Temple of Lalitā Devī and the Bhajana-kuṭīra of Lokanātha Gosvāmī

Today, on the eve of Lalitā Saptamī, we went with Śrīpāda Araṇya Mahārāja to visit Ucchgaon, the birthplace of Lalitā Devī, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī’s dearmost associate. The temple is situated on a small hill and on each of the walls around the shrine, there are descriptions of the Aṣṭa-sakhīs, their ages, place of birth, service etc. There are other pastime places around Ucchgaon such as Deha-kuṇḍa and Sakhī Giri Parvata, but we did not get time to visit them on this trip.

After offering respects to Śrī Lalitā, we went to Khaira (Khadiravana) and took darśana of the bhajana-kuṭīra of Śrīla Lokanātha Gosvāmī, the dear associate of Mahāprabhu. In this place, he found his Deity of Rādhā-Vinoda, and initiated Śrī Narottama Dāsa Ṭhākura.

In 1947, Śrīla Śrīdhara Mahārāja came here to fulfil the desire of Saravatī Ṭhākura and renovate the bhajana-kuṭīra with the help of his godbrother, Sakhī-carana Prabhu. After the construction was over, he composed three ślokas – one glorifying Lokanatha Gosvāmī, one glorifying Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, and one glorifying Sakhī-caraṇa for his service, and had them set in marble on the walls. Unfortunately, the bābājīs who previously lived at this bhajana-kuṭīra destroyed two of the marble plaques and only the verse about Lokanātha Gosvāmī remains. The śloka reads:

śrī-caitanya-mahāprabhor nija-jano bhūgarbhabhinnākṛtiḥ
śrīmad-rūpa-sanātana priya-suhṛj-jīvādi mānyo-mahān
gosvāmī pravaro narottama guru rādhā-vinodotsavo
vairāgyaika-nidhiḥ sadā vijayate śrī-lokanātha prabhuḥ

“May there always be victory unto Śrī Lokanātha Prabhu, who is an exclusive ocean of renunciation, the foremost Gosvāmī, the guru of Śrī Narottama, who celebrates the pastimes of Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Vinoda. He is the dear friend of Śrī Rūpa and Sanātana, he is honoured by the Śrī Jīva and others, he is non-different from Bhūgarbha Gosvāmī, and is the intimate associate of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.”

Fortunately, today the bhajana-kuṭīra is being taken care of by Śrīpāda Rāma-Hari Prabhu, a disciple of Śrīla Bhakti Pramoda Purī Gosvāmī.