The Glories Of Lord Nityānanda Balarāma

Let me offer my obeisances to Lord Śrī Nityānanda, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, whose opulence is wonderful and unlimited. By His will, even a fool can understand His identity.

All glories to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu! All glories to Lord Nityānanda! All glories to Advaita Ācārya! And all glories to all the devotees of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu!

I have described the glory of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya in six verses. Now, in five verses I shall describe the glory of Lord Nityānanda.

The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, is the fountainhead of all incarnations. Lord Balarāma is His second body.

These two are one and the same identity. They differ only in form. Lord Balarāma is the first bodily expansion of Kṛṣṇa, and He assists in Lord Kṛṣṇa’s transcendental pastimes.

That original Lord Kṛṣṇa appeared in Navadvīpa as Lord Caitanya, and Balarāma appeared with Him as Lord Nityānanda.

May Śrī Nityānanda Rāma be the object of my constant remembrance. Saṅkarṣaṇa, Śeṣa Nāga and the Viṣṇus who lie on the Kāraṇa Ocean, Garbha Ocean and ocean of milk are His plenary portions and the portions of His plenary portions.

Lord Balarāma is the original Saṅkarṣaṇa. He assumes five other forms to serve Lord Kṛṣṇa.

He Himself helps in the pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa, and He does the work of creation in four other forms.

He executes the orders of Lord Kṛṣṇa in the work of creation, and in the form of Lord Śeṣa He serves Kṛṣṇa in various ways.

In all the forms He tastes the transcendental bliss of serving Kṛṣṇa. That same Balarāma is Lord Nityānanda, the companion of Lord Gaurasundara.

I have explained the seventh verse in four subsequent verses. By these verses all the world can know the truth about Lord Nityānanda.

I surrender unto the lotus feet of Śrī Nityānanda Rāma, who is known as Saṅkarṣaṇa in the midst of the catur-vyūha [consisting of Vāsudeva, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna and Aniruddha]. He possesses full opulences and resides in Vaikuṇṭhaloka, far beyond the material creation.

Beyond the material nature lies the realm known as paravyoma, the spiritual sky. Like Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself, it possesses all transcendental attributes, such as the six opulences.

That Vaikuṇṭha region is all-pervading, infinite and supreme. It is the residence of Lord Kṛṣṇa and His incarnations.

In the highest region of that spiritual sky is the spiritual planet called Kṛṣṇaloka. It has three divisions — Dvārakā, Mathurā and Gokula.

Śrī Gokula, the highest of all, is also called Vraja, Goloka, Śvetadvīpa and Vṛndāvana.

Like the transcendental body of Lord Kṛṣṇa, Gokula is all-pervading, infinite and supreme. It expands both above and below, without any restriction.

That abode is manifested within the material world by the will of Lord Kṛṣṇa. It is identical to that original Gokula; they are not two different bodies.

The land there is touchstone [cintāmaṇi], and the forests abound with desire trees. Material eyes see it as an ordinary place.

But with the eyes of love of Godhead one can see its real identity as the place where Lord Kṛṣṇa performs His pastimes with the cowherd boys and cowherd girls.

“I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, the first progenitor, who is tending cows yielding all desires in abodes built with spiritual gems and surrounded by millions of purpose trees. He is always served with great reverence and affection by hundreds and thousands of goddesses of fortune.”

Lord Kṛṣṇa manifests His own form in Mathurā and Dvārakā. He enjoys pastimes in various ways by expanding into the quadruple forms.

Vāsudeva, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna and Aniruddha are the primary quadruple forms, from whom all other quadruple forms are manifested. They are all purely transcendental.

Only in these three places [Dvārakā, Mathurā and Gokula] does the all-sporting Lord Kṛṣṇa perform His endless pastimes with His personal associates.

In the Vaikuṇṭha planets of the spiritual sky the Lord manifests His identity as Nārāyaṇa and performs pastimes in various ways.

Kṛṣṇa’s own form has only two hands, but in the form of Lord Nārāyaṇa He has four hands. Lord Nārāyaṇa holds a conchshell, disc, club and lotus flower, and He is full of great opulence. The śrī, bhū and nīlā energies serve at His lotus feet.

Although His pastimes are His only characteristic functions, by His causeless mercy He performs one activity for the fallen souls.

He delivers the fallen living entities by offering them the four kinds of liberation — sālokya, sāmīpya, sārṣṭi and sārūpya.

Those who attain brahma-sāyujya liberation cannot gain entrance into Vaikuṇṭha; their residence is outside the Vaikuṇṭha planets.

Outside the Vaikuṇṭha planets is the atmosphere of the glowing effulgence, which consists of the supremely bright rays of the body of Lord Kṛṣṇa.

That region is called Siddhaloka, and it is beyond the material nature. Its essence is spiritual, but it does not have spiritual varieties.

It is like the homogeneous effulgence around the sun. But inside the sun are the chariots, horses and other opulences of the sun-god.

“As through devotion to the Lord one can attain His abode, many have attained that goal by abandoning their sinful activities and absorbing their minds in the Lord through lust, envy, fear or affection.”

“Where it has been stated that the Lord’s enemies and devotees attain the same destination, this refers to the ultimate oneness of Brahman and Lord Kṛṣṇa. This may be understood by the example of the sun and the sunshine, in which Brahman is like the sunshine and Kṛṣṇa Himself is like the sun.”

Thus in the spiritual sky there are varieties of pastimes within the spiritual energy. Outside the Vaikuṇṭha planets appears the impersonal reflection of light.

That impersonal Brahman effulgence consists only of the effulgent rays of the Lord. Those fit for sāyujya liberation merge into that effulgence.

“Beyond the region of ignorance [the material cosmic manifestation] lies the realm of Siddhaloka. The Siddhas reside there, absorbed in the bliss of Brahman. Demons killed by the Lord also attain that realm.”

In that spiritual sky, on the four sides of Nārāyaṇa, are the second expansions of the quadruple expansions of Dvārakā.

Vāsudeva, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna and Aniruddha constitute this second quadruple. They are purely transcendental.

There [in the spiritual sky] the personal feature of Balarāma called Mahā-saṅkarṣaṇa is the shelter of the spiritual energy. He is the primary cause, the cause of all causes.

One variety of the pastimes of the spiritual energy is described as pure goodness [viśuddha-sattva]. It comprises all the abodes of Vaikuṇṭha.

The six attributes are all spiritual. Know for certain that they are all manifestations of the opulence of Saṅkarṣaṇa.

There is one marginal potency, known as the jīva. Mahā-saṅkarṣaṇa is the shelter of all jīvas.

Saṅkarṣaṇa is the original shelter of the puruṣa, from whom this world is created and in whom it is dissolved.

He [Saṅkarṣaṇa] is the shelter of everything. He is wonderful in every respect, and His opulences are infinite. Even Ananta cannot describe His glory.

That Saṅkarṣaṇa, who is transcendental pure goodness, is a partial expansion of Nityānanda Balarāma.

I have briefly explained the eighth verse. Now please listen with attention as I explain the ninth verse.

I offer my full obeisances unto the feet of Śrī Nityānanda Rāma, whose partial representation called Kāraṇodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, lying on the Kāraṇa Ocean, is the original puruṣa, the master of the illusory energy, and the shelter of all the universes.

Outside the Vaikuṇṭha planets is the impersonal Brahman effulgence, and beyond that effulgence is the Kāraṇa Ocean, or Causal Ocean.

Surrounding Vaikuṇṭha is a mass of water that is endless, unfathomed and unlimited.

The earth, water, fire, air and ether of Vaikuṇṭha are all spiritual. Material elements are not found there.

The water of the Kāraṇa Ocean, which is the original cause, is therefore spiritual. The sacred Ganges, which is but a drop of it, purifies the fallen souls.

In that ocean lies a plenary portion of Lord Saṅkarṣaṇa.

He is known as the first puruṣa, the creator of the total material energy. He, the cause of the universes, the first incarnation, casts His glance over māyā.

Māyā-śakti resides outside the Kāraṇa Ocean. Māyā cannot touch its waters.

Māyā has two varieties of existence. One is called pradhāna or prakṛti. It supplies the ingredients of the material world.

Because prakṛti is dull and inert, it cannot actually be the cause of the material world. But Lord Kṛṣṇa shows His mercy by infusing His energy into the dull, inert material nature.

Thus prakṛti, by the energy of Lord Kṛṣṇa, becomes the secondary cause, just as iron becomes red-hot by the energy of fire.

Therefore Lord Kṛṣṇa is the original cause of the cosmic manifestation. Prakṛti is like the nipples on the neck of a goat, for they cannot give any milk.

The māyā aspect of material nature is the immediate cause of the cosmic manifestation. But it cannot be the real cause, for the original cause is Lord Nārāyaṇa.

Just as the original cause of an earthen pot is the potter, so the creator of the material world is the first puruṣa incarnation [Kāraṇārṇavaśāyī Viṣṇu].

Lord Kṛṣṇa is the creator, and māyā only helps Him as an instrument, just like the potter’s wheel and other instruments, which are the instrumental causes of a pot.

The first puruṣa casts His glance at māyā from a distance, and thus He impregnates her with the seed of life in the form of the living entities.

The reflected rays of His body mix with māyā, and thus māyā gives birth to myriad universes.

The puruṣa enters each and every one of the countless universes. He manifests Himself in as many separate forms as there are universes.

When the puruṣa exhales, the universes are manifested with each outward breath.

Thereafter, when He inhales, all the universes again enter His body.

Just as atomic particles of dust pass through the openings of a window, so the networks of universes pass through the pores of the skin of the puruṣa.

“The Brahmās and other lords of the mundane worlds appear from the pores of Mahā-Viṣṇu and remain alive for the duration of His one exhalation. I adore the primeval Lord, Govinda, of whom Mahā-Viṣṇu is a portion of a plenary portion.”

“Where am I, a small creature of seven spans the measure of my own hand? I am enclosed in the universe composed of material nature, the total material energy, false ego, ether, air, water and earth. And what is Your glory? Unlimited universes pass through the pores of Your body just like particles of dust passing through the opening of a window.”

A part of a part of a whole is called a kalā. Śrī Balarāma is the counterform of Lord Govinda.

Balarāma’s own expansion is called Mahā-saṅkarṣaṇa, and His fragment, the puruṣa, is counted as a kalā, or a part of a plenary portion.

I say that this kalā is Mahā-Viṣṇu. He is the Mahā-puruṣa, who is the source of the other puruṣas and who is all-pervading.

Garbhodaśāyī and Kṣīrodaśāyī are both called puruṣas. They are plenary portions of Kāraṇodaśāyī Viṣṇu, the first puruṣa, who is the abode of all the universes.

“Viṣṇu has three forms called puruṣas. The first, Mahā-Viṣṇu, is the creator of the total material energy [mahat], the second is Garbhodaśāyī, who is situated within each universe, and the third is Kṣīrodaśāyī, who lives in the heart of every living being. He who knows these three becomes liberated from the clutches of māyā.”

Although Kāraṇodaśāyī Viṣṇu is called a kalā of Lord Kṛṣṇa, He is the source of Matsya, Kūrma and the other incarnations.

“All these incarnations of Godhead are either plenary portions or parts of the plenary portions of the puruṣa-avatāras. But Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself. In every age He protects the world through His different features when the world is disturbed by the enemies of Indra.”

That puruṣa [Kāraṇodakaśāyī Viṣṇu] is the performer of creation, maintenance and destruction. He manifests Himself in many incarnations, for He is the maintainer of the world.

That fragment of the Supreme Lord, known as the Mahā-puruṣa, appears for the purpose of creation, maintenance and annihilation and is called an incarnation.

That Mahā-puruṣa is identical with the Personality of Godhead. He is the original incarnation, the seed of all others, and the shelter of everything.

“The puruṣa [Mahā-Viṣṇu] is the primary incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Time, nature, prakṛti (as cause and effect), the mind, the material elements, false ego, the modes of nature, the senses, the universal form, complete independence and the moving and nonmoving beings appear subsequently as His opulences.”

“In the beginning of the creation, the Lord expanded Himself in the form of the puruṣa incarnation, accompanied by all the ingredients of material creation. First He created the sixteen principal energies suitable for creation. This was for the purpose of manifesting the material universes.”

Although the Lord is the shelter of everything and although all the universes rest in Him, He, as the Supersoul, is also the support of everything.

Although He is thus connected with the material energy in two ways, He does not have the slightest contact with it.

“This is the opulence of the Lord. Although situated within the material nature, He is never affected by the modes of nature. Similarly, those who have surrendered to Him and have fixed their intelligence upon Him are not influenced by the modes of nature.”

Thus the Bhagavad-gītā also states again and again that the Absolute Truth always possesses inconceivable power.

[Lord Kṛṣṇa said:] “I am situated in the material world, and the world rests in Me. But at the same time I am not situated in the material world, nor does it rest in Me in truth.

“O Arjuna, you should know this as My inconceivable opulence.” This is the meaning propagated by Lord Kṛṣṇa in the Bhagavad-gītā.

That Mahā-puruṣa [Kāraṇodakaśāyī Viṣṇu] is known as a plenary part of Him who is Lord Nityānanda Balarāma, the favorite associate of Lord Caitanya.

I have thus explained the ninth verse, and now I shall explain the tenth. Please listen with rapt attention.

I offer my full obeisances unto the feet of Śrī Nityānanda Rāma, a partial part of whom is Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu. From the navel of Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu sprouts the lotus that is the birthplace of Brahmā, the engineer of the universe. The stem of that lotus is the resting place of the multitude of planets.

After creating millions of universes, the first puruṣa entered into each of them in a separate form, as Śrī Garbhodakaśāyī.

Entering the universe, He found only darkness, with no place in which to reside. Thus He began to consider.

Then He created water from the perspiration of His own body and with that water filled half the universe.

The universe measures five hundred million yojanas. Its length and breadth are one and the same.

After filling half the universe with water, He made His own residence therein and manifested the fourteen worlds in the other half.

There He manifested Vaikuṇṭha as His own abode and rested in the waters on the bed of Lord Śeṣa.

He lay there with Ananta as His bed. Lord Ananta is a divine serpent having thousands of heads, thousands of faces, thousands of eyes and thousands of hands and feet. He is the seed of all incarnations and is the cause of the material world.

From His navel grew a lotus flower, which became the birthplace of Lord Brahmā.

Within the stem of that lotus were the fourteen worlds. Thus the Supreme Lord, as Brahmā, created the entire creation.

And as Lord Viṣṇu He maintains the entire world. Lord Viṣṇu, being beyond all material attributes, has no touch with the material qualities.

Assuming the form of Rudra, He destroys the creation. Thus creation, maintenance and dissolution are created by His will.

He is the Supersoul, Hiraṇyagarbha, the cause of the material world. The universal form is conceived as His expansion.

That Lord Nārāyaṇa is a part of a plenary part of Lord Nityānanda Balarāma, who is the source of all incarnations.

I have thus explained the tenth verse. Now please listen to the meaning of the eleventh verse with all your mind.

I offer my respectful obeisances unto the feet of Śrī Nityānanda Rāma, whose secondary part is the Viṣṇu lying in the ocean of milk. That Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu is the Supersoul of all living entities and the maintainer of all the universes. Śeṣa Nāga is His further subpart.

The material planets rest within the stem that grows from the lotus navel of Lord Nārāyaṇa. Among these planets are seven oceans.

There, in part of the ocean of milk, lies Śvetadvīpa, the abode of the sustainer, Lord Viṣṇu.

He is the Supersoul of all living entities. He maintains this material world, and He is its Lord.

In the ages and millenniums of Manu, He appears as different incarnations to establish the principles of real religion and vanquish the principles of irreligion.

Unable to see Him, the demigods go to the shore of the ocean of milk and offer prayers to Him.

He then descends to maintain the material world. His unlimited opulences cannot be counted.

That Lord Viṣṇu is but a part of a part of a plenary portion of Lord Nityānanda, who is the source of all incarnations.

That same Lord Viṣṇu, in the form of Lord Śeṣa, holds the planets upon His heads, although He does not know where they are, for He cannot feel their existence upon His heads.

His thousands of extended hoods are adorned with dazzling jewels surpassing the sun.

The universe, which measures five hundred million yojanas in diameter, rests on one of His hoods like a mustard seed.

That Ananta Śeṣa is the devotee incarnation of Godhead. He knows nothing but service to Lord Kṛṣṇa.

With His thousands of mouths He sings the glories of Lord Kṛṣṇa, but although He always sings in that way, He does not find an end to the qualities of the Lord.

The four Kumāras hear Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam from His lips, and they in turn repeat it in the transcendental bliss of love of Godhead.

He serves Lord Kṛṣṇa, assuming all the following forms: umbrella, slippers, bedding, pillow, garments, resting chair, residence, sacred thread and throne.

He is thus called Lord Śeṣa, for He has attained the ultimate end of servitude to Kṛṣṇa. He takes many forms for the service of Kṛṣṇa, and thus He serves the Lord.

That person of whom Lord Ananta is a kalā, or part of a plenary part, is Lord Nityānanda Prabhu. Who, therefore, can know the pastimes of Lord Nityānanda?

From these conclusions we can know the limit of the truth of Lord Nityānanda. But what glory is there in calling Him Ananta?

But I accept it as the truth because it has been said by devotees. Since He is the source of all incarnations, everything is possible in Him.

They know that there is no difference between the incarnation and the source of all incarnations. Previously Lord Kṛṣṇa was regarded in the light of different principles by different people.

Some said that Kṛṣṇa was directly Lord Nara-Nārāyaṇa, and some called Him Lord Vāmanadeva incarnate.

Some called Lord Kṛṣṇa an incarnation of Lord Kṣīrodakaśāyī. All these names are true; nothing is impossible.

When the Supreme Personality of Godhead Kṛṣṇa appears, He is the shelter of all plenary parts. Thus at that time all His plenary portions join in Him.

In whatever form one knows the Lord, one speaks of Him in that way. In this there is no falsity, since everything is possible in Kṛṣṇa.

Therefore Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu has exhibited to everyone all the pastimes of all the various incarnations.

Thus Lord Nityānanda has unlimited incarnations. In transcendental emotion He calls Himself a servant of Lord Caitanya.

Sometimes He serves Lord Caitanya as His guru, sometimes as His friend and sometimes as His servant, just as Lord Balarāma played with Lord Kṛṣṇa in these three different moods in Vraja.

Playing like a bull, Lord Balarāma fights with Kṛṣṇa head to head. And sometimes Lord Kṛṣṇa massages the feet of Lord Balarāma.

He considers Himself a servant and knows Kṛṣṇa to be His master. Thus He regards Himself as a fragment of His plenary portion.

“Acting just like ordinary boys, They played like roaring bulls as They fought each other, and They imitated the calls of various animals.”

“Sometimes when Lord Kṛṣṇa’s elder brother, Lord Balarāma, felt tired after playing and lay His head on the lap of a cowherd boy, Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself served Him by massaging His feet.”

“Who is this mystic power, and where has she come from? Is she a demigod or a demoness? She must be the illusory energy of My master, Lord Kṛṣṇa, for who else can bewilder Me?”

“What is the value of a throne to Lord Kṛṣṇa? The masters of the various planetary systems accept the dust of His lotus feet on their crowned heads. That dust makes the holy places sacred, and even Lord Brahmā, Lord Śiva, Lakṣmī and I Myself, who are all portions of His plenary portion, eternally carry that dust on our heads.”

Lord Kṛṣṇa alone is the supreme controller, and all others are His servants. They dance as He makes them do so.

Thus Lord Caitanya is also the only controller. All others are His associates or servants.

His elders such as Lord Nityānanda, Advaita Ācārya and Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura, as well as His other devotees — whether His juniors, equals or superiors — are all His associates who help Him in His pastimes. Lord Gaurāṅga fulfills His aims with their help.

Śrī Advaita Ācārya and Śrīla Nityānanda Prabhu, who are plenary parts of the Lord, are His principal associates. With these two the Lord performs His pastimes in various ways.

Lord Advaita Ācārya is directly the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Although Lord Caitanya accepts Him as His preceptor, Advaita Ācārya is a servant of the Lord.

I cannot describe the truth of Advaita Ācārya. He has delivered the entire world by making Lord Kṛṣṇa descend.

Lord Nityānanda Svarūpa formerly appeared as Lakṣmaṇa and served Lord Rāmacandra as His younger brother.

The activities of Lord Rāma were full of suffering, but Lakṣmaṇa, of His own accord, tolerated that suffering.

As a younger brother He could not stop Lord Rāma from His resolution, and so He remained silent, although unhappy in His mind.

When Lord Kṛṣṇa appeared, He [Balarāma] became His elder brother to serve Him to His heart’s content and make Him enjoy all sorts of happiness.

Śrī Rāma and Śrī Lakṣmaṇa, who are plenary portions of Lord Kṛṣṇa and Lord Balarāma respectively, entered into Them at the time of Kṛṣṇa’s and Balarāma’s appearance.

Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma present Themselves as younger brother and elder brother, but in the scriptures They are described as the original Supreme Personality of Godhead and His expansion.

“I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, who by His various plenary portions appears in the world in different forms and incarnations such as Lord Rāma, but who personally appears in His supreme original form as Lord Kṛṣṇa.”

Lord Caitanya is the same Lord Kṛṣṇa, and Lord Nityānanda is Lord Balarāma. Lord Nityānanda fulfills all of Lord Caitanya’s desires.

The ocean of Lord Nityānanda’s glories is infinite and unfathomable. Only by His mercy can I touch even a drop of it.

Please listen to another glory of His mercy. He made a fallen living entity climb to the highest limit.

To disclose it is not proper, for it should be kept as confidential as the Vedas, yet I shall speak of it to make His mercy known to all.

O Lord Nityānanda, I write of Your mercy out of great exultation. Please forgive me for my offenses.

Lord Nityānanda Prabhu had a servant named Śrī Mīnaketana Rāmadāsa, who was a reservoir of love.

At my house there was saṅkīrtana day and night, and therefore he visited there, having been invited.

Absorbed in emotional love, he sat in my courtyard, and all the Vaiṣṇavas bowed down at his feet.

In a joyful mood of love of God he sometimes climbed upon the shoulder of someone offering obeisances, and sometimes he struck others with his flute or mildly slapped them.

When someone saw the eyes of Mīnaketana Rāmadāsa, tears would automatically flow from his own eyes, for a constant shower of tears flowed from the eyes of Mīnaketana Rāmadāsa.

Sometimes there were eruptions of ecstasy like kadamba flowers on some parts of his body, and sometimes one limb would be stunned while another would be trembling.

Whenever he shouted aloud the name Nityānanda, the people around him were filled with great wonder and astonishment.

One respectable brāhmaṇa named Śrī Guṇārṇava Miśra was serving the Deity.

When Mīnaketana was seated in the yard, this brāhmaṇa did not offer him respect. Seeing this, Śrī Rāmadāsa became angry and spoke.

“Here I find the second Romaharṣaṇa-sūta, who did not stand to show honor when he saw Lord Balarāma.”

After saying this, he danced and sang to his heart’s content, but the brāhmaṇa did not become angry, for he was then serving Lord Kṛṣṇa.

At the end of the festival Mīnaketana Rāmadāsa went away, offering his blessings to everyone. At that time he had some controversy with my brother.

My brother had firm faith in Lord Caitanya but only a dim glimmer of faith in Lord Nityānanda.

Knowing this, Śrī Rāmadāsa felt unhappy in his mind. I then rebuked my brother.

“These two brothers,” I told him, “are like one body; They are identical manifestations. If you do not believe in Lord Nityānanda, you will fall down.

“If you have faith in one but disrespect the other, your logic is like the logic of accepting half a hen.*

“It would be better to be an atheist by slighting both brothers than a hypocrite by believing in one and slighting the other.”

Thus Śrī Rāmadāsa broke his flute in anger and went away, and at that time my brother fell down.

I have thus described the power of the servants of Lord Nityānanda. Now I shall describe another characteristic of His mercy.

That night Lord Nityānanda appeared to me in a dream because of my good quality in chastising my brother.

In the village of Jhāmaṭapura, which is near Naihāṭi, Lord Nityānanda appeared to me in a dream.

I fell at His feet, offering my obeisances, and He then placed His own lotus feet upon my head.

“Arise! Get up!” He told me again and again. Upon rising, I was greatly astonished to see His beauty.

He had a glossy blackish complexion, and His tall, strong, heroic stature made Him seem like Cupid himself.

He had beautifully formed hands, arms and legs, and eyes like lotus flowers. He wore a silk cloth, with a silk turban on His head.

He wore golden earrings on His ears, and golden armlets and bangles. He wore tinkling anklets on His feet and a garland of flowers around His neck.

His body was anointed with sandalwood pulp, and He was nicely decorated with tilaka. His movements surpassed those of a maddened elephant.

His face was more beautiful than millions upon millions of moons, and His teeth were like pomegranate seeds because of His chewing betel.

His body moved to and fro, right and left, for He was absorbed in ecstasy. He chanted “Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa” in a deep voice.

His red stick moving in His hand, He seemed like a maddened lion. All around the four sides of His feet were bumblebees.

His devotees, dressed like cowherd boys, surrounded His feet like so many bees and also chanted “Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa,” absorbed in ecstatic love.

Some of them played horns and flutes, and others danced and sang. Some of them offered betel nuts, and others waved cāmara fans about Him.

Thus I saw such opulence in Lord Nityānanda Svarūpa. His wonderful form, qualities and pastimes are all transcendental.

I was overwhelmed with transcendental ecstasy, not knowing anything else. Then Lord Nityānanda smiled and spoke to me as follows.

“O my dear Kṛṣṇadāsa, do not be afraid. Go to Vṛndāvana, for there you will attain all things.”

After saying this, He directed me toward Vṛndāvana by waving His hand. Then He disappeared with His associates.

I fainted and fell to the ground, my dream broke, and when I regained consciousness I saw that morning had come.

I thought about what I had seen and heard and concluded that the Lord had ordered me to proceed to Vṛndāvana at once.

That very second I started for Vṛndāvana, and by His mercy I reached there in great happiness.

All glory, all glory to Lord Nityānanda Balarāma, by whose mercy I have attained shelter in the transcendental abode of Vṛndāvana!

All glory, all glory to the merciful Lord Nityānanda, by whose mercy I have attained shelter at the lotus feet of Śrī Rūpa and Śrī Sanātana!

By His mercy I have attained the shelter of the great personality Śrī Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī, and by His mercy I have found the refuge of Śrī Svarūpa Dāmodara.

By the mercy of Sanātana Gosvāmī I have learned the final conclusions of devotional service, and by the grace of Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī I have tasted the highest nectar of devotional service.

All glory, all glory to the lotus feet of Lord Nityānanda, by whose mercy I have attained Śrī Rādhā-Govinda!

I am more sinful than Jagāi and Mādhāi and even lower than the worms in the stool.

Anyone who hears my name loses the results of his pious activities. Anyone who utters my name becomes sinful.

Who in this world but Nityānanda could show His mercy to such an abominable person as me?

Because He is intoxicated by ecstatic love and is an incarnation of mercy, He does not distinguish between the good and the bad.

He delivers all those who fall down before Him. Therefore He has delivered such a sinful and fallen person as me.

Although I am sinful and I am the most fallen, He has conferred upon me the lotus feet of Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī.

I am not fit to speak all these confidential words about my visiting Lord Madana Gopāla and Lord Govinda.

Lord Madana Gopāla, the chief Deity of Vṛndāvana, is the enjoyer of the rāsa dance and is directly the son of the King of Vraja.

He enjoys the rāsa dance with Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, Śrī Lalitā and others. He manifests Himself as the Cupid of Cupids.

“Wearing yellow garments and decorated with a flower garland, Lord Kṛṣṇa, appearing among the gopīs with His smiling lotus face, looked directly like the charmer of the heart of Cupid.”

With Rādhā and Lalitā serving Him on His two sides, He attracts the hearts of all by His own sweetness.

The mercy of Lord Nityānanda showed me Śrī Madana-mohana and gave me Śrī Madana-mohana as my Lord and master.

He granted to one as low as me the sight of Lord Govinda. Words cannot describe this, nor is it fit to be disclosed.

On an altar made of gems in the principal temple of Vṛndāvana, amidst a forest of desire trees, Lord Govinda, the son of the King of Vraja, sits upon a throne of gems and manifests His full glory and sweetness, thus enchanting the entire world.

By His left side is Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī and Her personal friends. With them Lord Govinda enjoys the rāsa-līlā and many other pastimes.

Lord Brahmā, sitting on his lotus seat in his own abode, always meditates on Him and worships Him with the mantra consisting of eighteen syllables.

Everyone in the fourteen worlds meditates upon Him, and all the denizens of Vaikuṇṭha sing of His qualities and pastimes.

The goddess of fortune is attracted by His sweetness, which Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī has described in this way:

“My dear friend, if you are indeed attached to your worldly friends, do not look at the smiling face of Lord Govinda as He stands on the bank of the Yamunā at Keśīghāṭa. Casting sidelong glances, He places His flute to His lips, which seem like newly blossomed twigs. His transcendental body, bending in three places, appears very bright in the moonlight.”

Without a doubt He is directly the son of the King of Vraja. Only a fool considers Him a statue.

For that offense, he cannot be liberated. Rather, he will fall into a terrible hellish condition. What more should I say?

Therefore who can describe the mercy of the lotus feet of Him [Lord Nityānanda] by whom I have attained the shelter of this Lord Govinda?

All the groups of Vaiṣṇavas who live in Vṛndāvana are absorbed in chanting the all-auspicious name of Kṛṣṇa.

Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityānanda are the life and soul of those Vaiṣṇavas, who do not know anything but devotional service to Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa.

The dust and shade of the lotus feet of the Vaiṣṇavas have been granted to this fallen soul by the mercy of Lord Nityānanda.

Lord Nityānanda said, “In Vṛndāvana all things are possible.” Here I have explained His brief statement in detail.

I have attained all this by coming to Vṛndāvana, and this was made possible by the mercy of Lord Nityānanda.

I have described my own story without reservations. The attributes of Lord Nityānanda, making me like a madman, force me to write these things.

The glories of Lord Nityānanda’s transcendental attributes are unfathomable. Even Lord Śeṣa, with His thousands of mouths, cannot find their limit.

Praying at the lotus feet of Śrī Rūpa and Śrī Raghunātha, always desiring their mercy, I, Kṛṣṇadāsa, narrate Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, following in their footsteps.