Appearance Day of Srimati Jahnava Devi

What is the appearance day of Srimati Jahnava Devi?

In 2027 the appearance day of Srimati Jahnava Devi falls on Friday, 14 May, together with the appearance of Srimati Sita Devi and the disappearance of Sri Madhu Pandita. The younger daughter of Suryadasa Sarkhela of Shaligram, Jahnava Devi became the consort of Lord Nityananda Prabhu. Devotees call her the Nityananda-sakti, for she is His own energy.

Significance

A Gaudiya biography quotes the Gaura-ganoddesa-dipika, which says that Jahnava Devi and her elder sister Vasudha are expansions of Varuni and Revati, the eternal consorts of Lord Balarama. While she was serving food, Lord Nityananda saw that she was His complete energy. After Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Lord Nityananda and Advaita Acarya had disappeared, she carried on their mission and initiated many Vaishnavas. Among them was Sri Virabhadra, the son of Lord Nityananda and of her sister Vasudha, who became her disciple.

Narottama Dasa Thakura, Srinivasa Acarya and Syamananda Prabhu accepted her as the foremost Vaishnava of Bengal. At the Kheturi festival on Gaura-purnima she cooked a feast and served every devotee. In Kalyana-kalpataru, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura prays to her:

You are Nityananda-sakti, the divine energy of Lord Nityananda Himself. You are the guru of Krishna bhakti.

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura, Kalyana-kalpataru

How to observe it

Hear the story of Kheturi, where she fed every Vaishnava and took prasadam only after all of them had eaten. Read Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura's prayer, and ask for shelter at her lotus feet. Her Deity form, "Jahnava Radhika", stands on the left of Sri Gopinatha in Vrindavan.