Sri Krishna Caitanya Mahaprabhu-Chand kazi lila Drama Script

Cast: Nimai: Chand Kazi: 2 Caste brahmans: Sankirtan devotees: Lord Narsimha dev: Scene 1: Nimai pandita having sankirtana yagna Scene 2: Brahmans complaining to Kazi Scene 3: Kazi comes to Srivasa thakurs house Scene 4: Devotees informing Nimai Pandita Scene 5: Nimai Pandita leads sankirtana to Kazis house and discussion (includes subscene) Scene 1: Nimai pandita having sankirtana yagna Narration: Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu appeared in the late fifteenth century, 1486. His childhood name was Vishwambar and His mother Saci devi use to call him Nimai because He was born under a Neem tree. He appeared in Bengal, India, which at the time was governed by Muslims. At very early age, He studied Sanskrit grammar and became very expert in it. At the age of seventeen, Nimai started His sankirtana movement of chanting God's names. He preached to all the citizens of Navadvipa to chant the Hare Krishna mantra, and in each and every home sankirtana was regularly performed. At that time, no one in Navadvipa could hear any other sound except the words "Hari! Hari!" and the playing of the mridangas and karatals. Nimai pandita leads Sankirtana with Lord Nityananda, Advaita, Gadadara and Srivasa Thakur etc Scene 2: However, some of the Navadwip residents hated this kirtan. Hearing the loud continuous chanting of the Hare Krishna mantra, the local Muslims and the local caste Brahmanas decided to complain to Chand Kazi who was Chief Magistrate of Navadwipa at that time. Especially, there were two local caste brahmans who were very much disturbed by this Sankirtan. Brahman 1: My dear Panditji, how are you? You dont look happy. What happened? Brahman 2: What can I say Panditji? The whole night I was not able to sleep. Did u hear that noise from Srivasa house all the night? Brahman 1: Yes Pandit ji. It was very loud. The whole night I was also hearing loud kirtans. I couldnt sleep either. Brahman 2: Yes. They were chanting holy vedic mantra Hare Krishna Hare Krishna all the night long very loudly. The vedic mantras should not be chanted aloud. However Srivasa and his brothers and their friends are chanting very loud. Brahman 1: You are perfectly right. Why are they chanting so loudly? Why cant they chant silently? They have gone mad. They are crazy. Chanting loudly could wake-up MahaVishnu who is sleeping in Yoga sleep and He will become angry and destroy this entire universe.

Brahman 2: What about the king of muslims? When he hears that hindus are chanting Gods names loudly, he will send his soldiers to kill us. Before this could happen, we should drive Nimai, Srivasa and others out of Navadwip. We cannot tolerate this. Brahman 1: Yes true. We should also inform Chand kazi. (Scene continues with Chand Kazi coming on the stage) Brahman 1: Sir, we want to make a complaint. Chand Kazi: What is it now, again complaints? Brahman 2: Nimai Pandit has broken the Hindu religious principles. He has introduced the Sankirtan system. Brahman 1: ...Which we never heard from any of our Scriptures. Every day and night, Srivasa with his brothers and their friends are singing Gods names loudly. Whoever is visiting them, even some from your religion (at that time Chand kazi angrily gets up from his seat), are also chanting these kirtans. Please stop this and save our religion. Brahman 2: Only you can do this, Sir. If this is continued, our religion will be ruined. Please help us. Chand Kazi: (After a deep thought) Okay. I will take care of this. You can go home. Scene 3: Kazi comes to Srivasa thakurs house Narration: On hearing the complaints by local Muslims and atheistic hindus alike, Chand Kazi came to Shrivas Pandit's house one evening. By hearing a joyful kirtana from all around, he became furious. (Srivasa thakur and other devotees doing sankirtan) Chand Kazi: Stop this nonsense. What is going on here? Srivasa: This is Sankirtan Sir. We are just chanting Gods holy names. Chand Kazi: Since when are hindu performances allowed in my kingdom? This is not acceptable. (Calling loudly)Soldiers, I order you to break all mrdangas and beat all these people. Anyone chanting these names must be beaten and arrested. Now onwards, I am making this declaration. Whoever chants holy names or does sankirtan will be punished by me (Sounds of beating people and devotees crying out of pain) Srivasa: Oh!! Krishna Krishna

Scene 4: Devotees informing SCM Narrator: Soldiers started beating the devotees with sticks and sometimes they would imprison them and abuse family members. Sometimes Kazi himself would go out and beat hindus chanting the holy names. On one occasion, he personally smashed a drum onto the ground. The devotees became terrified and came to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhus house. Srivasa: (in deep pain voice) My dear Nimai, a very terrible thing happened. We were ordered not to chant the holy names by Kazi. We were beaten (stress these words), blasphemed and tortured for chanting the holy names. May be we should go to some other place. This city looks dangerous.

(Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu became furious and gets up angrily from his seat.) Nimai: What? What are you saying Srivas? I am time personified. I am master of yamaraj. Even shiva, the destroyer of this universe is my servant. Anyone interfering with this chanting of holy names, I will stand before them as death personified. Now, this afternoon, bring all the people of Nadia and we will have sankirtan on all the streets. Also, ask everyone to bring torches. Scene 5: Nimai Pandita leads sankirtana to Kazis house and discussion Narrator: Everyone came to Nimais house. Everybody was excited as this was the first time when everyone got to see Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhus dancing and singing in public. Caitanya Mahaprabhu organized the sankirtan party. First Kirtan party in the front was lead by Advaita acarya. Behind Advaitas party, was second party lead by Haridas thakur and third kirtan party was lead by Srivasa thakur. At the very end, Lord Caitanya with Lord Nityananda and Gadadhara started dancing. With these parties in the front, all the people came to Chand Kazis house. (Chand Kazi is getting nervous and running to right stage. Kirtan parties enter from left stage holding burning torches.) Chand Kazi: What is going on? Why so many people have gathered? It seems they are coming to my house. Where are they coming from? Why are so many people coming? Devotees: (All devotees together) Kill the Kazi. Kill the Kazi. Destroy Kazi. Nimai: My dear Kazi, come out and look at all the guests who came to see you! You are a householder it is your duty to receive your guests!....Why are you hiding in your house? What kind of etiquette is this? (Chand Kazi enters carefully from right stage) Chand Kazi: (folded hands) Nimai, I am very sorry. When I saw You and so many people in angry mood shouting Kill the Kazi, I was very afraid. Actually, we are from the same village and your grandfather Nilambara chakravarthi, was our neighbour. So, according to village custom, he was my uncle and thus you are my nephew. When an uncle makes mistakes, then nephew should forgive him and not take the mistake very seriously. Nimai: (very sweet and lovingly) I have a question for you. Chand Kazi: Oh...yes, please, tell me, what is in your mind? NIMAI: My dear uncle, you drink cows milk... Chand Kazi: Yes? Nimai: Therefore the cow is your mother. And the bull produces grain for your maintenance; therefore he is your father. Chand Kazi: I must agree... Nimai: Since the cow and bull are your own mother and father, how can you kill and eat them? What kind of religious principle is this? On what strength you dare to commit such sinful activities? Chand Kazi: You are just trying to criticize our cow killing! Also, in your Vedic scriptures, I have seen, there is an injunction for killing a cow in a sacrifice. Nimai: No, that is not killing, that is rejuvenating. That is not killing! The Vedas clearly enjoin that cows should not be killed. Only if a very powerful Brahman can give a new life to an old cow or bull by mantras, then such sacrifice is allowed. But such Vedic sacrifice in this age is not possible. It is forbidden in this age.

Chand Kazi: As you have your scriptures called the Vedas and Puranas, we have our scriptures known as the holy Quran. In the Quran there are regulations for killing cows. Nimai: My dear uncle, what kind of religion is that you have, which allows eating ones own mother and father? Chand Kazi: In Quran, there are two paths: 1) material prosperity and 2) spiritual advancement. In 2) it is forbidden but where as in 1) it is allowed. But yes, cow killing is generally not recommended in the Quran, especially not for advanced spiritual students. You are speaking the essence of all religions, that is real compassion and love. Nimai: Why are you interfering with the chanting of holy names? Why are you beating the devotees? Chand Kazi: I want to tell you something very secretly. Can we go to a secluded place? Nimai: My followers are very intimate. You can speak anything before them. Chand Kazi: That day, when I broke the mrdanga. I came back to my place. (With wide open eyes, he puts two hands in front of his face showing palms to the audience) That night Sub-scene starts here: (Chand kazi sleeping on his bed and Lord Narsimhadev enters with a roaring 3 times towards audience and sound showing his toungue to audience should start moving towards Kazi. Sitting on his belly, Lord Narsimha deva roars couple of time. Chand kazi wakes up from his sleep and close his eyes out of fear.) Lord Narsimhadev: Because you have harassed my devotees who are chanting the holy names today I will you tear to pieces (Roaring). I will rip your chest today for this offence (again roaring), but you havent committed too many offences yet so I will not kill you. But if you do this ever again, I will be back to destroy you. (again roaring goes back) Sub scene ends here Chand kazi: My dear Nimai, when I wake up from his sleep, I checked my chest and I could see nail marks of Lord Narsimha dev. Even now, I still have marks of His nails on my chest. See. Chand Kazi: (Continuing) Now I understand. You are the supreme personality of Godhead, Narayan. You are the ultimate goal of all religions. Today, I surrender unto you. Nimai: Please make this vow; chanting of holy names should never be stopped in Navadwip. Chand Kazi: I am making this formal law. This day on, all my descendents in all years to come will always encourage congregational chanting of Holy names. This sankirtan will go on continuously in Navadwip. Nimai: Since you chanted the holy names this night, you are completely purified. Thus you became the object of Krishnas mercy. Narrator: Chand Kazi became a pure unalloyed devotee of Lord Caitanya. Even to this day, all devotees visit Chand kazis tomb to worship him and remember this beautiful story. At this place, a beautiful champa tree was planted because the Kazis name was among his intimate friends was champa. Along with this, a neem tree was planted. Neem represents Lord Caitanya, or Nimai. Both the trees grow together, embracing each other. This is the loving exchange of Lord Caitanya and Chand kazi. In Previous incarnation, Chand Kazi was kamsa. Lord Krishna killed kamsa in Krsna lila. But Lord Caitanya came not to kill but to transform Kamsa. In Caitanya lila, Kamsa became pure unalloyed devotee dedicated to chanting of Holy names Hare Krishna Hare Krishna Hare Hare Hare Rama Hare Rama Rama Rama Hare Hare. (Everybody starts chanting Maha mantra in a circle) Main Sources: HH Radhanath Swami Maharaj's lecture and internet (a website desribing CC)