20230425 Eating of Pīlu Fruits Brought by Jagadānanda from Vṛndāvana

The following is a Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book Compilation given by His Holiness Jayapatākā Swami Mahārāja on April 25th,2023 in Dallas, Texas, USA.

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

Hariḥ oṁ tat sat!

Continuation of the compilation of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Book, Today's chapter is entitled as:

Eating of Pīlu Fruits Brought by Jagadānanda from Vṛndāvana
Under the Section: Pastimes with Jagadānanda Paṇḍita and Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī

Jayapatākā Swami: Pīlu fruit, they are yellow.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 13.62

prabhuke bhoga-samarpaṇa o ubhayera ekatra prasādasammāna : —

pāka kari’ jagadānanda caitanya samarpilā
dui-jana vasi’ tabe prasāda pāilā

Translation: When Jagadānanda Paṇḍita finished cooking, he offered the food to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Then he and Sanātana Gosvāmī sat down and ate the prasādam.

Jayapatākā Swami: So this simple act of cooking, offering and eating prasāda, it is something very wonderful because it shows us how the Vaiṣṇavas exchange their love.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 13.63

prabhu-virahe ubhayera krandana :—

prasāda pāi anyonye kailā āliṅgana
caitanya-virahe duṅhe karilā krandana

Translation: After eating the prasādam, they embraced each other and cried due to separation from Lord Caitanya.

Jayapatākā Swami: These two devotees, Jagadānanda Paṇḍita and Sanātana Gosvāmī, they had such a close relationship, based on their love for Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. They embraced each other and cried in separation.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 13.64

ubhayera gaura-virahānubhūti :—

ei-mata māsa dui rahilā vṛndāvane
caitanya-viraha-duḥkha nā yāya sahane

Translation: They passed two months in Vṛndāvana in this way. Finally they could no longer tolerate the unhappiness of separation from Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

Jayapatākā Swami: This shows their intense love for Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. How they were filled in separation from Lord Caitanya.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 13.65

prabhura bhāvi āgamana-saṁvāda-jñāpana, tajjanya sthāna-nirvācanārtha ājñā :—

mahāprabhura sandeśa kahilā sanātane
‘āmiha āsitechi, rahite kariha eka-sthāne’

Translation: Jagadānanda Paṇḍita therefore gave Sanātana Gosvāmī the message from the Lord: “I am also coming to Vṛndāvana; please arrange a place for Me to stay.”

Jayapatākā Swami: Jagadānanda Paṇḍita, he revealed this instruction of Lord Caitanya to Sanātana Gosvāmī.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 13.66

jagadānandera vidāya-grahaṇa o prabhura janya sanātanapradatta dravyādi grahaṇa :—

jagadānanda-paṇḍita tabe ājñā māgilā
sanātana prabhure kichu bheṭa-vastu dilā

Translation: When Sanātana Gosvāmī granted permission for Jagadānanda to return to Jagannātha Purī, he gave Jagadānanda some gifts for Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

Jayapatākā Swami: There are six ways that one exchanges love in vaiṣṇava-ācara. Giving prasāda and taking prasāda, giving gifts and taking gifts, offering your mind and receiving the person’s mind, so like this, Sanātana Gosvāmī was sending gifts to Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 13.67

rāsa-sthalīra vālu āra govardhanera śilā
śuṣka pakka pīlu-phala āra guñjā-mālā

Translation: The gifts consisted of some sand from the site of the rāsa-līlā, a stone from Govardhana Hill, dry ripened pīlu fruits and a garland of small conchshells.

Jayapatākā Swami: These are very dear things from Vṛndāvana and naturally, they will be very dear to Lord Caitanya.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 13.68

paṇḍitera purī-yātrā, paṇḍitake sanātanera kaṣṭe vidāya-dāna :—

jagadānanda-paṇḍita calilā saba lañā
vyākula hailā sanātana tāṅre vidāya diyā

Translation: Thus Jagadānanda Paṇḍita, bearing all these gifts, started on his journey. Sanātana Gosvāmī, however, was very much agitated after bidding him farewell.

Jayapatākā Swami: Sanātana Gosvāmī was having the association of Jagadānanda Paṇḍita and hearing many things about Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. So Jagadānanda Paṇḍita had begged his permission to go back to Jagannātha Purī, but Sanātana Gosvāmī was feeling great separation.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 13.69

prabhura avasthāna-janya dvādaśāditya-ṭilāya maṭha-nirvācana o saṁskāra-sādhana :—

prabhura nimitta eka-sthāna mane vicārila
dvādaśāditya-ṭilāya eka ’maṭha’ pāila

Translation: Soon afterward, Sanātana Gosvāmī selected a place where Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu could stay while in Vṛndāvana. It was a temple in the highlands named Dvādaśāditya-ṭilā.

Jayapatākā Swami: Ṭilā means a hill. So this temple on a hill was considered a suitable place for Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Sanātana Gosvāmī had carried out the instruction of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 13.70

sei sthāna rākhilā gosāñi saṁskāra kariyā
maṭhera āge rākhilā eka chāuni bāndhiyā

Translation: Sanātana Gosvāmī kept the temple very clean and in good repair. In front of it he erected a small hut.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 13.71

paṇḍitera purī-gamana o sagaṇa prabhusaha sākṣātkāra

śīghra cali’ nīlācale gelā jagadānanda
bhakta saha gosāñi hailā parama ānanda

Translation: Meanwhile, traveling very quickly, Jagadānanda Paṇḍita soon arrived in Jagannātha Purī, much to the joy of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and His devotees.

Jayapatākā Swami: Jagadānanda Paṇḍita was very dear to Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu and His devotees and coming from Vṛndāvana, he could tell them about the devotees in Vṛndāvana.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 13.72

prabhura caraṇa vandi’ sabāre mililā
mahāprabhu tāṅre dṛḍha āliṅgana kailā

Translation: After offering prayers at the lotus feet of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Jagadānanda Paṇḍita greeted everyone. Then the Lord embraced Jagadānanda very strongly.

Jayapatākā Swami: Lord Caitanya, He was playing the part of a sannyāsī. He had nothing material to give. But when it is said that He embraced Jagadānanda Paṇḍita very strongly, it seemed to imply a great offering of blessings and love.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 13.73

prabhuke sanātanera daṇḍavat-jñāpana o taddatta dravyādi-dāna :—

sanātanera nāme paṇḍita daṇḍavat kailā
rāsa-sthalīra dhūli ādi saba bheṭa dilā

Translation: Jagadānanda Paṇḍita offered obeisances to the Lord on behalf of Sanātana Gosvāmī. Then he gave the Lord the dust from the site of the rāsa dance, along with the other gifts.

Jayapatākā Swami: Jagadānanda Paṇḍita had brought the gifts of Sanātana Gosvāmī and duly presented them to Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 13.74

bhaktagaṇera pīluphala-bhojana-līlā :—

saba dravya rākhilena, pīlu dilena bāṅṭiyā
‘vṛndāvanera phala’ bali’ khāilā hṛṣṭa hañā

Translation: Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu kept all the gifts except the pīlu fruits, which He distributed to the devotees. Because the fruits were from Vṛndāvana, everyone ate them with great happiness.

Jayapatākā Swami: Where are the pīlu fruits? You give me, I will give out!

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 13.75

Somebody was saying that they read the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam but the Caitanya-caritāmṛta went over their head! This is beyond, - not a material thing. Giving out some fruit, nobody can understand the ecstasy that these devotees are experiencing with Lord Caitanya. It is not something that can be imagined, it has to be experienced! That, how these devotees in the association of Lord Caitanya were experiencing such transcendental bliss.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 13.75

ye keha jāne, āṅṭi cuṣite lāgila
ye nā jāne gauḍiyā pīlu cāvāñā khāila

Translation: Those devotees who were familiar with pīlu fruits sucked on the seeds, but the Bengali devotees who did not know what they were chewed the seeds and swallowed them.

Jayapatākā Swami: So from this we can understand that this pīlu fruit, you do not swallow the seeds. But somehow the devotees who did not know, they chewed it and swallowed it!

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 13.76

mukhe tāra jhāla gela, jihvā kare jvālā
vṛndāvanera ‘pīlu’ khāite ei eka līlā

Translation: The hot chili-like taste burned the tongues of those who chewed the seeds. Thus the eating of pīlu fruits from Vṛndāvana became a pastime of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s.

Jayapatākā Swami: The devotees who knew, they sucked the seeds. Others, they chewed the seeds and therefore the seeds were very hot like chilies and people were experiencing this unexpected heat.

First time devotees came to Māyāpur from around the world, we gave them bitter melon sabji. They thought the vegetable was spoilt because it was bitter tasting. They were told that it was supposed to be like this. Like that somehow the devotees were taking the pīlu seeds and were having this burning taste.

Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Antya-līlā, 13.77

vṛndāvana haite jagadānandera āgamane sakalera harṣa

jagadānandera āgamane sabāra ullāsa
ei-mate nīlācale prabhura vilāsa

Translation: When Jagadānanda Paṇḍita returned from Vṛndāvana, everyone was jubilant. Thus Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu enjoyed His pastimes while residing at Jagannātha Purī.

Thus ends the chapter entitled, Eating of Pīlu Fruits brought by Jagadānanda from Vṛndāvana
Under the Section: Pastimes with Jagadānanda Paṇḍita and Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī

Jayapatākā Swami: These simple activities, Jagadānanda Paṇḍita coming from Vṛndāvana, giving the pīlu fruit to Lord Caitanya, who distributed it to all the devotees and some devotees knew how to eat pīlu fruit, others did not.So they were burning their mouths. So like this, this was a pastime of Lord Caitanya.

Lord Caitanya staying in Jagannātha Purī, every day was experiencing different pastimes, and devotees, they were also having these wonderful exchanges with Lord Caitanya. Actually, in the spiritual world Lord Caitanya Lord Kṛṣṇa, They have unlimited exchanges of loving devotion. In this way, we get a little window into the transcendental joy devotees were experiencing from association of Lord Caitanya. In the spiritual world it is unlimited, it has a special significance because all people love Lord Caitanya, love Lord Kṛṣṇa. Demons, atheists, ignorant people, they cannot understand how much transcendental joy is exchanged between the devotees and other devotees and the Lord.

Hare Kṛṣṇa!