14.37
atithi-viprera anna khaila tina-bara
pache gupte sei vipre karila nistara
SYNONYMS
atithi—guest; viprera—of a brahmana; anna—food; khaila—ate; tina-bara—thrice; pache—afterwards; gupte—in privacy; sei—that; vipre—unto the brahmana; karila—made; nistara—deliverance.
On one occasion the Lord ate the food of a brahmana guest three times, and later, in confidence, the Lord delivered that brahmana from material engagement.
PURPORT
The story of the deliverance of this brahmana is as follows.
One brahmana who was touring all over the country, traveling from one place of pilgrimage to another, reached Navadvipa and became a guest in the house of Jagannatha Misra.
Jagannatha Misra gave him all ingredients for cooking, and the brahmana prepared his food.
When the brahmana was offering the food to Lord Visnu in meditation, the child Nimai came before him and began to eat it, and because of this the brahmana thought the whole offering spoiled.
Therefore by the request of Jagannatha Misra he cooked for a second time, but when he was meditating the child again came before him and began to eat the food, again spoiling the offering.
By the request of Jagannatha Misra the brahmana cooked for a third time, but for a third time the Lord came before him and began to eat the food, although the child had been locked within a room and everyone was sleeping because it was late at night.
Thus, thinking that on that day Lord Visnu was not willing to accept his food and that he was therefore ordained to fast, the brahmana became greatly agitated and cried aloud, haya haya: “What has been done! What has been done!”.
When Lord Caitanya Mahaprabhu saw the brahmana in that agitated state, He told him, “Formerly I was the son of mother Yasoda.
At that time you also became a guest in the house of Nanda Maharaja, and I disturbed you in this way.
I am very much pleased by your devotion.
Therefore I am eating the food you have prepared.” Understanding the favor offered to him by the Lord, the brahmana was greatly pleased, and he was overwhelmed with love of Krsna.
He was thankful to the Lord, for he felt himself greatly fortunate.
Then the Lord asked the brahmana not to disclose the incident to anyone else.
This is very elaborately explained in the Caitanya-bhagavata, Adi-lila, Chapter Three.