Chapter 3: Childhood Pastimes

The venerable commentator opens the chapter with a summary of its contents: the childhood pastimes of Śacī's son; the loving care and attention shown Him by relatives and neighbors; the Lord's propagation of the holy name under the guise of infant crying; Mother Śacī's anxieties; the worship of Ṣaṣṭhī-devī; the infant's childhood cleverness; the naming ceremony; His embrace of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam scripture at that ceremony; the affection of the women of the household; the Lord's crawling on His knees and His play with a serpent; His wandering about the courtyard; Śacī and Jagannātha's astonishment at glimpsing His extraordinary form; His childish restlessness; the account of the two "thieves"; Śacī and Jagannātha's hearing the sound of anklets; their astonishment at seeing, everywhere on the walls of the house, the marks of the flag, thunderbolt, elephant-goad, and other such [Vaiṣṇava] emblems; and the mercy shown by Śacī's son to a traveling brāhmaṇa.

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V.1. In this verse the author, together with [Gaura's] associates, sings the glory (jaya-kīrtana) of Gauracandra. Kamalanayana — lotus-eyed, whose eyes are like lotus petals. Premera bhaktavṛnda — the devotees who relish the mellow of love for Gaura, Gaura's own eternal associates; or, "the devotees who are the objects of Your own affection."

V.2. Amāyāya — "without duplicity." Wherever there is no consistency between one's inner sentiment and one's outward conduct, that is duplicity (kapaṭatā). The heartfelt sentiment of the Supreme Brahman, the Lord Himself, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, is this: to bestow vraja-prema upon the soul and thereby establish him in that relationship of mutual dearness which is bound up with the soul's own eternal constitutional nature and eternally exists between them (see the commentary on payar 1.2.181). Since He alone is the soul's one true dear one, and the soul too is dear to Him (see the same commentary), His will to establish the soul in this relationship of mutual dearness is entirely natural to Him — this, then, is His heartfelt sentiment. When He bestows vraja-prema upon a devotee, His conduct toward that devotee is wholly consistent with His inner sentiment, and so His mercy toward him is without duplicity. But when a sādhaka's heart harbors a desire for bhukti (worldly enjoyment) or mukti (liberation), Kṛṣṇa — knowing him unfit to receive prema — does not bestow prema upon him, but grants him instead the very bhukti or mukti he desires. In such a case, His conduct does not correspond to His own heartfelt sentiment, and so His mercy may seem tinged with duplicity. This apparent duplicity, however, does not arise from any state of Kṛṣṇa's own mind — it is only because of the state of the sādhaka's own mind that His mercy toward him cannot correspond to His heartfelt sentiment. Had He instead said to such a sādhaka, "I have given you prema-bhakti," while giving him only bhukti or mukti, that indeed would have been duplicity on His part. As it stands, Śrī Kṛṣṇa bestows prema only after judging fitness for it — "As they surrender unto Me, so I reward them accordingly" (Gītā 4.11) — and so, when He grants a sādhaka bhukti or mukti but withholds prema-bhakti, His mercy may appear tinged with duplicity. But when that very same Śrī Kṛṣṇa, in a given Kali-yuga, descends in the form of Gaura, He bestows vraja-prema without discrimination upon high and low alike; hence, in His form as Gaura, His mercy is always utterly without duplicity. It is at the feet of that very Gaura that the author, Śrīla Vṛndāvana Dāsa Ṭhākura, here offers his prayer: "O Lord, Your auspicious glance, Your mercy, is in its own essential nature free of all duplicity; manifest to me that same guileless mercy, so that my mind, ahaniśa — always, without a moment's interruption — may come to settle and dwell in firm devotion at Your feet, and never turn, even for an instant, toward bhukti or mukti." Basaye — dwells, settles, attains fixed devotion. Tomāya — in You, at Your feet.

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হেন-মতে প্রকাশ হইল গৌরচন্দ্র। শচী-গৃহে দিনে-দিনে বাঢ়য়ে আনন্দ ॥ ৩ পুত্রের শ্রীমুখ দেখি ব্রাহ্মণী ব্রাহ্মণ। আনন্দসাগরে দোঁহে ভাসে অনুক্ষণ ॥ ৪ ভাইরে দেখিয়া বিশ্বরূপ ভগবান। হাসিয়া করেন কোলে আনন্দের ধাম ॥ ৫ যত আপ্তবর্গ আছে সর্ব পরিকরে। অহর্নিশ সভে থাকি বালক আবরে ॥ ৬ বিষ্ণু-রক্ষা কেহো, কেহো দেবী-রক্ষা পড়ে। মন্ত্র পড়ি ঘর কেহো চারি-দিগ বেটে ॥ ৭ তাবৎ কান্দেন প্রভু কমল-লোচন। হরিনাম শুনিলে রহেন ততক্ষণ ॥ ৮ পরম সঙ্কেত এই সভে বুঝিলেন। কান্দিলেই হরিনাম সভেই লয়েন ॥ ৯ কৌতুক করয়ে যে রসিক দেবগণ। কোনো দেব অলক্ষিতে গৃহেতে সাস্তায়ে ॥ ১০ ছায়া দেখি সভে বোলে "এই চোরা যায়ে।" "নরসিংহ নরসিংহ" কেহো করে ধ্বনি ॥ ১১ অপরাজিতার স্তোত্র কারো মুখে শুনি। নানা-মন্ত্রে কেহো দশ-দিক-বন্ধ করে ॥ ১২ উঠিল পরম-কলরব শচী-ঘরে। প্রভু দেখি গৃহের বাহিরে দেব যায় ॥ ১৩ সভে বোলে "এই জাত-হারিণী পলায়।" সভে বোলে "ধর ধর এই চোরা যায়" ॥ ১৪ "নৃসিংহ নৃসিংহ" কেহ ডাকয়ে সদায়। কোনো ওঝা বোলে "আজি এড়াইলি ভাল ॥ ১৫ না জানিস্‌ নৃসিংহের প্রতাপ বিশাল।" সেইখানে থাকি দেব হাসে অলক্ষিতে ॥ ১৬ পরিপূর্ণ হইল মাসেক এইমতে ॥ ১৭

Translation. Thus did Gauracandra manifest into the world; and in Śacī's home, day by day, joy increased. Beholding their son's beautiful face, the brāhmaṇa and his brāhmaṇī wife floated at every moment in an ocean of bliss. Seeing his younger brother, Viśvarūpa Bhagavān, the abode of bliss, would smile and take Him upon his lap. All the household's kinsmen and intimates, day and night, remained gathered close about the child, watching over Him. Some recited the Viṣṇu-rakṣā prayer, some the Devī-rakṣā; some, chanting mantras, would circle the house on every side. All the while the lotus-eyed Lord would cry — but the moment He heard the holy name, He would stop at once. Everyone understood this to be a great sign: the instant He cried, all would at once take up the holy name. Seeing this, the playful, mischief-loving gods began to have their sport with the family. Some deity would slip into the house unseen; seeing only his shadow, everyone would cry, "There goes a thief!" Some would call out, "Narasiṁha! Narasiṁha!"; from another's mouth one would hear the hymn to Goddess Aparājitā; some, with various mantras, would "bind" the ten directions. A tremendous clamor arose in Śacī's house. Seeing the Lord, the deity who had entered would turn and go back out — and everyone would cry, "Look, the child-snatching witch flees!" All would shout, "Catch him, catch him, the thief is escaping!" while someone ceaselessly called out, "Nṛsiṁha! Nṛsiṁha!" Some exorcist would say, "You did well to escape today — little do you know the vast might of Nṛsiṁha!" And the deity, standing there unseen, would laugh quietly to himself at it all. In this way a full month passed.

Explanation.

V.10. Āvariyā — encircling, surrounding. Kautuka karaye, etc. — out of parental affection, the family constantly surrounded and watched over the child, at whose very utterance of name all obstacles, all misfortune, all fear flee in terror. Seeing this, the playful gods began to make sport with the family's protective vigil. How they did so is told in the following payars, 11–16.

V.11. Alakṣite — unseen by the family's eyes. Sāntāye — enters. Chāyā dekhi — they could not see the deity himself, but only his shadow.

V.12. Narasiṁha, etc. — thinking some evil spirit had entered the house and fearing harm to the child from it, some began to invoke the name of Nṛsiṁhadeva, the destroyer of all inauspiciousness. Aparājitāra stotra, etc. — others recited a hymn to the goddess Aparājitā.

V.14. Prabhu dekhi, etc. — the deity who had entered the house, upon beholding the Lord, went back out of the house. Sabe bole ei jāta-hāriṇī palāya — seeing him depart (seeing, that is, his shadow as he went), everyone cried out, "Look, there goes the jāta-hāriṇī!" — jāta-hāriṇī meaning a witch or malevolent spirit who steals away or destroys the life of a newborn child.

V.16. Ojhā — one skilled at driving away ghosts, spirits, and evil beings is called an ojhā, an exorcist. At the name of Nṛsiṁhadeva, evil spirits flee in fear. Eḍāilī — "you escaped [with your life]."

V.17. Seikhāne thāki, etc. — watching the family's behavior as described, and remaining unseen by them, the deity fell to laughing with amusement. Paripūrṇa haila, etc. — from this statement it appears that all the events described above took place within the Lord's very first month of life.

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V.18. Bālaka-utthāna-parva — the niṣkramaṇa-saṃskāra, the "going-out" rite, one of the ten traditional saṃskāras, performed when the mother first comes out with the child from the confinement room after childbirth. In ancient times the custom was to perform this rite in a child's third or fourth month.

V.19. Ṣaṣṭhī-sthāna — Ṣaṣṭhī-devī is a goddess who bestows well-being on children; they went to her shrine.

V.20. Paripūrṇa nārīgaṇa — whatever wishes the women had held, for the various rites performed for the child's welfare, all those wishes were now fulfilled.

V.21. Guyā — areca nut. Āi — Mother Śacī.

V.22. Āśiṣiyā — having blessed (a variant reading of the same sense is also found).

V.23. Baise — dwells, resides (a variant reading has rame, "takes delight," in its place; and māyāya, "by the artifice of self-concealment," in place of līlāya). Ke tāne, etc. — Svayam Bhagavān, the son of Śacī, is of the nature of a self-manifesting reality; only the one to whom He, out of His own mercy, chooses to reveal Himself can know Him — no one else can. "Though eternally unmanifest, the Lord is seen through His own potency alone; who but that Supreme Person Himself can behold that unlimited Paramātman?" (Nārāyaṇādhyātma-vacana). The Lord is unlimited, all-pervading, ever and everywhere present; and yet He is eternally avyakta — imperceptible to worldly eyes. Though eternally unmanifest, He is seen only through His own potency; without that potency, no one whatsoever can behold Him. — Svayam Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the very crest-jewel of relishers of human-like pastime, is in His own essential form the eternal youth (nitya-kiśora); in the unmanifest abode He has, from beginningless time, ever been present as eternal adolescence. Being eternally adolescent, He cannot, as such, taste the various flavors of parental affection that a father, mother, and other elders show toward an infant. When He descends into a given universe, therefore, in order to relish those flavors of vātsalya-rasa, He accepts childhood as an attribute of His own eternal adolescence and so descends in the form of an infant (see the explanation of śloka 1.1.12). When He descends as Śrī Caitanya as well, He likewise descends by accepting childhood as an attribute [of that eternal youth], and, appearing as a child, tastes the vātsalya-rasa of His parents and other affectionate devotees. This very point is what is conveyed in this payar.

V.26. Cā'na — looks, gazes.

V.27. A variant reading has "the child's" in place of "the Lord's."

V.29. Guptabhāve — concealing His own essential identity. Gopālera prāya — after the manner of the child Śrī Kṛṣṇa.

V.30. Now, in payars 30–40, another childhood pastime of the infant Lord is told. Bicāre — scatters, spreads in every direction (a variant reading has bithāre, of the same sense). Whenever no one remained in the house, the infant Lord would scatter all the household things about in every direction — though He was then only four months old. How could this be possible? As already explained, the Lord's infancy is itself but an attribute of His eternal adolescence; at certain moments, setting infancy aside, His adolescent nature itself flashes forth and manifests — and that is exactly what has happened here. It is His own pastime-potency that brings forth this nature of His eternal youth even within the guise of infancy.

V.31. Bicāriyā — having scattered.

V.32–33. Having scattered oil, milk, curd, ghee, and other things all about the house, the omniscient Lord, the moment He perceived by the power of His pastime-potency that Mother Śacī was approaching, would lie back down on His bed exactly as she had left Him, and begin to cry. Hence the mother never learned that it was this very child who had strewn all the household things about — all this is the work of His pastime-potency. Had she come to know that the infant Himself had done all this, her parental affection would have been marred by astonishment or by the awareness of His divine opulence, and the Lord's own relish of that parental affection would likewise have been marred; for this reason His pastime-potency did not let the mother see what her child had done. This, then, is one of the Lord's childhood pastimes charged with divine opulence (aiśvarya-garbhā bāla-līlā). Human infants take delight in scattering the household things about; in the mood of infancy, and to relish that same delight, the Lord too scattered things about — this much is the Lord's childhood pastime in the manner of an ordinary human infant. But an ordinary infant reaches the age to do such things only much later — a four-month-old cannot rise from his bed and do all this; it is the Lord's own pastime-potency that caused His divine opulence to flash forth within Him and bring this about, even while remaining within the frame of an otherwise ordinary childhood pastime. For this reason this particular pastime may be called a childhood pastime charged with divine opulence.

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কে ফেলিল সর্বগৃহে ধান্য, চাল, মুদগ। ভাণ্ডের সহিত দেখে ভাঙ্গা দধি দুগ্ধ ॥ ৩৪ সবে চারি-মাসের বালক আছে ঘরে। কে ফেলিল হেন কেহো বুঝিতে না পারে ॥ ৩৫ সব পরিজন আসি মিলিল তথায়। মনুষ্যের চিহ্নমাত্র কেহো নাহি পায় ॥ ৩৬ কেহো বোলে "দানব আসিয়াছিল ঘরে। রক্ষা লাগি শিশুরে নারিল লঙ্ঘিবারে ॥ ৩৭ শিশু লঙ্ঘিবারে না পাইয়া ক্রোধমনে। অপচয় করিয়া পলাইল নিজ-স্থানে ॥" ৩৮ শচী-জগন্নাথ দেখি চিত্তে বড় ধন্দ। দৈব হেন জানি, কিছু না বলিল মন্দ ॥ ৩৯ দৈব-অপচয় দেখি দুইজনে চাহে। বালক দেখিয়া কোন দুঃখ নাহি রহে ॥ ৪০ এইমত প্রতিদিন করেন কৌতুক। নাম-করণের কাল হইল সম্মুখ ॥ ৪১

Translation. Who had scattered the paddy, rice, and lentils all through the house? — and the milk-and-curd pots too were found broken, their contents spilled. Only a four-month-old infant was in the house; no one could fathom who had done all this. All the household members gathered there, but not the slightest trace of a human hand could anyone find. Some said, "A demon must have entered the house; but thanks to the protective rites, he was unable to harm the child. Unable to touch the child, and in his rage, he wrought this destruction and fled back to his own place." Seeing all this, Śacī and Jagannātha were struck with great bewilderment; taking it for some act of providence, they spoke no ill of it. The two of them looked upon this seeming misfortune, but on seeing the child safe and well, no distress remained in their hearts. In this way He continued His playful mischief every day, until the time for His naming ceremony drew near.

Explanation.

V.35. A variant reading has "did" in place of "scattered."

V.37–38. Rakṣā lāgi — as a result of the previously mentioned Viṣṇu-rakṣā, Devī-rakṣā, and similar protective rites. Laṅghibāre — to do harm. Nā pāiyā — being unable (variant readings exist for both this and "palāila," of the same general sense). Apacaya — loss, damage.

V.39. Dhanda — doubt, bewilderment. Daiva hena jāni — taking it to be some divine mishap.

V.41. Nāmakaraṇa — the naming ceremony, one of the ten traditional saṃskāras, at which the child receives his name.

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নীলাম্বর চক্রবর্তী-আদি বিদ্যাবান্‌। সর্ব-বন্ধুগণের হইল উপস্থান ॥ ৪২ মিলিলা বিস্তর আসি পতিব্রতাগণ। লক্ষ্মী-প্রায় দীপ্ত সভে সিন্দুর-ভূষণ ॥ ৪৩ নাম থুইবার সভে করেন বিচার। স্ত্রীগণ বোলয়ে এক, অন্যে বোলে আর ॥ ৪৪ "ইহান অনেক জ্যেষ্ঠা কন্যা পুত্র নাঞি। শেষে যে জন্ময়ে তার নাম সে নিমাঞি" ॥ ৪৫ বোলেন বিদ্বান্‌ সব করিয়া বিচার। "এক নাম যোগ্য হয় থুইতে ইহার ॥ ৪৬ এ শিশু জন্মিলে মাত্র সর্ব দেশে-দেশে। দুর্ভিক্ষ ঘুচিল, বৃষ্টি পাইল কৃষকে ॥ ৪৭ জগত হইল সুস্থ ইহান জনমে। পূর্বে যেন পৃথিবী ধরিলা নারায়ণে ॥ ৪৮ অতএব ইহান 'শ্রীবিশ্বম্ভর' নাম। কুলদীপ কোষ্ঠীতেও লিখিল ইহান ॥ ৪৯ 'নিমাঞি' যে বলিলেন পতিব্রতাগণ। সেহো নাম দ্বিতীয় ডাকিব সর্বজন" ॥ ৫০

Translation. Nīlāmbara Cakravartī and other learned men, together with all the family's friends and kinsmen, assembled there. Many chaste and virtuous women (pativratā) also came together, all radiant as Lakṣmī, adorned with vermilion. All deliberated over what name to give; the women proposed one name, others proposed another. "This child has many elder sisters but no [surviving] brother; the child born last [after such losses] is customarily named Nimāñi." But the learned men, after due deliberation, said: "There is one name truly fit for Him. The very moment this child was born, famine vanished from every land, and the farmers received rain; at His birth the whole world was made well — just as, of old, Nārāyaṇa once bore up the earth. Therefore His name shall be 'Śrī Viśvambhara' — He who sustains the universe, the very lamp of His family — and this name has also been entered in His horoscope. As for the name 'Nimāñi,' given by the virtuous women, that too shall remain His name, by which everyone shall also call Him."

Explanation.

V.45. The chaste and virtuous women said: "This child's elder sisters all died, taken by the evil eye of some malignant spirit, soon after their birth; this child was born after them — therefore let His name be 'Nimāñi.'" (See the commentary on payar 1.2.136.) The women's intended significance in the name "Nimāñi" appears to be this: the word is connected with nimba (the neem tree), whose taste is intensely bitter; if this child is named "Nimāñi," it was thought, evil spirits, finding Him thus "bitter," would no longer touch Him, and He would not, like His sisters, fall prematurely into the jaws of death. Kavirāja Gosvāmī has written of this: "Fearing ḍākinīs and śākinīs, out of that dread they gave Him the name Nimāñi" (Caitanya-caritāmṛta 1.13.116). It was out of parental affection for the infant Lord, and in accordance with their own customary belief, that the women gave Him this name. Women, as a rule, speak and act according to their own inherited customs, without pausing to ask whether those customs rest on sound reasoning, or whether what they do under custom's sway actually achieves its intended purpose. But learned and discerning paṇḍitas are not led by such blind custom — as the following payars go on to show.

V.46. The discerning paṇḍitas proposed a name truly befitting the child. Vidvān — a learned, discerning paṇḍita. Yogya nāma — a name suited to this child's [divine] influence, which is described in the next two payars.

V.48. Pūrve yena, etc. — Of old, when the earth and the Vedas were submerged in the waters of universal dissolution, Nārāyaṇa assumed the form of the Boar and rescued them both (see the Purāṇic account of the earth's rescue in the commentary on payars 2.10.221–23; see also Jayadeva's line "In the waters of the deluge You bore up the Veda," referring to this same event). By that act the worldly and spiritual welfare of this universe's inhabitants was secured. From the influence already visible at this child's birth, it is understood that through Him too both worldly and spiritual welfare will be accomplished — payar 47 speaks of the worldly welfare, and this payar, in the phrase "the world became well," speaks of the spiritual welfare. Bondage to māyā, and the consequent turning away from the Lord, is the soul's true sickness; and just as the soul suffers greatly from bodily and mental illness, it suffers far more from this bondage and estrangement — the pain of birth, the pain of death, the torments of disease, the torments of hell, and so on. From the very birth of this child, the eternal cessation of all these māyā-born sufferings has been signaled: the holy name with which this child has taken birth, the very name which, under the pretext of crying, He is now propagating, is precisely what will remove the soul's worldly sickness and bring about spiritual welfare — and it is understood that it is by this same crying, and by the holy name proclaimed under its pretext, that He shall sustain and hold up the entire universe.

V.49. Having thus deliberated, the wise paṇḍitas declared "Śrī Viśvambhara" the name truly befitting this child's influence, since He would sustain the whole universe in a state of spiritual well-being — a most meaningful, apt name. The word viśvambhara is formed from viśva joined to the root bhṛ; "the root bhṛ means to nourish, to sustain" (Caitanya-caritāmṛta 1.13.268). One who sustains and nourishes the universe is called Viśvambhara; hence this name is thoroughly apt. Kuladīpa — just as a lamp illuminates an entire house, so this child would illuminate both His paternal and maternal families with His fame. Koṣṭhīteo, etc. — a certain learned brāhmaṇa, having cast this child's horoscope from the moment of His birth, likewise recorded the name "Śrī Viśvambhara" there (see payar 1.2.256). [If instead "kuladīpa" is taken to describe the horoscope rather than the name Viśvambhara, the sense would be that the child's horoscope is itself a "lamp of the family" — once the greatness recorded in it becomes manifest, both families will be illumined with glory.]

V.50. The wise paṇḍitas said: "The name 'Nimāñi,' given by the chaste women, shall also remain one of His names, and by that name too everyone shall call Him. But 'Nimāñi' shall be His secondary name, and 'Śrī Viśvambhara' His primary name, since the latter truly befits this child's qualities."

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সর্ব-শুভক্ষণ নামকরণ সময়ে। গীতা, ভাগবত, বেদ ব্রাহ্মণ পঢ়য়ে ॥ ৫১ দেবগণে নরগণে করয়ে মঙ্গল। হরিধ্বনি, শঙ্খ, ঘণ্টা বাজয়ে সকল ॥ ৫২ ধান্য, পুঁথি, খড়ি, স্বর্ণ, রজতাদি যত। ধরিতে আনিঞা করিলেন উপনীত ॥ ৫৩ জগন্নাথ বোলে "শুন বাপ বিশ্বম্ভর। যাহা চিত্তে লয়, তাহা ধরহ সত্বর" ॥ ৫৪ সকল ছাড়িয়া প্রভু শ্রীশচীনন্দন। ভাগবত ধরিয়া দিলেন আলিঙ্গন ॥ ৫৫ পতিব্রতাগণে "জয়" দেই চারি-ভিত। সভেই বোলেন "বড় হইব পণ্ডিত" ॥ ৫৬ কেহো বোলে "শিশু হৈব পরম বৈষ্ণব। অল্পে সর্ব শাস্ত্রের জানিব আমু ভব" ॥ ৫৭ যে দিগে হাসিয়া প্রভু চা'ন বিশ্বম্ভর। আনন্দে সিঞ্চিত হয় তাঁর কলেবর ॥ ৫৮ যে করয়ে কোলে সেই এড়িতে না জানে। দেবের দুর্লভ কোলে করে নারীগণে ॥ ৫৯ প্রভু যেই কান্দে, সেইক্ষণে নারীগণ। হাতে তালি দিয়া করে হরি-সঙ্কীর্তন ॥ ৬০ শুনিঞা নাচেন প্রভু কোলের উপরে। বিশেষে সকল নারী হরি-ধ্বনি করে ॥ ৬১ নিরবধি সভার বদনে হরিনাম। ছলে বোলায়েন প্রভু, হেন ইচ্ছা তাঁর ॥ ৬২ "তাঁন ইচ্ছা বিনা কোন কর্ম সিদ্ধ নহে।" বেদে শাস্ত্রে ভাগবতে এই তত্ত্ব কহে ॥ ৬৩

Translation. At that most auspicious hour of the naming ceremony, the brāhmaṇas recited the Gītā, the Bhāgavata, and the Vedas. Gods and men alike performed auspicious rites; the cry of "Hari!" rang out, and conches and bells sounded on every side. Paddy, palm-leaf manuscripts, a writing-slate, gold, silver, and other such articles were brought and set before Him, that He might take hold of one. Jagannātha said, "Listen, dear Viśvambhara — whatever pleases your heart, take hold of it now." Leaving all else aside, the Lord, Śrī Śacīnandana, took hold of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and embraced it. The virtuous women on every side cried "Jaya!"; all exclaimed, "He shall become a great scholar!" Some said, "This child shall become a supreme Vaiṣṇava — we shall soon see Him master the essence of all the scriptures." Wherever Viśvambhara turned His smiling gaze, that person's whole being was bathed in bliss. Whoever took Him upon her lap could not bear to let Him go — the women held in their arms what even the gods could scarcely obtain. Whenever the Lord cried, at that very instant the women, clapping their hands, would break into hari-saṅkīrtana; hearing it, the Lord would dance right there upon their laps, and all the women would cry out the name of Hari all the more. Thus was the holy name made to sound ceaselessly on everyone's lips — the Lord, under this very pretext, made them chant it, for such was His own desire. "Without His will, no act whatsoever comes to fruition" — this truth is declared alike in the Vedas, the scriptures, and the Bhāgavata.

Explanation.

V.55. It is a common worldly custom that, at a naming ceremony, in order to discern the child's natural inclination, a plate bearing paddy, a manuscript, a writing-slate, gold, silver, and similar articles is set before the child, who is then invited to take hold of whichever one he wishes. When Śrī Jagannātha Miśra said to the infant Viśvambhara, "Take hold at once of whatever pleases your heart," the child took hold of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and embraced it. In this the infant Lord seems to have given a hint of a deep mystery — for He is indeed, in truth, the combined form of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa, and in that very form He relishes, both unmanifest and manifest, the sweetness of His own name, form, qualities, and pastimes as the son of Nanda of Vraja (see the explanation of śloka 1.5–6). The Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam describes precisely the name, qualities, form, and pastimes of Śrī Kṛṣṇa's own essential form; hence the Bhāgavata is an object supremely dear and desirable to the Lord, and by embracing it He declared exactly this. Moreover, the Bhāgavata is itself one form of Śrī Kṛṣṇa — as the Lord Himself later declared, "The Bhāgavata is equal to Kṛṣṇa" (Caitanya-caritāmṛta 2.5.218, 2.24.318). Absorbed, as it were, in the mood of Rādhā, the Lord, by embracing the Bhāgavata, embraced as it were His own beloved Śrī Kṛṣṇa. In this way, by embracing the Bhāgavata, the Lord hinted also at His own essentially non-different pastime; and in this same act He seems also to have hinted at the very purpose of His descent into this world. It is by following the "pure dharma, free of all pretense," taught by the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam — the service, indispensable to the soul's own constitutional nature, whose sole purport is Kṛṣṇa's happiness — that kṛṣṇa-prema, the one thing needful for such service, can be attained; and it was to proclaim this very supreme dharma that He has descended into the world. By embracing the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the Lord seems to have hinted at this too.

V.56–57. Because of their natural, spontaneous love for the Lord, His own kinsfolk, under the sway of ordinary human self-regard, generally took Him to be simply one of themselves; the knowledge of His true identity did not, as a rule, awaken in their hearts. Hence, just as in ordinary worldly life people infer a child's future occupation from whatever object he happens to take hold of at the naming ceremony, so here too, seeing that the Lord had taken hold of the Bhāgavata and embraced it, they began, in that same manner, to conjecture about this child's future life. (For "parama vaiṣṇava," some texts read "baḍa haiba vaiṣṇava" — "he shall become a great Vaiṣṇava" — the sense being the same.)

V.58. Tāra kalebara — the body of whomever it is toward whom Viśvambhara turns His gaze. Cān — He looks, casts His glance. Ye dige — toward whichever person.

V.59. Eḍite — to release, to set down from the lap. (For "devera," some texts read "vedera" — "that which even the Vedas find hard to attain.")

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এই-মতে করাইয়া নিজ-সঙ্কীর্তন। দিনে-দিনে বাঢ়ে প্রভু শ্রী-শচীনন্দন ॥ ৬৪ জানু-গতি চলে প্রভু পরম-সুন্দর। কটিতে কিঙ্কিণী বাজে অতি মনোহর ॥ ৬৫ পরম-নির্ভয়ে সর্ব-অঙ্গনে বিহরে। কিবা অগ্নি, সর্প, যাহা দেখে, তাই ধরে ॥ ৬৬ এক দিন এক সর্প বাড়ীতে বেড়ায়। ধরিলেন সর্পে প্রভু বালক-লীলায় ॥ ৬৭ কুণ্ডলী করিয়া সর্প রহিল বেড়িয়া। ঠাকুর থাকিলা তার উপরে শুইয়া ॥ ৬৮ আথে-ব্যথে সবে দেখি' 'হায় হায়' করে। শুইয়া হাসেন প্রভু সর্পের উপরে ॥ ৬৯ 'গরুড়' 'গরুড়' বলি' ডাকে সর্ব-জন। পিতা-মাতা-আদি ভয়ে করয়ে ক্রন্দন ॥ ৭০ চলিলা 'অনন্ত' শুনি' সবার ক্রন্দন। পুনঃ ধরিবারে যা'ন শ্রী-শচীনন্দন ॥ ৭১ ধরিয়া আনিয়া সবে করিলেন কোলে। 'চির-জীবী হও' করি' নারী-গণ বোলে ॥ ৭২ কেহ 'রক্ষা' বান্ধে, কেহ পড়ে স্বস্তি-বাণী। অঙ্গে কেহ দেয় বিষ্ণু-পাদোদক আনি' ॥ ৭৩ কেহ বোলে,—'বালকের পুনর্-জন্ম হৈল'। কেহ বোলে,—'জাতি-সর্প, তেঞি না লঙ্ঘিল' ॥ ৭৪ হাসে প্রভু গৌরচন্দ্র সবারে চাহিয়া। পুনঃ পুনঃ যায়, সবে আনেন ধরিয়া ॥ ৭৫ ভক্তি করি' যে এ-সব বেদ-গোপ্য শুনে। সংসার-ভুজঙ্গ তারে না করে লঙ্ঘনে ॥ ৭৬

Translation. Thus making everyone else perform His own saṅkīrtana, day by day the Lord, Śrī Śacīnandana, grew. The most beautiful Lord now went about on His knees, the tiny bells at His waist ringing most enchantingly. Utterly without fear, He roamed the whole courtyard, and whatever He saw — be it fire or serpent — that He would seize. One day a serpent was wandering about the house; the Lord, in the manner of an ordinary child at play, took hold of it. The serpent lay coiled in a ring, and the Lord lay down right on top of it. Seeing this, everyone cried out in alarm, "Alas, alas!" — while the Lord lay there laughing atop the serpent. Everyone cried, "Garuḍa! Garuḍa!"; His father, mother, and all the rest wept in fear. Hearing everyone's weeping, Ananta slipped away; Śrī Śacīnandana went again to catch hold of him. They caught Him and brought Him back and took Him upon their laps; the women all cried, "Long may You live!" Some tied protective amulets upon Him, some recited blessings for His safety, some brought water that had washed Lord Viṣṇu's feet and touched it to His limbs. Some said, "The child has been born anew"; others said, "It was a jāti-sarpa — that is why it did not strike." The Lord Gauracandra laughed, looking upon them all; again and again He went toward the serpent, and again and again they caught Him and brought Him away. Whoever hears, with devotion, these matters kept secret even from the Vedas — that person shall not be struck by the serpent of worldly existence.

Explanation.

V.65. Jānu-gati — moving with the weight borne on the knees; going about by crawling, resting on knees and hands.

V.67. Bālaka-līlāya — in the manner that an ordinary human child would.

V.68. For "śuiyā" some texts read "sutiyā"; the meaning is the same.

V.70. Garuḍa, garuḍa — a serpent, hearing the name of Garuḍa, flees in fear.

V.71. Eḍiyā — released, departed. For the first half of this payar, some texts read "prabhure eḍiyā sarpa palāya takhana" — "leaving the Lord, the serpent fled away" — in place of "chalilā ananta śuni sabāra krandana." Ananta — the serpent Ananta Nāga, Śeṣadeva, who is the Lord's own couch. It was Anantadeva himself who had come in the form of a serpent for the sake of rendering service to the Lord; the Lord, by lying down upon him, fulfilled his heart's desire. This too is one of the Lord's childhood pastimes charged with the majesty of Godhead (see the commentary on payar 1.3.32).

V.74. Teñi — therefore, for that reason. Nā laṅghila — did not strike, did not bite. Jātisarpa — a serpent "true to its kind," that is, an intensely venomous and vicious snake by birth. Here, however, the word "jātisarpa" does not seem to carry that sense — for such a viciously venomous serpent bites people on the slightest provocation, whereas here, though the Lord lay directly upon this serpent, and its body must certainly have felt the weight of His, still it did not strike Him.

What, then, is the true import of the word "jātisarpa" in this place? Among the Lord's own intimate circle, some, in saying "jātisarpa teñi nā laṅghila," seem to have intended by "jātisarpa" a creature that is a serpent by mere species-mark (jātyā sarpaḥ) but in which the true nature of serpent-hood was absent; that is why it did not strike the child. Judging by the way the child Viśvambhara dealt with this serpent, had it truly possessed a serpent's nature, it would certainly have bitten Him — that is to say, this creature was a serpent in outward form only, not in nature.

An indication of this same sense of the word "jāti" is found also in the Śabda-kalpadruma lexicon, which states: "Jātiḥ... — cattle and the like; its defining mark is thus: ākṛti-grahaṇā jāti-liṅgānāṃ na sarva-bhāk, sakṛd-ākhyāta-nirvāhyā gotrañ ca caraṇaiḥ saha — so states the Mugdhabodha. Its meaning: that by which recognition comes through outward form (ākṛti, bodily configuration) is called 'ākṛti-grahaṇā jāti,' a kind conveyed by configuration. Thus the various kinds — humanity, cow-hood, deer-hood, goose-hood, and so on — each conveyed by its own distinct configuration, constitute jāti..." From all this it is understood that it is precisely by outward form, by the disposition of the limbs, that one's kind — man, cow, and the rest — is determined. In just the same way, this serpent's "kind" is to be understood only from its outward form, not from its nature — meaning it was a serpent in form alone, and for that reason it did not bite the child Viśvambhara.

Even supposing this to be a scribal error, much the same sense could still be recovered. If, through a copyist's slip, "pāti-sarpa" had been written as "jātisarpa," the meaning would then be: "This was but a paltry [contemptible] sort of serpent, and that is why it did not bite." As in expressions like "pāti-śiyāla" (a mere jackal) or "pāti-hāṅsa" (a mere goose), the word "pāti" here carries a pejorative sense — "pāti" being a corruption of "paṅkti" (row, rank, category) — meaning that, in outward form, it does belong to the "row" of serpents, but the true nature of a serpent is absent in it. The import of this reading, too, is much the same as the one given above.

Others say that a genuine jātisarpa, in fact, does not bite anyone unless truly provoked to anger; if so, one might suppose that the jātisarpa of this payar was indeed a real jātisarpa, and that it simply was not provoked. But even here a question may be raised: when the infant Lord lay upon the serpent, the entire weight of His body must have borne down upon it, which would surely have caused it distress — would not even that have been enough to provoke its anger, so that it would have bitten the Lord?

V.75. Sabāre cāhiyā — looking upon everyone. Punaḥ punaḥ yāya, etc. — the child goes again and again toward the serpent, and each time everyone catches Him and brings Him back. (For "punaḥ punaḥ," some texts read "puna bale" — "goes again by force.")

V.76. Bhakti kari — with faith and devotion. Saṃsāra-bhujaṅga — the serpent that is worldly existence. Nā kare laṅghane — does not strike, does not bite: that is, whoever hears with faith of Viśvambhara's childhood pastimes has the suffering of worldly existence removed from him.

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এইমত দিনে দিনে শ্রীশচীনন্দন। হাটিয়া করেন প্রভু অঙ্গনে ভ্রমণ ॥ ৭৭ জিনিঞা কন্দর্প-কোটি সর্বাঙ্গের রূপ। চান্দের লাগয়ে সাধ দেখিতে সে মুখ ॥ ৭৮ সুবলিত-মস্তকে টাচর ভাল কেশ। কমল নয়ান যেন গোপালের বেশ ॥ ৭৯ আজানু লম্বিত ভুজ, অরুণ অধর। সকল-লক্ষণযুত বক্ষ-পরিসর ॥ ৮০ সহজে অরুণ গৌর দেহ মনোহর। বিশেষে অঙ্গুলি, কর, চরণ সুন্দর ॥ ৮১ বালক-স্বভাবে প্রভু যবে চলি যায়। রক্ত পড়ে হেন, দেখি মায়ে ত্রাস পায় ॥ ৮২ দেখি শচী-জগন্নাথ বড়ই বিস্মিত। নির্ধন তথাপি দোঁহে মহা-আনন্দিত ॥ ৮৩ কাণাকাণি করে দোঁহে নির্জনে বসিয়া। "কোন মহাপুরুষ বা জন্মিলা আসিয়া ॥ ৮৪ হেন বুঝি, সংসার-দুঃখের হৈল অন্ত। জন্মিল আমার ঘরে হেন গুণবন্ত ॥ ৮৫ এমন শিশুর রীতি কভু নাহি শুনি। নিরবধি নাচে হাসে শুনি হরিধ্বনি ॥ ৮৬ তাবত ক্রন্দন করে, প্রবোধ না মানে। বড় করি 'হরিধ্বনি' যাবত না শুনে ॥" ৮৭ উষঃকাল হইতে যতেক নারীগণ। বালক বেঢ়িয়া সভে করে সঙ্কীর্তন ॥ ৮৮

Translation. In this way, day by day, Śrī Śacīnandana grew; now the Lord would go about the courtyard on foot, walking. The beauty of His entire body outshone ten million Cupids; the moon itself would long to behold that face. Upon His well-formed head curled fine, lovely locks of hair, and His lotus eyes were exactly in the manner of Gopāla's own appearance. His arms hung down to His knees, His lips were red, and His broad chest bore every auspicious mark. His body, naturally fair (gaura) and captivating, shone reddish from the blood beneath the skin; His fingers, hands, and feet were especially red. Once, walking in the manner of an ordinary child, His footprints seemed to leave behind a trace of blood — seeing this, His mother was struck with fear. Śacī and Jagannātha, seeing it, were greatly astonished; yet, though a poor and humble couple, the two of them were filled with the greatest joy. Sitting alone together, they would whisper into each other's ears: "Surely some great soul has taken birth here! Understanding this, we know the sorrow of worldly existence has come to its end — such a virtuous being has been born in our home. Never have we heard of the ways of a child like this — ceaselessly He dances and laughs on hearing the sound of Hari's name; but He weeps on and on, refusing all consolation, until He hears the name 'Hari!' cried out loudly." From daybreak onward, all the women of the house would gather around the child and perform saṅkīrtana together.

Explanation.

V.79. Ṭācara — curled, curling. Bhāla — beautiful; keśa — hair (or, "bhāla-keśa" may be read as "bhāla-kapāla," meaning the curled tips of the hair adorning the crown above the forehead). Yena gopālera veśa — exactly as though Nanda's own son Gopāla stood there in that same attire.

V.80. Aruṇa — red. Sakala-lakṣaṇayuta — possessed of every auspicious bodily mark. For "parisara" (broad), a variant reads "sugīvara" — well and handsomely full-bodied.

V.81. Sahaje — by nature. Aruṇa gaura-deha — Nimāñi's body was by nature fair (gaura), and this fairness had taken on a reddish tinge from the blood beneath the skin. The fingers, hands, and feet especially were of a marked red color.

V.83. Bismita — astonished. The soles of the child's feet were so intensely red that, as the child went walking, Śacī and Jagannātha, seeing His footprints, at first took them for drops of blood, and so were frightened (verse 82). But then, looking more closely, they understood that it was not blood at all — that this deep red was simply the footsoles' own natural color; and at this they were astonished, for no other child's footsoles are ever so red. (A variant has "duḥkhita," sorrowful, in place of "bismita" — meaning that, thinking blood was dropping from the child's feet, they grieved.) Nirdhana — without wealth, poor. Mahā-ānandita — once they had looked closely and understood that the natural color of the child's footsoles was simply this intense red, they took their darling Nimāñi for some great soul, and were filled with the greatest joy.

V.84. Kāṇākāṇi kare — they spoke into each other's ears. What they whispered is told in this and the following payars, 85–87.

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'হরি' বলি নারীগণে দেই করতালি। নাচে গৌরসুন্দর বালক কুতূহলী ॥ ৮৯ গড়াগড়ি যায় প্রভু ধুলায় ধূসর। হাসি উঠে জননীর কোলের উপর ॥ ৯০ হেন অঙ্গভঙ্গী করি নাচে গৌরচন্দ্র। দেখিয়া সভার হয় অতুল আনন্দ ॥ ৯১ হেনমতে শিশুভাবে হরিসঙ্কীর্তন করায়েন প্রভু, নাহি বুঝে কোন জন ॥ ৯২ নিরবধি ধায় প্রভু কি ঘর বাহিরে। পরম-চঞ্চল, কেহ ধরিতে না পারে ॥ ৯৩ একেশ্বর বাড়ীর বাহিরে প্রভু যায়। খই, কলা, সন্দেশ, যা' দেখে তা'ই চায় ॥ ৯৪ দেখিয়া প্রভুর রূপ পরম-মোহন। যে জনে না চিনে, সেহ দেই ততক্ষণ ॥ ৯৫ সভেই সন্দেশ কলা দেয়েন প্রভুরে। পাইয়া সন্তোষে প্রভু আইসেন ঘরে ॥ ৯৬ যে সকল স্ত্রীগণে গায়েন হরিনাম। তা'সভারে আনি সব করেন প্রদান ॥ ৯৭ বালকের বুদ্ধি দেখি হাসে সর্বজন। হাথে তালি দিয়া 'হরি' বোলে অনুক্ষণ ॥ ৯৮ কি বিহানে, কি মধ্যাহ্নে, কি রাত্রি, সন্ধ্যায়। নিরবধি বাড়ীর বাহিরে প্রভু যায় ॥ ৯৯ নিকটে বসয়ে যত বন্ধুবর্গ ঘরে। প্রতিদিন কৌতুকে আপনে চুরি করে ॥ ১০০ কারো ঘরে দুগ্ধ পিয়ে, কারো ভাত খায়। হাণ্ডি ভাঙ্গে, যার ঘরে কিছুই না পায় ॥ ১০১ যার ঘরে শিশু থাকে, তাহারে কান্দায়। কেহো দেখিলেই মাত্র উঠিয়া পলায় ॥ ১০২ দৈবযোগে যদি কেহো পারে ধরিবারে। তবে তার পায়ে ধরি করে পরিহারে ॥ ১০৩ "এবার ছাড়হ মোরে, না আসিব আর। আর যদি চুরি করে, দোহাই তোমার ॥" ১০৪ দেখিয়া শিশুর বুদ্ধি সভেই বিস্মিত। রুষ্ট নহে কেহো, সভে করেন পিরীত ॥ ১০৫ নিজপুত্র হইতেও সভে স্নেহ করে। দরশন-মাত্রে সর্ব-চিত্ত-বৃত্তি হরে ॥ ১০৬ এইমত রঙ্গ করে বৈকুণ্ঠের রায়। স্থির নহে এক-ঠাঞি, বুলয়ে সদায় ॥ ১০৭

Translation. Clapping their hands and crying "Hari!", the women watched Gauracandra, that eager child, dance. The Lord would roll about, gray with dust, and then rise up laughing into His mother's lap. Watching Gauracandra dance with such graceful gestures, everyone's joy became boundless. In this way, under the guise of a mere infant, the Lord made everyone perform hari-saṅkīrtana, and no one understood what He was doing. Ceaselessly the Lord would run, whether inside the house or out, utterly restless — no one could catch Him. All alone He would wander outside the house, and whatever He saw — puffed rice, banana, sweets — that He wanted. Seeing the Lord's supremely enchanting form, even someone who did not know Him would hand it over on the spot. Everyone gave the Lord sweets and bananas, and, content with what He received, the Lord would come back home — only to take all of it and give it away to those very women who sang the holy name. Seeing the child's cleverness, everyone would laugh, clapping their hands and calling out "Hari!" without pause. Whether at dawn, at midday, at night, or at dusk, the Lord would ceaselessly wander outside the house. All the neighboring households would let their guard down, and every day, in His own sport, He would go about stealing: in one house He would drink the milk, in another eat the rice; He broke pots, and wherever nothing was to be had, He made the child of that house cry — for the moment anyone saw Him coming, they would get up and flee. If by chance someone managed to catch Him, He would clasp their feet and beg pardon: "Let me go this time — I won't come again! If I steal again, I swear it upon you!" Seeing the child's cleverness, everyone was astonished; no one was ever angry with Him — all only loved Him the more. They cherished Him even more than their own children, for the mere sight of Him stole away everyone's heart entirely. In this way did the King of Vaikuṇṭha sport; He would never stay still in one place, but wandered about constantly.

Explanation.

V.91. For "aṅgabhaṅgī" (graceful movement) a variant reads "raṅgībhaṅgī"; and for "ānanda" a variant reads "sampada" — "wealth of joy."

V.92. For "bujhe" (understands), a variant reads "jāne," of the same sense.

V.94. Ekeśvara — alone, by Himself. In some regions of the country even now a corruption of this word, "e-śvara," survives with this same sense. But the commentator Sarasvatī Ṭhākura seems to find here also a deeper, hidden meaning: ekeśvara as eka + īśvara — "the one and only Lord." As it is said, "Kṛṣṇa alone is the Lord, and all others are His servants; as He makes each dance, so each one dances" (Caitanya-caritāmṛta 1.5.121).

V.96. Deyena prabhure — they give to the Lord.

V.97. Whatever the Lord received from people, He did not eat it Himself, but gave it all to those very women who, for His pleasure, sang the holy name.

V.98. Anukṣaṇa — constantly, at every moment.

V.99. Vihāne — in the morning.

V.103. Kare parihāre — acknowledging the fault, He begs to be excused.

V.105. For "bismita," a variant reads "haraṣita" — delighted. Pirīta — affection, tenderness.

V.107. Vaikuṇṭhera rāya — the Lord of Goloka (see the commentary on payar 1.1.109). Bulaye — wanders about.

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একদিন প্রভুরে দেখিয়া দুই চোরে। যুক্তি করে, "কার শিশু বেড়ায় নগরে" ॥ ১০৮ প্রভুর শ্রীঅঙ্গে দেখি দিব্য অলঙ্কার। হরিবার দুই চোরে চিন্তে পরকার ॥ ১০৯ "বাপ! বাপ!" বলি এক চোরে লৈল কোলে। "এতক্ষণ কোথা ছিলে?" আর চোরে বোলে ॥ ১১০ "ঝাট ঘরে আইস বাপ!" বোলে দুই চোরে। হাসি বোলে প্রভু "চল চল যাই ঘরে" ॥ ১১১ আথেব্যথে কোলে করি দুই চোর ধায়। লোকে বোলে "যার শিশু সেই লই যায়।" ১১২ অর্বুদ অর্বুদ লোক, কেবা কারে চিনে। মহাতুষ্ট চোর অলঙ্কার-দরশনে ॥ ১১৩ কেহো মনে ভাবে "মুঞি নিমু তাড় বালা।" এইমতে দুই চোরে খায় মনকলা ॥ ১১৪ দুই চোর চলি যায় নিজ-মর্ম্ম স্থানে। স্কন্ধের উপরে হাসি যান ভগবানে ॥ ১১৫ এক জন প্রভুরে সন্দেশ দেই করে। আর জনে বোলে "এই আইলাম ঘরে" ॥ ১১৬ এইমত ভাগডিয়া অনেক দূরে যায়। হেথা যত আপ্তগণ চাহিয়া বেড়ায় ॥ ১১৭ কেহো কেহো বোলে "আইস আইস বিশ্বম্ভর!" কেহো ডাকে "নিমাঞি!" করিয়া উচ্চস্বর ॥ ১১৮ পরম ব্যাকুল হইলেন সর্বজনে। জল বিনা যেন হয় মৎস্যের জীবনে ॥ ১১৯ সভে স্বভাবে গেলা গোবিন্দ শরণ। প্রভু লৈয়া যায় চোর আপন-ভবন ॥ ১২০ বৈষ্ণবী-মায়ায় চোর পথ নাহি চিনে। জগন্নাথ-ঘর আইল নিজ-ঘর-জ্ঞানে ॥ ১২১ চোর দেখে আইলাম নিজ-মর্ম্ম-স্থানে। অলঙ্কার হরিতে হইলা সাবধানে ॥ ১২২ চোর বোলে "নামো বাপ! আইলাম ঘর!" প্রভু বোলে "হয় হয় নামাও সত্বর" ॥ ১২৩ যেখানে সকল-গণে মিশ্র-জগন্নাথ। বিষাদ ভাবেন সভে মাথে দিয়া হাথ ॥ ১২৪ মায়ামুগ্ধ চোর ঠাকুরেরে সেইস্থানে। স্কন্ধ হৈতে নামাইল নিজ-ঘর-জ্ঞানে ॥ ১২৫ নামিলেই মাত্র প্রভু গেলা পিতৃকোলে। মহানন্দ করি সভে 'হরি হরি' বোলে ॥ ১২৬ সভার হইল অনির্বচনীয় রঙ্গ। প্রাণ আসি দেহের হইল যেন সঙ্গ ॥ ১২৭ আপনার ঘর নহে, দেখে দুই চোরে। কোথা আসিয়াছি, কিছু চিনিতে না পারে ॥ ১২৮ গণ্ডগোলে কে কাহারে অবধান করে। চারিদিগে চাহি চোর পলাইল ডরে ॥ ১২৯ "পরম অদ্ভুত! দুই চোর মনে গণে।" চোর বোলে "ভেল্কি বা দিল কোনো জনে" ॥ ১৩০ "চণ্ডী রাখিলেন আজি" বোলে দুই চোরে। সুস্থ হই দুই চোর কোলাকুলি করে ॥ ১৩১ পরমার্থে দুই চোর মহা-ভাগ্যবান। নারায়ণ যার স্কন্ধে করিলা উত্থান ॥ ১৩২

Translation. One day, two thieves, seeing the Lord, conspired together: "Whose child is this, wandering the town?" Seeing the divine ornaments upon the Lord's body, the two thieves thought of a plan to steal them. Crying "Child! Dear child!", one thief took Him up in his arms; "Where have you been all this time?" said the other. "Come home quickly, child!" said both thieves, and the Lord, laughing, said, "Let's go, let's go home." In great haste the two thieves ran off carrying the Lord in their arms, while people around them said, "There goes the child, taken by his own kin." Among so vast a crowd — crores upon crores of people — who could recognize whom? The thieves were overjoyed at the sight of the ornaments; one of them was already thinking to himself, "I'll take the armlets and bangles" — thus did the two thieves feast, in their minds, on imaginary bananas. The two thieves made their way toward their own secret hideaway, while the Lord of all, upon their shoulders, only smiled. One of them fed the Lord sweets, while the other kept saying, "Now we've reached home." Fleeing thus, they went a great distance away, while back at the house all the family searched about anxiously. Some cried, "Come, come, Viśvambhara!"; some called out loudly, "Nimāñi!" Everyone became utterly distraught, like fish out of water gasping for life. As was their nature, everyone took refuge in Govinda — and it was then that the thief, carrying the Lord, made his way back to his own home. By the illusion of Viṣṇu's own potency the thief lost his way entirely, and arrived instead at Jagannātha's house, mistaking it for his own. "Ah, I've reached my own hideaway," thought the thief, and made ready to steal the ornaments with care. "Get down now, child — we've reached home!" said the thief; and the Lord replied, "Yes, yes — set me down quickly." It was exactly the place where Miśra Jagannātha and all his kin sat grieving, heads in hands, that the thief, bewildered by that illusion, set the Lord down from his shoulder, thinking it his own home. The very moment He was set down, the Lord went straight into His father's lap, and everyone, overjoyed, cried out "Hari! Hari!" An indescribable jubilation seized them all — it was as though the breath of life itself had returned to their bodies. The two thieves, meanwhile, saw that this was not their own home at all; try as they might, they could not recognize the place they had come to. In the ensuing commotion, no one paid the least attention to the other, and the two thieves, looking about them on every side, fled away in terror. "How utterly astonishing!" the two thieves said to each other. "Some sorcery must have been worked upon us by someone," they said, and, "It was Goddess Caṇḍī who saved us today" — so saying, restored to their senses, the two thieves embraced one another in relief. In the truest sense, those two thieves were most fortunate, for it was Nārāyaṇa Himself who rode upon their shoulders.

Explanation.

V.109. Divya — most excellent, beautiful. Haribāra — to steal, to carry off. Parakāra cinte — they think over the manner in which they will steal the ornaments.

V.113. Mahātuṣṭa — supremely delighted.

V.114. Tāḍa bālā — armlets and bangles worn on the hand. Manakalā — the "banana" one imagines in one's mind. Where there is not the slightest chance of actually obtaining a banana, and yet a great craving for it exists, a person imagines the banana in his mind and, in his mind alone, tastes it — this is called "eating mental banana."

V.115. Nija-marma-sthāne — to their own secret, private hideaway.

V.117. Bhāgḍiyā — having fled, having run off.

V.121. Vaiṣṇavī māyāya — by the influence of Viṣṇu's own potency.

V.123. Nāma bāpa — "Child, come down from my shoulder" (variants exist of the same sense; for "nāmāo," a variant has "olāo," of the same meaning).

V.127. Raṅga — joy, delight. Prāṇa āsi, etc. — just as, when someone's life-breath has left the body, his kinsfolk grieve terribly, so had everyone grieved at losing Nimāñi; and just as, if that dead person's breath of life were to return, his kinsfolk would feel supreme joy, so now, on regaining Nimāñi, everyone felt that same supreme joy. (A variant reads "the breath came and drew near to the body" in place of "it was as though the breath had rejoined the body.")

V.131. Caṇḍī rākhilena āji — "our worshiped Goddess Caṇḍī herself has protected us today."

V.132. Paramārthe, etc. — the two thieves had thought that, by taking Nimāñi's ornaments, they might improve their worldly circumstances somewhat; though that hope of theirs went unfulfilled, in the higher, spiritual sense a supreme good fortune had in fact dawned for them — for it was none other than the original Nārāyaṇa, Gauracaṅga Himself, who, assuming the guise [of a helpless child], mercifully climbed upon their shoulders. Through this very act their ultimate spiritual welfare was accomplished. Even without knowing the burning power of fire, if a child puts his hand into it, his hand will burn regardless — the potency of a substance does not depend upon anyone's knowledge of it. Whether knowingly or unknowingly, by whatever means the unveiled Supreme Brahman, the Lord Himself, comes into contact with a soul, that soul's bondage to worldly existence is dissolved, and the highest spiritual good is attained.

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এথা সর্ব-গণে মনে করেন বিচার। "কে আনিল দেখ, বস্ত্র শিরে বান্ধি তার" ॥ ১৩৩ কেহো বোলে "দেখিলাম লোক দুইজন। শিশু থুই কোন দিগে করিলা গমন" ॥ ১৩৪ "আমি আনিয়াছি" কোনো জন নাহি বোলে। অদ্ভুত দেখিয়া সভে পড়িলেন ভোলে ॥ ১৩৫ সভে জিজ্ঞাসেন "বাপ! কহ ত নিমাঞি! কে তোমারে আনিল পাইয়া কোন্‌ ঠাঞি?" ১৩৬ প্রভু বোলে "আমি গিয়াছিলাম গঙ্গাতীরে। পথ হারাইয়া আমি বেড়াই নগরে ॥ ১৩৭ তবে দুই জন আমা কোলে ত করিয়া। কোন পথে এই-খানে থুইল আনিয়া" ॥ ১৩৮ সভে কহে "মিথ্যা কভু নহে শাস্ত্রবাণী। দৈবে রাখে শিশু, বৃদ্ধ, অনাথ আপনি" ॥ ১৩৯ এইমত বিচার করেন সর্বজনে। বিষ্ণুমায়ামোহে কেহো তত্ব নাহি জানে ॥ ১৪০ এইমত রঙ্গ করে বৈকুণ্ঠের রায়। কে তাঁনে জানিতে পারে, যদি না জানায় ॥ ১৪১ বেদগোপ্য এসব আখ্যান যেই শুনে। তার দৃঢ়-ভক্তি হয় চৈতন্য-চরণে ॥ ১৪২

Translation. Meanwhile, everyone there fell to debating among themselves: "Whoever brought him back — look, he'll get his head bound with cloth in honor!" Someone said, "I saw two men — where did they go, after setting the child down?" But no one came forward saying, "I am the one who brought him"; seeing this strange turn of events, everyone fell into utter bewilderment. They all asked, "Tell us, child, dear Nimāñi — who brought you, and from where did he find you?" The Lord answered, "I had gone to the bank of the Gaṅgā, and, losing my way, I was wandering through the town. Then two men took me up in their arms and, by some road or other, brought me and set me down right here." Everyone said, "The word of scripture is never false — providence itself watches over the child, the aged, and the helpless." So did everyone reason among themselves, yet no one, deluded by Viṣṇu's own māyā, could grasp the real truth of the matter. Thus did the King of Vaikuṇṭha sport — for who can know Him, unless He Himself chooses to make Himself known? Whoever hears this account, kept secret even from the Vedas, comes to have unwavering devotion at the feet of Caitanya.

Explanation.

V.140. Viṣṇu-māyā-mohe — deluded by the māyā of the all-pervading Supreme Person, Śrī Kṛṣṇa. That māyā is of two kinds: the material, external māyā, and the spiritual potency, yogamāyā — both possess a bewildering power. But the external, material māyā bewilders only those souls who have turned away from the Lord, whereas yogamāyā, for the sake of assisting and enriching His pastimes, bewilders the Lord's own eternal associates; the external māyā can exert no influence whatsoever upon them, nor even touch them (see Śrīpāda Viśvanātha Cakravartī's commentary on Bhāgavata 10.12.25, "viṣṇor māyā bhagavatī..."). Since it assists the pastimes, this spiritual potency, yogamāyā, is also known as līlā-śakti; her power to bring about the seemingly impossible is called aiśvarya-śakti. Here, the people so bewildered are all deeply affectionate toward the Lord — they are His own eternal associates; hence it must be this same spiritual yogamāyā, the līlā-śakti, that produced their bewilderment. So it should be understood, here and in every similar passage, that the word "Viṣṇu-māyā" (or, in some places, simply "māyā") refers to yogamāyā, the līlā-śakti, and not to the external, material potency. This too is one of the Lord's childhood pastimes charged with divine opulence (see the commentary on payar 1.3.32).

V.141. For "vaikuṇṭhera" a variant reads "tridaśera" — "the King of the gods," meaning Svayam Bhagavān Himself.

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V.143. Alakṣite — in a manner no one could perceive or understand, He revealed Himself — that is, His own opulence. It was precisely by leading the two thieves astray and bringing them to Miśra's house that the Lord's opulence had already been revealed (verses 108–132); here further such revelations follow.

V.149–150. Having spoken of the sound of anklets from His unseen feet, the text now goes on to describe the marks of flag, thunderbolt, and the like found upon the floor of the house. Dekhe — Śacī and Jagannātha see them. Aparūpa padacihna — wondrous footprints: wondrous, because these are marks no ordinary person's feet ever bear.

V.152. Dohe kare namaskāra — Śacī and Jagannātha reasoned that the Dāmodara who resided in their house in the form of a śālagrāma-śilā must, out of mercy, have walked about the house himself, and that these were his footprints, and it was the sound of his anklets they had heard. With this understanding, the two of them together bowed down to the footprints.

V.156. Prabhu mane hāse — Śacī and Jagannātha were themselves the very embodiment of pure parental affection, exactly like Nanda and Yaśodā; hence they held no awareness of Nimāñi's divinity, and thought of Him simply as their own son — precisely as Nanda and Yaśodā thought of Śrī Kṛṣṇa as their own son alone. For this very reason they could not conceive that the footprints were Nimāñi's own, or that it was from Nimāñi's own feet that the sound of anklets had come. Such was the nature of their deep and unmixed parental love. Hearing them speak so, and seeing their pure vātsalya toward Him, Nimāñi smiled to Himself in joy. Both this pastime of the anklet-sound and the pastime of the footprints are likewise childhood pastimes charged with divine opulence. One might ask: since there were in fact no anklets on Nimāñi's feet, how could the sound of anklets from His feet be heard at all? The answer is that the Lord's garments, ornaments, and the like are themselves part of His own eternal form, ever present within Him — though at times manifest, at other times unmanifest. Here, since the eternally youthful Lord had manifested Himself in the guise of a human infant, His anklets remained unmanifest; yet even without manifesting the anklets themselves, His līlā-śakti manifested the very sound of those anklets — and it was this sound that Śacī and Jagannātha heard.

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আরো এক কথা শুন পরম-অদ্ভুত। যে রঙ্গ করিলা প্রভু জগন্নাথ-সুত ॥ ১৫৭ পরম সুকৃতি এক তৈথিক ব্রাহ্মণ। কৃষ্ণের উদ্দেশে করে তীর্থ-পর্যটন ॥ ১৫৮ ষড়ক্ষর-গোপাল-মন্ত্র করে উপাসন। গোপাল-নৈবেদ্য বিনে না করে ভোজন ॥ ১৫৯ দৈবে ভাগ্যবান্‌ তীর্থ ভ্রমিতে ভ্রমিতে। আনিয়া মিলিলা বিপ্র প্রভুর বাড়ীতে ॥ ১৬০ কণ্ঠে বাল-গোপাল ভূষণ শালগ্রাম। পরম ব্রাহ্মণ্য-তেজ অতি অনুপাম ॥ ১৬১ নিরবধি মুখে বিপ্র 'কৃষ্ণ কৃষ্ণ' বোলে। অন্তরে গোবিন্দ-রসে দুই চক্ষু ঢুলে ॥ ১৬২ দেখি জগন্নাথ মিশ্র তেজ সে তাহার। সম্ভ্রমে উঠিয়া করিলেন নমস্কার ॥ ১৬৩ অতিথি-ব্যবহার-ধর্ম যেন-মত হয়। সব করিলেন জগন্নাথ মহাশয় ॥ ১৬৪ আপনে করিয়া তাঁন পাদ প্রক্ষালন। বসিতে দিলেন আনি উত্তম আসন ॥ ১৬৫ সুস্থ হই বসিলেন যদি বিপ্রবর। তবে তাঁনে মিশ্র জিজ্ঞাসিলা "কোথা ঘর?" ১৬৬ বিপ্র বোলে "আমি উদাসীন দেশান্তরী। চিত্তের বিক্ষেপে মাত্র পর্যটন করি" ॥ ১৬৭ প্রণতি করিয়া মিশ্র বোলেন বচন। "জগতের ভাগ্যে সে তোমার পর্যটন ॥ ১৬৮ বিশেষে ত আজি আমার পরম সৌভাগ্য। আজ্ঞা দেহ রন্ধনের করি গিয়া কার্য" ॥ ১৬৯ বিপ্র বোলে "কর মিশ্র! যে ইচ্ছা তোমার।" হরিষে করিলা মিশ্র দিব্য উপহার ॥ ১৭০ রন্ধনের স্থান উপস্করি ভাল-মতে। দিলেন সকল সজ্জ রন্ধন করিতে ॥ ১৭১ সন্তোষে ব্রাহ্মণবর করিয়া রন্ধন। বসিলেন কৃষ্ণেরে করিতে নিবেদন ॥ ১৭২ সর্বভূত-অন্তর্যামী শ্রীশচীনন্দন। মনে আছে, বিপ্রেরে দিবেন দরশন ॥ ১৭৩ ধ্যান-মাত্র করিতে লাগিলা বিপ্রবর। সম্মুখে আইলা প্রভু শ্রীগৌরসুন্দর ॥ ১৭৪-৭৫ ধূলাময় সর্ব-অঙ্গ মূর্তি দিগম্বর। অরুণ-নয়ন-কর-চরণ সুন্দর ॥ ১৭৬ হাসিয়া বিপ্রের অন্ন লইয়া শ্রীকরে। এক গ্রাস খাইলেন, দেখে বিপ্রবরে ॥ ১৭৭ 'হায় হায়' করি ভাগ্যবন্ত বিপ্র ডাকে। অন্ন অশুচি করিলেক চঞ্চল বালকে ॥ ১৭৮ আসিয়া দেখেন জগন্নাথ মিশ্রবর। ভাত খায় হাসে প্রভু শ্রীগৌরসুন্দর ॥ ১৭৯ ক্রোধে মিশ্র ধাইয়া যায়েন মারিবারে। সম্ভ্রমে উঠিয়া বিপ্র ধরিলেন করে ॥ ১৮০ বিপ্র বোলে "মিশ্র! তুমি বড় দেখি আর্য। কোন্‌ জ্ঞান বালকের মারিয়া কি কার্য?" ১৮১ ভাল মন্দ জ্ঞান যার থাকে মারি তারে। আমার শপথ যদি মারহ উহারে" ॥ ১৮২ দুঃখে বসিলেন মিশ্র হস্ত দিয়া শিরে। মাথা নাহি তোলে মিশ্র বচন না স্ফুরে ॥ ১৮৩ বিপ্র বোলে "মিশ্র! দুঃখ না ভাবি মনে। যে দিনে যে হৈব, তাহা ঈশ্বর সে জানে" ॥ ১৮৪ ফল-মূল-আদি গৃহে যে থাকে তোমার। আনি দেহ আজি সেই করিব আহার ॥ ১৮৫ মিশ্র বোলে "মোরে যদি থাকে ভৃত্য-জ্ঞান। আর-বার পাক কর, করি দেউ স্থান" ॥ ১৮৬

Translation. Hear now of yet another supremely astonishing matter — of a sport that Jagannātha's son once performed. There was a certain most virtuous, traveling (tairthika) brāhmaṇa, who wandered from holy place to holy place for Kṛṣṇa's sake. He worshiped by the six-syllable Gopāla-mantra, and would eat nothing at all except food first offered to Gopāla. By providence, this fortunate soul, wandering from one holy site to the next, chanced to arrive at the Lord's own house. Around his neck he wore, as an ornament, the śālagrāma-śilā in the form of Bāla-Gopāla, and about him shone an incomparable brahminical radiance. Ceaselessly his lips uttered "Kṛṣṇa! Kṛṣṇa!", and within him, in the mellow of remembering Govinda, his two eyes swam with tears. Seeing that radiance, Jagannātha Miśra rose at once, with all due respect, and offered him his obeisances. Jagannātha Miśra, the great soul, then performed every rite of hospitality proper to receiving a guest: with his own hands he washed the brāhmaṇa's feet, and, bringing forth a fine seat, invited him to sit. Once the excellent brāhmaṇa had settled comfortably, Miśra asked him, "Where is your home?" The brāhmaṇa replied, "I am one who has renounced attachment, a wanderer from another land — it is only the restlessness of my own mind that drives me to roam." Bowing low, Miśra said, "It is for the good fortune of the whole world that you wander thus. Today especially it is my own supreme good fortune — grant me leave to go and prepare your meal." The brāhmaṇa said, "Do, Miśra, as you wish"; and Miśra, overjoyed, arranged everything most excellently for him. Having prepared the kitchen area properly, he furnished all that was needed for the cooking. The excellent brāhmaṇa, with great contentment, cooked the meal, and then sat down to offer it to Kṛṣṇa. Śrī Śacīnandana, the indwelling witness of every living being, had it in mind to grant the brāhmaṇa a vision of Himself. The excellent brāhmaṇa had only just begun his meditation when, before him, beautiful Gauracandra appeared in person — His whole body covered in dust, wholly unclothed, His eyes, hands, and feet a lovely red. Smiling, He took the brāhmaṇa's offered food in His own hand and ate a single mouthful of it, right before the brāhmaṇa's own eyes. "Alas, alas!" cried out that fortunate brāhmaṇa — "the restless child has made my offering impure!" Jagannātha Miśra came running at the cry, and saw beautiful Gauracandra eating the rice, laughing. In fury Miśra rushed forward to strike Him, but the brāhmaṇa rose at once and caught hold of his hand. "Miśra," said the brāhmaṇa, "I see you are indeed a mature man — what sense does a mere child have, that you should strike Him for this? Only one who knows right from wrong deserves to be struck. I swear to you — do not strike Him!" Grieving, Miśra sat down, his head in his hands; he could not lift his face, nor could he utter a word. The brāhmaṇa said, "Miśra, do not trouble your heart over this — whatever is to happen on a given day, that the Lord alone knows. Whatever fruit or root you have in your house, bring it to me now, and I shall eat that instead." Miśra said, "If you consider me your servant, then please, cook once more — allow me to make room for it again."

Explanation.

V.162. Antare — in the heart (variants: "ananta," meaning boundless, and "ānanda," meaning supreme joy). Govinda-rase — in the indescribable, wondrous joy welling up from remembrance of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Dui cakṣu ḍhule — his two eyes swayed, brimming, with the fullness of love.

V.164. Atithi-vyavahāra-dharma — the entire code of conduct proper to receiving a guest; see the following payar.

V.167. Udāsīna — one who has no attachment to home or possessions. Deśāntarī — one who wanders in lands other than his own birthplace. Vikṣepe — through restlessness: "My mind finds no rest anywhere; hence I wander in search of whatever place might grant it peace."

V.168. Jagatera bhāgye, etc. — "Your wandering about is itself the good fortune of the world's living beings." Wherever a saintly soul goes, that place is sanctified by his very presence; whoever's house he visits has his ultimate welfare secured. "By constantly wandering and being seen, O Lord, You bestow supreme benefit on the pitiable householders — in no other way is this so" (Bhāgavata 1.8.4).

V.174–176. For these two payars a variant reading is found: "The excellent brāhmaṇa continued only in that meditation, silently repeating the Gopāla-mantra in his mind. Then his meditation broke, and the brāhmaṇa opened his eyes — and the brāhmaṇa saw Śrī Śacīnandana eating the rice." Digambara — unclothed, naked. Aruṇa-nayana-kara — Śrī Gaurasundara's eyes, hands, and feet, all exceedingly beautiful and of a reddish hue.

V.178. Ucchi (rendered "aśuci") — impure, already touched and thus polluted for offering; variant readings of the same general sense are recorded.

V.180. Sambhrame — hastily. Kare — in Jagannātha Miśra's hand.

V.181. Ārya — one of mature years, deserving of respect; or, simple-hearted. Kon jñāna bālakera — "Does a child even have the sense to know right from wrong? You are a grown, respected man — why do you not understand this? What could be gained by striking Him?"

V.184. Ye dine ye haiba, etc. — what fortune any day may bring to anyone is known to the Lord alone; the soul cannot know it. The Lord alone bestows the fruits of action according to each one's deeds, and He alone knows all deeds of all beings — the soul does not. The implication is: "Evidently it was not written in my fate to eat today; hence the Lord, sending this restless child, arranged precisely that I should not be able to eat."

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গৃহে আছে রন্ধনের সকল-সম্ভার। পুন পাক কর তবে সন্তোষ সভার" ॥ ১৮৭ বলিতে লাগিলা তবে ইষ্ট-বন্ধুগণ। "আমা'সভা চাহি তবে করহ রন্ধন" ॥ ১৮৮ বিপ্র বোলে "যেই ইচ্ছা তোমা'সভাকার। করিব রন্ধন সর্বথায় পুনর্বার" ॥ ১৮৯ হরিষ হইলা সভে বিপ্রের বচনে। স্থান উপস্করিলেন সভে ততক্ষণে ॥ ১৯০ রন্ধনের সজ্জ আনি দিলেন তুরিতে। চলিলেন বিপ্রবর রন্ধন করিতে ॥ ১৯১ সভেই বোলেন "শিশু পরম-চঞ্চল। আর-বার পাছে নষ্ট করয়ে সকল ॥ ১৯২ রন্ধন ভোজন বিপ্র করেন যাবত। আর-বাড়ী ল'য়ে শিশু রাখহ তাবত" ॥ ১৯৩ তবে শচীদেবী পুত্র কোলে ত করিয়া। চলিলেন আর-বাড়ী প্রভুরে লইয়া ॥ ১৯৪ সব নারীগণ বোলে "কেনে রে নিমাঞি। এমত করিয়া কি বিপ্রের অন্ন খাই?" ১৯৫ হাসিয়া বোলেন প্রভু শ্রীচন্দ্র-বদনে। "আমার কি দোষ, বিপ্র ডাকিল আপনে" ॥ ১৯৬ সভেই বোলেন "অয়ে নিমাই ঢাঙ্গাতি। কি করিবা, এবে যে তোমার গেল জাতি ॥ ১৯৭ কোথাকার ব্রাহ্মণ, কোন্‌ কুল, কেবা চিনে। তার ভাত খাই জাতি রাখিব কেমনে?" ১৯৮ হাসিয়া কহেন প্রভু "আমি যে গোয়াল। ব্রাহ্মণের অন্ন আমি খাই সর্ব-কাল ॥ ১৯৯ ব্রাহ্মণের অন্নে কি গোপের জাতি যায়ে?" এত বলি হাসিয়া সভারে প্রভু চাহে ॥ ২০০ ছলে নিজ-তত্ব প্রভু করেন ব্যাখ্যান। তথাপি না বুঝে কেহো, হেন মায়া তাঁন ॥ ২০১ সভেই হাসেন শুনি প্রভুর বচন। বক্ষ হৈতে এড়িতে কাহারো নাহি মন ॥ ২০২ হাসিয়া যায়েন প্রভু যে-জনার কোলে। সেই জন আনন্দ-সাগর-মাঝে ডোলে ॥ ২০৩ সেই বিপ্র পুনর্বার করিয়া রন্ধন। লাগিলেন বসিয়া করিতে নিবেদন ॥ ২০৪ ধ্যানে বালগোপাল ভাবেন বিপ্রবর। জানিলেন গৌরচন্দ্র চিত্তের ঈশ্বর ॥ ২০৫ মোহিয়া সকল লোক অতি অলক্ষিতে। আইলেন বিপ্র-স্থানে হাসিতে হাসিতে ॥ ২০৬ অলক্ষিতে এক মুষ্টি অন্ন লই করে। খাইয়া চলিলা প্রভু, দেখে বিপ্রবরে ॥ ২০৭ 'হায় হায়' করিয়া উঠিলা বিপ্রবর। ঠাকুর খাইয়া ভাত দিলা এক দৌড় ॥ ২০৮ সম্ভ্রমে উঠিয়া মিশ্র হাথে বাড়ি লৈয়া। ক্রোধে ঠাকুরেরে লই যায় ধাওয়াইয়া ॥ ২০৯ মহাভয়ে প্রভু পলাইয়া এক ঘরে। ক্রোধে মিশ্র পাছে থাকি তর্জ-গর্জ করে ॥ ২১০ মিশ্র বোলে "আজি দেখ করো তোর কার্য। তোর মতে পরম আবুধ আমি আর্য ॥ ২১১ হেন মহাচোর শিশু কার ঘরে আছে?" এত বলি ক্রোধে মিশ্র ধায় প্রভু-পাছে ॥ ২১২ সভে ধরিলেন যত করিয়া মিশ্রেরে। মিশ্র বোলে "এড়, আজি মারিব উহারে" ॥ ২১৩ সভেই বোলেন "মিশ্র! তুমি ত উদার। উহারে মারিয়া কোন্‌ সাধুত্ব তোমার ॥ ২১৪ ভাল-মন্দ-জ্ঞান নাহি উহার শরীরে। পরম অবোধ, যে এমন শিশু মারে ॥ ২১৫ মারিলেই কোন্‌ বা শিখিব হেন নয়। স্বভাবেই শিশুর চঞ্চল-মতি হয়" ॥ ২১৬ আথেব্যথে আসি সেই তৈথিক ব্রাহ্মণ। মিশ্রের ধরিয়া হাথে বোলেন বচন ॥ ২১৭ "বালকের নাহি দোষ শুন মিশ্র-রায়। যে দিনে যে হৈব তাহা হইবারে চায় ॥ ২১৮ আজি কৃষ্ণ অন্ন নাহি লিখেন আমারে। সবে এই মর্ম্মকথা কহিলুঁ তোমারে" ॥ ২১৯ দুঃখে জগন্নাথ-মিশ্র নাহি তোলে মুখ। মাথা হেট করিয়া ভাবেন মহা-দুঃখ ॥ ২২০

Translation. "There's still every ingredient for the meal in the house — cook again, and everyone will be content." Then all the family's dear kinsfolk spoke up too: "Cook for our sake as well, then." The brāhmaṇa said, "As you all wish — I shall cook everything again from the start." Everyone rejoiced at the brāhmaṇa's words, and at once set about preparing the place for him; they quickly brought all that was needed, and the excellent brāhmaṇa went to cook once more. But everyone said, "The child is utterly restless — he'll likely spoil everything again. Until the brāhmaṇa finishes cooking and eating, take the child away to another house and keep Him there." So Śacī-devī took her son upon her hip and carried the Lord off to another house. All the women there said, "Why, Nimāñi, did you do such a thing? Is that any way to eat a brāhmaṇa's food?" The Lord, smiling, with His moon-like face, replied, "What fault is it of mine? — the brāhmaṇa called me himself!" Everyone said, "Ah, Nimāi, you rascal! What will you do now — you've lost your caste!" "What brāhmaṇa is this, from what place, of what lineage — who even knows him? How will you keep your caste, having eaten his rice?" Laughing, the Lord replied, "But I am a cowherd (gopa)! I eat a brāhmaṇa's food all the time — does a gopa's caste ever suffer from eating a brāhmaṇa's food?" So saying, the Lord looked about at everyone, laughing. Under this very pretext the Lord was explaining His own true identity — and yet no one understood it even so, such was the power of His māyā upon them. Everyone only laughed to hear the Lord's words; not one of them had the heart to set Him down from their breast. Wherever the Lord went, laughing, into someone's lap, that very person was tossed about in an ocean of bliss. Meanwhile that same brāhmaṇa, having cooked once more, sat down again to make his offering. As the excellent brāhmaṇa meditated on Bāla-Gopāla, Gauracandra, the Lord of his heart, understood his intention at once; and, bewildering everyone there so that none could perceive it, He came to where the brāhmaṇa sat, laughing all the way. Unseen, He took a single fistful of the rice in His hand, ate it, and walked off in full view of the brāhmaṇa. "Alas, alas!" cried the brāhmaṇa, rising up — and the Lord, having eaten the rice, took off at a run. Miśra rose hastily, stick in hand, and, in a fury, went chasing after the Lord. In great fear the Lord fled into a room, with Miśra close behind, raging and roaring in anger. Miśra said, "Now see what you've done today! You take me, mature as I am, for a complete fool! What a supreme little thief of a child, whose house does he even belong to?" So saying, in his fury, Miśra ran after the Lord. Everyone caught hold of Miśra and restrained him; Miśra said, "Let me go — today I will strike Him!" But everyone said, "Miśra, you are usually so generous — what merit is there for you in striking Him? That little body has no sense of right and wrong at all; only a supreme fool would strike such a child. Even striking Him would teach Him nothing — it is simply the nature of a child to be restless." At that very moment the traveling brāhmaṇa himself came running up and, taking hold of Miśra's hand, said, "The child is not at fault, listen, Lord Miśra — whatever is to happen on a given day will happen regardless. Evidently Kṛṣṇa has not written that I should eat today — I tell you this from the very depths of my heart." Grieving, Jagannātha Miśra could not lift his face; bowing his head low, he sat sunk in the greatest sorrow.

Explanation.

V.196. For "prabhura" (the Lord's), some texts read "bālakera" (the child's).

V.199–200. Here the līlā-śakti reveals, through Nimāñi's own mouth, the truth of His own identity — that the Lord is, in essential nature, none other than the very Kānāi who is Nanda-gopa's own son in Vraja; the līlā-śakti made this known.

V.201. Chale — under the pretext of playful banter with the women. Tathāpi nā bujhe, etc. — even though the Lord revealed the truth of His own identity, no one could grasp it, owing to the influence of His māyā (that is, His līlā-śakti, yogamāyā); they took His words merely as a piece of playful jesting. In truth all of them were the Lord's own eternal associates, associates in the mood of parental affection; and it was precisely because of their deep vātsalya toward the Lord that, even on hearing of His true identity, they could not bring themselves to believe it — exactly like Mother Yaśodā and her friends in Vraja (see the commentary on payar 1.3.140, below).

V.203. Ḍole — sways, is submerged; overwhelmed with bliss, forgetting everything else.

V.205. Jāninlena Gauracandra, etc. — Gauracandra, the indwelling Lord of the brāhmaṇa's heart, came to know that the brāhmaṇa was meditating on Bāla-Gopāla; the līlā-śakti made this known to Him.

V.211. Karo tora kārya — "I shall today give you the punishment you deserve for this misdeed of yours." Ābudha — foolish, senseless. Ārya — simple, guileless. In his anger Miśra Ṭhākura said to Nimāñi, "You think me an utter fool, that I won't see through your mischief!"

V.214. Sādhutva — wisdom, goodness (a variant reads, "What could you possibly accomplish by striking Him?").

V.215. Parama abodha, etc. — whoever strikes a child who has no sense of right or wrong at all is himself the greatest fool.

V.216. Striking the child will not teach Him anything — for children are restless by their very nature; even if punished once for some misdeed, they forget it again before long.

V.218. The traveling brāhmaṇa, speaking as befits a true Vaiṣṇava — one who has surrendered wholly to Kṛṣṇa's feet — said, "Listen to me, Lord Miśra: this child is not at fault. Whatever is to happen to a soul on a given day, according to the fruits of its own past deeds, will happen on that day regardless — it cannot be otherwise. This child is merely the instrument."

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V.221. Viśvarūpa — Nimāñi's elder brother; he is called Bhagavān here because he too is a manifestation of Godhead (see the commentary on payar 1.2.138). He had not been at home at all until this moment, from before the traveling brāhmaṇa's very arrival.

V.223. Mūrtibhede — in a distinct, separate form. Nityānanda — Nityānanda in the form of Balarāma (see the commentary on payar 1.2.138).

V.224. See the commentary on payar 1.2.138.

V.230. Jagata śodhite, etc. — see the commentary on payar 168 above. Śodhite — to purify, to sanctify. Ātmānande pūrṇa hai — with the mind filled full with the bliss of remembering the Supreme Soul, the Supreme Brahman Śrī Kṛṣṇa. One whose heart is thus filled with the bliss of Kṛṣṇa-remembrance feels no lack in regard to anything at all.

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V.256–261. For "āchena," a variant reads "āchilā." Upaskāra kari — having arranged it in a manner fit for offering. For "karite lāgilā" a variant reads "kṛṣṇere karilā."

V.267. Mora mantra japi, etc. — the traveling brāhmaṇa was a worshiper of Bāla-Gopāla-Kṛṣṇa through the six-syllable Gopāla-mantra (payar 1.3.159); in offering his food he had been repeating that very mantra to Bāla-Kṛṣṇa and meditating upon the form of the child Kṛṣṇa. Yet the Lord says, "Chant my mantra, and invoke me" — the implication being that there is, in ultimate truth, no difference at all between the Lord and Śrī Kṛṣṇa. In particular, since the Lord is the combined form of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa, Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself is ever present within Him — Śrī Rādhā without, in the golden hue of Gaurāṅga, and Śrī Kṛṣṇa within: antaḥ-kṛṣṇa bahir-gaura. In order to fulfill the brāhmaṇa's own heart's desire, it was this very Kṛṣṇa dwelling within the Lord whom He showed to the brāhmaṇa (verses 269–276). "The one Lord manifests differently according to the meditation of each devotee; the very same Deity assumes many different forms" (Caitanya-caritāmṛta 2.9.141); "Just as one and the same fire assumes the appearance of blue or of red depending on the fuel that feeds it, so too does the imperishable Lord assume different forms according to the difference in meditation" (Caitanya-caritāmṛta 2.9.15, śloka).

V.268. Āmāre dekhite — it was to behold the form of Śrī Kṛṣṇa that the brāhmaṇa had always longed; hence the Lord showed Himself to him precisely in that form of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Dilāṅ — I have given, I have granted. Having spoken these words, the Lord then displayed to that brāhmaṇa the form described in the following several payars.

V.269–70. Seikṣaṇe — at that very moment when the Lord spoke the words just quoted.

V.269. Dekhe bi parama adbhuta — what the brāhmaṇa beheld was exceedingly wondrous, for it contained an astonishing confluence of different forms and different pastimes belonging to different times; it is called wondrous precisely because such a confluence was until then unknown to the brāhmaṇa. Of the eight arms the brāhmaṇa saw, four hands held the conch, discus, mace, and lotus; two other hands were occupied in eating butter; and the remaining two hands were occupied in playing the flute. In the Kaṁsa's prison-house Śrī Kṛṣṇa had appeared in a four-armed form bearing conch, discus, mace, and lotus; the manifestation here of those same four arms seems to indicate that it is this very person — the one now seen in this eight-armed form — who had once appeared in the prison of Kaṁsa bearing the conch and discus. Again, the two hands occupied with eating butter indicate that He is none other than Yaśodā's own darling child of Vraja; and the two hands playing the flute indicate that, in His boyhood (paugaṇḍa) and adolescence (kaiśora), it was He who drew everyone to Himself by playing the flute. Thus the four hands signifying His appearance at Mathurā in Kaṁsa's prison, the two hands signifying His butter-eating in childhood at Vraja, and the two hands signifying His flute-playing in boyhood and adolescence at Vraja — all these, tokens of different times, different places, and different pastimes — come together in a single form of eight arms: this in itself is a wondrous thing.

V.271. Śrīvatsa — the whorl of white hair curling to the right upon the chest. Kaustubha — a particular jewel.

V.272. Nava-guñjā beḍhā, etc. — upon the head of that eight-armed form shone a peacock feather encircled with tiny guñjā-berries — signifying the form of Śrī Kṛṣṇa as He roams and plays in Vraja. Beḍhā — encircled (variants of the same sense exist).

V.273. Vaijayantī-mālā — a garland woven of flowers of five different colors, reaching down to the knees, worn about the neck. Makara-kuṇḍala — earrings shaped like sea-monsters (makaras).

V.274. Caraṇāravinde — upon the lotus feet. Śrī-ratna-nūpura — anklets set with gems, of surpassing beauty. Nakhamaṇi-kiraṇe — by the rays of His nails, luminous as jewels. Timira — darkness.

V.275. Dekhe — that same brāhmaṇa sees. Nāda — sound. Pakṣagaṇe — the birds.

V.276. Gopa gopī, etc. — that brāhmaṇa saw, beneath a wondrous kadamba tree in Vṛndāvana, that very eight-armed form surrounded on every side by cowherd boys, cowherd maidens, and cows, all radiant with beauty. In payars 271–276, it is the scenes of Śrī Kṛṣṇa's pastimes in Vraja that are being described. Paratake — to each one; a variant reads "paratekhe," meaning "directly, before one's own eyes." Yata dhyāna kare, etc. — whatever that brāhmaṇa had ever meditated upon, each and every part of it he now beheld directly, in person. The brāhmaṇa was a worshiper of Bāla-Gopāla — Yaśodā's darling child Kṛṣṇa — and so his chief object of meditation was that very Bāla-Gopāla. And together with the remembrance of this Bāla-Gopāla, it would also arise in his mind that this same child had appeared, in Kaṁsa's prison, in a four-armed form bearing conch, discus, mace, and lotus; and for as long as that thought remained present in his heart, the form of Kṛṣṇa bearing the conch and discus would appear before his mind's eye — so that, in truth, throughout that time he was meditating on the conch-and-discus-bearing form of Kṛṣṇa. In just the same way, when he thought of Kṛṣṇa eating butter, it was on Bāla-Gopāla eating butter that his meditation, in truth, then dwelt. And again, as he thought further of Bāla-Gopāla, other pastimes of Śrī Kṛṣṇa would also come to his mind — the flute-playing of His boyhood and adolescence; the peacock feather encircled with guñjā-berries adorning His head; His red lips; His smiling face with its swaying lotus eyes; the Vaijayantī garland and makara earrings; the jeweled anklets on His lotus feet; the darkness dispelled by the radiance of His gem-like nails; the wondrous kadamba tree; the calling of the sweet-throated birds of Vṛndāvana; the cowherd boys, cowherd maidens, and cows surrounding Śrī Kṛṣṇa and drinking, with unblinking eyes, the nectar of His moon-like face — whenever any of these arose in that brāhmaṇa's mind, in truth his meditation, at that moment, dwelt upon that very object. Thus, all the different pastimes of Śrī Kṛṣṇa and all the different ornaments upon which that brāhmaṇa's meditation had, at various times, dwelt, he now beheld directly, each and every one of them, before his own eyes — every pastime, and every object forming a part of Śrī Kṛṣṇa's ornamentation.

V.277. Apūrva aiśvarya — a wondrous manifestation and confluence of divine opulence. Nowhere is Śrī Kṛṣṇa's eight-armed form spoken of, nor is it shown in any scripture; hence this eight-armed form is itself a thing wondrous and unprecedented. Moreover, within this eight-armed form's eight arms are signified pastimes belonging to different times at Mathurā and at Vraja, and to different ages of Śrī Kṛṣṇa's life (see verses 269–270 above) — this too is a wondrous and unprecedented confluence. And within that very eight-armed form was also gathered every ornament proper to the two-armed Kṛṣṇa who sports in Vraja; and in connection with that same eight-armed form were also present Vṛndāvana, the kadamba tree, the cowherd boys, maidens, and cows — all the aids to the pastimes of the two-armed Kṛṣṇa who delights in Vraja. Here too, then, is a wondrous and unprecedented confluence.

করুণা-সমুদ্র প্রভু শ্রীগৌরসুন্দর। শ্রীহস্ত দিলেন তাঁন অঙ্গের উপর ॥ ২৭৮ শ্রীহস্ত-পরশে বিপ্র পাইলা চেতন। আনন্দে হইলা জড়, না স্ফুরে বচন ॥ ২৭৯ পুনঃপুন মূর্চ্ছা বিপ্র যায় ভূমিতলে। পুন উঠে পুন পড়ে মহা-কুতূহলে ॥ ২৮০ কম্প-স্বেদ-পুলকে শরীর স্থির নহে। নয়নের জল যেন মহানদী বহে ॥ ২৮১ ক্ষণেকে ধরিয়া বিপ্র প্রভুর চরণ। করিতে লাগিলা উচ্চ করিয়া ক্রন্দন ॥ ২৮২ দেখিয়া বিপ্রের আকুতি শ্রীগৌরসুন্দর। হাসিয়া বিপ্রেরে কিছু করিলা উত্তর ॥ ২৮৩ প্রভু বোলে "শুন শুন অয়ে বিপ্রবর। অনেক জন্মের তুমি আমার কিঙ্কর ॥ ২৮৪ নিরবধি ভাব তুমি দেখিতে আমারে। অতএব আমি দেখা দিলাম তোমারে ॥ ২৮৫ আর-জন্মে এইরূপে নন্দ-গৃহে আমি। দেখা দিলাম তোমারে, না স্মর তাহা তুমি ॥ ২৮৬ যবে আমি অবতীর্ণ হৈলাম গোকুলে। সেই জন্মে তুমি তীর্থ কর কুতূহলে ॥ ২৮৭ দৈবে তুমি অতিথি হইলা নন্দ-ঘরে। এইমতে তুমি অন্ন নিবেদ আমারে ॥ ২৮৮ তাহাতেও এইমত করিয়া কৌতুক। খাই তোর অন্ন দেখাইলো এই রূপ ॥ ২৮৯ এতেকে আমার তুমি জন্মে জন্মে দাস। দাস বিনু অন্য মোর না দেখে প্রকাশ ॥ ২৯০ কহিলাম তোমারে সকল গোপ্য কথা। কারো স্থানে ইহা নাহি কহিব সর্বথা ॥ ২৯১ যাবত থাকয়ে মোর এই অবতার। তাবত কহিলে কা'রে করিব সংহার ॥ ২৯২ সঙ্কীর্তন আরম্ভে আমার অবতার। করাইমু সর্ব-দেশে কীর্তন প্রচার ॥ ২৯৩ ব্রহ্মাদি যে প্রেমভক্তিযোগ বাঞ্ছা করে। তাহা বিলাইমু সর্ব প্রতি ঘরে ঘরে ॥ ২৯৪ কতোদিন থাকি তুমি অনেক দেখিবা। এসব আখ্যান এবে কারো না কহিবা" ॥ ২৯৫ হেনমতে ব্রাহ্মণেরে শ্রীগৌরসুন্দর। কৃপা করি আশ্বাসিয়া গেলা নিজঘর ॥ ২৯৬ পূর্ববৎ সুতিয়া থাকিলা শিশু-ভাবে। যোগনিদ্রা-প্রভাবে কেহো নাহি জাগে ॥ ২৯৭

Translation. The ocean of compassion, Lord Śrī Gaurasundara, then placed His own hand upon the brāhmaṇa's body. At the touch of that divine hand the brāhmaṇa regained consciousness, but, overwhelmed with bliss, he became as one stunned — no word would come to his lips. Again and again he fell in a swoon to the ground, and again and again he rose up, in the grip of the greatest wonder. His whole body would not be still, trembling, breaking into sweat and gooseflesh; from his eyes tears flowed as though a great river were coursing forth. After a while the brāhmaṇa clasped the Lord's feet, and began to weep aloud. Seeing the brāhmaṇa's piteous state, Śrī Gaurasundara, smiling, gave him this reply. The Lord said, "Listen, listen, O excellent brāhmaṇa: for many births now you have been my servant. You are forever longing to behold me — and that is why I have shown myself to you. In another birth, in just this same form, I showed myself to you in Nanda's house — though you do not now remember it. When I descended, in that birth, at Gokula, you too, in that same birth, made pilgrimage out of your own eager longing. By providence you happened to become a guest in Nanda's house, and, in just this same way, you offered your food to me. Even then, sporting in just this same manner, I ate your offering and showed you this very same form. For this reason you are my servant birth after birth — and none but my own servant is ever granted a vision of me. I have told you now a matter kept wholly secret; you must never, under any circumstance, tell this to anyone at all. For as long as this incarnation of mine remains in the world, whomever you tell this to, I would have to destroy. My incarnation is for the sake of inaugurating saṅkīrtana — I shall cause the chanting of the holy name to be proclaimed in every land. Whatever prema-bhakti even Brahmā and the other gods long for, that very thing I shall distribute freely, from house to house, to everyone. Staying on here a while longer, you will see a great many more things — but none of these matters that you have witnessed must you tell to anyone, for now." Having thus spoken to the brāhmaṇa, Śrī Gaurasundara mercifully reassured him, and then returned to His own room, lying down once more, as before, in the guise of an ordinary sleeping infant; and by the power of yoga-nidrā, not a single soul awoke.

Explanation.

V.286. Āra janme — in another birth, in Dvāpara-yuga. Nā smara tāhā tumi — "you do not now remember that."

V.289. For the second half of this payar, a variant reads: "eating your rice, I show you my own true form."

V.290. Dāsa vinu, etc. — the Lord's servant is His devotee; and it is precisely because devotion (bhakti) dwells within him that this very devotion reveals to him the Lord's own true form. "It is devotion alone that reveals Him" (Māṭhara-śruti). Even where the Lord's form is manifest before someone other than a devotee, that person, for lack of devotion within him, simply cannot see it.

V.291–292. Because the Lord is, by nature, ever intent on concealing His own identity, He spoke these words to the traveling brāhmaṇa.

V.293–294. Here the Lord also tells the brāhmaṇa the very purpose for which He has descended. For the first half of payar 294, a variant reads: "house by house I shall become the very incarnation of kīrtana." Bilāimu sarva — "I shall distribute to all" — the implication of this word being that He shall give it to everyone, high and low alike, without regard to their spiritual practice or their fitness or unfitness for it.

V.297. Sutiyā — lying down (a variant reads "haiyā"). Yoganidrā — the sleep manifested by yogamāyā, the potency that assists the Lord's pastimes (see the commentary on payar 1.3.240).

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অপূর্ব প্রকাশ দেখি সেই বিপ্রবর। আনন্দে পূর্ণিত হৈল সব কলেবর ॥ ২৯৮ সর্ব-অঙ্গে সেই অন্ন করিয়া লেপন। কান্দিতে কান্দিতে বিপ্র করেন ভোজন ॥ ২৯৯ নাচে, গায়, হাসে, বিপ্র করয়ে হুঙ্কার। "জয় বাল-গোপাল" বোলয়ে বারবার ॥ ৩০০ বিপ্রের হুঙ্কারে সভে পাইলা চেতন। আপনা সম্বরি বিপ্র কৈলা আচমন ॥ ৩০১ নিধিবত ভোজন করিলেন বিপ্রবর। দেখি সভে সন্তোষ হইলা বহুতর ॥ ৩০২ সভারে কহিতে মনে চিন্তয়ে ব্রাহ্মণ। "ঈশ্বর চিনিয়া সভে পাউক মোচন ॥ ৩০৩ ব্রহ্মা শিব যাহার নিমিত্ত কাম্য করে। হেন প্রভু অবতরি আছে বিপ্র-ঘরে ॥ ৩০৪ সে প্রভুরে লোক সব করে শিশু-জ্ঞান। কথা কহি সভেই পাউক পরিত্রাণ" ॥ ৩০৫ প্রভু করিয়াছে নিবারণ এই ভয়ে। আজ্ঞা-ভঙ্গ-ভয়ে বিপ্র কা'রে নাহি কহে ॥ ৩০৬ চিনিয়া ঈশ্বর বিপ্র সেই নবদ্বীপে। রহিলেন গুপ্তভাবে ঈশ্বর-সমীপে ॥ ৩০৭ ভিক্ষা করি বিপ্রবর প্রতি স্থানে স্থানে। ঈশ্বরেরে আসিয়া দেখেন প্রতি দিনে ॥ ৩০৮ বেদ-গোপ্য এ সকল মহাচিত্র কথা। ইহার শ্রবণে কৃষ্ণ মিলয়ে সর্বথা ॥ ৩০৯ আদিখণ্ড-কথা যেন অমৃত-ঝরণ। যাহে শিশুরূপে ক্রীড়া করে নারায়ণ ॥ ৩১০ সর্ব-লোক-চূড়ামণি বৈকুণ্ঠ-ঈশ্বর। লক্ষ্মীকান্ত সীতাকান্ত শ্রীগৌরসুন্দর ॥ ৩১১ ত্রেতা-যুগে হইয়া যে শ্রীরাম লক্ষণ। নানা-মত লীলা করি বধিলা রাবণ ॥ ৩১২ হইয়া দ্বাপর-যুগে কৃষ্ণ সঙ্কর্ষণ। নানা-মতে করিলেন ভূভার-খণ্ডন ॥ ৩১৩ মুকুন্দ অনন্ত যারে সর্ব-বেদে কহে। শ্রীচৈতন্য নিত্যানন্দ সেই সুনিশ্চয়ে ॥ ৩১৪ শ্রীকৃষ্ণচৈতন্য নিত্যানন্দচাঁদ জান। বৃন্দাবনদাস তছু পদযুগে গান ॥ ৩১৫

ইতি শ্রীআদিখণ্ডে নামকরণ-চাপল্য-বিলাসাদি-বর্ণনং নাম তৃতীয়োহধ্যায়ঃ ॥৩॥

Translation. Having witnessed this wondrous manifestation, that excellent brāhmaṇa's whole body became filled with bliss. Smearing that very rice over his entire body, the brāhmaṇa ate it, weeping all the while. He danced, he sang, he laughed, he roared aloud, crying out again and again, "Glory to Bāla-Gopāla!" At the sound of the brāhmaṇa's roaring, everyone awoke; the brāhmaṇa, composing himself, then performed his sipping of water (ācamana). The excellent brāhmaṇa then ate his meal properly, as prescribed, and everyone, seeing this, was greatly pleased. The brāhmaṇa thought to himself that he should tell everyone: "Let everyone come to recognize the Lord, and thereby attain liberation! He for whose sake even Brahmā and Śiva long — that very Lord has descended and dwells in this brāhmaṇa's — this very family's — house! Yet everyone here takes that Lord for a mere child. Let me speak of this, so that everyone may attain deliverance." But the Lord had already forestalled this, out of the very fear of exactly such disclosure; and so, out of fear of transgressing the Lord's own command, the brāhmaṇa told no one at all. Having recognized the Lord, that brāhmaṇa remained on in Navadvīpa itself, staying secretly near the Lord. Begging his alms from place to place, the excellent brāhmaṇa would come every single day to behold the Lord. This whole account, kept secret even from the Vedas, is so wondrous and rare that simply by hearing it one attains Kṛṣṇa without fail. The story of this Ādi-khaṇḍa is like a very stream of nectar, in which Nārāyaṇa Himself sports in the form of a little child. He who is the crest-jewel of all the worlds, the Lord of Vaikuṇṭha, the beloved of Lakṣmī, the beloved of Sītā — He is this very Śrī Gaurasundara. He who, in Tretā-yuga, became Śrī Rāma and Lakṣmaṇa and, performing His pastimes in various ways, slew Rāvaṇa; and He who, in Dvāpara-yuga, became Kṛṣṇa and Saṅkarṣaṇa and, in various ways, relieved the earth of her burden; He whom Mukunda and Ananta, as declared by all the Vedas — He is none other, know it for certain, than Śrī Caitanya and Nityānanda. Knowing Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya and Nityānanda-candra to be one and the same, Vṛndāvana Dāsa sings at Their twin feet.

Thus ends, in the Śrī Ādi-khaṇḍa, the third chapter, named "The Description of the Naming Ceremony, the Childhood Mischief, and Other Pastimes."

Explanation.

V.301. Sambari — restraining, concealing his own outward signs of ecstatic love.

V.305. Se prabhure, etc. — even Brahmā and Śiva long to behold that same Lord (see the preceding payar), and yet all the people here take Him for a mere child — none of them know His true identity at all. Kathā kahi — "I shall tell everyone of what the Lord has, out of His mercy, shown me, and of what He Himself has told me — that He is none other than Nanda's own son, Śrī Kṛṣṇa; and once they learn from me of the Lord's true identity, may everyone attain deliverance, may everyone be freed from the bondage of worldly existence." From this payar we learn how intensely the traveling brāhmaṇa longed to make the Lord's true identity known to everyone.

V.306. From this payar we learn that although the brāhmaṇa greatly longed to disclose to everyone the wondrous form he had seen, and what he had heard from the Lord's own mouth, the Lord had forbidden him to reveal it — and so he told no one anything at all.

V.309. Mahācitra — exceedingly wondrous, astonishing.

V.310. Amṛta-jharaṇa — a stream of nectar. Yāhe — in which Ādi-khaṇḍa (a variant reads "yahi"). Nārāyaṇa — the original Nārāyaṇa, Śrī Kṛṣṇa (see the commentary on payar 1.1.109).

V.311. Sarvaloka — all fourteen worlds together with every abode of Godhead. Vaikuṇṭha-īśvara — the Lord of Goloka, Śrī Kṛṣṇa (see the commentary on payar 1.1.109). Lakṣmīkānta sītākānta, etc. — Nārāyaṇa the beloved of Lakṣmī, and Śrī Rāmacandra the beloved of Sītā, are likewise none other than Gaurasundara Himself; since Nārāyaṇa and Rāmacandra are both plenary portions of Svayam Bhagavān Gaurasundara, this is said from the standpoint of the non-difference between the portion and its source.

V.312–314. Kṛṣṇa saṅkarṣaṇa — Śrī Kṛṣṇa and Śrī Saṅkarṣaṇa (Balarāma). Mukunda ananta — Mukunda and Ananta: Mukunda being Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and Ananta being Balarāma. The substance of these three payars is this: He who is Śrī Kṛṣṇa is, in this present pastime, none other than Śrī Caitanya; and He who is Śrī Balarāma is, in this present pastime, none other than Śrī Nityānanda. It is They who, as partial manifestations, slew Rāvaṇa in the forms of Śrī Rāma and Śrī Lakṣmaṇa.

V.315. See the commentary on payar 1.2.285.

Thus ends the Nitāi-karuṇā-kallolinī commentary on the third chapter of Śrī Ādi-khaṇḍa.

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Status: chapter complete — translated in full, verses 1 through 315, from the beginning of the chapter through its closing colophon.