Rajashekhara Dasa
From the book “Chaurasi-kosa Vraja Mandala Parikrama”:
Just opposite to the Radha Shyamasundara Mandira is the Tilak-sthana where Shyamananda found the ankle bell (nupur) of Radharani and which is also the place where his pushpa-samadhi is located. According to the Gaura-ganoddesha-dipika, Shyamananda Pandita is Kanaka-manjari in Krishna’s Vrindavana pastimes. According to others Shyamananda was an incarnation of Shri Krishna’s playmate named Subal Shakha.
Shyamananda Pandita’s Early Life
Shyamananda Prabhu was born on purnima during the lunar month of Chaitra in the year 1534 in the town of Dharenda Bahadurpura, near Kharagapura in West Bengal. His parents belonged to the Sadgopa community, a Yadava subcaste. Prior to Shyamananda’s birth, his parents had lost several children during infancy and had consequently suffered much grief. The Bhakti-ratnakara says that due to this devastating loss, his parents raised him in great sadness and so they called him Duhkhi, which means ‘sadness’. They gave him this name in the hope that it would ward of any misfortune befalling their son. As he grew older, he studied Sanskrit grammar and revealed a religious proclivity. When listening to the activities of Gaura-Nitai, or those of Radha and Krishna, tears would flow in waves from his eyes. Within time Duhkhi received diksha from one of Lord Chaitanya’s personal associates named Hridaya Chaitanya, who hailed from the town of Ambika Kalna in West Bengal. His initiated name was Krishnadasa and he remained at Ambika Kalna studying the shastras under his guru. As there were many devotees named Krishnadasa, he became known amongst his contemporaries as Duhkhi Krishnadasa. Because Duhkhi Krishnadasa showed signs that he could become a great Vaishnava scholar and preacher, his guru decided to send him to Vrindavana to study under the guidance of Shrila Jiva Goswami. Thus Duhkhi Krishnadasa joined Jiva’s other celebrated students, Shrinivasa Acharya and Narottama Dasa, who accepted him as their younger brother. Even though he was a very learned pandita coming from a Vaishnava family, he would take a broom and daily sweep the area around Seva Kunja, the place where Krishna once rendered personal service to Radharani and where the celebrated rasa-lila pastimes took place.
Shyamananda Discovers Radharani’s Ankle-bell
There are many versions concerning the episode of Shyamananda receiving the special tilak mark and a new name as well as a Deity from Radharani, although most cannot be verified. However, the version which is accepted by the Shyamananda’s disciplic descendants is as follows. One day while sweeping Seva Kunja, Duhkhi Krishnadasa (Shyamananda’s previous name) found a golden ankle-bell (nupur) lying on the ground. The anklet shone very brightly and after picking it up, he was overcome with ecstatic emotions and began to cry. He concluded that the anklet must belong to one of the gopis, or even Shrimati Radharani Herself. He carefully wrapped the anklet in his cloth and became consumed by thoughts of Krishna’s pastimes. After some time, a village girl approached him and asked if he had found a golden anklet that had been lost in Seva Kunja by her sister. Duhkhi Krishnadasa informed the girl that he had indeed found the anklet lying on the ground and thus the girl asked him to give it to her and she would return it to her sister. Duhkhi Krishnadasa told the girl that as he was the one who found the anklet, he would like to personally hand it over to her sister himself. The girl, who was actually Radha’s close friend Lalita-sakhi, disguised as a local village maiden, agreed, and guided Duhkhi Krishnadasa to Lalita-kunda located in the middle of Seva Kunja. She then informed him that if he wanted to meet her sister, he would first have to bathe in the sacred kunda. Duhkhi Krishnadasa immediately bathed in the kunda and on coming out of the water, saw that his form had changed into that of a young gopi girl.
Duhkhi Krishnadasa was then taken to a nearby grove where he suddenly saw the exquisitely beautiful and transcendental form of Shrimati Radharani, seated on a jewel-encrusted golden throne and surrounded by hundreds of Her intimate girlfriends. Radharani signaled for him to come forward and after offering his prostrated obeisances before Her, he handed Her the golden anklet. Taking the anklet from Duki Krishnadasa, Radharani thanked him for his wonderful service of daily sweeping Her beloved Seva Kunja. She then touched the anklet to his forehead, which left a special tilak mark on his forehead and then give him the name Shyamananda, which means ‘one who gives pleasure (ananda) to Shyama’. She then gave the anklet to Duhkhi Krishnadasa and asked him to personally place it around Her ankle. After he had done this, Radharani asked Lalita to present Shyamananda with the gift of a beautiful Deity of Lord Shyamasundara for his personal seva-puja. Then after once again offering his prostrated obeisance’s to Shrimati Radharani, Lalita-sakhi escorted him back to the place where she first met him, and by then he had regained his previous male form. Lalita-sakhi then requested Shyamananda not to reveal this incident to anyone.
The next day, Duhkhi Krishnadasa was seen by Jiva Goswami and the other students with a new tilak mark on his forehead, which appeared somewhat different to the regular Gaudiya tilak mark. That night in a dream, Lalita-sakhi appeared before Jiva and informed him of the circumstances surrounding the new tilak mark and the new name given to Duhkhi Krishnadasa, but told Jiva to say nothing. After some time the news of Duhkhi’s name-change and new tilak mark reached the ears of Hridaya Chaitanya in Bengal, who concluded that Jiva Goswami must have re-initiated his disciple Duhkhi Krishnadasa. Hrdaya Chaitanya became disturbed as re-initiation amounted to a very serious Vaishnava aparadha. He was thinking that he had sent his disciple to study under Jiva Goswami, and now his re-initiation had taken place.
Hridaya Chaitanya gathered his disciples and along with a group of senior Vaishnavas, immediately left for Vrindavana to confront Jiva Goswami regarding the re-initiation of his disciple.
On arrival in Vrindavana, a public meeting was arranged by Hridaya Chaitanya, where Jiva Goswami was going to be asked to explain the circumstances of Duhkhi’s re-initiation. As both Jiva and Duhkhi Krishnadasa were sworn to secrecy, the situation was very tense. That night before the meeting, Lalita-sakhi again appeared in Jiva’s dream and told him what to do. When the meeting started, Jiva addressed the gathering saying he had no part in what had transpired and had not re-initiated Duhkhi Krishnadasa as some thought, saying that the new name and tilak mark was a divine transcendental arrangement. To further prove the point, he requested Hridaya Chaitanya and his followers to wipe off the new tilak mark from Duhkhi Krishnadasa’s forehead. If the new tilak mark could not be removed, then they would have to accept it was the divine will of the Lord. A few of the senior Vaishnavas from Hridaya Chaitanya’s group came forward, but when they tried to rub away the tilak mark, it could not be removed, no matter how hard they tried. Hridaya Chaitanya then realized that it had definitely been a transcendental arrangement. After embracing his disciple and apologizing to Jiva Goswami, Hridaya Chaitanya returned to Bengal with his party, fully satisfied that no Vaishnava aparadh had been committed. The Bhakti-ratnakara merely states that, “While in Vrindavan, he was given the name Shyamananda because he brought great joy to Shyamasundar. When Jiva saw his charming activities, he kept him nearby and instructed him in the Vaishnava scriptures.”
Even today, those in the disciplic line of Shyamananda Pandita still apply the same tilak mark. It became quite common for the disciples of various Gaudiya Goswamis to adopt some variation on the standard Gaudiya Vaishnava tilak mark, similar to the various tilak marks that differentiate the four Vaishnava sampradayas. The tilak mark used by Iskcon devotees is the tilak mark used by Lord Chaitanya and his disciplic succession headed by Shrila Rupa Goswami.
