Appearance Day of Sri Raghunandana Thakura
Appearance Day of Sri Pundarika Vidyanidhi · Appearance Day of Srila Raghunatha Dasa Gosvami · Appearance Day of Srimati Visnupriya Devi · Disappearance Day of Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura · Sarasvati Puja · Vasanta Pancami
Appearance Day
All day
What is the Appearance Day of Sri Raghunandana Thakura?
Sri Raghunandana Thakura came from the village of Srikhanda in the Burdwan district of Bengal. Gaudiya History records that he appeared on Vasanta Pancami, which the Vaishnava calendar places on Thursday, 11 February 2027. Pundarika Vidyanidhi, Visnupriya Devi and Raghunatha Dasa Gosvami share the day with him.
Significance
Raghunandana's uncle, Narahari Sarakara Thakura, took great interest in raising him. When Raghunandana was still a small child, he was asked to feed the family Deity of Gopinatha. He begged the Lord to eat, and Gopinatha ate everything. Mukunda Dasa, the royal physician (and Raghunandana's father in this world), once hid to watch, and he found Gopinatha with a half-eaten laddu in His hand. Later Mahaprabhu asked Mukunda whether Raghunandana was his father or his son. Mukunda answered that in devotion Raghunandana was his father, and Mahaprabhu agreed:
Yes, it is correct. One who awakens devotion to Kṛṣṇa is certainly the spiritual master.
Caitanya-caritamrita, Madhya-lila 15.117
How to observe it
Hear the pastime of Gopinatha, then offer your own food to the Lord with the same simple trust and chant His holy names. Each year Raghunandana went to Jagannatha Puri for Ratha-yatra with the devotees of Srikhanda, so reading about Ratha-yatra is another fitting way to honour him.
Questions
When is the appearance day of Raghunandana Thakura in 2027?
Sri Raghunandana Thakura's appearance day is on Thursday, 11 February 2027, Vasanta Pancami, in the Vaishnava calendar for Kurukshetra.
Who was Raghunandana Thakura?
Sri Raghunandana Thakura was a devotee from Srikhanda in Bengal and the son of Mukunda Dasa. He served the Deity of Gopinatha, and Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu honoured him as Mukunda Dasa's guru.
What is the half-eaten laddu of Gopinatha?
It is the laddu Gopinatha was holding when Raghunandana's father secretly watched Him eat. As a child Raghunandana fed laddus to the Deity, who ate them, and devotees say the half-eaten laddu can still be seen in His hand today.
Reviewed by ISKCON Kurukshetra · Updated
Key facts
- Date
- Thursday, 11 February 2027
- Also on this day
- Appearance Day of Sri Pundarika Vidyanidhi · Appearance Day of Srila Raghunatha Dasa Gosvami · Appearance Day of Srimati Visnupriya Devi · Disappearance Day of Srila Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura · Sarasvati Puja · Vasanta Pancami
- Later Deity
- Gaura-Gopala, passed to his son Kanai Thakura
Seva for this day
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