CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
The Lord Travels to Vṛndāvana
The following summary of the seventeenth chapter is given by Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura in his Amṛta-pravāha-bhāṣya. After attending the Ratha-yātrā ceremony of Śrī Jagannātha, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu decided to start for Vṛndāvana. Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya and Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī selected a brāhmaṇa named Balabhadra Bhaṭṭācārya to personally assist Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Early in the morning before sunrise, the Lord started for the town of Kaṭaka (Cuttack). North of Kaṭaka, He penetrated a dense forest and came upon many tigers and elephants, whom He engaged in chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. Whenever the Lord had a chance to visit a village, Balabhadra Bhaṭṭācārya would beg alms and acquire some rice and vegetables. If there were no village, Balabhadra would cook whatever rice remained and collect some spinach from the forest for the Lord to eat. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was very pleased with the behavior of Balabhadra Bhaṭṭācārya.
In this way the Lord passed through the jungle of Jhārikhaṇḍa (Jharkhand) and finally reached Vārāṇasī. After taking His bath at the Maṇikarṇikā-ghāṭa at Vārāṇasī, He met Tapana Miśra, who took the Lord to his place and respectfully gave Him a comfortable residence. At Vārāṇasī, Vaidya Candraśekhara, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s old friend, also rendered service unto Him. Seeing the behavior of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, a Maharashtriyan brāhmaṇa informed Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī, the leader of the Māyāvādī sannyāsīs. Prakāśānanda made various accusations against the Lord. The Maharashtriyan brāhmaṇa was very sorry about this, and he brought the news to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, inquiring from Him why the Māyāvādī sannyāsīs did not utter the holy name of Kṛṣṇa. In reply, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said that they were offenders and that one should not associate with them. In this way the Lord bestowed His blessings upon the brāhmaṇa.
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu next passed through Prayāga and Mathurā and then took His lunch at the home of a Sānoḍiyā brāhmaṇa, a disciple of Mādhavendra Purī. He bestowed His blessings upon the brāhmaṇa by accepting lunch at his place. Thereafter the Lord visited the twelve forests of Vṛndāvana and was filled with great ecstatic love. As He toured the Vṛndāvana forests, He heard the chirping of parrots and other birds.
Bengali
প্রেমোন্মত্তান্ সহোন্নৃত্যান্ বিদধে কৃষ্ণজল্পিনঃ ॥ ১ ॥
Text
vyāghrebhaiṇa-khagān vane
premonmattān sahonnṛtyān
vidadhe kṛṣṇa-jalpinaḥ
Synonyms
gacchan — going; vṛndāvanam — to Vṛndāvana-dhāma; gauraḥ — Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu; vyāghra — tigers; ibha — elephants; eṇa — deer; khagān — and birds; vane — in the forest; prema-unmattān — maddened by ecstatic love; saha — with; unnṛtyān — dancing; vidadhe — made; kṛṣṇa — Lord Kṛṣṇa’s name; jalpinaḥ — chanting.
Translation
On His way to Vṛndāvana, Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu passed through the forest of Jhārikhaṇḍa and made all the tigers, elephants, deer and birds chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra and dance. Thus all these animals were overwhelmed by ecstatic love.
Bengali
জয়াদ্বৈতচন্দ্র জয় গৌরভক্তবৃন্দ ॥ ২ ॥
Text
jayādvaita-candra jaya gaura-bhakta-vṛnda
Synonyms
Translation
All glories to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu! All glories to Lord Nityānanda! All glories to Advaitacandra! And all glories to all the devotees of the Lord!
Bengali
রামানন্দ-স্বরূপ-সঙ্গে নিভৃতে যুকতি ॥ ৩ ॥
Text
rāmānanda-svarūpa-saṅge nibhṛte yukati
Synonyms
Translation
When autumn arrived, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu decided to go to Vṛndāvana. In a solitary place, He consulted with Rāmānanda Rāya and Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī.
Bengali
তবে আমি যাঞা দেখি শ্রীবৃন্দাবন ॥ ৪ ॥
Text
tabe āmi yāñā dekhi śrī-vṛndāvana
Synonyms
Translation
The Lord requested Rāmānanda Rāya and Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī to help Him go to Vṛndāvana.
Bengali
একাকী যাইব, কাহোঁ সঙ্গে না লইব ॥ ৫ ॥
Text
ekākī yāiba, kāhoṅ saṅge nā la-iba
Synonyms
Translation
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, “I shall leave early in the morning and go incognito, taking the road through the forest. I shall go alone — I shall not take anyone with Me.
Bengali
সবারে রাখিবা, যেন কেহ নাহি যায় ॥ ৬ ॥
Text
sabāre rākhibā, yena keha nāhi yāya
Synonyms
Translation
“If someone wants to follow Me, please stop him. I don’t want anyone to go with Me.
Bengali
তোমা-সবার ‘সুখে’ পথে হবে মোর ‘সুখ’ ॥” ৭ ॥
Text
tomā-sabāra ‘sukhe’ pathe habe mora ‘sukha’ ”
Synonyms
Translation
“Please give Me your permission with great pleasure and do not be unhappy. If you are happy, I shall be happy on My way to Vṛndāvana.”
Bengali
যেই ইচ্ছা, সেই করিবা, নহ ‘পরতন্ত্র’ ॥ ৮ ॥
Text
yei icchā, sei karibā, naha ‘paratantra’
Synonyms
Translation
Upon hearing this, Rāmānanda Rāya and Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī replied, “Dear Lord, You are completely independent. Since You are not dependent on anyone, You will do whatever You desire.
Bengali
‘তোমার সুখে আমার সুখ’ — কহিলা আপনে ॥ ৯ ॥
Text
‘tomāra sukhe āmāra sukha’ — kahilā āpane
Synonyms
Translation
“Dear Lord, kindly hear our one petition. You have already said that You will derive happiness from our happiness. This is Your own statement.
Bengali
এক নিবেদন যদি ধর, দয়াময় ॥ ১০ ॥
Text
eka nivedana yadi dhara, dayāmaya
Synonyms
Translation
“If You will please accept just one request, we shall be very, very happy.
Bengali
ভিক্ষা করি’ ভিক্ষা দিবে, যাবে পাত্র বহি’ ॥ ১১ ॥
Text
bhikṣā kari’ bhikṣā dibe, yābe pātra vahi’
Synonyms
Translation
“Our Lord, please take one very nice brāhmaṇa with You. He will collect alms for You, cook for You, give You prasādam and carry Your waterpot while traveling.
Bengali
আজ্ঞা কর, — সঙ্গে চলুক বিপ্র একজন ॥’ ১২ ॥
Text
ājñā kara, — saṅge caluka vipra eka-jana’
Synonyms
Translation
“When You go through the jungle, there will be no brāhmaṇa available from whom You can accept lunch. Therefore please give permission for at least one pure brāhmaṇa to accompany You.”
Bengali
একজনে নিলে, আনের মনে দুঃখ হইব ॥ ১৩ ॥
Text
eka-jane nile, ānera mane duḥkha ha-iba
Synonyms
Translation
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, “I shall not take any of My associates with Me, because if I choose someone, all the others will be unhappy.
Bengali
ঐছে যবে পাই, তবে লই ‘এক’ জন ॥ ১৪ ॥
Text
aiche yabe pāi, tabe la-i ‘eka’ jana
Synonyms
Translation
“Such a person must be a new man, and he must have a peaceful mind. If I can obtain such a man, I shall agree to take him with Me.”
Purport
Formerly, when Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu went to South India, a brāhmaṇa named Kālā Kṛṣṇadāsa went with Him. Kālā Kṛṣṇadāsa fell victim to a woman, and Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu had to take the trouble to free him from the clutches of the gypsies. Therefore the Lord here says that He wants a new man who is peaceful in mind. One whose mind is not peaceful is agitated by certain drives, especially sex desire, even though he be in the company of Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Such a man will become a victim of women and will fall down even in the company of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Māyā is so strong that unless one is determined not to fall victim, even the Supreme Personality of Godhead cannot give protection. The Supreme Lord and His representative always want to give protection, but a person must take advantage of their personal contact. If one thinks that the Supreme Personality of Godhead or His representative is an ordinary man, he will certainly fall down. Thus Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu did not want a person like Kālā Kṛṣṇadāsa to accompany Him. He wanted someone who was determined, who had a peaceful mind, and who was not agitated by ulterior motives.
Bengali
তোমাতে সুস্নিগ্ধ বড়, পণ্ডিত, সাধু, আর্য ॥ ১৫ ॥
Text
tomāte su-snigdha baḍa, paṇḍita, sādhu, ārya
Synonyms
Translation
Svarūpa Dāmodara then said, “Here is Balabhadra Bhaṭṭācārya, who has great love for You. He is an honest, learned scholar, and he is advanced in spiritual consciousness.
Purport
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu wanted a new man, not a person like Kālā Kṛṣṇadāsa who would fall for women. Svarūpa Dāmodara therefore immediately pointed out a new brāhmaṇa named Balabhadra Bhaṭṭācārya. Śrī Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī had studied this person very thoroughly and had seen that he had great love for Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Not only did he love the Lord, but he was also learned and honest. He was not duplicitous, and he was advanced in Kṛṣṇa consciousness. According to a Bengali proverb, ati bhakti corera lakṣaṇa: “Too much devotion is a symptom of a thief.” A person who assumes himself to be a great devotee but mentally is thinking of something else is duplicitous. One who is not duplicitous is called sādhu. Svarūpa Dāmodara immediately pointed out that Balabhadra Bhaṭṭācārya was quite fit to accompany the Lord because he was a learned scholar and was simple and had great love for Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu. He was also advanced in Kṛṣṇa consciousness; therefore he was considered appropriate for accompanying the Lord as a personal servant.
The words snigdha (“very peaceful”) and su-snigdha (“affectionate”) are used in verses fourteen and fifteen respectively, and they are also found in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.1.8): brūyuḥ snigdhasya śiṣyasya guravo guhyam apy uta. “A disciple who has actual love for his spiritual master is endowed, by the blessings of the spiritual master, with all confidential knowledge.” Śrīla Śrīdhara Svāmī has commented that the word snigdhasya means prema-vataḥ. The word prema-vataḥ indicates that one has great love for his spiritual master.
Bengali
ইঁহার ইচ্ছা আছে ‘সর্বতীর্থ’ করিতে ॥ ১৬ ॥
Text
iṅhāra icchā āche ‘sarva-tīrtha’ karite
Synonyms
Translation
“In the beginning, he came with You from Bengal. It is his desire to visit and see all the holy places of pilgrimage.
Bengali
ইঁহো পথে করিবেন সেবা-ভিক্ষা-কৃত্য ॥ ১৭ ॥
Text
iṅho pathe karibena sevā-bhikṣā-kṛtya
Synonyms
Translation
“In addition, You may take another brāhmaṇa who will act as a servant en route and make arrangements for Your food.
Bengali
বন-পথে যাইতে তোমার নহিবে কোন ‘দুঃখ’ ॥ ১৮ ॥
Text
vana-pathe yāite tomāra nahibe kona ‘duḥkha’
Synonyms
Translation
“If You can also take him with You, we will be very happy. If two people go with You through the jungle, there will certainly be no difficulty or inconvenience.
Bengali
ভট্টাচার্য ভিক্ষা দিবে করি’ ভিক্ষাটন ॥ ১৯ ॥
Text
bhaṭṭācārya bhikṣā dibe kari’ bhikṣāṭana
Synonyms
Translation
“The other brāhmaṇa can carry Your cloth and waterpot, and Balabhadra Bhaṭṭācārya will collect alms and cook for You.”
Bengali
বলভদ্র-ভট্টাচার্যে সঙ্গে করি’ নিল ॥ ২০ ॥
Text
balabhadra-bhaṭṭācārye saṅge kari’ nila
Synonyms
tāṅhāra vacana — his words; prabhu — Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu; aṅgīkāra kaila — accepted; balabhadra-bhaṭṭācārye — Balabhadra Bhaṭṭācārya; saṅge kari’ nila — took with Him.
Translation
Thus Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu accepted the request of Svarūpa Dāmodara Paṇḍita and agreed to take Balabhadra Bhaṭṭācārya with Him.
Bengali
শেষ-রাত্রে উঠি’ প্রভু চলিলা লুকাঞা ॥ ২১ ॥
Text
śeṣa-rātre uṭhi’ prabhu calilā lukāñā
Synonyms
Translation
On the previous night, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu had visited Lord Jagannātha and taken His permission. Now, near the end of the night, the Lord got up and started immediately. He was not seen by others.
Bengali
অন্বেষণ করি’ ফিরে ব্যাকুল হঞা ॥ ২২ ॥
Text
anveṣaṇa kari’ phire vyākula hañā
Synonyms
Translation
Because the Lord had departed, the devotees, unable to see Him early in the morning, began to search for Him with great anxiety.
Bengali
নিবৃত্ত হঞা রহে সবে জানি’ প্রভুর মন ॥ ২৩ ॥
Text
nivṛtta hañā rahe sabe jāni’ prabhura mana
Synonyms
Translation
While all the devotees were searching for the Lord, Svarūpa Dāmodara restrained them. Then everyone fell silent, knowing the mind of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
Bengali
‘কটক’ ডাহিনে করি’ বনে প্রবেশিলা ॥ ২৪ ॥
Text
‘kaṭaka’ ḍāhine kari’ vane praveśilā
Synonyms
Translation
The Lord abandoned walking on the well-known public road and went instead along a bypass. He thus kept the city of Kaṭaka on His right as He entered the forest.
Bengali
হস্তি-ব্যাঘ্র পথ ছাড়ে প্রভুরে দেখিয়া ॥ ২৫ ॥
Text
hasti-vyāghra patha chāḍe prabhure dekhiyā
Synonyms
Translation
When the Lord passed through the solitary forest chanting the holy name of Kṛṣṇa, the tigers and elephants, seeing Him, gave way.
Bengali
তার মধ্যে আবেশে প্রভু করিলা গমন ॥ ২৬ ॥
Text
tāra madhye āveśe prabhu karilā gamana
Synonyms
Translation
When the Lord passed through the jungle in great ecstasy, packs of tigers, elephants, rhinoceros and boars came, and the Lord passed right through them.
Bengali
প্রভুর প্রতাপে তারা এক পাশ হয় ॥ ২৭ ॥
Text
prabhura pratāpe tārā eka pāśa haya
Synonyms
Translation
Balabhadra Bhaṭṭācārya was very much afraid to see them, but by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s influence, all the animals stood to one side.
Bengali
আবেশে তার গায়ে প্রভুর লাগিল চরণ ॥ ২৮ ॥
Text
āveśe tāra gāye prabhura lāgila caraṇa
Synonyms
Translation
One day a tiger was lying on the path, and Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, walking along the path in ecstatic love, touched the tiger with His feet.
Bengali
‘কৃষ্ণ’ ‘কৃষ্ণ’ কহি’ ব্যাঘ্র নাচিতে লাগিল ॥ ২৯ ॥
Text
‘kṛṣṇa’ ‘kṛṣṇa’ kahi’ vyāghra nācite lāgila
Synonyms
Translation
The Lord said, “Chant the holy name of Kṛṣṇa!” The tiger immediately got up and began to dance and to chant “Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa!”
Bengali
মত্তহস্তিযূথ আইল করিতে জলপান ॥ ৩০ ॥
Text
matta-hasti-yūtha āila karite jala-pāna
Synonyms
Translation
Another day, while Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was bathing in a river, a herd of maddened elephants came there to drink water.
Bengali
‘কৃষ্ণ কহ’ বলি’ প্রভু জল ফেলি’ মারিলা ॥ ৩১ ॥
Text
‘kṛṣṇa kaha’ bali’ prabhu jala pheli’ mārilā
Synonyms
prabhu — Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu; jala-kṛtya kare — bathed and was chanting the Gāyatrī mantra within the water; āge — in front; hastī — the elephants; āilā — came; kṛṣṇa kaha — chant Hare Kṛṣṇa; bali’ — saying; prabhu — Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu; jala pheli’ — throwing water; mārilā — struck.
Translation
While the Lord was bathing and murmuring the Gāyatrī mantra, the elephants came before Him. The Lord immediately splashed some water on the elephants and asked them to chant the name of Kṛṣṇa.
Purport
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was the Supreme Personality of Godhead playing the part of a very great, advanced devotee. On the mahā-bhāgavata platform, the devotee makes no distinction between friends and enemies. On that platform he sees everyone as a servant of Kṛṣṇa. As stated in the Bhagavad-gītā (5.18):
śuni caiva śva-pāke ca paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ
“The humble sages, by virtue of true knowledge, see with equal vision a learned and gentle brāhmaṇa, a cow, an elephant, a dog, and a dog-eater [outcaste].”
A mahā-bhāgavata, being learned and advanced in spiritual consciousness, sees no difference between a tiger, an elephant or a learned scholar. The test of advanced spiritual consciousness is that one becomes fearless. He envies no one, and he is always engaged in the Lord’s service. He sees every living entity as an eternal part and parcel of the Lord, rendering service according to his capacity by the will of the Supreme Lord. As Kṛṣṇa confirms in the Bhagavad-gītā (15.15):
mattaḥ smṛtir jñānam apohanaṁ ca
“I am seated in everyone’s heart, and from Me come remembrance, knowledge and forgetfulness.”
The mahā-bhāgavata knows that Kṛṣṇa is in everyone’s heart. Kṛṣṇa is dictating, and the living entity is following His dictations. Kṛṣṇa is within the heart of the tiger, elephant and boar. Therefore Kṛṣṇa tells them, “Here is a mahā-bhāgavata. Please do not disturb him.” Why, then, should the animals be envious of such a great personality? Those who are neophytes or even a little progressed in devotional service should not try to imitate the mahā-bhāgavata. Rather, they should only follow in his footsteps. The word anukara means “imitating,” and anusara means “trying to follow in the footsteps.” We should not try to imitate the activities of a mahā-bhāgavata or Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Our best efforts should be exerted in trying to follow them according to our ability. The mahā-bhāgavata’s heart is completely freed from material contamination, and he can become very dear even to fierce animals like tigers and elephants. Indeed, the mahā-bhāgavata treats them as his very intimate friends. On this platform there is no question of envy. When the Lord was passing through the forest, He was in ecstasy, thinking the forest to be Vṛndāvana. He was simply searching for Kṛṣṇa.
Bengali
সেই ‘কৃষ্ণ’ ‘কৃষ্ণ’ কহে, প্রেমে নাচে, গায় ॥ ৩২ ॥
Text
sei ‘kṛṣṇa’ ‘kṛṣṇa’ kahe, preme nāce, gāya
Synonyms
Translation
The elephants whose bodies were touched by the water splashed by the Lord began to chant “Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa!” and dance and sing in ecstasy.
Bengali
দেখি’ ভট্টাচার্যের মনে হয় চমৎকার ॥ ৩৩ ॥
Text
dekhi’ bhaṭṭācāryera mane haya camatkāra
Synonyms
Translation
Some of the elephants fell to the ground, and some screamed in ecstasy. Seeing this, Balabhadra Bhaṭṭācārya was completely astonished.
Bengali
মধুর কণ্ঠধ্বনি শুনি’ আইসে মৃগীগণ ॥ ৩৪ ॥
Text
madhura kaṇṭha-dhvani śuni’ āise mṛgī-gaṇa
Synonyms
Translation
Sometimes Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu chanted very loudly while passing through the jungle. Hearing His sweet voice, all the does came near Him.
Bengali
প্রভু তার অঙ্গ মুছে, শ্লোক পড়ে রঙ্গে ॥ ৩৫ ॥
Text
prabhu tāra aṅga muche, śloka paḍe raṅge
Synonyms
Translation
Hearing the Lord’s great vibration, all the does followed Him left and right. While reciting a verse with great curiosity, the Lord patted them.
Bengali
যা নন্দনন্দনমুপাত্ত-বিচিত্রবেশম্ ।
আকর্ণ্য বেণুরণিতং সহকৃষ্ণসারাঃ
পূজাং দধুর্বিরচিতাং প্রণয়াবলোকৈঃ ॥ ৩৬ ॥
Text
yā nanda-nandanam upātta-vicitra-veśam
ākarṇya veṇu-raṇitaṁ saha-kṛṣṇa-sārāḥ
pūjāṁ dadhur viracitāṁ praṇayāvalokaiḥ
Synonyms
dhanyāḥ — fortunate, blessed; sma — certainly; mūḍha-matayaḥ — foolish, without good sense; api — although; hariṇyaḥ — she-deer; etāḥ — these; yāḥ — who; nanda-nandanam — the son of Mahārāja Nanda; upātta-vicitra-veśam — dressed very attractively; ākarṇya — hearing; veṇu-raṇitam — the sound of His flute; saha-kṛṣṇa-sārāḥ — accompanied by the black deer (their husbands); pūjām dadhuḥ — they worshiped; viracitām — performed; praṇaya-avalokaiḥ — by their affectionate glances.
Translation
“ ‘Blessed are all these foolish deer because they have approached Mahārāja Nanda’s son, who is gorgeously dressed and is playing on His flute. Indeed, both the does and the bucks worship the Lord with looks of love and affection.’ ”
Purport
This is a verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.21.11) spoken by the gopīs of Vṛndāvana.
Bengali
ব্যাঘ্র-মৃগী মিলি’ চলে মহাপ্রভুর সাথ ॥ ৩৭ ॥
Text
vyāghra-mṛgī mili’ cale mahāprabhura sātha
Synonyms
Translation
While Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was passing through the jungle, five or seven tigers came. Joining the deer, the tigers began to follow the Lord.
Bengali
বৃন্দাবন-গুণ-বর্ণন শ্লোক পড়িল ॥ ৩৮ ॥
Text
vṛndāvana-guṇa-varṇana śloka paḍila
Synonyms
Translation
Seeing the tigers and deer following Him, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu immediately remembered the land of Vṛndāvana. He then began to recite a verse describing the transcendental quality of Vṛndāvana.
Bengali
মিত্রাণীবাজিতাবাস-দ্রুত-রুট্-তর্ষণাদিকম্ ॥ ৩৯ ॥
Text
sahāsan nṛ-mṛgādayaḥ
mitrāṇīvājitāvāsa-
druta-ruṭ-tarṣaṇādikam
Synonyms
Translation
“ ‘Vṛndāvana is the transcendental abode of the Lord. There is no hunger, anger or thirst there. Though naturally inimical, human beings and fierce animals live together there in transcendental friendship.’ ”
Purport
This is a statement from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.13.60). After stealing the cowherd boys and calves of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, Lord Brahmā kept them asleep and hid them. After a moment, Brahmā returned to see Kṛṣṇa’s condition. When he saw that Kṛṣṇa was still busy with His cowherd boyfriends and animals and was not disturbed, Lord Brahmā appreciated the transcendental opulence of Vṛndāvana.
Bengali
‘কৃষ্ণ’ কহি’ ব্যাঘ্র-মৃগ নাচিতে লাগিল ॥ ৪০ ॥
Text
‘kṛṣṇa’ kahi’ vyāghra-mṛga nācite lāgila
Synonyms
Translation
When Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said “Chant ‘Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa!’ ” the tigers and deer began to chant “Kṛṣṇa!” and dance.
Bengali
বলভদ্র-ভট্টাচার্য দেখে অপূর্ব-রঙ্গে ॥ ৪১ ॥
Text
balabhadra-bhaṭṭācārya dekhe apūrva-raṅge
Synonyms
Translation
When all the tigers and does danced and jumped, Balabhadra Bhaṭṭācārya saw them and was struck with wonder.
Bengali
মুখে মুখ দিয়া করে অন্যোন্যে চুম্বন ॥ ৪২ ॥
Text
mukhe mukha diyā kare anyonye cumbana
Synonyms
Translation
Indeed, the tigers and deer began to embrace one another, and touching mouths, they began to kiss.
Bengali
তা-সবাকে তাহাঁ ছাড়ি’ আগে চলি’ গেলা ॥ ৪৩ ॥
Text
tā-sabāke tāhāṅ chāḍi’ āge cali’ gelā
Synonyms
Translation
When Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu saw all this fun, He began to smile. Finally He left the animals and continued on His way.
Bengali
সঙ্গে চলে, ‘কৃষ্ণ’ বলি’ নাচে মত্ত হঞা ॥ ৪৪ ॥
Text
saṅge cale, ‘kṛṣṇa’ bali’ nāce matta hañā
Synonyms
Translation
Various birds, including the peacock, saw Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and began to follow Him, chanting and dancing. They were all maddened by the holy name of Kṛṣṇa.
Bengali
বৃক্ষলতা — প্রফুল্লিত, সেই ধ্বনি শুনি’ ॥ ৪৫ ॥
Text
vṛkṣa-latā — praphullita, sei dhvani śuni,
Synonyms
Translation
When the Lord loudly chanted “Haribol!” the trees and creepers became jubilant to hear Him.
Purport
The loud chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra is so powerful that it can even penetrate the ears of trees and creepers, what to speak of those of animals and human beings. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu once asked Haridāsa Ṭhākura how trees and plants could be delivered, and Haridāsa Ṭhākura replied that the loud chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra would benefit not only trees and plants but insects and all other living beings. One should therefore not be disturbed by the loud chanting of Hare Kṛṣṇa, for it is beneficial not only to the chanter but to everyone who gets an opportunity to hear.
Bengali
কৃষ্ণনাম দিয়া কৈল প্রেমেতে উন্মত্ত ॥ ৪৬ ॥
Text
kṛṣṇa-nāma diyā kaila premete unmatta
Synonyms
Translation
Thus all living entities in the forest of Jhārikhaṇḍa — some moving and some standing still — became maddened by hearing the holy name of Lord Kṛṣṇa vibrated by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
Purport
The great forest of Jhārikhaṇḍa is a great tract of land including Āṭagaḍa, Ḍheṅkānala, Āṅgula, Lāhārā, Kiyañjhaḍa, Bāmaḍā, Bonāi, Gāṅgapura, Choṭa Nāgapura, Yaśapura and Saragujā. All these places, which are covered with mountains and jungles, are known as Jhārikhaṇḍa.
Bengali
সে-সব গ্রামের লোকের হয় ‘প্রেমভক্তি’ ॥ ৪৭ ॥
Text
se-saba grāmera lokera haya ‘prema-bhakti’
Synonyms
Translation
In all the villages through which the Lord passed and in all the places He rested on His journey, everyone was purified and awakened to ecstatic love of God.
Bengali
তাঁর মুখে আন শুনে তাঁর মুখে আন ॥ ৪৮ ॥
পরম্পরায় ‘বৈষ্ণব’ হইল সর্বদেশে ॥ ৪৯ ॥
Text
tāṅra mukhe āna śune tāṅra mukhe āna
paramparāya ‘vaiṣṇava’ ha-ila sarva deśe
Synonyms
keha — someone; yadi — when; tāṅra mukhe — from His mouth; śune — hears; kṛṣṇa-nāma — chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra; tāṅra mukhe — from the mouth of such chanters; āna śune — someone else hears; tāṅra mukhe — and from his mouth; āna — someone else; sabe — all of them; kṛṣṇa — Lord Kṛṣṇa’s holy name; hari — another holy name of the Lord; bali’ — chanting; nāce — dance; kānde — cry; hāse — smile; paramparāya — by disciplic succession; vaiṣṇava — devotees; ha-ila — became; sarva deśe — in all countries.
Translation
When someone heard the chanting of the holy name from the mouth of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and someone else heard this chanting from that second person, and someone again heard this chanting from the third person, everyone in all countries became a Vaiṣṇava through such disciplic succession. Thus everyone chanted the holy name of Kṛṣṇa and Hari, and they danced, cried and smiled.
Purport
The transcendental potency of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra is herein explained. First, the holy name is vibrated by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. When someone hears from Him directly, he is purified. When another person hears from that person, he also is purified. In this way the purification process is advanced among pure devotees. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and no one can claim His potency. Nonetheless, if one is a pure devotee, hundreds and thousands of men can be purified by his vibration. This potency is within every living being, provided he chants the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra offenselessly and without material motives. When a pure devotee chants offenselessly, another person will become a Vaiṣṇava, and from him another Vaiṣṇava will emerge. This is the paramparā system.
Bengali
প্রেম ‘গুপ্ত’ করেন, বাহিরে না প্রকাশে ॥ ৫০ ॥
Text
prema ‘gupta’ karena, bāhire nā prakāśe
Synonyms
Translation
The Lord did not always manifest His ecstasy. Being afraid of a great assembly of people, the Lord kept His ecstasy concealed.
Bengali
সকল দেশের লোক হইল ‘বৈষ্ণবে’ ॥ ৫১ ॥
Text
sakala deśera loka ha-ila ‘vaiṣṇave’
Synonyms
Translation
Although Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu did not manifest His natural ecstatic love, everyone became a pure devotee simply by seeing and hearing Him.
Purport
Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī has described Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu as mahā-vadānya-avatāra, the most munificent incarnation. Although Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is not physically present now, simply by chanting His holy name (śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya prabhu-nityānanda śrī-advaita gadādhara śrīvāsādi-gaura-bhakta-vṛnda) people throughout the world are becoming devotees. This is due to the ecstatic chanting of the holy name of the Lord. It is said that a pure devotee can see the Lord at every moment, and because of this he is empowered by the Lord. This is confirmed in the Brahma-saṁhitā (5.38): premāñjana-cchurita-bhakti-vilocanena santaḥ sadaiva hṛdayeṣu vilokayanti. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu appeared five hundred years ago, but it cannot be said that now the potency of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra is less than it was in His presence. By hearing Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu through the paramparā system, one can be purified. Therefore in this verse it is said, tathāpi tāṅra darśana-śravaṇa-prabhāve. It is not that everyone is able to see Kṛṣṇa or Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu physically, but if one hears about Him through books like Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta and through the paramparā system of pure Vaiṣṇavas, there is no difficulty in becoming a pure Vaiṣṇava, free from mundane desires and personal motivations.
Bengali
লোকের নিস্তার কৈল আপনে ভ্রমিয়া ॥ ৫২ ॥
Text
lokera nistāra kaila āpane bhramiyā
Synonyms
Translation
In this way, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu personally toured Bengal, East Bengal, Orissa and the southern countries, and He delivered all kinds of people by spreading Kṛṣṇa consciousness.
Bengali
ভিল্লপ্রায় লোক তাহাঁ পরম-পাষণ্ড ॥ ৫৩ ॥
Text
bhilla-prāya loka tāhāṅ parama-pāṣaṇḍa
Synonyms
Translation
When Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu came to Jhārikhaṇḍa on His way to Mathurā, He found that the people there were almost uncivilized and were devoid of God consciousness.
Purport
The word bhilla refers to a class of men belonging to the Bheels. The Bheels are like Black Africans, and they are lower than śūdras. Such people generally live in the jungle, and Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu had to meet them.
Bengali
চৈতন্যের গূঢ়লীলা বুঝিতে শক্তি কার ॥ ৫৪ ॥
Text
caitanyera gūḍha-līlā bujhite śakti kāra
Synonyms
Translation
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu gave even the Bheels an opportunity to chant the holy name and come to the platform of ecstatic love. Thus He delivered all of them. Who has the power to understand the transcendental pastimes of the Lord?
Purport
As evidence of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s mercy, we are experiencing that the people of Africa are taking to Kṛṣṇa consciousness, chanting and dancing and taking prasādam like other Vaiṣṇavas. This is all due to the power of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Who can understand how His potency is working all over the world?
Bengali
শৈল দেখি’ মনে হয় — এই ‘গোবর্ধন’ ॥ ৫৫ ॥
Text
śaila dekhi’ mane haya — ei ‘govardhana’
Synonyms
Translation
When Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu passed through the Jhārikhaṇḍa forest, He took it for granted that it was Vṛndāvana. When He passed over the hills, He took it for granted that they were Govardhana.
Bengali
মহাপ্রেমাবেশে নাচে প্রভু পড়ে কান্দি’ ॥ ৫৬ ॥
Text
mahā-premāveśe nāce prabhu paḍe kāndi’
Synonyms
Translation
Similarly, whenever Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu saw a river, He immediately accepted it as the river Yamunā. Thus while in the forest He was filled with great ecstatic love, and He danced and fell down crying.
Bengali
যাহাঁ যেই পায়েন তাহাঁ লয়েন সকল ॥ ৫৭ ॥
Text
yāhāṅ yei pāyena tāhāṅ layena sakala
Synonyms
Translation
Along the way, Balabhadra Bhaṭṭācārya collected all kinds of spinach, roots and fruit whenever possible.
Bengali
পাঁচ-সাত জন আসি’ করে নিমন্ত্রণ ॥ ৫৮ ॥
Text
pāṅca-sāta jana āsi’ kare nimantraṇa
Synonyms
Translation
Whenever Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu visited a village, a few brāhmaṇas — five or seven — would come and extend invitations to the Lord.
Bengali
কেহ দুগ্ধ, দধি, কেহ ঘৃত, খণ্ড আনে ॥ ৫৯ ॥
Text
keha dugdha, dadhi, keha ghṛta, khaṇḍa āne
Synonyms
Translation
Some people would bring grain and deliver it to Balabhadra Bhaṭṭācārya. Others would bring milk and yogurt, and still others would bring ghee and sugar.
Bengali
আসি’ সবে ভট্টাচার্যে করে নিমন্ত্রণ ॥ ৬০ ॥
Text
āsi’ sabe bhaṭṭācārye kare nimantraṇa
Synonyms
Translation
In some villages there were no brāhmaṇas; nonetheless, devotees born in non-brāhmaṇa families came and extended invitations to Balabhadra Bhaṭṭācārya.
Purport
Actually a sannyāsī or a brāhmaṇa will not accept an invitation extended by a person born in a lower family. However, there are many devotees who are raised to the platform of brāhmaṇa by their initiation. These people are called śūdra-mahājana. This indicates that one who is born in a non-brāhmaṇa family has accepted the brāhmaṇa status by initiation. Such devotees extended invitations to Balabhadra Bhaṭṭācārya. A Māyāvādī sannyāsī will accept an invitation only from a brāhmaṇa family, but a Vaiṣṇava does not accept an invitation from a brāhmaṇa if he does not belong to the Vaiṣṇava sect. However, a Vaiṣṇava will accept an invitation from a brāhmaṇa or śūdra-mahājana if that person is an initiated Vaiṣṇava. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu Himself accepted invitations from śūdra-mahājanas, and this confirms the fact that anyone initiated by a Vaiṣṇava mantra can be accepted as a brāhmaṇa. One can accept an invitation from such a person.
Bengali
বন্য-ব্যঞ্জনে প্ৰভুর আনন্দিত মন ॥ ৬১ ॥
Text
vanya-vyañjane prabhura ānandita mana
Synonyms
Translation
Balabhadra Bhaṭṭācārya used to cook all kinds of vegetables gathered from the forest, and Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was very pleased to accept these preparations.
Bengali
যাহাঁ শূন্য বন, লোকের নাহিক বসতি ॥ ৬২ ॥
ফল-মূলে ব্যঞ্জন করে, বন্য নানা শাক ॥ ৬৩ ॥
Text
yāhāṅ śūnya vana, lokera nāhika vasati
phala-mūle vyañjana kare, vanya nānā śāka
Synonyms
dui-cāri — two to four; dinera — of days; anna — food grain; rākhena — keeps; saṁhati — in stock; yāhāṅ — wherever; śūnya vana — the solitary forest; lokera — of people; nāhika — there is not; vasati — habitation; tāhāṅ — there; sei — that; anna — food grain; bhaṭṭācārya — Balabhadra Bhaṭṭācārya; kare pāka — cooks; phala-mūle — with roots and fruits; vyañjana kare — he prepares vegetables; vanya — from the forest; nānā śāka — many kinds of spinach.
Translation
Balabhadra Bhaṭṭācārya used to keep a stock of food grain that would last from two to four days. Where there were no people, he would cook the grain and prepare vegetables, spinach, roots and fruits collected from the forest.
Bengali
মহাসুখ পান, যে দিন রহেন নির্জনে ॥ ৬৪ ॥
Text
mahā-sukha pāna, ye dina rahena nirjane
Synonyms
Translation
The Lord was always very happy to eat these forest vegetables, and He was even happier when He had an opportunity to stay in a solitary place.
Bengali
তাঁর বিপ্র বহে জলপাত্র-বহিৰ্বাস ॥ ৬৫ ॥
Text
tāṅra vipra vahe jala-pātra-bahirvāsa
Synonyms
Translation
Balabhadra Bhaṭṭācārya was so affectionate to the Lord that he was rendering service just like a menial servant. His assistant brāhmaṇa carried the waterpot and garments.
Bengali
দুইসন্ধ্যা অগ্নিতাপ কাষ্ঠের অপার ॥ ৬৬ ॥
Text
dui-sandhyā agni-tāpa kāṣṭhera apāra
Synonyms
Translation
The Lord used to bathe three times a day in the warm water of the waterfalls. He also used to heat Himself morning and evening with a fire made with the limitless wood.
Bengali
সুখ অনুভবি’ প্রভু কহেন বচন ॥ ৬৭ ॥
Text
sukha anubhavi’ prabhu kahena vacana
Synonyms
Translation
While traveling in this secluded forest and feeling very happy, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu made the following statement.
Bengali
বনপথে দুঃখের কাহাঁ নাহি পাই লেশ ॥ ৬৮ ॥
Text
vana-pathe duḥkhera kāhāṅ nāhi pāi leśa
Synonyms
Translation
“My dear Bhaṭṭācārya, I have traveled very far through the forest, and I have not even slightly received any trouble.
Bengali
বনপথে আনি’ আমায় বড় সুখ দিলা ॥ ৬৯ ॥
Text
vana-pathe āni’ āmāya baḍa sukha dilā
Synonyms
Translation
“Kṛṣṇa is very merciful, especially to Me. He has shown His mercy by bringing Me on this path through the forest. Thus He has given Me great pleasure.
Bengali
মাতা, গঙ্গা, ভক্তগণে দেখিব একবার ॥ ৭০ ॥
Text
mātā, gaṅgā, bhakta-gaṇe dekhiba eka-bāra
Synonyms
Translation
“Before this, I decided to go to Vṛndāvana and on the way see My mother, the river Ganges and other devotees once again.
Bengali
ভক্তগণে সঙ্গে লঞা যাব ‘বৃন্দাবন’ ॥ ৭১ ॥
Text
bhakta-gaṇe saṅge lañā yāba ‘vṛndāvana’
Synonyms
Translation
“I thought that once again I would see and meet all the devotees and take them with Me to Vṛndāvana.
Bengali
মাতা, গঙ্গা ভক্তে দেখি’ সুখী হৈল মন ॥ ৭২ ॥
Text
mātā, gaṅgā bhakte dekhi’ sukhī haila mana
Synonyms
Translation
“Thus I went to Bengal, and I was very happy to see My mother, the river Ganges and the devotees.
Bengali
লক্ষকোটি লোক তাহাঁ হৈল আমা-সঙ্গে ॥ ৭৩ ॥
Text
lakṣa-koṭi loka tāhāṅ haila āmā-saṅge
Synonyms
Translation
“However, when I started for Vṛndāvana, many thousands and millions of people gathered and began to go with Me.
Bengali
তাহা বিঘ্ন করি’ বনপথে লঞা আইলা ॥ ৭৪ ॥
Text
tāhā vighna kari’ vana-pathe lañā āilā
Synonyms
Translation
“In this way I was going to Vṛndāvana with a big crowd, but through the mouth of Sanātana, Kṛṣṇa taught Me a lesson. Thus by making some impediment, He has brought Me to Vṛndāvana on the path through the forest.
Bengali
কৃষ্ণকৃপা বিনা কোন ‘সুখ’ নাহি হয় ॥” ৭৫ ॥
Text
kṛṣṇa-kṛpā vinā kona ‘sukha’ nāhi haya”
Synonyms
Translation
“Kṛṣṇa is an ocean of mercy. He is especially merciful to the poor and fallen. Without His mercy, there is no possibility of happiness.”
Bengali
‘তোমার প্রসাদে আমি এত সুখ পাইল’ ॥ ৭৬ ॥
Text
‘tomāra prasāde āmi eta sukha pāila’
Synonyms
Translation
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu then embraced Balabhadra Bhaṭṭācārya and told him, “It is only by your kindness that I am now so happy.”
Bengali
অধম জীব মুঞি, মোরে হইলা সদয় ॥ ৭৭ ॥
Text
adhama jīva muñi, more ha-ilā sadaya
Synonyms
Translation
Balabhadra Bhaṭṭācārya replied, “My dear Lord, You are Kṛṣṇa Himself, and therefore You are merciful. I am a fallen living entity, but You have bestowed a great favor upon me.
Bengali
কৃপা করি’ মোর হাতে ‘প্রভু’ ভিক্ষা কৈলা ॥ ৭৮ ॥
Text
kṛpā kari’ mora hāte ‘prabhu’ bhikṣā kailā
Synonyms
Translation
“Sir, I am most fallen, yet You have brought me with You. Showing great mercy, You have accepted food prepared by me.
Bengali
‘স্বতন্ত্র ঈশ্বর’ তুমি — স্বয়ং ভগবান্ ॥” ৭৯ ॥
Text
‘svatantra īśvara’ tumi — svayaṁ bhagavān”
Synonyms
Translation
“You have made me Your carrier Garuḍa, although I am no better than a condemned crow. Thus You are the independent Personality of Godhead, the original Lord.
Bengali
যৎকৃপা তমহং বন্দে পরমানন্দ-মাধবম্ ॥ ৮০ ॥
Text
paṅguṁ laṅghayate girim
yat-kṛpā tam ahaṁ vande
paramānanda-mādhavam
Synonyms
mūkam — a person who cannot speak; karoti — makes; vācālam — an eloquent speaker; paṅgum — a person who cannot even walk; laṅghayate — causes to cross over; girim — the mountain; yat-kṛpā — whose mercy; tam — unto Him; aham — I; vande — offer obeisances; parama-ānanda — the transcendentally blissful; mādhavam — Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Translation
“ ‘The Supreme Personality of Godhead has the form of sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha — transcendental bliss, knowledge and eternity. I offer my respectful obeisances unto Him, who turns the dumb into eloquent speakers and enables the lame to cross mountains. Such is the mercy of the Lord.’ ”
Purport
This is a quotation from the Bhāvārtha-dīpikā commentary on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.1.1).
Bengali
প্রেমসেবা করি’ তুষ্ট কৈল প্রভুর মন ॥ ৮১ ॥
Text
prema-sevā kari’ tuṣṭa kaila prabhura mana
Synonyms
Translation
In this way Balabhadra Bhaṭṭācārya offered his prayers to the Lord. By rendering service unto Him in ecstatic love, he pacified the Lord’s mind.
Bengali
মধ্যাহ্ন-স্নান কৈল মণিকর্ণিকায় আসি’ ॥ ৮২ ॥
Text
madhyāhna-snāna kaila maṇikarṇikāya āsi’
Synonyms
Translation
Finally the Lord arrived with great happiness at the holy place called Kāśī. There He took His bath in the bathing ghat known as Maṇikarṇikā.
Purport
Kāśī is another name for Vārāṇasī (Benares). It has been a place of pilgrimage since time immemorial. Two rivers named Asiḥ and Varuṇā merge there. Maṇikarṇikā is famous because, according to the opinion of great personalities, a bejeweled earring fell there from the ear of Lord Viṣṇu. According to some, it fell from the ear of Lord Śiva. The word maṇi means “jewel,” and karṇikā means “from the ear.” According to some, Lord Viśvanātha is the great physician who cures the disease of material existence by delivering a person through the ear, which receives the vibration of the holy name of Lord Rāma. Because of this, this holy place is called Maṇikarṇikā. It is said that there is no better place than where the river Ganges flows, and the bathing ghat known as Maṇikarṇikā is especially sanctified because it is very dear to Lord Viśvanātha. In the Kāśī-khaṇḍa it is said:
tārakaṁ saj-jana-karṇikāyām
śivo ’bhidhatte saha-sānta-kāle
tad gīyate ’sau maṇi-karṇiketi
karṇikeyaṁ tataḥ prāhur yāṁ janā maṇi-karṇikām
According to this passage from the Kāśī-khaṇḍa, one who gives up his body at Maṇikarṇikā is liberated simply by remembering Lord Śiva’s name.
Bengali
প্রভু দেখি’ হৈল তাঁর কিছু বিস্ময় জ্ঞান ॥ ৮৩ ॥
Text
prabhu dekhi’ haila tāṅra kichu vismaya jñāna
Synonyms
Translation
At that time, Tapana Miśra was taking his bath in the Ganges, and he was astonished to see the Lord there.
Bengali
নিশ্চয় করিয়া হৈল হৃদয়ে উল্লাস ॥ ৮৪ ॥
Text
niścaya kariyā haila hṛdaye ullāsa
Synonyms
Translation
Tapana Miśra then began to think, “I have heard that Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu has accepted the renounced order.” Thinking this, Tapana Miśra became very jubilant within his heart.
Bengali
প্রভু তারে উঠাঞা কৈল আলিঙ্গন ॥ ৮৫ ॥
Text
prabhu tāre uṭhāñā kaila āliṅgana
Synonyms
Translation
He then clasped the lotus feet of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and began to cry. The Lord raised him up and embraced him.
Bengali
তবে আসি’ দেখে বিন্দুমাধব-চরণে ॥ ৮৬ ॥
Text
tabe āsi’ dekhe bindu-mādhava-caraṇe
Synonyms
Translation
Tapana Miśra then took Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu to visit the temple of Viśveśvara. Coming from there, they saw the lotus feet of Lord Bindu Mādhava.
Purport
The Bindu Mādhava temple is the oldest Viṣṇu temple in Vārāṇasī. At present this temple is known as Veṇī Mādhava, and it is situated on the banks of the Ganges. Formerly five rivers converged there, and they were named Dhūtapāpā, Kiraṇā, Sarasvatī, Gaṅgā and Yamunā. Now only the river Ganges is visible. The old temple of Bindu Mādhava, which was visited by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, was later dismantled by Aurangzeb, the great Hindu-hating emperor of the Mogul dynasty. In the place of this temple, he constructed a big masjīd, or mosque. Later, another temple was constructed by the side of the mosque, and this temple is still existing. In the temple of Bindu Mādhava there are Deities of four-handed Nārāyaṇa and the goddess Lakṣmī. In front of these Deities is a column of Śrī Garuḍa, and along the side are deities of Lord Rāma, Sītā, Lakṣmaṇa and Śrī Hanumānjī.
In the province of Maharashtra is a state known as Sātārā. During the time of Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura, the native prince belonged to the Vaiṣṇava cult. Being a brāhmaṇa, he took charge of worshiping the Deity. He was known as Śrīmanta Bālāsāheb Pantha Mahārāja. The state still bears the expenditure for temple maintenance. The first king in this dynasty to take charge of worship in the temple, two hundred years ago, was Mahārāja Jagatjīvana Rāo Sāheb.
Bengali
সেবা করি’ নৃত্য করে বস্ত্র উড়াঞা ॥ ৮৭ ॥
Text
sevā kari’ nṛtya kare vastra uḍāñā
Synonyms
Translation
With great pleasure Tapana Miśra brought Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu to his home and rendered service unto Him. Indeed, he began to dance, waving his cloth.
Bengali
ভট্টাচার্যের পূজা কৈল করিয়া সম্মান ॥ ৮৮ ॥
Text
bhaṭṭācāryera pūjā kaila kariyā sammāna
Synonyms
Translation
He washed the lotus feet of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and afterwards he and his whole family drank the wash water. He also worshiped Balabhadra Bhaṭṭācārya and showed him respect.
Bengali
বলভদ্র-ভট্টাচার্যে পাক করাইল ॥ ৮৯ ॥
Text
balabhadra-bhaṭṭācārye pāka karāila
Synonyms
prabhure nimantraṇa kari’ — inviting the Lord; ghare — at home; bhikṣā dila — gave lunch; balabhadra-bhaṭṭācārye — Balabhadra Bhaṭṭācārya; pāka karāila — he had cook.
Translation
Tapana Miśra invited Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu to take lunch at his home, and he had Balabhadra Bhaṭṭācārya cook.
Purport
While at Vārāṇasī (Benares), Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu stayed at the house of Tapana Miśra. Near Tapana Miśra’s house was a bathing ghat known as Pañcanadī-ghāṭa. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu used to take His bath daily at this ghat, and He used to see the temple of Bindu Mādhava. Then He would take His lunch at Tapana Miśra’s house. Near the Bindu Mādhava temple is a big banyan tree, and it is said that after eating, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu used to rest beneath the tree. That banyan tree is still known today as Caitanya-vaṭa. Gradually, due to changes in language, the name became Yatana-vaṭa. The local people still call that place Yatana-vaṭa.
At present, beside a lane there is a tomb of Vallabhācārya, but there is no sign that Caitanya Mahāprabhu ever lived there. Vallabhācārya was also known as Mahāprabhu among his disciples. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu probably lived at Yatana-vaṭa, but there is no sign of Candraśekhara’s or Tapana Miśra’s house, nor is there any sign of the Māyāvādī sannyāsī Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī, with whom Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu discussed the Vedānta-sūtra. A little distance from Yatana-vaṭa is a temple of Gaura-Nityānanda established by Śaśibhūṣaṇa Niyogī Mahāśaya of Calcutta. During the time of Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī, this temple was managed by the mother-in-law of Śaśibhūṣaṇa and his brother-in-law Nārāyaṇa-candra Ghoṣa.
Bengali
মিশ্রপুত্র রঘু করে পাদ-সম্বাহন ॥ ৯০ ॥
Text
miśra-putra raghu kare pāda-samvāhana
Synonyms
Translation
When Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu took His rest after lunch, the son of Tapana Miśra, named Raghu, used to massage His legs.
Bengali
‘প্রভু আইলা’ শুনি’ চন্দ্রশেখর আইল ॥ ৯১ ॥
Text
‘prabhu āilā’ śuni’ candraśekhara āila
Synonyms
Translation
The remnants of food left by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu were taken by the whole family of Tapana Miśra. When news spread that the Lord had come, Candraśekhara came to see Him.
Bengali
বৈদ্যজাতি, লিখনবৃত্তি, বারাণসী-বাস ॥ ৯২ ॥
Text
vaidya-jāti, likhana-vṛtti, vārāṇasī-vāsa
Synonyms
Translation
Candraśekhara happened to be a friend of Tapana Miśra’s, and he was long known to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu as His servant. He was a physician by caste, and by profession he was a clerk. At the time he was living in Vārāṇasī.
Bengali
প্রভু উঠি’ তাঁরে কৃপায় কৈল আলিঙ্গন ॥ ৯৩ ॥
Text
prabhu uṭhi’ tāṅre kṛpāya kaila āliṅgana
Synonyms
Translation
When Candreśekhara came there, he fell down before the lotus feet of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and began to cry. The Lord, standing up, embraced him out of His causeless mercy.
Bengali
আপনে আসিয়া ভৃত্যে দরশন দিলা ॥ ৯৪ ॥
Text
āpane āsiyā bhṛtye daraśana dilā
Synonyms
Translation
Candraśekhara said, “My dear Lord, You have bestowed Your causeless mercy upon me because I am Your old servant. Indeed, You have come here personally to give me Your audience.
Bengali
‘মায়া’, ‘ব্রহ্ম’ শব্দ বিনা নাহি শুনি কাণে ॥ ৯৫ ॥
Text
‘māyā’, ‘brahma’ śabda vinā nāhi śuni kāṇe
Synonyms
Translation
“Due to my past deeds, I am residing at Vārāṇasī, but here I do not hear anything but the words ‘māyā’ and ‘Brahman.’ ”
Purport
The word prārabdhe (“past deeds”) is important in this verse. Since Candraśekhara was a devotee, he was always eager to hear about Kṛṣṇa and His transcendental pastimes. Most of the inhabitants of Benares were and are impersonalists, worshipers of Lord Śiva and followers of the pañcopāsanā method. The impersonalists imagine some form of the impersonal Brahman, and to facilitate meditation they concentrate upon the forms of Viṣṇu, Śiva, Gaṇeśa, Sūrya and goddess Durgā. Actually these pañcopāsakas are not devotees of anyone. As it is said, to be a servant of everyone is to be a servant of no one. Vārāṇasī, or Kāśī, is the chief holy place of pilgrimage for impersonalists, and it is not at all suitable for devotees. A Vaiṣṇava likes to live in a viṣṇu-tīrtha, a place where Lord Viṣṇu’s temples are present. In Vārāṇasī there are many hundreds and thousands of Lord Śiva’s temples, or pañcopāsaka temples. Consequently Candraśekhara expressed great unhappiness as he informed Lord Caitanya that he was obliged to live at Benares due to his past misdeeds. As said in the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, durjāty-ārambhakaṁ pāpaṁ yat syāt prārabdham eva tat: “According to one’s past misdeeds, one takes birth on a lower platform.” But in the Brahma-saṁhitā (5.54) it is said, karmāṇi nirdahati kintu ca bhakti-bhājām: “There is no karma attached to the past deeds or misdeeds of one in devotional service.” A devotee is not subjected to karma-phala, the effect of fruitive activity. Karma-phala is applicable to karmīs, not bhaktas.
There are three kinds of devotees: those who are eternally on the transcendental platform (nitya-siddha), those who have been elevated to the transcendental platform by the execution of devotional service (sādhana-siddha), and those who are neophytes advancing toward the perfectional platform (sādhaka). The sādhakas are gradually becoming free from fruitive reaction. The Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu (1.1.17) describes the symptoms of bhakti-yoga thus:
sāndrānanda-viśeṣātmā śrī-kṛṣṇākarṣiṇī ca sā
Devotional service is kleśa-ghnī even for beginners. This means that it reduces or nullifies all kinds of suffering. The word śubha-dā indicates that devotional service bestows all good fortune, and the word kṛṣṇa-ākarṣiṇī indicates that devotional service gradually attracts Kṛṣṇa toward the devotee. Consequently a devotee is not subject to any sinful reaction. In the Bhagavad-gītā (18.66) Kṛṣṇa says:
ahaṁ tvāṁ sarva-pāpebhyo mokṣayiṣyāmi mā śucaḥ
“Abandon all varieties of religion and just surrender unto Me. I shall deliver you from all sinful reactions. Do not fear.”
Thus a fully surrendered, sincere devotee immediately receives relief from all kinds of sinful reactions. There are three stages of fructification for sinful activity. At one stage, one commits the sinful act, before that the seed of this act exists, and before that there is ignorance whereby one commits the sin. Suffering is involved in all three stages. However, Kṛṣṇa is merciful to His devotee, and consequently He immediately nullifies all three stages — the sin, the seed of sin and the ignorance that leads one to sin. The Padma Purāṇa confirms this:
krameṇaiva pralīyeta viṣṇu-bhakti-ratātmanām
For a further explanation of this topic, The Nectar of Devotion should be consulted.
Bengali
মিশ্র কৃপা করি’ মোরে শুনান কৃষ্ণকথা ॥ ৯৬ ॥
Text
miśra kṛpā kari’ more śunāna kṛṣṇa-kathā
Synonyms
Translation
Candraśekhara continued, “There is no talk at Vārāṇasī other than discussions on the six philosophical theses. Nonetheless, Tapana Miśra has been very kind to me, for he speaks about topics relating to Lord Kṛṣṇa.
Purport
The six philosophical theses are (1) Vaiśeṣika, propounded by Kaṇāda Ṛṣi, (2) Nyāya, propounded by Gautama Ṛṣi, (3) Yoga, or mysticism, propounded by Patañjali Ṛṣi, (4) the philosophy of Sāṅkhya, propounded by Kapila Ṛṣi, (5) the philosophy of Karma-mīmāṁsā, propounded by Jaimini Ṛṣi, and (6) the philosophy of Brahma-mīmāṁsā, or Vedānta, the ultimate conclusion of the Absolute Truth (janmādy asya yataḥ), propounded by Vedavyāsa. Actually Vedānta philosophy is meant for the devotees because in the Bhagavad-gītā (15.15) Lord Kṛṣṇa says, vedānta-kṛd veda-vid eva cāham: “I am the compiler of Vedānta, and I am the knower of the Vedas.” Vyāsadeva is an incarnation of Kṛṣṇa, and consequently Kṛṣṇa is the compiler of Vedānta philosophy. Therefore Kṛṣṇa clearly knows the purport of Vedānta philosophy. As stated in the Bhagavad-gītā, whoever hears Vedānta philosophy from Kṛṣṇa is actually aware of the real meaning of Vedānta. The Māyāvādīs call themselves Vedāntists but do not at all understand the purport of Vedānta philosophy. Not being properly educated, people in general think that Vedānta means the Śaṅkarite interpretation.
Bengali
‘সর্বজ্ঞ ঈশ্বর’ তুমি দিলা দরশন ॥ ৯৭ ॥
Text
‘sarvajña īśvara’ tumi dilā daraśana
Synonyms
Translation
“My dear Lord, we two think of Your lotus feet incessantly. Although You are the omniscient Supreme Personality of Godhead, You have granted us Your audience.
Bengali
দিন কত রহি’ তার’ ভৃত্য দুইজনে ॥” ৯৮ ॥
Text
dina kata rahi’ tāra’ bhṛtya dui-jane”
Synonyms
Translation
“My Lord, I have heard that You are going to Vṛndāvana. Please stay here at Vārāṇasī for some days and deliver us, for we are Your two servants.”
Purport
Although Candraśekhara is an eternal servant of the Lord, he humbly presented himself as fallen, and therefore he requested the Lord to deliver him and Tapana Miśra, His two servants.
Bengali
মোর নিমন্ত্রণ বিনা অন্য না মানিবা ॥’ ৯৯ ॥
Text
mora nimantraṇa vinā anya nā mānibā’
Synonyms
Translation
Tapana Miśra then said, “My dear Lord, as long as You stay at Vārāṇasī, please do not accept any invitation other than mine.”
Bengali
ইচ্ছা নাহি, তবু তথা রহিলা দিন-দশে ॥ ১০০ ॥
Text
icchā nāhi, tabu tathā rahilā dina-daśe
Synonyms
Translation
Even though He had not made such a plan, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu remained for ten days at Vārāṇasī, being obligated by the requests of His two servants.
Bengali
প্রভুর রূপ-প্রেম দেখি’ হয় চমৎকারে ॥ ১০১ ॥
Text
prabhura rūpa-prema dekhi’ haya camatkāre
Synonyms
Translation
At Vārāṇasī there was a Maharashtriyan brāhmaṇa who used to come daily to see Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. This brāhmaṇa was simply astonished to see the Lord’s personal beauty and ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa.
Bengali
প্রভু কহে, — ‘আজি মোর হঞাছে নিমন্ত্রণে’ ॥ ১০২ ॥
Text
prabhu kahe, — ‘āji mora hañāche nimantraṇe’
Synonyms
Translation
When the brāhmaṇas of Vārāṇasī would invite Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu to lunch, the Lord would not accept their invitations. He would reply, “I have already been invited somewhere else.”
Bengali
সন্ন্যাসীর সঙ্গ-ভয়ে না মানেন নিমন্ত্রণ ॥ ১০৩ ॥
Text
sannyāsīra saṅga-bhaye nā mānena nimantraṇa
Synonyms
Translation
Every day Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu refused their invitations because He feared associating with Māyāvādī sannyāsīs.
Purport
A Vaiṣṇava sannyāsī never accepts an invitation from a party who considers Māyāvādī sannyāsīs and Vaiṣṇava sannyāsīs to be one and the same. In other words, Vaiṣṇava sannyāsīs do not at all like to associate with Māyāvādī sannyāsīs, to say nothing of eating with them. This principle must be followed by the sannyāsīs of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement. That is the instruction of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, given by His personal behavior.
Bengali
‘বেদান্ত’ পড়ান বহু শিষ্যগণ লঞা ॥ ১০৪ ॥
Text
‘vedānta’ paḍāna bahu śiṣya-gaṇa lañā
Synonyms
Translation
There was a great Māyāvādī sannyāsī named Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī, who used to teach Vedānta philosophy to a great assembly of followers.
Purport
Śrīpāda Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī was a Māyāvādī sannyāsī, and his characteristics have been described in Caitanya-bhāgavata (Madhya-khaṇḍa, chapter three):
veda more ei-mata kare viḍambana
sei veṭā kare mora aṅga khaṇḍa-khaṇḍa
sarvāṅge ha-ila kuṣṭha, tabu nāhi jāne
‘aja’, ‘bhava’ ādi gāya yāṅhāra caritra
tāhā ‘mithyā’ bale veṭā kemana sāhase
In the Madhya-khaṇḍa, chapter twenty, it is said:
more khaṇḍa-khaṇḍa veṭā kare bhāla-mate
kuṣṭha karāiluṅ aṅge, tabu nāhi jāne
ihā ‘mithyā’ bale, more kare khān-khān
Being an impersonalist, Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī used to explain the Absolute Truth as being without hands, legs, mouths or eyes. In this way he used to cheat the people by denying the personal form of the Lord. Such a foolish person was Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī, whose only business was to sever the limbs of the Lord by proving the Lord impersonal. Although the Lord has form, Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī attempted to cut off the hands and legs of the Lord. This is the business of demons. The Vedas state that people who do not accept the Lord’s form are rascals. The form of the Lord is factual, for Kṛṣṇa states in the Bhagavad-gītā (15.15), vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ. When Kṛṣṇa says aham, He says “I am,” which means “I,” the person. He adds the word eva, which is used for conclusive verification. Thus by studying Vedānta philosophy one must come to know the Supreme Person. Whoever describes Vedic knowledge as impersonal is a demon. One becomes successful in life by worshiping the form of the Lord. The Māyāvādī sannyāsīs deny the form of the Lord, which delivers all fallen souls. Indeed, the Māyāvādī demons try to cut this form to pieces.
The Personality of Godhead is worshiped by exalted demigods like Lord Brahmā and Lord Śiva. The original Māyāvādī sannyāsī, Śaṅkarācārya, also accepted the fact that the Lord’s form is transcendental: nārāyaṇaḥ paro ’vyaktāt. “Nārāyaṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is beyond the avyakta, the unmanifested material energy.” Avyaktād aṇḍa-sambhavaḥ: “This material world is a creation of that unmanifested material energy.” However, Nārāyaṇa has His own eternal form, which is not created by the material energy. Simply by worshiping the form of the Lord, one is purified. However, Māyāvādī sannyāsīs are impersonalist philosophers, and they describe the form of the Lord as māyā, or false. How can one be purified by worshiping something false? Māyāvādī philosophers have no sufficient reason for being impersonalists. They blindly follow a principle that cannot be supported by reason or argument. This was the situation with Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī, the chief Māyāvādī sannyāsī of Benares. He was supposed to teach Vedānta philosophy, but he would not accept the form of the Lord; therefore he was attacked with leprosy. Nonetheless, he continued to commit sins by describing the Absolute Truth as impersonal. The Absolute Truth, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, always displays pastimes and activities, but Māyāvādī sannyāsīs claim that these activities are false.
Some people falsely claim that Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī later became known as Prabodhānanda Sarasvatī, but this is not a fact. Prabodhānanda Sarasvatī was the uncle and spiritual master of Gopāla Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī. In his gṛhastha life, Prabodhānanda Sarasvatī was a resident of Śrī Raṅga-kṣetra, and he belonged to the Vaiṣṇava Rāmānuja-sampradāya. It is a mistake to consider Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī and Prabodhānanda Sarasvatī the same man.
Bengali
প্রকাশানন্দ-আগে কহে চরিত্র তাঁহার ॥ ১০৫ ॥
Text
prakāśānanda-āge kahe caritra tāṅhāra
Synonyms
Translation
A brāhmaṇa who saw the wonderful behavior of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu came to Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī and described the Lord’s characteristics.
Bengali
তাঁহার মহিমা-প্রতাপ না পারি বর্ণিতে ॥ ১০৬ ॥
Text
tāṅhāra mahimā-pratāpa nā pāri varṇite
Synonyms
Translation
The brāhmaṇa told Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī, “There is a sannyāsī who has come from Jagannātha Purī, and I cannot describe His wonderful influence and glories.
Bengali
প্রকাণ্ড-শরীর, শুদ্ধকাঞ্চন-বরণ ॥ ১০৭ ॥
Text
prakāṇḍa-śarīra, śuddha-kāñcana-varaṇa
Synonyms
Translation
“Everything is wonderful about that sannyāsī. He has a very well built and luxuriant body, and His complexion is like purified gold.
Bengali
যত কিছু ঈশ্বরের সর্ব সল্লক্ষণ ॥ ১০৮ ॥
Text
yata kichu īśvarera sarva sal-lakṣaṇa
Synonyms
Translation
“He has arms that extend to His knees, and His eyes are like the petals of a lotus. In His person are all the transcendental symptoms of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Bengali
যেই তাঁরে দেখে, করে কৃষ্ণসংকীর্তন ॥ ১০৯ ॥
Text
yei tāṅre dekhe, kare kṛṣṇa-saṅkīrtana
Synonyms
Translation
“When one sees all these features, one takes Him to be Nārāyaṇa Himself. Whoever sees Him immediately begins to chant the holy name of Kṛṣṇa.
Bengali
সে-সব লক্ষণ প্রকট দেখিয়ে তাঁহাতে ॥ ১১০ ॥
Text
se-saba lakṣaṇa prakaṭa dekhiye tāṅhāte
Synonyms
Translation
“We have heard about the symptoms of a first-class devotee in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and all those symptoms are manifest in the body of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
Bengali
দুই-নেত্রে অশ্রু বহে গঙ্গাধারা-প্রায় ॥ ১১১ ॥
Text
dui-netre aśru vahe gaṅgā-dhārā-prāya
Synonyms
Translation
“His tongue is always chanting the holy name of Kṛṣṇa, and from His eyes tears incessantly fall like the flowing Ganges.
Bengali
ক্ষণে হুহুঙ্কার করে, — সিংহের গর্জন ॥ ১১২ ॥
Text
kṣaṇe huhuṅkāra kare, — siṁhera garjana
Synonyms
Translation
“Sometimes He dances, laughs, sings and cries, and sometimes He roars like a lion.
Bengali
নাম, রূপ, গুণ তাঁর, সব — অনুপম ॥ ১১৩ ॥
Text
nāma, rūpa, guṇa tāṅra, saba — anupama
Synonyms
Translation
“His name, Kṛṣṇa Caitanya, is all-auspicious for the world. Everything about Him — His name, form and qualities — is unparalleled.
Bengali
অলৌকিক কথা শুনি’ কে করে প্রতীতি ?” ১১৪ ॥
Text
alaukika kathā śuni’ ke kare pratīti?”
Synonyms
Translation
“Simply by seeing Him, one understands that He possesses all the characteristics of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Such characteristics are certainly uncommon. Who will believe it?”
Bengali
বিপ্রে উপহাস করি’ কহিতে লাগিলা ॥ ১১৫ ॥
Text
vipre upahāsa kari’ kahite lāgilā
Synonyms
Translation
Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī laughed very much to hear this description. Joking and laughing at the brāhmaṇa, he began to speak as follows.
Bengali
কেশব-ভারতী-শিষ্য, লোকপ্রতারক ॥ ১১৬ ॥
Text
keśava-bhāratī-śiṣya, loka-pratāraka
Synonyms
Translation
Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī said, “Yes, I have heard about Him. He is a sannyāsī from Bengal, and He is very sentimental. I have also heard that He belongs to the Bhāratī-sampradāya, for He is a disciple of Keśava Bhāratī. However, He is only a pretender.”
Purport
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was considered bhāvuka (sentimental) because He was always seen in the bhāva stage. That is, He always exhibited ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa. However, foolish people considered Him sentimental. In the material world, so-called devotees sometimes exhibit emotional symptoms. Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s ecstatic love cannot be compared to the imitative emotional exhibitions of pretenders. Such exhibitions do not continue for very long. They are temporary. We actually see that some emotional imitators exhibit certain symptoms, but immediately after their exhibition, they are attracted to smoking and other things. In the beginning, when Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī heard of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s activities, he considered them to be those of a pretender. Consequently he called Him a loka-pratāraka, a pretender. Māyāvādīs cannot understand the transcendental symptoms exhibited by a devotee; therefore when such symptoms are manifest, the Māyāvādīs equate them with temporary emotional feelings. However, Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī’s statement is offensive, and consequently he should be considered an atheist (pāṣaṇḍī). According to Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī, since Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī was not engaged in the Lord’s devotional service, his sannyāsa is to be considered phalgu-vairāgya. This means that since he did not know how to use things for the Lord’s service, his renunciation of the world was artificial.
Bengali
দেশে দেশে গ্রামে গ্রামে বুলে নাচাঞা ॥ ১১৭ ॥
Text
deśe deśe grāme grāme bule nācāñā
Synonyms
Translation
Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī continued, “I know that His name is Caitanya and that He is accompanied by many sentimentalists. His followers dance with Him, and He tours from country to country and village to village.
Bengali
ঐছে মোহন-বিদ্যা — যে দেখে সে মোহে ॥ ১১৮ ॥
Text
aiche mohana-vidyā — ye dekhe se mohe
Synonyms
Translation
“Whoever sees Him accepts Him as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Since He has some mystic power by which He hypnotizes people, everyone who sees Him becomes illusioned.
Bengali
শুনি’ চৈতন্যের সঙ্গে হইল পাগল ॥ ১১৯ ॥
Text
śuni’ caitanyera saṅge ha-ila pāgala
Synonyms
sārvabhauma bhaṭṭācārya — Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya; paṇḍita prabala — a learned scholar; śuni’ — I have heard; caitanyera saṅge — in the association of Caitanya; ha-ila pāgala — has become a madman.
Translation
“Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya was a very learned scholar, but I have heard that he also has become a madman due to his association with this Caitanya.
Bengali
‘কাশীপুরে’ না বিকাবে তাঁর ভাবকালি ॥ ১২০ ॥
Text
‘kāśīpure’ nā vikābe tāṅra bhāvakāli
Synonyms
Translation
“This Caitanya is a sannyāsī in name only. Actually He is a first-class magician. In any case, His sentimentalism cannot be very much in demand here in Kāśī.
Bengali
উচ্ছৃঙ্খল-লোক-সঙ্গে দুইলোক-নাশ ॥” ১২১ ॥
Text
ucchṛṅkhala-loka-saṅge dui-loka-nāśa”
Synonyms
Translation
“Do not go to see Caitanya. Just continue hearing Vedānta. If you associate with upstarts, you will be lost in this world and in the next.”
Purport
The word ucchṛṅkhala, meaning “whimsical,” is significant in this verse. In the Bhagavad-gītā (16.23), Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself says:
na sa siddhim avāpnoti na sukhaṁ na parāṁ gatim
“If one acts whimsically and does not follow the śāstric principles, he will never attain perfection, happiness or the spiritual world.”
Bengali
‘কৃষ্ণ’ ‘কৃষ্ণ’ কহি’ তথা হৈতে উঠি’ গেলা ॥ ১২২ ॥
Text
‘kṛṣṇa’ ‘kṛṣṇa’ kahi’ tathā haite uṭhi’ gelā
Synonyms
Translation
When the brāhmaṇa heard Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī speak like this about Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, he became very much grief-stricken. Chanting the holy name of Kṛṣṇa, he immediately left.
Bengali
প্রভু-আগে দুঃখী হঞা কহে বিবরণ ॥ ১২৩ ॥
Text
prabhu-āge duḥkhī hañā kahe vivaraṇa
Synonyms
Translation
The mind of the brāhmaṇa was already purified by his seeing the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. He therefore went to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and described what had taken place before the Māyāvādī sannyāsī Prakāśānanda.
Bengali
পুনরপি সেই বিপ্র প্রভুরে পুছিলা ॥ ১২৪ ॥
Text
punarapi sei vipra prabhure puchilā
Synonyms
Translation
Hearing this, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu mildly smiled. The brāhmaṇa then spoke again to the Lord.
Bengali
সেহ তোমার নাম জানে, — আপনে কহিল ॥ ১২৫ ॥
Text
seha tomāra nāma jāne, — āpane kahila
Synonyms
Translation
The brāhmaṇa said, “As soon as I uttered Your name before him, he immediately confirmed the fact that he knew Your name.
Bengali
‘চৈতন্য’ ‘চৈতন্য’ করি’ কহে তিনবার ॥ ১২৬ ॥
Text
‘caitanya’ ‘caitanya’ kari’ kahe tina-bāra
Synonyms
Translation
“While finding fault with You, he uttered Your name three times, saying ‘Caitanya, Caitanya, Caitanya.’
Bengali
‘অবজ্ঞা’তে নাম লয়, শুনি’ পাই দুঃখে ॥ ১২৭ ॥
Text
‘avajñā’te nāma laya, śuni’ pāi duḥkhe
Synonyms
Translation
“Although he spoke Your name three times, he did not utter the name ‘Kṛṣṇa.’ Because he uttered Your name in contempt, I was very much aggrieved.
Purport
Prakāśānanda Sarasvatī vilified and blasphemed Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Words like brahma, caitanya, ātmā, paramātmā, jagadīśa, īśvara, virāṭ, vibhu, bhūmā, viśvarūpa and vyāpaka all indirectly indicate Kṛṣṇa. However, the chanter of these names is not actually attracted to the Supreme Personality of Godhead Kṛṣṇa and His transcendental pastimes. One may get a little light from these names, but one cannot understand that the holy name of the Lord is identical with the Lord. One considers the Lord’s names material due to a poor fund of knowledge. Māyāvādī philosophers and the pañcopāsakas cannot in the least understand the existence of the spiritual world and the blissful variegatedness there. They cannot understand the Absolute Truth and its spiritual varieties — name, form, qualities and pastimes. Consequently they conclude that Kṛṣṇa’s transcendental activities are māyā. To avoid this misconception one has to directly cultivate knowledge about the holy name of the Lord. Māyāvādī philosophers do not know this fact, and therefore they commit great offenses. One should not hear anything about Kṛṣṇa or devotional service from the mouths of Māyāvādī impersonalists.
Bengali
তোমা দেখি’ মুখ মোর বলে ‘কৃষ্ণ’ ‘হরি’ ॥” ১২৮ ॥
Text
tomā dekhi’ mukha mora bale ‘kṛṣṇa’ ‘hari’ ”
Synonyms
Translation
“Why could Prakāśānanda not utter the names ‘Kṛṣṇa’ and ‘Hari’? He chanted the name ‘Caitanya’ thrice. As far as I am concerned, simply by seeing You I am moved to chant the holy names ‘Kṛṣṇa’ and ‘Hari.’ ”
Bengali
‘ব্রহ্ম’, ‘আত্মা’ ‘চৈতন্য’ কহে নিরবধি ॥ ১২৯ ॥
Text
‘brahma’, ‘ātmā’ ‘caitanya’ kahe niravadhi
Synonyms
Translation
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu replied, “The Māyāvādī impersonalists are great offenders unto Lord Kṛṣṇa; therefore they simply utter the words ‘Brahman,’ ‘ātmā’ and ‘caitanya.’
Bengali
‘কৃষ্ণনাম’, ‘কৃষ্ণস্বরূপ’ — দুইত ‘সমান’ ॥ ১৩০ ॥
Text
‘kṛṣṇa-nāma’, ‘kṛṣṇa-svarūpa’ — duita ‘samāna’
Synonyms
Translation
“Because they are offenders unto Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is identical with His holy name, the holy name ‘Kṛṣṇa’ does not manifest in their mouths.
Bengali
তিনে ‘ভেদ’ নাহি, — তিন ‘চিদানন্দ-রূপ’ ॥ ১৩১ ॥
Text
tine ‘bheda’ nāhi, — tina ‘cid-ānanda-rūpa’
Synonyms
Translation
“The Lord’s holy name, His form and His personality are all one and the same. There is no difference between them. Since all of them are absolute, they are all transcendentally blissful.
Bengali
জীবের ধর্ম — নাম-দেহ-স্বরূপে ‘বিভেদ’ ॥ ১৩২ ॥
Text
jīvera dharma — nāma-deha-svarūpe ‘vibheda’
Synonyms
Translation
“There is no difference between Kṛṣṇa’s body and Himself or between His name and Himself. But as far as the conditioned soul is concerned, one’s name is different from one’s body, from one’s original form and so on.
Purport
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is herein pointing out to the brāhmaṇa that Māyāvādī philosophers cannot understand that the living entity is equal in quality with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Because they do not accept this, they think that the living entity has been falsely divided from the original Brahman due to being conditioned by māyā. Māyāvādīs believe that the Absolute Truth is ultimately impersonal. When an incarnation of God or God Himself comes, they think He is covered by māyā. In other words, Māyāvādī impersonalists think that the Lord’s form is also a product of this material world. Due to a poor fund of knowledge, they cannot understand that Kṛṣṇa has no body separate from Himself. His body and Himself are both the same Absolute Truth. Not having perfect knowledge of Kṛṣṇa, such impersonalists certainly commit offenses at His lotus feet. Therefore they do not utter “Kṛṣṇa, ” the original name of the Absolute Truth. In their impersonal way, they utter the name of impersonal Brahman, spirit soul. In other words, they indulge in indirect indications of the Absolute Truth. Even if they happen to utter the names “Govinda,” “Kṛṣṇa” or “Mādhava,” they still cannot understand that these names are as good as Govinda, Kṛṣṇa or Mādhava the person. Because they are ultimately impersonalists, their uttering of the personal name has no potency. Actually they do not believe in Kṛṣṇa but consider all these names to be material vibrations. Not being able to appreciate the holy name of the Lord, they simply utter indirect names like Brahman, ātmā and caitanya.
It is a fact, however, that the name of Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa the person are both spiritual. Everything about Kṛṣṇa is transcendental, blissful and objective. For a conditioned soul, the body is different from the soul, and the name given by the father is also different from the soul. The conditioned living entity’s identification with material objects keeps him from attaining his actual position. Although he is an eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa, he acts differently. The svarūpa, or actual identification of the living entity, is described by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu as jīvera ‘svarūpa’ haya — kṛṣṇera ‘nitya-dāsa’. The conditioned soul has forgotten the real activities of his original position. However, this is not the case with Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa’s name and His person are identical. There is no such thing as māyā Kṛṣṇa because Kṛṣṇa is not a product of the material creation. There is no difference between Kṛṣṇa’s body and His soul. Kṛṣṇa is simultaneously both soul and body. The distinction between body and soul applies to conditioned souls. The body of the conditioned soul is different from the soul, and the conditioned soul’s name is different from his body. One may be named Mr. John, but if we call for Mr. John, Mr. John may never actually appear. However, if we utter the holy name of Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa is immediately present on our tongue. In the Padma Purāṇa, Kṛṣṇa says, mad-bhaktā yatra gāyanti tatra tiṣṭhāmi nārada: “O Nārada, I am present wherever My devotees are chanting.” When the devotees chant the holy name of Kṛṣṇa — Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare/ Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare — Lord Kṛṣṇa is immediately present.
Bengali
পূর্ণঃ শুদ্ধো নিত্যমুক্তোঽভিন্নত্বান্নামনামিনোঃ ॥ ১৩৩ ॥
Text
caitanya-rasa-vigrahaḥ
pūrṇaḥ śuddho nitya-mukto
’bhinnatvān nāma-nāminoḥ
Synonyms
nāmaḥ — the holy name; cintāmaṇiḥ — transcendentally blissful giver of all spiritual benedictions; kṛṣṇaḥ — not different from Kṛṣṇa; caitanya-rasa-vigrahaḥ — the form of all transcendental mellows; pūrṇaḥ — complete; śuddhaḥ — pure, without material contamination; nitya — eternal; muktaḥ — liberated; abhinnatvāt — due to not being different; nāma — of the holy name; nāminoḥ — and of the person who has the name.
Translation
“ ‘The holy name of Kṛṣṇa is transcendentally blissful. It bestows all spiritual benedictions, for it is Kṛṣṇa Himself, the reservoir of all pleasure. Kṛṣṇa’s name is complete, and it is the form of all transcendental mellows. It is not a material name under any condition, and it is no less powerful than Kṛṣṇa Himself. Since Kṛṣṇa’s name is not contaminated by the material qualities, there is no question of its being involved with māyā. Kṛṣṇa’s name is always liberated and spiritual; it is never conditioned by the laws of material nature. This is because the name of Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa Himself are identical.’
Purport
This is a quotation from the Padma Purāṇa.
Bengali
প্রাকৃতেন্দ্রিয়-গ্রাহ্য নহে, হয় স্বপ্রকাশ ॥ ১৩৪ ॥
Text
prākṛtendriya-grāhya nahe, haya sva-prakāśa
Synonyms
Translation
“The holy name of Kṛṣṇa, His body and His pastimes cannot be understood by the blunt material senses. They are manifested independently.
Purport
Since Kṛṣṇa’s transcendental body, name, form, qualities, pastimes and entourage are all the Absolute Truth, they are as good as Kṛṣṇa Himself (sac-cid-ānanda-vigraha). As long as the living entity is conditioned by the three modes of material nature (goodness, passion and ignorance), the objects of his material senses — material form, taste, smell, sound and touch — will not help him understand spiritual knowledge and bliss. Rather, these are revealed to the pure devotee. One’s material name, form and qualities are certainly different from one another. In the material world, there is no conception of absolute; however, when we come to Kṛṣṇa consciousness we find that there is no material difference between Kṛṣṇa’s body and His names, activities and entourage.
Bengali
কৃষ্ণের স্বরূপ-সম — সব চিদানন্দ ॥ ১৩৫ ॥
Text
kṛṣṇera svarūpa-sama — saba cid-ānanda
Synonyms
Translation
“Kṛṣṇa’s holy name, transcendental qualities and transcendental pastimes are all equal to Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself. They are all spiritual and full of bliss.
Bengali
সেবোন্মুখে হি জিহ্বাদৌ স্বয়মেব স্ফুরত্যদঃ ॥ ১৩৬ ॥
Text
na bhaved grāhyam indriyaiḥ
sevonmukhe hi jihvādau
svayam eva sphuraty adaḥ
Synonyms
ataḥ — therefore (because Kṛṣṇa’s name, form and qualities are all on the absolute platform); śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāma-ādi — Lord Kṛṣṇa’s name, form, qualities, pastimes and so on; na — not; bhavet — can be; grāhyam — perceived; indriyaiḥ — by the blunt material senses; sevā-unmukhe — to one engaged in His service; hi — certainly; jihvā-ādau — beginning with the tongue; svayam — personally; eva — certainly; sphurati — become manifest; adaḥ — those (Kṛṣṇa’s name, form, qualities and so on).
Translation
“ ‘Therefore material senses cannot appreciate Kṛṣṇa’s holy name, form, qualities and pastimes. When a conditioned soul is awakened to Kṛṣṇa consciousness and renders service by using his tongue to chant the Lord’s holy name and taste the remnants of the Lord’s food, the tongue is purified, and one gradually comes to understand who Kṛṣṇa really is.’
Purport
This verse is recorded in the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu (1.2.234).
Bengali
ব্রহ্মজ্ঞানী আকর্ষিয়া করে আত্মবশ ॥ ১৩৭ ॥
Text
brahma-jñānī ākarṣiyā kare ātma-vaśa
Synonyms
Translation
“The mellows of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes, which are full of bliss, attract the jñānī from the pleasure of Brahman realization and conquer him.
Purport
When one understands that he belongs not to the material world but to the spiritual world, one is called liberated. Being situated in the spiritual world is certainly pleasurable, but those who realize the transcendental name, form, qualities and pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa enjoy transcendental bliss many times more than one who has simply realized the self. When one is situated on the platform of self-realization, he can certainly be easily attracted by Kṛṣṇa and become a servant of the Lord. This is explained in the Bhagavad-gītā (18.54):
samaḥ sarveṣu bhūteṣu mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām
“One who is thus transcendentally situated at once realizes the Supreme Brahman and becomes fully joyful. He never laments or desires to have anything. He is equally disposed to every living entity. In that state he attains pure devotional service unto Me.”
When one becomes spiritually realized (brahma-bhūta), he becomes happy (prasannātmā), for he is relieved from material conceptions. One who has attained this platform is not agitated by material action and reaction. He sees everyone on the platform of spirit soul (paṇḍitāḥ sama-darśinaḥ). When one is completely realized, he can rise to the platform of pure devotional service (mad-bhaktiṁ labhate parām). When one comes to the platform of bhakti, devotional service, he automatically realizes who Kṛṣṇa is. As the Lord says in the Bhagavad-gītā (18.55):
tato māṁ tattvato jñātvā viśate tad-anantaram
“One can understand Me as I am, as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, only by devotional service. And when one is in full consciousness of Me by such devotion, he can enter into the kingdom of God.”
It is only on the bhakti platform that one can understand the Supreme Personality of Godhead Kṛṣṇa and His transcendental name, form, qualities, pastimes and entourage. Being thus qualified spiritually, one is allowed to enter the spiritual kingdom of God and return home, back to Godhead (viśate tad-anantaram).
Bengali
ঽপ্যজিতরুচিরলীলাকৃষ্টসারস্তদীয়ম্ ।
ব্যতনুত কৃপয়া যস্তত্ত্বদীপং পুরাণং
তমখিলবৃজিনঘ্নং ব্যাসসূনুং নতোঽস্মি ॥ ১৩৮ ॥
Text
’py ajita-rucira-līlākṛṣṭa-sāras tadīyam
vyatanuta kṛpayā yas tattva-dīpaṁ purāṇaṁ
tam akhila-vṛjina-ghnaṁ vyāsa-sūnuṁ nato ’smi
Synonyms
sva-sukha — in happiness of the self; nibhṛta — solitary; cetāḥ — whose consciousness; tat — because of that; vyudasta — given up; anya-bhāvaḥ — any other type of consciousness; api — although; ajita — of Śrī Kṛṣṇa; rucira — pleasing; līlā — by the pastimes; ākṛṣṭa — attracted; sāraḥ — whose heart; tadīyam — consisting of the activities of the Lord; vyatanuta — spread, manifested; kṛpayā — mercifully; yaḥ — who; tattva-dīpam — the bright light of the Absolute Truth; purāṇam — the Purāṇa (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam); tam — unto him; akhila-vṛjina-ghnam — defeating everything inauspicious; vyāsa-sūnum — the son of Vyāsadeva; nataḥ asmi — I offer my obeisances.
Translation
“ ‘Let me offer my respectful obeisances unto my spiritual master, the son of Vyāsadeva, Śukadeva Gosvāmī. It is he who defeats all inauspicious things within this universe. Although in the beginning he was absorbed in the happiness of Brahman realization and was living in a secluded place, giving up all other types of consciousness, he became attracted by the most melodious pastimes of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa. He therefore mercifully spoke the supreme Purāṇa, known as Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, which is the bright light of the Absolute Truth and which describes the activities of Lord Kṛṣṇa.’
Purport
This verse was spoken by Sūta Gosvāmī in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (12.12.69).
Bengali
অতএব আকর্ষয়ে আত্মারামের মন ॥ ১৩৯ ॥
Text
ataeva ākarṣaye ātmārāmera mana
Synonyms
Translation
“The transcendental qualities of Śrī Kṛṣṇa are completely blissful and relishable. Consequently Lord Kṛṣṇa’s qualities attract even the minds of self-realized persons from the bliss of self-realization.
Bengali
কুর্বন্ত্যহৈতুকীং ভক্তিমিত্থম্ভূতগুণো হরিঃ ॥ ১৪০ ॥
Text
nirgranthā apy urukrame
kurvanty ahaitukīṁ bhaktim
ittham-bhūta-guṇo hariḥ
Synonyms
ātma-ārāmaḥ — persons who take pleasure in being transcendentally situated in the service of the Lord; ca — also; munayaḥ — great saintly persons who have completely rejected material aspirations, fruitive activities, and so forth; nirgranthāḥ — without interest in any material desire; api — certainly; urukrame — unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, whose activities are wonderful; kurvanti — do; ahaitukīm — causeless, or without material desires; bhaktim — devotional service; ittham-bhūta — so wonderful as to attract the attention of the self-satisfied; guṇaḥ — who has transcendental qualities; hariḥ — the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Translation
“ ‘Those who are self-satisfied and unattracted by external material desires are also attracted to the loving service of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, whose qualities are transcendental and whose activities are wonderful. Hari, the Personality of Godhead, is called Kṛṣṇa because He has such transcendentally attractive features.’
Bengali
আত্মারামের মন হরে তুলসীর গন্ধে ॥ ১৪১ ॥
Text
ātmārāmera mana hare tulasīra gandhe
Synonyms
Translation
“Apart from the pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa, when tulasī leaves are offered at the lotus feet of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, even the aroma of the leaves attracts the minds of self-realized persons.
Bengali
কিঞ্জল্কমিশ্রতুলসীমকরন্দবায়ুঃ ।
অন্তর্গতঃ স্ববিবরেণ চকার তেষাং
সংক্ষোভমক্ষরজুষামপি চিত্ততন্বোঃ ॥ ১৪২ ॥
Text
kiñjalka-miśra-tulasī-makaranda-vāyuḥ
antar-gataḥ sva-vivareṇa cakāra teṣāṁ
saṅkṣobham akṣara-juṣām api citta-tanvoḥ
Synonyms
tasya — of Him; aravinda-nayanasya — of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, whose eyes are like the petals of a lotus; pada-aravinda — of the lotus feet; kiñjalka — with saffron; miśra — mixed; tulasī — of tulasī leaves; makaranda — with the aroma; vāyuḥ — the air; antaḥ-gataḥ — entered; sva-vivareṇa — through the nostrils; cakāra — created; teṣām — of them; saṅkṣobham — strong agitation; akṣara-juṣām — of the impersonally self-realized (Kumāras); api — also; citta-tanvoḥ — of the mind and body.
Translation
“ ‘When the breeze carrying the aroma of tulasī leaves and saffron from the lotus feet of the lotus-eyed Personality of Godhead entered through the nostrils into the hearts of those sages [the Kumāras], they experienced a change in both body and mind, even though they were attached to the impersonal Brahman understanding.’
Purport
This is a verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (3.15.43). Vidura and Maitreya discussed the pregnancy of Diti. Diti’s pregnancy caused the demigods to be very much afraid, and the demigods went to see Lord Brahmā. Lord Brahmā explained the original incident involving the cursing of Jaya and Vijaya by the Catuḥsana Kumāras. Once the Catuḥsana Kumāras went to Vaikuṇṭha to visit Nārāyaṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but they were stopped from entering the palace at the seventh gate by two doorkeepers named Jaya and Vijaya. Due to their jealousy, Jaya and Vijaya would not allow the Kumāras entry, and consequently the Kumāras became angry and cursed Jaya and Vijaya, condemning them to take birth in a family of asuras in the material world. The omniscient Personality of Godhead could immediately understand the incident, and He came with His eternal consort, the goddess of fortune. The Catuḥsana Kumāras immediately offered their obeisances unto the Lord. Simply by seeing the Lord and smelling the aroma of tulasī and saffron from His lotus feet, the Kumāras became devotees and abandoned their long-cherished impersonalism. Thus the four Kumāras were turned into Vaiṣṇavas simply by smelling the aromatic tulasī mixed with saffron. Those who are actually on the platform of Brahman realization and who have not offended the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa can immediately become Vaiṣṇavas simply by smelling the aroma of the Lord’s lotus feet. But those who are offenders or demons are never attracted to the Lord’s personal feature, even though they may visit the Lord’s temple many times. In Vṛndāvana we have seen many Māyāvādī sannyāsīs who do not even come to the temple of Govindajī, Gopīnātha or Madana-mohana because they think that such temples are māyā. Therefore they are called Māyāvādīs. Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu therefore said that the Māyāvādīs are the greatest offenders.
Bengali
মায়াবাদি-গণ যাতে মহা বহির্মুখে ॥ ১৪৩ ॥
Text
māyāvādi-gaṇa yāte mahā bahirmukhe
Synonyms
Translation
“Because the Māyāvādīs are great offenders and atheistic philosophers, the holy name of Kṛṣṇa does not come from their mouths.
Purport
Because they are constantly blaspheming the Supreme Personality of Godhead by saying that He has no head, hands or legs, Māyāvādī philosophers remain offenders for many, many births, even though they have partially realized Brahman. However, if such impersonalists are not offenders at the lotus feet of the Lord, they immediately become devotees in the association of a devotee. In other words, if an impersonalist is not an offender, he can become a devotee if he gets a chance to associate with other devotees. If he is an offender, he cannot be converted even by the association of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu was very much afraid of this Māyāvādī offender; therefore He spoke as follows.
Bengali
গ্রাহক নাহি, না বিকায়, লঞা যাব ঘরে ॥ ১৪৪ ॥
Text
grāhaka nāhi, nā vikāya, lañā yāba ghare
Synonyms
Translation
“I have come here to sell My emotional ecstatic sentiments in this city of Kāśī, but I cannot find any customers. If they are not sold, I must take them back home.
Bengali
অল্প-স্বল্প-মূল্য পাইলে, এথাই বেচিব ॥” ১৪৫ ॥
Text
alpa-svalpa-mūlya pāile, ethāi veciba
Synonyms
Translation
“I have brought a heavy load to sell in this city. To take it back again is a very difficult job; therefore if I get but a fraction of the price, I shall sell it here in this city of Kāśī.”
Purport
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was selling the transcendental holy name of the Lord. But Kāśī was a city of Māyāvādīs (impersonalists), and such people will never chant the holy names of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra. Consequently Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was feeling disappointed. How could He teach the Māyāvādīs the importance of chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra? The attraction for chanting the holy name of the Lord belongs absolutely to pure devotees, and there was no possibility of finding pure devotees at Kāśī. Consequently Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s commodity was certainly very heavy. The Lord therefore suggested that even though there were no pure devotees in Kāśī, if someone was a little inclined to chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, He would deliver this big load, although the proper price was not paid.
Actually we experienced this when we came to preach the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement in the West. When we came to New York in 1965, we never expected that the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra would be accepted in this country. Nonetheless, we invited people to our storefront to join in chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, and the Lord’s holy name is so attractive that simply by coming to our storefront in New York, fortunate young people became Kṛṣṇa conscious. Although this mission was started with insignificant capital, it is now going nicely. The spreading of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra in the West has become successful because the young people were not offenders. The youths who joined this movement were not very advanced as far as purity is concerned, nor were they very well educated in Vedic knowledge, but because they were not offenders, they could accept the importance of the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement. We are now very happy to see that this movement is advancing more and more in the Western countries. We therefore conclude that the so-called mlecchas and yavanas of the Western countries are more purified than offensive Māyāvādīs or atheistic impersonalists.
Bengali
প্রাতে উঠি’ মথুরা চলিলা গৌরহরি ॥ ১৪৬ ॥
Text
prāte uṭhi mathurā calilā gaurahari
Synonyms
Translation
After saying this, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu accepted that brāhmaṇa as His devotee. The next morning, rising very early, the Lord started for Mathurā.
Bengali
দূর হৈতে তিনজনে ঘরে পাঠাইল ॥ ১৪৭ ॥
Text
dūra haite tina-jane ghare pāṭhāila
Synonyms
Translation
When Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu started for Mathurā, all three devotees started to go with Him. But the Lord forbade them to accompany Him, and from a distance He asked them to return home.
Bengali
প্রভুগুণ গান করে প্রেমে মত্ত হঞা ॥ ১৪৮ ॥
Text
prabhu-guṇa gāna kare preme matta hañā
Synonyms
Translation
Feeling separation from the Lord, the three used to meet and glorify the holy qualities of the Lord. Thus they were absorbed in ecstatic love.
Bengali
‘মাধব’ দেখিয়া প্রেমে কৈল নৃত্যগান ॥ ১৪৯ ॥
Text
‘mādhava’ dekhiyā preme kaila nṛtya-gāna
Synonyms
prayāge — to Prayāga; āsiyā — coming; prabhu — Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu; kaila — did; veṇī-snāna — bathing in the confluence of the Ganges and Yamunā; mādhava — the predominating Deity there, Veṇī Mādhava; dekhiyā — seeing; preme — in ecstatic love; kaila — performed; nṛtya-gāna — dancing and chanting.
Translation
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu then went to Prayāga, where He bathed at the confluence of the Ganges and the Yamunā. He then visited the temple of Veṇī Mādhava and chanted and danced there in ecstatic love.
Purport
The city of Prayāga is situated a few miles from the city of Allahabad. The name Prayāga is given due to successful sacrifices performed there. It is said, prakṛṣṭo yāgo yāga-phalaṁ yasmāt. If one performs sacrifices at Prayāga, he certainly gets immediate results without difficulty. Prayāga is also called Tīrtharāja, the king of all places of pilgrimage. This holy place is situated on the confluence of the rivers Ganges and Yamunā. Every year a fair takes place there known as Māgha-melā, and every twelve years a Kumbha-melā is also held. In any case, many people come to bathe there every year. During Māgha-melā, people from the local district generally come, and during Kumbha-melā people come from all over India to live there and bathe in the Ganges and Yamunā. Whoever goes there immediately feels the place’s spiritual influence. A fort located there was constructed by the emperor Akbar about five hundred years ago, and near the fort is a place called Triveṇī. On the other side of Prayāga is an old place known as Pratiṣṭhāna-pura. It is also well known as Jhuṅsi. Many saintly people live there, and consequently it is very attractive from the spiritual point of view.
Bengali
আস্তে-ব্যস্তে ভট্টাচার্য উঠায় ধরিয়া ॥ ১৫০ ॥
Text
āste-vyaste bhaṭṭācārya uṭhāya dhariyā
Synonyms
Translation
As soon as Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu saw the river Yamunā, He threw Himself into it. Balabhadra Bhaṭṭācārya hastily caught the Lord and very carefully raised Him up again.
Bengali
কৃষ্ণ-নাম-প্রেম দিয়া লোক নিস্তারিলা ॥ ১৫১ ॥
Text
kṛṣṇa-nāma-prema diyā loka nistārilā
Synonyms
Translation
The Lord stayed at Prayāga for three days. He delivered the holy name of Kṛṣṇa and ecstatic love. Thus He delivered many people.
Bengali
কৃষ্ণ-নাম-প্রেম দিয়া লোকেরে নাচায় ॥ ১৫২ ॥
Text
kṛṣṇa-nāma-prema diyā lokere nācāya
Synonyms
Translation
Wherever the Lord stopped to rest on the way to Mathurā, He delivered the holy name of Kṛṣṇa and ecstatic love of Kṛṣṇa. Thus He made the people dance.
Bengali
‘পশ্চিম’-দেশে তৈছে সব ‘বৈষ্ণব’ করিলা ॥ ১৫৩ ॥
Text
‘paścima’-deśe taiche saba ‘vaiṣṇava’ karilā
Synonyms
Translation
When the Lord toured South India, He delivered many people, and when He traveled in the western sector, He similarly converted many people to Vaiṣṇavism.
Purport
Formerly Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu converted people when He toured southern and western India. Similarly, the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement is now delivering the people of the Western world wherever devotees are chanting the holy names. This is all being done by the Lord’s mercy. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu predicted that He would deliver people in every city and village of the world by giving them a chance to chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra.
Bengali
তাহাঁ ঝাঁপ দিয়া পড়ে প্রেমে অচেতন ॥ ১৫৪ ॥
Text
tāhāṅ jhāṅpa diyā paḍe preme acetana
Synonyms
Translation
While the Lord was going to Mathurā, He came across the river Yamunā several times, and as soon as He saw the river Yamunā, He would immediately jump in, falling unconscious in the water in the ecstasy of love of Kṛṣṇa.
Bengali
দণ্ডবৎ হঞা পড়ে প্রেমাবিষ্ট হঞা ॥ ১৫৫ ॥
Text
daṇḍavat hañā paḍe premāviṣṭa hañā
Synonyms
Translation
When He approached Mathurā and saw the city, He immediately fell to the ground and offered obeisances with great ecstatic love.
Bengali
‘জন্মস্থানে’ ‘কেশব’ দেখি’ করিলা প্রণাম ॥ ১৫৬ ॥
Text
‘janma-sthāne’ ‘keśava’ dekhi’ karilā praṇāma
Synonyms
Translation
When Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu entered the city of Mathurā, He took His bath at Viśrāma-ghāṭa. He then visited the birthplace of Kṛṣṇa and saw the Deity named Keśavajī. He offered His respectful obeisances to this Deity.
Purport
At the present moment, the temple of Keśavajī is very much improved. At one time, Keśavajī-mandira was attacked by the emperor Aurangzeb, who constructed such a big mosque there that the temple of Keśavajī was insignificant in comparison. But with the help of many rich Marwaris, the temple has been improved, and a very large temple is now being constructed so that the mosque is now appearing diminished in comparison. Many archeological discoveries have been made there, and many people from foreign countries are beginning to appreciate Kṛṣṇa’s birthplace. This Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement is attracting many foreigners to the Keśavajī temple, and now they will also be attracted by the Kṛṣṇa-Balarāma temple in Vṛndāvana.
Bengali
প্রভুর প্রেমাবেশ দেখি’ লোকে চমৎকার ॥ ১৫৭ ॥
Text
prabhura premāveśa dekhi’ loke camatkāra
Synonyms
Translation
When Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu chanted, danced and made loud vibrations, all the people were astonished to see His ecstatic love.
Bengali
প্রভু-সঙ্গে নৃত্য করে প্রেমাবিষ্ট হঞা ॥ ১৫৮ ॥
Text
prabhu-saṅge nṛtya kare premāviṣṭa hañā
Synonyms
Translation
One brāhmaṇa fell at the lotus feet of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and then began to dance with Him in ecstatic love.
Bengali
হরি কৃষ্ণ কহ দুঁহে বলে বাহু তুলি’ ॥ ১৫৯ ॥
Text
hari kṛṣṇa kaha duṅhe bale bāhu tuli’
Synonyms
Translation
The two of them danced in ecstatic love and embraced each other. Raising their arms, they said, “Chant the holy names of Hari and Kṛṣṇa!”
Bengali
‘কেশব’-সেবক প্রভুকে মালা পরাইল ॥ ১৬০ ॥
Text
‘keśava’-sevaka prabhuke mālā parāila
Synonyms
Translation
All the people then began to chant, “Hari! Hari!” and there was a great uproar. The priest in Lord Keśava’s service offered Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu a garland.
Bengali
ঐছে হেন প্রেম ‘লৌকিক’ কভু নয় ॥ ১৬১ ॥
Text
aiche hena prema ‘laukika’ kabhu naya
Synonyms
Translation
When the people saw Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s dancing and chanting, they were struck with wonder, and they all said, “Such transcendental love is never an ordinary thing.”
Bengali
হাসে, কান্দে, নাচে, গায়, কৃষ্ণনাম লঞা ॥ ১৬২ ॥
Text
hāse, kānde, nāce, gāya, kṛṣṇa-nāma lañā
Synonyms
Translation
The people said, “Simply by seeing Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, everyone is maddened with love of Kṛṣṇa. Indeed, everyone is laughing, crying, dancing, chanting and taking the holy name of Kṛṣṇa.
Bengali
মথুরা আইলা লোকের করিতে নিস্তার ॥ ১৬৩ ॥
Text
mathurā āilā lokera karite nistāra
Synonyms
Translation
“Certainly Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is in all respects the incarnation of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Now He has come to Mathurā to deliver everyone.”
Bengali
তাঁহারে পুছিলা কিছু নিভৃতে বসিয়া ॥ ১৬৪ ॥
Text
tāṅhāre puchilā kichu nibhṛte vasiyā
Synonyms
Translation
After this, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu took the brāhmaṇa aside. Sitting in a solitary place, the Lord began to question him.
Bengali
কাহাঁ হৈতে পাইলে তুমি এই প্রেমধন?’ ॥ ১৬৫ ॥
Text
kāhāṅ haite pāile tumi ei prema-dhana?’
Synonyms
Translation
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, “You are an elderly brāhmaṇa, you are sincere, and you are advanced in spiritual life. Wherefrom have you gotten this transcendental opulence of ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa?”
Bengali
ভ্রমিতে ভ্রমিতে আইলা মথুরা-নগরী ॥ ১৬৬ ॥
Text
bhramite bhramite āilā mathurā-nagarī
Synonyms
Translation
The brāhmaṇa replied, “His Holiness Śrīla Mādhavendra Purī came to the city of Mathurā while he was on tour.
Bengali
মোরে শিষ্য করি’ মোর হাতে ‘ভিক্ষা’ কৈলা ॥ ১৬৭ ॥
Text
more śiṣya kari’ mora hāte ‘bhikṣā’ kailā
Synonyms
Translation
“While at Mathurā, Śrīpāda Mādhavendra Purī visited my house and accepted me as a disciple. He even took lunch at my home.
Bengali
অদ্যাপিহ তাঁহার সেবা ‘গোবর্ধনে’ হয় ॥ ১৬৮ ॥
Text
adyāpiha tāṅhāra sevā ‘govardhane’ haya
Synonyms
Translation
“After installing the Deity of Gopāla, Śrīla Mādhavendra Purī rendered Him service. That very Deity is still being worshiped at Govardhana Hill.”
Bengali
ভয় পাঞা প্রভু-পায় পড়িলা ব্রাহ্মণ ॥ ১৬৯ ॥
Text
bhaya pāñā prabhu-pāya paḍilā brāhmaṇa
Synonyms
Translation
As soon as Caitanya Mahāprabhu heard about Mādhavendra Purī’s relationship with the brāhmaṇa, He immediately offered obeisances at his feet. Becoming fearful, the brāhmaṇa also immediately fell at the Lord’s feet.
Bengali
‘গুরু’ হঞা ‘শিষ্যে’ নমস্কার না যুয়ায় ॥” ১৭০ ॥
Text
‘guru’ hañā ‘śiṣye’ namaskāra nā yuyaya
Synonyms
Translation
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, “You are on the platform of My spiritual master, and I am your disciple. Since you are My spiritual master, it is not befitting that you offer Me obeisances.”
Bengali
ঐছে বাত্ কহ কেনে সন্ন্যাসী হঞা ॥ ১৭১ ॥
Text
aiche bāt kaha kene sannyāsī hañā
Synonyms
Translation
Upon hearing this, the brāhmaṇa became afraid. He then said, “Why do You speak like this? You are a sannyāsī.
Bengali
মাধবেন্দ্র-পুরীর ‘সম্বন্ধ’ ধর — জানি ॥ ১৭২ ॥
Text
mādhavendra-purīra ‘sambandha’ dhara — jāni
Synonyms
Translation
“Upon seeing Your ecstatic love, I can just imagine that You must have some relationship with Mādhavendra Purī. This is my understanding.
Bengali
তাহাঁ বিনা এই প্রেমার কাহাঁ নাহি গন্ধ ॥ ১৭৩ ॥
Text
tāhāṅ vinā ei premāra kāhāṅ nāhi gandha
Synonyms
Translation
“This kind of ecstatic love can be experienced only when one has a relationship with Mādhavendra Purī. Without him, even a scent of such transcendental ecstatic love is impossible.”
Bengali
শুনি’ আনন্দিত বিপ্র নাচিতে লাগিল ॥ ১৭৪ ॥
Text
śuni’ ānandita vipra nācite lāgila
Synonyms
Translation
Balabhadra Bhaṭṭācārya then explained the relationship between Mādhavendra Purī and Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. After hearing this, the brāhmaṇa became very pleased and began to dance.
Bengali
আপন-ইচ্ছায় প্রভুর নানা সেবা করে ॥ ১৭৫ ॥
Text
āpana-icchāya prabhura nānā sevā kare
Synonyms
Translation
The brāhmaṇa then took Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu to his home and, out of his own free will, began to serve the Lord in various ways.
Bengali
তবে মহাপ্রভু হাসি’ বলিলা বচন ॥ ১৭৬ ॥
Text
tabe mahāprabhu hāsi’ balilā vacana
Synonyms
bhikṣā lāgi’ — for lunch; bhaṭṭācārye — Balabhadra Bhaṭṭācārya; karāilā randhana — made to cook; tabe — at that time; mahāprabhu — Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu; hāsi’ — smiling; balilā vacana — said these words.
Translation
He asked Balabhadra Bhaṭṭācārya to cook Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s lunch. At that time the Lord, smiling, spoke as follows.
Bengali
মোরে তুমি ভিক্ষা দেহ, — এই মোর ‘শিক্ষা’ ॥” ১৭৭ ॥
Text
more tumi bhikṣā deha, — ei mora ‘śikṣā’ ”
Synonyms
Translation
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, “Mādhavendra Purī has already taken lunch at your place. Therefore you may cook and give Me the food. That is My instruction.”
Bengali
স যৎ প্ৰমাণং কুরুতে লোকস্তদনুবর্ততে ॥ ১৭৮ ॥
Text
tat tad evetaro janaḥ
sa yat pramāṇaṁ kurute
lokas tad anuvartate
Synonyms
Translation
“Whatever action a great man performs, common men follow. And whatever standards he sets by exemplary acts, all the world pursues.”
Purport
This is a quotation from the Bhagavad-gītā (3.21).
Bengali
সনোড়িয়া-ঘরে সন্ন্যাসী না করে ভোজন ॥ ১৭৯ ॥
Text
sanoḍiyā-ghare sannyāsī nā kare bhojana
Synonyms
Translation
The brāhmaṇa belonged to the Sanoḍiyā brāhmaṇa community, and a sannyāsī does not accept food from such a brāhmaṇa.
Purport
In northwestern India, vaiśyas are divided into various subdivisions. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura points out that they are divided as Āgarwālā, Kālawāra and Sānwāḍa. Out of them, the Āgarwālās are said to be first-class vaiśyas, and the Kālawāras and Sānwāḍas are considered lower due to their occupational degradation. The Kālawāras generally take wine and other intoxicants. Although they are vaiśyas, they are considered to belong to a lower class. The priests who guide the Kālawāras and the Sānwāḍas are called Sanoḍiyā brāhmaṇas. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura states that the word sānoyāḍa in Bengal indicates suvarṇa-vaṇik. In Bengal there are priests who guide the suvarṇa-vaṇik community, which is also considered a low class. There is little difference between the Sānwāḍas and the suvarṇa-vaṇiks. Generally the suvarṇa-vaṇiks are bankers dealing in gold and silver. In western India, the Āgarwālās also belong to the banking profession. This is the original business of the suvarṇa-vaṇik or Āgarwālā community. Historically, the Āgarwālās came from the up-country named Ayodha, and the suvarṇa-vaṇik community also came from Ayodha. It therefore appears that the suvarṇa-vaṇiks and the Āgarwālās belong to the same community. The Sanoḍiyā brāhmaṇas were the guides of the Kālawāras and Sānwāḍas. They are therefore considered to be lower-class brāhmaṇas, and a sannyāsī is not allowed to take alms or food from them. However, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu accepted lunch cooked by a Sanoḍiyā brāhmaṇa simply because he belonged to Mādhavendra Purī’s community. Śrīla Mādhavendra Purī was the spiritual master of Īśvara Purī, who was the spiritual master of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Thus a spiritual relationship is established on the spiritual platform, without consideration of material inferiority or superiority.
Bengali
‘শিষ্য’ করি’ তাঁর ভিক্ষা কৈল অঙ্গীকার ॥ ১৮০ ॥
Text
‘śiṣya’ kari’ tāṅra bhikṣā kaila aṅgīkāra
Synonyms
Translation
Although the brāhmaṇa belonged to the Sanoḍiyā community, Śrīla Mādhavendra Purī had seen that he behaved like a Vaiṣṇava and had therefore accepted him as his disciple. The food he had cooked had also been accepted by Mādhavendra Purī.
Bengali
দৈন্য করি’ সেই বিপ্র কহিতে লাগিল ॥ ১৮১ ॥
Text
dainya kari’ sei vipra kahite lāgila
Synonyms
Translation
Therefore Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu willingly requested food from the brāhmaṇa, and the brāhmaṇa, feeling natural humility, began to speak as follows.
Bengali
তুমি — ঈশ্বর, নাহি তোমার বিধি-ব্যবহার ॥ ১৮২ ॥
Text
tumi — īśvara, nāhi tomāra vidhi-vyavahāra
Synonyms
Translation
“It is a great fortune for me to offer You food. You are the Supreme Lord, and being in the transcendental position, You are not restricted in any way.
Bengali
সহিতে না পারিমু সেই ‘দুষ্টে’র বচন ॥ ১৮৩ ॥
Text
sahite nā pārimu sei ‘duṣṭe’ra vacana
Synonyms
Translation
“Foolish people will blaspheme You, but I shall not tolerate the words of such mischievous people.”
Purport
Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura remarks that although the brāhmaṇa did not belong to a superior community, he fearlessly chastised so-called caste brāhmaṇas because he was situated on the platform of pure devotional service. There are people who are opposed to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s accepting a Vaiṣṇava belonging to a lower caste. Such people do not consider mahā-prasādam transcendental, and therefore they are described here as mūrkha (foolish) and duṣṭa (mischievous). A pure devotee has the power to challenge such high-caste people, and his brave statements are not to be considered proud or puffed up. On the contrary, he is to be considered straightforward. Such a person does not like to flatter high-class brāhmaṇas who belong to the non-Vaiṣṇava community.
Bengali
সবে ‘এক’-মত নহে, ভিন্ন ভিন্ন ধর্ম ॥ ১৮৪ ॥
Text
sabe ‘eka’-mata nahe, bhinna bhinna dharma
Synonyms
Translation
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu replied, “The Vedas, Purāṇas and great learned sages are not always in agreement with one another. Consequently there are different religious principles.
Purport
Unless one comes to the Absolute Truth, there is no possibility of agreement. Nāsāv ṛṣir yasya mataṁ na bhinnam: it is said that a great learned scholar or sage cannot be exalted unless he disagrees with other scholars and sages. On the material platform, there is no possibility of agreement; therefore there are different kinds of religious systems. But the Absolute Truth is one, and when one is situated in the Absolute Truth, there is no disagreement. On that absolute platform the Supreme Personality of Godhead is worshipable. As stated in the Bhagavad-gītā (18.55), bhaktyā mām abhijānāti yāvān yaś cāsmi tattvataḥ. On the absolute platform, the worshipful Deity is one, and the process of worship is also one. That process is bhakti.
There are many different religions throughout the world because they are not all on the absolute platform of devotional service. As confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā (18.66): sarva-dharmān parityajya mām ekaṁ śaraṇaṁ vraja. The word ekam means “one,” Kṛṣṇa. On this platform, there are no different religious systems. According to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.1.2), dharmaḥ projjhita-kaitavo ’tra. On the material platform, religious systems are different. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam describes them from the very beginning as dharmaḥ kaitavaḥ, cheating religions. None of these religions is actually genuine. The genuine religious system is that which enables one to become a lover of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. In the words of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.2.6):
ahaituky apratihatā yayātmā suprasīdati
“The supreme occupation [dharma] for all humanity is that by which men can attain to loving devotional service unto the transcendent Lord. Such devotional service must be unmotivated and uninterrupted in order to completely satisfy the self.”
On this platform there is nothing but the service of the Lord. When a person has no ulterior motive, there is certainly oneness and agreement of principles. Since everyone has a different body and mind, different types of religions are needed. But when one is situated on the spiritual platform, there are no bodily and mental differences. Consequently on the absolute platform there is oneness in religion.
Bengali
পুরী-গোসাঞির যে আচরণ, সেই ধর্ম সার ॥ ১৮৫ ॥
Text
purī-gosāñira ye ācaraṇa, sei dharma sāra
Synonyms
Translation
“A devotee’s behavior establishes the true purpose of religious principles. The behavior of Mādhavendra Purī Gosvāmī is the essence of such religious principles.”
Purport
Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura gives the following commentary on this passage. A sādhu, or honest man, is called a mahājana or a mahātmā. The mahātmā is described thus by Lord Kṛṣṇa in the Bhagavad-gītā (9.13):
bhajanty ananya-manaso jñātvā bhūtādim avyayam
“O son of Pṛthā, those who are not deluded, the great souls, are under the protection of the divine nature. They are fully engaged in devotional service because they know Me as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, original and inexhaustible.”
In the material world, the word mahātmā is understood in different ways by different religionists. Mundaners also come up with their different angles of vision. For the conditioned soul busy in sense gratification, a mahājana is recognized according to the proportion of sense gratification he offers. For instance, a businessman may consider a certain banker to be a mahājana, and karmīs desiring material enjoyment may consider philosophers like Jaimini to be mahājanas. There are many yogīs who want to control the senses, and for them Patañjali Ṛṣi is a mahājana. For the jñānīs, the atheist Kapila, Vasiṣṭha, Durvāsā, Dattātreya and other impersonalist philosophers are mahājanas. For the demons, Hiraṇyākṣa, Hiraṇyakaśipu, Rāvaṇa, Rāvaṇa’s son Meghanāda, Jarāsandha and others are accepted as mahājanas. For materialistic anthropologists speculating on the evolution of the body, a person like Darwin is a mahājana. The scientists who are bewildered by Kṛṣṇa’s external energy have no relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead, yet they are accepted by some as mahājanas. Similarly, philosophers, historians, literary men, public speakers and social and political leaders are sometimes accepted as mahājanas. Such mahājanas are respected by certain men who have been described in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (2.3.19):
saṁstutaḥ puruṣaḥ paśuḥ
na yat-karṇa-pathopeto
jātu nāma gadāgrajaḥ
“Men who are like dogs, hogs, camels and asses praise those men who never listen to the transcendental pastimes of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the deliverer from evils.”
Thus on the material platform animalistic leaders are worshiped by animals. Sometimes physicians, psychiatrists and social workers try to mitigate bodily pain, distress and fear, but they have no knowledge of spiritual identity and are bereft of a relationship with God. Yet they are considered mahājanas by the illusioned. Self-deceived persons sometimes accept leaders or spiritual masters from a priestly order that has been officially appointed by the codes of material life. In this way, they are deceived by official priests. Sometimes people accept as mahājanas those who have been designated by Śrīla Vṛndāvana dāsa Ṭhākura as ḍhaṅga-vipras (imposter brāhmaṇas). Such imposters imitate the characteristics of Śrīla Haridāsa Ṭhākura, and they envy Haridāsa Ṭhākura, who was certainly a mahājana. They make great artificial endeavors, advertising themselves as great devotees of the Lord or as mystic hypnotists knowledgeable in witchcraft, hypnotism and miracles. Sometimes people accept as mahājanas demons like Pūtanā, Tṛṇāvarta, Vatsa, Baka, Aghāsura, Dhenuka, Kālīya and Pralamba. Some people accept imitators and adversaries of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, such as Pauṇḍraka, Śṛgāla Vāsudeva, the spiritual master of the demons (Śukrācārya), or atheists like Cārvāka, King Vena, Sugata and Arhat. People who accept such imitators as mahājanas have no faith in Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Rather, they accept godless cheaters who present themselves as incarnations of God and cheat foolish people within the material world by word jugglery. Thus many rascals are accepted as mahājanas.
It is those who are devoid of devotional service who sometimes mistakenly accept persons with mundane motives as mahājanas. The only motive must be kṛṣṇa-bhakti, devotional service to the Lord. Sometimes fruitive workers, dry philosophers, nondevotees, mystic yogīs and persons attached to material opulence, women and money are considered mahājanas. But Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (6.3.25) gives the following statement about such unauthorized mahājanas:
devyā vimohita-matir bata māyayālam
trayyāṁ jaḍī-kṛta-matir madhu-puṣpitāyāṁ
vaitānike mahati karmaṇi yujyamānaḥ
In this material world, karmīs (fruitive actors) are accepted as mahājanas by foolish people who do not know the value of devotional service. The mundane intelligence and mental speculative methods of such foolish people are under the control of the three modes of material nature. Consequently they cannot understand unalloyed devotional service. They are attracted by material activities, and they become worshipers of material nature. Thus they are known as fruitive actors. They even become entangled in material activities disguised as spiritual activities. In the Bhagavad-gītā such people are described as veda-vāda-ratāḥ, supposed followers of the Vedas. They do not understand the real purport of the Vedas, yet they think of themselves as Vedic authorities. People versed in Vedic knowledge must know Kṛṣṇa as the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Vedaiś ca sarvair aham eva vedyaḥ. (Bg. 15.15)
In this material world a person may be famous as a karma-vīra, a successful fruitive worker, or he may be very successful in performing religious duties, or he may be known as a hero in mental speculation (jñāna-vīra), or he may be a very famous renunciant. In any case, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (3.23.56) gives the following opinion in this matter.
na tīrtha-pada-sevāyai jīvann api mṛto hi saḥ
“Anyone whose work is not meant for elevating him to religious life, anyone whose religious ritualistic performances do not raise him to renunciation, and anyone situated in renunciation that does not lead him to devotional service to the Supreme Personality of Godhead must be considered dead, although he is breathing.”
The conclusion is that all pious activity, fruitive activity, religious principles and renunciation must ultimately lead to devotional service. There are different types of processes for rendering service. One may serve his country, people and society, the varṇāśrama-dharma system, the sick, the poor, the rich, women, demigods and so on. All this service comes under the heading of sense gratification, or enjoyment in the material world. It is most unfortunate that people are more or less attracted by such material activity and that the leaders of these activities are accepted as mahājanas, great ideal leaders. Actually they are only misleaders, but an ordinary man cannot understand how he is being misled.
Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura says, sādhu-śāstra-guru-vākya, cittete kariyā aikya: “One should accept as one’s guide the words of the sādhus, the śāstra and the guru.” A sādhu is a great personality like Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the śāstras are the injunctions of revealed scriptures, and the guru, or spiritual master, is one who confirms the scriptural injunctions. Accepting the guidance of these three is the actual way of following the great personalities (mahājanas) for real advancement in life (mahājano yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ). A man covered by illusion cannot understand the proper way; therefore Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu says, dharma-sthāpana-hetu sādhura vyavahāra: “The behavior of a devotee is the criterion for all other behavior.” Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu Himself followed the devotional principles and taught others to follow them. Purī-gosāñira ye ācaraṇa, sei dharma sāra. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu personally followed the behavior of Mādhavendra Purī and advised others to follow his principles. Unfortunately, people have been attracted to the material body since time immemorial.
sva-dhīḥ kalatrādiṣu bhauma ijya-dhīḥ
yat-tīrtha-buddhiḥ salile na karhicij
janeṣv abhijñeṣu sa eva go-kharaḥ
“A human being who identifies this body made of three elements with his self, who considers the by-products of the body to be his kinsmen, who considers his land of birth worshipable, and who goes to a place of pilgrimage simply to take a bath rather than meet men of transcendental knowledge there is to be considered like an ass or a cow.” (Bhāg. 10.84.13) Those who accept the logic of gaḍḍālikā-pravāha and follow in the footsteps of pseudo mahājanas are carried away by the waves of māyā. Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura therefore warns:
khāccha hābuḍubu, bhāi
jīva kṛṣṇa-dāsa, e viśvāsa,
ka’rle ta’ āra duḥkha nāi
“Don’t be carried away by the waves of māyā. Just surrender to the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, and all miseries will end.” Those who follow social customs and behavior forget to follow the path chalked out by the mahājanas; thus they are offenders at the feet of the mahājanas. Sometimes they consider such mahājanas very conservative, or they create their own mahājanas. In this way they ignore the principles of the paramparā system. This is a great misfortune for everyone. If one does not follow in the footsteps of the real mahājanas, one’s plans for happiness will be frustrated. This is elaborately explained later in the Madhya-līlā (chapter twenty-five, verses 55, 56 and 58). It is there stated:
sva-sva-mata sthāpe para-matera khaṇḍane
‘mahājana’ yei kahe, sei ‘satya’ māni
tiṅho ye kahaye vastu, sei ‘tattva’ — sāra
People are so unfortunate that they do not accept the instructions of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Instead, they want to be supported by so-called mahājanas, or authorities. Tāte chaya darśana haite ‘tattva’ nāhi jāni: we cannot ascertain the real truth simply by following speculators. We have to follow the footsteps of the mahājanas in the disciplic succession. Then our attempt will be successful. Śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya-vāṇī — amṛtera dhāra: “Whatever is spoken by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is an incessant flow of nectar.” Whoever accepts His words as reality can understand the essence of the Absolute Truth.
No one can ascertain the Absolute Truth by following the philosophy of Sāṅkhya or the yoga system of Patañjali, for neither the followers of Sāṅkhya nor the yogīs who follow Patañjali accept Lord Viṣṇu as the Supreme Personality of Godhead (na te viduḥ svārtha-gatiṁ hi viṣṇum). The ambition of such people is never fulfilled; therefore they are attracted by the external energy. Although mental speculators may be renowned all over the world as great authorities, actually they are not. Such leaders are themselves conservative and not at all liberal. However, if we preach this philosophy, people will consider Vaiṣṇavas very sectarian. Śrīla Mādhavendra Purī was a real mahājana, but misguided people cannot distinguish the real from the unreal. But a person who is awakened to Kṛṣṇa consciousness can understand the real religious path chalked out by the Lord and His pure devotees. Śrī Mādhavendra Purī was a real mahājana because he understood the Absolute Truth properly and throughout his life behaved like a pure devotee. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu approved the method of Śrī Mādhavendra Purī. Therefore, although from the material viewpoint the Sanoḍiyā brāhmaṇa was on a lower platform, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu considered him situated on the highest platform of spiritual realization.
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (6.3.20) states that there are twelve mahājanas: Brahmā, Nārada, Śambhu, the four Kumāras, Kapila, Manu, Prahlāda, Janaka, Bhīṣma, Bali, Śukadeva and Yamarāja.
To select our mahājanas in the Gauḍīya-sampradāya, we have to follow in the footsteps of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and His representatives. His next representative is Śrī Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī, and the next representatives are the six Gosvāmīs — Śrī Rūpa, Śrī Sanātana, Bhaṭṭa Raghunātha, Śrī Jīva, Gopāla Bhaṭṭa and Dāsa Raghunātha. A follower of Viṣṇu Svāmī’s was Śrīdhara Svāmī, the most well known commentator on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. He was also a mahājana. Similarly, Caṇḍīdāsa, Vidyāpati and Jayadeva were all mahājanas. One who tries to imitate the mahājanas just to become an imitative spiritual master is certainly far away from following in the footsteps of the mahājanas. Sometimes people cannot actually understand how a mahājana follows other mahājanas. In this way people commit offenses and fall from devotional service.
Bengali
নাসাবৃষির্যস্য মতং ন ভিন্নম্ ।
ধর্মস্য তত্ত্বং নিহিতং গুহায়াং
মহাজনো যেন গতঃ স পন্থাঃ ॥ ১৮৬ ॥
Text
nāsāv ṛṣir yasya mataṁ na bhinnam
dharmasya tattvaṁ nihitaṁ guhāyāṁ
mahājano yena gataḥ sa panthāḥ
Synonyms
tarkaḥ — dry argument; apratiṣṭhaḥ — not fixed; śrutayaḥ — Vedas; vibhinnāḥ — possessing different departments; na — not; asau — that; ṛṣiḥ — great sage; yasya — whose; matam — opinion; na — not; bhinnam — separate; dharmasya — of religious principles; tattvam — truth; nihitam — placed; guhāyām — in the heart of a realized person; mahā-janaḥ — self-realized predecessors; yena — by which way; gataḥ — acted; saḥ — that; panthāḥ — the pure unadulterated path.
Translation
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu continued, “ ‘Dry arguments are inconclusive. A great personality whose opinion does not differ from others is not considered a great sage. Simply by studying the Vedas, which are variegated, one cannot come to the right path by which religious principles are understood. The solid truth of religious principles is hidden in the heart of an unadulterated, self-realized person. Consequently, as the śāstras confirm, one should accept whatever progressive path the mahājanas advocate.’ ”
Purport
This is a verse spoken by Yudhiṣṭhira Mahārāja in the Mahābhārata, Vana-pārva (313.117).
Bengali
মধুপুরীর লোক সব প্রভুকে দেখিতে আইল ॥ ১৮৭ ॥
Text
madhu-purīra loka saba prabhuke dekhite āila
Synonyms
Translation
After this discussion, the brāhmaṇa served lunch to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Then all the people residing in Mathurā came to see the Lord.
Bengali
বাহির হঞা প্রভু দিল দরশন ॥ ১৮৮ ॥
Text
bāhira hañā prabhu dila daraśana
Synonyms
Translation
People came by the hundreds of thousands, and no one could count them. Therefore Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu came out of the house to give audience to the people.
Bengali
প্রেমে মত্ত নাচে লোক করি’ হরিধ্বনি ॥ ১৮৯ ॥
Text
preme matta nāce loka kari’ hari-dhvani
Synonyms
Translation
When the people assembled, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu raised His arms and said very loudly, “Haribol!” The people responded to the Lord and became ecstatic. As if mad, they began to dance and to vibrate the transcendental sound “Hari!”
Bengali
সেই বিপ্র প্রভুকে দেখায় তীর্থস্থান ॥ ১৯০ ॥
Text
sei vipra prabhuke dekhāya tīrtha-sthāna
Synonyms
Translation
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu bathed in the twenty-four ghats along the banks of the Yamunā, and the brāhmaṇa showed Him all the places of pilgrimage.
Purport
The twenty-four ghats (bathing places) along the Yamunā are (1) Avimukta, (2) Adhirūḍha, (3) Guhya-tīrtha, (4) Prayāga-tīrtha, (5) Kanakhala-tīrtha, (6) Tinduka, (7) Sūrya-tīrtha, (8) Vaṭa-svāmī, (9) Dhruva-ghāṭa, (10) Ṛṣi-tīrtha, (11) Mokṣa-tīrtha, (12) Bodha-tīrtha, (13) Gokarṇa, (14) Kṛṣṇa-gaṅgā, (15) Vaikuṇṭha, (16) Asi-kuṇḍa, (17) Catuḥ-sāmudrika-kūpa, (18) Akrūra-tīrtha, (19) Yājñika-vipra-sthāna, (20) Kubjā-kūpa, (21) Raṅga-sthala, (22) Mañca-sthala, (23) Mallayuddha-sthāna and (24) Daśāśvamedha.
Bengali
মহাবিদ্যা, গোকর্ণাদি দেখিলা বিস্তর ॥ ১৯১ ॥
Text
mahāvidyā, gokarṇādi dekhilā vistara
Synonyms
Translation
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu visited all the holy places on the banks of the Yamunā, including Svayambhu, Viśrāma-ghāṭa, Dīrgha Viṣṇu, Bhūteśvara, Mahāvidyā and Gokarṇa.
Bengali
সেইত ব্রাহ্মণে প্রভু সঙ্গেতে লইল ॥ ১৯২ ॥
Text
seita brāhmaṇe prabhu saṅgete la-ila
Synonyms
Translation
When Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu wanted to see the various forests of Vṛndāvana, He took the brāhmaṇa with Him.
Bengali
তাহাঁ তাহাঁ স্নান করি’ প্রেমাবিষ্ট হৈলা ॥ ১৯৩ ॥
Text
tāhāṅ tāhāṅ snāna kari’ premāviṣṭa hailā
Synonyms
Translation
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu visited the different forests, including Madhuvana, Tālavana, Kumudavana and Bahulāvana. Wherever He went, He took His bath with great ecstatic love.
Purport
The word vana means “forest.” Vṛndāvana is the name given to the forest where Śrīmatī Vṛndādevī (Tulasīdevī) grows profusely. Actually it is not a forest as we ordinarily consider a forest, because it is very thick with green vegetation. There are twelve such vanas in Vṛndāvana. Some are located on the western side of the Yamunā, and others are on the eastern side. The forests situated on the eastern side are Bhadravana, Bilvavana, Lauhavana, Bhāṇḍīravana and Mahāvana. On the western side are Madhuvana, Tālavana, Kumudavana, Bahulāvana, Kāmyavana, Khadiravana and Vṛndāvana. These are the twelve forests of the Vṛndāvana area.
Bengali
প্রভুকে বেড়য় আসি’ হুঙ্কার করিয়া ॥ ১৯৪ ॥
Text
prabhuke beḍaya āsi’ huṅkāra kariyā
Synonyms
Translation
When Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu passed through Vṛndāvana, herds of grazing cows saw Him pass and, immediately surrounding Him, began to moo very loudly.
Bengali
বাৎসল্যে গাভী প্রভুর চাটে সব-অঙ্গে ॥ ১৯৫ ॥
Text
vātsalye gābhī prabhura cāṭe saba-aṅge
Synonyms
Translation
Seeing the herds approach Him, the Lord was stunned with ecstatic love. The cows then began to lick His body out of great affection.
Bengali
প্রভু-সঙ্গে চলে, নাহি ছাড়ে ধেনুগণ ॥ ১৯৬ ॥
Text
prabhu-saṅge cale, nāhi chāḍe dhenu-gaṇa
Synonyms
Translation
Becoming pacified, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu began to caress the cows, and the cows, being unable to give up His company, went with Him.
Bengali
প্রভুকণ্ঠধ্বনি শুনি’ আইসে মৃগীপাল ॥ ১৯৭ ॥
Text
prabhu-kaṇṭha-dhvani śuni’ āise mṛgī-pāla
Synonyms
Translation
It was only with great difficulty that the cowherd men were able to keep the cows back. Then when the Lord chanted, all the deer heard His sweet voice and approached Him.
Bengali
ভয় নাহি করে, সঙ্গে যায় বাটে-বাটে ॥ ১৯৮ ॥
Text
bhaya nāhi kare, saṅge yāya vāṭe-vāṭe
Synonyms
Translation
When the does and bucks came and saw the Lord’s face, they began to lick His body. Not being at all afraid of Him, they accompanied Him along the path.
Bengali
শিখিগণ নৃত্য করি’ প্রভু-আগে যায় ॥ ১৯৯ ॥
Text
śikhi-gaṇa nṛtya kari’ prabhu-āge yāya
Synonyms
Translation
Bumblebees and birds like the parrot and cuckoo all began to sing loudly on the fifth note, and the peacocks began to dance in front of the Lord.
Bengali
অঙ্কুর-পুলক, মধু-অশ্রু বরিষণে ॥ ২০০ ॥
Text
aṅkura pulaka, madhu-aśru variṣaṇe
Synonyms
Translation
Upon seeing Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the trees and creepers of Vṛndāvana became jubilant. Their twigs stood up, and they began to shed tears of ecstasy in the form of honey.
Bengali
বন্ধু দেখি’ বন্ধু যেন ‘ভেট’ লঞা যায় ॥ ২০১ ॥
Text
bandhu dekhi’ bandhu yena ‘bheṭa’ lañā yāya
Synonyms
Translation
The tree branches and creepers, overloaded with fruits and flowers, fell down at the lotus feet of the Lord and greeted Him with various presentations as if they were friends.
Bengali
আনন্দিত — বন্ধু যেন দেখে বন্ধুগণ ॥ ২০২ ॥
Text
ānandita — bandhu yena dekhe bandhu-gaṇa
Synonyms
Translation
Thus all the moving and nonmoving living entities of Vṛndāvana became very jubilant to see the Lord. It was as if friends were made happy by seeing another friend.
Bengali
সবা-সনে ক্রীড়া করে হঞা তার বশে ॥ ২০৩ ॥
Text
sabā-sane krīḍā kare hañā tāra vaśe
Synonyms
Translation
Seeing their affection, the Lord was moved by ecstatic love. He began to sport with them exactly as a friend sports with his friends. Thus He voluntarily came under the control of His friends.
Bengali
পুষ্পাদি ধ্যানে করেন কৃষ্ণে সমর্পণ ॥ ২০৪ ॥
Text
puṣpādi dhyāne karena kṛṣṇe samarpaṇa
Synonyms
Translation
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu began to embrace each and every tree and creeper, and they began to offer their fruits and flowers as if in meditation.
Bengali
‘কৃষ্ণ’ বল, ‘কৃষ্ণ’ বল — বলে উচ্চৈঃস্বরে ॥ ২০৫ ॥
Text
‘kṛṣṇa’ bala, ‘kṛṣṇa’ bala — bale uccaiḥsvare
Synonyms
Translation
The Lord’s body was restless, and tears, trembling and jubilation were manifest. He said very loudly, “Chant ‘Kṛṣṇa!’ Chant ‘Kṛṣṇa!’ ”
Bengali
প্রভুর গম্ভীর-স্বরে যেন প্রতিধ্বনি ॥ ২০৬ ॥
Text
prabhura gambhīra-svare yena prati-dhvani
Synonyms
Translation
All moving and nonmoving creatures then began to vibrate the transcendental sound of Hare Kṛṣṇa, as if they were echoing the deep sound of Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
Bengali
মৃগের পুলক অঙ্গে, অশ্রু নয়নে ॥ ২০৭ ॥
Text
mṛgera pulaka aṅge, aśru nayane
Synonyms
Translation
The Lord then clasped the necks of the deer and began to cry. There was jubilation manifest in the bodies of the deer, and tears were in their eyes.
Bengali
তাহা দেখি’ প্রভুর কিছু শুনিতে হৈল মন ॥ ২০৮ ॥
Text
tāhā dekhi’ prabhura kichu śunite haila mana
Synonyms
Translation
When a male and female parrot appeared on the branches of a tree, the Lord saw them and wanted to hear them speak.
Bengali
প্রভুকে শুনাঞা কৃষ্ণের গুণ-শ্লোক পড়ে ॥ ২০৯ ॥
Text
prabhuke śunāñā kṛṣṇera guṇa-śloka paḍe
Synonyms
Translation
Both parrots flew onto the hand of the Lord and began to chant the transcendental qualities of Kṛṣṇa, and the Lord listened to them.
Bengali
বীর্যং কন্দুকিতাদ্রিবর্যমমলাঃ পারে-পরার্ধং গুণাঃ ।
শীলং সর্বজনানুরঞ্জনমহো যস্যায়মস্মৎপ্রভু-
র্বিশ্বং বিশ্বজনীনকীর্তিরবতাৎ কৃষ্ণো জগন্মোহনঃ ॥ ২১০ ॥
Text
vīryaṁ kandukitādri-varyam amalāḥ pāre-parārdhaṁ guṇāḥ
śīlaṁ sarva-janānurañjanam aho yasyāyam asmat-prabhur
viśvaṁ viśva-janīna-kīrtir avatāt kṛṣṇo jagan-mohanaḥ
Synonyms
saundaryam — the bodily beauty; lalanā-āli — of groups of gopīs; dhairya — the patience; dalanam — subduing; līlā — pastimes; ramā — the goddess of fortune; stambhinī — astounding; vīryam — strength; kandukita — making like a small ball for throwing; adri-varyam — the great mountain; amalāḥ — without a spot; pāre-parārdham — unlimited; guṇāḥ — qualities; śīlam — behavior; sarva-jana — all kinds of living entities; anurañjanam — satisfying; aho — oh; yasya — whose; ayam — this; asmat-prabhuḥ — our Lord; viśvam — the whole universe; viśva-janīna — for the benefit of everyone; kīrtiḥ — whose glorification; avatāt — may He maintain; kṛṣṇaḥ — Lord Kṛṣṇa; jagat-mohanaḥ — the attractor of the whole world.
Translation
The male parrot sang, “The glorification of Lord Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, is beneficial to everyone in the universe. His beauty is victorious over the gopīs of Vṛndāvana, and it subdues their patience. His pastimes astound the goddess of fortune, and His bodily strength turns Govardhana Hill into a small toy like a ball. His spotless qualities are unlimited, and His behavior satisfies everyone. Lord Kṛṣṇa is attractive to everyone. Oh, may our Lord maintain the whole universe!”
Purport
This verse is found in the Govinda-līlāmṛta (13.29).
Bengali
শারিকা পড়য়ে তবে রাধিকা-বর্ণন ॥ ২১১ ॥
Text
śārikā paḍaye tabe rādhikā-varṇana
Synonyms
Translation
After hearing this description of Lord Kṛṣṇa from the male parrot, the female parrot began to recite a description of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī.
Bengali
সুশীলতা নর্তনগানচাতুরী ।
গুণালিসম্পৎ কবিতা চ রাজতে
জগন্মনোমোহন-চিত্তমোহিনী ॥ ২১২ ॥
Text
su-śīlatā nartana-gāna-cāturī
guṇāli-sampat kavitā ca rājate
jagan-mano-mohana-citta-mohinī
Synonyms
śrī-rādhikāyāḥ — of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī; priyatā — affection; su-rūpatā — exquisite beauty; su-śīlatā — good behavior; nartana-gāna — in chanting and dancing; cāturī — artistry; guṇa-āli-sampat — possession of such transcendental qualities; kavitā — poetry; ca — also; rājate — shine; jagat-manaḥ-mohana — of Kṛṣṇa, who attracts the mind of the whole universe; citta-mohinī — the attractor of the mind.
Translation
The female parrot said, “Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī’s affection, Her exquisite beauty and good behavior, Her artistic dancing and chanting and Her poetic compositions are all so attractive that they attract the mind of Kṛṣṇa, who attracts the mind of everyone in the universe.”
Purport
This verse is also found in the Govinda-līlāmṛta (13.30).
Bengali
তবে আর শ্লোক শুক করিল পঠন ॥ ২১৩ ॥
Text
tabe āra śloka śuka karila paṭhana
Synonyms
Translation
Thereafter the male parrot said, “Kṛṣṇa is the enchanter of the mind of Cupid.” He then began to recite another verse.
Bengali
বিহারী গোপনারীভির্জীয়ান্মদনমোহনঃ ॥ ২১৪ ॥
Text
citta-hārī sa śārike
vihārī gopa-nārībhir
jīyān madana-mohanaḥ
Synonyms
Translation
The male parrot then said, “My dear śārī [female parrot], Śrī Kṛṣṇa carries a flute and enchants the hearts of all women throughout the universe. He is specifically the enjoyer of the beautiful gopīs, and He is the enchanter of Cupid also. Let Him be glorified!”
Purport
This verse is also found in the Govinda-līlāmṛta (13.31).
Bengali
তাহা শুনি’ প্রভুর হৈল বিস্ময়-প্রেমোল্লাস ॥ ২১৫ ॥
Text
tāhā śuni’ prabhura haila vismaya-premollāsa
Synonyms
Translation
Then the female parrot began to speak jokingly to the male parrot, and Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was struck with wonderful ecstatic love to hear her speak.
Bengali
অন্যথা বিশ্বমোহোঽপি স্বয়ং ‘মদনমোহিতঃ’ ॥ ২১৬ ॥
Text
tadā ‘madana-mohanaḥ’
anyathā viśva-moho ’pi
svayaṁ ‘madana-mohitaḥ’
Synonyms
Translation
The female parrot said, “When Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is with Rādhārāṇī, He is the enchanter of Cupid; otherwise, when He is alone, He Himself is enchanted by erotic feelings even though He enchants the whole universe.”
Purport
This is another verse from the Govinda-līlāmṛta (13.32).
Bengali
ময়ূরের নৃত্য প্রভু দেখে কুতূহলে ॥ ২১৭ ॥
Text
mayūrera nṛtya prabhu dekhe kutūhale
Synonyms
Translation
Both parrots then flew onto a tree branch, and Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu began to watch the dancing of the peacocks with curiosity.
Bengali
প্রেমাবেশে মহাপ্ৰভু ভূমিতে পড়িল ॥ ২১৮ ॥
Text
premāveśe mahāprabhu bhūmite paḍila
Synonyms
Translation
When the Lord saw the bluish necks of the peacocks, His remembrance of Kṛṣṇa immediately awakened, and He fell to the ground in ecstatic love.
Bengali
ভট্টাচার্য-সঙ্গে করে প্রভুর সন্তর্পণ ॥ ২১৯ ॥
Text
bhaṭṭācārya-saṅge kare prabhura santarpaṇa
Synonyms
Translation
When the brāhmaṇa saw that Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was unconscious, he and Balabhadra Bhaṭṭācārya took care of Him.
Bengali
জলসেক করে অঙ্গে, বস্ত্রের বাতাস ॥ ২২০ ॥
Text
jala-seka kare aṅge, vastrera vātāsa
Synonyms
Translation
They hastily sprinkled water over the Lord’s body. Then they took up His outer cloth and began to fan Him with it.
Bengali
চেতন পাঞা প্রভু যা’ন গড়াগড়ি ॥ ২২১ ॥
Text
cetana pāñā prabhu yā’na gaḍāgaḍi
Synonyms
Translation
They then began to chant the holy name of Kṛṣṇa into the Lord’s ear. When the Lord regained consciousness, He began rolling on the ground.
Bengali
ভট্টাচার্য কোলে করি’ প্রভুরে সুস্থ কৈল ॥ ২২২ ॥
Text
bhaṭṭācārya kole kari’ prabhure sustha kaila
Synonyms
Translation
When the Lord rolled on the ground, sharp thorns injured His body. Taking Him on his lap, Balabhadra Bhaṭṭācārya pacified Him.
Bengali
‘বোল্’ ‘বোল্’ করি’ উঠি’ করেন নর্তন ॥ ২২৩ ॥
Text
‘bol’ ‘bol’ kari’ uṭhi’ karena nartana
Synonyms
Translation
The mind of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu wandered in ecstatic love of Kṛṣṇa. He immediately stood up and said, “Chant! Chant!” Then He Himself began to dance.
Bengali
নাচিতে নাচিতে পথে প্রভু চলি’ যায় ॥ ২২৪ ॥
Text
nācite nācite pathe prabhu cali’ yāya
Synonyms
Translation
Being thus ordered by the Lord, both Balabhadra Bhaṭṭācārya and the brāhmaṇa began to chant the holy name of Kṛṣṇa. Then the Lord, dancing and dancing, proceeded along the path.
Bengali
প্রভুর রক্ষা লাগি’ বিপ্র হইলা চিন্তিত ॥ ২২৫ ॥
Text
prabhura rakṣā lāgi’ vipra ha-ilā cintita
Synonyms
Translation
The brāhmaṇa was astounded to see the symptoms of ecstatic love exhibited by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. He then became anxious to give the Lord protection.
Bengali
বৃন্দাবন যাইতে পথে হৈল শত-গুণ ॥ ২২৬ ॥
Text
vṛndāvana yāite pathe haila śata-guṇa
Synonyms
Translation
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s mind was absorbed in ecstatic love at Jagannātha Purī, but when He passed along the road on the way to Vṛndāvana, that love increased a hundred times.
Bengali
লক্ষগুণ প্রেম বাড়ে, ভ্রমেন যবে বনে ॥ ২২৭ ॥
Text
lakṣa-guṇa prema bāḍe, bhramena yabe vane
Synonyms
Translation
The Lord’s ecstatic love increased a thousand times when He visited Mathurā, but it increased a hundred thousand times when He wandered in the forests of Vṛndāvana.
Bengali
সাক্ষাৎ ভ্রময়ে এবে সেই বৃন্দাবনে ॥ ২২৮ ॥
স্নান-ভিক্ষাদি-নির্বাহ করেন অভ্যাসে ॥ ২২৯ ॥
Text
sākṣāt bhramaye ebe sei vṛndāvane
snāna-bhikṣādi-nirvāha karena abhyāse
Synonyms
anya-deśa — in other countries; prema — love; uchale — increases; vṛndāvana-nāme — by the name of Vṛndāvana; sākṣāt — directly; bhramaye — travels; ebe — now; sei vṛndāvane — in that Vṛndāvana; preme — in ecstatic love; garagara — faltering; mana — mind; rātri-divase — day and night; snāna-bhikṣā-ādi — bathing and accepting food; nirvāha — accomplishing; karena — does; abhyāse — by habit.
Translation
When Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was elsewhere, the very name of Vṛndāvana was sufficient to increase His ecstatic love. Now, when He was actually traveling in the Vṛndāvana forest, His mind was absorbed in great ecstatic love day and night. He ate and bathed simply out of habit.
Bengali
একত্র লিখিলুঁ, সর্বত্র না যায় বর্ণন ॥ ২৩০ ॥
Text
ekatra likhiluṅ, sarvatra nā yāya varṇana
Synonyms
Translation
Thus I have written a description of the ecstatic love Lord Caitanya manifested in one of the places He visited while walking through the twelve forests of Vṛndāvana. To describe what He experienced everywhere would be impossible.
Bengali
কোটি-গ্রন্থে ‘অনন্ত’ লিখেন তাহার বিস্তার ॥ ২৩১ ॥
Text
koṭi-granthe ‘ananta’ likhena tāhāra vistāra
Synonyms
Translation
Lord Ananta writes millions of books elaborately describing the transformations of ecstatic love experienced by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu in Vṛndāvana.
Bengali
উদ্দেশ করিতে করি দিগ্দরশন ॥ ২৩২ ॥
Text
uddeśa karite kari dig-daraśana
Synonyms
Translation
Since Lord Ananta Himself cannot describe even a fragment of these pastimes, I am simply pointing out the direction.
Bengali
যাঁর যত শক্তি তত পাথারে সাঁতারে ॥ ২৩৩ ॥
Text
yāṅra yata śakti tata pāthāre sāṅtāre
Synonyms
Translation
The whole world became merged in the inundation of the pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. One can swim in that water to the extent that he has the strength.
Bengali
চৈতন্যচরিতামৃত কহে কৃষ্ণদাস ॥ ২৩৪ ॥
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, Madhya-līlā, seventeenth chapter, describing the Lord’s traveling to Vṛndāvana.