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The Navadvipa city magistrate holds the title of Kazi. The city magistrate at that time was known as Chand Kazi. The landholders levied taxes on the land, but keeping law and order and punishing criminals was the duty entrusted to the Kazi. Both the Kazi and the landholders were under the control of the governor of Bengal, who at that time was known as Suba-bangala. The districts of Madia, Islampura and Bagoyana were all under the landholder named Hari Hoda or his descendant known as Krishnadas Hoda. It is said that Chand Kazi was the spiritual master of Nawab Hussein Shah.
According to one opinion Chand Kazi's name was Maulana Sirajuddin, and according to another, his name was Habibar Rahman. Descendants of Chand Kazi are still living in the vicinity of Mayapur. People still go to see the tomb of Chand Kazi, which is underneath a champaka and neem tree and is known as Chand Kazi's Samadhi. Chand Kazi angrily came to Shrivas Pandit's house one evening, and witnessed a joyful kirtana (singing) going on, he broke the mridanga (drum) and spoke as follows: "For so long you all did not follow the regulative principles of the Hindu religion, but now you are following them with great enthusiasm. May I know by whose strength you are doing so?"
It appears that from the time of Baktiyar Khiliji in Bengal until the time of Chand Kazi, Hindus, or the followers of the Vedic principles, were greatly suppressed. Practically no one could execute their Hindu religious principles freely. Chand Kazi was referring to this state of Hindu society. Formerly the Hindus were not publicly executing their Hindu principles, but now they were freely chanting the Hare Krishna maha-mantra. Therefore it must have been by the strength of someone else that they were so daring. Actually, that was the fact. Although the members of the so-called Hindu society had followed the social customs and rituals, they had practically forgotten to execute their religious principles strictly. But with the presence of Chaitanya Mahaprabhu they actually began following the regulative principles according to his order. Chand Kazi continued: "No one should perform sankirtana on the streets of the city. Today I am excusing the offense and returning home. The next time I see someone performing such sankirtana, certainly I shall chastise him by not only confiscating all his property but also converting him into a Muslim."
After saying this, the Kazi returned home.
To convert a Hindu into a Muslim was an easy affair in those days. If a Muslim simply sprinkled water on the body of a Hindu, it was supposed that the Hindu had become a Muslim. Hindu society was so strict at the time of Chaitanya that if a Hindu was converted into a Muslim, there was no chance of him being readmitted into the Hindu religion. In this way the Muslim population in India increased. None of the Muslims came from outside; social customs somehow or other forced Hindus to become Muslims, with no chance of returning to Hindu society. Emperor Auranzeb also inaugurated a tax, which only Hindus had to pay. Thus all the poor Hindus of the lower class voluntarily became Muslims to avoid the fax. In this way the Muslim population in India increased. Chand Kazi threatened to convert the people into Muslims by the simple process of sprinkling water on their bodies.
Chand Kazi was a high ranking officer in the kingdom of Emperor Hussein Shah in Bengal. During the time of Mahaprabhu, he was the ruler of Navadwip and the chief magistrate. It has been reported that he used to interpret the Muslim's holy book called the Koran and would direct the emperor in his devotion to the Muslim god Allah. He was a staunch and obstinate oppressor of the Hindu religion in every way, and he was especially opposed to Hari Nama Sankirtan. In Krishna Lila he was Kamsa, and Hussein Shah was Jarasandha. One day Chand Kazi was passing by Shrivas Angan when he heard the melodious ringing of karatals and the rhythmic beating of mridangas. The blare of conch shells and the ecstatic singing of Hari Nama Sankirtan filled the atmosphere with joy. The Kazi, hearing the jubilation of the devotees, immediately became envious and tried to call to his mind the Koran's instructions regarding the religious practices of others. But, he was unable to do so. Enraged all the more, he entered Shrivas Angan house and grabbed a mridanga from one devotee and smashed it to the ground. He then ordered his men to beat whomever they caught. Finally, he issued the ultimatum that anyone caught singing the names of Krishna would have his property confiscated and would be forced to convert to Islam. The Kazi was planning to convert Hindus to Islam by sprinkling water on them.
The next day the devotees went to the house of Lord Chaitanya and reported all that had occurred. When the Lord heard that Chand Kazi was attempting to stop the sankirtan movement, He became furious. However angry Shiva looks at the end of the cosmic annihilation was mild compared to how angry Lord Chaitanya looked. With a glance that could humble lightning and a voice like thunder, He ordered Nityananda Prabhu to immediately assemble all the Vaishnavas. He ordered each to bring a flaming torch and announced that they would together perform a gigantic nagar sankirtan throughout the city of old Navadwip.
Lord Shri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu then sang the Holy Names of Lord Krishna and danced in ecstasy. He thus began preparing for the first public performance of sankirtan.
Lord Shri Krishna Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's sankirtan-lila was never revealed in any previous incarnation. Lord Chaitanya looked as effulgent as a million suns. Fragrant malati flowers decorate His hair, and a beautiful floral garland of five varieties of flowers hung down to His knees. His body shone like molten gold and was smeared with sandalwood paste. A sweet smile adorned His face. Lord Chaitanya, with Prabhu Nityananda close by His side, began leading hundreds of thousands of people north along the bank of the Ganges river. First He went to His own bathing place called Mahaprabhu Ghat and danced ecstatically. After that, He danced to Madhai Ghat, Barakona Ghat, and Nagariya Ghat and then left the bank of the Ganges. Lord Chaitanya then danced through the village of Ganganagar and then on to Simulia where the Chand Kazi resided. This can be read verbatim in the Shri Chaitanya Bhagavata, Madhya Khanda, Chapter 23 (beginning with verse 298) by Shrila Vrindavana das Thakur.
When the Kazi heard the tumultuous uproar, he sent his spies to discover the cause of the commotion. When the spies saw the huge nagar sankirtan party which stretched for miles, and when they heard the roaring Hare Krishna kirtan, they immediately fled in terror. They reached the Kazi and advised him to flee. They then reported what they had seen.
The Kazi began to shake in fear as the sankirtan party got close. The kirtan became louder and louder. Suddenly, it was outside his door, and above the powerful resounding of Hari Nama, a voice like thunder said, "Where is that mischief monger Chand Kazi who tried to stop My sankirtan movement? I have incarnated to propagate the congregational chanting of the Holy Names of Lord Krishna. I am always present wherever My devotes ecstatically chant My Holy Names! How dare he break the mridanga that accompanies My sankirtan? How dare he obstruct what I have inaugurated to redeem this world? Now break down the doors and bring that rascal to Me without delay. Destroy anyone that stands in your way!" The Lord's words sounded like the roaring of a lion. At that time, some venerable and saintly souls fell at Mahaprabhu's feet and requested that He become merciful. They said that the Vedas describe the Supreme Lord as always poised, blissful and free from anger. Even when Brahma stole all His cowherd friends and calves, and even when Indra attacked Vraja with excessive rains, still the Lord remained equipoised. They requested the Lord to not in this way abandon His neutrality and minimize the Vedic injunctions. Lord Chaitanya became pleased, and He sent several respectable members of the brahminical community within the house of Chand Kazi. They found him in a corner, petrified, and shaking in fear. After becoming calm, the Kazi came out before the Lord with his head bowed. As the Chand Kazi was His maternal uncle, Kamsa, in Krishna lila, Lord Chaitanya addressed him as uncle.
After exchanging some polite formalities, Lord Chaitanya said to him: go dugdha khao, gabi tomara mata. "You drink cow's milk, therefore the cow is your mother." (Shri Chaitanya Charitamrita, Adi-lila, Chapter 17, Verse 153)
Lord Chaitanya then asked the Kazi why he killed and ate cows. The cow is the mother of everybody because the cow unselfishly and indiscriminately gives everyone her own milk. How can one justify killing and eating such a mother?
Although the words of Lord Chaitanya are simple, they are deep. Not even an animal who receives milk from his mother, or the offspring of any mammal, will kill and eat his own mother. Only the human animal will do this! Even in the human species, when a mother's breast milk has dried up, a mother will immediately accept a cow as surrogate mother and lovingly feed her infant milk from that cow. Then Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu said to him:
go-angayata loma, lata sahasra vatsara
go-vadhi raurava-madhye pace nirantara
"Cow killers and cow eaters are condemned to rot in a hellish condition of life for as many thousands of years as there are hairs on the body of each cow they eat." (Shri Chaitanya Charitamrita, Adi-lila, Chapter 17, Verse 166)
There are many mistakes and illusions in non-Vedic scriptures. The compilers of these scriptures, not being exposed to the Absolute Truth, could not realize the essence of spiritual knowledge. They thus wrote things directly against logic and reason. Even the most basic of religious concepts, like the nature of the soul, the transmigration of the soul from body to body, and the eternality of the soul, cannot even be directly understood from these scriptures. In addition, the answers in these scriptures to many questions have changed over the centuries and are contradictory to the conclusions of the past. As the philosophy of these religions changes from time to time, this indicates that the original compilations were not of an eternal nature.
Even though Chand Kazi was the spiritual guide of the Emperor Hussein Shah, still his spiritual understanding and philosophy stemming from the Koran was inadequate and deficient. The Muslim Kazi himself concluded: sahaja yavana-sastre adrdha vicara. 'The reasonings and arguments in the scriptures of meat-eaters is not based on very sound judgement." (Shri Chaitanya Charitamrita, Adi-lila, Chapter 17, Verse 171)
Chand Kazi stated that according to the Muslim book, the Koran, there is no mention or any authorization for killing the cow. He concluded that those who say these conclusions are authorized are speaking against the Holy Koran. From that time onwards, Chand Kazi became a devotee and he refrained from meat-eating and the killing of any creature. Even during the chaotic Hindu-Muslim riots, the descendants of Chand Kazi kept intact the promise given by their ancestor and never had any conflict with the Hindus.
Lord Chaitanya, changing the subject, asked the Kazi why that night before he had stopped the sankirtan at Shrivas Angan but that today he did not try to stop it. The Kazi, looking grave, told the Lord that after breaking the mridanga he came home and went to bed. That night he dreamed that a ferocious and fearful being with the body of a man and the head of a lion and who possessed frightful teeth and elongated nails threatened him with death if he ever again impeded the sankirtan movement. Sitting on his chest and roaring fearfully, He scratched him. The Kazi then bared his chest, and the devotees saw the unmistakable nail marks of a lion. They immediately remembered Nrsimha-deva and accepted the Kazi's story in great wonderment.
The Chand Kazi, with tears in his eyes, then fell at the lotus feet of the Lord and vowed that from that day onwards neither he nor anyone from his dynasty would ever, now or in the future, put any obstruction whatsoever to the sankirtan movement. If, said the Kazi, any descendant of his ever did so, then that descendant would be rejected from the family and disinherited. Hearing this, Lord Chaitanya chanted "Hari! Hari!" Rising, He led the jubilant and victorious sankirtan party back to Shridham Mayapur. As He was returning, He stopped at the house of His dear devotee Shridhara.
After Chand Kazi left his body, his samadhi was placed in Navadvipa. This tree towering above his Samadhi is more than 500 years old. This tree actually witnessed all these past events. Devotees of Lord Chaitanya, feeling humility, circumambulate the Chand Kazi's samadhi for he received the Lord's mercy. If you look up at the tree you will see that although it is hollow inside, it still always offers nice flowers.
Chand Kazi's Samdhi in Simanta.
This stone samadhi with a huge champaka tree entwined around and
towering about it is the samadhi of the Muslim ruler Chand Kazi, who was
the magistrate of Navadvipa. This place is located just outside the
boundary of Shri Antardwip. Nearby was his palace, and in the same
general locale the father of Sacimata, Nilambara Cakravarti, resided.
Chand Kazi sees Lord Nrisimhadeva in his dream
By Chandan Bhatia
When Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was in Mayapur, Chand
Kazi was the Chief Magistrate of Navadvipa. He was a devout and strict
Muslim who was well versed in the Koran. As the Chief
Magistrate of Navadwipa-Mayapur, he kept law and order for the Hussein
Shah and was also the spiritual advisor of the Shah. He was a tyrannical
ruler and the Hindus were oppressed in their religious practices. Angry
that devotees were not obeying his order forbidding chanting of the
Holy Names: “Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare / Hare
Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare” during the Kirtana, Chand
Kazi went with two boats of soldiers to Srivasa Pandita's house to
personally enforce his ordinance. He confiscated their instruments and
broke mrdanga drum. He then threatened imprisonment and conversion into a Muslim for anyone who disobeyed his order again.
The envious atheists were siding with the
Kazi. They commented, “God's name should be chanted in the mind. Which
scripture enjoins one to make a hue and cry in chanting God's name. This
is a correct punishment they have received for transgressing the Vedic
injunctions. They have no fear of flouting the social norms. That Nimai
Pandita who acts so proud will now be cowered by the Kazi. And that
Nityananda who roams about everywhere will soon see the end of all the
fun. They call us atheists for speaking out the truth, at long last
Nadia will be rid of these charlatans.”
The devotees did not protest against the Kazi ban out
of fear. They went to the Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and reported to
Him, “We have stopped our kirtana out of fear for the Kazi,
whose men in hundreds search the streets and houses. We will have to
leave Navadvipa and settle elsewhere, we have come to tell You this.”
When Lord Caitanya heard that someone was trying to stop the Sankirtana
movement He became infuriated, He looked awesome, almost like Lord Siva
at the time of the cosmic annihilation. He roared loudly like the
rumbling of thunder and the devotees afraid of this sudden change in the
Lord held their ears as if begging forgiveness from the Lord for a
mistake they had not committed.The Lord said, “Nityananda! Be prepared, go immediately to all the Vaishnavas, and assemble them on the streets. I shall bring out a kirtana party and take it all over Navadvipa. I will see what anyone can do to Me. You will see how I burn the Kazi's house down. Today I shall shower incessant rains of love of Godhead on everyone. Today the atheist's will face the final hour. So do not waste a moment My brothers go and deliver this message to everyone. Tell them that if they are desirous of seeing Krishna's mystic potency in action then let them bring a flaming torch with them. I will smash the Kazi's palace and I will do kirtana all along. The entire creation is full of My devotees and when I am present here then what is there to fear! Go and put a stop to your anguish! Come and assemble in the afternoon after lunch.”
The devotees dispersed right away, each going his way in great anticipation not caring about eating or anything. Excited talks filled every home that, “Nimai Pandita will take out a Sankirtana and dance in the streets of Navadvipa.” For the many thousands who were lamenting for so long that they could not see Nimai Pandita 's dancing this news was cause of great rejoicing. So everyone prepared their own torch. Huge barrels of oil were kept in readiness. Navadvipa in those days was very thickly populated. The constant flow of people with torches poured out of the houses onto the streets. The women, children, and old men were excited with great anticipation. Slowly the clusters of devotees moved towards Nimai Pandita 's house.
When Lord Caitanya heard that all the Vaishnavas had assembled at His behest and were at His door steps. He went to meet them and began to organize them in groups. Advaita Acarya was to head up a group and was the chief dancer and he would be supported by a kirtana group. In another group Haridasa was the leader and he also was backed by a kirtanagroup. Yet another group was to be led by Srivasa Pandita. The Lord's eyes fell on Nityananda and immediately He said, “I will not leave Your side My Lord. My only duty is to always be near You. I can never leave Your lotus feet imbedded in My heart. What power do I possess to dance independently away from You. My devotional service to You is I am always with You.” When Lord Caitanya saw the streams of ecstasy flowing from Nityananda's eyes He embraced Him and kept Him near Him. Gadadhara Pandita also stayed along with the Lord.
Led by the Supreme Lord Himself, a tumultuous uproar of the holy names: Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Krishna Krishna Hare Hare/Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare burst forth as the massive ocean of people rhythmically surged towards Chand Kazi’s palace in the first ever public kirtana. For the citizens of Navadvipa it was a momentous occasion as it was the first time they were able to see Gauranga’s exquisite dancing and His ecstatic chanting of His own holy names. Overwhelmed with spiritual emotions from seeing Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s supreme bliss, they became captivated by the intoxicating sweetness of the congregational chanting of the holy names. They left their homes and families unattended and spontaneously joined the devotees in the unbounded ecstasy of chanting and dancing in kirtana.
The dust from rolling on the ground made Gauranataraja’s body glisten in the rays of light from the unlimited number of torch-lights that lit up the sky. At times He became stunned and stood in the three-fold bending form of Krishna playing His flute, revealing Himself as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Then, in the mood of a humble devotee, He cried aloud, begging the Lord for devotion to His lotus feet. Lord's charming looks overshadowed the attractiveness of millions of Cupids put together. He glowed like a mountain of gold, His body being smeared with sandal paste sometimes looked like the rising full moon. His curly dark tresses were decorated with the fragrant malati garlands; a sweet smile clung intimately to His lips that can win the hearts of all the muses. The clear markings of sandalwood tilaka with a red dot of vermillion adorned His beautiful broad forehead. He raised His arms up in the sky chanting the name of Hari and danced; the knee long flower garland around His neck swayed with each movement. His upraised arms glistened like fine tapering pillars of gold, His body became drenched with the incessant flow of ecstatic tears from His lotus petal eyes. As His ecstatic feelings increased the hairs of His body stood on end like the ever fresh kadamba flower. The moist reddish lips so exquisite and when parted revealed a symmetrical set of pearl like white teeth; the long arched eyebrows languished almost all the way up to the beginning of His ears. His strong shoulders shamed the king of elephants and His chest was broad and full.
Everyone looking at Him commented on His divine and beautiful presence. The millions who milled around for this momentous occasion were very fortunate in spite of their large number they all received the Lord's benedictions by being able to see the Lord's exquisite transcendental face. The devotees became inebriated and danced liked madmen. Their first experience of public congregational chanting transported them to unknown heights of spiritual intoxication. Thus Lord Caitanya, opening the flood-gates of His own Krishna-prema, drowned everyone in that ocean and, in doing so, personally inaugurated His Harinama-Sankirtana movement – the only means of deliverance in the age of Kali.
The Harinama procession went along the bank of Ganga to Madhai Ghata, Barakrona Ghata and then to Nagariya Ghata. The chanting of this kirtana was so loud, the Kazi could hear it from his house, over one kilometre away. Proceeding through the villages of Ganganagara and Simuliya, the crowd expanded to millions and extended for miles. While the devotees chanted and danced in ever-increasing heights of bliss, Kazi’s men ran away in fear of their lives. Chand Kazi also became overwhelmed seeing the massive procession heading his way. Lord Caitanya’s voice boomed in anger above the thunderous roar of the kirtana, “Where is that rascal Kazi? I have advented to propagate the congregational chanting of the holy names. If anyone so much as tries to cause obstruction, I will annihilate him. Yet even if the most lowly sinner takes part in this chanting, I shall remember him and save him.” Kazi, shaking in fear, quickly ran and hid himself inside his palace.
Arriving both intoxicated with the nectar of the Holy Name and enraged at Kazi’s ban on kirtana, everyone began ransacking Kazi’s gardens and palace. When Gauranga Mahaprabhu arrived, He called for Kazi to present before himself. Kazi finally appeared before Lord Caitanya and pacified Him by reminding Him of their village relationship. Chand Kazi used to be a neighbour and friend of Sacimata’s father so he addressed Lord Caitanya saying, “Nilambara Cakravarti Thakura was my uncle and he is Your maternal grandfather, so You are my nephew. When a nephew is very angry, his maternal uncle is very tolerant and also when the uncle makes an offense, the nephew does not take it very seriously.”
Lord Caitanya engaged Kazi in a philosophical debate and then defeated him with a warning that meat-eaters face many thousands of years in hell for their sin of eating cow flesh. “My dear Nimai Pandita, all that You have said is true,” conceded Kazi. “Our scriptures were developed only recently and contain many mistaken ideas, but I must follow them for the sake of my community.” Pleased with the words of Kazi, Lord Caitanya asked him, “My dear maternal uncle, in your city there is always the tumultuous uproar of the congregational chanting of the Holy Names. As a Mohammedan magistrate you can oppose Hindu ceremonies, but now you do not forbid them. What is the reason?”
Chand Kazi told Lord Caitanya, “After going to Hindu’s house (Srivasa Thakura) and forbidding congregational chanting, in
my dreams that very night I saw a greatly fearful lion roaring very
loudly. His body was human and His face was like that of a lion. This
lion jumped on me and with His sharp nails, He pierced my chest and
laughed fiercely. Gnashing His teeth He told me, “I shall immediately
bifurcate your chest just as you broke the mrdanga drum. You
have forbidden the performance of My congregational chanting of Hare
Krishna so I must destroy you.’ seeing me so afraid the lion then said,
‘I have defeated you to teach you a lesson. Because you never created a
very great disturbance I must be merciful to you, but if you do the same
again then I will not be so tolerant. I will kill you, your entire
family, and all the meat-eaters here.’ The lion then left, but just see
the marks of His nails on my chest!” the devotees were amazed to see the
nail-marks and they realized that this lion was none other than Lord
Nrsimhadeva. “That same day,” continued Kazi, “my orderlies came to me saying that whenever one of them tried to stop kirtana,
fire suddenly stuck all of their faces and their beards burst into
flames. I told them to go home and forget about stopping the kirtana.”Chand Kazi then revealed his heart to Gauracandra saying, "I know that Narayana is the Supreme God of Hindus, and within my mind I feel that You are that same Narayana.” Lord Caitanya smiled at the Kazi and said, “The chanting of the Holy Name from your mouth has performed a wonder – it has nullified the reactions of all your sinful activities. Because you have chanted three names of the Lord, Hari, Krishna and Narayana, you are undoubtedly the most fortunate and pious.” Tears welled up in Kazi’s eyes. Crying, he touched Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s lotus feet and prayed, “Only by Your mercy have my bad intentions vanished. May my devotion always be fixed on You.”
Gauranga Mahaprabhu then asked Chand Kazi: "I wish to beg one favour in charity. You must pledge that the Sankirtana movement will not be checked, at least within the district of Nadia.” Chand Kazi replied, “To as many descendants that take birth in my dynasty in future, I give this grave admonition: no one should check the Harinam Sankirtana movement.” Hearing this, Gaurasundara and the devotees jumped up in joy chanting “Hari! Hari!” and, with Kazi joining them, Caitanya Mahaprabhu led the Vaishnavas home in a victorious kirtana.
Srila Vrindavana Das Thakura in Sri Caitanya Bhagavata states that only the most fortunate people hear the wonderful pastime of Mahaprabhu and Chand Kazi and about his deliverance.
The Chand Kazi, with tears in his eyes, then fell at the lotus feet of the Lord and vowed that from that day onwards neither he nor anyone from his dynasty would ever, now or in the future, put any obstruction whatsoever to the sankirtan movement. If, said the Kazi, any descendant of his ever did so, then that descendant would be rejected from the family and disinherited. Hearing this, Lord Chaitanya chanted "Hari! Hari!" Rising, He led the jubilant and victorious sankirtan party back to Shridham Mayapur. As He was returning, He stopped at the house of His dear devotee Shridhara.
Crying, the Chand Kazi touched Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s lotus feet and prayed, "Only by Your mercy have my bad intentions vanished. May my devotion always be fixed on You."
