Ādi-līā, Chapter 10
325
PURPORT
In the  Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā  (203) it is said, “Bhāgavatācārya compiled a book entitled  Kṛṣṇa-prema-taraṅgiṇī , and he was the most beloved devotee of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu.” When Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu visited Varāhanagara, a suburb of Calcutta, He stayed in the house of a most fortunate  brāhmaṇa  who was a very learned scholar in  Bhāgavata  literature. As soon as this  brāhmaṇa  saw Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, he began to read  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam . When Mahāprabhu heard his explanation, which expounded  bhakti-yoga , He immediately became unconscious in ecstasy. Lord Caitanya later said, “I have never heard such a nice explanation of  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam . I therefore designate you Bhāgavatācārya. Your only duty is to recite  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam . That is My injunction.” His real name was Raghunātha. His monastery, which is situated in Varāhanagara, about three and a half miles north of Calcutta on the bank of the Ganges, still exists, and it is managed by the initiated disciples of the late Śrī Rāmadāsa Bābājī. Presently, however, it is not as well managed as in the presence of Bābājī Mahārāja.
Another name of Thākura Sāraṅga dāsa was Sārṅga Thākura. Sometimes he was also called Sārṅgapāṇi or Sārṅgadhara. He was a resident of Navadvīpa in the neighborhood known as Modadruma-dvīpa, and he used to worship the Supreme Lord in a secluded place on the bank of the Ganges. He did not accept disciples, but he was repeatedly inspired from within by the Supreme Personality of Godhead to do so. Thus one morning he decided, “Whomever I see I shall make my disciple.” When he went to the bank of the Ganges to take his bath, by chance he saw a dead body floating in the water, and he touched it with his feet. This immediately brought the body to life, and Thākura Sāraṅga dāsa accepted him as his disciple. This disciple later became famous as Thākura Murāri, and his name is always associated with that of Śrī Sāraṅga. His disciplic succession still inhabits the village of Śar. There is a temple at Māmagācchi that is supposed to have been started by Sārṅga Thākura. Not long ago, a new temple building was erected in front of a  bakula  tree there, and it is now being managed by the members of the Gauḍīya Maṭha. It is said that the management of the temple is now far better than before. In the  Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā  (172) it is stated that Sārṅga Thākura was formerly a  gopī  named Nāndīmukhī. Some devotees say that he was formerly Prahlāda Mahārāja, but Śrī Kavikarṇapūra says that his father, Śivānanda Sena, does not accept this proposition.
TEXT 114
জগন্নাথ তীর্থ, বিপ্র শ্রীজানকীনাথ ।
গোপাল আচার্য, আর বিপ্র বাণীনাথ ॥ ১১৪ ॥
jagannātha tīrtha, vipra śrī-jānakīnātha gopāla ācārya, āra vipra vāṇīnātha
SYNONYMS
jagannātha tīrtha —of the name Jagannātha Tīrtha;  vipra—brāhmaṇa ;  śrī-jānakīnātha —of the name Śrī Jānakīnātha;  gopāla ācārya —of the name