Gauranga-rasamrta-sindhu - Ocean of nectarean Gauranga-rasa

I noticed that there was no thread where we can post pearls specifically about ZrIman MahAprabhu, so here's one where we can post our favourites from CC, CB, CM, Caitanya-Candramrta, etc. Here goes:

zrI-kRSNa-caitanya-dayA karaha vicAra
vicAra karite citte pAbe camatkAra

Just consider the mercy of Sri Krsna Caitanya; by considering it in your heart, you will find it miraculous!
(Caitanya CaritAmRta 1.8)

rAdhikAra-bhAva-mUrti prabhura antara
sei bhAve sukha-duHkha uThe nirantara

The heart of Prabhu is the form of Radhika's bhava. This bhava causes happiness and misery to arise constantly therein.
(Caitanya CaritAmRta 1.4)

rAdhikAra bhAva yaiche uddhava-darzane
sei bhAve matta prabhu rahe rAtri-dine

Just as seeing Uddhava heightened Radhika's bhava, that same bhava caused Prabhu to become maddened night and day.
(Caitanya CaritAmRta 1.4.108)

jaya jaya gauracandra zacIra nandana/
jaya nityAnanda tanu advaita jIvana//
jaya gadAdhara prANanAtha vizvambhara/
jaya zrIvAsAdi bhaktaganera Izvara//
jaya jaya mahAprabhu zrIkRSNacaitanya/
kali yuga pAvana avatAra dhanya dhanya//
bhaktagana sange tomAra nadIyA vihAra/
nirantara hRdayete sphuruka AmAra//

Hail all hail to Gauracandra, darling child of Sachi!
Hail to him whose other form is Nityananda
and who is the life and soul of Sri Advaitacandra!
Hail to Gadadhara's Prananatha, Visvambhara!
Hail to the worshipable god of Srivasa and the bhaktas!
Hail all hail to mighty lord Sri Krsna Caitanya!
The most glorious and blessed avatar, purger of the Kali age!
O lord! with your bhaktas you play the Nadiya vihar,
may you be pleased to manifest those sports
within my heart, sans intermission.

(from Madan Mohana das babaji's Gutika)

Can you translate the word- Prananatha , please ?

Lord of body and Soul

Sorry I was out at work . You know what Prananatha means. It's difficult to make translation sometimes with words like that, Gadadhara's heart's lord
lord of Gadadhara's heart, lord of the heart of Gadadhara, Gadadhara's heart's beloved lord. None carry the feeling of simply Gadadhara Prananatha.

"tathai tathai" bajalo khol
ghana ghana tahe jhamjera rol
preme dhala dhala sonara anga
carane nupura baje

"The mrdanga made the "tathai tathai" sound, and the cymbals played along rhythmically. The Lord's golden limbs trembled with the ecstacy of divine love, and his ankle bells jingled."

"Dawn Kirtan", Bhaktivinode Thakur

bAhu tuli' hari bali' prema-dRSTye cAya
kariyA kalmaSa-nAza premete bhAsAya

With His arms raised and chanting of 'Hari', He looks lovingly everywhere, causing the destruction of sins and a flood of prema.
(Caitanya CaritAmRta 1.3)

caitanyera bhakta-vAtsalya - akathya-kathana

Caitanya's parental love for His devotees cannot be described by words.
(Caitanya CaritAmRta 2.7)

double post

Loka Siksa, Public advice.

are muDA gUDAM vicinuta harerbhaktipadavIM
davIyasyA dRStyApyaparicitapUrvAM munivaraih/
na vizrambhazcitte yadi yadi ca daurlabhyamivavat
parityAjyAzeSaM vrajata zaraNaM gauracaraNam//

O fools! search out and take to the confidential path of Hari bhakti,
to which ancient sages, with all their subtlety of mind, could not gain access.
If you feel you have no faith in your heart, or that it is too difficult to achieve;
then I implore you to abandon entirely all such false notions,
and seek asylum at the feet of Gaurahari!

Caitanya Candramrta 80

Here is the annotation for the above sloka by Sri Manindranatha Guha, which I have taken the liberty of attempting in English. Vaisnava carane dandavat.

In this present age of Kali, Sri Krsna Caitanya is the singular and exclusive object of adoration. Without his grace and refuge one cannot get out of the ocean of Kali's evils, and the confidential and mysterious truths of prema bhakti cannot be achieved or relished. Therefore, with the intention of establishing the worship of Sri Gaura hari's lotus-feet the author has composed these twenty verses, 80-99, by way of Loka Siksa or public advice.
Without gaining the refuge of Sri Gaura hari's lotus feet, one cannot realise the fullness of the madhura prema bhakti of Vraja, which is the pinicle of all human ideals, ie, parama purusartha. The author expresses the imperative for taking shelter of Gaura's feet in this verse beginning with, "are mUDA....etc."

O fools! So you have already sought the most enchanting path of bhakti to Sri Krsna, it is well established, what need is there for any further search?
Then I say, pay attention and heed these words; this path is consealed, it is the closely guarded secret of the Vedas. Sri Veda Vyasa himself and other prominent sages did not practise or propound it. Therefore it is regarded as highly esoteric and abstract. If, considering that, you urge that you cannot entertain any faith or regard for such a mysterious path, and moreover you might assert, if others ( like Vyasa etc.) cannot attain it, how will I ever be worthy of it? My answer to you would be; please abandon entirely all such mental aberations and seek exclusive shelter at the feet of lord Gaura hari. By taking refuge at his feet one gains perception of that most mysterious and confidential path.

cirAd adattaM nija-gupta-vittaM
sva-prema-nAmAmRtam aty-udaraH
A-pAmaraM 'yo vitatAra gauraH
kRSNo janebhyas tam ahaM prapadye

Not giving His own secret treasury of love of Himself and the nectarean, greatly munificent, holy name for a long time, that Gaura, Krsna Himself, distributed it to the people and the lowest of men. Unto Him I surrender.
(Caitanya CaritAmRta 2.23)

'sei ta parANa-nAtha pAinu
yAhA lAgi' madana-dahane jhuri' genu'
ei dhuyA uccaiH-svare gAya dAmodara
Anande madhura nRtya karena Izvara

'I have gained the Lord of My life, for whom I was being burned by Madana and was withering away.'
As this chorus was sung loudly by Svarupa Damodara, the Lord blissfully danced beautifully.
(Caitanya CaritAmRta 2.13)

kSaNaM hasati roditi kSaNamatha kSaNaM murcchati
kSaNaM luThati dhAvati kSaNamatha kSaNaM nRtyati/
kSaNaM zvasati muncati kSaNamudAra hA hA rutiM
mahApraNayasIdhUnA viharatIha gauro harih//

Now he laughs, now he weeps and now he falls into a swoon,
now he rowls on the ground and now begins to run and now to dance.
Now he lets out long and plaintive sighs and cries "ah me alas alas!"
In this manner lord Gaura hari manifests his sports here as he relishes
the mahApranayasidhu - the nectar of most highly intence love.
( implying the mAdanAkhya mahAbhAva of Sri VrsabhAnu nandini RAdhArAni)

Caitanya Candramrta 134

tAvadbrahmakathAvimuktipadavI tAvanna tiktIbhavet
tAvaccApi vizRnkhalatvamayate na lokavedasthitih//
tAvacchAstravidAM mitha kalakalo nAnA bahirvartmasu
zrIcaitanyapadAmbujapriyajano yAvanna dRggocarah//

The talks of brahman and liberation will not become bitter;
the chains of worldly and vedic convention will not slacken;
the scholars will not give up wrangling over the holy writ,
and time will still be waisted in various extrenuous persuits,
as long as, within the range of one's vision, there is no votery
who is ever fondly attatched to drinking to excess the nectar
of Sri Caitanya's lotus-like beautiful feet.

Caitanya Candramrta 20

In this way day after day, He made His ecstasy known in the company of Svarupa Damodara and Ramananda Raya. Externally it was as if there was suffering due to poison, whereas internally He was in bliss. This is the wonderful quality of Krsna-prema.
(Caitanya CaritAmRta 2.2)

He who has developed unfailing love for the lotus feet of Caitanya has been devoted to the Lord and Mistress of Vrndavana forest for hundreds of births.
(SArvabhauma Zataka 17)

As devotion to the lotus feet of Radha is symptomized by love, certainly that same sweet love flourishes towards Krsna Caitanya.
(SArvabhauma Zataka 18)

He gave up His form as Krsna and became Gaura in the age of Kali. To that ever-blissful Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu do I pray.
(SArvabhauma Zataka 27)

“To experience the quality of the greatness of Sri Radha’s love, which She alone possesses, to experience the quality of the relish of His own astonishing sweetness, and to understand the kind of happiness She feels in experiencing Him – these are the reasons for the greed of the moon-like Hari, which prompted him to take birth from the ocean of the womb of Mother Saci, endowed with abundant emotions.”
(Caitanya CaritAmRta 1.4)

Attachment:

Listen, O Syama Raya! I am bound by Your love!
(NIlAcale Vraja MAdhurI)

"If you are truly pious, then to the extent that you develop devotion to Gauranga's lotus feet,
that is the extent to which the moon rays of Radharani's lotus feet will well up suddenly in your heart.”
(Caitanya CandrAmRta)

This is why I love Mahaprabhu so much. I feel so far away from Yugal-seva, but just by running after Mahaprabhu He will lead me to the feet of Srimati..

Just a small question regarding the dvAdaza-nAma stotra above; the last verse is considered to be a sort of phala-stuti. Is it customary to chant the phala-stuti also as some sort of "conclusion" when chanting such prayers like the one above and similar ones?

"The all-powerful Supreme Lord directly manifested His presence on this planet, and suddenly, it was as if an unprecedented, inconceivably great surge of energy was started. As a result of this surge of energy, a great storm began to blow a pile of pleasing jasmine flowers in the form of Krishna’s names and glories here and there, and then great torrents of the rains of devotional love began to fall on the parched souls of the age of Kali."

- Srimat Kanupriya Gosvami

"Just as the coming of the rainy season immediately cools the scorched and dusty wind and sky, similarly the coming of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu immediately set the working of an inconceivably great energy into motion, which even after His disappearance will continue to dissipate the dust of the amount of the tamoguna (ignorance) and the scorching heat of the rajoguna (the quality of passion), and then, by raining the refreshing waters of prema, will keep the entire world cool and fresh for the remainder of the Kali yuga."

- Srimat Kanupriya Gosvami

zrImac-caitanya-deva tvAM vande gaurAGga-sundara
zacI-nandana mAM trAhi yati-cUDAmaNe prabho

O Sri Caitanyadeva, O beautiful Gauranga, I offer respectful obeisances unto You.
O Lord, O delight of Sachi-devi and crest-jewel of the sannyasis, please protect me!

AjAnu-bAho smerAsya nIlAcala-vibhUSaNa
jagat-pravartita-svAdu-bhagavan-nAma-kIrtana

With smiling face and long arms You are the ornament of Nilacala. You preach
the glories of the nectarean Holy Name of the Lord throughout the universe.

advaitAcArya-saMzlAghin sArvabhaumAbhinandaka
rAmAnanda-kRta-prIta sarva-vaiSNava-bAndhava

You praise Sri Advaita Acharya and You delight Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya.
You are affectionate to Ramananda Ray, and You are the friend of all the vaisnavas.

zrI-kRSNa-caranAmbhoja-premAmRta-mahAmbudhe
namas te dIna-dInaM mAM kadAcit kiM smariSyasi

O great ocean of the nectar of prema for the feet of Sri Krishna, I offer respectful
obeisances unto You. Do You sometimes remember me, the most wretched of all wretched people?

(Sanatana Gosvami, Sri Krsna-lila Stava 403-406)

What do you think? Sometimes I chant the Fala sruti first

Particularly the last line of Sri Sanatana's stava above
dInadInaM mAM kadAcit kiM smariSyasi is a mantra in itself,

There is a really fantastic Fala sruti in Stavamala that goes thus;

AnandAkhyaM mahAstotraM yah paThecchRNuyAcca yah/
sa paraM saukhyamAsAdya kRSNapremasamanvitah//
sarvalokapriyo bhUtvA sadguNAvalibhUSitah/
vrajarAjakumArasya sannikarSamavApnuyAt//

Both he that recites and he that hears the great prayer called Ananda, get endowed with the highest felicity forthwith and embued with Krsna prema; they become endeared of all the people and adorned with a host of excellent virtues; nay, the tender child of the cowherd chief immediately draws them unto himself.

rough rendering

Those and such statements are the seasoned blessings of the Goswamis. To not read them, or to consider them in any other light would seem, well, to be self-deprivatory or to deny oneself the choiset blessings of the Goswamis.

Sri Rupa says;

cikurakarambita cAruzikhaNDaM
bhAlavinirjitavarazazikhaNDam/
radarucinirdhutamudritakundaM
kuruta budhA hRdi sapadi mukundam// pajjhatika canda

Whose glossy tresses are bound with a beautiful peacock feather head dress;
whose exquisit forehead crushes the vanity of the lustrous moon;
whose lovely teeth defy the charm of sprouting jasmin buds;
O wise ones, take that Mukunda into your hearts at once!

Mukunda Muktavali 27

And the last line of the next verse, as if to season that blessing Sri Rupa says,
sa dizatu kuzalaM tava vanamAlI/

May he who wears a wild flower garland grant you kusalam

Anyway, back to theme, of Gaura nectar, by the lord's grace.

There is a well known dhyana sloka beginning with zrIman mauktikadAmabadhacikuraM , which one comes accross in the various manuals for worship. In the Gutika published by Sri Madan mohan das babaji, is provided a Bengali versification of the sloka. So here it is;

muktAdAma-badha-keza manda-hAsyAnana/
zrIkhaNDa-aguru-carcA sucitra vasana//
divya-mAlya-bhUSAncita nRtyAveza rasa/
anumoda madhura-kandarpojjvala veza//
nija-jana-sevyamAna zrIkanaka-dyuti/
zrI-kRSNa-caitanya-rUpa smare eka mati//

The translation is pretty much as those availabe of the original, but here goes;

Whose sable tresses are bound with strands of pearls;
who wears a gentle smile on his moon-like* countenence;
who is anointed with fragrant sandel and aguru paste
attired in lustrous garments, and profusely adorned
with ambrosial garlands and brilliant ornaments.
Absorbed in the perpetual delight of rapturous dance,
his sweet beauty dazzles that of the dazzler Cupid,
and difuses the pleasing lustre of burnished gold;
with singular intent I contemplate the beautious form
Sri Krsna Caitanya, attended upon by his close retinue.

* candrAnana in the sloka

As far as I know the first referance to the sloka is in Sri Dhyanacandra's Paddhati but not sure, and not sure about who composed the sloka either.

sabAra kariba gaurasundara uddhAra
vyatirikta vaiSNava-nindaka durAcAra

Sri Gaurasundara will deliver everyone except the sinful offenders of Vaisnavas.

...

caitanyera daNDe ya'ra citte nAhi bhaya
janme janme sei jIva yAma-daNDya haya

That jiva who does not fear the punishment of Caitanya will be punished by Yamaraja, birth after birth.

(Caitanya-bhAgavata 2.19.113..115)

Oh why do you remind me?

yAGhAra darzane mukhe Aise kRSNa-nAma
tAGhAra jAniha tumi 'vaiSNava-pradhAna'

[Sriman Mahaprabhu said:] He, by whose darshan the name of Krishna automatically
arises in your mouth, you should know him to be a chief of Vaishnavas.
(Caitanya CaritAmRta 2.16)

jaya jaya zrI karuNA-sindhu gauracandra
jaya jaya zrI sevA-vigraha nityAnanda

Glory, glory be to Sri Gauracandra, the ocean of compassion! Glory, glory be to Sri Nityananda, the embodiment of seva!
(Caitanya-bhAgavata 1.2.5)

I like how these beautiful verses can be sung along to any tune that occurs within one's mind. Often I find myself chanting the original Bengali verse repeatedly in a devotional tune. The Bhagavata is a song.

I couldn't help fast-forwarding somewhat in my reading of CB, and I spotted this jewel:

zunile caitanya-kathA bhakti-phala dhare
janme-janme caitanyera saGge avatare

"By hearing of the topics of Caitanya, one attains the fruit of
bhakti and accompanies the Lord in His pastimes birth after birth."
(CB 1.3.50)

adbhuta nigUDha premera mAdhurya-mahimA
Apani AsvAdi' prabhu dekhAilA sImA

The glories and sweetness of prema are wonderful and profound.
By personally tasting it, Prabhu showed it's highest limit.

adbhuta-dayAlu caitanya - adbhuta vadAnya
aiche dayAlu dAtA loke nAhi zuni anya

Wonderfully forgiving is Caitanya, and wonderfully magnanimous is He!
Another such merciful and charitable person is unheard of in this world!

sarva-bhAve bhAja, loka, caitanya-caraNa
yAhA haite pAibA kRSNa-premAmRta-dhana

O people of this world! Worship the feet of Caitanya in all respects,
by which you will get the nectarean treasure of Krishna-prema!
(CC 3.17.67-69)

AjAnulambitabhujau kanakAvadAtau
saMkIrtanaikapitarau kamalAyatAkSau/
vizvambharau dvijavarau yugadharmapAlau
vande jagadpriyakarau karuNAvatArau/

Salutations to the compassionate duo,
whose deeds are endearing to the world;
whose tapering arms distend toward the knees;
who radiate the the pleasing lustre of burnished gold,
and are the exclusive forefathers of the sankirtan ( movement );
whose wide eyes resemble the petals of a blooming lotus;
who are the universal maintainers, foremost of the
twice-born, and the guardians of the relegious codes for age



sa jayati visudhavikrama
kanakAbha kamalAyatekSana/
varajAnulambi saDbhujo
bahudhA bhakti rasAbhinartaka//

Hail to him of immaculate puissance,
brilliant as gold with long lotus-eyes.
With six exquisit knee-length arms;
who dances with graceful measure,
immersed in various sentiments of love.

C. Bhag Adi 1 and 3