I offer my respectful obeisances unto Mādhavendra Purī, who was given a pot of sweet rice stolen by Śrī Gopīnātha, celebrated thereafter as Kṣīra- corā. Being pleased by Mādhavendra Purī’s love, Śrī Gopāla, the Deity at Govardhana, appeared to the public vision. (1) All glories to Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu! All glories to Nityānanda Prabhu! All glories to Advaita Prabhu! And all glories to all the devotees of Lord Caitanya! (2) The Lord went to Jagannātha Purī and visited Lord Jagannātha’s temple. He also met with Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya. All these pastimes have been very elaborately explained by Vṛndāvana dāsa Ṭhākura in his book Caitanya- bhāgavata. (3-4)
By nature all the activities of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu are very wonderful and sweet, and when they are described by Vṛndāvana dāsa Ṭhākura, they become like a shower of nectar. (5) Therefore I very humbly submit that since these incidents have already been nicely described by Vṛndāvana dāsa Ṭhākura, I would be very proud to repeat the same thing, and this would not be very good. I do not have such powers. (6) I am therefore presenting only a synopsis of those events already described elaborately by Vṛndāvana dāsa Ṭhākura in his Caitanya- maṅgala [now known as Caitanya- bhāgavata]. (7) Some of the incidents he did not describe elaborately but only summarized, and these I shall try to describe in this book. (8) I thus offer my respectful obeisances unto the lotus feet of Vṛndāvana dāsa Ṭhākura. I hope that I will not offend his lotus feet by this action. (9)
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu proceeded toward Jagannātha Purī with four of His devotees, and He chanted the holy name of the Lord, the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra, with great eagerness. (10) Each day Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu personally went to a village and collected a great quantity of rice and other grains for the preparation of prasādam. (11) There were many rivers on the way, and at each river there was a tax collector. They did not hinder the Lord, however, and He showed them mercy. Finally He reached the village of Remuṇā. (12) The Deity of Gopīnātha in the temple at Remuṇā was very attractive. Lord Caitanya visited the temple and offered His obeisances with great devotion. (13) When Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu offered His obeisances at the lotus feet of the Gopīnātha Deity, the helmet of flowers on the head of Gopīnātha fell down and landed on the head of Caitanya Mahāprabhu. (14) When the Deity’s helmet fell upon His head, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu became very pleased, and thus He chanted and danced in various ways with His devotees. (15)
All the servants of the Deity were struck with wonder due to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s intense love, His exquisite beauty and His transcendental qualities. (16) Because of their love for Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, they served Him in many ways, and that night the Lord stayed at the temple of Gopīnātha. (17) The Lord remained there because He was very eager to receive the remnants of sweet rice offered to the Gopīnātha Deity, having heard a narration from His spiritual master, Īśvara Purī, of what had once happened there. (18) That Deity was known widely as Kṣīra- corā- gopīnātha, and Caitanya Mahāprabhu told His devotees the story of how the Deity became so famous. (19) Formerly the Deity had stolen a pot of sweet rice for Mādhavendra Purī; therefore He became very famous as the Lord who stole the sweet rice. (20) Once, Śrī Mādhavendra Purī traveled to Vṛndāvana, where he came upon the hill known as Govardhana. (21)
Mādhavendra Purī was almost mad in his ecstasy of love of Godhead, and he did not know whether it was day or night. Sometimes he stood up, and sometimes he fell to the ground. He could not discriminate whether he was in a proper place or not. (22) After circumambulating the hill, Mādhavendra Purī went to Govinda- kuṇḍa and took his bath. He then sat beneath a tree to take his evening rest. (23) While he was sitting beneath a tree, an unknown cowherd boy came with a pot of milk, placed it before Mādhavendra Purī and, smiling, addressed him as follows. (24) “O Mādhavendra Purī, please drink the milk I have brought. Why don’t you beg some food to eat? What kind of meditation are you undergoing?” (25) When he saw the beauty of that boy, Mādhavendra Purī became very satisfied. Hearing His sweet words, he forgot all hunger and thirst. (26) Mādhavendra Purī said, “Who are You? Where do You reside? And how did You know that I was fasting?” (27) The boy replied, “Sir, I am a cowherd boy, and I reside in this village. In My village, no one fasts. (28)
“In this village a person can beg food from others and thus eat. Some people drink only milk, but if a person does not ask anyone for food, I supply him all his eatables. (29) “The women who come here to take water saw you, and they supplied Me with this milk and sent Me to you.” (30) The boy continued, “I must go very soon to milk the cows, but I shall return and take back this milk pot from you.” (31) Saying this, the boy left the place. Indeed, He suddenly could be seen no more, and Mādhavendra Purī’s heart was filled with wonder. (32) After drinking the milk, Mādhavendra Purī washed the pot and put it aside. He looked toward the path, but the boy never returned. (33) Mādhavendra Purī could not sleep. He sat and chanted the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā- mantra, and at the end of the night he dozed a little, and his external activities stopped. (34) In a dream Mādhavendra Purī saw the very same boy. The boy came before him and, holding his hand, took him to a bush in the jungle. (35) The boy showed Mādhavendra Purī the bush and said, “I reside in this bush, and because of this I suffer very much from severe cold, rain showers, winds and scorching heat. (36)
“Please bring the people of the village and get them to take Me out of this bush. Then have them situate Me nicely on top of the hill. (37) “Please construct a temple on top of that hill,” the boy continued, “and install Me in that temple. After this, wash Me with large quantities of cold water so that My body may be cleansed. (38) “For many days I have been observing you, and I have been wondering, ‘When will Mādhavendra Purī come here to serve Me?’ (39) “I have accepted your service due to your ecstatic love for Me. Thus I shall appear, and by My audience all fallen souls will be delivered. (40) “My name is Gopāla. I am the lifter of Govardhana Hill. I was installed by Vajra, and here I am the authority. (41) “When the Muslims attacked, the priest who was serving Me hid Me in this bush in the jungle. Then he ran away out of fear of the attack. (42) “Since the priest went away, I have been staying in this bush. It is very good that you have come here. Now just remove Me with care.” (43) After saying this, the boy disappeared. Then Mādhavendra Purī woke up and began to consider his dream. (44)
Mādhavendra Purī began to lament, “I saw Lord Kṛṣṇa directly, but I could not recognize Him!” Thus he fell down on the ground in ecstatic love. (45) Mādhavendra Purī cried for some time, but then he fixed his mind on executing the order of Gopāla. Thus he became tranquil. (46) After taking his morning bath, Mādhavendra Purī entered the village and assembled all the people. Then he spoke as follows. (47) “The proprietor of this village, Govardhana- dhārī, is lying in the bushes. Let us go there and rescue Him from that place. (48) “The bushes are very dense, and we will not be able to enter the jungle. Therefore take choppers and spades to clear the way.” (49)
After hearing this, all the people accompanied Mādhavendra Purī with great pleasure. According to his directions, they cut down bushes, cleared a path and entered the jungle. (50) When they saw the Deity covered with dirt and grass, they were all struck with wonder and pleasure. (51) After they had cleansed the body of the Deity, some of them said, “The Deity is very heavy. No single person can move Him.” (52) Since the Deity was very heavy, some of the stronger men assembled to carry Him to the top of the hill. Mādhavendra Purī also went there. (53) A big stone was made into a throne, and the Deity was installed upon it. Another big stone was placed behind the Deity for support. (54) All the brāhmaṇa priests of the village gathered together with nine waterpots, and water from Govinda- kuṇḍa lake was brought there and filtered. (55)
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