64 Sri Caitanya-caritamrta [Madhya-lila, Ch. 9
tritakdpe visdlara kari’ darasana
paricapsara-tirthe dila sacira nandana
SYNONYMS

tritakGpe—to Tritakiipa; visdlara—of the Deity named Visala; kari’—doing;
darasana—visiting; pafica-apsard-tirthe —to Paficapsara-tirtha; dila—came; sacira
nandana—the son of mother Sacl.

TRANSLATION

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the son of mother Saci, went to Tritakipa, and
after seeing the Visala Deity there, He went to the holy place known as
Paficapsara-tirtha.

PURPORT

The Apsaras, denizens of the heavenly planets, are generally known as dancing
girls. The girls in the heavenly planets are exquisitely beautiful, and if a woman on
earth is found to be very beautiful, she is compared to the Apsaras. There were
five Apsaras named Lata, Budbuda, Samici, Saurabheyi and Varn. It is said that
these five beautiful dancing girls were sent by Indra to break the severe austerity
of a saintly person called Acyuta Rsi. This action was typical of Indra, the King of
heaven. Whenever Indra discovered someone undergoing severe austerities, he
would begin to fear for his post. Indra is always anxious about his position, fearing
that if someone becomes more powerful than him, he would lose his elevated
position. As soon as he would see a saint undergoing severe austerities, he would
send dancing girls to distract him. Even the great saint Visvamitra Muni fell victim
to his plan.

When the five Apsaras went to break Acyuta Rsi’s meditation, they were all
chastised and cursed by the saint. As a result, the girls turned into crocodiles in a
lake that came to be known as Paficapsara. Lord Ramacandra also visited this
place. From Sri Narada Muni’s narration, it is understood that when Arjuna went to
visit the holy places, he learned about the condemnation of the five Apsaras. He
delivered them from their abominable condition, and from that day the lake came
to be known as Paficapsara, and it became a place of pilgrimage.

TEXT 280
catered fata cafe widen Caentaf |
afias-Sreof areen wi hrcatate nave i
gokarne siva dekhi’ aila dvaipayani
strparaka-tirthe dila nydsi-siromani
