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D
D. 1. DAITYARI GVA
D. 2. DAITYARI GHOS GVA
D. 3. DAIVAKI DASA GVA
D. 4. DAIVAKINANDANA DASA GVA,GPC
D. 5. DAKSA SAKHI GVA
D. 6. DAMAYANTI DEVI GVA,CCU
D. 7. DAMODARA GVA
D. 8. DAMODARA CAUBE GVA
D. 9. DAMODARA DASA GVA
D. 10. DAMODARA GHOS GVA
D. 11. DAMODARA GOSVAMI GVA
D. 12. DAMODARA PANDITA GVA,CCU,BMO
D. 13. DAMODARA PUJARI GVA
D. 14. DAMODARA PURI GVA,CCU
D. 15. DAMODARA
SARKHEL GVA,CCU
D. 16. DAMODARA SEN GVA
D. 17. DAMODARA SVARUPA GVA
D. 18. DAMODARA YOGI GVA
D. 19. DANKA GVA
D. 20. DANUJAMARDANA GVA
D. 21. DANUJARI GHOS GVA
D. 22. DARIYA DAMODARA GVA
D. 23. DARJI GVA
D. 24. DARPANARAYANA GVA
D. 25. DARPANARAYANA GVA
D. 26. DASA GVA
D. 27. DASA VRAJAVASI GVA
D. 28. DAYALA GVA
D. 29. DYALA DASA BABAJI GVJ
D. 30. DAYALA DASI THAKURANI GVA
D. 31. DAYARAMA CAUDHURI GVA
D. 32. DAYARAMA DASA THAKURA GVA
D. 33. DEVADASI GVA
D. 34. DEVADURLABHA DASA GVA
D. 35. DEVAKI GVA
D. 36. DEVANANDA GVA
D. 37. DEVANANDA PANDITA GVA,CCU
D. 38. DEVANATHA DASA GVA
D. 39. DEVIDASA GVA
D. 40. DHANANJAYA PANDITA GVA,CCU,GPC
D. 41. DHANANJAYA VIDYANIDHI GVA
D. 42. DHARANI GVA
D. 43. DHARMADASA BABAJI GVJ
D. 44. DHARMADASA CAUDHURI GVA
D. 45. DHARU CAUDHURI GVA
D. 46. DHIRA HAMVIRA GVA
D. 47. DHRUVA GOSVAMI GVA
D. 48. DHRUVANANDA GVA
D. 49. DHRUVANANDA GVA,CCU
D. 50. DHRUVANANDA BRAHMACARI GVA,CCU
D. 51. DHYANACANDRA GOSVAMI GVA
D. 52. DINA CAITANYA GVA
D. 53. DINAHINA DASA GVA
D. 54 DINA KRSNADASA GVA
D. 55. DINA KRSNADASA GVA
D. 56. DINA SYAMADASA GVA
D. 57. DINAVANDHU GVA
D. 58. DINAVANDHU DASA GVA
D. 59. DIVAKARA DATTA GVA
D. 60. DIVYASIMHA RAJA GVA
D. 61. DUBE GVA
D. 62. DUHKHI GVA
D. 63. DUHKHINI GVA
D. 64. DUHKHINI KRSNADASA GVA
D. 65. DUHKHI SYAMADASA GVA
D. 66. DURGADASA GVA
D. 67. DURGADASA MISRA GVA
D. 68. DURGADASA RAYA GVA
D. 69. DURGADASA VIDYARATNA GVA
D. 70. DURGADASA VIDYAVAGISA GVA
D. 71. DURGADASA VIPRA GVA
D. 72. DURIKA DASI GVA
D. 73. DURLABHA DASA BABAJI GVJ
D. 74. DURLABHA VISVASA GVA
D. 75. DVADASA GOPALA GVA
D. 76. DVADASA UPAGOPALA GVA
D. 77. DVARAKANANDA GVA
D. 78. DVARAKANATHA THAKURA GVA
D. 79. DVIJA BALARAMADASA
THAKURA GVA
D. 80. DVIJA DASA GVA
D. 81. DVIJA GOPALA GVA
D. 82 DVIJA GOPALADASA
THAKURA GVA
D. 83. DVIJA GOPIMOHANA GVA
D. 84. DVIJA GOPIMOHANA GVA
D. 85. DVIJA GOPINATHA GVA
D. 86. DVIJA GOVINDA
BHATTACARYA GVA
D. 87. DVIJA GOVINDA DASA GVA
D. 88. DVIJA HARIDASA GVA
D. 89. DVIJA JIVADASA GVA
D. 90. DVIJA KAVICANDRA GVA
D. 91. DVIJA KRSNADASA GVA
D. 92. DVIJA MURALIDASA GVA
D. 93. DVIJA PRANAKRSNA GVA
D. 94. DVIJA RADHAMOHANA GVA
D. 95. DVIJA RADHAVALLABHA GVA
D. 96. DVIJA RAGHUNATHA GVA
D. 97. DVIJA RAMAKRSNA DASA GVA
D. 98. DVIJA SANKARA GVA
D. 99. DVIJA SUNDARA RAYA GVA
D. 100. DVIJA
SYAMASUNDARA GVA
D. 101. DVIJA
VANINATHA GVA
D. 102. DVIJA
YADUNATHA GVA
D. 1. DAITYARI:
He was the disciple
and nephew of Rasikananda Prabhu. (Rasikamangala Pascima 14.119)
D. 2. DAITYARI GHOS:
He lived at Kulai
village and was a disciple of Narahari Sarkara Thakura. (See `Kansar')
D. 3. DAIVAKI DASA:
A descendant of the
family-line of Syamananda Prabhu. He was
one of the eight children who dressed up in Gopivesa during the Rasa festival
held at Gopiballavpur. (Rasikamangala Pascima 2.45)
D. 4. DAIVAKINANDANA DASA:
He was a brahmana
by caste and disciple of Purusottama dasa.
He came from either Kumarahatta or Halisahara. His two Sanskrit works, Vaishnavavandana and
Vaishnavabhidhana, brought him great fame amongst the devotees. Five padas composed by him on the glories of
Lord Gauranga have been extracted in Gaurapadatarangini (See Anuragavalli 8).
At one time
Daivakinandana became critically ill due to offenses committed to Shrivasa
Pandita. Later he took shelter of Lord Chaitanya and was instructed to
surrender to Shrivasa Pandita. Shrivasa
kindly requested Daivakinandana to take up the task of compiling
Vaishnavavandana as the medicine for his cure.
As directed, Daivakinandana set out on a tour of different parts of the
country, gathered information on the Vaishnavas, and eventually completed the
Vaishnavavandana. Since then it has become customary amongst devotees to chant
this vandana daily.
D. 5. DAKSA SAKHI:
Although he was
related to the family of Gopala Bhatta Gosvami, his real name is not known,
Daksasakhi was his nickname. He wrote
Vanaviharalila in 1835 Samvat and Astakalalila in 1836 Samvat in Vrajabhasa.
D. 6. DAMAYANTI DEVI:
She belonged to the
disciple-line of Lord Chaitanya and was the sister of the well known Raghava
Pandita. According to Gauraganoddesadipika
167, she was Gunamala sakhi in an earlier lila (CC. 1.10.24-25). Brahmana by caste, Damayanti and her brother
Raghava lived at Shripata Panihati.
Throughout the year they prepared countless varieties of foodstuffs to
be sent to Lord Chaitanya in Puri. (CC. 3.10.13-39)
D. 7. DAMODARA:
He was a disciple
of Syamananda Prabhu from the village of Kasiyadi in the district of Midnapore.
D. 8. DAMODARA CAUBE:
He was a brahmana by
caste and resident of Vrndavana. His wife was Vallabha devi and son
Madanamohana Caube. This son was so
pious that Lord Krishna often played with him (Premavilasa 23). Sanatana Gosvami received the deity of
Madanamohana from the house of Damodara.
Damodara served Lord Krishna in Vatsalyabhava.
D. 9. DAMODARA DASA:
He belonged to the
disciple-line of Nityananda Prabhu. (CC. 1.11.52 and Namamrtasamudra 136)
D. 10. DAMODARA GHOS:
He was from the
Kayastha caste of the north Radha clan. Damodara was the fourth brother of
Vasudeva Ghos, he did not have a descending family-line. (See `Vasudeva Ghos')
D. 11. DAMODARA GOSVAMI:
A resident of
Cakulia village and a disciple of Syamananda Prabhu. (Rasikamangala daksina
1.50)
D. 12. DAMODARA PANDITA:
He was an Odiya
brahmana devoted to Lord Chaitanya. He
was Saivya and Sarasvati in earlier incarnations (Gauraganoddesadipika 159, CC.
1.10.31). Sankara Pandita was his older brother (CCU. p.652).
In Puri there was a
handsome, sober, young Odiya brahmana boy who lived alone with his young
widowed mother. He regularly visited
Mahaprabhu and the Lord became very fond of him. However, Damodara did not approve of the boys
frequent visits and forbade the boy to come again. However, unable to resist the attraction of
Lord Chaitanya, the boy disregarded the order of Damodara and continued his
visits.
One day Damodara
lost his patience, openly chastising the Lord he complained that it did not
look good for a sannyasi to associate with a boy whose mother was young and
pretty (CC.3.3.19). Although Lord
Chaitanya did not comment at that time, at the first opportunity, He sent
Damodara to Navadvipa to take care of mother Saci. As commanded Damodara
settled in Navadvipa under the shelter of mother Saci (CBh. 3.9.95-108)
D. 13. DAMODARA PUJARI:
He was a
Gauda-brahmana who lived at Devavana in the Saharanpur district near
Hardwar. Gopinatha Pujari, Damodara's
brother, was instructed by Gopala Bhatta Prabhu to take responsibility for the
service of the deity Radha Ramana. After Gopinatha's death, Damodara became the
pujari for Radha Ramana and his descendants are still continuing to carry out
this service.
D. 14. DAMODARA PURI:
A sannyasi
associate of Lord Chaitanya, he attained Vasitva Siddhi. (Gauraganoddesadipika
96-97, Namamrtasamudra 211)
D. 15. DAMODARA SARKHEL:
A brahmana by caste
and the second son of Kansari Misra (the paternal uncle of Jahnava and
Vasudha). (See `Suryadasa Pandita')
D. 16. DAMODARA SEN:
A vaidya by caste,
his Shripata is at Shrikhanda. According to Bhaktiratnakara 1.239, 9.144,
1.242-244, Damodara was a gifted poet.
His daughter, Sunanda, was married to Ciranjiva Sen.
D. 17. DAMODARA SVARUPA:
See `Svarupa
Damodara'.
D. 18. DAMODARA YOGI:
A brahmana by caste
and disciple of Syamananda Prabhu. Damodara was born at Kesiyadi in the
district of Midnapore. His disciple was Govardhana dasa. Formerly, Damodara was an arrogant Vedantist
who took pleasure in showing off his useless scholarship. His pride was smashed, however, upon meeting
Syamananda Prabhu, heated arguments insued and Damodara finally acknowledged
defeat and became Syamananda's disciple.
Damodara had the
good fortune to see a divine sacred thread appear on the radiant body of
Syamananda Prabhu. (Premavilasa 20)
D. 19. DANKA:
A snake-charmer
whose real name is unknown. Under the
spell of `Nagaraja', Danka use to sing Krishnalila. Hearing Danka's singing, Haridasa Thakura was
overcome with transcendental emotions.
One envious brahmana decided to imitate Danka's singing but was beaten
and thrown out. This Danka sang the
glories of Haridasa Thakura. (CBh. 1.16.199A 248)
D. 20. DANUJAMARDANA:
In 1485 AD. the
Zemindar Ganesa of Bhaturia Paragana, heeding the advice of his chief adviser
Narasimha Nadiyal, arranged to have the Sultan Samsuddin killed, thus usurping
the throne of Gauda. During the period
of Ganesa's rule the royal court was adorned with great personalities like
Padmanabha, Narasimha Nadiyal, poet Kirttivasa, and others. However, after the
death of Ganesa, his son Yadu embraced Islam, accepted the name of Jalaluddin,
and ascended the throne, thus ending Ganesa's dream of setting up a Hindu
kingdom.
At that point, a
high ranking royal employee named Danujamardana, a kayastha by caste, declared
independence and became the king of Pandunagara (or Pandua). All the Hindu ministers of Ganesa took asylum
under him. The new kingdom underwent
great turmoil for a number of years.
In 1495 AD.
Padmanava shifted his family to a secure place, and alone came to Navahatta (or
Naihati), under the jurisdiction of Danujamardana, to spend the rest of his
life on the bank of the Ganges.
After three years
in his new kingdom Danujamardana was defeated in battle by the Pathans and was
driven out of Pandua. He traveled
eastward with his army and set up his kingdom at Candravipa. The members of the old kayastha royal family
of Bakla Candravipa (present Barisal) are descendants from Danujamardana. Coins dated 1339-40 Saka era (1417-1418 AD.)
carrying the name of Danujamardana have been preserved in the collection of the
Bangiya Sahitya Parisad.
D. 21. DANUJARI GHOS:
He was a Kayastha
by caste, belonging to the north Radhi clan.
He was the seventh brother of the famous Vaishnava poet Vasudeva
Ghos. His family-line is now extinct.
D. 22. DARIYA DAMODARA:
A resident of
Dharendra and disciple of Syamananda Prabhu.
D. 23. DARJI:
A Muslim tailor, he
became ecstatic upon seeing the *****aisarya of Lord Chaitanya in the courtyard
of Shrivasa's house. (CC. 1.17.231-232,
Bhaktiratnakara 12.3464-66)
D. 24. DARPANARAYANA:
He was a disciple
of Hemalata Devi, the daughter of Shrinivasa Acarya Prabhu. (Karnananda 2)
D. 25. DARPANARAYANA:
He wrote
Shrikrishnacautisa. (See Bangiya Sahitya Sevaka)
D. 26. DASA:
He was an Odiya
devotee of Lord Chaitanya. Bearing the title `Mahasoyara' he cooked for Lord
Jagannatha at Puri. When Lord Chaitanya returned to Nilacala from South India,
Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya introduced Dasa to the Lord. (CC. 2.10.43)
D. 27. DASA VRAJAVASI:
This brahmana lived
in Vrndavana very close to the bhajana-kutir of Raghunatha dasa Gosvami, who
happened to be very fond of Dasa. During
Raghunatha's final days he gave up eating rice and subsisted on only a small portion
of curd served in a leaf cup. One day
Dasa Vrajavasi picked up a large leaf from a Palasa tree near Sakhistali and
made a cup from it. He filled it with a
large portion of dahi and offered it to Raghunatha dasa. Raghunatha, who was always absorbed in
meditation on the pastimes of Radha Krishna, looked at the cup and asked,
"Where did you find such a large Palasa leaf?" When Vrajavasi replied that he had found it
at Sakhistali (the place occupied by Candravali), Raghunatha dasa became
furious and threw away the cup. "I
would never take curd from a leaf of the tree grown in the village of
Candravali", he said, "And I advise you to never visit the village of
Candravali again."
When Shrinivasa
Acarya and Raghava Gosvami came to Vrndavana and stayed at the house of
Raghunatha dasa Gosvami, Vrajavasi served them with admirable care.
(Bhaktiratnakara 5.564, 5.567-568, 5.572)
D. 28. DAYALA:
He was a disciple
of Rasikananda Prabhu. (Rasikamangala Pascima 14-155)
D. 29. DAYALA DASA BABAJI
(Vrndavana):
The renunciation of
Dayala dasa was well-known throughout Vraja, as well as Gaudamandala. About 3:00 one winter afternoon he sat down
on one of the ghats at the Jamuna, covered his head with a cotton wrapper, and
sat motionlessA like a statue until 2 PM. the following afternoon.
His only
possessions were a cotton wrapper, an earthen vessel and a kaupina. From his appearance no one could tell his age
or place of birth. Sometimes he
practiced silence, while at other times he wandered endlessly around Vrndavana.
*****
Dayala dasa was
very friendly with Kamini Kumara Ghos. It is said that some members of Kamini
Ghos's family were relieved from incurable disease's by the grace of Dayala
dasa Babaji
D. 30. DAYALA DASI THAKURANI:
She was a great
devotee of Lord Chaitanya and was given refuge by Acyuta, the father of
Rasikananda Prabhu. (Rasikamanagala Purva 7.22-53)
D. 31. DAYARAMA CAUDHURI:
A brahmana by caste
and disciple of Shrinivasa Acarya Prabhu.
Dayarama Caudhuri and the Odiya brahmana Balarama both hailed from the
same village. (Karnananda 1)
D. 32. DAYARAMA DASA THAKURA:
A brahmana by caste
and disciple of Narottama Thakura. (Premavilasa 20, Narottamavilasa 12)
D. 33. DEVADASI:
These were a class
of young women who where dedicated to performing exquisite dance, with the
accompaniment of instruments, in front of the temple deity. (See GVA Vol. 1, pp 337-338, also CC.
3.13.78-79, 3.13.81-82)
D. 34. DEVADURLABHA DASA:
He was the poet
from Orissa who composed Rahasya manjari in the 16th century AD. (See Rahasya Manjari,
GVA p.1735)
D. 35. DEVAKI:
She was the
daughter of Rasikananda Prabhu and
disciple of Syamananda Prabhu.
D. 36. DEVANANDA:
A Vaidya by caste,
belonging to the disciple-line of Nityananda Prabhu (CBh. 3.7.475), CC.
1.11.46). CCU. mentions that CBh. has
recorded two persons named Devananda*****since one poet would never repeat the
name of the same individual at an interval of two verses.
D. 37. DEVANANDA PANDITA:
In an earlier
incarnation he was the sage Bhaguri. He
was a resident of Kulia village, a brahmana by caste, and a reputed teacher of
Shrimad Bhagavatam. ***** However, by the grace of
Vakresvara, Devananda
D. 38. DEVANATHA DASA:
He belonged to the
Shrikhanda Sampradaya and composed Shri Gauranganakhyana.
D. 39. DEVIDASA:
A disciple of
Narottama dasa Thakura. He was a
renowned kirtana singer and an accomplished mrdanga player who participated in
the famous Kheturi festival. (Premavilasa 20, Narottamavilasa 12,
Bhaktiratnakara 10.528-529)
D. 40 DHANANJAYA PANDITA:
He was previously
Vasudama Sakha of Vrajalila, one of the twelve Gopalas (Gauraganoddesadipika
127).
On the left side of
the entrance of his Shripata at Sitala in Burdwan there is a raised altar with
a Tulasi plant which is called Dhananjaya Panditera Samadhi. The deities of
Gaura Nitai, Gopinatha, and Damodara are worshipped there.
Some say he came
from Jadagram in Chittagong and his parents were Shripati Vandyopadhyaya and
Kalindi devi. However, according to Shri Gaurangamadhuri (a Bengali
periodical), Dhananjaya was born of Adideva Vacaspati and Dayamayi devi in
Siyanmuluka village in the Birbhum district. As a child, Dhananjaya offered his
humble obeisances to Tulasi, lying prostrate, three times daily.
Shortly after his
marriage to Haripriya he renounced his family and left on a pilgrimage. His affluent father gave him a large sum of
money to cover his travel expenses, however, as soon as he saw Lord Chaitanya
he turned over all the money and took up the begging bowl instead.
(Vaishnavavandana)
After having
darsana of Lord Chaitanya at Navadvipa, Dhananjaya went back to Sitala where he
transformed a number of dacoits and heretics into devotees. Later, while on his
way to Vrndavana, he stayed at Sancra Pancra village (also known as
`Dhananjayera Pata')for a few days.
After his return from Vrndavana he installed deities at Jalandi village
and then went to Sitala village where his Samadhi exists. His younger brother Sanjaya Pandita settled
at Jalandi and his descendants are still there serving the Radha Govinda deity.
D. 41 DHANANJAYA VIDYANIDHI:
He was also known
as `Vidyanivasa' or `Vidyavacaspati'. Dhananjaya taught the class of Shrinivasa
Acarya. Some argue that the name of
Shrinivasa Acarya's teacher was Shrirama Vacaspati. (Premavilasa 3,
Bhaktiratnakara 2.186)
D. 42. DHARANI:
He was a Vaishnava
poet who lived before the time of Shrinivasa Acarya, he composed pada's in
Bengali and Vrajavuli. Pada Nos 676, 858, 2381, 2454 extracted in Padakalpataru
are composed by Dharani.
D. 43. DHARMADASA
BABAJI (KAMYAVANA):
Dharmadasa was the
grand-disciple of Siddha Baba of Kamyavana.
He was from Orissa and received very little education. Dharmadasa never criticized anyone and
regularly quoted the verse from CBh: "He who chants the holy name with a
heart devoid of malice receives the blessings of the Lord and is immediately
liberated."
He took charge of
serving the deity of Radhamadana Gopalaji which was previously served by Siddha
Baba. Although not very orthodox about
rituals, he was extremely careful about cleanliness. Even in his old age he never failed to
cleanse himself after passing urine, standing waist-deep in Vamala Kunda. He
stayed at the Jagamohana of the temple and performed the mangala arati
throughout the entire year. However, so as not to wake Madhavadasa Babaji and
others who were lying asleep, he did not ring the bell during arati, but
completed the arati first and then rang the bell himself afterwards.
Seva was arranged
through *****bhiksa, though Dharmadasa's method of collecting this bhiksa was
somewhat different; when he ran out of some ingredient he would stand in front
of a shop, without looking at the keeper, and simply mention that such and such
item for seva was out of stock. Thus the shopkeeper would immediately arrange
to deliver the required ingredients to Dharmadasa.
He regularly
rendered selfless service to the residents of Vraja who came to Vimala Kunda
for their routine bath; providing them with twigs (for tooth brushes), tilak,
and japa beads, as well as tending a fire for their warmth during the winter
months.
If Dharmadasa was
offered some vegetables he would accept, otherwise he would simply collect wild
leafy vegetables which he served to the deity Madanagopala, along with a few
capatis. In the early morning he
prepared small sweet balls with wheatflour, fried in ghee, and mixed with
jaggery. Visiting Vaishnavas frequently
dropped into his place and were always received cordially. Dharmadasa regularly offered extra capatis
and vegetables, in case any visitors arrived unexpectedly. If the bhoga available was inadequate to feed
everyone present, Dharmadasa simply divided everything equally. If anyone happened to be left out then he
would go out on madhukari and later satisfy them.
*****
One time Madhava
dasa came to know that one Babaji which was staying with them ate onions. The young Madhava dasa came before the Babaji
and adamantly declared that he must either give up eating onions or move elsewhere. However, Dharmadasa disagreed and rebuked
Madhava saying, "This place belongs to Siddha Babaji Mahasaya. Our duty is only to serve the visiting
Vaishnavas and other guests. It is beyond our line of duty to offer advice to
others."
Long before Madhava
dasa's arrival in Vrndavana, a devotee once died at the residence of
Dharmadasa. The dead man's clothing was
then distributed by Dharmadasa to another Vaishnava. At that time, however, it
was the law of the royal government that the government must first be informed
of the death before touching the belongings of the deceased. Thus Dharmadasa
was summoned to the Cutchery*****where he admitted to violating the law and was
imprisoned for a few days. Later he told
Madhava in an unruffled manner, "I have had the opportunity to experience
a visit to the kingdom of Yama." While in prison Dharmadasa was not asked
to perform any hard labor; wheat flour and pulses were supplied to him from the
royal household. Some brahmana prisoners cooked for Dharmadasa, while prisoners
of other castes took care of any further needs.
Around 1889 or 1890
Dharmadasa Babaji passed away at the age of almost one hundred years.
D. 44. DHARMADASA CAUDHURI:
He was a disciple
of Narottama Thakura. (Premavilasa 20, Narottamavilasa 12)
D. 45. DHARU CAUDHURI:
He was a disciple
of Narottama Thakura. (Premavilasa 20, Narottamavilasa 12)
D. 46. DHIRA HAMVIRA (Dhadi
Hamvira):
He was the son of
the king of Vishnupura, Vira Hamvira. He belonged to the disciple-line of
Shrinivasa Acarya Prabhu and his Vaishnava name was Gopala dasa. Some say that Jiva Gosvami called Dhira by
the name Chaitanya dasa (Karnananda 1). (See also `Gopala Bahadur')
D. 47. DHRUVA GOSVAMI:
He was a sannyasi
who lived at Kamyavana. Dhruva arrived
at Mangaladhi carrying the deities of Shri Syamcand and Shri Balarama on his
head (See Virbhuma Vivarana Chapter one, pg.146-147). Escaping from the tyranny of the Muslims,
Dhruva, accompanied by twelve Gopala's *****reached Vanga and stayed for some
time at the village Bhandiravana. He
left this village due to a tragic event which occurred on the
Dolamanca*****: It so happened that a
young widow of the royal family of Khatanga village near Bhandiravana had an
illicit love affair with the brahmana cook of the same family. In a fit of rage
the king ordered that the cook be beheaded. The helpless brahmana fled in fear
to the asrama of Dhruva Gosvami at Bhandiravana. Shortly afterwards the sentries of the king
arrested the brahmana and brutally killed him.
Soon after this
incident Dhruva Gosvami decided to move elsewhere. Accompanied by the twelve Gopala's*****
Dhruva arrived at the bank of the river Mayuraksi. Although Caitra is usually a dry month,
monsoon had come early and the Mayuraksi was overflowing its banks. Dhruva carefully placed the deities one by
one on the boat, but the twelfth one refused to move. Thus Gosvami handed over the twelfth Gopala
deity to a beggar brahmana and left the place.
The poor brahmana
carried the Gopala deity close to his heart, carried it to the house of Nandadulala
Ghosal in the village of Noadihi and left.
Long afterwards, Ramanatha Bhaduri, a generous brahmana, constructed a
temple at Bhandiravana where the deity of Gopala was installed.*****d
Dhruva Gosvami
eventually arrived victoriously at Mangaladhihi and took shelter in the house
of one Pandita there. When Gopala, a
resident of Mangaladhihi and son of Mansukha, heard of Dhruva Gosvami's arrival
he came to meet him at the Pandita's house.
Gopala was extremely pious and a devoted Vaishnava, thus he and Dhruva
quickly became good friends. Gosvami
told Gopala all about his past life, as well as the story of the deity
Syamcand. Later Dhruva left the deities
of Syamcand and Balarama in the care of Gopala and left on pilgrimage to
Jagannatha Puri. From that time Gopala, along with his wife Laksmipriya and
sister Madhavilata, happily served the deities.
After four years
Dhruva returned and took the deities away with him. The three servants were stricken with grief.
However, before Dhruva reached the boundary of the village, the deity appeared
before Dhruva in a dream. In His form of
Visvambhara Murti, the Lord commanded Dhruva to return Him to Mangaladhihi.
*****This account has been narrated in metrical verse in Jagadananda's Shri
Syamacandrodaya.
D. 48. DHRUVANANDA:
He was a disciple of Syamananda Prabhu.
(Premvilasa 20)
D. 49. DHRUVANANDA:
According to old
documents preserved in the collection of the descendants of Kamalakara Piplai;
when Dhruva lived at Puri he had a strong desire to personally cook and offer
food to Lord Jagannatha, but the priest prevented him from doing so which hurt
Dhruvananda deeply. However, in a dream
Dhruvananda received the following command: "Dhruvananda, go to the banks
of the Ganges at Mahesa village, there you will find Me and you can serve Me as
you desire."
Following these
instruction, Dhruvananda went to Akna Mahesa, two miles south of Serampore in
the Hugli district; there he found a wooden deity of Lord Jagannatha floating
in the Ganges and joyfully lifted it from the water. He cleared an area of the forest, installed
the deity, and entrusted Kamalakara Piplai with the responsibility of serving
the deity according to the same procedures followed in Puri. Thus Dhruvananda was the first to introduce
the worship of Lord Jagannatha in Bengal.
Mahesa village
became the Shripata of Kamalakara Piplai and some people argue that it was
actually Kamalakara who installed the deity of Lord Jagannatha there. (See
`Kamalakara Piplai')
D. 50. DHRUVANANDA
BRAHMACARI:
A brahmana by caste
belonging to the disciple-line of Gadadhara Pandita (CC. 1.12.79). He was Lalita in a past incarnation
(Gauraganoddesadipika 152 and Sakhanirnayamrta 4). Descendants of Dhruvananda's
family settled in various places throughout the district of Burdwan; Shripata,
Mahata, Canaka, Mandar, etc. In each of
these places a deity of Govinda is being served.
D. 51. DHYANACANDRA GOSVAMI:
He was a disciple
of Gopala Guru Gosvami and worked as a Sevaka at Gambhira. ****
D. 52. DINA CAITANYA (DVIJA
CAITANYA):
He was a poet from
Orissa who composed, in Odiya, the Saksigopala Mahatmya, which is composed of
forty three chapters. Therein he gives a
lucid description of events narrated by Nityananda Prabhu.*****
D. 53. DINAHINA DASA:
He composed in
Bengali a ***** translation of Gauraganoddesadipika.
D. 54. DINA KRSNADASA:
He was a brahmana
by caste, a resident of Saligrama, and the fifth son of Kansari Misra. Gauridasa Pandita and Suryadasa Pandita were
his brothers. He composed a large number
of padas in praise of his elder brother, Gauridasa Pandita, with the bhanita of
Dina Krishnadasa.
D. 55. DINA KRSNADASA:
An Odiya poet and
author of Rasakallola. This work
contains thirty four prosodical styles and deals with various musical ragas and
raginis.*****
D. 56. DINA SYAMADASA:
He was a disciple
of Rasikananda Prabhu and the son of Ramadasa and Draupadi. He lived at Shrijamha village.
(Rasikamanagala Pascima 14.70-78)
D. 57. DINAVANDHU:
He was a disciple
of Syamananda Prabhu. His Shripata is at
Dharanda village. (Premavilasa 20)
D. 58. DINAVANDHU DASA:
He compiled
Vaishnava-padas and circulated the book entitled Sankirtanamrta, which contains
207 of his own compositions as well as forty padakartas.
D. 59. DIVAKARA DATTA:
See `Uddharana
Datta Thakura'.
D. 60. DIVYASIMHA RAJA:
His capital was at
Lauda village (or Navagrama) in the district of Shrihatta. He was a disciple of Advaita Prabhu and his
Vaishnava name was Krishnadasa. Towards
the end of his life King Divyasimha became a renunciate and settled in
Vrndavana. Premavilasa 24 gives an account of how this king, who was previously
a staunch Sakta, was converted into Vaisnavism by the grace of Advaita
Prabhu. King Divyasimha was the author
of Vishnubhakti-Piyusavahini, a translation in Bengali verse of Vishnupuri's
Vishnubhaktiratnavali.
D. 61. DUBE:
He was a disciple
of Rasikananda Prabhu. (Rasikamangala Pascima 14.101)
D. 62. DUHKHI:
She was a domestic
attendant in the house of Shrivasa who served Lord Gauranga
conscientiously. She was also called
Sakhi. (CBh. 2.25.11-22)
D. 63. DUHKHINI:
She was the wife of
Jagadisa Pandita. (Jayananda 1.43)
D. 64. DUHKHINI KRSNADASA:
Another name of
Syamananda Prabhu. (See `Syamananda')
D. 65. DUHKHI
SYAMADASA:
He composed the
book Govindamangala***** About 275 years ago he wandered as a minstrel in the
Midnapore area reciting from
Govindamangala.
D. 66. DURGADASA:
He was a disciple
of Shrinivasa Acarya Prabhu. (Karnananda 1)
D. 67. DURGADASA MISRA:
His wife was named
Vijaya, and their two sons were Sanatana and Kalidasa. Sanatana's daughter was Vishnupriya devi,
thus Durgadasa was her paternal grandfather. (See `Vishnupriya')
D. 68. DURGADASA RAYA:
He was the Zemindar
of Cakhundi village where Shrinivasa Acarya was born. Durgadasa was a Sakta who became a devout
Vaishnava by the grace of Chaitanyadasa (Gangadhara Bhattacarya), the father of
Shrinivasa Acarya.
From the time that
Shrinivasa was conceived the village of Cakhundi became filled with the
chanting of the holy names. One local Shakta brahmana was angered by this and
complained to Durgadasa. Thus, a few men, accompanied by Durgadasa walked
throughout the village and announced, with the beating of drums, that no house
in the village should worship any god other than Siva and Durga Premavilasa
1). Eventually the party reached the
house of Gangadhara, there Durgadasa was cordially invited to spend the night
and Durgadasa agreed. That night while Durgadasa was sleeping, Gaura-Nitai
appeared to him. They filled his heart
with joy and he danced in ecstacy. From
that day Durgadasa abandoned the Saktha faith and became a Vaishnava. He celebrated the birth of Shrinivasa Prabhu
by playing a musical instrument.
D. 69. DURGADASA VIDYARATNA:
He strongly
criticized Narottama dasa Thakura, until he received the blessings of
Narottama. At that point his heart
changed and he became a devout Vaishnava and disciple of Narottama (Premavilasa
19). (See `Rupanarayana')
D. 70. DURGADASA VIDYAVAGISA:
He was a famous
Nyaya scholar, the son of Vasudeva the second, and a devotee of Lord Gauranga.
He prepared the tika of both Mugdhavodha Vyakarana and Kavikalpadruma.
D. 71. DURGADASA VIPRA:
He was a disciple
of Narottama, resident of Kheturi, and brahmana by caste (Bhaktiratnakara
10.184-185). When Shrinivasa Acarya was
staying in Teliyavudhuri village at the house of Govinda Kaviraja, Durgadasa
arrived there with the news of Narottama's return from Puri. He also brought pleasure to everyone there by
informing them that Narottama had found a deity of Lord Gauranga inside the
granary of a devotee named Vipradasa.
D. 72. DURIKA DASI:
She was the mother
of Syamananda Prabhu. (See `Syamananda')
D. 73. DURLABHA DASA BABAJI
(Govindakunda):
Durlabhadasa
practiced his bhajana on the north bank of Govindakunda, at the time when
Manoharadasa Pandita Babaji moved into a house at the kunda. During this period Vrndavana was under the
grip of an epidemic of plague. One day,
while Durlabhadasa was chanting japa under a margosa tree in the hot midday
sun, he suddenly saw a huge terrifying grayish figure appear in front of
him. In amazement he asked the being why
he was there. The figure said that
he was the messenger of death and had
been deputed to take Durlabhadasa along with him. Durlabhadasa serenely replied, "I am
ready, you are free to take me."
However, the strange being replied that he could not do so unless
Durlabhadasa stopped chanting. The
strange being disappeared when Durlabhadasa refused to comply.
Later Durlabhadasa
explained what had happened to Manoharadasa, hoping to understand the
significance of the incident.
Manoharadasa pointed out that Durlabhadasa was actually destined to die
at the precise moment when the figure had appeared. However, by the grace of the holy name,
Durlabhadasa had been endowed with a longer life span.
D. 74. DURLABHA VISVASA:
He belonged to the
disciple-line of Advaita Prabhu. (CC. 1.12.59)
D. 75. DVADASA GOPALA:
Information
regarding the Dvadasa Gopala varies in the following books: Ananta Samhita,
Gauragnaoddesadipika, Chaitanyasangita, Pataparyatana,
Vaishnavacaradarpana. For details see
Dvadasa Gopala compiled by Amulyadhana Rayabhatta, pp. 3-13. The following is a list of the names of the
twelve Gopala's, along with their respective names in past incarnations as
recorded in Gauragganoddesadipika:
1. Abhirama Thakura (Ramadasa Abhirama) .Shridama
2. Uddharana Datta Thakura Suvahu
3. Kamalakara Piplai
Mahavala
4. Kalakrishna Dasa . Lavanga
5. Gauridasa Pandita
.Suvala
6. Dhananjaya Pandita Vasudama
7. Paramesvari Dasa Arjuna
8. Purusottama Dasa (Nagara Purusottama) Dama
9. Purusottama Dasa Stokakrishna
10. Mahesa Pandita Mahavahu
11. Shridhara (Kholaveca) Madhumangala
12. Sundarananda Thakura .Sudama
12a. Halayudha Thakura
.Pravala
(Some hold Halayudha Thakura in place of Purusottama Nagara as one
of the Gopala's.)
D. 76. DVADASA UPAGOPALA:
The following names
have been taken from Vaishnavacara darpana p.334:
Vrajalila ..Gauralila ..Shripata
1. Suvala Sakha
Halayudha Thakura Ramacandrapura(Navadvipa)
2. Varuthapa
Rudra Pandita Vallabhapura
3. Gandharva
Mukundananda Navadvipa
4. Kinkini Kasisvara Vallabhapura
5. Ansuman Ojhavanamali Kulyapara
6. Bhadrasena Shrimanta
Thakura Rukunpura
7. Vasanta Murari
Maiti Vansitota
8. Ujjvala Gangadasa Naihati
9. Kokila Gopalthakura Gaurangapura
10. Vilasi Sivai Belun
11. Pundarika Nandai Saligrama
12. Kalavinka Visnai Jhamatpura
D. 77. DVARAKANANDA:
He was a disciple
of Rasikananda Prabhu. (Rasikamangala Pascma 13.135)
D. 78. DVARAKANATHA THAKURA:
He was the sixth in
the descending family-line from Panua Gopala of Mangaladihi village in
Birbhum. He composed Shri
Govindavallabhanataka in Sanskrit.
D. 79. DVIJA
BALARAMADASA THAKURA:
He was a highly
accomplished musician who belonged to the disciple-line of Nityananda Prabhu,
his Shripata stands at Dogachia village in Krishnanagar. In a past incarnation he was Sumandira Sakhi
(CC. 1.11.34).
Balarama Thakura
was from the western Vaidika clan of the Bharadvaja gotra. His father was Satyabhanu Upadhyaya of
Pancakhanda village in Shrihatta. After
receiving Diksa from Nityananda Prabhu, Balarama moved to Dogachia.
Once when
Nityananda Prabhu was engaged in kirtana, He happened to pass by and observe
Balarama performing the seva to the Gopala deity. Nityananda Prabhu was so pleased that He
offered His own turban to Balarama. This
turban (pugree) is still preserved with great care at Shripata Dogachia.
Balarama married at
his Guru's command. Haridasa Gosvami of
Navadvipa was a descendant of Balarama's family line. The famous Mula-Mahotsava held every year at
Dogachia on the fourth day of the dark fortnight in Agrahayana, coincides with
the celebration of the disappearance day of Balarama and is attended by a large
number of Vaishnavas.
D. 80. DVIJA DASA:
He was a disciple
of Rasikananda Prabhu. (Rasikamangala 14.155)
D. 81. DVIJA GOPALA:
He was a disciple
of Rasikananda Prabhu. (Rasikamangala 14.155)
D. 82. DVIJA GOPALADASA
THAKURA:
He was a brahmacari
disciple of Narahari Thakura, brahmana by caste, and resident of Shrikhanda. Gopaladasa left Shrikhanda and settled at
Takipura, where he is said to have liberated a ghost from a haunted house. He took charge of the seva of the deity Shri
Rasikaraya, who was originally served by Candrasekhar (also a disciple of
Narahari Thakura). Gopaladasa has a number of disciple-lines.
D. 83. DVIJA GOPIMOHANA:
He was a disciple
of Rasikananda Prabhu. (Rasikamangala Pascima 14.127)
D. 84. DVIJA GOPIMOHANA:
He was a disciple
of Rasikananda Prabhu. (Rasikamangala Pascima 14.156)
D. 85. DVIJA GOPINATHA:
He was a disciple
of Rasikananda Prabhu (Rasikamangala Pascima 14.86-88)
D. 86. DVIJA GOVINDA
BHATTACARYA:
He was a disciple
of Rasikananda Prabhu (Rasikamangala Pascima 14.99-100)
D. 87. DVIJA
GOVINDA DASA:
He was a disciple
of Rasikananda Prabhu. (Rasikamangala Pascima 14.109, 112)
D. 88. DVIJA HARIDASA:
He was a disciple
of Narahari Sarkara. While traveling to
Nilacala, Haridasa was given the***** `Shrikrishna Chaitanya nama' mantra by
Narahari Sarkara Thakura.
D. 89. DVIJA JIVADASA:
He was a disciple
of Rasikananda Prabhu. (Rasikamangala Pascima 14.133)
D. 90. DVIJA KAVICANDRA:
He composed
Govindamangala (See manuscript No. Ka 15 in the collection of Pathavadi).
D. 91. DVIJA KRSNADASA:
He was a resident
of Radha, belonging to the discipleA line of Nityananda Prabhu. (CC. 1.14.46)
D. 92. DVIJA MURALIDASA:
He was a disciple
of Rasikananda Prabhu. (Rasikamangala Pascima 14.155)
D. 93. DVIJA PRANAKRISNA:
He was a resident
of Teliya (Muksudavad) who translated Gitagovinda under the title
`Jayadeva-Prasadavali' (A.S.B. 5402).
D. 94. DVIJA RADHAMOHANA:
He was a disciple
of Rasikananda Prabhu. (Rasikamangala 14.142)
D. 95. DVIJA RADHAVALLABHA:
He was the son of
Purusottama and a disciple of Rasikananda Prabhu. (Rasikamangala Pascima
14.139)
D. 96. DVIJA RAGHUNATHA:
He was a devotee of
Lord Gauranga. In Vrajalila he was
Varangada. (Gauraganoddesadipika 194, 200)
D. 97. DVIJA RAMAKRSNA DASA:
He was a disciple
of Rasikananda Prabhu. (Rasikamangala Pascima 14.79-82)
D. 98. DVIJA SANKARA:
Around 1789 AD. he
composed Shri Gauralilamrta in Sanskrit which consists of twenty nine chapters
(adi, madhya, sannyasa, and sesa khanda).
His language is simple and he generally used the prosodical style called
anustupa-chanda. Other than this nothing
is known about him.
D. 99. DVIJA SUNDARA RAYA:
He was a disciple
of Rasikananda Prabhu. (Rasikamangala Pascima 14.103)
D. 100. DVIJA
SYAMASUNDARA:
A brahmana by caste
and disciple of Rasikananda Prabhu. (Rasikamangala Pascima 14.141)
D. 101. DVIJA
VANINATHA:
A devotee of Lord
Gauranga and resident of Campahatta. In a past incarnation he was Kamalekha of
Vraja. (Gauraganoddesadipika 195, 204,
Namamrtasamudra 98)
D. 102. DVIJA
YADUNATHA:
He was a disciple
of Rasikananda Prabhu. (Rasikamangala Pascima 14.157)