Chapter 9
Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's Travels to the Holy Places
A summary of the Ninth Chapter is given by Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura.
After leaving Vidyanagara, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu visited such places of
pilgrimage as Gautami-ganga, Mallikarjuna, Ahovala-nrsimha, Siddhavata,
Skanda-ksetra, Trimatha, Vrddhakasi, Bauddha-sthana, Tirupati, Tirumala,
Pana-nrsimha, Siva-kanci, Visnu-kanci, Trikala-hasti, Vrddhakola,
Siyali-bhairavi, Kaveri-tira and Kumbhakarna-kapala.
Finally the Lord went to Sri Ranga-ksetra, where He converted a brahmana
named Venkata Bhatta, who, along with his family, became a devotee of Krsna.
After leaving Sri Ranga, Caitanya Mahaprabhu reached Rsabha-parvata, where He
met Paramananda Puri, who later arrived at Jagannatha Puri. Lord Sri Caitanya
Mahaprabhu then proceeded farther, arriving at Setubandha Ramesvara. At Sri
Saila-parvata, the Lord met Lord Siva and his wife Durga in the dress of a
brahmana and brahmani. From there He went to Kamakosthi-puri and later arrived
at southern Mathura. A brahmana devotee of Lord Ramacandra's talked with Him.
Then the Lord took His bath in the river Krtamala. On the hill known as
Mahendra-saila, the Lord saw Parasurama. Then the Lord went to Setubandha and
took His bath at Dhanus-tirtha. He also visited Ramesvara, where He collected
some papers connected with Sitadevi, whose illusory form was kidnapped by
Ravana. The Lord next visited the places known as Pandya-desa, Tamraparni,
Naya-tripadi, Ciyadatala, Tila-kanci, Gajendra-moksana, Panagadi, Camtapura,
Sri Vaikuntha, Malaya-parvata and Kanya-kumari. The Lord then met the
Bhattatharis at Mallara-desa and saved Kala Krsnadasa from their clutches. The
Lord also collected the Brahma-samhita, Fifth Chapter, on the banks of the
Payasvini River. He then visited Payasvini, Srngavera-puri-matha and
Matsya-tirtha. At the village of Udupi He saw the Gopala Deity installed by Sri
Madhvacarya. He then defeated the Tattvavadis in sastric conversation. The Lord
next visited Phalgu-tirtha, Tritakupa, Pancapsara, Surparaka and Kolapura. At
Sri Rangapuri the Lord received news of Sankararanya's disappearance. He then
went to the banks of the Krsnavenva River, where He collected from among the
Vaisnava brahmanas a book written by Bilvamangala, Krsna-karnamrta. The Lord
then visited Tapti, Mahismati-pura, Narmada-tira and Rsyamuka-parvata. He
entered Dandakaranya and liberated the seven palm trees. From there He visited
a place known as Pampa-sarovara and visited Pancavati, Nasika, Brahmagiri and
also the source of the Godavari River, Kusavarta. Thus the Lord visited almost
all the holy places in South India. He finally returned to Jagannatha Puri by
taking the same route, after visiting Vidyanagara again.
TEXT 1
TEXT
nana-mata-graha-grastan
daksinatya-jana-dvipan
krparina vimucyaitan
gauras cakre sa vaisnavan
SYNONYMS
nana-mata--by various philosophies; graha--like crocodiles;
grastan--captured; daksinatya-jana--the inhabitants of South India;
dvipan--like elephants; krpa-arina--by His disc of mercy; vimucya--liberating;
etan--all these; gaurah--Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu; cakre--converted; sah--He;
vaisnavan--to the Vaisnava cult.
TRANSLATION
Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu converted the inhabitants of South India.
These people were as strong as elephants, but they were in the clutches of the
crocodiles of various philosophies, such as the Buddhist, Jain and Mayavada
philosophies. With His disc of mercy the Lord delivered them all by converting
them into Vaisnavas, devotees of the Lord.
PURPORT
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's converting the people of South India into
Vaisnavas is compared herein to Lord Visnu's delivering Gajendra the elephant
from the attack of a crocodile. When Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu visited southern
India, almost all the residents were within the jaws of the crocodiles of
Buddhist, Jain and Mayavada philosophy. Here Kaviraja Gosvami states that
although these people were as strong as elephants, they were almost in the
clutches of death because they were being attacked by the crocodiles of various
philosophies. However, as Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu in the form of Visnu
mercifully saved the elephant Gajendra from the clutches of a crocodile, so He
saved all the people of South India from the clutches of various philosophies by
converting them into Vaisnavas.
TEXT 2
TEXT
jaya jaya sri-caitanya jaya nityananda
jayadvaita-candra jaya gaura-bhakta-vrnda
SYNONYMS
jaya jaya--all glories; sri-caitanya--to Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu;
jaya--all glories; nityananda--unto Nityananda Prabhu; jaya advaita-candra--all
glories to Advaita Prabhu; jaya--all glories; gaura-bhakta-vrnda--to the
devotees of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
TRANSLATION
All glories to Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu! All glories to Lord
Nityananda Prabhu! All glories to Sri Advaita Prabhu! And all glories to the
devotees of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu!
TEXT 3
TEXT
daksina-gamana prabhura ati vilaksana
sahasra sahasra tirtha kaila darasana
SYNONYMS
daksina-gamana--touring in South India; prabhura--of the Lord;
ati--very; vilaksana--extraordinary; sahasra sahasra--thousands and thousands;
tirtha--holy places; kaila--did; darasana--visit.
TRANSLATION
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's tour of South India was certainly very
extraordinary because He visited many thousands of places of pilgrimage there.
TEXT 4
TEXT
sei saba tirtha sparsi' maha-tirtha kaila
sei chale sei desera loka nistarila
SYNONYMS
sei saba--all those; tirtha--holy places; sparsi'--touching;
maha-tirtha--into great places of pilgrimage; kaila--made them; sei
chale--under that plea; sei desera--of those countries; loka--the people;
nistarila--He delivered.
TRANSLATION
On the plea of visiting all those holy places, the Lord converted many
thousands of residents and thus delivered them. Simply by touching the holy
places, He made them into great places of pilgrimage.
PURPORT
It is said: tirthi-kurvanti tirthani.
A tirtha, or holy place, is a place where great saintly personalities
visit or reside. Although the holy places were already places of pilgrimage,
they were all purified by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's visit. Many people go to
these holy places and leave their sinful activities there, thus becoming free
from contamination. When these contaminations pile up, they are counteracted by
the visit of great personalities like Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and His strict
followers. Many kinds of patients come to a hospital, which may be infected by
many types of disease. Actually the hospital is always infected, but the expert
physician keeps the hospital sterilized by his expert presence and management.
Similarly, places of pilgrimage are always infected by the sins left by the
sinners who go there, but when a personality like Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu
visits such a place, all contaminations vanish.
TEXT 5
TEXT
sei saba tirthera krama kahite na pari
daksina-vame tirtha-gamana haya pherapheri
SYNONYMS
sei saba--all those; tirthera--of holy places; krama--the chronological
order; kahite--to tell of; na pari--I am unable; daksina-vame--left and right;
tirtha-gamana--visiting the holy places; haya--is; pherapheri--going and coming
back
TRANSLATION
I cannot chronologically record all the places of pilgrimage visited by
Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. I can only summarize everything by saying that
the Lord visited all holy places right and left, coming and going.
TEXT 6
TEXT
ataeva nama-matra kariye ganana
kahite na pari tara yatha anukrama
SYNONYMS
ataeva--therefore; nama-matra--only as a token record; kariye ganana--I
count; kahite--to tell; na pari--I am unable; tara--of that; yatha--as;
anukrama--chronological order.
TRANSLATION
Because it is impossible for me to record all these places in
chronological order, I simply make a token gesture of recording them.
TEXTS 7-8
TEXT
purvavat pathe yaite ye paya darasana
yei grame yaya, se gramera yata jana
sabei vaisnava haya, kahe 'krsna' 'hari'
anya grama nistaraye sei 'vaisnava' kari'
SYNONYMS
purva-vat--as done previously; pathe--on the way; yaite--while going;
ye--anyone who; paya--gets; darasana--audience; yei--which; grame--in the
village; yaya--Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu goes; se--that; gramera--of the
village; yata--all; jana--people; sabei--all of them; vaisnava haya--become
devotees; kahe--say; krsna hari--the holy names of Lord Krsna and Hari; anya
grama--other villages; nistaraye--delivers; sei--He; vaisnava--devotees;
kari'--making.
TRANSLATION
As previously stated, all the residents of the villages visited by Lord
Caitanya became Vaisnavas and began to chant "Hari" and
"Krsna." In this way, in all the villages visited by the Lord,
everyone became a Vaisnava, a devotee.
PURPORT
The holy names of Krsna and Hari, or the chanting of the Hare Krsna
maha-mantra, are so spiritually powerful that even today, as our preachers go
to remote parts of the world, people immediately begin chanting Hare Krsna. Sri
Caitanya Mahaprabhu was the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself. There
cannot be anyone who can compare to Him or His potencies. However, because we
are following in His footsteps and are also chanting the Hare Krsna
maha-mantra, the effect is almost as potent as during the time of Lord Caitanya
Mahaprabhu. Our preachers mainly belong to European and American countries, yet
by the grace of Lord Caitanya they have tremendous success wherever they go to
open branches. Indeed, everywhere people are very seriously chanting Hare
Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare Hare. Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama,
Hare Hare.
TEXT 9
TEXT
daksina desera loka aneka prakara
keha jnani, keha karmi, pasandi apara
SYNONYMS
daksina desera--of South India; loka--people; aneka--many;
prakara--varieties; keha--someone; jnani--philosophical speculator;
keha--someone; karmi--fruitive worker; pasandi--nondevotees;
apara--innumerable.
TRANSLATION
In South India there were many types of people. Some were philosophical
speculators, and some were fruitive workers, but in any case there were
innumerable nondevotees.
TEXT 10
TEXT
sei saba loka prabhura darsana-prabhave
nija-nija-mata chadi' ha-ila vaisnave
SYNONYMS
sei saba loka--all those people; prabhura--of Lord Sri Caitanya
Mahaprabhu; darsana-prabhave--by the influence of His visit; nija-nija--their
own; mata--opinion; chadi'--giving up; ha-ila--became; vaisnave--devotees.
TRANSLATION
By the influence of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, all these people abandoned
their own opinions and became Vaisnavas, devotees of Krsna.
TEXT 11
TEXT
vaisnavera madhye rama-upasaka saba
keha 'tattvavadi', keha haya 'sri-vaisnava'
SYNONYMS
vaisnavera madhye--amongst Vaisnavas; rama-upasaka saba--all worshipers
of Lord Sri Ramacandra; keha--someone; tattva-vadi--followers of Madhvacarya;
keha--someone; haya--is; sri-vaisnava--devotees following the disciplic
succession of Sri Ramanujacarya
TRANSLATION
At the time, all the South Indian Vaisnavas were worshipers of Lord
Ramacandra. Some were Tattvavadis, and some were followers of Ramanujacarya.
PURPORT
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura points out that the word
"Tattvavadi" refers to the followers of Srila Madhvacarya. To
distinguish his disciplic succession from the Mayavadi followers of
Sankaracarya, Srila Madhvacarya named his party the Tattvavadis. Impersonal
monists are always attacked by these Tattvavadis, who attempt to defeat their
philosophy of impersonalism. Generally, they establish the supremacy of the
Supreme Personality of Godhead. Actually the disciplic succession of
Madhvacarya is known as the Brahma Vaisnava sect; that is the sect coming down
from Lord Brahma. Consequently the Tattvavadis, or followers of Madhvacarya, do
not accept the incident of Lord Brahma's illusion, which is recorded in the
Tenth Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam. Srila Madhvacarya has purposefully avoided
commenting on that portion of Srimad-Bhagavatam in which brahma-mohana, the
illusion of Lord Brahma, is mentioned. Srila Madhavendra Puri was one of the
acaryas in the Tattvavada disciplic succession, and he established the ultimate
goal of transcendentalism to be attainment of pure devotional service, love of
Godhead. Those Vaisnavas belonging to the Gaudiya-sampradaya, the disciplic
succession following Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, are distinct from the
Tattvavadis, although they belong to the same Tattvavada-sampradaya. The
followers of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu are therefore known as the
Madhva-Gaudiya-sampradaya.
The word pasandi refers to those who are opposed to pure devotional
service. In particular, these are the Mayavadis, the impersonalists. A
definition of pasandi is given in the Hari-bhakti-vilasa (1.73), wherein it is
stated:
yas tu narayanam devam
brahma-rudradi-daivataih
samatvenaiva vikseta
sa pasandi bhaved dhruvam
A pasandi is one who thinks that the Supreme Lord Narayana, the
Personality of Godhead, is on the same level with the demigods, headed by Lord
Brahma and Lord Siva. The devotee never considers Lord Narayana to be on the
same platform with Lord Brahma and Lord Siva. The Madhvacarya-sampradaya and
Ramanuja-sampradaya are mainly worshipers of Lord Ramacandra, although the Sri
Vaisnavas are supposed to be worshipers of Lord Narayana and Laksmi and the
Tattvavadis are supposed to be worshipers of Lord Krsna. At present, in most of
the monasteries belonging to the Madhva-sampradaya, Lord Ramacandra is
worshiped.
In the book known as Adhyatma-ramayana, there are statements in Chapters
Twelve to Fifteen about the worship of the Deities Sri Ramacandra and Sita.
There it is stated that during Lord Ramacandra's time there was a brahmana who
took a vow to fast until he saw Lord Ramacandra. Sometimes, due to business,
Lord Ramacandra was absent from His capital for a full week and could not be
seen by citizens during that time. Because of his vow, the brahmana could not
take even a drop of water during that week. Later, after eight or nine days,
when the brahmana could see Lord Ramacandra personally, he would break his
fast. Upon observing the brahmana's rigid vow, Lord Sri Ramacandra ordered His
younger brother Laksmana to deliver a pair of Sita-Rama Deities to the
brahmana. The brahmana received the Deities from Sri Laksmanaji and worshiped
Them faithfully as long as he lived. At the time of his death, he delivered the
Deities to Sri Hanumanji, who, for many years, hung Them around his neck and
served Them with all devotion. After many years, when Hanumanji departed on the
hill known as Gandha-madana, he delivered the Deities to Bhimasena, one of the
Pandavas, and Bhimasena brought Them to his palace, where he kept Them very
carefully. The last king of the Pandavas, Ksemakanta, worshiped the Deities in
that palace. Later, the same Deities were kept in the custody of the kings of
Orissa known as Gajapatis. One of the acaryas, known as Narahari Tirtha, who
was in the disciplic succession of Madhvacarya, received these Deities from the
King of Orissa.
It may be noted that these particular Deities of Rama and Sita have been
worshiped from the time of King Iksvaku. Indeed, they were worshiped by the
royal princes even before the appearance of Lord Ramacandra. Later, during Lord
Ramacandra's presence, the Deities were worshiped by Laksmana. It is said that
just three months before his disappearance, Sri Madhvacarya received these
Deities and installed them in the Udupi temple. Since then the Deities have
been worshiped by the Madhvacarya-sampradaya at that monastery. As far as the
Sri Vaisnavas are concerned, beginning with Ramanujacarya, they also worshiped
Deities of Sita-Rama. Sita-Rama Deities are also being worshiped in Tirupati
and other places. From the Sri Ramanuja-sampradaya there is another branch
known as Ramanandi or Ramat, and the followers of that branch also worship
Deities of Sita-Rama very rigidly. The Ramanuja-sampradaya Vaisnavas prefer the
worship of Lord Ramacandra to that of Radha-Krsna.
TEXT 12
TEXT
sei saba vaisnava mahaprabhura darsane
krsna-upasaka haila, laya krsna-name
SYNONYMS
sei saba--all those; vaisnava--devotees; mahaprabhura--of Sri Caitanya
Mahaprabhu; darsane--by seeing; krsna-upasaka--devotees of Lord Krsna;
haila--became; laya--took; krsna-name--the holy name of Lord Krsna.
TRANSLATION
After meeting Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, all those different Vaisnavas
became devotees of Krsna and began chanting the Hare Krsna maha-mantra.
TEXT 13
TEXT
rama! raghava! rama! raghava!
rama! raghava! pahi mam
krsna! kesava! krsna! kesava! krsna! kesava! raksa mam
SYNONYMS
rama--O Rama; raghava--O descendant of Raghu; pahi--please protect;
mam--me; krsna--O Krsna; kesava--O killer of Kesi; raksa--protect; mam--me.
TRANSLATION
" 'O Lord Ramacandra, descendant of Maharaja Raghu, kindly protect
me! O Lord Krsna, killer of the Kesi demon, kindly protect me!' "
TEXT 14
TEXT
ei sloka pathe padi' karila prayana
gautami-gangaya yai' kaila ganga-snana
SYNONYMS
ei sloka--this Sanskrit verse; pathe--on the way; padi'--reciting;
karila--did; prayana--going; gautami-gangaya--to the bank of the Gautami-ganga;
yai'--going; kaila--did; ganga-snana--bathing in the Ganges.
TRANSLATION
While walking on the road, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu used to chant this
Rama Raghava mantra. Chanting in this way, He arrived at the banks of the
Gautami-ganga and took His bath there.
PURPORT
The Gautami-ganga is another branch of the river Godavari. Formerly a
great sage named Gautama Rsi used to live on the bank of this river opposite
the city of Rajamahendri, and consequently this branch was called the
Gautami-ganga.
Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura says that Srila Kaviraja Gosvami has recorded
the names of the holy places visited by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu but that there
is no chronological order of the places visited. However, there is a notebook
of Govinda dasa's containing a chronological order and references to
geographical positions. Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura requests the readers to
refer to that book. According to Govinda dasa, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu went to
Trimanda from the Gautami-ganga. From there He went to Dhundirama-tirtha,
another place of pilgrimage. According to this book, after visiting the
Gautami-ganga, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu went to Mallikarjuna-tirtha.
TEXT 15
TEXT
mallikarjuna-tirthe yai' mahesa dekhila
tahan saba loke krsna-nama laoyaila
SYNONYMS
mallikarjuna-tirthe--to the holy place known as Mallikarjuna;
yai'--going; mahesa--the deity of Lord Siva; dekhila--He saw; tahan--there;
saba loke--all the people; krsna-nama--Lord Krsna's holy name; laoyaila--He
induced to chant.
TRANSLATION
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu then went to Mallikarjuna-tirtha and saw the
deity of Lord Siva there. He also induced all the people to chant the Hare
Krsna maha-mantra.
PURPORT
Mallikarjuna is also known as Sri Saila. It is situated about seventy
miles south of Karnula on the right bank of the Krsna River. There are great
walls all around the village, and within the walls resides the deity known as
Mallikarjuna. It is a deity of Lord Siva and is one of the Jyotirlingas.
TEXT 16
TEXT
ramadasa mahadeve karila darasana
ahovala-nrsimhere karila gamana
SYNONYMS
rama-dasa--Ramadasa; maha-deve--of Mahadeva; karila--did;
darasana--seeing; ahovala-nrsimhere--to Ahovala-nrsimha; karila--did;
gamana--going.
TRANSLATION
There he saw Lord Mahadeva [Siva], the servant of Lord Rama. He then
went to Ahovala-nrsimha.
TEXT 17
TEXT
nrsimha dekhiya tanre kaila nati-stuti
siddhavata gela yahan murti sitapati
SYNONYMS
nrsimha dekhiya--after seeing the Lord Nrsimha Deity; tanre--unto Him;
kaila--did; nati-stuti--offering of various prayers; siddhavata--to Siddhavata;
gela--He went; yahan--where; murti--the Deity; sita-pati--Lord Ramacandra.
TRANSLATION
After seeing the Ahovala-nrsimha Deity, Caitanya Mahaprabhu offered many
prayers unto the Lord. He then went to Siddhavata, where He saw the Deity of
Ramacandra, the Lord of Sitadevi.
PURPORT
Siddhavata, also known as Sidhauta, is ten miles east of the village
Kudapa. Previously this place was also known as southern Benares. There is a
great banyan tree there, and it is therefore known as Siddhavata. Vata means
banyan tree.
TEXT 18
TEXT
raghunatha dekhi' kaila pranati stavana
tahan eka vipra prabhura kaila nimantrana
SYNONYMS
raghu-natha dekhi'--after seeing Lord Ramacandra, the descendant of
Maharaja Raghu; kaila--offered; pranati--obeisances; stavana--prayers;
tahan--there; eka--one; vipra--brahmana; prabhura--to Lord Sri Caitanya
Mahaprabhu; kaila--did; nimantrana--invitation.
TRANSLATION
After seeing the Deity of Lord Ramacandra, the descendant of King Raghu,
the Lord offered His prayers and obeisances. Then a brahmana invited the Lord
to take lunch.
TEXT 19
TEXT
sei vipra rama-nama nirantara laya
'rama"rama' vina anya vani na kahaya
SYNONYMS
sei vipra--that brahmana; rama-nama--the holy name of Lord Ramacandra;
nirantara--constantly; laya--chants; rama rama--the holy names Rama Rama;
vina--without; anya--other; vani--vibration; na--does not; kahaya--speak.
TRANSLATION
That brahmana constantly chanted the holy name of Ramacandra. Indeed,
but for chanting Lord Ramacandra's holy name, that brahmana did not speak a
word.
TEXT 20
TEXT
sei dina tanra ghare rahi' bhiksa kari'
tanre krpa kari' age calila gaurahari
SYNONYMS
sei dina--on that day; tanra ghare--the house of that brahmana;
rahi'--staying; bhiksa kari'--accepting prasada; tanre--unto him; krpa
kari'--showing mercy; age--ahead; calila--departed; gaura-hari--Lord Sri Caitanya
Mahaprabhu.
TRANSLATION
That day, Lord Caitanya remained there and accepted prasada at his
house. After bestowing mercy upon him in this way, the Lord proceeded ahead.
TEXT 21
TEXT
skanda-ksetra-tirthe kaila skanda darasana
trimatha aila, tahan dekhi' trivikrama
SYNONYMS
skanda-ksetra-tirthe--in the holy place known as Skanda-ksetra; kaila--did;
skanda darasana--visiting Lord Skanda (Karttikeya, son of Lord Siva);
trimatha--at Trimatha; aila--arrived; tahan--there; dekhi'--seeing;
trivikrama--a form of Lord Visnu, Trivikrama.
TRANSLATION
At the holy place known as Skanda-ksetra, Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu
visited the temple of Skanda. From there He went to Trimatha, where He saw the
Visnu Deity Trivikrama.
TEXT 22
TEXT
punah siddhavata aila sei vipra-ghare
sei vipra krsna-nama laya nirantare
SYNONYMS
punah--again; siddha-vata--to the place known as Siddhavata;
aila--returned; sei--that; vipra-ghare--in the house of the brahmana; sei
vipra--that brahmana; krsna-nama--the holy name of Lord Krsna; laya--chants;
nirantare--constantly.
TRANSLATION
After visiting the temple of Trivikrama, the Lord returned to
Siddhavata, where He again visited the house of the brahmana, who was now
constantly chanting the Hare Krsna maha-mantra.
TEXT 23
TEXT
bhiksa kari' mahaprabhu tanre prasna kaila
"kaha vipra, ei tomara kon dasa haila
SYNONYMS
bhiksa kari'--after accepting lunch; mahaprabhu--Sri Caitanya
Mahaprabhu; tanre--unto him; prasna kaila--asked a question; kaha vipra--My
dear brahmana friend, please say; ei--this; tomara--your; kon--what;
dasa--situation; haila--became.
TRANSLATION
After finishing His lunch there, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu asked the
brahmana, "My dear friend, kindly tell Me what your position is now.
TEXT 24
TEXT
purve tumi nirantara laite rama-nama
ebe kene nirantara lao krsna-nama"
SYNONYMS
purve--formerly; tumi--you; nirantara--constantly; laite--used to chant;
rama-nama--the holy name of Lord Ramacandra; ebe--now; kene--why;
nirantara--constantly; lao--you chant; krsna-nama--the holy name of Krsna.
TRANSLATION
"Formerly you were constantly chanting the holy name of Lord Rama.
Why are you now constantly chanting the holy name of Krsna?"
TEXT 25
TEXT
vipra bale,----ei tomara darsana-prabhave
toma dekhi' gela mora ajanma svabhave
SYNONYMS
vipra bale--the brahmana replied; ei--this; tomara darsana-prabhave--by
the influence of Your visit; toma dekhi'--after seeing You; gela--went;
mora--my; a-janma--from childhood; svabhave--nature.
TRANSLATION
The brahmana replied, "This is all due to Your influence, sir.
After seeing You, I have lost my lifelong practice.
TEXT 26
TEXT
balyavadhi
rama-nama-grahana amara
toma dekhi' krsna-nama aila eka-bara
SYNONYMS
balya-avadhi--since the days of my childhood;
rama-nama-grahana--chanting the holy name of Lord Ramacandra; amara--my; toma
dekhi'--upon seeing You; krsna-nama--the holy name of Lord Krsna; aila--came;
eka-bara--once only.
TRANSLATION
"From my childhood I have been chanting the holy name of Lord
Ramacandra, but upon seeing You I chanted the holy name of Lord Krsna just
once.
TEXT 27
TEXT
sei haite krsna-nama jihvate vasila
krsna-nama sphure, rama-nama dure gela
SYNONYMS
sei haite--since that time; krsna-nama--the holy name of Lord Krsna;
jihvate--on the tongue; vasila--was seated tightly; krsna-nama--the holy name
of Lord Krsna; sphure--automatically comes; rama-nama--the holy name of Lord
Ramacandra; dure--far away; gela--went.
TRANSLATION
"Since then, the holy name of Krsna has been tightly fixed upon my
tongue. Indeed, since I have been chanting the holy name of Krsna, the holy
name of Lord Ramacandra has gone far away.
TEXT 28
TEXT
balya-kala haite mora svabhava eka haya
namera mahima-sastra kariye sancaya
SYNONYMS
balya-kala haite--from my childhood; mora--my; svabhava--practice;
eka--one; haya--there is; namera--of the holy name; mahima--concerning the
glories; sastra--the revealed scriptures; kariye sancaya--I collect.
TRANSLATION
"From my childhood I have been practicing this chanting and have
been collecting the glories of the holy name from revealed scriptures.
TEXT 29
TEXT
ramante yogino 'nante
satyanande cid-atmani
iti rama-padenasau
param brahmabhidhiyate
SYNONYMS
ramante--take pleasure; yoginah--transcendentalists; anante--in the
unlimited; satya-anande--real pleasure; cit-atmani--in spiritual existence;
iti--thus; rama--Rama; padena--by the word; asau--He; param--supreme;
brahma--truth; abhidhiyate--is called.
TRANSLATION
" 'The Supreme Absolute Truth is called Rama because the
transcendentalists take pleasure in the unlimited true pleasure of spiritual
existence.'
PURPORT
This is the eighth verse of the Sata-nama-stotra of Lord Ramacandra,
which is found in the Padma Purana.
TEXT
30
TEXT
krsir bhu-vacakah sabdo
nas ca nirvrti-vacakah
tayor aikyam param brahma
krsna ity abhidhiyate
SYNONYMS
krsih--the verbal root krs; bhu--attractive existence;
vacakah--signifying; sabdah--word; nah--the syllable na; ca--and;
nirvrti--spiritual pleasure; vacakah--indicating; tayoh--of both;
aikyam--amalgamation; param--supreme; brahma--Absolute Truth; krsnah--Lord
Krsna; iti--thus; abhidhiyate--is called.
TRANSLATION
" 'The word "krs" is the attractive feature of the Lord's
existence, and "na" means spiritual pleasure. When the verb
"krs" is added to the affix "na," it becomes
"Krsna," which indicates the Absolute Truth.'
PURPORT
This is a verse from the Mahabharata (Udyoga-parva 71.4).
TEXT 31
TEXT
param brahma dui-nama samana ha-ila
punah ara sastre kichu visesa paila
SYNONYMS
param brahma--the Absolute Truth; dui-nama--two names (Rama and Krsna);
samana--on an equal level; ha-ila--were; punah--again; ara--further; sastre--in
revealed scriptures; kichu--some; visesa--specification; paila--is found.
TRANSLATION
"As far as the holy names of Rama and Krsna are concerned, they are
on an equal level, but for further advancement we receive some specific
information from revealed scriptures.
TEXT 32
TEXT
rama rameti rameti
rame rame manorame
sahasra-namabhis tulyam
rama-nama varanane
SYNONYMS
rama--Rama; rama--Rama; iti--thus; rama--Rama; iti--thus; rame--I enjoy;
rame--in the holy name of Rama; manah-rame--most beautiful;
sahasra-namabhih--with the one thousand names; tulyam--equal; rama-nama--the
holy name of Rama; vara-anane--O lovely-faced woman.
TRANSLATION
" 'Lord Siva addressed his wife Durga as Varanana and explained,
"I chant the holy name of Rama, Rama, Rama and thus enjoy this beautiful
sound. This holy name of Ramacandra is equal to one thousand holy names of Lord
Visnu."'
PURPORT
This is a verse from the Brhad-visnu-sahasranama-stotra in the
Uttara-khanda of the Padma Purana (72.335).
TEXT 33
TEXT
sahasra-namnam punyanam
trir-avrttya tu yat phalam
ekavrttya tu krsnasya
namaikam tat prayacchati
SYNONYMS
sahasra-namnam--of one thousand names; punyanam--holy; trih-avrttya--by
thrice chanting; tu--but; yat--which; phalam--result; eka-avrttya--by one
repetition; tu--but; krsnasya--of Lord Krsna; nama--holy name; ekam--only one;
tat--that result; prayacchati--gives.
TRANSLATION
" 'The pious results derived from chanting the thousand holy names
of Visnu three times can be attained by only one utterance of the holy name of
Krsna.'
PURPORT
This verse from the Brahmanda Purana is found in the Laghu-bhagavatamrta
(1.5.354), by Rupa Gosvami. Simply by chanting the name of Krsna once, one can
attain the same results achieved by chanting the holy name of Rama three times.
TEXT 34
TEXT
ei vakye krsna-namera mahima apara
tathapi la-ite nari,
suna hetu tara
SYNONYMS
ei vakye--in this statement; krsna-namera--of the holy name of Krsna;
mahima--glories; apara--unlimited; tathapi--still; la-ite--to chant; nari--I am
unable; suna--just hear; hetu--the reason; tara--of that.
TRANSLATION
"According to this statement of the sastras, the glories of the
holy name of Krsna are unlimited. Still I could not chant His holy name. Please
hear the reason for this.
TEXT 35
TEXT
ista-deva rama, tanra name sukha pai
sukha pana rama-nama ratri-dina gai
SYNONYMS
ista-deva--my worshipable Lord; rama--Lord Sri Ramacandra; tanra
name--in His holy name; sukha pai--I get happiness; sukha pana--getting such
transcendental happiness; rama-nama--the holy name of Lord Rama;
ratri-dina--day and night; gai--I chant.
TRANSLATION
"My worshipable Lord has been Lord Ramacandra, and by chanting His
holy name I received happiness. Because I received such happiness, I chanted
the holy name of Lord Rama day and night.
TEXT 36
TEXT
tomara darsane yabe krsna-nama aila
tahara mahima tabe hrdaye lagila
SYNONYMS
tomara darsane--by meeting You; yabe--when; krsna-nama--the holy name of
Krsna; aila--appeared; tahara--His; mahima--glories; tabe--at that time;
hrdaye--in the heart; lagila--became fixed.
TRANSLATION
"By Your appearance, Lord Krsna's holy name also appeared, and at
that time the glories of Krsna's name awoke in my heart."
TEXT 37
TEXT
sei krsna tumi saksat----iha nirdharila
eta kahi' vipra prabhura carane padila
SYNONYMS
sei--that; krsna--the Personality of Godhead, Krsna; tumi--You;
saksat--directly; iha--this; nirdharila--concluded; eta kahi'--saying this;
vipra--the brahmana; prabhura--of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu; carane--at the
lotus feet; padila--fell down.
TRANSLATION
The brahmana concluded, "Sir, You are that Lord Krsna Himself. This
is my conclusion." Saying this, the brahmana fell down at the lotus feet
of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
TEXT 38
TEXT
tanre krpa kari' prabhu calila ara dine
vrddhakasi asi' kaila siva-darasane
SYNONYMS
tanre--unto him; krpa kari'--showing mercy; prabhu--Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu;
calila--traveled; ara dine--the next day; vrddhakasi--to Vrddhakasi;
asi'--coming; kaila--did; siva-darasane--visiting Lord Siva's temple.
TRANSLATION
After showing mercy to the brahmana, Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu left
the next day and arrived at Vrddhakasi, where He visited the temple of Lord
Siva.
PURPORT
Vrddhakasi's present name is Vrddhacalam. It is situated in the southern
Arcot district on the bank of the river Manimukha. This place is also known as
Kalahastipura. Lord Siva's temple there was worshiped for many years by
Govinda, the cousin of Ramanujacarya.
TEXT 39
TEXT
tahan haite cali' age gela eka grame
brahmana-samaja tahan, karila visrame
SYNONYMS
tahan haite--from there; cali'--going; age--forward; gela--went;
eka--one; grame--to a village; brahmana-samaja--assembly of brahmanas; tahan--there;
karila visrame--He rested.
TRANSLATION
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu then left Vrddhakasi and proceeded further. In
one village He saw that most of the residents were brahmanas, and He took His
rest there.
TEXT 40
TEXT
prabhura prabhave loka aila darasane
laksarbuda loka aise na yaya ganane
SYNONYMS
prabhura--of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu; prabhave--by the influence;
loka--people; aila--came; darasane--to see Him; laksa-arbuda--many millions;
loka--persons; aise--came; na--not; yaya ganane--can be counted.
TRANSLATION
Due to the influence of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu, many millions of men
came just to see Him. Indeed, the assembly being unlimited, its members could
not be counted.
TEXT 41
TEXT
gosanira saundarya dekhi' tate premavesa
sabe 'krsna' kahe, 'vaisnava' haila sarva-desa
SYNONYMS
gosanira--of the Lord; saundarya--the beauty; dekhi'--seeing; tate--in
that; prema-avesa--ecstatic love; sabe--everyone; krsna kahe--uttered the holy
name of Krsna; vaisnava--Vaisnava devotees; haila--became;
sarva-desa--everyone.
TRANSLATION
The Lord's bodily features were very beautiful, and in addition He was
always in the ecstasy of love of Godhead. Simply by seeing Him, everyone began
chanting the holy name of Krsna, and thus everyone became a Vaisnava devotee.
TEXT 42
TEXT
tarkika-mimamsaka, yata mayavadi-gana
sankhya, patanjala, smrti,
purana, agama
SYNONYMS
tarkika--logicians; mimamsaka--followers of Mimamsa philosophy; yata--all;
mayavadi-gana--followers of Sankaracarya; sankhya--followers of Kapila;
patanjala--followers of mystic yoga; smrti--supplementary Vedic literature;
purana--Puranas; agama--the tantra-sastras.
TRANSLATION
There are many kinds of philosophers. Some are logicians who follow
Gautama or Kanada. Some follow the Mimamsa philosophy of Jaimini. Some follow
the Mayavada philosophy of Sankaracarya, and others follow Kapila's Sankhya
philosophy or the mystic yoga system of Patanjali. Some follow the smrti-sastra
composed of twenty religious scriptures, and others follow the Puranas and the
tantra-sastra. In this way there are many different types of philosophers.
TEXT 43
TEXT
nija-nija-sastrodgrahe sabai pracanda
sarva mata dusi' prabhu kare khanda khanda
SYNONYMS
nija-nija--their own; sastra--of the scripture; udgrahe--to establish
the conclusion; sabai--all of them; pracanda--very powerful; sarva--all;
mata--opinions; dusi'--condemning; prabhu--Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu; kare--does;
khanda khanda--breaking to pieces.
TRANSLATION
All of these adherents of various scriptures were ready to present the
conclusions of their respective scriptures, but Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu broke
all their opinions to pieces and established His own cult of bhakti based on
the Vedas, Vedanta, the Brahma-sutra and the philosophy of
acintya-bhedabheda-tattva.
TEXT 44
TEXT
sarvatra sthapaya prabhu vaisnava-siddhante
prabhura siddhanta keha na pare khandite
SYNONYMS
sarvatra--everywhere; sthapaya--establishes; prabhu--Sri Caitanya
Mahaprabhu; vaisnava-siddhante--the conclusion of the Vaisnavas; prabhura--of
Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu; siddhanta--conclusion; keha--anyone; na pare--is
not able; khandite--to defy.
TRANSLATION
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu established the devotional cult everywhere. No
one could defeat Him.
TEXT 45
TEXT
hari' hari' prabhu-mate karena pravesa
ei-mate 'vaisnava' prabhu kaila daksina desa
SYNONYMS
hari' hari'--being defeated; prabhu-mate--into the cult of Sri Caitanya
Mahaprabhu; karena pravesa--enter; ei-mate--in this way; vaisnava--Vaisnava
devotees; prabhu--Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu; kaila--made; daksina--South
India; desa--country.
TRANSLATION
Being thus defeated by Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, all these
philosophers and their followers entered into His cult. In this way Lord
Caitanya made South India into a country of Vaisnavas.
TEXT 46
TEXT
pasandi aila yata panditya suniya
garva kari' aila sange sisya-gana lana
SYNONYMS
pasandi--nonbelievers; aila--came there; yata--all; panditya--erudition;
suniya--hearing; garva kari'--with great pride; aila--came there; sange--with;
sisya-gana--disciples; lana--taking.
TRANSLATION
When the nonbelievers heard of the erudition of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu,
they came to Him with great pride, bringing their disciples with them.
TEXT 47
TEXT
bauddhacarya maha-pandita nija nava-mate
prabhura age udgraha kari' lagila balite
SYNONYMS
bauddha-acarya--the leader in Buddhist philosophy; maha-pandita--greatly
learned scholar; nija--own; nava--nine; mate--philosophical conclusions;
prabhura age--before Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu; udgraha--argument;
kari'--making; lagila--began; balite--to speak.
TRANSLATION
One of them was a leader of the Buddhist cult and was a very learned
scholar. To establish the nine philosophical conclusions of Buddhism, he came
before the Lord and began to speak.
TEXT 48
TEXT
yadyapi asambhasya bauddha ayukta dekhite
tathapi balila prabhu garva khandaite
SYNONYMS
yadyapi--although; asambhasya--not fit for discussion;
bauddha--followers of Buddha's philosophy; ayukta--not fit; dekhite--to see;
tathapi--still; balila--spoke; prabhu--Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu;
garva--pride; khandaite--to diminish.
TRANSLATION
Although the Buddhists are unfit for discussion and should not be seen
by Vaisnavas, Caitanya Mahaprabhu spoke to them just to decrease their false
pride.
TEXT 49
TEXT
tarka-pradhana bauddha-sastra 'nava mate'
tarkei khandila prabhu, na pare sthapite
SYNONYMS
tarka-pradhana--argumentative; bauddha-sastra--scriptures of the
Buddhist cult; nava mate--in nine basic principles; tarkei--by argument;
khandila--refuted; prabhu--Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu; na--not; pare--can;
sthapite--establish.
TRANSLATION
The scriptures of the Buddhist cult are chiefly based on argument and
logic, and they contain nine chief principles. Because Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu
defeated them in their argument, they could not establish their cult.
Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura states that according to the Buddhist cult there
are two ways of understanding philosophy. One is called Hinayana, and the other
is called Mahayanaa. Along the Buddhist path there are nine principles: (1) The
creation is eternal; therefore there is no need to accept a creator. (2) This
cosmic manifestation is false. (3) "I am" is the truth. (4) There is
repetition of birth and death. (5) Lord Buddha is the only source of
understanding the truth. (6) The principle of nirvana, or annihilation, is the
ultimate goal. (7) The philosophy of Buddha is the only philosophical path. (8)
The Vedas are compiled by human beings. (9) Pious activities, showing mercy to
others and so on are advised.
No one can attain the Absolute Truth by argument. One may be very expert
in logic, and another person may be even more expert in the art of argument.
Because there is so much word jugglery in logic, one can never come to the real
conclusion about the Absolute Truth by argument. The followers of Vedic
principles understand this. However, it is seen here that Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu
defeated the Buddhist philosophy by argument. Those who are preachers in ISKCON
will certainly meet many people who believe in intellectual arguments. Most of
these people do not believe in the authority of the Vedas. Nevertheless, they
accept intellectual speculation and argument. Therefore the preachers of Krsna
consciousness should be prepared to defeat others by argument, just as Sri
Caitanya Mahaprabhu did. In this verse it is clearly said, tarkei khandila
prabhu. Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu put forward such a strong argument that
they could not counter Him to establish their cult.
Their first principle is that the creation is always existing. But if
this is the case, there can be no theory of annihilation. The Buddhists
maintain that annihilation, or dissolution, is the highest truth. If the
creation is eternally existing, there is no question of dissolution or
annihilation. This argument is not very strong because by practical experience
we see that material things have a beginning, a middle and an end. The ultimate
aim of the Buddhist philosophy is to dissolve the body. This is proposed
because the body has a beginning. Similarly, the entire cosmic manifestation is
also a gigantic body, but if we accept the fact that it is always existing,
there can be no question of annihilation. Therefore the attempt to annihilate
everything in order to attain zero is an absurdity. By our own practical
experience we have to accept the beginning of creation, and when we accept the
beginning, we must accept a creator. Such a creator must possess an
all-pervasive body, as pointed out in the Bhagavad-gita (13.14):
sarvatah pani-padam tat
sarvato-'ksi-siro-mukham
sarvatah sruti-mal loke
sarvam
avrtya tisthati
"Everywhere are His hands and legs, His eyes, heads and faces, and
He has ears everywhere. In this way the Supersoul exists, pervading
everything."
The Supreme Person must be present everywhere. His body existed before
the creation; otherwise He could not be the creator. If the Supreme Person is a
created being, there can be no question of a creator. The conclusion is that
the cosmic manifestation is certainly created at a certain time, and the
creator existed before the creation; therefore the creator is not a created
being. The creator is Param Brahman, or the Supreme Spirit. Matter is not only
subordinate to spirit but is actually created on the basis of spirit. When the
spirit soul enters the womb of a mother, the body is created by material
ingredients supplied by the mother. Everything is created in the material
world, and consequently there must be a creator who is the Supreme Spirit and
who is distinct from matter. It is confirmed in the Bhagavad-gita that the
material energy is inferior and that the spiritual energy is the living entity.
Both inferior and superior energies belong to a supreme person.
The Buddhists argue that the world is false, but this is not valid. The
world is temporary, but it is not false. As long as we have the body, we must
suffer the pleasures and pains of the body, even though we are not the body. We
may not take these pleasures and pains very seriously, but they are factual
nonetheless. We cannot actually say that they are false. If the bodily pains
and pleasures were false, the creation would be false also, and consequently no
one would take very much interest in it. The conclusion is that the material
creation is not false or imaginary, but it is temporary.
The Buddhists maintain that the principle "I am" is the
Ultimate Truth, but this excludes the individuality of "I" and
"you." If there is no "I" and "you," or
individuality, there is no possibility of argument. The Buddhist philosophy
depends on argument, but there can be no argument if one simply depends on
"I am." There must be a "you," or another person also. The
philosophy of duality--the existence of the individual soul and the
Supersoul--must be there. This is confirmed in the Second Chapter of the
Bhagavad-gita (2.12), wherein the Lord says:
na tv evaham jatu nasam
na tvam neme janadhipah
na caiva na bhavisyamah
sarve vayam atah param
"Never was there a time when I did not exist, nor you, nor all
these kings; nor in the future shall any of us cease to be."
We existed in the past in different bodies, and after the annihilation
of this body we shall exist in another body. The principle of the soul is
eternal, and it exists in this body or in another body. Even in this lifetime
we experience existence in a child's body, a youth's body, a man's body and an
old body. After the annihilation of the body, we acquire another body. The
Buddhist cult also accepts the philosophy of transmigration, but the Buddhists
do not properly explain the next birth. There are 8,400,000 species of life,
and our next birth may be in any one of them; therefore this human body is not
guaranteed.
According to the Buddhist's fifth principle, Lord Buddha is the only
source for the attainment of knowledge. We cannot accept this, for Lord Buddha
rejected the principles of Vedic knowledge. One must accept a principle of
standard knowledge because one cannot attain the Absolute Truth simply by intellectual
speculation. If everyone is an authority, or if everyone accepts his own
intelligence as the ultimate criterion--as is presently fashionable--the
scriptures will be interpreted in many different ways, and everyone will claim
that his own philosophy is supreme. This has become a very great problem, and
everyone is interpreting scripture in his own way and setting up his own basis
of authority. Yata mata tata patha. Now everybody and anybody is trying to
establish his own theory as the ultimate truth. The Buddhists theorize that
annihilation, or nirvana, is the ultimate goal. Annihilation applies to the
body, but the spirit soul transmigrates from one body to another. If this were
not the case, how can so many multifarious bodies come into existence? If the
next birth is a fact, the next bodily form is also a fact. As soon as we accept
a material body, we must accept the fact that that body will be annihilated and
that we will have to accept another body. If all material bodies are doomed to
annihilation, we must obtain a nonmaterial body, or a spiritual body, if we
wish the next birth to be anything but false. How the spiritual body is
attained is explained by Lord Krsna in the Bhagavad-gita (4.9):
janma karma ca me divyam
evam yo vetti
tattvatah
tyaktva deham punar janma
naiti mam eti so 'rjuna
"One who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and
activities does not, upon leaving the body, take his birth again in this
material world, but attains My eternal abode, O Arjuna."
This is the highest perfection--to give up one's material body and not
accept another but to return home, back to Godhead. It is not that perfection
means one's existence becomes void or zero. Existence continues, but if we
positively want to annihilate the material body, we have to accept a spiritual
body; otherwise there can be no eternality for the soul.
We cannot accept the theory that the Buddhist philosophy is the only way,
for there are so many defects in that philosophy. A perfect philosophy is one
that has no defects, and that is Vedanta philosophy. No one can point out any
defects in Vedanta philosophy, and therefore we can conclude that Vedanta is
the supreme philosophical way of understanding the truth. According to the
Buddhist cult, the Vedas are compiled by ordinary human beings. If this were
the case, they would not be authoritative. From the Vedic literature we
understand that shortly after the creation Lord Brahma was instructed in the
Vedas. It is not that the Vedas were
created by Brahma, although Brahma is the original person in the universe. If
Brahma did not create the Vedas but he is acknowledged as the first created
being, wherefrom did Vedic knowledge come to Brahma? Obviously the Vedas did
not come from an ordinary person born in this material world. According to
Srimad-Bhagavatam, tene brahma hrda ya adi-kavaye: after the creation, the
Supreme Person imparted Vedic knowledge within the heart of Brahma. There was
no person in the beginning of the creation other than Brahma, yet he did not
compile the Vedas; therefore the conclusion is that the Vedas were not compiled
by any created being. Vedic knowledge was given by the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, who created this material world. This is also accepted by
Sankaracarya, although he is not a Vaisnava.
It is stated that mercy is one of the qualities of a Buddhist, but mercy
is a relative thing. We show our mercy to a subordinate or to one who is suffering
more than ourselves. However, if there is a superior person present, the
superior person cannot be the object of our mercy. Rather, we are objects for
the mercy of the superior person. Therefore showing compassion and mercy is a
relative activity. It is not the Absolute Truth. Apart from this, we also must
know what actual mercy is. To give a sick man something forbidden for him to
eat is not mercy. Rather, it is cruelty. Unless we know what mercy really is,
we may create an undesirable situation. If we wish to show real mercy, we will
preach Krsna consciousness in order to revive the lost consciousness of human
beings, the living entity's original consciousness. Since the Buddhist
philosophy does not admit the existence of the spirit soul, the so-called mercy
of the Buddhists is defective.
TEXT 50
TEXT
bauddhacarya 'nava prasna' saba uthaila
drdha yukti-tarke prabhu khanda khanda kaila
SYNONYMS
bauddha-acarya--the teacher of the Buddhist cult; nava prasna--nine
different types of questions; saba--all; uthaila--raised; drdha--strong;
yukti--argument; tarke--with logic; prabhu--Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu;
khanda khanda kaila--broke into pieces.
TRANSLATION
The teacher of the Buddhist cult set forth the nine principles, but Sri
Caitanya Mahaprabhu broke them to pieces with His strong logic.
TEXT 51
TEXT
darsanika pandita sabai paila parajaya
loke hasya kare, bauddha paila lajja-bhaya
SYNONYMS
darsanika--philosophical speculators; pandita--scholars; sabai--all of them;
paila parajaya--were defeated; loke--people in general; hasya kare--laugh;
bauddha--the Buddhists; paila--got; lajja--shame; bhaya--fear.
TRANSLATION
All mental speculators and learned scholars were defeated by Sri Caitanya
Mahaprabhu, and when the people began to laugh, the Buddhist philosophers felt
both shame and fear.
PURPORT
These philosophers were all atheists, for they did not believe in the
existence of God. Atheists may be very expert in mental speculation and may be
so-called great philosophers, but they can be defeated by a Vaisnava firmly
situated in his conviction and God consciousness. Following in the footsteps of
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, all the preachers engaged in the service of ISKCON
should be very expert in putting forward strong arguments and defeating all
types of atheists.
TEXT 52
TEXT
prabhuke vaisnava jani' bauddha ghare gela
sakala bauddha mili'
tabe kumantrana kaila
SYNONYMS
prabhuke--Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu; vaisnava jani'--knowing to be a
Vaisnava; bauddha--the Buddhists; ghare gela--returned home; sakala
bauddha--all the Buddhists; mili'--coming together; tabe--thereafter;
ku-mantrana--plot; kaila--made.
TRANSLATION
The Buddhists could understand that Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was a
Vaisnava, and they returned home very unhappy. Later, however, they began to
plot against the Lord.
TEXT 53
TEXT
apavitra anna eka thalite bhariya
prabhu-age nila 'maha-prasada' baliya
SYNONYMS
apavitra--polluted; anna--food; eka--one; thalite--plate;
bhariya--filling; prabhu-age--in front of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu;
nila--brought; maha-prasada baliya--calling it maha-prasada.
TRANSLATION
Having made their plot, the Buddhists
brought a plate of untouchable food before Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and
called it maha-prasada.
PURPORT
The word apavitra anna refers to food that is unacceptable for a Vaisnava.
In other words, a Vaisnava cannot accept any food offered by an avaisnava in
the name of maha-prasada. This should be a principle for all Vaisnavas. When
asked, "What is the behavior of a Vaisnava?" Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu
replied, "A Vaisnava must avoid the company of an avaisnava [asat]."
The word asat refers to an avaisnava, that is, one who is not a Vaisnava.
Asat-sanga-tyaga,--ei vaisnava-acara (Cc. Madhya 22.87). A Vaisnava must be
very strict in this respect and should not at all cooperate with an avaisnava.
If an avaisnava offers food in the name of maha-prasada, it should not be
accepted. Such food cannot be prasada because an avaisnava cannot offer
anything to the Lord. Sometimes preachers in the Krsna consciousness movement
have to accept food in a home where the householder is an avaisnava; however,
if this food is offered to the Deity, it can be taken. Ordinary food cooked by
an avaisnava should not be accepted by a Vaisnava. Even if an avaisnava cooks
food without fault, he cannot offer it to Lord Visnu, and it cannot be accepted
as maha-prasada. According to Lord Krsna in the Bhagavad-gita (9.26):
patram puspam phalam toyam
yo me bhaktya prayacchati
tad aham bhakty-upahrtam
asnami prayatatmanah
"If one offers Me with love and devotion a leaf, a flower, a fruit
or water, I will accept it."
Krsna can accept anything offered by His devotee with devotion. An
avaisnava may be a vegetarian and a very clean cook, but because he cannot
offer the food he cooks to Visnu, it cannot be accepted as maha-prasada. It is
better that a Vaisnava abandon such food as untouchable.
TEXT 54
TEXT
hena-kale maha-kaya
eka paksi aila
thonte kari' anna-saha thali lana gela
SYNONYMS
hena-kale--at this time; maha-kaya--having a large body; eka--one;
paksi--bird; aila--appeared there; thonte kari'--by the beak; anna-saha--with
food; thali--the plate; lana--taking; gela--went away.
TRANSLATION
When the contaminated food was offered to Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, a
very large bird appeared on the spot, picked up the plate in its beak and flew
away.
TEXT 55
TEXT
bauddha-ganera upare anna pade amedhya haiya
bauddhacaryera mathaya thali padila bajiya
SYNONYMS
bauddha-ganera--all the Buddhists; upare--upon; anna--the food;
pade--began to fall down; amedhya--untouchable; haiya--being;
bauddha-acaryera--of the teacher of the Buddhists; mathaya--on the head;
thali--the plate; padila--fell down; bajiya--making a great sound.
TRANSLATION
Indeed, the untouchable food fell upon the Buddhists, and the large bird
dropped the plate on the head of the chief Buddhist teacher. When it fell on
his head, it made a big sound.
TEXT 56
TEXT
terache padila thali,----matha kati' gela
murcchita hana acarya bhumite padila
SYNONYMS
terache--at an angle; padila--fell down; thali--the plate; matha--the
head; kati'--cutting; gela--went; murcchita--unconscious; hana--becoming;
acarya--the teacher; bhumite--on the ground; padila--fell down.
TRANSLATION
The plate was made of metal, and when its edge hit the head of the
teacher, it cut him, and the teacher immediately fell to the ground
unconscious.
TEXT 57
TEXT
hahakara kari' kande saba sisya-gana
sabe asi' prabhu-pade la-ila sarana
SYNONYMS
haha-kara--a roaring sound; kari'--making; kande--cry; saba--all;
sisya-gana--disciples; sabe--all of them; asi'--coming; prabhu-pade--to the
lotus feet of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu; la-ila--took; sarana--shelter.
TRANSLATION
When the teacher fell unconscious, his Buddhist disciples cried aloud
and ran to the lotus feet of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu for shelter.
TEXT 58
TEXT
tumi ta' isvara saksat, ksama aparadha
jiyao amara guru, karaha prasada
SYNONYMS
tumi--You; ta'--indeed; isvara--the Supreme Personality of Godhead;
saksat--directly; ksama--please excuse; aparadha--offense; jiyao--bring back to
consciousness; amara--our; guru--spiritual master; karaha--do; prasada--this
mercy.
TRANSLATION
They all prayed to Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, addressing Him as the
Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself and saying, "Sir, please excuse our
offense. Please have mercy upon us and bring our spiritual master back to
life."
TEXT 59
TEXT
prabhu kahe,----sabe kaha 'krsna' 'krsna' 'hari'
guru-karne kaha krsna-nama ucca kari'
SYNONYMS
prabhu kahe--Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu said; sabe--all of you;
kaha--chant; krsna krsna hari--the holy names of Lord Krsna and Hari;
guru-karne--near the ear of your spiritual master; kaha--chant; krsna-nama--the
holy name of Lord Krsna; ucca kari'--very loudly.
TRANSLATION
The Lord then replied to the Buddhist disciples, "You should all
chant the names of Krsna and Hari very loudly near the ear of your spiritual
master.
TEXT 60
TEXT
toma-sabara 'guru' tabe paibe cetana
saba bauddha mili' kare krsna-sankirtana
SYNONYMS
toma-sabara--all of you; guru--the spiritual master; tabe--then;
paibe--will get; cetana--consciousness; saba bauddha--all the Buddhist
disciples; mili'--coming together; kare--do; krsna-sankirtana--chanting of the
Hare Krsna mantra.
TRANSLATION
"By this method your spiritual master will regain his
consciousness." Following Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's advice, all the
Buddhist disciples began to chant the holy name of Krsna congregationally.
TEXT 61
TEXT
guru-karne kahe sabe 'krsna' 'rama' 'hari'
cetana pana acarya bale 'hari' 'hari'
SYNONYMS
guru-karne--into the ear of the spiritual master; kahe--they said;
sabe--all together; krsna rama hari--the holy names of the Lord, namely Krsna,
Rama and Hari; cetana--consciousness; pana--getting; acarya--the teacher;
bale--chanted; hari hari--the name of Lord Hari.
TRANSLATION
When all the disciples chanted the holy names Krsna, Rama and Hari, the
Buddhist teacher regained consciousness and immediately began to chant the holy
name of Lord Hari.
PURPORT
Sri Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura comments that all the Buddhist
disciples were actually initiated by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu into the chanting
of the holy name of Krsna, and when they chanted, they actually became
different persons. At that time they were not Buddhists or atheists but
Vaisnavas. Consequently they immediately accepted Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's
order. Their original Krsna consciousness was revived, and they were
immediately able to chant Hare Krsna and begin worshiping the Supreme Lord
Visnu.
It is the spiritual master who delivers the disciple from the clutches
of maya by initiating him into the chanting of the Hare Krsna maha-mantra. In this way a sleeping human being can
revive his consciousness by chanting Hare Krsna, Hare Krsna, Krsna Krsna, Hare
Hare. Hare Rama, Hare Rama, Rama Rama, Hare Hare. In other words, the spiritual
master awakens the sleeping living entity to his original consciousness so that
he can worship Lord Visnu. This is the purpose of diksa, or initiation.
Initiation means receiving the pure knowledge of spiritual consciousness.
One point to note in this regard is that the spiritual master of the
Buddhists did not initiate his disciples. Rather, his disciples were initiated
by Sri Krsna Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and they in turn were able to initiate their
so-called spiritual master. This is the parampara system. The so-called
spiritual master of the Buddhists was actually in the position of a disciple,
and after his disciples were initiated by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, they acted
as his spiritual masters. This was possible only because the disciples of the
Buddhist acarya received the mercy of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu. Unless one is
favored by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu in the disciplic succession, one cannot act
as a spiritual master. We should take the instructions of Sri Caitanya
Mahaprabhu, the spiritual master of the whole universe, to understand how one
becomes a spiritual master and a disciple.
TEXT 62
TEXT
krsna bali' acarya prabhure karena vinaya
dekhiya sakala loka ha-ila vismaya
SYNONYMS
krsna bali'--chanting the holy name of Krsna; acarya--the so-called
spiritual master of the Buddhists; prabhure--unto Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu;
karena--does; vinaya--submission; dekhiya--seeing this; sakala loka--all the
people; ha-ila--became; vismaya--astonished.
TRANSLATION
When the spiritual master of the Buddhists began to chant the holy name
of Krsna and submitted to Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, all the people who were
gathered there were astonished.
TEXT 63
TEXT
ei-rupe kautuka kari' sacira nandana
antardhana kaila, keha na paya darsana
SYNONYMS
ei-rupe--in this way; kautuka kari'--making fun; sacira nandana--the son
of mother Saci; antardhana kaila--disappeared; keha--anyone; na--does not;
paya--get; darsana--audience.
TRANSLATION
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the son of Sacidevi, then suddenly and humorously
disappeared from everyone's sight, and it was impossible for anyone to find
Him.
TEXT 64
TEXT
mahaprabhu cali' aila tripati-trimalle
catur-bhuja murti dekhi' vyenkatadrye cale
SYNONYMS
mahaprabhu--Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu; cali' aila--arrived by
walking; tripati-trimalle--at the holy places named Tirupati and Tirumala;
catur-bhuja--fourhanded; murti--Deity; dekhi'--seeing; vyenkata-adrye--to the
holy place Venkata Hill; cale--began to proceed.
TRANSLATION
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu next arrived at Tirupati and Tirumala, where He
saw a four-handed Deity. Then He next proceeded toward Venkata Hill.
PURPORT
Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura has actually described the
chronological order of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu's visit. The Tirupati temple is
sometimes called Tirupatura. It is situated on the northern side of Arcot in
the district of Candragiri. It is a famous holy place of pilgrimage. In
pursuance of His name, Venkatesvara, the four-handed Lord Visnu, the Deity of
Balaji, with His potencies named Sri and Bhu, is located on Venkata Hill, about
eight miles from Tirupati. This Venkatesvara Deity is in the form of Lord
Visnu, and the place where He is situated is known as Venkata-ksetra. There are
many temples in southern India, but this Balaji temple is especially opulent. A
great fair is held there in the months of September and October. There is a
railway station called Tirupati on the southern railway. Nimna-tirupati is
located in the valley of the Venkata Hill. There are several temples there
also, among which are those of Govindaraja and Lord Ramacandra.
TEXT 65
TEXT
tripati asiya kaila sri-rama darasana
raghunatha-age kaila pranama stavana
SYNONYMS
tripati asiya--coming to Tirupati; kaila sri-rama darasana--visited the
temple of Ramacandra; raghunatha-age--before Lord Ramacandra; kaila--did;
pranama--obeisances; stavana--offering prayers.
TRANSLATION
After arriving at Tirupati, Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu visited the
temple of Lord Ramacandra. He offered His prayers and obeisances before
Ramacandra, the descendant of King Raghu.
TEXT 66
TEXT
sva-prabhave loka-sabara karana vismaya
pana-nrsimhe aila prabhu daya-maya
SYNONYMS
sva-prabhave--by His own influence; loka-sabara--of all the people;
karana--inducing; vismaya--astonishment; pana-nrsimhe--to the Lord named
Pana-nrsimha; aila--came; prabhu--Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu; daya-maya--the
most merciful.
TRANSLATION
Everywhere Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu went, His influence astonished
everyone. He next arrived at the temple of Pana-nrsimha. The Lord is so
merciful.
PURPORT
Pana-nrsimha, or Panakal-narasimha, is located in the district of
Krishna in the hills known as Mangalagiri, about seven miles from a city known
as Vijayawada. One must climb six hundred steps to reach the temple. It is said
that when the Lord is offered food with syrup here, He does not take more than
half. Within this temple is a conchshell presented by the late king of Tanjor,
and it is said that this shell was used by Lord Krsna Himself. During the month
of March, a great fair takes place in this temple.
TEXT 67
TEXT
nrsimhe pranati-stuti premavese kaila
prabhura prabhave loka camatkara haila
SYNONYMS
nrsimhe--unto Lord Nrsimha; pranati-stuti--obeisances and prayers;
prema-avese--in ecstatic love; kaila--offered; prabhura--of the Lord;
prabhave--by the influence; loka--the people; camatkara haila--were astonished.
TRANSLATION
In great ecstatic love, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu offered obeisances and
prayers unto Lord Nrsimha. The people were astonished to see Lord Caitanya's
influence.
TEXT 68
TEXT
siva-kanci asiya kaila siva darasana
prabhave 'vaisnava' kaila saba saiva-gana
SYNONYMS
siva-kanci--to the holy place named Siva-kanci; asiya--coming;
kaila--did; siva darasana--visiting the temple of Lord Siva; prabhave--by His
influence; vaisnava kaila--turned into Vaisnavas; saba--all; saiva-gana--the
devotees of Lord Siva.
TRANSLATION
Arriving at Siva-kanci, Caitanya Mahaprabhu visited the deity of Lord
Siva. By His influence, He converted all the devotees of Lord Siva into
Vaisnavas.
PURPORT
Siva-kanci is also known as Kanjivarama, or the Benares of southern India.
In Siva-kanci there are hundreds of temples containing symbolic representations
of Lord Siva, and one of these temples is said to be very, very old.
TEXT 69
TEXT
visnu-kanci asi' dekhila laksmi-narayana
pranama kariya kaila bahuta stavana
SYNONYMS
visnu-kanci--to the holy place named Visnu-kanci; asi'--coming;
dekhila--the Lord saw; laksmi-narayana--the Deity of Lord Narayana with mother
Laksmi, the goddess of fortune; pranama kariya--after offering obeisances;
kaila--made; bahuta stavana--many prayers.
TRANSLATION
The Lord then visited a holy place known as Visnu-kanci. There He saw
Laksmi-Narayana Deities, and He offered His respects and many prayers to please
Them.
PURPORT
Visnu-kanci is situated about five miles away from Kanjivarama. It is
here that Lord Varadaraja, another form of Lord Visnu, resides. There is also a
big lake known as Ananta-sarovara.
TEXT 70
TEXT
premavese nrtya-gita bahuta karila
dina-dui rahi' loke 'krsna-bhakta' kaila
SYNONYMS
prema-avese--in ecstatic love; nrtya-gita--dancing and chanting;
bahuta--much; karila--performed; dina-dui--for two days; rahi'--staying;
loke--the people in general; krsna-bhakta--devotees of Lord Krsna; kaila--made.
TRANSLATION
When Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu stayed at Visnu-kanci for two days, He
danced and performed kirtana in ecstasy. When all the people saw Him, they were
converted into devotees of Lord Krsna.
TEXT 71
TEXT
trimalaya dekhi' gela trikala-hasti-sthane
mahadeva dekhi' tanre karila praname
SYNONYMS
trimalaya dekhi'--after seeing Trimalaya; gela--went;
trikala-hasti-sthane--to the place named Trikala-hasti; mahadeva--Lord Siva;
dekhi'--seeing; tanre--unto him; karila praname--offered obeisances.
TRANSLATION
After visiting Trimalaya, Caitanya Mahaprabhu went to see Trikala-hasti.
There He saw Lord Siva and offered him all respects and obeisances.
PURPORT
Trikala-hasti is situated about twenty-two miles northeast of Tirupati.
On its northern side is a river known as Suvarna-mukhi. The temple of
Trikala-hasti is located on the southern side of the river. The place is
generally known as Sri Kalahasti or Kalahasti and is famous for its temple of
Lord Siva. There he is called Vayu-linga Siva.
TEXT 72
TEXT
paksi-tirtha dekhi' kaila siva darasana
vrddhakola-tirthe tabe karila gamana
SYNONYMS
paksi-tirtha dekhi'--after visiting the place known as Paksi-tirtha;
kaila--did; siva darasana--visiting the temple of Lord Siva;
vrddhakola-tirthe--to the holy place known as Vrddhakola; tabe--then; karila
gamana--went.
TRANSLATION
At Paksi-tirtha, Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu visited the temple of Lord
Siva. Then He went to the Vrddhakola place of pilgrimage.
PURPORT
Paksi-tirtha, also called Tirukadi-kundam, is located nine miles
southeast of Cimlipat. It has a five-hundred-foot elevation and is situated in
a chain of hills known as Vedagiri or Vedacalam. There is a temple of Lord Siva
there, and the deity is known as Vedagirisvara. Two birds come there daily to
receive food from the temple priest, and it is claimed that they have been
coming since time immemorial.
TEXT 73
TEXT
sveta-varaha dekhi, tanre namaskari'
pitambara-siva-sthane gela gaurahari
SYNONYMS
sveta-varaha--the white boar incarnation; dekhi--seeing; tanre--unto
Him; namaskari'--offering respect; pita-ambara--dressed with yellow garments;
siva-sthane--to the temple of Lord Siva; gela--went; gaurahari--Lord Sri
Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
TRANSLATION
At Vrddhakola, Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu visited the temple of
Sveta-varaha, the white boar incarnation. After offering Him respects, the Lord
visited the temple of Lord Siva, wherein the deity is dressed with yellow
garments.
PURPORT
The temple of the white boar incarnation is situated at Vrddhakola. The
temple is made of stone and is located about one mile south of an oasis known
as Balipitham. There is a Deity of the white boar incarnation, above whose head
Sesa Naga serves as an umbrella. The deity of Lord Siva is known as Pitambara
and also as Cidambaram. This temple is located twenty-six miles south of
Cuddaloreda, and the deity there is also known as Akasa-linga. The deity is in
the form of Lord Siva. This temple is situated on about thirty-nine acres of
land, and all this land is surrounded by a wall sixty feet high.
TEXT 74
TEXT
siyali bhairavi devi kari' darasana
kaverira tire aila sacira nandana
SYNONYMS
siyali bhairavi--Siyali-bhairavi; devi--goddess; kari'
darasana--visiting; kaverira tire--on the bank of the river Kaveri; aila--came;
sacira nandana--the son of mother Saci.
TRANSLATION
After visiting the temple of Siyali-bhairavi [another form of the
goddess Durga], Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the son of mother Saci, went to the
bank of the river Kaveri.
PURPORT
Siyali-bhairavi is located in the Tanjorean district, about forty-eight
miles northeast of Tanjorean City. There is a very much celebrated temple of
Lord Siva there and also a very large lake. It is said that once a small boy
who was a devotee of Lord Siva came to that temple and the goddess Durga, known
as Bhairavi, gave him her breast to suck. After visiting this temple, Sri
Caitanya Mahaprabhu went to the bank of the river Kaveri via the district of
Tiruchchirapalli. The Kaveri is mentioned in Srimad-Bhagavatam (11.5.40) as a
very pious river.
TEXT 75
TEXT
go-samaje siva dekhi' aila vedavana
mahadeva dekhi' tanre karila vandana
SYNONYMS
go-samaje--at the place named Go-samaja; siva dekhi'--seeing the deity
of Lord Siva; aila vedavana--He arrived at Vedavana; mahadeva dekhi'--seeing
Lord Siva; tanre--unto him; karila vandana--offered prayers.
TRANSLATION
The Lord then visited a place known as Go-samaja, where He saw Lord
Siva's temple. He then arrived at Vedavana, where He saw another deity of Lord
Siva and offered him prayers.
PURPORT
Go-samaja is a place of pilgrimage for the devotees of Lord Siva. It is
very important and is located next to Vedavana.
TEXT 76
TEXT
amrtalinga-siva dekhi' vandana karila
saba sivalaye saiva 'vaisnava' ha-ila
SYNONYMS
amrta-linga-siva--the Lord Siva deity named Amrta-linga; dekhi'--seeing;
vandana karila--offered obeisances; saba siva-alaye--in all the temples of Lord
Siva; saiva--devotees of Lord Siva; vaisnava ha-ila--became devotees of Lord
Krsna.
TRANSLATION
Seeing the Siva deity named Amrta-linga, Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu
offered His obeisances. Thus He visited all the temples of Lord Siva and
converted the devotees of Lord Siva into Vaisnavas.
TEXT 77
TEXT
deva-sthane asi' kaila visnu darasana
sri-vaisnavera sange tahan gosthi anuksana
SYNONYMS
deva-sthane--to the place known as Devasthana; asi'--coming; kaila--did;
visnu darasana--visiting the temple of Lord Visnu; sri-vaisnavera sange--with
the Vaisnavas in the disciplic succession of Ramanuja; tahan--there;
gosthi--discussion; anuksana--always.
TRANSLATION
At Devasthana, Caitanya Mahaprabhu visited the temple of Lord Visnu, and
there He talked with the Vaisnavas in the disciplic succession of
Ramanujacarya. These Vaisnavas are known as Sri Vaisnavas.
TEXT 78
TEXT
kumbhakarna-kapale dekhi' sarovara
siva-ksetre siva dekhe gauranga-sundara
SYNONYMS
kumbhakarna-kapale--at Kumbhakarna-kapala; dekhi'--after seeing;
sarovara--the lake; siva-ksetre--at Siva-ksetra; siva--Lord Siva; dekhe--sees;
gauranga-sundara--Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.
TRANSLATION
At Kumbhakarna-kapala, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu saw a great lake and then
the holy place named Siva-ksetra, where a temple of Lord Siva is located.
PURPORT
Kumbhakarna is the name of the brother of Ravana. At the present moment
the city of Kumbhakarna-kapala is known as Kumbhakonnam; it is situated twenty
miles northeast of the city of Tanjorean. There are twelve temples of Lord Siva
located at Kumbhakonnam, as well as four Visnu temples and one temple to Lord
Brahma. Siva-ksetra, within the city of Tanjorean, is situated near a big lake
known as Siva-ganga. At this place is a large temple of Lord Siva known as
Brhatisvara-siva-mandira.
TEXT 79
TEXT
papa-nasane visnu kaila darasana
sri-ranga-ksetre tabe karila gamana
SYNONYMS
papa-nasane--at the place named Papanasana; visnu--Lord Visnu;
kaila--did; darasana--visiting; sri-ranga-ksetre--to the holy place named Sri
Ranga-ksetra; tabe--then; karila--did; gamana--departure.
TRANSLATION
After visiting the holy place named Siva-ksetra, Caitanya Mahaprabhu
arrived at Papanasana and there saw the temple of Lord Visnu. Then He finally
reached Sri Ranga-ksetra.
PURPORT
According to some, the place known as Papanasana was located eight miles
southwest of Kumbhakonnam. Others say that in the district of Tinebheli there
is a city known as Palamakota and that Twenty miles west of there is the holy
place known as Papanasana, near the river Tamraparni. Sri Ranga-ksetra is a
very famous place. Near Tiruchchirapalli is a river named Kaveri, or Kolirana.
A city known as Sri Rangam is located on this river in the district of
Tanjorean, about ten miles west of Kumbhakonnam. The Sri Ranga temple is the
largest in India, and there are seven walls surrounding it. There are also
seven roads leading to Sri Ranga. The ancient names of these roads are the road
of Dharma, the road of Rajamahendra, the road of Kulasekhara, the road of
Alinadana, the road of Tiruvikrama, the Tirubidi road of Madamadi-gaisa, and
the road of Ada-iyavala-indana. The temple was founded before the reign of
Dharmavarma, who reigned before Rajamahendra. Many celebrated kings like
Kulasekhara, and others such as Alabandaru, resided in the temple of Sri
Rangam. Yamunacarya, Sri Ramanuja, Sudarsanacarya and others also supervised
this temple.
The incarnation of the goddess of fortune known as Godadevi, who was one
of the twelve liberated persons known as divya-suris, was married to the Deity,
Lord Sri Ranganatha. Later she entered into the body of the Lord. An
incarnation of Karmuka, Tirumanga (one of the Alwars), acquired some money by
stealing and built the fourth boundary wall of Sri Rangam. It is said that in
the year 289 of the Age of Kali, the Alwar of the name Tondaradippadi was born.
While engaged in devotional service, he fell victim to a prostitute, and Sri
Ranganatha, seeing His devotee so degraded, sent one of His servants with a
golden plate to that prostitute. When the golden plate was discovered missing
from the temple, there was a search, and it was found in the prostitute's
house. When the devotee saw Ranganatha's mercy upon this prostitute, his
mistake was rectified. He then prepared the third boundary wall of the
Ranganatha temple and cultivated a tulasi garden there.
There was also a celebrated disciple of Ramanujacarya's known as Kuresa.
Sri Ramapilla was the son of Kuresa, and his son was Vagvijaya Bhatta, whose
son was Vedavyasa Bhatta, or Sri Sudarsanacarya. When Sudarsanacarya was an old
man, the Mohammedans attacked the temple of Ranganatha and killed about twelve
hundred Sri Vaisnavas. At that time the Deity of Ranganatha was transferred to
the temple of Tirupati in the kingdom of Vijaya-nagara. The governor of
Gingeen, Goppanarya, brought Sri Ranganatha from the temple of Tirupati to a
place known as Simha-brahma, where the Lord was situated for three years. In
the year 1293 Saka (A.D. 1372) the Deity was reinstalled in the Ranganatha
temple. On the eastern wall of the Ranganatha temple is an inscription written
by Vedanta-desika relating how Ranganatha was returned to the temple.
TEXT 80
TEXT
kaverite snana kari' dekhi' ranganatha
stuti-pranati kari' manila krtartha
SYNONYMS
kaverite--in the river known as Kaveri; snana kari'--after bathing;
dekhi'--visiting; ranga-natha--the Ranganatha temple; stuti--prayers;
pranati--obeisances; kari'--offering; manila--thought Himself; krta-artha--very
successful.
TRANSLATION
After bathing in the river Kaveri, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu saw the
temple of Ranganatha and offered His ardent prayers and obeisances. Thus He
felt Himself successful.
TEXT 81
TEXT
premavese kaila bahuta gana nartana
dekhi' camatkara haila saba lokera mana
SYNONYMS
prema-avese--in the ecstasy of love; kaila--did; bahuta--various;
gana--songs; nartana--dancing; dekhi'--seeing which; camatkara--astonished; haila--were;
saba--all; lokera--of persons; mana--minds.
TRANSLATION
In the temple of Ranganatha, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu chanted and danced
in ecstatic love of Godhead. Seeing His performance, everyone was struck with
wonder.
TEXT 82
TEXT
sri-vaisnava eka,----'vyenkata bhatta' nama
prabhure nimantrana kaila kariya sammana
SYNONYMS
sri-vaisnava eka--a devotee belonging to the Ramanuja-sampradaya;
vyenkata bhatta--Venkata Bhatta; nama--named; prabhure--unto Lord Caitanya
Mahaprabhu; nimantrana--invitation; kaila--did; kariya--offering;
sammana--great respect.
TRANSLATION
One Vaisnava known as Venkata Bhatta then invited Sri Caitanya
Mahaprabhu to his home with great respect.
PURPORT
Sri Venkata Bhatta was a Vaisnava brahmana and an inhabitant of Sri
Ranga-ksetra. He belonged to the disciplic succession of Sri Ramanujacarya. Sri
Ranga is one of the places of pilgrimage in the province of Tamil Nadus. The
inhabitants of that province do not retain the name Venkata. It is therefore
supposed that Venkata Bhatta did not belong to that province, although he may
have been residing there for a very long time. Venkata Bhatta was in a branch
of the Ramanuja-sampradaya known as Badagala-i. He had a brother in the
Ramanuja-sampradaya known as Sripada Prabodhananda Sarasvati. The son of Venkata
Bhatta was later known in the Gaudiya-sampradaya as Gopala Bhatta Gosvami, and
he established the Radharamana temple in Vrndavana. More information about him
may be found in a book known as Bhakti-ratnakara, by Narahari Cakravarti.
TEXT 83
TEXT
nija-ghare lana kaila pada-praksalana
sei jala lana kaila sa-vamse bhaksana
SYNONYMS
nija-ghare--to his own home; lana--bringing; kaila--did;
pada-praksalana--washing of the feet; sei jala--that water; lana--taking;
kaila--did; sa-vamse--with all the family members; bhaksana--drinking.
TRANSLATION
Sri Venkata Bhatta took Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu to his home. After he
washed the Lord's feet, all the members of his family drank the water.
TEXT 84
TEXT
bhiksa karana kichu kaila nivedana
caturmasya asi' prabhu, haila upasanna
SYNONYMS
bhiksa karana--after offering lunch; kichu--some; kaila--did;
nivedana--submission; caturmasya--the period of Caturmasya; asi'--coming;
prabhu--my Lord; haila upasanna--has already arrived.
TRANSLATION
After offering lunch to the Lord, Venkata Bhatta submitted that the
period of Caturmasya had already arrived.
TEXT 85
TEXT
caturmasye krpa kari' raha mora ghare
krsna-katha kahi' krpaya uddhara' amare
SYNONYMS
caturmasye--during this period of Caturmasya; krpa kari'--being
merciful; raha--please stay; mora ghare--at my place; krsna-katha--topics of
Lord Krsna; kahi'--speaking; krpaya--by Your mercy; uddhara' amare--kindly
deliver me.
TRANSLATION
Venkata Bhatta said, "Please be merciful to me and stay at my house
during Caturmasya. Speak about Lord Krsna's pastimes and kindly deliver me by
Your mercy."
TEXT 86
TEXT
tanra ghare rahila prabhu krsna-katha-rase
bhatta-sange gonaila sukhe cari mase
SYNONYMS
tanra ghare--in his home; rahila--stayed; prabhu--Lord Sri Caitanya
Mahaprabhu; krsna-katha-rase--enjoying the transcendental mellow of discussing
Lord Krsna's pastimes; bhatta-sange--with Venkata Bhatta; gonaila--passed; sukhe--in
happiness; cari mase--four months.
TRANSLATION
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu remained at the house of Venkata Bhatta for four
continuous months. The Lord passed His days in great happiness, enjoying the
transcendental mellow of discussing Lord Krsna's pastimes.
TEXT 87
TEXT
kaverite snana kari' sri-ranga darsana
pratidina premavese karena nartana
SYNONYMS
kaverite--in the river known as Kaveri; snana kari'--taking a bath;
sri-ranga darsana--visiting the temple of Sri Ranga; prati-dina--every day;
prema-avese--in great happiness; karena--does perform; nartana--dancing.
TRANSLATION
While there, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu took His bath in the river Kaveri
and visited the temple of Sri Ranga. Every day the Lord also danced in ecstasy.
TEXT 88
TEXT
saundaryadi premavesa dekhi, sarva-loka
dekhibare aise, dekhe, khande duhkha-soka
SYNONYMS
saundarya-adi--the beauty of the body, etc.; prema-avesa--His ecstatic
love; dekhi--seeing; sarva-loka--all men; dekhibare--to see; aise--come there;
dekhe--and see; khande duhkha-soka--are relieved from all unhappiness and
distress.
TRANSLATION
The beauty of Lord Caitanya's body and His ecstatic love of God were
witnessed by everyone. Many people used to come see Him, and as soon as they
saw Him, all their unhappiness and distress vanished.
TEXT 89
TEXT
laksa laksa loka aila nana-desa haite
sabe krsna-nama kahe prabhuke dekhite
SYNONYMS
laksa laksa--many hundreds of thousands; loka--of people; aila--came
there; nana-desa--different countries; haite--from; sabe--all of them;
krsna-nama kahe--chant the Hare Krsna maha-mantra; prabhuke--the Lord;
dekhite--seeing.
TRANSLATION
Many hundreds of thousands of people from various countries came to see
the Lord, and after seeing Him they all chanted the Hare Krsna maha-mantra.
TEXT 90
TEXT
krsna-nama vina keha nahi kahe ara
sabe krsna-bhakta haila,----loke camatkara
SYNONYMS
krsna-nama vina--without chanting the Hare Krsna maha-mantra;
keha--anyone; nahi--does not; kahe--speak; ara--anything else; sabe--all of
them; krsna-bhakta--Lord Krsna's devotees; haila--became; loke--the people;
camatkara--astonished.
TRANSLATION
Indeed, they did not chant anything but the Hare Krsna maha-mantra, and
all of them became Lord Krsna's devotees. Thus the general populace was
astonished.
TEXT 91
TEXT
sri-ranga-ksetre vaise yata
vaisnava-brahmana
eka eka dina sabe kaila nimantrana
SYNONYMS
sri-ranga-ksetre--in Sri Ranga-ksetra; vaise--residing; yata--all;
vaisnava-brahmana--Vaisnava brahmanas; eka eka dina--every day; sabe--all of
them; kaila nimantrana--invited the Lord.
TRANSLATION
All the Vaisnava brahmanas residing in Sri Ranga-ksetra invited the Lord
to their homes. Indeed, He had an invitation every day.
TEXT 92
TEXT
eka eka dine caturmasya purna haila
kataka brahmana bhiksa dite na paila
SYNONYMS
eka eka dine--day by day; caturmasya--the period of Caturmasya; purna
haila--became filled; kataka brahmana--some of the brahmanas; bhiksa dite--to
offer Him lunch; na--did not; paila--get the opportunity.
TRANSLATION
Each day the Lord was invited by a different brahmana, but some of the
brahmanas did not get the opportunity to offer Him lunch because the period of
Caturmasya came to an end.
TEXT 93
TEXT
sei ksetre rahe eka vaisnava-brahmana
devalaye asi' kare gita avartana
SYNONYMS
sei ksetre--in that holy place; rahe--there was; eka--one;
vaisnava-brahmana--a brahmana following the Vaisnava cult; deva-alaye--in the
temple; asi'--coming; kare--does; gita--of the Bhagavad-gita;
avartana--recitation.
TRANSLATION
In the holy place of Sri Ranga-ksetra, a brahmana Vaisnava used to visit
the temple daily and recite the entire text of the Bhagavad-gita.
TEXT 94
TEXT
astadasadhyaya pade ananda-avese
asuddha padena, loka kare upahase
SYNONYMS
astadasa-adhyaya--eighteen chapters; pade--reads; ananda-avese--in great
ecstasy; asuddha padena--could not pronounce the text correctly; loka--people
in general; kare--do; upahase--joking.
TRANSLATION
The brahmana regularly read the eighteen chapters of the Bhagavad-gita
in great transcendental ecstasy, but because he could not pronounce the words
correctly, people used to joke about him.
TEXT 95
TEXT
keha hase,
keha ninde, taha nahi mane
avista hana gita pade anandita-mane
SYNONYMS
keha hase--someone laughs; keha ninde--someone criticizes; taha--that;
nahi mane--he does not care for; avista hana--being in great ecstasy; gita
pade--reads the Bhagavad-gita; anandita--in great happiness; mane--his mind.
TRANSLATION
Due to his incorrect pronunciation, people sometimes criticized him and
laughed at him, but he did not care. He was full of ecstasy due to reading the
Bhagavad-gita and was personally very happy.
TEXT 96
TEXT
pulakasru, kampa, sveda,----yavat pathana
dekhi' anandita haila mahaprabhura mana
SYNONYMS
pulaka--standing of the hairs of the body; asru--tears;
kampa--trembling; sveda--perspiration; yavat--during; pathana--the reading of
the book; dekhi'--seeing this; anandita--very happy; haila--became;
mahaprabhura--of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu; mana--the mind.
TRANSLATION
While reading the book, the brahmana experienced transcendental bodily
transformations. His hair stood on end, tears welled in his eyes, and his body
trembled and perspired as he read. Seeing this, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu became
very happy.
PURPORT
Although the brahmana could not pronounce the words very well due to
illiteracy, he still experienced ecstatic symptoms while reading the
Bhagavad-gita. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu was very much pleased to observe these
symptoms, and this indicates that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is pleased
by devotion, not by erudite scholarship. Even though the words were imperfectly
pronounced, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Lord Krsna Himself, did not think this
very serious. Rather, the Lord was pleased by the bhava (devotion). In
Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.5.11) this is confirmed:
tad-vag-visargo janatagha-viplavo
yasmin prati-slokam abaddhavaty api
namany anantasya yaso-'nkitani yat
srnvanti gayanti grnanti sadhavah
"On the other hand, that literature which is full of descriptions
of the transcendental glories of the name, fame, forms and pastimes of the
unlimited Supreme Lord is a different creation, full of transcendental words
directed toward bringing about a revolution in the impious lives of this
world's misdirected civilization. Such transcendental literature, even though
imperfectly composed, is heard, sung and accepted by purified men who are
thoroughly honest."
The purport to this verse may be considered for further information on
this subject.
TEXT 97
TEXT
mahaprabhu puchila tanre, suna, mahasaya
kon artha jani' tomara eta sukha haya
SYNONYMS
mahaprabhu--Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu; puchila--inquired; tanre--from him;
suna--please hear; maha-asaya--My dear sir; kon--what; artha--meaning;
jani'--knowing; tomara--your; eta--so great; sukha--happiness; haya--is.
TRANSLATION
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu asked the brahmana, "My dear sir, why are
you in such ecstatic love? Which portion of the Bhagavad-gita gives you such
transcendental pleasure?"
TEXT 98
TEXT
vipra kahe,----murkha ami, sabdartha na jani
suddhasuddha
gita padi, guru-ajna mani'
SYNONYMS
vipra kahe--the brahmana replied; murkha ami--I am illiterate;
sabda-artha--the meaning of the words; na jani--I do not know;
suddha-asuddha--sometimes correct and sometimes not correct; gita--the
Bhagavad-gita; padi--I read; guru-ajna--the order of my spiritual master;
mani'--accepting.
TRANSLATION
The brahmana replied, "I am illiterate and therefore do not know
the meaning of the words. Sometimes I read the Bhagavad-gita correctly and
sometimes incorrectly, but in any case I am doing this in compliance with the
orders of my spiritual master."
PURPORT
This is a good example of a person who had become so successful that he
was able to capture the attention of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu even while reading
the Bhagavad-gita incorrectly. His spiritual activities did not depend on
material things such as correct pronunciation. Rather, his success depended on strictly
following the instructions of his spiritual master.
yasya deve para bhaktir
yatha deve tatha gurau
tasyaite kathita hy arthah
prakasante mahatmanah
"Only unto those great souls who have implicit faith in both the
Lord and the spiritual master are all the imports of Vedic knowledge
automatically revealed."(Svetasvatara Upanisad 6.23)
Actually the meaning of the words of the Bhagavad-gita or Srimad-Bhagavatam
are revealed to one strictly following the orders of the spiritual master. They
are also revealed to one who has equal faith in the Supreme Personality of
Godhead. In other words, being faithful to both Krsna and the spiritual master
is the secret of success in spiritual life.
TEXT 99
TEXT
arjunera rathe krsna haya rajju-dhara
vasiyache hate totra syamala sundara
SYNONYMS
arjunera--of Arjuna; rathe--in the chariot; krsna--Lord Krsna; haya--is;
rajju-dhara--holding the reins; vasiyache--He was sitting there; hate--in the
hand; totra--a bridle; syamala--blackish; sundara--very beautiful.
TRANSLATION
The brahmana continued, "Actually I only see Lord Krsna sitting on
a chariot as Arjuna's charioteer. Taking the reins in His hands, He appears
very beautiful and blackish.
TEXT 100
TEXT
arjunere kahitechena hita-upadesa
tanre dekhi' haya mora ananda-avesa
SYNONYMS
arjunere--unto Arjuna; kahitechena--He is speaking; hita-upadesa--good
instruction; tanre--Him; dekhi'--seeing; haya--there is; mora--my;
ananda--transcendental happiness; avesa--ecstasy.
TRANSLATION
"While seeing Lord Krsna sitting in a chariot and instructing
Arjuna, I am filled with ecstatic happiness.
TEXT 101
TEXT
yavat padon, tavat pana tanra darasana
ei lagi' gita-patha na chade mora mana
SYNONYMS
yavat--as long as; padon--I read; tavat--so long; pana--I get;
tanra--His; darasana--audience; ei lagi'--for this reason; gita-patha--reading
the Bhagavad-gita; na chade--does not quit; mora mana--my mind.
TRANSLATION
"As long as I read the Bhagavad-gita, I simply see the Lord's
beautiful features. It is for this reason that I am reading the Bhagavad-gita,
and my mind cannot be distracted from this."
TEXT 102
TEXT
prabhu kahe,----gita-pathe tomara-i adhikara
tumi se janaha ei gitara artha-sara
SYNONYMS
prabhu kahe--the Lord replied; gita-pathe--in reading the Bhagavad-gita;
tomarai adhikara--you have the proper authority; tumi--you; se--that;
janaha--know; ei--this; gitara--of the Bhagavad-gita; artha-sara--the real
purport.
TRANSLATION
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu told the brahmana, "Indeed, you are an
authority in the reading of the Bhagavad-gita. Whatever you know constitutes
the real purport of the Bhagavad-gita."
PURPORT
According to the sastras: bhaktya bhagavatam grahyam na buddhya na ca
tikaya. One should understand the Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam by
hearing them from a real devotee. One cannot understand them simply by erudite
scholarship or sharp intelligence. It is also said:
gitadhita ca yenapi
bhakti-bhavena cetasa
veda-sastra-puranani
tenadhitani sarvasah
To one who reads the Bhagavad-gita with faith and devotion, the essence
of Vedic knowledge is revealed. And according to the Svetasvatara Upanisad
(6.23):
yasya deve para bhaktir
yatha deve tatha gurau
tasyaite kathita hy arthah
prakasante mahatmanah
All Vedic scriptures are to be understood with faith and devotion, not
by mundane scholarship. We therefore present the Bhagavad-gita As It Is. There
are many so-called scholars and philosophers who read the Bhagavad-gita in a
scholarly way. They simply waste their time and mislead those who read their
commentaries.
TEXT 103
TEXT
eta bali' sei vipre kaila alingana
prabhu-pada dhari' vipra karena rodana
SYNONYMS
eta bali'--saying this; sei vipre--that brahmana; kaila alingana--He
embraced; prabhu-pada--the lotus feet of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu;
dhari'--catching; vipra--the brahmana; karena--does; rodana--crying.
TRANSLATION
After saying this, Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu embraced the brahmana, and
the brahmana, catching the lotus feet of the Lord, began to cry.
TEXT 104
TEXT
toma dekhi' taha haite dvi-guna sukha haya
sei krsna tumi,----hena mora mane laya
SYNONYMS
toma dekhi'--by seeing You; taha haite--than the vision of Lord Krsna;
dvi-guna--twice as much; sukha--happiness; haya--there is; sei krsna--that Lord
Krsna; tumi--You are; hena--such; mora--my; mane--in the mind; laya--takes.
TRANSLATION
The brahmana said, "Upon seeing You, my happiness is doubled. I
take it that You are the same Lord Krsna."
TEXT 105
TEXT
krsna-sphurtye tanra mana hanache nirmala
ataeva prabhura tattva janila sakala
SYNONYMS
krsna-sphurtye--by revelation of Lord Krsna; tanra--his; mana--mind;
hanache--did become; nirmala--purified; ataeva--therefore; prabhura--of Lord
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu; tattva--truth; janila--could understand; sakala--all.
TRANSLATION
The mind of the brahmana was purified by the revelation of Lord Krsna,
and therefore he could understand the truth of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu in all
details.
TEXT 106
TEXT
tabe mahaprabhu tanre karaila siksana
ei bat kahan na kariha prakasana
SYNONYMS
tabe--then; mahaprabhu--Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu; tanre--unto the
brahmana; karaila--made; siksana--instruction; ei bat--this version;
kahan--anywhere; na--do not; kariha--do; prakasana--revelation.
TRANSLATION
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu then taught the brahmana very thoroughly and
requested him not to disclose the fact that He was Lord Krsna Himself.
TEXT 107
TEXT
sei vipra mahaprabhura bada bhakta haila
cari masa prabhu-sanga kabhu na chadila
SYNONYMS
sei vipra--that brahmana; mahaprabhura--of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu;
bada--big; bhakta--devotee; haila--became; cari masa--for four months;
prabhu-sanga--association of the Lord; kabhu--at any time; na--did not;
chadila--give up.
TRANSLATION
That brahmana became a great devotee of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, and for
four continuous months he did not give up the Lord's company.
TEXT 108
TEXT
ei-mata bhatta-grhe rahe gauracandra
nirantara bhatta-sange krsna-kathananda
SYNONYMS
ei-mata--in this way; bhatta-grhe--in the house of Venkata Bhatta;
rahe--remained; gauracandra--Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu; nirantara--constantly;
bhatta-sange--with Venkata Bhatta; krsna-katha-ananda--the transcendental bliss
of talking about Krsna.
TRANSLATION
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu remained at the house of Venkata Bhatta and
constantly talked with him about Lord Krsna. In this way He was very happy.
TEXT 109
TEXT
sri-vaisnava' bhatta seve laksmi-narayana
tanra bhakti dekhi' prabhura tusta haila mana
SYNONYMS
sri-vaisnava--a devotee of the Ramanuja-sampradaya; bhatta--Venkata
Bhatta; seve--used to worship; laksmi-narayana--the Deities of Lord Narayana
and the goddess of fortune, Laksmi; tanra--his; bhakti--devotion;
dekhi'--seeing; prabhura--of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu; tusta--happy;
haila--became; mana--the mind.
TRANSLATION
Being a Vaisnava in the Ramanuja-sampradaya, Venkata Bhatta worshiped
the Deities of Laksmi and Narayana. Seeing his pure devotion, Sri Caitanya
Mahaprabhu was very much satisfied.
TEXT 110
TEXT
nirantara tanra sange haila sakhya-bhava
hasya-parihase dunhe sakhyera svabhava
SYNONYMS
nirantara--constantly; tanra sange--being associated with him;
haila--there was; sakhya-bhava--a friendly relationship; hasya--laughing;
parihase--joking; dunhe--both of them; sakhyera--of fraternity;
svabhava--nature.
TRANSLATION
Constantly associating with each other, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and
Venkata Bhatta gradually developed a friendly relationship. Indeed, sometimes
they laughed and joked together.
TEXT 111
TEXT
prabhu kahe,----bhatta, tomara laksmi-thakurani
kanta-vaksah-sthita, pativrata-siromani
SYNONYMS
prabhu kahe--Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu said; bhatta--My dear
Bhattacarya; tomara--your; laksmi-thakurani--goddess of fortune; kanta--of her
husband, Narayana; vaksah-sthita--situated on the chest; pati-vrata--chaste
woman; siromani--the topmost.
TRANSLATION
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu told the Bhattacarya, "Your worshipable
goddess of fortune, Laksmi, always remains on the chest of Narayana, and she is
certainly the most chaste woman in the creation.
TEXT 112
TEXT
amara thakura krsna----gopa, go-caraka
sadhvi hana kene cahe
tanhara sangama
SYNONYMS
amara thakura--My worshipable Deity; krsna--Lord Krsna; gopa--cowherd;
go-caraka--a tender of cows; sadhvi hana--being so chaste; kene--why;
cahe--wants; tanhara--His; sangama--association.
TRANSLATION
"However, my Lord is Lord Sri Krsna, a cowherd boy who is engaged
in tending cows. Why is it that Laksmi, being such a chaste wife, wants to
associate with My Lord?
TEXT 113
TEXT
ei lagi' sukha-bhoga chadi' cira-kala
vrata-niyama kari' tapa karila apara
SYNONYMS
ei lagi'--for this reason; sukha-bhoga--the enjoyment of Vaikuntha;
chadi'--giving up; cira-kala--for a long time; vrata-niyama--vows and
regulative principles; kari'--accepting; tapa--austerity; karila
apara--performed unlimitedly.
TRANSLATION
"Just to associate with Krsna, Laksmi abandoned all transcendental
happiness in Vaikuntha and for a long time accepted vows and regulative
principles and performed unlimited austerities."
TEXT 114
TEXT
kasyanubhavo 'sya
na deva vidmahe
tavanghri-renu-sparasadhikarah
yad-vanchaya srir lalanacarat tapo
vihaya kaman su-ciram dhrta-vrata
SYNONYMS
kasya--of what; anubhavah--a result; asya--of the serpent (Kaliya);
na--not; deva--O Lord; vidmahe--we know; tava anghri--of Your lotus feet;
renu--of the dust; sparasa--for touching; adhikarah--qualification; yat--which;
vanchaya--by desiring; srih--the goddess of fortune; lalana--the topmost woman;
acarat--performed; tapah--austerity; vihaya--giving up; kaman--all desires;
su-ciram--for a long time; dhrta--a law upheld; vrata--as a vow.
TRANSLATION
Caitanya Mahaprabhu then said, " 'O Lord, we do not know how the
serpent Kaliya attained such an opportunity to be touched by the dust of Your
lotus feet. Even the goddess of fortune, for this end, performed austerities
for centuries, giving up all other desires and observing austere vows. Indeed,
we do not know how the serpent Kaliya got such an opportunity."'
PURPORT
This is a quotation from Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.16.36); it was spoken by
the wives of the Kaliya serpent.
TEXT 115
TEXT
bhatta kahe, krsna-narayana----eka-i svarupa
krsnete adhika lila-vaidagdhyadi-rupa
SYNONYMS
bhatta kahe--Venkata Bhatta said; krsna-narayana--Krsna and Narayana;
eka-i svarupa--one and the same; krsnete--in Lord Krsna; adhika--more;
lila--pastimes; vaidagdhya-adi-rupa--sportive nature.
TRANSLATION
Venkata Bhatta then said, "Lord Krsna and Lord Narayana are one and
the same, but the pastimes of Krsna are more relishable due to their sportive
nature.
TEXT 116
TEXT
tara sparse nahi yaya pativrata-dharma
kautuke laksmi cahena krsnera sangama
SYNONYMS
tara sparse--by the touching of Krsna by Laksmi; nahi--does not;
yaya--disappear; pati-vrata-dharma--the vow of chastity; kautuke--in great fun;
laksmi--the goddess of fortune; cahena--wants; krsnera--of Lord Krsna;
sangama--association.
TRANSLATION
"Since Krsna and Narayana are the same personality, Laksmi's
association with Krsna does not break her vow of chastity. Rather, it was in
great fun that the goddess of fortune wanted to associate with Lord
Krsna."
PURPORT
This is an answer to Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's question, and from
this we can understand that Venkata Bhatta knew the truth. He told Sri Caitanya
Mahaprabhu that Narayana is a form of Krsna associated with transcendental
opulence. Although Krsna is two-armed and Narayana four-armed, there is no
difference in the person. They are one and the same. Narayana is as beautiful
as Krsna, but Krsna's pastimes are more sportive. It is not that the sportive
pastimes of Krsna make Him different from Narayana. Laksmi's desiring to
associate with Krsna was perfectly natural. In other words, it is
understandable that a chaste woman wants to associate with her husband in all
his different dresses. Therefore one should not criticize Laksmi for wanting to
associate with Krsna.
TEXT 117
TEXT
siddhantatas tv abhede 'pi
srisa-krsna-svarupayoh
rasenotkrsyate krsna-
rupam esa rasa-sthitih
SYNONYMS
siddhantatah--in reality; tu--but; abhede--no difference; api--although;
sri-isa--of the husband of Laksmi, Narayana; krsna--of Lord Krsna;
svarupayoh--between the forms; rasena--by transcendental mellows; utkrsyate--is
superior; krsna-rupam--the form of Lord Krsna; esa--this;
rasa-sthitih--reservoir of pleasure.
TRANSLATION
Venkata Bhatta continued, " 'According to transcendental
realization, there is no difference between the forms of Narayana and Krsna.
Yet in Krsna there is a special transcendental attraction due to the conjugal
mellow, and consequently He surpasses Narayana. This is the conclusion of
transcendental mellows.'
PURPORT
This verse quoted by Venkata Bhatta is also found in
Bhakti-rasamrta-sindhu (1.2.59).
TEXT 118
TEXT
krsna-sange pativrata-dharma nahe nasa
adhika labha paiye, ara rasa-vilasa
SYNONYMS
krsna-sange--in the association of Lord Krsna; pati-vrata--of chastity;
dharma--vow; nahe--is not; nasa--lost; adhika--more; labha--profit; paiye--I
get; ara--also; rasa-vilasa--the enjoyment in the rasa dance.
TRANSLATION
"The goddess of fortune considered that her vow of chastity would
not be damaged by her relationship with Krsna. Rather, by associating with
Krsna she could enjoy the benefit of the rasa dance."
TEXT 119
TEXT
vinodini laksmira haya krsne abhilasa
ihate ki dosa, kene kara parihasa
SYNONYMS
vinodini--the enjoyer; laksmira--of the goddess of fortune; haya--there
is; krsne--for Lord Krsna; abhilasa--desire; ihate--in this; ki--what;
dosa--fault; kene--why; kara--You do; parihasa--joking.
TRANSLATION
Venkata Bhatta further explained, "Mother Laksmi, the goddess of
fortune, is also an enjoyer of transcendental bliss; therefore if she wanted to
enjoy herself with Krsna, what fault is there? Why are You joking so about
this?"
TEXT 120
TEXT
prabhu kahe,----dosa nahi, iha ami jani
rasa na paila laksmi, sastre iha suni
SYNONYMS
prabhu kahe--the Lord replied; dosa nahi--there is no fault; iha ami
jani--this I know; rasa na paila laksmi--Laksmi, the goddess of fortune, could
not join the rasa dance; sastre iha suni--we get this information from revealed
scriptures.
TRANSLATION
Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu replied, "I know that there is no fault on
the part of the goddess of fortune, but still she could not enter into the rasa
dance. We hear this from revealed scriptures.
TEXT 121
TEXT
nayam sriyo 'nga u nitanta-rateh prasadah
svar-yositam nalina-gandha-rucam kuto 'nyah
rasotsave 'sya bhuja-danda-grhita-kantha-
labdhasisam ya udagad
vraja-sundarinam
SYNONYMS
na--not; ayam--this; sriyah--of the goddess of fortune; ange--on the
chest; u--alas; nitanta-rateh--one who is very intimately related;
prasadah--the favor; svah--of the heavenly planets; yositam--of women;
nalina--of the lotus flower; gandha--having the aroma; rucam--and bodily
luster; kutah--much less; anyah--others; rasa-utsave--in the festival of the
rasa dance; asya--of Lord Sri Krsna; bhuja-danda--by the arms;
grhita--embraced; kantha--their necks; labdha-asisam--who achieved such a
blessing; yah--which; udagat--became manifest; vraja-sundarinam--of the
beautiful gopis, the transcendental girls of Vrajabhumi.
TRANSLATION
" 'When Lord Sri Krsna was dancing with the gopis in the rasa-lila,
He put His arms around their necks and embraced them. This transcendental favor
was never bestowed upon the goddess of fortune or the other consorts in the
spiritual world. Nor was such a thing ever imagined by the most beautiful girls
in the heavenly planets, girls whose bodily luster and aroma exactly resemble
the lotus flower. And what to speak of worldly women, who may be very, very
beautiful according to material estimation?'
PURPORT
This is a verse from Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.47.60).
TEXT 122
TEXT
laksmi kene na paila, ihara ki karana
tapa kari' kaiche krsna paila sruti-gana
SYNONYMS
laksmi--the goddess of fortune; kene--why; na--did not; paila--get;
ihara--of this; ki--what; karana--cause; tapa kari'--undergoing severe
austerities; aiche--how; krsna--Lord Krsna; paila--attained; sruti-gana--Vedic
authorities.
TRANSLATION
"But can you tell Me why the goddess of fortune, Laksmi, could not
enter the rasa dance? The authorities of Vedic knowledge could enter the dance
and associate with Krsna.
TEXT 123
TEXT
nibhrta-marun-mano-'ksa-drdha-yoga-yujo hrdi yan-
munaya upasate tad arayo 'pi yayuh smaranat
striya uragendra-bhoga-bhuja-danda-visakta-dhiyo
vayam api te samah samadrso 'nghri-saroja-sudhah
SYNONYMS
nibhrta--controlled; marut--the life air; manah--the mind; aksa--the
senses; drdha--strong; yoga--in the mystic yoga process; yujah--who are engaged;
hrdi--within the heart; yat--who; munayah--the great sages; upasate--worship;
tat--that; arayah--the enemies; api--also; yayuh--obtain; smaranat--from
remembering; striyah--the gopis; uraga-indra--of serpents; bhoga--like the
bodies; bhuja--the arms; danda--like rods; visakta--fastened to; dhiyah--whose
minds; vayam api--we also; te--Your; samah--equal to them; sama-drsah--having
the same ecstatic emotions; anghri-saroja--of the lotus feet; sudhah--the
nectar.
TRANSLATION
" 'Great sages conquer the mind and senses by practicing the mystic
yoga system and controlling the breath. Thus engaging in mystic yoga, they see
the Supersoul within their hearts and ultimately enter into impersonal Brahman.
But even the enemies of the Supreme Personality of Godhead attain that position
simply by thinking of the Supreme Lord. However, the damsels of Vraja, the
gopis, being attracted by the beauty of Krsna, simply wanted to embrace Him and
His arms, which are like serpents. Thus the gopis ultimately tasted the nectar
of the lotus feet of the Lord. Similarly, we Upanisads can also taste the
nectar of His lotus feet by following in the footsteps of the gopis.' "
PURPORT
This verse is from Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.87.23).
TEXT 124
TEXT
sruti paya, laksmi na paya, ithe ki karana
bhatta kahe,----iha pravesite nare mora mana
SYNONYMS
sruti paya--the Vedic authorities got admission; laksmi na paya--and the
goddess of fortune could not get admission; ithe ki karana--what must be the
reason for this; bhatta kahe--Venkata Bhatta replied; iha--this; pravesite--to
enter; nare--is not able; mora--my; mana--mind.
TRANSLATION
Having been asked by Caitanya Mahaprabhu why the goddess of fortune
could not enter into the rasa dance whereas the authorities on Vedic knowledge
could, Venkata Bhatta replied, "I cannot enter into the mysteries of this
behavior."
TEXT 125
TEXT
ami jiva,----ksudra-buddhi, sahaje asthira
isvarera lila----koti-samudra-gambhira
SYNONYMS
ami jiva--I am an ordinary living being; ksudra-buddhi--possessing
limited intelligence; sahaje asthira--very easily agitated; isvarera lila--the
pastimes of the Lord; koti-samudra--as millions of oceans; gambhira--as deep.
TRANSLATION
Venkata Bhatta then admitted, "I am an ordinary human being. Since
my intelligence is very much limited and I am easily agitated, my mind cannot
enter within the deep ocean of the pastimes of the Lord.
TEXT 126
TEXT
tumi saksat sei krsna, jana nija-karma
yare janaha, sei jane tomara lila-marma
SYNONYMS
tumi--You; saksat--directly; sei--that; krsna--the Supreme Personality
of Godhead; jana--You know; nija-karma--Your activities; yare janaha--and unto
whom You make it known; sei--that person; jane--knows; tomara--Your;
lila-marma--the purport of the pastimes.
TRANSLATION
"You are the Supreme Personality of Godhead Krsna Himself. You know
the purpose of Your activities, and the person whom You enlighten can also
understand Your pastimes."
PURPORT
The Supreme Personality of Godhead Krsna and His pastimes cannot be
understood by blunt material senses. One has to purify the senses by rendering
transcendental loving service unto the Lord. When the Lord is pleased and
reveals Himself, one can understand the transcendental form, name, qualities
and pastimes of the Lord. This is confirmed in the Katha Upanisad (2.23) and in
the Mundaka Upanisad (3.2.3): yam evaisa vrnute tena labhyas tasyaisa atma
vivrnute tanum svam. "Anyone who is favored by the Supreme Personality of
Godhead can understand His transcendental name, qualities, form and
pastimes."
TEXT 127
TEXT
prabhu kahe,----krsnera eka svabhava vilaksana
sva-madhurye sarva citta kare akarsana
SYNONYMS
prabhu kahe--the Lord replied; krsnera--of Lord Krsna; eka--one;
svabhava--characteristic; vilaksana--special; sva-madhurye--His conjugal love;
sarva--all; citta--hearts; kare--does; akarsana--attraction.
TRANSLATION
The Lord replied, "Lord Krsna has a special characteristic: He
attracts everyone's heart by the mellow of His personal conjugal love.
TEXT 128
TEXT
vraja-lokera bhave paiye tanhara carana
tanre isvara kari' nahi jane vraja-jana
SYNONYMS
vraja-lokera--of the inhabitants of Goloka Vrndavana; bhave--in the
ecstasy; paiye--one gets; tanhara--Lord Krsna's; carana--lotus feet;
tanre--unto Him; isvara--the Supreme Person; kari'--accepting; nahi--do not;
jane--know; vraja-jana--the inhabitants of Vrajabhumi.
TRANSLATION
"By following in the footsteps of the inhabitants of the planet
known as Vrajaloka or Goloka Vrndavana one can attain the shelter of the lotus
feet of Sri Krsna. However, in that planet the inhabitants do not know that
Lord Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
TEXT 129
TEXT
keha tanre putra-jnane udukhale bandhe
keha sakha-jnane jini' cade tanra kandhe
SYNONYMS
keha--someone; tanre--Him; putra-jnane--by accepting as a son;
udukhale--to a big mortar; bandhe--ties; keha--someone; sakha-jnane--by
accepting as a friend; jini'--conquering; cade--gets up; tanra--His; kandhe--on
the shoulder.
TRANSLATION
"There someone may accept Him as a son and sometimes bind Him to a
grinding mortar. Someone else may accept Him as an intimate friend and,
attaining victory over Him, playfully mount His shoulders.
TEXT 130
TEXT
'vrajendra-nandana' bali' tanre jane
vraja-jana
aisvarya-jnane nahi kona sambandha-manana
SYNONYMS
vrajendra-nandana--the son of Nanda Maharaja, the King of Vrajabhumi;
bali'--as; tanre--Him; jane--know; vraja-jana--the inhabitants of Vrajabhumi;
aisvarya-jnane--in opulence; nahi--there is not; kona--any;
sambandha--relationship; manana--regarding.
TRANSLATION
"The inhabitants of Vrajabhumi know Krsna as the son of Maharaja
Nanda, the King of Vrajabhumi, and they consider that they can have no
relationship with the Lord in the rasa of opulence.
TEXT 131
TEXT
vraja-lokera bhave yei karaye bhajana
sei jana paya vraje vrajendra-nandana
SYNONYMS
vraja-lokera--of the inhabitants of Vrajabhumi; bhave--in the ecstasy;
yei--anyone who; karaye--does; bhajana--worship; sei jana--that person; paya--attains;
vraje--in Vraja; vrajendra-nandana--Lord Krsna, the son of Maharaja Nanda.
TRANSLATION
"One who worships the Lord by following in the footsteps of the
inhabitants of Vrajabhumi attains Him in the transcendental planet of Vraja,
where He is known as the son of Maharaja Nanda."
PURPORT
The inhabitants of Vrajabhumi, or Goloka Vrndavana, know Krsna as the
son of Maharaja Nanda. They do not accept Him as the Supreme Personality of
Godhead, as people in general do. The Lord is the supreme maintainer of
everyone and the chief personality among all personalities. In Vrajabhumi Krsna
is certainly the central point of love, but no one knows Him there as the
Supreme Personality of Godhead. Rather, a person may know Him as a friend, son,
lover or master. In any case, the center is Krsna. The inhabitants of
Vrajabhumi are related to the Lord in servitude, friendship, parental love and
conjugal love. A person engaged in devotional service may accept any one of
these transcendental relationships, which are known as mellows. When such a
person reaches the perfectional stage, he returns home, back to Krsna, in his
pure spiritual identity.
TEXT 132
TEXT
nayam sukhapo bhagavan
dehinam gopika-sutah
jnaninam catma-bhutanam
yatha bhakti-matam iha
SYNONYMS
na--not; ayam--this Lord Sri
Krsna; sukha-apah--easily available; bhagavan--the Supreme Personality of
Godhead; dehinam--for materialistic persons who have accepted the body as the
self; gopika-sutah--the son of mother Yasoda; jnaninam--for persons addicted to
mental speculation; ca--and; atma-bhutanam--for persons performing severe
austerities and penances; yatha--as; bhakti-matam--for persons engaged in
spontaneous devotional service; iha--in this world.
TRANSLATION
Caitanya Mahaprabhu then quoted, " 'The Supreme Personality of
Godhead, Krsna, the son of mother Yasoda, is accessible to those devotees
engaged in spontaneous loving service, but He is not as easily accessible to
mental speculators, to those striving for self-realization by severe
austerities and penances, or to those who consider the body the same as the
self.'
PURPORT
This verse, also given in Madhya-lila 8.227, is quoted from
Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.9.21).
TEXT 133
TEXT
sruti-gana gopi-ganera anugata hana
vrajesvari-suta bhaje gopi-bhava lana
SYNONYMS
sruti-gana--the authorities of Vedic hymns; gopi-ganera--of the gopis;
anugata hana--following in the footsteps; vrajesvari-suta--the son of mother
Yasoda; bhaje--worship; gopi-bhava--the ecstasy of the gopis; lana--accepting.
TRANSLATION
"The authorities in the Vedic literature who are known as the
sruti-gana worshiped Lord Krsna in the ecstasy of the gopis and followed in
their footsteps.
PURPORT
The authorities in the Vedic literature known as the sruti-gana desired
to enter into Lord Sri Krsna's rasa dance; therefore they began to worship the
Lord in the ecstasy of the gopis. In the beginning, however, they were
unsuccessful. When they could not enter the dance simply by thinking of Krsna
in the ecstasy of the gopis, they actually accepted bodies like those of the
gopis. They even took birth in Vrajabhumi just like the gopis and consequently
became engrossed in the ecstasy of the gopis' love. In this way they were
allowed to enter into the rasa-lila dance of the Lord.
TEXT 134
TEXT
bahyantare gopi-deha vraje yabe paila
sei dehe krsna-sange rasa-krida kaila
SYNONYMS
bahya-antare--externally and internally; gopi-deha--the body of a gopi;
vraje--in Vrajabhumi; yabe--when; paila--they got; sei dehe--in that body;
krsna-sange--with Krsna; rasa-krida--pastimes of the rasa dance;
kaila--performed.
TRANSLATION
"The personified authorities on the Vedic hymns acquired bodies
like those of the gopis and took birth in Vrajabhumi. In those bodies they were
allowed to enter into the Lord's rasa-lila dance.
TEXT 135
TEXT
gopa-jati krsna, gopi----preyasi tanhara
devi va anya stri krsna na kare angikara
SYNONYMS
gopa-jati--belonging to the cowherd community; krsna--Lord Krsna;
gopi--the damsels of Vrajabhumi, the gopis; preyasi--dearmost; tanhara--His;
devi--the wives of the demigods; va--or; anya--other; stri--women; krsna--Lord
Krsna; na--does not; kare--do; angikara--acceptance.
TRANSLATION
"Lord Krsna belongs to the cowherd community, and the gopis are the
dearmost lovers of Krsna. Although the wives of the denizens of the heavenly
planets are most opulent within the material world, neither they nor any other
women in the material universe can acquire Krsna's association.
TEXT 136
TEXT
laksmi cahe sei dehe krsnera sangama
gopika-anuga hana na kaila bhajana
SYNONYMS
laksmi--the goddess of fortune; cahe--wants; sei--that; dehe--in the
body; krsnera sangama--the association of Krsna; gopika--of the gopis;
anuga--follower; hana--becoming; na--did not; kaila--perform; bhajana--worship.
TRANSLATION
"The goddess of fortune, Laksmi, wanted to enjoy Krsna and at the
same time retain her spiritual body in the form of Laksmi. However, she did not
follow in the footsteps of the gopis in her worship of Krsna.
TEXT 137
TEXT
anya dehe na paiye rasa-vilasa
ataeva 'nayam' sloka kahe veda-vyasa
SYNONYMS
anya dehe--in a body other than those of the gopis; na--not; paiye--one
gets; rasa-vilasa--the pastimes of the rasa dance; ataeva--therefore;
nayam--beginning with the word nayam; sloka--the Sanskrit verse; kahe--says;
veda-vyasa--Dvaipayana Vedavyasa.
TRANSLATION
"Vyasadeva, the supreme authority on Vedic literature, composed the
verse beginning 'nayam sukhapo bhagavan' because no one can enter into the
rasa-lila dance in any body other than that of a gopi."
PURPORT
This verse confirms a verse of the Bhagavad-gita (9.25):
yanti deva-vrata devan
pitrn yanti pitr-vratah
bhutani yanti bhutejya
yanti mad-yajino 'pi mam
"[Lord Krsna said:] 'Those who worship the demigods will take birth
among the demigods; those who worship the ancestors go the ancestors; those who
worship ghosts and spirits will take birth among such beings; and those who
worship Me will live with Me.' "
In the material world, every conditioned soul changes his material body
again and again, but when the spirit soul is purified of all material
coverings, there is no longer a chance of his accepting a material body. Such a
soul then remains in his original, spiritual identity, a state that is possible
to achieve only by understanding Krsna in truth through the practice of Krsna
consciousness. As Krsna says in the Bhagavad-gita (4.9),
janma karma ca me divyam
evam yo vetti tattvatah
tyaktva deham punar janma
naiti mam eti so 'rjuna
"One who knows the transcendental nature of My appearance and
activities does not, upon leaving the body, take his birth again in this
material world, but attains My eternal abode, O Arjuna."
Only when one regains his original spiritual body can he enter into the
spiritual kingdom. As far as the rasa-lila pastimes of the Lord are concerned,
it is futile for one who is within the material world to attempt to imitate the
Lord's dances.. One has to attain a spiritual body like that of a gopi to enter
into the pastimes of the rasa-lila. In
the nayam sukhapo verse, the devotees are referred to as bhaktimat, that is,
fully engaged in devotional service and devoid of material contamination. One
cannot enter into Krsna's rasa-lila dance simply by artificially imitating it
or artificially thinking oneself a sakhi and dressing up like one. Krsna's
rasa-lila dance is completely spiritual. It has nothing to do with material
contamination; therefore no one can enter into this pastime by artificial,
material means. That is the instruction of the nayam sukhapo verse, and it must
be strictly understood.
TEXT 138
TEXT
purve bhattera mane eka chila abhimana
'sri-narayana' hayena svayam-bhagavan
SYNONYMS
purve--before this; bhattera--of Venkata Bhatta; mane--in the mind;
eka--one; chila--there was; abhimana--an impression; sri-narayana--the form of
the Lord as Narayana; hayena--is; svayam--personally; bhagavan--the Supreme
Personality of Godhead.
TRANSLATION
Before this explanation was given by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Venkata
Bhatta thought that Sri Narayana was the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
TEXT 139
TEXT
tanhara bhajana sarvopari-kaksa haya
sri-vaisnave'ra bhajana ei sarvopari haya
SYNONYMS
tanhara bhajana--worship of Narayana; sarva-upari--topmost;
kaksa--department; haya--is; sri-vaisnavera--of the followers of Ramanujacarya;
bhajana--worship; ei--this; sarva-upari haya--is the topmost.
TRANSLATION
Thinking in this way, Venkata Bhatta believed that worship of Narayana
was the supreme form of worship, superior to all other processes of devotional
service, for it was followed by the Sri Vaisnava disciples of Ramanujacarya.
TEXT 140
TEXT
ei tanra garva prabhu karite khandana
parihasa-dvare uthaya eteka vacana
SYNONYMS
ei--this; tanra--his (Venkata Bhatta's); garva--pride; prabhu--Lord
Caitanya Mahaprabhu; karite khandana--to curb; parihasa-dvare--by joking;
uthaya--raises; eteka--so many; vacana--words.
TRANSLATION
Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu had understood this misconception of Venkata
Bhatta's, and to correct it the Lord talked so much in a joking way.
TEXT 141
TEXT
prabhu kahe,----bhatta, tumi na kariha samsaya
'svayam-bhagavan' krsna ei ta' niscaya
SYNONYMS
prabhu kahe--the Lord said; bhatta--My dear Venkata Bhatta; tumi--you;
na kariha--do not do; samsaya--doubt; svayam-bhagavan--the Supreme Personality
of Godhead; krsna--is Lord Krsna; ei ta' niscaya--this is the conclusion.
TRANSLATION
The Lord then continued, "My dear Venkata Bhatta, please do not
continue doubting. Lord Krsna is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and this
is the conclusion of the Vedic literature.
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