CC Adi 8.60 (1975)
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
TEXT 60
- tāṅhāra ananta guṇa ke karu prakāśa
- tāṅra priya śiṣya iṅha--paṇḍita haridāsa
SYNONYMS
tāṅhāra—his; ananta—unlimited; guṇa—qualities; ke—who; karu—can; prakāśa—display; tāṅra—his; priya—dear; śiṣya—disciple; iṅha—this person; paṇḍita haridāsa—of the name Haridāsa Paṇḍita.
TRANSLATION
Ananta Ācārya was a reservoir of all good qualities. No one can estimate how great he was. Paṇḍita Haridāsa was his beloved disciple.
PURPORT
Śrī Ananta Ācārya is one of the eternal associates of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Previously, during the advent of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, Ananta Ācārya was Sudevī, one of the eight gopīs. This is stated in the Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā, verse 165, as follows: anantācārya-gosvāmī yā sudevī purā vraje. "Ananta Ācārya Gosvāmī was formerly Sudevī-gopī in Vraja [Vṛndāvana]." In Jagannātha Purī, or Puruṣottama-kṣetra, there is a monastery known as Gaṅgā-mātā Maṭha that was established by Ananta Ācārya. In the disciplic succession of the Gaṅgā-mātā Maṭha, he is known as Vinoda-mañjarī. One of his disciples was Haridāsa Paṇḍita Gosvāmī, who is also known as Śrī Raghu Gopāla and as Śrī Rāsa-mañjarī. His disciple Lakṣmīpriyā was the maternal aunt of Gaṅgā-mātā, a princess who was the daughter of the King of Puṭiyā. Gaṅgā-mātā brought a Deity of the name Śrī Rasika-rāya from Kṛṣṇa Miśra of Jaipur and installed Him in the house of Sārvabhauma in Jagannātha Purī. The disciple in the fifth generation after Śrī Ananta Ācārya was Śrī Vanamālī; in the sixth generation, Śrī Bhagavān dāsa, who was a Bengali; in the seventh generation, Madhusūdana dāsa, who was an Oriyā; in the eighth generation, Nīlāmbara dāsa; in the ninth generation, Śrī Narottama dāsa; in the tenth generation, Pītāmbara dāsa; and in the eleventh generation, Śrī Mādhava dāsa. The disciple in the twelfth generation is presently in charge of the Gaṅgā-mātā monastery.