10 Sri Caitanya-caritamrta [Madhya-lila, Ch. 12

SYNONYMS
yogya—befitting; ayogya—not befitting; tomaya—unto You; saba—we all;
cahi—want; nivedite—to submit; toma—You; nad milile—if he does not meet;
raja—the King; cahe—wants; yogi haite—to become a mendicant.

TRANSLATION

“We want to submit before You something that may or may not be befitting.
The matter is this: unless he sees You, the King of Orissa will become a men-
dicant.”’

TEXT 20

ice qui 12? afas 2Bq fort |
Treas ace focw faa callaafa neo 1

kane mudra la-i’ mufii ha-iba bhikhari
rajya-bhoga nahe citte vind gaurahari

SYNONYMS
kane mudrd—a kind of earring; /a-i’—taking; mufi—l; ha-iba—shall become;
bhikhari—a_ beggar; rajya-bhoga—enjoyment of the kingdom; nahe—not;
citte—in the mind; vina—without; gaurahari—Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu.

TRANSLATION

Nityananda Prabhu continued, ‘‘The King has decided to become a mendi-
cant and accept the sign of a mendicant by wearing an ivory earring. He does
not want to enjoy his kingdom without seeing the lotus feet of Sri Caitanya
Mahdaprabhu.”

PURPORT

In India there is still a class of professional mendicants who are very much like
the gypsies of Western countries. They know some magical art and mystical pro-
cesses, and their business is to beg from door to door, sometimes pleading and
sometimes threatening. Such mendicants are sometimes called yogis and some-
times kanaphata yogis. The word kanaphatd refers to one who has put a hole in
his ear to wear an earring made of ivory. Maharaja Prataparudra was so depressed
by not getting to see Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu that he decided to become such a
yogi. Ordinary men think that a yogi must have an ivory earring in his ear, but this
is not the sign of a real yogi, Maharaja Prataparudra also thought that to become a
mendicant yogi, one must wear such an earring.
