Ādi-līlā, Chapter 11
359
TEXT 13
শ্রীরামদাস আর, গদাবর দাস ।
চৈতন্য-গোসাঞ্জির ভক্ত রহে তাঁর পাশ ॥ ১৩ ॥
śrī-rāma-dāsa āra, gadādhara dāsa caitanya-gosāñira bhakta rahe tāṅra pāśa
SYNONYMS
śrī-rāma-dāsa —of the name Śrī Rāmadāsa;  āra —and;  gadādhara dāsa —of the name Gadādhara dāsa;  caitanya-gosāñira —of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu;  bhakta —devotees;  rahe —stay;  tāṅra pāśa —with Him.
TRANSLATION
Two devotees of Lord Caitanya named Śrī Rāmadāsa and Gadādhara dāsa always lived with Śrī Vīrabhadra Gosāñi.
PURPORT
Śrī Rāmadāsa, later known as Abhirāma Thākura, was one of the twelve  gopālas , cowherd boy friends, of Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu. The  Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā , verse 126, states that Śrī Rāmadāsa was formerly Śrīdāmā. In the  Bhakti-ratnākara , Chapter Four, there is a description of Śrīla Abhirāma Thākura. By the order of Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu, Abhirāma Thākura became a great  ācārya  and preacher of the Caitanya cult of devotional service. He was a very influential personality, and non-devotees were very much afraid of him. Empowered by Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu, he was always in ecstasy and was extremely kind to all fallen souls. It is said that if he offered obeisances to any stone other than a  śālagrāma-śilā , it would immediately fracture.
Ten miles southwest of the railway station Cāṅpāḍāṅgā on the narrow gauge railway line from Howrah in Calcutta to Āmtā, a village in the Hugali district, is a small town named Khānākūla-kṛṣṇanagara where the temple of Abhirāma Thākura is situated. During the rainy season, when this area is inundated with water, people must go there by another line, which is now called the southeastern railway. On this line there is a station named Kolāghāṭa, from which one has to go by steamer to Rāṇīcaka. Seven and a half miles north of Rāṇīcaka is Khānākūla. The temple of Abhirāma Thākura is situated in Kṛṣṇanagara, which is near the  kūla  (bank) of the Khānā (Dvārakeśvara River); therefore this place is celebrated as Khānākūla-kṛṣṇanagara. Outside of the temple is a  bakula  tree. This place is known as Siddha-bakula-kuñja. It is said that when Abhirāma Thākura came there, he sat down under this tree. In Khānākūla-kṛṣṇanagara there is a big fair held every year in the month of  caitra  (March-April) on the  kṛṣṇa-saptamī , the seventh day of the dark moon. Many hundreds and thousands of people gather for this festival. The temple of Abhirāma Thākura has a very old history. The Deity in the temple is known as Gopīnātha. There are many  sevaita  families living near the temple. It is said that