Sri Narahari Sarakara Thakura Life History – Diary!
Sri Narahari Sarakara Thakura was a great Vaishnava Acharya during Sri caitanya’s period.
(1) Birthplace of Sri Narahari Sarakara: Sri Kanta, in Barddhaman district.
(2) Sri Narahari Dasa’s brothers: Sri Mukunda Dasa and Sri Madhava Dasa
(GAURA KISHORE DAS BABAJI – LIFE HISTORY IN DIARY FORM! READ HERE!)
(3) Sri Mukunda’s son was Sri Raghunandana Thakura.
(4) The importance of these brothers in Sri Caitanya Lilas:
CC Adi 10:78-79:: “The residents of Sri Khanda include Mukunda Dasa, Sri Raghunandana, Narahari Dasa, Chiranjiva and Sulochana. All of them together form a major branch of the Sri Caitanya tree. As such they were an abode of the Lord’s mercy. This branch produced the fruits and flowers of bhakti in profusion.”
(5) Sri Narahari Sarakara was connected with many of Mahaprabhu’s pastimes.
(6) Narahari Chakravarti Thakura writes about Sri Narahari Sarakara Thakura in Bhakti Ratnakara:
“Sri Narahari Thakura’s glories are wonderful. In Vrindavana he was Madhumati, and his excellences are boundless.”
(History of Krishnadas Kaviraj Goswami, Author of Sri Caitanya Caritamruta! READ HERE!)
(7) Sri Locana Dasa Thakura, a dear disciple of Narahari Sarakara Thakura. Writes in his Caitanya Mangala about his guru:
“Sri Narahari Dasa is my Lord. He has taught me transcendental knowledge, and I am under his influence in many other ways. His abundant Krishna-prema saturates his very being; its symptoms are clearly evident in his body. No one can understand the extent of his devotion and Krishna-prema. In his former existence in Vrindavana he was known as Madhumati, a dear gopi friend of Sri Radha who was a storehouse of sweetness. That very sakhi friend of Sri Radha appeared in the pastimes of Sri Gauranga during the age of Kali as Narahari. He was a stores house of Radha-Krishna prema.”
(8) Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura about Narahari Sarakara in his
Gaura-Aroti song:
narahari adi kori chamara dulaya,
sanjaya mukunda vasughosh adi gaya
Sri Narahari Sarakara Thakura was as great a singer as he was a poet. He
wrote many poems and songs in connection with the pastimes of Sri Gauranga and Sri Nityananda. He has written a Sanskrit book of songs called Sri Bhajanamrita. A book of songs called Padakalpataru, describing intense separation from Sri Gauranga has been attributed to Narahari Sarakara, as have some other books.
(SWAYAMBHUVA MANU – HISTORY AS A MAHAJANA – DIARY! READ HERE!)
(9) Almost all of the songs of Sri Narahari Sarakara have been included in Bhakti Ratnakara by Narahari Chakravarti Thakura.
(10) A confusion always occur:
It is sometimes difficult to tell which parts of “Bhakti Ratnakara” are the
songs of Narahari Sarakara and which parts have been written by Narahari Chakravarti Thakura, as both authors bear the same name and often end a song simply by saying “This song was sung by Narahari.”
(11) This has led to a degree of confusion about the specific authorship of certain parts of the work.
(12) However, both the Naraharis are great devotees and the book “Bhakti Ratnakara” is revered as an authorized Vaishnava scripture describing the lives of the great Vaishnava saints.
(13) Srila Locana Dasa Thakura writes:
“Before the birth of Sri Gauranga, many different ragas were written by Narahari which sang of Vraja-rasa.”
(14) Before he wrote songs of Gauranga, Narahari Sarakara composed many songs glorifying Krishna.
(15) Srila Narahari Sarakara Thakura passed away on the Krishna ekadashi (the eleventh day of the dark moon) in the month of Agrahayana.
(HISTORY OF KAPILA MUNI or LORD KAPILA, AS A MAHAJANA! READ HERE!)