Śrī Gadādhara Paṇḍita’s Role in Fulfilling Śrī Caitanya’s Mission.
Śrī Gadādhara Paṇḍita was a companion of Śrimān Mahāprabhu both in Navadvīpa līlā as well as in Nīlācala līlā. He was the same age as Caitanya, and thus in Navadvīpa, they were classmates. Śrī Vṛndāvana Dāsa describes their pastimes as co-students in the Ādi Khaṇḍa of Śrī Caitanya Bhāgavata (Chapter 8.20–28). Nimāi teases Gadādhara by asking the latter to define mukti:
ei-mata vidyā-rase vaikuṇṭha-īśvara
bhramite dekhena āra dine gadādhara
hāsi dui hāthe prabhu rākhila dhariyā
“nyāya paḍha tumi, āmā yāo prabodhiyā”
“jijñāsaha” gadādhara bolaye vacana
prabhu bole “kaha dekhi muktira lakṣaṇa”
śāstra-artha yena gadādhara vākhānilā
prabhu bole “vyākhyāna karite nā jānilā̍
gadādhara bole“ātyāntika duḥkha-nāśa
ihārei śāstre kahe muktira prakāśa”
nānā-rūpe doṣe prabhu sarasvatī-pati
hena nāhi tārkika ye karibeka sthiti
hena jana nāhika ye prabhu sane bole
gadādhara bhāve “āji varti palāile”
prabhu bole “gadādhara āji yāha ghara
kāli bujhibāṅa tumi āsiha satvara”
namaskari gadādhara calilena ghare
ṭhākura bhrameṇa sarva nagare nagare
Roaming in this way, absorbed in relish of knowledge, the Lord of Vaikuṇṭha saw Gadādhara the next day. Smiling, Prabhu caught hold of both his hands and stopped him. [He said:] “You study logic. Teach Me.” Gadādhara replied, “Inquire,” and Prabhu said, “Consider and state the characteristics of mukti.” Gadādhara accordingly explained the śāstra‘s import [regarding the characteristic of mukti], but Prabhu said, “You do not know how to explain this.” Gadādhara replied, “Absolute termination of suffering—this the śāstra says is the manifestation [i.e., the observable characteristic] of mukti.” Prabhu, being the master of Sarasvatī [i.e., the goddess of speech], faulted this [explanation] in various ways. There was no such logician who could establish anything [in a debate with Prabhu]. There was no one would [even] speak with Prabhu. [Thus,] Gadādhara thought, “I’ll live if I flee.” Prabhu [playfully] said, “Gadādhara, go home today. Tomorrow I will understand [what you are saying]. Come promptly.” Gadādhara offered respects and went to his home. The Ṭhākura then continued roaming about everywhere from village to village.
Vṛndāvana Dāsa describes (in Caitanya Bhāgavata, Madhya 117–129) Gadādhara’s dancing along with Nimāi in the house of Candraśekhara, and (in Madhya 13.332–341) their water play in the Gaṅgā river. According to Advaita-prakāśa (Twelfth Chapter), Nimāi and Gadādhara studied the Vedas together under Śrī Advaita Acārya. Nimāi is known to have consulted with Gadādhara before taking sannyāsa (Caitanya Bhāgavata, Madhya 25.258–270), and Gadādhara was present during Nimāi’s sannyāsa ceremony (Caitanya Bhāgavata, Madhya 27.140).
Regarding Gadādhara being with Mahāprabhu in Nīlācala, Śrī Vṛndāvana Dāsa writes:
hena mate sindhu-tīre śrī-gaurasundara
sarva-rātri nṛtya kare ati manohara
niravadhi gadādhara thākena saṁhati
prabhu-gadādharera viccheda nāhi kati
ki bhojane ki śayane ki vā paryaṭane
gadādhara prabhure sevena anukṣaṇe
In this way Śrī Gaurasundara danced all night most enchantingly on the bank of the ocean. Gadādhara remained constantly in His close association. There was never any separation between Prabhu and Gadādhara. Whether eating, resting, or moving about, Gadādhara served Prabhu continuously. (Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya 3.225–227
The other three members of the Pañca-tattva, i.e., Śrī Nityānanada Prabhu, Śrī Advaitācārya, and Śrivāsa Paṇḍita, did not reside in Nīlācala but only visited for some years regularly for a couple of months at the time of the Ratha-yātrā festival. In fact, Caitanya at one point requested Śrī Nityānanada Prabhu not to visit him anymore:
nityānanada kahe prabhu śunaha śrīpāda
ei āmi magi tumi karaha prasāda
prativarṣa nīlācale tumi nā āsibā
gauḍe rahi mora icchā saphala karibā
tāhā siddhi kare hena anya nā dekhiye
amāra duṣkara karma tomā haite haye
Prabhu said to Nityānanda, “Śrīpāda, please hear Me. I beg you not to come to Nīlācala every year. Be gracious on Me. Remain in Gauḍa and fulfill My wish. I do not see anyone else who can accomplish this. This difficult work of Mine has to be done by you.” (CC, Madhya 16.62, 63, 64)
It is understood that the difficult work referred to here was the establishment of the yuga-dharma. In the later years of His stay in Nīlācala, Mahāprabhu Himself became more and more absorbed in the bhāva of Rādhā, His internal mission. Thus, He beseeched Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu in His external mission. It is also explained that this is only an external understanding of this incident. The internal reason was that the mood of Mahāprabhu was becoming more inward and it was difficult for Him to relate with the mood of Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu. Therefore, He requested Him not come to Nīlācala on the pretext of preaching the yuga-dharma.
Śrī Gadādhara Paṇḍita, as said above, was a constant companion of Mahāprabhu both in Navadvīpa and Nīlācala. He assisted Mahāprabhu in both of His missions. To establish the path of rāga-mārga, Mahāprabhu recommended the Bhāgavata Purāṇa as the supreme pramāṇa. He said that it is the natural explanation of Vedānta Sūtra, which is the essence of the Upaniṣads.
artho’yam-brahma-sūtrāṇāṁ bhātārtha-vinirṇayaḥ (Garuḍa Purāṇa, cited in Tattva Sandarbha, Anuccheda 21).
It was also His desire that the worship of Śrī Kṛṣṇa in His Deity form be performed according to the rāga-mārga. He relegated these two responsibilities to Śrī Gadādhara Paṇḍita.
In this context, Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa Dāsa Gosvāmī writes
ataḥ śrī-bhagavat-kṛṣṇa-caitanya-devasya antaraṅga-śakti-varga-mukhyatamaḥ śrī-gadādhara-paṇditaḥ. ataḥ śrī-nīlācale sva-sevādhikārivena śrī-bhāgavata-kathā-kathānādhikāritvena ca tena sa ca nirūpitaḥ. evaṁgauḍa-deśa-mukhya-pradeśa-svaprakaṭa-sthala-navadvīpe tathā sarva-dhāma-pravara-śrī-vṛndāvane’pi, iti tu śrī-caitanya-bhāgavate śrī-caitanya-caritāmrtādau prasiddhaṁ vartate. (Seventh Chapter, Śrī Sādhana-dīpikā)
Thus, Śrī Gadādhara Paṇḍita is the chief internal potency of Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya. Therefore, in Śrī Nīlācala Dhāma, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu appointed him as the one eligible (adhikārī) to perform the worship of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s deity and to teach Śrīmad Bhāgavata Purāṇa. Similarly, He gave the rights of worship to him in Navadvīpa, the place of His own appearance, that is, the most important place in the land of Gauḍa. Likewise, He gave the rights to [followers of] Gadādhara in Śrī Vṛndāvana also, the foremost of all dhāmas. This is well-known from Śrī Caitanya Bhāgavata and Śrī Caitanya Caritāmṛta.
In this regard, in the Caitanya Bhāgavata’s description of Śrī Navadvīpa-līlā, there is the following order of Mahāprabhu to Paṇḍita Gadādhara:
śeṣe gadādhara prati bulilena vākya
tumi viṣṇu pūja mora nāhika se bhāgya
[Mahāprabhu] lastly spoke the following sentence to Gadādhara Paṇḍita, “You worship Viṣṇu. I do not have such fortune.” (Caitanya Bhāgavata, Madhya 25.90)
In regard to teaching of the Bhāgavata, there is the following statement in the Caitanya Bhāgavata’s description of Nīlācala-līlā:
gadādhara paḍhena sammukhe bhāgavata
śuni prabhu haya prema-rase mahāmatta
gadādhara-vākye mātra prabhu sukhī haya
bhrame gadādhara-saṅge vaiṣnava-ālaya
Gadādhara recites the Bhāgavata in front of Mahāprabhu, and hearing it, Mahāprabhu becomes greatly maddened in prema-rasa. Prabhu becomes happy just by [hearing] Gadādhara’s words. Together with Gadādhara, He goes to the houses of the Vaiṣṇavas. (Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya 3.228, 229)
ei-mate prabhu priya-gadādhara-saṅge
tāna mukhe bhāgavata śuni thāke raṅge
In this way, in the company of dear Gadādhara, Mahāprabhu would merrily hear the Bhāgavata from his mouth. (Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya 11.32)
bhāgavata-pāṭha gadādharera viṣaya
dāmodara-svarūpera kīrttana viṣaya
The subject of teaching the Bhāgavata belongs to Gadādhara and that of kīrtana to Svarūpa Dāmodara. (Caitanya Bhāgavata, Antya 11.36)
Regarding Mahāprabhu’s order to perform worship in Nilācala, there is the following statement in the description of Mahāprabhu’s visit to Vṛndāvana:
gadādhara paṇḍita tabe saṅgete calilā
ksetra-sannyāsa nā chāḍiha’ prabhu niṣedhilā
paṇḍita kahe ‘yāhā tumi tāhā nīlācala
kṣetra-sannyāsa āmāra yāuka rasātala
prabhu kahe ihā̐ kara gopīnātha-sevana
Gadādhara Paṇḍita then went with Mahāprabhu, but Mahāprabhu forbade him to do so, “Do not give up your vow to remain in Nīlācala [i.e., your kṣetra-sannyāsa].” Paṇḍita replied, “Wherever you are, that is Nīlācala. Let my kṣetra-sannyāsa go to Rasātala (hell).” Mahāprabhu said, “Stay here and worship Gopīnātha.” (CC 2.16.129–131
The dialogue continued. Gadādhara very much insisted on accompanying Mahāprabhu, but Mahāprabhu was firm in his decision to not take Gadādhara with Him. He strictly ordered Gadādhara to return to Nīlācala and remain there for the service of Gopīnātha
As far as deity worship in Vṛndāvana is concerned, according to Śrī Kṛṣṇa Dāsa Kavirāja, the three prominent deities established in Vṛndāvana by the followers of Mahāprabhu are Govinda Deva, Madana Mohana (aka Madana Gopāla), and Gopīnātha. He writes:
ei tina ṭhākura gauḍīyāke kariyāchena ātmasāt
e tinera caraṇa vande tine mora nātha
These three Deities have accepted the Gauḍīyas. I offer obeisance unto the feet of these three. They are my Lords. (CC 1.1.2)
Kavirāja Gosvāmī composed a maṅgalācaraṇa only for these three deities (vide CC 1.1.15–17). Among them, Śrī Govinda Deva is considered the presiding deity of the whole of Vṛndāvana. Śrī Rādhā-kṛṣna Dāsa Gosvāmi states this in the following text:
atha śrī-vṛndāvanottamāṅga-yoga-pīṭhāṣṭa-dala-kamala-karṇikā-ṛāja-siṁhāsana-virājamānaḥ sarva-svarūpa-rājaḥ sarva-prakāśa-mūla-bhūtaḥ svayaṁ bhagavat-śrī-vrajendra-nandano madhya-kaiśorāvasthitaḥ śrī-govinda-deva eva śrī-vṛndāvanādhirājaḥ
Therefore, the original form of Bhagavān, Śrī Govinda Deva, son of the king of Vraja, the original source of all other manifestations and the king of all the svarūpas [of Bhagavān] who is in his mid-youth, sitting on the royal throne of Yogapīṭha, which is the head of Śrī Vṛndāvana in the form of the whorl of a lotus consisting of eight petals, is verily the presiding deity of Śrī Vṛndāvana. (Śrī Sādhana-dīpikā, Second Chapter)
Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī himself personally re-established the worship of Śrī Govinda Deva and constructed a temple for Him. Later, although Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī had the most competent, qualified, scholarly, and devoted disciple in Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī, he did not entrust the service of Govinda Deva to him. Rather, he appointed Śrī Paṇḍita Haridāsa Gosvāmī as the chief worshiper (pūjārī) of his temple. Haridāsa Gosvāmī was a grand disciple of Śrī Gadādhara Paṇḍita. He did this in accordance with the wish of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī is renowned for knowing the heart of Śrī Mahāprabhu.
śrī-caitanya mano’bhīṣṭam sthapitam yena bhūtale
so’yam rūpa kadā mahyam dadāti sva-padāntikam
One who has established the heart’s desire of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu in the world, when will that Ṛūpa Gosvāmī give [the shelter of] the toe of his feet?
Similarly, the temple of Śrī Gopīnātha was established by Śrī Paramānanda Gosvāmī, a disciple of Śrī Gadādhara Paṇḍīta. The worship was then carried on by Śrī Madhu Paṇḍita, a disciple of Śrī Paramānanda Gosvāmī.
The deity of Madana Mohana was established by Śrī Sanātana Gosvāmī. He entrusted the worship to Śrī Kṛṣṇa Dāsa Brahmacārī, who is listed among the branches of Gadādhara Paṇḍita (CC 1.12.83). Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa Dāsa Gosvāmī writes that Rūpa Gosvāmī and Sanātana Gosvāmī, as per the instruction of Caitanya Mahāprabhu, entrusted the service in their temples to the followers of Śrī Gadādhara Paṇḍita. śrīla-rūpeṇa śrī-sanātana ca mūla-svarūpa-śakti-śrī-rādhā-gadādhara-parivāre śrīman mahāprabhor ājñānusāreṇa sva-sva-sthāne sva-sva-sevā samarpitā (Śrī Sādhana-dīpikā, First chapter, pp 3)
Even Śrī Raghunātha Dāsa Gosvāmī offered the service of the twin ponds, Śrī Rādhā-kuṇda and Śrī Śyāma-kuṇḍa, and the property adjoining them, to the Govinda Deva temple. evaṁ śrīmad-rūpādvaita-rūpeṇa śrimad-raghunāthena śrī-yuta-kuṇḍa-yugala-paricaryā tat-parisara-bhūmiś ca śrī-govindāya samarpitā. (Ibid pp 3)
Besides these three main temples, there is the temple of Rādha Dāmodara established by Jīva Gosvāmī, the nephew and disciple of Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī. He also followed in the footsteps of his uncle and guru Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī.
Another important Deities of Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas are of Rādha Vinoda. As explained below these deities were also established by a follower of Śrī Gadādhara Paṇḍita. They were discovered by Lokanātha Gosvāmī in a pond called Kiśorī-kuṇḍa at Umrāyā village in Vraja. He was a nephew of Bhūgarbha Gosvāmī, a disciple of Śrī Gadādhara Paṇdita.
paṇdita-gosāñira śiṣya bhugarbha gosāñi
caitanya-kathā vinā āra katha mukhe nāñi (CC, Ādi 8.63)
Lokanātha Gosvāmī forbade Kṛṣṇa Dāsa Kavirāja to write about him; thus, we find no mention about him in the Caitanya Caritāmṛta except once when Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas went to see Nātha Ji in Mathurā at the house of Viṭṭhala Nātha, a son of Śrī Vallabhācārya. As per the description found in Prema Vilāsa, he was a disciple of Śrī Advaitācarya. This, however, may not be very reliable. The reason for this is that Narottama Dāsa Ṭhākura, the only disciple of Lokanātha Gosvāmi, writes in a song, part of the Prārthanā collection, that he belongs to the family of Gadādhara—gadādhara mora kula. This implies that like his uncle Bhūgarbha, Lokanātha was also a disciple of Gadādhara Panḍita. There is also a prayer called Rādhā-Gadadharāṣtaka written by Lokanātha in praise of Gadādhara Paṇḍita that further fortifies that Lokanātha was a disciple of Gadādhara Paṇdita.
Lokanātha Gosvami and Bhūgarbha Gosvāmi were the first devotees sent by Caitanya Mahaprabhu to Vraja. Later, they were joined by Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī and Sanātana Gosvāmī. From all this it is understood that originally the main temples of Gauḍiya Vaiṣṇavas in Vṛndāvana were looked after by the followers of Gadādhara Paṇdita. This is confirmed by Śrī Rādhā Kṛṣṇa Dāsa Gosvāmī: adyāpi śrī-vṛndāvane upāsanā-prāpti-sthāne śrīmad-rādha-govinda-śrī-rādhā-madana-gopāla-sevādhikārī śrī-rūpa-sanātanānugatye rādha-gadādhara-caritram eva dṛśyate—“Even today in Vṛndāvana, which is the place of worship as well as the place of attainment, in the persons in-charge of the sevā of Śrī Rādha Govinda Deva and Śrī Rādha Madana Gopāla, following in the footsteps of Śrī Rūpa and Sanātana, the character of Śrī Rādhā-Gadādhara is visible.” (pp. 135, Chapter Seven, Śri Sādhana–dīpikā). Radha Krsna Gosvami belongs to the third generation from Gadādhara Paṇdita.
