Śrī Viṣṇupriyā-Pallī

An innovative initiative by Śrīla Prabhupāda to engage women in Hari-bhajana:

In society, it is generally considered ideal for women to live within household life. However, for those women who sincerely wished to dedicate themselves to bhajana—whether unmarried, widowed, or with husbands or sons who had taken to temple life for Hari-bhajana—Śrīla Prabhupāda envisioned a special arrangement. To provide them a spiritual environment, he planned to establish Śrī Viṣṇupriyā-Pallī in Śrīdhām Māyāpur.

The Identity of Viṣṇupriyā Devī –
Śrīla Prabhupāda’s statement on the identity of Viṣṇupriyā Devī:

In verse 43 of Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā, Śrī Kavi Karṇapūra has written that the one who formerly was Rājarṣi Janaka, the ruler of Mithilā, has appeared as Vallabhācārya in Gaurā incarnation. Both Jānakī (Sītā Devī) and Rukmiṇī appeared together as Śrī Lakṣmī Devī, the daughter of Vallabhācārya. Before Śrī Gaurasundara revealed His prema-bhakti, Śrī Lakṣmī Devī disappeared. When Śrī Viṣṇupriyā Devī, the embodiment of ‘prema-bhakti’, was growing up, Śrī Lakṣmīpriyā Devī was engaged in the service of Gaura-Nārāyaṇa. As that ‘prema-bhakti’ gradually grew and became suitable to serve Śrī Gaurasundara, Śrī Lakṣmī Devī disappeared. From the perspective of etymology, Śrī Viṣṇupriyā Devī is the personified ‘bhū-śakti’. In the ‘Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā’, Śrī Kavi Karṇapūra has written that the one who was King Satrajit in Dvāpara-yuga appeared as Sanātana Rājapaṇḍita in Gaurā incarnation. Jaganmātā Śrī Viṣṇupriyā Devī, the embodiment of the ‘bhū-śakti’, was his daughter. In his play ‘Śrī Caitanya-candrodaya-nāṭaka’, Kavi Karṇapūra also describes Śrī Viṣṇupriyā Devī as a partial expansion (aṁśa-rūpā) of ‘pṛthivī’. Śrī Gaurasundara is the combined form of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. Therefore, Jaganmātā Śrī Viṣṇupriyā Devī, who bestows affection for the devotees (bhakta-vātsalya), can be seen as an associate in Śrī Gaurasundara’s mission of distributing prema-bhakti. In this aspect, she may be identified as Parameśvarī and a devoted companion (sahacarī-bhaktā) of Śrī Vṛṣabhānunandinī (Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī), and a ‘sevikā’ of Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. In His Ādi-līlā, the pastimes of His Nārāyaṇa mood, Śrī Gaurasundara accepted both Śrī Lakṣmīpriyā and Śrī Viṣṇupriyā as His wives through marriage.

The divine life and teachings of Śrī Viṣṇupriyā Devī:

Śrī Gaurasundara relished the ‘nāma-prema-rasa’ and personally played the role of the ācārya to distribute it throughout the world. Through her divine pastimes, Śrī Viṣṇupriyā Devī offered a profound lesson to the world that she is the ideal ācārya who teaches nāma-bhajana (chanting of the Holy Name) during the Gaurasundara’s pastimes of separation (vipralambha-līlā). By the mercy of Śrī Viṣṇupriyā Ṭhākurāṇī, the bondage of household attachment can be uprooted, granting us entrance into Śrī Gaura-gṛha (the divine home of Śrī Gaurasundara) in Śrī Yogamāyāpur and the attainment of divine love.

Śrīla Prabhupāda’s Homage to Śrī Viṣṇupriyā Devī:

Out of deep reverence for Śrī Viṣṇupriyā Devī, Śrīla Prabhupāda chose to formally inaugurate the Gauḍīya Maṭha on her divine appearance day—February 4th, 1919—by organizing the Viśva-Vaiṣṇava Rāja-Sabhā at Śrī Bhaktivinoda Āsana, located at  No. 1, Ulṭaḍiṅgī Junction. Inspired by the ideal life of Viṣṇupriyā Devī, Śrīla Prabhupāda sought to guide the women of society through her example. On July 11th, 1936, from Śrī Puruṣottama Maṭha in Purī, he expressed this intention in a written letter.

Śrīla Prabhupāda’s Letter Regarding the Establishment of Śrī Viṣṇupriyā-Pallī
 Śrī Puruṣottama Maṭha, Purī
 11th Āṣāḍha, 1336 Bengali Era
 25th June, 1929

My dear devotees,

Śrī Viṣṇupriyā-Pallī should certainly be established in Śrīdhām Māyāpur. However, those who claim independence and do not remain under the guidance of Śrī Viṣṇupriyā should not be given a place in Māyāpur. So long as the arrangements for Viṣṇupriyā-Pallī were being made in the mood of either fathers or sons, to the women devotees, there was no disturbance. The women devotees, as followers of Śrī Viṣṇupriyā, are meant to serve Śrī Mahāprabhu. They should not assert any sovereign identity.

With eternal blessings, Siddhānta Sarasvatī