathing at Viśrām Ghāt, they entered Vṛndāvan. In order to welcome Jāhnavā, some of the Vṛndāvan devotees met her in Mathurā. Parameśvari Dās describes this meeting, and mentions the names of the different devotees who came to meet her, as follows:
“There was Gopāl Bhaṭṭa Goswāmī, a reservoir of ecstatic love for Śrī Chaitanya, and Bhugarbha Goswāmī, as well as the highly qualified Lokanāth Goswāmī. Kṛṣṇadās brahmachāri and Śrī Kṛṣṇa Paṇḍit, Śrī Madhu Paṇḍit and the celebrated Śrī Jīva Goswāmī were also present there. All of them were introduced to Jāhnavā Mata by Jīva Goswāmī. Hearing all of this, Jāhnavā’s ecstasy increased greatly.” (Bhakti Ratnakāra).
Having approached Jāhnavā Devī, all of the goswāmīs present fell before her lotus feet and offered their respects. She in turn offered her respects to them all.
She visited all the holy places of Vṛndāvan headed by the temples of Śrī Govinda, Śrī Gopīnāth and Śrī Madan Mohan. After some days she went to Govardhan Hill, Rādhā Kuṇḍa and Śyāma Kuṇḍa. Visiting all the holy places awoke in her the moods and divine emotions connected with the Pastimes of those places.
After wandering throughout Vṛndāvan she set out on her return journey to Bengal. Upon arriving in Bengal her first stop was in Kheturi. The devotees led by Narottam and Rāmachandra Kavirāj came to greet her. After staying a few days, she went to Budhari. There lived Śrī Śyāmadās the brother of Vaṁśidās. Jāhnavā oversaw the marriage of his daughter Śrī Hemalatā to Boḍo Gaṅgadās. After the wedding she gave the worship service of the Śyāmasundar deity there to Gaṅgadās.
From here she set out for Ekachakra, the appearance place of her master, Nityānanda Prabhu. Upon arriving she went to the home of Nityānanda’s parents Haḍāi Paṇḍit and Padmāvatī Devī. Hearing about them from the devotees caused her to weep in separation. In the company of a local brahmin she visited all the childhood Pastime places of Nityānanda Prabhu. No-one can describe the bliss she felt upon seeing those places.
That night she stayed at the empty home which had once been occupied by Nityānanda’s parents, and which had once been Nityānanda’s home. She passed the night chanting the names of the Lord.
Having stayed for one night in Ekachakra, she went to Kaṇṭhak Nagar, near Kātwā. She stopped at the place of the Lord’s sannyās, and wept. From there, she went to Yajigrām, to the house of Śrīnivās Āchārya. The devotees there, headed by Śrīnivās welcomed her with great affection. Śrīnivās invited her to his home and offered her worship. In this way, the best of āchāryas, Śrīnivās, absorbed himself in the service of Jāhnavā Devī.
After staying in Yajigram for some days, she again returned to Nabadwīp, to the birthplace of Śrī Chaitanya. At that time Iśāna, the family servant of Śrī Chaitanya, was in his ripe old age. Upon entering the home, Jāhnavā fainted in ecstasy. Seeing her absorbed in a divine trance of ecstasy, the devotees also became ecstatic and began to weep.
From the home of Chaitanyadev she went to the courtyard of Śrīvās Ṭhākur and stayed there for the night. All night the devotees chanted and danced with great enthusiasm and in remembrance of Śrī Chaitanya’s nocturnal Pastimes of chanting and dancing there. That night Jāhnavā saw Śrī Chaitanya in her dreams performing various Pastimes with His associates.
The following day, she offered her prayers again and again to the holy dhām of Nabadwīp. She then set out for Ambikā Kālnā. The residents of Kālnā were overjoyed to again receive her. Remembering Gauridās Paṇḍit, who had since departed from this world, Jāhnavā wept again and again. She offered her prayers at the lotus feet of the Śrī Śrī Gaura-Nityānanda deities there.
Then the devotees began chanting, and in the midst of that great and tumultuous kīrtan, Gaura and Nityānanda personally appeared. That night, Jāhnavā cooked many preparations, as she had done previously, for the pleasure of Gaura-Nityānanda. Later, she herself distributed that prasād to the devotees there.
That night, as she slept, in her dreams she saw Gauridās with Gaura and Nityānanda. They all offered Jāhnavā Devī Their blessings.
The following day, bidding farewell to the devotees, Jāhnavā went to the home of Uddhāraṇa Datta Ṭhākur. There, after staying for a one-night chanting festival, she boarded a boat and returned to her own home in Khoradoha.
The devotees of Khoradoha felt boundless joy to once again see Jāhnavā after a long time of separation. With great eagerness everyone tried to push in front of the crowd to catch a glimpse of her. The devotees greeted her with congregational chanting.
Nityananda’s son, Virachandra Prabhu and his daughter Śrī Gaṅgā Devī offered their prayers at the lotus feet of Jāhnavā, and in turn were affectionately embraced by her. She smelled their heads in affection.
After this, Jāhnavā Devī and Vasudhā Devī greeted each other with great respect and love. Jāhnavā spoke of her travels to all of the holy places in the land of Bengal and also in Braja. She kept Parameśvari as a personal servant and the other devotees who had accompanied her returned to their respective homes.
The story of Jāhnavā’s pilgrimage is famous throughout the society of Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas. Jāhnavā is a reservoir of loving devotion for the Lord and is known as Nityānanda-svarūpīni—the other self of Nityānanda Prabhu. She delivered many sinners and atheists by her mercy. Her divine opulence and sweetness are both astounding.
The appearance anniversary of Jāhnavā Devī is celebrated on the Gaura-navamī the ninth day of the light fortnight of the moon in the Vaiṣṇava month of Madhusūdan (April-May).
Наверх