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- Hi quite forgot Himself in the fury of His anger to which He chose also to give full vent,
But yet He did not hurt His mother. - Having smashed all things He at last came out into the yard
And with an angry mind rolled on the ground. - His golden body was enveloped in the sand; And, strange though it may seem,
Was a most beautiful sight,—so it were best left unsaid. - Having rolled about on the earth for some time
The Lord lay still. - In that posture He glanced on the power that lulls God to sleep.
The Lord of Vaikuntha lay on the Earth— - Who eternally reposes on the holy form of Sri Ananta,
And Whose lotus feet are ever served by Lakshmi! - The Lord Who is sought by the four Vedas
Slept in the yard of Sachi! - In the cavity of Whose single hair floats an infinite number of worlds,—
Whose servant creates, maintains and destroys,— - Whose qualities are contemplated with rapture by Brahma, Siva and the rest,—
The Supreme Lord Himself slumbered in the yard of Sachi! - In this manner the highest Lord, tasting the bliss of His own self,
Slept and all the gods laughed and wept at the sight. - Some time passed,—then Sachi Devi having procured the garlands
And arranged all requisites for the worship of the Ganges, - Softly touching the beautiful body of her Son with her hands,
Wiping off the dust, tried to rouse Him from sleep— - ‘Wake, arise, my Darling, look! Here are the garlands,—
Betake Thyself to the Ganges and worship her even as Thou likest. - ‘Thou hast done well, my Dear, by breaking all things
Let those take away Thy ills.’ - Hearing these words of the mother Sri Gaursundar,
Ashamed at heart, went off to bathe. - While Sachi, having first made clean all the rooms,
Prepared to cook. - Although the Lord often wrought such mischief
Yet it caused no sorrow in the mind of Sachi. - Just as the mani-fold waywardness of Krishna
Were borne by Yasoda in the settlement of cow-herds. - All the mischievous pranks of Gauranga were borne
Constantly, with like spirit, by mother Sachi - How tell even the smallest part of the pastimes of God?
All His acts were utterly wayward like this. - The mother bore them all with body, speech and mind.
Sachi was as patient as the Earth herself. - After some time, having bathed in the Ganges,
The Lord, ever full of sport returned home; - And, worshipping Vishnu and offering water to holy tulasi,
The Lord sat down to meal. - The mind of the Lord became cheerful after meal.
And He chewed betel with a smiling face. - Then gently the mother began to speak—
‘For what purpose, Darling, didst Thou make all this mischief? - ‘The house, doors and windows, all things, belong to Thee.
The loss is Thine. Does it affect me at all? - ‘I say this as Thou art going out for Thy studies.
There is nothing in the house. What wilt Thou eat tomorrow? - The Lord laughed hearing these words of His mother.
He said, ‘Krishna nourishes, He will provide.’ - Saying this and taking His books in His hand
The Lord of the goddess of learning made off for study. - Having spent some time in the sweet taste of learning,
When it was evening He repaired to the side of the Jahnavi. - Stopping a while on the bank of the Jahnavi
The Lord there-after returned home. - He called His mother aside to a corner
And put into her hands two tolas of pure gold. - ‘Behold, mother, Krishna has supplied this precious stuff.
By changing it pay all expenses.’ - With these words the Lord went off to bed.
Utterly amazed the mother thought within herself— - ‘From where does He thus bring gold time and again?
I am afraid lest some worse trouble befall. - ‘So soon as money gets scarce in the house
He brings gold repeatedly in this manner. - ‘Does He borrow,—or know some magical art?
Whose gold does He bring?—and how does He get it?’ - The mother was most generous and wholly free from all taint of greed.
She felt many a misgiving even in procuring a change. - ‘Show it to many different persons and then change’
Such was the instruction of mother Sachi to her agent. - In this manner the Lord, the sovereign of all the perfect beings,
Lived, concealing Himself, in the heart of Nabadwip. - Never for a moment did He quit His hold of books;
The God of love manifest, He studied in the company of students. - The beautiful tilak pointing upward adorned His forehead;
The head bore a profusion of curls that took captive the minds of all; - The sacred thread hang across the shoulder the em-bodiment of the fiery Brahman spirit,
With His beautiful face overspread with smiles and with bland, exquisite teeth. - And the wonder of the pair of those lotus eyes!
And the marvellous beauty of the cloth worn with the triple Kachchha! - His beauty fixed the gaze of all beholders.
There was none who failed to pay his homage of praise. - So wonderfully did the Lord construe the texts,
That the joy of the teacher exceeded all bounds— - In the very midst of all his pupils, taking hold of Him with his own hands,
The teacher made Him take the highest place. - ‘My Dear,’ he said, ‘do Thou read attentively;—
I am sure, Thou wilt be the greatest of teachers.’ - The Lord replied, ‘Whom you bless, the position
Of the Greatest of teachers is not at all difficult for Him to attain.’ - Whatever question Sri Gaursundar asked
No student could answer. - Thereupon Himself construed the sutra,
And then refuted His own interpretation. - And, when nobody was able to support the explanation,
Himself established the same in the proper way. - Whether at His bath, at meal, or at His walks
The Lord minded nothing but the Shastras. - Thus did the Lord pass the time in the sweet taste of learning
And did not yet manifest Himself, such was the evil lot of the world. - The whole world was void of devotion for Hari—
There was nothing in it but evil society and wicked ways. - They held high festivities in honour of sons and daughters in many diverse styles,
And except the lusts of the body and family nothing else had a place in their thoughts. - Finding all persons prefer false pleasures
The community of the Vaishnavas felt sad in their hearts. - The entire company of the devotees crying called upon Krishna,
‘Narayana’, they prayed, ‘have mercy on these jivas. - ‘Having got such a precious body they have yet no attachment for Krishna!
How long are they to suffer the miseries of their evil course? - ‘The human body which even the gods covet
Is wasted in the vain pursuit of pleasures!’ - ‘They never perform the high festivals in honour of Krishna,—
But earn death by their merry bouts on weddings and such affairs:— - ‘The jiva, Lord, is Thine; Thou art his Protector;
It is not meet for us to say, Thou being the Father of all.’ - Thus did the devotees meditate on the good of all
And sang the blessed praise of Krishna-chandra. - Sri Krishna-chaitanya is the life of Nityananda-chand
At Whose twin feet sings Brindabandas.
Here ends Chapter Eighth entitled ‘the departure of Misra to the other world’ in Part First of Sri Chaitanya Bhagabat.
(To be continued.)
Taking Refuge
(Continued from P.48, July, 1928.)
[ XXII ]
- Whom Thou will’st to slay who can protect?
The three worlds are subject to Thy will.
Brahma and all the gods are Thy servants numberless.
They all carry out Thy commands. - In accordance with Thy will all the planets constantly
Shed the gifts of their good and evil influences.
Disease, sorrow, death, fear obey Thy will.
Thy command ever prevails. - Fear of Thee makes the wind blow,
And the Sun and the Moon and everything
To perform each its allotted task.
Thou art the Supreme Lord,
Great beyond all things and the Goal Absolute.
Thou hast Thy abode in the heart of Thy devotee. - Eternally pure with every wish fulfilled
Thy Name is Love for Thy devotees;
The eternal Lord of those that love only Thee
Whom Thou protect’st
Who can slay?
Thou art the Law unto all laws. - At Thy feet, O Lord, Bhaktivinode, Thy servant,
Has made his submission
From all danger His master will surely deliver him,—
This faith he doth cherish.
(To be continued.)