Chapter 15

The Lord's Pauganda-lila

A synopsis of the Fifteenth Chapter is as follows. The Lord took lessons in grammar from Gangadasa Pandita and became very expert in commenting upon grammar. He forbade His mother to take grains on the Ekadasi day. He narrated a story that Visvarupa, after accepting the sannyasa order, invited Him in a dream to accept sannyasa also, but the Lord refused and was therefore sent back home. When Jagannatha Misra passed away, the Lord married the daughter of Vallabhacarya, whose name was Laksmi. All these events are summarized in this chapter.

TEXT 1

ku-manah su-manastvam hi
yati yasya padabjayoh
su-mano-'rpana-matrena
tam caitanya-prabhum bhaje

SYNONYMS

ku-manah--a person interested in activities of material sense enjoyment; su-manastvam--the position of a devotee without material desires; hi--certainly; yati--gets; yasya--whose; pada-abjayoh--at the lotus feet; su-manah--the flower of the name sumanas; arpana--offering; matrena--simply by doing so; tam--Him; caitanya-prabhum--Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu; bhaje--I worship.

TRANSLATION

I offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya because simply by offering a sumanas flower at His lotus feet even the most ardent materialist becomes a devotee.






TEXT 2

jaya jaya sri-caitanya jaya nityananda
jayadvaitacandra, jaya gaura-bhakta-vrnda

SYNONYMS

jaya jaya--all glories; sri-caitanya--Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu; jaya--all glories; nityananda--Lord Nityananda Prabhu; jaya-advaitacandra--all glories to Advaita Acarya; jaya gaura-bhakta-vrnda--all glories to the devotees of Lord Caitanya.

TRANSLATION

All glories to Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu! All glories to Lord Nityananda Prabhu! All glories to Advaita Acarya! And all glories to the devotees of Lord Caitanya!






TEXT 3

pauganda-lilara sutra kariye ganana
pauganda-vayase prabhura mukhya adhyayana

SYNONYMS

pauganda--of the age from five years to ten years; lilara--of the pastimes; sutra--synopsis; kariye--I do; ganana--enumerate; pauganda-vayase--in that age between five and ten years; prabhura--of the Lord; mukhya--chief; adhyayana--studying.

TRANSLATION

Let me now enumerate the activities of the Lord between the ages of five and ten. His chief occupation during this period was to engage Himself in study.






TEXT 4

pauganda-lila caitanya-
krsnasyati-suvistrta
vidyarambha-mukha pani-
grahananta mano-hara

SYNONYMS

pauganda-lila--the pastimes of the pauganda age; caitanya-krsnasya--of Lord Caitanya, who is Krsna Himself; ati-suvistrta--very much expanded; vidya-arambha--the beginning of education; mukha--chief business; pani-grahana--marriage; anta--at the end; manah-hara--very beautiful.

TRANSLATION

The pastimes of the Lord during His pauganda age were very extensive. His education was His chief occupation, and after that His very beautiful marriage took place.






TEXT 5

gangadasa pandita-sthane padena vyakarana
sravana-matre kanthe kaila sutra-vrtti-gana

SYNONYMS

gangadasa--of the name Gangadasa; pandita-sthane--at the place of the teacher; padena--studies; vyakarana--grammar; sravana-matre--simply by hearing; kanthe--between the neck and the heart; kaila--did; sutra-vrtti-gana--the aphorisms and their definitions.

TRANSLATION

When the Lord was studying grammar at the place of Gangadasa Pandita, He would immediately learn grammatical rules and definitions by heart simply by hearing them once.

PURPORT

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura says that the Lord was given lessons by a teacher named Visnu and another teacher named Sudarsana. Later on, when He was a little grown up, He was under the care of Gangadasa Pandita, who taught Him grammar of a higher standard. Anyone serious about studying the Sanskrit language should first learn grammar. It is said that simply to finish studying Sanskrit grammar takes at least twelve years, but once one learns the grammatical rules and regulations very nicely, all other scriptures or subject matters in Sanskrit are extremely easy to understand, for Sanskrit grammar is the gateway to education.






TEXT 6

alpa-kale haila panji-tikate pravina
cira-kalera paduya jine ha-iya navina

SYNONYMS

alpa-kale--within a very short time; haila--became; panji-tikate--in the commentary on grammar named Panji-tika; pravina--very expert; cira-kalera--all older; paduya--students; jine--conquers; ha-iya--being; navina--their junior.

TRANSLATION

He soon became so expert in commenting on the Panji-tika that He could win victory over all the other students, although He was a neophyte.

PURPORT

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura says there was a commentary on grammar named Panji-tika that was later explained very lucidly by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.






TEXT 7

adhyayana-lila prabhura dasa-vrndavana
'caitanya-mangale' kaila vistari varnana

SYNONYMS

adhyayana-lila--pastimes of studying; prabhura--of the Lord; dasa-vrndavana--Vrndavana dasa Thakura; caitanya-mangale--in his book Caitanya-mangala; kaila--has done; vistari--elaborately; varnana--explanation.

TRANSLATION

In his book Caitanya-mangala [which later became Caitanya-bhagavata], Srila Vrndavana dasa Thakura very elaborately described the Lord's pastimes of study.

PURPORT

The Caitanya-bhagavata, Adi-lila, chapters Four, Six, Seven, Eight, Nine and Ten, are a good reference for the studious pastimes of Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.






TEXT 8

eka dina matara pade kariya pranama
prabhu kahe,----mata, more deha eka dana

SYNONYMS

eka dina--one day; matara--of the mother; pade--on the feet; kariya--doing; pranama--obeisances; prabhu--the Lord; kahe--said; mata--My dear mother; more--unto Me; deha--give; eka--one; dana--gift.

TRANSLATION

One day Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu fell down at the feet of His mother and requested her to give Him one thing in charity.






TEXT 9

mata bale,----tai diba, ya tumi magibe
prabhu kahe,----ekadasite anna na khaibe

SYNONYMS

mata bale--His mother said; tai diba--I shall give that; ya--whatever; tumi--You; magibe--should ask me; prabhu kahe--the Lord said; ekadasite--on the Ekadasi day; anna--grains; na--don't; khaibe--eat.

TRANSLATION

His mother replied, "My dear son, I will give You whatever You ask." Then the Lord said, "My dear mother, please do not eat grains on the Ekadasi day."

PURPORT

From the very beginning of His childhood life Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu introduced the system of observing a fast on the Ekadasi day. In the Bhakti-sandarbha, by Srila Jiva Gosvami, there is a quotation from the Skanda Purana admonishing that a person who eats grains on Ekadasi becomes a murderer of his mother, father, brother and spiritual master, and even if he is elevated to a Vaikuntha planet, he falls down. On Ekadasi, everything is cooked for Visnu, including regular grains and dahi, but it is enjoined that a Vaisnava should not even take visnu-prasada on Ekadasi. It is said that a Vaisnava does not accept anything eatable that is not offered to Lord Visnu, but on Ekadasi a Vaisnava should not touch even maha-prasada offered to Visnu, although such prasada may be kept for being eaten the next day. It is strictly forbidden for one to accept any kind of grain on Ekadasi, even if it is offered to Lord Visnu.






TEXT 10

saci kahe,----na khaiba, bhala-i kahila
sei haite ekadasi karite lagila

SYNONYMS

saci kahe--mother Saci said; na khaiba--I shall not take; bhala-i kahila--You have said very nicely; sei haite--from that day; ekadasi--Ekadasi day; karite lagila--began to observe.

TRANSLATION

Mother Saci said, "You have spoken very nicely. I shall not eat grains on Ekadasi." From that day, she began to observe fasting on Ekadasi.

PURPORT

It is a prejudice amongst smarta-brahmanas that a widow must observe fasting on Ekadasi but a woman who has her husband should not. It appears that before the request of Lord Caitanya Sacimata was not observing Ekadasi because of her being sa-dhava, which means that her husband was living. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, however, introduced the system that a woman, even if not a widow, must observe the Ekadasi day and must not touch any kind of grains, even those offered to the Deity of Visnu.






TEXT 11

tabe misra visvarupera dekhiya yauvana
kanya cahi' vivaha dite karilena mana

SYNONYMS

tabe--thereafter; misra--Jagannatha Misra; visvarupera--of Visvarupa, his elder son; dekhiya--seeing; yauvana--youthfulness; kanya cahi'--wanting to find a girl; vivaha--marriage; dite--to give; karilena--made up; mana--his mind.

TRANSLATION

Thereafter, seeing that Visvarupa was a grown-up youth, Jagannatha Misra wanted to find a girl and arrange a marriage ceremony for Him.






TEXT 12

visvarupa suni' ghara chadi palaila
sannyasa kariya tirtha karibare gela

SYNONYMS

visvarupa--of the name Visvarupa; suni'--hearing this; ghara--home; chadi--giving up; palaila--went away; sannyasa--the renounced order; kariya--accepting; tirtha--the holy places; karibare--for touring; gela--went away.

TRANSLATION

Hearing of this, Visvarupa immediately left home and went away to accept sannyasa and travel from one place of pilgrimage to another.






TEXT 13

suni, saci-misrera duhkhi haila mana
tabe prabhu mata-pitara kaila asvasana

SYNONYMS

suni'--hearing this; saci--of mother Saci; misrera--and of Jagannatha Misra; duhkhi--very unhappy; haila--became; mana--minds; tabe--at that time; prabhu--Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu; mata-pitara--of the parents; kaila--did; asvasana--pacification.

TRANSLATION

When Sacimata and Jagannatha Misra heard of the departure of their elder son, Visvarupa, they were very unhappy, but Lord Caitanya tried to console them.






TEXT 14

bhala haila,----visvarupa sannyasa karila
pitr-kula, matr-kula,----dui uddharila

SYNONYMS

bhala haila--it is very good; visvarupa--of the name Visvarupa; sannyasa--the renounced order of life; karila--has accepted; pitr-kula--father's family; matr-kula--mother's family; dui--both of them; uddharila--delivered.

TRANSLATION

"My dear mother and father," the Lord said, "it is very good that Visvarupa has accepted the sannyasa order, for thus He has delivered both His father's family and His mother's family."

PURPORT

It is sometimes said that Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu did not approve of the acceptance of the sannyasa order in this Kali-yuga because in the sastra it is said:

asvamedham gavalambham
sannyasam pala-paitrkam
devarena sutotpattim
kalau panca vivarjayet
"In this Kali-yuga the performance of the asvamedha-yajna or gomedha-yajna, sacrifices in which a horse or cow is offered, should be avoided, as should the acceptance of sannyasa, the renounced order of life." (Brahma-vaivarta Purana, Krsna-janma-khanda 185.180)

Nevertheless we see that Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu Himself accepted sannyasa and approved of the sannyasa of His elder brother, Visvarupa. It is clearly said here, bhala haila,----visvarupa sannyasa karila pitr-kula, matr-kula,----dui uddharila. Therefore, should it be thought that Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu made statements that are contradictory? No, actually He did not. It is recommended that one accept sannyasa to dedicate his life for the service of the Lord, and everyone must take that kind of sannyasa, for by accepting such sannyasa one renders the best service to both his paternal and maternal families. But one should not accept the sannyasa order of the Mayavada school, which has practically no meaning. We find many Mayavadi sannyasis simply loitering in the street thinking themselves Brahman or Narayana and spending all day and night begging so they can fill their hungry bellies. Mayavadi sannyasis have become so degraded that there is a section of them who eat everything, just like hogs and dogs. It is such degraded sannyasa that is prohibited in this age. Actually, Srila Sankaracarya's principles for the acceptance of sannyasa were very strict, but later the so-called Mayavadi sannyasis became degraded because of their false philosophy, which propounds that by accepting sannyasa one becomes Narayana. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu rejected that kind of sannyasa. But the acceptance of sannyasa is one of the items of the varnasrama-dharma. How then can it be rejected?






TEXT 15

ami ta' kariba toma' dunhara sevana
suniya santusta haila pita-matara mana

SYNONYMS

ami ta'--I; kariba--shall do; toma--for you; dunhara--both; sevana--service; suniya--after hearing; santusta--pleased; haila--became; pita-matara mana--the parents' minds.

TRANSLATION

Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu assured His parents that He would serve them, and thus the minds of His father and mother were satisfied.






TEXT 16

eka-dina naivedya-tambula khaiya
bhumite padila prabhu acetana hana

SYNONYMS

eka-dina--one day; naivedya--food offered to the Deity; tambula--betel nut; khaiya--after eating; bhumite--on the ground; padila--fell; prabhu--the Lord; acetana--unconscious; hana--becoming.

TRANSLATION

One day Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu ate betel nuts offered to the Deity, but they acted as an intoxicant, and He fell down on the ground unconscious.

PURPORT

Betel nuts are an intoxicant, and therefore the regulative principles prohibit eating them. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu's pastime of fainting after eating betel nuts is a solid instruction to all of us that one should not touch betel nuts, even those offered to Visnu, just as one should not touch grains on the Ekadasi day. Of course, Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu's fainting had a particular purpose. As the Supreme Personality of Godhead, He can do whatever He likes and eat whatever He wants, but we should not imitate His pastimes.






TEXT 17

aste-vyaste pita-mata mukhe dila pani
sustha hana kahe prabhu apurva kahini

SYNONYMS

aste-vyaste--with great haste; pita-mata--both the parents; mukhe--on the mouth; dila--gave; pani--water; sustha hana--being revived; kahe--says; prabhu--the Lord; apurva--something astonishing; kahini--narration.

TRANSLATION

After His father and mother sprinkled water on His mouth with great haste, the Lord revived and said something wonderful they had never heard before.






TEXT 18

etha haite visvarupa more lana gela
sannyasa karaha tumi, amare kahila

SYNONYMS

etha--here; haite--from; visvarupa--of the name Visvarupa; more--Me; lana--taking with Him; gela--went; sannyasa--the renounced order of life; karaha--accept; tumi--You also; amare--unto Me; kahila--He said.

TRANSLATION

The Lord said, "Visvarupa took Me away from here, and He requested Me to accept the sannyasa order."






TEXT 19

ami kahi,----amara anatha pita-mata
ami balaka,----sannyasera kiba jani katha

SYNONYMS

ami kahi--I said; amara--My; anatha--helpless; pita-mata--father and mother; ami--I am; balaka--only a child; sannyasera--of the renounced order of life; kiba--what; jani--I know; katha--words.

TRANSLATION

"I replied to Visvarupa, 'I have My helpless father and mother, and also I am but a child. What do I know about the sannyasa order of life?'"






TEXT 20

grhastha ha-iya kariba pita-matara sevana
ihate-i tusta habena laksmi-narayana

SYNONYMS

grhastha--a householder; ha-iya--becoming; kariba--I shall do; pita-matara--of the parents; sevana--service; ihate-i--in this; tusta--satisfied; habena--will become; laksmi-narayana--the goddess of fortune and Narayana.

TRANSLATION

" 'Later I shall become a householder and thus serve My parents, for this action will very much satisfy Lord Narayana and His wife, the goddess of fortune.' "






TEXT 21

tabe visvarupa ihan pathaila more
matake kahio koti koti namaskare

SYNONYMS

tabe--then; visvarupa--of the name Visvarupa; ihan--here; pathaila--sent; more--Me; matake kahio--speak to My mother; koti koti--hundreds and thousands; namaskare--obeisances.

TRANSLATION

"Then Visvarupa returned Me home and requested, 'Offer thousands and thousands of obeisances unto My mother, Sacidevi.' "






TEXT 22

ei mata nana lila kare gaurahari
ki karane lila,----iha bujhite na pari

SYNONYMS

ei mata--in this way; nana--various; lila--pastimes; kare--does; gaurahari--Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu; ki karane--what is the reason; lila--pastimes; iha--this; bujhite--to understand; na--not; pari--I am able.

TRANSLATION

In this way Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu performed various pastimes, but why He did so I cannot understand.

PURPORT

The Supreme Personality of Godhead and His devotees who come to this world are executing a mission, and therefore sometimes they act in a way that is very difficult to understand. It is said, therefore, vaisnavera kriya-mudra vijneha na bujhaya: even if one is a very learned and intelligent scholar, he cannot understand the activities of a Vaisnava. A Vaisnava accepts anything favorable for executing his mission. But foolish persons, not knowing the purpose of such exalted Vaisnavas, indulge in criticizing them. That is forbidden. Since no one can understand what a Vaisnava does for the purpose of executing his mission, to criticize such a Vaisnava is the offense called sadhu-ninda.






TEXT 23

kata dina rahi' misra gela para-loka
mata-putra dunhara badila hrdi soka

SYNONYMS

kata dina--some days; rahi'--remaining; misra--Jagannatha Misra; gela--passed away; para-loka--for the transcendental world; mata--mother; putra--son; dunhara--of both of them; badila--increased; hrdi--in the hearts; soka--lamentation.

TRANSLATION

After some days, Jagannatha Misra passed away from this world to the transcendental world, and both mother and son were very much aggrieved in their hearts.






TEXT 24

bandhu-bandhava asi' dunha prabodhila
pitr-kriya vidhi-mate isvara karila

SYNONYMS

bandhu--friends; bandhava--relatives; asi'--coming there; dunha--both of them; prabodhila--pacified; pitr-kriya--rituals performed after the death of the father; vidhi-mate--according to the Vedic system; isvara--the Supreme Personality of Godhead; karila--executed.

TRANSLATION

Friends and relatives came there to pacify both Lord Caitanya and His mother. Then Lord Caitanya, even though He was the Supreme Personality of Godhead, executed the rituals for His dead father according to the Vedic system.






TEXT 25

kata dine prabhu citte karila cintana
grhastha ha-ilama, ebe cahi grha-dharma

SYNONYMS

kata dine--after some days; prabhu--the Lord; citte--within His mind; karila--made; cintana--consideration; grhastha ha-ilama--I remained in householder life; ebe--now; cahi--I want; grha-dharma--activities of family life.

TRANSLATION

After some days the Lord thought, "I did not take sannyasa, and since I am remaining at home it is My duty to act as a grhastha."






TEXT 26

grhini vina grha-dharma na haya sobhana
eta cinti' vivaha karite haila mana

SYNONYMS

grhini--wife; vina--without; grha-dharma--duties of family life; na--not; haya--become; sobhana--beautiful; eta cinti'--thinking thus; vivaha--marriage; karite--to execute; haila--became; mana--mind.

TRANSLATION

"Without a wife," Lord Caitanya considered, "there is no meaning to householder life." Thus the Lord decided to marry.






TEXT 27

na grham grham ity ahur
grhini grham ucyate
taya hi sahitah sarvan
purusarthan samasnute

SYNONYMS

na--not; grham--the home; grham--the house; iti--thus; ahuh--said; grhini--the wife; grham--home; ucyate--it is said; taya--with her; hi--certainly; sahitah--together; sarvan--all; purusa-arthan--goals of human life; samasnute--perfects.

TRANSLATION

"Merely a house is not a home, for it is a wife who gives a home its meaning. If one lives at home with his wife, together they can fulfill all the interests of human life."






TEXT 28

daive eka dina prabhu padiya asite
vallabhacaryera kanya dekhe ganga-pathe

SYNONYMS

daive--accidentally; eka dina--one day; prabhu--the Lord; padiya--after studying; asite--while He was coming back; vallabhacaryera--of Vallabhacarya; kanya--daughter; dekhe--sees; ganga-pathe--on the way to the Ganges.

TRANSLATION

One day when the Lord was coming back from school He accidentally saw the daughter of Vallabhacarya on the way to the Ganges.






TEXT 29

purva-siddha bhava dunhara udaya karila
daive vanamali ghataka saci-sthane aila

SYNONYMS

purva-siddha--as it is already settled; bhava--ecstasy; dunhara--of both of them; udaya--awakened; karila--was made; daive--also accidentally; vanamali--of the name Vanamali; ghataka--the marriage-maker; saci-sthane--at the place of Sacimata; aila--came.

TRANSLATION

When the Lord and Laksmidevi met, their relationship awakened, having already been settled, and coincidentally the marriage-maker Vanamali came to see Sacimata.

PURPORT

Vanamali Ghataka, a resident of Navadvipa and a brahmana by caste, arranged the marriage of the Lord to Laksmidevi. He was formerly Visvamitra, who negotiated the marriage of Lord Ramacandra, and later he was the brahmana who negotiated the marriage of Lord Krsna with Rukmini. That same brahmana acted as the marriage-maker of the Lord in caitanya-lila.






TEXT 30

sacira ingite sambandha karila ghatana
laksmike vivaha kaila sacira nandana

SYNONYMS

sacira ingite--by the indication of mother Saci; sambandha--the relationship; karila--made; ghatana--possible; laksmike--unto Laksmidevi; vivaha--marriage; kaila--executed; sacira nandana--the son of mother Saci.

TRANSLATION

Following the indications of Sacidevi, Vanamali Ghataka arranged the marriage, and thus in due course the Lord married Laksmidevi.






TEXT 31

vistariya varnila taha vrndavana-dasa
ei ta' pauganda-lilara sutra-prakasa

SYNONYMS

vistariya--having elaborated; varnila--has described; taha--that; vrndavana-dasa--Thakura Vrndavana dasa; ei ta'--this is; pauganda-lilara--of the pastimes of His early age; sutra-prakasa--manifestation of the synopsis.

TRANSLATION

Vrndavana dasa Thakura has elaborately described all these pastimes of the Lord's early age. What I have given is but a condensed presentation of the same pastimes.






TEXT 32

pauganda vayase lila bahuta prakara
vrndavana-dasa iha kariyachena vistara

SYNONYMS

pauganda vayase--in His early age; lila--pastimes; bahuta prakara--of various kinds; vrndavana-dasa--Vrndavana dasa Thakura; iha--this; kariyachena--has done; vistara--the elaborate explanation.

TRANSLATION

The Lord performed many varieties of pastimes in His early age, and Srila Vrndavana dasa Thakura has described them elaborately.






TEXT 33

ataeva dinmatra ihan dekhaila
'caitanya-mangale' sarva-loke khyata haila

SYNONYMS

ataeva--therefore; din-matra--only in the matter of indication; ihan--here; dekhaila--I have exhibited; caitanya-mangale--in the book of the name Caitanya-mangala; sarva-loke--all over the world; khyata--famous; haila--became.

TRANSLATION

I have given but a single hint of these pastimes, for Vrndavana dasa Thakura, in his book Caitanya-mangala [now Caitanya-bhagavata], has described them all vividly.






TEXT 34

sri-rupa-raghunatha-pade yara asa
caitanya-caritamrta kahe krsnadasa

SYNONYMS

sri-rupa--Srila Rupa Gosvami; raghunatha--Srila Raghunatha dasa Gosvami; pade--at the lotus feet; yara--whose; asa--expectation; caitanya-caritamrta--the book named Caitanya-caritamrta; kahe--describes; krsnadasa--Srila Krsnadasa Kaviraja Gosvami.

TRANSLATION

Praying at the lotus feet of Sri Rupa and Sri Raghunatha, always desiring their mercy, I, Krsnadasa, narrate Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, following in their footsteps.

Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports to Sri Caitanya-caritamrta, Adi-lila, Fifteenth Chapter, describing the Lord's pauganda-lila.


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