Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrī Caitanya Caritāmṛta Ādi 10.113

rāmadāsa, kavicandra, śrī-gopāladāsa

bhāgavatācārya, ṭhākura sārańgadāsa

SYNONYMS

rāmadāsa — Rāmadāsa; kavicandra — Kavicandra; śrī gopāla-dāsa — Śrī Gopāla dāsa; bhāgavatācārya — Bhāgavata Ācārya; ṭhākura sārańga-dāsa — Ṭhākura Sārańga dāsa.

TRANSLATION

The seventy-third branch of the original tree was Rāmadāsa, the seventy-fourth was Kavicandra, the seventy-fifth was Śrī Gopāla dāsa, the seventy-sixth was Bhāgavata Ācārya, and the seventy-seventh was Ṭhākura Sārańga dāsa.

PURPORT

Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura writes in his Anubhāṣya, "In the Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā (203) it is said, 'Bhāgavata Ācārya compiled a book entitled Kṛṣṇa-prema-tarańgiṇī, and he was the most beloved devotee of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu.' When Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu visited Varāhanagara, now a suburb of Calcutta, He stayed in the house of a most fortunate brāhmaṇa who was a very learned scholar in Bhāgavata literature. As soon as this brāhmaṇa saw Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, he began to read Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. When Mahāprabhu heard his explanation, which expounded bhakti-yoga, He immediately became unconscious in ecstasy. Lord Caitanya later said, 'I have never heard such a nice explanation of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. I therefore designate you Bhāgavata Ācārya. Your only duty is to recite Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. That is My injunction.' His real name was Raghunātha. His monastery, which is situated in Varāhanagara, about three and a half miles north of Calcutta on the bank of the Ganges, still exists, and it is managed by the initiated disciples of the late Śrī Rāmadāsa Bābājī. Presently, however, it is not as well managed as in the presence of Bābājī Mahārāja.

"Another name of Ṭhākura Sārańga dāsa was Śārńga Ṭhākura. Sometimes he was also called Śārńgapāṇi or Śārńgadhara. He was a resident of Navadvīpa in the neighborhood known as Modadruma-dvīpa, and he used to worship the Supreme Lord in a secluded place on the bank of the Ganges. He was not accepting disciples, but he was repeatedly being inspired from within by the Supreme Personality of Godhead to do so. Thus one morning he decided, 'Whomever I see I shall make my disciple.' When he went to the bank of the Ganges to take his bath, by chance he saw a dead body floating in the water, and he touched it with his feet. This immediately brought the body to life, and Ṭhākura Sārańga dāsa accepted him as his disciple. This disciple later became famous as Ṭhākura Murāri, and his name is always associated with that of Śrī Sārańga. His disciplic succession still inhabits the village of Śar. There is a temple at Māmagāchi that is said to have been started by Sārańga Ṭhākura. Not long ago, a new temple building was erected in front of a bakula tree there, and it is now being managed by the members of the Gauḍīya Maṭha. It is said that the management of the temple is now far better than before. In the Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā (172) it is stated that Sārańga Ṭhākura was formerly a gopī named Nāndīmukhī. Some devotees say that he was formerly Prahlāda Mahārāja, but Śrī Kavi-karṇapūra says that his father, Śivānanda Sena, does not accept this proposition."

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness