Song 5

(Dhanaśī rāga)

Refrain: O! O! O! O! O! O! O! O! Please hear these songs of Lord Gaura’s glorious, songs full of wonderful stories, songs full of holy names auspicious for the ears!

125. Please carefully hear another story, a story of what happened on another day, a story of how Lord Gaura revealed His true identity.

126. In one room was Jagannātha Miśra, and in another room Śacī, her son in her arms, happily slept.

127. How many soldiers filled the empty room? Seeing them, Śacī was frightened.

128. From Śacī’s arms these demigods took Lord Gaura. They placed Him on a jewel throne.

129. They performed an abhiṣek and various kinds of worship. Then they circumambulated Lord Gaura, fell down before Him, and grasped His feet.

130. Again and again they sounded bells and conchsells. They made a great sound of "Jaya! Jaya Hari!

131. "Glory, Glory to the master of the worlds, the protector of the devotees! In Kalī-yuga You have come to rescue people like us.

132. "Please give us the nectar treasure of Vṛndāvana. O Lord Viśvambhara, this we beg at Your feet.

133. Again and again Śacī watched all this. She was shocked. "Son! Son!" She called. She was very afraid.

134. She was not afraid for herslef, but only for her son, who was her very life. She grabbed the boy and took Him to Jagannātha Miśra.

135. She said: "There are no demigods in the room where Your father sleeps. Go there and happily sleep in his arms."

136. On His mother’s words, Viśvambhara went there. Although He wore no anklets, Śacī heard the tinkling of anklets as He walked.

137. When Lord Gaura, the creat jewel of the demigods, left the room, all the demigods followed Him with folded hands.

138. Then Lord Gaura said: "Don’t stare at Me, O demigods. Sing the pastimes of Śrī Śrī Rādha. and Kṛṣṇa." That He said to them.

139. Gathering the demigods together, He made them sing about ecstatic love for Śrī Śrī Rādha.-Kṛṣṇa. Touching them, Lord Gauracandra filled them with bliss.

140. He wept and He made the demigods weep also. In the courtyard Lord Gaura called out: "Rādhā! Rādhā! Govinda!"

141. He called,out: "Kālindī! Yamunā! Vṛndāvana!" Then the demigods very joyfully called out: "Rādhā! Rādhā!"

142. Watching her son’s pastimes, Mother Śacī fell unconscious. Hearing all the noise, Jagannātha Miśra became agitated.

143. Jagannātha Miśra called out: "Śacī! What’s that noise I hear?" Frightened Śacī screamed.

144. Jagannātha ran outside. His son hugged both father and mother. Then, seeing his son’s feet had no anklets, Jagannātha forgot herself.

145. At that moment Lord Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes came into his thoughts. Then Śacī described what she had seen.

146. She said: "Brahmā, Śiva, and other demigods came here on celestial airplanes and served our son.

147. "Our son sang ‘Rādhā! Kṛṣṇa! while the demigods danced in our courtyard.I heard all this. I think it was like a dream.

148. "Seeing all this, I became afraid. Then I sent Him to you. His feet had no anklets. Still, I heard the tinkling of anklets as He walked.

149. "Our boy has such a glorious form. I don’t know what I should do.

150. "Seven of our daughters have died. If this boy leaves us I will not live any longer.

151. "I don’t have five or seven children. Nimāī is the star of my eye. As a walking stick is a blind man’s greatest treasure, He is my greatest treasure.

152. "As the body cannot live without the precious soul, so I cannot live without my Gauracandra.

153. "Please think of some way to protect Him from dangers, some way where the demigods, from first to last, all bring auspiciousness to Him."

154. In this way the night passed. Then the sun rose. Śacī’s son then went to play with the other boys.

155. For some moments rolling on the ground in the courtyard, He was covered with dust. Seeing this, unhappy Śacī said:

156. "Your glorious body is like a golden statue. I cannot compare it to anything. It is like the moon in the sky.

157. "Why do You roll Your beautiful body in the dust? That is like biting Your mother’s head."

158. After saying these words, Śacī washed the dust away and then kissed her son’s face. The hairs of her body stood erect. Her eyes were red.

159. On another day Śacī’s son went wandering with the other boys His age.

160. Under a tree by the Gaṅgā’s bank they played like monkeys. They stood on one foot.

161. Hearing of this, Śacī went to the Gaṅgā’s bank to get Lord Gaura-Hari.

162. With one knee up and the other knee down, He stood on one foot. Seeing this, Mother Śacī loudly called to Him.

163. Seeing His mother, Lord Gaura fled. Like a maddened elephant He ran.

164. "Catch Him! Catch Him!", Śacī called. My Lord, the jewel of the brāhmaṇas, continued to run.

165. Śacī pursued, but could not catch Him. Lord Gaura ran home.

166. Once home, He grabbed every pot and every vessel. He threw and broke every one.

167. She rested her finger on the side of her nose, Śacī wanted to punish Him. Lord Viśvambhara bowed His head in shame.

168. His whole body trembled in shame. As He bowed His head, tears streamed from His eyes.

169. His face was like the moon. His eyes were like restless khañjana birds. His tears were like strings of pearls.

170. Gazing at Lord Gaura’s face, Śacī became filled with love. Hugging Him, she said, "My bad boy."

171. Holding Him in her arms, Śacī said: "I must wash you of all these things from the house."

172. In this way Lord Gaura-Harī enjoyed many pastimes. Śacī had no power to understand her son’s mind.

173. The shoreless ocean of His pastimes is beyond the knowing the Vedas or of the world. Śacī had no power to understand His wild arrogance.

174. She knew her son Nimāī was very restless and mischievous. With an unhappy heart she meditated on the Supreme Lord.

175. One day, meeting with the other women, she placed before them a question and a request.

176. She said: "My son is very frivolous. He acts whimsically. He does not use His intelligence.

177. "He does one thing and says another. I have mo power to understand Him. He does not consider whether His actions are pure."

178. "Hearing this, the ladies sadly wept. Meeting Lord Gauracandra, they hugged him and said:

179. "Why, why, O child, do You act so badly?" Hearing these words, Lord Gaura became very restless and mischievous.

180. Seeing this, the ladies became sad at heart. They at once saw what Śacī had described.

181. The ladies asked, "When did He start to act like this?" Śacī said: "I don’t know what to say.

182. "One night, as I held my son in my arms, all the demigods entered my room.

183. "They placed my Nimāī on a throne. Falling like sticks, they bowed down before Him.

184. "Rising from sleep, I saw all these wonders. From that time my son has been very independent."

185. Hearing this, everyone truthfully said: "We think one of those demigods has entered His body.

186. "Assembling all the brāhmaṇas, Jagannātha Miśra should perform a yajña where all the demigods are called by name.

187. "In the part of the yajña where blessings are asked, he should ask blessings for his son. When the demigods are worshiped in this way, the demigod that now haunts your son will leave and return to his home.

188. "Śacī, don’t worry. This we say for certain: If you worship the demigods you will become fearless."

189. Taking the dust from their feet, Śacī bid farewell to the ladies. Then she approached Jagannātha Miśra and told him all that had happened.

190. Hearing all this, Jagannātha Miśra became worried. Calling all the brāhmaṇas, he performed the yajña.

191. Then Śacī took Lord Gauracandra for a bath in the Gaṅgā. She thought: "Now His mischievousness is ended."

192. Lord Viśvambhara went ahead and Śacī followed. She watched and watched as the Lord went to an unclean place.

193. He touched some rejected pots, and then continued on. Seeing this, Mother Śacī said: "Alas! Alas!

194. "Now my son is even more mischievous. He stays far away from good deeds."

195. Then she angrily called to Him: "Bad! Bad!" Hearing her words, Lord Viśvambhara compassionately said:

196. "What is pure and impure? What is religious and not religious? Not knowing the answers to these questions, the whole world is on the verge of destruction.

197. This material world is made of earth, water, air, fire, ether, and form. Here is nothing else.

198. There is no religion but Lord Kṛṣṇa’s feet. The heart of religion says: Lord Kṛṣṇa is thre master of all masters of all masters."

199. Hearing these words, Śacī became filled with wonder. Taking Lord Gaurāṅga with her, she bathed in the Gaṅgā.

200. Returning home, she said to Jagannātha Miśra: "O saintly one, please hear what our boy has done.

201. "Our son is all yajñas personified. He knows the conclusion of religion. He alone, and no one else, knows it.

202. "He went to an unclean place and then He spoke words I never saw or heard a child speak.

203. Hearing these words, Jagannātha Miśra hugged his son. He said: "Maybe You touched an unclean place, but all is good now.

204. "You are the lamp of my family, the star of my eye. As the body cannot live without the soul, so I cannot live without You."

205. When these words were spoken, Śacī and Jagannātha Miśra both gazed at their son’s face. Overcome with love, they forgot themselves.

206. A hundred streams of tears flowed from their reddened eyes. The hairs of their bodies stood erect. They spoken with broken words.

207. Smiles were born on both their faces. Locana dāsa thus happily sings thr glories of Lord Gaura.