Panatirtha , situated in Sunamganj district of Bangladesh, is where Sri Advaita Acharya summoned all the sacred rivers, so that His mother would not have to travel elsewhere to take the holy dip. In his prayers unto the Spiritual masters, Sri Krishnadasa Kaviraja Goswami has mentioned that Sri Advaita Acharya is the Lord’s partial incarnation (advaita acharya prabhura amsa-avatara.. – Caitanya Caritamrta, Adi 1.39). In Sri Gaura Gannodesha dipika, Kavi Karnapur has further clarified that Sada shiva, who had previously appeared as an avesa incarnation (one empowered by the Lord) ,has now descended as Sri Advaita Acharya. Sri Advaita was thus the combined incarnation of the potencies of Sada shiva and Lord Mahavishnu. Kavi Karnapura further writes that Kuvera pandita, the father of Advaita Acharya was an incarnation of the demigod Kuvera, the friend of Lord Shiva. The Supreme Lord’s Yogamaya potency appeared in Lord Caitanya’s pastimes as Sita Thakurani, the wife of Advaita Acharya.His second wife, Sri devi, was also an expansion of Yogamaya devi.Sri Acyutananda, the elder son of Advaita Gosai, was the combined form of the potencies of Kartikkeya and Achyuta Gopi. Sri Advaita Acharya was one of the primary trunks of Lord Caitanya’s desire tree of devotional service, from whom originated innumerable smaller branches and sub-branches of devotees. ‘The Gaudiya Treasures of Bengal’ considers itself exceedingly fortunate to have been able to visit and pray at Sri Advaita Acharya’s birthplace at Laura (situated in the Sunamganj district of Bangladesh) , wherein such great personalities have exhibited their exalted heart melting pastimes.
Category: Sylhet
According to Sri Gaura Gannoddesha Dipika, Srivasa Pandita is none other than the incarnation of Narada Muni, who had appeared to assist Sri Caitanya, his beloved Lord, enact the heart melting pastimes of Navadvipa. We have covered the details of Srivasa Pandita’s life and pastimes in two of our previous articles entitled – ‘Srivasa Angan ,Mayapur ,Navadvipa – Part 1: where Lord Gaurahari eternally performs His ecstatic pastimes’ & ‘Srivasa Angan & Samadhi of Chand Kazi, Mayapur, Navadvipa – Part 2’. In this article, however, we shall primarily deal with his appearance and early pastimes in Sylhet, before he shifted to Navadvipa.
Jagannath Misra and his Family
Sri Jagannath Misra was born in ‘Dhaka Dakshin’, a small village situated in the northern Bangladesh district of Sylhet. His grandfather Sri Madhu Misra had four sons – Upendra, Kirtida,Rangada and Kirtivasa. Sri Jagannath Misra was the fifth son of Upendra Misra and Kalavati devi. Sri Upendra and Kalavati devi had six other sons – Kamsari, Paramananda, Padmanabha, Sarveshvara, Janardana and Trailokyanath. According to Gaura Gannodesha Dipika, Sri Upendra Misra was the incarnation of Parjanya, Krishna’s grandfather, while Sri Jagannath Misra was the combined incarnation of Nanda Maharaj, Vasudeva (the king of yadus) ,Dasaratha, and Kasyapa muni. After spending his childhood in Sylhet, Jagannath Misra moved to Navadvipa to gain higher education under the tutelage of Nilambara Chakravarty, a renowned scholar of the day (refer – ‘Sri Nilambar Chakravarti’s residence ,Belpukur,Navadvipa (Simantadvipa)’). He subsequently settled in Navadvipa after marrying Nilambara Chakravarty’s daughter, Saci devi. Gaura Gannodesha Dipika states that Saci devi ,Jagannath Misra’s wife, was the combined incarnation of the potencies of Devaki, Yashoda, Aditi and Kaushalya.Jagannath Misra and Saci mata, were the supremely fortunate parents of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the deliverer of the three worlds. Sri Chaitanya deva appeared from the womb of mother Saci, on the full moon night of Phalguna (Feb-March) in the year 1486 AD (refer – ‘YogPeeth, Mayapur, Navadvipa – The birthplace of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’). The identity of Lord Chaitanya as the Supreme Personality of Godhead has been confirmed in several Vedic scriptures like Srimad Bhagavatam,Mahabharata, Garuda Purana,Nrsimha Purana, Padma purana,Bhavishya Purana, Narada Purana etc. We are quoting just two of such references below, for the pleasure of the devotees.