What is Panihati Cida Dahi Utsava?
Panihati Cida Dahi Utsava, the festival of chipped rice and yogurt, is held in memory of the feast Raghunatha dasa Gosvami gave at Panihati on the bank of the Ganges. The Vaishnava calendar marks it on Wednesday, 16 June 2027.
Significance
Raghunatha dasa longed to reach Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu at Jagannatha Puri, but his family kept bringing him back. At Panihati he found Lord Nityananda Prabhu seated under a tree with His associates. Raghunatha dasa offered his obeisances from far away, and Nityananda Prabhu called him a thief for keeping his distance. He caught hold of him and set him a playful punishment:
Make a festival and feed all My associates yogurt and chipped rice.
Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila 6.51
So many guests came that some ate in the river. In the Caitanya-caritamrta, Sri Krishnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami describes how Nityananda Prabhu brought Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu to the feast in meditation, and the two Lords ate together. Some fortunate devotees saw Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu there, and everyone was reminded of Krishna and Balarama eating with the cowherd boys on the Yamuna bank.
How to observe it
Devotees keep the day with cool food suited to the heat before the monsoon. Offer the Lord yogurt with chipped rice, bananas and sugar, and share it, as Raghunatha dasa did. Nityananda Prabhu told the guests to chant the holy name of Hari as they ate, so let Hari Hari be heard during the meal. The full story is in Antya-lila, chapter 6, of the Caitanya-caritamrta.
Questions
When is Panihati Cida Dahi Utsava in 2027?
Panihati Cida Dahi Utsava falls on Wednesday, 16 June 2027 in the Vaishnava calendar for Kurukshetra.
What is the Chida Dahi festival?
It is the festival of chipped rice and yogurt that Raghunatha dasa Gosvami held at Panihati on the order of Lord Nityananda Prabhu. The Caitanya-caritamrta describes it in Antya-lila, chapter 6.
Where is Panihati?
Panihati lies on the bank of the Ganges, a few miles north of Kolkata in West Bengal. The Desire Tree account places it about 10 miles north of the city.
Why did Nityananda Prabhu call Raghunatha dasa a thief?
He called him a thief because Raghunatha dasa bowed from a distance instead of coming near. Nityananda Prabhu then said He would punish him, and asked him to feed all His associates yogurt and chipped rice.
Reviewed by ISKCON Kurukshetra · Updated
Key facts
- Date
- Wednesday, 16 June 2027
- Told in
- Caitanya-caritamrta, Antya-lila, chapter 6
- Place
- Panihati, on the Ganges, near Kolkata
- Food offered
- Chipped rice with yogurt, milk and bananas
Seva for this day
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