Stavavali- The Gambhira

Sri Caitanyashtakam

Verse 5

anudgHATya dvAra trayam uru ca bhitti trayam aho

vilaNghyoccaih kaLingikA surabhi madhyE nipatitah

tanUdyat saNkocAt kamaTha iva kRSNoru virahAd

virAjan gaurAngO hRdaya udayan madayati

Translation

Although the three doors of Gambhira were closed and the walls were very high, our Lord Sriman Mahaprabhu managed to come out of the house. That Lord Sri Gauranga who felt intense separation from Krishna contracted His body like a turtle and fell down between the cows of Kalinga , awakens in my heart and maddens me.

Rasa Vyakhya (Purport of mellows): Das Goswami was at the peak of Prema Rasa when he composed the mellow filled Caitanyashtakam. Hence whoever reads this work with undiluted dedication will surely attain the summit of Prema. About this there is no doubt. Sri Das Goswami was a person witness to the Gambhira Leela of the Lord. Followers of the Raganuga path study the Antya Leela of the Lord in the Gambhira. Sri Das Goswami who was the personal witness to this Leela recounts the same through his immaculate Rasa Shastra called Caitanyashtakam. In the solitary room of Gambhira Raya Ramananda and Srila Swarup Damodara assisted the Lord in His mellows and gave him solace by quoting verses from the tenth Canto of the Bhagavatham and singing songs in the Madhura Bhava. Mahaprabhu was in the absolute mood of Srimati Radhika and suffered pain of separation from Krishna. In that mood Sriman Mahaprabhu could never fall asleep. He passed the night by constantly chanting the names of Krishna. It was during the course of the night that Govinda , the personal servant of Sriman Mahaprabhu observed that the room of Gambhira suddenly fell silent. He could no more hear the sorrowful chanting of Sriman Mahaprabhu. Startled by the deafening silence , Govinda went to the room and lit a lamp and was aghast to find that Sriman Mahaprabhu was actually missing. Trembling and repeating the words “Ha Gauranga Ha Gauranga”, Govinda went to the room of Swarup Damodara , waking him up , gave the news. The three high walls of Gambhira could not restrain the eruption of the feeling of separation; the Lord had jumped the walls in order to find His beloved Krishna. Everyone was speechless with astonishment. After searching everywhere people arrived at the Lion Gate. There the Lord was lying unconscious amongst the cows with his mouth frothing and limbs pulled inside. He appeared shapeless like a pumpkin. The cows sniffed and licked the Lord, attracted by the aroma and sweetness of Prema. Although the devotees tried to keep  the cows away, the cows would not retract. The Lord’s face was filled with tears and his entire body displayed the signs of the highest kind of ashtasattvika bhava. This mood of the Supreme Lord , Sri Das Goswami remembers and misses the Lord dearly.