122 Sri Caitanya-caritamrta [Madhya-lila, Ch. 13
mahdprabhu sukha pdila se-sevd dekhite
mahdaprabhura krpa haila se-sevd ha-ite
SYNONYMS
mahdaprabhu—Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu; sukha paila—felt very happy; se-
seva—that kind of service; dekhite—to see; mahdaprabhura—of Sri Caitanya
Mahdaprabhu; krpa—mercy; haila—there was; se-sevd ha-ite—because of that
service.
TRANSLATION
Upon seeing the King engaged in such menial service, Caitanya
Mahaprabhu became very happy. Simply by rendering this service, the King
received the mercy of the Lord.
PURPORT
Unless one receives the mercy of the Lord, he cannot understand the Supreme
Personality of Godhead or engage in His devotional service.
athdpi te deva padambuja-dvaya-
prasdda-lesanugrhita eva hi
janati tattvarn bhagavan-mahimno
na canya eko ‘pi cirarh vicinvan
(Bhag. 10.14.29)
Only a devotee who has received a small fraction of the mercy of the Lord can
understand Him. Others may engage in theoretical speculation to understand the
Lord, but they can not know anything about Him. Although Maharaja Pra-
taparudra was very eager to see Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu, the Lord refused to see
him. However, when Sri Caitanya Mahdprabhu saw the King engaged in menial
service for Lord Jagannatha, He became very happy. Thus the King became elig-
ible to receive Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu’s mercy. If a devotee accepts Lord Sri
Caitanya Mahaprabhu as the universal guru and Lord Jagannatha as the Supreme
Personality of Godhead Krsna, he is benefited by the combined mercy of Krsna
and guru. That is stated by Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu in His instructions to Ripa
Gosvami. (Cc. Madhya 19.151)
brahmanda bhramite kona bhagyavan jiva
guru-krsna-prasade paya bhakti-lata-bija
The seed of devotional service fructifies and becomes a transcendental creeper.
Finally it reaches the lotus feet of the Lord in the spiritual sky. This seed is obtained
