Lord Caitanya Childhood Pastimes Reveal His Divine Mission

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Chanting Cc Ādi-līlā 14th Chapter, Verses 1–97 — July 14, 1974, Los Angeles 740714CH-LOS ANGELES [16:48 Minutes] Chanting Cc-Adi-14th Ch_740714CH-LOS ANGELES Lord Caitanya’s Childhood Pastimes Prabhupāda: Ādi-līlā 14th Chapter TEXT 1 kathañcana smṛte yasmin duṣkaraṁ sukaraṁ bhavet vismṛte viparītaṁ syāt śrī-caitanyaṁ namāmi tamc Things that are very difficult to do become easy to execute if one somehow or other simply remembers Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. But if one does not remember Him, even easy things become very difficult. To this Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu I offer my respectful obeisances. TEXT 2 jaya jaya śrī-caitanya, jaya nityānanda jayādvaitacandra, jaya gaura-bhakta-vṛnda All glories to Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Nityānanda Prabhu, Advaita Prabhu and all the devotees of Lord Caitanya! TEXT 3 prabhura kahila ei janmalīlā-sūtra yaśodā-nandana yaiche haila śacī-putra I have thus described in brief the advent of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, who appeared as the son of mother Śacī exactly as Kṛṣṇa appeared as the son of Mother Yaśodā. TEXT 4 saṅkṣepe kahila janmalīlā-anukrama ebe kahi bālyalīlā-sūtrera gaṇana I have already briefly spoken about the pastimes of His birth in chronological order. Now I shall give a synopsis of His childhood pastimes. TEXT 5 vande caitanya-kṛṣṇasya bālya-līlāṁ mano-harām laukikīm api tām īśaceṣṭayā valitāntarām Let me offer my respectful obeisances unto the childhood pastimes of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, who is Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself.

Although such pastimes appear exactly like those of an ordinary child, they should be understood as various pastimes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. TEXT 6 bālya-līlāya āge prabhura uttāna śayana pitā-mātāya dekhāila cihna caraṇa In His first childhood pastimes the Lord turned upside down while lying on His bed, and thus He showed His parents the marks of His lotus feet. TEXT 7 gṛhe dui jana dekhi laghupada-cihna tāhe śobhe dhvaja, vajra, śaṅkha, cakra, mīna When the Lord tried to walk, in His small footprints the specific marks of Lord Viṣṇu were visible, namely the flag, thunderbolt, conchshell, disc and fish. TEXT 8 dekhiyā doṭhāra citte janmila vismaya kāra pada-cihna ghare, nā pāya niścaya Seeing all these marks, neither His father nor His mother could understand whose footprints they were. Thus struck with wonder, they could not understand how those marks could be possible in their home. TEXT 9 miśra kahe,—bālagopāla āche śilā-saṅge teṭho mūrti hañā ghare khele, jāni, raṅge Jagannātha Miśra said, “Certainly child Kṛṣṇa is with the śālagrāma-śilā. Taking His childhood form, He is playing within the room.” TEXT 10 sei kṣaṇe jāgi’ nimāi karaye krandana aṅke lañā śacī tāṭre piyāila stana While mother Śacī and Jagannātha Miśra were talking, child Nimāi woke up and began to cry, and mother Śacī took Him on her lap and allowed Him to suck her breast. TEXT 11 stana piyāite putrera caraṇa dekhila sei cihna pāye dekhi’ miśre bolāila While mother Śacī was feeding the child from her breast, she saw on His lotus feet all the marks that were visible on the floor of the room, and she called for Jagannātha Miśra. TEXT 12 dekhiyā miśrera ha-ila ānandita mati gupte bolāila nīlāmbara cakravartī When Jagannātha Miśra saw the wonderful marks on the sole of his son, he became very joyful and privately called for Nīlāmbara Cakravartī. TEXT 13 cihna dekhi’ cakravartī balena hāsiyā lagna gaṇi’ pūrve āmi rākhiyāchi likhiyā When Nīlāmbara Cakravartī saw those marks, he smilingly said, “Formerly I ascertained all this by astrological calculation and noted it in writing. TEXT 14 batriśa lakṣaṇa—mahāpuruṣa-bhūṣaṇa ei śiśu aṅge dekhi se saba lakṣaṇa “There are thirty-two bodily marks that symptomize a great personality, and I see all those marks on the body of this child. TEXT 15 pañca-dīrghaḥ pañca-sūkṣmaḥ sapta-raktaḥ ṣaḍ-unnataḥ tri-hrasva-pṛthu-gambhīro dvātriṁśal-lakṣaṇo mahān “‘There are thirty-two bodily symptoms of a great personality: five of his bodily parts are large, five fine, seven reddish, six raised, three small, three broad and three grave.’ TEXT 16 nārāyaṇera cihna-yukta śrī-hasta caraṇa ei śiśu sarva loke karibe tāraṇa “This baby has all the symptoms of Lord Nārāyaṇa on His palms and soles. He will be able to deliver all the three worlds. TEXT 17 ei ta’ karibe vaiṣṇava-dharmera pracāra ihā haite habe dui kulera nistāra “This child will preach the Vaiṣṇava cult and deliver both His maternal and paternal families. TEXT 18 mahotsava kara, saba bolāha brāhmaṇa āji dina bhāla,—kariba nāma-karaṇa “I propose to perform a name-giving ceremony.

We should observe a festival and call for the brāhmaṇas because today is very auspicious. TEXT 19 sarva-lokera karibe ihaṭ dhāraṇa, poṣaṇa ‘viśvambhara’ nāma ihāra,—ei ta’ kāraṇa “In the future this child will protect and maintain all the world. For this reason He is to be called Viśvambhara.” TEXT 20 śuni’ śacī-miśrera mane ānanda bāḍila brāhmaṇa-brāhmaṇī āni’ mahotsava kaila After hearing Nīlāmbara Cakravartī’s prediction, Śacīmātā and Jagannātha Miśra observed the name-giving festival in great joy, inviting all the brāhmaṇas and their wives. TEXT 21 tabe kata dine prabhura jānu-caṅkramaṇa nānā camatkāra tathā karāila darśana After some days the Lord began to crawl on His knees, and He caused various wonderful things to be seen. TEXT 22 krandanera chale balāila hari-nāma nārī saba ‘hari’ bale,—hāse gaura-dhāma The Lord caused all the ladies to chant the holy names of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra on the plea of His crying, and while they chanted the Lord would smile. TEXT 23 tabe kata dine kaila pada-caṅkramaṇa śiśu-gaṇe mili’ kaila vividha khelana After some days the Lord began to move His legs and walk. He mixed with other children and exhibited various sports. TEXT 24 ekadina śacī kha-i-sandeśa āniyā bāṭā bhari’ diyā baila,—khāo ta’ basiyā One day while the Lord was enjoying His playful sports with the other little children, mother Śacī brought a dish filled with fused rice and sweetmeats and asked the child to sit down and eat them. TEXT 25 eta bali’ gelā śacī gṛhe karma karite lukāñā lāgilā śiśu mṛttikā khāite But when she returned to her household duties, the child hid from His mother and began to eat dirt. TEXT 26 dekhi’ śacī dhāñā āilā kari’ ‘hāya, hāya’ māṭi kāḍi’ lañā kahe ‘māṭi kene khāya’ Seeing this, mother Śacī hastily returned and exclaimed, “What is this! What is this!” She snatched the dirt from the hands of the Lord and inquired why He was eating it. TEXT 27 kāndiyā balena śiśu,—kene kara roṣa tumi māṭi khāite dile, mora kibā doṣa Crying, the child inquired from His mother, “Why are you angry?

You have already given Me dirt to eat. What is My fault? TEXT 28 kha-i-sandeśa-anna yateka—māṭira vikāra eho māṭi, seha māṭi, ki bheda-vicāra “Fused rice, sweetmeats and all other eatables are but transformations of dirt. This is dirt, that is dirt. Please consider.

What is the difference between them? TEXT 29 māṭi—deha, māṭi—bhakṣya, dekhaha vicāri’ avicāre deha doṣa, ki balite pāri “This body is a transformation of dirt, and the eatables are also a transformation of dirt. Please reflect upon this. You are blaming Me without consideration. What can I say?” TEXT 30 antare vismita śacī balila tāhāre “māṭi khāite jñāna-yoga ke śikhāla tore Astonished that the child was speaking Māyāvāda philosophy, mother Śacī replied, “Who has taught You this philosophical speculation that justifies eating dirt?” TEXT 31 māṭira vikāra anna khāile deha-puṣṭi haya māṭi khāile roga haya, deha yāya kṣaya Replying to the Māyāvāda idea of the child philosopher, mother Śacī said, “My dear boy, if we eat earth transformed into grain, our body is nourished, and it becomes strong.

But if we eat dirt in its crude state, the body becomes diseased instead of nourished, and thus it is destroyed. TEXT 32 māṭira vikāra ghaṭe pāni bhari’ āni māṭi-piṇḍe dhari yabe, śoṣi’ yāya pāni” “In a waterpot, which is a transformation of dirt, I can bring water very easily. But if I poured water on a lump of dirt, the lump would soak up the water, and my labor would be useless.” TEXT 33 ātma lukāite prabhu balilā tāṭhāre “āge kena ihā, mātā, nā śikhāle more The Lord replied to His mother, “Why did you conceal self-realization by not teaching Me this practical philosophy in the beginning? TEXT 34 ebe se jānilāṭ, āra māṭi nā khāiba kṣudhā lāge yabe, tabe tomāra stana piba” “Now that I can understand this philosophy, no more shall I eat dirt. 9 Whenever I am hungry I shall suck your breast and drink your breast milk.” TEXT 35 eta bali’ jananīra kolete caḍiyā stana pāna kare prabhu īṣat hāsiyā After saying this, the Lord, smiling slightly, climbed on the lap of His mother and sucked her breast. TEXT 36 eimate nānā-chale aiśvarya dekhāya bālya-bhāva prakaṭiyā paścāt lukāya Thus under various excuses the Lord exhibited His opulences as much as possible in His childhood, and later, after exhibiting such opulences, He hid Himself. TEXT 37 atithi-viprera anna khāila tina-bāra pāche gupte sei vipre karila nistāra On one occasion the Lord ate the food of a brāhmaṇa guest three times, and later, in confidence, the Lord delivered that brāhmaṇa from material engagement. TEXT 38 core lañā gela prabhuke bāhire pāiyā tāra skandhe caḍi’ āilā tāre bhulāiyā In His childhood the Lord was taken away by two thieves outside His home. The Lord, however, got up on the shoulders of the thieves, and while they were thinking they were safely carrying the child to rob His ornaments, the Lord misled them, and thus instead of going to their own home the thieves came back to the home of Jagannātha Miśra. TEXT 39 vyādhi-chale jagadīśa-hiraṇya-sadane viṣṇu-naivedya khāila ekādaśī-dine Pretending to be sick, the Lord asked some food from the house of Hiraṇya and Jagadīśa on the Ekādaśī day. TEXT 40 śiśu saba laye pāḍā-paḍasīra ghare curi kari’ dravya khāya māre bālakere As usual for small children, He learned to play, and with His playmates He went to the houses of neighboring friends, stealing their eatables and eating them. Sometimes the children fought among themselves. TEXT 41 śiśu saba śacī-sthāne kaila nivedana śuni’ śacī putre kichu dilā olāhana All the children lodged complaints with Śacīmātā about the Lord’s fighting with them and stealing from the neighbors’ houses.

Therefore sometimes she used to chastise or rebuke her son. TEXT 42 “kene curi kara, kene māraha śiśure kene para-ghare yāha, kibā nāhi ghare” Śacīmātā said, “Why do You steal others’ things? Why do You beat the other children? And why do You go inside others’ houses? What do You not have in Your own house?” TEXT 43 śuni’ kruddha hañā prabhu ghara-bhitara yāñā ghare yata bhāṇḍa chila, phelila bhāṅgiyā Thus rebuked by His mother, he Lord would go in anger to a room and break all the pots within it. TEXT 44 tabe śacī kole kari’ karāila santoṣa lajjita ha-ilā prabhu jāni’ nija-doṣa Then Śacīmātā would take her son on her lap and pacify Him, and the Lord would be very much ashamed, admitting His faults. TEXT 45 kabhu mṛdu-haste kaila mātāke tāḍana mātāke mūrcchitā dekhi’ karaye krandana Once the child, Caitanya Mahāprabhu, chastised His mother with His soft hand, and His mother pretended to faint.

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