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.
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!
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.
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.
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.
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.
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
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
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:
"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
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?'"
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.
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.
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.
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.