grÄ«á¹£ma-kÄla-ante punaḥ nÄ«lÄcale gelÄ
nÄ«lÄcale cÄturmÄsya Änande rahilÄ

 grÄ«á¹£ma-kÄla - of the summer season; ante - at the end; punaḥ - again; nÄ«lÄcale - to JagannÄtha PurÄ«; gelÄ - went; nÄ«lÄcale - in JagannÄtha PurÄ«; cÄtur-mÄsya - the four months for vows; Änande - in great pleasure; rahilÄ - remained.


Text

At the end of summer MÄdhavendra PurÄ« returned to JagannÄtha PurÄ«, where he remained with great pleasure during the whole period of CÄturmÄsya.

Purport

The CÄturmÄsya period begins in the month of ĀṣÄá¸ha (June-July) from the day of EkÄdaśī called ÅšayanÄ-ekÄdaśī, in the fortnight of the waxing moon. The period ends in the month of KÄrttika (October-November) on the EkÄdaśī day known as UtthÄnÄ-ekÄdaśī, in the fortnight of the waxing moon. This four-month period is known as CÄturmÄsya. Some Vaiṣṇavas also observe it from the full-moon day of ĀṣÄá¸ha until the full-moon day of KÄrttika. That is also a period of four months. This period, calculated by the lunar months, is called CÄturmÄsya, but others also observe CÄturmÄsya according to the solar month from ÅšrÄvaṇa to KÄrttika. The whole period, either lunar or solar, takes place during the rainy season. CÄturmÄsya should be observed by all sections of the population. It does not matter whether one is a gá¹›hastha or a sannyÄsÄ«. The observance is obligatory for all ÄÅ›ramas. The real purpose behind the vow taken during these four months is to minimize the quantity of sense gratification. This is not very difficult. In the month of ÅšrÄvaṇa one should not eat spinach, in the month of BhÄdra one should not eat yogurt, and in the month of Āśvina one should not drink milk. One should not eat fish or other nonvegetarian food during the month of KÄrttika. A nonvegetarian diet means fish and meat. Similarly, masÅ«ra dhal and urad dhal are also considered nonvegetarian. These two dhals contain a great amount of protein, and food rich in protein is considered nonvegetarian. On the whole, during the four-month period of CÄturmÄsya one should practice giving up all food intended for sense enjoyment.