Text 207
‘vācaspati-gṛhe’ prabhu yemate rahilā
loka-bhiḍa bhaye yaiche ‘kuliyā’ āilā
vācaspati-gṛhe — at the house of Vidyā-vācaspati; prabhu — the Lord; yemate — as; rahilā — stayed there for some time; loka-bhiḍa bhaye — due to fear of crowds of people; yaiche — just as; kuliyā āilā — He came to Kuliyā, the present city of Navadvīpa.
The Lord remained some time at the house of Vidyā-vācaspati, but then, because it was too crowded, He went to Kuliyā.
The house of Vidyā-vācaspati was located at Vidyānagara, which was near Koladvīpa, or Kuliyā. It was here that Devānanda Paṇḍita was residing. This information is found in the Caitanya-bhāgavata (Madhya-khaṇḍa, chapter twenty-one). In the Caitanya-candrodaya-nāṭaka, the following statement is given about Kuliyā. Tataḥ kumārahaṭṭe śrīvāsa-paṇḍita-vāṭyām abhyāyayau: “From there the Lord went to the house of Śrīvāsa Paṇḍita in Kumārahaṭṭa”; tato ’dvaita-vāṭīm abhyetya haridāsenābhivanditas tathaiva taraṇī-vartmanā navadvīpasya pāre kuliyā-nāma-grāme mādhava-dāsa-vāṭyām uttīrṇavān. evaṁ sapta-dināni tatra sthitvā punas taṭa-vartmanā eva calitavān: “From the house of Śrīvāsa Ācārya, the Lord went to the house of Advaita Ācārya, where He was offered obeisances by Haridāsa Ṭhākura. The Lord then took a boat to the other side of Navadvīpa, to a place called Kuliyā, where He stayed seven days at the house of Mādhava dāsa. He then proceeded along the banks of the Ganges.”
In the Śrī Caitanya-carita-mahā-kāvya, it is stated, anye-dyuḥ sa śrī-navadvīpa-bhūmeḥ pāre gaṅgāṁ paścime kvāpi deśe, śrīmān sarva-prāṇināṁ tat-tad-aṅgair netrānandaṁ samyag āgatya tene: “The Lord went to the western side of the Ganges at Navadvīpa, and everyone was pleased to see the Lord coming.”
In the Caitanya-bhāgavata (Antya-khaṇḍa, chapter three), it is stated, sarva-pāriṣada-saṅge śrī-gaurasundara/ ācambite āsi’ uttarilā tāṅra ghara: “The Lord suddenly came to Vidyānagara with a full party and stayed there in the house of Vidyā-vācaspati.” Navadvīpādi sarva-dike haila dhvani: “Thus throughout Navadvīpa, the Lord’s arrival was made known.” Vācaspati-ghare āilā nyāsi-cūḍāmaṇi: “Thus the chief of all the sannyāsīs, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, arrived at the house of Vidyā-vācaspati.” As further stated:
ananta arbuda loka bali’ ‘hari’ ‘hari’
calilena dekhibāre gaurāṅga śrī-hari
patha nāhi pāya keho lokera gahale
vanaḍāla bhāṅgi’ loka daśa-dike cale
lokera gahale yata araṇya āchila
kṣaṇeke sakala divya pathamaya haila
kṣaṇeke āila saba loka kheyā-ghāṭe
kheyārī karite pāra paḍila saṅkaṭe
satvare āsilā vācaspati mahāśaya
karilena aneka naukāra samuccaya
naukāra apekṣā āra keho nāhi kare
nānā mate pāra haya ye yemate pāre
hena-mate gaṅgā pāra ha-i’ sarva-jana
sabhei dharena vācaspatira caraṇa
lukāñā gelā prabhu kuliyā-nagara
kuliyāya āilena vaikuṇṭha-īśvara
sarva-loka ‘hari’ bali’ vācaspati-saṅge
sei-kṣaṇe sabhe calilena mahā-raṅge
kuliyā-nagare āilena nyāsi-maṇi
sei-kṣaṇe sarva-dike haila mahā-dhvani
sabe gaṅgā madhye nadīyāya-kuliyāya
śuni’ mātra sarva-loke mahānande dhāya
vācaspatira grāme (vidyānagare) chila yateka gahala
tāra koṭi koṭi-guṇe pūrila sakala
lakṣa lakṣa naukā vā āila kothā haite
nā jāni kateka pāra haya kata-mate
lakṣa lakṣa loka bhāse jāhnavīra jale
sabhe pāra hayena parama kutūhale
gaṅgāya hañā pāra āpanā-āpani
kolākoli kari’ sabhe kare hari-dhvani
kṣaṇeke kuliyā-grāma — nagara prāntara
paripūrṇa haila sthala, nāhi avasara
kṣaṇeke āilā mahāśaya vācaspati
teṅho nāhi pāyena prabhura kothā sthiti
kuliyāya prakāśe yateka pāpī chila
uttama, madhyama, nīca, — sabe pāra haila
kuliyā-grāmete āsi’ śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya
hena nāhi, yāre prabhu nā karilā dhanya
“When Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu stayed at Vidyā-vācaspati’s house, many hundreds of thousands of people went to see Him and chant the holy name of Hari. It was so crowded that people could not even find a place to walk; therefore they made room by clearing out the jungles near the village. Many roads were automatically excavated, and many people also came by boat to see the Lord. So many came that it was difficult for the boatmen to get them across the river. When Vidyā-vācaspati suddenly arrived, he made arrangements for many boats to receive these people, but the people would not wait for the boats. Somehow or other they crossed the river and hurried toward the house of Vidyā-vācaspati. Due to this great crowd, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu secretly went to Kuliyā-nagara. After the Lord left Vidyānagara, however, all the people heard news of His leaving. They then accompanied Vācaspati to Kuliyā-nagara. Since the news of the Lord’s arrival was immediately broadcast, large crowds arrived and greeted Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu with great jubilation. Indeed, when the crowd went to see Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, it increased ten thousand times in number. No one could say how many people crossed the river to see Him, but many hundreds of thousands made a great tumult when crossing the river Ganges. After crossing the river, everyone began to embrace one another because they heard the good news of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s arrival. Thus all the inhabitants of Kuliyā — the sinful, intermediate and spiritually advanced — were delivered and glorified by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.”
As stated in the Caitanya-bhāgavata (Antya-khaṇḍa, chapter six):
khānāyoḍā, baḍagāchi, āra dogāchiyā
gaṅgāra opāra kabhu yāyena ‘kuliyā’
“Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu passed through Khānāyoḍā, Baḍagāchi and Dogāchiyā and then crossed the Ganges before arriving in Kuliyā.”
As stated in the Caitanya-maṅgala:
gaṅgā-snāna kari prabhu rāḍha-deśa diyā
krame krame uttarilā nagara ‘kuliyā’
māyera vacane punaḥ gelā navadvīpa
vārakoṇā-ghāṭa, nija vāḍīra samīpa
“Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu walked through Rāḍha-deśa and gradually arrived at the Ganges. After bathing in the river, he crossed it and went to Kuliyā. Because He had promised His mother He would return to Navadvīpa, He went to Vārakoṇā-ghāṭa, a village near His house.”
In the commentary of Premadāsa it is said:
nadīyāra mājhakhāne, sakala lokete
jāne, ‘kuliyā-pāhāḍapura’ nāme sthāna
“Everyone knows that in the middle of Nadia is a village named Kuliyā-pāhāḍapura.”
Śrī Narahari Cakravartī, or Ghanaśyāma dāsa, has written in his Bhakti-ratnākara:
kuliyā pāhāḍapura dekha śrīnivāsa
pūrve ‘koladvīpa’-parvatākhya — e pracāra
“He said, ‘O Śrīnivāsa, just see the town of Kuliyā-pāhāḍapura, which was previously known as Koladvīpa.’ ”
In a book named Navadvīpa-dhāma-parikramā, also written by Ghanaśyāma dāsa, it is stated: kuliyā-pāhāḍapura grāma pūrve koladvīpa-parvatākhyānanda nāma. “The town of Kuliyā-pāhāḍapura was previously named Koladvīpa-parvatākhyānanda.”
Therefore one can conclude that the present-day city of Navadvīpa and the places known as Bāhiradvīpa, Kolera Gañja, Kola-āmāda, Kolera Daha, Gadakhāli, etc., were known as Kuliyā, but the so-called Kuliyāra Pāṭa is not the original Kuliyā.