Text 115] The Advent of Lord Caitanya 119
PURPORT
The words vastra-gupta dofd are very significant in this verse. Even fifty or sixty
years ago in Calcutta, all respectable ladies would go to a neighboring place riding
on apalanquin carried by four men. The palanquin was covered with soft cotton,
and in that way there was no chance to see a respectable lady traveling in public.
Ladies, especially those coming from respectable families, could not be seen by
ordinary men. This system is still current in remote places. The Sanskrit word
asiirya-pasy@ indicates that a respectable lady could not be seen even by the sun.
In the oriental culture this system was very much prevalent and was strictly ob-
served by respectable ladies, both Hindu and Moslem. We have actual experience
in our childhood that our mother would not go next door to her house to observe
an invitation by walking; she would go in either a carriage or a palanquin carried
by four men. This custom was also strictly followed five hundred years ago, and the
wife of Advaita Acarya, being a very respectable lady, observed the customary rutes
current in that social environment.
TEXT 115
SHS, CON, Brigia, —-ACH TN AB Sts,
MOTYCS CUT Bree |
cafenl afers-b13, Mle Cn sa-sa,
adata cafe fanNes u soe 0
bhaksyo, bhojya, upahdra, sarge ta-ila bahu bhéra,
Sacigrhe haila upanita
dekhiya bdlaka-tharna, saksat gokula-kana,
varna-matra dekhi viparita
SYNONYMS
bhaksya—foodstuffs; bhojya—fried foodstuffs; upahara—presentation; sahge—
along with her, /a-/la—took, bahu bhdra—many packages; saci-grhe—in the house
of mother Saci; hafla—was; upanita—carried; dekhiyd—seeing; balaka-tharna—the
feature of the child; saksat—directly; gokula-kana—Lord Krsna of Gokula; varra-
matra—only the color; dekhi—seeing; viparita—opposite.
TRANSLATION
When Sita Thakuragi came to the house of Sacidevi, bringing with her many
kinds of eatables, dresses and other gifts, she was astonished to see the newly born
child, for she appreciated that except for a difference in color, the child was
directly Krgna of Gokula Himself.
PURPORT
A petari is a kind of big basket that is carried in pairs on the ends of a rod
balanced over the shoulders. The man who carries such a load is called a bhar?. This
