Song 13

(Paṭha-mañjarī rāga)

442. In their hearts Mother Śacī and Father Jagannātha Miśra thought: "Nine hours have passed. Why has our son not returned?" Jagannātha Miśra searched for Him. He went to every house, but he did not find His son.

443. From person to person, from ear to ear, the news circulated: Viśvarūpa accepted sannyāsa. The news went to you and also to me. Finally hearing it himself, Father Jagannātha Miśra fell unconscious.

444. When Śacī-devī heard it, she also fell unconscious to the ground. For them a blinding darkness covered the three worlds. "Viśvarūpa!", Śacī called out. "Son, come back. We want to gaze on You. Why did You leave home and accept sannyāsa?

445. "Your limbs are so beautiful! Your feet are so beautiful! How can You travel on long journeys, walking on the roads? You cannot let even three hours pass without eating. Now You will not find even a single sesame seed. Before whom will You place Your requests now?

446. "Now that my son has gone there is no peace in my heart. Moment after moment I yearn for His return. When I go to bathe, I am not peaceful. I think: My Viśvarūpa may return.

447. "When You call out, ‘Mother!’, that sound is more dear to me than millions and millions of treasures. When ī gaze at Your face I forget myself. What sufferings did You feel that now You throw fire at my face, that now You have become a povertystricken sannyāsī? I do not know.

448. "O father of Viśvarūpa, wherever Viśvarūpa went, go there. Go and bring my son home. Let the people say whatever they say. Bring my son back. Again I will arrange for His sacred-thread ceremony."

449. Then Jagannātha Miśra said: "O goddess, O queen Śacī, please listen. Please be peaceful at heart. Don’t lament any more. This whole material world is a lie. Viśvarūpa is a very exalted person.

450. "Good fortune has now come to our families. Viśvarūpa is a very good son. From childhood He was always a sannyāsī in spirit. Please give Him your blessings. Bless Him that He will be always steady on the spiritual path, that He will easily maintain His vow of sannyāsa.

451. "Listen. Don’t think in terms of calamity or good fortune. Don’t lament without reason. When a man accepts sannyāsa he delivers ten million of his kinsmen. Viśvarūpa is a jewel among men."

452. Hearing Jagannātha Miśra’s words, Śacī again said: "What did you say? Please say it again, O saintly one." Jagannātha Miśra repeated: "When a man accepts sannyāsa he delivers ten million of his family members. Therefore our son has done good."

453. In this way the two of them felt both grief and joy in their hearts. How can I describe their glories? Their good fortune has no end. They had Viśvarūpa as their son.

454. Murārī Gupta then said to Dāmodara Paṇḍita: Now you have heard the story of Viśvarūpa accepting sannyāsa. Repeating the conversation of those two, Locana dāsa sings this song glorifying Lord Viśvarūpa.

455. At that time Lord Viśvambhara sat on His mother’s lap. She gazed at her dear son’s face. He said: "Where did My brother go? Listen. Listen, O mother and father. I will protect you."

456. Hearing these words, Jagannātha Miśra and Śacī-ṛāṇī hugged their son. Gazing at Lord Viśvambhara’s face, they forgot all their sorrows. Locana dāsa recounts this story.