Sri Niytananda Trayodasi Wednesday February 8th, 2017
Sri Nityananda Prabhu appeared in the village of Ekachakra, in West Bengal, India, around 1474. In the Caitanya Caritamrita and other scriptures He is declared to be the avatar of Lord Balarama, the direct expansion of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krishna.
As a child He was called Nitai and had a close circle of friends. Together they used to imitate the pastimes of Krishna and His associates. All the adults of Ekachakra were fascinated by this unique little boy, and they loved Him as their own. Seeing His total absorption in Krishna and the avatars of Vishnu, they suspected that He might be some sort of incarnation Himself. He was relentless, day after day enacting a different pastime, and did it so skillfully that His neighbors wondered, “How is it that He is so talented? How does He know the stories so well? No one has explained all these details to Him.” On one occasion, one of the boys dressed as Akrura and took Krishna and Balarama away from Vrindavana on the order of Kamsa. Nitai cried in grief, feeling the separation of the cowherd girls who loved Krishna with their whole being. Tears of love flowed from His eyes. His acting was so authentic that it made all who watched question whether He was merely acting or in some way experiencing the part He played. This was true whether He was playing Krishna, Balarama, or even Vamana and other Incarnations of the Lord. When questioned, Nitai would respond: “They are My own divine pastimes, and I am allowing you to see them.”
