Navadvīpa: Mahāprabhu Takes His Meal and Rests with His Friends
In Navadvīpa, Śrīman Mahāprabhu and his companions were in the assembly hall of the Śrī Nārāyaṇa Mandira absorbed in songs describing Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa’s meals. At that time, Śacī Mātā arrived and said, “O Nimāi! It’s getting late; finish the kīrtana and bring everyone to take prasāda.” Hearing this, Śrīman Mahāprabhu roared with a gar gar sound and returned to his external state. Svarūpa, Rāmānanda and the others then concluded the kīrtana. After Gadādhara Paṇḍita Gosvāmī finished offering food to Śrī Nārāyaṇa, he gave him water to sip and offered tāmbūla. Then he performed ārati and offered the ṭhākura a bed. Śrīman Mahāprabhu, the two prabhus and the bhaktas all entered the dining hall and sat on āsanas. Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu sat on Śrīman Mahāprabhu’s right side and Śrī Advaita Prabhu sat on his left. The twelve gopālas sat in front and on the two sides sat Svarūpa and the other mahāntas, Gadādhara, Jagadānanda, Murāri and so on. Haridāsa Ṭhākura sat in the courtyard. Śacī Mātā and Mālinī Devī began to serve their meals. Śrī Jāhnavā, Viṣṇupriyā and others brought rice, vegetables and so on from the storeroom and put them in their hands. Mātā began to carefully distribute them, one after another. Immersed in vraja-bhāva, Śrī Rūpa and the other gosvāmīs, the śrī-guru-varga and so on began to watch the prabhus’ bhojana-līlā from the courtyard, while the dāsas became immersed in the rasa of serving vegetables and so on. Because he was absorbed in vraja-bhāva, Mahāprabhu would occasionally stop eating for a while. When Śacī Mātā saw this, she felt anxious and said to him with affection, “Nimāi, my son! Why do you have such a poor appetite? Only if you eat your favorite śuktā, śāka,(1) rice, vegetables and other delicious sweets and cooked foods will the cooking be successful. Seeing this will make me happy, so please, O child, try to eat a little more.” When Mahāprabhu heard his mother’s tender words, he concealed his ecstasy and began to enjoy the meal. Mātā was also pleased and resumed serving the excellent foods. After the meal, the dāsas provided scented water for rinsing their hands and mouths and soft towels for drying them. Then they all went to their respective bedrooms and sat on jeweled couches, where the dāsas served them tāmbūla and so on. When Mahāprabhu lay down, the sādhaka-dāsa began to massage his lotus feet, as instructed by his gurudeva. Meanwhile, at Śacī Mātā’s invitation, the śrī-gosvāmī-varga and the śrī-guru-varga all took their meals. After rinsing their hands and mouths, they took rest in their respective bedrooms. When Mahāprabhu had fallen asleep, the sādhaka-dāsa massaged the feet of Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu and the śrī-guru-varga, one after another. When Mā asked the sādhaka-dāsa when he would take prasāda, the sādhaka told her he would do so after finishing his duties. Pleased to hear this, Mā put aside some prasāda for him. The sādhaka took everyone’s food remnants and placed them in his room. After cleaning the dining area, the pots and so on, he sat at the feet of his gurudeva.
Having rested for a short while, Mahāprabhu roared with a gar gar sound, awakened by the fragrance of the flowers in the six-season forest and the sounds of the bees, cuckoos and so on. When the two prabhus and the bhaktas heard that, they woke, got out of bed and went to see Mahāprabhu. Mahāprabhu rose from his bed and sat on the verandah with the two prabhus. The sādhaka-dāsa brought a golden basin and scented water in a golden pitcher so the three prabhus could wash their hands and faces. The dāsas served them tāmbūla and began to fan them and perform other services. Knowing Mahāprabhu’s mind, Svarūpa Gosvāmī began to sing about Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa’s rendezvous at Gupta-Kuṇḍa, in the six-season forest to the west of Nandīśvara in Vraja. Hearing this, everyone became absorbed in vraja-bhāva.
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1. Śuktā is a bitter vegetable and śāka is any edible herb, creeper or leaf such as spinach.
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