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dancing. Parvati asked him who this Gauranga was."

"`By seeing your astonishing dance and hearing the name of Gauranga my mind is melting. All that I have heard in the way of mantra and tantra till now only leads to more entanglement for the living entities. Dear husband, please tell me something of this Gauranga. By worshipping Him will I receive actual life?' Siva, hearing Parvati's words, and with Gauranga on his mind, answered.

"`Unto you, who are the primordial energy, one portion of Sri Radha, I will tell the crest-jewel of all truths. Taking on the spiritual emotions of Sri Radha, Krsna will descend in this Kali yuga at Mayapur as the Son of Saci. The Lord, the golden jewel, intoxicated with pastimes of Kirtana, will distribute the jewel of prema. Just remembering the promise of the Lord that He will come, I pass my life drowning in love of God. Not being able to control myself, I have given up my own city of Kasi. Within Mayapur, on the bank of the Ganga, I will live in a hut and worship Gauranga."

"Hearing Siva's words, beautiful Parvati hastily went to Simantadvipa. Constantly meditating on the form of Gauranga, uttering the name of Gaura, she became immersed in prema. Gauranga, out to distribute His mercy, appeared with His associates. He was molten gold in complexion with long arms, wavy hair, and beautiful limbs. He was wearing a long dhoti folded thrice, and from his neck swung a garland of flowers, very attractive to behold."

"Choked with prema, Gaura Raya said, `Oh Parvati, why have you come here?'"

"Parvati fell at the lotus feet of the master of the universe, and with an agitated mind explained her sorrow."

"`Oh Prabhu Jagannatha, life of the universe, though you are merciful to all, You are the cause of my distress. Oh deliverer of the fallen, You have given to me all the living entities who turn from Krsna, and I must bind them up in the material world. I have come into the material world to do this work, and have thus been cheated of Your unlimited prema. People say that wherever Krsna is there is no maya. I am therefore forced to remain always outside Your spiritual realm, in the material world. So how will I ever see Your pastimes? If You do not offer a way, I am without hope.'"

"Saying this, Parvati put Gauranga's foot dust on her simanta (place of the hair part) in great distress. From that, the name of Simantadvipa came. Ignorant people call the place Simuliya."

"Gauranga, pleased, said to Parvati, `Listen carefully to My words, Supreme Goddess. You are My energy, but you are not separate or different from Me. My one associated energy has two forms. Within the spiritual kingdom, the original energy has one form as Sri Radha, but for carrying out activities in the material world, she has expanded herself as yourself. Without you, my lila could not be accomplished, for in the form of yogamaya you are necessary in My pastimes. In Vraja, you are eternally present as Paurnamasi, and in Navadvipa you are present as Praudha Maya along with Siva Ksetrapala, guardian of the Dhama.'"

"With that, Gauranga became invisible."

"Parvati was overcome with love. Filled with that great prema, Parvati stays in one form as the mistress of Simantadvipa, and in another form as Praudha Maya in Mayapur."

After saying this, Nityananda Prabhu took Jiva Gosvami and quickly entered Kazi Nagar.

"Oh Jiva, hear my words. Kazi Nagar is none other than Mathura. After doing kirtana, Gauranga gave love of Godhead to the Kazi and liberated him. Kamsa of Krsna lila became the Chand Kazi in Gaura lila. In the same way that Kamsa was related to Krsna, Gauranga therefore addressed the Kazi as His maternal uncle."

"During Kirtana performance, the Kazi, under orders from Hussain Shah, the king of the Bengal empire and Jarasandha in Krsna lila, caused disturbance by breaking the mrdangas. The Lord, appearing in the form of Nrsimha, put fear in the Kazi's heart. Like Kamsa, the Kazi crouched down with fear. However, Sri Caitanya gave him prema as his liberation, and made the Kazi a great devotee. The very fortunate hear this story of the Kazi's liberation."

"Just see the difference between Vraja tattva and Navadvipa tattva. The offenders of Krsna get the liberation of merging into the Lord's effulgence, wheres in Navadvipa, the offenders receive the treasure of Love of Godhead. Therefore, Gaura lila may be considered the highest of all. The Gaura Dhama, the Gaura Nama, His form and qualities, do not consider offense, for these offenses are easily overcome. If the devotee has some offense in his heart, the Krsna Nama and Krsna Dhama will have effect only after a long time. However, with Gaura Nama and Gaura Dhama, one quickly gets prema. Offenses are no obstacle because here the devotee can conquer over them easily. Jiva Gosvami, if one sees the samadhi of the Kazi, old age and disease are ended."

Nityananda then moved on quickly to Sankhavanik Nagar, and there spoke to Jiva.

"Sara Danga is a wonderful sight. Even the name is extremely pretty! Here Jagannatha resides with the Sabaras. When the Lord killed the demon Bahurakta, out of His mercy the Lord came here. Here Jagannatha is eternally situated. Know that for certain."

Going past Tanturaya Gram, they saw the cottage of Kholaveca Sridhara.

"Here Gaura Hari did kirtana and took rest, giving mercy to the devotees. For that reason it is called Visrama Sthana (place of resting). Let us take rest at Sridhara's house."

When Sridhara heard the Lord coming, he came out and paid full obeisances, and then offered Puja.

Nityananda said, "You are very fortunate, for the Lord showed His mercy on you. Today we shall take rest here."

Hearing this, Sridhara's desire was fulfilled. With great attention he brought together the ingredients and had some devotee brahmanas cook. When Nityananda and Srivas had finished taking meals, Jiva Gosvami took the remnants with great bliss. Sridhara then made Nityananda Prabhu lie down on a bed and with Vamsivadana he raised up the Lord's lotus feet.

In the afternoon, Sridhara took Jiva to see Sasthi Tirtha. Srivas said, "Listen, Jiva. Previously when the devas heard that Mahaprabhu would take His descent at Navadvipa, Visvakarma came to Nadiya town. He saw that it would be hard to get water on the roads where the Lord would do kirtana in the future. In one night he dug out six (sasthi) wide ponds, the last at Kazi gram. Near to Sridhara's beautiful banana patch see one such pond. There Mahaprabhu would sometimes play in the water, and take Sridhara's bananas. Even now Sridhara takes his banana flowers and banana stem vegetables to Saci with great happiness.

"Besides this place is Mayamari. Listen to the story from the Puranas. When Baladeva went on pilgrimage, He came to Navadvipa to take rest. The brahmanas there told Him about Maya demon. Hearing about the disturbance that the demon was causing, Baladeva quickly came running to meet the demon in the field. A great battle ensued between Balarama and the demon, and at last the demon was killed. Since then the place has been called Mayamari (killing of the Maya demon). This is a very old story I am telling you. In Vrndavana this tirtha is called Talavana, and it is visible to those who are fortunate."

That night, they all stayed there, and the next day, with cries of, "Hari! Hari!" continued their pilgrimage.

The servant whose only desire is to attain the shade of the lotus feet of Jahnava and Nityananda, reveals this glorification of Nadiya.

Chapter Seven

Godrumadvipa, Suvarna Bihar, Sri Deva Palli. Teachings of sambandha, abhidheya and prayojana.

All glories to Sri Caitanya Chandra, all glories to Nityananda, All glories to Advaita and Gadadhara, All glories to Srivasa and to all the devotees of Gauranga's feet, All glories to the holy Dhama.

Leaving Visrama Sthana, the party proceeded to Suvarna Bihar. There Nityananda spoke.

"Oh Jiva, this is a wonderful place. Like the rest of Navadvipa, it is transcendental to the material plane of existence. During Satya yuga, there lived a well known king at this place. His name was Suvarna Sen. He was very involved with ruling the kingdom for a long time. Even though he grew old, he could take no rest from working. With a heart covered by material hankering, the king would always be thinking how to increase his wealth. By some quirk of good fortune, Narada happened to come there. The king did extensive puja to him and Narada bestowed mercy on him in the form of personal instructions on the highest spiritual truths."

"Narada spoke as follows; `Oh king, your days are going by uselessly just with thinking about material wealth and gain. Know that this acquisition is of no value. The supreme wealth is spiritual knowledge. Just once consider that in your heart. Wife, sons, friends, none of them are yours. At death no one has anything. When you die, your body under the water, everything what was in your house will be gone. If no one has possession of anything, then why do you hold on to this false hope and aspiration, this thirst for materials - a water which has no capacity to quench the thirst? If you can claim that one can get happiness in life without receiving any pain, then I also will pursue the material path.'"

"`Oh king, this is all false. Life is impermanent, not beyond a hundred years. Therefore, know the truth. You must get beyond this world of illusion, to the place where there is happiness without pain.'"

"`By what process, then, can one attain that result, where there is no fear, pain, or grief? If one only renounces, or if one takes to the path of Jnana, one cannot get this result. By vairagya and Jnana one can get freedom from material bondage and merge into the Brahman. But in this oneness there is no bliss. Rather, I say, it is complete annihilation and extremely offensive. By this process the material world ceases, but nothing good is gained. Just consider that aspect of kaivalya realization.'"

"`The really wise man does not go for material enjoyment or simply ceasing that material activity (bhukti or mukti) but instead practices bhakti unto Sri Krsna. This is performed without any attraction for material fulfillment, but on the other hand, completely attracted to serving the lotus feet of Krsna.'"

"`The process of bhakti may be divided into three parts; sambandha, abhidheya, and prayojana. The living entity is the servant of Krsna. Bhakti is the only path to success. The tree of bhakti bears fruit in the form of love of God, prema. That fruit is the necessity, the only goal, the eternal treasure of all living entities. Bhukti and mukti are insignificant.'"

"`Krsna is the sun, full of knowledge and bliss. Maya is His image in shadow form. The living entity is the infinitesimal particle of Krsna's effulgence. Being invested with a borderline character (tatastha), if the jiva contacts maya, that maya takes him and binds him up. When one goes away from Krsna, he can only go towards maya. Then, by that contact, the living entity takes on reactions for all his activities (karma). In the trap of maya, wandering, living, dying, ignorant of the bondage that his activities continually create, finally one is led to deliberate on how to extinguish this great trouble.'"

'Sometimes one takes to regulative activities of the Vedas for material gain, sometimes one takes to the eight-fold path of yoga, and sometimes one takes to discussion on knowledge of Brahman, and sometimes one takes to logic and argument. But never is there success, for never does one consider the treasure held within his own soul, the actual nature of his soul.'"

"'While proceeding from body to body, if he happens to meet with a pure devotee he will receive real sraddha, pure faith. By association with the devotees, he will eventually take to the worship of Krsna, and then give up all the material hankering in his heart (anarthas). Then he will attain a level of firmness. This attraction for Krsna will then become attachment. This turns to bhava, and bhava becomes prema. This is the progression of pure bhakti.'"

"'Hearing, chanting, remembering, serving, worshipping, bowing down, servitude, friendship and self surrender - these are the nine fold processes. One who performs these in the association of devotees attains Krsna prema.'"

"'You are a very fortunate king, for you are situated in Navadvipa and your position as a resident of Navadvipa is the beginning of your good fortune. Receiving faith by the association of devotees, singing the name of Krsna, one literally makes the sun of prema rise up. Oh, fortunate will be the coming of Kali yuga, for then Krsna along with His associates will appear to perform Gaura lila! He who takes Gaura's name will then get the mercy of Krsna, and finally he will get to live in Vrndavana. He who goes on worshipping Krsna without taking the name of Gaura will get Krsna only after a very long time. But he who takes Gaura's name quickly gets Krsna, for in Gaura's name the offenses do not persist.'"

"While saying this, Narada lost control of himself, and shouting the name of Gaura he began to dance. 'Gaura Hari Bol!' the vina joined in. 'Oh Gaura Hari! When will blessed Kali yuga come?'

"Saying this Narada went off, while prema appeared in the king. Crying the name of Gauranga, dancing, and begging love of God from the devotees, he became free from material hankerings. Later, while sleeping, the king saw Gauranga and Gadadhara with Their associates dancing in the courtyard. Surrounding the golden (suvarna) form of Gaura, the multitudes were shouting `Hare Krsna!' while dancing and embracing one another."

"Awaking, the king was in anguish, and out of desire for Gauranga, he began weeping."

"Then a voice spoke, 'Oh king, when I appear, you will be among My associates. Your name will be Buddhimanta Khan. You will receive the transcendental Dhama, and serve the lotus feet of Gauranga.'"

"Hearing this, the king became composed, and began to worship Gauranga."

When Nityananda had finished His story, Srivas, Who is empowered directly by Narada, fell unconscious, and overcome by great ecstasy, drunken with the nectar of Gaura's name, Sri Jiva also fell flat on the earth.

"Oh Gauranga, golden figurine, golden jewel, will I ever be able to see You here?"

At that moment, the complete Gauranga kirtana became visible to his eyes. Not only did he attain that nectar, but the form of Gauranga then began to dance, while Nityananda along with Advaita and the crowd started to sing the glories of the Lord. Mrdanga and kartal sounded, sweetly the song grew, as the previous lila was recreated. Two praharas it lasted. Its bliss is impossible to describe.

Then, singing loudly the glories of Gauranga, the party of pilgrims went on to the outskirts of Devapalli. In that village they took rest as the guests of the presiding Deity, Nrsimha, and then took midday meals. At the last minutes of daylight, while strolling in the village, Nityananda spoke.

"This is Devapalli, the temple of Nrsimhadeva, well known in Satya yuga. Being merciful to Prahlada, killing Hiranyakasipu, the Lord came to this place to rest. Brahma and the other demigods made their houses here and formed a town."

"On the bank of the Mandakini River, on the top of a hillock, this village called Sri Nrsimha Ksetra, within Navadvipa, was established. All were absorbed in the worship of Nrsimhadeva."

"See here the residence of Surya, of Brahma, and to the east, of Nrsimha. The place was transformed. See there Ganesa's place, and over there Indra's. Though Visvakarma built hundreds of jewel houses here, in time all were destroyed, the Mandakini dried up, and now only the mounds mark the places. See these countless broken stones, the remnants of the temples. Again, in the future, one devotee king will receive a drop of mercy from Nrsimha and will make a large temple, reinstall Nrsimha, and take up service to Nrsimha again."

"This is on the boundary of the Navadvipa parikrama, but still lies within the sixteen krosas."

The beggar Bhaktivinode Thakur, whose only wealth is the lotus feet of Nitai and Jahnava, giving up the net of maya, sings the glories of Navadvipa, which have no limit.

Chapter Eight

Sri Hari Hara Ksetra, Mahavaranasi, Gadagachi.

All glories to the son of Saci, All glories to the Avadhuta, All glories to Sita Pati, king of the devotees, Glories to Gadadhara and the association of devotees, Glories to beautiful Navadvipa Dhama, Glories to the name of Gaura.

Nityananda Prabhu, along with the devotees, shouting "Hari, Hari! moved forward on waves of love. Smothered by prema, he spoke indistinctly. Tears were streaming down his face and in agitation he cried out, "Gaura, Gaura!" All his ornaments glittered, and his divine form illuminated the ten directions. Srivasa danced with Jiva, sometimes weeping, sometimes dancing, and all the other devotees moved forward, dancing in time.

As they approached Alakananda, Nityananda Prabhu, immersed in bliss, spoke as follows.

"Starting to the west of Vilva Paksa (Bela Pukuriya) village, the Mandakini River comes and surrounds Nadiya. At Suvarna Bihar, the Alakananda River leaves the Mandakini. On the eastern bank of the Alakananda river, at Hari Hara Ksetra, a beautiful murti will be discovered in the future, amidst a lovely forest."

"To the west of the Alakananda River see Kasi, the abode of Siva, where followers worship Siva and his consort. This Navadvipa Kasi is superior to the other Kasi, because here Siva is always dancing, and uttering the name of Gaura, begging his followers to accept Gaura bhakti. That liberation which the sannyasis, who live for a thousand years in Kasi, obtain by the process of jnana, is obtained in Navadvipa by the devotees who simply say the name of Gauranga, lift their feet, and dance. At the time of leaving the body, these living entities are delivered by Lord Siva, who shouts the name of Gauranga in their ears. This Dhama is thus called Mahavaranasi, for here there is no fear of death."

At that moment Nityananda Prabhu began dancing, and asked Jiva to accept Gaura prema. Invisible to everyone, Siva came forward and bowed at Nityananda's lotus feet. Thus, Siva and his consort achieved all their desires, and went off singing repeatedly the name of Gauranga.

Nityananda walked with the devotees to Gadigacha village. When they arrived there, he spoke with a smile.

"This is called Godrumadvipa. Here Surabhi stays eternally. When Indra, being too proud and overcome by maya, flooded Gokula with rain, the Lord lifted Govardhan mountain and carefully protected Gokula. His pride crushed, Indra recognized the real identity of Krsna. Then, to clear himself of his offense, he fell down at Krsna's lotus feet. The son of Nanda, an ocean of mercy, forgave Indra and pacified him."

"However Indra continued to be fearful. Approaching Surabhi he said, `I cannot understand Krsna's lila, and for that reason I committed a great offense. Now I have heard that in Kali yuga, Vrajendra Suta will perform wonderful Nadiya lila. But, for fear that then again I will fall into illusion and commit offense, I hesitate. As you are Surabhi, a desire cow, you know everything. Kindly give some elucidation on this matter for me.'"

"Surabhi answered, `Let us go to Navadvipa Dhama and worship Nimai.'"

"They came to Navadvipa and performed worship of Gauranga. Since Gauranga bhajana is very easy and its results are easily attainted, by repeating Gauranga's name, and weeping, quickly they attained the darshan of Gauranga."

"How extraordinary was the charming form! The figure of Gauranga was laughing and bubbling with love in the well of nectar. The Lord said, `I know your wish. Very soon I will appear in Nadiya town. At that time you will serve Me and the net of maya will no longer catch you.'"

"The Lord vanished, but Surabhi remained here beside a banyan tree, constantly serving the lotus feet of Gauranga. Therefore the place is called Go (cow) druma (tree) dvipa. At this place the devotees' desires are fulfilled. Building a cottage and worshipping here, very easily one will become absorbed in Sri Caitanya's lotus feet."

"At this island the son of Mrkanda (Markandeya), lived during the flood of devastation. The muni was destined to live for seven kalpas. Seeing the great danger during the devastation, when all became inundated, he began looking for a place to stay. Tossed in the water, he went here and there."

"`Oh why did I get such a benediction?' he lamented."

"The Dhama of Navadvipa remained however, giving shelter to the devotees. Submerged in a wave, the muni became unconscious and sunk. But merciful Surabhi happened to see him and lifted him out carefully. Coming to consciousness, the son of Mrkanda saw the island of Godruma, an astounding place extending for a billion krosas. Brilliant streams and rivers were everywhere, trees and vines shone and birds sang the glories of Gauranga."

"The muni went to Surabhi and said, `Oh goddess, my mother, by your energy you pervade the universe. Unknowingly I got the boon to live for seven kalpas without dying. At the time of devastation I suffered greatly. All I do is constantly undergo miseries. There is no happiness at all. What am I to do mother? Please tell me how I can get out of this grief.'"

"Surabhi gave her instruction: `Worship the two lotus feet of Gauranga. This Navadvipa is non-material, beyond all destruction. By the naked eye it is sixteen krosas, but it is the supreme Vaikuntha, without fault or illusion. Here is spiritual place and time. No one here is affected by material illusion. Spreading out all around is the pure Viraja River. A billion krosas each part, and in the center is Mayapura, a vast city. The eight islands are the eight petals and the central area of pollen is Antardvipa. All the tirthas, all the devas and rsis come and live here, worshipping Gauranga. For your own good, dear Markandeya, take shelter of Gauranga's feet. Take shelter of the non-duplicitous dharma, rejecting outright the desire for bhukti and mukti.'"

"`By taking shelter of Gauranga worship, you will get sweet love of God as the result. When that prema sits in your heart, it will drown you in the nectar of the artful pastimes of the Lord. You will get the shelter of Radha's lotus feet in Vraja, and your mind will be fixed on serving the divine pair. The happiness of this service is unmatched, please understand, while in the noncharacterized nothingness there is useless knowledge.'"

"The muni, hearing the words of Surabhi, folded his hands and said, `If I take to worshipping Gauranga what will be my destiny?'"

"Surabhi answered with the essence of conclusions."

"`In Gaura bhajana there is no consideration, no deliberation. When you call out the name of Gaura, all karmas are destroyed. There shall be no more distress, and all your material samsara will go. Not only karma, but the fruits of all mental speculation, which are only trouble, will all be cut out at the root. Therefore, in this island you should submerge yourself in Gauranga rasa and worship the Lord.'"

"Markandeya, hearing this, was filled with bliss and shouted the name of Gaura laughing and crying at once."

"Look at this remarkable place where Markandeya received life."

Jiva Gosvami, hearing the glories of Gauranga from the mouth of Nityananda, felt supreme happiness. Spending the day at this place, they then went to Madhyadvipa.

Knowing that the lotus feet of Nitai and Jahnava are the essence of life, the worthless Bhaktivinode, holding the order of Nityananda on his head, describes the glories of Nadiya.

Chapter Nine

Sri Madhyadvipa, Majidagram, Naimisa, Kumara Hatta.

Glory to Gauracandra and Nityananda, Glory to Gadadhara, glory to Srivasa, Glory to the abode of devotees, Sri Navadvipa, king of abodes.

When night had ended, Sri Nityananda, drunken with songs of Gaura, went off with the devotees. They were absorbed in love of God, and distributed the supreme bliss along the way. Coming to Madhyadvipa, laughing again and again, Nityananda spoke. "This is Majidagram. Here the seven rsis, engaged in worshipping Gauranga, stayed a long time. In Satya yuga, the rsis, in their

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