Srila Locana dasa Thakura took birth in a family of Rarhiya physicians who resided in the village of Kogram, within the Mahakumar (Katna) district of Barddhaman. His guru was Sri Narahari Sarkar Thakura.
His father’s name was Sri Kamalakara Dasa and his mother’s name, Sri Sadananda. He was the only son of his parents. He was raised in his maternal grandfather’s home and his education was completed there. He was married at a very young age. From his youth he was very attached to Sri Gaurasundara and consequently very disinterested in material life, though he was surrounded by family, friends and society. In his youth he spent the major part of his time at his guru’s Sripat, Srikhanda, where he learned how to do kirtana.
Lochan Das was married at a very early age, according to the customs of that time. Since he had been married so young, his wife first remained with her parents in the village of Amedpur Kakuta. As he grew older, Lochan showed a highly renounced attitude to life and spent all his time discussing Krishna katha with other devotees of Gauranga. As the time approached when his wife was to join him, her family began to worry because of Lochan Das’s indifference to material life. They approached his guru Narahari Sarkar and told him of their disquiet. As a result, Narahari ordered Lochan Das to go to his in-laws’ home.When Lochan arrived in Amedpur, he was unable to remember where their house was, since it had been so long since he had visited. He asked a young girl in the street for directions, addressing her as “ma”, or “mother”. When he arrived at his in-laws’ house, he found out that the girl whom he had addressed as “mother” was in fact his wife. From that day on, he always looked upon his wife as a mother, worshiping Guru and Gauranga in an attitude of renunciation.
He composed Sri Caitanya Mangala from the diary of Sri Murari Gupta. Murari Gupta, who resided at Nadia, composed many beautiful verses about the life of Sri Gauranga. These include the youthful pastimes of Nimai, which Murari Gupta personally took part in, and His later pastimes in Nilacala, after He accepted sannyasa, which were narrated by Sri Damodara Pandita. Having heard these verses of Murari Gupta, composed in sanskrit, Locana das says..”I have become very attracted and so I have composed them in the village folk poetry meter of Bengali.” In East Bengal there are many village poets, who sing in various meters known as Laksmir Panchali, Sanir Panchali and Manasa Bhasan. Locana Dasa Thakura has composed Sri Caitanya Mangala in the meter of these folk poems. Panchali contains five various kinds of meters.
Sri Vrindavana Dasa Thakura’s composition on the pastimes of Sri Gaurasundara was originally entitled Caitanya Mangala, but later on the name was changed to Caitanya-bhagavata. Those pastimes which were not described in full by Srila Vrindavana Dasa Thakura, Locana Dasa have described in his Caitanya Mangala. In the invocation of this work, he has first offered his obeisances to Srila Vrindavana Dasa Thakura, “Whose Caitanya-bhagavata has enamored the entire world.”
In his Caitanya Mangala, Srila Locana Dasa Thakura has written: “My hope of hopes is to be near the lotus feet of Sri Narahari Thakura, to serve and worship him with my very life. The cherished desire of the fallen Locana Dasa is to be allowed by the grace of Narahari to sing the glories of Sri Gauranga. My Lord is Sri Narahari Thakura and I am his servant. Bowing and praying before him I beg him to allow me his service. This is my only aspiration.”
Locana Dasa Thakura wrote Caitanya Mangala which tells many pastimes of Lord Caitanya not revealed by Vrindavana Dasa Thakura or Krishna Dasa Kaviraja. He mentions an especially touching conversation Sri Gaurasundara had with Vishnupriya Devi the night before He took sannyasa. Being a talented musician, Locana Dasa told Mahaprabhu’s pastimes in beautiful poetry filled with fire and rhythm. Common people could easily understand the divine character of Sri Caitanya and awaken their religious feelings. As devotees regularly chant the Vedic epics Ramayana and Mahabharata, Gaudiya Vaisnava’s still wander through Bengal reciting the Caitanya Mangala.
Locana Dasa Thakura also wrote many songs praising Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Sri Nityananda Prabhu, and Gauridasa Pandit. Locana Dasa stresses that raganuga bhaktas must take shelter of Gadadhara Vrindavanisvari to attain Radha-Govinda prema bhakti. Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura used to print and distribute Locana Dasa Thakura’s Sri Caitanya Mangala. Srila Prabhupada was very fond of his bhajans. While singing Parama Karuna Srila Prabhupada would plunge into the ocean of Gauranga prema. Prabhupada wrote an extensive commentary on this bhajana: Bhajo bhajo bhai, Caitanya Nitai, sudrdha visvasa kori … “Locana Dasa asks everyone, ‘My dear brother, just worship Lord Caitanya and Nityananda with firm faith and conviction.’ Don’t think that this chanting and dancing will not lead to the desired goal; it will. It is the assurance of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu that one will get all perfection by this process. Therefore, one must chant with firm faith and conviction.”
(1) parama koruna, pahu dui jana nitai gauracandra saba avatara-sara siromani kevala ananda-kanda (2) bhajo bhajo bhai, caitanya nitai sudridha biswasa kori vishaya chadiya, se rase majiya, mukhe bolo hari hari
(3) dekho ore bhai, tri-bhuvane nai, emona doyala data pasu pakhi jhure, pashana vidare, suni’ janra guna-gatha
(4) samsare majiya, rohili poriya, se pade nahilo asa apana karama, bhunjaye samana, kahoye locana-dasa
(1) The two Lords, Nitai-Gauracandra, are very merciful. They are the essence of all incarnations. The specific significance of these incarnations is that They introduced a process of chanting and dancing that is simply joyful.
(2) My dear brother, I request that you just worship Lord Caitanya and Nityananda with firm conviction and faith. If one wants to be Krishna conscious by this process, one has to give up his engagement in sense gratification. One simply has to chant, “Hare Krishna! Hari Hari!” without any motive.
(3) My dear brother, just try and examine this. Within the three worlds there is no one like Lord Caitanya or Lord Nityananda. Their merciful qualities are so great that upon hearing them even birds and beasts cry and stones melt.
(4) But Locana dasa regrets that I am entrapped by sense gratification. Since I have no attraction for the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya and Lord Nityananda, then Yamaraja, the superintendent of death, is punishing me by not allowing me to be attracted by this movement.
Purport By His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada Songs Purport to Parama Koruna Prabhupada: Parama koruna, pahu dui jana, nitai gauracandra. This is a song by Locana dasa Thakura, a great devotee and acarya of the Gaudiya-sampradaya. He is declaring that pahu dui jana. Pahu means lords. Dui jana means two. Who are the two lords? Nitai Gauracandra. One is Lord Nitai, Nityananda; another is Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. So he says that “These two Lords are very merciful.” Parama koruna, pahu dui jana. Parama koruna means very merciful. Nitai Gauracandra. Saba avatara, sara siromani. Avatara means incarnation, and saba means all. “They are the essence of all incarnations.” Saba avatara, sara siromani, kevala ananda-kanda: “And the specific significance of these incarnations is that to prosecute their ways of self-realization is simply joyful,” ananda-kanda. They introduced chanting and dancing. No other incarnation There are many incarnation, just like Lord Rama. Even Krsna, He taught Bhagavad-gita. That requires knowledge, understanding. But here Lord Caitanya, Nityananda, introduced some process which is simply joyful: simply chant and dance. Kevala ananda-kanda. Saba avatara, sara siromani, kevala ananda-kanda. Therefore he requests everyone, bhajo bhajo bhai, caitanya nitai: “My dear brothers, I request you. Just you worship Lord Caitanya and
Nityananda.” Sudrdha biswasa kori’: “With firm conviction and faith.” Don’t think that this chanting and dancing will not lead you to the desired goal. It will because there is assurance of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu that you will get all perfection by this process. Therefore Locana dasa Thakura says that “You must have firm faith and conviction.” It will act. Bhajo bhajo bhai, caitanya nitai, sudrdha. Sudrdha means firm. Biswasa kori’, with faith and conviction. But what is the process? The process is visaya chadiya, se rase majiya. If you want to be Krsna conscious under that process, then you have to give up your engagement of sense gratification. That is the only restriction. You cannot do that. Then it will be very nice. If you give up sense gratification and come to this stage, then it is sure that you will reach to the desired goal. Visaya chadiya, se rase majiya, mukhe bolo hari hari: “And you have to simply chant Hare Krsna, ‘Hari Hari,’ that’s all, without any motive of sense gratification.” Dekho dekho bhai, tri-bhuvane nai. He says, “My dear brothers, you just try and examine that within these three worlds there is nobody like Lord Caitanya or Nityananda Prabhu.” Because, pasu pakhi jhure, pasana vidare: “Their mercy and qualities are so great that even birds
and beasts, they are crying, what to speak of human being?” Actually, when Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu passed through the forest of Jharigrama, the tigers, the elephants, the snake, the deer, all joined Him in chanting Hare Krsna. It is so nice. Anyone can join. Animals can join, what to speak of human being? Of course, it is not possible for ordinary man to enthuse animals to chant, but Caitanya Mahaprabhu did it actually. So even if we cannot enthuse animals, we can enthuse at least human being to this path of Hare Krsna mantra chanting. Pasu pakhi jhure, pasana vidare. And it is so nice that even the most stonehearted men will be melted. Pasana vidare. Pasana means stone, and vidare. Pasana, even stone, will melt. It is so nice. But he regrets that, visaya majiya: “Being entrapped by sense gratification…” Visaya majiya, rohili bhuliya. He’s addressing himself, “My dear mind, you are entrapped in the sense gratification process and you have no attraction for chanting Hare Krsna.” Visaya bhuliya, rohili majiya, se pade nahilo asa: “You have no attraction for the lotus feet of Caitanya-Nityananda. So what can I say? It is only…” Apana karama, bhunjaya samana: “I can simply think of my misfortune only that Yamaraja, the superintendent of death, he is punishing me in this way, that he is not allowing me to be
attracted to this movement.” This is the statement of Kahoye locana-dasa: “This is the statement of Locana dasa Thakura.” (end)
Want to know how to sing this song?
Here is a link to how Srila Prabhupada sings it-which is difficult for most to follow. There is also links to 4 other devotees singing the same bhajan by Locana Das Thakur.
Srila Locana Dasa Thakura appeared in this world in 1520 A.D., thirty-four years after the appearance of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Locana Dasa wrote a biography on Lord Caitanya, entitled Sri Caitanya Mangala, and he wrote many devotional songs