In whatever village Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu stayed to accept alms, many people came to see Him. (106) By the mercy of the Supreme Lord, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, everyone became a first- class devotee. Later they became teachers or spiritual masters and liberated the entire world. (107) In this way the Lord went to the extreme southern part of India, and He converted all the provinces to Vaiṣṇavism. (108) Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu did not manifest His spiritual potencies at Navadvīpa, but He did manifest them in South India and liberated all the people there. (109) Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s empowering of others can be understood by one who is actually a devotee of the Lord and who has received His mercy. (110)
If one does not believe in the uncommon transcendental pastimes of the Lord, he is vanquished both in this world and in the next. (111) Whatever I have stated about the beginning of the Lord’s tour should also be understood to hold for as long as the Lord toured South India. (112) When Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu came to the holy place known as Kūrma- kṣetra, He saw the Deity and offered prayers and obeisances. (113) While at this place, Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was in His usual ecstasy of love of Godhead and was laughing, crying, dancing and chanting. Everyone who saw Him was astonished. (114) After hearing of these wonderful occurrences, everyone came to see Him there. When they saw the beauty of the Lord and His ecstatic condition, they were all struck with wonder. (115) Just by seeing Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, everyone became a devotee. They began to chant “Kṛṣṇa” and “Hari” and all the holy names. They all were merged in a great ecstasy of love, and they began to dance, raising their arms. (116)
Always hearing them chant the holy names of Lord Kṛṣṇa, the residents of all the other villages also became Vaiṣṇavas. (117) By hearing the holy name of Kṛṣṇa, the entire country became Vaiṣṇava. It was as if the nectar of the holy name of Kṛṣṇa overflooded the entire country. (118) After some time, when Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu manifested His external consciousness, a priest of the Lord Kūrma Deity gave Him various offerings. (119) Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s mode of preaching has already been explained, and I shall not repeat the explanation. In whichever village the Lord entered, His behavior was the same. (120) In one village there was a Vedic brāhmaṇa named Kūrma. He invited Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu to his home with great respect and devotion. (121) This brāhmaṇa brought Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu to his home, washed His lotus feet and, with his family members, drank that water. (122)
With great affection and respect, that Kūrma brāhmaṇa made Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu eat all kinds of food. After that, the remnants were shared by all the members of the family. (123) The brāhmaṇa then began to pray, “O my Lord, Your lotus feet are meditated upon by Lord Brahmā, and these very lotus feet have come into my home. (124) “My dear Lord, there is no limit to my great fortune. It cannot be described. Today my family, birth and riches have all been glorified.” (125) The brāhmaṇa begged Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, “My dear Lord, kindly show me favor and let me go with You. I can no longer tolerate the waves of misery caused by materialistic life.” (126) Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu replied, “Don’t speak like that again. Better to remain at home and chant the holy name of Kṛṣṇa always. (127) “Instruct everyone to follow the orders of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa as they are given in the Bhagavad- gītā and Śrīmad- Bhāgavatam. In this way become a spiritual master and try to liberate everyone in this land.” (128)
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu further advised the brāhmaṇa Kūrma, “If you follow this instruction, your materialistic life at home will not obstruct your spiritual advancement. Indeed, if you follow these regulative principles, we will again meet here, or, rather, you will never lose My company.” (129) At whosever house Śrī Caitanya accepted His alms by taking prasādam, He would convert the dwellers to His saṅkīrtana movement and advise them just as He advised the brāhmaṇa named Kūrma. (130) While on His tour, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu would spend the night at a temple or on the roadside. Whenever He accepted food from a person, He would give him the same advice He gave the brāhmaṇa named Kūrma. He adopted this process until He returned to Jagannātha Purī from His South Indian tour. (131-132)
Thus I have described the Lord’s behavior elaborately in the case of Kūrma. In this way, you will know Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s dealings throughout South India. (133) Thus Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu would remain at night in one place, and the next morning, after bathing, He would start again. (134) When Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu left, the brāhmaṇa Kūrma followed Him a great distance, but eventually Lord Caitanya took care to send him back home. (135) There was also a brāhmaṇa named Vāsudeva, who was a great person but was suffering from leprosy. Indeed, his body was filled with living worms. (136) Although suffering from leprosy, the brāhmaṇa Vāsudeva was enlightened. As soon as one worm fell from his body, he would pick it up and place it back again in the same location. (137) Then one night Vāsudeva heard of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s arrival, and in the morning he came to see the Lord at the house of Kūrma. (138)
When the leper Vāsudeva came to Kūrma’s house to see Caitanya Mahāprabhu, he was informed that the Lord had already left. The leper then fell to the ground unconscious. (139) When Vāsudeva, the leper brāhmaṇa, was lamenting due to not being able to see Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the Lord immediately returned to that spot and embraced him. (140) When Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu touched him, both the leprosy and his distress went to a distant place. Indeed, Vāsudeva’s body became very beautiful, to his great happiness. (141) The brāhmaṇa Vāsudeva was astonished to behold the wonderful mercy of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and he began to recite a verse from Śrīmad- Bhāgavatam, touching the Lord’s lotus feet. (142) He said, “‘Who am I? A sinful, poor friend of a brāhmaṇa. And who is Kṛṣṇa? The Supreme Personality of Godhead, full in six opulences. Nonetheless, He has embraced me with His two arms.’” (143)
The brāhmaṇa Vāsudeva continued, “O my merciful Lord, such mercy is not possible for ordinary living entities. Such mercy can be found only in You. Upon seeing me, even a sinful person goes away due to my bad bodily odor. Yet You have touched me. Such is the independent behavior of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” (144-145) Being meek and humble, the brāhmaṇa Vāsudeva worried that he would become proud after being cured by the grace of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. (146) To protect the brāhmaṇa, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu advised him to chant the Hare Kṛṣṇa mantra incessantly. By doing so, he would never become unnecessarily proud. (147)
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu also advised Vāsudeva to preach about Kṛṣṇa and thus liberate living entities. As a result, Kṛṣṇa would very soon accept him as His devotee. (148) After instructing the brāhmaṇa Vāsudeva in that way, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu disappeared from that place. Then the two brāhmaṇas, Kūrma and Vāsudeva, embraced each other and began to cry, remembering the transcendental qualities of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. (149) Thus I have described how Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu reclaimed the leper Vāsudeva and so received the name Vāsudevāmṛta- prada. (150) Thus I end my description of the beginning of the tour of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, His visiting the temple of Kūrma and His liberating the leper brāhmaṇa Vāsudeva. (151) One who hears these pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu with great faith will surely very soon attain the lotus feet of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. (152) I admit that I do not know the beginning or the end of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s pastimes. However, whatever I have written I have heard from the mouths of great personalities. (153) O devotees, please do not consider my offenses in this regard. Your lotus feet are my only shelter. (154) Praying at the lotus feet of Śrī Rūpa and Śrī Raghunātha, always desiring their mercy, I, Kṛṣṇadāsa, narrate Śrī Caitanya- caritāmṛta, following in their footsteps. (155)
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