Nimai Pandit Defeats Pandit & Nawab

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By Rabeh Younes

In this way the Lord passed His early childhood. When He was just

sixteen

years old He started His own catuspathi (village school conducted by

a

learned brahmana). In this school He would simply explalin Krsna,

even in

readings of grammar. Srila Jiva Gosvami, in order to plaease the

Lord,

later composed a grammar in Sanskrit, in which all the rules of

grammar

were explained with wxamples the used the holy names of the Lord.

This

grammar is still current. It is known as Hari-namamrta-vyakarana and

is

prescribed in the syllabus of schools in Bengal.

 

During this time a great Kashmir scholar named Kesava Kasmiri came to

Navadvipa to hold discussions on the sastras. The Kashmir pandita

was a

champion dcholar, and he had traveled to all places of learning in

India.

Finally he came to Navadvipa to contest the learned panditas there.

The

panditas of Navadvipa decided to match Nimai Pandita (Lord Caitanya)

with

the Kashmir pandita, thinking that if Nimai Pandita were defeated,

they

would have another chance to debate with the scholar, for Nimai

Pandita

was only a boy. And if the Kashmir pandita were defeated, then they

would

even be more glorified because people would proclaim that a mere

bboy of

Navadvipa had defeated a champion dcholar who was famous throughout

India.

It so happenend that Nimai Pandita met Kesava Kasmiri while stolling

on

the banks of the Ganges. The Lord requested him to compse a Sanskrit

verse

in praise of the Ganges, and the pandita within a short tine

composed a

hundred slokas, reciting the verses like a storm and showing the

strength

of his vast learning. Nimai Pandita at once memorized all the slokas

eithout an error. He quoted the sixty fourth sloka and pointed out

certain

rhetorical and literary irregularities. He particularily questioned

the

pandita's use of the word bhavani-bhartuh. He pointed out that the

use of

this word was redundant. Bhavani means the wife of Siva, and who

else can

be her bharta, or husband? He also pointed out several other

discrepancies, and the Kashmir pandita was struck with wonder. He was

astonished that a mere student of grammar could point out the

literary

mistakes of an erudite scholar. Although this matter was ended prior

to

any public meeting, the news spread like wildfire all over

Navadvipa. Bt

finally Kesava Kasmiri was ordered in a dream by Sarasvati, the

goddess of

learning, to submit to the Lord, and thus the Kashmir pandita became

a

follower of the Lord.

 

The Lord was then married with great pomp and gaiety, and at this

time He

began to preach the congregational chanting of the holy name of the

Lord

at Navadvipa. Some of the brahmanas became envious of His

popularity, and

they put many hindrances on His path. They were so jealous that they

finally took the matter before the Muslim magistrate of Navadvipa.

Bengal

was then governed by Pathans, and the govenor of the province was

Nawab

Hussain Shah. The Muslim magistrate of Navadvipa tool up the

complaints of

the brhmanas seriously, and at first he warned the followers of Nimai

Pandita not to chant lously the name of Hari. But Lord Caitanya

asked His

followers to disobey the orders of the Kazi, and they went on with

their

sankirtana (chanting) party as usual. The magistrate then sent

constables

who interrupted a sankirtana and broke some of the mrdangas (drums).

When

Nimai Pandita heard of this incident He organized a party for civil

disobedience. He is the pioneer of the civil disobedience movement in

India for the right cause. He organized a procession of one hundred

thousand men with thousands of mrdangas and karatalas (hand

cymbals), and

this pricession passed over the roads of Navadvipa in defiance of

the Kazi

who has issued the order. Finallly the procession reached the house

of the

Kazi, who went upstairs out of fear of the masses. The great crowds

assembled at the Kazi's house displayed a violent temper, byt the

Lord

asked them to be peaceful. At this time the Kazi came down and tried

to

pacify the Lord by addressing Him as his nephew, He pointed out the

Nilambara Cakravarti referred to him as an uncle, and consequently,

Srimati Sacidevi, the mother of Nimai Pandita, was his sister. He

asked

the Lord whether his sister's son could be angry at His maternal

uncle,

and the Lord repied that since the Kazi was His maternal uncle he

should

receive his nephew well at his hime. In this way the issue was

mitigated,

and the two learned scholars began a long discussion of the Koran and

Hindu sastras. The Lord raised the questiion of cow killing, and the

Kazi

properly answered Him by referring th the Kkoran. In turn the Kazi

alsi

questuined the Lord about cow sacrifice in the Vedas, and the Lord

replied

that such sacrifice as mentioned in the Vedas is not actually cow

killing.

In that sacrifice an old bull or cow was sacrificed for the sake od

receiving a fresh younger life by the power of Vedic mantras. But in

the

Kali yuga such cow sacrifices are forbidden because there are no

qualifies

brahmanas capable of conducting such a sacrifice, In fact, in Kali

yuga

all yajnas (sacrifices) are forbidden because they are useless

attempts by

foolish men. ln Kali yuga only the sankirtana yajna is recommended

for all

practical purpises, Speaking in this way, the Lord finally convinced

the

Kazi, who became the Lord's follower. The Kazi thenceforth declared

that

no one should hinder the sankirtana movement which was started by the

Lord, and the Kazi left this order in his eill for the sake of

progeny.

The Kazi's tomb still exists in the area of Navadvipa, and Hindu

pilgrims

go there to show their respects, The Kazi's descendants are

residents, and

they never objected to sankirtana, even during the Hindu-Muslim riot

days.

 

This incident shows clearly that the Lord was not a so called timid

Vaisnava, A Vaisnava is a fearless devotee of the Lord, and for the

right

cause he can take any step suitable for the purpise, Arjuna was alsi

a

Vaisnava devotee of Lord Krsna, and he fought valiantly for the

satisfaction of the Lord, Similarily, Vjarangaji, or Hanuman, was

also a

devotee of Lord RAma, and he gave lessons to the nondevotee party of

RAvana. The priciples of Vaisnavism are to satisfy the Lord by all

means,

A Vaisnava is by nature a nonviolent, peaceful lliving being, and he

has

all the good qualitis of God, but when the nondevotee blasphemes the

Lord

or His devotee, the Vaisnava never tolerates such impudency.