Navadvīpa: Mahāprabhu Becomes Absorbed in Bhāva after Hearing Bhāgavata
In Navadvīpa, Śrīman Mahāprabhu was sitting on the dressing platform with his companions, all of them immersed in bhāva. Meanwhile, Īśāna Dāsa arrived, having been sent by Śacī Mātā, and said, “O Gaurāṅga! Your mother is calling for you to come and see Ṭhākurajī’s ārati.” Hearing this, Mahāprabhu roared and returned to external consciousness along with his companions. Svarūpa Gosvāmī concluded his singing. Mahāprabhu and his companions stood in Śrī Nārāyaṇa’s assembly hall (jagamohana) and watched the ārati. At the end of ārati, Śrī Gadādhara Paṇḍita offered the lamp to the three prabhus and then sprinkled the bhaktas with water from the conch shell. After that, they all circumambulated the Śrī Mandira and Tulasī Devī, offered water to Tulasī and performed daṇḍavat-praṇāma. Then Mother Śacī sent Īśāna Dāsa to invite Mahāprabhu and the bhaktas to come for refreshments. They arrived at the dining hall in due order and were affectionately given sweets, cooked foods and so on by his mother. After eating, they went to the room where the Bhāgavata was to be recited and sat down. Gadādhara Paṇḍita accepted Mahāprabhu’s food remnants and then came to the room and sat on the vyāsāsana to chant the Bhāgavata. After that the gosvāmīs and gurus accepted Mahāprabhu’s food remnants and arrived at the room. The three prabhus sat in front with the bhaktas behind them. Paṇḍita Gosvāmī worshiped Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam with Tulasī leaves, sandalwood paste, flowers and garlands and then began to speak.
Meanwhile, the sādhaka-dāsa placed in his own room the nectarous food remnants from the three prabhus and the bhaktas. After cleaning the dining hall, the pots and so on, he furnished the hall with seats, eating vessels, bowls of tāmbūla and waterpots. Then he went to the Bhāgavata recitation room and sat to the left of Śrī Gurudeva. Śrī Svarūpa Gosvāmī gave the Bhāgavata’s prasādī sandalwood paste and garlands to the three prabhus and the bhaktas respectively. Śacī Mātā and others finished the refreshments and then went inside to do some cooking. As Śrīman Mahāprabhu was listening to the Bhāgavata recitation, he began to contemplate Kundalatā coming to take Śrī Rādhā to Nanda’s house to cook. The bhaktas also became submerged in vraja-bhāva.
Vrajadhāma: Śrī Rādhā Goes to Nandīśvara for Cooking
In Vraja, in Yāvaṭa, Śrī Rādhā and her sakhīs were enjoying the nectar from Kṛṣṇa’s lips (prasāda) that Hiraṇyāṅgī had brought. After that, they all sat in the parlor and Śrīmatī began to feel anxious about Kundalatā’s arrival from Nanda’s house. Kundalatā soon arrived, blossoming in the dewy coolness of Vrajeśvarī Śrī Yaśodā’s instructions. She went to Jaṭilā and offered obeisance, then told her of Vrajeśvarī’s wish. Kundalatā said, “O Mother! Vrajeśvarī Mā Yaśodā sends her respects and has a request. Kṛṣṇa has not been eating properly because of his weak appetite. Your daughter-in-law is known as “Nectar Hands” due to the boon of Durvāsā Ṛṣi. By eating her hand-cooked food, Kṛṣṇa’s longevity, strength and wealth will be increased and he will become healthy and happy. Therefore, please send your daughter-in-law to Vrajeśvarī’s house to cook. This is her humble request.” After hearing Vrajeśvarī Mātā’s plea, Jaṭilā thought about it and felt concerned that Kṛṣṇa might try some mischief with her daughter-in-law. She then said to Kundalatā, “O my child, Kundalatā! My son’s wife is a virtuous girl. She is very sweet because she is filled with the honey of excellent qualities. The local people are faultfinders and that son of Nanda is extremely restless. Moreover, we cannot ignore Bhagavatī Paurṇamāsī’s statement that Vrajeśvarī’s order must never be neglected. So this dilemma is making my mind waver. What do you think I should do?” Kundalatā replied, “Mother, what you say is true, but Nandanandana is not as restless as those malicious people told you. Everyone knows he is the giver of joy and remover of misery for this cowherd village. Therefore, he will also bring joy to your virtuous daughter-in-law. Look, Kṛṣṇa’s charm drives the women of the world mad; this is just his nature. Your apprehension and protection of her from him is no doubt reasonable, but you should not worry about it. Even your daughter-in-law’s shadow will not fall within the range of Kṛṣṇa’s sight. In this way, I will take her and then bring her back to you without delay.” Jaṭilā replied, “Kundalatā, my daughter! Everyone in this village respects you for your integrity. Therefore, I am placing this innocent girl into your hands. Make arrangements so that Kṛṣṇa’s roving eyes do not get to see her.” Kundalatā was delighted to hear Jaṭilā’s words and went to look for Śrī Rādhā.
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