After the Lord took sannyāsa in Katwa, Nityānanda Prabhu tricked Him into coming to Advaita Prabhu’s house in Śāntipura. Many people came from Navadvīpa to see Him there, one of whom was Dāmodara Paṇḍita. Mahāprabhu stayed ten days in Śāntipura, at which time His mother asked Him to make His home in Purī. Dāmodara Paṇḍita was one of the devotees who accompanied the Lord on His trip to Jagannātha Purī. The others were Nityānanda Prabhu, Mukunda Datta and Jagadānanda Paṇḍita.

When Mahāprabhu arrived in Purī, He immediately went to the Jagannātha temple where He fainted in ecstasy upon seeing Lord Jagannātha. Vāsudeva Sārvabhauma then took Him to his own house to take care of Him. At that time, Sārvabhauma was convinced of the māyāvāda philosophy, but by Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s mercy, he gave up his predilection for these doctrines and took up the path of devotion. He then wrote two verses (vairāgya-vidyā-nija-bhakti-yoga…, kālān naṣṭaṁ bhakti-yogaṁ nijaṁ yaḥ…) glorifying Mahāprabhu on a palm leaf and gave it to Jagadānanda Paṇḍita and Dāmodara Paṇḍita to show to the Lord. Mukunda Datta copied the two verses down on the wall in front of the Lord’s residence before Jagadānanda Paṇḍita carried it in to show Him. As soon as Mahāprabhu saw the verses, He tore up the palm leaf, but because Mukunda had preserved the verses¹ , the devotees were able to memorize them.

Mahāprabhu took sannyāsa during the fortnight of the waxing moon of Māgha. He arrived in Purī in the month of Phālguna and delivered Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya in the following month of Caitra. He decided to depart alone on His pilgrimage to South India in the month of Vaiśākha. Nityānanda Prabhu and the other devotees suffered greatly in anticipation of His separation. Nityānanda Prabhu wanted to accompany the Lord. He then apparently criticized them, while in fact praising them. Of Dāmodara Paṇḍita He said:

Even though I am a sannyāsī and Dāmodara Paṇḍita just a brahmacārī, he is always telling Me what to do, holding the rod of chastisement over Me. He does not like Me to act independently and so I do not know how to behave in front of him. By Kṛṣṇa’s mercy, he does not care for public opinion whereas I cannot be indifferent to what people think. (Caitanya Caritāmṛta 2.7.25-7)

When Mahāprabhu returned from South India, upon reaching Ālālanātha, He sent His servant companion Kṛṣṇadāsa to inform Nityānanda Prabhu and the other devotees that He had arrived. Dāmodara Paṇḍita joined Nityānanda Prabhu, Jagadānanda Paṇḍita and Mukunda and joyfully rushed onto the main road where they met Him.

As soon as He heard that the Lord had arrived, Nityānanda Prabhu got up and started off to meet Him, as nothing could hold back His love. Jagadānanda Paṇḍita, Dāmodara Paṇḍita and Mukunda all danced down the road, bursting with joy. (Caitanya Caritāmṛta 2.9.339-40)

After Mahāprabhu returned to Purī, He told Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya about the behaviour of Kālā Kṛṣṇadāsa. While in the South, Kālā Kṛṣṇadāsa had left the company of Mahāprabhu being allured by a group of bhattathāri women. Mahāprabhu somehow managed to free him from their clutches and brought him back to Purī. He then told him that he was free to go wherever he liked as he was no longer welcome to stay in His company. Kālā Kṛṣṇadāsa started to cry at this rejection, and out of sympathy for him, Nityānanda Prabhu, Dāmodara Paṇḍita, Jagadānanda Paṇḍita and Mukunda discussed what to do with him. Finally, they recommended to the Lord that he be sent to Navadvīpa with news of the His return from His pilgrimage. The Lord approved the proposal and Kālā Kṛṣṇadāsa set off, delighting everyone in Bengal with the good news. Later, when Dāmodara Paṇḍita went back to Bengal himself, he met Kālā Kṛṣṇadāsa.

Mahāprabhu had a mixture of respect and affection for Dāmodara Paṇḍita. Towards Dāmodara’s younger brother Śankara Paṇḍita, however, He had pure affection unseparated by any distance. However, for his own good, He put Śankara Paṇḍita in the care of his older brother because he knew that Dāmodara Paṇḍita would keep him under strict discipline.

Seeing Śankara, the Lord turned to Dāmodara Paṇḍita and said, “My love for you is mixed with reverence, whereas I love Śankara with all My heart. For this reason, I am putting him under your care.” (Caitanya Caritāmṛta 2.11.146-7)

During Mahāprabhu’s later pastimes, Śankara Paṇḍita stayed in His direct association, sleeping in the same room. The Lord would even sleep sometimes with His feet resting on Śankara Paṇḍita’s body.

One day, the Lord Himself began serving prasāda to His devotees. Since He was engaged in serving, He was not eating. The other devotees raised their hands and sat silently, refusing to eat until the Lord did so. Finally, Svarūpa Dāmodara asked the Lord to sit down with Nityānanda Prabhu and to take prasāda. Svarūpa Dāmodara, Jagadānanda Paṇḍita, Dāmodara Paṇḍita and others then served.

When the Lord returned from the South, Mahārāja Pratāparudra became extremely desperate to meet with Him, in the absence of which he was ready to give up his kingdom and become a beggar. The Lord’s devotees were all impressed by the King’s show of devotion. Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya suggested to Nityānanda Prabhu and others that instead of directly asking the Lord to meet with the King, they should simply praise his faith and devotion. Following this policy, Nityānanda Prabhu told the Lord of the King’s profound devotion and his intention to become a beggar if he could not have a personal audience with Him. Mahāprabhu was somewhat mollified upon hearing this but nevertheless maintained a hardline attitude. He also named Dāmodara Paṇḍita as one of the reasons for such strict behaviour:

“It is your wish to take Me to Cuttack to meet with the King. Not only will My spiritual practice be affected by such an action, but people will criticize Me. Let alone what others say, Dāmodara will chastise Me. I will not go to meet the King on Your order alone. I will only go if Dāmodara tells Me to.” (Caitanya Caritāmṛta 2.12.23-5)

Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura comments on these verses in the following way: “Mahāprabhu said, ‘I will not grant an audience to the King on Your order alone. Only if Dāmodara commands Me shall I consider it.’ These words had a particular significance: though the Lord appreciated Dāmodara’s devotion, his criticisms of the Lord’s behaviour were often unnecessary. The Lord was thus hinting that Dāmodara should stop this tendency to criticize unnecessarily.” (Amṛta-pravāha-bhāṣya to Caitanya Caritāmṛta 2.12.25)

When Dāmodara Paṇḍita heard the Lord’s words, he muttered in response, “Mahāprabhu is the supremely independent Lord. He knows what should or should not be done. No insignificant jīva can dictate to Him what to do. The Lord is subject to devotion and the King is devoted to Him, so He will surely meet with him someday. He may be supremely independent, but He is controlled by His devotee’s love.”

Dāmodara Paṇḍita was also the Lord’s companion during the Ratha-yātrā festival. He was one of the five chorus singers in the first of the seven kīrtana groups wherein Svarūpa Dāmodara was the lead singer. Advaita Ācārya danced in the same group.

When Mahāprabhu set off for Vṛndāvana through Bengal with many of His associates, Dāmodara Paṇḍita also joined Him. On this occasion, the Lord did not make it all the way to Vraja, as He changed His mind on Sanātana Gosvāmī’s advice.

The following year, Mahāprabhu travelled through northern India, going as far as Vṛndāvana. He then returned to Purī with Balabhadra Bhaṭṭācārya on the path through Jharikhand. When they received the news of the Lord’s arrival at Āṭhāra-nālā, all the Lord’s devotees were extremely elated and rushed to Narendra Sarovara to welcome Him back. Mahāprabhu paid obeisances to all those who were His elders. At that time, Dāmodara Paṇḍita received His embrace.

A certain beautiful Odishan brāhmaṇa widow was living in Purī while Mahāprabhu was there. She had a handsome young son who would come to visit the Lord daily. He would pay his obeisances to the Lord and then engage Him in a lengthy, affectionate conversation. The boy was not able to go through a day without seeing Him. The Lord also treated the boy with great warmth. Dāmodara Paṇḍita, however, could not tolerate seeing the affectionate relationship between the Lord and this boy. Though he repeatedly forbade him, the boy continued to come to see the Lord. A child will naturally go where he receives affection and the Lord was indeed very affectionate to him.

One day, Dāmodara Paṇḍita finally exploded and said sarcastically to the Lord, “Everyone says You are very learned because of the instructions You so generously give to others. I shall see what kind of master You really are. Now people will glorify You for being a great master and You will truly be famous as a master throughout Purī.” (Caitanya Caritāmṛta 3.3.11-12)

The Lord did not understand at first what Dāmodara Paṇḍita was getting at and made him explain himself. The Paṇḍita made himself more explicit, “Lord, You do as You like. No one has the authority to dictate to You. Even so, this is a world full of gossips whose speech no one can stifle. You are learned, so why don’t You see the implications of Your acts? Why do You behave so affectionately towards a widow’s child? She may be an austere and chaste brāhmaṇa woman, but she has the fault of being young and beautiful. You too are a young and handsome man. Such a close relationship with her son gives the world occasion to whisper. Do you think that this is intelligent behaviour?”

With that, Dāmodara Paṇḍita fell silent. Mahāprabhu was satisfied with his sentiments and said,

“This is what I call a wave of pure love! No one is as dear to Me as Dāmodara.” (Caitanya Caritāmṛta 3.3.19)

One day Mahāprabhu called Dāmodara Paṇḍita and asked him to go to Śacī Mātā in Navadvīpa and to help supervise her material affairs.

“No one is more suited than you to see to her protection, for you have put even Me on My guard. Amongst My associates, no one is as impartial as you. Religious principles can only be defended by someone who is free from bias or prejudice.” (Caitanya Caritāmṛta 3.3.22-3)

After telling Dāmodara Paṇḍita to go to Navadvīpa, He then consoled him by telling him to return to Purī from time to time. He also told him to pay repeated obeisances to His mother and gave him a confidential message to deliver to her:

“I come to her home repeatedly to eat all the sweetmeats and vegetables she offers. She thinks that it is nothing but a dream. During the last Māgha Sankrānti festival, she offered the food to the Lord, and while in meditation, I ate everything. In the condition of external separation, she again became bewildered, thinking that she had not offered any food to the Lord. So she cleansed the altar and made the offering once again. This is how I come again and again to eat everything she offers Me. I am attracted by her pure love and thus stay near her always.”

Mahāprabhu then gave some Jagannātha prasāda to Dāmodara Paṇḍita and told him to give it to Śacī Mātā and the other Navadvīpa devotees. Dāmodara set off and carried out the Lord’s instructions to the letter. With the Paṇḍita there in Navadvīpa, the devotees became very careful about their behaviour. No one dared to act in an independent manner. If anyone of Mahāprabhu’s followers made even the slightest transgression in etiquette, Dāmodara Paṇḍita would establish the standards of behaviour by verbally upbraiding the offender.

The ignorance of atheism will flee from anyone who hears this history of Dāmodara Paṇḍita’s chastisement of the Lord that has just been described. (Caitanya Caritāmṛta 3.3.46)

Dāmodara Paṇḍita is thus one of the great devotees through whose preaching, the glories of the Holy Name have spread throughout the universe. Mahāprabhu glorified these great souls when He said,

“I have come to possess devotion to Kṛṣṇa through the grace of all these great devotees who have preached love for the Holy Name throughout the world.” (Caitanya Caritāmṛta 3.7.50)

In the Bhakti-ratnākara, Narahari Cakravartī says that Narottama Dāsa Ṭhākura met Dāmodara Paṇḍita in Srīdhāma Māyāpura. Narottama Ṭhākura paid his obeisances to his feet in excitement at meeting a direct associate of the Lord. (Bhakti-ratnākara 8.93)

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¹ - The verses are found in the chapters on Jagadānanda Paṇḍita and Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya