17.149
’prayage’ asiya prabhu kaila veni-snana
’madhava’ dekhiya preme kaila nrtya-gana
SYNONYMS
prayage—to Prayaga; asiya—coming; prabhu—Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu; kaila—did; veni-snana—bathing in the confluence of the Ganges and Yamuna; madhava—the predominating Deity there, Veni Madhava; dekhiya—seeing; preme—in ecstatic love; kaila—performed; nrtya-gana—dancing and chanting.
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu then went to Prayaga, where He bathed at the confluence of the Ganges and the Yamuna.
He then visited the temple of Veni Madhava and chanted and danced there in ecstatic love.
PURPORT
The city of Prayaga is situated a few miles from the city of Allahabad.
The name Prayaga is given due to successful sacrifices performed there.
It is said: prakrstah yagah yaga-phalam yasmat.
If one performs sacrifices at Prayaga, he certainly gets immediate results without difficulty.
Prayaga is also called Tirtharaja, the king of all places of pilgrimage.
This holy place is situated on the confluence of the Rivers Ganges and Yamuna.
Every year a fair takes place there known as Magha-mela, and every twelve years a Kumbha-mela is also held.
In any case, many people come to bathe there every year.
During Magha-mela, people from the local district generally come, and during Kumbha-mela people come from all over India to live there and bathe in the Ganges and Yamuna.
Whoever goes there immediately feels the place’s spiritual influence.
A fort located there was constructed by the Emperor Akbar about five hundred years ago, and near the fort is a place called Triveni.
On the other side of Prayaga is an old place known as Pratisthana-pura.
It is also well known as Jhunsi.
Many saintly people live there, and consequently it is very attractive from the spiritual point of view.