Śrī Mādhavendra Purī Disappearance Day

Identity of Śrī Mādhavendra Purī

Excerpt from Śrī Caitanya: His Life and Associates, Swami B.B. Tirtha, Mandala Publishing

Śrī Mādhavendra Purī appeared in the 14th century. He was a guru of the Brahma Madhva sampradāya, one of the four (Brahmā, Śrī, Rudra and Kumāra) Vaishnava lineages that purify the world in the age of Kali. Mādhavendra Purī was the disciple of Lakshmipati Tirtha. Mādhavendra Purī’s disciples included Īśvara Purī, Advaita Ācārya, Puṇḍarīka Vidyānidhi, and others. Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura writes: “Mādhavendra Purī was a well-known sannyasi of the Madhva sampradāya. His grand disciple was Sri Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Prior to his appearance, there was no evidence of prema bhakti in the Madhva line. In his verse, ayi dina-dayārdra-nātha (Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta 2.4.197), the seed of the religious doctrines of Caitanya Mahāprabhu can be found.”

To this, Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Gosvāmī adds, “Mādhavendra Purī was the first shoot of the desire tree of divine love that came out of the Madhva lineage. Prior to his appearance, there was no sign of the conjugal mood of devotion in the Madhva line.”

Excerpt from Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā, 3.93 -95 and 13.52 -55

Whenever Śrī Kṛṣṇa desires to manifest His incarnation on earth, first He creates the incarnations of His respectable predecessors. Thus, respectable personalities such as His father, mother and spiritual master all take birth on earth first. Mādhavendra Purī, Īśvara Purī, Śrīmatī Śacīmātā and Śrīla Jagannātha Miśra all appeared with Śrī Advaita Ācārya. [Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā, 3.93 -95]

To fulfill a particular desire within His mind, Lord Kṛṣṇa, Vrajendra-kumāra, decided to descend to this planet after mature contemplation. Lord Kṛṣṇa therefore first allowed His family of superiors to descend to the earth. I shall try to describe them in brief because it is not possible to describe them fully. Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, before appearing as Lord Caitanya, requested these devotees to precede Him: Śrī Śacīdevī, Jagannātha Miśra, Mādhavendra Purī, Keśava Bhāratī, Īśvara Purī, Advaita Ācārya, Śrīvāsa Paṇḍita, Ācāryaratna, Vidyānidhi and Ṭhākura Haridāsa. [Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā, 13.52

-55]

Kṛṣṇa’s love for Śrī Mādhavendra Purī

Excerpt from Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā, chapter 4

Giridhārī Gopāla gives milk to Śrī Mādhavendra Purī and reveals His deity

Once, Śrī Mādhavendra Purī traveled to Vṛndāvana, where he came upon the hill known as Govardhana. Mādhavendra Purī was almost mad in his ecstasy of love of Godhead, and he did not know whether it was day or night. Sometimes he stood up, and sometimes he fell to the ground. He could not discriminate whether he was in a proper place or not. After circumambulating the hill, Mādhavendra Purī went to Govinda-kuṇḍa and took his bath. He then sat beneath a tree to take his evening rest. While he was sitting beneath a tree, an unknown cowherd boy came with a pot of milk, placed it before Mādhavendra Purī and, smiling, addressed him as follows. “O Mādhavendra Purī, please drink the milk I have brought. Why don’t you beg some food to eat? What kind of meditation are you undergoing?” When he saw the beauty of that boy, Mādhavendra Purī became very satisfied. Hearing His sweet words, he forgot all hunger and thirst. Mādhavendra Purī said, “Who are You? Where do You reside? And how did You know that I was fasting?” The boy replied, “Sir, I am a cowherd boy, and I reside in this village. In My village, no one fasts. “In this village a person can beg food from others and thus eat. Some people drink only milk, but if a person does not ask anyone for food, I supply him all his eatables. “The women who come here to take water saw you, and they supplied Me with this milk and sent Me to you.” The boy continued, “I must go very soon to milk the cows, but I shall return and take back this milk pot from you.” Saying this, the boy left the place. Indeed, He suddenly could be seen no more, and Mādhavendra Purī’s heart was filled with wonder. After drinking the milk, Mādhavendra Purī washed the pot and put it aside. He looked toward the path, but the boy never returned. Mādhavendra Purī could not sleep. He sat and chanted the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra, and at the end of the night he dozed a little, and his external activities stopped.

In a dream Mādhavendra Purī saw the very same boy. The boy came before him and, holding his hand, took him to a bush in the jungle. The boy showed Mādhavendra Purī the bush and said, “I reside in this bush, and because of this I suffer very much from severe cold, rain showers, winds and scorching heat. “Please bring the people of the village and get them to take Me out of this bush. Then have them situate Me nicely on top of the hill. “Please construct a temple on top of that hill,” the boy continued, “and install Me in that temple. After this, wash Me with large quantities of cold water so that My body may be cleansed. “For many days I have been observing you, and I have been wondering, ‘When will Mādhavendra Purī come here to serve Me?’ “I have accepted your service due to your ecstatic love for Me. Thus, I shall appear, and by My audience all fallen souls will be delivered. “My name is Gopāla. I am the lifter of Govardhana Hill. I was installed by Vajra, and here I am the authority. “When the Muslims attacked, the priest who was serving Me hid Me in this bush in the jungle. Then he ran away out of fear of the attack. “Since the priest went away, I have been staying in this bush. It is very good that you have come here. Now just remove Me with care.” After saying this, the boy disappeared. Then Mādhavendra Purī woke up and began to consider his dream. Mādhavendra Purī began to lament, “I saw Lord Kṛṣṇa directly, but I could not recognize Him!” Thus he fell down on the ground in ecstatic love. Mādhavendra Purī cried for some time, but then he fixed his mind on executing the order of Gopāla. Thus he became tranquil.

After taking his morning bath, Mādhavendra Purī entered the village and assembled all the people. Then he spoke as follows. “The proprietor of this village, Govardhana-dhārī, is lying in the bushes. Let us go there and rescue Him from that place”. After hearing this, all the people accompanied Mādhavendra Purī with great pleasure. According to his directions, they cut down bushes, cleared a path and entered the jungle. When they saw the Deity covered with dirt and grass, they were all struck with wonder and pleasure. Then, Deity worship in a temple was very gorgeously performed for two years. Then one day Mādhavendra Purī had a dream.

In his dream, Mādhavendra Purī saw Gopāla, who said, “My bodily temperature still has not decreased. Please bring sandalwood from the Malaya province and smear the pulp over My body to cool Me. “Bring sandalwood pulp from Jagannātha Purī. Kindly go quickly. Since no one else can do it, you must.” After having this dream, Mādhavendra Purī Gosvāmī became very glad due to ecstasy of love of Godhead, and in order to execute the command of the Lord, he started east toward Bengal. Before leaving, Mādhavendra Purī made all arrangements for regular Deity worship, and he engaged different people in various duties. Then, taking up the order of Gopāla, he started for Bengal.

Story of Kṣīra-corā Gopīnātha

Going into South India, Śrī Mādhavendra Purī visited Remuṇā, where Gopīnātha is situated. Upon seeing the beauty of the Deity, Mādhavendra Purī was overwhelmed. In the corridor of the temple, from which people generally viewed the Deity, Mādhavendra Purī chanted and danced. Then he sat down there and asked a brāhmaṇa what kinds of foods they offered to the Deity. From the excellence of the arrangements, Mādhavendra Purī understood by deduction that only the best food was offered. Mādhavendra Purī thought, “I shall inquire from the priest what foods are offered to Gopīnātha so that by making arrangements in our kitchen, we can offer similar foods to Śrī Gopāla.” When the brāhmaṇa priest was questioned about this matter, he explained in detail what kinds of foods were offered to the Deity of Gopīnātha. The brāhmaṇa priest said, “In the evening the Deity is offered sweet rice in twelve earthen pots. Because the taste is as good as nectar [amṛta], it is named amṛta-keli. “This sweet rice is celebrated throughout the world as gopīnātha-kṣīra. It is not offered anywhere else in the world.” While Mādhavendra Purī was talking with the brāhmaṇa priest, the sweet rice was placed before the Deity as an offering. Hearing this, Mādhavendra Purī thought as follows.

“If, without my asking, a little sweet rice is given to me, I can then taste it and make a similar preparation to offer my Lord Gopāla.” Mādhavendra Purī became greatly ashamed when he desired to taste the sweet rice, and he immediately began to think of Lord Viṣṇu. While he was thus thinking of Lord Viṣṇu, the offering was completed, and the ārati ceremony began. After the ārati was finished, Mādhavendra Purī offered his obeisances to the Deity and then left the temple. He did not say anything more to anyone. Mādhavendra Purī avoided begging. He was completely unattached and indifferent to material things. If, without his begging, someone offered him some food, he would eat; otherwise he would fast. A paramahaṁsa like Mādhavendra Purī is always satisfied in the loving service of the Lord. Material hunger and thirst cannot impede his activities. When he desired to taste a little sweet rice offered to the Deity, he considered that he had committed an offense by desiring to eat what was being offered to the Deity. Mādhavendra Purī left the temple and sat down in the village marketplace, which was vacant. Sitting there, he began to chant. In the meantime, the temple priest laid the Deity down to rest. Finishing his daily duties, the priest went to take rest. In a dream he saw the Gopīnātha Deity come to talk to him, and He spoke as follows. “O priest, please get up and open the door of the temple. I have kept one pot of sweet rice for the sannyāsī Mādhavendra Purī. This pot of sweet rice is just behind My cloth curtain. You did not see it because of My tricks. A sannyāsī named Mādhavendra Purī is sitting in the vacant marketplace. Please take this pot of sweet rice from behind Me and deliver it to him.” Awaking from the dream, the priest immediately rose from bed and thought it wise to take a bath before entering the Deity’s room. He then opened the temple door. According to the Deity’s directions, the priest found the pot of sweet rice behind the cloth curtain. He removed the pot and mopped up the place where it had been kept. He then went out of the temple. Closing the door of the temple, he went to the village with the pot of sweet rice. He called out in every stall in search of Mādhavendra Purī. Holding the pot of sweet rice, the priest called, “Will he whose name is Mādhavendra Purī please come and take this pot! Gopīnātha has stolen this pot of sweet rice for you!” The priest continued, “Would the sannyāsī whose name is Mādhavendra Purī please come and take this pot of sweet rice and enjoy the prasādam with great happiness! You are the most fortunate person within these three worlds!” Hearing this invitation, Mādhavendra Purī came out and identified himself. The priest then delivered the pot of sweet rice and offered his obeisances, falling flat before him. When the story about the pot of sweet rice was explained to him in detail, Śrī Mādhavendra Purī at once became absorbed in ecstatic love of Kṛṣṇa. Upon seeing the ecstatic loving symptoms manifest in Mādhavendra Purī, the priest was struck with wonder. He could understand why Kṛṣṇa had become so much obliged to him, and he saw that Kṛṣṇa’s action was befitting. The priest offered his obeisances to Mādhavendra Purī and returned to the temple. Then, in ecstasy, Mādhavendra Purī ate the sweet rice offered to him by Kṛṣṇa. After this, Mādhavendra Purī washed the pot and broke it into pieces. He then bound all the pieces in his outer cloth and kept them nicely. Each day, Mādhavendra Purī would eat one piece of that earthen pot, and after eating it he would immediately be overwhelmed with ecstasy.

Lessons from the life of Śrī Mādhavendra Purī

1. The encounter with Gopāla highlights the concept of divine providence or grace. Despite Mādhavendra Purī's intense love and devotion, it is Gopāla who initiates contact and reveals Himself. This emphasizes the idea that spiritual progress requires the grace of Kṛṣṇa.

2. The significance of Mādhavendra Purī breaking the earthen pot into pieces and consuming one piece daily symbolizes his continuous communion with Kṛṣṇa and his recognition of the divine presence in even the simplest of objects.