Śrīmatī Jāhnavā Devī appearance day

Identity in the spiritual world

śrī-vāruṇī-revata-vaṁśa-sambhave tasya priye dve vasudhā ca jāhnavī

śrī-sūrya-dāsasya mahātmanaḥ sute kakudmi-rūpasya ca sūrya-tejasaḥ

kecit śrī vasudhā-devīṁ kalāv-api vivṛṇvate anaṅga-mañjarīṁ kecij jāhnavīṁ

ca pracakṣate ubhayaṁ tu samīcīnaṁ pūrva nyāyāt satāṁ matam

“Lord Balarāma’s wives Vāruṇī and Revatī became Vasudhā and Jāhnavī, the two wives of Nityānanda Prabhu, in Caitanya līlā. Both of them were the daughters of Sūrya Dāsa, who was as effulgent as the sun. He was Kakudmī, the father of Revatī, in Kṛṣṇa līlā. According to another opinion, Jāhnavā was the avatāra of Anaṅga Mañjarī. Both these opinions are possible, as we have shown that more than one identity can be joined in associates of Caitanya Mahāprabhu.” [Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā 65-6]

Nityānanda Prabhu’s Śakti, Śrīmatī Jāhnavā Devī appeared on the śukla navamī tithi of Vaiśākha. Her father was Sūrya Dāsa Sarakhela. According to the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava Abhidhāna, her mother’s name was Bhadrāvatī. Sūrya Dāsa’s Sripat is in the village of Shaligram, which is not far from Nabadwip, close to the Muragacha station on the Eastern Railway. Sūrya Dāsa was the third son of Kaṁsāri Miśra. His older brothers were Dāmodara and Jagannātha, his younger brothers, Gaurī Dāsa, Kṛṣṇadāsa Sarakhela and Nṛsiṁha Caitanya. “Sūrya Dāsa Paṇḍita made his home in Shaligram, not far from Nabadwip. He held an important post in the service of the King of Gauḍa, as a result of which he was given the title Sarakhela (commander) and earned a large amount of money. Sūrya Dāsa and his brothers were all very pure in their character, and they had a spotless reputation. His virtues are innumerable. His daughters were Vasudhā and Jāhnavā.” [Bhakti-ratnākara 12.3875-8] “Sūryadāsa Sarakhela and his younger brother Kṛṣṇadāsa Sarakhela both possessed firm faith in Nityānanda Prabhu. They were a reservoir of love of Godhead.” [Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 11.25] “Sūrya Dāsa Sarakhela was a magnanimous devotee whose brother was Gaurī Dāsa Paṇḍita. Gaurī Dāsa took his permission to come and live in Ambika on the banks of the Ganges.” [Bhakti-ratnākara 7.330-1]

Nityānanda Prabhu’s wedding

Excerpt from Bhakti-ratnākara, by Narahari Cakravartī Ṭhākura

Narahari Cakravartī Ṭhākura has written about Jāhnavā Devī’s holy life at length in his Bhakti-ratnākara. Every manifestation of Viṣṇu-tattva has three energies which are known as Śrī, Bhū and Nīlā or Līlā. Nityānanda Prabhu, the Viṣṇu-tattva, possesses these three energies. In the twlefth taraṅga of the Bhakti-ratnākara, Lord Nityānanda Prabhu’s wedding is described as taking place according to human custom. The essence of that description is as follows. A certain kāyastha named Kṛṣṇadāsa, the son of Harihoḍa of Borogachi, a village near Shaligram made arrangements for the wedding of Nityānanda Prabhu. A certain elderly brāhmaṇa from Shaligram saw that Sūrya Dāsa was worried about finding a suitable husband for his two daughters and made the following suggestion: “In the village of Ekachakra in Rarhadesh are a brāhmaṇa couple named Hāḍāi Paṇḍita and Padmāvatī Devī. They were Vasudeva and Rohiṇī in their previous roles in Kṛṣṇa līlā. Lord Balarāma has appeared as their son, Nityānanda Prabhu. He traveled to all the places of pilgrimage and performed many austerities. He is a great scholar and Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s dearest associate. He is the eternal husband of your two daughters.” In a dream, Sūrya Dāsa also had a vision of Nityānanda Prabhu as Balarāma with Vasudhā and Jāhnavā standing to His left and right in their forms as Revatī and Vāruṇī. When Sūrya Dāsa took the brāhmaṇa’s advice seriously and offered the two girls to Nityānanda Prabhu’s lotus feet, Nityānanda Prabhu mercifully gave him the same vision directly. Sūrya Dāsa forgot himself in ecstasy. “He saw Vasudhā and Jāhnavā as Vāruṇī and Revatī, whose forms were more effulgent than mountains of gold and kumkum. Standing to the left and right of Balarāma, they were decorated in magnificent jewellery and bedecked in fine, colorful clothes. Nityānanda Prabhu revealed this magnificence to His devotee in order to give him joy, and Sūrya Dāsa completely forgot himself in his ecstasy.” [Bhakti-ratnākara 12.3908-10] The adhivāsa (preliminary function) rituals on the eve of the wedding and the wedding itself were conducted in the house of Kṛṣṇadāsa Sarakhela in Shaligram. All the brāhmaṇas of Borogachi and Shaligram were present there. “The fortunate Sūrya Dāsa Sarakhela gave his two daughters away to Nityānanda Prabhu according to the religious rites and popular custom.” [Bhakti-ratnākara 12.3983] At Śacī Mātā’s request, Nityānanda Prabhu stayed for some time in Nabadwip after His wedding in Shantipur. He then moved to Saptagram, where He stayed with Uddhāraṇa Datta Ṭhākura, and then established a residence on the banks of the Ganges in Khardah. Jāhnavā Devi herself had no sons, but Nityānanda Prabhu’s other potency, Vasudhā Devī, gave birth to Vīrabhadra (or Vīracandra) Gosvāmī, the manifestation of Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu [Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā 67], and Gaṅgā Devī, the manifestation of river Ganges. According to the Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā (69), Gaṅgā Devī’s husband, Mādhavācārya, is an avatāra of King Śāntanu.

Śrīmatī Jāhnavā Devī’s glories

Excerpt from Bhakti-ratnākara, by Narahari Cakravartī Ṭhākura

Vīrabhadra Gosvāmī was inundated with Jāhnavā Mātā’s mercy, becoming her direct initiated disciple. Nityānanda Dāsa writes in his Prema-vilāsa that when Vīrabhadra saw Jāhnavā Mātā in a four-armed form, his mind was changed and he took dīkṣā from her. Without the mercy of Nityānanda Prabhu’s potency Jāhnavā Devī, no one is able to cross over the ocean of material life, nor can one obtain the service of Nityānanda Prabhu and enter into the loving service of his worshipable Gaurahari and Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has written in his Kalyāṇa-kalpa-taru: “O Jāhnavā Devī! Be merciful today to your servant and deliver me from my pain. Give me a place in the boat of your lotus feet so that I can be sure to cross over the ocean of birth and death. You are Nityānanda Prabhu’s energy; you are devotion to Kṛṣṇa and my guru. Please give this servant the desire tree of your lotus feet. How numerous are the fallen souls that you have saved? So this fallen beggar seeks a place at your feet.” The great devotee Kṛṣṇadāsa, in his song which begins jaya rādhe jaya kṛṣṇa jaya vṛndāvan, has prayed for Jāhnavā Devī’s mercy after glorifying Kṛṣṇa’s name, abode and associates. Remembering Jāhnavā Devī’s lotus feet, the lowly Kṛṣṇadāsa sings the names of the Lord.”

Śrīmatī Jāhnavā Devī’s travels

Excerpt from Bhakti-ratnākara, by Narahari Cakravartī Ṭhākura

Jāhnavā Devī was present when Narottama Dāsa Ṭhākura put on a great deity-installation festival at Kheturi village on Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s appearance day. Indeed, the installation of the deities took place under her direction. She personally prepared the first offering to the deities and offered it to Them. She then served the prasāda to the assembled devotees. “Early that morning, Jāhnavā Īśvarī rose in great delight, took her bath and did her mantra meditation. Then she began to cook innumerable vegetable preparations with great enthusiasm.” [Bhakti-ratnākara 10.686-7] “All of Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s personal associates from Bengal were very happy to see Narottama Dāsa. Jāhnavā Devī, the daughter of Sūrya Paṇḍita and wife of Nityānanda Prabhu, worshipped by the entire universe, expert in the distribution of the pearl of prema, was delighted to hear his name. Her joy increased when she observed his renunciation and uncommon love for Kṛṣṇa. Jāhnavā Devī mercifully came to Kheturi, making everyone happy by being there and giving her darśana to all. How can a person as fallen as I describe the compassionate nature of Śrīmatī Jāhnavā Devī?” [Bhakti-ratnākara 1.429-34] Jāhnavā Devī’s travels are described in the eleventh taraṅga of Bhakti-ratnākara. While traveling from Kheturi to Vrindavan, she stopped in a prosperous village where she delivered some atheistic unbelievers and criminals and bestowed Kṛṣṇa prema upon them. When she arrived in Vrindavan, she saw the samādhi of Gaurī Dāsa Paṇḍita, which moved her to tears. When she was in Vrindavan, the leaders of the Vaiṣṇava community, such as Jīva Gosvāmī, Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī, Lokanātha Gosvāmi, Bhūgarbha Gosvāmī, Madhu Paṇḍita, all came to offer her their and respectful greetings. She took these Vaiṣṇavas and visited the principal temples of Vrindavan – Madana Mohana, Govinda and Gopīnātha – before going to Radha Kunda. There she met Raghunātha Dāsa Gosvāmī, who was engaged in the constant chanting of the Holy Names, and whose body was emaciated by his austerities. Jāhnavā Devī remained in Radha Kunda for three days, engaged in bhajana. She heard the sound of Kṛṣṇa’s flute while sitting on the banks of the kuṇḍa and had a vision of Śrī Kṛṣṇa that overwhelmed her with waves of divine love. The ghat where Jāhnavā Devī bathed and had this vision is today known as Sri Jahnava Ghat. She then took the company of Vaiṣṇavas on a parikramā of Vraja Mandala. During this parikramā, she heard Jīva Gosvāmī speak on Bṛhad-Bhāgavatāmṛta. On the return journey to Gauda Desh, Jāhnavā Devī visited numerous places. She spent three or four days in Kheturi, some time in Budhuri, the place of Nityānanda Prabhu’s birth in Ekacakra, Katwa (where Mahāprabhu took sannyāsa), Jajigram, Srikhanda, Nabadwip, Sridhama Mayapur, Ambika, and Saptagram (where she visited Uddhāraṇa Datta’s house). During her travel, she met Śrī Yadunandana Ācārya and Śrīnivāsa Ācārya in Katwa, Śrīla Narottama Dāsa Ṭhākura and Śrī Rāmacandra Kavirāja in Jajigram and Śrī Raghunandana Ṭhākura in Srikhanda. Finally, she returned to Khardah, where she recounted the story of her entire voyage to Vasudhā and Vīrabhadra Prabhu. By Jāhnavā Devī’s mercy, Nityānanda Prabhu’s dear associate Paramesvarī Dāsa Ṭhākura was fortunate enough to see Śrī Gopīnātha united with Śrī Rādhārāṇī in Vrindavan. When he returned to Khardah and told Jāhnavā Devī and Vasudhā what he had seen, Jāhnavā was overwhelmed with feelings of prema. She instructed Paramesvarī Ṭhākura to go immediately to the village of Antpur and install deities of Śrī Rādhā Gopīnātha there. Jāhnavā Devī arranged for Vīrabhadra Prabhu’s marriage to Yadunandana Ācārya’s two daughters, Śrīmatī and Nārāyaṇī, both of whom became disciples of Jāhnavā Devī.