Madhya4.82

TEXT 82

trna-tati diya cari-dik avarila

uparete eka tati diya acchadila

SYNONYMS

trna-tati—straw mattress; diya—with; cari-dik—all around; avarila—covered; uparete—on top; eka—one; tati—similar straw mattress; diya—with; acchadila—covered.

TRANSLATION

A temporary temple was constructed by covering the bed all around with a straw mattress. Thus there was a bed and a straw mattress to cover it.

Madhya4.83

TEXT 83

puri-gosani ajna dila sakala brahmane

a-bala-vrddha gramera loka karaha bhojane

SYNONYMS

puri-gosani—Madhavendra Puri; ajna—order; dila—gave; sakala brahmane—to all the brahmanas; a-bala-vrddha—beginning from the children up to the old persons; gramera—of the village; loka—the people; karaha—make; bhojane—take prasada.

TRANSLATION

After the Lord was laid down to rest on the bed, Madhavendra Puri gathered all the brahmanas who had prepared the prasada and said to them, “Now feed everyone sumptuously, from the children on up to the aged!”

Madhya4.84

TEXT 84

sabe vasi’ krame krame bhojana karila

brahmana-brahmani-gane age khaoyaila

SYNONYMS

sabe—all; vasi’-sitting; krame krame—by and by; bhojana karila—honored prasada and ate it; brahmana-brahmani-gane—the brahmanas and their wives; age—first; khaoyaila—were fed.

TRANSLATION

All the people gathered there sat down to honor the prasada, and by and by they took food. All the brahmanas and their wives were fed first.

PURPORT

According to the varnasrama system, the brahmanas are always honored first. Thus at the festival, the brahmanas and their wives were first offered the remnants of food, and then the others (ksatriyas, vaisyas and sudras). This has always been the system, and it is still prevalent in India, even though the caste brahmanas are not qualified. The system is still current due to the varnasrama institutional rules and regulations.

Madhya4.85

TEXT 85

anya gramera loka yata dekhite aila

gopala dekhiya saba prasada khaila

SYNONYMS

anya—other; gramera—of the villages; loka—people; yata—all; dekhite—to see; aila—came; gopala—the Lord Gopala; dekhiya—seeing; saba—all; prasada—remnants of food; khaila—partook.

TRANSLATION

Not only did the people of Govardhana village take prasada, but also those who came from other villages. They also saw the Deity of Gopala and were offered prasada to eat.

Madhya4.86

TEXT 86

dekhiya purira prabhava loke camatkara

purva annakuta yena haila saksatkara

SYNONYMS

dekhiya—by seeing; purira—of Madhavendra Puri; prabhava—the influence; loke—all the people; camatkara—struck with wonder; purva—formerly; anna-kuta—the Annakuta ceremony during the time of Krsna; yena—as if; haila—became; saksatkara—directly manifest.

TRANSLATION

Seeing the influence of Madhavendra Puri, all the people gathered there were struck with wonder. They saw that the Annakuta ceremony, which had been performed before during the time of Krsna, was now taking place again by the mercy of Sri Madhavendra Puri.

PURPORT

Formerly, at the end of Dvapara-yuga, all the cowherd men of Vrndavana had arranged to worship King Indra, but they gave this worship up, following the advice of Krsna. Instead, they performed a ceremony whereby they worshiped the cows, brahmanas and Govardhana Hill. At that time Krsna expanded Himself and declared, “I am Govardhana Hill.” In this way He accepted all the paraphernalia and food offered to Govardhana Hill. It is stated in Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.24.26, 31-33):

pacyantam vividhah pakah
supantah payasadayah
samyava-pupa-saskulyah
sarva-dohas ca grhyatam

kalatmana bhagavata
sakra-darpam jighamsata
proktam nisamya nandadyah
sadhv agrhnanta tad-vacah

tatha ca vyadadhuh sarvam
yathaha madhusudanah
vacayitva svasty-ayanam
tad-dravyena giri-dvijan

upahrtya balin sarvan
adrta yavasam gavam
go-dhanani puras-krtya
girim cakruh pradaksinam

" ’Prepare very nice foods of all descriptions from the grains and ghee collected for the yajna. Prepare rice, dal, then halavah, pakora, puri and all kinds of milk preparations like sweet rice, sweetballs, sandesa, rasagulla and laddu.’

“The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Krsna, therefore advised the cowherd men to stop the Indra-yajna and begin the Govardhana-puja to chastise Indra, who was very much puffed up at being the supreme controller of the heavenly planets. The honest and simple cowherd men, headed by Nanda Maharaja, accepted Krsna’s proposal and executed in detail everything He advised. They performed Govardhana worship and circumambulation of the hill. According to the instruction of Lord Krsna, Nanda Maharaja and the cowherd men called in learned brahmanas and began to worship Govardhana Hill by chanting Vedic hymns and offering prasada. The inhabitants of Vrndavana assembled together, decorated their cows and gave them grass. Keeping the cows in front, they began to circumambulate Govardhana Hill.”

Madhya4.87

TEXT 87

sakala brahmane puri vaisnava karila

sei sei seva-madhye saba niyojila

SYNONYMS

sakala brahmane—all the brahmanas who were present there; puri—Madhavendra Puri Gosvami; vaisnava karila—elevated to the position of Vaisnavas; sei sei—under different divisions; seva-madhye—in rendering service; saba—all of them; niyojila—were engaged.

TRANSLATION

All the brahmanas present on that occasion were initiated by Madhavendra Puri into the Vaisnava cult, and Madhavendra Puri engaged them in different types of service.

PURPORT

In the scriptures it is stated: sat-karma-nipuno vipro mantra-tantra-visaradah. A qualified brahmana must be expert in the occupational duties of a brahmana. His duties are mentioned as six brahminical engagements. Pathana means that a brahmana must be conversant with the Vedic scriptures. He must also be able to teach others to study the Vedic scriptures. This is pathana. He must also be expert in worshiping different deities and in performing the Vedic rituals (yajana). On account of this yajana, the brahmana, being the head of society, performs all the Vedic rituals for ksatriyas, vaisyas, and sudras. This is called yajana, assisting others in performing ceremonies. The remaining two items are dana and pratigraha. The brahmana accepts all kinds of contributions (pratigraha) from his followers (namely, the ksatriyas, vaisyas and sudras). But he does not keep all the money. He keeps only as much as required and gives the balance to others in charity (dana).

In order for such a qualified brahmana to worship the Deity, he must be a Vaisnava. Thus the Vaisnava’s position is superior to that of the brahmana. This example given by Madhavendra Puri confirms that even though a brahmana may be very expert, he cannot become a priest or servitor of the visnu-murti unless he is initiated in vaisnava-mantra. After installing the Deity of Gopala, Madhavendra Puri initiated all the brahmanas into Vaisnavism. He then allotted the brahmanas different types of service to the Deity. From four in the morning until ten at night (from mangala-aratrika to sayana-aratrika), there must be at least five or six brahmanas to take care of the Deity. Six aratrikas are performed in the temple, and food is frequently offered to the Deity and the prasada distributed. This is the method of worshiping the Deity according to the rules and regulations set by predecessors. Our sampradaya belongs to the disciplic succession of Madhavendra Puri, who belonged to the Madhva-sampradaya. We are in the disciplic succession of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, who was initiated by Sri Isvara Puri, a disciple of Madhavendra Puri’s. Our sampradaya is therefore called the Madhva-Gaudiya-sampradaya. As such, we must carefully follow in the footsteps of Sri Madhavendra Puri and observe how he installed the Gopala Deity on top of Govardhana Hill, how he arranged and performed the Annakuta ceremony in only one day, and so forth. Our installation of Deities in America and in the wealthy countries of Europe should be carried out in terms of Sri Madhavendra Puri’s activities. All the servitors of the Deity must be strictly qualified as brahmanas and, specifically, must engage in the Vaisnava custom of offering as much prasada as possible and distributing it to the devotees who visit the temple to see the Lord.

Madhya4.88

TEXT 88

punah dina-sese prabhura karaila utthana

kichu bhoga lagaila karaila jala-pana

SYNONYMS

punah—again; dina-sese—at the end of the day; prabhura—of the Lord; karaila—caused to do; utthana—rising; kichu—some; bhoga—food; lagaila—offered; karaila—caused to do; jala—water; pana—drinking.

TRANSLATION

After taking rest, the Deity must be awakened at the end of the day, and immediately some food and some water must be offered to Him.

PURPORT

This offering is called vaikali-bhoga, food offered at the end of the day.

Madhya4.89

TEXT 89

gopala prakata haila,--dese sabda haila

asa-pasa gramera loka dekhite aila

SYNONYMS

gopala—Lord Gopala; prakata haila—has appeared; dese—throughout the country; sabda haila—the news spread; asa-pasa—neighboring; gramera—of the villages; loka—the people; dekhite aila—came to see.

TRANSLATION

When it was advertised throughout the country that Lord Gopala had appeared atop Govardhana Hill, all the people from neighboring villages came to see the Deity.

Madhya4.90

TEXT 90

ekeka dina ekeka grame la-ila magina

anna-kuta kare sabe harasita hana

SYNONYMS

ekeka dina—one day after another; ekeka grame—one village after another; la-ila—took permission; magina—begging; anna-kuta kare—perform the Annakuta ceremony; sabe—all; harasita—pleased; hana—becoming.

TRANSLATION

One village after another was pleased to beg Madhavendra Puri to allot them one day to perform the Annakuta ceremony. Thus, day after day, the Annakuta ceremony was performed for some time.

Madhya4.91

TEXT 91

ratri-kale thakurere karaiya sayana

puri-gosani kaila kichu gavya bhojana

SYNONYMS

ratri-kale—at night; thakurere—the Deity; karaiya—causing to do; sayana—lying down for rest; puri-gosani—Madhavendra Puri; kaila—did; kichu—some; gavya—milk preparation; bhojana—eating.

TRANSLATION

Sri Madhavendra Puri did not eat anything throughout the day, but at night, after laying the Deity down to rest, he took a milk preparation.

Madhya4.92

TEXT 92

pratah-kale punah taiche karila sevana

anna lana eka-gramera aila loka-gana

SYNONYMS

pratah-kale—in the morning; punah—again; taiche—just as before; karila—rendered; sevana—service; anna lana—with food grains; eka-gramera—of one village; aila—came; loka-gana—the people.

TRANSLATION

The next morning, the rendering of service to the Deity began again, and people from one village arrived with all kinds of food grains.

Madhya4.93

TEXT 93

anna, ghrta, dadhi, dugdha,--grame yata chila

gopalera age loka aniya dharila

SYNONYMS

anna—food grain; ghrta—ghee, or clarified butter; dadhi—yogurt; dugdha—milk; grame—in the village; yata—as much; chila—as there was; gopalera age—before the Deity Gopala; loka—all people; aniya—bringing; dharila—placed.

TRANSLATION

The inhabitants of the village brought to the Deity of Gopala as much food grains, ghee, yogurt and milk as they had in their village.

PURPORT

Anna, ghrta, dadhi and dugdha are food grains, ghee, yogurt and milk. Actually these are the basis of all food. Vegetables and fruits are subsidiary. Hundreds and thousands of preparations can be made out of grains, vegetables, ghee, milk and yogurt. The food offered to Gopala in the Annakuta ceremony contained only these five ingredients. Only demoniac people are attracted to other types of food, which we will not even mention in this connection. We should understand that in order to prepare nutritious food, we require only grains, ghee, yogurt and milk. We cannot offer anything else to the Deity. The Vaisnava, the perfect human being, does not accept anything not offered to the Deity. People are often frustrated with national food policies, but from the Vedic scriptures we find that if there are sufficient cows and grains, the entire food problem is solved. The vaisyas (people engaged in agriculture and commerce) are therefore recommended in the Bhagavad-gita to produce grains and give protection to cows. Cows are the most important animal because they produce the miracle food, milk, from which we can prepare ghee and yogurt.

The perfection of human civilization depends on Krsna consciousness, which recommends Deity worship. Preparations made from vegetables, grains, milk, ghee and yogurt are offered to the Deity and then distributed. Here we can see the difference between the East and the West. The people who came to see the Deity of Gopala brought all kinds of food to offer the Deity. They brought all the food they had in stock, and they came before the Deity not only to accept prasada for themselves but to distribute it to others. The Krsna consciousness movement vigorously approves this practice of preparing food, offering it to the Deity and distributing it to the general population. This activity should be extended universally to stop sinful eating habits as well as other behavior befitting only demons. A demoniac civilization will never bring peace within the world. Since eating is the first necessity in human society, those engaged in solving the problems of preparing and distributing food should take lessons from Madhavendra Puri and execute the Annakuta ceremony. When the people take to eating only prasada offered to the Deity, all the demons will be turned into Vaisnavas. When the people are Krsna conscious, naturally the government will be so also. A Krsna conscious man is always a very liberal well-wisher of everyone. When such men head the government, the people will certainly be sinless. They will no longer be disturbing demons. It is then and then only that a peaceful condition can prevail in society.

Madhya4.94

TEXT 94

purva-dina-praya vipra karila randhana

taiche anna-kuta gopala karila bhojana

SYNONYMS

purva-dina-praya—almost like the previous day; vipra—all the brahmanas; karila—did; randhana—cooking; taiche—similarly; anna-kuta—heaps of food; gopala—the Deity of Lord Gopala; karila—did; bhojana—eating.

TRANSLATION

The next day, almost like before, there was an Annakuta ceremony. All the brahmanas prepared foods and Gopala accepted them.

Madhya4.95

TEXT 95

vraja-vasi lokera krsne sahaja piriti

gopalera sahaja-priti vraja-vasi-prati

SYNONYMS

vraja-vasi—the inhabitants of Vrndavana (Vrajabhumi); lokera—of the people; krsne—unto Lord Krsna; sahaja—natural; piriti—love; gopalera—of Lord Gopala; sahaja—natural; priti—love; vraja-vasi-prati—toward the inhabitants of Vrajabhumi.

TRANSLATION

The ideal place to execute Krsna consciousness is Vrajabhumi, or Vrndavana, where the people are naturally inclined to love Krsna and Krsna is naturally inclined to love them.

PURPORT

Madhya4.96

TEXT 96

maha-prasada khaila asiya saba loka

gopala dekhiya sabara khande duhkha-soka

SYNONYMS

maha-prasada—spiritualized foods offered to Krsna; khaila—ate; asiya—coming; saba—all; loka—people; gopala—the Deity of Sri Gopala; dekhiya—seeing; sabara—of all of them; khande—disappears; duhkha-soka—all lamentation and unhappiness.

TRANSLATION

Throngs of people came from different villages to see the Deity of Gopala, and they took maha-prasada sumptuously. When they saw the superexcellent form of Lord Gopala, all their lamentation and unhappiness disappeared.

Madhya4.97

TEXT 97

asa-pasa vraja-bhumera yata grama saba

eka eka dina sabe kare mahotsava

SYNONYMS

asa-pasa—neighboring; vraja-bhumera—of Vrajabhumi; yata—all; grama—villages; saba—all; eka eka—one after another; dina—days; sabe—all; kare—perform; maha-utsava—festivals.

TRANSLATION

All the villages in neighboring Vrajabhumi [Vrndavana] became aware of the appearance of Gopala, and all the people from these villages came to see Him. Day after day they all performed the Annakuta ceremony.

Madhya4.98

TEXT 98

gopala-prakata suni’ nana desa haite

nana dravya lana loka lagila asite

SYNONYMS

gopala—of the Deity of Gopala; prakata—appearance; suni’-hearing; nana—various; desa—countries; haite—from; nana—various; dravya—things; lana—bringing; loka—people; lagila—began; asite—to come.

TRANSLATION

In this way not only the neighboring villages but all the other provinces came to know of Gopala’s appearance. Thus people came from all over, bringing a variety of presentations.

Madhya4.99

TEXT 99

mathurara loka saba bada bada dhani

bhakti kari’ nana dravya bheta deya ani’

SYNONYMS

mathurara—of the city of Mathura; loka—the people; saba—all; bada bada—very big; dhani—capitalists; bhakti kari’-out of devotion; nana dravya—various kinds of things; bheta—presents; deya—gave; ani’-bringing.

TRANSLATION

The people of Mathura, who are very big capitalists, also brought various presentations and offered them before the Deity in devotional service.

Madhya4.100

TEXT 100

svarna, raupya, vastra, gandha, bhaksya-upahara

asankhya aise, nitya badila bhandara

SYNONYMS

svarna—gold; raupya—silver; vastra—garments; gandha—scents; bhaksya-upahara—presentations for eating; asankhya—countless; aise—came; nitya—daiiy; badila—increased; bhandara—the store.

TRANSLATION

Thus countless presentations of gold, silver, garments, scented articles and eatables arrived. The store of Gopala increased daily.

Madhya4.101

TEXT 101

eka maha-dhani ksatriya karaila mandira

keha paka-bhandara kaila, keha ta’ pracira

SYNONYMS

eka—one; maha-dhani—very rich man; ksatriya—of the royal order; karaila—constructed; mandira—a temple; keha—someone; paka-bhandara—clay pots for cooking; kaila—made; keha—someone; ta’-certainly; pracira—the boundary walls.

TRANSLATION

One very rich ksatriya of the royal order constructed a temple, someone made cooking utensils, and someone constructed boundary walls.

Madhya4.102

TEXT 102

eka eka vraja-vasi eka eka gabhi dila

sahasra sahasra gabhi gopalera haila

SYNONYMS

eka eka—each and every; vraja-vasi—resident of Vrndavana; eka eka—one; gabhi—cow; dila—contributed; sahasra sahasra—thousands and thousands; gabhi—cows; gopalera—of Gopala; haila—there were.

TRANSLATION

Each and every family residing in the land of Vrajabhumi contributed one cow. In this way, thousands of cows became the property of Gopala.

PURPORT

Madhya4.103

TEXT 103

gauda ha-ite aila dui vairagi brahmana

puri-gosani rakhila tare kariya yatana

SYNONYMS

gauda ha-ite—from Bengal; aila—came; dui—two; vairagi—of the renounced order; brahmana—persons born in brahmana families; puri-gosani—Madhavendra Puri; rakhila—kept; tare—them; kariya—making; yatana—all efforts.

TRANSLATION

Eventually two brahmanas in the renounced order arrived from Bengal, and Madhavendra Puri, who liked them very much, kept them in Vrndavana and gave them all kinds of comforts.

Madhya4.104

TEXT 104

sei dui sisya kari’ seva samarpila

raja-seva haya,--purira ananda badila

SYNONYMS

sei dui—these two persons; sisya kari’-initiating; seva—with the service; samarpila—entrusted; raja-seva—gorgeous performance of service; haya—is; purira—of Madhavendra Puri; ananda—pleasure; badila—increased.

TRANSLATION

These two were then initiated by Madhavendra Puri, and he entrusted them with the daily service of the Lord. This service was performed continuously, and the worship of the Deity became very gorgeous. Thus Madhavendra Puri was very pleased.

PURPORT

The six Gosvamis and their followers started many temples, such as  the temples of Govinda, Gopinatha, Madana-mohana, Radha-Damodara, Syamasundara, Radha-ramana and Gokulananda. The disciples of the Gosvamis were entrusted with the seva-puja (Deity worship) of these temples. It was not that the disciples were family members of the original Gosvamis. All the Gosvamis were in the renounced order of life, and Jiva Gosvami in particular was a lifelong brahmacari. At present, sevaitas assume the title of gosvami on the basis of their being engaged as sevaitas of the Deity. The sevaitas who have inherited their positions now assume proprietorship of the temples, and some of them are selling the Deities’ property as if it were their own. However, the temples did not originally belong to these sevaitas.

Madhya4.105

TEXT 105

ei-mata vatsara dui karila sevana

eka-dina puri-gosani dekhila svapana

SYNONYMS

ei-mata—in this way; vatsara—years; dui—two; karila—performed; sevana—worship; eka-dina—one day; puri-gosani—Madhavendra Puri; dekhila—saw; svapana—a dream.

TRANSLATION

In this way the Deity worship in the temple was very gorgeously performed for two years. Then one day Madhavendra Puri had a dream.

Madhya4.106

TEXT 106

gopala kahe, puri amara tapa nahi yaya

malayaja-candana lepa’, tabe se judaya

SYNONYMS

gopala—the Deity of Gopala; kahe—said; puri—My dear Madhavendra Puri; amara—My; tapa—body temperature; nahi—does not; yaya—go away; malayaja-candana—sandalwood produced in the Malaya Hills; lepa’-smear over the body; tabe—then; se—that; judaya—cools.

TRANSLATION

In his dream, Madhavendra Puri saw Gopala, who said, "My bodily temperature still has not decreased. Please bring sandalwood from the Malaya province and smear the pulp over My body to cool Me.

PURPORT

The Deity of Gopala had been buried within the jungle for many years, and although He was installed and was offered thousands of pots of water, He still felt very hot. He therefore asked Madhavendra Puri to bring sandalwood from the Malaya province. Sandalwood produced in Malaya is very popular. That province is situated on the western ghata, and the hill Nilagiri is sometimes known as Malaya Hill. The word malaya-ja is used to indicate the sandalwood produced in the Malaya province. Sometimes the word Malaya refers to the modern country of Malaysia. Formerly this country also produced sandalwood, but now they have found it profitable to produce rubber trees. Although the Vedic culture was once prevalent in Malaysia, now all the inhabitants are Muslims. The Vedic culture is now lost in Malaysia, Java and Indonesia.

Madhya4.107

TEXT 107

malayaja ana, yana nilacala haite

anye haite nahe, tumi calaha tvarite

SYNONYMS

malaya-ja—sandalwood; ana—bring; yana—coming; nilacala haite—from Jagannatha Puri; anye—others; haite—from; nahe—not; tumi—you; calaha—go; tvarite—quickly.

TRANSLATION

“Bring sandalwood pulp from Jagannatha Puri. Kindly go quickly. Since no one else can do it, you must.”

Madhya4.108

TEXT 108

svapna dekhi’ puri-gosanira haila premavesa

prabhu-ajna palibare gela purva-desa

SYNONYMS

svapna dekhi’-after seeing the dream; puri-gosanira—of Madhavendra Puri; haila—there was; prema-avesa—ecstasy on account of love of God; prabhu-ajna—the order of the Lord; palibare—to execute; gela—started; purva-desa—for the eastern countries (Bengal).

TRANSLATION

After having this dream, Madhavendra Puri Gosvami became very glad due to ecstasy of love of Godhead, and in order to execute the command of the Lord, he started east toward Bengal.

Madhya4.109

TEXT 109

sevara nirbandha--loka karila sthapana

ajna magi’ gauda-dese karila gamana

SYNONYMS

sevara nirbandha—the arrangements for executing the daily routine of the worship of the Lord; loka—the people; karila—did; sthapana—establish; ajna magi’-taking the order; gauda-dese—toward Bengal; karila—did; gamana—going.

TRANSLATION

Before leaving, Madhavendra Puri made all arrangements for regular Deity worship, and he engaged different people in various duties. Then, taking up the order of Gopala, he started for Bengal.

Madhya4.110

TEXT 110

santipura aila advaitacaryera ghare

purira prema dekhi’ acarya ananda antare

SYNONYMS

santipura—to the place known as Santipura; aila—came; advaita-acaryera—of Sri Advaita Acarya; ghare—to the home; purira prema—the ecstatic love of Madhavendra Puri; dekhi’-seeing; acarya—Advaita Acarya; ananda—pleased; antare—within Himself.

TRANSLATION

When Madhavendra Puri arrived at the house of Advaita Acarya in Santipura, the Acarya became very pleased upon seeing the ecstatic love of Godhead manifest in Madhavendra Puri.