Remembering Sri Ekachakra Dham (1)

His Divine Grace Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Nirmal Acharya Maharaj
Preaching in Tarakeshwar area, noon class,
12 February 2021, part 1
Translated from Bengali

Soon is our festival at the holy abode of Nitai in Sri Birchandrapur. I am finishing the collection now because after the festival I will have to stay in Hooghly for seven days. I will stay at the house of Ashok Prabhu in Begumpur. There is a noon programme on Sunday in Singur, I will come there before 10 a.m.

Nityananda Prabhu's glory is so great. You have heard from Mahabharata about the great battle between the Pandavas and the Kauravas that took place in Dvapar-yuga. Before that battle, the Pandavas lost a game of dice and were exiled: they had to give up their kingdom and go to live in a forest. Yudhisthir, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakul and Sahadev, and their mother Kunti Devi left all together. To live in a forest means that they had to live in different places, travelling from place to place. Among the places they stayed in, there is a place in West Bengal that is now known as Pancha Pandav Tala, in Birchandrapur. There was a brahman's house there, and they stayed in his house. Then, the battle happened. Everyone says that many people fought in that war, but actually only Krishna fought in it. During the battle, one of the wheels of Arjuna's chariot got detached and as it was hurled at the enemies, it landed in Birchandrapur. That is why Birchandrapur became known as Ekachakra (lit. "one [eka] wheel [chakra]"). Later, Nityananda Prabhu had a son named Virchandra (Birachandra), who had many disciples in that area, that is why it became famous as Birchandrapur. Nityananda had two potencies (sakti), Jahnava and Vasudha.

When Mahaprabhu came together with Nityananda Prabhu in a boat to Kalna. That place is near our temple in Kalna, and the oar of Their boat is still kept at the temple—devotees took care and kept it nicely somehow. When you come there, they touch it to your head, but because it has become soft by now, they have kept it in a box, so they do not do it anymore. So, when Nityananda Prabhu came there, two brothers lived in that house, Gauri Das Pandit and Suryadas Sarakhel. Gauri Das Pandit is a devotee of Mahaprabhu, and Mahaprabhu told Him:

"Nitai goes to different houses and eats here and there. He has no permanent place, and there is nobody to cook for Him. Arrange a household for Him, get Him married."

"Where will I find a girl?" asked Gauri Das Pandit.

"Why, your brother has two daughters! You can give one to Him—give Jahnava to Him."

"Well, she is not my daughter, so I will have to ask my brother."

When Gauri Das Pandit spoke to his brother, Suryadas said, "Oh, come on! He has no house, no income. He stays in different houses."

Actually, Nityananda Prabhu owned a huge land of many bighas, but He lived as a sannyasi. He wore white clothes, but He always wandered place to place.

[To a devotee:] Turn off your phone! You are going to offer bhog to the Deities, are you going to take your phone with you? Who will call you? When you come to offer bhog to the Deities, you must come without it, it is not necessary to take your phone, etc. with you!

So, Suryadas said no and refused to have his daughter married to Nityananda Prabhu. In the meantime, when Nityananda Prabhu and Gauranga were taking a walk outside the house, Jahnava's glance fell on Nityananda Prabhu and their eyes met. Before, girls used to be very shy (now there is little shyness, but before even elder ladies would never come in front of their Guru—they would run away), so when she glanced at Nityananda Prabhu and their eyes met (she is His sakti, after all; this is not an ordinary marriage matter that people have), she quickly ran away into the forest and fell there unconscious. Nobody from the house knew what had happened, so they started looking for her, "Where is our girl? Where has she gone?" Eventually, they found her in the forest and brought her home. When they brought her home, they saw that foam was coming out of her mouth. They thought that she had been bitten by a snake, so they fetched some healer. The healer tried to take out poison, but there was no poison or a sign of a bite. Then, Gauri Das Pandit said to his brother, "Where are Nitai and Gaura? You see? You refused to give this girl to the sadhu, and now you can see what her condition is.

At this time, Nitai and Gaura were sitting beneath a tamarind tree (that tree is still there). Suddenly, they saw Gauri Das running towards them and crying, "Come, come! Come with me to the house!"

"What has happened?" asked Nitai and Gaura.

"I do not know what has happened, but Jahnava is unconscious!" explained Gauri Das Pandit.

"What will We do? We are not healers or doctors. Call a doctor!" said Nityananda Prabhu.

"No, no, Prabhu, please come, come with me."

In the end, Gauri Das Pandit made Them come with him to the house, and when they came, he said to Nityananda Prabhu, "Take this girl now."

"What will I do with this dead girl?!" asked Nityananda Prabhu. "She cannot wash the dishes, she cannot serve the Lord. What will I do with this dead girl?!"

"No, You must accept her!" insisted Gauri Das Pandit.

Then, Nityananda Prabhu said, "All right, I agree, but I have one condition."

"What is Your condition?"

"The condition is this. You must give Vasudha along with Jahnava."

What is he to do now! Suryadas did not give even one girl to him, but now Nityananda is asking for two girls! Suryadas and Gauri Das discussed it, and Gauri Das said, "If you refuse now too, what if the same thing happens to Vasudha?" Scared, Suryadas agreed to have both his daughters married to Nityananda Prabhu.

When he agreed, Nityananda Prabhu put His hand on Jahnava's head, she opened her eyes and sat up. Then, two garlands were brought, and the two sisters put two garlands on Nityananda Prabhu's neck. After that, Nityananda Prabhu took them to Birbhum. There was no need for any formal marriage—Jahnava and Vasudha only put garlands on His neck, and they left. Later, Jahnava left for Vrindavan; if you go there, you can see her samadhi there. She became a Vaishnavi and in her later life went to Vrindavan to do her bhajan. She stayed near Radha Kunda. Every year, we come to pay obeisance to her samadhi.

This is the glory of Nityananda Prabhu.

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