Scores from the First Book Distributors
Written on palm leaves, a letter from Narottam Das Thakura to Srila Jiva Goswami contains the annual book distribution scores for the year ending on Gaura Purnima of Shaka 1501 (AD 1579):
Srinivas Acharya
- Bhagavatam with Vaishnava Toshani – 6
- Jnanadas's songs – 23
- Govinda Dasa's songs – 19
- Narottam Dasa's Prarthana – 11
- Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu – 1
- Chaitanya Bhagavata – 22
- Lochan Dasa's Chaitanya Mangal – 6
- Hari bhakti-vilasa – 1
- Murari Gupta's kardaca – 1
Narottam Dasa
- Bhagavatam – 2
- Jnanadas's songs – 21
- Prarthana – 56
- Chaitanya Bhagavata – 45
- Chaitanya-candramrita – 5
- Vasu Ghosh's Gauranga-padavalis – 34
Shyamananda
- Bhagavatam – 4
- Jnanadas's songs – 10
- Govinda Dasa's songs – 11
- Other songs – 34
- Narottam Dasa's Prarthana – 16
- Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu – 5
- Ujjvala-nilamani – 1
- Chaitanya Bhagavata – 25
- Chaitanya-chandramrita – 15
- Vasu Ghosh's Gauranga-padavalis – 14
Narottama Thakur concludes his letter with the following emotional comment:
"Until we are able to develop another type of technology to print the books, due to the difficulty involved in creating books by hand (which is being neglected), most of our book distribution program will be postponed. We are sure that one day some magnanimous person will come and will develop the movement of ecstatic love of Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, distributing books all over the world. Until then, what will we — persons who are poor, bereft and abominable — do?
"What is the benefit of discussing the stories of the Lord's incarnations, worshiping the Lord's Deities, giving musical recitations of the Lord's pastimes, chanting the Lord's holy names on beads, etc., when we have such small scores
This piece came from Nila-lakshmi Dasi, who has distributed books for thirty years, the last eight of them in Sri Sri Krishna-Balaram Mandir in Vrindaban. She received these scores from Radha Kunda Dasi (who is the wife of Yasomatinandana Prabhu — both disciples of Srila Prabhupada), who daily distributes up to four hundred books in the holy dhama.
