SRI NABADWIP DHAM MAHATMYA-MUKTA-MALA

Koladwip (Pada-sevanam: serving the lotus feet of the Lord)

Sri Samudragad

We usually visit the second part of Sri Koladwip (the western side) during the fourth day of Sri Nabadwip Dham parikrama. As each year, this year, too, by the mercy of Sri Gurupadpadma, we have entered Sri Koladwip on our last day and have now come to Sri Samudragad, where Sri Dvaraka Dham and Gangasagar reside eternally.

In the previous age, in this area there lived a king called Raja Sri Samudrasen. Although he was a great king, he was also an exalted devotee of Lord Krishna – he always thought about Krishna and knew nothing else except the Lord. One day, Bhimasen came here to conquer the kingdom. He and his soldiers had surrounded Samudragad, but Raja Samudrasen was very intelligent: he knew that Krishna was the master and close friend of the Pandavas and if any of the Pandavas got into danger, Krishna would definitely come to rescue them. So, the king thought, ‘If I scare Bhima, the Lord will hear his prayer and come to my land, and this poor and fallen soul will be able to get His darshan.’ In this way, thinking about the Lord, the king brought his elephants, horses and soldiers, and a great battle started. Eventually, the king’s plan was successful: as the battle went on and on, Bhima finally became very afraid; seeing no way out, he prayed to the lotus feet of Krishna, ‘Prabhu, please protect me! I can neither win this battle nor lose it! If I lose it, I will not be able to tolerate such great humiliation.’

Lord Sri Krishna, the master of the Pandavas, heard Bhima’s cry and personally came to the battlefield. Then, something wondrous happened. King Sri Samudrasen got the darshan of Lord Sri Krishna’s form of exquisite beauty – he could see nothing except the Lord. At the sight of Krishna’s beauty, the king became overwhelmed with divine love and was on the verge of fainting. The king then prayed to the Supreme Lord, ‘O Lord, You are Krishna, the Lord of the entire world, Jagannath, You are the rescuer of the fallen – seeing this fallen soul, You have come to me! The whole world is chanting Your glories, and now that I have seen You with my own eyes, my dream has been fulfilled. At the same time, O Lord, I have promised that I will not go anywhere from here until You come to this Nabadwip Dham. O merciful One! Have You come to fulfil my promise? My hidden aspiration is to behold You as Gauranga.’ Saying this, the king suddenly first saw Vrindavan pastimes of Radha and Krishna and then the mysterious form of Rasaraj-Mahabhav Gauranga Mahaprabhu: Nimai Visvambhar was chanting and dancing together with His devotees in maha-sankirtan. After a while, the Lord disappeared. When everything became calm again, the king began to cry.

In the meantime, Bhimasen saw the king crying (he could not understand why because he had not seen the Lord) and was astonished. He thought that the king was crying out of fear. So, he again started fighting, and this time the king let him easily win the battle. Bhima got the tribute from the king and went away, feeling pleased with himself. From then on, the whole world chants the glories of Bhima calling him ‘digvijay’, the conqueror of all directions.

Samudragad (Samudragarh) is situated near the border of Sri Nabadwip Dham, and even Lord Brahma himself does not know its glory.

One time, Samudra (the Ocean) came here and, taking shelter of Ganga Devi, started serving devotees. Ganga Devi told the ocean, ‘Prabhu, very soon my Lord will come and stay on your shore.’

‘O Devi!’ replied the ocean. ‘Can I tell you something? Sachinandan Gaura-hari never leaves Nabadwip. Even if He stays on my shore for a few days, He actually always stays in Nadia in an unmanifest way. All the Vedas say that the eternal pastimes of Mahaprabhu continue eternally in Sri Nabadwip Dham. O Devi! I will stay here, in your shelter.’

Saying this, the ocean stayed in Nabadwip Dham and continues sitting here, in Samudragad, to this day, meditating on the eternal pastimes of Gauranga Mahaprabhu.

Sriman Nityananda Prabhu told Srila Jiva Goswami Prabhu about the glory of this place, and by the mercy of Srila Bhaktivinod Thakur, we get to know about all this from Sri Nabadwip-dham-mahatmya. This is our greatest fortune.

Jay Sri Samudragad ki jay.
Sri Nabadwip Dham parikrama ki jay.
Sri Nabadwip Dham parikrama palankari bhakta-vrnda ki jay.
Jay Srila Guru Maharaj ki jay.

(At Sri Samudragad)

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