10 Srimad-Bhagavatam

mentioned, were composed on the basis of karcas by Srila Damodara
Gosvami and Murari Gupta.

So the Lord advented Himself on the Phalguni Pirnima evening of 1407
Sakabda, and it was by the will of the Lord that there was a lunar eclipse
on that evening. During the hours of eclipse it was the custom of the
Hindu public to take bath in the Ganges or any other sacred river and
chant the Vedic mantras for purification. When Lord Caitanya was born
during the lunar eclipse, all India was roaring with the holy sound of Hare
Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare/ Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama
Rama, Hare Hare. These sixteen names of the Lord are mentioned in many
Puranas and Upanisads, and they are described as the Taraka-Brahman-
Nama of this age. It is recommended in the sastras that offenseless chanting
of these holy names of the Lord can deliver a fallen soul from material
bondage. There are innumerable names of the Lord both in India and
outside, and all of them are equally good because all of them indicate the
Supreme Personality of Godhead. But because these sixteen are especially
recommended for this age, people should take advantage of them and
follow the path of the great a@caryas who attained success by practicing the
rules of the sdstras (revealed scriptures).

The simultaneous occurrence of the Lord’s appearance and the lunar
eclipse indicated the distinctive mission of the Lord. This mission was to
preach the importance of chanting the holy names of the Lord in this age
of Kali (quarrel). In this present age quarrels take place even over trifles,
and therefore the sdstras have recommended for this age a common plat-
form for realization, namely chanting the holy names of the Lord. People
can hold meetings to glorify the Lord in their respective languages and
with melodious songs, and if such performances are executed in an offense-
less manner, it is certain that the participants will gradually attain spiritual
perfection without having to undergo more rigorous methods. At such
meetings everyone, the learmed and the foolish, the rich and the poor, the
Hindus and the Muslims, the Englishman and the Indians, and the candala
and the brahmanas, can all hear the transcendental sounds and thus cleanse
the dust of material association from the mirror of the heart. To confirm
the Lord’s mission all the people of the world will accept the holy name of
the Lord as the common platform for the universal religion of mankind.
In other words, the advent of the holy name took place along with the
advent of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

When the Lord was on the lap of His mother, He would at once stop
crying as soon as the ladies surrounding Him chanted the holy names and
clapped their hands. This peculiar incidence was observed by the neighbors
