Sri Caitanya-caritamrta: Madhya-lila
by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

Chapter 5

The Activities of Saksi-gopala

Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura gives the following summary of the Fifth Chapter in his Amrta-pravaha-bhasya: After passing through Yajapura, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu reached the town of Kataka (Cuttak) and there went to see the temple of Saksi-gopala. While there, He heard the story of Saksi-gopala from the mouth of Sri Nityananda Prabhu.

Once there were two brahmanas, one elderly and the other young, who were inhabitants of a place known as Vidyanagara. After touring many places of pilgrimage, the two brahmanas finally reached Vrndavana. The elderly brahmana was very satisfied with the service of the young brahmana, and he wanted to offer him his youngest daughter in marriage. The young brahmana received the promise of his elder before the Gopala Deity of Vrndavana. Thus the Gopala Deity acted as a witness. When both brahmanas returned to Vidyanagara, the younger brahmana raised the question of this marriage, but the elderly brahmana, due to obligations to his friends and wife, answered that he could not remember his promise. Because of this, the younger brahmana returned to Vrndavana and narrated the whole story to Gopalaji. Thus Gopalaji, being obliged by the young man’s devotional service, accompanied him to southern India. Gopalaji followed the younger brahmana, who could hear the tinkling sound of Gopalaji’s ankle bells. When all the respectable gentlemen of Vidyanagara were assembled, Gopalaji testified to the promise of the elderly brahmana. Thus the marriage was performed. Later, the King of that country constructed a fine temple for Gopala.

Afterwards, King Purusottama of Orissa was insulted by the King of Kataka, who refused to give him his daughter in marriage and called him a sweeper of Lord Jagannatha. With the help of Lord Jagannatha, King Purusottama fought the King of Kataka and defeated him. Thus he took charge of both the King’s daughter and the state of Kataka as well. At that time, Gopalaji, being very much obligated by the devotional service of King Purusottama, was brought to the town of Kataka.

After hearing this narration, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu visited the temple of Gopala in great ecstasy of love of God. From Kataka He went to Bhuvanesvara and saw the temple of Lord Siva. In this way, He gradually arrived at Kamalapura, and on the banks of the Bhargi River He came to the temple of Lord Siva, where He entrusted His sannyasa staff to Nityananda Prabhu. However, Nityananda Prabhu broke the staff into three pieces and threw it into the Bhargi River at a place known as Atharanala. Being angry at not getting His staff back, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu left the company of Nityananda Prabhu and went alone to see the Jagannatha temple.

Madhya5.1

TEXT 1

padbhyam calan yah pratima-svarupo

brahmanya-devo hi sataha-gamyam

desam yayau vipra-krte ’dbhuteham

tam saksi-gopalam aham nato ’smi

SYNONYMS

padbhyam—by the two legs; calan—walking; yah—one who; pratima—of the Deity; svarupah—in the form; brahmanya-devah—the Supreme Lord of brahminical culture; hi—certainly; sata-aha—in one hundred days; gamyam—to be passed over; desam—the country; yayau—went; vipra-krte—for the benefit of a brahmana; adbhuta—most wonderful; iham—activity; tam—unto that; saksi-gopalam—the Gopala known as the witness Gopala; aham—I; natah asmi—offer respectful obeisances.

TRANSLATION

I offer my respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Personality of God [brahmanya-deva], who appeared as Saksi-gopala to benefit a brahmana. For one hundred days He traveled through the country, walking on His own legs. Thus His activities are wonderful.

Madhya5.2

TEXT 2

jaya jaya sri-caitanya jaya nityananda

jayadvaitacandra jaya gaura-bhakta-vrnda

SYNONYMS

jaya—all glories; jaya—all glories; sri-caitanya—to Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu; jaya—all glories; nityananda—to Lord Sri Nityananda Prabhu; jaya—all glories; advaita-candra—to Advaita Acarya; jaya—all glories; gaura-bhakta-vrnda—to the devotees of Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

TRANSLATION

All glories to Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu! All glories to Lord Nityananda Prabhu! All glories to Sri Advaita Prabhu! And all glories to the devotees of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu!

Madhya5.3

TEXT 3

calite calite aila yajapura-grama

varaha-thakura dekhi’ karila pranama

SYNONYMS

calite calite—walking on and on; aila—reached; yajapura-grama—the village of Yajapura-grama; varaha-thakura—the temple of Varahadeva; dekhi’-seeing; karila—offered; pranama—obeisances.

TRANSLATION

Walking and walking, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and His party finally arrived at Yajapura on the river Vaitarani. There He saw the temple of Varahadeva and offered His obeisances unto Him.

Madhya5.4

TEXT 4

nrtya-gita kaila preme bahuta stavana

yajapure se ratri karila yapana

SYNONYMS

nrtya-gita—dancing and chanting; kaila—executed; preme—in love of Godhead; bahuta—various; stavana—prayers; yajapure—in the village of Yajapura; se ratri—that night; karila—did; yapana—passing.

TRANSLATION

In the temple of Varahadeva, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu engaged in chanting and dancing and offered prayers. He passed that night in the temple.

Madhya5.5

TEXT 5

katake aila saksi-gopala dekhite

gopala-saundarya dekhi’ haila anandite

SYNONYMS

katake—in the town of Kataka (Cuttak); aila—arrived; saksi-gopala—the witness Gopala; dekhite—to see; gopala—of the Deity of Gopala; saundarya—the beauty; dekhi’-seeing; haila—became; anandite—very pleased.

TRANSLATION

Afterwards, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu went to the town of Kataka to see the temple of the witness Gopala. When He saw the Deity of Gopala, He was very much pleased with His beauty.

Madhya5.6

TEXT 6

premavese nrtya-gita kaila kata-ksana

avista hana kaila gopala stavana

SYNONYMS

prema-avese—in the ecstasy of love of God; nrtya-gita—dancing and chanting; kaila—performed; kata-ksana—for some time; avista hana—being overwhelmed; kaila—offered; gopala stavana—prayers to Gopala.

TRANSLATION

While there, Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu engaged in chanting and dancing for some time, and being overwhelmed, He offered many prayers to Gopala.

Madhya5.7

TEXT 7

sei ratri tahan rahi’ bhakta-gana-sange

gopalera purva-katha sune bahu range

SYNONYMS

sei ratri—that night; tahan—there; rahi’-remaining; bhakta-gana-sange—with the other devotees; gopalera—of Lord Gopala; purva-katha—previous narration; sune—hears; bahu—much; range—in pleasure.

TRANSLATION

That night Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu stayed in the temple of Gopala, and along with all the devotees, He heard the narration of the witness Gopala with great pleasure.

Madhya5.8

TEXT 8

nityananda-gosani yabe tirtha bhramila

saksi-gopala dekhibare kataka aila

SYNONYMS

nityananda-gosani—Lord Nityananda Prabhu; yabe—when; tirtha bhramila—traveled to the places of pilgrimage; saksi-gopala—the witness Gopala; dekhibare—to see; kataka—to the town of Kataka; aila—came.

TRANSLATION

Previously, when Nityananda Prabhu had toured all over India to see different places of pilgrimage, He also had come to see Saksi-gopala at Kataka.

Madhya5.9

TEXT 9

saksi-gopalera katha suni, loka-mukhe

sei katha kahena, prabhu sune maha-sukhe

SYNONYMS

saksi-gopalera—of the witness Gopala; katha—the narration; suni—hearing; loka-mukhe—from the people; sei katha—that narration; kahena—Nityananda Prabhu narrates; prabhu—Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu; sune—hears; maha-sukhe—in great pleasure.

TRANSLATION

At that time, Nityananda Prabhu had heard the story of Saksi-gopala from the townspeople. He now recited this again, and Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu heard the narration with great pleasure.

PURPORT

The Saksi-gopala temple is situated between the Khurda Road junction railway station and the Jagannatha Puri station. The Deity is not presently situated in Kataka, but when Nityananda Prabhu traveled there, the Deity was present. Kataka is a town in Orissa situated on the Mahanadi River. When Saksi-gopala was brought from Vidyanagara in southern India, He stayed for some time at Kataka. Thereafter, He was situated for some time in the Jagannatha temple. It seems that in the temple of Jagannatha there was some disagreement between Jagannatha and Saksi-gopala, a disagreement called prema-kalaha, a quarrel of love. In order to settle this love quarrel, the King of Orissa constructed a village about six miles from Jagannatha Puri. The village was called Satyavadi, and Gopala was stationed there. Thereafter, a new temple was constructed. Now there is a Saksi-gopala station, and people go there to see the witness Gopala.

Madhya5.10

TEXT 10

purve vidyanagarera dui ta’ brahmana

tirtha karibare dunhe karila gamana

SYNONYMS

purve—previously; vidyanagarera—of the town known as Vidyanagara; dui—two; ta’-certainly; brahmanabrahmanas; tirtha karibare—to tour places of pilgrimage; dunhe—both of them; karila—began; gamana—journey.

TRANSLATION

Formerly at Vidyanagara in South India there were two brahmanas who made a long tour to see different places of pilgrimage.

Madhya5.11

TEXT 11

gaya, varanasi, prayaga--sakala kariya

mathurate aila dunhe anandita hana

SYNONYMS

gaya—the pilgrimage site of the name Gaya; varanasi—Benares, or Kasi; prayaga—Allahabad; sakala—all; kariya—touring; mathurate—Mathura; aila—they reached; dunhe—both; anandita—pleased; hana—becoming.

TRANSLATION

First of all they visited Gaya, then Kasi, then Prayaga. Finally, with great pleasure, they came to Mathura.

Madhya5.12

TEXT 12

vana-yatraya vana dekhi’ dekhe govardhana

dvadasa-vana dekhi’ sese gela vrndavana

SYNONYMS

vana-yatraya—in touring the different forests; vana dekhi’-while seeing the forests; dekhe—they see; govardhana—Govardhana Hill; dvadasa-vana dekhi’-visiting the twelve forests in Vrndavana; sese—at last; gela—reached; vrndavana—Vrndavana.

TRANSLATION

After reaching Mathura, they started visiting the different forests of Vrndavana and came to Govardhana Hill. They visited all twelve forests [vanas] and at last came to the town of Vrndavana.

PURPORT

The five forests situated on the eastern side of the river Yamuna are Bhadra, Bilva, Loha, Bhandira and Mahavana. The seven forests situated on the western side of the Yamuna are Madhu, Tala, Kumuda, Bahula, Kamya, Khadira and Vrndavana. After visiting all these forests, these pilgrims went to a place known as Pancakrosi Vrndavana. Out of the twelve forests, the Vrndavana forest extends from the town of Vrndavana up to Nanda-grama and Varsana, a distance of thirty-two miles, within which the Pancakrosi Vrndavana town is situated.

Madhya5.13

TEXT 13

vrndavane govinda-sthane maha-devalaya

se mandire gopalera maha-seva haya

SYNONYMS

vrndavane—within Pancakrosi Vrndavana; govinda-sthane—at the place where the present Govinda temple is situated; maha-deva-alaya—a great temple; se mandire—in that temple; gopalera—of the Deity of Gopala; maha-seva—gorgeous worship; haya—there is.

TRANSLATION

In the village of Pancakrosi Vrndavana, at the site where the Govinda temple is now situated, there was a great temple where gorgeous worship of Gopala was performed.

Madhya5.14

TEXT 14

kesi-tirtha, kaliya-hradadike kaila snana

sri-gopala dekhi’ tahan karila visrama

SYNONYMS

kesi-tirtha—the bathing place on the bank of the Yamuna known as Kesi-ghata; kaliya-hrada—the bathing place on the bank of the Yamuna known as Kaliya-ghata; adike—in such different bathing places; kaila—did; snana—bathing; sri-gopala dekhi’-by visiting the temple of Gopala; tahan—there; karila—took; visrama—rest.

TRANSLATION

After taking baths at different bathing places along the river Yamuna, such as Kesi-ghata and Kaliya-ghata, the pilgrims visited the temple of Gopala. Afterwards, they took rest in that temple.

Madhya5.15

TEXT 15

gopala-saundarya dunhara mana nila hari’

sukha pana rahe tahan dina dui-cari

SYNONYMS

gopala-saundarya—the beauty of the Gopala Deity; dunhara—of both of them; mana—the minds; nila—took away; hari’-carrying; sukha pana—feeling this transcendental happiness; rahe—remained; tahan—in that temple; dina—days; dui-cari—two or four.

TRANSLATION

The beauty of the Gopala Deity stole away their minds, and feeling great happiness, they remained there for two or four days.

Madhya5.16

TEXT 16

dui-vipra-madhye eka vipra--vrddha-praya

ara vipra--yuva, tanra karena sahaya

SYNONYMS

dui-vipra-madhye—between the two brahmanas; eka vipra—one brahmana; vrddha-praya—elderly man; ara vipra—the second brahmana; yuva—young man; tanra—of the older brahmana; karena—does; sahaya—assistance.

TRANSLATION

One of the two brahmanas was an old man, and the other was young. The young man was assisting the old one.

Madhya5.17

TEXT 17

chota-vipra kare sada tanhara sevana

tanhara sevaya viprera tusta haila mana

SYNONYMS

chota-vipra—the younger brahmana; kare—does; sada—always; tanhara—his (the old brahmana’s); sevana—service; tanhara—his; sevaya—by the service; viprera—of the old brahmana; tusta—pacified; haila—became; mana—the mind.

TRANSLATION

Indeed, the young brahmana always rendered service to the older one, and the old man, being very satisfied with his service, was pleased with him.

Madhya5.18

TEXT 18

vipra bale--tumi mora bahu seva kaila

sahaya hana more tirtha karaila

SYNONYMS

vipra bale—the elderly brahmana says; tumi—you; mora—my; bahu—various; seva—service; kaila—have rendered; sahaya—assistant; hana—being; more—to me; tirtha—pilgrimage; karaila—helped to do.

TRANSLATION

The older man told the younger, "You have rendered various types of service to me. You have assisted me in traveling to all these places of pilgrimage.

Madhya5.19

TEXT 19

putreo pitara aiche na kare sevana

tomara prasade ami na pailama srama

SYNONYMS

putreo—even my own son; pitara—of the father; aiche—in this way; na—not; kare—renders; sevana—service; tomara—your; prasade—by the mercy; ami—I; na—not; pailama—have gotten; srama—fatigue.

TRANSLATION

"Even my own son does not render such service. By your mercy, I did not become fatigued while on this tour.

Madhya5.20

TEXT 20

krta-ghnata haya tomaya na kaile sammana

ataeva tomaya ami diba kanya-dana

SYNONYMS

krta-ghnata—ungratefulness; haya—it is; tomaya—to you; na—not; kaile—if doing; sammana—respect; ataeva—therefore; tomaya—to you; ami—I; diba—shall give; kanya-dana—my daughter as charity.

TRANSLATION

“If I do not show you any respect, I will be ungrateful. Therefore, I promise to give you my daughter in charity.”

Madhya5.21

TEXT 21

chota-vipra kahe, "suna, vipra-mahasaya

asambhava kaha kene, yei nahi haya

SYNONYMS

chota-vipra—the younger brahmana; kahe—replies; suna—hear; vipra-mahasaya—my dear brahmana; asambhava—unlikely; kaha—you say; kene—why; yei—which; nahi—not; haya—happens.

TRANSLATION

The younger brahmana replied, "My dear sir, please hear me. You are saying something very unusual. Such a thing never happens.

Madhya5.22

TEXT 22

maha-kulina tumi--vidya-dhanadi-pravina

ami akulina, ara dhana-vidya-hina

SYNONYMS

maha-kulina—highly aristocratic; tumi—you; vidya—education; dhana-adi—riches; pravina—enriched; ami—I; akulina—not aristocratic; ara—and; dhana-vidya-hina—without any wealth and education.

TRANSLATION

"You are a most aristocratic family man, well educated and very rich. I am not at all aristocratic, and I am without a decent education and have no wealth.

PURPORT

Due to pious activities, one can be enriched by four opulences: one may obtain birth in an aristocratic family, become highly educated, become very beautiful or get a sufficient quantity of riches. These are symptoms of pious activities performed in one’s past life. In India it is still current for an aristocratic family never to consider a marriage with a common family. Though the caste may be the same, to maintain the aristocracy such marriages are rejected. No poor man will dare marry the daughter of a rich man. Because of this, when the elderly brahmana offered the young brahmana his daughter, the young brahmana did not believe that it would be possible to marry her. Therefore he asked the elderly brahmana why he was proposing something unprecedented (asambhava). It was unheard of for an aristocratic person to offer his daughter to a person who was both uneducated and poor.

Madhya5.23

TEXT 23

kanya-dana-patra ami na ha-i tomara

krsna-pritye kari tomara seva-vyavahara

SYNONYMS

kanya-dana-patra—a bridegroom suitable for one’s daughter; ami—I; na—not; ha-i—am; tomara—of you; krsna-pritye—only for satisfaction of Krsna; kari—I do; tomara—of you; seva—of service; vyavahara—activities.

TRANSLATION

"Sir, I am not a suitable bridegroom for your daughter. I render service to you only for the satisfaction of Krsna.

PURPORT

Both brahmanas were pure Vaisnavas. The younger man took special care of the older one simply to please Krsna. In Srimad-Bhagavatam (11.19.21) Krsna says, mad-bhakta-pujabhyadhika: “It is better to render service to My devotee.” Thus, according to the Gaudiya-Vaisnava philosophy of Caitanya Mahaprabhu, it is better to be a servant of the servant of God. One should not try to serve Krsna directly. A pure Vaisnava serves a servant of Krsna and identifies himself as a servant of a servant of Krsna. This is pleasing to Lord Krsna. Srila Narottama dasa Thakura confirms this philosophy: chadiya vaisnava-seva nistara payeche keba. Unless one serves a liberated Vaisnava, he cannot attain liberation by directly serving Krsna. He must serve the servant of Krsna.

Madhya5.24

TEXT 24

brahmana-sevaya krsnera priti bada haya

tanhara santose bhakti-sampad badaya"

SYNONYMS

brahmana-sevaya—by rendering service to a brahmana; krsnera—of Lord Krsna; priti—the satisfaction; bada—very great; haya—is; tanhara santose—by pleasing the Lord; bhakti—of devotional service; sampad—the opulence; badaya—increases.

TRANSLATION

“Lord Krsna is very pleased by service rendered to brahmanas, and when the Lord is pleased, the opulence of one’s devotional service increases.”

PURPORT

In this regard, Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura comments that the younger brahmana rendered service to the older one with the purpose of pleasing Krsna. It was not a matter of ordinary worldly dealings. Krsna is pleased when a Vaisnava is rendered service. Because the younger brahmana served the older one, Lord Gopala agreed to become a witness of the marriage negotiation in order to maintain the prestige of both devotees. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu would certainly not have liked to hear about marital dealings unless such dealings were exchanged between two Vaisnavas. Marriage arrangements and ceremonies belong to ordinary material karma-kanda sections of the scriptures. The Vaisnavas, however, are not interested in any kind of karma-kanda dealings. Srila Narottama dasa Thakura says: karma-kanda jnana-kanda kevala visera bhanda. For a Vaisnava, the karma-kanda and jnana-kanda sections of the Vedas are unnecessary. Indeed, a real Vaisnava takes these sections as a poison pot (visera bhanda). Sometimes we take part in a marriage ceremony for our disciples, but this does not mean that we are interested in karma-kanda activities. Sometimes, not knowing the Vaisnava philosophy, an outsider criticizes such activity, maintaining that a sannyasi should not take part in a marriage ceremony between a young boy and a young girl. However, this is not a karma-kanda activity, because our purpose is to spread the Krsna consciousness movement. We are giving all facility to the general populace to take to Krsna consciousness, and in order to fix the devotees in concentration on the service of the Lord, marriage is sometimes allowed. We have experienced that such married couples actually render very important service to the mission. Therefore, one should not misunderstand when a sannyasi takes part in a marriage ceremony. Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu and Nityananda Prabhu took great pleasure in hearing about the marriage ceremony between the young brahmana and the daughter of the elderly brahmana.

Madhya5.25

TEXT 25

bada-vipra kahe,--"tumi na kara samsaya

tomake kanya diba ami, karila niscaya"

SYNONYMS

bada-vipra—the older brahmana; kahe—replies; tumi—you; na—not; kara—do; samsaya—doubt; tomake—to you; kanya—the daughter; diba—shall give; ami—I; karila—made; niscaya—certainty.

TRANSLATION

The older brahmana replied, “My dear boy, do not doubt me. I will give you my daughter in charity. I have already decided this.”

Madhya5.26

TEXT 26

chota-vipra bale,--"tomara stri-putra saba

bahu jnati-gosthi tomara bahuta bandhava

SYNONYMS

chota-vipra—the young brahmana; bale—says; tomara—your; stri-putra—wife and sons; saba—all; bahu—many; jnati—of family relations; gosthi—group; tomara—your; bahuta—many; bandhava—friends.

TRANSLATION

The young brahmana said, "You have a wife and sons, and you have a large circle of relatives and friends.

Madhya5.27

TEXT 27

ta’-sabara sammati vina nahe kanya-dana

rukminira pita bhismaka tahate pramana

SYNONYMS

ta’-sabara—of all of them; sammati—consent; vina—without; nahe—not; kanya-dana—giving the daughter in charity; rukminira—of Queen Rukmini; pita—father; bhismaka—of the name Bhismaka; tahate—of that; pramana—evidence.

TRANSLATION

"Without the consent of all your friends and relatives, it is not possible to give me your daughter in charity. Just consider the story of Queen Rukmini and her father, Bhismaka.

Madhya5.28

TEXT 28

bhismakera iccha,--krsne kanya samarpite

putrera virodhe kanya narila arpite"

SYNONYMS

bhismakera—of King Bhismaka; iccha—the desire; krsne—unto Krsna; kanya—daughter; samarpite—to give; putrera—of his son; virodhe—by the objection; kanya—daughter; narila—was unable; arpite—to offer.

TRANSLATION

“King Bhismaka wanted to give his daughter, Rukmini, in charity to Krsna, but Rukmi, his eldest son, objected. Therefore he could not carry out his decision.”

PURPORT

As stated in Srimad-Bhagavatam (10.52.25):

bandhunam icchatam datum
krsnaya bhaginim nrpa
tato nivarya krsna-dvid
rukmi caidyam amanyata

King Bhismaka of Vidarbha wanted to offer Krsna his daughter, Rukmini, but Rukmi, the eldest of his five sons, objected. Therefore he withdrew his decision and decided to offer Rukmini to the King of Cedi, Sisupala, who was a cousin of Krsna’s. However, Rukmini conceived of a trick: she sent a letter to Krsna asking Him to kidnap her. Thus in order to please Rukmini, who was His great devotee, Krsna kidnapped her. There ensued a great fight between Krsna and the opposing party, headed by Rukmini’s brother Rukmi. Rukmi was defeated and, because of his harsh words against Krsna, was about to be killed, but he was saved at the request of Rukmini. However, Krsna shaved off all of Rukmi’s hair with His sword. Sri Balarama did not like this, and so to please Rukmini, Balarama rebuked Krsna.

Madhya5.29

TEXT 29

bada-vipra kahe,--"kanya mora nija-dhana

nija-dhana dite nisedhibe kon jana

SYNONYMS

bada-vipra kahe—the elderly brahmana says; kanya—the daughter; mora—my; nija-dhana—own property; nija-dhana—one’s own property; dite—to give; nisedhibe—will object; kon—what; jana—person.

TRANSLATION

The elderly brahmana said, "My daughter is my own property. If I choose to give my property to someone, who has the power to stop me?

Madhya5.30

TEXT 30

tomake kanya diba, sabake kari’ tiraskara

samsaya na kara tumi, karaha svikara"

SYNONYMS

tomake—to you; kanya—the daughter; diba—I shall offer; sabake—all others; kari’-doing; tiraskara—neglecting; samsaya—doubt; na—not; kara—do; tumi—you; karaha—just do; svikara—acceptance.

TRANSLATION

“My dear boy, I will give my daughter to you in charity, and I will neglect the position of all others. Don’t doubt me in this regard; just accept my proposal.”

Madhya5.31

TEXT 31

chota-vipra kahe,--"yadi kanya dite mana

gopalera age kaha e satya-vacana"

SYNONYMS

chota-vipra kahe—the younger brahmana replies; yadi—if; kanya—daughter; dite—to give in charity; mana—the mind; gopalera—of the Gopala Deity; age—in front; kaha—say; e—these; satya-vacana—words in truth.

TRANSLATION

The younger brahmana replied, “If you have decided to give your young daughter to me, then say so before the Gopala Deity.”

Madhya5.32

TEXT 32

gopalera age vipra kahite lagila

’tumi jana, nija-kanya ihare ami dila’

SYNONYMS

gopalera age—in front of the Gopala Deity; vipra—the elderly brahmana; kahite—to speak; lagila—began; tumi jana—my Lord, please know; nila-kanya—my own daughter; ihare—to this boy; ami—I; dila—have given in charity.

TRANSLATION

Coming before Gopala, the elderly brahmana said, “My dear Lord, please witness that I have given my daughter to this boy.”

PURPORT

In India it is still the custom for a daughter to be offered to someone simply by word. This is called vag-datta. This means that the father, brother or guardian of a girl has given his word that she will be married to a certain man. Consequently, that daughter cannot be married to anyone else. She is reserved by virtue of the honest words of the father or guardian. There are many instances in which the parents of a female child have given someone a verbal promise that their daughter will be married to his son. Both parties agree to wait until the boy and girl are grown up, and then the marriage takes place. Following this custom, which is very old in India, the elderly brahmana promised to give his daughter to the younger brahmana in charity, and he promised this before the Gopala Deity. In India the custom is to honor any promise made before the Deity. Such a promise cannot be canceled. In Indian villages, whenever there is a quarrel between two parties, they go to a temple to settle the quarrel. Whatever is spoken in front of the Deity is taken to be true, for no one would dare lie before the Deity. This same principle was followed in the Battle of Kuruksetra. Therefore in the very beginning of the Bhagavad-gita it is stated: dharma-ksetre kuru-ksetre.

By not becoming God conscious, human society is deteriorating to the lowest standard of animal life. This Krsna consciousness movement is very essential to reviving God consciousness among the general populace. If people actually become God conscious, all quarrels can be settled outside of court, as happened in the case of the two brahmanas whose disagreement was settled by the witness Gopala.

Madhya5.33

TEXT 33

chota-vipra bale,--"thakura, tumi mora saksi

toma saksi bolaimu, yadi anyatha dekhi"

SYNONYMS

chota-vipra bale—the younger brahmana replied; thakura—my dear Lord Gopala; tumi—You; mora—my; saksi—witness; toma—unto You; saksi—witness; bolaimu—I shall call as; yadi—if; anyatha—otherwise; dekhi—I see.

TRANSLATION

Then the younger brahmana addressed the Deity, saying, “My dear Lord, You are my witness. I shall call for You to testify if it is necessary later on.”

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