CHAPTER FIFTEEN
The Lord’s Paugaṇḍa-līlā
A synopsis of the fifteenth chapter is as follows. The Lord took lessons in grammar from Gaṅgādāsa Paṇḍita and became very expert in commenting upon grammar. He forbade His mother to take grains on the Ekādaśī day. He narrated a story that Viśvarūpa, after accepting the sannyāsa order, invited Him in a dream to accept sannyāsa also, but the Lord refused and was therefore sent back home. When Jagannātha Miśra passed away, the Lord married the daughter of Vallabhācārya, whose name was Lakṣmī. All these events are summarized in this chapter.
Bengali
সুমনোঽর্পণমাত্রেণ তং চৈতন্যপ্রভুং ভজে ॥ ১ ॥
Text
yāti yasya padābjayoḥ
su-mano-’rpaṇa-mātreṇa
taṁ caitanya-prabhuṁ bhaje
Synonyms
ku-manāḥ — a person interested in activities of material sense enjoyment; su-manastvam — the position of a devotee without material desires; hi — certainly; yāti — gets; yasya — whose; pada-abjayoḥ — at the lotus feet; su-manaḥ — a flower; arpaṇa — offering; mātreṇa — simply by doing so; tam — Him; caitanya-prabhum — Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu; bhaje — I worship.
Translation
I offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya because simply by offering a flower at His lotus feet even the most ardent materialist becomes a devotee.
Bengali
জয়াদ্বৈতচন্দ্র, জয় গৌরভক্তবৃন্দ ॥ ২ ॥
Text
jayādvaitacandra, jaya gaura-bhakta-vṛnda
Synonyms
Translation
All glories to Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu! All glories to Lord Nityānanda Prabhu! All glories to Advaita Ācārya! And all glories to all the devotees of Lord Caitanya!
Bengali
পৌগণ্ড–বয়সে প্রভুর মুখ্য অধ্যয়ন ॥ ৩ ॥
Text
paugaṇḍa-vayase prabhura mukhya adhyayana
Synonyms
Translation
Let me now enumerate the activities of the Lord between the ages of five and ten. His chief occupation during this period was to engage Himself in study.
Bengali
বিদ্যারম্ভমুখা পাণিগ্রহণান্তা মনোহরা ॥ ৪ ॥
Text
kṛṣṇasyāti-suvistṛtā
vidyārambha-mukhā pāṇi-
grahaṇāntā mano-harā
Synonyms
Translation
The pastimes of the Lord during His paugaṇḍa age were very extensive. His education was His chief occupation, and after that His very beautiful marriage took place.
Bengali
শ্রবণ–মাত্রে কণ্ঠে কৈল সূত্রবৃত্তিগণ ॥ ৫ ॥
Text
śravaṇa-mātre kaṇṭhe kaila sūtra-vṛtti-gaṇa
Synonyms
Translation
When the Lord was studying grammar at the place of Gaṅgādāsa Paṇḍita, He would immediately learn grammatical rules and definitions by heart simply by hearing them once.
Purport
Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura says that the Lord was given lessons by a teacher named Viṣṇu and another teacher named Sudarśana. Later on, when He was a little grown up, He was under the care of Gaṅgādāsa Paṇḍita, who taught Him grammar of a higher standard. Anyone serious about studying the Sanskrit language should first learn grammar. It is said that simply to finish studying Sanskrit grammar takes at least twelve years, but once one learns the grammatical rules and regulations very nicely, all other scriptures or subject matters in Sanskrit are extremely easy to understand, for Sanskrit grammar is the gateway to education.
Bengali
চিরকালের পড়ুয়া জিনে হইয়া নবীন ॥ ৬ ॥
Text
cira-kālera paḍuyā jine ha-iyā navīna
Synonyms
Translation
He soon became so expert in commenting on the Pañjī-ṭīkā that He could win victory over all the other students, although He was a neophyte.
Purport
Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura says there was a commentary on grammar named Pañjī-ṭīkā that was later explained very lucidly by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
Bengali
‘চৈতন্যমঙ্গলে’ কৈল বিস্তারি বর্ণন ॥ ৭ ॥
Text
‘caitanya-maṅgale’ kaila vistāri varṇana
Synonyms
Translation
In his book Caitanya-maṅgala [which later became Caitanya-bhāgavata], Śrīla Vṛndāvana dāsa Ṭhākura has very elaborately described the Lord’s pastimes of study.
Purport
The Caitanya-bhāgavata, Ādi-khaṇḍa, chapters four, six, seven, eight, nine and ten, are a good reference for the studious pastimes of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
Bengali
প্রভু কহে,—মাতা, মোরে দেহ এক দান ॥ ৮ ॥
Text
prabhu kahe, — mātā, more deha eka dāna
Synonyms
Translation
One day Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu fell down at the feet of His mother and requested her to give Him one thing in charity.
Bengali
প্রভু কহে,—একাদশীতে অন্ন না খাইবে ॥ ৯ ॥
Text
prabhu kahe, — ekādaśīte anna nā khāibe
Synonyms
Translation
His mother replied, “My dear son, I will give You whatever You ask.” Then the Lord said, “My dear mother, please do not eat grains on the Ekādaśī day.”
Purport
From the very beginning of His childhood life Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu introduced the system of observing a fast on the Ekādaśī day. In the Bhakti-sandarbha, by Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī, there is a quotation from the Skanda Purāṇa admonishing that a person who eats grains on Ekādaśī becomes a murderer of his mother, father, brother and spiritual master, and even if he is elevated to a Vaikuṇṭha planet, he falls down. On Ekādaśī, everything is cooked for Viṣṇu, including regular grains and dhal, but it is enjoined that a Vaiṣṇava should not even take viṣṇu-prasādam on Ekādaśī. It is said that a Vaiṣṇava does not accept anything eatable that is not offered to Lord Viṣṇu, but on Ekādaśī a Vaiṣṇava should not touch even mahā-prasādam offered to Viṣṇu, although such prasādam may be kept for being eaten the next day. It is strictly forbidden for one to accept any kind of grain on Ekādaśī, even if it is offered to Lord Viṣṇu.
Bengali
সেই হৈতে একাদশী করিতে লাগিলা ॥ ১০ ॥
Text
sei haite ekādaśī karite lāgilā
Synonyms
Translation
Mother Śacī said, “You have spoken very nicely. I shall not eat grains on Ekādaśī.” From that day, she began to observe fasting on Ekādaśī.
Purport
It is a prejudice among smārta-brāhmaṇas that a widow must observe fasting on Ekādaśī but a woman who is sa-dhava — who has her husband — should not. It appears that before Lord Caitanya’s request, Śacīmātā, being sa-dhava, was not observing Ekādaśī. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, however, introduced the system that a woman, even if not a widow, must observe the Ekādaśī day and must not touch any kind of grains, even those offered to the Deity of Viṣṇu.
Bengali
কন্যা চাহি’ বিবাহ দিতে করিলেন মন ॥ ১১ ॥
Text
kanyā cāhi’ vivāha dite karilena mana
Synonyms
Translation
Thereafter, seeing that Viśvarūpa was a grown-up youth, Jagannātha Miśra wanted to find a girl and arrange a marriage ceremony for Him.
Bengali
সন্ন্যাস করিয়া তীর্থ করিবারে গেলা ॥ ১২ ॥
Text
sannyāsa kariyā tīrtha karibāre gelā
Synonyms
Translation
Hearing of this, Viśvarūpa immediately left home and went away to accept sannyāsa and travel from one place of pilgrimage to another.
Bengali
তবে প্রভু মাতা–পিতার কৈল আশ্বাসন ॥ ১৩ ॥
Text
tabe prabhu mātā-pitāra kaila āśvāsana
Synonyms
Translation
When Śacīmātā and Jagannātha Miśra heard of the departure of their elder son, Viśvarūpa, they were very unhappy, but Lord Caitanya tried to console them.
Bengali
পিতৃকুল, মাতৃকুল,—দুই উদ্ধারিল ॥ ১৪ ॥
Text
pitṛ-kula, mātṛ-kula, — dui uddhārila
Synonyms
Translation
“My dear mother and father,” the Lord said, “it is very good that Viśvarūpa has accepted the sannyāsa order, for thus He has delivered both His father’s family and His mother’s family.”
Purport
It is sometimes said that Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu disapproved of the acceptance of the sannyāsa order in this Kali-yuga because in the śāstra it is said:
devareṇa sutotpattiṁ kalau pañca vivarjayet
“In this Age of Kali, five acts are forbidden: the offering of a horse in sacrifice, the offering of a cow in sacrifice, the acceptance of the order of sannyāsa, the offering of oblations of flesh to the forefathers, and a man’s begetting children in his brother’s wife.” (Brahma-vaivarta Purāṇa, Kṛṣṇa-janma-khaṇḍa 185.180)
Nevertheless, we see that Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu Himself accepted sannyāsa and approved of the sannyāsa of His elder brother, Viśvarūpa. It is clearly said here, bhāla haila, — viśvarūpa sannyāsa karila/ pitṛ-kula, mātṛ-kula, — dui uddhārila. Therefore, should it be thought that Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu made statements that are contradictory? No, actually He did not. It is recommended that one accept sannyāsa to dedicate his life for the service of the Lord, and everyone must take that kind of sannyāsa, for by accepting such sannyāsa one renders the best service to both his paternal and maternal families. But one should not accept the sannyāsa order of the Māyāvāda school, which has practically no meaning. We find many Māyāvādī sannyāsīs simply loitering in the street thinking themselves Brahman or Nārāyaṇa and spending all day and night begging so they can fill their hungry bellies. Māyāvādī sannyāsīs have become so degraded that there is a section of them who eat everything, just like hogs and dogs. It is such degraded sannyāsa that is prohibited in this age. Actually, Śrīla Śaṅkarācārya’s principles for the acceptance of sannyāsa were very strict, but later the so-called Māyāvādī sannyāsīs became degraded because of their false philosophy, which propounds that by accepting sannyāsa one becomes Nārāyaṇa. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu rejected that kind of sannyāsa. But the acceptance of sannyāsa is one of the items of the varṇāśrama-dharma. How then can it be rejected?
Bengali
শুনিয়া সন্তুষ্ট হৈল পিতা–মাতার মন ॥ ১৫ ॥
Text
śuniyā santuṣṭa haila pitā-mātāra mana
Synonyms
Translation
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu assured His parents that He would serve them, and thus the minds of His father and mother were satisfied.
Bengali
ভূমিতে পড়িলা প্রভু অচেতন হঞা ॥ ১৬ ॥
Text
bhūmite paḍilā prabhu acetana hañā
Synonyms
Translation
One day Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu ate betel nuts offered to the Deity, but they acted as an intoxicant, and He fell down on the ground unconscious.
Purport
Betel nuts are an intoxicant, and therefore the regulative principles prohibit eating them. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s pastime of fainting after eating betel nuts is a solid instruction to all of us that one should not touch betel nuts, even those offered to Viṣṇu, just as one should not touch grains on the Ekādaśī day. Of course, Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s fainting had a particular purpose. As the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He can do whatever He likes and eat whatever He wants, but we should not imitate His pastimes.
Bengali
সুস্থ হঞা কহে প্রভু অপূর্ব কাহিনী ॥ ১৭ ॥
Text
sustha hañā kahe prabhu apūrva kāhinī
Synonyms
Translation
After His father and mother sprinkled water on His mouth with great haste, the Lord revived and said something wonderful they had never heard before.
Bengali
সন্ন্যাস করহ তুমি, আমারে কহিলা ॥ ১৮ ॥
Text
sannyāsa karaha tumi, āmāre kahilā
Synonyms
Translation
The Lord said, “Viśvarūpa took Me away from here, and He requested Me to accept the sannyāsa order.
Bengali
আমি বালক,—সন্ন্যাসের কিবা জানি কথা ॥ ১৯ ॥
Text
āmi bālaka, — sannyāsera kibā jāni kathā
Synonyms
Translation
“I replied to Viśvarūpa, ‘I have My helpless father and mother, and also I am but a child. What do I know about the sannyāsa order of life?
Bengali
ইহাতেই তুষ্ট হবেন লক্ষ্মী–নারায়ণ ॥ ২০ ॥
Text
ihāte-i tuṣṭa habena lakṣmī-nārāyaṇa
Synonyms
Translation
“ ‘Later I shall become a householder and thus serve My parents, for this action will very much satisfy Lord Nārāyaṇa and His wife, the goddess of fortune.’
Bengali
মাতাকে কহিও কোটি কোটি নমস্কারে ॥ ২১ ॥
Text
mātāke kahio koṭi koṭi namaskāre
Synonyms
Translation
“Then Viśvarūpa returned Me home and requested, ‘Offer thousands and thousands of obeisances unto My mother, Śacīdevī.’ ”
Bengali
কি কারণে লীলা,—ইহা বুঝিতে না পারি ॥ ২২ ॥
Text
ki kāraṇe līlā, — ihā bujhite nā pāri
Synonyms
Translation
In this way Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu performed various pastimes, but why He did so I cannot understand.
Purport
The Supreme Personality of Godhead and His devotees who come to this world are executing a mission, and therefore sometimes they act in a way that is very difficult to understand. It is said, therefore, vaiṣṇavera kriyā-mudrā vijñeha nā bujhaya: even if one is a very learned and intelligent scholar, he cannot understand the activities of a Vaiṣṇava. A Vaiṣṇava accepts anything favorable for executing his mission. But foolish persons, not knowing the purpose of such exalted Vaiṣṇavas, indulge in criticizing them. That is forbidden. Since no one can understand what a Vaiṣṇava does for the purpose of executing his mission, to criticize such a Vaiṣṇava is the offense called sādhu-nindā.
Bengali
মাতা–পুত্র দুঁহার বাড়িল হৃদি শোক ॥ ২৩ ॥
Text
mātā-putra duṅhāra bāḍila hṛdi śoka
Synonyms
Translation
After some days, Jagannātha Miśra passed away from this world to the transcendental world, and both mother and son were very much aggrieved in their hearts.
Bengali
পিতৃক্রিয়া বিধিমতে ঈশ্বর করিল ॥ ২৪ ॥
Text
pitṛ-kriyā vidhi-mate īśvara karila
Synonyms
Translation
Friends and relatives came there to pacify Lord Caitanya and His mother. Then Lord Caitanya, even though He was the Supreme Personality of Godhead, executed the rituals for His dead father according to the Vedic system.
Bengali
গৃহস্থ হইলাম, এবে চাহি গৃহধর্ম ॥ ২৫ ॥
Text
gṛhastha ha-ilāma, ebe cāhi gṛha-dharma
Synonyms
Translation
After some days the Lord thought, “I did not take sannyāsa, and since I am remaining at home it is My duty to act as a gṛhastha.
Bengali
এত চিন্তি’ বিবাহ করিতে হৈল মন ॥ ২৬ ॥
Text
eta cinti’ vivāha karite haila mana
Synonyms
Translation
“Without a wife,” Lord Caitanya considered, “there is no meaning to householder life.” Thus the Lord decided to marry.
Bengali
তয়া হি সহিতঃ সর্বান্ পুরুষার্থান্ সমশ্নুতে ॥ ২৭ ॥
Text
gṛhiṇī gṛham ucyate
tayā hi sahitaḥ sarvān
puruṣārthān samaśnute
Synonyms
Translation
“Merely a house is not a home, for it is a wife who gives a home its meaning. If one lives at home with his wife, together they can fulfill all the interests of human life.”
Bengali
বল্লভাচার্যের কন্যা দেখে গঙ্গা–পথে ॥ ২৮ ॥
Text
vallabhācāryera kanyā dekhe gaṅgā-pathe
Synonyms
Translation
One day when the Lord was coming back from school He accidentally saw the daughter of Vallabhācārya on the way to the Ganges.
Bengali
দৈবে বনমালী ঘটক শচী–স্থানে আইল ॥ ২৯ ॥
Text
daive vanamālī ghaṭaka śacī-sthāne āila
Synonyms
Translation
When the Lord and Lakṣmīdevī met, their relationship awakened, having already been settled, and coincidentally the marriage-maker Vanamālī came to see Śacīmātā.
Purport
Vanamālī Ghaṭaka, a resident of Navadvīpa and a brāhmaṇa by caste, arranged the marriage of the Lord to Lakṣmīdevī. He was formerly Viśvāmitra, who negotiated the marriage of Lord Rāmacandra, and later he was the brāhmaṇa who negotiated the marriage of Lord Kṛṣṇa with Rukmiṇī. That same brāhmaṇa acted as the marriage-maker of the Lord in caitanya-līlā.
Bengali
লক্ষ্মীকে বিবাহ কৈল শচীর নন্দন ॥ ৩০ ॥
Text
lakṣmīke vivāha kaila śacīra nandana
Synonyms
Translation
Following the indications of Śacīdevī, Vanamālī Ghaṭaka arranged the marriage, and thus in due course the Lord married Lakṣmīdevī.
Bengali
এই ত’ পৌগণ্ড–লীলার সূত্র–প্রকাশ ॥ ৩১ ॥
Text
ei ta’ paugaṇḍa-līlāra sūtra-prakāśa
Synonyms
Translation
Vṛndāvana dāsa Ṭhākura has elaborately described all these pastimes of the Lord’s early age. What I have given is but a condensed presentation of the same pastimes.
Bengali
বৃন্দাবন–দাস ইহা করিয়াছেন বিস্তার ॥ ৩২ ॥
Text
vṛndāvana-dāsa ihā kariyāchena vistāra
Synonyms
Translation
The Lord performed many varieties of pastimes in His early age, and Śrīla Vṛndāvana dāsa Ṭhākura has described them elaborately.
Bengali
‘চৈতন্যমঙ্গলে’ সর্বলোকে খ্যাত হৈল ॥ ৩৩ ॥
Text
‘caitanya-maṅgale’ sarva-loke khyāta haila
Synonyms
Translation
I have given but a single hint of these pastimes, for Vṛndāvana dāsa Ṭhākura, in his book Caitanya-maṅgala [now Caitanya-bhāgavata], has described them all vividly.
Bengali
চৈতন্যচরিতামৃত কহে কৃষ্ণদাস ॥ ৩৪ ॥
Text
caitanya-caritāmṛta kahe kṛṣṇadāsa
Synonyms
śrī-rūpa — Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī; raghunātha — Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī; pade — at the lotus feet; yāra — whose; āśa — expectation; caitanya-caritāmṛta — the book named Caitanya-caritāmṛta; kahe — describes; kṛṣṇadāsa — Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī.
Translation
Praying at the lotus feet of Śrī Rūpa and Śrī Raghunātha, always desiring their mercy, I, Kṛṣṇadāsa, narrate Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, following in their footsteps.
Purport
Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports to Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā, fifteenth chapter, describing the Lord’s paugaṇḍa-līlā.