Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati Thakura gives us some details of Gaudidas Pandit’s family in his anubhashya. It is mentioned that initially he used to reside in the village of Saligrama (a place not very far from Navadvipa) , and later he had shifted to the town of Ambika Kalna. Sri Gaudidas was very close to and enjoyed the patronage of King Krishna das, the son of Harihoda. Sri Gaudidas Pandit’s father was Sri Kamsari Mishra and his mother’s name was Srimati Kamala devi. He had five brothers – Damodara, Jagannatha, Suryadasa, Krishnadasa, and Nrsimha Caitanya. The elder brother of Gaudidas pandit, Sri Suryadasa, held an important post for the king of Bengal and was hence awarded with the title ‘Sarkhel’ (commander). Later the two daughters of Suryadasa Sarkel, Srimati Vasudha and Jahnava, got married to Lord Nityananda. The ‘Gaudiya Treasures of Bengal’ has covered this wonderful marriage pastime in a separate article entitled – ‘Lord Nityananda’s marriage with Srimati Jahnava and Vasudha, Ambika Kalna’
Kavi Karnapura mentions in Sri Gaura Gannoddesha dipika, that Sri Gaudidas Pandita was the incarnation of the cowherd boy Subala, an intimate friend of Sri Krishna and Balarama in Vrindavana.
Krishnadasa Kaviraja Goswami greatly glorifies Sri Gaudidas in his Caitanya Caritamrta stating that Sri Gaudidas was an emblem of devotional service and had the potency to receive and deliver ecstatic love of God to one and all (..Krishna prema dite nite dhare maha-shakti..). It is exclaimed that Sri Gaudidas had sacrificed everything for the service of Lord Nityananda ,even the fellowship of his own family. He was one of the primary associates to have assisted Lord Nityananda manifest His magnanimous pastimes.
Sri Gaudidas’s Sripat at Kalna, houses his worshipable mesmerizing Gaura-Nitai deities. At this place, is also worshipped a copy of Bhagavad Gita, that was supposedly handwritten by Lord Caitanya and later gifted to Sri Gaudidas. One visiting the temple can also take darsana of an oar that Mahaprabhu had used to cross over the Ganges while travelling to meet Gaudidas at Kalna. According to the hearsay, Sriman Mahaprabhu had handed it over to Gaudidas, and asked him to similarly use it to help the fallen souls cross over the ocean of material existence.We shall try to narrate in this article a few of the innumerable pastimes that had taken place over the years at Sri Gaudidas’s sripat. We seek the mercy of this great personality in order to pen a few lines in his glorification.
