20230211 Phalaśruti – Attains Ecstatic Love for the Lotus Feet of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu Without Fail

The following is a Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book Compilation given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on february 11th,2023 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 as:

Phalaśruti – Attains Ecstatic Love for the Lotus Feet of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu Without Fail
Under the section: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu Accepts Prasādam from His Devotees

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 10.142

śivānandaputra caitanyadāsera vṛttānta-varṇanaḥ—

śivānanda-senera śuna nimantraṇākhyāna
śivānandera baḍa-putrera ‘caitanya-dāsa’ nāma

Translation: Now hear about the invitation Śivānanda Sena extended to the Lord. His eldest son was named Caitanya dāsa.

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Śivānanda Sena was so devoted to Lord Caitanya that he named his eldest son, Caitanya dāsa.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 10.143

prabhure milāite tāṅre saṅgei ānilā
milāile, prabhu tāṅra nāma ta’ puchilā

Translation: When Śivānanda brought his son, Caitanya dāsa, to be introduced to the Lord, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu inquired about his name.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 10.144

nija-dāsyasūcaka nāma-śravaṇe prabhura ātmagopana o ajñatāra bhāṇaḥ –

‘caitanya-dāsa’ nāma śuni’ kahe gaura-rāya
‘kibā nāma dharāñācha, bujhana nā yāya’

Translation: When the Lord heard that his name was Caitanya dāsa, He said, “What kind of name have you given him? It is very difficult to understand.”

Jayapatākā Swami: It is very difficult to understand how Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu makes such inquiries.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 10.145

śivānandera uttara o prabhuke nimantraṇaḥ—

sena kahe,—‘ye jāniluṅ, sei nāma dharila’
eta bali’ mahāprabhure nimantraṇa kaila

Translation: Śivānanda Sena replied, “He has kept the name that appeared to me from within.” Then he invited Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu for lunch.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 10.146

jagannāthera bahu-mūlya prasāda ānāilā
bhakta-gaṇe lañā prabhu bhojane vasilā

Translation: Śivānanda Sena had bought very costly remnants of Lord Jagannātha’s food. He brought it in and offered it to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, who sat down to accept the prasādam with His associates.

Jayapatākā Swami: Different preparations one can get from Ananda Bazar. Śivānanda Sena, he got very costly things. There were many varieties of prasāda. Śivānanda Sena got all these nice Jagannātha prasāda to offer to Lord Caitanya

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 10.147

prabhura pracura bhojanahetu aprasannatāḥ —

śivānandera gaurave prabhu karilā bhojana
ati-guru-bhojane prabhura prasanna nahe mana

Translation: Because of Śivānanda Sena’s glories, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu ate all kinds of prasādam to honor his request. However, the Lord ate more than necessary, and therefore His mind was dissatisfied.

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Caitanya tried to follow a strict diet of taking prasāda, not too much not too little and this time being induced by Śivānanda Sena he ate too much so he was not satisfied in the mind.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 10.148

prabhura abhiprāya bujhiyā śivānandaputra caitanyadāsera agni-māndanāśaka dravyadvārā ‘svārasikī’ sevāḥ—

āra dina caitanya-dāsa kailā nimantraṇa
prabhura ‘abhīṣṭa’ bujhi’ ānilā vyañjana

Translation: The next day, Caitanya dāsa, the son of Śivānanda Sena, extended an invitation to the Lord. He could understand the Lord’s mind, however, and therefore he arranged for a different kind of food.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 10.149

dadhi, lembu, ādā, āra phula-baḍā, lavaṇa
sāmagrī dekhiyā prabhura prasanna haila mana

Translation: He offered yogurt, limes, ginger, soft baḍā and salt. Seeing all these arrangements, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was very pleased.

Purport: By the grace of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Caitanya dāsa understood the Lord’s mind. Therefore he arranged for food that would counteract the heavy meal the Lord had eaten the previous day.

Jayapatākā Swami: Later in life, Caitanya dāsa became a very learned Sanskrit scholar and wrote many books. Among these books, his commentary on Kṛṣṇa-karṇāmṛta is very famous. There is another book called Caitanya-caritāmṛta, which is a work of Sanskrit poetry. It is said that this was also composed by him.

Caitanya dāsa was able to understand the mind of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu and he fed the Lord prasāda which would counteract His previous heavy meal. Actually, this is the good process of devotional service. So, one should try to satisfy the Lord.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 10.150

antaryāmi-prabhura caitanyadāsera yathārtha śuddhasevā-pravṛttite ānandaḥ—

prabhu kahe,—“ei bālaka āmāra mata jāne
santuṣṭa ha-ilāṅ āmi ihāra nimantraṇe”

Translation: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, “This boy knows My mind. Therefore I am very satisfied to accept his invitation.”

Jayapatākā Swami: So, Caitanya dāsa by the mercy of the antaryāmi, understood what Lord Caitanya wanted. This is the secret of success

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 10.151

svīya dāsake prabhura svocchiṣṭa-pradānaḥ —

eta bali’ dadhi-bhāta karilā bhojana
caitanya-dāsere dilā ucchiṣṭa-bhājana

Translation: After saying this, the Lord ate the rice mixed with yogurt and offered Caitanya dāsa the remnants of His food.

Jayapatākā Swami: Getting the remnants of Lord Caitanya’s prasāda is a special mercy. How many of you would like to have the prasāda?

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 10.152

cārimāsa dhariyā bhaktagaṇera prabhuke nimantraṇaḥ—

cāri-māsa ei-mata nimantraṇe yāya
kona kona vaiṣṇava ‘divasa’ nāhi pāya

Translation: The four months of Cāturmāsya passed in this manner, with the Lord accepting invitations from His devotees. Because of a heavy schedule of invitations, however, some of the Vaiṣṇavas could not get an open day on which to invite the Lord.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 10.153

gadādhara o sārvabhaumera prabhunimantraṇe nirdiṣṭa niyamaḥ

gadādhara-paṇḍita, bhaṭṭācārya sārvabhauma
iṅhā sabāra āche bhikṣāra divasa-niyama

Translation: Every month Gadādhara Paṇḍita and Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya had fixed dates on which Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu would accept their invitations.

Jayapatākā Swami: Some of the devotees had fixed days every month and some were open but they were booked by other devotees. Some devotees didn’t find a open day.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 10.154-155

madhye madhye nimantraṇakārī bhaktagaṇaḥ—

gopīnāthācārya, jagadānanda, kāśīśvara
bhagavān, rāmabhadrācārya, śaṅkara, vakreśvara

madhye madhye ghara-bhāte kare nimantraṇa
anyera nimantraṇe prasāde kauḍi dui-paṇa

Translation: Gopīnātha Ācārya, Jagadānanda, Kāśīśvara, Bhagavān, Rāmabhadra Ācārya, Śaṅkara and Vakreśvara, who were all brāhmaṇas, extended invitations to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and offered Him food cooked at home, whereas other devotees would pay two paṇas of small conchshells to purchase Jagannātha’s prasādam and then invite the Lord.

Jayapatākā Swami: This was the custom that Lord Caitanya would eat food cooked by brāhmaṇas, but anyone can offer Him Jagannātha prasāda

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 10.156

rāmacandrapurīra bhaye ardhabhojanaḥ—

prathame āchila ‘nirbandha’ kauḍi cāri-paṇa
rāmacandra-purī-bhaye ghāṭāilā nimantraṇa

Translation: At first the cost of Jagannātha prasādam for an invitation was four paṇas of conchshells, but when Rāmacandra Purī was there, the price was cut in half.

Jayapatākā Swami: Rāmacandra Purī, he was looking to criticize anyone serving or eating prasāda. Lord Caitanya cut down His eating by half and all the devotees were very sad.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 10.157

gauḍīya-bhaktagaṇera gauḍe gamana, purīvāsigaṇera purīte avasthānaḥ—

cāri-māsa rahi’ gauḍera bhakte vidāya dilā
nīlācalera saṅgī bhakta saṅgei rahilā

Translation: The devotees who came from Bengal stayed with Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu for four consecutive months, and then the Lord bade them farewell. After the Bengali devotees departed, the devotees who were the Lord’s constant companions at Jagannātha Purī stayed with the Lord.

Jayapatākā Swami: The Bengali devotees came just before the Ratha-yātrā and stayed for the four months of the rainy season and then they returned to Bengal.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 10.158

prabhura bhikṣārīti, bhaktadravya o parimuṇḍā-nṛtyādi varṇitaḥ—

ei ta’ kahiluṅ prabhura bhikṣā-nimantraṇa
bhakta-datta vastu yaiche kailā āsvādana

Translation: Thus I have described how Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu accepted invitations and how He accepted and tasted the prasāda offered by His devotees.

Jayapatākā Swami: Taking, giving prasāda, accepting it is one of the ways of exchanging love, and these devotees exchanged their love for Lord Caitanya by sponsoring prasāda and Lord Caitanya reciprocated with them by accepting their offerings.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 10.159

tāra madhye rāghavera jhāli-vivaraṇa
tāra madhye pari-muṇḍā-nṛtya-kathana

Translation: In the midst of that narration are descriptions of Rāghava Paṇḍita’s bags of food and the dancing in the temple of Jagannātha.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 10.160

kṛṣṇacaitanya-kathā-śravaṇe gaurakṛṣṇa-caraṇe premodayaḥ—

śraddhā kari’ śune yei caitanyera katha
caitanya-caraṇe prema pāibe sarvathā

Translation: One who hears about the pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu with faith and love will certainly attain ecstatic love for the lotus feet of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu without fail.

Jayapatākā Swami: People in general they don’t have any idea of God being very approachable. How one can offer Him prasāda, and the Lord accept and eat it. How He would have different kinds of pastimes with His devotees. How the devotees were feeling great love and affection for Lord Caitanya. These things were expressed in this narration of Caitanya-caritāmṛta.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 10.161

gaurakathā—jīvera hṛtkarṇarasāyanaḥ—

śunite amṛta-sama juḍāya karṇa-mana
sei bhāgyavān, yei kare āsvādana

Translation: Narrations of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s activities are just like nectar to hear. Indeed, they satisfy both the ears and mind. One who tastes the nectar of these activities is certainly very fortunate.

Jayapatākā Swami: By hearing the loving exchanges between Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu and His devotees, one’s heart and mind is completely satisfied. His accepting of the offerings of the devotees, showed how He was so affectionate with His devotees. So, this is a wonderful experience to hear the pastimes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead as a devotee.

Thus ends the chapter entitled,

Phalaśruti – Attains Ecstatic Love for the Lotus Feet of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu Without Fail Under the section: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu Accepts Prasādam from His Devotees

Haribol!