*Sri Sri Gour Vidhur Jayati *

Sri Krishna Chaitanya Mahâprabhu heard a recitation of Sri Krishna-

Karnâmritam when He visited South India. He was extremely attracted by its

contents and was filled with wonder. He brought a script of this text to

Neelâchal. In Sri Chaitanya-Charitâmrita, it is recorded as follows:-

“tabe mahaprabhu aila krishnabenva tire,

nana tirtha dekhi tanha debamandire

brahman samaj sab baishnab charita,

baishnab sakal padhe krishna-karnamrita.

karnamrita shuni prabhur ananda hoilo,

agraha koriya punthi lekhaiya nilo.

karnamrita sama bastu nahi tribhubane,

jaha hoite hoy shuddha krishna prema gyâne.

soundarjya – madhurjya krishna – lilar abadhi,

se jane je padhe nirabadhi.”

Meaning – “At last Sriman-Mahâprabhu1 came to the banks of River

Krishnavenva. There He visited the holy places and the temples. The people

residing there were Vaishnavs from the Brahmin community. All of them read

Sri Krishna-Karnâmritam regularly. When the Lord heard Karnâmritam, He

was overjoyed and got it copied. He said that there was nothing compared to

Karnâmritam in the whole universe and whosoever reads this text gets pure

Krishna-prem. He who reads Karnâmritam regularly truly knows the beauty,

sweetness and the divine pastimes of Sri Krishna.”

- (C.C.2.9)

Sriman-Mahâprabhu got a copy of 112 verses of the first ‘Shatakam’2 of Sri

Krishna-Karnâmritam. He brought this to Neelâchal. During the Gambhirâ

pastimes, the Lord exhibited the mood of the ‘Virahini’3 Sri Râdhâ. He used

to relish the verses of Sri Geet-Govinda, Sri Krishna-Karnâmritam, Vidyâpati,

Chandidâs and the drama Jagannâth–Vallabh composed by Râmânanda Roy

1 Srimat + Mahâprabhu = Sriman-Mahâprabhu

2 Shatakam = approximately one hundred verses

3 a beloved who is separated from her lover

with his most confidential associates such as Swarup–Dâmodar and

Râmânanda. Sri Chaitanya Charitâmrita mentions -

“chandidâs, vidyâpati, râyer nâtakagiti,

karnâmrita, sri geet gobinda ,

swarupa–râmânânda sane, mahâprabhu râtri-dine,

gây shune parama ânanda.”

Srila Kavirâj Goswâmi has described the Lord’s Gambhirâ pastimes in the 2nd

chapter of Madhya Liliâ of Sri Chaitanya-Charitâmrita. In this, he has stated

that the Lord has relished verse numbers 41, 32, 40 and 68 of Karnâmritam,

in this order. He relished verse number 92 in the 21st Chapter of Madhya Lilâ

and verse number 42 in the 17th Chapter of Antya Lilâ. He has even

expressed the sweet meaning of the verses in an extra ordinary manner

while lamenting in the mood of Râdhârâni.

True to its name, Sri Krishna-Karnâmritam is indeed a most relishing

‘Amritam’ (nectar) in the treasury of Sanskrit literature.

Such supreme literature is very rare. Its mood is easy to grasp, it is full of

relish and most supreme. Its language is pure, stylish and sweet. Its words

are so woven as to enchant the reader. It is not only something worth

reading or worth hearing – it is a great treasure of high-level bhâv–sâdhanâ1.

Sri Krishna’s beauty is extremely sweet and so are His pastimes. Sri Krishna

Karnâmritam is a non-stop flow of both!! It is full of very serious, confidential

and topmost ingredients of spiritual ras.

Hence, we can realize it only by practicing devotion under the merciful

guidance of Sri Guru and Vaishnavs. The title of Sri Lilâshuk has been

conferred on the poet because he has relished the nectarine pastimes of Sri

Krishna just like Sri Shukadev, who was the orator of Srimad-Bhâgavatam.

THE APPEARANCE OF SRI BILVAMANGAL AND THE YEAR IN WHICH

THIS TEXT WAS COMPOSED.

Opinions differ vastly about the year in which Bilvamangal Thâkur appeared

and this text was composed. According to the Keralites, he was the disciple

of Sripâd Padmâchârya and the grand disciple of Sripâd Shankar. If we

accept the above statement, he has to belong to the ninth century AD.

However, Sri Bilvamangal has not mentioned Sri Shankar as part of his Guru

Paramparâ anywhere. According to Dr.Winterniz Sri Lilâshuk belongs to the

11th Century. But we cannot accept this either since Sridhar Dâs of Bengâl

had compiled 2370 verses written by 465 poets in a text called ‘Sadukti

Karnâmrita’. Yet he had not quoted any verse of Sri Bilvamangal in his text.

Had Lilâshuk belonged to the ninth or eleventh century Sridhar Dâs would

have surely quoted his priceless verses in Sadukti Karnâmrita. The poet Sri

1 performing devotion in an exalted mood

Râmakrishna says that Lilâshuk appeared between 1250 and 1350, since

Bilvamangal had quoted Vyopdev in his purport to a text in grammar called

‘Purushâkar’. Vyopdev had appeared in 1250 AD. Bhojadev, Hemachandra

and Vyopdev belonged to the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries respectively. We

feel that Sri Lilâshuk had appeared after they did. Dr.Sushil Kumar De is not

ready to accept Lilâshuk, the grammarian, and Lilâshuk the creator of

Krishna-Karnâmritam as one and the same person. Nevertheless, we find

that the 4th verse of the 2nd Shatakam of Sri Krishna Karnâmritam says,

“mâtar-nâtah param-anuchitam yat-khalânâm purastadâ-,

sta-shankân jathara-pithari-purtaye nârti-tasi

tat-ishantavyam sahaja – sarale vatsale vâni kuryâm,

prâyashchittam guna-gâna-naya gopa-veshasya vishnoh.”

Meaning – “O Mother Saraswati! Without fearing you, I have made my words

dance for the pleasure of wicked people in order to fill my belly. There is

nothing more sinful than this. You are simple, pure and motherly. Please

forgive my sins. Now I shall atone for all my sins by extolling the glory of Sri

Bhagavân Who performed His pastimes as a cowherd boy.”

From this, it is easy to discern that earlier Lilâshuk did earn his living by

writing purports to grammar and later on composed Sri Krishna-

Karnâmritam.

When we find different books written in the same century by the same name,

then we feel it is not wrong to decipher that the author is the same.

Especially when the above-mentioned verse gives favourable evidence to this

effect.

THE BIOGRAPHY OF THE POET

Where did Lilâshuk reside? Many South Indian Pandits feel that he belonged

to Keralâ and established the Math (Temple) at Natville in Trichur as his

residence. Just as the Presidents of the four Maths established by

Shankarâchârya are conferred the title of ‘Shankarâchârya’, the president of

the Natville Math is given the title ‘Bilvamangal Swâmiyâr’. The sanyâsis of

this Math reserve the right to offer flowers before anyone else in the

Padmanâbha Mandir of Thiruvananthapuram (Trivandrum).

However, Srila Kavirâj Goswâmipâd has stated that Lilâshuk resided on the

Western banks of River Krishnavenvâ. That branch of River Krishnâ (arisen

from Mahâbaleshwar in the Sahyâdri Mountains) that meets Bay of Bengâl to

the South of Machhalipatam is called River Krishnaveni or Bhimâ. Hence,

Nidal, Bâlâ, Sulapâ etc. that are situated in the West of Solâpur are the

regions indicated by Srila Kavirâj Goswâmi. Srila Kavirâj Goswâmi has

written in his Sâranga Rangadâ purport that Sri Bilvamangal was a learned,

top-level poet and brahmin residing on the banks of River Krishnavenvâ. In

the early part of his life, he had become addicted to a prostitute called

Chintâmani who was a talented singer and danseuse. She lived on the

eastern bank of the same river. It was a dark monsoon night, on the last day

of mourning for his father’s death. In spite of this, he crossed the agitated

and surging Krishnavenvâ with lots of difficulty by taking the support of a

dead body, only to find Chintâmani’s gates closed. A snake had inserted half

its body inside a crevice in the wall. Bilvamangal caught hold of its tail,

mistaking it for a rope, climbed the wall and fell unconscious in the

compound. Chintâmani’s maidservants came to know how Bilvamangal had

come to be in this state. Due to their care, when he regained consciousness,

Chintâmani lamented thus – “Shame on me! I am such a sinner! How I have

cheated men of their wealth and love. O son of a brahmin, how anxious you

are to meet me! Had you possessed the same eagerness for Sri Bhagavân

then how wonderful it would have been! From tomorrow I shall forsake

everything and only perform Sri Krishna-bhajan1.”

Sri Bilvamangal too started reviewing his situation. During the night, he

heard the glorification of Râs Lilâ and other pastimes from Chintâmani. The

seed of love acquired from his earlier births, sprouted in his heart and

attracted him solely towards adoring the lotus feet of Sri Râdhâ’s Beloved

(Sri Krishna). In the morning, he paid obeisance to Chintâmani and

approached Somagiri, a Vaishnav. He narrated everything about himself and

obtained the mantra of Sriman-Madan-Gopâl. Since he had deep anurâg2, he

showed the signs of bhâv such as tears and goose flesh as soon as he

obtained the mantra. Although he was anxious to go to Vrindâvan, he stayed

on for some days to serve his Spiritual Master. There he composed a few

books describing the pastimes of Sri Krishna. Impressed by his devotional

state, Somagiri conferred the title ‘Lilâshuk’ on him.

At last, he took the permission of Sri Gurudev and started for Sridhâm

Vrindâvan. On the way, he became overwhelmed by the high tide of prem3

and was filled with tremendous longing for His sweet Lord (later on, he would

find life meaningless without Sri Krishna). Gradually, when he reached

Mathurâ, he was inspired by special Divine Pastimes and literally went mad

after which he became ever thankful when he actually met Sri Krishna. Sri

Krishna-Karnâmritam, a gem of a text, is the result of all those utterings in a

love-crazy state. Srila Kavirâj Goswâmi says that this wealth is in strict

accordance with the Guru-Paramparâ and is renowned in the world. Sadly,

we do not know the identity of the poet’s parents. In the 110th verse, we

find the word ‘Nibi-Dâmodar’. Some say that Nibi and Dâmodar were his

mother and father respectively and that the poet has introduced his parents

in the last verse of the text.

1 devotional practice unto Sri Krishna

2 deep love for Lord Krishna

3 pure love for Lord Krishna

THE PURPORTS OF SRI KRISHNA -KARNÂMRITAM AND THEIR

AUTHORS

There are many purports to Sri Krishna Karnâmritam. Pippallâi Suri of

Deccan1 has written purports to all the three Shatakam. His purport is called

‘Suvarna Chashak’ (The Gold Goblet)2. Six copies of this purport are kept

secure in the Library of the Madrâs Government. Vânivilâs Press of Sri

Rangam has published them. There is another purport called ‘Karnânanda

prakâshini’ (Delight of the auditory senses).

SRI KRISHNA -VALLABHÂ PURPORT

Srila Gopâl Bhatta has written this purport. At the end, he has introduced

himself in the following manner –

“shrimad-drâvida-nivrid-ambudhi-vidhuh shriman-nrisimho’ bhavad bhatta

shri harivamsha uttama guna-gramaikabhus-tat-sutah,

tat-putrasya kritis-tviyam vitanutam gopala-namno mudam,

gopinatha-padara-vinda-makaranada-ananda-cheto’linah.”

Meaning – “Sriman-Nrisimha shone like the moon amongst the Dravidian3

people. His son Sri Harivamsha Bhatta had many superior qualities. This

work is composed by his son Gopâl, whose heart is ever joyful in drinking the

nectar of the lotus feet of Sri Gopinâth (Krishna)”.

After reading this verse we may feel that this writer is not the same Gopâl

Bhatta who belongs to the group of ‘The Six Goswâmis’, since, his father was

named Venkat Bhatta, who lived in Belgandi Village, near Sri Rangam on the

banks of river Kâveri. However, according to the texts ‘Bhaktiratnâkar’ and

‘Anurâgvalli’, the writer of Krishna-Vallabhâ purport is none other than Sri

Gopâl Bhatta of the Six Goswâmis. Bhaktiratnâkar says –

“sri gopâl Bhatta hon benkatnandan

sri benkat bhatter nibas dakshinete

bishishta brahman bignya sakal shastrete

trimalla, benkat ar sri prabodhananda,

e tin bhratar prana-dhan gourchandra

korilen krishna karnamriter tippani,

baishnaber aparam ananda taha shuni”

Meaning – “Sri Gopâl Bhatta was the son of Sri Venkat Bhatta who resided in

South India. He (Sri Venkat Bhatta) was a qualified brahmin and well learned

in all the scriptures. Trimalla, Venkat and Prabodhânanda were three

brothers. They considered Gourachandra to be their life and soul. Sri Gopâl

1 South India

2 since Sri Krishna-Karnâmritam is like an intoxicating hot beverage

3 the people in South India mostly belong to this race

Bhatta wrote the purport to Krishna Karnâmritam. When the Vaishnavs

heard this purport, they were most delighted.”

Again, in Anurâgvalli, we find-

“sri bhatta gonsai karnamriter tika koilo,

ashesh bshesh byakhya tahate likhilo.

jahar darshane pandite chamatkar

rasa paripati jate siddhanter sâr.”

Meaning – “Sri Bhatta Goswâmi wrote a purport to Karnâmritam. He wrote

many special explanatory notes. Reading this, the pandits were wonder

struck. It was full of ras as well as philosophical principles.”

The internal analysis of the purport too indicates that Sri Gopâl Bhatta who

was a contemporary of Sri Rupa and Sanâtan and was a part of the ‘Six

Goswâmis’ wrote it. Just as Sri Rupa and Sanâtan have proved their

statements by quoting from many scriptures, he too has drawn evidences

from Chhândogya–Upanishad, Pânini, Kâtantra–vyâkaran, Gopâlottar–Tâpani,

Vishnupurân, Harivamsha, Mahâbhârat, Âdipurân, Matsyapurân, Srimad-

Bhâgavatam, Sridhar Swâmi’s Bhâvârtha Dipikâ purport, Amar-Kosh, Medini-

Kosh, Vishwa-Kosh, Vaijayanti-Kosh, Dhwanikosh, Raghuvamsha, Mâgh,