The nine islands of Nabadwip

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Sri Nabadwip Dham Mahatmya

Sri Madhyadvipa and Naimisaranya

All glories to Lord Gauracandra and Prabhu Nityananda! All glories to Gadadhara and the devotees headed by Srivasa! All glories to Navadvipa, the topmost abode of devotees!

When night had ended, Sri Nityananda, intoxicated with songs of Gaura, went off with the devotees. They were absorbed in love of God and distributed that supreme bliss along the way. Coming to Madhyadvipa, Nityananda smiled and said, "This is Majida-grama The seven rsis stayed here a long time and engaged in worshipping Gauranga.

"In Satya-yuga, the rsis began singing the glories of Gaura in their father's presence. Completely absorbed, they begged for the eternal treasure of gaura-prema. Lord Brahma was pleased with his seven sons and told them, 'Go to Navadvipa and sing the glories of Gaura, then you will easily attain prema. Whoever gets the mercy of the dhama, gets the association of devotees. Then, by worshipping in the association of devotees, you will become absorbed in krsna-prema. That is the supreme activity. Whoever gets attraction for Navadvipa will receive the benediction of living in Vraja. To live in the spiritual dhama and recite the name of Gaura is the only aspiration of the devotees.

"The seven rsis took their father's instructions to heart and came to this place. When they arrived, they engaged in dancing and chanting the name of Hari. They begged for gaura-prema while singing the Lord's glories in a loud voice, 'O Gaurahari, be merciful and reveal Yourself to us just once! Being offenders, we have followed many paths, but now we are taking to the path of devotional service.

"The rsis underwent austerities and became firmly situated in devotional service by worshipping Gauranga. They completely gave up eating and sleeping and simply recited the name of Gaura.Around noon (madhyahna), the all-merciful Lord Gauranga appeared before the rsis.

"The Lord was as brilliant as a hundred suns, and He attracted the minds of the yogis. He appeared with the Panca-tattva. How extraordinary was that form! His form had a beautiful golden hue. Around His neck was a garland of flowers, and His glittering ornaments illuminated all directions. His glance was beautiful, His hair was long and curled, and a dot of sandalwood decorated His forehead. He wore three-folded cloth, a shining thread, and His neck was decorated with a beautiful jasmine garland. Seeing this form, the rsis were enchanted and they humbly petitioned, 'We surrender to Your lotus feet. Please give us devotion.'

"Hearing the rsis' prayer, Gaurahari replied, 'Listen rsis. Give up all desires, the chains of jnana and karma, and just discuss topics of Krsna. Within a short time will unfold My lila in Navadvipa. Then you will see My pastimes of nama-sankirtana. But now, keep this subject a secret. Worship Krsna at Kumarahatta at the ghata made by you.

"When Lord Gauranga disappeared, the seven rsis went to Kumarahatta. At this place now you see seven tilas, or hillocks. These seven hills are arranged in the same pattern as the seven rsis in the sky (the constellation). By living here one will receive Gaurahari without having to undergo a strict process of rules and regulations.

"To the south of this see one stream, the very pure Gomati River. Beside it is Naimisaranya. At the beginning of Kali-yuga, the rsis headed by Saunaka heard about Gauranga from the mouth of Suta. Whoever reads the Puranas here during the month of Kartika becomes free from all distress, becomes absorbed in the pastimes of Gauranga, and easily attains Vrndavana. Giving up his bull carrier, Siva once mounted Sri Hamsa-vahana, Brahma's swan, and came here to hear the recitation of the Puranas. Along with his followers, he sang the glories of Gaura. While singing and dancing, the followers surrounded Siva, and shouting the name of Gaurahari, threw heaps of flowers all around."

On hearing the words of Nityananda, Jiva became spiritually excited and began rolling on the ground in ecstasy as he tasted the influence of the dhama. The devotees spent the day there in the association of Nityananda and the next day they went to take darsana of Puskara.

Bhaktivinoda, within whom the ever worshipable Jahnava and Nitai have appeared, sings the glories of Nadia and the sweetness of the devotees while tasting transcendental flavors.

In the current Manu's reign, the seven sages are: Kasyapa. Atri. Vasistha, Visvamitra, Gautama, Jamadagni, and Bharadvaja.

Brahmana Puskara and Sri Uccahatta

All glories to Gauranga and Nityananda along with Advaita! All glories to Gadadhara and Srivasa Pandita! All glories to Nabadwip, the abode of pure bhakti! And all glories to the names of Gaura and Nityananda!

O souls of Kali-yuga, please listen. Give up karma and jnana, give up all dharmas and adharmas, and just worship Nitai and Chaitanya, for They are oceans of mercy! They bountifully give out the bliss of Vrndavana-Dham.

When the darkness had lifted, Nityananda Raya took Jiva and continued on the pilgrimage. He explained as follows: "See this enchanting village. Now everyone calls this place Brahmanapura, but in the scriptures it is named Brahmana Puskara. The mysteries of this place are very confidential.

"In Satya-yuga, a brahmana named Divadasa gave up family life and went on pilgrimage. Puskaratirtha was very dear to him, but during his wandering he came to Nabadwip. While here, he dreamt that if he stayed he would receive a great treasure. The brahmana built his cottage and lived here till he became old. Though he wanted to see Puskara, he found it impossible to move about. In this situation he began to weep,'Now I will never see Puskara!'

"The personality of Puskara mercifully came before Divadasa in the form of a brahmana and said,'Do not cry. Before you is a splendid pond. Take bath there once, and you will see Puskara before your eyes.'

"The brahmana took his bath in the pond and received transcendental eyes to see Puskara before him. The brahmana cried and said to Puskara,'I have given you so much trouble.'

"Puskara replied,'Listen, fortunate brahmana. I am not coming from far off, for I am present here. This Nabadwip is the embodiment of all Tirthas, which reside in and render service to Nabadwip. I have exhibited one form in the west, but I myself always reside here. The results one attains by bathing one hundred times there are achieved by one bath here. Therefore, whoever gives up Nabadwip with the desire to go to other holy places is a fool and a rascal. If one attains the fruit of traveling to all the holy places, then he may reside in Nabadwip. See that raised area that resembles a market. Kuruksetra and Brahmavarta are present there. Sarasvati and Sarasvati flow on its two sides. It is splendid and gives much punya.'

"'0 brahmana, I will tell you a very secret thing. In a short time, there will be ecstasy given out here. Gauranga will appear at Mayapur in Sacidevi's house, and He will freely distribute prema. In all these places the Lord and His devotees will dance madly in the nectar of sankirtana. The Lord will perform kirtana along with the devotees of all the previous incarnations. The whole universe will be drowned in the flood of prema; other than the false logicians, everyone will receive that gift of love.

"O Divadasa, whoever lives in the Dham with firm faith will attain the feet of Gaura. Although the evil-minded may worship Krishna for millions of years, they will not get attraction for the holy name. But if one worships Gauranga, all one's wicked sentiments will be uprooted and very soon one will attain Radha and Krishna in Vrndavana. That person will attain his spiritual body and serve the divine couple in a secluded grove under the shelter of the sakhis. O brahmana, stay here and worship, then you will see Lord Gauranga with His associates.'

"Saying this, Puskara Raja departed. Then a voice from the sky said,'The glorious age of Kali is coming. At that time you will again take birth and swim in the ocean of Gauranga's kirtana.' Hearing this, the brahmana was freed from anxiety and stayed on the shore of the pond worshipping the Lord."

While Sri Jiva was listening to this story, they entered Uccahatta in Kuruksetra. Sri Nityananda spoke again: "All the devas along with the tirthas came here to Kuruksetra. Whatever tirthas are in the region of Brahmavarta and Kuruksetra are all present here. Prthudaka and other holy places reside here and serve Nabadwip. The fruit attained by living in Kuruksetra for a hundred years is obtained by residing here for one night.

"The devas came here and set up a market (hatta) for discussing Gauranga's pastimes. Therefore this place is called Hattadanga. By seeing this place, one will receive the ocean of prema. This is one boundary of Nabadwip. Now let us cross the Ganges."

As they crossed at noon, Nityananda Prabhu looked like the sun rising on the horizon of Koladvip. While on the way to Kuliya Pahadapura, Nityananda Prabhu said to Jiva, "The order in which we have proceeded till now is the authorized order of parikrama with the best effect. When Sri Chaitanya brought His associates to purify the Kazi with an evening kirtana contingent of fourteen mrdangas, His starting point was Mayapur. Through the period of one night, which became one night of Brahma due to the sweet kirtana, Gauranga wandered through His land. After that, every Ekadasi tithi My Lord went on sankirtana, wandering over the sacred islands. Sometimes He wandered over the ten miles of Antardvip, and sometimes, according to His desire, He wandered sixteen miles.

"From His house, He went first to Barakona-ghata, then around Ballal-dighi, and then to Sridhara's house. From there, He would go to the edge of Antardvip and thus easily complete a ten mile tour. From Simuliya, He would go to the Kazi's house. After talking to Sridhara, He would go to Gadigacha (Godruma), then Majida(Madhyadvip). Crossing the Ganges at that point, on the other bank He would go up to Paradanga and Chinadanga, on the bank of the Ganges. Then crossing the Ganges again, He would return home, completing sixteen miles.

"The complete parikrama is thirty two miles, and if that is done, the Lord is pleased. This is the tour I am taking you on. There is no equal to this. Within this tour you will see all the twelve forests of Vrndavana which extend over thirty two miles. This tour ends after nine nights and is thus called navaratra-parikrama in the scripture. One does the ten mile parikrama in one day, and the sixteen mile parikrama is completed after three nights. The first night is spent in Mayapur, the second night in Godruma, and the third night at Pulina, the opposite bank of the Ganges."

Hearing this instruction on the method of parikrama, Jiva Mahasaya could not contain his love.

Desiring to attain the lotus feet of Nitai and Jahnava, this worthless pauper describes the glories of Nadia.