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All glories to Sri Krsna Caitanya, the ocean of mercy. All glories to Lord Nityananda, the dearest friend of the distressed. All glories to Lord Caitanya, the life and soul of Advaita Acarya and the priceless treasure of Sri Gadadhara Pandita. All glories to all the devotees who are such dear associates of the Lord.
Who can describe the true glories of Gadadhara Pandita? He is the most dear associate of Lord Caitanya, he is the embodiment of love, and he broke the hearts of the devotees into pieces when he was about to renounce his sannyasa ksetra vow, maddened by the thought of Lord Caitanya’s unbearable separation.
Dear devotees, please listen this amazing pastime that describes the day that Sri Caitanya, Sri Nityananda and Sri Gadadhara Pandita enjoyed their intimate association in Gadadhara Pandit’s house, in Puri.
“..Thereafter, Lord Nityananda went to meet Gadadhara Pandita at his residence. Gadadhara Pandita had a Deity of Gopinatha at this house that was so charming- it appeared as if Vraja Kumara Himself was standing there. Lord Caitanya had once embraced this Deity. Lord Nityananda shed incessant tears upon seeing the Gopinatha Deity.
When Gadadhara Pandita learned of Nityananda Prabhu’s arrival, he immediately got up from his reading of Srimad Bhagavatam and hurried to greet Him. After embracing, the two offered obeisances to one another. Indeed, Gadadhara Pandita and Lord Nityananda completely forgot their external circumstances as they floated in the ocean of spiritual happiness. The devotees present were very moved to see such an expression of love and affection.
After calming themselves, Gadadhara Pandita and Nityananda sat down. Unknown to him, Nityananda Prabhu had brought a large quantity of fine rice from Bengal to be offered to the Gopinatha Deity, as well as some exquisite cloth.
Lord Nityananda said, “This rice is for offering to Gopinatha”. After inspecting it, Gadadhara Pandita exclaimed, “I have never before seen such fine rice as this! My Lord, did You bring this rice all the way from Vaikuntha for offering to Gopinatha? Only Lakshmi devi herself is qualified to cook such rice!”
Gadadhara Pandita took the beautiful cloth and used it to dress the Gopinatha Deity. Then, he began to arrange for the noon offering. He gathered spinach that was growing in his garden and took the leaves from a tamarind sapling to make chutney. After cooking the rice and vegetables, Gadadhara Pandita brought the offering plate before Lord Gopinatha.
Just at that moment, Lord Caitanya appeared there, smiling gloriously and chanting the Hare Krsna mantra. The Lord softly called out Gadadhara Pandita’s name. and he in turn offered prayers while feeling intense ecstasy.
The Lord smilingly said, ” My dear Gadadhara, am I not invited to this feast? I’m not a stranger! In fact, if you refuse, I will take the prasada by force! I’m not going to miss the opportunity of having prasada that was brought by Nityananda prabhu, cooked by you and offered to Lord Gopinatha.”
Both Nityananda Prabhu and Gadadhara were ecstatic. Gadadhara Pandita brought a plate of prasada and placed it before Lord Gaurachandra, and the fine aroma could be perceived throughout the entire temple and garden.
While praising the rice, Lord Caitanya instructed that the prasada should be divided into three portions because He desired to eat along with Nityananda Prabhu and Gadadhara Pandita. After all were seated, Lord Caitanya praised the cooking by saying, “Even the aroma of this rice is sure to award anyone with the priceless gem of bhakti. You are such an expert cook! I have never tasted such delectable spinach. I am convinced that you are a cook from Vaikuntha, now appearing on earth. Because the truth is out, there is no need for you to hide any longer.”
In this way, there was a jovial mood as the three had their meal. After the three had finished, the devotees, who had been anxiously waiting, pounced on the remnants with great delight.
At Nilacala, Lord Caitanya, Lord Nityananda and Gadadhara Pandita were always together. They went to the temple of Lord Jagannatha together and performed sankirtana together, relishing the ecstasy of Krsna-Prema in each other’s association. They were a most intimate group, bound by and unbreakable bond of transcendental love.
Source: Sri Caitanya Bhagavata by Vrindavan das Thakur and Bhakti Ratnakara by Narahari Cakravarti
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