Sastra Caksusa

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SRI KALIYA KRISHNA DAS (KALA KRISHNA DAS)

KALA KRISHNA DAS TOOK BIRTH IN RADHADESA. HE WAS A GREAT SERVANT OF LORD NITYANANDA AND WAS THE BEST OF THE VAIṢṆAVAS. HE KNEW NOTHING OTHER THAN NITYANANDA PRABHU’S LOTUS FEET.

kālaḥ śrī-kṛṣṇadāsaḥ sa yo lavaṅgaḥ sakhā vrajeIn Vraja, Kālā Krishna Das was Krishna’s cowherd friend named Lavanga.

(Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā 132)

Kāliyā Krishna Das was known throughout the three worlds. One can attain Gauracandra through remembrance of him.

(Chaitanya Bhagavata 3.5.740)

The Sripat of Kāliyā Krishna Das is in the town of Akai Hat, within the jurisdiction of Katwa just off the road that leads to Nabadvīpa. It is about two miles south of the Katwa train station and one mile north of Dain Hat station. Near the Sripat is a pond called Nupur Kund. It is said that the ankle bell of Raghunandan Ṭhākura, the son of the Khaṇḍavāsī Mukunda, fell here. Others say that was Nityananda Prabhu’s ankle bell. Even today one can get to see the Sripat’s homestead and brick and bank of the pond.

In his Anubhāṣya commentary to the Chaitanya Charitamrita, Śrīla Bhakti Siddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī Ṭhākura has written: “In the opinion of the Goswamis of the Sonatala village on the north bank of the Icchamati River about three miles west of Bera Bandar in Pabna district, Kala Krishna Das was a Brahmin of the Varendera group, of the Bharadwaj gotra in the village Bhadara. Kala Krishna Das went to Pabna from Akai Hat to preach the chanting of the Holy Names. There are still the ruins of the buildings where he built his ashram. Later, members of his family came to live there. Since there were no other Brahmins of the Vārendra group in Akai Hat he came there to marry. Afterwards he returned to Akai Hat and also went to Vrindavan.”

He had two sons named Śrī Mohana Das and Śrī Gauranga Das or Vrindavan Das. Their descendants still live in the Sonatala village. There they celebrate Kala Krishna Das’s disappearance day on the twelfth day of the waning moon in the month of Agrahayan. The deity which he worshiped was named Kala Chand.

Kala Krishna Das took birth in Rarhadesa. He was a great servant of Lord Nityananda and was the best of the Vaiṣṇavas. He knew nothing other than Nityananda Prabhu’s lotus feet.

(Chaitanya Charitamrita 1.11.36-7)

When Jahnava Devi came to Katwa, Kala Krishna Das was in her entourage.

They all arrived in Kaṇṭaka Nagara (Katwa) with the company of many devotees, including Kala Krishna Das from Akai Hat.

(Bhakti-ratnākara 10.409)

The Kala Krishna Das who accompanied Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu to Southern India was not the same personality. (Cf. Anubhāṣya, 2.7.39)

Excerpt from “Sri Chaitanya: His Life and Associates” by Srila Bhakti Ballabh Tirtha Goswami Maharaj

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Kaliya-Krishna-Dasa

for those of us that aspire to serve Krsna Balarama in Sakhya rasa this is an important day ,Lavanga Sakha

I recall his name from Govinda Lilamrta or Krsna Bhavanamrta but I do not recall his pastimes with Sri Krsna

Sri Caitanya-caritamrta

CC Adi-lila

Kālā Kṛṣṇadāsa was the ninth cowherd boy.
CC Adi 11.37, Translation and Purport: The twenty-second devotee of Lord Nityānanda Prabhu was Kālā Kṛṣṇadāsa, who was the ninth cowherd boy. He was a first-class Vaiṣṇava and did not know anything beyond Nityānanda Prabhu.
In the Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā (132) it is said that Kālā Kṛṣṇadāsa, who was also known as Kāliyā Kṛṣṇadāsa, was formerly a gopa (cowherd boy) of the name Lavaṅga. He was one of the twelve cowherd boys.

krishnavatara-kale yah, striyo ye purushah priyah;
kalau te ’vatarishyanti, shridama-subaladayah.

Krishnavatara-kale - at the time of Lord Krishna's incarnation; yah - who; striyah - women; ye - who; pururah - men; priyah - dear; kalau - in Kali-yuga; te - they; avatariryanti - will descend; shridama-subaladayah - headed by Shridama and Subala.

“My dear male and female associates, headed by Shridama and Subala, who came to this world at the time of My advent as Lord Krishna, will come again during the Kali-yuga.

Š

Text 56

catuh-shashti-mahantas te, gopa dvadasa balakah;

dharma-samsthapanarthaya, viharishyami tair aham.

catuh-rarti-mahantah - 64 mahantas; te - they; gopa - gopas; dvadasa - 12; balakah - boys; dharma-samsthapanarthaya - to establish the4 truth of religion; vihariryami - I will enjoy pastimes; taih - with them; aham - I.

“The gopas will become the sixty-four mahantas and the twelve gopalas. To establish the truth of religion, I will enjoy many pastimes with them.
as far I recall Lavanga Sakha is a priya Sakha not a priya Narma Sakha:
Nectar of Devotion
The more confidential friends are called priya-sakhās and are almost Kṛṣṇa's age. Because of their very confidential friendship, their behavior is only on the basis of pure friendship. The behavior of other friends is on the ground of paternal love or servitude, but the basic principle of the confidential friends is simply friendship on an equal level. Some confidential friends are as follows: Śrīdāmā, Sudāmā, Dāmā, Vasudāmā, Kiṅkiṇi, Stoka-kṛṣṇa, Aṁśu, Bhadrasena, Vilāsī, Puṇḍarīka, Viṭaṅka and Kalaviṅka.
Nectar of Devotion 41:

Friends who are younger than Kṛṣṇa, who are always attached to Him and who give Him all kinds of service are called ordinary friends, or, simply, friends. Such ordinary friends are called sakhās, and the names of some sakhās are Viśāla, Vṛṣabha, Ojasvī, Devaprastha, Varūthapa, Maranda, Kusumāpīḍa, Maṇibandha and Karandhama. All of these sakhā friends of Kṛṣṇa seek only to serve Him. Sometimes some of them would rise early in the morning and immediately go to Kṛṣṇa's place and wait at the door to see Kṛṣṇa and to accompany Him to the pasturing grounds. In the meantime, Kṛṣṇa would be dressed by Mother Yaśodā, and when she would see a boy standing at the door, she would call him, "Well, Viśāla, why are you standing there? Come here!" So with the permission of Mother Yaśodā, he would immediately enter the house. And while Mother Yaśodā was dressing Kṛṣṇa, he would try to help put on Kṛṣṇa's ankle bells, and Kṛṣṇa would jokingly strike him with His flute. Then Mother Yaśodā would call, "Kṛṣṇa, what is this? Why are You teasing Your friend?" And Kṛṣṇa would laugh, and the friend would also laugh. These are some of the activities of Kṛṣṇa's sakhās. Sometimes the sakhās would take care of the cows who were going hither and thither. They would tell Kṛṣṇa, "Your cows were going off here and there," and Kṛṣṇa would thank them.

Sometimes when Kṛṣṇa and His sakhās went to the pasturing ground, Kaṁsa would send a demon to kill Kṛṣṇa. Therefore, almost every day there was a fight with some different kind of demon. After fighting with a demon, Kṛṣṇa would feel fatigued, the hairs on His head would be scattered, and the sakhās would immediately come and try to relieve Him in different ways. Some friends would say, "My dear Viśāla, please take this fan of lotus leaves and fan Kṛṣṇa so that He may feel some comfort. Varūthapa, you just brush the scattered hairs on Kṛṣṇa's head which have fallen upon His face. Vṛṣabha, don't talk unnecessarily! Immediately massage Kṛṣṇa's body. His arms have become tired from fighting and wrestling with that demon. Oh, just see how our friend Kṛṣṇa has become tired!" These are some examples of the treatment given to Kṛṣṇa by the sakhās.

One of the sakhās, known as Devaprastha, is described as follows. He is very strong, a ready scholar, and is very expert in playing ball. He wears a white dress, and he ties his hair into a bunch with a rope. Whenever there is a fight between Kṛṣṇa and the demons, Devaprastha is the first to help, and he fights just like an elephant.

One of the gopīs once said to her friend, "My dear beautiful friend, when Kṛṣṇa, the son of Mahārāja Nanda, was taking rest within the cave of a hill, He was keeping His head on the arms of Śrīdāmā, and He was putting His left hand on Dāmā's chest. Taking this opportunity, Devaprastha, out of his strong affection for Kṛṣṇa, immediately began to massage His legs." Such are the activities of Kṛṣṇa's friends out on the pasturing grounds.

The more confidential friends are called priya-sakhās and are almost Kṛṣṇa's age. Because of their very confidential friendship, their behavior is only on the basis of pure friendship. The behavior of other friends is on the ground of paternal love or servitude, but the basic principle of the confidential friends is simply friendship on an equal level. Some confidential friends are as follows: Śrīdāmā, Sudāmā, Dāmā, Vasudāmā, Kiṅkiṇi, Stoka-kṛṣṇa, Aṁśu, Bhadrasena, Vilāsī, Puṇḍarīka, Viṭaṅka and Kalaviṅka. By their various activities in different pastimes, all of these friends used to give transcendental pleasure to Kṛṣṇa.

The behavior of these confidential friends is described by a friend of Rādhārāṇī who told Rādhārāṇī, "My dear graceful Rādhārāṇī, Your intimate friend Kṛṣṇa is also served by His intimate boyfriends. Some of them cut jokes with Him in mild voices and please Him very much by this." For example, Kṛṣṇa had one brāhmaṇa friend whose name was Madhumaṅgala. This boy would joke by playing the part of a greedy brāhmaṇa. Whenever the friends ate, he would eat more than all others, especially laḍḍus, of which he was very fond. Then after eating more laḍḍus than anyone else, Madhumaṅgala would still not be satisfied, and he would say to Kṛṣṇa, "If You give me one more laḍḍu, then I shall be pleased to give You my blessings so that Your friend Rādhārāṇī will be very much pleased with You." The brāhmaṇas are supposed to give blessings to the vaiśyas (farming and merchant caste), and Kṛṣṇa presented Himself as the son of Mahārāja Nanda, a vaiśya; so the brāhmaṇa boy was right in giving blessings to Kṛṣṇa. Thus Kṛṣṇa was very pleased by His friend's blessings, and He would supply him with more and more laḍḍus.

Sometimes a confidential friend would come before Kṛṣṇa and embrace Him with great affection and love. Another friend would then come up from the rear and cover Kṛṣṇa's eyes with his hands. Kṛṣṇa would always feel very happy by such dealings with His confidential friends.

Out of all these confidential friends, Śrīdāmā is considered to be the chief. Śrīdāmā used to put on a yellow-colored dress. He would carry a buffalo horn, and his turban was of reddish, copper color. His bodily complexion was blackish, and around his neck there was a nice garland. He would always challenge Kṛṣṇa in joking friendship. Let us pray to Śrīdāmā to bestow his mercy upon us!

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