“Shri Jagadish Pandit was the savior of the world. He was a thundercloud of Krishna prema who rained showers of mercy upon everyone. (CC Adi 11.30)
Shri Jagadish Pandit took birth in Gohati. His father’s name was Shri Kamalaksha Bhatta, and he was the son of Bhatta Narayana. Jagadish Pandit’s father and mother were both great devotees of Lord Vishnu. After they passed away, Jagadish Pandit, along with his wife, went to live near the Ganges. Jagadish Pandit’s wife was named Dukhini Devi. Jagadish Pandit’s younger brother, Mahesh Pandit also wanted to live near the Ganges, and so he accompanied them on their journey. They moved nearby the house of Shri Jagannatha Mishra, in Mayapura.
In Bhaktivinod Thakur’s Anubhashya commentary on Caitanya Caritamrita, (CC Adi 11.30) there is further information about Jagadish Pandit: “He lived in the village of Yashora Gram in the district of Nadia near the Chakadoha railway station. Shri Gaurasundara ordered Jagadish Pandit to preach the glories of the holy name of Krishna in Jagannatha Puri. On the order of Mahaprabhu, he went to Puri and there, taking permission from Lord Jagannatha, brought a Shri Murti of Jagannatha back to Yashora Grama, where the deity was installed. It is said that Jagadish Pandit carried him on a stick. At present the stick used to bear the Jagannatha deity by Jagadish Pandit is on display at the Jagannatha temple in Yashora Gram.”
Shri Gaurasundara and Shri Nityananda Prabhu used to visit Yashora Gram from time to time and hold sankirtan festivals. Shri Jagadish Pandit had a son named Ramabhadra Goswami. At the temple in Yashora Grama there are deities of Jagannatha Dev, Shri Radha-Vallabha, and Gaura Gopal. It is said that the Gaura Gopal deities were installed by Jagadish Pandit’s wife, Dukhini Devi. The Gaura Gopal deities are a yellow color. It is said that once, after holding a festival at the house of Jagadish Pandit for many days, Shri Gaurasundara was about to depart for Puri. Jagadish Pandit’s wife was overwhelmed with the pain of separation. At that time, Shri Gaurasundara gave her the Gaura Gopal murtis, saying, “I shall live eternally in your home in my deity form.” The Gaura Gopal murtis have been worshiped ever since that time.
According to the Gaura-Ganoddesh Dipika: “Some say that in Krishna-lila Jagadish Pandita and Hiranya were formerly the nagapatnis, wives of the serpent Kaliya. Others, however, are of the opinion that Jagadish Pandit was formerly a dancer named Chandrahas. They say that just as Chandrahas used to take pleasure in dancing before Lord Krishna, Jagadish Pandit used to enjoy dancing in the sankirtan party of Shri Chaitanya.”
Once, when Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was a little boy, he came to the house of Jagadish and Hiranya on Ekadashi and made them feed him grains. This is described in Chaitanya Bhagavata: “The Lord said, ‘If you want me to live, then take me to the house of the two brahmanas, Hiryana and Jagadish. They are devotees, and they have prepared a nice offering for the Lord. Although the devotees must fast on Ekadashi, Vishnu is not bound by such a restriction. He eats what He wants. If I eat the entire offering to Vishnu made by those devotees, I shall be able to live, otherwise not.”
One day, baby Nimai was crying without cessation. Everyone said, “Boy! What do you want? Whatever you want you shall get. The boy said, “Today is Ekadashi. At the house of Hiranya and Jagadish many wonderful offerings of bhoga have been made. If I can eat all these nice things, I will be happy.” Hearing the impossible demands of the child, Shri Sachimata struck her head with her hand in amazement. Everyone else was astonished to hear the child’s words, and then they all smiled. “How does a child know what is Ekadashi?” The ladies said, “Little boy! If you stop your tears, we shall see that you get what you want.” When Jagadish Pandit and Hiranya heard the sweet and charming words of the boy, they were completely satisfied, and let him eat the Lord’s offering to his heart’s content, even though it was Ekadashi, a day on which devotees fast from grains. Jagadish and Hiranya were great friends of Jagannatha Mishra. They had previously known that the Supreme Lord Hari had taken birth as the son of Jagannatha Mishra. Thus, they were more than happy to satisfy whatever demands Nimai had. They therefore jokingly told the boy, “Little boy! You have eaten what was meant for Krishna!” And as little Gaurasundara ate his rice to his heart’s content, Jagadish and Hiranya saw revealed before them the form of baby Krishna Himself. He had a complexion the color of a new monsoon cloud, his effulgence was brilliant as lightning, and his head was decorated with a beautiful peacock feather. In this way, Shri Gaurasundara manifest a wonderful miracle before Hiranya and Jagadish as he sat and ate his rice with great bliss. Upon seeing that wonderful form, Hiranya and Jagadish were filled with transcendental ecstasy and began chanting “Hari! Hari!”
It was probably after Mahaprabhu’s sannyasa that Hiranya and Jagadish left Mayapura and went to live in Yashora Gram. Every yearhe would accompany the devotees from Bengal who would to go to Puri to see Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu for the Rathayatra festival. He was also present at Nityananda Prabhu’s yogurt and chipped rice sankirtan festival in Panihati.
The thirteenth day after the full moon in the month of Pausha marks the passing of Shri Jagadish Pandit Prabhu.