At this time the brāhmaṇa from the province of Maharashtra mentioned Lord Caitanya’s explanation of the ātmārāma verse. (160) The Maharashtriyan brāhmaṇa stated that Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu had already explained that verse in sixty- one ways. Everyone was astonished to hear this. (161) When all the people gathered there expressed the desire to hear again the sixty- one different meanings of the ātmārāma- śloka, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu again explained them. (162) When everyone heard Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s explanation of the ātmārāma- śloka, everyone was astonished and struck with wonder. They concluded that Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was none other than Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself. (163) After giving those explanations again, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu arose and took His leave. All the people there offered their obeisances unto Him and chanted the mahā- mantra. (164)
All the inhabitants of Kāśī [Vārāṇasī] began chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā- mantra in ecstatic love. Sometimes they laughed, sometimes they cried, sometimes they chanted, and sometimes they danced. (165) After this, all the Māyāvādī sannyāsīs and learned scholars at Vārāṇasī began discussing Śrīmad- Bhāgavatam. In this way Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu delivered them. (166) Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu then returned to His residence with His personal associates. Thus He turned the whole city of Vārāṇasī into another Navadvīpa [Nadīyā- nagara]. (167) Among His own associates, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu laughingly said, “I came here to sell My emotional ecstatic love. (168) “Although I came to Vārāṇasī to sell My goods, there were no customers, and it appeared necessary for Me to carry them back to My own country. (169) “All of you were feeling unhappy that no one was purchasing My goods and that I would have to carry them away. Therefore, by your will only, I have distributed them without charging.” (170)
All the Lord’s devotees then said, “You have incarnated to deliver fallen souls. You have delivered them in the east and in the south, and now you are delivering them in the west. (171) “Only Vārāṇasī was left because the people there were against Your missionary activities. Now You have delivered them, and we are all very happy.” (172) After the news of these events was broadcast, everyone from the surrounding neighborhoods began to pour in to see Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. (173) Hundreds of thousands of people came to see Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. There was no counting the number. Because the Lord’s residence was very small, not everyone could see Him. (174) When Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu went to take His bath in the Ganges and to see the temple of Viśveśvara, people would line up on both sides to see the Lord. (175) When Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu passed by the people, He would raise His arms and say, “Please chant Kṛṣṇa! Please chant Hari!” All the people received Him by chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, and they offered their respects to Him by this chanting. (176)
In this way, for five days Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu delivered the people of Vārāṇasī. Finally, on the next day, He became very eager to leave. (177) After rising very early on the sixth day, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu started to leave, and five devotees began to follow Him. (178) These five devotees were Tapana Miśra, Raghunātha, the Maharashtriyan brāhmaṇa, Candraśekhara and Paramānanda Kīrtanīyā. (179) These five wanted to accompany Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu to Jagannātha Purī, but the Lord attentively bade them farewell. (180) Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, “If you want to see Me, you may come later, but for the time being I shall go alone through the Jhārikhaṇḍa forest.” (181)
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu advised Sanātana Gosvāmī to proceed toward Vṛndāvana, and He informed him that his two brothers had already gone there. (182) Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu told Sanātana Gosvāmī, “All My devotees who go to Vṛndāvana are generally very poor. They each have nothing with them but a torn quilt and a small waterpot. Therefore, Sanātana, you should give them shelter and maintain them.” (183) After saying this, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu embraced them all and began to proceed on His way, and they all fainted and fell down. (184) After some time, all the devotees got up and returned to their homes very much grief- stricken. Sanātana Gosvāmī proceeded toward Vṛndāvana alone. (185) When Rūpa Gosvāmī reached Mathurā, he met Subuddhi Rāya on the banks of the Yamunā, at a place called Dhruva- ghāṭa. (186) Formerly Subuddhi Rāya had been a big landholder in Gauḍa- deśa [Bengal]. Saiyada Hussain Khān was then a servant of Subuddhi Rāya. (187)
Subuddhi Rāya put Hussain Khān in charge of digging a big lake, but once, finding fault with him, he struck him with a whip. (188) Later Hussain Khān somehow or other was appointed Nawab by the central Muslim government. As a matter of obligation, he increased the opulences of Subuddhi Rāya. (189) Later, when the wife of Nawab Saiyada Hussain Khān saw the whip marks on his body, she requested him to kill Subuddhi Rāya. (190) Hussain Khān replied, “Subuddhi Rāya has maintained me very carefully. He was just like a father to me,” he said. “Now you are asking me to kill him. This is not a very good proposal.” (191) As a last alternative, the wife suggested that the Nawab take away Subuddhi Rāya’s caste and turn him into a Muslim, but Hussain Khān replied that if he did this, Subuddhi Rāya would not live. (192) This became a perplexing problem for him because his wife kept requesting him to kill Subuddhi Rāya. Finally the Nawab sprinkled a little water on Subuddhi Rāya’s head from a pitcher that had been used by a Muslim. (193)
Taking the Nawab’s sprinkling water upon him as an opportunity, Subuddhi Rāya left his family and business affairs and went to Vārāṇasī. (194) When Subuddhi Rāya consulted the learned brāhmaṇas at Vārāṇasī, asking them how his conversion to Islam could be counteracted, they advised him to drink hot ghee and give up his life. (195) Whenproceed toward Vṛndāvana, and He informed him that his two brothers had already gone there. (182) Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu told Sanātana Gosvāmī, “All My devotees who go to Vṛndāvana are generally very poor. They each have nothing with them but a torn quilt and a small waterpot. Therefore, Sanātana, you should give them shelter and maintain them.” (183) After saying this, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu embraced them all and began to proceed on His way, and they all fainted and fell down. (184) After some time, all the devotees got up and returned to their homes very much grief- stricken. Sanātana Gosvāmī proceeded toward Vṛndāvana alone. (185)
When Rūpa Gosvāmī reached Mathurā, he met Subuddhi Rāya on the banks of the Yamunā, at a place called Dhruva- ghāṭa. (186) Formerly Subuddhi Rāya had been a big landholder in Gauḍa- deśa [Bengal]. Saiyada Hussain Khān was then a servant of Subuddhi Rāya. (187) Subuddhi Rāya put Hussain Khān in charge of digging a big lake, but once, finding fault with him, he struck him with a whip. (188) Later Hussain Khān somehow or other was appointed Nawab by the central Muslim government. As a matter of obligation, he increased the opulences of Subuddhi Rāya. (189) Later, when the wife of Nawab Saiyada Hussain Khān saw the whip marks on his body, she requested him to kill Subuddhi Rāya. (190) Hussain Khān replied, “Subuddhi Rāya has maintained me very carefully. He was just like a father to me,” he said. “Now you are asking me to kill him. This is not a very good proposal.” (191)
As a last alternative, the wife suggested that the Nawab take away Subuddhi Rāya’s caste and turn him into a Muslim, but Hussain Khān replied that if he did this, Subuddhi Rāya would not live. (192) This became a perplexing problem for him because his wife kept requesting him to kill Subuddhi Rāya. Finally the Nawab sprinkled a little water on Subuddhi Rāya’s head from a pitcher that had been used by a Muslim. (193) Taking the Nawab’s sprinkling water upon him as an opportunity, Subuddhi Rāya left his family and business affairs and went to Vārāṇasī. (194) When Subuddhi Rāya consulted the learned brāhmaṇas at Vārāṇasī, asking them how his conversion to Islam could be counteracted, they advised him to drink hot ghee and give up his life. (195) When Subuddhi Rāya consulted some other brāhmaṇas, they told him that he had not committed a grievous fault and that consequently he should not drink hot ghee and give up his life. As a result, Subuddhi Rāya was doubtful about what to do. (196)
In his state of perplexity, Subuddhi Rāya met Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu when the Lord was at Vārāṇasī. Subuddhi Rāya explained his position and asked Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu what he should do. (197) The Lord advised him, “Go to Vṛndāvana and chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra constantly.” (198) Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu further advised Subuddhi Rāya: “Begin chanting the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, and when your chanting is almost pure, all your sinful reactions will go away. After you chant perfectly, you will get shelter at the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa. (199) “When you are situated at the lotus feet of Kṛṣṇa, no sinful reaction can touch you. This is the best solution to all sinful activity.” (200) Thus receiving the order from Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu to go to Vṛndāvana, Subuddhi Rāya left Vārāṇasī and went through Prayāga, Ayodhyā and Naimiṣāraṇya toward Vṛndāvana. (201)
Subuddhi Rāya stayed for some time at Naimiṣāraṇya. During that time, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu went to Prayāga after visiting Vṛndāvana. (202) After reaching Mathurā, Subuddhi Rāya received information of the Lord’s itinerary. He became very unhappy because he was not able to contact the Lord. (203) Subuddhi Rāya would collect dry wood in the forest and take it to the city of Mathurā to sell. For each load he would receive five or six paise. (204) Earning his livelihood by selling dry wood, Subuddhi Rāya would live on only one paisa’s worth of fried chick- peas, and he would deposit whatever other paise he had with some merchant. (205)
Subuddhi Rāya used to spend his savings to supply yogurt to Bengali Vaiṣṇavas who came to Mathurā. He also gave them cooked rice and oil massages. When he saw a poverty- stricken Vaiṣṇava, he would use his money to feed him. (206) When Rūpa Gosvāmī arrived at Mathurā, Subuddhi Rāya, out of love and affection for him, wanted to serve him in so many ways. He personally took Rūpa Gosvāmī to see all the twelve forests of Vṛndāvana. (207) Rūpa Gosvāmī remained in Mathurā and Vṛndāvana for one month in the association of Subuddhi Rāya. After that, he left Vṛndāvana to search for his elder brother, Sanātana Gosvāmī. (208)
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