Chaitanya's Life And Teachings: From his contemporary Begali biography the Chaitanya-charit-amritaKṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmi
Religion
Chaitanya's Life And Teachings: From his contemporary Begali biography the Chaitanya-charit-amrita
Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmi
Chaitanya, 1486-1534; Hinduism
Knowing the fatigue of the _kirtan_ singers, Chaitanya resolved to
feast them. He seated them in rows and began to serve the food Himself.
Each man was given one leaf and ten cups of _Keyá_ leaves. Swarup
informed Him that as none would dine before the Master, He ought to sit
down to meal. Then the Master sat down with His circle and fed all to
their fill. The excess of _prasád_ that was left over sufficed to feed
a thousand men. Govinda, at the Master's bidding, brought in beggars to
eat this food. At the sight of the beggars feast the Master taught them
to chant Hari's name, and they were carried away on the stream of love
as they shouted _Hari-bol_.
Now came the time for dragging the car of Jagannáth. The Bengal athletes
pulled at the rope, but the car did not move. So they gave up the work
in despair. The king and his Court hastened thither in alarm. He set the
wrestlers to draw the car and applied his own hand to it; but still the
car did not move. Then powerful elephants were harnessed to the car, but
it did not advance a step in spite of their utmost efforts. Hearing this
the Master arrived with His followers and gazed at the furious elephants
pulling at the car. The elephants shrieked at the blows of the goad, but
the car stirred not, and the people lamented.
Then the Master took away the elephants, gave the ropes to His
followers, and Himself pushed the car from behind with His head. The car
sped along rattling. The _bhaktas_ merely held the ropes; they had not
really to pull, as the car advanced of itself. In delight the people
shouted "Glory! Glory to Jagannáth!" No other sound was heard. In a
twinkle the car reached the gate of the Gundicha garden, the people
marvelling at the power of Chaitanya. They set up a roar of "Glory to
Gaurchandra! Glory to Krishna-Chaitanya!" At the sight of the Master's
might, Pratap Rudra and his courtiers swelled with enthusiasm. Then the
servitors performed the ceremony of dismounting Jagannáth from his car
and conveying him to the Gundicha people. The three images were placed
on their thrones, and the ceremony of the gods bath and dinner
commenced. The Master began a joyous dance and _kirtan_ in the
courtyard in delight. His love welled out in blissfulness, and the sight
of it swept away the beholders in a torrent of love. In the evening He
witnessed the adoration with lamps, and came to the _Ai-totá_ garden
for reposing. Adwaita and eight other leading followers invited Him for
nine days. Among the rest as many got a chance of entertaining Him as
there were days in the "four months," while the rank and file of His
followers had a day free for each individually; so two or three of them
combined to give Him a joint entertainment on one day.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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