Alakananda

Alaknanda River

There was a very nice pastime of Mahaprabhu by the Alakananda River, which, as mentioned previously, is presently not visible. Jagadananda Pandita has described this pastime very nicely in his book Prema-vivarta: “One day my Lord, in a playful mood, went to the dense forest on the bank of Alakananda. Myself and Gadadhara were both there with Mahaprabhu. The Lord playfully caught hold of a suka (parrot) from the bakula tree. Mahaprabhu said, ‘You are the son of Vyasadeva. Please chant Sri Radha- Krishna and increase our happiness.’ The suka, however, did not chant the holy name of Sri Radha-Krishna but instead chanted “Gaurahari”. Then Mahaprabhu threw him away pretending that He was angry with him because the bird was not chanting the holy name of Sri Radha-Krishna. Still the suka continued chanting “Gaura, Gaura” and danced with great love. Mahaprabhu said, ‘Oh, Suka! This is Vrindavana. Please chant the holy name of Sri Radha and Krishna and let everybody hear the holy name.’ The bird replied, ‘Vrindavana has transformed into Navadvipa. Sri Radha and Krishna have appeared as Sri Gaurahari. I am the suka who chants the holy name of Sri Gaurahari and stays in this forest. You are my Sri Radha-Krishna. This Gadadhara is Srimati Radharani. Gadai and Gauranga are the Lords of my life. Nothing else comes from my mouth.’ Lord Gauranga Mahaprabhu said, ‘I am a worshiper of Sri Radha-Krishna. I feel sad to hear any other name.’ Saying this Mahaprabhu caught hold of Gadadhara’s hand and went back to Mayapur leaving behind the suka who said, “You chant whatever You like. I will do my bhajana here eternally, chanting the holy name of Gaurahari.”