Jun 12, 2022 — CANADA (SUN) — A serial presentation of Sri Bhakti Ratnakara by Srila Narahari Cakravarti Thakur.
Chapter Five
Other Tirthas of Mathura
O Srinivasa, Caitanya Mahaprabhu happily bathes in all 24 ghats of the Jamuna. The pastimes which he performed at each ghat is beyond description. Millions of people took their baths with Prabhu and floated in the ocean of happiness. Even demigods used to mingle with the common people to observe the lila of Mahaprabhu. They all sang the glories of Sri Krsna Caitanya. Now, Srinivasa, we will visit other holy places. This place is known as Gokarnakhya but sometimes it is called Viswanath tirtha. It is a favorite place of Lord Visnu.
This place is known as Krsna Ganga. The Adi Varaha Purana states that although a person can take his bath in five tirthas namely Visvinti, Sokara, Nainisa, Proyaga and Puskara - the results obtained from these five tirthas are ten times less than the result attained from one bath in Krsna Ganga.
This holy place is called Vaikuntha. A bath here promotes one to Visnu loka. This place is called Asikunda Tirtha. If anyone gets the darshan of the four deities - namely Varaha Devi, Narayani Devi, Yamana devi and the auspicious Langali Devi - after taking a bath in this kunda, he gets the same result as circumbulating earth with its four oceans. He attains the good results of visiting all the holy places of Mathura. (Adi Varaha Purana)
This is a well named Chatu Samudaika. By bathing here one is promoted to Deva loka.
O Srinivasa, who can describe the numerous glorious of Sri Mathura? Bathing in the Jamuna of Mathura those results one hundred times superior to those obtained from bathing in the Ganges.
In the Matsya Purana, in a conversation between Yuddistra and Narada, it is stated: O Yuddistra, a man becomes virtuous if he takes a bath in the Jamuna, drinks pure water and sings for glories. Even the darshan of Jamuna gives auspicious results. One who believes in the Jamuna or drinks her water guarantees her auspiciousness for seven generations of his family. Whoever dies on the bank of the Jamuna attains the eternal abode.
In the Visnu Dharmattare it is stated: O King, whoever performs the sraddha ceremony on the bank of the Jamuna attains immoral results and becomes happy in heaven.
In the Mathura Khanda of Padma Purana, regarding the contest of the creation of Prajapati marichi, it is said: Rasaswarupa Krsna, the cause of all causes, the eternal, onmiscient blissful Lord, Rasamaya, who is glorified as Brahma by the Upanishads, existed in the form of Jamuna. As iron becomes gold by the touch of the philosophers stone, so sins become virtues by the touch of the waters of the Jamuna.
In the Adi Varaha Purana it says: if there are two brahmins - one living in Mathura with no knowledge of the Vedas and the other a scholar in all four Vedas who lives outside Mathura - you should feed the ignorant Mathura brahmin. Although a peasant of Mathura may be wicked and unreligious, nevertheless he is respectable to me because a Mathura vasi is always my personification. O Vasundhari all the residents of Mathura are personifications of me. If you feed one brahmin of Mahura you earn the same virtue of feeding millions of other brahmins. The Mathura vasis are worshipped by me because they are my favorite. When as resident of Mathura feels satisfied then I also feel satisfied. The places where they reside are certainly holy places and their houses are full of auspiciousness. In Mathura the insects, birds, animals and other living beings are all eligible for salvation. Lascivious men who lust after other women are all deities disguised as human beings.
O Srinivasa just see Mathua where Krsna enacted many pastimes. This is the house of the gardener Sudama who was a favorite friend of Krsna. Here Krsna killed the Kansa's washer amd he and the cowherd boys dressed themselves in the washer man's clothes. This is the road by which Krnsa went to the palace of Kamsa while the residents of Mathura watched overwhelmed by his beauty. Here Krsna broke the bow with ease. He and his friends strolled about in a magnificent way. The demon Kuvalayapida blocked Krsna's path here and Krsna killed him easily uprooting his tusks. This is the arena where the great wrestling match took place. This is the platform where Krsna sat, this is the platform where Nanda and the other Gopals had sat. They all enjoyed Krsna's wrestling. Krsna found that killing Kamsa was great fun. This place known as Kansa khali is the place where Kansa was killed. Here is the temple of Kubja, known as Kubja kupa. Everyone knows this place. The wonderful pastimes of Krsna with Kubja is known throughout the three worlds. These two places Baladeva Kunda and Krsna Kupa, are the places where Krsna and Balarama sported with their friends. It was here that Sri Krsna Caitanya sat surrounded by people after completing his tour of Mathura. People were overwhelmed to see the ecstatic condition of Mahaprabhu. The brahmin residents of Mathura thought that the ascetic must be Krsna himself. Who could realise the transcendental activities of Mahaprabhu when he concealed himself behind the wall of his golden complexion? A man said, "Very, very fortunate as we have observed Mahaprabhu conquering Mathura." While describing these pastimes Raghava Pandita became so overwhelmed that he could not control himself. Even Narottama and Srinivasa fell on the ground and burst into loud sobbing, calling the name of Caitanya Mahaprabhu. After sometime they pacified themselves and Raghava took them to other holy places of Mathura.
This is the place where Gopala stayed for one month. Sri Rupa Gosvami and his followers became ecstatic when they saw the deity of Sri Gopala. The residents of Mathura were equally happy to have Sri Rupa and his followers in their midst. Look Srinivasa, this is the famous tree under which the son of Ravani, Balarama used to play. During his pilgrimage, Prabhu Nityananda also came to Mathura and stayed here for sometime. He fell into ecstasy seeing his familiar sporting places and he roamed here and there in that ecstasy. The residents of Mathura forgot all thier miseries in the pleasure of seeing Adhuta Candra. Taking darshan of all those places will help one forget the agonies of love and become devoted to the feet of Nityananda.
