Gopinath in delight conducted them to Sárvabhauma's house, where he beheld the Master and felt mingled joy and grief. He introduced them all to Sárvabhauma, and took them inside. Sárvabhauma bowed to Nityánanda Goswámi and saluted the others in the proper mode. Then he sent them all in charge of his son Chandaneshwar, to the temple. They joyed to behold the god. Nityánanda went out of himself in devotion, but the others quieted him. The servitor of the shrine presented them with the garland and prasád of the god, to their great delight. Then they returned to the Master, and chanted the divine name loud and long. In the third quarter [of the day], Chaitanya awoke, and rose up shouting, Hari! Hari! Reverently Sárvabhauma took the dust of His feet [to place it on his own head], and entreated Him, "Take your midday meal soon. I shall feed you to-day with Jagannath's mahá-prasád." The Master quickly came back from His bath in the sea, and feasted with His followers on the rice, broth and other kinds of prasád, which Sárvabhauma served to them from golden dishes. The Master said, "Help me with the hash of gourd (lau) and other vegetables, and serve these others with cakes and sweets." But the Bhattáchárya entreated Him with folded palms, "How has Jagannáth himself fed? Do you too taste all of these," and so made Him eat the cakes and sweets too. After the dinner, he helped the Master to wash, then took leave to retire with Gopinath Acharya and eat their own meals. When they returned, [the Acharya] bowed saying "I salute Náráyan," and the Master responded with "Be thy mind constant in Krishna!" At these words Sárvabhauma knew Him to be a Vaishnav hermit. He then asked Gopinath Acharya about the worldly life of the Master. The Acharya replied, "His home was at Navadwip; his father Jagannáth Mishra, surnamed Purandar Mishra, gave him the name of Vishwambhar. His maternal grandfather was Nilambar Chakravarti." Sárvabhauma added "Nilambar Chakravarti! why, he was a fellow-student of my father Vishárad, who, I know, had a high regard for Purandar Mishra, too. I honour both for their connection with my father."
Delighted to hear that Chaitanya was a man of Nadia, Sárvabhauma thus addressed Him, "You are of honourable birth, and a sannyasi in addition. Make me, therefore, your personal disciple." At this the Master cried out, "O Vishnu! O Vishnu!" and then spoke humbly to the Bhattáchárya, "You are the teacher of the world and the benefactor of mankind. You teach Vedánta and [thereby] benefit men of monastic life. I am a young monk, ignorant of good and evil. I have sought refuge with you, regarding you as my teacher. For your society have I come here, hoping that you will train me in all ways. You saved me in my great danger to-day." The Bhattáchárya said, "Never go to the temple alone, but always with me or one of my men." The Master replied, "I shall not enter the shrine, but gaze from the Garuda [pillar in the quadrangle]." Then Sárvabhauma addressed Gopinath Acharya, "You will be guide to this Goswami in visiting the temple. Lodge him in the house of my mother's sister, which is a quiet place, and look to all his needs." So he did. Next day Gopinath took the Master to the temple to show Him Jagannáth as he rose from his bed. Mukunda Datta led Him back to Sárvabhauma's house, who spoke thus, "This sannyasi is meek in disposition, lovely in form. I daily love Him the more. Tell me what order He has joined and what name He has chosen." Gopinath replied, "He has been named Shri Krishna-Chaitanya; His spiritual guide is Keshav Bhárati, blessed man!" Sárvabhauma remarked, "His name is well-chosen, but the Bhárati order is not ranked high [among the ten classes of sannyasis]."
Gopinath answered, "He does not care for outward [dignity]. Hence His indifference to the more famous orders of monks." The Bhattáchárya joined in, "Ah, He is in the full bloom of youth. How can He keep the monastic rules? However, I shall ceaselessly teach Him Vedánta, and lead Him on to the rank of a recluse of the Monist school (adwaita). If He then wishes it, I shall robe Him anew with the yellow robe of a yogi, purify Him, and enter Him into one of the higher orders."
Gopinath and Mukunda grieved to hear it; and the former expostulated, "Bhattáchárya! You know not His greatness. The signs of divinity have reached their extreme limit in Him! Hence He is famed as the Great God. But in a place of ignorance even the wise know nothing."
The [Sárvabhauma's] disciples asked, "What proof is there of His divinity?" The Acharya replied, "The belief of the wise is proof of divinity." The disciples objected, saying, "It is by inference that God is recognized." But the Acharya answered, "No, God is not known by inference, but only by those on whom He bestows His grace, even a particle of it. Witness Brahma's praise of Vishnu in the Shrimad Bhágabat, Book X. canto xiv. verse 28:
"'Lord! true it is that knowledge can gain salvation, but Thy glories can be known only by him who has been blessed even with a particle of favour from Thy lotus-like feet. O Perfect Being! A man lacking Thy grace, may be free from earthly lusts, may have studied the scriptures for ages, but still he cannot know Thee fully!'
"O Sárvabhauma, you may be the World's Teacher, a master of theology, unrivalled in the world in scholarship. But you have not gained God's grace, hence you cannot know God. I do not blame you, but the scripture says clearly that the knowledge of God cannot come from mere scholarship."
Sárvabhauma replied, "Weigh thy words well, Acharya! How do you prove that you have gained God's grace?" The Acharya replied, "We know a material thing by observing it. Our knowledge of the nature of a thing is proved by grace. On this sannyasi's person are all the marks of divinity. You yourself witnessed his ecstasy of spiritual love. And yet you know not God! Such are the ways of God's illusion, materialists see Him and yet recognize Him not!"
Smilingly spoke Sárvabhauma, "We are arguing in a friendly spirit. Don't get warm. Blame me not, I am only arguing from the strict standpoint of view of Shastra. Chaitanya Goswámi is [I admit] a great saint. But there is no incarnation of Vishnu in the Kali era. Hence Vishnu's epithet Tri-yug or the Lord of Three. But scripture tells us that the Kali era is without an incarnation."
Sadly did the Acharya answer, "You pride yourself on your knowledge of scripture, but you do not mind the Bhágabat and the Mahábharat, which are the chief of scriptures. Both of them assert that God will appear in the human form in the Kali era, and yet you maintain the contrary! As God will not appear in Kali for mere earthly exploits [but only for purifying faith], we call him Tri-yug. In every era Krishna appears for the spiritual needs of the age. You are a logician, and yet you do not perceive this!"