20210428 Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu Accepts Lunch Prasāda With the Devotees

The following is a Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book Compilation given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on April 28th,2021 in Śrī Dhāma Māyāpur, India.

mūkaṁ karoti vācālaṁ paṅguṁ laṅghayate girim
yat-kṛpā tam ahaṁ vande śrī-guruṁ dīna-tāraṇam
paramānandaṁ mādhavaṁ śrī caitanya iśvaram

Hariḥ oṁ tat sat!

Continuing with the Compilation of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book, of the chapter

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu Accepts Lunch Prasāda With the Devotees

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 14.23

sakalera madhyāhna-snānānte vāṇīnāthera pracura prasāda ānayana:—

madhyāhna karilā prabhu lañā bhakta-gaṇa
vāṇīnātha prasāda lañā kaila āgamana

Translation: After this, Vāṇīnātha Rāya brought all kinds of prasāda, and Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu accepted lunch with the devotees.

Jayapatākā Swami: How Lord Caitanya is so merciful, than any other avatāra, and takes lunch with the devotees. Only Kṛṣṇa would take with His cowherd boyfriends, Lord Caitanya would take with His associates.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 14.24

sārvabhauma-rāmānanda-vāṇīnāthe diyā
prasāda pāṭhā’la rājā bahuta kariyā

Translation: The King also sent a large quantity of prasāda through Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya, Rāmānanda Rāya and Vāṇīnātha Rāya.

Jayapatākā Swami: King Pratāparudra had received the mercy of Lord Caitanya and also sent a large quantities of prasāda.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 14.25

vicitra prasāda:—

‘balagaṇḍi bhoge’ra prasāda-uttama, ananta
‘ni-sakaḍi’ prasāda āila, yāra nāhi anta

Translation: The prasāda sent by the King had been offered at the Balagaṇḍi festival and included uncooked milk products and fruits. It was all of the finest quality, and there was no end to the variety.

Jayapatākā Swami: Sometimes when we go to Jagannātha Purī, we have, what is called as kartar bhoga, the offering that is given to the King and that prasāda is very rare and opulent so we can see that kind of prasāda is being given to Lord Caitanya and His associates.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 14.26

chānā, pānā, paiḍa, āmra, nārikela, kāṅṭhāla
nānā-vidha kadalaka, āra bīja-tāla

Translation: There were curd, fruit juice, coconut, mango, dried coconut, jackfruit, various kinds of bananas and palm-fruit seeds.

Purport: This is the first list of prasāda offered to Lord Jagannātha.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 14.27

nāraṅga, cholaṅga, ṭābā, kamalā, bīja-pūra
bādāma, chohārā, drākṣā, piṇḍa-kharjura

Translation: There were also oranges, grapefruit, tangerines, almonds, dried fruit, raisins and dates.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 14.28

manoharā-lāḍu ādi śateka prakāra
amṛta-guṭikā-ādi, kṣīrasā apāra

Translation: There were hundreds of different types of sweetmeats like manoharā-lāḍu, sweets like amṛta-guṭikā and various types of condensed milk.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 14.29

amṛta-maṇḍā, saravatī, āra kumḍā-kurī
sarāmṛta, sarabhājā, āra sarapurī

Translation: There were also papayas and saravatī, a type of orange, and also crushed squash. There were also regular cream, fried cream and a type of purī made with cream.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 14.30

hari-vallabha, seṅoti, karpūra, mālatī
ḍālimā marica-lāḍu, navāta, amṛti

Translation: There were also the sweets known as hari-vallabha and sweets made of seṅoti flowers, karpūra flowers and mālatī flowers. There were pomegranates, sweets made with black pepper, sweets made with fused sugar, and amṛti-jilipi.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 14.31

padmacini, candrakānti, khājā, khaṇḍasāra
viyari, kadmā, tilākhājāra prakāra

Translation: There were lotus-flower sugar, a kind of bread made from urad dhal, crispy sweetmeats, sugar candy, fried-rice sweets, sesame-seed sweets and cookies made from sesame seeds.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, some of the offerings made to Jagannath are mentioned here, there are a variety of offerings. He is known for having chappan-bhoga, 56 items. So here we see some of the offerings, to Lord Jagannātha were also offered to Lord Caitanya.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 14.32

nāraṅga-cholaṅga-āmra-vṛkṣera ākāra
phula-phala-patra-yukta khaṇḍera vikāra

Translation: There were sugar-candy sweetmeats formed into the shape of orange, lemon and mango trees and arranged with fruits, flowers and leaves.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 14.33

dadhi, dugdha, nanī, takra, rasālā, śikhariṇī
sa-lavaṇa mudgāṅkura, ādā khāni khāni

Translation: There were yogurt, milk, butter, buttermilk, fruit juice, a preparation made of fried yogurt and sugar candy, and salty mung-dhal sprouts with shredded ginger.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 14.34

lembu-kula-ādi nānā-prakāra ācāra
likhite nā pāri prasāda kateka prakāra

Translation: There were also various types of pickles — lemon pickle, berry pickle and so on. Indeed, I am not able to describe the variety of food offered to Lord Jagannātha.

Purport: In verses 26-34, the author describes the various foods offered to Lord Jagannātha. He has described them as far as possible, but he finally admits his inability to describe them completely.

Jayapatākā Swami: Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja admits his failure in describing all of the variety of prasāda offered to Lord Jagannātha. This gives an idea how opulently Lord Jagannātha is served.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 14.35

prasāda-pātre bahu sthāna āvṛta—

prasāde pūrita ha-ila ardha upavana
dekhiyā santoṣa haila mahāprabhura mana

Translation: When Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu saw half the garden filled with a variety of prasāda, He was very satisfied.

Jayapatākā Swami: He was very satisfied to see so many varieties of prasāda has been offered to Lord Jagannātha.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 14.36

jagannāthera tṛpti-smaraṇe prabhura harṣa:—

ei-mata jagannātha karena bhojana
ei sukhe mahāprabhura juḍāya nayana

Translation: Indeed, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was fully satisfied just to see how Lord Jagannātha accepted all the food.

Purport: Following in the footsteps of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, a Vaiṣṇava should be fully satisfied simply to see a variety of food offered to the Deity of Jagannātha or Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. A Vaiṣṇava should not hunger for a variety of food for his own sake; rather, his satisfaction is in seeing various foods being offered to the Deity. In his Gurv-aṣṭaka, Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī Ṭhākura writes:

“The spiritual master is always offering Kṛṣṇa four kinds of delicious food [analyzed as that which is licked, chewed, drunk and sucked]. When the spiritual master sees that the devotees are satisfied by eating bhagavat-prasāda, he is satisfied. I offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of such a spiritual master.”

The spiritual master’s duty is to engage his disciples in preparing varieties of nice foods to offer the Deity. After being offered, this food is distributed as prasāda to the devotees. These activities satisfy the spiritual master, although he himself does not eat or require such a variety of prasāda. By seeing to the offering and distribution of prasāda, he himself is encouraged in devotional service.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Śrīla Prabhupāda is explaining how the spiritual master is pleased just to see all the varieties of bhoga is being offered to the deity.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 14.37

keyā-patra-droṇī āila bojhā pāṅca-sāta
eka eka jane daśa donā dila,—eta pāta

Translation: There then arrived five or seven loads of plates made of the leaves of the ketakī tree. Each man was supplied ten of these plates, and in this way the leaf dishes were distributed.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 14.38

kīrtana-śrānta bhaktagaṇake svayaṃ bhagavānerai sevanāpyāyana:—

kīrtanīyāra pariśrama jāni’ gaurarāya
tāṅ-sabāre khāoyāite prabhura mana dhāya

Translation: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu understood the labor of all the kīrtana chanters; therefore He was very eager to feed them sumptuously.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, chanting and dancing for hours in kīrtana is very strenuous labour. Lord Caitanya was pleased to see all the devotees after this offering of chanting and dancing and also take sumptuous prasāda.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 14.39

prabhu svayaṁi pariveśana karttā:—

pāṅti pāṅti kari’ bhakta-gaṇe vasāilā
pariveśana karibāre āpane lāgilā

Translation: All the devotees sat down in lines, and Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu personally began to distribute the prasāda.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 14.40

prabhura a-bhojane sakalerai bhojane aruci:—

prabhu nā khāile, keha nā kare bhojana
svarūpa-gosāñi tabe kaila nivedana

Translation: But the devotees would not accept the prasāda until Caitanya Mahāprabhu took it. Svarūpa Gosvāmī informed the Lord of this.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 14.41

bhaktagaṇera pakṣa haiyā svarūpera prārthanā:—

āpane vaisa, prabhu, bhojana karite
tumi nā khāile, keha nā pāre khāite

Translation: Svarūpa Dāmodara said, “My Lord, please sit down. No one will eat until You do.”

Jayapatākā Swami: So, devotees are following the etiquette that Lord Caitanya should first take prasāda, if He starts to take, then all the devotees can also take. So in this Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī convinced Lord Caitanya to sit down and take prasāda.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 14.42

prabhura prasāda-sevana:—

tabe mahāprabhu vaise nija-gaṇa lañā
bhojana karāila sabāke ākaṇṭha pūriyā

Translation: At that time, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu sat down with His personal associates and had every one of them fed very sumptuously until they were filled to the necks.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, this is called ākaṇṭha bhojana, taking prasāda up to the neck that means that we are taking prasāda until there is no more space.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 14.43

bhojanānte ācamana, bahulokera udvṛtta-prasāda-prāpti:—

bhojana kari’ vasilā prabhu kari’ ācamana
prasāda ubarila, khāya sahasreka jana

Translation: After finishing, the Lord washed His mouth and sat down. There was so much extra prasāda that it was distributed to thousands.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 14.44

dīna, duḥkhī kāṅgālagaṇera prabhu-kṛpāya prasāda-prāpti:—

prabhura ājñāya govinda dīna-hīna jane
duḥkhī kāṅgāla āni’ karāya bhojane

Translation: Following the orders of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Govinda, His personal servant, called for all the poor beggars, who were unhappy due to their poverty, and fed them sumptuously.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, this way we see how Lord Caitanya personally engaged His associates in prasāda distribution.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 14.45

gauraharira kāṅgāla-bhojana-darśana o hari-kīrtanopadeśa:—

kāṅgālera bhojana-raṅga dekhe gaurahari
’hari-bola’ bali’ tāre upadeśa kari

Translation: Observing the beggars eating prasāda, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu chanted, “Haribol!” and instructed them to chant the holy name.

Purport: In a song, Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura chants:

“O people! Why are you being captivated by the waves of the ocean of nescience? If you would immediately accept Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa as your eternal master, there would be no chance of being carried away by the waves of illusion. Then all your sufferings would stop.” Kṛṣṇa conducts the material world under the three modes of material nature, and consequently there are three platforms of life — higher, middle and lower. On whatever platform one may be situated, one is tossed by the waves of material nature. Someone may be rich, someone may be middle class, and someone may be a poor beggar — it doesn’t matter. As long as one is under the spell of the three modes of material nature, he must continue to experience these divisions.

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu therefore advised the beggars to chant “Haribol!” while taking prasāda. Chanting means accepting one’s self as the eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa. This is the only solution, regardless of social position. Everyone is suffering under the spell of māyā; therefore the best course is to learn how to get out of the clutches of māyā. How to do so is stated by Kṛṣṇa in the Bhagavad-gītā (14.26):

“One who engages in full devotional service, unfailing in all circumstances, at once transcends the modes of material nature and thus comes to the level of Brahman.”

One can overcome the spell of māyā and attain the transcendental platform by agreeing to engage in the devotional service of the Lord. Devotional service begins with śravaṇaṁ kīrtanam; therefore Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu advised the beggars to chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra for elevation to the transcendental position. On the transcendental platform, there is no distinction between the rich, the middle class and the poor.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Lord Caitanya was instructing everyone, Hari Bol! to chant the holy name of Kṛṣṇa and in this way we can transcend the material situation.

Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 14.46

kāṅgālera haribhakti-lābha:—

‘hari-bola’ bali’ kāṅgāla preme bhāsi’ yāya
aichana adbhuta līlā kare gaurarāya

As soon as the beggars chanted the holy name, “Haribol,” they were immediately absorbed in ecstatic love of Godhead. In this way Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu performed wonderful pastimes.

Purport: To feel the emotion of ecstatic love of God is to be on the transcendental platform. If one can keep himself in that transcendental position, he will surely return home, back to Godhead. In the spiritual world there are no higher, middle or lower classes. This is confirmed in the Īśopaniṣad (7):

“One who always sees all living entities as spiritual sparks, in quality one with the Lord, becomes a true knower of things. What, then, can be illusion or anxiety for him?”

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Lord Caitanya would give His mercy without any prejudice of caste, color, creed, social position or gender. So in this way everyone got the mercy of Lord Caitanya. They ate sumptuous prasāda and they chanted hare Kṛṣṇa.

Thus ends the chapter entitled, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu Accepts Lunch Prasāda With the Devotees.