Navadvīpa: Mahāprabhu’s Bathing, Dressing and Ecstasy
Śrī Gaurasundara was in his bedroom absorbed in rādhā-bhāva, surrounded by his associates. Experiencing Śrī Rādhā’s joy, Prabhu was overcome by prema and began to roar. The bhaktas heard the loud noise and returned to external consciousness. Svarūpa Gosvāmī finished singing. Then Mahāprabhu also returned to external consciousness, greeting and embracing the two prabhus and the bhaktas as was appropriate. After that, he sat on his toothbrushing platform. At Śrī Gurudeva’s signal, the sādhaka-dāsa brought water in a golden pot, fragrant powder in a mango-leaf cup and a golden tongue-scraper. After Mahāprabhu finished brushing his teeth, they were more lustrous than a string of pearls. Prabhu then went to the toilet. When he returned, the sādhaka-dāsa washed his lotus hands and feet with fragrant clay and scented water and then dried them with a fine cloth. In the same way, the sādhaka-dāsa assisted Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu and Śrī Advaita Prabhu in their toothbrushing and other morning duties. After that, the three prabhus and their associates went to bathe in the Gaṅgā. The sādhaka-dāsa gathered fragrant oils, massage oils, clothing and other sevā ingredients along with the articles for gaṅgā-pūjā and followed behind. After arriving at the banks of the Gaṅgā, Mahāprabhu and his companions offered praṇāma to the river and placed her water on their heads. Then they sat in a courtyard on the terrace of his bathing ghāṭa made of jeweled stairs. After the dāsas dressed the three prabhus in their bathing garments, they massaged them with fragrant nārāyaṇa oil and anointed them with scented powder. The three prabhus and the bhaktas then completed their water sports and baths and were dried off by the dāsas. After that, they dressed Śrīman Mahāprabhu in a yellow cloth, Śrīman Nityānanda Prabhu in blue and Śrī Advaita Prabhu in white. Then the three prabhus adorned themselves with tilaka made from Gaṅgā clay and performed gaṅgā-pūjā, finishing with daṇḍavat-praṇāma. After that they engaged in saṅkīrtana with the bhaktas as they returned home. The dāsas followed behind, carrying the prabhus’ wet clothing and pots of water. After the dāsas washed the feet of the three prabhus, they sat them in separate pavilions to be dressed and decorated. Then they dried and scented the prabhus’ hair with aguru incense smoke and groomed them with golden combs. After that, they tied their hair in beautiful clusters with strings of pearls and bakula flower chaplets. They painted upward tilaka made of saffron on their foreheads, leaves on each cheek and a dot of musk on their chins. They spread an unguent made of sandalwood, aloeswood, saffron and musk on all the prabhus’ limbs. Then they adorned them with necklaces and garlands, bracelets and bangles on their arms, jeweled rings on their fingers and anklets on their feet. Then they put upper garments on them and showed each one a mirror. The dressing and decorating of the three prabhus was the same except for the yellow, blue and white clothing. Mahāprabhu and Advaita Prabhu both wore an earring on each ear, while Nityānanda Prabhu wore an earring on his left ear and a kadamba flower on his right. Mahāprabhu’s nose was adorned with a pearl. All the bhaktas were dressed in white cloth.
When the three prabhus were finished being dressed and decorated, Śrī Gurudeva had the sādhaka-dāsa place an ornate ghee and camphor lamp for ārati in Śrī Svarūpa Gosvāmī’s hand. Svarūpa then offered ārati to the three prabhus. After that, Mahāprabhu directed Śrī Gadādhara Paṇḍita to perform śrī-nārāyaṇa-sevā and then became absorbed in vraja-bhāva. Understanding Mahāprabhu’s mind, Svarūpa began to sweetly sing verses about Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa’s bathing, dressing and decorating, eating and so on. Govinda Ghoṣa, Vāsudeva Ghoṣa and others played mṛdaṅgas and karatālas. When Mahāprabhu heard this, he was overcome by tears, goosebumps and other sāttvika-vikāras and then sank into rādhā-bhāva. The bhaktas also intently engaged in singing and became immersed in vraja-līlā in their respective siddha-svarūpas.
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