Shri Chaitanya-bhagavata
Adi-khanda -
By
Vyasa Avatara Shrila Vrindavana dasa Thakura
Chapter Four: Name-giving Ceremony, Childhood Pastimes, and Thieves
Kidnap the Lord
TEXT 1
jaya jaya kamala-nayana gauracandra
jaya jaya tomara premera bhakta-vrinda
TRANSLATION
All glories to the
lotus-eyed Lord Gaurachandra! All glories to Your devotees, who are filled with
pure love of God!
COMMENTARY
The word
kamala-nayana indicates lotus eyes. All glories to Shri Gauranga, and all
glories to His devotees, who are bound by love for the Lord. Due to envy and a
poor fund of knowledge some neophyte devotees glorify only Mahaprabhu and do
not glorify His dear devotees. In this way they confirm that they have a
hellish mentality. In order to vanquish the narrow-mindedness of these
nondevotees, the author, who is a great Vaishnava acarya, glorifies the Lord’s
devotees, considering them associates of the Lord.
CB Adi-khanda 4.2
TEXT 2
hena shubha-drishti prabhu karaha a-mayaya
ahar-nisha citta yena bhajaye tomaya
TRANSLATION
O my Lord, please
cast Your glance of causeless mercy on me, so that my mind may worship You day
and night.
COMMENTARY
The word a-maya
indicates nonduplicity and an absence of illusion. In his commentary on the
Shrimad Bhagavatam (1.3.38), Shridhara Svamipada has explained that the word
amayaya means “without duplicity.” When a living entity is deceived, covered,
and thrown by the illusory energy, he develops desires for material enjoyment,
but when he surrenders unto the Supreme Lord, he is uncovered, undisturbed, and
freed from the desires for material enjoyment; this is Lord Krishna’s
nonduplicitous merciful glance. As a result of this merciful glance, a living
entity is able to constantly serve the Supreme Lord with a pure heart. The
author prays for such blessings in this verse.
CB Adi-khanda 4.3
TEXT 3
hena-mate prakasha haila gauracandra
shaci-grihe dine-dine badaye ananda
TRANSLATION
In this way Shri
Gaurachandra advented, and the happiness in the house of Shaci increased day by
day.
CB Adi-khanda 4.4
TEXT 4
putrera shri-mukha dekhi’ brahmani brahmana
ananda-sagare donhe bhase anukshana
TRANSLATION
Seeing their son’s
beautiful face, the brahmana couple constantly floated in an ocean of bliss.
COMMENTARY
The word brahmani
refers to Shacidevi, and the word brahmana refers to Jagannatha Mishra.
CB Adi-khanda 4.5
TEXT 5
bhaire dekhiya vishvarupa bhagavan
hasiya karena kole anandera dhama
TRANSLATION
When the most
powerful Vishvarupa would see His brother, the reservoir of pleasure, He would
smile and take Him on His lap.
CB Adi-khanda 4.6
TEXT 6
yata apta-varga ache sarva-parikare
ahar-nisha sabe thaki’ balake avare
TRANSLATION
All the relatives
and friends of the Lord’s family would gather around the child both day and
night.
COMMENTARY
The word avare
means “cover” or “protect by surrounding.”
CB Adi-khanda 4.7
TEXT 7
‘vishnu-raksha’ pade keha ‘devi-raksha’ pade
mantra padi’ ghara keha cari-dige vede
TRANSLATION
Some would recite
mantras invoking Lord Vishnu’s protection, and some would recite mantras
invoking goddess Durga’s protection. Others would chant mantras while
circumambulating the house.
COMMENTARY
The word
vishnu-raksha indicates the chanting of prayers to Vishnu, who destroys all
dangers, for protecting the child. The word devi-raksha indicates the chanting
of prayers to Durga for protecting the child. The word vede means “go around.”
CB Adi-khanda 4.8
TEXT 8
tavat kandena prabhu kamala-locana
hari-nama shunile rahena tata-kshana
TRANSLATION
Whenever the
lotus-eyed Lord cried, He would stop only upon hearing the chanting of the
names of Hari.
COMMENTARY
The word rahena
means “to halt” or “to stop.” (This verb is used in Bangladesh even today.)
CB Adi-khanda 4.9
TEXT 9
parama sanketa ei sabe bujhilena
kandilei hari-nama sabei layena
TRANSLATION
As everyone came
to understand this great mystery, they would all begin to chant the names of
Hari whenever the Lord cried.
COMMENTARY
Everyone
understood that if they did not chant the names of Hari, the Lord would
continue crying, and if they would chant the names of Hari, the Lord would stop
crying. Therefore they would chant the names of Hari before the Lord. Later,
Mahaprabhu clearly explained the symptoms of a maha-bhagavata, or exalted
devotee, to Ramananda Vasu as follows:
yanhara darshane mukhe aise krishna-nama
tanhare janiha tumi ‘vaishnava-pradhana’
“Shri Chaitanya
Mahaprabhu said: A first-class Vaishnava is he whose very presence makes others
chant the holy name of Krishna.”
CB Adi-khanda 4.10
TEXT 10
sarva-loke avariya thake sarva-kshana
kautuka karaye ye rasika deva-gana
TRANSLATION
While the Lord was
constantly surrounded by people, some mischievous demigods played pranks on
them.
COMMENTARY
Lord Gaurahari
desired to be always surrounded by many people. From His childhood the Lord
inaugurated the sacrifice of chanting the names of Krishna in the company of
many people. Although the Lord destroys all dangers, lamentation, and
fearfulness and awards immortality, the mischievous demigods found that His
relatives who resided nearby and always stayed by His side were fearful, so in
order to have some fun they scared them further.
CB Adi-khanda 4.11
TEXT 11
kona deva alakshite grihete sambhaya
chaya dekhi’ sabe bole,-’ei cora yaya’
TRANSLATION
One of them
secretly entered the Lord’s house, and when the people saw his shadow, they
exclaimed, “There goes a thief!”
COMMENTARY
The word sambhaya
means “to enter.”
CB Adi-khanda 4.12
TEXT 12
‘narasimha’ ‘narasimha’ keha kare dhvani
‘aparajitara stotra’ karo mukhe shuni
TRANSLATION
Someone chanted,
“Nrisimha! Nrisimha!” and someone offered prayers to Aparajita, goddess Durga.
COMMENTARY
It was a common
practice at that time to chant the name of Nrisimha in order to be delivered
from danger. People who were attached to the worship of Durga, however, chanted
prayers to goddess Aparajita.
CB Adi-khanda 4.13
TEXT 13
nana-mantre keha dasha dik bandha kare
uthila parama kalarava shaci-ghare
TRANSLATION
Someone else would
protect the ten directions by mantra. In this way a commotion arose in the
house of mother Shaci.
COMMENTARY
The process of
protecting the ten directions with mantras in order to stop any danger from
entering was also current.
CB Adi-khanda 4.14
TEXT 14
prabhu dekhi’ grihera bahire deva yaya
sabe bole,-’ei-mata ase o palaya’
TRANSLATION
As the demigod
left the house after seeing the Lord, everyone exclaimed, “There he goes!”
COMMENTARY
Another reading
for the second line is sabe bole, ei jata-harni palaya-“Everyone exclaimed,
‘There goes that witch!’”
CB Adi-khanda 4.15
TEXT 15
keha bole,-’dhara, dhara, ei cora yaya’
‘nrisimha’ ‘nrisimha’ keha dakaye sadaya
TRANSLATION
Someone said,
“Catch him! Catch him! There goes the thief!” Someone else repeatedly chanted,
“Nrisimha! Nrisimha!”
CB Adi-khanda 4.16
TEXT 16
kona ojha bole,-’aji edaili bhala
na janis nrisimhera pratapa vishala’
TRANSLATION
One exorcist said,
“You are lucky you escaped today. You don’t know the great power of Lord
Nrisimhadeva!”
COMMENTARY
The word ojha is a
corruption of the name Upadhyaya. People with such a name are generally
physicians expert in chanting mantras to treat those suffering from ghosts,
evil spirits, and snake bites. The great potency of the Nrisimha-mantra is
fierce and unbearable for ghosts, evil spirits, and apparitions.
CB Adi-khanda 4.17
TEXT 17
seikhane thaki’ deva hase alakshite
paripurna haila maseka ei-mate
TRANSLATION
The demigods who
were secretly standing there watching everything began to laugh, and in this
way one month passed.
CB Adi-khanda 4.18
TEXT 18
balaka-utthana-parve yata nari-gana
shaci-sange ganga-snane karila gamana
TRANSLATION
On the occasion of
the child’s coming out of the maternity room, the ladies accompanied Shacidevi
for bath in the Ganges.
COMMENTARY
The term
balaka-utthana-parve refers to the occasion when a child is brought out of the
maternity room. In ancient times the mother had to remain in the maternity room
for four months after the child was born. This occasion is also known as
surya-darshana-samskara, or seeing the sun for the first time. It has now been
established that after childbirth, brahmana mothers are contaminated for 21
days and shudras mothers are contaminated for one month. At the time of Shriman
Mahaprabhu the period of contamination for the mother of a newborn child was
one month, as confirmed in verse 17: paripurna haila maseka ei-mate-“in this
way one month passed.” Later on, Sati Ma, the wife of one Ramasharana Pala (of
the aula-sahajiya sect) came out of the maternity room right after giving
childbirth on the grounds that the child was gifted by Lord Hari.
CB Adi-khanda 4.19
TEXT 19
vadya-gita-kolahale kari’ ganga-snana
age ganga puji’ tabe gela ‘shashthi-sthana’
TRANSLATION
As they went for
bath, they sang and played musical instruments. They first worshiped the
Ganges, and then they went to worship Shashthi.
COMMENTARY
Shashthi is an
imaginary village goddess. This imaginary village goddess is worshiped in order
to ensure that the child would not die early but would live up to sixty years.
People say that goddess Shashthi is to be worshiped on the sixth day after a
child is born. This is part of the nishkramana-samskara, the occasion of coming
out of the maternity room. The word shashthi-sthana refers to the place beneath
either a peepal tree or a banyan tree where goddess Shashthi is seated on a cat
and holding a newborn child on her lap.
CB Adi-khanda 4.20
TEXT 20
yatha-vidhi puji’ saba devera carana
ailena grihe paripurna nari-gana
TRANSLATION
After properly
worshiping the feet of all the gods, the ladies returned home feeling
satisfied.
COMMENTARY
Worshiping the
feet of ordinary demigods is a mundane practice that is also called idol
worship. According to the monist philosophy, this is the method of worshiping
the Absolute Truth with qualities (saguna). According to the unalloyed devotees
of Vishnu, however, all the demigods and demigoddesses are constitutionally
servants of Lord Vishnu and part and parcel of Vishnu. Their eternal occupation
is to serve Lord Vishnu.
CB Adi-khanda 4.21
TEXT 21
khai, kala, taila, sindura, guya, pana
sabare dilena ai kariya samana
TRANSLATION
Mother Shaci then
respectfully distributed roasted paddy, bananas, mustard oil, vermilion, betel
nut, and pan to the ladies.
COMMENTARY
The word ai is a
corruption of the word arya (an address for an Aryan’s mother) and is used throughout
this book as an address for mother Shaci.
CB Adi-khanda 4.22
TEXT 22
balakere ashishiya sarva-nari-gana
calilena grihe, vandi’ aira carana
TRANSLATION
All the ladies
then blessed the child, offered obeisances to mother Shaci, and departed for
their respective homes.
CB Adi-khanda 4.23
TEXT 23
hena mate vaise prabhu apana-lilaya
ke tane janite pare, yadi na janaya
TRANSLATION
In this way the
Lord performed His pastimes. Who can understand them, unless they are inspired
by the Lord?
CB Adi-khanda 4.24
TEXT 24
karaite cahe prabhu apana-kirtana
etad arthe kare prabhu saghane rodana
TRANSLATION
The Lord wanted
everyone to chant His holy names, so He cried frequently.
CB Adi-khanda 4.25
TEXT 25
yata yata prabodha karaye nari-gana
prabhu punah punah kari’ karaye krandana
TRANSLATION
The more the
ladies tried to pacify the Lord, the more He would cry.
CB Adi-khanda 4.26
TEXT 26
‘hari hari’ bali’ yadi dake sarva-jane
tabe prabhu hasi’ ca’na shri-candra-vadane
TRANSLATION
But as soon as
they chanted the name of Hari, the Lord would smile and look at them with His
moonlike face.
CB Adi-khanda 4.27
TEXT 27
janiya prabhura citta sarva-jana meli’
sadai balena ‘hari’ diya karatali
TRANSLATION
Knowing the heart
of the Lord, everyone continually chanted the name of Hari while clapping their
hands.
CB Adi-khanda 4.28
TEXT 28
anande karaye sabe hari-sankirtana
hari-name purna haila shacira bhavana
TRANSLATION
Everyone happily
performed congregational chanting of the name of Hari, and thus Shaci’s house
became filled with the sound of the holy name of Hari.
CB Adi-khanda 4.29
TEXT 29
ei-mata vaise prabhu jagannatha-ghare
gupta-bhave gopalera praya keli kare
TRANSLATION
As the Lord
resided in the house of Jagannatha Mishra, He secretly performed pastimes
similar to those of Gopala Krishna.
COMMENTARY
The phrase
gopalera praya means “like the son of Nanda, the king of the cowherd men.”
CB Adi-khanda 4.30-31
TEXTS 30-31
ye samaya, yakhana na thake keha ghare
ye-kichu thakaye ghare, sakala vithare
vithariya sakala phelaya cari-bhite
sarva-ghara bhare taila, dugdha, ghola, ghrite
TRANSLATION
Whenever there was
no one home, the Lord would scatter things here and there and then pour oil,
milk, buttermilk, and ghee on the floor.
COMMENTARY
The word vithare
is a corruption of the word vistara, or “scattered here and there.” The word
bhite is a corruption of the word bhitti, which means “direction.”
CB Adi-khanda 4.32
TEXT 32
‘janani aise’,-hena janiya apane
shayane achena prabhu, karena rodane
TRANSLATION
When He understood
that His mother was coming, He would lie down and begin to cry.
CB Adi-khanda 4.33
TEXT 33
‘hari hari’ baliya santvana kare ma’ya
ghare dekhe, saba dravya gadagadi yaya
TRANSLATION
In order to pacify
the crying child, mother Shaci would chant the name of Hari. Then she noticed
the big mess in the room and inquired.
CB Adi-khanda 4.34
TEXT 34
‘ke phelila sarva-grihe dhanya, calu, mugda?’
bhandera sahita dekhe bhanga dadhi dugdha
TRANSLATION
“Who has scattered
this paddy, rice, and dal all over the house?” She also noticed that the pots
of yogurt and milk had been broken.
COMMENTARY
The word calu
means “rice.”
CB Adi-khanda 4.35
TEXT 35
sabe cari-masera balaka ache ghare
‘ke phelila?’-hena keha bujhite na pare
TRANSLATION
No one could
understand who had scattered everything about. There was only the
four-month-old child at home.
CB Adi-khanda 4.36
TEXT 36
saba parijana asi’ milila tathaya
manushyera cihna-matra keha nahi paya
TRANSLATION
All the relatives
came there, but they were also unable to find a trace of who had done it.
CB Adi-khanda 4.37
TEXT 37
keha bole,-’danava asiyachila ghare
‘raksha lagi’ shishure narila langhibare
TRANSLATION
Someone said,
“Some demon must have come, but he was unable to attack the child due to the
protective mantras.
COMMENTARY
The word danava
refers to the offspring of Danu, the wife of Kashyapa. The words raksha lagi
means “by the influence of protective mantras and kavacas (amulets),” which the
Lord enjoyed. The word narila means “could not.” The word langhibare means “to
attack or commit violence.”
CB Adi-khanda 4.38
TEXT 38
shishu langhibare na paiya krodha-mane
apacaya kari’ palaila nija-sthane’
TRANSLATION
“Being unable to
harm the child, he angrily made this mess and then fled away.”
COMMENTARY
The word apacaya
means “loss” or “destruction.”
CB Adi-khanda 4.39
TEXT 39
mishra-jagannatha dekhi’ citte bada dhanda
‘daiva’ hena jani’ kichu na balila manda
TRANSLATION
Jagannatha Mishra
was very astonished to see the mess, but considering that it was an act of
providence, he remained silent.
COMMENTARY
The word dhanda is
derived from the Hindi word dhanda, which means “doubt,” “perplexed,”
“diversion of intelligence,” “madness,” “suspicion,” “problem,” “surprise,” and
“complication.” The phrase daiva hena refers to an incident caused by
providence.
CB Adi-khanda 4.40
TEXT 40
daive apacaya dekhi’ dui-jane cahe
balake dekhiya kona duhkha nahi rahe
TRANSLATION
In spite of the
great wastage, Shaci and Jagannatha forgot all their distress when they looked
at the face of their son.
CB Adi-khanda 4.41
TEXT 41
ei-mata prati-dina karena kautuka
nama-karanera kala haila sammukha
TRANSLATION
In this way the
Lord daily performed some mischief, and then the time for His name-giving
ceremony arrived.
COMMENTARY
The word
nama-karana refers to one of the ten purificatory processes.
CB Adi-khanda 4.42
TEXT 42
nilambara-cakravarti-adi vidyavan
sarva-bandhu-ganera haila upasthana
TRANSLATION
All the learned
persons headed by Nilambara Cakravarti as well as all friends and relatives
came for the ceremony.
COMMENTARY
The word upasthana
means “present” or “assembled.”
CB Adi-khanda 4.43
TEXT 43
milila vistara asi’ pati-vrata-gana
lakshmi-praya-dipta sabe sindura-bhushana
TRANSLATION
Many chaste women,
who were decorated with vermilion and as effulgent as Lakshmi, came for the
ceremony.
COMMENTARY
The term
lakshmi-praya refers to a chaste lady or a chaste wife decorated with
vermilion.
CB Adi-khanda 4.44
TEXT 44
nama thuibare sabe karena vicara
stri-gana bolaye eka, anye bole ara
TRANSLATION
Everyone
considered what name should be given. The women suggested one name, and others
suggested another name.
COMMENTARY
The word thuibare
means “to keep” and is derived from the Bangladesh word thoya.
CB Adi-khanda 4.45
TEXT 45
‘ihana aneka jyeshtha kanya-putra nai
shesha ye janmaye, tara nama se ‘nimai’
TRANSLATION
The ladies said, “Since
you have lost many daughters, this last born child should be named Nimai.”
COMMENTARY
The Lord had many
sisters who took birth and died prematurely before His advent, therefore the
Lord was named Nimai so that He would not also die prematurely.
CB Adi-khanda 4.46
TEXT 46
balena vidvan saba kariya vicara
eka nama yogya haya thuite ihara
TRANSLATION
After due
consideration, the learned scholars there suggested an appropriate name for the
child.
CB Adi-khanda 4.47
TEXT 47
e shishu janmile matra sarva-deshe-deshe
durbhiksha ghucila, vrishti paila krishake
TRANSLATION
They said, “Since
this child was born, all the surrounding provinces have been devoid of famine
and the farmers have had sufficient rains.
COMMENTARY
After careful
consideration the expert learned persons named the child Vishvambhara. Since
the birth of this child, His mercy has produced rains from the cloud of pure
devotional service that have showered on the living entities’ hearts, which are
compared to the farmers’ fields, burning from the threefold miseries. Thus the
seed of devotional service to Krishna has fructified and grown, and the absence
of glorification of Lord Krishna has now been completely eradicated.
CB Adi-khanda 4.48
TEXT 48
jagat haila sustha ihana janame
purve yena prithivi dharila narayane
TRANSLATION
“Just as Lord
Narayana previously delivered the earth, the entire world has become prosperous
since the time of His birth.
COMMENTARY
Previously, when
the earth was submerged in the water, Lord Narayana, in His incarnation as
Varaha, delivered and maintained the earth and thus became known as
Vishvambhara. Then again, prior to the incarnation of Hayagriva, the science of
the Absolute Truth was lost to this world, thus the Vedic literature was merged
in the water. Lord Shri Hayagriva then killed the material knowledge and
natural science of the demons Madhu and Kaitabha and in this way displayed the
glories of Vedic knowledge. For this reason He is also known as Vishvambhara.
Whenever the demigods and human beings are harassed by the demons, various
incarnations of Lord Narayana appear in this world to protect and maintain the
universe. Such incarnations are therefore also known as Vishvambhara. Since
this boy will also protect and maintain the universe just like the incarnations
of Vishnu, the name Vishvambhara is appropriate for Him. After considering in
this way, the learned scholars selected the name Vishvambhara for the Lord. Due
to His advent and the influence of chanting and hearing the names of Krishna,
people who had forgotten their constitutional position and become afflicted
with unwanted habits have gotten relief; that is, they have become situated in
their constitutional position, or attained the goal of life.
CB Adi-khanda 4.49
TEXT 49
ataeva ihana ‘shri-vishvambhara’-nama
kula-dipa koshthiteo likhila ihana
TRANSLATION
“Therefore this
child should be named Shri Vishvambhara. This name is also given in His
horoscope.
COMMENTARY
From the
calculation of Vishvambhara’s horoscope, it is also understood that He is the
Supreme Personality of Godhead and the original source of all other Vishnu
incarnations.
CB Adi-khanda 4.50
TEXT 50
‘nimai’ ye balilena pati-vrata-gana
sei nama ‘dvitiya’ dakibe sarva-jana
TRANSLATION
“The name Nimai
suggested by the chaste ladies will be His second name.”
COMMENTARY
The name
Vishvambhara given to the Lord by the learned scholars is His primary name, and
the name Nimai given by the chaste ladies is His secondary name. From today
people will first address Him as Vishvambhara and then as Nimai.
Commentary and Chapter Summaries of His Divine Grace
Om Vishnupada Paramahamsa Parivrajakacarya Shri Shrimad Bhaktisiddhanta
Sarasvati Gosvami Prabhupada.