NITAAI-Veda.nyf > Compiled and Imp Scriptures > Chaitanya Bhagavata > Caitanya Bhagavata with Commentaries > Adi-khanda > 6-The Lord Begins Studying and His Childhood Mischief > Summary |
Chapter Six: The Lord
Begins Studying and His Childhood Mischief
This
chapter describes the beginning of Nimai’s scholastic pastimes, His eating the
foodstuffs offered to Vishnu on Ekadashi at the house of Jagadisha and Hiranya
Pandita, and His various mischievous childhood pastimes.
Shri
Jagannatha Mishra had Gaura-gopala’s samskaras, or reformatory rites, of hate-khadi,
karna-vedha, and cuda-karana performed. Nimai could write the letters of the
alphabet just by seeing them once. Within two or three days He was able to
write conjunct letters and words. He would continually read and write Krishna’s
names. Sometimes Gaura-gopala pleaded for His parents to give Him birds flying
in the sky or the stars and moon from the sky. When He did not receive these
things, He began to cry. Then there was no way to solace the child other than
by chanting the names of Hari. One day, however, Nimai did not stop crying in
spite of everyone repeatedly chanting the names of Hari. When they inquired
from Nimai about the cause of His crying, they learned that Nimai was
displaying His pastime of crying in order to eat the foodstuffs offered to
Vishnu on the day of Ekadashi in the house of the two brahmanas, Jagadisha and
Hiranya Pandita, of Navadvipa. The relatives of Nimai solaced Him by promising
Him Vishnu’s remnants. They then went to the house of those two great devotees
and related to them the whole story. Considering Nimai an extraordinary
personality, the two brahmanas then gave Him the foods that they had offered to
Vishnu. As a result Nimai stopped crying. Nimai exhibited various mischievous
pastimes like teasing His friends, quarreling with them, and sporting in the
Ganges water at midday. The elderly men of Navadvipa regularly came to
Jagannatha Mishra to complain about Nimai’s misbehavior, and the young girls
would similarly come to mother Shaci to complain about Nimai’s various
mischievous activities. Shacidevi, however, solaced everyone with her sweet
words. After hearing about the disturbance caused by Nimai, Jagannatha Mishra
went to the bank of the Ganges at midday to appropriately punish his son. When
Nimai heard that His father was approaching in an angry mood, He rushed home by
another path. He told His friends that if His father inquired about Him, they
should say, “Today Nimai has not come for bathing in the Ganges.” When
Jagannatha Mishra did not see Nimai at the bathing ghata, he returned home,
where he saw Nimai decorated with marks of ink and looking as though He had not
taken bath. Jagannatha Mishra was overwhelmed with love and could not
understand the boy’s trickery. When he asked the boy about the complaints, the young
Nimai replied, “I did not go to bathe in the Ganges yet, but they nevertheless
falsely accuse Me of misbehavior. So now I will actually misbehave with them.”
In this way Nimai exhibited His clever pastimes and returned to bath in the
Ganges. Meanwhile, Shaci and Jagannatha thought, “Who is this boy? Has Krishna
secretly appeared in our house?”