SRI PURI DHAM MAHATMYA-MUKTA-MALA

(4) Mahaprabhu’s Journey to Puri: Shantipur

Mahaprabhu arrived at the ghat in Kalna. On the other bank of the Ganges there stood Shantipur. When Mahaprabhu arrived, Advaita Prabhu took a boat and, coming to the middle of the river, waited for Him there.

Just think about it – how was it possible? In those days, there were no satellites, no telephones, no mobiles phones, no whatsapp or facebook. How could Advaita Acharya know that Mahaprabhu would come there? Such was his devotional power.

When Mahaprabhu went to bath in the Ganges, He entered the water up to His neck and, closing His eyes, started reciting verses in glorification of the Yamuna (Nityananda Prabhu tricked Him and said that He had come to Vrindavan). Mahaprabhu thought, ‘I have arrived in Vrindavan. Very good, I am very happy.’ Then, He opened His eyes and saw Advaita Prabhu in front of Him.

‘Oh! Advaita, how did you know that I was in Vrindavan?’ He asked, surprised. ‘And how did you get here?’

‘Prabhu,’ Advaita Prabhu replied, ‘wherever You are, that is Vrindavan. Wherever You are, that is the Yamuna.’

‘What?! What are you saying?!’

‘Turn round.’

‘Ah, this is not the Yamuna at all! This is the Ganges! But I recited glorification of the Yamuna…’

‘And that is not wrong, Prabhu. Here, one bank is the Ganges, and the other bank is the Yamuna. So, You have not made any mistake.’

Then, Advaita Prabhu gave Mahaprabhu fresh clothes and said, ‘Prabhu, please wear this. You have been travelling for three days without changing Your clothes.’ Mahaprabhu climbed on the boat and changed His clothes. After that, they went together to Advaita Acharya’s house.

Advaita Prabhu’s wife, Sri Sita Thakurani, cooked a lot of dishes for Mahaprabhu (‘vattisa-athiya-kalara angatiya pate, dui thani bhoga badaila bhala-mate – she arranged everything nicely on two plates made of choice, strong banana leaves’) and then asked Mahaprabhu and Nityananda Prabhu to sit together to take prasad. When Mahaprabhu is hungry, He can easily tolerate it, but when Nityananda Prabhu is hungry, He cannot tolerate it at all. He had been walking together with Mahaprabhu for three days, so by the time They had reached Shantipur, He was very hungry. It was very hard for Him. Not being able to tolerate hunger anymore, as soon as Nityananda Prabhu sat down in front of the plate, He began to eat. Seeing this, Mahaprabhu pulled Advaita Prabhu to the other seat, next to Nityananda Prabhu, and told him, ‘Come and sit down, too. This is your asan.’ Advaita Prabhu objected, ‘No, Prabhu. Ask Sita Rani whose asan this is. She has kept it there for You. After taking sannyas, You have been walking for three days without eating anything. Please sit down and eat.’ Then, Mahaprabhu sat down and took prasad.

In the meantime, Sachi Mata, all the residents of Nabadwip and Mahaprabhu’s devotees got the news that Mahaprabhu had arrived in Shantipur. Everybody hurried there. Mahaprabhu left His householder clothes and cut off His beautiful curly hair in Katwa – when everybody came and saw His shaved head, they felt very sad.

Sachi Mata came to Shantipur, too. She was very sad. She asked Srivas Pandit and Advaita Prabhu, ‘I understand that Nimai will never come back to Nabadwip, I know that He has left… But do you think I could cook for Him? If I cooked something, would He take it? He is a sannyasi now, so I have to ask. I cannot ask Him myself, so please ask Him for me. I am thinking that He will leave and stay so far away – you all will be able to cook for Him all the time, but I will never be able to cook for Him again. My only hope is that, perhaps, at least once I could cook something for Him here. Please ask Him.’ Srivas Pandit and Advaita Prabhu asked Mahaprabhu, and Mahaprabhu agreed.

Mahaprabhu stayed in Shantipur for a few days, and all day and night He spent teaching devotees: He danced and chanted kirtan and spoke Hari-katha. Sometimes He would faint, sometimes He would manifest the eight symptoms of divine ecstasy (asta-sattvika-vikar) – all this started after He took sannyas.

When it was time to leave, Mahaprabhu took His mother’s permission and, leaving Shantipur, started walking to Puri together with Nityananda Prabhu, Mukunda Datta, Chandrasekhara Acharya and Gadadhar Pandit.

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