Lord Nityananda saves Jagai and Madhai from the Sudarshana chakra invoked by Lord Chaitanya. The play ends with a grand kirtana.
Scene 9: Banks of River Ganges
The kirtana is heard feebly in the background. Jagai and Madhai are completely drunk; they enter the stage and walk towards the bathing ghat. Each of them holds a liquor pot in their hands. The sound of the flowing river, cool breeze and the chirping insects can be heard in the background.
| Madhai | What a cool breeze blows from the Ganges! |
| Jagai | Madhai … Are we flying in the sky? I am seeing so many stars around. |
| Madhai | Jagai … I think so… look there … (pointing at the reflection of the moon in the river) the moon – are you seeing that? |
| Jagai | Yeh … I will catch the moon… (jumps towards the reflection of moon in the river; Madhai pulls him back.) |
| Madhai | You fool… you were about to drown in the river… |
| Jagai | Give me that pot. (empties the contents of the pot at one shot and throws out the pot; shouts triumphantly) I’ve reached the moon! Oh…citizens of the moon planet! Salute me … the great Jagai, who has just arrived on the moon. |
| Madhai | (mockingly) You are indeed very great my dear Jagai! We, the citizens of the moon planet, offer our humble obeisance to you. |
| Jagai | Summon the society girls of this planet! I am eager to watch them dance for my pleasure. |
| Madhai | Sure, my Lord. Heavenly pleasures… at your door step. |
Madhai wraps his chaddar around his waist and starts dancing like a girl. Jagai also joins. As they dance, the kirtana party enters the stage and the two drunkards start dancing to the tune of the kirtana song. They unconsciously mutter the lyrics in a coarse voice. The kirtana party walks behind the two drunks.
| Jagai | Madhai… who are they? Some celestial singers of the moon planet? |
| Madhai | They sing so nicely. (imitates by singing the kirtan & dancing) |
They are so intoxicated that they are oblivious that what is going on in the background is hari-kirtana. They lift their hands and dance in an awkward way imitating the devotees.
Scene 10: Market Place
| Shopkeeper | koche lao ache didi! lagbe naki? |
| Customer | koto dam? |
| Shopkeeper | du ana |
| Customer | ish…i baru lao du ana; eik anai debo |
| Shopkeeper | eik anai… ordheko pabe na.. |
| Customer | dile bhalo na hole ami jachi |
| Shopkeeper | ta hole… eik anai debo |
Customer takes the vegetables and pays for them. Jagai and Madhai enter the market place and create pandemonium. Everyone scatter hither and thither. Jagai and Madhai reach the vegetable seller; they dismiss the customer from the place.
| Jagai | (to the customer, pushing him) Go away … (tries to take the money from the hands of the shop keeper) Hey … give it to us! |
| Shop keeper | No! It is my hard-earned money. I cannot give it to you. |
| Jagai | (pulls out a knife) If you do not want to lose your life, you better give us your money… |
| Shop keeper | (looking around and expecting help from people) Help! Please save me! |
| Madhai | (mockingly) Don’t worry… I will save you. (laughs) Just give me that cash bag. We will peacefully go away from here. |
| Shop keeper | Help… Help.. |
Nityananda Prabhu runs in
| Nityananda | Stop… Stop! Don’t hurt him. |
| Jagai | Oh… (To the shop keeper) your savior is here. Madhai… he wants to save the shop keeper from us. (laughs wildly) |
| Madhai | We should teach him a good lesson for poking his nose in our affairs. |
| Nityananda | Listen to me. Please … |
| Jagai | (mockingly folding his hands and bowing low) Yes my Master… we listen to you. Please be kind upon us and teach us the right way to act. We surrender ourselves to you. Madhai … fall at his feet. Surrender to him. |
Both of them laugh loudly and fall on the ground and roll. By this time, the other devotees including Haridasa Thakura reach there.
| Jagai | Madhai… who are they? Some celestial singers of the moon planet? |
| Nityananda | (not paying attention to the humiliation, speaks with compassion in a broken voice) Dear brothers… please change your ways. We are simple devotees. We come to you as loving friends with the message of the Supreme Lord. Lord Krishna is our loving master and our first duty is to worship His lotus feet. Chant the holy names of Krishna. All your sins will surely vanish. |
On hearing this, in an unexpected moment, Madhai picks up a broken earthen pot near the shop and throws it at Nityananda Prabhu. The pot strikes Nityananda on the forehead, and he starts bleeding. Mukunda comes forward and holds Nityananda and signals the other devotee to go and inform this to Lord Chaitanya.
| Nityananda | (covering the wound on the forehead with a hand) Madhai… you hit me with an earthen pot, but I will give you love… the love of Godhead. Please chant. |
Madhai tries to take one more piece of the broken pot and with that runs towards Nityananda for another assault. Jagai, shocked at what his brother had done, realizes the situation, gets up and holds Madhai from further attacking Nityananda.
| Jagai | You fool… what are you doing? |
| Madhai | I am not going to leave him. He should be killed. |
| Nityananda | Brother… Please chant Krishna’s names. Please chant… |
Madhai takes another broken piece of the earthen pot and runs towards Nityananda. Jagai holds Madhai and shouts…
| Jagai | Fool! Don’t do that. He is not an ordinary person! He does not mind that you have struck him and does not even protest! (holds him tightly) |
| Madhai | Leave me… Leave me… Give me that knife. (tries to escape from the hold of Jagai) |
Lord Chaitanya appears on the scene followed by many devotees.
| Chaitanya | (sees that Nityananda is bleeding and runs towards him) Nityananda (turns to the wicked brothers and says angrily) You shameless ruffians, you attack poor devotees and hurt them when they try to help you! You should be punished for this….(lifts his hand to invoke the chakra) Sudarshana … Chakra! Chakra! |
A loud roar in the sky. A reddish hue spreads everywhere. The temperature shoots up. Everyone is feeling the heat as if the entire place is on fire. Sudarshana appears.
| Chaitanya | Sudarshana … these two brothers have hurt Me by hitting Nityananda. Kill them. |
| Nityananda | (falling at the feet of Lord Chaitanya) No my Lord…. You cannot do this! Please call the weapon back! |
| Chaitanya | (anger blazing in His eyes) They should be killed! |
| Nityananda | I beg you. You are the deliverer of the fallen souls. Your mission is not to kill the demons but rather to kill their demoniac tendencies. |
(Lord Chaitanya is not convinced and He is still angry.)
| Chaitanya | Yes. I am deliverer of fallen souls. I vanquish their sins. But not those who hurt the Vaishnavas. I will vanquish them if they dare to touch My devotees. |
| Nityananda | No… Please remember… You promised not to take up any weapons in this incarnation. Why did You summon Sudarshana to burn them? |
| Jagai | (falls at the lotus feet of the Lord) Mercy my Lord! Please have mercy! |
| Madhai | Please spare us… my Lord… Be kind to us! |
| Chaitanya | No… You have to be punished. You offended Nityananda. |
| Nityananda | Lord… please. I did not take any offense at their mindless act. In fact, Jagai tried to save me from getting hurt. Please do not punish them. |
| Chaitanya | Jagai saved you? All right… I will spare Jagai! |
| Madhai | (throws himself at the feet of the Lord) Mercy my Lord … Please have mercy on me too! |
| Chaitanya | (Lord steps back) Madhai, your case is not as simple as that. By wounding Nityananda, you have inflicted a wound on Me. Nityananda’s body is more dear to me than My own. |
| Madhai | (gaining courage and with a little ray of hope) Lord… I committed the most grievous sin. I am worthy of Your punishment… But my Lord, please tell me how can I be saved? You are the Supreme Lord. Many demons were delivered by You. Please deliver me. Please! (with tears in his eyes, he collapses) |
| Nityananda | Lord, please show Your mercy to him! |
| Chaitanya | (cools down) Madhai, go and fall at the feet of Nityananda. Only by his mercy can you be saved today. |
Both Jagai and Madhai run towards Nityananda and fall at his feet; Sudarshana goes back; Nityananda embraces them.
| Chaitanya | Both of you listen carefully, I have delivered you from all your sinful reactions accumulated over many, many births. Now, if you do not engage further in any sinful activities, I take full responsibility for your sinful lives. |
| Jagai | My Lord, You are the ocean of mercy. Although born as brahmanas we have both fallen into the deepest well of sinful lives. Only by your causeless compassion have you lifted us out and given us a new life. |
| Madhai | My Lord, I have inflicted pain on many souls. I dared to attack you with these blood tainted hands. How will I atone for the sins I have committed? |
| Nityananda | Madhai … you heard what Lord Chaitanya said. He is taking the responsibilities of all your sins. All that He wants from you is a promise that you will not act sinfully anymore. |
| Madhai | Lord… We will never commit any more sins. We promise you! |
Jagai and Madhai circumambulate Lord Chaitanya and Nityananda. (parama karuna song in background)
Scene 11:
Narada, Yamaraja, Chitragupta and Yama-kinkaras enter.
| Narada | Yamaraja … Do you remember? I told you they will never come under your jurisdiction… Have you understood why? This is the power of the merciful glance of Nityananda. |
| Citragupta | Wonderful…. unbelievable! All the records we have maintained so far about the sinful activities of these two brothers can be burnt to ashes! |
| Yamaraja | (wonderstruck) I have never witnessed such an act of compassion before. (Yamaraja is stunned and goes into a trance, he faints calling out Chaitanya… Gauranga) |
| Citragupta | (runs towards Yamaraja and holds him) Maharaja … Maharaja … (to Yama-kinkaras) get some water! Quick! Summon the heavenly doctors immediately! |
| Narada | Chitragupta… Yamaraja is a pure devotee of the Lord and he is one of the great authorities on devotional service. His fainting is due to the ecstasy he felt on seeing the compassion of Lord Nityananda. This cannot be cured by any medicine. I know what needs to be done. |
Narada starts chanting the Hare Krishna mantra. As soon as he does so, there was a slight movement from Yamaraja.
| Yama-kinkaras | Maharaja is moving… |
Narada, playing on his vina, continues singing. Yama-kinkaras ask the audience to join the kirtana to help Yamaraja to recover. Yamaraja regains his consciousness and also joins the kirtana.
Lord Brahma enters seated on his swan carrier surrounded by Kashyapa Muni, Kardama Muni, Prajapati Daksha, Manu and Bhrigu Muni (who chants Vedic mantras). He also joins the kirtana. Lord Shiva enters doing ananda tandava (kirtan stops; all the demigods watch the dance of Lord Shiva) Lord Shiva stops his tandava and sings the Hare Krishna mantra; all of them together sing in great joy. All of them glorify and shower flowers on Lord Chaitanya and Lord Nityananda.
Concluding Words
Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is none other than the Supreme Lord Krishna in His most munificent mood, who appeared to demonstrate how the yuga dharma of this age of Kali, harinama sankirtana, can be practiced to full effect so that we can transform our lives and transcend the ill effects of this age. Though we are completely unqualified, by Lord Chaitanya’s mercy we can return to the spiritual world simply by following His instruction of chanting the Hare Krishna maha mantra.
The glories of Gaurahari are the sublime essence of nectar, far beyond the reach of the Vedas. Srila Vrindavana dasa Thakura, the author of Sri Chaitanya-bhagavata assures that simply by hearing this pastime of the deliverance of Jagai and Madhai, one will obtain prema bhakti at the lotus feet of Krishna.
Lochana Dasa Thakura thus glorifies the mercy of Lord Chaitanya and Lord Nityananda.
parama koruna, pahu dui jana nitai gauracandra
saba avatara-sara siromani kevala ananda-kanda
bhajo bhajo bhai, chaitanya nitai sudrdha biswasa kori
visaya chadiya, se rase majiya, mukhe bolo hari hari
dekho ore bhai, tri-bhuvane nai, emona doyala data
pasu pakhi jhure, pasana vidare, suni’ janra guna-gatha
samsare majiya, rohili poriya, se pade nahilo asa
apana karama, bhunjaye samana, kahoye locana-dasa
Synopsis of the Play
Srimad-Bhagavatam predicts the appearance of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the Golden Avatara, the incarnation of God who will propagate the yuga dharma for this age of Kali, which is harinama sankirtana or the congregational chanting of the holy names of Lord Krishna, specifically the Hare Krishna mahamantra, to overcome the miseries of this age of hypocrisy and quarrel.
The play opens in Yamapuri, at the court of Yamaraja, where Narada has just arrived with news of Lord Chaitanya’s activities in Navadvipa. At the behest of Yamaraja, Narada allows him and Chitragupta, as well as two Yama kinkaras to accompany him to Navadvipa, to witness the sankirtana of Lord Chaitanya.
Accompanied by His dearest associates, Lord Nityananda, Advaita Acharya, Gadadhara Pandita, Srivasa Pandita, Haridasa Thakura, Mukunda Datta, Vasudeva Datta, Vakreshvara and many others, Lord Chaitanya looks like a jewel while He dances and sings the holy names of the Lord through the streets of Navadvipa. The visitors from Yamapuri are transcendentally thrilled to see this and also the chanting of Sri Chaitanya and Nityananda in the courtyard of Srivasa Pandita. Later, Lord Chaitanya encourages His associates to preach His message everywhere. He orders Lord Nityananda and Haridasa Thakura to go door to door and request everyone to chant the holy names of Krishna.
Haridasa Thakura and Nityananda who are preaching together, encounter the fallen brahmana brothers, Jagai and Madhai. The two debauchees are drunk and attempt to assault the devotees, who manage to escape somehow. This news reaches Lord Chaitanya and He is enraged. But Lord Nityananda pacifies Him.
Soon Lord Nityananda is back preaching and encounters Jagai and Madhai again. In his drunken fury, Madhai attacks Nityananda with a pot and wounds Him. This time, the brothers cannot get away, as Lord Chaitanya Himself rushes there to punish them. He invokes the Sudarshana chakra, His divine weapon, to kill the two sinful brothers.
Pleading to show His mercy on the two, Lord Nityananda reminds Lord Chaitanya that He has appeared not to kill the sinners but to kill their demonic mentality. Lord Chaitanya spares their lives on the condition that they will not sin again. Seeing the deep compassion of the Supreme Lord, Yamaraja reacts in ecstasy. Other demigods also arrive to glorify Lord Chaitanya in a resounding kirtana.
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