Ganga Dasa Pandita was the guru of Lord Chaitanya in his early life. When Jagannatha Misra wanted to enroll his son Nimai in school, he took Nimai to Ganga Dasa Pandita. Ganga Dasa was amazed by Nimai's intelligence and treated him like his own son. Nimai quickly mastered the lessons and began teaching other students, surpassing even Ganga Dasa. Ganga Dasa realized Nimai was no ordinary student. Later, Ganga Dasa encouraged Nimai to continue his studies, saying that study is important for a brahmana. Nimai agreed to continue but said he could defeat all other scholars
Ganga Dasa Pandita was the guru of Lord Chaitanya in his early life. When Jagannatha Misra wanted to enroll his son Nimai in school, he took Nimai to Ganga Dasa Pandita. Ganga Dasa was amazed by Nimai's intelligence and treated him like his own son. Nimai quickly mastered the lessons and began teaching other students, surpassing even Ganga Dasa. Ganga Dasa realized Nimai was no ordinary student. Later, Ganga Dasa encouraged Nimai to continue his studies, saying that study is important for a brahmana. Nimai agreed to continue but said he could defeat all other scholars
Ganga Dasa Pandita was the guru of Lord Chaitanya in his early life. When Jagannatha Misra wanted to enroll his son Nimai in school, he took Nimai to Ganga Dasa Pandita. Ganga Dasa was amazed by Nimai's intelligence and treated him like his own son. Nimai quickly mastered the lessons and began teaching other students, surpassing even Ganga Dasa. Ganga Dasa realized Nimai was no ordinary student. Later, Ganga Dasa encouraged Nimai to continue his studies, saying that study is important for a brahmana. Nimai agreed to continue but said he could defeat all other scholars
Ganga Dasa Pandita was the guru of Lord Chaitanya in his early life. When Jagannatha Misra wanted to enroll his son Nimai in school, he took Nimai to Ganga Dasa Pandita. Ganga Dasa was amazed by Nimai's intelligence and treated him like his own son. Nimai quickly mastered the lessons and began teaching other students, surpassing even Ganga Dasa. Ganga Dasa realized Nimai was no ordinary student. Later, Ganga Dasa encouraged Nimai to continue his studies, saying that study is important for a brahmana. Nimai agreed to continue but said he could defeat all other scholars
opened his own grammar tol by the order of His guru.
His tol was held at the house of Mukunda Sanjoy in the
GANGA DASA PANDITA pavilion where they conducted Durga Puja. Day by day his students increased and even at such a young age he My obeisances to Sri Gangadasa Pandita, who is the attained such proficiency in scholarship that everyone disciple of the husband of Sarasvati, the master of the including even Ganga dasa Pandita was simply amazed. Vedas. [C.B.Mad 1.283] While He engaged in His pastimes of learning His After the ceremony in which Sri Gaursundara was mother Saci Mata was very happy. Eventually the time invested with the sacred thread, He took up his came for Him to go to Gaya under the plea of offering studies at home, under the tutorship of his father. rites for His deceased father. After being initiated by Sri When Sri Jagannatha Misra saw that his son was very Isvari Puri He returned from there a changed person. eager to be admitted to an academic institutution, his Now he explained all the sutras in relationship to Sri father took him to the house of Sri Ganga dasa Pandita, Krsna. Besides that, he knew nothing else. Finally his to get Him admitted into Ganga dasa Pandita's tol. In students went to Ganga dasa Pandita to inform him of Krsna-lila Ganga dasa Pandita was the teacher of the new developments. Balarama and Krsna, Sandipani Muni. That afternoon when Nimai came to offer his respects When he saw Jagannatha Misra had come to his house, to his guru, Ganga dasa Pandita very affectionately Ganga dasa got up to respectfully receive him and blessed him saying, "Bap Visvambhara (Bap is an after embracing him, he very affectionately affectionate term which literally means father, but which requested him to take his seat. Jagannatha Misra is used loosely even by mothers to address their sons), addressed him, "I have brought my son to you. now hear my words. The scholarship of brahmanas is Please become his teacher and instruct him how to not a matter of small fortune. On both sides of your read and write." Sri Ganga dasa Pandita replied, "Only family Nilambara Cakravarti, your maternal unless one is greatly fortunate does he get the chance to grandfather, and your father Jagannath Misra instruct a child who is endowed with the symptoms of weren't uneducated fools. You are also very qualified to such a high-souled saintly person. I will teach him explain ins and outs of logic. If by giving up teaching to the best of my ability." one attains devotion, then why didn't your father and grandfather give it up? Were they not devotees? Thus Sri Jagannatha Misra presented his son Nimai into the hands of Ganga dasa Pandita and then returned Considering all this, please continue your studies. home. By study one becomes a Vaisnava brahmana. If a brahmana becomes a fool then how will he distinguish While looking at his new disciple, Gangadas became between good and bad. Reflecting on these matters you immersed in great happiness and kept Nimai with him should pursue your studies and continue to teach your just as if he was his own son. students nicely. On my honor I am stating this, that [C.B. Adi 8.32] you might not explain things in a contrary fashion." Ganga dasa could undestand by the divine appearance Nimai replied, "By your mercy, there is not a soul in and nature of this boy that he was not ordinary, and so Navadwipa who can defeat me in philosophical debate. he began to carefully instruct him while treating him Let me see which of these great panditas can refute the just like his own son. The boy Nimai had such a explanations of the sutras that I will now give. I am miraculous intellect that after hearing the sutras only going to the tol to begin instructing these points just once, he had completely committed them to the now." Hearing these words of Sri Gaurasundor, Ganga memory. Within a few days he came to occupy the seat dasa was pleased. Thus Mahaprabhu took the dust of at the head of the class. Gradually it came to pass that his lotus feet and went of to the tol. sometimes Nimai would explain the sutras even (Then what happened?) better than his teacher. Not one amongst hundreds and hundreds of students in the tol could rival him. Ganga "What is left for Ganga dasa to accomplish, who has dasa undestood very quickly that Nimai was his best most worshipable person in the fourteen worlds as his student. Whatever pastimes the Lord enacts He does disciple?" so to the penultimate degree. Amongst the better students of the Pandit was Sri Kamalakanta, Murari Gupta, Sri Krsnananda and others, to whom Nimai would pose many tricky questions. Their discussions would usually end up at the bathing ghat at the Ganga with loud arguments and eventually pushing and mud slinging. Nimai would establish one conclusion, then defeat that by establishing another, and then establish the original conclusion again with better arguments. Seeing his genius the other students were simply struck with wonder and Ganga dasa Pandita was in total ecstasy. After practising logic and rhetoric for some days under the tutelage of Ganga das Pandit, Sri Nimai then