Live Caitanya Caritamrta · CC Ādi 10.38
The Lord Enjoys His Devotee’s Rice
“The sixteenth branch, Śuklāmbara Brahmacārī, was very fortunate because Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu jokingly or seriously begged food from him or sometimes snatched it from him forcibly and ate it.”
What the purport teaches
- Śuklāmbara Brahmacārī lived in Navadvīpa and is described as Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s first companion in the saṅkīrtana movement.
- After returning from Gayā following initiation, Lord Caitanya stayed with him because He wanted to hear about Lord Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes.
- Śuklāmbara Brahmacārī collected rice as alms, and the Lord enjoyed eating the rice he cooked. The Lord begged rice from him, performing a pastime similar to Lord Kṛṣṇa’s begging food from the wives of the yajñic brāhmaṇas.
Try this today
Read aloud the account here of the Lord enjoying Śuklāmbara Brahmacārī’s rice.
Ask yourself
What touches you about the Lord’s pleasure in Śuklāmbara Brahmacārī’s rice and accounts of Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes?
Carry the question through the day, then answer it in your own words before sleep.
The study points are short summaries drawn from Śrīla Prabhupāda's translation and purport; the practice and question are plain words for trying the verse today.