20211029 Bribing the Jailkeeper Sanātana Gosvāmī Escapes and Reaches Pātaḍā

The following is a Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book Compilation given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on October 29th, 2021 in Sri Dhama Mayapur, 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 as:

Bribing the Jailkeeper Sanātana Gosvāmī Escapes and Reaches Pātaḍā

Under the section: Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu Instructs Sanātana Gosvāmī in the Science of the Absolute Truth

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 20.1

vande ’nantādbhutaiśvaryaṁ
śrī-caitanya-mahāprabhum
nīco ’pi yat-prasādāt syād
bhakti-śāstra-pravartakaḥ

Translation: Let me offer my respectful obeisances unto Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, who has unlimited, wonderful opulences. By His mercy, even a person born as the lowest of men can spread the science of devotional service.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja declares that if one receives the mercy of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, regardless of his birth, he can spread the science of Kṛṣṇa consciousness.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 20.3

bandī sanātanera śrī-rūpera nikaṭa haite pūrvokta patra-prāpti

ethā gauḍe sanātana āche bandi-śāle
śrī-rūpa-gosāñīra patrī āila hena-kāle

Translation: While Sanātana Gosvāmī was imprisoned in Bengal, a letter arrived from Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī.

Purport: Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura informs us that this letter from Rūpa Gosvāmī to Sanātana Gosvāmī is mentioned by the annotator of the Udbhaṭa-candrikā. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī wrote a note to Sanātana Gosvāmī from Bāklā. This note indicated that Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was coming to Mathurā, and it stated:

“Where has the Mathurā-purī of Yadupati gone? Where has the Northern Kośalā of Raghupati gone? By reflection, make the mind steady, thinking, ‘This universe is not eternal.’”

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Sanātana Gosvāmī could understand from this letter that Lord Caitanya was in Vṛndāvana.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 20.4

sanātanera ānanda o kārārakṣakake cāṭukti

patrī pāñā sanātana ānandita hailā
yavana-rakṣaka-pāśa kahite lāgilā

Translation: When Sanātana Gosvāmī received this note from Rūpa Gosvāmī, he became very pleased. He immediately went to the jail superintendent, who was a meat-eater, and spoke as follows.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 20.5

“tumi eka jindā-pīra mahā-bhāgyavān
ketāba-korāṇa-śāstre āche tomāra jñāna

Translation: Sanātana Gosvāmī told the Muslim jailkeeper, “Dear sir, you are a saintly person and are very fortunate. You have full knowledge of the revealed scriptures such as the Koran and similar books.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Sanātana Gosvāmī addressed the jail-keeper in such a way that he would be very inspired.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 20.6

eka bandī chāḍe yadi nija-dharma dekhiyā
saṁsāra ha-ite tāre mukta karena gosāñā

Translation: “If one releases a conditioned soul or imprisoned person according to religious principles, he himself is also released from material bondage by the Supreme Personality of Godhead.”

Purport: It appears from this statement that Sanātana Gosvāmī, who was formerly a minister of the Nawab, was trying to cheat the Muslim superintendent. A jail superintendent had only an ordinary education, or practically no education, and he was certainly not supposed to be very advanced in spiritual knowledge. But just to satisfy him, Sanātana Gosvāmī praised him as a very learned scholar of the scriptures. The jailkeeper could not deny that he was a learned scholar, because when one is elevated to an exalted position, one thinks oneself fit for that position. Sanātana Gosvāmī was correctly explaining the effects of spiritual activity, and the jailkeeper connected his statement with his release from jail.

There are innumerable conditioned souls rotting in the material world, imprisoned by māyā under the spell of sense gratification. The living entity is so entranced by the spell of māyā that in conditioned life even a pig feels satisfied. There are two kinds of covering powers exhibited by māyā. One is called prakṣepātmikā, and the other is called āvaraṇātmikā. When one is determined to get out of material bondage, the prakṣepātmikā-śakti, the spell of diversion, impels one to remain in conditioned life fully satisfied by sense gratification. Due to the other power (āvaraṇātmikā), a conditioned soul feels satisfied even if he is rotting in the body of a pig or a worm in stool. To release a conditioned soul from material bondage is very difficult because the spell of māyā is so strong. Even when the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself descends to deliver conditioned souls, asking them to surrender unto Him, the conditioned souls do not agree to the Lord’s proposal. Therefore Śrī Sanātana Gosvāmī said, “Somehow or other, if one helps another gain release from the bondage of māyā, he is certainly recognized immediately by the Supreme Personality of Godhead.”

As Lord Kṛṣṇa states in the Bhagavad-gītā (18.69):

na ca tasmān manuṣyeṣu
kaścin me priya-kṛttamaḥ
bhavitā na ca me tasmād
anyaḥ priyataro bhuvi

The greatest service one can render to the Lord is to try to infuse devotional service into the heart of the conditioned soul so that the conditioned soul may be released from conditioned life. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has said that a Vaiṣṇava is recognized by his preaching work — that is, by convincing the conditioned soul about his eternal position, which is explained here as nija-dharma. It is the living entity’s eternal position to serve the Lord; therefore to help one get release from material bondage is to awaken one to the dormant understanding that he is the eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa.

jīvera ‘svarūpa’ haya — kṛṣṇera ‘nitya-dāsa’.

This will be further explained by the Lord Himself to Sanātana Gosvāmī.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Sanātana Gosvāmī was certainly telling the truth to the Jail-keeper in regard to someone releasing from material bondage but he was applying this to release him as a great spiritual activity.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 20.7

pratyupakāra prārthanā

pūrve āmi tomāra kariyāchi upakāra
tumi āmā chāḍi’ kara pratyupakāra

Translation: Sanātana Gosvāmī continued, “Previously I have done much for you. Now I am in difficulty. Please return my goodwill by releasing me.”

Jayapatākā Swami: As a Prime Minister, Sanātana Gosvāmī must have done favors for the Jail Superintendent. So, he was requesting the Jail Superintendent to reciprocate.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 20.8

śuddha-hari-bhajanārtha laukika sunīti-vigarhita ceṣṭākeo sanātanera anukūla-rūpe niyoga,—uhāi satya-dharma

pāñca sahasra mudrā tumi kara aṅgīkāra
puṇya, artha,—dui lābha ha-ibe tomāra”

Translation: “Here are five thousand gold coins. Please accept them. By releasing me, you will receive the results of pious activities and gain material profit as well. Thus you will profit in two ways simultaneously.”

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Sanātana Gosvāmī was very expert for presenting this amount to the Jail Superintendent.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 20.9

kārārakṣakera rājabhaya

tabe sei yavana kahe,—”śuna, mahāśaya
tomāre chāḍiba, kintu kari rāja-bhaya”

Translation: In this way Sanātana Gosvāmī convinced the jailkeeper, who replied, “Please hear me, my dear sir. I am willing to release you, but I am afraid of the government.”

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 20.10-11

sanātanera parāmarśadāna

sanātana kahe,—“tumi nā kara rāja-bhaya
dakṣiṇa giyāche yadi leuṭi’ āoyaya

tāṅhāre kahio—sei bāhya-kṛtye gela
gaṅgāra nikaṭa gaṅgā dekhi’ jhāṅpa dila

Translation: Sanātana replied, “There is no danger. The Nawab has gone to the south. If he returns, tell him that Sanātana went to pass stool near the bank of the Ganges and that as soon as he saw the Ganges, he jumped in.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Sanātana Gosvāmī had this logic to give an excuse to the Jail-Superintendent so that he doesn’t have to be afraid of the King or Nawab.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 20.12

aneka dekhila, tāra lāg nā pāila
dāḍukā-sahita ḍubi kāhāṅ vahi’ gela

Translation: “Tell him, ‘I looked for him a long time, but I could not find any trace of him. He jumped in with his shackles, and therefore he was drowned and washed away by the waves.’

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 20.13

kichu bhaya nāhi, āmi e-deśe nā raba
daraveśa hañā āmi makkāke yāiba”

Translation: “There is no reason for you to be afraid, for I shall not remain in this country. I shall become a mendicant and go to the holy city of Mecca.”

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Sanātana Gosvāmī was saying all the right things to the jail-keeper. He was going to Vṛndāvana but he said that he was going to the holy city of Mecca.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 20.14

kārārakṣakera asantoṣa; tāhāke adhikatara utkocadāna-ceṣṭā

tathāpi yavana-mana prasanna nā dekhilā
sāta-hājāra mudrā tāra āge rāśi kailā

Translation: Sanātana Gosvāmī could see that the mind of the meat-eater was still not satisfied. He then stacked seven thousand gold coins before him.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, by more gold, he hoped to overcome the fear of the jail-keeper by his greed for more material wealth.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 20.15

sanātanera kārāmukti

lobha ha-ila yavanera mudrā dekhiyā
rātre gaṅgā-pāra kaila dāḍukā kāṭiyā

Translation: When the meat-eater saw the coins, he was attracted to them. He then agreed, and that night he cut Sanātana’s shackles and let him cross the Ganges.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 20.16

īśāna-saha sanātanera pātaḍā-śaile āgamana

gaḍa-dvāra-patha chāḍilā, nāre tāhāṅ yāite
rātri-dina cali’ āilā pātaḍā-parvate

Translation: In this way, Sanātana Gosvāmī was released. However, he was not able to walk along the path of the fortress. Walking day and night, he finally arrived at the hilly tract of land known as Pātaḍā.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Sanātana Gosvāmī avoided the public thoroghfares and went via a scret way through the hilly tract knows as the Pātaḍā.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 20.17

dasyudalapati-saha sākṣātkāra

tathā eka bhaumika haya, tāra ṭhāñi gelā
‘parvata pāra kara āmā’—vinati karilā

Translation: After reaching Pātaḍā, he met a landholder and submissively requested him to get him across that hilly tract of land.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 20.18

sāmudrika-mukhe dasyupatira sanātana-samīpe arthera sandhāna prāpti o sanātanake hatyāsaṅkalpa

sei bhūñāra saṅge haya hāta-gaṇitā
bhūñāra kāṇe kahe sei jāni’ ei kathā

Translation: A man who was expert in palmistry was at that time staying with the landlord. Knowing about Sanātana, he whispered the following in the landlord’s ear.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 20.19

‘iṅhāra ṭhāñi suvarṇera aṣṭa mohara haya’
śuni’ ānandita bhūñā sanātane kaya

Translation: The palmist said, “This man Sanātana possesses eight gold coins.” Hearing this, the landlord was very pleased and spoke the following to Sanātana Gosvāmī.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 20.20

sanātanake dasyura ādarāpyāyana; sanātanera snāna-bhojana

“rātrye parvata pāra kariba nija-loka diyā
bhojana karaha tumi randhana kariyā”

Translation: The landlord said, “I shall get you across that hilly tract at night with my own men. Now just cook for yourself and take your lunch.”

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 20.21

eta bali’ anna dila kariyā sammāna
sanātana āsi’ tabe kaila nadī-snāna

Translation: Saying this, the landlord offered Sanātana grain to cook. Sanātana then went to the riverside and took his bath.

Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 20.22

dui upavāse kailā randhana-bhojane
rāja-mantrī sanātana vicārilā mane

Translation: Because Sanātana had been fasting for two days, he cooked the food and ate it. However, having formerly been a minister of the Nawab, he began to contemplate the situation.

Jayapatākā Swami: There is a saying in Bengali, ‘atī bhakti corera lakṣana’ and why this landlord is giving Sanātana food to eat, taking across the hilly tract, Why! So he was thinking about this situation, why suddenly the person is offering to do so much service?

Bribing the Jailkeeper Sanātana Gosvāmī Escapes and Reaches Pātaḍā 
Under the section: Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu Instructs Sanātana Gosvāmī in the Science of the Absolute Truth