Text 88] Sri Madhavendra Puri’s Devotional Service 43

ksatriyas, vaisyas, and sddras. This is called yajana, assisting others in performing
ceremonies. The remaining two items are dana and pratigraha. The brahmana ac-
cepts all kinds of contributions (pratigraha) from his followers (mainly, the
ksatriyas, vaisyas and sddras). But he does not keep all the money. He keeps only
as much as required and gives the balance to others in charity (dana).

In order for such a qualified brahmana to worship the Deity, he must be a
Vaisnava. Thus the Vaisnava’s position 1s superior to that of the brahmana. This
example given by Madhavendra Puri confirms that even though a brahmana may
be very expert, he cannot become a priest or servitor of the Visnu marti unless he
is initiated in vaisnava-mantra. After installing the Deity of Gopala, Madhavendra
Puri initiated all the brahmanas into Vaisnavism. He then allotted the brahmanas
different types of service to the Deity. From four in the morning until ten at night
(from mangala-aratrika to sayana-aratrika), there must be at least five or six
brahmanas to take care of the Deity. Six dratrikas are performed in the temple, and
food is frequently offered to the Deity and the prasada distributed. This is the
method of worshiping the Deity according to the rules and regulations set by pre-
decessors. Our sampradaya belongs to the disciplic succession of Madhavendra
Puri, who belonged to the Madhva-sampradaya. We are in the disciplic succes-
sion of Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, who was initiated by Sri Tgvara Puri, a disciple of
Madhavendra Puri’s. Our sampradaya is therefore called the Madhva-Gaudiya-
sampradaya. As such, we must carefully follow in the footsteps of Sri Madha-
vendra Puri and observe how he installed the Gopala Deity on top of Govardhana
Hill, how he arranged and performed the Annakdta ceremony in only one day,
and so forth. Our installation of Deities in America and in the wealthy countries of
Europe should be carried out in terms of Sri Madhavendra Pur''s activities. All the
servitors of the Deity must be strictly qualified as brahmanas and, specifically,
must engage in the Vaisnava custom of offering as much prasdda as possible and
distributing it to the devotees who visit the temple to see the Lord.

TEXT 88

aes fra-cea etga saree Seta |
FRR COA TAS SAV HAA Wve

punah dina-sese prabhura kardila utthana
kichu bhoga lagdila kardila jala-pana

SYNONYMS
punah—again; dina-sese—at the end of the day; prabhura—of the Lord;
kardila—caused to do; utthana—rising; kichu—some; bhoga—food; lagaila—
offered; kardila—caused to do; jala—water; pana—drinking.
