Introduction to chapter 6

This chapter describes the beginning of Nimāi’s scholastic pastimes, His eating the foodstuffs offered to Viṣṇu on Ekādaśī at the house of Jagadīśa and Hiraṇya Paṇḍita, and His various mischievous childhood pastimes. Śrī Jagannātha Miśra had Gaura-gopāla’s saṃskāras, or reformatory rites, of hāte-khaḍi, karṇa-vedha, and cūḍā-karaṇa performed. Nimāi 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 Kṛṣṇa’s names. Sometimes Gaura-gopāla 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, Nimāi did not stop crying in spite of everyone repeatedly chanting the names of Hari. When they inquired from Nimāi about the cause of His crying, they learned that Nimāi was displaying His pastime of crying in order to eat the foodstuffs offered to Viṣṇu on the day of Ekādaśī in the house of the two brāhmaṇas, Jagadīśa and Hiraṇya Paṇḍita, of Navadvīpa. The relatives of Nimāi solaced Him by promising Him Viṣṇu’s remnants. They then went to the house of those two great devotees and related to them the whole story. Considering Nimāi an extraordinary personality, the two brāhmaṇas then gave Him the foods that they had offered to Viṣṇu. As a result Nimāi stopped crying. Nimāi exhibited various mischievous pastimes like teasing His friends, quarreling with them, and sporting in the Ganges water at midday. The elderly men of Navadvīpa regularly came to Jagannātha Miśra to complain about Nimāi’s misbehavior, and the young girls would similarly come to mother Śacī to complain about Nimāi’s various mischievous activities. Śacīdevī, however, solaced everyone with her sweet words. After hearing about the disturbance caused by Nimāi, Jagannātha Miśra went to the bank of the Ganges at midday to appropriately punish his son. When Nimāi 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 Nimāi has not come for bathing in the Ganges.” When Jagannātha Miśra did not see Nimāi at the bathing ghāṭa, he returned home, where he saw Nimāi decorated with marks of ink and looking as though He had not taken bath. Jagannātha Miśra was overwhelmed with love and could not understand the boy’s trickery. When he asked the boy about the complaints, the young Nimāi 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 Nimāi exhibited His clever pastimes and returned to bath in the Ganges. Meanwhile, Śacī and Jagannātha thought, “Who is this boy? Has Kṛṣṇa secretly appeared in our house?”