10.135-136
prataparudra raja, ara odhra krsnananda
paramananda mahapatra, odhra sivananda
bhagavan acarya, brahmanandakhya bharati
sri-sikhi mahiti, ara murari mahiti
SYNONYMS
prataparudra raja—King Prataparudra of Orissa; ara—and; odhra krsnananda—Krsnananda, an Oriya devotee; paramananda mahapatra—of the name Paramananda Mahapatra; odhra sivananda—the Oriya Sivananda; bhagavan acarya—of the name Bhagavan Acarya; brahmananda-akhya bharati—of the name Brahmananda Bharati; sri-sikhi mahiti—of the name Sri Sikhi Mahiti; ara—and; murari mahiti—of the name Murari Mahiti.
King Prataparudra of Orissa, the Oriya devotees Krsnananda and Sivananda, Paramananda Mahapatra, Bhagavan Acarya, Brahmananda Bharati, Sri Sikhi Mahiti and Murari Mahiti constantly associated with Caitanya Mahaprabhu while He resided in Jagannatha Puri.
PURPORT
Prataparudra Maharaja, who belonged to the dynasty of the Ganga kings and whose capital was in Cuttak, was the Emperor of Orissa and a great devotee of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
It was by the arrangement of Ramananda Raya and Sarvabhauma Bhattacarya that he was able to serve Lord Caitanya.
In the Gaura-ganoddesa-dipika (118) it is said that King Indradyumna, who established the temple of Jagannatha thousands of years ago, later took birth again in his own family as Maharaja Prataparudra during the time of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
Maharaja Prataparudra was as powerful as King Indra.
The drama named Caitanya-candrodaya was written under his direction.
In the Caitanya-bhagavata, Antya-lila, Chapter Five, Paramananda Mahapatra is described as follows: “Paramananda Mahapatra was among the devotees who took birth in Orissa and accepted Caitanya Mahaprabhu as their only asset.
In the ecstasy of conjugal love, he always thought of Caitanya Mahaprabhu.” Bhagavan Acarya, a very learned scholar, was formerly an inhabitant of Halisahara, but he left everything to live with Caitanya Mahaprabhu in Jagannatha Puri.
His relationship with Caitanya Mahaprabhu was friendly, like that of a cowherd boy.
He was always friendly to Svarupa Gosani, but he was staunchly devoted to the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
He sometimes invited Caitanya Mahaprabhu to his house.Bhagavan Acarya was very liberal and simple.
His father, Satananda Khan, was completely materialistic, and his younger brother, Gopala Bhattacarya, was a staunch Mayavadi philosopher who had studied very elaborately.
When his brother came to Jagannatha Puri, Bhagavan Acarya wanted to hear from him about Mayavada philosophy, but Svarupa Damodara forbade him to do so, and there the matter stopped.
Once a friend of Bhagavan Acarya’s from Bengal wanted to recite a drama that he had written that was against the principles of devotional service, and although Bhagavan Acarya wanted to recite this drama before Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Svarupa Damodara, the Lord’s secretary, did not allow him to do so.
Later Svarupa Damodara pointed out in the drama many mistakes and disagreements with the conclusion of devotional service, and the author became aware of the faults in his writing and then surrendered to Svarupa Damodara, begging his mercy.
This is described in the Antya-lila, Chapter Five, verses 91-158.
In the Gaura-ganoddesa-dipika, verse 189, it is said that Sikhi Mahiti was formerly an assistant of Srimati Radharani named Ragalekha.
His sister Madhavi was also an assistant of Srimati Radharani and was named Kalakeli.
Sikhi Mahiti, Madhavi and their brother Murari Mahiti were all unalloyed devotees of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu who could not forget Him for a moment of their lives.
There is a book in the Oriya language called Caitanya-carita-mahakavya in which there are many narrations about Sikhi Mahiti.
One narration concerns his seeing an ecstatic dream.
Sikhi Mahiti always engaged in serving the Lord in his mind.
One night, while he was rendering such service, he fell asleep, and while he was asleep his brother and sister came to awaken him.
At that time he was in full ecstasy because he was having a wonderful dream that Lord Caitanya, while visiting the temple of Jagannatha, was entering and again coming out of the body of Jagannatha and looking at the Jagannatha Deity.
Thus as soon as he awakened he embraced his brother and sister and informed them, “My dear brother and sister, I have had a wonderful dream that I shall now explain to you.
The activities of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the son of Mother Saci, are certainly most wonderful.
I saw that Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, while visiting the temple of Jagannatha, was entering the body of Jagannatha and again coming out of His body.
I am still seeing the same dream.
Do you think I have become deranged? I am still seeing the same dream! And the most wonderful thing is that as soon as I came near Caitanya Mahaprabhu, He embraced me with His long arms.” As he spoke to his brother and sister in this way, Sikhi Mahiti’s voice faltered, and there were tears in his eyes.
Thus the brothers and sister went to the temple of Jagannatha, and there they saw Lord Caitanya in the Jagamohana (the kirtana hall in the Jagannatha temple), looking at the beauty of the Sri Jagannatha Deity just as in Sikhi Mahiti’s dream.
The Lord was so magnanimous that immediately He embraced Sikhi Mahiti, exclaiming, “You are the elder brother of Murari!” Being thus embraced, Sikhi Mahiti felt ecstatic transcendental bliss.
Thus he and his brother and sister always engaged in rendering service to the Lord.
Murari Mahiti, the youngest brother of Sikhi Mahiti, is described in the Madhya-lila, Chapter Ten, verse 44.