Srila Raghava Pandita describes a pastime of Sanatana Gosvami by this celebrated lake near Nandagrama. ![]()
PAVANA SAROVARA
vrndavana hoite asi’ e nirjana vane; premete vihvala sada krsna aradhane
sangopane rahe bhaksanera cesta nai; keho na janaye - ke achaye ei thai
"Srila Sanatana Gosvami came from Vrndavana to this lonely forest and constantly worshiped Krsna here in ecstatic love. He stayed here without even endeavouring to collect any food. No one knew that he was there."
krsna gopa balakera chale dugdha loiya; dadaila gosvami sammukhe harsa hoiya
go raksaka vesa mathe usnisa sobhaya; dugdha bhanda hate dhari’ gosvamire koy
achaho nirjane toma keho nahi jane; dekhilam tomare asiya gocarane
ei dugdha pan koro amara kothay; loiya yaibo bhanda rakhilo ethay
"Krsna then came to him dressed as a cowherdboy, blissfully standing before Him with some milk. He had a beautiful turban on His head and a milkpot in His hand as He told Sanatana Gosvami: "Nobody knows that you’re here all alone! I saw You here when I came here to herd My cows. Please drink this milk! I will pick up the pot later, just keep it here!"
kutire rohile mo sabhara sukha hobe; aiche raho ithe vrajavasi duhka pabe
eto kohi’ gopalera hoilo gamana; mugdha hoiya pan koilo sanatana
dugdha pan matre preme adhairya hoilo; netrajale sikta hoiya bahu kheda koila
alaksite prabhu sanatana prabodhila; vrajavasi dvare eka kutire koraila
aiche sanatanera hoilo vasaloy; madhye madhye etha sri rupera sthiti hoy
"We will all be happy if you would stay in a hut (instead of outside)! If you stay here like this, the people of Vraja will be very sad!" Saying this, Gopala went away and Sanatana drank the milk in an enchanted state. After he drank, he became overwhelmed with ecstatic love and he sprinkled himself with tears. The Lord secretly addressed Sanatana Gosvami and had the people of Vraja make a hut for him. In this way Sanatana Gosvami got his own dwellingplace there. Sometimes Sri Rupa Gosvami also stayed there."
eka dina sri rupa gosvami sanatane; bhunjaite dugdhannadi korilen mane
aiche mane kori punah sankocita hoila; sri rupera manovrtti radhika janila
ghrta dugdha tandula sarkaradi loiya; gopa balikara chale aila harsa hoiya
"One day Sri Rupa Gosvami thought of feeding Sanatana Gosvami (his guru) some ksira (sweet rice). He became hesitant, but Sri Radhika had seen what was on his mind, so She blissfully came before Him as a cowherd girl, bringing ghee (clarified butter), milk, rice and sugar with Her."
rupa prati kohe svami ei sab leho; sighra pak kori krsne samarpi bhunjaho
mata mora ei kotha kohilo kohite; kono-i sankoca yeno nahi kabhu cite
eto kohi sri radhika kautuke colila; sri rupa gosvami sukhe sighra pak koila
"She told Sri Rupa: "O Svamiji! Take all these ingredients, quickly cook for Krsna and offer it to Him! My mother told Me to do this, so don’t feel shy at all!" After saying this, Sri Radhika joyfully left and Sri Rupa Gosvami blissfully began to cook."
krsne samarpiya gosvami sanatana; kori parivesana paramananda mane
sanatana gosvami samagri sugandhite; na jane kautuka sukha upajaya cite
dui eka grasa mukhe diya sanatana; hoila adhairya - asru nahe nivarana
sanatana samagri vrttanta jijnasilo; sri rupa kramete sab vrttanta kohilo
"After offering the food to Krsna, Rupa Gosvami served it to Sanatana Gosvami. I cannot describe Sanatana Gosvami’s ecstasy when he smelled the nice fragrance of these dishes! After he had eaten one or two mouthfuls, Sanatana became agitated with ecstasy and could not withold his tears of love. When Sanatana Gosvami inquired about the origin of the ingredients, Sri Rupa Gosvami gradually told him everything."
suniya gosvami nisedhaye bara bar; aiche bhaksya dravya cesta na koriho ar
eto kohi’ maha prasada seva koila; sri rupa gosvami ati kheda yukta hoila
svapna cchale sri radhika diya darasane; prabodhila sri rupe janila sanatane
"Hearing the story, Sanatana Gosvami repeatedly forbade Sri Rupa Gosvami to prepare food for which Sri Radhika personally had to come to provide the ingredients. After that he honoured the prasada, leaving Sri Rupa repenting his act. Sri Radhika then appeared to Sri Rupa in a dream and consoled him. Sanatana Gosvami was aware of that (so he did not blame Rupa Gosvami anymore)."
ahe srinivasa yaiche rupera dhairya; vaisnava samaje vyakta hoilo ascarya
eka dina radha-krsna viccheda kathate; kandaye vaisnava murcchagata prthivite
agni-sikha praya jvale rupera hrdoy; tathapi bahire kichu prakasa na hoy
karu dehe sri rupera nisvasa sparsilo; agni dagdha pray tara dehe brana hoilo
"Ahe Srinivasa! The Vaisnava-world was astonished at the gravity of Rupa Gosvami! One day he felt so much separation from Radha and Krsna that he cried and fainted, falling on the ground before the Vaisnavas. His heart was as if burning in the high flames of a fire, but still none of this was externally visible. But if Sri Rupa’s outgoing breath touched anyone’s body, that body was burned and caught a blister!"