CC Adi 11.31 (1975)
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
TEXT 31
- nityānanda-priyabhṛtya paṇḍita dhanañjaya
- atyanta virakta, sadā kṛṣṇa-premamaya
SYNONYMS
nityānanda-priya-bhṛtya—another dear servant of Nityānanda Prabhu; paṇḍita dhanañjaya—of the name Paṇḍita Dhanañjaya; atyanta—very much; virakta—renounced; sadā—always; kṛṣṇa-prema-maya—merged in love of Kṛṣṇa.
TRANSLATION
The sixteenth dear servant of Nityānanda Prabhu was Dhanañjaya Paṇḍita. He was very much renounced and always merged in love of Kṛṣṇa.
PURPORT
Paṇḍita Dhanañjaya was a resident of the village in Katwa named Śītala. He was one of the twelve gopālas. His former name, according to Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā, verse 127, was Vasudāma. Śītala-grāma is situated near the Maṅgalakoṭa police station and Kaicara post office in the district of Burdwan. On the narrow railway from Burdwan to Katwa is a railway station about nine miles from Kutwa known as Kaicara. One has to go about a mile northeast of this station to reach Śītala. The temple was a thatched house with walls made of dirt. Some time ago, the Zamindars of Bājāravana Kābāśī, the Mulliks, constructed a big house for the purpose of a temple, but for the last sixty-five years the temple has been broken down and abandoned. The foundation of the old temple is still visible. There is a tulasī pillar near the temple, and every year during the month of January the disappearance day of Dhanañjaya is observed. It is said that for some time Paṇḍita Dhanañjaya was in a saṅkīrtana party under the direction of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and then he went to Vṛndāvana. Before going to Vṛndāvana, he lived for some time in a village named Sāṅcaḍāpāṅcaḍā, which is six miles south of the Memārī railway station. Sometimes this village is also known as "the place of Dhanañjaya" (Dhanañjayera Pāṭa). After some time, he left the responsibility for worship with a disciple and went back to Vṛndāvana. After returning from Vṛndāvana to Śītala-grāma, he established a Deity of Gaurasundara in the temple. The descendants of Paṇḍita Dhanañjaya still live in Śītala-grāma and look after the temple worship.