Disappearance Day of Sri Dhananjaya Pandita

What is the Disappearance Day of Sri Dhananjaya Pandita?

The Disappearance Day of Sri Dhananjaya Pandita is the day devotees remember Dhananjaya Pandita, a dear servant of Sri Nityananda Prabhu. He left this world on the bright eighth day of Kartika, which in 2026 is Tuesday, 17 November.

Significance

Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura, as quoted by Srila Prabhupada, writes that Dhananjaya Pandita lived at Shitalagrama in the Burdwan district of Bengal and was one of the twelve gopalas. These twelve were the cowherd boyfriends of Lord Nityananda, who in Krishna's pastimes is Lord Balarama. His former name, according to the Gaura-ganoddesa-dipika, was Vasudama.

Srila Prabhupada translates the description in the Caitanya-caritamrta:

The sixteenth dear servant of Nityānanda Prabhu was Dhanañjaya Paṇḍita. He was very much renounced and always merged in love of Kṛṣṇa.

Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila 11.31

How to observe it

Devotees chant the holy names, hear about the associates of Lord Nityananda and remember Dhananjaya Pandita's renunciation. Gopastami is kept on this date too, as are the disappearance days of two other Vaishnavas, Sri Gadadhara Dasa Gosvami and Sri Srinivasa Acarya.