20210630 Blaphemer of Śrīvāsa Paṇḍita is Punished with Leprosy

The following is a Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book Compilation given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on June 30th, 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!

Hare Kṛṣṇa! Dear Devotees! Today we will continue with the compilation of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book, Today's chapter is entitled:

Blaphemer of Śrīvāsa Paṇḍita is Punished with Leprosy
Under the Section: The Lord’s Attempt to Go to Vṛndāvana

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 4.345

ei mata kautuke āchena gaura-siṁha
catur-dike śobhe saba caraṇera bhṛṅga

Jayapatākā Swami: In this way the lionlike Gaura enjoyed His pastimes surrounded by His servitors, who were like bumblebees at the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 4.346

kuṣṭha rogīra āgamana o prabhura nikaṭa nija durdaśā-jñāpana— 
henai samaye kuṣṭha-rogī eka jana
prabhura sammukhe āsi' dila daraśana

Jayapatākā Swami: At that time one leper came and stood before Lord Caitanya and Lord Caitanya gave him darśana.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 4.347

daṇḍavata haiyā paḍila ārta-nāde
dui bāhu tuli' mahā-ārti kari' kānde

Translation: He fell flat before Lord Gauranga, raised his two arms, and cried pathetically.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 4.348

saṁsāra-uddhāra lāgi' tumi kṛpā-maya
pṛthivīra mājhe āsi' hailā udaya

Jayapatākā Swami: He said, “O merciful Lord Gauranga, You have appeared in this world to deliver the living entities from this material entanglement.”

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 4.349

para-duḥkha dekhi' tumi svabhāve kātara
etheke āiluṅ muñi tomāra gocara

Translation: "You are by nature unhappy to see the distress of others. Therefore, I have come before You." 

Jayapatākā Swami: The vaiṣṇavas are para duḥkha dukhī sad seeing others distressed. The leper very humbly presented before Lord Caitanya.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 4.350

kuṣṭha-roge pīḍita, jvālāya muñi mari
balaha upāya more kona mate tari

Jayapatākā Swami: “I am suffering from leprosy and my body is burning. Please tell me how I may be delivered from this suffering.”

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 4.351

prabhura krodha––vaiṣṇavāparādha-hetu kuṣṭharoga; ihā apekṣāo vaiṣṇavāparādhīra adhikatara yantraṇā bhaviṣyatera janya sañcita— 
śuni' mahāprabhu kuṣṭha-rogīra vacana
balite lāgilā krodhe kariyā tarjana

Translation: When Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu heard the leper's words, He began to chastise him in an angry mood.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 4.352

“ghuca ghuca mahā-pāpi, vidyamāna haite
tore dekhile o pāpa janmaye lokete

Translation: Get lost, get lost. Get out of here, you great sinner! Leave My sight! Just by seeing you, people incur sin.”

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 4.353

parama-dhārmika yadi dekhe tora mukha
se divase tāhāra avaśya haya duḥkha

Translation: “If even the most pious person sees your face, he will certainly meet with distress that day.”

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 4.354

vaiṣṇava-nindaka tui pāpī durācāra
ihā haite duḥkha tora kata āche āra

Translation: “You are the most sinful, wretched, blasphemer of Vaiṣṇavas. There is much more misery awaiting you.” 

Jayapatākā Swami: So Lord Caitanya is Gaurāṇga, very merciful. But one thing he does not tolerate is offenses to Vaiṣṇavas. This person had made an offense to Śrīvāsa Ṭhākura, therefore Lord Caitanya told him that he had to suffer for the offense.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 4.355

ei jvālā sahite nā pāra' duṣṭa-mati
ke-mate karibā kumbhīpākete vasati

Translation: “O wicked-minded one, you are unable to tolerate this burning pain, so how will tolerate the suffering in Kumbhīpāka?”

Jayapatākā Swami: Kumbhīpāka is one of the hellish places, and there one has to suffer extreme pain, Lord Caitanya is telling this person, how that for his offense to a Vaiṣṇava he has to suffer in Kumbhīpāka, the hell. There is twenty-six standard hells, and so Kumbhīpāka is one of those hells, and in Kumbhīpāka you are cooked in boiling oil.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 4.356

asamordhava-vaiṣṇava-mahimā— 
ye ‘vaiṣṇava’ nāme haya saṁsāra Pavitra
brahmādi gāyena ye vaiṣṇava-caritra

Jayapatākā Swami: “The entire world is purified by chanting the name of a Vaiṣṇava. Personalities headed by Lord Brahmā glorify the characteristics of such Vaiṣṇavas.”

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 4.357

ye vaiṣṇava bhajile acintya kṛṣṇa pāi
se vaiṣṇava-pūjā haite baḍa āra nāi

Jayapatākā Swami: There is nothing superior to the worship of the Vaiṣṇavas, for by worshiping such Vaiṣṇavas one attains the inconceivable Lord Kṛṣṇa.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 4.358

‘śeṣa-ramā-aja-bhava nija-deha haite
vaiṣṇava kṛṣṇera priya’ kahe bhāgavate

Translation: In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Kṛṣṇa declares that a Vaiṣṇava is more dear to Him than Lord Śeṣa, Lakṣmī, Lord Brahmā, Lord Śiva, and His own body.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 4.359

tathāhi—(bhāg 11.14.15)

na tathā me priyatama
ātma-yonir na śaṅkaraḥna
ca saṅkarṣaṇo na śrīr
naivātmā ca yathā bhavān

Translation: O Uddhava, neither My son Brahmā nor My form as Śaṅkara nor My brother Saṅkarṣaṇa nor My wife Lakṣmī is as dear to Me as you or a devotee. What's more, even My own self is not as dear.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Kṛṣṇa is declaring that how His pure devotee is dear to Him, so we can understand that the pure devotee being dear to Lord Kṛṣṇa, we should never offend such a devotee.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 4.360

sei vaiṣṇavera nindākārīra ciraduḥkha— 
“hena vaiṣṇavera nindā kare yei jana
se-i pāya duḥkha—janma-jīvana-maraṇa

Jayapatākā Swami: “Therefore anyone who blasphemes such a Vaiṣṇava suffers miseries in birth and death, in life and dying.”

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 4.361

vidyā-kula-tapa saba viphala tāhāra
vaiṣṇava nindaye ye ye pāpī durācāra

Translation: “The education, high birth, and austerities of a sinful, wretched person who blasphemes Vaiṣṇavas are all useless.”

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 4.362

pūjā o tāhāra kṛṣṇa nā kare grahaṇa
vaiṣṇavera nindā kare ye pāpiṣṭha jana

Translation: Lord Kṛṣṇa does not accept the worship of a sinful person who blasphemes Vaiṣṇavas.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 4.363

ye vaiṣṇava nācite pṛthivī dhanya haya
yāṅra dṛṣṭi-mātra daśa-dike pāpa kṣaya

Translation: When a Vaiṣṇava dances, the earth becomes glorious, and his glance counteracts sins in the ten directions.

Jayapatākā Swami: Here Lord Caitanya is glorifying the pure Vaiṣṇavas. We can take inspiration of how great it is to be a Vaiṣṇava. We are trying to serve His Divine Grace AC Bhaktivedānta Swami Prabhupāda because He is a great Vaiṣṇava.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 4.364

mahābhāgavatera ūrdhvabāhu-nṛtya-prabhāve svargerao sakala vighna-vināśa— 
ye vaiṣṇava-jana bāhu tuliyā nācite
svargero sakala vighna ghuce bhāla-mate

Translation: When a Vaiṣṇava raises his arms and dances, the inauspiciousness in the heavenly planets is totally vanquished.”

Jayapatākā Swami: By a Vaiṣṇava dancing, not only is he purifying this world but he also purifies the higher planets.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Ādi-khaṇḍa 2.182

tāṅhādera padasparśe o dṛṣṭipātei bhūtalera o sarvadikera aśubha-nāśa o śubhodaya— 
pada-tāle khaṇḍe pṛthivīra amaṅgala
dṛṣṭi-mātra daśa-dik haya sunirmala

Translation: “As such persons dance, the touch of their lotus feet destroys all the inauspiciousness of the world. By their glance, the ten directions are purified.”

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Ādi-khaṇḍa 2.183

tāṅhādera nṛtyamātre svargerao vighna-nāśa— 
bāhu tuli’ nācite svargera vighna-nāśa
hena yaśa, hena nṛtya, hena tora dāsa

Jayapatākā Swami: “Such are the Vaiṣṇavas' glories, such is their dancing, and such are their servitors that when they dance with their arms raised, the disturbances even in the heavenly planets are destroyed.”

Purport (by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhāta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura): This temporary material world is full of threefold miseries. Uninterrupted happiness is not found even in the heavenly planets. In the course of enjoying heavenly pleasure there are two impediments— aversion to the Supreme Lord due to sense gratification and being deprived of heavenly pleasures achieved through pious activities by the demons. When the demigods who reside on the heavenly planets raise their arms and happily dance with a desire to serve Lord Viṣṇu, the fallible heavenly planets no longer remain hated. The characteristics of Kṛṣṇa’s devotees are like those of the demigods, except that the devotees are freed from all material desires. Such devotees of Kṛṣṇa can raise their arms and dance in ecstasy. The heroic activities of the Supreme Lord are spotless and bestow all auspiciousness. The devotees of the Supreme Lord also possess such extraordinary qualities. The word hena means “this type” or “this kind.”

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Ādi-khaṇḍa 2.184

vaiṣṇavera aprākṛta indriyasparśe bhūmi, dik o svargera āmaṅgala-nāśa — 
(tathāhi padma-purāṇe o hari-bhakti-sudhodaye 20/68)–  
padbhyāṁ bhūmer diśo dṛgbhyāṁ
dorbhyāñ cāmaṅgalaṁ divaḥ
bahu-dhotsādyate rājan
kṛṣṇa-bhaktasya nṛtyataḥ

Translation: My dear King, when Kṛṣṇa’s devotees dance in kīrtana, they destroy the inauspiciousness of the earth by the touch of their feet, the directions by their glance, and the higher planetary systems by their upraised arms.

Purport (by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhāta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura): This verse is found in the Padma Purāṇa and in the Hari-bhakti-sudhodaya (20.68).

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 4.365

mahā-bhāgavata śrīvāsa-caraṇe aparādhera phala— 
hena mahābhāgavata śrīvāsa-paṇḍita
tui pāpī nindā kaili tāhāra carita

Translation: “Śrīvāsa Paṇḍita is such an exalted devotee, yet you are so sinful that you blasphemed him.”

Jayapatākā Swami: This must be Capāla Gopāla, he put blood and articles of worshipping Goddess Kālī in front of Śrīvāsa’s house, but no one believed that Śrīvāsa did any of these things and after three days Capāla Gopāla was attacked by leprosy. May be he is approaching Lord Caitanya to get mercy. But Lord Caitanya is blasting him for offending a Vaiṣṇava.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 4.366

eteke tohāra kuṣṭha-jvālā kon kāja
mūla śāstā paścāte āchena dharmarāja

Translation: Therefore this burning pain of leprosy is nothing compared to the punishment that you will receive later from Yamarāja.

Caitanya-Bhāgavata Antya-khaṇḍa 4.367

eteke āmāra dṛśya-yogya naha tumi
tomāra niṣkṛti karibāre nāri āmi”

Translation: You are not fit to be seen by Me, and I am unable to deliver you.

Purport (by Śrīla Bhaktisiddhāta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura): The Vaiṣṇavas are worshipable to all the demigods, worshipable to all human beings, and totally worshipable to all. By blaspheming such Vaiṣṇavas, the blasphemer suffers the pains of leprosy. Gaurasundara said, “Burning pain and inconvenience resulting from leprosy are only a token punishment for the blasphemer of the Vaiṣṇavas. Yamarāja awards greater punishment. Such a sinful person is never fit to be seen by anyone. The Supreme Lord never delivers such atheistic offenders of Vaiṣṇavas from their sufferings.”

Jayapatākā Swami: So, we can understand how serious it is to offend a Vaiṣṇava, we should be very frightened of offending a Vaiṣṇava as we learn from Lord Caitanya’s instruction.

Thus ends the chapter entitled, Blaphemer of Śrīvāsa Paṇḍita is Punished with Leprosy 
Under the Section: The Lord’s Attempt to Go to Vṛndāvana