Appearance Day of Srila Narottama Dasa Thakura

What is the appearance day of Srila Narottama Dasa Thakura?

On Maghi Purnima, in the village of Kheturi in the Rajshahi district of Bengal, Srila Narottama Dasa Thakura appeared. At Kurukshetra his appearance day falls on Sunday, 21 February 2027, the same day as Sri Krsna Madhura Utsava.

Significance

He was the son of Raja Krishnananda Datta, a landowner, yet he remained a brahmachari all his life and left his royal home for Vrindavan. There Srila Lokanatha Gosvami, who had vowed to take no disciples, accepted Narottama as his only disciple, and Srila Jiva Gosvami taught him the philosophy of the Gosvamis. When he returned to Bengal, Narottama arranged the Kheturi festival. Many Vaishnavas gathered there, and Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was seen in the kirtana.

Srila Prabhupada called Narottama an acarya. He often sang Narottama's bhajanas, among them songs from the Prarthana and the Prema-bhakti-candrika, and quoted them in his Bhagavatam lectures. The Bhakti-ratnakara speaks of Narottama's early days:

Narottama was born on the Maghi Purnima. From that day on he thrived and grew like the waxing moon.

Bhakti-ratnakara 1.281

How to observe it

Devotees spend this day singing his songs. A good place to begin is "Nitai-pada-kamala", which Srila Prabhupada explained in his lecture at Bhubaneswar. You can also read from the Prema-bhakti-candrika, or hear how Narottama secretly served Lokanatha Gosvami by cleaning the place the Gosvami used each night. Because the day shares its full moon with Madhura Utsava, the evening can include both celebrations.