Chapter 6: Nityānanda's Wandering, I

Śrī Nimāi's upanayana (sacred-thread) saṃskāra; His study of grammar under Gaṅgādāsa Paṇḍita; the quarrels with the other students at the Gaṅgā ghāṭs, and their admiration on hearing Nimāi's explanations; the Gaṅgā's own desire [to be sported with by the Lord]; Nimāi's attachment to His studies and to dharma; Jagannātha Miśra's dream concerning Śrī Gaura's future; Miśravara's anxious reflections and his prayer to Śrī Kṛṣṇa that Nimāi might remain a householder; Jagannātha Miśra's disappearance; Mother Śacī's fainting and Nimāi's weeping at this; Nimāi's consoling of His mother; Nimāi's fits of anger, mischief, and demands; on hearing from His mother's own mouth that there was nothing at all in the house, Śrī Nimāi's giving two tolās of gold into His mother's hand, and Śacī's astonishment and fear at this; Śrī Nimāi's world-enchanting form and His delight in learning. Then the character of Śrī Nityānanda: His birth; His play up to the age of twelve, imitating Kṛṣṇa's pastimes among the other children; Nityānanda's leaving home and His twenty years of pilgrimage; His meeting with Mādhavendra Purī; Mādhavendra Purī's wondrous prema; Nityānanda's residence at Mathurā after His pilgrimage; and the glory of Nityānanda.

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জয় জয় কৃপাসিন্ধু শ্রীগৌরসুন্দর। জয় শচী-জগন্নাথ-গৃহ-শশধর ॥ ১ জয় জয় নিত্যানন্দস্বরূপের প্রাণ। জয় জয় সঙ্কীর্তনধর্ম্মের নিধান ॥ ২ ভক্ত-গোষ্ঠী-সহিতে গৌরাঙ্গ জয় জয়। শুনিলে চৈতন্যকথা ভক্তি লভ্য হয় ॥ ৩ হেনমতে মহাপ্রভু জগন্নাথঘরে। নিগূঢ়ে আছেন কেহো চিনিতে না পারে ॥ ৪ বাল্যক্রীড়া-নাম যত আছে পৃথিবীতে। সকল খেলায় প্রভু, কে পারে কহিতে ॥ ৫ বেদ-দ্বারে ব্যক্ত হৈব সকল-পুরাণে। কিছু শেষে শুনিব সকল ভাগ্যবানে ॥ ৬

Translation. Glory, glory to the ocean of mercy, Śrī Gaurasundara! Glory to Him who is the moon risen in the household of Śacī and Jagannātha! Glory, glory to the very life of Nityānanda-svarūpa! Glory, glory to the fountainhead of the dharma of saṅkīrtana! Glory, glory to Gaurāṅga together with the assembly of His devotees — by hearing the topics of Caitanya, devotion is attained! Thus does Mahāprabhu remain concealed in the house of Jagannātha, so that none can recognize Him. Whatever games of childhood exist upon this earth, the Lord plays them all — who could ever tell them in full? [In time to come] it shall become manifest, through the Veda, in all the Purāṇas; after a while, all fortunate souls shall hear of it.

Explanation. Kṛpāsindhu — "ocean of compassion" (variants: kṛpāmbudhi, kṛpānidhi, of identical meaning). Śacī-Jagannātha-gṛha-śaśadhara — Śrī Gaurasundara is, as it were, the very moon (śaśadhara) that has risen in the household of Śacī and Jagannātha. Saṅkīrtana-dharmera nidhāna — the founder and originator of saṅkīrtana; see the commentary on Chapter 1, verse 1.

Veda-dvāre — "through the Veda," that is, through Vedavyāsa: just as, elsewhere, "Satyabhāmā" is abbreviated to "Satyā" or "Bhāmā," "Bhīmasena" to "Bhīma," or "Baladeva" to "Bala," this usage is of the same kind. Or else the phrase "veda...purāṇe" means: through the Veda — that is, in the Veda and in all the Purāṇas — the Lord's pastimes shall become manifest. Reading this entire work from beginning to end, one can see plainly that the author designates by the terms Veda, Bhārata, Purāṇa, or Tantra any work whatever whose principal subject is the Lord's glory or the truth of Godhead; his own statement "whatever the Lord does becomes itself the Veda" is the best evidence of this (Atulakṛṣṇa Prabhupāda).

Here the author's intention is a little elusive. In "veda-dvāre vyakta haiba sakala purāṇe" his purport seems to be: "Learned persons will in future compose works narrating the Lord's pastimes, and those works will be honored as the Purāṇas are honored" — as suggested by his own later statement, "In the Ādi-khaṇḍa there is much of Ananta's [the Lord's] play that the great sage Vyāsa will, after some time, elaborate" (1.1.197). This is corroborated, even if with a little interpretive latitude, by the sense of the word veda itself: veda derives from the root vid, "to know" (parasmaipadī); hence that by which one comes to know is veda — knowledge. The Śrī Śrī Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava Dictionary likewise gives "knowledge" as one meaning of veda. On this reading, "veda-dvāre" means "through knowledge" — that wise and learned persons will, through their own inward realization, reveal and set forth the Lord's pastimes in books they compose.

Sakala purāṇe — among all the Purāṇas. Since the Purāṇas in the ordinary sense were already promulgated by Vyāsadeva long before, it makes little sense that the author means new Purāṇas will be composed only after his own Śrī Caitanya-bhāgavata; rather, his purport is that whatever books learned persons compose on Gaura's pastimes will, being about the Lord's pastimes, be as venerable as the Purāṇas themselves. Kichu śeṣe — after some time; śuniba — will hear (variant: jāniba, "will know") — fortunate people will, after a time, come to hear or know of such works, composed by the learned out of their own realized knowledge.

Verse 7. Bālya-rase bholā — enraptured, self-forgetful in the bliss of childhood play. Yajñopavītera kāla — the time of the sacred-thread (upanayana) saṃskāra: the rite of taking up the sacrificial thread. For a brāhmaṇa's son, the proper span for upanayana runs from conception to the sixteenth year, the eighth year from conception being the principal time — as stated in a smṛti verse cited in the Śabda-kalpadruma: "That is his time. For a brāhmaṇa, from conception to the sixteenth year; among these, the eighth year from conception is the principal one."

Verse 8. Yajña-sūtra putrera dibāre — in order to give the sacred thread to his son. Miśravara, the excellent Jagannātha Miśra, called together his kinsmen and friends and brought them to his own home [to witness the rite].

Verse 9. With supreme joy everyone thus came together and assembled, and each one, according to what was fitting, set about his own appointed task [in preparing for the ceremony].

Verses 10–11. Vāya — plays [an instrument]. Rāyabāra — auspicious songs of praise (variant kāyabāra, same meaning). Ānanda-avatāra — as if bliss itself had come down and taken visible form; boundless joy.

Verses 12–13. That Śrī Gaurasundara should take up the sacred thread — for this very purpose every auspicious astrological conjunction (yoga) arrived together at Śacī's house: in an auspicious month, on an auspicious day, at an auspicious moment, Gaurāṅga Śrī Hari took up the sacred thread.

Verse 14. Sūkṣma-rūpe 'śeṣa' vā — as though Śeṣa Himself, in subtle form, encircled the Lord's body (on Śeṣa/Anantanāga, see the commentary on 1.1.6): He who "as umbrella, sandals, bed, pillow, garment, pleasure-grove, dwelling, sacrificial post, and throne, assuming so many different forms, renders service to Kṛṣṇa; having attained this state of 'remainder' [śeṣatā] in Kṛṣṇa's service, he bears the very name Śeṣa" (Caitanya-caritāmṛta 1.5.106–107). Here too, is it not he who, in the very form of the sacred thread, renders service to Gaura-Kṛṣṇa?

Verse 15. Vāmana — one form of Godhead, named Upendra, called Vāmana for His dwarfish stature; He appeared accepting Kaśyapa and Aditi as father and mother, and, in the guise of a brahmin boy, begged three paces of land from Bali Mahārāja (see Bhāgavata 8.18–23). Haila vāmana-rūpa — Gaurachandra, the sacred-thread-bearing brahmin youth, became the very image of Vāmana; to see Him then was to think one beheld Śrī Vāmanadeva Himself. In truth Vāmanadeva Himself resides within Gaurachandra, the Supreme Lord descended into this universe; it seems that, on this occasion, in accordance with the Lord's pastime, Vāmanadeva manifested Himself. (Variant for "parama ānanda": "nayana ānanda," "joy to the eyes.")

Verse 16. Brahmaṇya-teja — the effulgence bound up with Brahman; the term appears intended to carry the sense of "brahma-varcasa," said of Vāmanadeva at Bhāgavata 8.18.18, which Śrīpāda Viśvanātha Cakravartī glosses as "brahma-teja." That effulgence, of which Brahman is the substratum, is itself the bodily lustre of Śrī Kṛṣṇa — "the glory of Brahman that pervades ten million millions of universes, that very Brahman is Govinda's own bodily lustre" (Caitanya-caritāmṛta 1.2.10, Brahmā's own words, echoing Brahma-saṃhitā 5.40). On this occasion that same brahma-jyoti was manifest in the body of Gaura-Kṛṣṇa. Seeing His wondrous brahminical effulgence and His form of Vāmana, no one, even by mistake, took Him for an ordinary human being, a conditioned soul.

Verses 17–18. Hāthe daṇḍa, kāndhe jhuli — at upanayana one assumes the dress of a brahmacārī, of which the staff and begging-bag are part; in that dress one must also beg alms from the mothers of the community. The Lord, in brahmacārī's garb, went out to beg at the homes of His servants — in truth, at the homes of His own eternal associates — and the devoted housewives gave Him alms with the greatest joy.

Verse 19. Brahmāṇī — Brahmā's wife, Sarasvatī. Rudrāṇī — Rudra's wife, Pārvatī. Munivargera gṛhiṇī — the wives of the sages, Aditi and the rest.

Verse 20. Seeing the Lord in this form of Vāmana, everyone, delighted, laughed with joy as they gave alms, one after another, into His begging-bag.

Verse 21. The Lord, too, thus performed this very pastime of His Vāmana-form — and all this play was undertaken for the deliverance of conditioned souls.

Verses 22–23. These two couplets are the author's own statement. Padadvandva — the pair of feet.

Verse 24. Vaikuṇṭha-nāyaka — the Lord of Goloka, Śrī Kṛṣṇa (in the form of Gaura); see the commentary on 1.1.109. Vedera nigūḍha — that which the Veda states only in concealed, condensed form; see the commentary on 1.1.64.

Verse 25. Ghare — while remaining at home, without formal study under anyone. Sarva-śāstrera samīhita — the complete purport of every scripture. Goṣṭhī-mājhe — among His companions of the same age. Cita — mind, wish. The Lord is the omniscient, all-knowing Supreme Personality Himself, both author and knower of the Vedānta and every scripture; no scripture's inner sense is unknown to Him, and study is, in truth, wholly unnecessary for Him. Yet since His pastime is a human pastime, having descended into this universe He desires, in human fashion, to study — and this study is itself one of His pastimes. Through the pretext of this pastime of study He relishes the mellow of friendship (sakhya-rasa) with His fellow students of the same age; it is for the tasting of that very sakhya-rasa that "among His companions the Lord's mind turned to study."

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নবদ্বীপে আছে অধ্যাপকশিরোমণি। গঙ্গাদাস-পণ্ডিত যে-হেন সান্দীপনি ॥ ২৬

Translation and sequence of events. In Navadvīpa there lived the crest-jewel of teachers, Gaṅgādāsa Paṇḍita, who was like Sāndīpani [the sage who taught Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma]. He was thoroughly versed in the truths of grammar, and it was the Lord's own wish to study under him. Jagannātha Miśra, understanding his son's hint, went with Him to Gaṅgādāsa's brahmin household. Seeing Miśra, Gaṅgādāsa rose in respect, embraced him, and seated him upon the very same seat as himself. Miśra said, "I give my son into your hands; you yourself shall teach him and have him hear all things." Gaṅgādāsa replied, "That is my great good fortune; I shall teach him with all the ability I possess." Seeing his new pupil, Gaṅgādāsa, filled with supreme delight, kept Him ever by his own side as dear as his own son. Whatever explanation Paṇḍita Gaṅgādāsa gave, the Lord grasped it the very moment He heard it, only once. Whatever the teacher explained, He would first refute it before the other pupils, and then establish that very same explanation again. Among the thousands upon thousands of pupils who studied there, none had the power to find fault with Him. Seeing His extraordinary intelligence, the teacher, overjoyed, honored Him, proclaiming Him the very best among all his pupils. And whatever pupils studied under Paṇḍita Gaṅgādāsa, the Lord would ever set their wits in motion with playful trick questions.

Explanation. Sāndīpani — the sage of Avantīpura, under whom, in the past Dvāpara-yuga, Śrī Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma studied all the scriptures. According to Kavikarṇapūra, Gaṅgādāsa Paṇḍita was, in the earlier pastime, none other than Vasiṣṭha (Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā 53). Tattvavit — expert, learned in essential truths. Iṅgita — a wish conveyed by hint or gesture. Eka-āsane — upon the same seat as Miśra himself. Sakṛt — once; dharena — is able to grasp and comprehend (see the commentary on the preceding verse 25).

Whatever explanation Gaṅgādāsa Paṇḍita, the Lord's own teacher, offered, the Lord would first, before the other pupils, refute it, pointing out its supposed faults; then He would show again that the teacher's explanation was in fact correct and without fault. Such cleverness is called phām̐ki — a playful feint (see the commentary on 1.5.120). Divāre dūṣaṇe — able to point out a fault in, that is, to refute, His statement. Sarva-goṣṭhī-śreṣṭha kari — declaring Nimāi the very best of all his pupils. Sabhāreī ṭhākura cālena — the Lord ever sets everyone's wits in motion by asking playful trick questions (see the following verse 39). Since naturally no one wishes to be caught off guard or made a fool of, those whom the Lord questioned in this way had to reflect deeply to expose the inconsistency of His trick, and in doing so had to exercise their own intellects to an unusual degree; the Lord Himself was the root cause of that exercise. Hence it is said that the Lord "cālena" everyone — sets everyone's intelligence in motion.

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শ্রীমুরারি গুপ্ত, শ্রীকমলাকান্ত নাম। কৃষ্ণানন্দ-আদি যত গোষ্ঠীর প্রধান ॥ ৩৮

Translation and sequence. Śrī Murāri Gupta, one named Śrī Kamalākānta, Kṛṣṇānanda, and others were the foremost among the students. The Lord would set them all going with His trick questions; thinking Him but a child, they would only laugh and say nothing. Thus, day after day, having studied and recited, He would go with His companions of the same age to bathe in the Gaṅgā. There was no end to the students in the town of Navadvīpa; having studied, at midday all of them would go down to bathe in the Gaṅgā. Each teacher had a thousand pupils, and they would constantly quarrel among themselves. In His earliest years the Lord's nature was restless, and He too took part in quarrels with the other students. One would say, "What kind of wits has your teacher?" — another, "Just argue it out with me — see whose teacher has the better sense." [In another such exchange:] "What wits does your teacher have? In which scripture is he expert, and what does he even teach you?" Little by little this turned to mutual abuse; then water was flung, then sand; then it came to blows, whoever could overpower whom, flinging mud and striking one another's bodies; some, invoking the king's authority, seized hold of one another, and having struck their blows, fled to the far bank of the Gaṅgā. Such was the students' uproar that all the water of the Gaṅgā grew turbid with sand and mud.

Explanation. Goṣṭhīra pradhāna — foremost among the students (variant for Kamalākānta: Kamalākara). Cālaye — sets in motion (see the commentary on 1.6.37); phām̐ki — see the commentary on 1.5.120. Nija-vayasya — one's companions of the same age. Eko — each one; anyonye — mutually, with one another. Prathama vayasa — childhood; kandala (variant kondala) — quarrel. In their childish impetuousness quarrels would break out simply over the glory of each one's own teacher. Bola ei, āmi śiṣya yāra — "say what you will — look here, whosesoever pupil I am [argue it out with me], and you will see how much intelligence my teacher has."

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Translation and sequence. The women could not manage to draw water, nor could the respectable brahmins manage to bathe. Utterly restless was the Lord, Viśvambhara Rāya, going from ghāṭ to ghāṭ; at every ghāṭ there was no end of students, and the Lord would quarrel at every spot, swimming the Gaṅgā at each one and playing there for a good while. The most respected and authoritative among the students said, "Why do you quarrel so? Ask, and let us see whose wits are what — who truly knows the correctness of the vṛtti, the pañjī, and the ṭīkā?" The Lord, the omnipotent Supreme Godhead, then gave an explanation of the sūtra that was reasoned and unassailable. Hearing it, all spoke words of praise — whereupon the Lord said, "Now listen, I shall refute it," and found fault with everything He had just explained. "Now establish it," He said — "who can?" All were astonished in their hearts at this marvel. "Listen now," said the Lord, "I shall establish it" — and Gaurachandra again gave an explanation excellent in every way, faultless throughout. All the most authoritative students joyfully embraced Him, and said, "Go home today; come tomorrow prepared to answer what we shall ask." Thus, day after day, in the waters of the Jāhnavī, did the Lord of Vaikuṇṭha play at the sport of relishing learning — for the sake of this very sport the omniscient Bṛhaspati [i.e., Kṛṣṇa Himself] took birth in Navadvīpa together with His disciples. The Lord sported in the water with the children, crossing again and again, in delight, to the far bank of the Gaṅgā.

Explanation. Ṭhākura — Nimāi Ṭhākura. Prāmāṇika — those whose word commands everyone's trust; the wise, the senior. On vṛtti, pañjī, and ṭīkā, all technical terms: a concise exposition in verse is called vṛtti — "vṛtti is a summary explanation in verses" (Amara-ṭīkā), also called kārikā; pañjī is that which shows the division of words in a sentence, "pañjikā is padabhañjikā" (Hemacandra); ṭīkā is continuous explanation, "ṭīkā is continuous explanation" (Hemacandra), showing the critically examined meaning of a sentence. Śuddhi — correctness, purity. Sūtra — a pithy, meaning-laden composition: "of few syllables, unambiguous, substantial, all-encompassing, beyond doubt, and free of padding — such a work is called a sūtra," as cited from the Skanda Purāṇa (Śrī Śrī Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava Dictionary). Pramāṇa — reasoned, irrefutable.

Ei krīḍā, sarvajña Bṛhaspati — "sarvajña" ("omniscient") is used here in its very fullest sense, as the variant readings "sarvāda" ("origin of all") and "sarvārthe" ("in every respect") confirm. Bṛhaspati = bṛhat + pati (Śabda-kalpadruma), bṛhat meaning "great" — hence "the great Lord," the Supreme Master, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who alone is truly omniscient, the origin of all, and supreme in every respect; the celestial preceptor Bṛhaspati possesses no such glory. Since "for the sake of this sport" refers to Nimāi's play just described, and since the author everywhere calls Śrī Nimāi Śrī Kṛṣṇa, Nimāi is meant here too: because whatever explanation He gives, turning "is" into "is not" and back again, none can refute Him, He is called "Bṛhaspati," the qualifiers "sarvajña," "sarvāda," and "sarvārtha" marking His distinction from the celestial preceptor of that name. Śiṣya-saha navadvīpe — descended into Navadvīpa together with His associates — here meaning His fellow students, who, following His will, act as His disciples. (An alternative reading — that the celestial Bṛhaspati himself took birth in Navadvīpa with his own disciples to witness this pastime — does not seem the verse's plain sense.) Under the pretext of playing with the children in the Gaṅgā, the Lord was, in truth, sporting with the Gaṅgā herself, to fulfil her own long-cherished desire, as the following verses show.

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Translation and sequence. The Gaṅgā had long harbored many a desire, having seen Kṛṣṇacandra's sporting in the Yamunā: "When shall it be my fortune to share the Yamunā's fortune?" — so she ceaselessly said. Though worshipped by Brahmā, Śiva, and the rest, still she longed for the position the Yamunā holds. The Lord, Śrī Gaurasundara, the wish-fulfilling tree, ceaselessly fulfils the Gaṅgā's desire. Having sported in many ways in the waters of the Jāhnavī, Gaurachandra returned home with delight; having duly worshipped Śrī Viṣṇu, He took His meal together with the sanctified water. The very moment He had eaten, He took up His grammar text and went to sit alone; He Himself composed an annotation on its sūtras, and the crest-jewel of all the gods forgot Himself in the delight of the text. Seeing this, Miśra Mahāśaya floated in bliss, aware, day and night, of nothing else in his joy. Gazing again and again at his son's face, Jagannātha [Miśra] tasted, moment by moment, an indescribable happiness — so that, drinking in his son's beauty, he seemed as though he had attained sāyujya even in his own body. And yet, what was such adventitious happiness of sāyujya to him? Miśra counted it as trifling.

Explanation. Sūtrera ṭippanī — a gloss on the sūtras of the Kalāpa grammar, which the Lord was studying under Gaṅgādāsa Paṇḍita; from this verse we learn that, even as a student, the Lord composed a commentary on the Kalāpa grammar — though it is not extant today. Pustaka-rase — in the delight of studying the grammar. Sarva-deva-maṇi — the crown-jewel of all the gods. Tile tile — moment by moment (variant niti niti, "daily").

Saśarīre sāyujya vā — when a worldly soul, aided by devotional practice, becomes wholly freed from māyā, he attains, after relinquishing the body, the liberation of sāyujya — merging into undifferentiated Brahman — and in tasting that bliss becomes so absorbed as to forget even his own existence. Drinking in the nectar of his son's beauty, Miśra Purandara became so lost in relishing it that he lost all sense of self — yet he attained this absorption while still in his own body, unlike the sādhaka who attains it only after death; hence "as if he had attained sāyujya even in the body." In truth Miśra Ṭhākura is no conditioned soul but Gaura's own eternally perfected associate, the embodied form of the sandhinī-predominant essential potency, for whom the very question of sāyujya-mukti could not arise; his state at that moment merely resembled, in respect of self-absorption, that of a soul who has attained sāyujya — and the word "saśarīre," "in the very body," itself signals that this was not true sāyujya, since no one can attain that liberation while embodied.

Upādhika sukha — happiness that is not the soul's own essential, intrinsic happiness is called adventitious (aupādhika) happiness. The soul's own intrinsic happiness is the happiness of service whose sole purport is Kṛṣṇa's pleasure (see the commentary on 1.5.53); the happiness of liberation runs contrary to this intrinsic happiness. The desire for service whose sole purport is Kṛṣṇa's pleasure does not arise from a desire for the happiness of liberation, but the desire for liberation arises from the wish to be rid, once for all, of one's own worldly sorrow and from a personal craving for the happiness of freedom; hence, since liberation of the sāyujya type has no connection whatever with the soul's essential, loving relationship with Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the happiness of liberation is called adventitious happiness. Tāne — to him, to Jagannātha Miśra: is this adventitious happiness born of sāyujya really any happiness at all? Alpa kari māne — he counts it as trifling. Though Miśra Purandara, being an eternally perfected associate, could have no occasion whatever for desiring liberation, still, being an associate of the Lord who bears a human pastime and a human self-conception, he too carries a human self-conception; under its sway he worships as ordinary people do, yet — though he may not consciously perceive it — his beginninglessly established pure parental affection (vātsalya) toward Gaura-Kṛṣṇa is ever present in his heart. Under the influence of that vātsalya, his desire, in the guise of a sādhaka-soul, is only for service whose sole purport is Kṛṣṇa's happiness; and since the happiness of sāyujya and the like runs contrary to such a desire, he counts the happiness of liberation as trifling.

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Translation and sequence. Many, many obeisances to Jagannātha Miśra, in whose house the Lord of unlimited universes dwells in the form of a son! Thus does Miśracandra, beholding his son, float ceaselessly in an ocean of bliss. The Lord, more beautiful than Kāmadeva himself, His unequalled loveliness adorning every single limb — seeing this, Miśracandra thought within himself: "Lest some ḍākinī or demon exert its power over my son..." In fear he offered his son up to Kṛṣṇa's keeping, while Gaurachandra, hidden nearby, smiled to hear him. Miśra said: "O Kṛṣṇa! You are the protector of all; cast Your auspicious glance upon my son. In whosesoever heart Your lotus feet are remembered, no calamity ever enters that one's dwelling; but wherever You are forgotten, that place of sin becomes the abode of ḍākinīs, ghosts, and evil spirits." As proof of this the Bhāgavata (10.6.29) is cited:

ন যত্র শ্রবণাদীনি রক্ষোঘ্নানি স্বকর্মসু। কুর্বন্তি সাত্বতাং ভর্তুর্যাতুধান্যশ্চ তত্র হি ॥ ১ ॥

Translation. In whatever place people, in the course of their daily activities, fail to perform the acts — hearing and the rest — that destroy demons, directed toward the Lord of the Sātvatas [Kṛṣṇa]; in that very place the rākṣasīs and their kind exert their power.

Explanation. On Kaṃsa's order the child-slaying Pūtanā was roaming about killing newborn infants. Hearing this, when Mahārāja Parīkṣit's anxiety arose concerning Śrī Kṛṣṇa, Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī consoled him, saying: "Mahārāja! Pūtanā has undertaken an impossible task — Śrī Kṛṣṇa can never become an object of her power to kill; by this very attempt she will bring about her own death. For it is only where the hearing, chanting, and remembering of Śrī Kṛṣṇa's name, qualities, form, and pastimes are absent that rākṣasīs like Pūtanā can exert their power; where such hearing and chanting occur, they can exert none. She who attempts to kill the very One whose name and qualities carry such power — her effort will never bear fruit; rather, Pūtanā herself will meet her own destruction" (the substance of Śrīdhara Svāmīpāda's commentary). This śloka is offered as proof of verse 85.

The narrative continues: Miśra begged, "I am Your servant, O Lord; whatever is mine, You Yourself protect — all is Yours. Therefore let no obstacle or danger ever come near my son." Thus, ceaselessly, with single-minded devotion, did Miśra Jagannātha raise both hands and beg this boon. One day, by providence, Miśravara saw a dream, in which both great joy and great sorrow arose within his heart.

Bhaye — out of fear of harm to Nimāi from ḍākinīs and demons. Puja samarpaye — offered his son Nimāi at Kṛṣṇa's feet. Āḍe — concealed, in a place invisible to Miśravara. Vijñāsā karite — the account of Jagannātha Miśra's dream now follows in verses 90–102: under the guise of this dream, the pastime-potency (līlā-śakti) made known to Miśravara the Lord's future pastimes.

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Translation and sequence. Seeing the dream, Miśra recited a hymn of praise and bowed prostrate: "O Govinda! Let Nimāi remain in my house! This alone is the boon I beg of You, O Kṛṣṇa — that, becoming a householder, Nimāi may remain at home." Śacī, greatly astonished, asked, "Why do you suddenly beg such boons?" Miśra said: "Today I saw a dream — it seemed Nimāi had had His tuft of hair shaved off. In a wondrous, indescribable garb of a renunciate, He laughed, danced, and wept, crying 'Kṛṣṇa!' at every moment. Advaita Ācārya and the rest of the devotees, surrounding Him, performed kīrtana. At times Nimāi sat upon Viṣṇu's couch, raising His feet to place them upon everyone's heads. The four-faced one [Brahmā], the five-faced one [Śiva], the thousand-faced one [Ananta] — all sang, 'Glory to Śrī Śacīnandana!' In great awe, on every side, all offered praises; seeing this, words failed in my mouth. In a moment I saw Him, taking millions upon millions of people with Him, wandering and dancing through every town; millions upon millions ran after Nimāi, and, touching the very universe, sang the chorus of Hari's name. The very moment they heard the glory of Nimāi proclaimed on every side, the whole assembly of devotees set out for Nīlācala. Seeing this dream, my heart is troubled on every side — I fear my son will grow indifferent to the world and leave home." Śacī said, "You have only had a dream, my lord; do not worry — Nimāi will remain at home. Apart from His books, Nimāi knows no other occupation; the delight of learning has become His whole religion." Thus did that most generous pair speak of many things, out of love for their son. Thus did Miśravara remain a few days more; then his eternally perfected form disappeared [from mortal sight].

Explanation. Ācambita — suddenly, without apparent cause. Śikhāra muṇḍana — the shaving of the head, performed at the taking of sannyāsa, when all the hair must be removed by the razor: Miśravara saw, in his dream, none other than Nimāi's own future taking of sannyāsa. Caturmukha — Brahmā; pañcamukha — Mahādeva; sahasravadana — Anantadeva. Bulena — wanders, roams about. Brahmāṇḍa spariyā — their chorus of Hari's name touches [reaches to] the very edge of the universe. Virakta — indifferent to, unattached to, worldly happiness.

Antardhāna hailā — passed beyond the sight of ordinary people. Nitya-siddha kalevara (variant: nitya śuddha kalevara, "eternally pure body") — Śrī Jagannātha Miśravara was Śrī Gaura's beginninglessly perfected associate, the embodied form of the sandhinī-predominant essential potency (see the commentary on 1.1.72), and his body too was eternally perfected — his form had been so from beginningless time. When the Lord of human pastime manifests His birth-pastime and accepts childhood and boyhood, then, at the close of childhood and boyhood, He resumes His own eternally perfected form, and it is the same with His associates. Miśra Purandara, not belonging to the category of conditioned souls, did not take birth in any newly formed body; rather, in his own eternally perfected body, in imitation of worldly birth and for the sake of the human pastime, he accepted [the semblance of] childhood and boyhood, and after their passing remained established in his eternally perfected form. Like the Lord's own birth, his birth too was no ordinary birth — it was merely an appearance, the rendering visible, to mortal eyes, of a form ordinarily invisible to them. Neither he nor other such associates of the Lord undergo death as human beings do; they simply pass beyond mortal sight — disappear, withdraw from manifestation.

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Translation and sequence. At Miśra's departure the Lord wept profusely, as Raghuvara [Rāma] once wept at Daśaratha's passing. Irresistible was Śrī Gaurachandra's power of attraction — hence Āi's [Mother Śacī's] own life was preserved. To narrate this sorrowful mellow at length would cause only sorrow; hence it is told in brief. Thus did Gaurahari remain with His mother, concealing Himself, keeping His true nature hidden. Seeing her son now bereft of his father, Āi Śacī had, apart from serving that son, no other occupation left; if even for a moment she failed to see Gaurachandra, she would faint, and both her eyes would go blind with tears. The Lord too showed unceasing affection for His mother, consoling her with reassuring words: "Listen, Mother! Do not worry in your mind about anything; you have everything, so long as I am here. That which the world calls hard to attain even for Brahmā and Maheśvara — that too I shall bring and give you with ease." And Śacī, gazing upon Gaurachandra's lotus face, would forget even the memory of her own body — so how could there be any sorrow in her? He whose mere remembrance fulfils every desire — that very Lord is present in the form of her son; He made His mother the very embodiment of bliss. Thus, in the form of a brahmin child in Navadvīpa, did the Lord of Vaikuṇṭha abide, in the bliss of His own self-relishing nature.

Explanation. Vijaye — at [his] departure, disappearance (variants: virahe, viyoge); raghuvara — Śrī Rāmacandra. Dunivāra — impossible to restrain even with great effort; āira — of Mother Śacī: there was every likelihood that Mother Śacī, too, would have passed from manifestation on being bereft of her husband, but owing to her irresistible attraction, born of pure parental affection, toward Gaurachandra — and out of concern that her son, dearer to her than millions of lives, would suffer if bereft of both parents — she did not do so. Mother Śacī, too, has an eternally perfected body, being an embodied form of the sandhinī-predominant essential potency, and does not belong to the category of conditioned souls (see the commentary on 1.1.73). Āpanā sambari — concealing Himself, behaving as an ordinary human child. Prabodhena — consoles; tāne — her, Mother Śacī; āśvāsa-uttara — reassuring words, given in the following two verses.

Brahmā-maheśvare hele āmi āniyā diba — that which people consider hard to attain even for Brahmā and Maheśvara, I shall bring and give you with ease: it is the pastime-potency that, through the Lord's own mouth, speaks these consoling words to His mother. Deha-smṛti-mātra nāhi — gazing upon her son's face, dearer to her than millions of lives, in supreme bliss, even Mother Śacī's memory of her own body would vanish, her whole consciousness centered on her son's beautiful face, with no attention left for her own body — hence at such moments she felt no pain of separation from her husband either.

Vaikuṇṭha-nātha... svānubhāva-sukhe — the Lord of Goloka (see 1.1.109), in the bliss of His own essential, intrinsic characteristic (svānubhāva). The Lord is, in essential nature, the combined form of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa; hence both Their characteristic marks are present within Him. As Śrī Kṛṣṇa His characteristic is that He is bliss itself, the very form of rasa, the bestower of bliss, ever disporting in mellow-filled pastime; as Śrī Rādhā, Her characteristic is that She is the possessor of the undivided treasury of prema, the crest-jewel of all devotees, ever engaged in service whose sole purport is Kṛṣṇa's happiness, and the taster of the sweetness of Kṛṣṇa's name, form, and qualities. Being the combined form of both, sometimes the characteristic of Kṛṣṇa-svarūpa manifested in the Lord and sometimes that of Rādhā-svarūpa. When Kṛṣṇa-svarūpa's characteristic manifested, He experienced bliss by bestowing bliss on all (see 1.5.1–44), or, absorbed in the mood of child-Kṛṣṇa, performed delightful pastimes (1.5.110–12, 151–58), or manifested moods of warfare (1.8.236), amorous play (1.8.237), the distribution of wealth (1.8.238), the sitting on Viṣṇu's couch (1.6.96), or the sound of the flute (1.8.215–19) — thus manifesting the moods of the Lord of Vṛndāvana, He experienced bliss. And when Rādhā-svarūpa's characteristic manifested in Him, He sometimes displayed transformations of prema under the pretext of a windborne malady (1.8.67–70), sometimes became distraught in prema crying "Where is Kṛṣṇa, where is Kṛṣṇa!" (2.1.43), sometimes served the Vaiṣṇavas in the mood of a devotee (2.2.35–46), sometimes displayed wondrous transformations of prema in kīrtana with His devotees (2.2.158–66), and so on — all of this being the Lord's own bliss of self-relishing (svānubhāva-ānanda).

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Translation and sequence. In His household nothing but poverty was ever manifest, yet the Lord's command to His mother was as unchallengeable as the very sport of Maheśvara himself. Whether there was anything in the house or not, there was no reckoning it; if He desired something and did not get it, thereafter there was no saving the household from His wrath — in that instant He would break doors and walls, giving no thought at all to the loss. Yet, even so, whatever Śacī had, at that very moment, with great effort and out of love for her son, she would give Him.

One day the Lord set out to bathe in the Gaṅgā and asked His mother for oil and āmalakī. "Give me a fine garland and fragrant sandalwood too," He said; "having bathed in the Gaṅgā, I wish to worship her." His mother said, "Son, listen — wait a moment, let me go and fetch the garland." The very instant He heard "go and fetch it," Śacī's son turned red with anger: "You're only going now?" — and, enraged, He strode into the house. Whatever jars of Gaṅgā-water there were, in His fury He smashed them all first; oil, ghee, salt, whatever was in whatever container — He pulverized it all, stick in hand; every vessel, small and large, in the house did the Lord of unrestrained will smash to pieces; oil, ghee, and milk rolled about the floor along with rice, cotton, grain, salt, lentil-cakes, and mung beans. Whatever hanging shelves there were He tore down one by one, flinging them in His rage; whatever cloth He found He tore to shreds with both hands. When nothing was left to break, His fury turned at last upon the house itself — with both hands He struck the walls with His stick, and no living creature could restrain Him. Having broken doors and walls, He then struck at a tree with the same stick, both hands upon it — yet even so His fury found no rest, and at last there was no reckoning how many times He struck the very ground. Terrified, Śacī shrank into a corner of the house, hiding as though in mortal fear. Yet the Lord, the establisher of dharma, eternal dharma Himself, never once raised His hand against His mother — though His anger was displayed to such a degree, He never struck her. Having broken everything, He came at last into the courtyard and, still in fury, rolled upon the ground.

Explanation. Anvaya (verse 120): [In the Lord's household] there is manifest nothing but poverty, always; yet His mother's obedience to His command is like the very sport of the great Lord Maheśvara. Outside, the Lord is joyfully at play with the brahmin children, showing there no want or sorrow of want; being the fullest and most complete of beings, He can in truth have no want and hence no sorrow — He is Lord of the six opulences, in whom poverty can have no place. Nevertheless, to let Him taste Mother Śacī's pure parental affection, the pastime-potency has manifested "poverty alone" in His household. From the worldly point of view great poverty prevailed there; yet even in that state, His command to His mother was as unchallengeable as any command the Supreme Lord Himself, in His pastime-guise as Maheśvara, might give — Mother Śacī had to obey it, or else the Lord would create an uproar. In truth the Lord Himself is the Supreme Maheśvara, the Supreme Personality of Godhead; it is the pastime-potency that speaks this command through Him.

(Variant readings are noted at several points: for "bhāṅgiyā phelena"/"sakala bhāṅgena," "tāho nāhi māne"/"tāhā nāhi jāne," "eṭhāṅe yāibā tumi"/"akhane ki yāibā se," and elsewhere, all without material change of sense.) Kṣamā nāhi haya — He does not relent; samuccaya — reckoning: there is no reckoning how many times He struck the ground. Ārau vyañjiyā āchena — has expressed [such fury]. The Lord's tearing up the household in this way is understood as the wondrous "baby's tantrum" (ām̐khuṭi) of an ordinary human infant — an amazing pastime of childhood.

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Translation and sequence. His golden body now covered in sand, He yet shone with a wondrous, indescribable beauty. In a while Mahāprabhu, having rolled upon the ground, lay still and fell asleep — He cast this very same [wonder-inducing] glance upon yoga-nidrā itself, the Lord of Vaikuṇṭha lying upon the bare earth: He upon whose very body the great serpent Ananta himself serves as a couch, whose lotus feet Lakṣmī unceasingly serves; He whom the four Vedas search after — that very Lord lies asleep in Śacī's courtyard; He in whose pores of skin the infinite universes float, whose servant performs creation, maintenance, and dissolution. Brahmā, Śiva, and the rest are maddened contemplating His qualities — such a Lord sleeps [now] in Śacī's courtyard! Thus did Mahāprabhu sleep in the mellow of His own self-relishing nature, and, seeing Him so asleep, all the gods wept and laughed at once. In a while Mother Śacī, having had a garland brought, came before Him, intent on worshipping the Gaṅgā; gently, gently laying her hand upon her son's body, the goddess went and began brushing off the sand: "Get up, get up, my son! Look, here is your garland; go, as you wish, and worship the Gaṅgā yourself. It is well, my son, whatever you broke, however much — let it go, taking all your misfortune with it!" Hearing His mother's words, Śrī Gaurasundara, inwardly abashed, went off to bathe.

Explanation. Yoga-nidrā — the "sleep" fashioned by Yogamāyā; the Lord slept in that very state. His sleep is not the sleep born of the mode of ignorance (tamo-guṇa), as with ordinary people, for the Lord is of the nature of sac-cid-ānanda, and no material quality — not even tamo-guṇa — can ever touch Him. Śrī-vaikuṇṭha-pati — the Lord of Goloka, Śrī Kṛṣṇa (see the commentary on 1.1.109).

Anantera śrī-vigrahe — of Anantadeva (variant: "ananta-vigrahopare," "upon the body of Ananta"). Cāri vede — here one should recall Uddhava's words: "even the śrutis, personified, worship the pathway to Mukunda's feet" (Bhāgavata 10.47.61). This verse (147) declares Śacī's son's identity as Kṛṣṇa Himself, since Śrī Kṛṣṇa alone is that which all the Vedas seek to know — "By all the Vedas I alone am to be known" (Gītā 15.15, Śrī Kṛṣṇa's own words).

Ananta brahmāṇḍa [etc.] — He in whose pores of skin the infinite universes float about. Of the Puruṣa who lies in the Causal Ocean it is said: "When breath goes out through that Puruṣa's nostrils, with each exhalation Brahmā [the universes] manifest; when the breath again returns within, the universes too re-enter the Puruṣa's body along with it — as specks of dust pass through a chink in a window, so the universes pass through the pores of the Puruṣa's skin" (Caitanya-caritāmṛta 1.5.60–62); and, as proof: "Resting upon the time-span of but a single one of whose exhalations the lords of the universe, born in the pores of His skin, live out their lives — He is Mahā-Viṣṇu; that same Govinda, the primeval Person, of whom he is but a partial manifestation (kalā), I worship" (Brahma-saṁhitā 5.48, Brahmā's own utterance). "Mahā-Viṣṇu" is one name of the Puruṣa who lies in the Causal Ocean; from Brahmā's own statement we learn that this great Puruṣa, in whose pores of skin the infinite universes pass to and fro with such ease, is a partial manifestation (an expansion of an expansion) of the primeval Person, Śrī Govinda. Regarding the non-difference of the expansion and its source, Brahmā, in the Brahma-vimohana-līlā, spoke of Śrī Govinda Himself as "possessing pores of skin like window-chinks, the pathway for the passage of countless universes" — "How am I to measure Your greatness, You whose body of seven spans encompasses the darkness, the mahat-tattva, the sky, fire, water, and earth, and in whose pores of skin course the innumerable universe-atoms, borne on the wind of Your breath?" (Bhāgavata 10.14.11). In just the same way here, the author Śrīla Vṛndāvana Dāsa Ṭhākura, on the same understanding of the non-difference of expansion and source, speaks of Śrī Gaura: "the infinite universes float in whose pores of skin." Or else the author speaks directly of the great Puruṣa who lies in the Causal Ocean. And as for "by whose servant creation, maintenance, and dissolution are performed" — the immediate agent of creation, maintenance, and dissolution is that Causal-Ocean Puruṣa alone, and no other; here "servant" (dāsa) refers to him. He is called a servant because he is himself a partial expansion (kalā) of Śrī Govinda (and hence of Śrī Gaura too), by Brahmā's own testimony; Śrī Govinda (or Śrī Gaura) is his source (aṁśī), and service to the source is the very essential nature (svarūpa-dharma) of the expansion. The Causal-Ocean Puruṣa performs the service of fulfilling Śrī Kṛṣṇa's desire to create; hence, in all matters of creation, he is Śrī Kṛṣṇa's (or Śrī Gaura's) servant. Following this reasoning, the sense of the couplet in question would be: "That great Puruṣa lying in the Causal Ocean, in whose pores of skin the infinite universes float, and who is the servant of Śrī Gaura, performing creation, maintenance, and dissolution as such a servant of His — that very Śrī Gaura Prabhu sleeps in Śacī's courtyard." This seems to be the author's intended sense, for in the immediately preceding verse 147 he has spoken of Śacī's son's identity as Kṛṣṇa, and he has said the same repeatedly elsewhere (see 1.1.106, 1.1.125, 1.2.79, 1.2.149, 1.2.153, 1.5.87).

Svānubhāva-rase (variants: "svānubhāvāveśe," "svānubhāve bhāse") — in the bliss of relishing that very childhood (marked by boyhood traits) which the Lord has accepted as a feature of His own eternal youthfulness; see the commentary on 1.6.119. Bālāi — calamity, misfortune.

Śacī's endurance (verses 156–164). Śacī then set about cleaning the whole house and preparing to cook. Although the Lord had wrought such destruction, still no sorrow arose in Śacī's mind — just as Yaśodā, in Gokula, endured Kṛṣṇa's boundless mischief in every form. In just this way Mother Śacī, the mother of the universe, endured all of Gaurāṅga's restlessness continually. [The author adds, in his own voice:] Knowing this to be the Lord's own pastime, how much of it could I possibly tell? Thus did she endure all His restlessness in body, speech, and mind — Mother Śacī became, as it were, the Earth herself, for the Earth bears every outrage men commit upon her, growing angry with none, punishing none, silently enduring all; hence one of the Earth's names is Sarvaṃsahā, "she who endures all." Nimāi wrought many an outrage upon Mother Śacī, yet no sorrow ever arose in her heart (verse 157); she endured all His restlessness (verse 160) — in body (never once did she strike Nimāi), in speech (never once did she rebuke Him harshly), and in mind (never once did His restlessness cause her inward grief). Hence it is said: "Āi herself became, as it were, the Earth" — Mother Śacī herself became, like the Earth, one who "endures all."

In a while, having bathed in the Gaṅgā, the Lord of sport returned home; having duly worshipped Śrī Viṣṇu and offered water to the tulasī, He sat down to take His meal; having eaten, His heart glad, He smilingly chewed betel and rinsed His mouth.

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Translation and sequence. Gently, gently, Āi then began to speak: "My son, why did you cause such destruction — to what purpose? The house, the doors, the goods — all are yours; the loss is yours, what concern is it of mine? [Yet] you will now go and stay with relatives — there is nothing left in the house; what shall we eat tomorrow?" Hearing His mother's words, the Lord smiled and said, "Kṛṣṇa, as our sustainer, will provide for us." So saying, He took His book in hand and, the Lord of Sarasvatī, went off to study. Having spent a while joyfully absorbed in the delight of learning, He came to the bank of the Jāhnavī at evening; after a time there He returned again to His own house. Calling His mother and bringing her to a private place, He placed two tolās of divine gold into her hand: "See, Mother! This is the provision Kṛṣṇa has given; have it exchanged and spend it all." So saying, Mahāprabhu went off to sleep, while Āi, greatly astonished, pondered in her mind: "From where does He keep bringing gold, again and again? I fear some misfortune may yet come of it! Whenever there is a shortage of provisions in the house, He brings gold in just this way, again and again. Does He borrow it from someone, or does He know some mystic power (siddhi)? From whom, and in what manner, does He get this gold?" Being of the utmost sincerity and generosity, Āi was afraid even to have it exchanged, again and again, and instructed people: "Show it first in ten places, in five places, and only then have it exchanged."

Explanation. Dāya — responsibility, gain or loss (variant: "se ki doṣa"). Sambala — the wherewithal for food and clothing. Poṣṭā — one who nourishes/sustains. Nibhṛte — in a private, secluded place. Suvarṇa... bāre bāra — "gold... again and again": this shows that whenever His mother had need, the Lord would bring her gold at that very time (see the following verse). Pramāda — danger, calamity. Sambala-saṅkoca — a shortfall of provisions for food and clothing. Dhāra kare — borrows from someone; siddhi — the eight mystic perfections beginning with aṇimā and laghimā (Bhāgavata 11.15.4–5). Kaitava — deceit, fraud; akaitava — free of deceit, without any wish to defraud; mahā-akaitava — utterly guileless. Bhāṅgāite — to exchange the gold for loose coin; ḍarāya — fears (variant "daḍhāya," "makes firm, is cautious").

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Translation and sequence. Thus did Mahāprabhu, the Lord of all the perfected mystics (siddhas), remain hidden within Navadvīpa in the guise of an ordinary student. Never for a moment did He let the book leave His hand; He studied amid His companions as though Cupid himself stood there in visible form. A beautiful vertical (ūrdhva) tilaka adorned His forehead, and upon His head the lovely curling locks of hair enchanted every eye; upon His shoulder the sacred thread, brahminical splendor made manifest; His smiling face gracious, His teeth divine — how wondrous those two lotus eyes, how wondrous the garment wrapped in the three-fold kaccha (see below)! Whoever beheld Him gazed fixedly, unable to look away, and none could help exclaiming, "Blessed, blessed is he [who has seen this]!" Such wondrous explanations did the Ṭhākura give that His teacher, on hearing them, was filled with delight; keeping Him ever by his side among all his pupils, the teacher seated Him as the very foremost of all. "My son," said the teacher, "study with full attention; I tell you with certainty, you shall become a Bhaṭṭācārya." The Lord replied, "Whomever you bless — how could any title be hard for him to attain?"

Whomever Śrī Gaurasundara questioned, no student existed who could answer Him; He would then Himself establish the sūtra's meaning, and afterward Himself refute His own explanation. If no one could re-establish it in any way, then the Lord Himself would set it forth again, most beautifully. Whether in bathing, in eating, or in wandering about, the Lord had no other concern but scripture. Thus did the Ṭhākura remain absorbed in the delight of learning, not revealing Himself — owing to the fault of the age [the time for His self-revelation not yet having come]. [The following verses describe the state of the country at that time:] The whole world had become void of devotion to Hari; there remained no path but bad company and evil ways. People held lavish celebrations for their sons and the like, in various fashions, their minds fixed on nothing beyond the body and the household. Seeing everyone's fondness for false happiness, the hearts of the Vaiṣṇavas grieved; crying "Kṛṣṇa!" they all wept: "O Nārāyaṇa, have mercy on these souls! Having obtained such a [human] body, still no attachment to Kṛṣṇa has arisen in them — for how much longer must they yet suffer this misfortune?"

Explanation. Sūtra — see the commentary on 1.6.56; the sūtras of the Kalāpa grammar are meant here. Surīte — in the best manner. Paryaṭane — while wandering, at leisure. Prakāśa nā kare — the Lord does not reveal Himself; He lets no one know what His own essential nature is, since the time for His self-revelation had not yet come (dina-doṣe, "owing to the fault/limitation of the time"); the following three verses describe the condition of the country at that period. Pujādira mahotsava — lavish, ostentatious expenditure on occasions such as a son's birth or first rice-feeding ceremony. Deha-geha-vyatirikta — nothing beyond bodily comfort and the adornment of house and home ever stirs in their minds. Mithyā-sukha — see the commentary on 1.5.17.

Hena deha — a human body fit for devotional practice. Śrī Kṛṣṇa said to Uddhava: "The human body is the first requisite [for both action and devotional practice — in no other body can the soul perform any new action or engage in bhajana]; this human body is both easily obtained and exceedingly hard to obtain [a soul cannot attain it by its own effort, and so it is hard to obtain by one's own endeavor; yet since the Lord mercifully bestows it, it is also easily obtained]; with the guru as helmsman, it is a well-built vessel, propelled by the favorable wind of My own mercy, capable of carrying one across the ocean of birth and death to the farther shore; that man who, having obtained it, does not cross over the ocean of material existence, is a slayer of his own soul" (Bhāgavata 11.20.17).

Extended explanation of this śloka. Because every soul is Śrī Kṛṣṇa's own energy and a part of that energy — and hence His eternal servant — every soul possesses, in its essential constitution, the right to worship Śrī Kṛṣṇa; but the embodied right to do so belongs to the human being alone. As it is said, "the highest devotion is the service of Hṛṣīkeśa [the Lord of the senses] rendered through the senses [dedicated to Him]" — devotional service to Śrī Kṛṣṇa must be performed with the aid of the mind and the other senses. But creatures other than human beings receive bodies, minds, and intellects fit only for experiencing the fruits of their own past deeds; they possess no intelligence fit for spiritual practice, or even for undertaking any new action. Human beings, too, must experience the fruits of their past deeds, and so require a corresponding intelligence for that purpose; the Lord has given human beings that intelligence, and, over and above it, a further intelligence meant for the worship of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. If a human being makes proper use of this surplus faculty to worship the Lord, he can cross the ocean of material existence and attain true fulfillment. But unfortunate people, instead of applying that surplus power to the Lord's worship, apply it to bodily pleasure, and thereby entangle themselves ever further in the bondage of material existence through new actions; through such misuse of this power, unfortunate people accumulate ever more new karma — for other creatures, lacking this surplus intelligence or power, cannot perform any new action at all. Hence the human body is the "first requisite" both for new action and for devotional practice: "nṛ-deham ādyam." No soul can obtain a human body through its own capacity — for the soul, by its own power, it is "exceedingly hard to obtain"; but because the Lord mercifully bestows it, it becomes, for the soul, "easily obtained." The soul must wander through 8,400,000 species; after that wandering, the Lord, supremely merciful and the soul's one true well-wisher, grants it the opportunity to take birth in a human body up to four hundred thousand times — for the sake of devotional practice. Śrī Kṛṣṇa calls this human body a "plava," a boat — a boat for crossing the ocean of material existence — and also a "well-built boat" (sukalpa plava), one fit for that crossing. But a boat without a helmsman cannot keep to a straight course; the helmsman, holding the rudder, steers the boat toward its intended destination. If the guru is made the helmsman of this vessel that is the human body, then, under his guidance, the vessel can cross the ocean of material existence and arrive, on the farther shore, at the Lord's own feet — "guru-karṇadhāraṁ sukalpaṁ plavam." But can the boat move merely because the helmsman sits holding the rudder? Rowing, too, is needed, and a favorable wind as well. The rowing — the performance of the limbs of devotional practice — must certainly go on; but by that alone the vessel of the human body cannot reach the farther shore; a favorable wind, too, is needed. And it is the supremely merciful Lord Himself who supplies that favorable wind — "mayānukūlena navasvatā īritam" — propelled by the wind of His own compassion, this boat can reach the farther shore of the ocean of material existence. Having said all this, Śrī Kṛṣṇa concludes: "That man who, despite such an opportunity, cannot cross the ocean of material existence, is a slayer of his own soul — pumān bhavābdhiṁ na taret sa ātmahā."

Verses 200–204. Ye nara-śarīra lāgi — because the human body alone is fit for devotional practice, even the demigods desire to obtain it. Those who, through the merit accumulated by performing Vedic sacrifices and the like, go to heaven are meant here by "the gods" (deva); they are not freed from the bondage of māyā, and once their merit is exhausted they must again descend to the mortal world and take birth — "when their merit is exhausted, they enter the world of mortals" (Gītā). They too, therefore, desire to obtain a human body, in order to cross the ocean of material existence (see Bhāgavata 5.19.20–24). Mithyā sukha — see the commentary on 1.5.17; vihāre — in enjoyment.

Kṛṣṇa-yātrā-mahotsava-parva — "yātrā" refers to the twelve annual festival-processions such as the Candana-yātrā; "mahotsava" to festivals such as the spring festival (Vasanta-mahotsava); "parva" to holy occasions such as Akṣaya-tṛtīyā (Atulakṛṣṇa Prabhupāda).

Thus, all who long for that human body squander it in the pursuit of false happiness; they keep no festivals of Kṛṣṇa's yātrās, no holy days, but instead spend their lives rejoicing over weddings and similar worldly ceremonies. [The devotees pray:] "O Lord, these souls are Yours; You alone are their protector — what more can we say? You alone are the father of all." Thus, wishing well for every soul, the devotees ponder and sing of Kṛṣṇacandra's auspicious glory. Meanwhile Gaurachandra Bhagavān continues in the delight of His studies — and now, hear the account of Śrī Nityānanda.

A note on the text. At this point (verse 204) the author begins his account of Śrī Nityānanda. Prabhupāda Śrīla Atulakṛṣṇa Gosvāmī notes, in the footnotes to his own edition of this text, that in a certain printed edition the two lines from "vidyārasa kare" to "ākhyāna" appear instead as "now hear the account of Nityānanda; I shall tell something of His glory, however imperfectly" — followed, in that printed edition, by two additional lines not found here ("Know Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya and Nityānanda Cānda; Vṛndāvana Dāsa sings at Their two feet") and the colophon: "Thus ends, in the Ādi-khaṇḍa, the seventh chapter, named 'Miśracandra's Passing.'" That printed edition, in other words, ends what it calls its sixth chapter earlier, and begins a new seventh chapter with the Nityānanda material, a chapter concluding with the customary closing verses ("Glory, glory to Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya, ocean of mercy! Glory, glory to Nityānanda, friend of the helpless! Glory to the very life and treasure of Advaita-candra! Glory to the refuge of Śrīnivāsa and Gadādhara! Glory to Jagannātha-Śacī's son, Viśvambhara! Glory, glory to the beloved followers, the assembly of devotees!"). This is simply a note on how a different printed recension of the text divides its chapters at this point (labeling material that this present edition keeps within Chapter 6 as the close of a separate Chapter 6 and the start of a Chapter 7); it does not mark any actual break in the present narrative, which continues straight on into the account of Nityānanda below.

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Translation and sequence. Earlier, by Caitanya's own order, Śrī Ananta [Balarāma] had already descended into Rāḍha-deśa and was there engaged in pastime. His father was named Hāḍo-ojhā [Hāḍāi], his mother Padmāvatī, in the village called Ekacakā, where the deity Mauḍeśvara stands. From childhood He was composed, of excellent understanding, virtuous, His loveliness surpassing millions of Kāmadevas, an abode of grace. From that time onward all of Rāḍha became wholly blessed; famine, poverty, and every fault were dispelled. On the very day Gaurachandra was born in Navadvīpa, Nityānanda, then in Rāḍha, gave forth a roar; by that roar the infinite universe was pervaded, and the whole world seemed to swoon. Some said, "A thunderbolt has fallen"; many took it for a great calamity; some said, "We know the cause — it was the roar of Lord Mauḍeśvara!" Thus did everyone tell various tales; deluded by Māyā, none recognized Nityānanda. Thus did Nityānanda conceal Himself, joyfully playing among the children. Whatever games Nityānanda played with the children, nothing but Śrī Kṛṣṇa's own deeds ever stirred His mind. He would hold a "divine assembly" (deva-sabhā) with the children gathered together, one child presenting a plea in the role of the Earth; then, taking "the Earth" with them, they would all go to the riverbank, where the children, gathered together, would offer prayer aloud.

Explanation. Śrī Ananta here refers to Vraja's own Balarāma (see the commentary on 1.1.34–35). Rāḍhe — in Rāḍha-deśa; līlāya — manifesting His birth-pastime there. Hāḍo-ojhā — a corruption of "Hāḍāi": Śrī Nityānanda's father's name was Hāḍāi Paṇḍita (see 1.2.226); "ojhā" is a corruption of "upādhyāya" — hence Hāḍo-ojhā = Hāḍāi Upādhyāya. Ekacāka — the present-day "Ekacakrā," in Birbhum district. Mauḍeśvara — the Śiva-liṅga deity of that name.

From this verse (209) we learn that Śrī Nityānanda's appearance preceded Śrī Gaura's own appearance; sensing Gaura's advent, Nityānanda gave forth His roar in an outburst of prema.

In His childhood, Śrī Nityānanda played only at re-enacting Śrī Kṛṣṇa's own pastimes with His companions of the same age; no other kind of game ever occurred to Him. From Bhāgavata 10.1 we learn that the Earth-goddess, distressed by the oppression of demoniac kings and their armies, assumed the form of a cow and approached Brahmā seeking redress; Brahmā, taking Rudra and the other gods, went with her to the shore of the Ocean of Milk and became absorbed in meditation upon Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu. Nityānanda re-enacted this very pastime with the children: in imitation of the divine assembly of Brahmā, Rudra, and the rest, He formed an assembly of the children; just as the Earth, in the form of a cow, presented her grief to Brahmā in that assembly, so here some child, playing the Earth's role, presented his grief in the children's "divine assembly"; and just as, hearing that grief, the gods went to the shore of the Ocean of Milk to lay it before Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu's feet, so here the children playing the gods' roles went together to a riverbank and prayed there aloud.

Concerning the celestial voice Brahmā heard in that meditation, informing him that Śrī Kṛṣṇa had already learned of the Earth's distress and would Himself descend, taking birth in Vasudeva's house, to remove her burden: here too, some child, hidden away so that none could see him, gave voice, in imitation of that celestial voice, to the words, "I shall go and take birth in Mathurā-Gokula." Brahmā's own celestial voice, in the original pastime, spoke only of birth in Mathurā, without mentioning Gokula; but the reason "Mathurā-Gokula" is joined here together is this — as the Hari-vaṃśa relates, at the very moment Śrī Kṛṣṇa assumed His four-armed form and appeared as the son of Devakī and Vasudeva in Kaṃsa's prison at Mathurā, He simultaneously appeared, in two-armed form, as the son of Nanda and Yaśodā in Gokula — a fact Śukadeva, though he does not narrate Kṛṣṇa's Gokula birth directly to Parīkṣit, nonetheless hints at in the phrase "born as the son of Yaśodā" and the like (Bhāgavata 10.3.1 ff.).

This verse (219) describes Nityānanda's re-enactment of the wedding-pastime of Devakī and Vasudeva. The following verse (220) describes the re-enactment of Śrī Kṛṣṇa's birth-pastime in the Mathurā prison: bandi-ghara kariyā — having fashioned a prison house; atyanta niśābhāge — deep in the night [at midnight], with none awake, they enact Kṛṣṇa's birth.

The next verse takes up the re-enactment of the exchange of the infant: having fashioned a "Gokula" there, they bring in "Kṛṣṇa"; Mahāmāyā, taken up in His place, is then flung before "Kaṃsa."

Explanation of the exchange (verse 221). When Śrī Kṛṣṇa appeared in Kaṃsa's prison in His four-armed form, richly ornamented, robed in yellow, bearing conch, disc, mace, and lotus, Devakī and Vasudeva, recognizing Him as the Lord, offered prayers of praise — yet, overwhelmed by parental affection, and fearing it would be impossible to hide a four-armed infant from Kaṃsa, Devakī grew anxious and voiced her fear to Him. Śrī Kṛṣṇa then assumed the form of an ordinary two-armed human infant and said: "Take Me to Gokula, to Yaśodā's lying-in chamber in Nanda's house, and there you will find a girl-child; bring her back here." This girl-child was none other than Māyādevī. From the Hari-vaṃśa we learn that Śrī Kṛṣṇa was born to Yaśodā in Gokula on the eighth lunar day, and Māyādevī was born of Yaśodā's womb the following day, the ninth; immediately after Kṛṣṇa's birth Yaśodā had, by Yogamāyā's power, fallen asleep and did not know of the girl's birth, nor that Vasudeva, by Kṛṣṇa's order, had placed his two-armed son upon her bed and taken the girl-child away. This verse describes the children's re-enactment of that whole pastime: "having created a Gokula" — having prepared, for the play, a mock Gokula; "there" — in that mock Gokula; "Mahāmāyā" — the illusory potency born as Yaśodā's daughter; "took her and gave her" — Vasudeva took Mahāmāyā and delivered her to Devakī in Kaṃsa's prison; "deceived Kaṃsa" — for Kṛṣṇa was Devakī's eighth child, and a celestial voice, at the time of Devakī's wedding, had foretold that her eighth-born would slay Kaṃsa; Nārada later told Kaṃsa that the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself would be that eighth child. The prison guards learned of the eighth child's birth after Vasudeva's return from Gokula with the girl, and reported it to Kaṃsa, who came and found not Kṛṣṇa but a girl-child as Devakī's eighth-born. To kill her, Kaṃsa dashed her upon a stone; but she rose into the sky as the eight-armed goddess and said to him: "Fool! Killing me profits you nothing — your slayer has already been born, and is elsewhere." This is the "deceiving of Kaṃsa."

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Translation and sequence. Some child was dressed up as Pūtanā, and another climbed upon her breast and drank her milk [re-enacting the slaying of Pūtanā]. One day, having laid a child down beneath a toy cart made of hollow reeds, they broke the cart to pieces [re-enacting the breaking of the cart]. Playing together at the homes of nearby milkmen, the children would steal [butter] unnoticed; nor would they ever leave and go home without Him — day and night they sported in Nityānanda's company. Those whose children they were said nothing against it — everyone, out of affection, took Him up fondly upon their laps.

Everyone said, "We have never seen such play — how could a mere child know so much of Kṛṣṇa's pastimes?" One day, having fashioned snakes from leaves, He took all the children into the water [re-enacting the Kāliya-daha pastime]; some would leap in and lie there motionless, as though senseless, until He Himself came and revived them. One day, going with the children into a grove of palm trees, He ate the palm fruits, striking down the ass-demon [Dhenukāsura]. One day, going to the pasture with the children, He played many games, slaying [demons in the guise of] a crane, Aghāsura, and a calf [Vatsāsura]. In the evening they would return home with the herd, playing on horns and flutes.

One day He performed the lifting of Govardhana; one day, having fashioned a Vṛndāvana, He played there; one day He performed the stealing of the gopīs' garments; one day the beholding of the sacrificers' wives. One child dressed as Nārada, with a false beard, and, sitting apart, whispered counsel to "Kaṃsa." One day some child, in the guise of Akrūra, took "Rāma-Kṛṣṇa" away at "Kaṃsa's" command.

Explanation. Govardhana-dhara-līlā — see Bhāgavata 10.25. Vasana-haraṇa — the stealing of the garments of the gopī maidens engaged in the Kātyāyanī-vrata (Bhāgavata 10.22); yajña-patnī-darśana — see Bhāgavata 10.23. Kāchaye — dresses up as. Kaṁsa-sthāne — when Kaṃsa, learning by a celestial voice, at Devakī's wedding, that her eighth child would be his slayer, was about to kill Devakī on the spot, Vasudeva restrained him, promising to hand over each child of Devakī's as soon as it was born; trusting this, Kaṃsa spared her. When their first son was born, Vasudeva, keeping his word, brought the infant to Kaṃsa, who, satisfied and knowing this was not the eighth child, returned him. This matter was discussed in an assembly of the gods, from which Nārada came to Kaṃsa's garden and reported it; Nārada explained to Kaṃsa that returning Vasudeva's first son had been unwise, for the Lord had slain Kaṃsa in a previous birth too and would do so again in this one — and further told him that all who dwelt in Mathurā and Vraja were, in truth, that very Lord's own kinsfolk. Thus did Nārada counsel Kaṃsa, with the object of hastening Kṛṣṇa's descent. Mantra — counsel, instruction.

This verse (236) tells of Akrūra's taking Kṛṣṇa-Balarāma to Mathurā at Kaṃsa's command. From Bhāgavata 10.36 we learn that after Śrī Kṛṣṇa slew Kaṃsa's spy Ariṣṭāsura, Nārada came to Kaṃsa and told him: "O King! The girl you believed to be Devakī's eighth-born was not her daughter but Nanda's wife Yaśodā's daughter; and the Kṛṣṇa known in Vraja as Yaśodā's son is not truly her son but Devakī's own eighth-born child; the Rāma known in Vraja as Rohiṇī's son is Devakī's seventh-born; out of fear of you, Vasudeva has hidden Kṛṣṇa and Rohiṇī in the house of his dear friend Nanda; and it is this very Kṛṣṇa who has slain your spies." Hearing this, Kaṃsa in great fury took up a sharpened sword to kill Vasudeva, but Nārada said: "If you kill Vasudeva, Rāma and Kṛṣṇa will flee elsewhere — it is not wise to kill him." Kaṃsa relented, and instead planned the deaths of Rāma and Kṛṣṇa. He arranged a deceitful bow-sacrifice festival and commanded Akrūra to go to Vraja and, tempting Rāma-Kṛṣṇa and the people of Vraja with the prospect of the bow-sacrifice and the sights of Mathurā, bring them to the city — where Kṛṣṇa would be destroyed, first by the mighty elephant Kuvalayāpīḍa, and, failing that, by the wrestlers. By Kaṃsa's order Akrūra went to Vraja and brought Rāma-Kṛṣṇa to Mathurā by chariot, Nanda Mahārāja and the others accompanying them.

Verses 237–246. As Kṛṣṇa departed Vraja for Mathurā with Akrūra, the gopīs, His beloveds, wept bitterly in the anguish of separation — and Nityānanda Himself, in just such a mood of gopī-like sorrow, would weep so that "a river seemed to flow," as all the children looked on. [Explanation: Āpaneī — Nityānanda Himself; gopī-bhāve — in the mood of the gopīs stricken with the pain of separation from Kṛṣṇa.] Bewildered by Viṣṇu-māyā [the pastime-potency], none of the other children could tell that this was no ordinary play; all the boys sported with Nityānanda in delight [see the commentary on 1.3.140].

One day He re-enacted arrival at Madhupurī [Mathurā], wandering with the children; one boy played a garland-seller, and He wore the garland in sport. In the guise of Kubjā someone offered Him fragrance/ointment, and He, roaring, broke the bow [re-enacting the breaking of Śiva's bow at Kaṃsa's sacrificial arena]. [Explanation of the Kubjā episode: as Kṛṣṇa entered Mathurā He saw, on the royal road, a lovely-faced but hunchbacked young woman carrying vessels of sandal-paste and other unguents — she was Kaṁsa's own maidservant, who supplied him with cosmetics. Learning who she was, Kṛṣṇa asked her for some of the fine unguent for Himself and Balarāma, promising her good fortune; smitten by Their beauty, she gave it to Them (Bhāgavata 10.42). Explanation of the bow-breaking: entering the arena, Kṛṣṇa found there a wondrous bow like Indra's own, richly endowed with majesty, well set up and guarded by many men; disregarding the guards, He lifted it, strung it with ease, and in an instant snapped it in the middle as easily as a mighty elephant snaps a stalk of sugarcane — the sound of its breaking filled heaven, earth, sky, and every quarter, and King Kaṁsa, hearing it, was struck with terror (Bhāgavata 10.42).]

Slaying Kuvalayāpīḍa, Cāṇūra, Muṣṭika, and the wrestlers, then killing Kaṃsa himself by seizing him by the hair and hurling him down, He danced with the children in triumph, and everyone who saw it laughed at the boys' sport. [Explanation: Kuvalayāpīḍa was Kaṃsa's own elephant, mighty as a thousand elephants; Cāṇūra and Muṣṭika were two of his powerful wrestlers. Intending Kṛṣṇa's death by the elephant, or failing that by the wrestlers, Kaṃsa had prepared a splendid wrestling arena with galleries for spectators, seating the citizens of Mathurā and the Vraja cowherds, including Nanda, and seating himself upon a special dais. On the day after the bow-breaking, Kṛṣṇa-Balarāma came in splendid array to the arena; at its gate Kṛṣṇa slew Kuvalayāpīḍa and its driver, and He and Balarāma each took up one of the elephant's tusks upon their shoulders as they went on, slaying too the many warrior-attendants of Kaṃsa stationed there. Entering the arena, challenged by the wrestlers, they fought and slew Cāṇūra, Muṣṭika, and the rest; then Kṛṣṇa mounted the dais, and when Kaṃsa rose sword in hand, seized him by the hair, threw him down, and fell upon him, slaying him (Bhāgavata 10.43–44).]

Thus did Nityānanda re-enact, with the children, not only Kṛṣṇa's own pastimes but the pastimes of many other forms of Godhead eternally manifest since beginningless time. The next two verses (244–245) tell of His re-enactment of Vāmanadeva's pastime: one day Nityānanda became Vāmana, and, playing the trick upon "Bali Rāja," [took] his [three-paced] domain; in the guise of an aged Śukrācārya, some child tried in vain to forbid it; having received the alms [of the three paces of land], the Lord at last climbed upon "Bali's" very head. [Explanation, summarizing Bhāgavata 8.18–23: the dwarf Vāmanadeva, in a brahmin boy's guise, came to King Bali's horse-sacrifice; Bali, honoring Him, offered whatever He might ask; Vāmana asked only for three paces of land measured by His own feet. Though Bali urged Him to ask for more, thinking the request too small, Vāmana would accept nothing else, and Bali agreed. The demons' guru Śukrācārya, learning of this, rebuked Bali: "You do not know this dwarf — He is the Lord Himself, come to trick you of everything for Indra's sake; do not keep your promise, or you will ruin yourself!" But Bali, resolved to keep his word, duly granted the land. Vāmana then assumed a colossal form: with one step He covered the whole earth, with His body He filled the sky and every quarter; His second step passed beyond heaven itself; and there remained no place for the third. Pressing Bali to provide a place for it, Bali said, "Place the third step upon my own head." Vāmana then bound Bali, and, having later released him, ordered him to dwell in Sutala, Himself remaining there, mace in hand, to protect him. In this re-enactment, Nityānanda played Vāmanadeva and one child played Bali Mahārāja; having received what He had asked, the Lord at last climbed upon the child-Bali's head, just as, in the original pastime, Bali had himself offered his own head for the third step.]

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Translation and sequence. One day He performed the pastime of Rāmacandra's conquest of Laṅkā. Cutting down castor-plant trees, the children flung them into the water [re-enacting the building of the bridge], all the children together crying "Glory to Raghunātha!" The Lord Himself took the form of Śrī Lakṣmaṇa, and, bow in hand, went in fury to Sugrīva: "O monkey! My Lord suffers — if I do not take your life, then come at once! At Mount Suvela my Lord suffers grief, while you, wretch, enjoy pleasure with women!" One day, angered at "Paraśurāma": "The fault is not mine, O brahmin — flee at once!"

Explanation. When Rāmacandra, with Sītā and Lakṣmaṇa, dwelt in the Daṇḍaka forest to honor his father's word, Rāvaṇa, lord of Laṅkā, abducted Sītā from the empty hermitage and bore her away to Laṅkā; Rāmacandra then advanced with an army of monkeys to conquer Laṅkā, and, coming to the shore of the sea, awaited the personified Ocean's arrival. The Ocean did not come at first, but, terrified at last by Rāmacandra's rising wrath, approached His feet with praise and prayed that a bridge be built across him to allow passage to Laṅkā; the monkey army then built the bridge with mountain peaks, stones, and trees (Bhāgavata 9.10; Rāmāyaṇa, Laṅkā-kāṇḍa, sarga 22). This verse (247) tells of the children's re-enactment of the bridge-building, felling castor-plant trees and casting them into some pool of water in imitation. Prabhu — Nityānanda; dhanu — bow; kope — in a fit of fury; Sugrīva — the monkey-king, brother of Vāli. In the guise of Lakṣmaṇa, Nityānanda rebukes a child playing Sugrīva [for indulging in pleasure with his wives while Rāma grieves over Sītā's loss]. The reading "at Mount Suvela" is found in all the manuscripts and so is retained in the root text, though Vālmīki's Rāmāyaṇa places Rāma, at the time of Lakṣmaṇa's rebuke of Sugrīva, at Mount Mālyavān or Pravarṣaṇa (on the near shore, whereas Suvela lies on Laṅkā's own shore); the printed edition reads "Mount Ṛṣabha," a reading found in no manuscript and itself inapposite — the discrepancy is probably a scribal error (Atulakṛṣṇa Prabhupāda). Paraśurāma — the son of the sage Bhṛgu; vipra — Paraśurāma [addressed as "brahmin"].

Continuing (verses 252–267). In the mood of Lakṣmaṇa the Lord would become just so, and, not understanding, the children would take it all for a game. The children wandered about as five monkeys [Hanumān and the other messengers], and the Lord, as Lakṣmaṇa, asked them their business: "Who are you monkeys, wandering forest to forest? Say to me, 'I am Raghunātha's servant.'" They replied, "We wander in fear of Vāli; show us Śrī Rāmacandra, that we may take the dust of His feet." Taking them up in His arms, He brought them, and they fell prostrate at Śrī Rāma's feet. One day He performed the slaying of Indrajit; one day He Himself, as Lakṣmaṇa, "fell" [struck by the śakti weapon]. Bringing Vibhīṣaṇa to Rāma, He crowned him lord of Laṅkā. One child said, "I have come, [I am] Rāvaṇa — take this blow of my śakti-śela, O Lakṣmaṇa!" — and, so saying, flung a lotus flower; and the Lord, in the mood of Lakṣmaṇa, fell down as though struck. The Lord swooned in the mood of Lakṣmaṇa; the children tried to rouse Him, but He would not wake. In truth no breath of life remained at all in His body — and all the children wept, striking their heads with their hands. Hearing this, His father and mother came running in haste, and found no life-breath in their son's body; both parents fell fainting to the ground. Seeing this, everyone gathered round in astonishment. The children recounted the whole affair. Some said, "I understand the reason — once, in the mood of Daśaratha, a certain great actor gave up his body when Rāma went into forest-exile [i.e., they recalled how, in the theatrical tradition, an actor playing Daśaratha had actually died of grief at the point in the play where Rāma leaves for exile — and supposed something similar had now happened to the boy playing Lakṣmaṇa]." Others said, "The boy is only feigning it — if Hanumān brings the medicinal herb, he will be well again" [alluding to Hanumān's fetching of the life-restoring herb for the wounded Lakṣmaṇa in the Rāmāyaṇa].

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Translation and sequence. [Nityānanda] had earlier taught them all: "If I fall, you must weep, surrounding me and calling out." "Send Hanumān without delay — medicine placed to my nose will restore my breath," He had said, and now, in the mood [of Lakṣmaṇa], He simply lay unconscious. Seeing this, the children became greatly distressed, their wits scattered, none remembering the instruction; they only wept aloud, crying, "Get up, brother!" At last, recalling what people had said, one child, in the guise of Hanumān, set out. On the way, another child, dressed as an ascetic, offered Hanumān fruits and roots: "Stay, my son, and bless my hermitage — great is my fortune that one such as you has come to me." Hanumān replied, "I travel on urgent business; I wish I could stay, but I cannot remain. You have heard, surely, of Lakṣmaṇa, Rāmacandra's younger brother — Rāvaṇa has struck him senseless with the śakti-śela; therefore I go to Gandhamādana, that his life may be saved by the medicine I bring." The false ascetic said, "If you must certainly go, at least bathe and eat something first, and then proceed." Taught by Nityānanda, the boy [playing the ascetic] spoke these very lines, and everyone stood by in astonishment [at how well he played his part].

At the ascetic's urging Hanumān went to bathe in a pond; while he was in the water, another child, playing a crocodile, seized his foot. Taking the form of a crocodile, he dragged him into the water; the boy-Hanumān pulled the boy-crocodile back to shore by main force. In a while, having defeated the crocodile in the "battle," Hanumān and another great hero arrived on the scene. Another child then played a Rākṣasa, and Hanumān went after him to devour him: "I have beaten the crocodile — how will you beat me? I shall eat you — then who will revive Lakṣmaṇa?" Hanumān replied, "Your Rāvaṇa is a mere dog — I do not even count him a real thing, let alone you, his servant! Flee at once!" So the two hurled abuse at each other; it came to hair-pulling, then to blows; and at length, having in this sport defeated the Rākṣasa, Hanumān entered Gandhamādana. There, some children in the guise of Gandharvas fought with him a while; having defeated the Gandharvas in battle, he bore the mountain Gandhamādana away upon his head. Another child there, playing a physician, applied the medicine to "Lakṣmaṇa's" nose, remembering Śrī Rāma — and Nityānanda Mahāprabhu at once arose. Seeing this, His father and mother and all present laughed with joy; Hāḍāi Paṇḍita took Him up in his arms, and all the boys rejoiced. Everyone asked, "Son, where did you learn all this?" Smiling, the Lord replied, "These are all My own pastimes."

Explanation. Nija-bhāve — in the mood of His own portion, Lakṣmaṇa: Lakṣmaṇa is an expansion of Balarāma, and Nityānanda is Balarāma. Chanda — bewildered, senseless. Śikṣā nāhi sphure — none of the children remembered the instruction Nityānanda had earlier given them (verse 269). Tapasvīra veśe — the ascetic's disguise, and his offering of hospitality, were in fact a rākṣasa servant of Rāvaṇa's own device: his object, in delaying Hanumān on his way to Gandhamādana, was to prevent Lakṣmaṇa's revival.

In His earliest years the Lord was exceedingly tender and beautiful; no one's heart could bear to set Him down from their lap. Everyone loved Him more than their own children, yet none could recognize Him, bewildered as they were by Viṣṇu-māyā. Thus, from His very childhood, Nityānanda took delight in nothing but the re-enactment of Kṛṣṇa's pastimes; and all the children, leaving father, mother, and home, sported with Him at every hour. Blessed be the feet of every one of those children who had the fortune of such play with Nityānanda! [The author's own words.] Thus did Lord Nityānanda sport, delighting in nothing from His childhood but Kṛṣṇa's pastimes. Who can ever recount the pastimes of Ananta [the Lord, here Balarāma]? Only as much as flashes forth, by His own grace, in whomever He chooses.

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Translation and sequence. Having thus remained at home for twelve years, Nityānanda set out to make pilgrimage; He wandered the holy places for twenty years, and only then, at last, came within Caitanya's sight. Hear now, from the Ādi-khaṇḍa, the account of Nityānanda's pilgrimage — you wicked, sinful, faithless souls who dare revile this very Lord! This is the Lord who delivered the whole universe, whose ocean of compassion has no equal; it is by His mercy that we know the truth of Caitanya, and it is through His agency that Caitanya's own greatness has been made known. Hear, then, the story of this dearest one of Śrī Caitanya — how He wandered the entire circle of holy places.

Explanation. Cāitanya-gocara — into Caitanya's presence, in Navadvīpa.

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Translation and sequence. First the Lord went to the tīrtha of Vakreśvara, then alone to the forest of Vaidyanātha. [A note on an apparent inconsistency: verse 301 says Nityānanda "set out" on pilgrimage, while the Madhya-khaṇḍa (3.77–95) says a sannyāsī took Him along, with Hāḍāi Paṇḍita's permission. Both statements are true: it appears the sannyāsī accompanied Him only as far as Vakreśvara, after which Nityānanda continued alone from Vaidyanātha onward — whether by His own choice, the sannyāsī's departure, or the sannyāsī's death at Vakreśvara, the text does not say.] Thence to Gayā, and to Kāśī, Śiva's own capital, where the Gaṅgā flows northward. Seeing the Gaṅgā, Nityānanda Rāya was overjoyed — bathing and drinking her waters, His longing was never sated. At Prayāga He bathed at dawn in the month of Māgha, then went to Mathurā, His own former birthplace [Balarāma, in the Dvāpara pastime, first entered Devakī's womb in Kaṃsa's Mathurā prison before Yogamāyā transferred Him to Rohiṇī's womb — hence Mathurā is called His earlier birthplace]. He sported in the water at the Yamunā's Viśrāma-ghāṭa, and wandered Govardhana Hill in delight; one by one He visited all twelve forests of Vraja — Bṛhadvana, Madhuvana, Tālavana, Kāmyavana, Bahulāvana, Kumudavana, Khadiravana, Bhadravana, Bhāṇḍīravana, Śrīvana, Lohavana, and Vṛndāvana. Seeing Nanda's house-site in Gokula, He sat and wept profusely; then, bowing to Madana-Gopāla, He set off for Hastināpura, the Pāṇḍavas' city. Seeing the site associated with the devotees [the Pāṇḍavas], He wept — the local pilgrims, themselves devoid of devotion, could not understand why. Seeing there the mark of Balarāma's own deed [when, insulted by Duryodhana over the Śāmba-Lakṣmaṇā affair, Balarāma in anger dragged the city of Hastināpura toward him with His plow, a mark still visible to this day on the city's southern side — see Bhāgavata 10.68], He bowed: "Save me, O Haladhara!" Then Nityānanda came to Dvārakā, bathed in the ocean, and rejoiced; He went to Siddhapura, performed the funeral rites of the ancestors there, and at Matsya-tīrtha, at a great festival, gave grain in charity. He went to Śiva-Kāñcī and Viṣṇu-Kāñcī, and, seeing the two parties [Śaiva and Vaiṣṇava devotees] locked in furious sectarian dispute [each proclaiming the superiority of their own worshipped deity], He laughed [for where true knowledge of the Absolute prevails, such dispute cannot arise]. Thence to Kurukṣetra, Pṛthūdaka, Bindu-sarovara, Prabhāsa, and the tīrtha of Sudarśana; to the great tīrtha of Tritakūpa, to Viśālā; then to Brahma-tīrtha and Cakra-tīrtha; to Pratisrotā, where the Sarasvatī reverses her course, and thence to the great sage's own Naimiṣāraṇya. Then to Ayodhyā, where, seeing Rāma's birthplace, He wept profusely; then to the kingdom of Guhaka Caṇḍāla [Rāma's Niṣāda friend during the exile], where Nityānanda fell into a great swoon; and wherever, in the forests, Rāmacandra had once dwelt, seeing those places Nityānanda, in the mood of separation, rolled upon the ground. Then to the Sarayū and the Kauśikī, where He bathed, and to the sacred hermitage of Pulaha; to the Gomatī, Gaṇḍakī, and Śoṇa tīrthas, and to the summit of Mount Mahendra, where He bowed to Paraśurāma; then to Haridvāra, the Gaṅgā's own birthplace. To Pampā, Bhīmarathī, and Sapta-Godāvarī; to Beṇā-tīrtha, and immersion in the Vipāśā; seeing the deity Kārtika, the great-minded Nityānanda went on to Śrīparvata, where Maheśa and Pārvatī dwell — in the guise of a brāhmaṇa and his wife, Śiva and Pārvatī reside at that very Śrīparvata.

On the pilgrimage-tīrthas. [The commentary here supplies, for each place named, its modern identification and location, largely drawn from Prabhupāda Atulakṛṣṇa Gosvāmī's notes — Vakreśvara and Vaidyanātha (Deoghar) in Birbhum; Kāśī as Śiva's foremost tīrtha; Naimiṣāraṇya near modern Nimsar; Ayodhyā on the Sarayū; Guhaka-Caṇḍāla's realm identified with modern Chunar; the Sarayū (Ghaghra), Kauśikī (Kosi), and Pulaha-āśrama (Śālagrāma) in the Himālayan foothills; the Gomatī (Gomti), Gaṇḍakī, and Śoṇa rivers of Bihar; Mahendra-parvat in Ganjam (the Eastern Ghats); Haridvāra at the Himālayan foothills; Pampā, Bhīmarathī, and Sapta-Godāvarī (the sevenfold branching of the Godāvarī — Vāṅgaṅgā, Vṛddhā, Pāṇigaṅgā, Mañjirā, Pūrṇā, Indravatī, and Godāvarī proper) in the Deccan; Beṇā-tīrtha at the Kṛṣṇā-Beṇā confluence in Hyderabad state; the Vipāśā in the Punjab; and Śrīparvata as the northern part of the Malaya range, the "Nallamalai Hills."]

Explanation (verse 333). Nija-iṣṭadeva cinilena duijane — the two of them [Śiva and Pārvatī, in their guise as brāhmaṇa and wife] recognized Nityānanda-as-Balarāma as their own worshipped deity.

Nityānanda now wandered as an avadhūta. Avadhūta means one in the renounced order (Śabda-kalpadruma), but not every sannyāsī is called an avadhūta — only one who has attained a particular state beyond the fourth (turīya) stage is so called. The Turīyātītāvadhūta Upaniṣad describes the marks of such an avadhūta at length: Brahmā, approaching the primal Nārāyaṇa, asked what path and what state characterize those who are "beyond the turīya," and the Lord replied, in substance, that such a one is exceedingly rare in the world, though never entirely absent; that he alone is eternally pure, the very form of renunciation, the embodiment of knowledge, the Veda-puruṣa Himself, for his mind rests wholly in the Lord and the Lord in him. Such a one passes, in due course, through the stages of kuṭīcaka, bahūdaka, haṃsa, and finally paramahaṃsa; having, as a paramahaṃsa, come through self-inquiry to know the whole of manifest existence for what it is, he casts away staff, water-pot, waistcord, loincloth, and every prescribed observance, going about sky-clad, giving up even the tattered bark-garment or deerskin; he abandons shaving, anointing, bathing rites, and the marking of tilaka, and every observance both worldly and Vedic; free of both merit and demerit, of both knowledge and ignorance as objects of concern, he masters heat and cold, pleasure and pain, honor and dishonor; having burned away censure and its opposite, pride, envy, deceit, arrogance, hatred, lust, anger, greed, delusion, elation, indignation, jealousy, and the instinct of self-preservation, he regards his own body as no more than a corpse; indifferent alike to gain and loss, he sustains life as a cow does, by whatever comes unsought, craving nothing; he reduces all his learning and scholarship to ashes and conceals his own true identity; holding all distinctions of higher and lower to be alike, and knowing himself to be one with the all-transcending, all-pervading Absolute, he holds that nothing exists apart from the Lord; untroubled by sorrow, unmoved by pleasure, free of attachment, indifferent to good report and ill, his senses stilled, he forgets entirely the conduct, learning, and duties of whatever order of life he formerly belonged to, abandoning all observance of caste and station; treating day and night alike, ever wandering, possessing nothing but his own body and, at most, a water vessel, ever as though intoxicated, he roams alone like a child, a madman, or a spirit, speaking to none; resting upon nothing but meditation on his own true nature, forgetting everything else in keeping to that resolve, and in the guise of the "beyond-turīya" avadhūta, fixed in non-dual realization, he relinquishes the body at last through the sacred syllable Oṁ. Such is the avadhūta, and he alone has accomplished all that is to be accomplished.

From this śruti we learn that the avadhūta is a worshipper of the primal Nārāyaṇa, Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself, his mind fixed in utter absorption in Him, Kṛṣṇa Himself dwelling within him, his feet bound, as it were, by the cord of Kṛṣṇa's own love; he bears no mark of any order of life, observes no caste-duty, and, absorbed wholly in Kṛṣṇa, perceives no existence apart from Kṛṣṇa, the treasure of his heart — this is his non-dualism. He is free of all dispute, free of pride, keeps no company and converses with none; his consciousness has no room for anything but Kṛṣṇa. Such an avadhūta's disregard for ordinary observance is not willful but simply the fruit of his absorption in Kṛṣṇa, and Śrī Nityānanda was precisely such a Kṛṣṇa-absorbed avadhūta (see verses 354, 359, 363–66, 378, 383, and 390 below, describing His transformations of kṛṣṇa-prema, and verses 380 and 390 on how, in that absorption, He lost all awareness of day and night). Such an avadhūta does not necessarily go about always without staff or water-pot, or always sky-clad; it seems rather that in the fullest absorption of kṛṣṇa-prema, when all outward awareness is lost, he neither seeks nor uses such things, but at other times, when that absorption slackens somewhat, he may indeed carry them — as we learn from the Madhya-khaṇḍa of this very work, that Nityānanda, on His arrival at Navadvīpa, still possessed a staff, water-pot, and garments, which He broke and cast away only on the night before Vyāsa-pūjā; and that during His stay in Navadvīpa He sometimes wandered sky-clad in ecstasy, sometimes behaved like a child. (Tantra-śāstra, outside the Veda, also speaks of several kinds of avadhūta, but Nityānanda was no tantric avadhūta of that sort — He was a Vedic paramahaṃsa avadhūta, of the very kind described in the śruti quoted above.)

The śruti calls such an avadhūta "turīyātīta" — beyond the turīya, superior to the turīya. Turīya literally means "fourth" (Śabda-kalpadruma); Śrīdhara Svāmīpāda, commenting on Bhāgavata 11.15.16, explains that Virāṭ, Hiraṇyagarbha, and the causal state are the three limiting adjuncts (upādhi) of Īśvara, and that which is free of connection with all three is called the turīya, the "fourth" — that is, Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself, who transcends māyā altogether. Those who, through proper spiritual practice, free themselves from the bondage of māyā attain, even while living, the state of jīvan-mukta, and, being thus beyond māyā, are called "turīya" — but they desire liberation alone. Since liberation may be attained through devotion to any of Śrī Kṛṣṇa's own eternal, māyā-transcending forms, devotion to Kṛṣṇa Himself is not, for this purpose, strictly necessary; but those who worship Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality Himself, attain not liberation alone but vraja-prema, love of Kṛṣṇa — the most exalted treasure of all, rarer even for Brahmā himself than mere liberation. Hence such devotees are called "turīyātīta" — beyond even the turīya, superior to the turīya itself. It is this very avadhūta, worshipper of the primal Nārāyaṇa Śrī Kṛṣṇa, his mind fixed in single-pointed absorption in Him, forgetting all else in the ecstasy of kṛṣṇa-prema, that the śruti describes — and it is this that Nityānanda, "turīyātīta avadhūta," truly was.

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Translation and sequence. Seeing her guest with supreme delight, the goddess [at Śrīparvata] cooked for Him joyfully and served Him with the greatest reverence; Nityānanda, smiling, bowed to the two of them [Śiva-Pārvatī in disguise] — what passed between them in confidence, only Kṛṣṇa knows. Then Nityānanda Prabhu went to Draviḍa-deśa; beholding Veṅkaṭanātha, what [words passed between them, again only Kṛṣṇa knows]; He went to Kāñcī, and to the Kāverī, best of rivers; then to the holy place of Śrī Raṅganātha, and thence set out for Harikṣetra. He went to Ṛṣabha-parvat and to Dakṣiṇa Mathurā [Madurai], by the rivers Kṛtamālā, Tāmraparṇī, and Yamunottarā; to the Malaya mountain, the abode of Agastya, whose sage was overjoyed to see him and made Nityānanda his guest; then, in supreme bliss, to Badarikāśrama. For some days He remained in deepest solitude at the āśrama of Nara-Nārāyaṇa; then Nityānanda went to Vyāsa's own dwelling, and Vyāsa recognized Him as none other than the great Balarāma; meeting Him face to face, Vyāsa offered Him hospitality, and the Lord in turn bowed in full prostration before Vyāsa.

He then went to a Buddhist monastery, and, seeing the Buddhists seated there, questioned them; when none answered Him, He grew angry and struck one upon the head with His foot, and the Buddhists fled, laughing as they went. [The commentary explains: since Buddhist doctrine, being opposed to the Veda and to theism, is in truth not dharma but adharma — see 1.2.3–4 — and since the Buddhists' propagation of their anti-Vedic views works only harm for the world, Nityānanda grew angry with them; had they answered His questions, He would likely have instructed them for their own good rather than striking them.] Nityānanda then wandered fearlessly through the forest, on to Kanyakā-nagara [Cape Comorin], where, having seen the goddess Durgā, He proceeded to the southern ocean; then to Śrī Anantapura, and to the lake of the five Apsarās; to Gokarṇa, Śiva's temple, and, through Kerala and Trigarta, from house to house. Beholding the venerable Dvaipāyanī [a deity/sage's wife near Gokarṇa], He sported on through the Nirvindhyā, Payoṣṇī, and Tāpī rivers; to the Revā, to Māhiṣmatī-purī, to the Mahiṣmatī tīrtha; and, passing Śūrpāraka, turned westward.

Thus did Nityānanda, the very abode of fearless, supreme bliss, wander without fear anywhere at all. His body ever inert in ceaseless kṛṣṇa-trance, one moment He wept, the next He laughed — who could ever fathom that mellow? Thus did Lord Nityānanda wander the forest, until, by providence, He had a meeting with Mādhavendra [Purī]. Mādhavendra Purī, his very body made of prema, and all his followers likewise steeped in prema, had no food but the mellow of Kṛṣṇa — for in Mādhavendra Purī's own body, Kṛṣṇa's own pastime was at play.

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Translation and sequence. Mādhavendra Purī's disciple was none other than Mahāprabhu Ācārya-Gosāñi [Śrī Advaita Ācārya Prabhu] — what more, then, can be said of the greatness of his love? The moment Nityānanda beheld Mādhava Purī, He fainted in prema that very instant, becoming utterly still; and the moment Śrī Mādhava Purī beheld Nityānanda, he too fell senseless, forgetting himself entirely. Mādhavendra is the original stage-director in the mellow of devotion — this Gaurachandra Himself has declared, again and again. Both their bodies lay senseless at the sight of one another, while Īśvara Purī and the other disciples wept. After a while the two regained outward awareness, and, clasping one another about the neck, they wept. Both lords rolled upon the forest floor in the mellow of prema, roaring aloud in the rapture of kṛṣṇa-prema; a river of that prema flowed from the eyes of both, and the earth herself, drenched by it, deemed herself blessed. Trembling, tears, and horripilation — the ecstatic transformations knew no end; within their two bodies, Caitanya Gosāñi Himself was sporting. Nityānanda said: "Whatever pilgrim-places I have visited, today I have obtained their whole fruit — with my own eyes I have beheld Mādhavendra's feet, and, beholding such prema, my life has become blessed."

Taking Nityānanda upon his lap, Mādhavendra Purī could find no words — his throat was choked with the waters of prema; so overjoyed was he that he would not release Nityānanda from his embrace. Īśvara Purī, Brahmānanda Purī, and all the other disciples became wholly devoted to Nityānanda. All those great souls would sometimes speak with the other ascetics dwelling in that forest, but found kṛṣṇa-prema present in none of them; grieved at such barren converse, they went on wandering the forest, only looking on — yet the moment they looked upon one another again, all that grief was destroyed, for in each other they beheld the very manifestation of kṛṣṇa-prema. For some days Nityānanda wandered together with Mādhavendra, immersed in the supreme bliss-dust of kṛṣṇa-kathā. Mādhavendra's own story is itself a thing most wondrous — the mere sight of a cloud would render him senseless [remembering thereby the dark hue of Kṛṣṇa]; day and night he remained as one intoxicated with kṛṣṇa-prema, now laughing, now weeping, now crying out "hāi, hāi!" Nityānanda too, greatly maddened with the mellow of Govinda, swayed and swayed and burst into peals of laughter; and beholding the wondrous ecstasies of both, the disciples ceaselessly sang "Hari!" in kīrtana. In that flood of prema none could tell night from day, nor could anyone reckon how much time had passed. Whatever else transpired in Mādhavendra's company — who can ever know it? Kṛṣṇacandra alone is witness to that.

Explanation. Mahāprabhu-ācārya-gosāñi — Śrīla Advaitācārya Prabhu Gosvāmī; that is, Śrī Advaita Ācārya was himself a disciple of Śrīpāda Mādhavendra Purī. Baḍāi — greatness, superiority, glory. Bhakti-rase ādi Mādhavendra sūtradhāra — Mādhavendra Purī is the original "stage-director" in the matter of the mellow of devotion; as Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta (1.9.8) has it: "Glory to Śrī Mādhava Purī, flood of kṛṣṇa-prema — he is the very first sprout of the wish-fulfilling tree of devotion." Bāhya-dṛṣṭi — external, outward awareness (as opposed to the inward absorption of the swoon). Sarva-śiṣya — Īśvara Purī, Paramānanda Purī, Brahmānanda Purī, and the other disciples of Mādhavendra Purī. Having conversed with these faithless people [other, less-realized ascetics wandering that same forest] and found no trace of devotion in them, Mādhavendra and his followers felt great sorrow at heart — but seeing, in one another, the mutual manifestation of kṛṣṇa-prema between Nityānanda and Mādhavendra, all that sorrow arising from converse with the loveless was dispelled. The mere sight of a cloud would plunge Śrīpāda Mādhavendra into prema-stricken unconsciousness, his mind carried at once to the remembrance of Śrī Kṛṣṇa's own hue. Kṛṣṇacandra se pramāṇa — of that, Śrī Kṛṣṇa alone is the witness; that is, only He knows it.

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Translation and sequence. Mādhavendra could not bear to be parted from Nityānanda; he did nothing else but hold Him in the same reverence due a guru, and remained ceaselessly, delightedly, in His company. Thus were the two great-minded ones so given over to one another that, immersed in kṛṣṇa-prema, they knew not day from night. Mādhavendra said: "Nowhere have I ever witnessed such prema — for me, wherever such prema is to be found, that itself is every place of pilgrimage. I have come to know that Kṛṣṇa's own mercy rests upon me, in that I have gained the company of a friend such as Nityānanda. Any place at all where Nityānanda's company is to be had — that very place becomes filled with the presence of every tīrtha, even Vaikuṇṭha itself. Whoever merely hears of a devotee such as Nityānanda shall, through him, surely attain Kṛṣṇacandra. And he in whose heart even a trace of hatred toward Nityānanda remains is no dear one of Kṛṣṇa's, though he call himself ever so great a devotee." Thus, day and night, did Mādhavendra speak of Nityānanda, his whole heart and mind fixed upon Him.

For some days Nityānanda remained together with Mādhavendra; then, at length, He set out for Setubandha [Rāmeśvaram]. Mādhavendra himself then set out to behold the Sarayū; so overwhelmed with kṛṣṇa-rapture was he that he lost all remembrance of his own body — for it was only because bodily awareness had altogether departed that life could be sustained at all amid the grief of that parting between Mādhavendra and Nityānanda; had bodily consciousness remained, could life itself have endured such separation? Of the sight of these two, Nityānanda and Mādhavendra, together — merely to hear of it is to obtain the very treasure of kṛṣṇa-prema. Thus did Nityānanda wander on in the mellow of prema, until, after some days, He came to Setubandha. Having bathed at Dhanus-tīrtha, He went to Rāmeśvara; then the Lord came to the city of Vijayanagara, and, having seen Māyāpurī [the Haridvāra-Kanakhala tract], Avantī [Ujjain], and the Godāvarī, He came at length to the city of Nīlācalacandra [Jagannātha Purī] — passing on the way through Tirumala and the holy site of Kūrmanātha, and coming, too, to Jiyaḍa-Nṛsiṃhadeva-purī; and the very instant He beheld the temple flag [of Jagannātha], His body fell senseless. There He beheld Jagannātha in His catur-vyūha form, manifest in supreme bliss together with His assembly of devotees.

Explanation. Vaikuṇṭhādi-maya — filled with the presence of Vaikuṇṭha and every other divine abode, wholly untouched by any tinge of māyā. Verses 383–387 are Mādhavendra Purī's own proclamation of Śrī Nityānanda's glory. Guru-buddhi — regarding Him with the same reverence, faith, and honor due to one's own guru. Setubandha — the island famed as "Setubandha-Rāmeśvara," between India and Ceylon. Deha nāhi smare — he lost all remembrance of his own body [in the anguish of separation]; ataeva — it was precisely because bodily awareness was absent that life could be sustained through that mutual separation-grief of Mādhavendra and Nityānanda; had bodily consciousness remained, could life have endured such a parting at all? Dhanus-tīrtha — the present-day Pamban Passage, between India and Ceylon, so named because the tip of Lakṣmaṇa's bow severed the sea-bridge there. Vijayanagara — probably a corruption of "Vidyānagara"; three towns of this name are known — one in the Deccan on the Tuṅgabhadrā, south of Anegundi; one on the Godāvarī, the present Rājamahendrī; and one in Mālava, at the confluence of the Sindhu and Pārvatī rivers. Māyāpurī — the tract from Joyalāpur station on the Haridvār branch line to Tapovana in Garhwal state, celebrated for its four great tīrthas of Kanakhala, Haridvāra, Ṛṣīkeśa, and Tapovana; sometimes the name refers to this whole tract, sometimes only to Jvālāpur, Kanakhala, and Haridvāra together. Nīlācalacandra — Śrī Jagannātha at Purī; dhvajā — the flag atop the Jagannātha temple. Catur-vyūha — the original fourfold form is Vāsudeva, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna, and Aniruddha of Dvārakā; that Jagannāthadeva is Himself none other than that Lord of Dvārakā, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, manifesting in fourfold form and sporting at Dvārakā, is thereby signified. Prakaṭa paramānanda — Jagannātha, the very form of supreme bliss, has manifested in the Purī-dhāma together with His own attendants — Subhadrā, Balarāma, and the rest.

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Translation and sequence. The very instant He beheld [Jagannātha], He fell senseless in bliss, then again returned to outward awareness, then again fell to the ground — trembling, perspiration, horripilation, tears, prostration, and roaring: who could ever describe the transformations of Nityānanda? Thus did He remain seated at Nīlācala for some days, then went in eagerness to see Gaṅgāsāgara. Who can ever recount the whole of His pilgrim-wandering? Only a little of it, from His own mouth, has here been set down. Thus, having wandered the tīrthas, Nityānanda Rāya came once more to Mathurā, and dwelt continually thereafter in Vṛndāvana, so absorbed in Kṛṣṇa that He knew not day from night. He took no food, save now and then a little milk, if anyone should offer it to Him unasked. [All the while] Gaurachandra remained hidden, concealed, at Navadvīpa — and this very fact stayed fixed in Nityānanda-svarūpa's mind: "When the Lord shall at last reveal Himself, then shall I go and render my own service to Him." Holding fast to this resolve, Nityānanda Rāya, though He left Mathurā, did not go to Navadvīpa; ceaselessly He sported in the waters of the Kālindī [Yamunā], and played in the dust with the children of Vṛndāvana, like any child among them. Although Nityānanda held within Himself every potency — the power to bestow bhakti unto Viṣṇu included — yet He gave that devotion to no one; for only when Gaurachandra Prabhu should manifest Himself would the sport of bestowing bhakti unfold, and only at His command.

Explanation. Vikāra — the ecstatic transformations of prema, such as tears, trembling, and perspiration. Gaṅgāsāgara — the point, now within the Bay of Bengal, where the Gaṅgā-devī herself meets the sea; not the whole of what is now called the Bay of Bengal, but that particular confluence alone. Guptabhāve — concealing Himself, not yet manifesting His own nature. Mānasika kari — having resolved this within His mind, as stated in the preceding verse. Kālindī — the river Yamunā. Sarva-śakti — competence in all things, the power to bestow devotion to Viṣṇu among them; that, possessing such power, Nityānanda still gave devotion to none is explained in the verse that follows.

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Translation and sequence. No one does anything at all without Caitanya's own command — in this, the associates [of the Lord] suffer no diminishment whatever of their own glory. Be it Ananta [Śeṣa], be it Śiva, be it Brahmā or any other god — it is by Caitanya's command alone that they destroy, create, and maintain. Whatever sinners feel pain of heart at hearing this remain, in every respect, invisible to the Vaiṣṇavas. See directly, all of you, here in this very triple world: it is through Nityānanda's door that people have obtained the treasure of prema. Nityānanda Rāya is Caitanya's own original devotee; Caitanya's glory dwells ever upon His tongue. Day and night the Lord speaks only of Caitanya's own story; to worship Him is itself to become a devotee of Caitanya. Glory, glory to the primal Lord, Nityānanda Rāya, by whose mercy Caitanya's own greatness shines forth! By Caitanya's grace alone comes attachment to Nityānanda; and one who has come to know Nityānanda need fear no calamity at all. To cross beyond this world, in the ocean of devotion — whoever wishes to be immersed [in that ocean of liberation] need only worship Nitāicānd.

Some say, "Nityānanda is none other than Balarāma"; others say, "He is Caitanya's own dearly beloved abode." Whether one calls Nityānanda a renunciate, a devotee, or a man of knowledge — let each say as he wishes, in whatever way pleases him; whoever it may be, in no way does he cease to be Caitanya's own Nityānanda. Let those very lotus feet, then, remain fixed within the heart. Yet if, despite every entreaty and every plea, some sinner should still revile Him — then kick him upon the very crown of his head!

Explanation. Alpatā nāhi pāya prabhu-gaṇe — the associate-devotees of the Lord suffer no lessening of their own inherent glory [merely because they act only at His command; rather, their glory is confirmed by it]. Ananta — Anantadeva; Śiva — Mahādeva, the destroyer of the universe; Aja — Brahmā, its creator; hartā, kartā, pālayitā — the destroyer, the creator, and the maintainer [Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu]. Nityānanda-dvāre pāilena prema-dhane — it is through the very gateway of Nityānanda that souls have obtained the treasure of kṛṣṇa-prema. Yati — a renunciate, a sannyāsī [variant: "yogī," meaning a bhakti-yogī]. Regarding the final couplet's famous "kick upon the head": pariharā here bears the sense of entreaty, of earnest supplication — the author's meaning is, "if, despite this, someone still reviles Nityānanda, then I would kick him on the head" — this is the author's own anguished lament (khedokti), born not of any real wish to harm, but of the author's own deep grief that those who revile Nityānanda thereby bring total ruin upon themselves. It cannot be supposed that Śrīla Vṛndāvana Dāsa Ṭhākura, himself a supreme devotee free of anger and false ego — a mercy-recipient disciple of Śrī Nityānanda's own — desired any actual bodily chastisement of anyone, for such a desire for retribution springs only from self-conceit born of bodily identification, a thing impossible in one of his exalted, humble character (see his own extraordinary self-abasement described in the Bhūmikā, section 1.C). Rather, his sole wish was for the ultimate welfare of such critics, and their deliverance from the ruin that reviling Nityānanda must bring upon them — just as, in ordinary life, when a wayward child heeds no counsel and rushes toward his own ruin, even his own grieving parents may cry out, "Let him die!" or "May fire consume his mouth!" — not from any wish for the child's actual death, but from the very depth of parental sorrow. Indeed, even a devotee's curse can become the cause of a soul's supreme spiritual good — as when Nārada, seeing the tree-like insolence of Kubera's two sons Nalakūvara and Maṇigrīva, cursed them to be born as trees; and by the very potency of that curse they were born as trees not anywhere else but in Gokula, where, touched by Śrī Kṛṣṇa's own feet, they attained the highest and most perfect fulfillment. Even if the author had no real intention of inflicting bodily punishment upon those who revile Nityānanda, there is no doubt whatever that anyone who, by whatever circumstance, is blessed to receive that very kick, and so touch His feet, would thereby advance toward the attainment of the supreme spiritual treasure, and find his life fulfilled.

One might ask: does the author mean that anyone who fails to worship Nityānanda, or who reviles Him, is thereby wholly deprived of all spiritual attainment? To this it may be said: Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself has told Arjuna that without the mercy of devotion, no one can attain liberation even from material bondage, let alone the soul's own highest good (Gītā 7.14–16, 18.16, and elsewhere). And the giver of devotion is none other than Śrī Balarāma — "the ocean of mercy, the giver of devotion, the world's true benefactor," "the original devotee-incarnation" — and Śrī Nityānanda, Śrī Gaurāṅga's own eternal companion, is precisely that Balarāma; Śrī Nityānanda is "the ocean of mercy, the giver of devotion, the very abode of the Vaiṣṇavas" (1.2.36; 1.2.127). It is for this very reason the author has said, "Bear such love for this Lord Nityānanda" (1.1.56). Nor is it Vṛndāvana Dāsa alone who has spoken thus of Nityānanda; Śrīla Narottama Dāsa Ṭhākura — the instructing-disciple of Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī of Vṛndāvana, and the mantra-disciple of Śrīpāda Lokanātha Gosvāmī — has likewise prayed: "When, O when, will Nitāicānd show me mercy? When will my worldly desire become trifling to me?"; and again: "Nitāi's lotus feet are cooler than ten million moons, whose very shade gives the whole world relief; whoever has found such a Nitāi, O brother, yet has not found Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa, firmly grasp Nitāi's two feet nonetheless. He who has no such bond [with Nitāi] has lived his birth in vain — that wretch is the very worst of the depraved; drowned in worldly pleasure, he has never once spoken the name 'Nitāi' — of what use to him, then, are learning and lineage? Maddened with false pride, forgetting Nitāi's feet, he takes the false for the true. When Nitāi's mercy shall come, then in Vraja he will find Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa — worship, then, Nitāi's two feet." Vṛndāvana Dāsa was, by his very nature, "supremely blissful, free of anger," "devoid of false pride," a mercy-favored disciple of Śrī Nityānanda's own, a supreme devotee (paramabhāgavata); such insolence or intolerance as spring from anger and false pride could not possibly have arisen in one such as he — as is plain from his own extraordinary humility described in the Bhūmikā (section 1.C).

Some devotee of Caitanya, [if you should hear him] speak ill of Nityānanda — know that such "ill words," seen rightly, are nothing but praise. Its meaning is this: just as the devotees of Gaura feel love for Gaura, so too do they feel that same love for Nityānanda; and the love that Śrī Advaita Ācārya and the other devotees bore toward Śrī Nityānanda was, further, an utterly unrestrained, unhesitating love (asaṅkoca-prīti). From the very depth of that love there would, at times, arise between Advaita and Nityānanda a kind of loving quarrel (prema-kalaha) — and in the course of such a loving quarrel, whatever things Śrī Advaita might say concerning Śrī Nityānanda could easily appear, to one unacquainted with their hearts, to be actual censure of Nityānanda; but it was in truth no censure at all — it was praise proclaiming Nityānanda's own glory, praise disguised as blame, an ironic eulogy (vyāja-stuti).

A famous instance of this loving quarrel (Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 3.76–98; see also Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā). After Mahāprabhu's sannyāsa, when, after three days and three nights of wandering through Rāḍha-deśa lost to all outward awareness, Śrī Nitāi at last brought Mahāprabhu to Advaita Ācārya's house, then, at mealtime, Śrī Nityānanda said: "I have kept a three-day fast; today I had great hope of breaking it properly — yet today, too, I must fast, and that at Ācārya's own invitation! Half a stomach's worth will never be filled by this one mouthful of rice." Ācārya replied: "You are a mendicant sannyāsī of the wandering kind — you should live on fruits and roots, and often go without food altogether. Whatever handful of rice you receive from a poor brāhmaṇa's house, in that you should be content — give up this greed of yours!" Nityānanda answered: "Once you have invited a guest, you must give him as much as he can eat!" Hearing Nityānanda speak thus, Ṭhākura Advaita, His heart won over, said to Him, half in jest: "You fallen avadhūta, bent only on filling your belly — it seems you took sannyāsa only in order to torment brāhmaṇas! You who could eat the rice of ten or twenty measures — where shall I, a poor brāhmaṇa, ever find that much for you? Eat what you have been given, this one handful, and get up; do not play the madman, and do not go scattering it about as leftover scraps!" So, amid much laughter, they ate. Nityānanda said: "My belly is not filled — take back your rice; I shall eat nothing more of it!" So saying, He took up a fistful of rice in His hand and, as though in anger, flung it away; a few grains of it fell upon the Ācārya's own body. And the Ācārya, the rice having touched his body, danced about in the greatest delight, exclaiming: "This scattered rice of the avadhūta has touched my very body — this alone has made me perfectly pure!" Then Advaita said again: "So this is the fruit I have reaped for inviting you! You have neither caste nor lineage — small wonder you are mad by nature. But to make me your very equal, you threw scraps of rice at me — and you, calling yourself a brāhmaṇa, felt no fear in doing so?" Nityānanda replied: "This is Kṛṣṇa's own prasāda — in calling it mere 'scraps,' you have committed an offense! If you feed a hundred sannyāsīs, only then will this offense of yours be nullified." Ācārya said: "I shall never again invite a sannyāsī to my house — if I feed sannyāsīs, all my household's observance of the smṛti-dharma will be ruined!" — From this whole exchange between Śrī Advaita and Śrī Nityānanda it can be clearly seen that this was indeed their own loving quarrel, arising from nothing but the unhesitating, deep-rooted love each bore the other; Śrī Advaita's words, taken at their literal sense, appear to be censure, but under the guise of censure Advaita Ācārya was in fact revealing Nityānanda's own glory and truth — that is, he was praising Nityānanda (see Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā).

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Translation and sequence. The Vaiṣṇavas [the Lord's eternal associates] are all eternally-perfect, full of realized knowledge — that quarrel [between Advaita and Nityānanda], then, was merely a delightful thing to behold, no true discord at all. Whoever, on witnessing that quarrel, takes the side of one against the other [mistaking it for real dissension] — such a person, in the end, meets only ruin. Nityānanda-svarūpa Himself never induces anyone at all to revile another; remaining upon His path alone can one ever attain Gaurachandra.

[The author's own heartfelt aside:] When will that day come, when I shall behold Caitanya and Nityānanda encircled on every side by Their hosts of devotees? May Nityānanda, in every way, be my true master; and, having become wholly His own, may I thus worship Lord Gaurachandra. Only in Nityānanda-svarūpa's own shelter can the Bhāgavata['s deepest secret truly be known] — birth after birth may I read and study it so: this is my heart's own wish. Glory, glory, glory to Mahāprabhu Gaurachandra! You Yourself gave me Nityānanda, and You Yourself have again taken Him away. Yet even so, grant me this mercy, great one — that my heart's devotion may ever remain fixed upon You and upon Him alike. Nityānanda Rāya is Your own supreme devotee — without Your own bestowal of Him, what person could ever attain Him?

Thus did Nityānanda continue wandering Vṛndāvana and the other holy places, for just so long as Gaurachandra had not yet revealed Himself. Of Nityānanda-svarūpa's own pilgrim-wandering — whoever hears this account shall obtain the very treasure of prema. Knowing Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya and Nityānandacānda [as his very all], Vṛndāvana Dāsa sings this at Their two feet.

Explanation. Nitya-siddha — beginninglessly perfect; those whose love for the Lord is not the fruit of any spiritual practice but has, from beginningless time, dwelt naturally in their hearts are called eternally-perfect devotees; only the Lord's own eternal associates are nitya-siddha. Jñāna-vanta — possessed of direct, immediate realization of the truth and glory of Nitāi-Gaura. Kutūhala — sport, jest, a playfulness arising from the depth of their mutual love. Ithe — at this, upon witnessing the "quarrel" spoken of in the preceding verse; ekajanera hoiyā pakṣa ye — whoever, of the two disputants, takes the side of one [supposing the quarrel to be genuine hostility] meets only ruin thereby. Svāmī — Lord, controller, guide; tāna hoiyā — becoming His own, taking shelter at Nityānanda's feet, in submission to Him. Nityānanda-svarūpera sthāne bhāgavata — it is only in Śrī Nityānanda's own presence, under His shelter and guidance, that the truth of the Bhāgavata [and of the Lord's own pastimes] can ever be known — for Śrī Nityānanda is Himself the very knower of the truths of Gaura and of Kṛṣṇa, and without His mercy, without shelter at His feet, none can know the truth or the pastime-secret of either. Dilāo nilāo tumi — "O Gaurachandra! It was You who gave me Nityānanda, and You who have again taken Nityānanda away" — the author's own meaning being that it was by Śrī Gaurachandra's mercy that he obtained Śrī Nityānanda as his own guru, and that same Gaurachandra has since taken Śrī Nityānanda away from him; from this it is understood that the author wrote Śrī Caitanya-bhāgavata after Śrī Nityānanda's own disappearance. Tathāpiha — even so, even though You have taken Śrī Nityānanda away from before my eyes; tomāte tāhāte — at Your feet and at His. This verse (437) marks the beginning of the chapter's conclusion: for as long as Śrī Gaurachandra had not yet revealed Himself at Navadvīpa, Śrī Nityānanda did not come to Navadvīpa, but continued wandering, all that while, through Vṛndāvana and the other holy places. On verse 439, see the commentary on 1.2.285 [where this same closing signature-formula is explained].

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Iti śrī-ādikhaṇḍe mahāprabhor-upanayana-pāṭhābhyāsādi-varṇanaṁ tathā śrī-nityānanda-tīrthayātrādi-kathanaṁ nāma ṣaṣṭho'dhyāyaḥ. — "Thus ends, in the Śrī Ādi-khaṇḍa, the sixth chapter, named 'The Description of Mahāprabhu's Sacred-Thread Ceremony and His Practice of Study, together with the Account of Śrī Nityānanda's Pilgrim-Wandering.'"

Iti ādikhaṇḍe ṣaṣṭha adhyāyera nitāi-karuṇā-kallolinī ṭīkā samāpta. — Thus ends the Nitāi-karuṇā-kallolinī commentary on the sixth chapter of the Ādi-khaṇḍa.