Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Carita | Book 3 Chapter 6

Sixth Sarga

The Lord Wanders in South India

1

So saying, Śrī Chaitanya Mahāprabhu set forth again absorbed in Hari-kīrtana. Whenever He saw Deities of the Lord or the devatās on the road, He offer prostrated obeisances and offer some prayer of praise according to the vidhi.

2

In the very pious land of Hari Kṣetra, which was enveloped by the darkness of night, the jagad-guru took His bath in Brahma-kuṇḍa and then took darśana of the Deity of Madhusūdana.

3

Then Gaura Bhagavān went to the great town of Remunā and stayed for a few days to see the Deity of Gopāla.

4

Uddhava formerly established and worshipped that Deity in Vārāṇasī. Then to show mercy to a certain brāhmaṇa, that Deity of Hari personally walked to Remuṇā and stayed there.

5

Certain people gave that ocean of mercy the name Gopīnātha, and for the sake of His devotee, Mādhavendra Purī, He enacted many pastimes such as stealing kṣīra and so forth.

6

Everything related to that place and the Deity of Gopīnātha shows how Lord Hari always fulfils the word of His devotee. acting like an ordinary man, Gaura Hari went to that temple, and took darśana of the Deity.

7

Gaura Prabhu, whose moon-like face is moistened with tears of mercy and whose eyes are wide-spread like the petals of a lotus, fell flat like a rod before that Lord of all gods and godly beings. Then He performed kīrtana and danced in the company of His associates.

8

At that moment, the resplendent son of Śacī received the ornamental crown of flowers that had fallen from the head of Murāri. He gazed at it and then took the crown into His lotus hands.

9

Having received this sign of Gopīnātha's grace, He fixed that prasādam crown nicely on His head, and His countenance shone in rapture. Gazing upon the Lord of the gods, He bowed His head in humility and rejoiced in that holy place.

10

Then the munificent and incomparably lovely Lord Hari, whose effulgence resembles nectarine moonbeams, who had accepted the role of the paramount sannyāsī, danced and sang with the vaiṣṇavas from dawn until dusk.

11

Crowds of people came there and avidly gazed at Him. Repeatedly they extolled His qualities and offered Him prayers. Then, as night came the Lord of sages ate some suitable foods.

12

Early in the morning, the Lord, whose face expands like a blossoming lotus, and whose lovely throat with its three folds of skin resembles a conch, continued walking and crossed other lands, passing many towns and villages along the way. Then, at an auspicious moment, He came upon a fast-flowing river, a tributary of the river of the gods.

13

He looked upon that blessed river named Vaitaraṇī, who is capable of delivering humanity from their sins. Simply by seeing her, one becomes liberated from the punishments of Yamarāja; what then can be spoken of those who bathe in her waters? She forever shines.

14

As Śacī-suta bathed there according to the Vedic precept, He saw a very beautiful form of Lord Boar. Just by seeing Him, seventy-seven generations of a man's ancestors enter into heaven.

15

Gaura became enlivened at the Lord's sight, and He then travelled to the city of Yājapura, where many brāhmaṇas dwell. There the four-headed Lord Brahmā once performed sacrifice and gave authority over that land to a noble brāhmaṇa.

16

All those even sinners who die in that place, attain auspicious forms at death. While attentively seeing the hundreds of Śiva-liṅgams at that place, the Lord bowed His head.

17

The ocean of mercy, also took darśana of the river Virajā's lotus face, whose the mere sight delivers millions of souls from their sins committed in the countless material worlds.

18

The Lord of all living beings gazed upon her and offered obeisances, begging whole- heartedly for the matchless gift of prema-bhakti. Then the lotus-faced Lord went to Gaya-nābhi, a priceless tīrtha for service to the forefathers.

19

Śrī Hari, the best of the twice-born, who is the most learned in spiritual principles, quickly bathed in the waters of Brahma-kuṇḍa. There all the worlds became happy to see the form of yajña personified which was once shown by Lord Varāha.

20

The magnanimous Lord wandered throughout the town, seeing the liṅgams of Bhūteśa, the lord of all beings. The place appeared like Vārāṇasī, the capital city of Sadāśiva, where there are a million liṅgams of the three-eyed lord.

21

By hearing attentively this sanctified narration of Śrī Hari, which frees one from all sinful reaction, a person obtains the fruit of travelling on pilgrimage to the holy place of the forefathers as well as the benefit of sacrificial activities performed there. One experiences limitless happiness and becomes graced with all good qualities.

Thus ends the Sixth Sarga entitled "The Lord Wanders in South India," in the Third Prakrama of the great poem Śrī Caitanya Carita.