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Chapter Summary

Purport
The following summary of the seventeenth chapter is given by Bhaktivinoda ṬhÄkura in his Amá¹›ta-pravÄha-bhÄá¹£ya. After attending the Ratha-yÄtrÄ ceremony of ÅšrÄ« JagannÄtha, ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu decided to start for Vá¹›ndÄvana. ÅšrÄ« RÄmÄnanda RÄya and SvarÅ«pa DÄmodara GosvÄmÄ« selected a brÄhmaṇa named Balabhadra Bhaá¹­á¹­ÄcÄrya to personally assist ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu. Early in the morning before sunrise, the Lord started for the town of Kaá¹­aka (Cuttack). North of Kaá¹­aka, He penetrated a dense forest and came upon many tigers and elephants, whom He engaged in chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahÄ-mantra. Whenever the Lord had a chance to visit a village, Balabhadra Bhaá¹­á¹­ÄcÄrya would beg alms and acquire some rice and vegetables. If there were no village, Balabhadra would cook whatever rice remained and collect some spinach from the forest for the Lord to eat. ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu was very pleased with the behavior of Balabhadra Bhaá¹­á¹­ÄcÄrya.In this way the Lord passed through the jungle of JhÄrikhaṇá¸a (Jharkhand) and finally reached VÄrÄṇasÄ«. After taking His bath at the MaṇikarṇikÄ-ghÄá¹­a at VÄrÄṇasÄ«, He met Tapana MiÅ›ra, who took the Lord to his place and respectfully gave Him a comfortable residence. At VÄrÄṇasÄ«, Vaidya CandraÅ›ekhara, ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu’s old friend, also rendered service unto Him. Seeing the behavior of ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu, a Maharashtriyan brÄhmaṇa informed PrakÄÅ›Änanda SarasvatÄ«, the leader of the MÄyÄvÄdÄ« sannyÄsÄ«s. PrakÄÅ›Änanda made various accusations against the Lord. The Maharashtriyan brÄhmaṇa was very sorry about this, and he brought the news to ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu, inquiring from Him why the MÄyÄvÄdÄ« sannyÄsÄ«s did not utter the holy name of Kṛṣṇa. In reply, ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu said that they were offenders and that one should not associate with them. In this way the Lord bestowed His blessings upon the brÄhmaṇa.ÅšrÄ« Caitanya MahÄprabhu next passed through PrayÄga and MathurÄ and then took His lunch at the home of a SÄnoá¸iyÄ brÄhmaṇa, a disciple of MÄdhavendra PurÄ«. He bestowed His blessings upon the brÄhmaṇa by accepting lunch at his place. Thereafter the Lord visited the twelve forests of Vá¹›ndÄvana and was filled with great ecstatic love. As He toured the Vá¹›ndÄvana forests, He heard the chirping of parrots and other birds.