Articles from Gaudiya History

Abhirama Gopala Thakura – Biography

2011- 09- 12 09:09:58 Sevak

Sridama in Krishna Lila.

In Krsna lila, he is Sridama

His worshippable Deit y is Sri Gopinat hji
His wif e's name is Sri Malini-devi
He is also called Abhirama Gopala; Rama dasa; Bhirama dasa

Abhirama T hakura was one of t he most vigorous preachers among t he

associat es of Lord Nit yananda Prabhu. In t he mood of a cowherd boy, Sri
Abhirama T hakura carried a bamboo f lut e, and a bullwhip named Jaya
Mangala. Whomever he st ruck wit h t his whip became f illed wit h Krishna prema,
love f or God. If Abhirama T hakura of f ered obeisances t o any st one ot her t han
a sacred salagrama-sila, it would at once burst int o pieces. Abhirama T hakura
used his home f or preaching and f or serving Vaishnava pilgrims. His house
const ant ly resounded wit h kirt ana and t opics of Krishna and he was t he
f avorit e of Nit yananda Prabhu.
(Sri Cait anya-carit amrt a, Adi-lila 11.13.)

One day, Krishna, Balarama and t heir cowherd f riends were playing a game
of hide and seek. In t he middle of T heir game, Krishna decided t o go t o Nadia
t o enjoy His past imes t here, and so, t aking wit h Him Balarama and all T heir
f riends, He advent ed Himself in Navadwipa. Somehow or ot her, He f orgot
Sridama, who remained in his hiding place in a cave. Af t er a while Krishna
not iced t hat Sridam had been lef t behind and sent Balarama as Nit yananda,
Who f ound Sridam and t old him: "Come on! We've all gone t o Nadia t o play
t here!"

Sridama asked, "Who are You?"

"I'm your Lord Balarama. Can't you recognize me?"

"You can't be my Lord Balaram. You're t oo small." [In Kali yuga t he

measurement of t he body is 3.5 hands, whereas in Dwapara-yuga it is 7 hands.

"If you don't believe Me, t hen t ake of f running. If I can't cat ch you wit hin t en
paces, t hen you'll know I'm not Balarama."

"All right ! Cat ch me if You can!"

Sridama t ook of f running, but Nit yananda Prabhu immediat ely caught him.
But now Sridama t old Him, "Now look here, You lef t me behind, so I'm not
going t o t his Nuddia or what ever t he place is called."

Nit yananda Prabhu kept coaxing him but Sridama was adamant . Finally he
manif est ed an expansion of himself , Rama dasa, who agreed t o go. But
Sridam st ill want ed t o remain behind as his f eelings were great ly hurt .

Rama dasa was also dissat isf ied and very prone t o anger. When Nit yananda
Prabhu's f irst child was born, Abhirama T hakura came t o of f er his obeisances
t o t he child, who died on t he spot . In t his way, seven of Nit yananda's children
had t o depart f rom t his world just af t er t aking birt h. Finally a daught er, Ganga-
devi, was born t o Nit yananda Prabhu and Vasudha devi. When, af t er of f ering
his obeisances t o t he child, Abhirama T hakur saw t hat t he baby was
unaf f ect ed he exclaimed, "T his t ime we havn't been deceived!" T hen he
immediat ely composed one hundred verses in praise of Ganga-devi. When
Viracandra Prabhu t ook his birt h, Abhirama again came t o of f er his
obeisances. When he saw t hat Viracandra was unaf f ect ed, he composed Sri
Birbhadrast akam.

If Abhirama T hakura would of f er his obeisances t o any st one ot her t hen a

Shalagram-sila, t hat st one would crack. One t ime, Abhirama T hakur came t o
Sri Khanda, want ing t o meet Raghunandana T hakura. Mukunda dasa was
aware of his reput at ion and t hus t old t he T hakura t hat Raghunandana wasn't
t here. Feeling disappoint ed, Abhirama depart ed. When Raghunandan heard
t hat Abhirama T hakura had come t o meet him, he ran t o cat ch up wit h t he
T hakura. Finally he met him at Bor Danga, where t hey danced t oget her in
ecst asy. When Raghunandana was dancing his nupur (ankle bracelet ) came
of f and f ell down at Akaihat , where Kaliya Krishna dasa used t o do his bhajan.
T his nupur is st ill being worshiped along wit h Kaliya Krishna T hakura's Deit y at
Karvi, not f ar f rom Kat wa.

Gopala Guru Gosvami was also similarly t est ed by Abhirama T hakura when
he was only a small boy living wit h Mahaprabhu in Puri. By t he mercy of
Mahaprabhu, Who invest ed His pot ency in Gopala Guru, t he boy emerged
unscat hed.

Abhirama T hakura's Sripat is at Khanakhul Krishnanagar. Khanakhul

Krishnanagar can be reached by bus f rom T arakeshwar, which is connect ed by
t rain f rom Bandel st at ion. It can also be reached by bus f rom At apur, t he
Sripat of Pat ameshvari dasa T hakura.

His wif e's name was Sri Malini-devi. His worshippable Deit y Sri Gopinat hji
Who, af t er f irst appearing t o him in a dream, manif est ed Himself at Khanakhul
Krishnanagar. T he legend is t hat He appeared in a dream t o Abhirama
T hakura and said, "I am wit hin t he eart h here. Please t ake Me out and worship
Me." Abhirama dasa excavat ed in t hat place and f ound wit hin t he womb of t he
eart h t he all-enchant ing f orm of Sri Gopinat hji. T hat place where t he Deit y
was f ound became known as Ram Kund. "In t he place where Sri Gopinat hji
advent ed Himself a lake was f ormed, and t he wat er cont ained t herein was
sweet as nect ar. Whoever bat hed in or drank t hat wat er became beside
himself wit h ecst asy. T hereaf t er, t his land has become f amous as Ram Kund.
Having heard of t hese divine past imes of Sri Gopinat hji an incessant f low of
people descended on t hat place like t he wat ers of t he Ganges River." [Bhakt i-
Rat nakar T aranga 4]

One day while in a st at e of rapt ure in rememberance of Sri Krishna,

Abhirama T hakura, in t he mood of cowherd boy, desired t o play t he f lut e. In
t he madness of ecst at ic love he began t o search in all direct ions f or one.
T hen he saw bef ore him a large t runk of a t ree which not even sixt een men
could lif t . Out of t his he f ashioned a f lut e and began t o play it . "Rama dasa,
one of t he chief branches, was f ull of f rat ernal love of Godhead. He made a
f lut e f rom a st ick wit h sixt een knot s." [C.C. Adi 11.16]

Sri Abhirama T hakura had a celebrat ed whip, whose name was Jaya-
Mangala. Whoever was t ouched wit h t hat whip had t he sympt oms of love of
Krishna awakened wit hin t heir person.

One day, Srinivasa Acarya came t o meet Abhirama T hakura. Af t er t ouching

him t hree t imes wit h his whip, his wif e Malini-devi exclaimed, "T hakura, don't
beat him anymore! Rest rain yourself ! He is just a boy. He'll become overly
excit ed by t he t ouch of your whip." Meanwhile, Srinivasa had become
complet ely drowned in Krishna-prema.

When Sri Gaurasundara ordered Nit yananda prabhu t o preach in Gaudadesa

(Bengal), he sent wit h him Sri Rama dasa, Sri Gadadhar dasa and ot hers. T he
at heist s t rembled in f ear at t he sight of Abhirama T hakura. He was a learned
scholar of t he script ures. According t o t he desire of Nit yananda Prabhu he
married. His disappearance is on t he sevent h day of t he dark f ort night of t he
mont h of Cait ra.

T he descendant s of t he disciples of Abhirama T hakura are st ill living wit hin

t he dist rict s of Hugli and Bankura, at Krishnanagar, Amt a, Vishnupur and
Kot alpur.

Abhiram T hakur T ests T he Sons Of Lord Nityananda

BY MADHAVANANDA DAS

*T he f ollowing st ory adapt ed f rom t he book "Abhiram Lilamrt a" appeared in

issue number 4 of Sri Krishna Kat hamrit a Bindu, t he f ree f ort night ly email
magazine f rom ISKCON Gopal Jiu Publicat ions.

Abhiram T hakur is perhaps t he most prominent f ollower of Lord Nit yananda

Prabhu. According t o Srila Kavi Karnapur, Abhiram T hakur is t he incarnat ion of
Sridama Sakha, t he chief cowherd boy in krsna-lila. His past imes were
described in simple Bengali verse by his disciple Sri T ilak Ram Das in a book
called Sri Abhirama Lilamrt a. In t he f ourt h chapt er t he aut hor reveals how he
was able t o writ e:

ut ha ut ha ore sisya sunaha vacane amara yat eka lila karaha varnana et a bali
mora sat he carana dharila carana parase lila svarana haila

[My guru Abhiram T hakur came t o me while I was rest ing and said "Wake up!
Wake up! O disciple, hear my words! I want you t o writ e about my past imes." I
t ouched my head t o my guru's lot us f eet and at t hat t ime all of his past imes
appeared t o me. [T ext s 5-6, 13]

T he f ollowing st ory, adapt ed f rom chapt er 15, verses 141-246, describes

how Abhiram T hakur t est ed t he newborn sons of Lord Nit yananda.

UNCOMMON POWERS

Abhiram T hakur was a very powerf ul personalit y. It is said t hat he would

somet imes t est t he aut hent icit y of a salagrama-sila or a Deit y by of f ering
obeisances. If t hey were not genuine, t hey would break. He had ot her
uncommon powers as well.

On one occasion Abhiram T hakur met Nit yananda Prabhu on t he bank of t he

Ganga, near t o t he home of Nit yananda Prabhu. Nit ai of f ered Abhiram a seat .

T hey embraced, and bot h sat down.

Nit ai said, "O brot her Abhiram, what is your desire? Why have you come t o
My home?"

"I want t o see Your son."

Hearing t his, Nit yananda became happy. However, when Nit yananda Prabhu
showed him His son, Abhiram of f ered obeisances t o t he child and immediat ely
t he child died. When Nit yananda Prabhu's wives Vasudha and Jahnava heard
t he news, t hey bot h f aint ed. Nit yananda t hen placed t he body of t he child in
t he Ganga and t hey all t ook bat h.

Somet ime lat er, anot her child was born, and again Abhiram T hakur came. As
bef ore, when Abhiram of f ered his obeisances, t he child died. Everyone was
ast onished, t hinking, "What is Abhiram's purpose?" In t his way, every t ime a
child was born, Abhiram would come, of f er obeisances, and t he child would
die.

NO INVIT AT ION

Alt hough Nit yananda Prabhu is t he Supreme Personalit y of Godhead Lord

Balaram, st ill, while act ing out His human-like past imes, He ext ernally became
very unhappy seeing all of His sons die. T heref ore, when t he next child was
born, Nit ai t hought t o Himself , "If Abhiram does not come My child will live."

Nit yananda Prabhu invit ed many quest s f or t he f est ive occasion, but He did
not invit e Abhiram T hakur. Seeing t hat Abhiram was not t here, Adwait a
Acharya inquired f rom Nit yananda, "Why have You not invit ed Abhiram?"

Nit yananda Prabhu replied, "Abhiram has made Me beref t of sons. So I will
not invit e him. I've t old all of t he boat men not t o bring him across t he Ganga in
t heir boat s."

During t he t ime of t he f est ival f or t he birt h of Nit yananda Prabhu's lat est
son, Abhiram and his wif e Malini were st aying at Krishnagar. Vakreswar Pandit
came t o see t hem. Malini of f ered him a seat , and Vakreswar inquired f rom
Abhiram, "Nit ai is perf orming a f est ival on t he occasion of t he birt h of his son.
You are t he pradhana-gopal, t he leader of t he cowherd boys. Is He invit ing you
or not ?"

Abhiram laughed and said, "No. He is not invit ing me."

Vakreswar humbly t old Abhiram, "Wit hout your presence t his ceremony
cannot be perf ormed properly. Alt hough He is not invit ing you, st ill you should
go."

"How can I go wit hout an invit at ion?"

Malini t hen said, "Abhiram is a rakhal, a cowherd boy. Such cowherders have
no abhiman, f alse ego. He is not f inding f ault wit h Nit yananda Prabhu f or not
invit ing him."

Abhiram T hakur t hen t old Vakreswar, "O brot her, I'll go t here lat er." Af t er
Vakreswar lef t , Abhiram conceived a plan. He bade Malini goodbye and
st art ed of f , saying, "Gaura Hari ki jaya!" He went t o t he bank of t he Ganga
and said t o a boat man, "T ake me across!"
 T he boat man looked at Abhiram T hakur and inquired, "Who are you sir? Give
me your name and t hen I will st art t he journey. If I t ake t he wrong person
across t hen Nit yananda Prabhu will be very angry wit h me."

Abhiram replied, "Why does He want t o rest rict t his person f rom crossing?"

T he boat man said, "Nit yananda Prabhu is miserable and lament ing f or His
lost children. He t old me, 'T here is one person named Abhiram T hakur. He is
very powerf ul. If he of f ers obeisances t o My son t hen t he child will die.' Saying
t his, Nit yananda Prabhu t old me not t o bring t hat person across. I t hink t hat
you are t hat same Abhiram T hakur."

Out of f ear of Nit yananda Prabhu, t he boat man t hen put wat er in his boat
and made it sink. Hearing t hat Abhiram T hakur had come, all of t he ot her
boat men also f illed t heir boat s wit h wat er and sank t hem.

Abhiram T hakur t hen t ook some clot h and t hrew it in t he river. T he clot h
f loat ed, and, sit t ing on it , Abhiram crossed t he river.

Seeing t his, t he people became ast onished and ran t o t ell Nit yananda
Prabhu.

Alt hough Nit ai became worried, He t ook all of t he mahant s who were present
at t he f est ival and went t o meet Abhiram T hakur. Abhiram saw t hem all
perf orming ecst at ic kirt ana and coming t oward t he bank of t he Ganga t o
meet him. Abhiram t hen began playing his f lut e, and he lost ext ernal
consciousness. T ilak Ram Das says, "Who can underst and Abhiram T hakur?"

PRASAD AT NIT AI'S HOME

When t hey came t oget her, Abhiram embraced all of t hem wit h ecst at ic love
while his hairs st ood on end. Nit ai brought Abhiram int o His home. Abhiram t old
Him, "I am very hungry. Please give me some Prasad." Nit ai gave him a seat in
a room and Vasudha and Jahnava happily brought him nice prasad consist ing
of sweet rice, f ancy rice and many opulent dishes. As much Prasad as t hey
brought , Abhiram at e it unt il he had f inished everyt hing in t he house.

Seeing t hat he had eat en everyt hing, Nit ai said, "Dandavat s t o your
past imes! Who can underst and You? In vraja-lila you are Sridama. Have you
f orgot t en our loving relat ionship? In Vraja we all shared prasad t oget her.

But now, f orget t ing all of t hat , you are t aking all of t he Prasad alone. In Vraja
we would always share what ever f ruit s we got . What sort of behavior is t his
t hat you are t aking all of t he Prasad alone?"

Abhiram list ened and said, "My nat ure is t hat of a cowherd boy. First I t ake,
t hen I give t o ot hers. My behaviour is t hat of Vraja. Knowing my nat ure and
act ivit ies in Vraja, how can You say I t ook all of t he Prasad? Go and see Your
pot s." T hen Abhiram perf ormed acaman.

Nit yananda Prabhu went t o see t he pot s and f ound t hat double t he original
amount of Prasad was t here. Nit ai t hen happily embraced Abhiram.

Abhiram said, "O Brot her, you should f eed all of t he mahant s."

T he mahant s t hen happily t ook Prasad and shout ed, "Hari! Hari!" Finishing,
t hey all perf ormed acamana. T hen Nit ai gave t hem t ambula and a place t o
t ake rest .

"SPARE OUR CHILD!"

Abhiram T hakur said, "Nit ai, You have celebrat ed a f est ival f or t he birt h of
Your son. What sort of son do You have? Please bring him and I will of f er my
obeisances t o him."

VIRABHADRA PRABHU-Son of Lord

Nit yananda.

Hearing t his, everyone became worried. Nit yananda Prabhu's wives Vasudha
and Jahnava approached Abhiram and humbly said, "T his t ime please give
prot ect ion t o our child. Don't let us be crit icized f or not having a son. If you
of f er obeisances t o our son t hen he will die. Every t ime t his is what has
happened. If you do t his again, t hen we will also die."

Abhiram said, "Why are you f earing? You don't underst and. I am of f ering my
obeisances t o t est t he child. If he is svayam-svarupa, t he Lord's personal
manif est at ion, t hen he will survive my obeisances."

Hearing Abhiram's words, Nit yananda Prabhu became happy and brought His
son bef ore Abhiram. Abhiram T hakur of f ered his obeisances, and t he child
laughed. Abhiram become very happy and of f ered his obeisances a second
and a t hird t ime, just t o t est t he child. He saw t hat t his child was jagat -priya,
dear t o t he ent ire universe. Abhiram t ook t he child on his lap and began t o
dance. He t hen t old all of t he mahant s t here:

ye na dekhecha gora dekha ara bar punarbar sei gora vira avat ar

"So t hat t hose who did not see Sri Chait anya Mahaprabhu could again have
t he opport unit y t o see Him, t he Lord has reappeared in t he f orm of
Virabhadra Prabhu."

T HE IDENT IT Y OF VIRABHADRA PRABHU

Lord Balaram has appeared as Lord Nit yananda Prabhu. As t he Supreme

Lord, He is sarvajna, all-knowing. Hence He cert ainly underst ood and, in f act ,
inspired t he behavior of Abhiram T hakur. T he nat ure of t he Lord is t hat He
likes t o see His Devot ees glorif ied more t han Himself . T heref ore, t o glorif y His
Devot ee Abhiram T hakur, and also His son Virabhadra Prabhu, Lord
Nit yananda inspired Abhiram T hakur t o act in such an unusual way.

T he expansion of Lord
Sankarshan known as
Kshirodakasayi Vishnu appeared
in Sri Chait anya Mahaprabhu's
past imes as Virachandra
Prabhu. Lord Virachandra was
non-dif f erent f rom Lord
Chait anya Himself .

Virabhadra Prabhu is t he incarnat ion of Kshirodakasayi Vishnu. Srila Kavi

Karnapura has writ t en (Sri Gaura-ganodesa-dipika t ext 67):
 sankarsanasya yo vyuhah payo-visayi-namakah sa eva viracandro 'bhuc
cait anyabhinna-vigrahah

T he expansion of Lord Sankarshan known as Kshirodakasayi Vishnu appeared

in Sri Chait anya Mahaprabhu's past imes as Virachandra Prabhu. Lord
Virachandra was non-dif f erent f rom Lord Chait anya Himself .

As Kshirodakasayi Vishnu, Virabhadra Prabhu is t he svayam svarupa, t he

plenary expansion of Lord Nit yananda Prabhu. Srila Krishnadas Kaviraj has
described:

sankarsanah karana-t oya-sayi garbhoda-sayi ca payobdhi-sayi sesas ca

yasyamsa-kalah sa nit ya- nandakhya-ramah saranam mamast u

May Sri Nit yananda Rama be t he object of my const ant remembrance.

Sankarshana, Sesa Naga and t he Vishnus who lie on t he Karana Ocean

(Karanodakasayi Visnu), Garbha Ocean (Garbhodakasayi Visnu) and ocean of
milk (Ksirodakasayi Visnu) are His plenary port ions and t he port ions of His
plenary port ions. [Cc. adi 1.7]

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