The cooking was complete. When Yaśomatī Mā went to the kitchen to see the finished preparations, Rohiṇī Mā praised “Nectar Hands” Śrī Rādhā’s cooking and showed Yaśodā the various kinds of rice, vegetables and sweets kept in vessels on a clean table. Astonished at the sight of all those fragrant, beautiful and delightful rices, vegetables, sweets and baked foods, Yaśodā Mā asked, “How have you prepared so many beautiful and delectable dishes in such a short time?” Śrī Rohiṇīdevī replied, “This is a quality of Śrī Rādhā’s hands: whatever she touches becomes like nectar.” When Śrī Rādhā heard the description of her skill in cooking, she bowed her head in modesty. Yaśomatī Mā’s heart melted with affection after seeing Rādhā’s body wet with perspiration from her hard work. She instructed the dāsīs to fan Rādhā and then went somewhere else. The sādhaka-dāsī removed Śrīmatī’s cooking dress, wiped her body with a soft, moist cloth and began to fan her. Mātā directed Rohiṇīdevī to take a little of each of the foods for Śrī Nārāyaṇa’s offering and then sent Kamala Dāsa to invite Kṛṣṇa, Balarāma and their friends to come and eat. Meanwhile, Yaśomatī Mā directed Madhumaṅgala to offer tulasī and fragrant water to Śrī Nārāyaṇa along with the foods provided by Rohiṇīdevī.
Navadvīpa: Mahāprabhu’s State of Mind after Hearing about Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa’s Meal
In Navadvīpa, Śrīman Mahāprabhu and his companions were absorbed in vraja-bhāva as they listened to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Meanwhile, Īśāna Dāsa arrived, having been sent by Śacī Mātā. He said, “O Gauracandra, the food has been prepared for Śrī Nārāyaṇa. Mā is asking you to come for the offering.” Hearing that, Mahāprabhu roared and returned to his external state along with his companions. Paṇḍita Gosvāmī ended his recitation of the Bhāgavata. Śrīman Mahāprabhu and his companions then went to Śrī Nārāyaṇa’s assembly hall and began to sing the bhoga-ārati-kīrtana. Śrī Gadādhara Paṇḍita Gosvāmī offered the food to Śrī Nārāyaṇa along with water and tulasī, according to the rules. Understanding Mahāprabhu’s mind, Svarūpa Gosvāmī began to sing verses about Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa’s meal. Hearing this, Mahāprabhu was attacked by sāttvika-vikāras like tears and goosebumps and was overcome by vraja-bhāva. The bhaktas also became absorbed in their respective siddha-svarūpas and sank into vraja-rasa.
Vrajadhāma: Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa Take Their Meals and Rest
After Śrī Nārāyaṇa’s meal was finished in Vraja, Śrī Madhumaṅgala offered tāmbūla to him and then had him lie down. Meanwhile, Kamala Dāsa brought Śrī Rāma, Śrī Kṛṣṇa and their sakhas to take their meals. After washing their hands and faces, they all entered the dining hall, which was scented with the smoke of fine aguru incense. Kṛṣṇa and Baladeva enjoyed eating with their friends as they sat on beautiful seats at golden tables with golden pitchers of fragrant water placed here and there. Śrīdāma and Subala sat on Kṛṣṇa’s left, Baladeva on his right and Madhumaṅgala in front. Some of the other sakhas sat on his left, some on his right and some in front. First, Mā Yaśomatī gave Balarāma, Kṛṣṇa and their friends delicious drinks, made from coconut water and sugarcane juice, that were brought by Citra Sakhī. Yaśodā had invited the mothers of Kṛṣṇa’s friends, and with deep parental love they brought sweets and cooked foods for Kṛṣṇa. Mā Yaśodā brought the foods on a golden platter and distributed them with great respect. Then everyone happily began to eat. Śrī Rādhā had brought a sweet called gaṅgājala from home for Kṛṣṇa. At Rādhā’s signal, Raṅgadevī gave it to Yaśodā and she put a portion on each person’s plate. As Kṛṣṇa and his friends were eating in a jovial mood, he glanced once toward Śrī Rādhā. Her sakhīs saw this and were delighted. Then Yaśodā Mā began to speak as she pointed out the different foods with her forefinger. “O child! This preparation is very good. This one is sweet and these are delicious. Eat some of these.” Kṛṣṇa smiled as he took from his own plate the food that each friend liked the most and then gave it to him.
Noticing that Kṛṣṇa was eating slowly and Yaśodā was intently engaged in serving food, the brāhmaṇa jokester Madhumaṅgala said to her, “Mother! Kṛṣṇa is not eating anything. Just give all those foods to me. After eating, I will embrace him and his body will be nourished too. Because of his poor appetite, Kṛṣṇa is not able to eat foods cooked in ghee, so give those to me. Give him some easily digested rice and vegetables.” After hearing Madhumaṅgala’s words, Kṛṣṇa laughed and took five or six handfuls of cooked food from his own plate and filled Madhumaṅgala’s, saying, “Eat!” In great joy, Baṭu repeatedly struck his left elbow against his side and said, “Friend! Look at this. I’m eating everything.” Stuffing his mouth with two or three mouthfuls at once, he said, “Mā! Please give me a little yogurt.” When Mātā left to get some yogurt, Baṭu said to the sakhas, “Look there; a monkey is dancing in hopes of getting some cooked food.” As soon as they heard that, the sakhas all raised their heads and looked in that direction. Baṭu quickly took the foods from his own plate and placed it on theirs. Then he bragged, “Look; I’ve eaten everything!” When he saw Yaśodā enter with the yogurt bowl in her hand, he said, “Mā, I ate all the foods even without yogurt, so now please give me a big bowl of sweet-rice.” Then Rohiṇī Mā began to serve sweet-rice, rice and vegetables, tender breads, sweets and so on that Śrī Rādhā had brought from the storeroom. Seeing that the foods were tasty and abundant, Baṭu laughed again and said, “On the one hand, we have these amazing foods cooked by Lakṣmī herself. On the other, we have all these cowherds who know nothing about the flavors of foods.” Then Śrīdāma laughed and said, “Hey Baṭu! You became a brāhmaṇa for the sake of your belly. Now quickly fill it with food.”
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