Śrī Gauḍīya

Calendar
538–539 Śrī Gaurābda

(2024–2025)

1
 ei-bāra karuṇā kara vaiṣṇava gosāñi
patita-pāvana tomā bine keha nāi
‘O Vaiṣṇav Gosāñi! Please be merciful to me this time.
Nobody in this world is as merciful as you are.’
kāhāra nikaṭe gele pāpa dūre yāya
emana doyāla prabhu kebā kothā pāya
‘Where can I find such a merciful master by coming to
whom all sins can be removed?’
gaṅgāra paraśa haile paśchāte pāvana
darśane pavitra kara ei tomāra guṇa
‘Gaṅgā purifies by her touch, but your quality is such
that one can be purified just by seeing you.’
haristhāne aparādhe tāre harināma
tomāsthāne aparādhe nāhika eḍāna
‘The Holy Name saves those who commit an offence at
the holy feet of the Supreme Lord, but it is impossible to
get away with an offence committed at your holy feet.’
tomāra hṛdaye sadā govinda-viśrāma
govinda kahana mama vaiṣṇava parāna
‘Your heart is the resting place of Lord Govinda, who
Himself says, “Vaiṣṇavs are My heart and soul.”’
prati janme kari āśā charaṇera dhuli
narottame kara dayā āpanāra bali
‘In every birth, I aspire for the dust of your holy feet.
Please merficully consider Narottam your own.’

2
 All glory to Śrī Śrī Guru Gaurāṅga

Śrī Gauḍīya Calendar

538–539 Śrī Gaurābda (2024–2025)

Prepared and published from

Śrī Chaitanya Sāraswat Maṭh (International) by
Oṁ Viṣṇupād Śrīla Bhakti Tilak Nirīha Mahārāj,
the appointed current Successor-President-Āchārya of
Śrī Chaitanya Sāraswat Maṭh, a dearmost associate of
Oṁ Viṣṇupād Śrīla Bhakti Nirmal Āchārya Mahārāj,
the Sevāyeta-President-Āchārya, personally selected and
appointed by and a dearmost associate of
Oṁ Viṣṇupād Viśva-guru
Śrīla Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswāmī Mahārāj,
the Sevāyeta-President-Āchārya, personally selected and
appointed by and a dearmost associate of
Ananta-śrī-vibhūṣita Oṁ Viṣṇupād Paramahaṁsa-kila-chūḍāmaṇi
Śrīla Bhakti Rakṣak Śrīdhar Dev-Goswāmī Mahārāj,
the Founder-President-Āchārya of Śrī Chaitanya Sāraswat Maṭh
in Nabadwīp, a dearmost associate of
Bhagavān Śrī Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Saraswatī Goswāmī Prabhupād,
the protector and luminous āchārya of Śrī Brahma-Mādhva-
Gauḍīya Sampradāya, the receiver of immense affection of
Oṁ Viṣṇupād Paramahaṁsa
Śrīla Bhaktivinod Ṭhākur Mahāśaya,
the reviver and holder of the current of pure devotion
in the present age.

3
4
 All glory to Śrī Śrī Guru Gaurāṅga

Śrī Gauḍīya Calendar

(Calculated for Śrī Chaitanya Sāraswat Maṭh, Nabadwīp, India)

MARCH 2024
VIṢṆU
26 MARCH (TUE). Kṛṣṇa Pratipad. Śrī Gaura Pūrṇimā pāraṇ is at
5:39:46–9:41:36. Ānandotsav (joyous festival) of Śrī Jagannāth
Miśra. A grand festival and mahāprasād distribution at Śrī
Chaitanya Sāraswat Maṭh in Śrī Nabadwīp Dhām.

Śrī Śrī Guru Gaurāṅga Gāndharvā

Govinda-sundar jīu

1
30 MARCH (SAT). Kṛṣṇa Pañchamī.
Manifestation Anniversary of Śrī Śrī
Guru Gaurāṅga Rādhā Gopīnāth jīu
at Śrī Chaitanya Sāraswat Āśram in
Śrīpāṭ Hāpāniyā Dhām and Pañcham
Dol festival. Appearance (āvirbhāv) of
Tridaṇḍi-swāmī Śrīmad Bhakti Śaraṇ
Śānta Mahārāj.

APRIL 2024
Śrī Śrī Guru Gaurāṅga Rādhā
2 APRIL (TUE). Kṛṣṇa Aṣṭamī. Gopīnāth jīu, Hāpāniyā Dhām
Appearance of Śrīla Śrīvās Paṇḍit.

3 APRIL (WED). Kṛṣṇa Navamī. Disappearance (tirobhāv) of Tridaṇḍi-

swāmī Śrīmad Bhakti Vigraha Bhikṣu Mahārāj.

5 APRIL (FRI). Kṛṣṇa Ekādaśī. Fast on Pāpa Vimochanī Ekādaśī.

6 APRIL (SAT). Kṛṣṇa Dvādaśī. Ekādaśī pāraṇ is at 5:28:53–7:22:16.

Festival in honour of Śrīman Mahāprabhu’s auspicious arrival (vijay-
mahotsav) at Varāha Nagar. Disappearance of Śrīla Govinda Ghoṣh
Ṭhākur. Departure (niryāṇ) of Śrīpād Satyendrachandra Bhaṭṭāchārya
Mahodaya.

Śrīla Bhakti Hṛday Śrīla Bhakti Vilās

Śrī Rāmānuja Āchārya Bon Mahārāj Tīrtha Mahārāj

2
8 APRIL (MON). Amāvasyā.

13 APRIL (SAT). Gaura Pañchamī.

Appearance of Śrīpād Rāmānuja Āchārya.
Appearance of Tridaṇḍi-swāmī Śrīmad
Bhakti Hṛday Bon Mahārāj.

15 APRIL (MON). Gaura Saptamī. Appearance

of Tridaṇḍi-swāmī Śrīmad Bhakti Vilās Tīrtha
Mahārāj.
Śrī Sītā-Rāma, Lakṣmaṇ
and Hanumān
17 APRIL (WED). Gaura Navamī. Śrī Rāma
Navamī: Appearance of Lord Śrī Śrī
Ramachandra. Fast until noon.

19 APRIL (FRI). Gaura Ekādaśī. Fast on

Kāmadā Ekādaśī.

20 APRIL (SAT). Gaura Dvādaśī. Ekādaśī

pāraṇ is at 5:15:35–9:28:55. Festival
in honour of the disappearance of Oṁ
Viṣnupād Paramahaṁsa Parivrājakāchārya-
Oṁ Viṣṇupād Śrīla
varya Aṣṭottara-śata-śrī Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Bhakti Sundar Govinda
Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswāmī Mahārāj. Dev-Goswāmī Mahārāj

Lord Kṛṣṇa’s Damanakā-ropaṇa festival.

23 APRIL (TUE). Pūrṇimā. Vasanta Rāsa

of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Rāsa Yātrā of Śrī Śrī Balarām.
Appearance of Śrīla Vaṁśī-vadānanda
Ṭhākur and Śrīla Śyāmānanda Prabhu.

MADHUSŪDAN
29 APRIL (MON). Kṛṣṇa Pañchamī.
Disappearance of Śrīla Kṛṣṇadās Bābājī Śrīla Śyāmānanda Prabhu
Mahārāj.
3
30 APRIL (TUE). Kṛṣṇa Saptamī. Disappearance of Śrīla Abhirām
Ṭhākur.

May 2024
3 MAY (FRI). Kṛṣṇa Daśamī. Disappearance of Śrīla Vṛndāvan Dās
Ṭhākur.

Śrīla Kṛṣṇadās Bābājī

Mahārāj Śrīla Vṛndāvan Dās Ṭhākur

4 MAY (SAT). Kṛṣṇa Ekādaśī. Fast on Varuthinī Ekādaśī.

Disappearance of Śrīyukta Saurīndranāth Bhakti Vāridhi Prabhu.

5 MAY (SUN). Kṛṣṇa Dvādaśī. Ekādaśī pāraṇ is at 5:05:06–9:23:52.

6 MAY (MON). Gaura Trayodaśī.

Manifestation anniversary
of Śrī Śrī Guru Gaurāṅga
Rādhā Vṛndāvan-chandra jīu
at Śrī Chaitanya Sāraswat
Maṭh, Uluberia.

Śrī Śrī Guru Gaurāṅga Rādhā

Vṛndāvan-chandra jīu

4
7 MAY (TUE). Kṛṣṇa Chaturdaśī.
Festival in honour of the
disappearance of Oṁ Viṣṇupād
Parivrājakāchārya-varya Aṣṭottara-
śata-śrī Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Nirmal
Āchārya Mahārāj.

8 MAY (WED). Amāvasyā.

Appearance of Śrīla Gadādhar Oṁ Viṣṇupād Śrīla Bhakti Nirmal
Āchārya Mahārāj
Paṇḍit Goswāmī.

9 MAY (THU). Gaura Pratipad. Appearance of Tridaṇḍi-swāmī

Śrīmad Bhakti Āloka Paramahaṁsa Mahārāj.

10 MAY (FRI). Gaura Dvitīyā. Appearance of Tridaṇḍi-swāmī Śrīmad

Bhakti Vichār Jājāvar Mahārāj. Gaura Tṛtīyā (falls on the same day).
Akṣaya Tṛtīyā (an auspicious day to start some works). Beginning of
the 21-day Chandan Yātrā of Śrī Śrī Jagannāthdev.

12 MAY (SUN). Gaura Pañchamī. Appearance of Śrīpād

Śaṅkarāchārya. Disappearance of Tridaṇḍi-swāmī Śrīmad Bhakti
Vilās Gabhāstinemī Mahārāj.

Śrīla Bhakti Āloka Śrīla Bhakti Vichār Śrīpād

Paramahaṁsa Mahārāj Jājāvar Mahārāj Śaṅkarāchārya

5
15 MAY (WED). Gaura Saptamī. Jahnu Saptamī: Śrī Jāhnavī Pūjā
(worship of the Gaṅgā).

17 MAY (FRI). Gaura Navamī. Appearance of Śrī Jāhnavā Devī (Śrī

Nityānanda-śakti) and Śrī Sītā Devī (Śrī Rāma-śakti).

19 MAY (SUN). Gaura Ekādaśī. Fast on Mohinī Ekādaśī.

20 MAY (MON). Gaura Dvādaśī. Ekādaśī

pāraṇ is at 4:56:50–9:20:56.

22 MAY (WED). Gaura Chaturdaśī.

Śrī Nṛsiṁha Chaturdaśī: appearance
of Lord Śrī Nṛsiṁhadev. Full fast until
sunset; then no grains (anukalpa).
Śrī Vyāsa-pūjā festival in honour of the
divine appearance day of Oṁ Viṣnupād
Paramahaṁsa Parivrājakāchārya-
varya Aṣṭottara-śata-śrī Śrī Śrīmad
Oṁ Viṣṇupād Śrīla Bhakti
Bhakti Tilak Nirīha Mahārāj, the Tilak Nirīha Mahārāj
current successor President-Āchārya
of Śrī Chaitanya Sāraswat Maṭh.
Manifestation anniversary of Śrī
Śrī Guru Gaura Nityānanda Prabhu
and Śrī Prahlād Mahārāj and Śrī Śrī
Lakṣmī Nṛsiṁhadev at Śrī Chaitanya
Sāraswat Maṭh in Nṛsiṅgha Pallī.

23 MAY (THU). Pūrṇimā. Nṛsiṁha

Chaturdaśī-vrata pāraṇ is at
4:55:45–9:20:41. Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s Phul-dol
and Salila-vihāra. Buddha Pūrṇimā:
Śrī Śrī Lakṣmī Nṛsiṁhdev and Śrī
appearance of Lord Buddha. Prahlād Mahārāj (Nṛsiṁha Pallī)
6
Disappearance of Śrīla Parameśvarī Dās
Ṭhākur. Appearance of Śrīla Śrīnivās
Āchārya.

TRIVIKRAM
24 MAY (FRI). Kṛṣṇa Pratipad.
Disappearance of Tridaṇḍi-swāmī
Śrīmad Bhakti Sāraṅga Goswāmī
Mahārāj.

28 MAY (TUE). Kṛṣṇa Pañchamī.

Lord Buddha
Disappearance of Śrīla Rāmānanda
Rāy.

JUNE 2024
1 JUNE (SAT). Kṛṣṇa Navamī. Departure of Śrīpād Santoṣ Kṛṣṇa
Dās-Ādhikārī Prabhu.

2 JUNE (SUN). Kṛṣṇa Ekādaśī. No fast.

3 JUNE (MON). Kṛṣṇa Dvādaśī. Fast on Aparā Ekādaśī. Appearance

of Śrīla Vṛndāvan Dās Ṭhākur.

Śrīmad Bhakti Sāraṅga Śrīpād Santoṣ Kṛṣṇa Śrīla Vṛndāvan Dās

Goswāmī Mahārāj Dās-Ādhikārī Prabhu Ṭhākur

7
4 JUNE (TUE). Kṛṣṇa
Trayodaśī. Ekādaśī pāraṇ is at
4:54:40–9:21:20.

6 JUNE (THU). Amāvasyā.

7 JUNE (FRI). Gaura Pratipad.

Manifestation anniversary of Śrī
Śrī Guru Gaurāṅga Rādhā Madan-
Śrī Śrī Guru Gaurāṅga Rādhā
mohan jīu at Śrī Chaitanya Madan-mohan jīu
Sāraswata Kṛṣṇānuśīlana
Saṅgha, Dum Dum Park, Kolkata.

10 JUNE (MON). Gaura Chaturthī.

Disappearance of Tridaṇḍi-swāmī Śrīmad
Bhakti Gaurava Giri Mahārāj (Śrīpād
Paramānanda Vidyāratna Prabhu).

16 JUNE (SUN). Gaura Daśamī. Daśaharā, Śrī

Gaṅgā Pūjā. Appearance of Śrī Gaṅgā Mātā
Goswāminī. Disappearance of Śrīla Baladev
শ্রীপাদ পরমানন্দ বিদ্ারত্ন প্রভু
Vidyābhūṣaṇ Prabhu.

17 JUNE (MON). Gaura Ekādaśī. No fast.

18 JUNE (TUE). Gaura Dvādaśī. Fast on

Vyañjulī Mahādvādaśī.

19 JUNE (WED). Gaura Dvādaśī. Vyañjulī

Mahādvādaśī pāraṇ is at 4:54:26–5:51:09.

20 JUNE (THU). Gaura Trayodaśī. Daṇḍa

Mahotsav (‘Punishment Festival’) arranged
by Śrīla Raghunāth Dās Goswāmī at Śrīpāṭ
Pānihāṭi. Departure of Śrīpād Bhakti Vaibhav
Śrīla Baladev
Parivrājak Mahārāj. Vidyābhūṣaṇ Prabhu

8
22 JUNE (SAT). Pūrṇimā. Snān Yātrā of Śrī Śrī Jagannāthdev.
Disappearance of Śrīla Mukunda Datta and Śrīla Śrīdhar Paṇḍit.

VĀMAN
23 JUNE (SUN). Kṛṣṇa Pratipad. Disappearance of Śrīla Śyāmānanda
Prabhu. Departure of Śrīpād ṣabhdev Dās-Ādhikārī Prabhu. Kṛṣṇa
Dvitīyā (falls on the same day). Departure of Śrī Gaurahari Bhakti-
Sampad Prabhu.

Śrīpād ṣabhdev
Śrīla Śyāmānanda Prabhu Dās-Ādhikārī Prabhu

26 JUNE (WED). Kṛṣṇa Pañchamī. Appearance of Śrīla Vakreśvar

Paṇḍit.

JULY 2024
2 JULY (TUE). Kṛṣṇa Ekādaśī. Fast on
Yoginī Ekādaśī. Departure of Śrīyuktā
Ramā Devī.

3 JULY (WED). Kṛṣṇa Dvādaśī. Ekādaśī

pāraṇ is at 4:58:42–7:01:55.

Śrīyuktā Ramā Devī

9
5 JULY (FRI). Amāvasyā. Disappearance
of Śrīla Gadādhar Paṇḍit Goswāmī and
Śrīla Sach-chid-ānanda Bhaktivinod
Ṭhākur.

6 JULY (SAT). Gaura Pratipad. Śrī

Guṇḍichā Mārjan (cleaning Śrī Guṇḍichā
Temple at Śrī Purī Dhām and cleaning
all temples).

7 JULY (SUN). Gaura Dvitīyā. Ratha Yātrā

Śrīla Bhaktivinod Ṭhākur
of Śrī Jagannāthdev. Disappearance of
Śrīla Svarūp Dāmodar Goswāmī Prabhu.

Lord Jagannāthdev’s Ratha Yātrā, Śrī Purī Dhām

11 JULY (THU). Gaura Pañchamī. Herā-Pañchamī, Śrī Śrī Lakṣmī Vijay

(observed in Śrī Purī Dhām the next day).

14 JULY (SUN). Gaura Aṣṭamī. Disappearance of Śrīpād Ajita Kṛṣṇa

Brahmachārī.

10
16 JULY (TUE). Gaura Daśamī.
Disappearance of Tridaṇḍi-swāmī Śrīmad
Bhakti Kamal Madhusūdan Mahārāj.
Departure of Śrīyuktā Kṛṣṇamayī Devī.
Punar Yātrā of Śrī Śrī Jagannāthdev (return
journey of the Chariots).

17 JULY (WED). Gaura Ekādaśī. Fast on

Śayan Ekādaśī. Śrī Hari retires to take rest
(śayan).
Śrīla Bhakti Kamal
Madhusūdan Mahārāj
18 JULY (THU). Gaura Dvādaśī. Ekādaśī
pāraṇ is at 5:04:06–9:29:48.
21 JULY (SUN). Pūrṇimā. Śrī Guru
Pūrṇimā. Appearance of Śrīla Vyāsadev.
Disappearance of Śrīla Sanātan Goswāmī
Prabhu. Beginning of Chāturmāsya Vrata.

ŚRĪDHAR
23 JULY (TUE). Kṛṣṇa Dvitīyā. Disappearance
of Tridaṇḍi-swāmī Śrīmad Bhakti Hṛday Bon
Śrīla Vyāsadev
Mahārāj.

Śrīla Bhakti Śrīla Gopāl Bhaṭṭa Śrīla Lokanāth Goswāmī

Hṛday Bon Mahārāj Goswāmī Prabhu Prabhu’s samādhi mandir

11
26 JULY (FRI). Kṛṣṇa Pañchamī. Disappearance of Śrīla Gopāl Bhaṭṭa
Goswāmī Prabhu.

28 JULY (SUN). Kṛṣṇa Aṣṭamī. Disappearance of Śrīla Lokanāth

Goswāmī Prabhu.

31 JULY (WED). Kṛṣṇa Ekādaśī. Fast on Kāmikā Ekādaśī.

AUGUST 2024
1 AUGUST (THU). Kṛṣṇa Dvādaśī. Ekādaśī
pāraṇ is at 5:09:44–9:31:46.

4 AUGUST (SUN). Amāvasyā. Festival

in honour of the disappearance
of Oṁ Viṣṇupād Paramahaṁsa
Parivrājakāchārya-varya Aṣṭottara-śata-
śrī Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Rakṣak Śrīdhar
Dev-Goswāmī Mahārāj.

8 AUGUST (THU). Gaura Chaturthī. Oṁ Viṣṇupād

Śrīla Bhakti Raksak Śrīdhar
Śrīla Vaṁśī Dās Bābājī Mahārāj’s Dev-Goswāmī Mahārāj
disappearance.

10 AUGUST (SAT). Gaura Ṣaṣṭhī.

Appearance of Oṁ Viṣṇupād Śrīla Bhakti
Vijay Trivikram Mahārāj.

11 AUGUST (SUN). Gaura Saptamī.

Departure of Śrīpād Anaṅga Mohan Dās-
Ādhikārī Prabhu.

13 AUGUST (TUE). Gaura Navamī.

Disappearance of Tridaṇḍi-swāmī Bhakti
Śrīla Vaṁśī Dās
Prasūn Bodhāyaṇ Mahārāj. Bābājī Mahārāj

12
16 AUGUST (FRI). Gaura Ekādaśī. Fast on
Pavitrāropaṇī Ekādaśī. Beginning of Śrī Śrī
Rādhā-Govinda’s Jhulan Yātrā. Beginning of
the month-long Śrī Hari Smaraṇ Festival at
Śrī Chaitanya Sāraswat Maṭh.

17 AUGUST (SAT). Gaura Dvādaśī. Ekādaśī

pāraṇ is at 5:15:51–5:17:56. Disappearance
of Śrīla Rūpa Goswāmī Prabhu and Śrīla
Gaurī Dās Paṇḍit Goswāmī. Śrī Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s Śrī Rūpa Goswāmī Prabhu
Pavitrāropana Festival (the day when the holy
thread is bestowed).

19 AUGUST (MON).
Pūrṇimā. End of
Śrī Śrī Rādhā-
Govinda’s Jhulan
Yātrā. Appearance
of Lord Śrī Baladev.
Fast until midday.
H ṢĪKEŚ Lord Śrī Baladev Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa

27 AUGUST (TUE).
Kṛṣṇa Aṣṭamī. Śrī Śrī Kṛṣṇa Janmāṣṭamī:
Appearance of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa (midnight).
Complete fast until midnight, then no grains
(only anukalpa).

28 AUGUST (WED). Kṛṣṇa Navamī.

Janmāṣṭamī-vrata pāraṇ is at 5:19:11–
9:31:37. Śrī Nandotsav. Appearance of
Viśva-vareṇya Tridaṇḍi-swāmī Śri Śrīmad
Śrīla A.C. Bhaktivedānta
Bhaktivedānta Swāmī Mahārāj Prabhupād. Swāmī Mahārāj Prabhupād

13
29 AUGUST (THU). Kṛṣṇa Ekādaśī. No fast.

30 AUGUST (FRI). Kṛṣṇa Dvādaśī. Fast on Pakṣavardhinī

Mahādvādaśī.

31 AUGUST (SAT). Kṛṣṇa Trayodaśī. Pakṣavardhinī Mahādvādaśī

pāraṇ is at 5:20:17–9:31:23.

SEPTEMBER 2024
2 SEPTEMBER (MON). Amāvasyā.

8 SEPTEMBER (SUN). Gaura Pañchamī. Appearance of Śrī Sītā Devī,

the consort of Śrī Advaita Prabhu.

10 SEPTEMBER (TUE). Gaura Saptamī. Śrī Lalitā Saptamī:

Appearance of Śrī Lalitā Devī.

11 SEPTEMBER (WED). Gaura Aṣṭamī. Śrī Rādhāṣṭamī: Appearance

of Śrīmatī Rādhāraṇī. Fast until noon.

Śrī Uchagaon, Lalitā Devī’s birthplace Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Govinda

14 SEPTEMBER (SAT). Gaura Ekādaśī. Fast on Pārśva Ekādaśī and

in honour of Lord Śrī Vāmandev’s appearance. Śrī Hari’s pārśva-
parivartan : the Lord turns on His other side.

14
15 SEPTEMBER (SUN). Gaura Dvādaśī.
Appearance of Lord Śrī Vāmanadev.
Ekādaśī pāraṇ is at 5:25:15–9:29:41 after the
worship of Lord Śrī Vāmanadev. Appearance
of Śrīla Jīva Goswāmī Prabhu.

16 SEPTEMBER (MON). Gaura Trayodaśī.

Appearance of Śrīla Sach-chid-ānanda
Bhaktivinod Ṭhākur.
Lord Śrī Vāmanadev
17 SEPTEMBER (TUE). Gaura Chaturdaśī. and Bali Mahārāj
Disappearance of Śrīla Haridās Ṭhākur.

Śrīla Jīva Śrīla Sachchidānanda Mahāprabhu and

Goswāmī Prabhu Bhaktivinod Ṭhākur Śrīla Haridās Ṭhākur

18 SEPTEMBER (WED). Pūrṇimā. Viśvarūp

Mahotsav. End of the month-long Śrī Hari
Smaraṇ Festival at Śrī Chaitanya Sāraswat
Maṭh.

PADMANĀBHA
19 SEPTEMBER (THU). Kṛṣṇa Dvitīyā.
Disappearance of Tridaṇḍi-swāmī Śrīmad
Bhakti Vilās Tīrtha Mahārāj. Śrīla Bhakti Vilās
Tīrtha Mahārāj
15
28 SEPTEMBER (SAT). Kṛṣṇa Ekādaśī.
Fast on Indirā Ekādaśī.

29 SEPTEMBER (SUN). Kṛṣṇa Dvādaśī.

Ekādaśī pāraṇ is at 5:29:47–9:27:57.

OCTOBER 2024
2 OCTOBER (WED). Amāvasyā.

3 OCTOBER (THU). Gaura Pratipad.

Grand festival in honour of the
appearance of Oṁ Viṣṇupād
Paramahaṁsa Parivrājakāchārya-varya Oṁ Viṣṇupād Śrīla Bhakti
Nirmal Āchārya Mahārāj
Aṣṭottara-śata-śrī Śrīla Bhakti Nirmal
Āchārya Mahārāj.

5 OCTOBER (SAT). Gaura Tṛtīyā. Departure

of Śrīyukta Rādhāraṇī Devī Chaudhurāṇī.

6 OCTOBER (SUN). Gaura Chaturthī.

Disappearance of Tridaṇḍi-swāmī Śrīpād
Bhakti Dayita Dāmodar Mahārāj.
Śrīpād Bhakti Dayita
12 OCTOBER (SAT). Gaura Daśamī. Vijay Dāmodar Mahārāj
Utsav of Śrī Ramāchandra and appearance
of Śrī Madhvāchārya.

13 OCTOBER (SUN). Gaura Ekādaśī. No fast.

14 OCTOBER (MON). Gaura Dvādaśī. Fast for

Pāpāṅkuśā Ekādaśī. Disappearance of Śrīla
Raghunāth Dās Goswāmī, Śrīla Raghunāth
Bhaṭṭa Goswāmī and Śrīla Kṛṣṇadās Kavirāj
Goswāmī. Śrī Madhvāchārya

16
 Śrīla Raghunāth Dās Śrīla Kṛṣṇadās Kavirāj Śrīla Narottam
Goswāmī Goswāmī Ṭhākur

15 OCTOBER (TUE). Gaura Trayodaśī. Ekādaśī pāraṇ is at

5:36:17–9:27:05.

17 OCTOBER (THU). Pūrṇimā. Śāradīyā Rāsa-Yātrā of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa.

Disappearance of Śrīla Murārī Gupta. Beginning of ūrjja-vrata,
dāmodar-vrata, kārtik-vrata or niyom-sevā.

DĀMODAR
20 OCTOBER (SUN). Kṛṣṇa Tṛtīyā. Disappearance of Tridaṇḍi-swāmī
Śrīmad Bhakti Śrīrūpa Purī Mahārāj.

22 OCTOBER (TUE). Kṛṣṇa Pañchamī.

Disappearance of Śrīla Narottam Ṭhākur.

23 OCTOBER (WED). Kṛṣṇa Ṣaṣṭhī.

Disappearance of Śrīla Bhakti Vichār Jājāvar
Mahārāj.

25 OCTOBER (FRI). Kṛṣṇa Aṣṭamī. Bahulāṣṭamī.

Manifestation day of Śrī Rādhā Kuṇḍa. Sannyās
day of Śrīla Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-
Śrīla Bhakti Vichār
Goswāmī Mahārāj. Jājāvar Mahārāj

17
 Śrī Rādhā Kuṇḍa

26 OCTOBER (SAT). Kṛṣṇa Navamī.

The grand appearance day celebration of
Oṁ Viṣṇupād Paramahaṁsa Parivrājak-
āchārya-varya Aṣṭottara-śata-śrī Śrīla
Bhakti Rakṣak Śrīdhar Dev-Goswāmī
Mahārāj. Appearance of Śrīla Vīrachandra
Prabhu. Disappearance of Śrīpād Sakhī-
Charaṇ Dās Bābājī Mahārāj.

28 OCTOBER (MON). Kṛṣṇa Ekādaśī. Fast on

Śrī Ramā Ekādaśī. Oṁ Viṣṇupād
Śrīla Bhakti Raksak Śrīdhar
28 OCTOBER (TUE). Kṛṣṇa Dvādaśī. Ekādaśī Dev-Goswāmī Mahārāj
pāraṇ is at 5:43:16–9:28:02. Festival in
honour of Śrī Gaurāṅga Mahāprabhu’s
auspicious arrival at Śrīpāṭ Pāṇihāṭi.

31 OCTOBER (THU). Kṛṣṇa Chaturdaśī.

Offering and placing of lamps (or candles)
on the temples of the Lord.

NOVEMBER 2024
1 NOVEMBER (FRI). Amāvasyā. Dīpāvalī.
Offering and placing of lamps (or candles) Śrīpād Sakhī Charaṇ Dās
Bābājī Mahārāj
on the temples of the Lord.

18
 Śrī Annakūṭ Mahotsav, Govardhan Śrīla Śrīdhar Swāmī Sevā Āśram, Govardhan

2 NOVEMBER (SAT). Gaura Pratipad. Śrī Śrī Govardhan Pūjā (in

the morning). Grand Annakūṭ Mahotsav (‘Rice Mountain Festival’)
at Śrīla Śrīdhar Swāmī Sevā Āśram
(Govardhan) and Śrī Gupta-Govardhan
Temple (Nabadwīp). Go-Pūjā (worship
of cows) and Go-Krīḍā (pleasing cows).
Worship of Śrī Bali Daityarāj.

3 NOVEMBER (SUN). Gaura Dvitīyā.

Disappearance of Śrīla Vāsu Ghoṣh
Śrīla A.C. Bhaktivedānta Swāmī
Ṭhākur. Disappearance of Tridaṇḍi-
Mahārāj Prabhupād
swāmī Śrīmad Bhakti Sarvasva Giri
Mahārāj. Bhrātṛ-dvitīyā kṛtyam (the day when
brothers and sisters honour each other).

5 NOVEMBER (TUE). Gaura Chaturthī.

Disappearance of Viśva-vareṇya Tridaṇḍi-
swāmī Śrīmad Bhaktivedānta Swāmī
Mahārāj Prabhupād.

6 NOVEMBER (WED). Gaura Pañchamī.

Disappearance of Tridaṇḍi-swāmī Śrīmad Śrīla Bhakti Āloka
Bhakti Āloka Paramahaṁsa Mahārāj. Paramahaṁsa Mahārāj

19
9 NOVEMBER (SAT). Gaura Aṣṭamī.
Śrī Gopāṣṭamī, Śrī Goṣṭhāṣṭamī. Disappearance
of Śrī Gadādhar Dās Goswāmī, Śrīla Dhanañjay
Paṇḍit and Śrīla Śrīnivās Āchārya Prabhu.

12 NOVEMBER (TUE). Gaura Ekādaśī.

Fast on Śrī Utthān Ekādaśī. Disappearance
of Oṁ Viṣṇupād Paramahaṁsa Śrīla Gaura
Kiśor Dās Bābājī Mahārāj. Appearance of
Tridaṇḍi-swāmī Śrīmad Bhakti Dayita Mādhav Śrīla Śrīnivās Āchārya
Mahārāj. Śrī Bhīṣma Pañchaka. Awakening Prabhu

(utthāna) of Lord Śrī Hari.

Śrīla Gaura Kiśor Śrīmad Bhakti Dayita

Dās Bābājī Mahārāj Mādhav Mahārāj

13 NOVEMBER (WED). Gaura Dvādaśī. Ekādaśī pāraṇ is at

5:52:03–9:32:19.

14 NOVEMBER (THU). Gaura Chaturdaśī. Disappearance of Śrīla

Bhūgarbha Goswāmī and Śrīla Kāśīśvar Paṇḍit. Departure of Śrīmad
Bhakti Pramod Purī Mahārāj.

15 NOVEMBER (FRI). Pūrṇimā. Rāsa Yātrā of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Disappearance

of Śrīla Sundarānanda Ṭhākur. Appearance of Śrīla Nimbārka

20
Āchārya. Manifestation
anniversary of Śrī Śrī Guru
Gaurāṅga Gāndharvā Rāsa-
Bihārī jīu at Śrī Chaitanya
Sāraswat Maṭh and Mission,
Śrī Vṛndāvan. End of
chāturmāsya, ūrjja-vrata,
dāmodar-vrata, kārtik-
vrata or niyom-sevā and
Bhīṣma-pañchaka. Śrī Śrī Guru Gaurāṅga Gāndharvā Rāsa-Bihārī jīu

KESHAVA
26 NOVEMBER (TUE). Kṛṣṇa Ekādaśī. Fast
on Utpannā Ekādaśī. Departure of Śrīyukta
Dhanañjaya Dās Prabhu.

27 NOVEMBER (WED). Kṛṣṇa Dvādaśī. Ekādaśī

pāraṇ is at 10:26:49–14:01:00. Disappearance
of Śrīla Narahari Sarkār Ṭhākur and Śrīla Kāliya
Śrī Nimbarka Āchārya
Kṛṣṇadās.

28 NOVEMBER (THU). Kṛṣṇa Trayodaśī.

Disappearance of Śrīla Sāraṅga Ṭhākur.

DECEMBER 2024
1 DECEMBER (SUN). Amāvasyā. Disappearance
of Śreṣṭhārya Śrīla Jagabandhu Bhakti
Rañjan.

7 DECEMBER (SAT). Gaura Ṣaṣṭhī. Śrī Śrī

Jagannāthdev’s Oḍan-Ṣaṣṭhī. Manifestation Śrī Jagabandhu
Prabhu
21
Anniversary of Śrī Śrī Nitāi
Chaitanya at Śrī Chaitanya
Sāraswat Maṭh, Śrī Purī Dhām.

8 DECEMBER (SUN). Gaura

Aṣṭamī. Disappearance
of Sūryakuṇḍa-bāsī Śrīla
Madhusūdan Dās Bābājī
Mahārāj.

9 DECEMBER (MON). Gaura

Navamī. Appearance of Śrī Śrī Nitāi-Chaitanya, Śrī Purī Dhām
Tridaṇḍi-swāmī Śrīmad Bhakti
Kamal Madhusūdan Mahārāj.

10 DECEMBER (TUE). Gaura Daśamī. Disappearance of Tridaṇḍi-

swāmī Śrīmad Bhakti Kusum Śramaṇ Mahārāj.

Śrīla Bhakti Kamal Śrīla Bhakti Kusum

Madhusūdan Mahārāj Śramaṇ Mahārāj

11 DECEMBER (WED). Gaura Ekādaśī. Fast on Mokṣadā Ekādaśī.

12 DECEMBER (THU). Gaura Dvādaśī. Ekādaśī pāraṇ is at

6:11:45–9:44:05.

15 DECEMBER (SUN). Pūrṇimā.

22
NĀRĀYAṆ
17 DECEMBER (TUE). Kṛṣṇa Dvitīyā. Grand festival in honour of the
appearance day of Oṁ Viṣṇupād Paramahaṁsa Parivrājakāchārya
Śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswāmī Mahārāj.
18 DECEMBER (WED). Kṛṣṇa Tṛtīyā. Festivals at Bāmunpārā and
Nādan Ghāṭ, the places of Oṁ Viṣṇupād Śrīla Bhakti Sundar Govinda
Dev-Goswāmī Mahārāj’s holy appearance and childhood pastimes.

Oṁ Viṣṇupād Śrīla
Bhakti Sundar Govinda
Dev-Goswāmī Mahārāj Śrīpāṭ Bāmunpārā

19 DECEMBER (THU). Kṛṣṇa Chaturthī.

Festival in honour of the disappearance
of Bhagavān Śrī Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta
Saraswatī Goswāmī Prabhupād.
26 DECEMBER (THU). Kṛṣṇa Ekādaśī.
Fast on Saphalā Ekādaśī. Disappearance
of Śrīla Devānanda Paṇḍit and Śrīmad
Bhakti Prakāś Araṇya Mahārāj.
27 DECEMBER (FRI). Kṛṣṇa Dvādaśī.
Ekādaśī pāraṇ is at 6:20:54–9:52:08.
Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Saraswatī
Disappearance of Śrīpād Bhakti Bhūdev Ṭhākur Prabhupād

Śrauti Mahārāj.
23
28 DECEMBER (SUN). Kṛṣṇa Trayodaśī. Disappearance of Śrīla Maheś
Paṇḍit and Śrīla Uddhāraṇ Datta Ṭhākur.

30 DECEMBER (MON). Amāvasyā.

31 DECEMBER (TUE). Gaura Pratipad. Appearance of Śrīla Lochan

Dās Ṭhākur.

JANUARY 2025
2 JANUARY (THU). Gaura Tṛtīyā.
Disappearance of Śrīla Jīva Goswāmī
Prabhu and Śrīla Jagadīś Paṇḍit.

10 JANUARY (FRI). Gaura Ekādaśī. Fast

on Putradā Ekādaśī. Appearance of Śrīla
Jagadīś Paṇḍit.

11 JANUARY (SAT). Gaura Dvādaśī.

Ekādaśī pāraṇ is at 6:24:10–7:42:48.

13 JANUARY (MON). Pūrṇimā. Śrīla Jīva Goswāmī Prabhu

Puṣyābhiṣek Yātrā of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Departure

of Śrīpād Bhakti Śaraṇ Vaiṣṇav Mahārāj.

MĀDHAV
14 JANUARY (TUE). Kṛṣṇa Pratipad.
Makar Saṅkrānti. Remembering Śrīman
Mahāprabhu’s pastime of leaving home.

15 JANUARY (WED). Kṛṣṇa Dvitīyā.

Śrīman Mahāprabhu takes sannyās.
A three-day remembrance fesitval
Śrīla Gopāl Bhaṭṭa Goswāmī
in honour of Śrīman Mahāprabhu’s Prabhu
sannyās-līlā.
24
16 JANUARY (THU). Kṛṣṇa Tṛtīyā. Appearance of Śrīla Gopāl Bhaṭṭa
Goswāmī Prabhu and disappearance of Śrīla Rāmachandra Kavirāj.

17 JANUARY (FRI). Kṛṣṇa Chaturthī. Disappearance of Śrīpād

Yādavendu Bhakti-Chandan.

20 JANUARY (MON). Kṛṣṇa Ṣaṣṭhī. Disappearance of Śrīla Jayadev

Goswāmī Prabhu.

22 JANUARY (WED). Kṛṣṇa Aṣṭamī. Disappearance of Śrīla Lochan

Dās Ṭhākur.

25 JANUARY (SAT). Kṛṣṇa Ekādaśī. Fast on Ṣaṭ-tilā Ekādaśī.

26 JANUARY (SUN). Kṛṣṇa Dvādaśī. Ekādaśī pāraṇ is at

6:23:37–10:00:39.

29 JANUARY (WED). Amāvasyā.

30 JANUARY (THU). Gaura Pratipad. Disappearance of Tridaṇḍi-

swāmī Śrīmad Bhakti Gaurava Vaikhānash Mahārāj and departure
of Śrī Haripada Chaudhurī Dās-Ādhikārī.

31 JANUARY (FRI). Gaura Dvitīyā. Disappearance of Tridaṇḍi-swāmī

Śrīmad Bhakti Śaraṇ Śānta Mahārāj.

Śrīmad Bhakti Śaraṇ Oṁ Viṣṇupād Śrīla Bhakti

Śrīla Jayadev Goswāmī Śānta Mahārāj Pāvan Janārdan Mahārāj

25
 FEBRUARY 2025
2 FEBRUARY (SUN). Gaura Chaturthī. Appearance of Oṁ Viṣṇupād
Śrīla Bhakti Pāvan Janārdan Mahārāj.

3 FEBRUARY (MON). Gaura Pañchamī.

Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s Vasanta Pañchamī. Appearance
of Śrī Śrī Viṣṇupriyā Devī. Appearance of
Śrīla Puṇḍarīk Vidyānidhi, Śrīla Raghunāth
Dās Goswāmī and Śrīla Raghunandan Ṭhākur.
Disappearance of
Śrīla Viśvanāth
Chakravartī Ṭhākur.
Disappearance of Deities of Śrī Śrī Gaura-
Tr i d a ṇ ḍ i - s w ā m ī Viṣṇupriyā (manifested
in Yogapīṭh, Śrī Dhām
Śrīmad Bhakti Vivek Māyāpur, in 1890)
Bhāratī Mahārāj and
Tridaṇḍi-swāmī Śrīmad Bhakti Svarūp Parvat
Mahārāj. Śrī Saraswatī Pūjā.
Śrīla Bhakti Svarūp
Parvat Mahārāj
4 FEBRUARY (TUE). Gaura Saptamī.
Appearance of
Śrī Mahāviṣṇu Avatār Śrī Advaita Āchārya.

5 FEBRUARY (WED). Gaura Aṣṭamī.

Disappearance of Tridaṇḍi-swāmī Śrīmad
Bhakti Prapanna Parivrājak Mahārāj and
departure of Śrīpād Vīrendra Kṛṣṇa Prabhu.

6 FEBRUARY (THU). Gaura Navamī.

Disappearance of Śrīpād Madhvāchārya.
7 FEBRUARY (FRI). Gaura Daśamī.
Śrī Advaita Āchārya Prabhu
Disappearance of Śrīla Rāmānuja Āchārya.

26
Śrīpād Madhvāchārya Śrīla Rāmānuja
Āchārya Lord Varāhadev

8 FEBRUARY (SAT). Gaura Ekādaśī. Fast on Bhaimī Ekādaśī and in

honour of Lord Śrī Varāhadev’s appearance (tomorrow).
9 FEBRUARY (SUN). Gaura Dvādaśī. Appearance of Lord Śrī
Varāhadev. Ekādaśī pāraṇ is at 6:17:41–9:59:51 after offering
worship to Lord Varāhadev.
10 FEBRUARY (MON). Gaura Trayodaśī. Appearance of Śrī Śrī
Nityānanda Prabhu. Fast until noon. Annual festival in honour of
the manifestation anniversary of Śrī Guru Śrī Gaura Śrī Nityānanda
at Śrī Chaitanya Sāraswat Maṭh in Śrī Ekachakra Dhām.

Śrī Chaitanya Sāraswat Maṭh in Śrī Ekachakra Dhām

27
 12 FEBRUARY (WED). Pūrṇimā. Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s
Madhurotsav. Appearance of Śrīla Narottam
Ṭhākur.

GOVINDA
15 FEBRUARY (SAT). Kṛṣṇa Tṛtīyā.
Disappearance of
Tridaṇḍi-swāmī Śrīpād
Bhakti Premik Siddhāntī
Śrīla Narottam Dās Ṭhākur
Mahārāj.

17 FEBRUARY (MON). Kṛṣṇa Pañchamī. Grand

Śrī Śrī Vyāsa-pūjā festival in honour of the
holy appearance day of Bhagavān Śrī Śrīla
Bhaktisiddhānta Saraswatī Goswāmī Ṭhākur.
Annual festival at Śrī Gupta-Govardhan Mandir Śrīpād Bhakti Premik
Siddhanti Mahārāj
(Śrī Govinda Kuṇḍa, Śrī Chaitanya Sāraswat
Maṭh, Nabadwīp). Disappearance of Śrīla Puruṣottam Ṭhākur.
18 FEBRUARY (TUE). Kṛṣṇa Ṣaṣṭhī. Appearance of Tridaṇḍi-swāmī
Śrīmad Bhakti Sāraṅga Goswāmī Mahārāj.

Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Śrīla Bhakti Sāraṅga

Saraswatī Ṭhākur Prabhupād Goswāmī Mahārāj

28
19 FEBRUARY (WED). Kṛṣṇa Saptamī.
Annual three-day festival in honour
of the manifestation of Śrī Śrī Gaura
Nityānanda and Śrī Śrī Gāndharvā
Govinda-sundar jīu at Śrī Chaitanya
Sāraswat Sevā-sadan in Śrī Gaṅgā Sāgar.

24 FEBRUARY (MON). Kṛṣṇa Ekādaśī.

Fast on Vijayā Ekādaśī. Passing away
of Śrīpād Kṛṣṇa Govinda Dās-Ādhikārī.
Śrī Vigraha in Śrī Gaṅgā Sāgar
25 FEBRUARY (TUE). Kṛṣṇa Dvādaśī.
Ekādaśī pāraṇ is at 6:07:06–9:55:38.

27 FEBRUARY (THU). Kṛṣṇa Chaturdaśī. Śrī Śrī

Śivarātri-vrata (optional fast). Departure of
Śrīmad Bhakti Nivās Bhāgavat Mahārāj and
Śrīpād Yudhāmanyu
Prabhu Sevā-Vikram.

28 FEBRUARY (FRI).
Amāvasyā. Śrī Śivarātri
Lord Śiva
pāraṇ for those who
fasted is at 6:04:31–
Śrīpād Yudhāmanyu 6:55:23. Manifestation
Prabhu Sevā Vikram
anniversary of Śrī
Sadā-Śiva Gaṅgādhar on the bank of Śrī
Govinda Kuṇḍa at Śrī Chaitanya Sāraswat
Maṭh in Nabadwīp; manifestation anniversary
of Śrī Śrī Guru Gaura Rādhā Madan-Mohan jīu
at Śrī Chaitanya Sāraswat Maṭh in Tārakeśwar;
and manifestation anniversary of Śrī Sadā-
Śrī Sadā-Śiva Gaṅgādhar
Śiva in Śrī Kādigāchhā. Gaura Pratipad (falls at Śrī Govinda Kuṇḍa
29
on the same day). Disappearance of Vaiṣṇav Sārvabhauma Śrīla
Jagannāth Dās Bābājī Mahārāj, Śrīla Rasikānanda Dev-Goswāmī and
Tridaṇḍi-swāmī Śrīmad Bhakti Dayita Mādhav Mahārāj.

Śrīla Jagannāth Dās

Śrī Śrī Guru Gaura Rādhā Madan-Mohan jīu, Śrī Tārakeśwar Dhām Bābājī Mahārāj

MARCH 2025
1 MARCH (SAT). Gaura Dvitīyā. Appearance of Oṁ Viṣṇupād Śrīla
Bhakti Kusum Āśram Mahārāj.

Śrīmad Bhakti Dayita Oṁ Viṣṇupād Śrīla Bhakti

Śrīla Rasikānanda Prabhu Mādhav Mahārāj Kusum Āśram Mahārāj

30
2 MARCH (SUN). Gaura Tṛtīyā.
Manifestation anniversary of Śrī
Śrī Guru Gaurāṅga Gāndharvā
Rādhā-Ramaṇ-sundar at Śri
Chaitanya Sāraswat Kṛṣṇānuśīlana
Saṅgha in Kaikhālī, Kolkata.
3 MARCH (MON). Gaura Chaturthī.
Appearance of Śrīla Puruṣottam
Śrī Śrī Guru Gaurāṅga Gāndharvā
Ṭhākur. Departure of Śrīpād Tulasī Rādhā-Ramaṇa-sundar (Kaikhālī)
Dās Dās-Adhikārī Prabhu.

4 MARCH (TUE). Gaura Pañchamī. Disappearance of Śrīyuktā

Taraṅginī Devī.

8 MARCH (SAT). Gaura Navamī.

Adhivās festival of Śrī Nabadwīp
Dhām Parikramā. Beginning of
the annual seven-day gathering
and festival.

9 MARCH (SUN). Gaura

Ekādaśī. Śrī Nabadwīp Dhām
Parikramā begins. Parikramā
of Śrī Antardwīp (darśan of
Śrī Chaitanya Maṭh, Śrī Nandan
Āchārya Bhavan, puṣpa-samādhi mandir of Śrīla A.C. Bhaktivedānta
Swāmī Mahārāj Prabhupād, Śrī Yogapīṭh, Śrīvās Aṅgan, Śrī Advaita
Bhavan, Śrī Gadādhar Paṇḍit Bhavan, Śrī Chaitanya Maṭh, Śrīla
Bhaktisiddhānta Saraswatī Ṭhākur Prabhupād’s samādhi mandir,
Śrīla Gaura Kiśor Dās Bābājī Mahārāj’s samādhi, Śrī Ch�d Kāzī’s
samādhi) and Śrī Sīmantadwīp (darśan of Śrī Jagannāth Mandir, Śrī
Śrīdhar Aṅgan).

31
 ‘In the company of loving devotees, I will behold all the places
my Gaurasundar roamed during His ecstatic pastimes.’

10 MARCH (MON). Gaura Ekādaśī. Fast on Āmalakī Ekādaśī.

Parikramā of Śrī Sīmantadwīp and Śrī Rudradwīp.

11 MARCH (TUE). Gaura Dvādaśī.

Ekādaśī pāraṇ is at 5:54:28–
9:29:39. Disappearance of Śrīpād
Mādhavendra Purīpād. Parikramā of
Śrī Koladwīp: darśan of Śrī Chaitanya
Sāraswat Maṭh, Śrī Vṛddha Śiva, Śrī
Prauḍdha Māyā, Śrī Viṣṇupriyā Devī’s
Deity of Śrī Gaurāṅga, the samādhi
mandir of Śrīla Jagannāth Dās Bābājī
Mahārāj.
Śrī Mādhavendra Purīpād
12 MARCH (WED). Gaura Trayodaśī.
Parikramā of Śrī Godrumdwīp and Śrī Madhyadwīp: darśan of Śrī
Surabhi Kuñja, Svānanda-sukhadā Kuñja, Śrī Suvarṇa Bihār Gauḍīya
Maṭh, Śrī Harihara Kṣetra, Haṁsa-vāhan and Śrī Nṛsiṁha Pallī.

32
13 MARCH (THU). Gaura Chaturdaśī. Ādhivās of the grand festival
of Śrī Gaura Pūrṇimā: the eve of Śrī Gaurāṅga’s appearance.
Parikramā of Śrī Koladwīp, Śrī tudwīp, Śrī Jahnudwīp and Śrī
Modadrumdwīp: darśan of Śrī Samudragaḍ, Śrī Śrī Gaura-Gadādhar
Mandir (Śrī Ch�pāhāṭi), Vidyānagar (Sārvabhauma Gauḍīya Maṭh,
Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭāchārya’s birthplace), the Deity served by Śrī
Sāraṅga Murārī and Śrī Vāsudev Datta Ṭhākur, Śrīla Vṛndāvan Dās
Ṭhākur’s appearance place.

14 MARCH (FRI). Pūrṇimā. Śrī Gaura Pūrṇimā: Divine appearance

of Śrī Gaurāṅga. Fast until moonrise, then no grains (anukalpa).
Vasanta-utsav and Dol Yātrā of Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Govinda. Special
offering of bhoga, worship and ārati at Śrī Chaitanya Sāraswat
Maṭh and all its branches worldwide, continuous reading of
Śrī Chaitanya-charitāmṛta and a great festival of saṅkīrtan.
Start of 539 Śrī Gaurābda.

Śrī Jagannāth Miśra, Śachī Mātā and Nimai, Yogapīṭh Śrī Yogapīṭh

33
VIṢṆU
15 MARCH (SAT). Kṛṣṇa Pratipad. Śrī Gaura-Pūrṇimā pāraṇ is
at 5:50:36–9:47:24. Ānandotsav (great, joyful festival) of Śrī
Jagannāth Miśra. A grand festival and mahāprasād distribution
at Śrī Chaitanya Sāraswat Maṭh in Śrī Nabadwīp Dhām.

19 MARCH (WED). Kṛṣṇa Pañchamī. Manifestation Anniversary

of Śrī Śrī Guru Gaurāṅga Rādhā Gopīnāth jīu at Śrī Chaitanya
Sāraswat Āśram in Śrīpāṭ Hāpāniyā Dhām and Pañcham Dol festival.
Appearance of Tridaṇḍi-swāmī Śrīmad Bhakti Śaraṇ Śānta Mahārāj.

34
 Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu’s Main Teachings

āmnāyaḥ prāha tattvaṁ harim iha paraṁ sarva-śaktiṁ rasabdhiṁ

tad-bhinnāṁśāṁś cha jīvān prakṛti-kavalitān tad-vimuktāṁś cha bhāvāt
bhedābheda-prakāśaṁ sakalam api hareḥ sādhanaṁ śuddha-bhaktiṁ
sādhyaṁ tat prītim-evety-upadiśati janān gaurachandra svayaṁ saḥ
(Śrīla Bhaktivinod Ṭhākur)
Śrīman Gaurachandra personally instructed all jīvas the following
ten postulates:
1) The revealed truth (that which comes through a bona fide
succession of gurus) is the main evidence through which the
following nine conclusions are imparted:
2) Lord Kṛṣṇa (Hari) is all in all;
3) He is the master of all potencies;
4) He is an ocean of all possible ecstatic nectar;
5) all jīvas are parts of Lord Hari’s potency;
6) created as marginal potencies, all conditioned jīvas are possessed
by the external, illusory environment;
7) marginal by their intrinsic nature, all liberated jīvas are free from
the influence of the external, illusory environment;
8) the entire creation – all animate and inanimate entities – is
simultaneously different and non-different from Lord Śrī Hari;
9) pure devotion is the only way for all jīva souls to attain Him;
10) the only goal of life for all jīvas is the pure love for Lord Kṛṣṇa.

Steps to Pure Devotion

(From Śrī Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu by Śrīla Rūpa Goswāmī Prabhu)

1) Śraddhā: faith in the purport of the scriptures, which comes from

listening to the scriptures in the association of saints;
2) sādhu-saṅga: again the association of saints; taking shelter at the
holy feet of Śrī Guru to learn the rules of spiritual practice;

35
3) bhajana-kriyā: practising śravaṇ, kīrtan and other processes
according to the guidance of Śrī Guru and saints;
4) anartha-nivṛti: all suferring (such as produced by sins, ignorance
or anything else that opposes the ultimate goal of human life)
gradually becomes destroyed;
5) niṣṭhā: constant, one-pointed devotional practice (when the heart
does not become distracted, or scattered);
6) ruchi: aspiration for conscious spiritual worship or the object of
worship;
7) āsakti: natural taste, or attraction, for spiritual life or the object
of worship;
8) bhāva: that which makes the heart perfectly level through
the spiritual taste of pure transcendental goodness situated on
the rays of the sun of transcendental love (prema) is called ‘bhāva’;
9) prema: when bhāva completely levels out one’s heart, turns into
a deep feeling of affection and attachment and assumes its own
intense, deep form, great learned scholars refer to this as ‘prema’.

Sixty-Four Limbs of Devotion (Bhaktyaṅga)

(From Śrīla Bhaktivinod Ṭhākur’s Amṛta-pravāha Bhāṣya
commentary to Śrī Chaitanya-charitāmṛta and Śrī Jaiva Dharma)

1) Taking shelter at the lotus feel of Sri Guru

2) Receiving initiation into the mantra
3) Serving Sri Guru
4) Learning pure religion and making honest enquiry
5) Following the path of the sādhus
6) Giving up personal enjoyment out of love for Kṛṣṇa
7) Residing in a holy place of Lord Kṛṣṇa
8) Accepting only whatever allows you to carry on your life, and only
as much as required

36
9) Fasting on ekādaśī
10) Honouring the dhātrī and aśvattha trees, cows, brāhmaṇs and
Vaiṣṇavs
11) Summarily giving up offences to service and the Holy Name
12) Rejecting the association of non-devotees
13) Not taking many disciples
14) Not trying to become skilled in many scriptures (i.e. giving up
haphazard reading or listening to parts of scriptures and attempts
to philosophise about their meaning)
15) Having the same attitude to loss and gain
16) Not being overcome by grief and other undesirable feelings
17) Not showing disrespect to other gods or scriptures
18) Not listening to the criticism of Lord Viṣṇu and Vaiṣṇavs
19) Not listening to ‘village talks’ (family news and talks of husbands
and wives that revolve around sense-pleasure)
20) Not troubling the minds of other living entities, not behaving
miserly and not feeling zealous when starting some material work
21) Hearing about the Lord
22) Chanting the Lord’s Name and glories
23) Remembering the Lord
24) Worshipping the Lord
25) Offering obeisances to the Lord
26) Serving the Lord
27) Serving the Lord in the mood of a servant
28) Serving the Lord in the mood of a friend
29) Self-submission to the Lord
30) Dancing in front of Deities
31) Singing in praise of the Lord
32) Speaking humbly
33) Offering prostrate obeisances

37
34) Standing up when seeing the Lord or His devotee enter
35) Walking behind to see off a devotee or the Lord when they travel
or go away
36) Coming to the holy place and homes of devotees and the Lord
37) Circumambulating holy places
38) Reciting verses in glorification of the Lord
39) Chanting the Holy Name on beads
40) Chanting congregationally
41) Honouring the smell of incense and flowers that have been
offered to the Lord
42) Serving to mahāprasād
43) Taking darśan of āratis and great fesitvals
44) Taking darśan of the Lord’s holy Deities
45) Offering the Lord that which is dear to yourself
46) Meditating
47) Serving Tulasī
48) Serving Vaiṣṇavs
49) Serving Mathurā and other holy places
50) Relishing Bhāgavatam
51) Dedicating all efforts to Kṛṣṇa
52) Hankering for the Lord’s mercy
53) Observing birthdays and other festivals together with devotees
54) Surrendering in all ways
55) Physically observing Kārtik and other vratas
56) Applying Vaiṣṇav symbols on your body (tilak marks on twelve
parts of the upper body and tulasī beads on the neck)
57) Applying the Names of the Lord and His devotees, such as the
‘Hare Kṛṣṇa’ mahā-mantra or the Pañcha-Tattva Names, on your
upper body (when applying sandalwood)
58) Maintaining purity (‘tvayopabhuktah srag-gandha…’)

38
59) Drinking charanāmṛta
60) Associating with saints (sādhu-saṅga)
61) Chanting the Holy Name (Nāma-kīrtan)
62) Listening to Bhāgavatam (bhāgavat-śravaṇ)
63) Residing in Mathurā (mathurā-vās)
64) Serving Deities with faith (sraddhā-pūrvaka śrī-mūrti-sevā).

Four Kinds of Anarthas (Unwanted Elements)

(From Śrīla Bhaktivinod Ṭhākur’s Śrī Bhajana-rahasya)

1) Misconception:
a) misunderstanding one’s own identity and nature;
b) misunderstanding the Lord;
c) misunderstanding the goal and the means to attain the goal;
d) misunderstanding what is unfavourable, or opposing.
2) Inauspicious, false hankering:
a) longing (desire or search) for worldly attainments;
b) inauspicious, unhealthy hankering for spiritual attainments;
c) desire for mystic powers and liberation.
3) Offences:
a) offences to the Holy Name;
b) offences to service;
c) offences to Vaiṣṇavs;
d) offences to the holy place;
e) offences to living entities.
4) Weakness of the heart:
a) negligence (indifference towards Kṛṣṇa);
b) hypocrisy (duplicity);
c) envy (feeling upset or envious seeing others’ opulence or
progress);
d) desire for name and fame.

39
 Five Diseases (Pañcha-Roga)
1) Ignorance: forgetfulness of one’s own transcendental form.
2) False identification: considering oneself to be the gross, material
body and loving attachment to other perishable bodies (men,
women, etc.).
3) Misdirected love: deep attachment to the material things that
are favourable to the body.
4) Aversion: aversion to the material things that are unfavourable
to material enjoyment.
5) Misdirected attention: being attached to, or engrossed in, that
which is favourable and when it is to be given up, being unable to
tolerate it.

Four Faults of Conditioned Souls

(From Śrī Chaitanya-charitāmṛta)

1) Misconception: false presumption about the non-existent

(mistaking a rope for a snake, or a pearl for a piece of silver);
2) Madness: negligence, carelessness; understanding, hearing or
saying something in a different way;
3) Deception: desire to lie and cheat;
4) Imperfection of senses: short-sightedness, far-sightedness,
distorted perception of colour due to jaundice and other diseases,
inability to hear things far, etc.

Ten Kinds of Offences to the Holy Name

1) Criticising sādhus;
2) considering gods independent of Lord Krishna;
3) disrespecting (disobeying) Sri Guru;
4) criticising revealed scriptures;

40
5) discussing the meaning of the Holy Name;
6) considering the Holy Name to be imaginary;
7) behaving in a sinful way relying on the purifying strength of the
Holy Name;
8) considering, delusionally, that chanting the Holy Name is equal
to other pious works;
9) giving the Holy Name to those who have no faith because of
material attachment;
10) even after having heard about the glories of the Holy Name,
being infatuated with the material life of ‘me’ and ‘mine’ and having
no love for the Holy Name.

Four Types of Sādhu-Ninda (Offences to Saints)

Offenders of Vaiṣṇavs are those who find faults in Vaiṣṇavs due
to their 1) caste (origin), 2) occasional slips (resulting from being
overpowered by material influence), 3) almost eradicated mistakes,
4) mistakes committed before surrender.

Thirty-Two Types of Sevā Aparādhas

(Offences to Service)
1) Entering the house of the Lord on a vehicle or wearing shoes
2) Not making festivals on the birthdays of the Lord and devotees
3) Not paying obeisance in front of the Deity
4) Glorifying the Lord in an impure state of mind and body
5) Paying obeisance with one hand
6) Strolling in front of the Deity
7) Stretching your legs out in front of the Deity
8) Slouching: sitting front of a Deity embracing your knees with
your arms

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9–17) Lying down, eating, telling lies, speaking loudly, speaking
privately to another person, crying, quarrelling, harassing and
treating another person partially in front of the Deity
18) Behaving with or speaking to common people in a cruel way
19) Covering yourself with a blanket when doing service
20–23) Criticising others, praising others, using harsh or foul words
towards others or behaving with others in a nasty way and passing
wind in front the Deity
24) Miserliness: having means but being stingy when arranging
festivals, worship and other services
25) Accepting unoffered things (eating unoffered food)
26) Not offering seasonal fruit, crops and other produce
27) Giving part of what you collect first to others and then using the
rest for cooking for the Lord
28) Sitting with your back to the Deity
29) Greeting others in front of the Deity
30) Keep silence in front of Gurudev: not offering him praise, etc.
31) Praising yourself in front of Śrī Gurudev
32) Criticising gods.

Ten Kinds of Dhām-Aparādh (Offences to Holy Places)

1) Disrespecting (disobeying) Śrī Guru and sādhu, the revealers of
Śrī Dhām
2) Considering Śrī Dhām temporary, non-eternal
3) Feeling envious or prejudiced towards the residents or pilgrims
of Śrī Dhām
4) Engaging in material activities in Śrī Dhām
5) Instead of serving Śrī Dhām, using the Deities in Śrī Dhām for
making business and earning money
6) Pursuant to material vision, trying to analyse and equal material
places or other places of demigods to Śrī Dhām

42
7) Behaving in a sinful way relying on the purifying potency of Śrī
Dhām
8) Discriminating between Śrī Nabadwīp and Śrī Vṛndāvan
9) Criticising scriptures containing the glories of Śrī Dhām
10) Having no faith in the glories of Śrī Dhām and considering them
imaginary

Five Places of Kali

(From Śrīmad Bhāgavatam)

1) Gambling (dyūta): cards, chess, dice, horse races, water games,

gambling, lottery, shatranj, board games, etc. Lying resides in these
activities. Engaging in these activities destroys truthfulness.
2) Intoxication (pān): bettle nut, snuff, marijuana, opium, alcoholic
drinks, hashish, poisonous plants (hemlock), thorn apple (datura),
arrack, etc. Drinks brewed from honey, sugar-cane, grapes, tāl, dates,
jackfruit, maireya (ram horn with jaggery), makshika (copper pyrite),
tanka (a drink from day-old cooked rice), liquorice, coconut and rice
are also considered intoxicants. Pride resides in them. Consuming
these things destroys compassion and mercy.
3) Illicit association (strī): connection with women out of wedlock
and attachment to one’s lawful wife (as well as the association with
the persons who are involved in such connections). Lust resides in
this. Doing this destroys purity.
4) Slaughter (sūnā): to kill others to nurture your own body. Jealousy
resides in killing other living entities, and it destroys truthfulness,
mercy, purity and austerity. Those who allow animal slaughter, who
cut the meat of dead animals, kill animals themselves, buy or sell
meat, cook, serve or eat it fall within the category of killers.
5) Gold (jāta): things such as gold and silver as well as money. Lying,
pride, lust for illicit mixing, jealousy and animosity are present in this
fifth unwanted element.
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 Unfavourable to Devotion
(From Śrīla Bhaktivinod Ṭhākur’s Pīyūṣa-varṣiṇī
Vṛtti commentary to Śrī Upadeśāmṛta)

1) Urge of speech (vākya-vega): using words that disturb any living

entities in the creation.
2) Urge of mind (mana-vega): various desires and hankering.
3) Urge of anger (krodha-vega): using harsh language.
4) Urge of tongue (jihvā-vega): craving for any of the six tastes
(sweet, sour, bitter, salty, astringent, pungent).
5) Urge of stomach (udara-vega): eating very much.
6) Urge of genitals (upastha-vega): craving for sexual intercourse.

Thorns in Devotion
(From Śrīla Bhaktivinod Ṭhākur’s Pīyūṣa-varṣiṇī
Vṛtti commentary to Śrī Upadeśāmṛta)

1) Overeating (atāhāra): eating or trying to accumulate much.

2) Over-endevouring (prayāsa): run behind material things or
striving to do what goes against devotion.
3) Idle talks (prajalpa): engaging in unnecessary common talks that
steal time.
4) Attachment to rules (niyamāgraha): eagerness to follow inferior
rules when superior rules can be followed and not doing that which
nurtures devotion.
5) Bad association (jana-saṅga): associating with anyone except
pure devotees.
6) Greed (laulya): being fickle-minded (unsteady in your conception,
wavering when coming in touch with various other conceptions) and
being attracted to trifle material things.

44
 Favourable to Devotion
(From Śrīla Bhaktivinod Ṭhākur’s Pīyūṣa-varṣiṇī
Vṛtti commentary to Śrī Upadeśāmṛta)

1) Enthusiasm (utsaha): earnest eagerness to attend devotional

events and practising with loving affection.
2) Determination (niśchaya): firm faith.
3) Patience (dhairya): seeing some delay in attaining the desired
end, not slacking in your practising activities.
4) Engaging in activities that nurture devotion (bhakti-poṣaka
karma): practising śravaṇ, kīrtan, etc. and abandoning for Lord Kṛṣṇa
personal pleasures and enjoyment.
5) Giving up association (saṅga-tyāga): leaving the association
of unscrupulous (unreligious) people, women in general and
henpecking women, those who mix with women, and non-devotees
(materialists, māyāvādīs, atheists and hypocritical believers).
6) Purity (sad-vṛtti): purity is the spiritual practices of saints and
the mood in which saints live their life.

45
 Jay Dhvani
Jay saparikrara Śrī Śrī Guru Gaurāṅga Gāndharvā Govinda-sundar
jīu kī jay.
Jay Oṁ Viṣṇupād Paramahaṁsa Parivrājakāchārya-varya Aṣṭottara-
śata-śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Tilak Nirīha Mahārāj kī jay.
Jay Oṁ Viṣṇupād Paramahaṁsa Parivrājakāchārya-varya Aṣṭottara-
śata-śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Nirmal Āchārya Mahārāj kī jay.
Jay Oṁ Viṣṇupād Paramahaṁsa Parivrājakāchārya-varya Aṣṭottara-
śata-śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswāmī Mahārāj kī jay.
Jay Oṁ Viṣṇupād Paramahaṁsa Parivrājakāchārya-varya Aṣṭottara-
śata-śrī Śrīmad Bhakti Rakṣak Śrīdhar Dev-Goswāmī Mahārāj kī jay.
Jay Oṁ Viṣṇupād Paramahaṁsa Parivrājakāchārya-varya Aṣṭottara-
śata-śrī Bhagavān Śrīmad Bhaktisiddhānta Saraswatī Goswāmī
Ṭhākur kī jay.
Jay Oṁ Viṣṇupād Śrīla Gaura Kiśor Dās Bābājī Mahārāj kī jay.
Jay Oṁ Viṣṇupād Śrīla Sach-chid-ānanda Bhaktivinod Ṭhākur kī jay.
Jay Oṁ Viṣṇupād Śrīla Jagannāth Dās Bābājī Mahārāj kī jay.
Śrīla Baladev Vidyābhūṣaṇ Prabhu kī jay.
Śrīla Viśvanāth Chakravartī Ṭhākur kī jay.
Śrī Narottam, Śyāmānanda, Śrīnivās Āchārya Prabhu kī jay.
Śrīla Vṛndāvan Dās Ṭhākur kī jay.
Śrīla Kṛṣṇa Dās Kavirāj Goswāmī kī jay.
Śrī Rūpa, Sanātan, Bhaṭṭa Raghunāth, Śrī Jīva, Gopāl Bhaṭṭa,
Dās Raghunāth – ṣaḍ-goswāmī – kī jay.
Śrī Rūpānuga Guru-varga kī jay.
Nāmāchārya Śrīla Haridās Ṭhākur kī jay.
Śrīla Svarūp Dāmodar, Śrīla Rāy Rāmānanda, Śrī Gaura-śakti-varga
kī jay.
46
Premse kaho Śrī Kṛṣṇa Chaitanya, Prabhu Nityānanda, Śrī Advaita,
Gadādhar, Śrīvās-ādi Gaura-bhakta-vṛnda kī jay.
Gaṅgā, Yamunā kī jay.
Grantha-rāj Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, Śrī Chaitanya-charitāmṛta kī jay.
Vṛndā Devī, Tulasī Devī, Śrī Bhakti Devī kī jay.
Śrī Śyāma Kuṇḍa, Rādhā Kuṇḍa, Śrī Giri-Govardhan kī jay.
Śrī Māyāpur Dhām, Śrī Nabadwīp Dhām, Śrī Vṛndāvan, Mathurā kī jay.
Śrī Puruṣottam Kṣetra kī jay.
Baladev, Subhadrā, Jagannāth jīu kī jay.
Ākar Maṭh-rāj Śrī Chaitanya Maṭh kī jay.
Māyapur Yogapīṭh kī jay.
Śrī Chaitanya Sāraswat Maṭh kī jay.
Tadīya śākhā maṭha-samūha kī jay.
Śrī maṭher sevak-vṛnda, bhakta-vṛnda kī jay.
Ananta-koṭī vaiṣṇav-vṛnda kī jay.
Śrī Gauḍīya-āchārya-vṛnda kī jay.
Tridaṇḍipād-gaṇ kī jay.
Sa-pārṣada Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu kī jay.
Sa-pārṣada Śrīman Mahāprabhu kī jay.
Bhakta-prabara Prahlād Mahārāj kī jay.
Śuddha bhaktir vighna vinaśakārī Bhagavān Śrī Nṛsiṁhadev kī jay.
Śrī Sadā-Śiva Gaṅgādhar, Girirāj Govardhan kī jay.
Samāgata Śrī Gaura-bhakta-vṛnda kī jay.
Viśvavyāpī bhakta-vṛnda kī jay.
Harināma-saṅkīrtana kī jay.
Nitāi Gaura premānande Hari bol.

47
 How to Observe Śrī Hari-Vāsar Tithi (Lord’s Days)

Question: When should one observe Śrī Hari-vāsar tithi?

Answer: Bhagavān Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Saraswatī Goswāmī Ṭhākur
wrote: ‘When ekādaśī is overlapped (viddhā) by the sunrise, it is
given up, and when it is not (aviddhā), then it is observed.’ Following
Śrī Hari-bhakti-vilāsa, one can find all pure fasting days of the year
in the Viśuddha-Sārasvata Gauḍīya Calendar.

Question: Why must we fast on Śrī Ekādaśī?

Answer: Śrīla Sanātan Goswāmī Prabhu, one of the six goswāmīs,
wrote about four standing reasons for fasting on ekādaśī:
tachcha kṛṣṇa-prīṇanatvād-vidhi-prāpta-tvatas-tatha
bhojanasya niṣedhāch-chākaraṇe pratyavāyataḥ
(Śrī Hari-bhakti-vilāsa, 12.4)
‘1) Out of love for Śrī Kṛṣṇa, 2) because this is a directive of the
scriptures, 3) because it is prohibited to eat (grains) on fasting days,
4) because not fasting is punishable.’ He wrote in his commentary
that although the rule of ‘not fasting is punishable’ is the main
unbreakable principle, for pure devotees the principle of ‘doing it
out of love for Śrī Kṛṣṇa’ is main. Therefore, he states this principle
first and also mentions:
tatra vratasya nityatvādavaśyaṁ tat samācharet
sarva-pāpāhaṁ sarvārthadaṁ śrī-kṛṣṇa-toṣaṇam
(Śrī Hari-bhakti-vilāsa, 12.3)
‘Fasting on the holy days of Śrī Hari destroys all sins, bestows all
desired results and pleases the Supreme Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa; therefore,
it must definitely be observed fully.’

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 ekādaśī-vrataṁ nāma sarva-kāma-phala-pradaṁ
kartavyaṁ sarvadā viprair-viṣṇu-prīṇana-kāraṇam
(Śrī Hari-bhakti-vilāsa, 12.7, quoted from Bṛhan-Nāradīya Pūraṇa)
‘It is brāhmaṇs’ duty to always observe Śrī Ekādaśī, which grants
all wishes, for the satisfaction of Lord Viṣṇu.’ When concomitant
four-fold attainments come (religion, prosperity, enjoyment or
liberation), exclusive, pure devotees consider them trifle and do not
become attached to them: they remain anxious to attain the fifth
foal of human life – prema.

Question: Why is it prohibited to take rice and other grains on

Śrī Ekādaśī?
Answer: It is written in the scriptures:
yāni kāni cha pāpāni brahma-hatyā-samāni cha
annamāśritya tiṣṭhanti samprāpte hari-vāsare
tāni pāpānya-vāpnoti bhuñjāno hari-vāsare
(Śrī Hari-bhakti-vilāsa, 12.19, quoted from Bṛhan-Nāradīya Pūraṇa)
‘On the holy days of the Lord (Śrī Hari-vāsar), all possible sins,
including murder of brāhmaṇs, take shelter in grains. Therefore,
those who eat grains on ekādaśī commit all these sins.’
so’ śnāti pārthivaṁ pāpaṁ yo’ śnoti madhubhirddine
(Śrī Hari-bhakti-vilāsa, 12.20, quoted from Bṛhan-Nāradīya Pūraṇa)
‘Those who eat grains on Śrī Hari-vāsar commit all sins that are
possible to commit in this world.’
mātṛhā pitṛhā cha iva bhrātṛhā guruhā tathā
ekādaśyāntu yo bhuṅkte viṣṇu-lokāchchyuto bhavet
(Śrī Hari-bhakti-vilāsa, 12.21, quoted from Bṛhan-Nāradīya Pūraṇa)
‘Those who eat grains on ekādaśī commit the sin of killing their
own mother, father, brother and guru. Such person can never reach

49
the holy abode of Lord Viṣṇu; neither can they become genuine
adherents of the Vaiṣṇav teachings and attain the association of
Vaiṣṇavs.’
Following this and other scriptural evidence, it is our duty to fast
on Śrī Ekādaśī.

Question: What does ‘fasting’ mean?

Answer: Fasting (upavās) means ‘sitting near’ (nikaṭe vās). It means
putting aside all material and household activities and sitting near
the Lord.
upāvṛttasya pāpebhyo yastu vāso guṇaiḥ saha
upvāsaḥ sa vijñeyaḥ sarva-bhoga-vivarjitaḥ
(Śrī Hari-bhakti-vilāsa, 13.35, quoted from Bṛhan-Nāradīya Pūraṇa)
‘Fasting (upa-vās: “a higher seat”) is when you become free from all
sins and stay with all auspicious qualities (sad-guṇa): all enjoyment
must be abandoned.’
vaiṣṇavo yadi bhuñjīta ekādaśyāṁ pramādataḥ
viṣṇvarchchanaṁ vṛthā tasya narakaṁ ghoramāpnuyāt
(Śrī Hari-bhakti-vilāsa, 12.32, quoted from Bṛhan-Nāradīya Pūraṇa)
‘If a Vaiṣṇav by mistake takes grains on ekādaśī, his worship of the
Lord becomes useless and he must enter a terrible hell.’

Question: How must one observe the holy days of the Lord?
Answer: On the holy days of the Lord, our main duty is to practise
the nine devotional practices (śravaṇ, kīrtan, and so on). For example,
Śrīman Mahāprabhu says (Śrī Śrī Prema-vivarta, 18.19, 18.21):
śrī-hari-vāsara-dine, kṛṣṇa-nāma-rasa-pāne,
tṛpta haya vaiṣṇava sujana
anya rasa nāhi laya, anya kathā nāhi kaya,
sarva-bhoga karaye varjana

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‘On the day of the Lord, pure devotees are satisfied by drinking
the nectar of Kṛṣṇa’s Name. They do not partake of any other tastes
or speak about anything else. They avoid all forms of enjoyment.’
śrī-nāma-bhajana āra ekādaśī vrata
eka-tattva nitya jāni’ hao tāhe rata
‘Knowing service to the Name and fasting on ekādaśī to be eternally
one, practise them both.’
On the holy days of the Lord, two kīrtans are sung: ‘Śrī Hari-
vāsare Hari kīrtana-vidhāna’ in the morning and ‘Śuddha bhakata-
charaṇa-renu bhajana-anukūla’ in the evening. On the holy days
of the Lord, it is necessary to both fast and to break your fasting
timely (observe pāraṇ). For instance, it is written in Śrī Śrī Prema-
vivarta (18.11):
prasāda bhojana nitya, śuddha vaiṣṇavera kṛtya,
aprasāda nā kare bhakṣaṇa
śuddhā ekādaśī yabe, nirāhāra thāke tabe,
pāraṇete prasāda bhojana
‘Taking prasād is an eternal, daily activity of pure Vaiṣṇavs. They do
not eat anything that is not prasād. But on the days of pure ekādaśī,
they fast and take prasād during the pāraṇ time the next day.’
It is necessary to take mahāprasād, etc. to break Śrī Ekādaśī
fasting during the pāraṇ time given in the calendar. As one should
stay engaged in service activities the whole day on the holy days of
the Lord, it is allowed to take anukalpa (Śrī Śrī Prema-vivarta, 18.11):
anukalpa-sthāna-mātra, niranna prasāda-pātra,
vaiṣṇavake jāniha niśchita
‘It is certainly known to Vaiṣṇavs that non-grain prasād is the only
food that can be taken (anukalpa) on ekādaśī.’
There is a provision for the following anukalpa (non-grain) food
on Śrī Ekādaśī days:

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 aṣṭaitāny-avrataghnāni āpo mūlaṁ phalaṁ payaḥ
havir-brāhmaṇa-kāmyā cha gurorv-vachanam-auṣadham
(Śrī Hari-bhakti-vilāsa, 12.40, quoted from Mahābhārata)
‘Water, fruit, roots, milk, ghee, if a brāhmaṇ wants you to take
something, if your guru tells you to take something, and taking
medicine – these eight do not break the fast.’ At Śrī Maṭh, devotees
take the following anukalpa:
Morning – full fast.
Noon – potato and pawpaw cooked with salt, black pepper, cumin
and ginger; fried chips; a variety of fruit (bananas, cucumbers, etc.);
nuts; pawpaw and potato or sago (tapioca) cooked with sugar and
milk [a preparation called ‘pāyes’].
Evening – cooked potato and pawpaw; fried chips; nuts; milk.
Only ghee, nut oil, sunflower seed oil can be used. No items
containing grains, such as ground spices, sago (tapioca) mixed with
flour, etc., are to be taken. Home-made ghee, curd and coconut
sweets can be taken. These five grains are never taken:
1) paddy and its produce: rice, flat rice, puffed rice, etc.
2) wheat: wheat flour, wholewheat flour, etc.
3) barley: barley flour, etc.
4) lentils (ḍāl): mung, masoor, chickpea, pea, pigeon pea, black ḍāl,
khesari (grass pea), etc.
5) mustard oil and sesame oil.

His Divine Grace Om Viṣṇupād

Śrīla Bhakti Sundar Govinda Dev-Goswāmī Mahārāj
on observing ekādaśī:
We will take no grains, and we will not take food many times
unless it is necessary for someone for health reasons. Maintain
your body and take some food, and if someone can do ekādaśī

52
without food, that is the best. What does ‘best’ mean? It is Kṛṣṇa
consciousness, so service to Kṛṣṇa must not be hampered – this is
first of all; after that, we can take some physical austerity to supply
more enjoyment to Kṛṣṇa. Ekādaśī is a special day when Kṛṣṇa’s
hankering for enjoyment increases, and devotees supply that
enjoyment to Him ignoring their own happiness. This is ekādaśī.
As for what is permissible:
aṣṭaitāny-avrataghnāni āpo mūlaṁ phalaṁ payaḥ
havir brāhmaṇa-kāmyā cha gurorv-vachanam-auṣadham
(Śrī Hari-bhakti-vilāsa, 12.40, quoted from Mahābhārata)
Āpo means water, mūlaṁ means what grows underground
(roots), phalaṁ means fruit, payah means milk and all dairy products,
havir is also a product of milk (ghee), and there are three other
things. ‘Brāhmaṇa kāmyā cha’ means if a brāhmaṇ is in a dangerous
position and wants you to take some food, through which he will
get relief, then you can take it. ‘Gurorv-vachanam’ means if your
Gurudev says, ‘Take this and go!’ then there is no question – you
must take it. And auṣādham, medicine: there are many ingredients
inside medicine, but it is permissible to take it because it is necessary
to maintain your health.
So, we can see that the point is there, and that point is to
maintain your health and serve Kṛṣṇa as must as possible. We can
also add that you can take what grows under the ground, some
potato, etc. As for carrots, I have seen in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa that
carrots are restricted, but we take it and do not feel anything bad.
In Uttar Pradesh, unlike Bengal, where people follow ekādaśī, you
can see they sell carrot halwa in the shops on ekādaśī day. There
you will get ekādaśī food on the streets, and they follow ekādaśī
properly, they do not give any imitation, and they take carrots. You
can also cook some tapioca with milk.

53
 I like very simple ekādaśī, but my fortune is very bad – when
I go somewhere and see that it will be ekādaśī, I become fearful
because every time ekādaśī disturbs me with food. They make so
many things, but I do not like it. Guru Mahārāj’s plan for ekādaśī
is one subji and tapioca, that is all, nothing else. Now our friends
have promoted peanuts, so they also make peanuts on ekādaśī. It is
agreeable food on ekādaśī, it can be taken. And also some fruit. Sago
(tapioca) is good for stomach. If someone’s stomach is not strong,
they can take tapioca boiled in water and milk, it is very simple. It
depends upon one’s health.
On ekādaśī, actually, you should not take too much of anything.
Give some rest to your stomach. Medical science also says that if
you can give a complete rest to your stomach on ekādaśī, it is good
for your health. So, everyone will choose for themselves what is
necessary for them and what is not.

His Divine Grace Om Viṣṇupād

Śrīla Bhakti Nirmal Āchārya Mahārāj about fasting on ekādaśī:

‘One time, a devotee wrote to Gurudev asking, “Gurudev, early

in the morning I have to go to work, and my work is very heavy
(I work for a ship company and have to work with a very big, heavy
hammer). How should I observe ekādaśī ?” Gurudev replied, “Early in
the morning, before you go to work, you can take five kg of potato.”’
‘Practising life is necessary, and actually Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta
Saraswatī Ṭhākur made it a little loose for us, as in the case of
ekādaśī for example. When people do ekādaśī, they fast the whole
day and do not even take water, but Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Saraswatī
Ṭhākur said that we could fast at least from morning to noon and
take some anukalpa at noon. This was told by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta

54
Saraswatī Ṭhākur, and our temple follows that. Sometimes, Gurudev
also said that if somebody was sick (for example, if somebody has
an acidity problem and cannot fast or has to take medicine, or
somebody has diabetes), then it was OK to take anukalpa in the
morning also. Otherwise, for as many years as you can tolerate it
with your health, you must follow full ekādaśī. I saw that Gurudev
himself practised in this way – he followed full ekādaśī. Anukalpa
prasādam is allowed, but not for everybody – those who are not sick
must follow proper fasting.’
‘You do not need to know the meaning of each ekādaśī tithi
because if you know it, you will want to get this result, that result.
Gurudev, the Lord and Mahāprabhu told us to fast on ekādaśī, so
we fast. It is not necessary to know anything about the result of
ekādaśī.’

His Divine Grace Om Viṣṇupād

Śrīla Bhakti Rakṣak Śrīdhar Dev-Goswāmī Mahārāj about
fasting on ekādaśī and accepting material facilities:

One time, a devotee came here from Vṛndāvan on the day of

ekādaśī. He reached in the evening and, after taking bath in the
Ganges, attended kīrtans, danced, circumambulated the temple and
so on. Then, I asked him whether he would take any anukalpa. He
replied, ‘Generally, I do not take anything, but if you like, then, of
course, I must take anukalpa. Your will is greater than my fasting.’
That was his decision.
My Guru Mahārāj (Śrīla Prabhupād Bhaktisiddhānta Saraswatī
Ṭhākur) always wanted maximum energy: you should take good food
and do good service. That was his maxim. Kṛṣṇa is not a liquidated
party: take full prasādam and do full service. Do maximum service,

55
and you should take whatever is necessary for that. You are to take
it for the cause of Kṛṣṇa, not for your own cause. You are Kṛṣṇa’s, so
if you grow weak, His service will be hampered, and both you and
Kṛṣṇa will be losers thereby. ‘My soldiers will be well-fed and well-
working.’ That was our Guru Mahārāj’s principle. Napoleon said, ‘One
full-fed soldier is equal to ten half-fed soldiers.’
So, prasād-sevā: if it is service, then it must be taken in a
serving mood, of course. But, at the same time, the individual
position of a devotee should be taken into consideration. Sahajiyās
do not fast on ekādaśī at all: ‘Oh, we are in Vṛndāvan, and there
is no fasting in Vṛndāvan.’ But Śrīla Bhaktivinod Ṭhākur, Śrīla
Prabhupād did not like that – it is sahajiyā (imitation) if you go on
feeding your senses in the name of Kṛṣṇa-bhakti (devotion to the
Lord). For the service to Kṛṣṇa, it is necessary to keep up the body
and to provide nourishment to it, so we must take what is necessary
for service. We do not like it if by fasting a loss of energy is effected.
If fasting does not hamper your service, you may go on fasting –
perhaps, your gurudev wanted that…
For service, I must accept what is necessary to make me
physically fit so that I can render more service. So, accepting material
things is not objectionable. It is fruitful, not detrimental. Rather, it
produces something of a pure character, which helps everyone. This
is how a disciple receives and accepts things. At that same time,
he may even blame himself, ‘I cannot go on with my worldly life
without the help of this or that!’ He will blame himself, but the
underlying spirit must be, ‘If I do not take it, I shall be unfit; I will not
be able to do my bit of service to the Lord, to my gurudev.’
Moreover, by taking up renunciation, I will be a loser. I will
incur a loss for myself, for the world, and my guru’s service will be
hampered. In this spirit, devotees are to take everything. For the

56
cause of Kṛṣṇa, for the cause of their guru, they will accept anything.
Suppose there is a very miserly karmachārī (manager). Because
he does not want to spend money, he may not attain a particular
result; then, some difficulty comes, and the opportunity is lost.
This manager will be held responsible by the proprietor: ‘Why did
you not spend money? Why are you afraid of spending money
from my store? Because of your miserly habit, the opportunity has
been lost! Why should you not spend My money for My interest?’
So, to render service to Kṛṣṇa, to my gurudev, to Vaiṣṇavs, to the
world, to everyone, I must keep up this mundane body, and I am
entitled to take something for that.
Miserliness is māyāvāda; it is the renunciation spirit, and it will
mar Kṛṣṇa’s interest. What we need is yukta-vairagya: I shall take
from the store of Kṛṣṇa to keep myself fit and to do service. It is
Kṛṣṇa’s account, and if I do not do that, I should be a separatist,
a māyāvādī, a renunciationist. I shall render maximum service to
Kṛṣṇa, and I must take without any hesitation whatever is necessary
to make myself fit for the service; otherwise, I shall be punishable.

57
 Śrī Chaitanya Sāraswat Maṭh (Indian Centres)
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58
 vaiṣṇavera guṇa-gāna, karile jīvera trāṇa,
śuniyāchhi sādhu-guru-mukhe
‘Singing the glories of Vaiṣṇavs rescues and protects the jīva soul. I heard
this from the mouth of sādhus and my Guru.’
bhakta-pāda-dhūli āra bhakta-pāda-jala
bhakta-bhukta-śeṣa tina sādhanera bala
‘The dust of the devotees’ feet, the water that has washed the devotees’
feet, and the remnants of devotees’ food – these three are the sole strength
of one’s spiritual life.’
guru, vaiṣṇav, bhagavān—
tinera smaraṇe haya vighna-vināśana
anāyāse haya nija vāñchhita-pūraṇa
‘Śrī Guru, Vaiṣṇav and the Lord – remembering these three destroys all
obstacles and easily fulfils all desires.’

ṭhākura vaiṣṇava pada, avanīra susampada,

śuna bhāi hañā eka mane
āśraya laiyā bhaje, tāre kṛṣṇa nāhi tyaje,
āra saba mare akāraṇe
‘The feet of worshippable Vaiṣṇavs are the greatest treasure in the world.
Brother! Listen to this very carefully. Kṛṣṇa never leaves those who have
taken shelter in Him. All others simply die in vain.’
vaiṣṇava charaṇa-jala, prema-bhakti dite bala,
āra keha nahe balavanta
vaiṣṇava charaṇa-reṇu, mastake bhūṣaṇa binu,
āra nāhi bhūṣaṇera anta
‘The water that has washed the holy feet of Vaiṣṇavs is capable of giving
devotion; nobody else possesses such power. Except for the dust from the
holy feet of Vaiṣṇavs adorning your head, there can be no other ornament.’
tīrtha-jala pavitra guṇe , likhiyāchhe purāṇe,
se saba bhaktira pravañchana
vaiṣṇavera pādodaka, sama nahe ei saba,
yāte haya vāñchhita pūraṇa
‘The scriptures describe the purifying qualities of the water from holy
places of pilgrimage, but devotees consider all this water to be deception.
No water from a holy place can be compared to the water that has washed
the holy feet of Vaiṣṇavs – this water fulfils all aspirations.’
vaiṣṇava saṅgete mana, ānandita anukṣaṇa,
sadā haya kṛṣṇa para-saṅga
dīna narottama kānde, hiyā dairya nāhi bāndhe,
mora daśā kena haila bhaṅga
‘My mind always rejoices in the association of Vaiṣṇavs – in their association,
I always feel transcendental association of Kṛṣṇa. Poor Narottam is crying,
“My heart no longer has patience – why have I fallen into this unfortunate
state?”’
59
 Holy guidance of His Divine Grace
Oṁ Viṣṇupād Śrīla B.N. Āchārya Mahārāj:

Even if you do not know anything about the

Vaiṣṇav mentioned in the calendar, you must
still give them ‘jay’ on this day. We must always
remember the disappearance and appearance
days of all Vaiṣṇavs. If we can remember these
personalities and great souls, it will bring great
benefit to our spiritual life.
Always check the calendar. When we see some
dates mentioned there, even if we do not know
anything about the Vaiṣṇav or event mentioned
there, we can at least give ‘jay’ to them – that
also brings some good sukṛti, some purification
to us. Seeing the calendar and taking devotees’
names early in the morning, from the beginning
of the day, is very good for all devotees.
Wake up, check the calendar and give ‘jay’ to
your guru and Vaiṣṇavs. Always pay obeisance
to your guru and Vaiṣṇavs when you wake up in
the morning, always give them ‘jay’. Always keep
faith and show respect to them, always check
whose appearance day or whose disappearance
day it is. Even if you cannot make a festival,
at least you can give ‘jay’ – it will bring you
benefit. We must always remember the words
of Vaiṣṇavs, then we will get some benefit, some
deposit through that.

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