The
Origin
of
Ratha-yatra
THE ORIGIN OF RATHA-YÄTRÄ
faith in Kåñëa. Do not worry about your
maintenance. Chant and
remember Kåñëa more and more.
Don’t worry and wonder, “Who will look
after me? What will
become of me after Mahäräja leaves this
world? This is a very big
problem.” Actually there is no problem at
all. Chant and remember
Kåñëa. By Kåñëa’s order, Yogamäyä will
always help you, and
Kåñëa’s cakra will always save you
from danger; do not be worried.
Keep this valuable jewel – the message of
the Festival of the
Chariots – in your hearts.
These are not my teachings; they are the
teachings of Çré
Caitanya Mahäprabhu, Çréla Rüpa Gosvämé,
Çréla Bhaktivinoda
Öhäkura, and all the other äcäryas.
I have brought their message
to you as a postman. Take it and be happy.
Try to help each other
and thus be happy.
The previous king of Orissa
At the commencement of the Chariot
Festival, Pratäparudra
Mahäräja, the Emperor of Orissa, began
sweeping the road.
Although he was the King, he wore the
dress of a devotee and
looked very simple, like a beggar. He
swept using a broom with
a golden handle and, so that the dust on
the road would not rise
up, with his own hands he watered the
ground with fragrant substances
like rose water. This was the job of a
sweeper.
The tradition of the King of Orissa
sweeping the road at the
beginning of the Ratha-yäträ Festival is
an old one. Many years
before, the previous King, Mahäräja
Puruñottama Jänä, had also
swept the road every year for
Jagannätha-deva. Puruñottama Jänä
was very influential and powerful, but he
would take a golden
broom in his hand and sweep in front of
Jagannätha’s chariot,
sprinkling the ground with rose water and
other aromatic substances.
Like Mahäräja Pratäparudra, he also
dressed himself like
9 1
MAHÄPRABHU AND KING PRATÄPARUDRA
a common person, without shoes and without
royal dress.
When Puruñottama Jänä (also known as
Puruñottama-deva)
was about 24 years old, he was very
beautiful and strong, and he
had an agreement with the King of
Vidyänagara in South India
that he would marry the King’s daughter.
He had been communicating
with the King of Vidyänagara through
messengers and
the King informed him that he would come
to meet him in
person, but he did not specify when.
Later, the King went unannounced
to see with his own eyes how beautiful,
wealthy, and
qualified Puruñottama Jänä actually was.
He went along with
his whole family, to see if they would
agree with the marriage
proposal.
At that time, fortunately or
unfortunately, it was the first day of
the Chariot Festival, and King Puruñottama
Jänä was dressed as a
sweeper, sweeping the road before
Jagannätha-deva. Seeing this,
the King of Vidyänagara became quite upset
and felt some disgust
toward him. He appreciated that
Puruñottama Jänä was very
youthful and beautiful, but he considered
him to be a mere
sweeper. He thought, “He is supposed to be
so wealthy and qualified,
but he is sweeping? I wanted to give my
daughter to him,
but now I see that he is not qualified. He
is sweeping like a
street-cleaner. I cannot give my daughter
to this sweeper.”
Thinking like this, he returned home and
canceled the marriage.
A few days after the festival was over,
Puruñottama Jänä
remembered the agreement and wondered what
had happened.
He asked his counselors, “That king wanted
to give his daughter
to me in marriage, but there has been no
recent indication at all.
Why not?” The counselors informed him, “He
saw you sweeping
on the day of the Ratha-yäträ Festival and
thought you were a
mere sweeper. He doesn’t want to give his daughter
to a
common sweeper.” When Puruñottama Jänä
heard this, he
became angry and said, “I must invade his
kingdom!” In his
9 2
THE ORIGIN OF RATHA-YÄTRÄ
mind, he told that king, “You don’t know
the glory of my
Jagannätha-deva!” He collected all his soldiers
and generals,
declared war on that king, and a ferocious
battle took place in
the state of that other king.
The King of Vidyänagara worshiped the
demigod Gaëeça,
who was therefore somewhat favorable
towards him. Gaëeça
fought against Puruñottama Jänä’s party
and defeated them.
Thus, extremely disturbed, they returned
to Puré empty-handed.
Weeping, Puruñottama Jänä went to the
temple and told Lord
Jagannätha, “O Lord, I am your servant.
That very mighty King
told me, ‘You are only a sweeper of
Jagannätha,’ and he refused
to give me his daughter in marriage.
Please help me. I was
sweeping for You. I thought You would help
me at all times, but
he defeated me. I’m serving You, and yet
You didn’t help me. I
was defeated because Gaëeça helped him. I
remembered You,
but You did not help me. Now everyone in
the world will think,
‘Jagannätha has no power, and that is why
His devotee has no
power. Jagannätha is very weak and
insignificant.’ This is so
shameful; I will die here. I will not eat
or drink anything, and I
will die here in front of You, in Your
temple.”
Later that night, King Puruñottama Jänä
had a dream in which
Jagannätha-deva told him, “Try again. Last
time you went straight
to war without calling Me and therefore I
did not help you. But
now I will help you. March again with all
your soldiers and generals.
Don’t be afraid, and don’t worry. Go and
invade that king’s
territory again. Baladeva and I will go
there personally, and
somehow you will be aware of this. You
will defeat that king,
along with Gaëeça, and everyone else on
his side.” Puruñottama
Jänä became very happy and made
arrangements to again invade
the kingdom. The next day he called for
more soldiers and generals,
and they started on their way and marched
quickly towards
Vidyänagara.
9 3
MAHÄPRABHU AND KING PRATÄPARUDRA
Meanwhile, Jagannätha and Baladeva got up
on very strong
and beautiful horses. Baladeva’s horse was
white, and Kåñëa
Himself rode a red one. They were both
sixteen years of age, one
blackish and the other white, and both
were very powerful,
strong, and beautiful. They wanted
Puruñottma Jänä to have faith
that they were going to fight for him, so
they went some miles
ahead of him. Many miles from Puré, they
reached a village near
Chilka, Älälanätha, near a very large and
beautiful lake. There,
Kåñëa and Baladeva came upon an old
village gväliné (milk-lady)
carrying a large pot of buttermilk on her
head. It was a hot
summer day, and Jagannätha and Baladeva
said to her, “Mother,
can you give us some buttermilk? We are
very thirsty.”
“Can you pay me?” the gväliné asked
them. “I will give you
some buttermilk if you pay me.” Kåñëa and
Baladeva replied,
“We cannot pay you. We are soldiers of the
King, and we are on
the way to battle. Our King is coming and
he will pay you when
he reaches here. You can tell him, ‘Your
two soldiers were going
this way. One was blackish and the other
white. They were
riding on their horses with their swords
and other weapons.’”
She asked, “How will he be able to
recognize that you are his
soldiers? How will he know that it is his
own soldiers who have
taken this buttermilk?” They replied, “We
will give you some
proof to show the King, and then he will
pay you.”
The village lady gave them her whole pot
of buttermilk, and
they drank it all and felt satisfied. Then
they gave her their very
beautiful rings and told her, “Give these
rings to the King and tell
him, ‘The owners of these rings have gone
before you, and they
said that you will pay for their
buttermilk.’” The boys then went
happily onwards.
The milk seller waited and waited, and
finally the King arrived
there with his entire army of hundreds of
thousands of soldiers.
When the army arrived, the old lady began
to search for him,
9 4
THE ORIGIN OF RATHA-YÄTRÄ
asking, “Where is the King? Where is the
King?” The soldiers told
her, “The King is there,” and she walked
up to him and said,
“Your two soldiers have gone ahead. They
were both young,
beautiful, and very energetic, and they
were riding on horses.
They drank my entire pot of buttermilk,
and they told me, ‘Our
King will pay.’ So you should pay for my
buttermilk.”
The King told the old lady, “None of my
soldiers have gone
before us.” She replied, “Yes, they have.
I’ve seen them and I’ve
given them my buttermilk.” The King told
her, “How can I
believe they are my soldiers? All my
soldiers are with me. No one
has gone ahead. We are the first to come.”
Then he asked her,
“Do you have any proof?” “Yes,” she said,
“I have proof.”
The milk-lady showed the two rings to the
King, and on the
rings he saw the names Jagannätha Siàha
and Baladeva Siàha
(Siàha means “lion”). He became happy and
inspired, and he
thought, “These are the two rings I had
made by the goldsmith.
They are the same rings that I presented
to Jagannätha and
Baladeva! Jagannätha and Baladeva have done
this for me so that
I would know they are with me. This time I
will surely conquer
that King.” He then donated some of his
kingdom to that old
village woman. He offered her a large
estate, telling her, “Take
this land and nourish many generations of
your family with it.”
That lady’s family is living on the same
estate to this very day.
Puruñottama Jänä then invaded his enemy’s
kingdom and
defeated his entire army. He forcibly took
away the King’s
daughter and imprisoned her, and all the
King’s counselors as
well. He also took the King’s golden
throne, and the deity of
Bhaëòa (cheater) Gaëeça. Bhaëòa Gaëeça had
been fighting on
the side of the King of Vidyänagara, so
Kåñëa and Baladeva
captured him and bound him up, saying, “He
is Bhaëòa Gaëeça.”
Gaëeça knows well that Kåñëa is the
Supreme Personality of
Godhead and the all-in-all, yet he took
the wrong side. That is
9 5
MAHÄPRABHU AND KING PRATÄPARUDRA
why Kåñëa and Balaräma called him “Cheater
Gaëeça.”
Puruñottama Jänä arrested the King, and
then mercifully released
him, saying, “I shall not kill you.” Then,
having conquered
Vidyänagara, he took permission of the
deity Säkñi-gopäla, the
witness of the young brähmaëa, and
brought that deity to
Kaöaka. He also took the very large and
beautiful deities of
Rädhä-känta, who are still in the Çré
Rädhä-känta Maöha in
Jagannätha Puré, where Caitanya Mahäprabhu
used to live in the
Gambhérä. He also took Bhaëòa Gaëeça,
bringing all these
deities to Puré.
In this regard, Çré Caitanya-caritämåta
(Madhya-lélä 5.120–4)
states:
utkalera räjä puruñottama-deva näma
sei deça jini’ nila kariyä saìgräma
Later there was a fight, and this country
was conquered by King
Puruñottama-deva of Orissa.
sei räjä jini’ nila täìra siàhäsana
‘mäëikya-siàhäsana’ näma aneka ratana
That King was victorious over the King of
Vidyänagara, and he
took possession of his throne, the Mäëikya
siàhäsana, which was
bedecked with many jewels.
puruñottama-deva sei baòa bhakta ärya
gopäla-caraëe mäge, cala mora räjya’
King Puruñottama-deva was a great devotee
and was advanced in
the civilization of the Äryans. He begged
at the lotus feet of
Gopäla, “Please come to my kingdom.”
täìra bhakti-vaçe gopäla täìre äjïä dila
gopäla la-iyä sei kaöake äila
9 6
THE ORIGIN OF RATHA-YÄTRÄ
When the King begged Him to come to his
kingdom, Gopäla, who
was already obliged for his devotional
service, accepted his
prayer. Thus the King took the Gopäla
deity and went back to
Kaöaka.
jagannäthe äni’ dila mäëikya-siàhäsana
kaöake gopäla-sevä karila sthäpana
After winning the Mäëikya throne, King
Puruñottama-deva took it
to Jagannätha Puré and presented it to
Lord Jagannätha. In the
meantime, he also established regular
worship of the Gopäla deity
at Kaöaka.
Puruñottama Jänä also brought the King’s
daughter to Puré, but
he decided, “I will not marry her; I will
give her to my sweeper.”
Later, when he was ready to give her away,
all of his ministers,
who were very kind, saw her crying and
lamenting, “He will give
me to a sweeper.” They pacified her and
also told the King,
“Don’t worry. At the right time, during
the next Chariot Festival,
you can give this girl to your sweeper.”
The next year, when the
Chariot Festival took place again,
Mahäräja Puruñottama Jänä
again swept the road. At that time all his
ministers inspired the
beautiful princess to go to him and say,
“I will marry this very
sweeper, not any other.” She boldly told
him, “You are the
sweeper of Jagannätha-deva. I only want to
marry His sweeper;
I cannot marry any other sweeper.” The
King’s advisers then
approached him and said, “Yes, yes, this
is very good. We agree
with this proposal. You are a sweeper, and
this girl will be the
wife of a sweeper. Why don’t you accept
her? You must accept
her.” The girl began to weep, and the King
was bound to accept
her as his wife. Puruñottama Jänä’s son
became a very beautiful
prince, and that prince later became King
Pratäparudra, the associate
of Caitanya Mahäprabhu.
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MAHÄPRABHU AND KING PRATÄPARUDRA
The most merciful Jagannätha is surely patita-pävana,
the
savior of the fallen, and He is also bhakta-vatsala
– He always
wants to please His devotees.
9 9
Mahäprabhu’s mood at Ratha-yäträ
At the beginning of the Ratha-yäträ
Festival, Çré Caitanya
Mahäprabhu offers a prayer to
Jagannätha-deva, not to His form
as Lord Jagannätha or Väsudeva-Kåñëa, but
to His form as
Vrajendra-nandana Çré Kåñëa:
jayati jana-niväso devaké-janma-vädo
yadu-vara-pariñat svair dorbhir asyann
adharmam
sthira-cara-våjina-ghnaù
su-smita-çré-mukhena
vraja-pura-vanitänäà vardhayan käma-devam
Çrémad-Bhägavatam (10.90.48)
Çré Kåñëa is He who is known as jana-niväsa,
the ultimate resort
of all living entities, and who is also
known as Devaké-nandana or
Yaçodä-nandana, the son of Devaké and
Yaçodä. He is the guide
of the Yadu dynasty, and with His mighty
arms He kills everything
inauspicious, as well as every man who is
impious. By His presence
He destroys all things inauspicious for
all living entities,
moving and inert. His blissful smiling
face always increases the
lusty desires of the gopés of
Våndävana. May He be all-glorious and
happy.
REUNION AT KURUKÑETRA
C H A P T E R F I V E
1 0 0
THE ORIGIN OF RATHA-YÄTRÄ
Caitanya Mahäprabhu is praying in the mood
of Çrématé
Rädhikä meeting Kåñëa at Kurukñetra.
There, by their mood, the
gopés bring Kåñëa to Våndävana and decorate Him with flowers.
By their mood they forcibly give Him the
flute He left in
Våndävana with Mother Yaçodä, along with
His peacock feather,
and they whisper in His ear, “Don’t say
that Your father and
mother are Vasudeva and Devaké. Don’t say
that You are from the
Yadu dynasty and that You are a Yädava.
Say only that You are a
gopa.” Kåñëa replies, “Yes, I will follow your instructions.”
Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu prays, jayati
jana-niväso devakéjanma-
vädo. This çloka, which Çré Sanätana Gosvämé has quoted
in his Båhad-bhägavatämåta, has
many profound meanings. If
Caitanya Mahäprabhu or Çréla Sanätana
Gosvämé were to explain
it, they would do so with a hundred
different meanings, each
deeper and more unfathomable than the
previous one. It contains
the entire Çrémad-Bhägavatam from
beginning to end.
The general meaning of jana-niväsa is,
“You are always in the
hearts of all as Paramätmä.” However,
Kåñëa cannot live as
Paramätmä in the hearts of the Vrajaväsés;
He can only be present
there in the form of Vrajendra-nandana
Çyämasundara. Jana
also means nija-jana (near and
dear), and therefore it means
Kåñëa’s personal associates. All the
Vrajaväsés are Kåñëa’s nijajana,
for He is the jévana (life-air) of
Nanda, Yaçodä, all His
friends, and especially of the gopés.
He is also rädhikä-jévanera
jévana, the very life of Rädhikä’s life, and He always resides in
Her heart. This relationship is
reciprocal; the Vrajaväsés are His
life, just as much as He is theirs.
Devaké-janma-vädo. Only Mathuräväsés and worldly people
can say that Kåñëa took birth from the
womb of Mother Devaké.
General people say this, but actually He
is the son of Mother
Yaçodä; she is His real mother.
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REUNION AT KURUKÑETRA
Yadu-vara-pariñat svair dorbhir. The members of the Yadu
dynasty are the nija-jana of
Dvärakädhéça-Kåñëa, for they are His
associates. It seems that this çloka refers
to Väsudeva-Kåñëa, and
describes Arjuna, Bhéma, and His other
associates as His arms.
Väsudeva-Kåñëa fought in the Mahäbhärata
War and in various
other battles, and He fought with
Pauëòraka Väsudeva and other
demons. The çloka seems to describe
dvärakä-lélä, but actually,
in its deeper meaning, it glorifies
Vrajendra-nandana Kåñëa. In
Våndävana, Kåñëa killed Pütanä and other
demons with his own
arms. Moreover, in Våndävana He killed the
greatest demon – the
feelings of separation felt by Çrématé
Rädhikä and the gopés.
Sthira-cara-våjina-ghnaù
su-smita-çré-mukhena vraja-puravanitänäm.
In Våndävana, Kåñëa always took away all
kinds of
problems and suffering, simply with His
smiling face and His
flute. What was the suffering of the
Vrajaväsés? It was only their
mood of separation from Him. They had no
other problems at all.
This verse includes the pastimes of
Gokula, Våndävana,
Rädhä-kuëòa, Çyäma-kuëòa, räsa-lélä,
and all the other Vraja
pastimes as well. Vardhayan kämadevam. In
this connection,
Kämadeva does not mean lust, but prema.
What kind of prema?
Sneha, mäna, praëaya, räga, anuräga,
bhäva, and mahäbhäva.
The gopés tell Kåñëa, “You are that
person – that Kämadeva.” In
this way, Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu is
offering praëäma and
praying, putting the whole of Çrémad-Bhägavatam,
and all of
Kåñëa’s pastimes as well, into this one çloka.
The meaning of gopé-bhartuù
As I have explained before, Mahäprabhu
very rarely sees
Jagannätha, Baladeva, and Subhadrä. When
He does, He at once
enters a mood of very intense separation
and prays, “After a long
THE ORIGIN OF RATHA-YÄTRÄ
time I am meeting with My most beloved,
for whom I was burning
in the fire of separation.” He addresses Jagannätha
as gopébhartuù
and prays, “Pada-kamalayor
däsa-däsänudäsaù.” The
word gopé-bhartuù reveals Kåñëa’s
relationship with the gopés,
for it means “the gopés’ most
beloved,” or “He who is always controlled
by the gopés.” Mahäprabhu
concludes, “I want to be the
servant of the servant of the servant of
that Kåñëa.”
nähaà vipro na ca nara-patir näpi vaiçyo
na çüdro
nähaà varëé na ca gåha-patir no vanastho
yatir vä
kintu
prodyan-nikhila-paramänanda-pürëämåtäbdher
gopé-bhartuù pada-kamalayor
däsa-däsänudäsaù
Çré Caitanya-caritämåta (Madhya-lélä 13.80)
I am not a brähmaëa, a kñatriya,
a vaiçya, or a çüdra. Nor am I a
brahmacäré, a gåhastha, a vänaprastha,
or a sannyäsé. I identify
Myself only as the servant of the servant
of the servant of the lotus
feet of Çré Kåñëa, the maintainer of the gopés.
He is like an ocean
of nectar, and He is the cause of
universal transcendental bliss. He
is always existing in full brilliance.
Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu prays not only for
Himself, but for
everyone. He is the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, gopébhartuù
Himself, and He offers prayers in order to
teach us how
to pray. He is teaching us our actual
identity; we are not Indian
or American, nor are we from Great Britain
or anywhere else. We
are not brähmaëas, administrative kñatriyas,
mercantile vaiçyas
or çüdra laborers, nor are we brahmacäré
students, gåhastha
householders, retired vänaprasthas,
or sannyäsés in the
renounced order. We are eternally servants
of Kåñëa.
Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu uses the name gopé-bhartuù
for
further clarification, and by this He is
indicating, “We are not servants
of that Kåñëa who lived here and there in
Dvärakä without
His flute. Others may be, but as for My
associates and Myself, we
1 0 2
1 0 3
REUNION AT KURUKÑETRA
are only gopé-bhartuù pada-kamalayor
däsa-däsänudäsaù, the
servants of the servants of the servants
of the lotus feet of Çré
Kåñëa, the beloved of the gopés.”
Who is gopé-bhartuù? He is
Rädhä-känta, Rädhä-ramaëa, and
Gopénätha. The gopés must be there
as the ärädhya (worshipable
deities) of Kåñëa. He must be their
worshiper, and then we are
His servants; otherwise not. We are not
Kåñëa’s servants if
Rukmiëé and Satyabhämä are there, or if He
is four-handed and
holding His Sudarçana cakra. Kåñëa
must be with the gopés, He
must be controlled by their prominence,
and especially by
Rädhä. We are servants of that Kåñëa.
We are all transcendental, and our
intrinsic, constitutional
nature is to serve Kåñëa; but we are not
servants of all His manifestations.
There are very big differences in these
manifestations,
and to be the servant of gopé-bhartuù is
very, very rare. We can
consider that those who have come in the
line of Mahäprabhu
are rädhä-däsés, as gopé-bhartuù
pada-kamalayor däsadäsänudäsaù
only applies to the maidservants of
Rädhikä.
Caitanya Mahäprabhu’s statement therefore
refers to those who
are coming in His disciplic line, those
who are coming in the line
of Çréla Rüpa Gosvämé, Çréla Raghunätha
däsa Gosvämé, and our
entire guru-paramparä. One day, if
our creeper of bhakti blossoms
and the fruits and flowers of prema-bhakti
manifest, we
will be able to realize this. This is the
aim and object of our life.
Leading up to the meeting: Kåñëa sends
Uddhava
to Vraja
Mahäprabhu was so absorbed that He could
not utter
Jagannätha’s name. He could only chant,
“Jaja gaga! Jaja gaga!”
Tears fell from His eyes, and His heart
melted. One can realize
this state only if he is a devotee of the
highest standard. What was
1 0 4
THE ORIGIN OF RATHA-YÄTRÄ
the cause of Mahäprabhu’s bitter weeping?
What was the reason
behind it? Mahäprabhu told Svarüpa
Dämodara to sing a song
that suited His mood, and Svarüpa Dämodara
began to sing:
sei ta paräëa-nätha päinu
yähä lägi’ madana-dahane jhuri’ genu
Çré Caitanya-caritämåta (Madhya-lélä 13.113)
Now I have gained the Lord of My life, in
whose absence I was
being burned by Cupid and was withering
away.
You will have to consult Çrémad-Bhägavatam
to understand
the meaning of this verse, because the
history of Ratha-yäträ has
been indicated there. Kåñëa left Vraja at
the age of eleven1 and
went first to Mathurä, and then after some
time He went to
Dvärakä. While He was in Mathurä, He sent
Uddhava to console
the gopés, and later He also sent
Baladeva Prabhu from Dvärakä
to console them. The gopés had now
been feeling separation for
a long time. Everyone in Våndävana was
feeling separation from
Him, and even the cows and calves were
upset. The gopas and
gopés were weeping continuously, and everyone, including the
entire forest of Våndävana,
was drying up.
When Kåñëa was sending Uddhava from
Mathurä, He told him,
“Uddhava, go to Våndävana and pacify My
father and mother,
Nanda and Yaçodä, and especially pacify
the gopés who have
given Me their life and soul and
everything they possess. The
gopés always remember Me, and they do nothing else. They
never decorate themselves and they have
even given up taking
their meals. They don’t bathe and they
don’t even sleep.”
1
Kåñëa is exactly ten years and eight
months old when He leaves for Mathurä,
but His transcendental body is like that
of a full-grown kaiçora of fourteen or
fifteen years.
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REUNION AT KURUKÑETRA
mac-cittä mad-gata-präëä
bodhayantaù parasparam
kathayantaç ca mäà nityaà
tuñyanti ca ramanti ca
Bhagavad-gétä (10.9)
The thoughts of My pure devotees dwell in
Me, their lives are fully
devoted to serving Me, and they derive
great satisfaction and bliss
from always enlightening one another and
conversing about Me.
The gopés’ only relief from their
feelings of separation came
when they sometimes fainted and sometimes
slept. However,
even these two friends – fainting and
sleeping – abandoned the
gopés when Kåñëa took them with Him to Mathurä.
In this way Kåñëa sent Uddhava to Vraja,
and there Uddhava
related His message, word by word, letter
by letter. However, this
only made the gopés more unhappy.
Previously they had thought,
“Kåñëa has promised that He will come;”
but after hearing the
message, they thought, “Kåñëa will never
come,” and they felt
even more separation. Çrématé Rädhäräëé
began to weep:
he nätha he ramä-nätha
vraja-näthärti-näçana
magnam uddhara govinda
gokulaà våjinärëavät
Çrémad-Bhägavatam (10.47.52)
O master of My life, O master of the
goddess of fortune, O master
of Vraja! O destroyer of all suffering,
Govinda, please lift Your
Gokula out of the ocean of distress in
which it is drowning!
Çrématé Rädhikä said, “I am dying without
Kåñëa. My dear
sakhés, if Kåñëa does not come, I will die; I will surely die.
Take
My body, place it at the base of a tamäla
tree, and place My arms
1 0 6
THE ORIGIN OF RATHA-YÄTRÄ
around that tree so that I may feel
connected to Kåñëa. I pray that
the water in My body will mix with
Pävana-sarovara where Kåñëa
bathes, so that I may touch Him. Let the
air in this body go to
Nanda Bäbä’s courtyard and touch Kåñëa
when He is fanned.
May the fire in this body become rays of
sunshine in Nanda
Bäbä’s courtyard, and then My soul will be
happy. Now I cannot
see Kåñëa, or touch Him.” She was in a
very pitiful condition,
always in a mood of deep separation.
Kåñëa was also feeling unbearable separation,
but no one
knew that. The gopés could share
their suffering with each other,
but Kåñëa could not share His feelings
with anyone. He wept
alone. This is why He sent Uddhava to
Våndävana; He wanted
Uddhava to be admitted into the school of
the gopés, so that he
would learn the meaning of the
two-and-a-half letters in the
word prema.1 Kåñëa considered,
“When Uddhava understands
the love of the gopés, he will be
qualified to realize My feelings of
separation.”
When Uddhava returned from Vraja, he told
Kåñëa about the
glories of the gopés and their
one-pointed love. He said, “It is so
very high that I could not touch it. I
only saw that mountain of
love from a great distance, but still it
was so high that my hat fell
off the back of my head as I looked up at
it. I cannot imagine
how glorious the gopés are. I
wanted to take the dust of their lotus
feet, but now I am hopeless. I am not
qualified to touch their
foot-dust, so I simply offer praëäma to
it from very far away.
Uddhava then uttered the following prayer
in glorification of the
gopés:
1
Unlike English, which has only full
letters, Sanskrit words can contain both
full and half letters.
1 0 7
REUNION AT KURUKÑETRA
vande nanda-vraja-stréëäà
päda-reëum abhékñëaçaù
yäsäà hari-kathodgétaà
punäti bhuvana-trayam
Çrémad-Bhägavatam (10.47.63)
I repeatedly offer my respects to the dust
from the feet of the
women of Nanda Mahäräja’s cowherd village.
When these gopés
loudly chant the glories of Çré Kåñëa, the
vibration purifies the
three worlds.
Instead of becoming pacified by Uddhava’s
explanation, Kåñëa
felt more and more separation. He wanted
to go to Vraja, but for
some reason He could not.
What Kåñëa never told before
Kåñëa had told Uddhava, “My father and
mother are weeping
bitterly. They have become blind, and they
are hardly more than
skeletons. Perhaps they will only live for
one or two days more;
in fact, they may die at any moment.
Please go and pacify them.
And go also to the gopés. I know
that My father and mother are
weeping bitterly, that they are blind, and
may die... but I don’t
know what is the condition of the gopés.
They are feeling the
topmost separation for Me. I don’t know
whether they are alive,
or if they have already died; so go at
once, quickly. They always
remember Me, keeping Me on the chariots of
their minds, without
any selfish motive. They know that nobody
in Mathurä
knows My heart.”
The gopés know that Kåñëa is very
shy, and cannot ask anyone
for something to eat when He feels hungry.
Yaçodä-maiyä is not
present in His palace; so who will pacify
Him, and who will serve
Him? This is why the gopés feel so
much separation.
1 0 8
THE ORIGIN OF RATHA-YÄTRÄ
Kåñëa had told Uddhava, “The gopés are
mat-präëa, My life
and soul.” He had not said this about His
father and mother, only
about the gopés. He continued,
“They have left everything for Me.
For My sake, they have stopped caring for
their bodies and have
forgotten all their bodily duties. I am
their only beloved, and they
are My most beloved; indeed, they are My
life and soul. They
have left their shyness and their worldly
responsibilities, and
they have also abandoned all social
etiquette for Me. For My
sake, they have disobeyed their parents
and left their source of
maintenance. I must somehow save them and
maintain them.
Now they are far away, thinking, ‘Kåñëa
will surely come tomorrow.
If we die now, He will also die when He
finds out.’ This is
the reason they somehow maintain their
lives without dying.
“The gopés think, ‘Kåñëa has
promised, and He cannot break
His promise. He must come. He will come
tomorrow.’ That is
why they maintain their lives. Actually, I
think that they are not
maintaining their own lives. Their lives
rest in Me, and I am maintaining
them, otherwise they would have been
finished. Go at
once and see whether they have died or
not; and if not, please
pacify them.”
Kåñëa had only spoken like this about the gopés;
never about
anyone else, including Arjuna and the
Päëòavas, or His queens,
Satyabhämä and Rukmiëé. The gopés are
unique in their boundless
and causeless love and affection for
Kåñëa. Our highest aim
and object is the love for Kåñëa that is
in the gopés, and especially
in Rädhikä.
When Rädhikä was feeling separation, gopés
like Lalitä,
Viçäkhä, Citrä, Campakalatä, and Rüpa
Maïjaré were serving Her
and trying to pacify Her; but who could
actually pacify Her? She
was totally mad, with no external sense at
all. The others were
trying to pacify Her because their
consciousness was still somewhat
functional. Their love is very high,
millions of times greater
1 0 9
REUNION AT KURUKÑETRA
than that of Uddhava, Satyabhämä, and
Rukmiëé, and higher
even than that of the other sakhés of
Våndävana; but it is not as
high as Rädhikä’s love.
Rädhikä was totally mad, as Uddhava saw
when he witnessed
Her talking to the bumblebee. Actually,
Kåñëa Himself had gone
to Vraja in the form of that bumblebee,
and He also saw that
Rädhikä was totally mad. She was lying on
a bed of rose petals,
which had become dried up by the touch of
Her body, and all the
candana that had been put on Her body to cool Her was also
completely dried. At first, Uddhava could
not understand
whether She was dead or alive.
Then, he saw that Rädhikä was very angry
with Kåñëa, criticizing
and abusing Him, and calling Him an
ungrateful cheater. No
one else could have spoken to Kåñëa in
this way, including
Satyabhämä and the other queens, and even
Mother Yaçodä and
Nanda Bäbä. Rädhikä told Him, “You are
ungrateful, and You are
like a six-legged bumblebee. Human beings
have two legs and
animals have four; but bumblebees have six
legs, so they are
more ignorant than any animal. We don’t
want to have any relationship
with that black person whose heart is as
black as a
bumblebee. Räma was also black, and he
cheated Çürpaëakhä
and cut off her nose and ears.”
Çrémad-Bhägavatam is actually an explanation of the glory of
Rädhikä’s love. Her love is supreme, and
it is the goal of all living
beings. We can never grasp its breadth,
but we can taste a drop
of it, and even that one drop can drown
the entire universe. Çré
Caitanya Mahäprabhu gave Çréla Rüpa
Gosvämé that drop of the
endless ocean of nectar, bhakti-rasa.
If we can serve the gopés,
and especially Rädhikä, we can also have
love and affection for
Kåñëa, and then we can feel separation.
Otherwise, it will never
be possible. Caitanya Mahäprabhu, the Six
Gosvämés, Çrémad-
Bhägavatam, and Çukadeva Gosvämé have proclaimed
this
1 1 0
THE ORIGIN OF RATHA-YÄTRÄ
conclusion: our goal is kåñëa-prema,
the prema that the gopés
have for Kåñëa.
Previously, Uddhava had heard about how
much love and
affection the gopés have for Kåñëa,
but he had no experience of
it. He had heard that the gopés are
Kåñëa’s most beloved, and that
Kåñëa is their most beloved, but even
knowing this, he could not
know the intensity and the ways of their
love.
Uddhava also loves Kåñëa, and thinks,
“Kåñëa is my master, He
is also like my brother, and we have so
many other relationships.”
However, Kåñëa did not say anything about
Uddhava’s
love. Rather, He told him to go to Vraja
and learn there: “Go and
realize the nature of prema.” He
said, “There is no one in
Mathurä like these gopés.”
Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu has mercifully
sprinkled a drop of
that love on the world (Çré
Caitanya-caritämåta (Ädi-lélä 1.4)):
anarpita-caréà cirät karuëayävatérëaù
kalau
samarpayitum unnatojjvala-rasäà
sva-bhakti-çriyam
hariù
puraöa-sundara-dyuti-kadamba-sandépitaù
sadä hådaya-kandare sphuratu vaù
çacé-nandanaù
May the Supreme Lord who is known as the
son of Çrématé Çacédevé
be transcendentally situated in the
innermost chambers of
your heart. Resplendent with the radiance
of molten gold, He has
appeared in the age of Kali by His
causeless mercy to bestow what
no incarnation has ever offered before:
the most sublime and radiant
mellow of devotional service, the mellow
of amorous love.
Uddhava failed the entrance exam
Uddhava had great love and affection for
Kåñëa, but when he
arrived in Vraja, he realized that vraja-prema
was totally new to
him. He saw Kåñëa playing with all His sakhäs.
Millions and millions
of cows were hankering after Him, and milk
was flowing
1 1 1
REUNION AT KURUKÑETRA
from their bulging udders because of their
spontaneous love.
The very beautiful black and white calves
were jumping here and
there, and Nanda Bäbä’s big bulls were
fighting with each other.
As Uddhava saw that scene, beautiful ghee
lamps flickered in
the gopés’ rooms, and the light
from these lamps was soft and
fragrant – not like the dead light from
electric bulbs. Varieties of
flowers spread their sweet aroma in all
directions, and the songs
of the humming bumblebees were like the
blowing of Cupid’s
conchshell. Cuckoos and other birds were
singing everywhere,
and peacocks were dancing about and
calling, “Ke kaw! Ke
kaw!”
All the gopés were churning yogurt
and singing, “Govinda
Dämodara Mädhaveti.” They were all very
beautiful, and Mother
Yaçodä was the most beautiful of all. How
else could Kåñëa have
become so beautiful? He would only have
been black otherwise;
it was because of her that His beauty was
like the luster of pearls.
Uddhava saw all this, but in a moment the
scene changed
completely, and now he saw that all the
residents of Våndävana
were weeping for Kåñëa: “O Kåñëa, where
are You? Where are
You?” Cows were not going out to graze.
They simply wept,
keeping their heads and eyes toward
Mathurä, and the calves
were not drinking the milk from the udders
of their mothers. The
peacocks were not dancing; rather, they
looked as if they were
blind. Every person and creature was mad
in separation from
Kåñëa.
It was now evening, and Uddhava found
himself in Kåñëa’s
home, where he became dumbstruck to see
the love and affection
of Mother Yaçodä and Nanda Bäbä. He could
never have
imagined that such high-class love could
exist, but now he was
able to realize something of its elevated
nature.
Early the next morning, Uddhava went to
Kadamba-kyäré,
where, by Kåñëa’s mercy, he was able to
see the gopés, who were
1 1 2
THE ORIGIN OF RATHA-YÄTRÄ
all mad in separation and just about to
die. This is why Kåñëa had
sent him to Våndävana: to try to be
admitted into the school of
the gopés. Kåñëa had told him, “Be
admitted into the school in
which I studied. Then, when you return, we
will be able to have
some discussion about love and affection.
First, go and become
qualified.”
However, Uddhava was not qualified for
admittance into the
school of the gopés. His entrance
examination score was about 25
percent, but the gopés demanded
more than 85 percent. Still,
although they rejected him, he was able to
enter the school and
see the very high-class students there. He
saw professors like
Viçäkhä and Lalitä, and he saw the
principal, Rädhikä Herself.
Now he knew something of the glories of
the gopés, and he realized
a little of their love for Kåñëa. He had
never seen anything
like this before, and now he felt, “If I
want to love Kåñëa, I must
be admitted into this school. But I am not
qualified.” He therefore
requested the gopés, “If you do not
admit me, can you at least
take me on as a servant, to bring water
and clean the school?”
The gopés rejected even that
request, however, and they told him,
“You should go back to Mathurä. First
become qualified, and
then you can sweep our kuïjas; you
cannot sweep here at the
moment.”
Uddhava then prayed:
vande nanda-vraja-stréëäà
päda-reëum abhékñëaçaù
yäsäà hari-kathodgétaà
punäti bhuvana-trayam
Çrémad-Bhägavatam (10.47.63)
Nanda-vraja-stréëäm means the beloved gopés of Kåñëa.
Uddhava prayed to them, “I want to offer
myself unto the dust of
your lotus feet. I want to keep even one
particle of your foot-dust
1 1 3
REUNION AT KURUKÑETRA
on my head, and if I can only get one
particle of dust, it must be
Çrématé Rädhikä’s.” Neither Brahmä nor
Çaìkara, nor even
Satyabhämä and the other Dvärakä queens,
can attain this.
Kåñëa had sent Uddhava to see the glories
of the gopés, and
now he saw Mount
Everest, the highest peak of the Himälayas of
the gopés’ love. He could not
become like them, however, so he
had to return to Kåñëa empty-handed. “I
went there and saw
something very mysterious and wonderful,
which I cannot
explain,” he told Kåñëa. “You told me about
the gopés, and what
I saw was even more wonderful than what
You told me. But I
had to return without realizing anything.”
Yäsäà hari-kathodgétaà, punäti
bhuvana-trayam. The songs
of the gopés, such as Bhramara-géta
and Gopé-géta, purify the
whole universe, and if one recites them,
or even remembers
them, he will actually be purified. So try
to recite all these songs
(gétas) and know them. The meanings
are very deep, and Çréla
Bhaktivedänta Swämé Mahäräja wanted to
teach that the very
wonderful moods therein are our aim and
object. He wanted to
teach this and he did discuss it in his
books, but how could he
actually plant it in barren lands and
deserts? First he had to cultivate
the lands to make them fertile. He wanted
to give this highest
goal, but in the meantime his Sväminé,
Çrématé Rädhikä, called
to him, “Come at once! We need your
service.”
This is our goal – the dust of the lotus
feet of Çrématé Rädhikä.
äsäm aho caraëa-reëu-juñäm ahaà syäà
våndävane kim api gulma-latauñadhénäm
yä dustyajaà sva-janam ärya-pathaà ca
hitvä
bhejur mukunda-padavéà çrutibhir vimågyäm
Çrémad-Bhägavatam (10.47.61)
The gopés of Våndävana have
abandoned the association of their
husbands, sons, and other family members
who are very difficult
1 1 4
THE ORIGIN OF RATHA-YÄTRÄ
to give up, and they have forsaken the
path of chastity to take
shelter of the lotus feet of Mukunda,
Kåñëa, which one should
search for by Vedic knowledge. Oh, let me
be fortunate enough to
be one of the bushes, creepers, or herbs
in Våndävana, because
the gopés trample them and bless
them with the dust of their lotus
feet.
Uddhava prayed, “If I cannot attain
Rädhikä’s lotus feet, then I
will be satisfied with the dust particles
from the feet of any of Her
sakhés. I don’t want the dust of Kåñëa’s lotus feet, because I
will
have to take a particle of the gopés’ moods
if I want to please
Kåñëa.”
We must engage in the process given by
Çréla Rüpa Gosvämé,
Çréla Bhaktivinoda Öhäkura, Çréla
Viçvanätha Cakravarté Öhäkura,
and Çréla Narottama däsa Öhäkura. The
teaching of our present
äcäryas is the same wine in new bottles. The bottles are different
colors, but the wine is the same. If you
drink that wine, you will
certainly become mad, but this madness is
actually desirable.
Kåñëa meets His parents at Kurukñetra
Years later there was to be a solar
eclipse and Kåñëa planned
to go to Kurukñetra with all His
commanders, His army, and all
His 16,108 queens. He did not invite Nanda
Bäbä directly, but He
thought, “Father will know, and he will
not be able to remain in
Vraja. He will come at once; he must
come.”
In Våndävana, Nanda Bäbä somehow came to
know about the
religious function to be held at
Kurukñetra. Thus, all the gopas,
gopés, and young people prepared their bullock carts and
proceeded
toward Kurukñetra, leaving Upananda and
some other
elders in Vraja to look after everything.
They took with them
many personal items for Kåñëa, such as
butter and other things
that He liked, and on the way they
constantly remembered:
“Kåñëa, Kåñëa, Kåñëa.”
1 1 5
REUNION AT KURUKÑETRA
By then, the gopés had been
lamenting for perhaps fifty, sixty,
or seventy years. Kåñëa also felt
separation for that long, but even
after all those years, He was still
youthful (kiçora), and the gopés
remained young as well.
In the meantime, the sun was covered by a
shadow and the
whole world became dark. According to
Vedic culture, during a
solar eclipse one should take bath three
times: when it is just
beginning, when the sun is fully covered,
and when it is again
fully visible. At that time, one should bathe
and give donations in
charity. It is written in Indian history
and in the Vedas and
Upaniñads that many kings used to donate
their entire wealth to
the brähmaëas and needy persons.
Every golden pot and utensil
was given in charity. Having given away their
own clothing,
keeping only a loincloth for themselves,
the kings themselves
would become penniless. Those charitable
persons were giving
so much charity that there was no longer
anyone to take it. Those
who had accepted charity began to give
charity to others. They
gave their charity in charity, and
therefore there was no one left
to think, “I want charity.” All were
giving and all were satisfied –
because Kåñëa was there. Even recently in India, many
people
would donate all these things. Now,
however, although giving in
charity is for the betterment of the
donors, this culture is gradually
reducing.
Everyone bathed there at Kurukñetra, made
their donations,
and after that they came to Kåñëa’s tent
to take His darçana.
Thousands and thousands of åñis, maharñis,
brahmavädés, realized
souls like Närada, Bhéñma Pitämaha (the
grandfather of the
Kauravas and Päëòavas), Vyäsadeva,
Gautama, Yäjïavalkya,
Duryodhana and all his brothers,
Droëäcärya, Karëa, and all the
Kauravas came from all over India, and from
all over the world.
Åñis and maharñis from the Caspian
sea, like Kaçyapa, also came,
and from Mongolia, sages like Maìgala Åñi
came with all his sons
1 1 6
THE ORIGIN OF RATHA-YÄTRÄ
and daughters. Almost all the kings of the
world had assembled
there to bathe in the very pious lake
there, and the crowd consisted
of more than ten million people. All were
there to bathe in
that lake, and all were residing there in
separate camps.
Now, everyone assembled in the camp of
Vasudeva and
Devaké to take darçana of Kåñëa,
and they began to enter His
tent. His tent was so large that thousands
of people could sit
inside. Although there was no arrangement
for a loudspeaker,
everyone could easily hear Him speak, and
in fact everyone
thought, “Kåñëa is sitting near me. I’m joking
with Him, I’m
telling Him something, and He is very
happy to hear it.”
The Päëòavas – Yudhiñöhira, Arjuna, Bhéma,
Nakula, Sahadeva,
and Draupadé – had also joined the
assembly, and their mother,
Kunté, was also there. Kunté met with her
brother Vasudeva, and
pitifully weeping with tears falling
profusely from her eyes, she
told him, “Brother, you did not remember
me when my sons
were given poison, when they were about to
burn in a fire, or
when all their wealth, kingdom, and
everything else was taken
and we were begging here and there. Like a
demon, Duryodhana
cheated my sons. He drove them from their
kingdom, and he and
Duùçäsana also tried to strip Draupadé in
the big council where
Dhåtaräñöra, Bhéñma Pitämaha, and other
elders were present.
You are my brother. You should have
remembered me.” Weeping
loudly, she put her arms around Vasudeva’s
neck, and Vasudeva
Mahäräja also began to weep. Kunté
continued, “Perhaps, my
brother, you forgot me.”
Vasudeva replied, “O elder sister, please
do not lament. This
was all caused by the time factor of Çré
Bhagavän. At that time my
wife and I were imprisoned in the jail of
Kaàsa, and we were
suffering so grievously. Kaàsa was always
abusing and insulting
us. His men bound me in iron chains and
they were kicking me
with their boots. How could I do anything?
Moreover, our six
1 1 7
REUNION AT KURUKÑETRA
sons were killed right in front of us,
snatched from my lap and
put to death. Luckily, Baladeva and Kåñëa
are saved. I was in
unbearable distress, and that is why I could
not help you.
Nevertheless, despite everything, somehow
I always remembered
you, and when I came out of jail I sent my
first message to
you.
“Everything depends on the mercy of God.
Sometimes we meet
and sometimes we are separated from each
other. Sometimes
there is suffering and sorrow, and
sometimes we are very prosperous.
Nothing depends on any soul. Don’t worry
anymore.
Now it is over.” In this way Vasudeva was
consoling Kunté.
In the meantime, Nanda Bäbä and the
Vrajaväsés were coming
on many bullock carts. Mother Yaçodä,
Nanda Bäbä, all the gopés
like Çrématé Rädhikä, Lalitä, and Viçäkhä,
and all Kåñëa’s cowherd
friends like Dämä, Çrédämä, Sudämä,
Vasudäma, Stoka-kåñëa,
Madhumaìgala, and all others were on their
way. Thousands of
gopas and gopés were on their way to Kåñëa.
While everyone else was meeting with
Kåñëa, someone came
and told Him and Baladeva, “Oh, Your
father and mother are
coming in a bullock cart.” When Kåñëa
heard this, He immediately
left all the members of the assembly.
Although there were many
thousands upon thousands of devotees, like
Kaçyapa, Kavi, Havi,
Antarikña, Närada, Vasiñöha, Ägastya, and
Välméki, Kåñëa left them
all and began to run at once towards
Yaçodä and Nanda – weeping
with tears in His eyes. In one second His
heart had melted,
and now He called out, “Oh, Mother is
coming? Father is coming?”
Upset, He cried out, “Mother, Mother,
where are you?”
The bullock cart had now stopped. Baladeva
Prabhu was following
Kåñëa, and they both exclaimed, “Oh, the
bullock cart is
here.” Nanda Bäbä and Yaçodä-maiyä came
down from the cart,
and when they saw Kåñëa they became
overwhelmed and began
to weep, “O my son, my son! Kåñëa, Kåñëa!”
1 1 8
THE ORIGIN OF RATHA-YÄTRÄ
Standing at a distance, all the gopas and
gopés, including
Rädhä, Lalitä, and Viçäkhä, were also
weeping. Somehow they
had been tolerating their separation from
Kåñëa while traveling
from Vraja, and in Vraja they were also
somewhat tolerating.
Now, however, as they came nearer and
nearer, their tolerance
began to disappear and they began to cry
like babies.
Kåñëa at once sat on the lap of
Yaçodä-maiyä, and Baladeva
Prabhu fell at the feet of Nanda Bäbä.
Seeing Kåñëa, whom she
had lost for years and years, all
Yaçodä-maiyä’s separation mood,
in the form of tears, began to flow out.
She wept loudly, “My dear
son! My dear son!” She covered Kåñëa’s
face as she had done
when He was a baby, and milk flowed
automatically from her
breasts. She covered Him as though He was
a helpless, small
baby and she wept bitterly – so bitterly.
In Våndävana she had never wept as much as
she did now.
There she was like a statue, and her heart
was dried up in separation.
Kåñëa had also been like dry wood, or like
a stone, but
now He also wept aloud. Nanda Bäbä took
Baladeva in his lap
and he also began to weep, and it was a
very piteous scene.
Kåñëa cried out, “Mother! Mother!”
Baladeva Prabhu, sitting on
the lap of Nanda Bäbä, was crying out,
“Father! Father!” and
Nanda Bäbä caressed him.
Having followed Kåñëa, Vasudeva, Devaké,
and Mother Rohiëé
arrived there, and Rohiëé thought, “Oh,
how very wonderful this
situation is!” Kåñëa had always been
somewhat shy in front of
Devaké. If He was hungry, He would tell
Mother Rohiëé – not
Devaké – and now Devaké saw Him weep
uncontrollably.
Devaké thought, “Kåñëa never sat on my
lap. He has never
called me, ‘Mother, Mother.’ But now He is
in the arms of Yaçodä
crying, ‘Mother, Mother, Mother.’ Yaçodä
thinks, ‘Kåñëa is my
own son,’ and Kåñëa also thinks, ‘My
mother is only Yaçodä – not
Devaké.’ Yaçodä will surely take Kåñëa and
return to Vraja. Kåñëa
Om Tat Sat
(Continued...)
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