Courtesy: The book ‘The Lives of the Vaishnava Saints’ by Steven Rosen Summarized and Compiled by Tattvavit dāsa

It is not possible to accurately describe the merit of Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura. He was the embodiment of the most sublime philosophy of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. He conveyed love of God through his memorable poetry and lived that love in the same poetic way. Narottama is still remembered as the superlative Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava partly because the most sophisticated philosophical conclusions of Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism are reflected in every one of his songs although they were composed in simple Bengali language.

THE PROPHECY REGARDING NAROTTAMA

Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura appeared in this world just prior to the conclusion of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s (Lord Kṛṣṇa’s incarnation as His own devotee, bhakta-avatāra) earthly pastimes, in or around 1534 A.D. But way ahead of that, there were distinctive indications of his birth.

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu would often call out “O Narottama! O Narottama!” in the midst of exuberant kīrtana (congregational chanting of the Lord’s holy names). From this, intimate devotees knew that a great personality named Narottama would soon take birth. Indeed, Narottama literally means “the topmost person.”

Once, on the banks of the pious Padmā river facing Kheturi village in today’s Bangladesh, Lord Caitanya revealed to Lord Nityānanda (who is none other than Lord Balarāma incarnate to assist in the pastimes of Lord Caitanya): “Across this Padmā river, in the Kheturi village, a great personality called Narottama will soon take birth within our lifetime. Kīrtana is My life and soul and Narottama will sustain it.”

Lord Caitanya also ordered a great devotee named Lokanātha Gosvāmī (whose pastimes we shall describe in a future issue of this magazine) in about 1509 A.D. to go to the holy pilgrimage site of Vṛndāvana and wait for the arrival of Narottama and duly initiate him into the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava tradition.

BIRTH AND CHILDHOOD

In or around the year of Mahāprabhu’s disappearance in 1534 A.D., on a full moon day in the month of Māgha (Jan-Feb), Narottama dāsa appeared in this world in the Kheturi village, as predicted by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. His father was a great king named Kṛṣṇānanda Datta and his mother’s name was Nārāyaṇī Devī. They were fabulously wealthy and were kayasthas (śūdras) by caste.

During the traditional anna-prāśana ceremony (where grains are fed to the child for the first time), Narottama refused to eat the food. However, shortly thereafter, when a devout Vaiṣṇava came with similar food that had been offered to Lord Kṛṣṇa (Kṛṣṇa prasādam), Narottama ate it heartily.  This spoke highly of the baby’s devotional demeanor. His parents rejoiced.

As Narottoma advanced in years, he became an exemplary student, mastering all academic subjects and religious books as well. His favorite activity was to sit at the feet of an elderly brāhmaṇa named Śrī Kṛṣṇadāsa and hear of the pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu from him. Narottama relished those stories throughout his boyhood days and resolved to devote his life to the eternal principles of Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism.

One night, just after he became a teenager, Nityānanda Prabhu appeared in his dream and asked him to go and bathe in the Padmā river. When Narottama awoke, he immediately complied with Lord Nityānanda’s instruction. Entering the Padmā river, Narottama felt himself undergo a vital transformation. Just then, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu appeared before Him in a divine manifestation (although He had already left the earthly realm by then) and embraced him. Narottama seemed to absorb all the devotional ecstasy of Lord Caitanya. It is said that at that moment Narottama’s naturally dark complexion turned to molten gold — Mahāprabhu’s own distinctive hue.

HIS PARENTS’ LAMENTATION

King Kṛṣṇānanda Datta had to send some guards to look for his son Narottama. They saw him in a different bodily color on the banks of Padmā dancing like a mad man. They brought him home but his parents were not comfortable with his behavior. He was always weeping in ecstatic love of God and he also fainted many a time in his overwhelming ecstasy.

King Kṛṣṇānanda feared that Narottama would run away to become a renunciant. He was the only son and heir to his throne and he also had plans to get him married soon. So he employed guards to watch over his son. In fact he made his son a prisoner out of parental affection. Once, thinking that his son was haunted, he even hired a spirit-tamer but Narottama laughed at his silly proposition.

Narottama spent sleepless nights due to his intense desire to serve Lord Caitanya in the association of devotees, without any family encumbrances. One night when Narottama fell asleep, Lord Caitanya appeared in his dream and asked him to go to Vṛndāvana and get initiated by His dear associate Lokanātha Gosvāmī. After waking up from that dream, his madness for Kṛṣṇa reached even greater heights.

NAROTTAMA ESCAPES

In a few short months, Narottama’s reputation as a divinely inspired youth spread to all corners of Bengal. When he was 16 years old, an influential Muslim governor named Jaygirdar requested his presence in order to be blessed by the young Narottama. King Kṛṣṇānanda could not refuse the request of such an important man although he was skeptical about his son. If given the slightest chance, his son would run away from home. Still, he felt he had no choice.

Once Narottama reached the court of Jaygirdar, he found his chance to run. Moving furtively past the guards, he ran to the forest towards Vṛndāvana. Being a prince, he was not used to much hardship and therefore his journey on foot was very painful as his delicate feet bruised and blistered as he ran long distances. His body also was exhausted three days into the journey. At one point, he fell down almost unconscious due to fatigue. Then, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu appeared before him and inspired him to continue. He thus continued on with renewed vigor.

One party of guards sent by his father managed to trace him despite his difficult route. But he spoke to them so sweetly that he convinced them to leave him alone. He told them, “A chaste wife of her deceased husband would want to voluntarily enter the funeral pyre of her husband to die along with him but her family members try hard to dissuade her. Similarly, I can understand that you do not want me to enter into the fire of Kṛṣṇa consciousness but I would be less than a faithful servant of my Lord if I did not attempt to enter that fire.”

Narottama’s simple and poetic analogy and his spiritually bewitching personality brought tears to the eyes of the guards and one of them even gave him money to continue his journey to Vṛndāvana. In this way, the guards went back to report to Narottama’s father that they were unable to find him.

ENTERING VṚNDĀVANA AND INITIATION

As Narottama reached Vṛndāvana, he found out that Rūpa Gosvāmī, Sanātana Gosvāmī, Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī and other intimate associates of Lord Caitanya just left the mortal world to reunite with Lord Caitanya in the spiritual world. Narottama’s sorrow knew no bounds. He cried piteously and even fainted.

Narottama visited the temples built by the Gosvāmīs of Vṛndāvana. Seeing Rūpa Gosvāmī’s magnificent Govinda-deva temple, he exhibited various ecstatic symptoms and fainted in trance. Naturally, the word spread around that a great sādhu had arrived in Vṛndāvana. Hearing about him, Jīva Gosvāmī was quick to understand that this indeed was the much-awaited Narottama whom Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu had called out during His kīrtanas.

Narottama eventually met all the important Vaiṣṇavas in Vṛndāvana. He was particularly impressed by the exalted Lokanātha Gosvāmī. He remembered Śrī Caitanya’s order that he had to get initiated by him and he even proposed that to Lokanātha. But Lokanātha, out of his unshakable humility, evaded his request by asking him to chant regularly first for at least one year. Even after one year, he devised many schemes to evade.

In the meanwhile, Narottama used to hear the discourses of Lokanātha Gosvāmī and served him like a menial servant. He only ate the remnants of Lokanātha’s food. In fact, he was so humble that he used to secretly clean the place where Lokanātha used to defecate. Once Lokanātha hid in the bushes and found out that it was Narottama who was doing it. He was deeply moved by Narottama’s devotion. Nonetheless, he remained true to his vow and did not initiate Narottama.

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu then appeared in a dream to Lokanātha Gosvāmī and chastised him for not initiating Narottama. Finally, after two years of evading, Lokanātha Gosvāmī relented. He told Narottama, “Your fierce determination has exceeded my own. But you are the only disciple I will ever make.” For the remainder of his life, he adhered to this vow. After initiating  Narottama, he asked him to take shelter of Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī for further instruction.

NAROTTAMA’S STUDY AND TRAVELS

Complying with the order of Lokanātha, Narottama submitted himself at the feet of the most exalted Jīva Gosvāmī and learnt the ultimate conclusions of Vaiṣṇava philosophy. Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī had remained an undefeated scholar throughout his life and he was one of the foremost devotees of Lord Caitanya. He gladly imparted all his knowledge to Narottama.

Narottama became intimate friends with two other students of Jīva Gosvāmī, namely Śrīnivāsa and Duḥkhi Kṛṣṇadāsa. The three of them were considered the best students of Jīva Gosvāmī and they excelled in all their studies. Consequently, Jīva Gosvāmī bestowed distinguished titles upon them — Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura Mahāśaya, Śrīnivāsa Ācārya Prabhu and Śyāmānanda (Duḥkhī Kṛṣṇa dāsa) and gave them the spiritual mission of distributing the knowledge of the devotional scriptures throughout Bengal and Orissa.

Narottama went back to his home town of Kheturi along with Śyāmānanda and after a brief stay in Kheturi, Śyāmānanda was to proceed on to his native town in Orissa. On their way, Narottama and Śyāmānanda spent many days and nights happily discussing and eventually arrived in Kheturi.

Narottama met his long lost relatives and their happiness knew no bounds. He related to them his stay in Vṛndāvana and his audience with all the great souls there. After ten days, Śyāmānanda left for his native town as planned. Narottama stayed there longer to preach and started to initiate disciples of his own. His own cousin Santoṣa Datta also became his disciple along with many other eminent personalities such as Gaṅgā Nārāyaṇa Cakravartī and Rāja Narasingha. Some of the most important writers, poets and devotees came to him for shelter.

Narottama then travelled to all the holy pilgrimage sites of Lord Caitanya’s pastimes both in Bengal and Orissa. He spent some time in Jagannātha Purī as well. All along his travels, he met with exalted devotees and relished their association to his heart’s content.

PREPARING FOR THE FIRST GAURA-PŪRṆIMĀ FESTIVAL

Upon his return to Kheturi, awaiting him was an order from Lokanātha Gosvāmī in the form of a letter to establish Deity worship in Kheturi in order to help the sincere devotees there.

Narottama chose the anniversary day of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s appearance as the day to install the Deities. He wanted to install six sets of Deities. The festival would also offer Narottama an opportunity to spread the teachings of the Gosvāmīs (direct disciples of Lord Caitanya) to the entire Bengal. Moreover, although the appearance of Caitanya Mahāprabhu was the most significant event in the entire kali-yuga, His appearance was not being observed as a great festival. So he wanted to introduce the Gaura-pūrṇimā (Appearance Day of Lord Caitanya) celebrations for the very first time. Considering all these, it was going to be a significant event for Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism. This happened some time around the 8th decade of the 16th century.

Since Narottama’s father and uncle had passed away before Narottama returned to Kheturi from Vṛndāvana, all the riches of the family and kingdom were now in the hands of Santoṣa Datta, his intimate cousin, who had recently become his disciple. So Santoṣa took all responsibility and bore all expense in organizing the entire festival. Laboring for many months, a huge ornate temple was constructed and He arranged for first-class lodging for all the guests without exception. Even gardens and a bathing pond was constructed. Messengers were dispatched in all directions to invite not only Vaiṣṇavas but also kings, real estate businessmen, poets, scholars, performers and other illutrious people.

All the devotees arrived from various places but predominantly from Bengal and Orissa. They were besides themselves with boundless joy to be in association with one another.

THE MIRACULOUS KĪRTANA

Thousands of enthusiastic devotees began the Gaura-pūrṇimā with a huge ecstatic kīrtana. Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura unveiled five sets of Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa deities and one set of Caitanya-Viṣṇupriyā deities. (Viṣṇupriyā was the consort of Lord Caitanya.) Important devotees took charge of the various aspects of the festival like the abhiṣeka, discourse, dramatic performances and the distribution of Kṛṣṇa-prasādam. After partaking of the prasādam, all the devotees went into the large ornate kīrtana hall.

There, Narottama began to lead a moving kīrtana in his beautiful voice and his own distinct style with mellow, unmistakable melody that was serene and majestic. All the devotees were enthralled by his singing. They joined him and danced in ecstasy. It is said that Narottama’s kīrtana had reached a perfected state.

As Narottama’s blessed kīrtana rose to a magnificent crescendo, something miraculous happened. In the midst of the thousands of devotees, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Nityānanda Prabhu, Advaita Ācārya and all the great associates of Lord Caitanya, many of whom had left the mortal world more than fifty years earlier, personally appeared in a divine manifestation and danced to his kīrtana in great ecstasy. All the thousands of devotees bore witness to this sacred event. Who can describe their unbounded ecstasy? They thoroughly lost themselves in Narottama’s kīrtana and their bodies were soaked in tears. Narottama could not control himself and his kīrtana reached irrepressible proportions. Some devotees shouted in Narottama’s ear, “Thank you, my dear master. Your devotional power has enabled us to see Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu in His unending spiritual dance with all His eternal associates.”

The kīrtana lasted many hours deep into the night but it seemed endless. And for many, it was. The memory of this unique kīrtana remained with them for the rest of their lives.

THE BRĀHMAṆA VS VAIṢṆAVA DEBATE

Narottama quickly became the most famous Vaiṣṇava guru in all of Bengal. His profound poetry which is imbued with the zenith of Vaiṣṇava philosophy, and his magnificent singing voice made him a proverbial legend in his own lifetime. He attracted disciples from all over India.

In late 16th century, caste distinctions were rigidly observed and the puffed up brāhmaṇa orthodoxy were furious at the rise of Narottama Ṭhākura as he hailed from a śūdra family. Many times Narottama Ṭhākura received threats to his life. In many debates regarding this issue, Narottama’s disciples, who were perfectly trained under him, were able to defeat the offenders on the basis of scriptural evidence and even managed to convert into Narottama’s disciples, those who initially thought of murdering him.

At a subsequent Gaura-pūrṇimā festival at Kheturi, Nityānanda Prabhu’s son Vīrabhadra delivered a lecture on the caste issue and explained thoroughly from scripture that caste is not by birth but by quality and work of that person. All those who heard him were totally convinced but there were some who did not hear him and they tried to defame Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura.

They approached Rāja Narasingha who ruled the province of Pakapalli and asked him repeatedly to punish Narottama for his “atrocities” of accepting sannyāsa (the renounced order of life) and accepting brāhmaṇas as his disciples and accepting the role of a guru when he was born in a śūdra family.

The king then sent a message to Narottama to explain himself. Narottama replied by letter that he was prepared to attend a public debate and prove his point that he was not wrong in any way and that a Vaiṣṇava is far, far superior to any brāhmaṇa by qualification, irrespective of his birth. He further declared humbly that if he was proven wrong in the debate, he would amend his ways.

Rāja Narasingha gathered the foremost scholars of his kingdom and marched towards Kheturi to challenge Narottama Ṭhākura. But on their way, two disciples of Narottama — Gaṅgā Nārāyaṇa Cakravartī and Rāmacandra Kavirāja — intercepted them in the guise of ordinary shopkeepers. They struck a friendly conversation with them which grew into a scholarly debate and before long, all the widely accomplished scholars of the king were thoroughly defeated with the greatest ease.

The two disciples then revealed their identities as disciples of Narottama Ṭhākura. Ashamed at their defeat and having no other recourse, all the scholars became Narottama’s disciples.

HIS LITERARY WORK

Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura’s unique contribution, among many others, was his literature. He had the uncanny ability to express in simple, poetic Bengali, the quintessential Vaiṣṇava philosophy as revealed by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Consequently, even the most illiterate man could easily understand the highest ideals of devotion to Kṛṣṇa.

His most important literary work is the Prārthana, a compendium of 33 Bengali songs, divided into 258 verses that were arranged in 55 sections. All the songs deal with the various fine aspects of the cultivation of devotion to Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. Another important work is the masterpiece Prema-bhakti-candrikā, a lengthy poem (120 verses divided into 9 sections) that elucidates the entire gamut of Vaiṣṇava philosophy in a seed-like form. He also wrote many other shorter poems which were later included in important Vaiṣṇava anthologies.

THE DISAPPEARANCE PASTIME

Ever since his youth, Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura suffered the pangs of separation from Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, His associates and Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. But the association of great devotees like Jīva Gosvāmī, Rāmacandra Cakravartī, and many others kept him alive. But eventually, these great souls left the mortal world and Narottama was thrown into an ocean of transcendental lamentation (which is totally opposite of material lamentation; it is a feature of ecstatic love of Godhead). His preaching kept him going but there came a point where he could not tolerate the intensity of love in separation and decided to rejoin the Lord in the spiritual world.

At the home of Gaṅgā Nārāyaṇa Cakravartī in Murshidabad, he went into a trance, absorbed totally in Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa līlā (pastimes of Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa). This lasted for several days, convincing many that Narottama wanted to leave the world. However, some diehard opponents from the brāhmaṇa orthodoxy ridiculed him that he was just a low-born śūdra and that he was going to die like one. Gaṅgā Nārāyaṇa could not tolerate such blasphemy to his guru. He prayed to Narottama, “Please come back and prove that they are fools.” At that moment, Narottama’s body rose and began to glow. A golden brāhmaṇa thread mystically appeared on his body. Observing this miracle, the caste-conscious brāhmaṇas immediately confessed their mistake and surrendered at the feet of Narottama. Narottama embraced them and asked them to faithfully study the scriptures of the Gosvāmīs and learn the process of devotional service.

He carried on for a few more months. Then Narottama actually prepared to leave and requested his followers to accompany him to the Gaṅgā river. There, as he walked into the river, his disciples, as instructed by him, took water from the river in their hands and repeatedly poured over his head. As they were doing it, Narottama’s bodily limbs were becoming milk and mixing with the water of the Gaṅgā. His disciple Gaṅgā Nārāyaṇa filled a jug of the milk that was once Narottama’s body. With that milk included, his samādhi (tomb) was erected in Murshidabad, Bangladesh and it is still a holy pilgrimage site for all Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas.