SRI SRI PREMA-DHAMA DEVA STOTRAM

by Om Vishnupad
Srila Bhakti Raksak Sridhar
Dev-Goswami Maharaj

(Translated into English from the original Bengali translation
that was prepared and published by Srila Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswami Maharaj; based on the sixth Bengali edition published in 1970)

(Chanted ten verses daily, starting from each Saturday)

[1] Demigods, perfected souls, liberated souls, yogis and Lord’s devotees always sing His praise (‘sadopasya…paramesthi-prabhrtibhih: He is always worshippable for Lord Brahma and others’); He relieves the world from the blazing forest fire of three-fold miseries (caused by the desire for enjoyment, liberation and perfections) brought about by inauspicious actions (performed in aversion to the Supreme Lord); an ocean of generosity, He bestows His own Name from the nectarean storehouse of Lord Sri Krishna’s Names – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.

[2] The grace of His limbs is extolled for their colour of molten gold, glittering like millions of lustrous reflective mirrors; the (worldly) scent of a lotus and the (heavenly) scent of parijata personified extol the fragrance emanating from His limbs; millions of cupids (who are renowned for their beauty receive a severe blow to their pride and) fall unconscious at His holy feet – He expands Himself exhibiting an ecstatic play of this kind of beauty (creating a beautiful pulsating rhythm with the divine rapture of His limbs and sub-limbs) – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.

[3] To spread the fifth goal of human life (divine love for Lord Sri Krishna) and the only means of practising it (chanting the Holy Name of Lord Sri Krishna), He has manifested His play in a five-fold way (as pancha-tattva) and advented on the earth together with His transcendental limbs, accessory limbs, weapons and associates; He is Lord Syamasundar, but today He has come as Lord Gaurasundar – chanting His own Holy Name and losing Himself in dancing, He wanders throughout Nadia like a common villager – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.

[4] The Master of Santipur, Sri Advaita Prabhu, felt deep pain seeing the rise of irreligiosity in this Age of Kali – not being able to tolerate his pain, He comes to dispel the miseries of all souls and increase the happiness of devotees and thus begins to widely distribute the nectar of the Holy Name of Lord Sri Krishna to destroy the filth of Kali – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.

[5] He has appeared in this world in Gauda-des, on the bank of the Ganges in Sri Nabadwip, and showed householder and many other pastimes; blessing the house of Srivas, He increased the joy (of pious souls) by manifesting there ecstatic sankirtan; He is the master of Sri Laksmipriya and Sri Vishnupriya; and He reveres Sri Sachi Mata and Sri Jagannath Misra (as His parents) – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.

[6] As the darling baby of Sri Sachi (just as Yasoda’s darling baby boy did), He (playfully) frolicked with other boys in His childhood; as a teen, He exhibited erudition in all scriptures; He cleverly pretended to use logic and debate (as did all near atheistic Nabadwip scholars and immature sophists of the day, proud of their erudition) to establish and spread auspiciousness (of devotion to the Lord); and, surrounded by His students (on the bank of the Jahnavi), He effortlessly crushed the vanity of the renowned scholar Digvijayi Pandit – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.

[7] In His early childhood, He plays with impure discarded pots, puppies and venomous snakes; He rides on the shoulders of a thief (who took Him on his shoulders because he wanted to steal His ornaments) and makes him return Him back to the house; He shows a beautiful pastime of granting a famous brahman travelling throughout holy places the darsan of his worshippable Deity as well as His holy food remnants; and in His later childhood, He shows the pastime of becoming very angry and calming down only after hearing the Holy Name – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.

[8] In His childhood pastimes, He shows wonderful pastimes playing in the Suradhuni’s waters with His friends and speaking teasingly with young girls; He also has many intricate debates and logical wrangling with students and professors – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.

[9] As a teen, He becomes famous as Nimai Pandit and is revered throughout the country; He silences the pride of thousands of puffed-up scholars expert in immature sophism; He busts all their arguments, and when His opponent has nothing to say in reply, He then Himself demonstrates the truth of those refuted arguments! – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.

[10] When Digvijayi Pandit (Kesav Kasmiri) composed and recited prayers to Sri Ganga Devi and some faults were revealed in their style and composition, he tried to argue in many sophisticated ways but was still defeated by Him; in the end, when this great scholar was unable to understand anything and felt completely confused, Nimai (told those who were present to stop cracking jokes at the defeated scholar and) showed Digvijayi much respect, appreciating his erudition – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.

[11] He explains the intrinsic meaning of profound aphorisms of the scriptures dedicated to grammar and logic and also provides their various important interpretations, to the astonishment of the scholars of the time; He proves that the seven thousand verbal roots mentioned in the grammar scriptures, in their unbridled (highest) meaning, can allude only to the power of Lord Visvambhar Sri Krishna; confronted with His explanations, all expert scholars become dumbfounded and, being unable to say anything in reply, remain standing in silent astonishment – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.

[12] He firmly establishes that all words and their meanings are related to the vision, or sweet will, of the independent Supreme Lord, who is the cause of all causes; philosophers headed by Panini tried to cultivate ancient semantics, but at the basis of its methods and adjustments is the special will, or authorisation, of the Supreme Lord, because the only purpose of all gross and subtle, moving and non-moving living entities, as well as all existence and movement, is to make Lord Sri Krishna happy, or to contribute to the pleasure and pastimes of the non-dual Absolute – He is the one who established all this, and it is this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love, that I am singing in praise of.

[13] Upon His return from Gaya, He started to teach students again, but it was impossible for Him to teach because He had become miraculously entranced by a powerful surge of divine love; losing forever an opportunity to have Nimai Pandit as their teacher, His students kept complaining and lamenting about their misfortune but also humbly praised the brilliance of Nimai Pandit’s unique secular teaching; although He felt sympathetic towards His students and very sad to disappoint them, He blessed them when, overcome with divine mood and clapping His hands, He manifested the very first auspicious beginning of Sri Krishna-kirtan in their company; as He chanted ‘Hari Haraye namah Krishna Kesavaya namah’, the great waves surging from the ocean of ecstasy of divine love arising from His Sri Krishna-sankirtan flooded and submerged all mobile and immobile living entities in all directions – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.

[14] Righteously following Vedic religious rules, He first takes shelter of a guru and then begins inaugurating Sri Krishna-kirtan; He dances and chants in sankirtan together with thousands of devotees; He most magnanimously liberates the destroyers of religious and secular orders of life, Jagai and Madhai, as well as many other dacoits and miscreants – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.

[15] When a mlechha king (the government representative Chad Kazi) obstructs chanting of the Holy Name, to dispel devotees’ fears, He leads a (spontaneous) sankirtan of millions of people who come out at night on the streets illuminated by thousands of lights (torches); dancing to the sweetest beats of drums and sounds of various other instruments (karatals, etc.), He hijacks (the ruler) Kazi (removing his ego of a ruler) – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.

[16] Amidst a rain of tears shed by thousands of eyes, eager to see the Lord, He happily (for the benefit of people) shaved His head; His beautiful pastime of accepting the mendicant’s staff (sannyas) was enhanced by millions of people chanting Sri Hari-sankitan all together; the whole land wailed inconsolably at the sight of His sannyas garb – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.

[17] As a youthful king of mendicants, garbed as a devotee, He purifies Rarh-des by the touch of His holy feet; taking the new name Sri Krishna Chaitanya, He rescues jiva souls through the Holy Name of Lord Krishna; He runs in every direction, resembling the great Himalayas, divinely mad with the ecstasy overcoming Him as He hankers to understand Himself and find self-satisfaction as well as to show the method of satisfying Him to others – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.

[18] Enriched by the company of Sri Gadadhar, Sri Nityananda and other associates, He has descended to this earth to fulfil the desire of His chief devotee Sri Advaita; and to please His mother, He has agreed to stay (after taking sannyas) in Sri Purusottam Ksetra – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.

[19] When Sri Krishna Chaitanya, the king among sannyasis, is staying in Nilachal, He rescues (from the pit of Sri Sankar’s teachings about the illusory nature of the world) Sri Vasudev Sarvabhauma (the highest contemporary scholar in India, who possessed extraordinary fame for his expertise in debate and the Vedas); after that, He travels to the holy places of South India (infested with various doctrines) and, like a wish-fulfilling tree, fulfils all cherished desires of the devotees living there; and (especially when He comes to the bank of the Godavari,) He infuses the rain of ecstasy of the spontaneous loving devotion of Vraja into the cloud of His devotee Sri Ramananda (placing questions unto him, He reveals His own teachings) – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.

[20] Very tall, beautiful and infused with divine love, His holy form increases gods’ joy; the lustre of His body, which puts millions of golden lotuses to shame, is worshipped by the Moon; and His intrinsic form is a holy abode of divine pastimes manifest as eternal ever-increasing transcendental ecstatic transformations that spring up as He revels dancing in Sri Krishna-sankirtan – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.

[22] Although Sarvabhauma Mahasaya, resorting to various techniques of argument (diversion, rebuttal, refutation, etc.), tried his utmost to uphold the nirvisesa-vada teachings of Sankar Acharya that oppose pure devotion, Sri Chaitanya, who posed as a new sannyasi, resplendent with effulgent genius, easily crushed, one by one, all his atheistic arguments using common sense based on Vedic precepts; He proved that the faith mentioned in the highly condemnable illusory doctrine of Sankar (vivartavad) is devoid of the highest wealth of the soul and promotes the external rules of worshipping Brahman with the view of merging into Him (i.e. considering oneself non-different from God), serving as a cover to hide demoniac heresy; He refuted common notions by explaining the transformation of the Lord’s potency through the sayings of various revealed scriptures (e.g. ‘Apanipado javano grahita…: He has no legs or hands, but He at once comes to accept an offering…’) as well as through the famous ‘atmarama’ verse from the sattvik scripture Srimad Bhagavatam and by establishing the transcendental (personal) conception, which is the genuine purport of all scriptures; thus He established within the Vedas, Vedanta, Puranas and all other scriptures the literary Temple where the glories and pastimes of the Lord are extolled – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.

[22] After that, on the pretext of making a pilgrimage, He set off to deliver South India through the Holy Name: posing as a youthful sannyasi, the beautiful Lord wandered throughout South India visiting various holy places and chanting very sweetly, “Krishna Krishna Krishna Krishna Krishna Krishna Krishna he” and singing “Rama Rama” – stirred internally in an inexplicable divine way, He would display an extremely sweet and peculiar dance; He made everyone chant and distributed the Holy Name of Krishna anywhere and everywhere without considering whether the time was right or whether the recipient was fit – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.

[23] On the western bank of the Godavari, He had a renowned theistic conversation with Ramananda Ray that became known (in Sri Chaitanya-charitamrta) as Ramananda-sambad, in which He demonstrated that chaste loving service of the heart that is free from the contamination of karma and jnana (pursuits of any material gain or knowledge) is the highest wealth, and that Sri Vrajendra-nandan is ascertained to be the only original object of spontaneous service suffused with transcendental paramour love – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.

[24] He ardently preached that service performed in various divine relationships (from dasya-, sakhya-, vatsalya- to madhura-rasa) and the (paramount) service beauty of Sri Radha’s servitors in the highest paramour madhura-rasa, as well as any transcendental hankering of the self-realised souls in Sri Vraja Dham, can indisputably be realised in Sri Vrajendra-nandan only – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.

[25] He explained what the happiness of being free (from miseries) in santa-rasa is like, what the happiness of (service) satisfaction in dasya-rasa is like, and what the intoxicating happiness (of unrestrained service) in sakhya-rasa is like; He said that in vatsalya-rasa there is intense joy filled with deep affection and devoid of intellectual speculation, and that in madhura-rasa, there is a beautiful feeling of complete happiness, which, governed by scriptural regulations (svakiya), is relished in a suppressed way; but He also affirmed that beyond scriptural regulations, the spontaneous loving service found in Vraja (especially when in relation to vamyabhava, an opposing mood peculiar to Sri Radha) gives the highest service-happiness – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.

[26] Sri Ray’s supramundane fortune is such that the Lord reveals to him the novel advent of His pastimes in Nabadwip; He discloses to him the pastimes and worshippable holy manifestation of His original esoteric, ecstatic identity of Syama-gopa couched in Sri Radha’s heart and halo; beholding this hitherto unseen amazing figure, Ramananda falls unconscious at His holy feet, and He then brings His eternal servant back to consciousness – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.

[27] In Sri Kurmaksetra, He delights a leprosy-stricken devotee brahman Vasudev by embracing him, relieving him thus of his disease and granting him a beautiful figure; liberating a South Indian brahman devotee Ramdas from misconception (by explaining to him that it is impossible for Ravan to touch the holy form of Sri Sita Devi), He nourishes him with pure devotion (explaining that transcendental matters can never be perceived by material eyes and showing him the evidence from Kurma Purana); and He rescues His own associate, a foolish brahman Kala-Krishna Das, from the illusory grip of a bogus Malabara sampradaya called Bhattathari – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.

[28] In Sri Rangaksetra, (on the bank of the Kaveri, the main holy place of the venerable Vaishnavs who believe that the worship of Sri Laksmi-Narayan is the highest end in life), pleased with the service of the family of Sri Venkata Bhatta (Sri Gopal Bhatta’s father), He instructed as if jokingly that Laksmi Devi (even having performed penances for a very long time) was denied entrance into the rasa-lila of Sri Krishna because gopis are the only mistresses who nurture this rasa-lila; so, the main aspiration in one’s highest goal and spiritual practice is the youthful cowherd Sri Krishna (original Lord Narayan), who attracts the heart of even Laksmi Devi (Lord Narayan’s beloved who is lying on His lap) – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga- sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.

[29] (Having collected it from South India,) He gave His devotees Sri Brahma-samhita, a famous scripture replete with devotional conclusions; He lovingly recites verses full of Sri Vraja pastimes from Sri Krishna-karnamrita, composed by the South Indian poet Sri Bilvamangal; and the great king Prataparudra worships Him placing His feet on his head – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.

[30] As He danced and chanted surrounded by devotees before the holy chariots, He manifested an amazing transcendental form of Nataraj; He astonished the heart of King Prataparudra, surrounded by the assembled pilgrims and all his courtiers and friends; and He revealed that the real meaning of Lord Jagannathdev’s pastimes (getting pulled in a chariot to Gundicha, etc.) is presented in Sri Rupa’s poem (‘priyah so’ yam … vipinaya sprhayati’: ‘I have met You, My Beloved, but My heart hankers for the groves where We used to meet before’) – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga- sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.

[31] When the whole of South India was under the powerful Muslim rule, the emperor of the then independent Odisha, King Sri Prataparudra, became deeply fascinated and charmed beholding Sri Chaitanyadev’s genius, formidable brilliance and behaviour suffused with divine love – leaving all his strength, courage, heroism and all his previous religious principles, he rolled on the ground at the lotus feet of Sriman Mahaprabhu, who bathed this surrendered ruler’s head with His holy foot dust – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.

[32] He was soon revered by all renowned South Indian scholars and adorned with the respect and honour of the highest ruling kings and their ministers, after which (following the commonly accepted rule) He placed His holy feet once again in Gauda-des, making His final visit to see His birthplace, Ganga and His mother – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.

[33] As the rays of His glory flooded all Bengal, the whole land became filled with pride for Sri Gauranga, so much so that even common prominent personalities received Him with much respect and some staunch atheists, who were proud of their strength of knowledge, felt ashamed realising their deprived state when they saw with how much eagerness and excitement Sri Gaurachandra was honoured by everyone in the country, however noble or lowly; letting everyone see Him again, He breathed new life into the bodies of His mother and close devotees, who were nearly dead from the unbearable separation – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.

[34] Five long years had passed after He took sannyas when He again arrived at His birthplace in Sri Nabadwip; everybody’s innermost hearts were irresistibly drawn to Him, so when they (the young, the old, all the women – thousands and thousands of people) finally had a glimpse of Him, they became engulfed and tearful at His sight; the assembled crowd became so agitated to see Him that the incessant chanting that came out of their mouths and echoed around pierced the sky, quickly spreading in all directions – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.

[35] After removing the pain of separation from His dear grief-stricken devotees and soothing the pain and offences of Chapal Gopal and other persons inflamed with offences, He (walks along the bank of the Ganges and then) starts running towards Vrindavan; thousands of people (an oceanic crowd) run after Him, but upon reaching Ramakeli (the then capital of Bengal, near Gauda), the Lord becomes charmed by (two ministers, who were His two eternal associate devotees) Sri Rupa and his elder brother, Sri Sanatan, and treats them with much affection – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.

[36] (From Ramakeli, Mahaprabhu changed His course: He went to Puri Dham through Gauda, and from there He went to Vrindavan through Jharkhand.) He traverses Jharkhand as a hero, displaying intense divine intoxication as He chants the Holy Name of Lord Krishna and dances sweetly in divine love, together with tigers, elephants, deer and other forest animals; He walks with only Balabhadra Bhattacharya by His side through dense, impassable jungle paths, feeling much happiness in His secluded worship of the Lord – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.

[37] He acknowledges the importance of various Deities (Sri Bindu-Madhav and others) worshipped on the bank of the Ganga (in Kasi) and at the confluence of the Ganga and the Yamuna (in Prayag); after that, He runs swiftly ahead of everybody along the holy bank of the Yamuna, anxious to see Sri Mathura; immersing Himself in remembering the pastimes that took place in Sri Vraja, He becomes stricken with intense pain of separation – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.

[38] He accepts that the acme of one’s highest service-aspiration is found in Sri Radhika’s divine separation mood (when She pined for Her beloved who had gone to Mathura), which can be traced in the verses relished by Sri Madhavendra Puri (‘Ayi dina-dayardra-natha … kim karomy aham’, ‘Mathura Mathura … madhura madhura’, etc.); as He approaches Sri Vraja Dham, the holy abode of divine loving pastimes, He sees the forests and groves where various pastimes took place before, feeling deep satisfaction in His heart; and He shows various loving interactions with the local cowherds and milkmaids when He visits Gokula and the rest of the twelve forests – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.

[39] When He roams the forests of Vrindavan, He is welcomed everywhere by flowers beautified by humming bumblebees and indistinct sounds of love talks; wherever He goes in Vrindavan, whose land is adorned with thousands of beautiful trees and plants, He is extolled by wonderful birds, expert at dancing and singing; and when He hears affectionate calls of grazing cows, calves and bulls, He feels pierced with emotion remembering His previous pastimes, and His heart overflows with deep affection – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.

[40] Overcome with strong bouts of divine love surging through Him and becoming unconscious of the world around Him, He dances madly and chants kirtan; the tears streaming incessantly from His eyes flood His body, the colour of molten gold and tall as the mount Sumeru, His clothes, the colour of the newly risen sun, and the earth in all fourteen directions around Him; He glows as He chants, ‘Krishna! Krishna!’, shouts jumbled up words and relishes various postures and behaviours (roaring with laughter, etc.) under the influence of divine love – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.

[41] Captured thus by the divine love, as He continues dancing in kirtan, He madly rushes forward and arrives in the vicinity of Arista (Sri Radha Kunda); He immediately blesses the water of the paddy field by bathing in it and informs that this place is Sri Radha Kunda; with tenderness and humility, He offers affectionate prayers to this Radha Kunda, which is infused with divine love, by reciting scriptural verses such as ‘Yatha Radha…atyanta-vallabha’ (‘Radha Kunda is as dear to Krishna as Radha Herself’) – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.

[42] When He thus takes darsan of various places of pastimes within Sri Vraja-bhimi, He comes beneath a tamarind tree in Sri Vrindavan that was renowned in Dvapar-yuga – excited by the sight of Sri Yamuna’s waves, He becomes overwhelmed thinking about His esoteric pastimes when He played in its waters together with His girlfriends; as He internally realises Sri Radha’s sweetness, He loses Himself in the intense emotion that comes over Him as He identifies Himself with Her mood and relishes it; He embodies and inhabits the original source where Sri Gaura’s incarnation is conceived when Sri Syamasundar becomes completely overwhelmed with the mood of Sri Radha – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.

[43] He is the subject matter of the joking conversations between Suka and Sari; He embodies the reason (expressed in such verses as ‘Radha-sange yada bhati…svayam madana-mohita: When Krishna is with Radha, He Himself becomes captured by Cupid’) why it is written that Sri Krishna, the lord of love, becomes Himself captured by love in separation from Sri Radha; displaying the sweetness of Sri Krishna’s submission to divine love, He astounds His devotees’ hearts – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.

[44] In Sri Prayag Dham (at the Dasasvamedha ghat), He instructs Sri Rupa on the process of attaining the ecstasy of devotion found in Vraja, empowering him thus to distribute such devotion; after that, in Kasi Dham, He teaches Sri Sanatan all about pure devotion (elaborating on its nature, practice and objective); and, reciprocating special prayers of a Maharastriya brahman, Tapan Misra and other devotees, He comes to an assembly of mayavadi sannyasis in Varanasi, where He summarily refutes the blind conception of the narrow-minded, self-destructive worship of impersonal Brahman in which the soul is identified with God, and proclaims the freedom that the worship of the Supreme Brahman grants – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga- sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.

[45] (On His way back from Sri Dham Vrindavan to Sri Purusottam, Sri Chaitanyadev finished His teachings to Sri Rupa in Prayag and then came to the holy abode of Varanasi.) In Kasi Dham, He rescues (by scriptural conclusions and by the influence of His own pure personality suffused with divine love) Sri Prakasananda Saraswati, the leader of thousands of sannyasis (resembling Sri Sankar Acharya), from the pitfall of impersonal debates; He drives all the sannyasis and residents of Kasi mad with the sankirtan of Krishna’s Holy Names, granting them relief from the ocean of material existence; and in His divine form, He pulls the holy chariot transporting the nectar of revealed teachings that come down through a succession started by Sri Narad and Vyasa – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.

[46] (Presenting the gist summary of the scriptural conclusions at the assembly of sannyasis in Kasi,) He instructs about Vedanta-bhasya, the essence of Srimad Bhagavatam, which stems from the commentary to Sri Brahma-sutra and is realised through the disciplic succession of Sri Krishna-Brahma-Devarsi (it was composed by Sri Krishna-dvapayana himself on Narad Goswami’s advice); based on the four key verses of Srimad Bhagavatam (‘aham evasam evagre… – I existed before everything else…’), He made it self-evident that the non-dual Supreme Lord Sri Krishna is the original form of all moving and non-moving creation; and, step by step, He auspiciously established that, based on the meaning of the ‘Anavrttih sabdat anavrttih sabdat’ sutra (‘Those who know the purport of the Vedas never return to the world of births and deaths’), the soul can attain the cessation of repeated births and deaths through the transcendental sound vibration (sabda-brahma, the Holy Name of Lord Krishna) – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.

[47] By explaining (in sixty-two ways) the widely famous ‘Atmaramas cha’ verse of Srimad Bhagavatam, He summarily refutes the impersonal conception of the Absolute spread by Sankar Acharya; He reveals the beauty of the sweetness found in the non-dual Absolute’s transcendental pastimes through the verses of revealed scriptures, such as ‘Apani-pado javano grahita pasyaty achaksuh sa srnoty akarnah’ (‘He has no legs or hands, but He at once comes to accept an offering; He has no eyes, but He can see; He has no ears, but He can hear’); and He slams the detestable conception of impersonalists claiming that the transcendental Deity of the Lord (along with His Name, form, qualities, pastimes, etc.) is a mere transformation of the mode of goodness existing within in the illusory world (i.e. Lord’s Deities are products of illusion) – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.

[48] He establishes (through the expression ‘Brahmeti paramatmeti bhagavan iti sabdyate; the Absolute Truth is called Brahma, Paramatma or Bhagavan’ from Srimad Bhagavatam) that Brahma (impersonal Absolute) and Paramatma (Supersoul), who are worshipped by pursuers of knowledge and mystic powers, can be compared to two parts of one root and explained who the non-dual Absolute is, showing that the ultimate original relationship with the Absolute is found in the personal form of the Supreme Lord; in His illuminating discussions about the esoteric pastimes of the Supreme Lord’s innate sweetness, He demonstrates the perfection of uncontaminated service to the non-dual Absolute in His personality as Nanda Maharaj’s son, spurred by parental devotion, in the eternal abode of Vraja that is situated beyond the expanse of Vaikuntha (‘Vaikunthaj janito vara madhupuri…: Mathura is higher than Vaikuntha…’); and, ultimately, further analysing devotional mellows and expounding on all the highest, foremost divine sentiments, He hints that the greatest ideal of the soul is found in the intimate play of beauty (in a flood of ecstatic love) filled with the joy of transcendental pastimes (satyam sivam sundaram) of the Lord’s personal potency (svarupa-sakti) in the highest, most inconceivable abode of Sri Gopijana-vallabha Krishna (the reservoir of all possible happiness) that is based on the very essence of His transcendental personality as the Supreme Lord – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.

[49] In this way, at the assembly of highly learned personalities, He presents the ultimate conclusion according to the precepts of all aural (revealed) teachings, that Sri Radha-Vinod represents the only knowledge of the main relationship, that chanting the Holy Names of Lord Sri Krishna in the association of saints is the only method of attaining the goal, and that transcendental loving service to Sri Radha-Kanta, the beloved of gopis, is the only necessity – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.

[50] He reveals (first, to Sri Sanatan and then to Prakasananda) sixty-two interpretations of the famous verse ‘Atmaramas cha… ittham-bhuta-guno harih’ (‘Even self-realised, self-satisfied souls are moved to worship the Lord’) from Srimad Bhagavatam; interpreting the various lexical meanings of the eleven words of this verse, juxtaposed in different ways, He reveals a treasure-mine of multitudinous meanings of this verse in consonance with the precepts of pure devotional conclusions – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga- sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.

[51] Inspiring Sri Sanatan and his younger brother, Sri Rupa, along with Sri Jiva and other goswamis, He manifests His own disciplic succession and ensures that the hidden holy places and pure devotional scriptures (dealing with regulative principles, spontaneous love and spiritual judgement) are preached about properly; and He showers affection revealing the nature of His own internal worship in the presence of Nilachalanath Sri Jagannathdev’s servitors – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.

[52] Externally, He wears the garb of a renunciate, and, internally, He deeply condemns those who (displaying monkey renunciation) aspire after any of the four material goals of life harbouring desire to enjoy; at the same time, He commends the esoteric, profound service efforts of such Vaishnavs as Ray Ramananda (when he shows unrestrained behaviour with lady-servitors to teach them how to dance and act in front of Lord Jagannathdev), who belong to the line of spontaneous loving devotion and hold the highest qualification; along with that, He declares that the qualification to do the kind of spontaneous loving service that Rama Ray does is the wealth that is attained only by extremely rare fortune in millions and millions of lifetimes – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga- sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.

[53] Sri Vallabha Bhatta, an Andhra Pradesh brahman of the suddhadvaita line (and a future renowned Vaishnav acharya), serves Him with firm, exclusive determination at his home in the village Adaila in Prayag Dham, on the other bank of the Yamuna; later, in Sri Purusottam Ksetra, He gives this Sri Vallabha Bhatta (His servitor in the mood of parental devotion) entrance into loving attachment to Kisor-Krishna and arranges for him to receive all appropriate mantras and instruction from Sri Gadadhar Pandit – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.

[54] In the company of His two intimate associates, Sri Svarup Damodar and Sri Ray Ramananda, He manifests the acme of His deepest, heart-rending pastimes; during those very long twelve years, He speaks in divine madness, vomiting the fire of unbearable separation from Lord Sri Krishna (externally, it produces an agony of swallowed poison; but, internally, it brings much joy); He is none other than Govinda, who, coming under complete influence of Sri Radha’s deep devotional mood and adorned with Sri Radhika’s beautiful holy complexion, resembles a magnificent intoxicated elephant – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.

[55] Taking possession of Sri Svarup Damodar’s voice, He always pitifully recites the words that Srimati spoke raving in separation after Krishna left for Mathura; He always relishes the feelings that Sri Radharani experiences when Her heart is set ablaze with the fire of intense, heart-rending separation; and He always describes with a heavy heart what He sees in His divine trance, as if relating a common person’s dream – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.

[56] The signs of divine love, manifesting as eight symptoms of ecstasy, increase the transcendental beauty of His holy figure; sometimes, His holy limbs withdraw into His body, making Him resemble a tortoise; sometimes, His limbs elongate, and He becomes as soft as a flower, emanating lotus fragrance; sometimes, He shows His beautiful complexion is red, sometimes yellow and sometimes the colour of a white jasmine – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.

[57] Captivated by and afflicted with an intense feeling of separation, He runs swiftly to the simha-dvara gate of Lord Jagannathdev’s holy temple; the next moment He falls down on the spot, His holy figure transformed into that of a tortoise by the influence of deep separation; attracted by the uncommon divine fragrance emanating from His holy figure, the Telangi cows residing at the temple draw near, surrounding Him – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.

[58] (Once, on a moonlit night, when He strolls together with devotees to the bank of the ocean to relish the ecstasy of Sri Krishna’s pastimes,) He catches the sight of the Moon’s reflection dancing on the swelling waves of the ocean, and, becoming suddenly overwhelmed remembering Sri Krishna’s playful pastimes in the Yamuna, falls unconscious; next, without anyone noticing it, His as-if-sleeping holy figure (becoming in His trance as light as a piece of wood) lies on the heads of the waves and is gently, rhythmically carried away by Pavandev (Wind); at this time, He becomes submerged in an ocean of profound happiness as He beholds Sri Krishna playing with His girlfriends in the waters of Sri Kalindi – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.

[59] The devotees become fatigued as they keep searching for Him the whole night; by the end of the night, their eyes beam with joy when they find Him near Chakratirtha – lying on the wet sand, His joints dislocated, His long figure looked more placid, majestic and youthfully graceful than a figure of a god – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.

[60] As soon as the loud, pitiful sounds of the devotees’ chanting touch His ears and heart, His joints fall back into place and He assumes His usual beautiful form, like before; still half-unconscious to the external world, His heart heavy with the pain of separation, He describes the pastimes of Lord Sri Krishna that He has seen in His trace – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.

[61] In Sri Vrindavan, in the company of Their girlfriends, Sri Radha-Govinda enjoy various beautiful playful pastimes in the waters of the Yamuna; these pastimes are sometimes performed openly, sometimes stealthily, sometimes assuming a proud posture, sometimes showing placid contentment, but they always make everyone’s hearts and minds fervently keen on attaining union – He comes to spread a clarion call, which captures the very core of one’s heart and stuns the whole world, from this hidden supramundane treasury of joy – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.

[62] Agitated at the sight of Chatak Parvat, He revels in His worship of the Lord and expresses the agony of intolerable separation from Him in various ways (rubbing His holy face, etc.), or remembering the Lord’s water pastimes, He plunges into the ocean – in this way, He shows many symptoms of divine intoxication with transcendental love and infuses devotees’ hearts with His pastime of granting glimpses into the unfathomable profundity of the soaring waves of happiness and sadness arising from the vast, supramundane ocean of Sri Krishna-prema; these pastimes bestow inconceivable auspiciousness only upon the devotees who are exclusively surrendered to Him – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.

[63] He is a holy embodiment of the beautiful reality which is beyond the reach of one’s eyes and ears, which paralyses the very necessity of intelligence and which leaves even firmly fixed consciousness dumbstruck when divine love surges up – even Brahma, Sambhu (Siva), as well as their revealed scriptures, Vedas and tantras cannot conceive of such reality, so they merely keep searching after Him – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.

[64] He purifies with the Holy Name brahmans, sudras, scholars, fools and even inferior classes of people (yavans, etc.); He is the only treasured wealth of the rich, the poor, the strong, the weak, the noble; it is universally admitted that He is the rescuer of all men and women, all animate and inanimate creation, regardless of who the receiver is – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.

[65] Sri Gaura-chandrama appears (at Sachi’s house) during a lunar eclipse on the Phalguni Purnima evening in 1407 of the Saka Era (A.D. 1486). This highest personality is Supreme Lord Sri Gauranga, who advents at the time when people take baths in the pure waters of the Ganges, present various items made of precious stones and, most importantly, when there resounds Sri Harinam-sankirtan – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.

[66] He is a mine of symptoms arising from intrinsic, natural pastimes replete with complete happiness; dancing (from extreme intoxication with the feeling of internal joy) and chanting (from relishing that joy or eagerness to share it with others) – these are two natural, principal symptoms of the complete non-dual Absolute’s nature; therefore, He is unsurpassed and He is the only highest reality – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.

[67] He is the worshippable Lord who blesses Sri Isvara Puripad by mercifully accepting initiation from him; He shaves His hair and accepts the garb of a sannyasi in front of Kesav Bharati; and He adores Sri Madhavendra Puripad’s ideal of service with sweet, loving attachment to youthful Lord Sri Krishna, considering it to be the highest attainment – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga- sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.

[68] He arises in the sky above Gauda (in Sri Mayapur) in the month of Phalgun in 1407 of the Saka Era; in 1431 of the Saka Era, He shows the pastime of accepting the garb of a sannyasi for the eternal benefit of the whole world; and in 1455 of the Saka Era, He conceals Himself from everyone’s eyes – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga-sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.

[69] In the company of His dearmost associates Sri Svarup Damodar and Sri Ray Ramananda, He jubilantly said that in the Age of Kali congregational chanting of the Holy Name of Krishna is the highest way for the soul to attain benefit (‘harse prabhu kahe suna svarupa rama-raya, nama sankirtana kalau parama upaya’); in His greatly renowned Siksastaka (Eight-Verse Teachings), He gave the highest position to Sri Krishna-sankirtan and firmly instructed that chanting the Holy Name of Krishna with love can give complete support and nourishment to all living entities in the world (all conscious entities in the creation) – I am singing in praise of this beautiful Lord Sri Gauranga- sundar, a worshippable Deity of divine love.

[70] O Golden Lord! O ocean of divine love (whose molten-gold figure emanates a golden hue)! Please distribute Your treasure of divine love! Kindly give some consideration to the words of this lowly servant – please forgive his endless offences and count him as one of the servants of Your very intimate servitor Sri Rupa – You are the only guardian and ordainer of this Ramananda Das. O loving Golden Lord Sri Gauranga! I am singing in praise of You.

[71] Those who read with faith these seventy verses of glorification entitled ‘Prema Dhama Stotram’ will attain service to Sri Gauranga-sundar, who is Lord Syamasundar couched in the heart and halo of Sri Radha.

[72] One of Sri Siddhanta Saraswati’s tridandi disciples called Sridhar composed this glorification in the fifth century of Gaurabda.

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CONTENTS

• Foreword
• Sri Sri Prema-Dhama Deva Stotram

• Download (epub), new translation
• English (pdf), old translation
• Bengali (pdf)
• Hindi (pdf)