Embracing Murari Gupta, the Master extolled his sincere devotion thus, "Listen, O ye bhaktas! I had formerly often tempted him saying, 'Passing sweet is the lad of Braja's lord, O Gupta! Krishna is God himself, in all His fulness, the refuge of all. Love is pure, clean, the source of all passions (ras), the ocean in which all virtues are stored like gems. He is wise, expert, sedate, the chief of the masters of emotions. Sweet is his character, sweet is his fascination; his sports are marked by cleverness and skill. Worship that Krishna, seek refuge in him. The heart cannot accept any other object of adoration'. His respect for me somewhat influenced him and he replied that he was my servant, ready to do my bidding, without free will. Going home, he was restless at the thought of giving up his idol Raghunath, and cried, 'How can I quit the feet of Raghunath? Kill me to-night, O Lord! So he spent the whole night watching and weeping, sore at heart. In the morning he returned, clasped my feet and cried, I have sold my head at Raghunath's feet, and cannot draw it away now, so great would be the pain of it. I cannot leave Raghunath's feet, and on the other hand thy command will be disobeyed. I have no help for it. Take pity, therefore, on me, O Kind One; and let me die before thee, so that the conflict within me may be ended'. At these words I rejoiced exceedingly, raised and embraced him, saying, 'Excellent! Excellent! firm is your devotion, O Gupta, as my words have not shaken your purpose. It is the devotion of servants of this kind that ought to be offered at the Lord's feet,—when the Lord draws away His feet the devotee does not let go his grasp. That I urged you repeatedly was only to test this your earnest faith. You are Hanuman himself, the servant of Ram. Why then should you leave his lotus feet? This is that Murari Gupta [addressing the other bhaktas], the very life of me. My heart breaks to see his meekness of spirit."
Then He embraced Vasudev, and dwelt on his merits with a thousand tongues. The Datta, blushing to hear his own praise, begged at the Master's feet, "Thou hast come down to deliver the world. Grant one prayer of mine. It can be easily granted, if thou willest, O Gracious One! My heart breaks to see the sorrows of mankind. Lay thou the sins of the rest of mankind on my head; let me suffer in hell under the load of their sins, so that, Master, thou mayest remove the earthly pangs [i.e., birth on earth] of all other beings." These words melted the Master's heart. Trembling and weeping He answered in broken accents, "This request is no surprise, coming from you who are a Prahlád. Full is Krishna's grace on you. Krishna brings to fruition whatever his servants ask for; he has no other work than to gratify his servants wishes. You have prayed for the salvation of all the creatures of the universe. (I say) they will all be delivered, without suffering for their sins. The task is not too much for Krishna, who is omnipotent. Why should he make you (alone) undergo the due chastisement for (their) sins? Those whose good you desire are Vaishnavs, all of whose sins are removed by Krishna. Witness the Brahma Samhitá, v. 60.
"At your mere wishing, the universe will be redeemed. It is no labour for Krishna to deliver all men. Ten million figs (dumbur) can grow on one tree; similarly ten million universes float in the water of the Pure. The tree knows not the loss, if a fruit drops and perishes. So, too, if one universe is set free [from re-birth], Krishna does not regard it even as a trifling loss. Endless are Krishna's possessions. Vaikuntha and other places belong to him. They are girt round by the ocean of the Cause of Creation. Countless illusive universes float in that ocean, just as a pot of oil-seeds may float in the ditch round a city. The loss of one seed-grain out of it matters nothing. So, too, Krishna does not feel the loss if one universe is gone. Even if illusion and all the universes subject to it perish, Krishna does not mind the loss. The illusion [-created world] is no more to Krishna than a she-goat is to the owner of ten millions of cows giving inexhaustible milk. Vide Bhágabat, X. lxxxvii, 10."
In such terms did the Master speak of the different merits of all His followers, embrace and give them leave. They wept at parting from Him, while His mind, too, was saddened. Gadadhar Pandit stayed with Him and was settled by Him at Jaleswar [in Jagannáth-Puri]. The Puri, Jagadánanda, Swarup Damodar, Damodar Pandit, Govinda, and Kashishwar,— these lived with the Master at Puri. He visited Jagannáth every morning.
One day Sárvabhauma solicited Him with folded palms thus, "Now that all the Vaishnavs have returned to Bengal, I have got an opportunity of entertaining you. Be pleased to be a guest at my house for a month." The Master replied, "It is opposed to my rules of duty. I can't do it." Sárvabhauma persisted, "Let it be for twenty days only." But the Master objected, No, that too is opposed to the rules of a sannyasi." Sárvabhauma came down to fifteen days, but the Master insisted on dining with him for one day only. Then Sárvabhauma, clasping His feet, begged for ten days out of which the Master gradually reduced five, and accepted the invitation for five days only. Then Sárvabhauma made another prayer, saying, "There are ten monks with you, out of whom the Puri will dine with me for five days, as I told you before. Damodar Swarup, my friend, will go to my house with you and at times alone. The other eight will be my guests dining singly for two days each. Thus a month is filled up with engagements. I fear lest I should fail to show due hospitality if so many monks come to me together. You, too, will visit my house with your shadow, and sometimes in the company of Swarup Damodar." Glad of the Master's nod [of assent] he invited Him that very day. The Bhattáchárya's wife was called Shathi's mother; she was greatly devoted to the Master and a very mother in tenderness. [The cooking, the courses, and the dinner described in great detail].
The Master said, "It is impossible to eat so much rice" [viz., three maunds]. The Bhatta replied, "I know what is a sufficient quantity for you. At Puri you [as Jagannáth] eat bhog 52 times a day, and the quantity for each time is hundreds of loads. At Dwaraka you [as King Krishna dine daily] at the houses of your 16,000 queens, 108 mothers, and the Yádav clan. At Brindában you dine twice daily at the houses of your kinsmen and cowherd comrades. At the Govardhan sacrifice heaps of rice were brought for you, in comparison with which my dishes form less than a mouthful. You are God indeed. I am a wretched little creature. Consent to take only a little mouthful of food at my house." Smiling, the Master sat down, the Bhatta serving Him with the prasád of Jagannath. Just then there came Amogh, the son-in-law of Bhattáchárya and the husband of Shathi. He was a Kulin and a fault-finder. He wished to see the feeding, but could not come, as Bhattáchárya kept watch at the door stick in hand! When Bhattáchárya was busy serving the prasád, Amogh came in and looking at the rice began to criticise, "What! a single monk is eating this rice, on which ten or twelve others can feed to their fill!" Hearing these words Bhattáchárya looked over his shoulders, and Amogh fled away. . . . His father-in-law cursed him and his mother-in-law prayed for her daughter's widowhood.
That night Amogh spent in hiding, and next morning he was seized with cholera. At the news that he was dying, Bhattáchárya exclaimed, "The gods are on my side, and are doing my work. A sin against God bears immediate fruit. Witness the Mahabharat, Bana-parva, ccxli. 17, and Bhágabat, X.iv.3i."
When Gopinath Acharya went to see the Master, in answer to a question about Bhattáchárya, he said, "The couple had fasted at night. Amogh is dying of cholera." At this the merciful Master hastened there, laid His hand on Amogh's breast and said, "Pure by nature is this Brahman's heart,—a fit place for Krishna to sit on. Why have you seated the Chandál Envy here, and thus defiled a very holy spot? Your sins are ended by the society of Sárvabhauma. When sin is gone, men recite Krishna's name. Rise, thou, Amogh! chant Krishna's name. Soon will God have mercy on you." At these words, Amogh rose up with the cry of Krishna! Krishna! and began to dance in an ecstasy, of devotion, weeping, trembling, standing stockstill, perspiring, lisping. The Master smiled at seeing the surging up of his love. But he begged the Master, holding His feet, "Gracious Master! forgive my fault." With this he slapped his own cheeks till they were swollen. Gopinath Acharya held his hand to stop him, and the Master stroked his body to console him saying, "You are an object of affection to me, being related to Sárvabhauma. Even the very servants and dogs of his house are dear to me above all others. Thou hast not offended. Chant Krishna's name."
So saying the Master came to Sárvabhauma's house, who clasped His feet, but the Master embraced him, took His seat and began, "Amogh is a child. He cannot offend. Why are you fasting, why are you angry with him? Up, bathe, visit Jagannáth, and break your fast soon, if you want to please me. I shall wait here so long as you do not return with the prasád (for your dinner)." Clasping His feet Sárvabhauma asked "Amogh was dying. Why did you revive him?" The Master replied, "Amogh is your child. The father, especially if he is the nourisher, does not take note of the offence of his boy. He has now turned Vaishnav; his sin is gone; do you then look kindly on him." The Bhatta said, "Go, Master, to see the god. I Shall quickly join you there after taking my bath." But He replied, "Gopinath! stay here. When the prasád comes to him, inform me of it." Then He went to see the god, while the Bhatta bathed, prayed, and dined.
This Amogh became extremely devoted to the Master. A very sedate man, he incessantly recited Krishna's name. [Text, canto 15.]