Sri Caitanya Caritamrita

Madhya-lila
Chapter 1: The Later Pastimes of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu

Text* 1: Even a person with no knowledge can immediately acquire all knowledge simply by the benediction of ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu. Therefore I am praying to the Lord for His causeless mercy upon me.
Text* 2: I offer my respectful obeisances unto ÅšrÄ« Kṛṣṇa Caitanya and Lord NityÄnanda, who are like the sun and moon. They have arisen simultaneously on the horizon of Gauá¸a to dissipate the darkness of ignorance and thus wonderfully bestow benediction upon all.
Text* 3: Glory to the all-merciful RÄdhÄ and Madana-mohana! I am lame and ill advised, yet They are my directors, and Their lotus feet are everything to me.
Text* 4: In a temple of jewels in Vá¹›ndÄvana, underneath a desire tree, ÅšrÄ« ÅšrÄ« RÄdhÄ-Govinda, served by Their most confidential associates, sit upon an effulgent throne. I offer my humble obeisances unto Them.
Text* 5: May GopÄ«nÄthajÄ«, who attracts all the gopÄ«s with the song of His flute and who has begun the most melodious rÄsa dance on the bank of the YamunÄ in Vaá¹Å›Ä«vaá¹­a, be merciful upon us.
Text* 6: All glories unto Śrī Gaurahari, who is an ocean of mercy! All glories unto You, the son of Śacīdevī, for You are the only friend of all fallen souls!
Text* 7: All glories unto Lord NityÄnanda and Advaita Prabhu, and all glories unto all the devotees of Lord Caitanya, headed by ÅšrÄ«vÄsa ṬhÄkura!
Text* 8: I have previously described in synopsis the Ädi-lÄ«lÄ [initial pastimes], which have already been fully described by Vá¹›ndÄvana dÄsa ṬhÄkura.
Text* 9: I have therefore given only a synopsis of those incidents, and whatever specifics were to be related have already been given in that synopsis.
Text* 10: To describe the unlimited pastimes of ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu is not possible, but I now wish to relate the chief incidents and give a synopsis of those pastimes occurring at the end.
Text* 11-12: I shall describe only in synopsis that portion which Vá¹›ndÄvana dÄsa ṬhÄkura has described very elaborately in his book Caitanya-maá¹…gala. Whatever incidents are outstanding, however, I shall later elaborate.
Text* 13: Actually the authorized compiler of the pastimes of ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu is ÅšrÄ«la Vá¹›ndÄvana dÄsa, the incarnation of VyÄsadeva. Only upon his orders am I trying to chew the remnants of food that he has left.
Text* 14: Placing his lotus feet upon my head in great devotion, I shall now describe in summary the Lord’s final pastimes.
Text* 15: For twenty-four years, Lord ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu remained at home, and whatever pastimes He performed during that time are called the Ädi-lÄ«lÄ.
Text* 16: At the end of His twenty-fourth year, in the month of MÄgha, during the fortnight of the waxing moon, the Lord accepted the renounced order of life, sannyÄsa.
Text* 17: After accepting sannyÄsa, Lord Caitanya remained within this material world for another twenty-four years. Within this period, whatever pastimes He enacted are called the Å›eá¹£a-lÄ«lÄ, or pastimes occurring at the end.
Text* 18: The final pastimes of the Lord, occurring in His last twenty-four years, are called madhya [middle] and antya [final]. All the devotees of the Lord refer to His pastimes according to these divisions.
Text* 19: For six years of the last twenty-four, ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu traveled all over India, from JagannÄtha PurÄ« to Bengal and from Cape Comorin to Vá¹›ndÄvana.
Text* 20: All the pastimes performed by the Lord in those places are known as the madhya-lÄ«lÄ, and whatever pastimes were performed after that are called the antya-lÄ«lÄ.
Text* 21: The pastimes of the Lord are therefore divided into three periods — the Ädi-lÄ«lÄ, madhya-lÄ«lÄ and antya-lÄ«lÄ. Now I shall very elaborately describe the madhya-lÄ«lÄ.
Text* 22: For eighteen continuous years, Lord ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu remained at JagannÄtha PurÄ« and, through His personal behavior, instructed all living entities in the mode of devotional service.
Text* 23: Of these eighteen years at JagannÄtha PurÄ«, ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu spent six years with His many devotees. By chanting and dancing, He introduced the loving service of the Lord.
Text* 24: Lord ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu sent NityÄnanda Prabhu from JagannÄtha PurÄ« to Bengal, which is known as Gauá¸a-deÅ›a, and Lord NityÄnanda Prabhu overflooded that country with the transcendental loving service of the Lord.
Text* 25: ÅšrÄ« NityÄnanda Prabhu is by nature very much inspired in rendering transcendental loving service to Lord Kṛṣṇa. Now, being ordered by ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu, He distributed this loving service anywhere and everywhere.
Text* 26: I offer innumerable obeisances unto the lotus feet of ÅšrÄ« NityÄnanda Prabhu, who is so kind that He spread the service of ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu all over the world.
Text* 27: Caitanya MahÄprabhu used to address NityÄnanda Prabhu as His elder brother, whereas NityÄnanda Prabhu addressed ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu as His Lord.
Text* 28: Although NityÄnanda Prabhu is none other than BalarÄma Himself, He nonetheless always thinks of Himself as the eternal servant of Lord ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu.
Text* 29: NityÄnanda Prabhu requested everyone to serve ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu, chant His glories and utter His name. NityÄnanda Prabhu claimed that person to be His life and soul who rendered devotional service unto ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu.
Text* 30: In this way, ÅšrÄ«la NityÄnanda Prabhu introduced the cult of ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu to everyone without discrimination. Even though the people were fallen souls and blasphemers, they were delivered by this process.
Text* 31: Lord ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu then sent the two brothers ÅšrÄ«la RÅ«pa GosvÄmÄ« and ÅšrÄ«la SanÄtana GosvÄmÄ« to Vraja. By His order, they went to ÅšrÄ« Vá¹›ndÄvana-dhÄma.
Text* 32: After going to Vá¹›ndÄvana, the brothers preached devotional service and discovered many places of pilgrimage. They specifically initiated the service of Madana-mohana and GovindajÄ«.
Text 33: Both RÅ«pa GosvÄmÄ« and SanÄtana GosvÄmÄ« brought various scriptures to Vá¹›ndÄvana and collected the essence of these by compiling many scriptures on devotional service. In this way they delivered all rascals and fallen souls.
Text 34: The GosvÄmÄ«s carried out the preaching work of devotional service on the basis of an analytical study of all confidential Vedic literatures. This was in compliance with the order of ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu. Thus one can understand the most confidential devotional service of Vá¹›ndÄvana.
Text 35: Some of the books compiled by ÅšrÄ«la SanÄtana GosvÄmÄ« were the Hari-bhakti-vilÄsa, Bá¹›had-bhÄgavatÄmá¹›ta, DaÅ›ama-á¹­ippanÄ« and DaÅ›ama-carita.
Text* 36: We have already given the names of four books compiled by SanÄtana GosvÄmÄ«. Similarly, ÅšrÄ«la RÅ«pa GosvÄmÄ« has also compiled many books, which no one can even count.
Text* 37: I shall therefore enumerate the chief books compiled by ÅšrÄ«la RÅ«pa GosvÄmÄ«. He has described the pastimes of Vá¹›ndÄvana in 100,000 verses.
Text* 38: The books compiled by ÅšrÄ« RÅ«pa GosvÄmÄ« include the Bhakti-rasÄmá¹›ta-sindhu, Vidagdha-mÄdhava, Ujjvala-nÄ«lamaṇi and Lalita-mÄdhava.
Text* 39-40: ÅšrÄ«la RÅ«pa GosvÄmÄ« also compiled the DÄna-keli-kaumudÄ«, StavÄvalÄ«, LÄ«lÄ-cchanda, PadyÄvalÄ«, Govinda-virudÄvalÄ«, MathurÄ-mÄhÄtmya and NÄá¹­aka-varṇana.
Text 41: Who can count the rest of the books (headed by the Laghu-bhÄgavatÄmá¹›ta) written by ÅšrÄ«la RÅ«pa GosvÄmÄ«? He has described the pastimes of Vá¹›ndÄvana in all of them.
Text* 42: ÅšrÄ« RÅ«pa GosvÄmī’s nephew, ÅšrÄ«la JÄ«va GosvÄmÄ«, has compiled so many books on devotional service that there is no counting them.
Text 43: In ÅšrÄ« BhÄgavata-sandarbha, ÅšrÄ«la JÄ«va GosvÄmÄ« has written conclusively about the ultimate end of devotional service.
Text 44: The most famous and formidable transcendental literature is the book named GopÄla-campÅ«. In this book the eternal pastimes of the Lord are established, and the transcendental mellows enjoyed in Vá¹›ndÄvana are completely described.
Text* 45: Thus ÅšrÄ«la RÅ«pa GosvÄmÄ«, SanÄtana GosvÄmÄ« and their nephew ÅšrÄ«la JÄ«va GosvÄmÄ«, as well as practically all of their family members, lived in Vá¹›ndÄvana and published important books on devotional service.
Text* 46: The first year after ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu accepted the renounced order of life, all the devotees, headed by ÅšrÄ« Advaita Prabhu, went to see the Lord at JagannÄtha PurÄ«.
Text* 47: After attending the Ratha-yÄtrÄ ceremony at JagannÄtha PurÄ«, all the devotees remained there for four months, greatly enjoying the company of ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu by performing kÄ«rtana [chanting and dancing].
Text 48: At the time of departure, the Lord requested all the devotees, “Please come here every year to see the Ratha-yÄtrÄ festival of Lord JagannÄtha’s journey to the Guṇá¸icÄ temple.â€
Text* 49: Following the order of ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu, all the devotees used to visit Lord Caitanya MahÄprabhu every year. They would see the Guṇá¸icÄ festival at JagannÄtha PurÄ« and then return home after four months.
Text* 50: For twenty consecutive years this meeting took place, and the situation became so intense that the Lord and the devotees could not be happy without meeting one another.
Text 51: The last twelve years were simply devoted to relishing the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa in separation within the heart of the Lord.
Text* 52: In the attitude of separation, Lord Caitanya MahÄprabhu appeared mad both day and night. Sometimes He laughed, and sometimes He cried; sometimes He danced, and sometimes He chanted in great sorrow.
Text 53: At those times, ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu would visit Lord JagannÄtha. Then His feelings exactly corresponded to those of the gopÄ«s when they saw Kṛṣṇa at Kuruká¹£etra after long separation. Kṛṣṇa had come to Kuruká¹£etra with His brother and sister to visit.
Text* 54: When Caitanya MahÄprabhu used to dance before the car during the festival, He always sang the following two lines.
Text 55: “I have gotten that Lord of My life, for whom I was burning in the fire of lusty desires.â€
Text 56: Lord Caitanya MahÄprabhu used to sing this song [seita parÄṇa-nÄtha] especially during the latter part of the day, and He would think, “Let Me take Kṛṣṇa and go back to Vá¹›ndÄvana.†This ecstasy was always filling His heart.
Text* 57: In that ecstasy, ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu recited a verse when dancing in front of Lord JagannÄtha. Almost no one could understand the meaning of that verse.
Text 58: “That very personality who stole away my heart during my youth is now again my master. These are the same moonlit nights of the month of Caitra. The same fragrance of mÄlatÄ« flowers is there, and the same sweet breezes are blowing from the kadamba forest. In our intimate relationship, I am also the same lover, yet still my mind is not happy here. I am eager to go back to that place on the bank of the RevÄ under the VetasÄ« tree. That is my desire.â€
Text* 59: This verse appears to be the hankering between some ordinary boy and girl, but its actual deep meaning was known only to SvarÅ«pa DÄmodara. By chance, one year RÅ«pa GosvÄmÄ« was also present there.
Text* 60: Although the meaning of the verse was known only to SvarÅ«pa DÄmodara, RÅ«pa GosvÄmÄ«, after hearing it from ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu, immediately composed another verse that described the meaning of the original verse.
Text* 61: After composing this verse, RÅ«pa GosvÄmÄ« wrote it on a palm leaf and put it on the roof of the thatched house in which he was living.
Text* 62: After composing this verse and putting it on the roof of his house, ÅšrÄ«la RÅ«pa GosvÄmÄ« went to bathe in the sea. In the meantime, Lord Caitanya MahÄprabhu went to his hut to meet him.
Text 63: To avoid turmoil, three great personalities — HaridÄsa ṬhÄkura, ÅšrÄ«la RÅ«pa GosvÄmÄ« and ÅšrÄ«la SanÄtana GosvÄmÄ« — did not enter the temple of JagannÄtha.
Text 64: Every day ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu used to see the upala-bhoga ceremony at the temple of JagannÄtha, and after seeing this He used to go visit these three great personalities on His way to His own residence.
Text* 65: If one of these three was not present, He would meet the others. That was His regular practice.
Text* 66: When ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu went to the residence of ÅšrÄ«la RÅ«pa GosvÄmÄ«, He accidentally saw the palm leaf on the roof, and thus He read the verse composed by him.
Text 67: After reading the verse, ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu went into an ecstatic mood. While He was in that state, ÅšrÄ«la RÅ«pa GosvÄmÄ« came and immediately fell down on the floor like a rod.
Text* 68: When RÅ«pa GosvÄmÄ« fell down like a rod, ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu got up and gave him a slap. Then, taking him on His lap, He began to speak to him.
Text* 69: “No one knows the purport of My verse,†Caitanya MahÄprabhu said. “How could you understand My intention?â€
Text* 70: Saying this, Lord Caitanya MahÄprabhu bestowed various benedictions upon RÅ«pa GosvÄmÄ«, and taking the verse, He later showed it to SvarÅ«pa GosvÄmÄ«.
Text 71: Having shown the verse to SvarÅ«pa DÄmodara with great wonder, Caitanya MahÄprabhu asked him how RÅ«pa GosvÄmÄ« could understand the intentions of His mind.
Text* 72: ÅšrÄ«la SvarÅ«pa DÄmodara GosvÄmÄ« replied to Lord Caitanya MahÄprabhu, “If RÅ«pa GosvÄmÄ« can understand Your mind and intentions, he must have Your Lordship’s special benediction.â€
Text* 73: The Lord said, “I was so pleased with RÅ«pa GosvÄmÄ« that I embraced him and bestowed upon him all necessary potencies for preaching the bhakti cult.
Text* 74: “I accept ÅšrÄ«la RÅ«pa GosvÄmÄ« as quite fit to understand the confidential mellows of devotional service, and I recommend that you explain devotional service to him further.â€
Text* 75: I shall describe all these incidents elaborately later on. Now I have given only a brief reference.
Text 76: [This is a verse spoken by ÅšrÄ«matÄ« RÄdhÄrÄṇī.] “My dear friend, now I have met My very old and dear friend Kṛṣṇa on this field of Kuruká¹£etra. I am the same RÄdhÄrÄṇī, and now We are meeting together. It is very pleasant, but still I would like to go to the bank of the YamunÄ beneath the trees of the forest there. I wish to hear the vibration of His sweet flute playing the fifth note within that forest of Vá¹›ndÄvana.â€
Text* 77: Now, O devotees, please hear a brief explanation of this verse. Lord Caitanya MahÄprabhu was thinking in this way after having seen the JagannÄtha Deity.
Text* 78: The subject of His thoughts was ÅšrÄ«matÄ« RÄdhÄrÄṇī, who met Kṛṣṇa on the field of Kuruká¹£etra. Although She met Kṛṣṇa there, She was nonetheless thinking of Him in the following way.
Text* 79: She thought of Him in the calm and quiet atmosphere of Vá¹›ndÄvana, dressed as a cowherd boy. But at Kuruká¹£etra He was in a royal dress and was accompanied by elephants, horses and crowds of men. Thus the atmosphere was not congenial for Their meeting.
Text* 80: Thus meeting with Kṛṣṇa and thinking of the Vá¹›ndÄvana atmosphere, RÄdhÄrÄṇī longed for Kṛṣṇa to take Her to Vá¹›ndÄvana again to fulfill Her desire in that calm atmosphere.
Text 81: The gopÄ«s spoke thus: “Dear Lord, whose navel is just like a lotus flower, Your lotus feet are the only shelter for those who have fallen into the deep well of material existence. Your feet are worshiped and meditated upon by great mystic yogÄ«s and highly learned philosophers. We wish that these lotus feet may also be awakened within our hearts, although we are only ordinary persons engaged in household affairs.â€
Text 82: The gopÄ«s thought, “Dear Lord, if Your lotus feet again come to our home in Vá¹›ndÄvana, our desires will be fulfilled.â€
Text* 83: In one verse, ÅšrÄ«la RÅ«pa GosvÄmÄ« has explained the confidential meaning of the verse of ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam for the understanding of the general populace.
Text 84: The gopÄ«s continued, “Dear Kṛṣṇa, the fragrance of the mellows of Your pastimes is spread throughout the forests of the glorious land of Vá¹›ndÄvana, which is surrounded by the sweetness of the district of MathurÄ. In the congenial atmosphere of that wonderful land, You may enjoy Your pastimes, with Your flute dancing on Your lips, and surrounded by us, the gopÄ«s, whose hearts are always enchanted by unpredictable ecstatic emotions.â€
Text* 85: In this way, when ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu saw JagannÄtha, He saw that the Lord was with His sister SubhadrÄ and was not holding a flute in His hand.
Text* 86: Absorbed in the ecstasy of the gopÄ«s, Lord Caitanya MahÄprabhu wished to see Lord JagannÄtha in His original form as Kṛṣṇa, the son of Nanda MahÄrÄja, standing in Vá¹›ndÄvana and appearing very beautiful, His body curved in three places. His desire to see that form was always increasing.
Text 87: Just as ÅšrÄ«matÄ« RÄdhÄrÄṇī talked inconsistently with a bumblebee in the presence of Uddhava, ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu in His ecstasy talked crazily and inconsistently day and night.
Text* 88: The last twelve years of ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu were passed in this transcendental craziness. Thus He executed His last pastimes in three ways.
Text* 89: For the twenty-four years after ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu accepted the renounced order, whatever pastimes He executed were unlimited and unfathomable. Who can understand the purport of such pastimes?
Text* 90: Just to indicate those pastimes, I am presenting a general survey of the chief pastimes in the form of a synopsis.
Text 91: This is the first synopsis: After accepting the sannyÄsa order, Caitanya MahÄprabhu proceeded toward Vá¹›ndÄvana.
Text* 92: When proceeding toward Vá¹›ndÄvana, ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu was overwhelmed with ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa, and He lost all remembrance of the external world. In this way He traveled continuously for three days in RÄá¸ha-deÅ›a, the country where the Ganges River does not flow.
Text* 93: First of all, Lord NityÄnanda bewildered ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu by bringing Him along the banks of the Ganges, saying that it was the river YamunÄ.
Text 94: After three days, Lord Caitanya MahÄprabhu came to the house of Advaita Ä€cÄrya at ÅšÄntipura and accepted alms there. This was His first acceptance of alms. At night He performed congregational chanting there.
Text 95: At the house of Advaita Prabhu, He met His mother as well as all the devotees from MÄyÄpur. He adjusted everything and then went to JagannÄtha PurÄ«.
Text 96: On the way toward JagannÄtha PurÄ«, Caitanya MahÄprabhu performed many other pastimes. He visited various temples and heard the story about MÄdhavendra PurÄ« and the installation of GopÄla.
Text 97: From NityÄnanda Prabhu, Lord Caitanya MahÄprabhu heard the story of Kṣīra-curÄ« GopÄ«nÄtha and of the witness GopÄla. Then NityÄnanda Prabhu broke the sannyÄsa rod belonging to Lord Caitanya MahÄprabhu.
Text* 98: After His sannyÄsa rod was broken by NityÄnanda Prabhu, Caitanya MahÄprabhu apparently became very angry and left His company to travel alone to the JagannÄtha temple. When Caitanya MahÄprabhu entered the JagannÄtha temple and saw Lord JagannÄtha, He immediately lost His senses and fell down on the ground.
Text* 99: After Lord Caitanya MahÄprabhu saw Lord JagannÄtha in the temple and fell down unconscious, SÄrvabhauma Bhaá¹­á¹­ÄcÄrya took Him to his home. The Lord remained unconscious until the afternoon, when He finally regained His consciousness.
Text* 100: The Lord had left NityÄnanda’s company and had gone alone to the JagannÄtha temple, but later NityÄnanda, JagadÄnanda, DÄmodara and Mukunda came to see Him, and after seeing Him they were very pleased.
Text* 101: After this incident, Lord Caitanya MahÄprabhu bestowed His mercy upon SÄrvabhauma Bhaá¹­á¹­ÄcÄrya by showing him His original form as the Lord.
Text* 102: After bestowing mercy upon SÄrvabhauma Bhaá¹­á¹­ÄcÄrya, the Lord started for southern India. When He came to KÅ«rma-ká¹£etra, He delivered a person named VÄsudeva.
Text* 103: After visiting KÅ«rma-ká¹£etra, the Lord visited the South Indian temple of Jiyaá¸a-ná¹›siá¹ha and offered His prayers to Lord Ná¹›siá¹hadeva. On His way, He introduced the chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahÄ-mantra in every village.
Text* 104: Once the Lord mistook the forest on the bank of the river GodÄvarÄ« to be Vá¹›ndÄvana. In that place He happened to meet RÄmÄnanda RÄya.
Text 105: He visited the places known as Tirumala and Tirupati, where He extensively preached the chanting of the Lord’s holy name.
Text 106: After visiting the temples of Tirumala and Tirupati, ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu had to subdue some atheists. He then visited the temple of Ahovala-ná¹›siá¹ha.
Text* 107: When ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu came to the land of ÅšrÄ« Raá¹…ga-ká¹£etra, on the bank of the KÄverÄ«, He visited the temple of ÅšrÄ« Raá¹…ganÄtha and was there overwhelmed in the ecstasy of love of Godhead.
Text* 108: ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu lived at the house of Trimalla Bhaá¹­á¹­a for the four months of the rainy season.
Text* 109: ÅšrÄ« Trimalla Bhaá¹­á¹­a was both a member of the ÅšrÄ« Vaiṣṇava community and a learned scholar; therefore when he saw Caitanya MahÄprabhu, who was both a great scholar and a great devotee of the Lord, he was very much astonished.
Text* 110: Lord ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu passed the CÄturmÄsya months with the ÅšrÄ« Vaiṣṇavas, singing, chanting the holy name and dancing.
Text* 111: After the end of CÄturmÄsya, Lord Caitanya MahÄprabhu continued traveling throughout South India. At that time He met ParamÄnanda PurÄ«.
Text 112: After this, KṛṣṇadÄsa, the servant of Lord Caitanya MahÄprabhu, was delivered from the clutches of a Bhaá¹­á¹­athÄri. Caitanya MahÄprabhu then preached that Lord Kṛṣṇa’s name should also be chanted by brÄhmaṇas who were accustomed to chanting Lord RÄma’s name.
Text* 113: ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu then met ÅšrÄ« Raá¹…ga PurÄ« and mitigated all the sufferings of a brÄhmaṇa named RÄmadÄsa.
Text 114: Caitanya MahÄprabhu also had a discussion with the TattvavÄdÄ« community, and the TattvavÄdÄ«s felt themselves to be inferior Vaiṣṇavas.
Text 115: ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu then visited the Viṣṇu temples of Anantadeva, Puruá¹£ottama, ÅšrÄ« JanÄrdana, PadmanÄbha and VÄsudeva.
Text 116: After that, Lord Caitanya MahÄprabhu delivered the celebrated Sapta-tÄla trees, took His bath at Setubandha RÄmeÅ›vara and visited the temple of Lord Åšiva known as RÄmeÅ›vara.
Text 117: At RÄmeÅ›vara, ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu had a chance to read the KÅ«rma PurÄṇa, in which He discovered that the form of SÄ«tÄ kidnapped by RÄvaṇa was not that of the real SÄ«tÄ but a mere shadow representation.
Text* 118: ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu was very glad to read about the false SÄ«tÄ, and He remembered His meeting with RÄmadÄsa Vipra, who was very sorry that mother SÄ«tÄ had been kidnapped by RÄvaṇa.
Text* 119: Indeed, Lord Caitanya MahÄprabhu eagerly tore this page from the KÅ«rma PurÄṇa, although the book was very old, and He later showed it to RÄmadÄsa Vipra, whose unhappiness was mitigated.
Text 120: ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu also found two other books — namely, the Brahma-saá¹hitÄ and Kṛṣṇa-karṇÄmá¹›ta. Knowing these books to be excellent, He took them to present to His devotees.
Text* 121: After collecting these books, ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu returned to JagannÄtha PurÄ«. At that time, the bathing ceremony of JagannÄtha was taking place, and He saw it.
Text 122: When JagannÄtha was absent from the temple, Caitanya MahÄprabhu, who could not see Him, felt separation and left JagannÄtha PurÄ« to go to a place known as Ä€lÄlanÄtha.
Text* 123: ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu remained for some days at Ä€lÄlanÄtha. In the meantime, He received news that all the devotees from Bengal were coming to JagannÄtha PurÄ«.
Text* 124: When the devotees from Bengal arrived at JagannÄtha PurÄ«, both NityÄnanda Prabhu and SÄrvabhauma Bhaá¹­á¹­ÄcÄrya greatly endeavored to take ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu back to JagannÄtha PurÄ«.
Text* 125: When Lord Caitanya MahÄprabhu finally left Ä€lÄlanÄtha to return to JagannÄtha PurÄ«, He was overwhelmed both day and night due to separation from JagannÄtha. His lamentation knew no bounds. During this time, all the devotees from different parts of Bengal, and especially from NavadvÄ«pa, arrived in JagannÄtha PurÄ«.
Text 126: After due consideration, all the devotees began chanting the holy name congregationally. Lord Caitanya’s mind was thus pacified by the ecstasy of the chanting.
Text* 127: Previously, when ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu had been touring South India, He had met RÄmÄnanda RÄya on the banks of the GodÄvarÄ«. At that time it had been decided that RÄmÄnanda RÄya would resign from his post as governor and return to JagannÄtha PurÄ« to live with ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu.
Text* 128: Upon the order of ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu, ÅšrÄ« RÄmÄnanda RÄya took leave of the King and returned to JagannÄtha PurÄ«. After he arrived, ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu very much enjoyed talking with him both day and night about Lord Kṛṣṇa and His pastimes.
Text* 129: After RÄmÄnanda RÄya’s arrival, ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu bestowed His mercy upon KÄśī MiÅ›ra and met Pradyumna MiÅ›ra and other devotees. At that time three personalities — ParamÄnanda PurÄ«, Govinda and KÄśīśvara — came to see Lord Caitanya at JagannÄtha PurÄ«.
Text* 130: Eventually there was a meeting with SvarÅ«pa DÄmodara GosvÄmÄ«, and the Lord became very greatly pleased. Then there was a meeting with Åšikhi MÄhiti and with BhavÄnanda RÄya, the father of RÄmÄnanda RÄya.
Text* 131: All the devotees from Bengal gradually began arriving at JagannÄtha PurÄ«. At this time, the residents of KulÄ«na-grÄma also came to see ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu for the first time.
Text* 132: Eventually Narahari dÄsa and other inhabitants of Khaṇá¸a, along with ÅšivÄnanda Sena, all arrived, and ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu met them.
Text* 133: After seeing the bathing ceremony of Lord JagannÄtha, ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu washed and cleaned ÅšrÄ« Guṇá¸icÄ temple with the assistance of many devotees.
Text* 134: After this, Lord Caitanya MahÄprabhu and all the devotees saw the Ratha-yÄtrÄ, the car festival ceremony. Caitanya MahÄprabhu Himself danced in front of the car, and after dancing He entered a garden.
Text* 135: In that garden, Lord Caitanya MahÄprabhu bestowed His mercy upon King PratÄparudra. Afterwards, when the Bengali devotees were about to return home, the Lord gave separate orders to almost every one of them.
Text* 136: ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu desired to meet all the devotees of Bengal every year. Therefore He ordered them to come to see the Ratha-yÄtrÄ festival every year.
Text* 137: ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu was invited to dine at the house of SÄrvabhauma Bhaá¹­á¹­ÄcÄrya. While He was eating sumptuously, the son-in-law of SÄrvabhauma Bhaá¹­á¹­ÄcÄrya [the husband of his daughter á¹¢Äá¹­hÄ«] criticized Him. Because of this, á¹¢Äá¹­hī’s mother cursed him by praying that á¹¢Äá¹­hÄ« would become a widow. In other words, she cursed her son-in-law to die.
Text* 138: At the end of the year, all the devotees from Bengal, headed by Advaita Ä€cÄrya, again came to see the Lord. Indeed, there was a great rush of devotees to JagannÄtha PurÄ«.
Text* 139: When all the devotees from Bengal arrived, ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu allotted them residential quarters, and ÅšivÄnanda Sena was put in charge of their maintenance.
Text* 140: A dog accompanied ÅšivÄnanda Sena and the devotees, and that dog was so fortunate that after seeing the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya MahÄprabhu, it was liberated and went back home, back to Godhead.
Text* 141: Everyone met SÄrvabhauma Bhaá¹­á¹­ÄcÄrya on his way to VÄrÄṇasÄ«.
Text* 142: After arriving at JagannÄtha PurÄ«, all the Vaiṣṇavas met with ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu. Later, ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu sported in the water, taking all the devotees with Him.
Text* 143: First the Lord washed the temple of Guṇá¸icÄ very thoroughly. Then everyone saw the Ratha-yÄtrÄ festival and the Lord’s dancing before the car.
Text* 144: In the garden along the road from the JagannÄtha temple to Guṇá¸icÄ, Lord Caitanya MahÄprabhu performed various pastimes. A brÄhmaṇa named KṛṣṇadÄsa performed the bathing ceremony of Lord ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu.
Text* 145: After dancing in the Guṇá¸icÄ temple, the Lord sported in the water with His devotees, and on HerÄ-pañcamÄ« day they all saw the activities of the goddess of fortune, Laká¹£mÄ«devÄ«.
Text* 146: On JanmÄṣṭamÄ«, Lord Kṛṣṇa’s birthday, ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu dressed Himself as a cowherd boy. At that time He carried a balance with pots of yogurt and wheeled a rod about.
Text* 147: After this, ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu bade farewell to all the devotees from Gauá¸a-deÅ›a [Bengal] and continued chanting with His intimate devotees who constantly remained with Him.
Text* 148: To visit Vá¹›ndÄvana, the Lord went to Gauá¸a-deÅ›a [Bengal]. On the way, King PratÄparudra performed a variety of services to please the Lord.
Text* 149: On the way to Vá¹›ndÄvana via Bengal, there was an incident wherein some cloth was exchanged with PurÄ« GosÄñi. ÅšrÄ« RÄmÄnanda RÄya accompanied the Lord as far as the city of Bhadraka.
Text* 150: When ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu reached VidyÄnagara, Bengal, on the way to Vá¹›ndÄvana, He stopped at the house of VidyÄ-vÄcaspati, who was the brother of SÄrvabhauma Bhaá¹­á¹­ÄcÄrya. When Lord Caitanya MahÄprabhu suddenly arrived at his house, great crowds of people gathered.
Text 151: For five consecutive days all the people gathered to see the Lord, and still there was no rest. Out of fear of the crowd, Lord Caitanya MahÄprabhu left at night and went to the town of KuliyÄ [present-day NavadvÄ«pa].
Text* 152: Hearing of the Lord’s arrival in KuliyÄ-grÄma, many hundreds of thousands of people came to see Him.
Text* 153: The specific acts performed by ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu at this time were His showing favor to DevÄnanda Paṇá¸ita and excusing the brÄhmaṇa known as GopÄla CÄpala from the offense he had committed at the lotus feet of ÅšrÄ«vÄsa ṬhÄkura.
Text* 154: Many atheists and blasphemers came and fell at the lotus feet of the Lord, and the Lord in return excused them and gave them love of Kṛṣṇa.
Text* 155: When ÅšrÄ« Ná¹›siá¹hÄnanda BrahmacÄrÄ« heard that Lord Caitanya MahÄprabhu would go to Vá¹›ndÄvana, he became very pleased and mentally began decorating the way there.
Text* 156: First Ná¹›siá¹hÄnanda BrahmacÄrÄ« contemplated a broad road starting from the city of KuliyÄ. He bedecked the road with jewels, upon which he then laid a bed of stemless flowers.
Text* 157: He mentally decorated both sides of the road with bakula flower trees, and at intervals on both sides he placed lakes of a transcendental nature.
Text* 158: These lakes had bathing places constructed with jewels, and they were filled with blossoming lotus flowers. There were various birds chirping, and the water was exactly like nectar.
Text 159: The entire road was surcharged with many cool breezes, which carried the fragrances from various flowers. He carried the construction of this road as far as KÄnÄi NÄá¹­aÅ›ÄlÄ.
Text* 160: Within the mind of Ná¹›siá¹hÄnanda BrahmacÄrÄ«, the road could not be constructed beyond KÄnÄi NÄá¹­aÅ›ÄlÄ. He could not understand why the road’s construction could not be completed, and thus he was astonished.
Text 161: With great assurance he then told the devotees that Lord Caitanya would not go to Vá¹›ndÄvana at that time.
Text* 162: Ná¹›siá¹hÄnanda BrahmacÄrÄ« said, “The Lord will go to KÄnÄi NÄá¹­aÅ›ÄlÄ and then will return. All of you will come to know of this later, but I now say this with great assurance.â€
Text* 163: When Lord Caitanya MahÄprabhu began to proceed from KuliyÄ toward Vá¹›ndÄvana, thousands of men were with Him, and all of them were devotees.
Text* 164: Wherever the Lord visited, crowds of innumerable people came to see Him. When they saw Him, all their unhappiness and lamentation disappeared.
Text* 165: Wherever the Lord touched the ground with His lotus feet, people immediately came and gathered the dirt. Indeed, they gathered so much that many holes were created in the road.
Text 166: Lord Caitanya MahÄprabhu eventually arrived at a village named RÄmakeli. This village is situated on the border of Bengal and is very exquisite.
Text* 167: While performing saá¹…kÄ«rtana in RÄmakeli-grÄma, the Lord danced and sometimes lost consciousness due to love of God. While at RÄmakeli-grÄma, an unlimited number of people came to see His lotus feet.
Text 168: When the Muslim king of Bengal heard of Caitanya MahÄprabhu’s influence in attracting innumerable people, he became very much astonished and began to speak as follows.
Text* 169: “Such a person, who is followed by so many people without giving them charity, must be a prophet. I can surely understand this fact.â€
Text 170: The Muslim king ordered the magistrate, “Do not disturb this Hindu prophet out of jealousy. Let Him do His own will wherever He likes.â€
Text 171: When the Muslim king asked his assistant, KeÅ›ava ChatrÄ«, for news of the influence of ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu, KeÅ›ava ChatrÄ«, although knowing everything about Caitanya MahÄprabhu, tried to avoid the conversation by not giving any importance to Caitanya MahÄprabhu’s activities.
Text* 172: KeÅ›ava ChatrÄ« informed the Muslim king that Caitanya MahÄprabhu was a mendicant touring different places of pilgrimage and that, as such, only a few people came to see Him.
Text* 173: KeÅ›ava ChatrÄ« said, “Out of jealousy your Muslim servant plots against Him. I think that you should not be very interested in Him, for there is no profit in it. Rather, there is simply loss.â€
Text* 174: After pacifying the King in this way, KeÅ›ava ChatrÄ« sent a brÄhmaṇa messenger to Lord Caitanya MahÄprabhu, requesting Him to leave without delay.
Text* 175: In private, the King inquired from Dabira KhÄsa [ÅšrÄ«la RÅ«pa GosvÄmÄ«], who began to speak about the glories of the Lord.
Text* 176: ÅšrÄ«la RÅ«pa GosvÄmÄ« said, “The Supreme Personality of Godhead, who gave you this kingdom and whom you accept as a prophet, has taken birth in your country due to your good fortune.
Text* 177: “This prophet always desires your good fortune. By His grace, all your business is successful. By His blessings, you will attain victory everywhere.
Text* 178: “Why are you questioning me? Better that you question your own mind. Because you are the King of the people, you are the representative of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore you can understand this better than I.â€
Text* 179: Thus ÅšrÄ«la RÅ«pa GosvÄmÄ« informed the King about his mind as a way of knowing ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu. He assured the King that whatever occurred in his mind could be considered evidence.
Text* 180: The King replied, “I consider ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu to be the Supreme Personality of Godhead. There is no doubt about it.â€
Text 181: After having this conversation with RÅ«pa GosvÄmÄ«, the King entered his private house. RÅ«pa GosvÄmÄ«, then known as Dabira KhÄsa, also returned to his residence.
Text* 182: After returning to his residence, Dabira KhÄsa and his brother decided after much consideration to go see the Lord incognito.
Text* 183: Thus in the dead of night the two brothers, Dabira KhÄsa and SÄkara Mallika, went to see ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu incognito. First they met NityÄnanda Prabhu and HaridÄsa ṬhÄkura.
Text 184: ÅšrÄ« NityÄnanda Prabhu and HaridÄsa ṬhÄkura told Lord Caitanya MahÄprabhu that two personalities — ÅšrÄ« RÅ«pa and SanÄtana — had come to see Him.
Text* 185: In great humility, both brothers took bunches of straw between their teeth and, each binding a cloth around his neck, fell down like rods before the Lord.
Text* 186: Upon seeing Lord Caitanya MahÄprabhu, the two brothers were overwhelmed with joy, and out of humility they began to cry. Lord Caitanya MahÄprabhu asked them to get up and assured them of all good fortune.
Text* 187: The two brothers got up, and again taking straw between their teeth, they humbly offered their prayers with folded hands.
Text* 188: “All glories to ÅšrÄ« Kṛṣṇa Caitanya MahÄprabhu, the most merciful savior of the fallen souls! All glories to the Supreme Personality!
Text 189: “Sir, we belong to the lowest class of men, and our associates and employment are also of the lowest type. Therefore we cannot introduce ourselves to You. We feel very much ashamed, standing here before You.
Text 190: “ ‘Dear Lord, let us inform you that no one is more sinful than us, nor is there any offender like us. Even if we wanted to mention our sinful activities, we would immediately become ashamed. And what to speak of giving them up!’ â€
Text* 191: The two brothers submitted, “Dear Lord, You have incarnated to deliver the fallen souls. You should consider that in this world there is none so fallen as us.
Text* 192: “You have delivered the two brothers JagÄi and MÄdhÄi, but to deliver them You did not have to exert Yourself very much.
Text* 193: “The brothers JagÄi and MÄdhÄi belonged to the brÄhmaṇa caste, and their residence was in the holy place of NavadvÄ«pa. They never served low-class persons, nor were they instruments to abominable activities.
Text 194: “JagÄi and MÄdhÄi had but one fault — they were addicted to sinful activity. However, volumes of sinful activity can be burned to ashes simply by a dim reflection of the chanting of Your holy name.
Text* 195: “JagÄi and MÄdhÄi uttered Your holy name by way of blaspheming You. Fortunately, that holy name became the cause of their deliverance.
Text* 196: “We two are millions and millions of times inferior to JagÄi and MÄdhÄi. We are more degraded, fallen and sinful than they.
Text 197: “Actually we belong to the caste of meat-eaters because we are servants of meat-eaters. Indeed, our activities are exactly like those of the meat-eaters. Because we always associate with such people, we are inimical toward the cows and brÄhmaṇas.â€
Text 198: The two brothers, SÄkara Mallika and Dabira KhÄsa, very humbly submitted that due to their abominable activities they were now bound by the neck and hands and had been thrown into a ditch filled with abominable, stoollike objects of material sense enjoyment.
Text* 199: “No one within the three worlds is sufficiently powerful to deliver us. You are the only savior of the fallen souls; therefore there is no one but You.
Text* 200: “If You simply deliver us by Your transcendental strength, then certainly Your name will be known as Patita-pÄvana, the savior of the fallen souls.
Text* 201: “Let us speak one word that is very true. Plainly hear us, O merciful one. There is no other object of mercy within the three worlds but us.
Text* 202: “We are the most fallen; therefore by showing us Your mercy, Your mercy is most successful. Let the power of Your mercy be exhibited throughout the entire universe!
Text 203: “ ‘Let us submit one piece of information before You, dear Lord. It is not at all false but is full of meaning. It is this: If You are not merciful upon us, then it will be very, very difficult to find more suitable candidates for Your mercy.’
Text* 204: “We are very depressed at being unfit candidates for Your mercy. Yet since we have heard of Your transcendental qualities, we are very much attracted to You.
Text* 205: “Indeed, we are like a dwarf who wants to capture the moon. Although we are completely unfit, a desire to receive Your mercy is awakening within our minds.
Text 206: “ ‘By serving You constantly, one is freed from all material desires and is completely pacified. When shall I engage as Your permanent eternal servant and always feel joyful to have such a fitting master?’ â€
Text* 207: After hearing the prayer of Dabira KhÄsa and SÄkara Mallika, ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu said, “My dear Dabira KhÄsa, you two brothers are My old servants.
Text 208: “My dear SÄkara Mallika, from this day your names will be changed to ÅšrÄ«la RÅ«pa and ÅšrÄ«la SanÄtana. Now please abandon your humility, for My heart is breaking to see you so humble.
Text* 209: “You have written several letters showing your humility. I can understand your behavior from those letters.
Text* 210: “By your letters, I could understand your heart. Therefore, in order to teach you, I sent you one verse, which reads as follows.
Text* 211: “ ‘If a woman is attached to a man other than her husband, she will appear very busy in carrying out her household affairs, but within her heart she is always relishing feelings of association with her paramour.’
Text* 212: “I really had no business in coming to Bengal, but I have come just to see you two brothers.
Text* 213: “Everyone is asking why I have come to this village of RÄmakeli. No one knows My intentions.
Text* 214: “It is very good that you two brothers have come to see Me. Now you can go home. Do not fear anything.
Text* 215: “Birth after birth you have been My eternal servants. I am sure that Kṛṣṇa will deliver you very soon.â€
Text* 216: The Lord then placed His two hands on the heads of both of them, and in return they immediately placed the lotus feet of the Lord on their heads.
Text* 217: After this, the Lord embraced both of them and requested all of the devotees present to be merciful upon them and deliver them.
Text 218: When all of the devotees saw the mercy of the Lord upon the two brothers, they were very much gladdened, and they began to chant the holy name of the Lord, “Hari! Hari!â€
Text* 219: All the Vaiṣṇava associates of the Lord were present, including NityÄnanda Prabhu, HaridÄsa ṬhÄkura, ÅšrÄ«vÄsa ṬhÄkura, GadÄdhara Paṇá¸ita, Mukunda, JagadÄnanda, MurÄri and VakreÅ›vara.
Text 220: In accordance with the instructions of ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu, the two brothers, RÅ«pa and SanÄtana, immediately touched the lotus feet of these Vaiṣṇavas, who all became very happy and congratulated the two brothers for having received the mercy of the Lord.
Text* 221: After begging the permission of all the Vaiṣṇavas present, the two brothers, at the time of their departure, humbly submitted something at the lotus feet of the Lord.
Text* 222: They said, “Dear Lord, although the King of Bengal, Nawab Hussain Shah, is very respectful toward You, You have no other business here. Kindly depart from this place.
Text* 223: “Although the King is respectful toward You, he still belongs to the yavana class and should not be believed. We think that there is no need for such a great crowd to accompany You on Your pilgrimage to Vá¹›ndÄvana.
Text 224: “Dear Lord, You are going to Vá¹›ndÄvana with hundreds and thousands of people following You, and this is not a fitting way to go on a pilgrimage.â€
Text* 225: Although ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu was ÅšrÄ« Kṛṣṇa Himself, the Supreme Lord, and was therefore not at all fearful, He still acted like a human being to teach neophytes how to act.
Text* 226: Having spoken thus, the two brothers offered prayers to the lotus feet of the Lord and returned to their homes. Lord Caitanya MahÄprabhu then desired to leave that village.
Text 227: In the morning, the Lord left and went to a place known as KÄnÄi NÄá¹­aÅ›ÄlÄ. While there, He saw many pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa.
Text* 228: That night the Lord considered SanÄtana GosvÄmī’s proposal that He should not go to Vá¹›ndÄvana followed by so many people.
Text 229: The Lord thought, “If I go to MathurÄ with such crowds behind Me, it would not be a very happy situation, for the atmosphere would be disturbed.â€
Text* 230: The Lord concluded that He would go alone to Vá¹›ndÄvana or, at most, would take only one person as His companion. In that way, going to Vá¹›ndÄvana would be very pleasant.
Text* 231: Thinking like this, the Lord took His morning bath in the Ganges and started for NÄ«lÄcala, saying “I shall go there.â€
Text* 232: Walking and walking, ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu arrived at ÅšÄntipura and remained at the house of Advaita Ä€cÄrya for five to seven days.
Text* 233: Taking this opportunity, ÅšrÄ« Advaita Ä€cÄrya Prabhu sent for mother ÅšacÄ«devÄ«, and she remained at His house for seven days to prepare the meals for ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu.
Text* 234: Taking permission from His mother, Lord Caitanya MahÄprabhu then started for JagannÄtha PurÄ«. When the devotees followed Him, He humbly begged them to remain and bade them all farewell.
Text* 235: ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu, although requesting all the devotees to go back, allowed two people to follow Him. He requested all the devotees to come to JagannÄtha PurÄ« and meet Him during the car festival.
Text* 236: The two persons who accompanied ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu to JagannÄtha PurÄ« [NÄ«lÄcala] were Balabhadra Bhaá¹­á¹­ÄcÄrya and DÄmodara Paṇá¸ita.
Text* 237: After remaining at JagannÄtha PurÄ« for a few days, the Lord secretly started for Vá¹›ndÄvana at night. He did this without anyone’s knowledge.
Text* 238: When ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu left JagannÄtha PurÄ« for Vá¹›ndÄvana, only Balabhadra Bhaá¹­á¹­ÄcÄrya was with Him. Thus He traveled on the path through JhÄrikhaṇá¸a and arrived in Benares [VÄrÄṇasÄ«] with great delight.
Text 239: ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu stayed at Benares only four days and then left for Vá¹›ndÄvana. After seeing the town of MathurÄ, He visited the twelve forests.
Text* 240: When ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu visited all twelve places of ÅšrÄ« Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes, He became very much agitated because of ecstasy. Balabhadra Bhaá¹­á¹­ÄcÄrya somehow or other got Him out of MathurÄ.
Text* 241: After leaving MathurÄ, the Lord began to walk along the path on the bank of the Ganges, and finally He reached the holy place named PrayÄga [Allahabad]. It was there that ÅšrÄ«la RÅ«pa GosvÄmÄ« came and met the Lord.
Text* 242: At PrayÄga, RÅ«pa GosvÄmÄ« fell down on the ground to offer obeisances to the Lord, and the Lord embraced him with great delight.
Text* 243: After instructing ÅšrÄ«la RÅ«pa GosvÄmÄ« at PrayÄga, at the DaÅ›ÄÅ›vamedha-ghÄá¹­a, Caitanya MahÄprabhu ordered him to go to Vá¹›ndÄvana. The Lord then returned to VÄrÄṇasÄ«.
Text* 244: When Lord Caitanya MahÄprabhu arrived at VÄrÄṇasÄ«, SanÄtana GosvÄmÄ« met Him there. The Lord remained there for two months and instructed SanÄtana GosvÄmÄ« perfectly.
Text* 245: After fully instructing SanÄtana GosvÄmÄ«, ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu sent him to MathurÄ with empowered devotional service. In Benares He also bestowed His mercy upon the MÄyÄvÄdÄ« sannyÄsÄ«s. He then returned to NÄ«lÄcala [JagannÄtha PurÄ«].
Text* 246: The Lord traveled all over India for six years. He was sometimes here and sometimes there, performing His transcendental pastimes, and sometimes He remained at JagannÄtha PurÄ«.
Text* 247: While at JagannÄtha PurÄ«, the Lord passed His time in great joy by performing saá¹…kÄ«rtana and visiting the temple of JagannÄtha in great ecstasy.
Text* 248: Thus I have given a synopsis of the madhya-lÄ«lÄ, the middle pastimes of the Lord. Now, O devotees, kindly hear the synopsis of the final pastimes of the Lord, known as the antya-lÄ«lÄ.
Text* 249: When the Lord returned to JagannÄtha PurÄ« from Vá¹›ndÄvana, He remained there and did not go anywhere else for eighteen years.
Text* 250: During those eighteen years, all the devotees of Bengal used to visit Him at JagannÄtha PurÄ« every year. They would remain there for four continuous months and enjoy the company of the Lord.
Text* 251: At JagannÄtha PurÄ«, ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu performed chanting and dancing unceasingly. Thus He enjoyed the pastime of saá¹…kÄ«rtana. He manifested His causeless mercy, pure love of God, to everyone, including the lowest man.
Text* 252: Residing with the Lord at JagannÄtha PurÄ« were Paṇá¸ita GosÄñi and other devotees, such as VakreÅ›vara, DÄmodara, Åšaá¹…kara and HaridÄsa ṬhÄkura.
Text* 253: JagadÄnanda, BhagavÄn, Govinda, KÄśīśvara, ParamÄnanda PurÄ« and SvarÅ«pa DÄmodara were other devotees who also lived with the Lord.
Text* 254: ÅšrÄ«la RÄmÄnanda RÄya and other devotees who were residents of JagannÄtha PurÄ« also remained permanently with the Lord.
Text* 255-256: Other devotees of the Lord — headed by Advaita Ä€cÄrya, NityÄnanda Prabhu, Mukunda, ÅšrÄ«vÄsa, VidyÄnidhi, VÄsudeva and MurÄri — used to visit JagannÄtha PurÄ« and remain with the Lord for four continuous months. The Lord enjoyed various pastimes in their company.
Text* 257: At JagannÄtha PurÄ«, HaridÄsa ṬhÄkura passed away. The incident was very wonderful because the Lord Himself performed the festival of ṬhÄkura HaridÄsa’s departure.
Text* 258: At JagannÄtha PurÄ« ÅšrÄ«la RÅ«pa GosvÄmÄ« met the Lord again, and the Lord invested his heart with all transcendental power.
Text 259: After this, the Lord punished Junior HaridÄsa, and DÄmodara Paṇá¸ita gave some warning to the Lord.
Text* 260: Thereafter SanÄtana GosvÄmÄ« met the Lord again, and the Lord tested him in scorching heat during the month of Jyaiṣṭha.
Text* 261: Being pleased, the Lord sent SanÄtana GosvÄmÄ« back to Vá¹›ndÄvana. After that, He was fed wonderfully by the hands of ÅšrÄ« Advaita Ä€cÄrya.
Text* 262: After sending SanÄtana GosvÄmÄ« back to Vá¹›ndÄvana, the Lord privately consulted with ÅšrÄ« NityÄnanda Prabhu. He then sent Him to Bengal to preach love of Godhead.
Text 263: Soon afterward, Vallabha Bhaá¹­á¹­a met the Lord at JagannÄtha PurÄ«, and the Lord explained to him the import of the holy name of Kṛṣṇa.
Text* 264: After explaining the transcendental qualities of RÄmÄnanda RÄya, the Lord sent Pradyumna MiÅ›ra to his residence, and Pradyumna MiÅ›ra learned kṛṣṇa-kathÄ from him.
Text* 265: After this, Lord Caitanya MahÄprabhu saved GopÄ«nÄtha Paá¹­á¹­anÄyaka, the younger brother of RÄmÄnanda RÄya, from being condemned to death by the King.
Text* 266: RÄmacandra PurÄ« criticized Lord Caitanya MahÄprabhu’s eating; therefore the Lord reduced His eating to a minimum. However, when all the Vaiṣṇavas became very sorry, the Lord increased His portion to half as much as usual.
Text* 267: There are fourteen planetary systems within the universe, and all living entities reside in those planetary systems.
Text* 268: Dressing like human beings on pilgrimage, they all used to come to JagannÄtha PurÄ« to visit ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu.
Text* 269: One day all the devotees, headed by ÅšrÄ«vÄsa ṬhÄkura, were chanting the transcendental qualities of ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu.
Text* 270: Not liking the chanting of His transcendental qualities, ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu chastised them as if He were angry. “What kind of chanting is this?†He asked. “Are you leaving aside the chanting of the holy name of the Lord?â€
Text 271: Thus ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu chastised all the devotees, telling them not to show impudence and spoil the entire world by becoming independent.
Text* 272: When ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu was apparently in an angry mood and chastising His devotees, many thousands of people outside loudly cried in a tumultuous voice, “All glories to ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu!â€
Text* 273: All the people began to call very loudly, “All glories to ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu, who is the son of MahÄrÄja Nanda! Now You have appeared in order to deliver the whole world!
Text* 274: “O Lord, we are very unhappy. We have come a long distance to see You. Please be merciful and show us Your favor.â€
Text* 275: When the Lord heard the humble petition made by the people, His heart softened. Being very merciful, He immediately came out and gave audience to all of them.
Text* 276: Raising His arms, the Lord asked everyone to chant loudly the vibration of the holy name of Lord Hari. There immediately arose a great stir, and the vibration of “Hari!†filled all directions.
Text* 277: Seeing the Lord, everyone became joyful out of love. Everyone accepted the Lord as the Supreme, and thus they offered their prayers.
Text* 278: While the people were offering their prayers unto the Lord, ÅšrÄ«vÄsa ṬhÄkura sarcastically said to the Lord, “At home, You wanted to be covered. Why have You exposed Yourself outside?â€
Text* 279: ÅšrÄ«vÄsa ṬhÄkura continued, “Who has taught these people? What are they saying? Now You can cover their mouths with Your own hand.
Text* 280: “It is as if the sun, after rising, wanted to hide itself. We cannot understand such characteristics in Your behavior.â€
Text* 281: The Lord replied, “My dear ÅšrÄ«nivÄsa, please stop joking. You have all combined together to humiliate Me in this way.â€
Text* 282: Thus speaking, the Lord entered His room after glancing auspiciously upon the people out of charity. In this way the desires of the people were completely fulfilled.
Text 283: At this time, RaghunÄtha dÄsa approached ÅšrÄ« NityÄnanda Prabhu and, according to His order, prepared a feast and distributed prasÄdam composed of chipped rice and curd.
Text 284: Later, ÅšrÄ«la RaghunÄtha dÄsa GosvÄmÄ« left home and took shelter of ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu at JagannÄtha PurÄ«. At that time, the Lord received him and placed him under the care of SvarÅ«pa DÄmodara for spiritual enlightenment.
Text* 285: Later, ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu stopped BrahmÄnanda BhÄratī’s habit of wearing deerskin. The Lord thus enjoyed His pastimes continuously for six years, experiencing varieties of transcendental bliss.
Text 286: I have thus given a synopsis of the madhya-lÄ«lÄ. Now please hear the pastimes the Lord performed during the last twelve years.
Text 287: Praying at the lotus feet of ÅšrÄ« RÅ«pa and ÅšrÄ« RaghunÄtha, always desiring their mercy, I, KṛṣṇadÄsa, narrate ÅšrÄ« Caitanya-caritÄmá¹›ta, following in their footsteps.
Text 0: Chapter Summary