Post by Jagannāth Miśra Dās on Feb 19, 2022 4:25:48 GMT -6
Some missing verses from Locan Das Thakura’s Caitanya Mangala.
As I was reading through Locan DasThakura’s Caitanya Mangala, a copy published by the Gaudiya Matha, I took it upon myself to compare it with a copy that I discovered in a book shop in Navadwipa. I found several passages missing from the Gaudiya Matha rendition. There was nothing sordid or even untoward in these passages, but whether the extra verses had been secreted into the text, or if the Gaudiya Matha, in a desperate and frantic attempt to sanitize the narrative, removed these passages as they found them problematic and incongruous with Mahaprabhu’s iconic Sannyasi image, I don’t know? You decide. Here are a handful of theses missing verses which I translated some time ago, regarding Gauranga’s amorous dalliances in the bed chamber with Visnupriya, on the eve of his deserting home to take Sannyasa.
As the Lord reposed in a joyful slumber within his bed chamber, Visnupriya entered with a cone of tambula (pan) in her hand.
The lord beckoned her with a countenance full of smiles, encouraging her approach by saying, come, draw near; and with utmost affection, he then sat her in his lap.
Visnupriya smeared sandal paste upon the lord’s limbs, after which she decorated his forehead with a tilak design using a fragrant paste created from agora and musk.
She decorated Gorā with a heavenly jasmine garland, and with much delight placed the tambula into his lovely mouth.
Then Mahaprabhu, the crest jewel of those who savour rasa, commenced to adorn the body of Visnupriyā
Taking her long cascading locks of hair, which conquered the lustrous splendour of Cupid’s cāmara, the Lord fashioned a braid, into which he entwined a cluster of jasmine flowers, that looked so fine it could easily be mistaken for the waxing moon emerging from bank of black clouds.
He then graced her pretty forehead with a magnificent dot of sindura which appeared like the moon tainted red as it rests in the crimson rays of the rising sun.
The dots of sandal paste he then anointed around her sindura looked like so many suns surrounding the moon.
Around the borders of her humming bird-like eyes, above which reigned her eyebrows that seemed like Cupid’s bowstring, he painted fine lines of kajol.
He then smeared agora and kasturi upon her breasts, and further adorned her breasts with an exquisitely fine piece of celestial cloth.
As he continued to embellish her form with an assortment of diverse jewellery, he smiled, revealing the presence of the pan in his mouth; and they took delight in this excellently splendid dalliance.
Then as he gazed upon her exquisite form, which enchants and fascinates the three worlds, his eye then fell upon her face, and his kiss savoured the sweetness of her lower lip.
And for a while, as he entwined and enfolded her in his vine-like arms, she did appear like a freshly blossomed lotus encircled by an elephants trunk.
The Lord who revels in amorous amusements, indulged himself in a variety of rasa which is unknown to even Cupid himself.
She seemed like a streak of lightening resting upon the golden slopes of mount sumeru; and Cupid was utterly charmed and captivated to behold their frolicsome love sports.
For a while she lay sprawled upon her Lord, her limbs not even touching the cot, bound in the ropes of mutual reciprocation, it appeared as if they had united into one.
Merging their hearts and faces together they passed the night in the relish of rasa and gradually fell into a blissful slumber.
The above 18 verses are an example of just a few of the many verses I discovered that are not in the Gaudiya Matha rendition, which was the edition used by H.H. Subhaga Swami in his English translation.
Jaya Gaura-Visnupriyā.
Gaura-Visnupriya repose in their bed chamber after consigning the hours of the night to amorous delights on the eve of Mahaprabu’s sannyāsa līlā. Here then are the remaining couplets from this column of verse, taken from a copy of the Caitanya Mangala I found in a book shop in Navadwipa.
And as the night did draw unto a close, uprose the Lord with swiftest haste, while Visnupriyā still lay in a deep and sound slumber.
Comprehending that the time of her Lord’s vairāgya was imminent, she enhanced her loving intimacy, prompted by the wild imprudence of her frenzied heart, knowing he was about to take Sannyasa.
This was indeed the occasion when they were augmenting the delights of their rasa-bhāva. Now listen to the reason why they did so, and acquire an understanding which you may have neglected to gather.
In whatever particular manner one worships their Lord, their bhajana only grows, but never is it seen to wane.
No one can do krsna bhajana without bhakti. Steadfast loving premabhakti is the requirement.
Has premabhakti ever been achieved in the absence of anurāga? Without which no one can genuinely worship Krsna.
Such a Lord is Gaura, who is an ocean of mercy, and who in his anurāga, became a beggar of prema, and a friend of the fallen.
To make a manifest declaration of his karunā, and his own anurāga, he leaves her, to increase her bhāva for him, which she now cultivates in a heart torn by separation.
Those who look upon my form with love, that love they have for me, shall never be broken.
Is there such an ocean of mercy other than he? He is so attracted by his own love he cannot even keep it contained within himself.
In this fashion he bestowed his grace upon Visnupriyā. May this understanding be acknowledged in your hearts, and let no one utter foolish words.
These passages tell of Gaura-Laxsmīpriyā’s initial encounter, and appear about half way through the ādi-kanda. The first three verses are in the Gaudiya Matha rendition, which I have included here so we may pick up the thread of the narrative flow. The rest of the verses were either added or removed.
It was then that Vallabhācarya’s maiden daughter came into view. Her very form, her fine virtues, and her impeccable conduct, crowned the three worlds with blessed fortune.
And as she did stray, surrounded by her entourage of damsel friends, to perform her bathing ablutions in the gangā, lord Gauracandra’s gaze all of a sudden fell upon her.
The Lord held and maintained his gaze with an unbroken focus with his now astonished and mesmorised eye, and as he did so, he began to realise why he had taken birth.
(You may wish to compare verse 3 with the English translation of H.H. Subhaga Swami at the very top of page 94 of his rendition.)
Seeing this spectacle Banamalli could entirely sense all that had just transpired, and he simply smiled and smiled; and then employing the sheer ingenuity of his fine wit, he recited a sloka.
(Regrettably there is no Bangala translation given for Banamālī’s Sanskrit sloka, if any of you learned readers can translate this, then please do so, and send it to me, so I may update this post. Yet it seems obvious enough that Banamālī, having clearly spied the conspicuous blossoming sentiments arising in Mahāprabhu, utters this verse with a design to encourage and further augment the Lord’s most praise worthy dotage with a choice, apt and rasik quotation.)
When Laxsmīdevī saw the Lord she at once recollected her former existence, and she thought unto herself, “At last, after so many long days, the creator has fulfilled that for which I deeply yearn.”
Yet the apprehension and shame of a public reproach did not allow her to utter a word; and she wondered how she may place his feet on her breasts.
Thinking thus, she then tore and ripped the string of exquisite pearls that hung around her neck, widely scattering them here and there upon the ground.
With her left hand she did proceed to pick up the pearls, keeping them close to her breasts, (presumably contained within her blouse,) as she uttered again and again, “O where may I find my pearls? just where may I find them?”
And all the while as her female companions looked for the rest of the fallen pearls, with their faces looking downward to do so, Gauracandra and Laxsmī simply beheld one another with unwavering and steadfast looks.
Laxsmī Ṭhākurāni inferred and intuited all through the Lord’s subtle indications, and she honoured the dust of her Lord’s feet by placing it on her head.
The prudent and sagacious Banamālī Ācārya could comprehend that which had now began to sprout within their hearts.
Ripping her pearl necklace on purpose was clearly a ploy and clever excuse to relish the darsana of Mahaprabhu, allowing her to remain in his proximity whilst in a public place, without exciting any undue suspicion. A similar verse exists in the beginning of Act 3 of Vidagdha Madhava wherein Rādhā snaps her pearl necklace in the presence of her elders for the same reasons as Laxsmīpriyā does here. Verse 6 tells us how she pined to hold his feet on her breasts; and presumably the ground where she scatters her pearls has just received the footprints of the lord, and by placing the pearls which landed on the dusty ground where he has just trod, into her blouse, she somewhat mitigates or abates that desire. The same logic may likewise apply in verse 10 when she puts the dust of his feet on her head.
As I was reading through Locan DasThakura’s Caitanya Mangala, a copy published by the Gaudiya Matha, I took it upon myself to compare it with a copy that I discovered in a book shop in Navadwipa. I found several passages missing from the Gaudiya Matha rendition. There was nothing sordid or even untoward in these passages, but whether the extra verses had been secreted into the text, or if the Gaudiya Matha, in a desperate and frantic attempt to sanitize the narrative, removed these passages as they found them problematic and incongruous with Mahaprabhu’s iconic Sannyasi image, I don’t know? You decide. Here are a handful of theses missing verses which I translated some time ago, regarding Gauranga’s amorous dalliances in the bed chamber with Visnupriya, on the eve of his deserting home to take Sannyasa.
sayana mandire sukhe sayana karilā
tambula stavak kare visnupriya gela (a)
As the Lord reposed in a joyful slumber within his bed chamber, Visnupriya entered with a cone of tambula (pan) in her hand.
hasiya sambhase prabhu āisa āisa bole
parama piriti kari basāilā kole (b)
The lord beckoned her with a countenance full of smiles, encouraging her approach by saying, come, draw near; and with utmost affection, he then sat her in his lap.
visnupriya prabhu ange candana lepila
agora kasturi gande tilak racile (c)
Visnupriya smeared sandal paste upon the lord’s limbs, after which she decorated his forehead with a tilak design using a fragrant paste created from agora and musk.
divya mālātīrā mālā dila gorā ange
śrīmukhe tāmbula tuli dila nānā range (d)
She decorated Gorā with a heavenly jasmine garland, and with much delight placed the tambula into his lovely mouth.
tabe mahāprabhu se rasika śiromani
visnupriyā ange besa karena āpani (e)
Then Mahaprabhu, the crest jewel of those who savour rasa, commenced to adorn the body of Visnupriyā
dirgha kesa kāmera cāmara jini ābhā
kabari-vāndiyā dila mālatīra gābhabā (f)
megha banda hoila jena candera kalate
kiba ugāriyā gile na pāri bujhite (g)
Taking her long cascading locks of hair, which conquered the lustrous splendour of Cupid’s cāmara, the Lord fashioned a braid, into which he entwined a cluster of jasmine flowers, that looked so fine it could easily be mistaken for the waxing moon emerging from bank of black clouds.
sundara lalate dila sindura bara bindhu
dibakara kole jena rahiyāche indu (h)
He then graced her pretty forehead with a magnificent dot of sindura which appeared like the moon tainted red as it rests in the crimson rays of the rising sun.
sindurera caudike candanabindu āra
sasikole surya jena dhāya dekhibāra (i)
The dots of sandal paste he then anointed around her sindura looked like so many suns surrounding the moon.
kanjana nāyane dila anjanera rekha
bhru kāma kāmānera guna karileka (j)
Around the borders of her humming bird-like eyes, above which reigned her eyebrows that seemed like Cupid’s bowstring, he painted fine lines of kajol.
agora kasturi ganda kucāpari lepe
divya bastra racila kanculi paratekhe (k)
He then smeared agora and kasturi upon her breasts, and further adorned her breasts with an exquisitely fine piece of celestial cloth.
nana alankāra anga bhusita tahara
tambula hāsira sange vihare apare (l)
As he continued to embellish her form with an assortment of diverse jewellery, he smiled, revealing the presence of the pan in his mouth; and they took delight in this excellently splendid dalliance.
trilokya mohinīrupa nirikhe badana
adhara mādhurī sāthe karaye cumbana (m)
Then as he gazed upon her exquisite form, which enchants and fascinates the three worlds, his eye then fell upon her face, and his kiss savoured the sweetness of her lower lip.
ksane bhujalatā bedī ālingana kare
nava kamalinī jena karivara kore (n)
And for a while, as he entwined and enfolded her in his vine-like arms, she did appear like a freshly blossomed lotus encircled by an elephants trunk.
nānā rasa bithāraye vinoda nāgar
āchuka ānera kaja kāma agoracara (o)
The Lord who revels in amorous amusements, indulged himself in a variety of rasa which is unknown to even Cupid himself.
sumerura kole jena vijuri prakash
madan mugdhe dekhi ratira vilasa (p)
She seemed like a streak of lightening resting upon the golden slopes of mount sumeru; and Cupid was utterly charmed and captivated to behold their frolicsome love sports.
hridaya upare thoya na chuyāya sasyā
pāśa pālatite nāre doṅhe ekamajja (q)
For a while she lay sprawled upon her Lord, her limbs not even touching the cot, bound in the ropes of mutual reciprocation, it appeared as if they had united into one.
buke-buke mukhe mukhe rajani goṅāya
rasa avasade doṅhe sukhe nidra jaya (r)
Merging their hearts and faces together they passed the night in the relish of rasa and gradually fell into a blissful slumber.
The above 18 verses are an example of just a few of the many verses I discovered that are not in the Gaudiya Matha rendition, which was the edition used by H.H. Subhaga Swami in his English translation.
Jaya Gaura-Visnupriyā.
A few more missing verses (or interpolations?) from Locan Das Thakura’s Caitanya Mangala.
Gaura-Visnupriya repose in their bed chamber after consigning the hours of the night to amorous delights on the eve of Mahaprabu’s sannyāsa līlā. Here then are the remaining couplets from this column of verse, taken from a copy of the Caitanya Mangala I found in a book shop in Navadwipa.
rajanīra sese prabhu uthiyā satvara
visnupriyā nidrā jāya ati ghoratara (s)
And as the night did draw unto a close, uprose the Lord with swiftest haste, while Visnupriyā still lay in a deep and sound slumber.
vairāgya samaye premā ubhāre adhika
sannyāsa kariba bali unmata cita (t)
Comprehending that the time of her Lord’s vairāgya was imminent, she enhanced her loving intimacy, prompted by the wild imprudence of her frenzied heart, knowing he was about to take Sannyasa.
e-samaye bithāraye ranga rasa bhāva
ihāra kārana kichū suna lābhālābha (u)
This was indeed the occasion when they were augmenting the delights of their rasa-bhāva. Now listen to the reason why they did so, and acquire an understanding which you may have neglected to gather.
se jana serupe bhaje tāre tena prabhu
bhajana adhika nyūna nā karaye kabu (v)
In whatever particular manner one worships their Lord, their bhajana only grows, but never is it seen to wane.
bhaktibinu krsna bhajbāre nāre keho
amāyā niscalā premabhakti haya seho (w)
No one can do krsna bhajana without bhakti. Steadfast loving premabhakti is the requirement.
bina anurāge premabhakti haya jeba
krsna vandī karibāre nāre keho tabe (x)
Has premabhakti ever been achieved in the absence of anurāga? Without which no one can genuinely worship Krsna.
aichan ṭhākura gaura karunāra sindu
anurāge premāra bhikhāri dinabandu (y)
Such a Lord is Gaura, who is an ocean of mercy, and who in his anurāga, became a beggar of prema, and a friend of the fallen.
karunāya prakāśaye nija anurāga
bicheda hridaye jena bāde tāra bhāva (z)
To make a manifest declaration of his karunā, and his own anurāga, he leaves her, to increase her bhāva for him, which she now cultivates in a heart torn by separation.
bhāva sange se jana dekhaye mora anga
tara saha mora bhāva kabhu nahe bhanga (aa)
Those who look upon my form with love, that love they have for me, shall never be broken.
ehena karunā nidhi āra āche ke
āpanā nā dhare nija prema anurāge (bb)
Is there such an ocean of mercy other than he? He is so attracted by his own love he cannot even keep it contained within himself.
ei se kārana visnupriyāke prasāda
eta jāni mane kehe na kaya pramāda (cc)
In this fashion he bestowed his grace upon Visnupriyā. May this understanding be acknowledged in your hearts, and let no one utter foolish words.
e prema bhakati prabhu kariba prakāśa
ananda hridaye kahe e locandāsa (dd)
Such prema bhakti Prabhu did manifest,
So says Locan Das with joy in his breast.
THE END.
More interpolation (or perhaps authentic verse) from Locan Das Thakura’s Caitanya Mangala.
These passages tell of Gaura-Laxsmīpriyā’s initial encounter, and appear about half way through the ādi-kanda. The first three verses are in the Gaudiya Matha rendition, which I have included here so we may pick up the thread of the narrative flow. The rest of the verses were either added or removed.
Jaya Gaura-Laxsmipriyā.
henakāle vallabha se ācāryera kanyā
rupe gune sīle sei trijagata dhanyā (1)
It was then that Vallabhācarya’s maiden daughter came into view. Her very form, her fine virtues, and her impeccable conduct, crowned the three worlds with blessed fortune.
gangā snāna jāna devī sakhīra sahite
gauracandra prabhū tā dekhila ācambite (2)
And as she did stray, surrounded by her entourage of damsel friends, to perform her bathing ablutions in the gangā, lord Gauracandra’s gaze all of a sudden fell upon her.
ekadriste cāhe prabhu vismita nayane
ingite-jānila tāra-janmera-kārane (3)
The Lord held and maintained his gaze with an unbroken focus with his now astonished and mesmorised eye, and as he did so, he began to realise why he had taken birth.
(You may wish to compare verse 3 with the English translation of H.H. Subhaga Swami at the very top of page 94 of his rendition.)
banamālī sambodhiyā hāsite-hāsite
eka sloka baila tāra vaidagdha-jānite (4)
Seeing this spectacle Banamalli could entirely sense all that had just transpired, and he simply smiled and smiled; and then employing the sheer ingenuity of his fine wit, he recited a sloka.
dristhā-sphītubhavadalirasau lekhapadaṁ visalaṁ
rupaṁ varnaṁ kimitikimiti vyāvaharannispapāta
nāsīdgandho na ca madhūkanā nāpi tata saukumāryaṁ
ghūrnamrdhā hravanatamūkho vriḍayā nirjjagāma (5)
(Regrettably there is no Bangala translation given for Banamālī’s Sanskrit sloka, if any of you learned readers can translate this, then please do so, and send it to me, so I may update this post. Yet it seems obvious enough that Banamālī, having clearly spied the conspicuous blossoming sentiments arising in Mahāprabhu, utters this verse with a design to encourage and further augment the Lord’s most praise worthy dotage with a choice, apt and rasik quotation.)
laksmīdevī dekhi purva smaran hoila
etadine vidhi more sadaya hoila (6)
When Laxsmīdevī saw the Lord she at once recollected her former existence, and she thought unto herself, “At last, after so many long days, the creator has fulfilled that for which I deeply yearn.”
loka lajjābhaye kichū valite nā pāri
kirupe pāiba pada baksaḥstale dhari (7)
Yet the apprehension and shame of a public reproach did not allow her to utter a word; and she wondered how she may place his feet on her breasts.
gajamati hāra chila galāya tāhāra
chiḍiyā phelila bhūme paḍila apāra (8)
Thinking thus, she then tore and ripped the string of exquisite pearls that hung around her neck, widely scattering them here and there upon the ground.
bāmakara vakse rākhi sei muktā tole
kothā pāba kothā pāba ei vākya bole (9)
With her left hand she did proceed to pick up the pearls, keeping them close to her breasts, (presumably contained within her blouse,) as she uttered again and again, “O where may I find my pearls? just where may I find them?”
sakala sanginī muktā cāhe heṭamūkhe
gauracandra laksmī prati cāhe ekadiṭhe (10)
And all the while as her female companions looked for the rest of the fallen pearls, with their faces looking downward to do so, Gauracandra and Laxsmī simply beheld one another with unwavering and steadfast looks.
laksmiṭhākurānī tāhā ingite bujila
prabhūpādapadmadhūli mastake vandila (11)
Laxsmī Ṭhākurāni inferred and intuited all through the Lord’s subtle indications, and she honoured the dust of her Lord’s feet by placing it on her head.
ācārya se banamālī baḍai catura
bujhila antara doṇhāra hridaya ankura (12)
The prudent and sagacious Banamālī Ācārya could comprehend that which had now began to sprout within their hearts.
Ripping her pearl necklace on purpose was clearly a ploy and clever excuse to relish the darsana of Mahaprabhu, allowing her to remain in his proximity whilst in a public place, without exciting any undue suspicion. A similar verse exists in the beginning of Act 3 of Vidagdha Madhava wherein Rādhā snaps her pearl necklace in the presence of her elders for the same reasons as Laxsmīpriyā does here. Verse 6 tells us how she pined to hold his feet on her breasts; and presumably the ground where she scatters her pearls has just received the footprints of the lord, and by placing the pearls which landed on the dusty ground where he has just trod, into her blouse, she somewhat mitigates or abates that desire. The same logic may likewise apply in verse 10 when she puts the dust of his feet on her head.
Below is the verse from Act 3 of Vidaghda Madhava. Krsna is speaking to Madhumangala.
O friend! My precious necklace! it’s just broke,
Pick up these fallen pearls! Having thus spoke,
Amidst our elders she does feign this show,
Whilst sidelong slanting looks at me did throw.
THE END.