Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrī Caitanya Caritāmrita

CC Ādi 5 Summary

CC Ādi 5.1: Let me offer my obeisances to Lord Śrī Nityānanda, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, whose opulence is wonderful and unlimited. By His will, even a fool can understand His identity.

CC Ādi 5.2: All glories to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu! All glories to Lord Nityānanda! All glories to Advaita Ācārya! And all glories to all the devotees of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu!

CC Ādi 5.3: I have described the glory of Śrī Krishna Caitanya in six verses. Now, in five verses I shall describe the glory of Lord Nityānanda.

CC Ādi 5.4: The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna, is the fountainhead of all incarnations. Lord Balarāma is His second body.

CC Ādi 5.5: These two are one and the same identity. They differ only in form. Lord Balarāma is the first bodily expansion of Krishna, and He assists in Lord Krishna's transcendental pastimes.

CC Ādi 5.6: That original Lord Krishna appeared in Navadvīpa as Lord Caitanya, and Balarāma appeared with Him as Lord Nityānanda.

CC Ādi 5.7: May Śrī Nityānanda Rāma be the object of my constant remembrance. Sańkarshana, Śesha Nāga and the Vishnus who lie on the Kārana Ocean, Garbha Ocean and ocean of milk are His plenary portions and the portions of His plenary portions.

CC Ādi 5.8: Lord Balarāma is the original Sańkarshana. He assumes five other forms to serve Lord Krishna.

CC Ādi 5.9: He Himself helps in the pastimes of Lord Krishna, and He does the work of creation in four other forms.

CC Ādi 5.10: He executes the orders of Lord Krishna in the work of creation, and in the form of Lord Śesha He serves Krishna in various ways.

CC Ādi 5.11: In all the forms He tastes the transcendental bliss of serving Krishna. That same Balarāma is Lord Nityānanda, the companion of Lord Gaurasundara.

CC Ādi 5.12: I have explained the seventh verse in four subsequent verses. By these verses all the world can know the truth about Lord Nityānanda.

CC Ādi 5.13: I surrender unto the lotus feet of Śrī Nityānanda Rāma, who is known as Sańkarshana in the midst of the catur-vyūha [consisting of Vāsudeva, Sańkarshana, Pradyumna and Aniruddha]. He possesses full opulences and resides in Vaikunthaloka, far beyond the material creation.

CC Ādi 5.14: Beyond the material nature lies the realm known as paravyoma, the spiritual sky. Like Lord Krishna Himself, it possesses all transcendental attributes, such as the six opulences.

CC Ādi 5.15: That Vaikuntha region is all-pervading, infinite and supreme. It is the residence of Lord Krishna and His incarnations.

CC Ādi 5.16: In the highest region of that spiritual sky is the spiritual planet called Krishnaloka. It has three divisions — Dvārakā, Mathurā and Gokula.

CC Ādi 5.17: Śrī Gokula, the highest of all, is also called Vraja, Goloka, Śvetadvīpa and Vrindāvana.

CC Ādi 5.18: Like the transcendental body of Lord Krishna, Gokula is all-pervading, infinite and supreme. It expands both above and below, without any restriction.

CC Ādi 5.19: That abode is manifested within the material world by the will of Lord Krishna. It is identical to that original Gokula; they are not two different bodies.

CC Ādi 5.20: The land there is touchstone [cintāmani], and the forests abound with desire trees. Material eyes see it as an ordinary place.

CC Ādi 5.21: But with the eyes of love of Godhead one can see its real identity as the place where Lord Krishna performs His pastimes with the cowherd boys and cowherd girls.

CC Ādi 5.22: "I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, the first progenitor, who is tending cows yielding all desires in abodes built with spiritual gems and surrounded by millions of purpose trees. He is always served with great reverence and affection by hundreds and thousands of goddesses of fortune."

CC Ādi 5.23: Lord Krishna manifests His own form in Mathurā and Dvārakā. He enjoys pastimes in various ways by expanding into the quadruple forms.

CC Ādi 5.24: Vāsudeva, Sańkarshana, Pradyumna and Aniruddha are the primary quadruple forms, from whom all other quadruple forms are manifested. They are all purely transcendental.

CC Ādi 5.25: Only in these three places [Dvārakā, Mathurā and Gokula] does the all-sporting Lord Krishna perform His endless pastimes with His personal associates.

CC Ādi 5.26: In the Vaikuntha planets of the spiritual sky the Lord manifests His identity as Nārāyana and performs pastimes in various ways.

CC Ādi 5.27-28: Krishna's own form has only two hands, but in the form of Lord Nārāyana He has four hands. Lord Nārāyana holds a conchshell, disc, club and lotus flower, and He is full of great opulence. The śrī, bhū and nīlā energies serve at His lotus feet.

CC Ādi 5.29: Although His pastimes are His only characteristic functions, by His causeless mercy He performs one activity for the fallen souls.

CC Ādi 5.30: He delivers the fallen living entities by offering them the four kinds of liberation — sālokya, sāmīpya, sārshti and sārūpya.

CC Ādi 5.31: Those who attain brahma-sāyujya liberation cannot gain entrance into Vaikuntha; their residence is outside the Vaikuntha planets.

CC Ādi 5.32: Outside the Vaikuntha planets is the atmosphere of the glowing effulgence, which consists of the supremely bright rays of the body of Lord Krishna.

CC Ādi 5.33: That region is called Siddhaloka, and it is beyond the material nature. Its essence is spiritual, but it does not have spiritual varieties.

CC Ādi 5.34: It is like the homogeneous effulgence around the sun. But inside the sun are the chariots, horses and other opulences of the sun-god.

CC Ādi 5.35: "As through devotion to the Lord one can attain His abode, many have attained that goal by abandoning their sinful activities and absorbing their minds in the Lord through lust, envy, fear or affection."

CC Ādi 5.36: "Where it has been stated that the Lord's enemies and devotees attain the same destination, this refers to the ultimate oneness of Brahman and Lord Krishna. This may be understood by the analogy of the sun and the sunshine, in which Brahman is like the sunshine and Krishna Himself is like the sun."

CC Ādi 5.37: Thus in the spiritual sky there are varieties of pastimes within the spiritual energy. Outside the Vaikuntha planets appears the impersonal reflection of light.

CC Ādi 5.38: That impersonal Brahman effulgence consists only of the effulgent rays of the Lord. Those fit for sāyujya liberation merge into that effulgence.

CC Ādi 5.39: "Beyond the region of ignorance [the material cosmic manifestation] lies the realm of Siddhaloka. The Siddhas reside there, absorbed in the bliss of Brahman. Demons killed by the Lord also attain that realm."

CC Ādi 5.40: In that spiritual sky, on the four sides of Nārāyana, are the second expansions of the quadruple expansions of Dvārakā.

CC Ādi 5.41: Vāsudeva, Sańkarshana, Pradyumna and Aniruddha constitute this second quadruple. They are purely transcendental.

CC Ādi 5.42: There [in the spiritual sky] the personal feature of Balarāma called Mahā-sańkarshana is the shelter of the spiritual energy. He is the primary cause, the cause of all causes.

CC Ādi 5.43: One variety of the pastimes of the spiritual energy is described as pure goodness [viśuddha-sattva]. It comprises all the abodes of Vaikuntha.

CC Ādi 5.44: The six attributes are all spiritual. Know for certain that they are all manifestations of the opulence of Sańkarshana.

CC Ādi 5.45: There is one marginal potency, known as the jīva. Mahā-sańkarshana is the shelter of all jīvas.

CC Ādi 5.46: Sańkarshana is the original shelter of the purusha, from whom this world is created and in whom it is dissolved.

CC Ādi 5.47: He [Sańkarshana] is the shelter of everything. He is wonderful in every respect, and His opulences are infinite. Even Ananta cannot describe His glory.

CC Ādi 5.48: That Sańkarshana, who is transcendental pure goodness, is a partial expansion of Nityānanda Balarāma.

CC Ādi 5.49: I have briefly explained the eighth verse. Now please listen with attention as I explain the ninth verse.

CC Ādi 5.50: I offer my full obeisances unto the feet of Śrī Nityānanda Rāma, whose partial representation called Kāranodakaśāyī Vishnu, lying on the Kārana Ocean, is the original purusha, the master of the illusory energy, and the shelter of all the universes.

CC Ādi 5.51: Outside the Vaikuntha planets is the impersonal Brahman effulgence, and beyond that effulgence is the Kārana Ocean, or Causal Ocean.

CC Ādi 5.52: Surrounding Vaikuntha is a mass of water that is endless, unfathomed and unlimited.

CC Ādi 5.53: The earth, water, fire, air and ether of Vaikuntha are all spiritual. Material elements are not found there.

CC Ādi 5.54: The water of the Kārana Ocean, which is the original cause, is therefore spiritual. The sacred Ganges, which is but a drop of it, purifies the fallen souls.

CC Ādi 5.55: In that ocean lies a plenary portion of Lord Sańkarshana.

CC Ādi 5.56: He is known as the first purusha, the creator of the total material energy. He, the cause of the universes, the first incarnation, casts His glance over māyā.

CC Ādi 5.57: Māyā-śakti resides outside the Kārana Ocean. Māyā cannot touch its waters.

CC Ādi 5.58: Māyā has two varieties of existence. One is called pradhāna or prakriti. It supplies the ingredients of the material world.

CC Ādi 5.59: Because prakriti is dull and inert, it cannot actually be the cause of the material world. But Lord Krishna shows His mercy by infusing His energy into the dull, inert material nature.

CC Ādi 5.60: Thus prakriti, by the energy of Lord Krishna, becomes the secondary cause, just as iron becomes red-hot by the energy of fire.

CC Ādi 5.61: Therefore Lord Krishna is the original cause of the cosmic manifestation. Prakriti is like the nipples on the neck of a goat, for they cannot give any milk.

CC Ādi 5.62: The māyā aspect of material nature is the immediate cause of the cosmic manifestation. But it cannot be the real cause, for the original cause is Lord Nārāyana.

CC Ādi 5.63: Just as the original cause of an earthen pot is the potter, so the creator of the material world is the first purusha incarnation [Kāranārnavaśāyī Vishnu].

CC Ādi 5.64: Lord Krishna is the creator, and māyā only helps Him as an instrument, just like the potter's wheel and other instruments, which are the instrumental causes of a pot.

CC Ādi 5.65: The first purusha casts His glance at māyā from a distance, and thus He impregnates her with the seed of life in the form of the living entities.

CC Ādi 5.66: The reflected rays of His body mix with māyā, and thus māyā gives birth to myriad universes.

CC Ādi 5.67: The purusha enters each and every one of the countless universes. He manifests Himself in as many separate forms as there are universes.

CC Ādi 5.68: When the purusha exhales, the universes are manifested with each outward breath.

CC Ādi 5.69: Thereafter, when He inhales, all the universes again enter His body.

CC Ādi 5.70: Just as atomic particles of dust pass through the openings of a window, so the networks of universes pass through the pores of the skin of the purusha.

CC Ādi 5.71: "The Brahmās and other lords of the mundane worlds appear from the pores of Mahā-Vishnu and remain alive for the duration of His one exhalation. I adore the primeval Lord, Govinda, of whom Mahā-Vishnu is a portion of a plenary portion."

CC Ādi 5.72: "Where am I, a small creature of seven spans the measure of my own hand? I am enclosed in the universe composed of material nature, the total material energy, false ego, ether, air, water and earth. And what is Your glory? Unlimited universes pass through the pores of Your body just like particles of dust passing through the opening of a window."

CC Ādi 5.73: A part of a part of a whole is called a kalā. Śrī Balarāma is the counterform of Lord Govinda.

CC Ādi 5.74: Balarāma's own expansion is called Mahā-sańkarshana, and His fragment, the purusha, is counted as a kalā, or a part of a plenary portion.

CC Ādi 5.75: I say that this kalā is Mahā-Vishnu. He is the Mahā-purusha, who is the source of the other purushas and who is all-pervading.

CC Ādi 5.76: Garbhodaśāyī and Kshīrodaśāyī are both called purushas. They are plenary portions of Kāranodaśāyī Vishnu, the first purusha, who is the abode of all the universes.

CC Ādi 5.77: "Vishnu has three forms called purushas. The first, Mahā-Vishnu, is the creator of the total material energy [mahat], the second is Garbhodaśāyī, who is situated within each universe, and the third is Kshīrodaśāyī, who lives in the heart of every living being. He who knows these three becomes liberated from the clutches of māyā."

CC Ādi 5.78: Although Kāranodaśāyī Vishnu is called a kalā of Lord Krishna, He is the source of Matsya, Kūrma and the other incarnations.

CC Ādi 5.79: "All these incarnations of Godhead are either plenary portions or parts of the plenary portions of the purusha-avatāras. But Krishna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself. In every age He protects the world through His different features when the world is disturbed by the enemies of Indra."

CC Ādi 5.80: That purusha [Kāranodakaśāyī Vishnu] is the performer of creation, maintenance and destruction. He manifests Himself in many incarnations, for He is the maintainer of the world.

CC Ādi 5.81: That fragment of the Supreme Lord, known as the Mahā-purusha, appears for the purpose of creation, maintenance and annihilation and is called an incarnation.

CC Ādi 5.82: That Mahā-purusha is identical with the Personality of Godhead. He is the original incarnation, the seed of all others, and the shelter of everything.

CC Ādi 5.83: "The purusha [Mahā-Vishnu] is the primary incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Time, nature, prakriti (as cause and effect), the mind, the material elements, false ego, the modes of nature, the senses, the universal form, complete independence and the moving and nonmoving beings appear subsequently as His opulences."

CC Ādi 5.84: "In the beginning of the creation, the Lord expanded Himself in the form of the purusha incarnation, accompanied by all the ingredients of material creation. First He created the sixteen principal energies suitable for creation. This was for the purpose of manifesting the material universes."

CC Ādi 5.85: Although the Lord is the shelter of everything and although all the universes rest in Him, He, as the Supersoul, is also the support of everything.

CC Ādi 5.86: Although He is thus connected with the material energy in two ways, He does not have the slightest contact with it.

CC Ādi 5.87: "This is the opulence of the Lord. Although situated within the material nature, He is never affected by the modes of nature. Similarly, those who have surrendered to Him and have fixed their intelligence upon Him are not influenced by the modes of nature."

CC Ādi 5.88: Thus the Bhagavad-gītā also states again and again that the Absolute Truth always possesses inconceivable power.

CC Ādi 5.89: [Lord Krishna said:] "I am situated in the material world, and the world rests in Me. But at the same time I am not situated in the material world, nor does it rest in Me in truth."

CC Ādi 5.90: "O Arjuna, you should know this as My inconceivable opulence." This is the meaning propagated by Lord Krishna in the Bhagavad-gītā.

CC Ādi 5.91: That Mahā-purusha [Kāranodakaśāyī Vishnu] is known as a plenary part of Him who is Lord Nityānanda Balarāma, the favorite associate of Lord Caitanya.

CC Ādi 5.92: I have thus explained the ninth verse, and now I shall explain the tenth. Please listen with rapt attention.

CC Ādi 5.93: I offer my full obeisances unto the feet of Śrī Nityānanda Rāma, a partial part of whom is Garbhodakaśāyī Vishnu. From the navel of Garbhodakaśāyī Vishnu sprouts the lotus that is the birthplace of Brahmā, the engineer of the universe. The stem of that lotus is the resting place of the multitude of planets.

CC Ādi 5.94: After creating millions of universes, the first purusha entered into each of them in a separate form, as Śrī Garbhodakaśāyī.

CC Ādi 5.95: Entering the universe, He found only darkness, with no place in which to reside. Thus He began to consider.

CC Ādi 5.96: Then He created water from the perspiration of His own body and with that water filled half the universe.

CC Ādi 5.97: The universe measures five hundred million yojanas. Its length and breadth are one and the same.

CC Ādi 5.98: After filling half the universe with water, He made His own residence therein and manifested the fourteen worlds in the other half.

CC Ādi 5.99: There He manifested Vaikuntha as His own abode and rested in the waters on the bed of Lord Śesha.

CC Ādi 5.100-101: He lay there with Ananta as His bed. Lord Ananta is a divine serpent having thousands of heads, thousands of faces, thousands of eyes and thousands of hands and feet. He is the seed of all incarnations and is the cause of the material world.

CC Ādi 5.102: From His navel grew a lotus flower, which became the birthplace of Lord Brahmā.

CC Ādi 5.103: Within the stem of that lotus were the fourteen worlds. Thus the Supreme Lord, as Brahmā, created the entire creation.

CC Ādi 5.104: And as Lord Vishnu He maintains the entire world. Lord Vishnu, being beyond all material attributes, has no touch with the material qualities.

CC Ādi 5.105: Assuming the form of Rudra, He destroys the creation. Thus creation, maintenance and dissolution are created by His will.

CC Ādi 5.106: He is the Supersoul, Hiranyagarbha, the cause of the material world. The universal form is conceived as His expansion.

CC Ādi 5.107: That Lord Nārāyana is a part of a plenary part of Lord Nityānanda Balarāma, who is the source of all incarnations.

CC Ādi 5.108: I have thus explained the tenth verse. Now please listen to the meaning of the eleventh verse with all your mind.

CC Ādi 5.109: I offer my respectful obeisances unto the feet of Śrī Nityānanda Rāma, whose secondary part is the Vishnu lying in the ocean of milk. That Kshīrodakaśāyī Vishnu is the Supersoul of all living entities and the maintainer of all the universes. Śesha Nāga is His further subpart.

CC Ādi 5.110: The material planets rest within the stem that grows from the lotus navel of Lord Nārāyana. Among these planets are seven oceans.

CC Ādi 5.111: There, in part of the ocean of milk, lies Śvetadvīpa, the abode of the sustainer, Lord Vishnu.

CC Ādi 5.112: He is the Supersoul of all living entities. He maintains this material world, and He is its Lord.

CC Ādi 5.113: In the ages and millenniums of Manu, He appears as different incarnations to establish the principles of real religion and vanquish the principles of irreligion.

CC Ādi 5.114: Unable to see Him, the demigods go to the shore of the ocean of milk and offer prayers to Him.

CC Ādi 5.115: He then descends to maintain the material world. His unlimited opulences cannot be counted.

CC Ādi 5.116: That Lord Vishnu is but a part of a part of a plenary portion of Lord Nityānanda, who is the source of all incarnations.

CC Ādi 5.117: That same Lord Vishnu, in the form of Lord Śesha, holds the planets upon His heads, although He does not know where they are, for He cannot feel their existence upon His heads.

CC Ādi 5.118: His thousands of extended hoods are adorned with dazzling jewels surpassing the sun.

CC Ādi 5.119: The universe, which measures five hundred million yojanas in diameter, rests on one of His hoods like a mustard seed.

CC Ādi 5.120: That Ananta Śesha is the devotee incarnation of Godhead. He knows nothing but service to Lord Krishna.

CC Ādi 5.121: With His thousands of mouths He sings the glories of Lord Krishna, but although He always sings in that way, He does not find an end to the qualities of the Lord.

CC Ādi 5.122: The four Kumāras hear Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam from His lips, and they in turn repeat it in the transcendental bliss of love of Godhead.

CC Ādi 5.123: He serves Lord Krishna, assuming all the following forms: umbrella, slippers, bedding, pillow, garments, resting chair, residence, sacred thread and throne.

CC Ādi 5.124: He is thus called Lord Śesha, for He has attained the ultimate end of servitude to Krishna. He takes many forms for the service of Krishna, and thus He serves the Lord.

CC Ādi 5.125: That person of whom Lord Ananta is a kalā, or part of a plenary part, is Lord Nityānanda Prabhu. Who, therefore, can know the pastimes of Lord Nityānanda?

CC Ādi 5.126: From these conclusions we can know the limit of the truth of Lord Nityānanda. But what glory is there in calling Him Ananta?

CC Ādi 5.127: But I accept it as the truth because it has been said by devotees. Since He is the source of all incarnations, everything is possible in Him.

CC Ādi 5.128: They know that there is no difference between the incarnation and the source of all incarnations. Previously Lord Krishna was regarded in the light of different principles by different people.

CC Ādi 5.129: Some said that Krishna was directly Lord Nara-Nārāyana, and some called Him Lord Vāmanadeva incarnate.

CC Ādi 5.130: Some called Lord Krishna an incarnation of Lord Kshīrodakaśāyī. All these names are true; nothing is impossible.

CC Ādi 5.131: When the Supreme Personality of Godhead Krishna appears, He is the shelter of all plenary parts. Thus at that time all His plenary portions join in Him.

CC Ādi 5.132: In whatever form one knows the Lord, one speaks of Him in that way. In this there is no falsity, since everything is possible in Krishna.

CC Ādi 5.133: Therefore Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu has exhibited to everyone all the pastimes of all the various incarnations.

CC Ādi 5.134: Thus Lord Nityānanda has unlimited incarnations. In transcendental emotion He calls Himself a servant of Lord Caitanya.

CC Ādi 5.135: Sometimes He serves Lord Caitanya as His guru, sometimes as His friend and sometimes as His servant, just as Lord Balarāma played with Lord Krishna in these three different moods in Vraja.

CC Ādi 5.136: Playing like a bull, Lord Balarāma fights with Krishna head to head. And sometimes Lord Krishna massages the feet of Lord Balarāma.

CC Ādi 5.137: He considers Himself a servant and knows Krishna to be His master. Thus He regards Himself as a fragment of His plenary portion.

CC Ādi 5.138: "Acting just like ordinary boys, They played like roaring bulls as They fought each other, and They imitated the calls of various animals."

CC Ādi 5.139: "Sometimes when Lord Krishna's elder brother, Lord Balarāma, felt tired after playing and lay His head on the lap of a cowherd boy, Lord Krishna Himself served Him by massaging His feet."

CC Ādi 5.140: "Who is this mystic power, and where has she come from? Is she a demigod or a demoness? She must be the illusory energy of My master, Lord Krishna, for who else can bewilder Me?"

CC Ādi 5.141: "What is the value of a throne to Lord Krishna? The masters of the various planetary systems accept the dust of His lotus feet on their crowned heads. That dust makes the holy places sacred, and even Lord Brahmā, Lord Śiva, Lakshmī and I Myself, who are all portions of His plenary portion, eternally carry that dust on our heads."

CC Ādi 5.142: Lord Krishna alone is the supreme controller, and all others are His servants. They dance as He makes them do so.

CC Ādi 5.143: Thus Lord Caitanya is also the only controller. All others are His associates or servants.

CC Ādi 5.144-145: His elders such as Lord Nityānanda, Advaita Ācārya and Śrīvāsa Thākura, as well as His other devotees — whether His juniors, equals or superiors — are all His associates who help Him in His pastimes. Lord Gaurāńga fulfills His aims with their help.

CC Ādi 5.146: Śrī Advaita Ācārya and Śrīla Nityānanda Prabhu, who are plenary parts of the Lord, are His principal associates. With these two the Lord performs His pastimes in various ways.

CC Ādi 5.147: Lord Advaita Ācārya is directly the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Although Lord Caitanya accepts Him as His preceptor, Advaita Ācārya is a servant of the Lord.

CC Ādi 5.148: I cannot describe the truth of Advaita Ācārya. He has delivered the entire world by making Lord Krishna descend.

CC Ādi 5.149: Lord Nityānanda Svarūpa formerly appeared as Lakshmana and served Lord Rāmacandra as His younger brother.

CC Ādi 5.150: The activities of Lord Rāma were full of suffering, but Lakshmana, of His own accord, tolerated that suffering.

CC Ādi 5.151: As a younger brother He could not stop Lord Rāma from His resolution, and so He remained silent, although unhappy in His mind.

CC Ādi 5.152: When Lord Krishna appeared, He [Balarāma] became His elder brother to serve Him to His heart's content and make Him enjoy all sorts of happiness.

CC Ādi 5.153: Śrī Rāma and Śrī Lakshmana, who are plenary portions of Lord Krishna and Lord Balarāma respectively, entered into Them at the time of Krishna's and Balarāma's appearance.

CC Ādi 5.154: Krishna and Balarāma present Themselves as younger brother and elder brother, but in the scriptures They are described as the original Supreme Personality of Godhead and His expansion.

CC Ādi 5.155: "I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, who by His various plenary portions appears in the world in different forms and incarnations such as Lord Rāma, but who personally appears in His supreme original form as Lord Krishna."

CC Ādi 5.156: Lord Caitanya is the same Lord Krishna, and Lord Nityānanda is Lord Balarāma. Lord Nityānanda fulfills all of Lord Caitanya's desires.

CC Ādi 5.157: The ocean of Lord Nityānanda's glories is infinite and unfathomable. Only by His mercy can I touch even a drop of it.

CC Ādi 5.158: Please listen to another glory of His mercy. He made a fallen living entity climb to the highest limit.

CC Ādi 5.159: To disclose it is not proper, for it should be kept as confidential as the Vedas, yet I shall speak of it to make His mercy known to all.

CC Ādi 5.160: O Lord Nityānanda, I write of Your mercy out of great exultation. Please forgive me for my offenses.

CC Ādi 5.161: Lord Nityānanda Prabhu had a servant named Śrī Mīnaketana Rāmadāsa, who was a reservoir of love.

CC Ādi 5.162: At my house there was sańkīrtana day and night, and therefore he visited there, having been invited.

CC Ādi 5.163: Absorbed in emotional love, he sat in my courtyard, and all the Vaishnavas bowed down at his feet.

CC Ādi 5.164: In a joyful mood of love of God he sometimes climbed upon the shoulder of someone offering obeisances, and sometimes he struck others with his flute or mildly slapped them.

CC Ādi 5.165: When someone saw the eyes of Mīnaketana Rāmadāsa, tears would automatically flow from his own eyes, for a constant shower of tears flowed from the eyes of Mīnaketana Rāmadāsa.

CC Ādi 5.166: Sometimes there were eruptions of ecstasy like kadamba flowers on some parts of his body, and sometimes one limb would be stunned while another would be trembling.

CC Ādi 5.167: Whenever he shouted aloud the name Nityānanda, the people around him were filled with great wonder and astonishment.

CC Ādi 5.168: One respectable brāhmana named Śrī Gunārnava Miśra was serving the Deity.

CC Ādi 5.169: When Mīnaketana was seated in the yard, this brāhmana did not offer him respect. Seeing this, Śrī Rāmadāsa became angry and spoke.

CC Ādi 5.170: "Here I find the second Romaharshana-sūta, who did not stand to show honor when he saw Lord Balarāma."

CC Ādi 5.171: After saying this, he danced and sang to his heart's content, but the brāhmana did not become angry, for he was then serving Lord Krishna.

CC Ādi 5.172: At the end of the festival Mīnaketana Rāmadāsa went away, offering his blessings to everyone. At that time he had some controversy with my brother.

CC Ādi 5.173: My brother had firm faith in Lord Caitanya but only a dim glimmer of faith in Lord Nityānanda.

CC Ādi 5.174: Knowing this, Śrī Rāmadāsa felt unhappy in his mind. I then rebuked my brother.

CC Ādi 5.175: "These two brothers," I told him, "are like one body; They are identical manifestations. If you do not believe in Lord Nityānanda, you will fall down.

CC Ādi 5.176: "If you have faith in one but disrespect the other, your logic is like the logic of accepting half a hen.

CC Ādi 5.177: "It would be better to be an atheist by slighting both brothers than a hypocrite by believing in one and slighting the other."

CC Ādi 5.178: Thus Śrī Rāmadāsa broke his flute in anger and went away, and at that time my brother fell down.

CC Ādi 5.179: I have thus described the power of the servants of Lord Nityānanda. Now I shall describe another characteristic of His mercy.

CC Ādi 5.180: That night Lord Nityānanda appeared to me in a dream because of my good quality in chastising my brother.

CC Ādi 5.181: In the village of Jhāmatapura, which is near Naihāti, Lord Nityānanda appeared to me in a dream.

CC Ādi 5.182: I fell at His feet, offering my obeisances, and He then placed His own lotus feet upon my head.

CC Ādi 5.183: "Arise! Get up!" He told me again and again. Upon rising, I was greatly astonished to see His beauty.

CC Ādi 5.184: He had a glossy blackish complexion, and His tall, strong, heroic stature made Him seem like Cupid himself.

CC Ādi 5.185: He had beautifully formed hands, arms and legs, and eyes like lotus flowers. He wore a silk cloth, with a silk turban on His head.

CC Ādi 5.186: He wore golden earrings on His ears, and golden armlets and bangles. He wore tinkling anklets on His feet and a garland of flowers around His neck.

CC Ādi 5.187: His body was anointed with sandalwood pulp, and He was nicely decorated with tilaka. His movements surpassed those of a maddened elephant.

CC Ādi 5.188: His face was more beautiful than millions upon millions of moons, and His teeth were like pomegranate seeds because of His chewing betel.

CC Ādi 5.189: His body moved to and fro, right and left, for He was absorbed in ecstasy. He chanted "Krishna, Krishna" in a deep voice.

CC Ādi 5.190: His red stick moving in His hand, He seemed like a maddened lion. All around the four sides of His feet were bumblebees.

CC Ādi 5.191: His devotees, dressed like cowherd boys, surrounded His feet like so many bees and also chanted "Krishna, Krishna," absorbed in ecstatic love.

CC Ādi 5.192: Some of them played horns and flutes, and others danced and sang. Some of them offered betel nuts, and others waved cāmara fans about Him.

CC Ādi 5.193: Thus I saw such opulence in Lord Nityānanda Svarūpa. His wonderful form, qualities and pastimes are all transcendental.

CC Ādi 5.194: I was overwhelmed with transcendental ecstasy, not knowing anything else. Then Lord Nityānanda smiled and spoke to me as follows.

CC Ādi 5.195: "O my dear Krishnadāsa, do not be afraid. Go to Vrindāvana, for there you will attain all things."

CC Ādi 5.196: After saying this, He directed me toward Vrindāvana by waving His hand. Then He disappeared with His associates.

CC Ādi 5.197: I fainted and fell to the ground, my dream broke, and when I regained consciousness I saw that morning had come.

CC Ādi 5.198: I thought about what I had seen and heard and concluded that the Lord had ordered me to proceed to Vrindāvana at once.

CC Ādi 5.199: That very second I started for Vrindāvana, and by His mercy I reached there in great happiness.

CC Ādi 5.200: All glory, all glory to Lord Nityānanda Balarāma, by whose mercy I have attained shelter in the transcendental abode of Vrindāvana!

CC Ādi 5.201: All glory, all glory to the merciful Lord Nityānanda, by whose mercy I have attained shelter at the lotus feet of Śrī Rūpa and Śrī Sanātana!

CC Ādi 5.202: By His mercy I have attained the shelter of the great personality Śrī Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī, and by His mercy I have found the refuge of Śrī Svarūpa Dāmodara.

CC Ādi 5.203: By the mercy of Sanātana Gosvāmī I have learned the final conclusions of devotional service, and by the grace of Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī I have tasted the highest nectar of devotional service.

CC Ādi 5.204: All glory, all glory to the lotus feet of Lord Nityānanda, by whose mercy I have attained Śrī Rādhā-Govinda!

CC Ādi 5.205: I am more sinful than Jagāi and Mādhāi and even lower than the worms in the stool.

CC Ādi 5.206: Anyone who hears my name loses the results of his pious activities. Anyone who utters my name becomes sinful.

CC Ādi 5.207: Who in this world but Nityānanda could show His mercy to such an abominable person as me?

CC Ādi 5.208: Because He is intoxicated by ecstatic love and is an incarnation of mercy, He does not distinguish between the good and the bad.

CC Ādi 5.209: He delivers all those who fall down before Him. Therefore He has delivered such a sinful and fallen person as me.

CC Ādi 5.210: Although I am sinful and I am the most fallen, He has conferred upon me the lotus feet of Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī.

CC Ādi 5.211: I am not fit to speak all these confidential words about my visiting Lord Madana Gopāla and Lord Govinda.

CC Ādi 5.212: Lord Madana Gopāla, the chief Deity of Vrindāvana, is the enjoyer of the rāsa dance and is directly the son of the King of Vraja.

CC Ādi 5.213: He enjoys the rāsa dance with Śrīmatī Rādhārānī, Śrī Lalitā and others. He manifests Himself as the Cupid of Cupids.

CC Ādi 5.214: "Wearing yellow garments and decorated with a flower garland, Lord Krishna, appearing among the gopīs with His smiling lotus face, looked directly like the charmer of the heart of Cupid."

CC Ādi 5.215: With Rādhā and Lalitā serving Him on His two sides, He attracts the hearts of all by His own sweetness.

CC Ādi 5.216: The mercy of Lord Nityānanda showed me Śrī Madana-mohana and gave me Śrī Madana-mohana as my Lord and master.

CC Ādi 5.217: He granted to one as low as me the sight of Lord Govinda. Words cannot describe this, nor is it fit to be disclosed.

CC Ādi 5.218-219: On an altar made of gems in the principal temple of Vrindāvana, amidst a forest of desire trees, Lord Govinda, the son of the King of Vraja, sits upon a throne of gems and manifests His full glory and sweetness, thus enchanting the entire world.

CC Ādi 5.220: By His left side is Śrīmatī Rādhārānī and Her personal friends. With them Lord Govinda enjoys the rāsa-līlā and many other pastimes.

CC Ādi 5.221: Lord Brahmā, sitting on his lotus seat in his own abode, always meditates on Him and worships Him with the mantra consisting of eighteen syllables.

CC Ādi 5.222: Everyone in the fourteen worlds meditates upon Him, and all the denizens of Vaikuntha sing of His qualities and pastimes.

CC Ādi 5.223: The goddess of fortune is attracted by His sweetness, which Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī has described in this way:

CC Ādi 5.224: "My dear friend, if you are indeed attached to your worldly friends, do not look at the smiling face of Lord Govinda as He stands on the bank of the Yamunā at Keśīghāta. Casting sidelong glances, He places His flute to His lips, which seem like newly blossomed twigs. His transcendental body, bending in three places, appears very bright in the moonlight."

CC Ādi 5.225: Without a doubt He is directly the son of the King of Vraja. Only a fool considers Him a statue.

CC Ādi 5.226: For that offense, he cannot be liberated. Rather, he will fall into a terrible hellish condition. What more should I say?

CC Ādi 5.227: Therefore who can describe the mercy of the lotus feet of Him [Lord Nityānanda] by whom I have attained the shelter of this Lord Govinda?

CC Ādi 5.228: All the groups of Vaishnavas who live in Vrindāvana are absorbed in chanting the all-auspicious name of Krishna.

CC Ādi 5.229: Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityānanda are the life and soul of those Vaishnavas, who do not know anything but devotional service to Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Krishna.

CC Ādi 5.230: The dust and shade of the lotus feet of the Vaishnavas have been granted to this fallen soul by the mercy of Lord Nityānanda.

CC Ādi 5.231: Lord Nityānanda said, "In Vrindāvana all things are possible." Here I have explained His brief statement in detail.

CC Ādi 5.232: I have attained all this by coming to Vrindāvana, and this was made possible by the mercy of Lord Nityānanda.

CC Ādi 5.233: I have described my own story without reservations. The attributes of Lord Nityānanda, making me like a madman, force me to write these things.

CC Ādi 5.234: The glories of Lord Nityānanda's transcendental attributes are unfathomable. Even Lord Śesha, with His thousands of mouths, cannot find their limit.

CC Ādi 5.235: Praying at the lotus feet of Śrī Rūpa and Śrī Raghunātha, always desiring their mercy, I, Krishnadāsa, narrate Śrī Caitanya-caritāmrita, following in their footsteps.

Copyright ©r The Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, Inc.
His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness