Danda-mahotsava - Raghunatha Das meets Nitai

Today, Raghunath Das - after repeatededly failing to escape from his home to take shelter of the feet of Sri Chaitanya - set out to meet Nitai and his companions in the village of Panihati.

Raghunath Das, offering dandavat from afar, was brought nearby on Nitai's wish, and the avadhuta placed his feet on the young Raghunatha's head, showering him with his blessings. Nitai scolded him for offering pranam from afar, and as the just punishment, commanded him to arrange for a festival of flat rice of two varieties, one in yoghurt with sugar and bananas, and the other in thick milk, sugar, ghee and camphor.

Nitai sat on a raised platform with his companions, clad in extravagant clothes and ornaments...

[attachmentid=1650]

(Oh well, he's standing here - he wouldn't sit despite our best efforts.)

Some sat on the platform with Nitai, some sat in circles around the platform, and some sat on the bank of the Ganga. Those who wouldn't find a place to sit at stood in the Ganga. Everyone was served sumptuous prasad on the order of Nitai. Hearing of the celebration, merchants from nearby villages gathered with more foodstuffs for everyone.

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In meditation, Nitai brought Gaurachandra himself to the festival, and togehter they danced through the rows of devotees, each giving the other morcels of rice from the devotees' plates. Some, who were fortunate, could see Gaurachandra's presence, while others remained puzzled over Nitai's jubilant and extraordinary behavior.

After the festival concluded, Nitai gave Raghunath Das some of his prasad, and the rest of his remnants were distributed to the assembly of devotees. Soon, by the grace of Nitai, Raghunath Das found the opportunity to escape to join with Sri Chaitanya and Svarupa Damodara in Nilachala.

Today, Raghunath Das - after repeatededly failing to escape from his home to take shelter of the feet of Sri Chaitanya - set out to meet Nitai and his companions in the village of Panihati.

Raghunath Das, offering dandavat from afar, was brought nearby on Nitai's wish, and the avadhuta placed his feet on the young Raghunatha's head, showering him with his blessings. Nitai scolded him for offering pranam from afar, and as the just punishment, commanded him to arrange for a festival of flat rice of two varieties, one in yoghurt with sugar and bananas, and the other in thick milk, sugar, ghee and camphor.

Nitai sat on a raised platform with his companions, clad in extravagant clothes and ornaments...

[attachmentid=1650]

(Oh well, he's standing here - he wouldn't sit despite our best efforts.)

Some sat on the platform with Nitai, some sat in circles around the platform, and some sat on the bank of the Ganga. Those who wouldn't find a place to sit at stood in the Ganga. Everyone was served sumptuous prasad on the order of Nitai. Hearing of the celebration, merchants from nearby villages gathered with more foodstuffs for everyone.

[attachmentid=1651]

In meditation, Nitai brought Gaurachandra himself to the festival, and togehter they danced through the rows of devotees, each giving the other morcels of rice from the devotees' plates. Some, who were fortunate, could see Gaurachandra's presence, while others remained puzzled over Nitai's jubilant and extraordinary behavior.

After the festival concluded, Nitai gave Raghunath Das some of his prasad, and the rest of his remnants were distributed to the assembly of devotees. Soon, by the grace of Nitai, Raghunath Das found the opportunity to escape to join with Sri Chaitanya and Svarupa Damodara in Nilachala.

This is also called Chinra Mahotsova. As the bhoga offered to Nitai and Gauranga made of Chinra ( made by pocessing rice). This is also called Malsa Bhoga ( Bhoga offered in Malsa ( pot made of soil) . In bengal among the Vaishnava it is very common practice to offer such Malsa bhoga to Mahaprabhu and his associates during Utsava.

Every year in Begal in Panihati Vasihnava celebrates this Chinra mahatsava.

What kind of pot is that?

Bananas also plenty of bananas and sugar, nice dadhi and chip-rice emm and Nitai sundara puting morsels in Gaurahari's lotus-mouth. Nitaisundara's dancing was so attractive, as Kaviraja Goswami observes, that Mahaprabhu was drawn there to bohold that dancing of Nitai. Ahaha!

Sorry I did not explain it properly. Malsa is meant for pot made of clay. Which can be used also to cook food. It is widely used in rural India. Once that is used it can be thrown out, as it is bio degradable.

Jaya Nitai! Jaya Nitai!



Last year during Panihati mahotsava pravacan I heard saying that there is an inner meaning of preaparing two varieties. The one in yoghurt is supposed to mean vaidhi bhakti while the other in condensed milk is meant for raganuga bhakti.

Is there any mention about this somewhere?

Ah, the worlds of inner meanings - there have got to be esoteric meanings in everything! Even when it sometimes borders absurdity. Then you have people saying, "Oh, this is such a deep explanation!" Is there any mention about this anywhere? Well, not in the Chaitanya Caritamrita, no there isn't.

I'd like to offer an even deeper explanation. Alright - rice with yoghurt is like vaidhi-bhakti. Because you have to eat it before the sweets whether you like it or not, or otherwise you'll have a tummy ache. And rice with thick milk is like raganuga-bhakti. Because it's so tasty you want to devour it. And when you mix these two together, it is like ajata-ruchi-raganuga-sadhana. Because at the same time it's tasty and has odd flavors to it, and you're not quite sure whether you want to devour it or not.

And then there are bananas - they represent ananda. Because monkeys are blissful when they get bananas. When you mix thos bananas with different kinds of rice mixtures, you'll taste different flavors of ananda. However, since ananda is born from hladini-shakti, and since bhakti is also born from hladini-shakti, all of this is but a splendid variegatied manifestation of the akhilAdvayAdvitIya-bananAnandAzcarya-rasa, because ananda is a manifestation of hladini, because bhakti is non-different from prema which is the supreme ananda, and because those bananas should really go into that rice.

Do I get a nobel price for that?

However I might suggest that, in search of the esotera of the narrations, we focused on understanding the actual esotera, the significance of the events, the significance of the event in the life of Raghunath Das Goswami, the significance of the grace of our Nitai, the significance of the blessings of the Vaishnavas. That will certainly have a deeper impact on our lives than being bananas about the mysteries of the flat rice.

But seriously folks....

Speaking of inner meanings -
In Bengal they sing nitai pele gaur pabo, braje radha krishne jabo....
"By attaining Nitai I will attain Gaur and by attaining Gaura I will attain Radha Krishna in Braj." And that is just what Raghunath das Gosvami did. After pleasing Nitai in Panihati he could attain Gaura in Puri and after serving Gaura in Puri for 16 years he attained Radharani's devotional service at Radhakund..........
Suppose there is an adhyatmik meaning even to RDG's life ....

Owch! OK children, sit up straight and listen up: no more loose talk comparing food and sadhana categories - only authorised topics to be discussed. No digressions into poetic analogies about food as they will send you all to hellish planets.

When eating a feast, is it a problem if people are reminded of the philosophy by drawing parallels etc from the categories of food with the categories of sadhana? Surely this is the kind of conversation people "ought to" be having, if their environment is reminding them of divinity? Seems like a fertile and fruitful topic to me.

"The activities of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu are like condensed milk, and the activities of Ramananda Raya are like large quantities of sugar candy. Their meeting is exactly like a mixture of condensed milk and sugar candy. When they talk of the pastimes of Radha and Krsna, camphor is added. One who tastes this combined preparation is most fortunate." (Cc, Madhya, 8.304-5)

"The pastimes of Sri Caitanya are the abode of nectarine love of Godhead and are just like thick condensed milk. The pastimes of Sri Krsna are just like camphor. When these are combined together, they are very sweet. By the mercy of the Gaudiya Vaisnava guru who is a true saint, one can taste that sweetness unlimitedly." (Cc Madhya 25.277)

You certainly do, Madhavji!

By the way, which malsa-prasad did you have? Was there too much of camphor added to make you so intoxicated with prema! I have to wonder…



What a fool I was not to see that! Now that I was reminded what to focus on let us do the jayadhvani together.

danDa-mahotsava kI jay! dadhi-ciDA mahotsava kI jay! zrI zrI Raghunath Das kI jay!

jay Nitai-Gaura Haribol!

Does anyone know Sri Das Gosami's age when he left home?
There was a chart in Sajjana Tosini which gave the birthdays, age at time of rununciation and dissappearance days of the six Goswamis. It was also printed as an appendix to "Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu" by Sri Bhaktipradipa Tirhta, but I don't have access to either.