Chapter Summary - Chaitanya-bhagavata - Adi-khanda Ch. 13
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Brief Summary: 

All glories to the emperor of the brahmanas and the crest jewel among all teachers. All glories to the society of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu's devotees; The Lord of Vaikuntha, Nimai, was immersed in the mellow of an insolent and arrogant scholar; Their sport was debate and in their intolerant and impatient ways they did whatever was required to win an argument. Even if a well-respected superior scholar made valuable points, others would disagree with him; Lord Nimai's habit was to constantly rebuke the other scholars and refute their arguments right in front of them. There was no teacher in Nabadwip who could confront the Lord's arguments and offer a second opinion; Yet His illusionary energy prevented anyone from knowing Him in truth; This chapter pretty much concentrates solely on the episode between Nimai Pandita and the famous scholar holding the title Digvijaya; By the brahmana's desire and fortune he received benediction from her (Mother Sarasvati) to become a Digvijaya scholar. All the scriptures were on the tip of his tongue. No one in this world could challenge him. Many could not even follow his introduction to the main dissertations, so he went unchecked and unchallenged everywhere; Nabadwip bustled with excitement as time for the trial of intellectual strength drew near; After offering his obeisances to the Ganga, the Digvijaya moved a little closer to the Lord. On noticing him, Nimai smiled at him and affectionately offered him a seat. Having already conquered all the scholars in the land, the Digvijaya Pandita was naturally fearless, yet in the presence of the Lord he was filled with awe. By the design of the omnipotent Supreme Lord, whoever approaches Him in a challenging mood will feel both awe and fear;  Upon the Lord's request the Digvijaya spent over an hours using poetry to glorify the River Ganges, but upon inspection the Lord point out three areas of fault, eventually rendering the Digvijaya's facilities to zero;  While the Digvijaya Pandita was struggling to swallow his ignominious defeat, the students began laughing and giggling excitedly. The Lord immediately stopped them and spoke soft, soothing words to the Pandita, "Today let us stop here. Please return to your home and tomorrow we can continue our discussion. You must be tired after composing such a lengthy recitation. It is also very late now; soon it will be time to sleep;"  In his dream Mother Sarasvati looked compassionately upon the brahmana and spoke confidentially to him. "O learned brahmana, listen to me. I will now reveal to you that knowledge which is undisclosed even in the Vedas. If for any reason you reveal this secret to anyone, you will immediately forfeit your body. The person who defeated you today is actually the Supreme Lord of the entire cosmic manifestation. I am an eternal servant at His lotus feet, and out of shyness I hesitate to stand before Him; To become the greatest of all the scholars of the world is not the real result of chanting the mantra I gave you. You have received the factual result; you were able to see in person the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Lord of the entire cosmic creation; "O brahmana, go quickly to him and take shelter of His lotus feet. Surrender yourself completely to Him. Do not imagine my advice to be a dream or hallucination. The power behind the mantra you chant has brought me here and forced me to reveal the most esoteric knowledge of the Vedas."

Sri Gaura Sundara replied, "O learned brahmana, you are very fortunate because Mother Sarasvati resides
on the tip of your tongue. But conquering the world with mundane knowledge is not a suitable
objective for one with true wisdom. Knowledge becomes valuable only when it augments the worship
the Supreme Lord. Try to carefully understand. When death strikes and the soul is forced from the
body, no one can take his material knowledge or opulence. The learned and self- realized souls
completely reject this transient phenomenal existence and engage with unalloyed faith in the Lord's
devotional service.
Now O brahmana, leave aside all extraneous (
introduced or coming from without; not belonging or proper to a thing) engagements and utilize your time worshipping the lotus feet of Sri Krishna for the remainder of your life. Remember that the fruit of true knowledge is tasted when the heart and mind are unflinchingly attached to the lotus feet of Lord Krishna. Of all activities, devotional service to the Supreme Lord Vishnu, is the only manifestation of absolute truth. This is the advice I offer you."

Within moments the brahmana's arrogance and vanity diminished and he grew as humble and meek as a blade of grass. He renounced everything - his elephants, horses, palanquins, money and the undesirable associates he has
previously kept; Lord Gaurasundara's wonderful defeat of the Digvijaya and the Pandita's subsequent conversion was soon known in all corners of Nadia; The Lord's illusory potence was so strong that in spite of witnessing His miracles, no one could perceive His true identity. From that time on the people of Nadia could only discuss Nimai's victory over the Digvijaya.

Most Memorable:  

The hundreds of Bhattacarya scholars residing in Nabadwip were distraught with anxiety and abandoned all activities; Nabadwip bustled with excitement as time for the trial of intellectual strength drew near. He entered Nabadwip in a great procession of horses, elephants, palanquins and men; To become the greatest of all the scholars of the world is not the real result of chanting the mantra I gave you. You have received the factual result; you were able to see in person the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Lord of the entire cosmic creation (Mother Sarasvati  to Digvijaya); The Supreme Lord does not tolerate anyone Who indulges in continual insolence. Whenever He finds someone burdened by arrogance over some personal quality, He invariably removes the cause of their pride. A fruit-laden tree and a person endowed with good qualities will inevitably bend down in humility;  You defeated me three times, yet You kept my honor intact. Is such behavior possible for anyone other than the Supreme Lord? I am convinced that You are that Supreme Personality of Godhead. I have traveled far and wide - Bengal, Trihatta, Kasi, Gujarat, Vijaya Nagara, Anga, Banga, Tailanga, Udra and many other places. The most qualified scholars in each place were defeated by me. They could not even understand my discourses, let alone find fault with them. But in your presence all my education and intellect seemed to flee - I know not where. I now realize that this was not an extraordinary feat for you, because you are the Lord and master of Mother Sarasvati. She personally revealed this to me;



Quiz:
(see answers below)

1. In regards to the brahmana race, what object is Lord Chaitanya referred to as? 

A-  The emperor
B-  The crown jewel
C-  The brightest lamp
D-  The best of 

2.  What was the common practice of Nimai Pandita when confronted with the scholars of Nabadwip?

A-  He would arrange for a formal debate with them.
B-  He would have His servant speak to the scholar first.
C-  He would get right in their face and challenge them on the spot.
D-  He would wait until they approached Him for a debate and them smash them.

3.  What is the meaning of the title, Digvijaya?

A-  One who has conquered scholars in all directions
B-  The servant of Mother Sarasvati
C-  The master of all knowledge
D-  He who is undefeatable

 
4.  What is the relationship between Mother Sarasvati and Laksmi Devi

A-  Since Mother Sarasvati is the goddess of learning, she is the servant of Lasmi Devi
B-  She is non-different from Laksmi Devi, the eternal consort of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Lord Narayana.
C-  Laksmi Devi is Mother Sarasvati's daughter.
D-  Laksmi Devi gives Mother Sarasvati her knowledge.

5.  At the time, what was Nabadwip famous for?

A-  Being situated on the banks of the Ganges. 
B-  The birthplace of Lord Chaitanya.
C-  Its large banana plantations.
D- The most famous center of learning in the entire world.

6.   What is the potential inspiration that can manifest if one turns to the Supreme Personality of Godhead? 

A-  Devotional Service
B-  A deep hatred for Maya
C-  The deepest feelings of ecstasy in the hearts of all His devotees.
D-  Love of all Mankind

7.  How can one come to understand and know the Lord's true identity?

A-  By studying the Vedas
B-  By severe austerity
C-  By living as a devotee for many births.
D-  Only when the Lord reveals Himself of His own volition can one understand His real identity.

8.  Nimai praised the Digvijaya for ability of his?

A-  The Digvijaya's great memory.
B-  His mastery of grammar.
C-  His ability to defeat any and all scholars.
D-  His poetry.

9. Where did Nimai, the Lord of Vaikuntha, find fault in the Digvijaya's statements.

A-  The very last verse.
B-  Three mistakes - one in the beginning, one in the middle and one towards the end of the Pundit's composition.
C-   The poetry was perfect.  It was in the Digvijaya's explanation that fault was found.
D-   Figures of speech.

10.  What was Nimai's mercy upon the Digvijaya?

A-  He made it appear to all that the Digvijaya had actually won the debate.
B-  He made everyone leave so that only the Digvijaya and the Lord would know the outcome of their debate.
C-  He embraced the Digvijaya and immediately released him from material bondage.
D-  The Lord was so merciful that despite His victory, He did not dishonor the great scholar.

11.  What was Srila Rupa Goswami's name before meeting Lord Chaitanya?

A-  Ghaazi
B-  Izz Udeen
C-  Dabir Khas
D-  Abdul-Baari

Analogies:  All glories to Lord GauraChandra, the brightest lamp in the brahmana race; Listen brothers, and I will tell you the actual situation. The Supreme Lord does not tolerate anyone Who indulges in continual insolence. Whenever He finds someone burdened by arrogance over some personal quality, He invariably removes the cause of their pride. A fruit-laden tree and a person endowed with good qualities will inevitably bend down in humility;

Devotee Mentioned: 

Srila Rupa Gosvami - who was also known as Dabir Khas

Flowery Language:  A sweet smile decorated the glowing moon-like face of the Lord, and His two beautiful eyes
showered transcendentally merciful glances. Pearls were lack-luster in comparison with His teeth and
His radiant lips were easily mistaken for the rising sun. With His soft and delicate body, He was the
personification of compassion. His perfect head was covered with raven black curls; His graceful,
lion-like neck rested perfectly on His beautiful broad shoulders. He was dressed in divinely exquisite
clothes, His perfectly proportioned body was large and his heart was ruled by His munificent nature.
The brahmana's thread hanging loosely across his shoulders was the bow of Ananta Sesha. His long
arms extended gracefully to his knees and the Urdhapurna tilaka decorating His wide forehead enraptured the hearts of everyone. With His dhoti tied elegantly at His waist, Sri Gauranga sat in the cross-legged posture of a yogi; Remember that the fruit of true knowledge is tasted when the heart and mind are unflinchingly attached to the lotus feet of Lord Krishna. 

Blessings:  

Whoever faithfully and attentively hears this pastime of the Lord defeating Digvijaya Pandita will always be victorious, and whoever hears about His captivating pastimes as a scholar will immediately become His eternal servant.  

 

Misc. Facts:

Nabadwip town itself in those days was an institution, housing many scholars and teachers well versed
in all branches of the scriptures. Titles like Bhattacarya, Cakravarty, Misra or Acarya were common
and the only work of these scholars was teaching. Their sport was debate and in their intolerant and
impatient ways they did whatever was required to win an argument. Even if a well-respected superior
scholar made valuable points, others would disagree with him; Yet His illusionary energy prevented anyone from knowing Him in truth. Only when the Lord revealed Himself of his own volition could one understand His real identity; Mother Sarasvati is actually the universal mother; she is non-different from Laksmi Devi, the eternal consort of the Supreme Personality of Godhead Lord Narayana.By the brahmana's desire and fortune he received benediction from her to become a Digvijaya scholar. For her (Mother Sarasvati) to give such a boon was quite easy, for she is capable of benedicting anyone with even the raregift of transcendental devotional service to the Supreme Lord Narayana.

That mercy (from Lord Chaitanya) could make a king leave his palace and take up a beggar's bowl. The remarkable example of this was Srila Rupa Gosvami who was also known as Dabir Khas. He left his kingly position and lived in the forests of Vrndavana. A servant of Krishna can ignore the material wealth, position and
prestige which are desired by the common people. Any person who has not realized the value of
devotional service to the Supreme Lord will naturally consider the position of a king most comfortable and enviable. But for the devotee of Krishna, even the happiness derived from liberation is insignificant, therefore mere kingly comfort is of no consequence whatsoever. Reality and true happiness lie solely in the merciful glance of the Supreme Lord, and therefore the Vedas advise everyone to serve Him.

Words:

obsequious- servilely compliant or deferential
supercilious-
haughtily disdainful or contemptuous, as a person or a facial expression.
propitiatory-
serving
eclat-
showy or elaborate display
ignominious-
marked by disgrace; dishonor; public contempt
elucidate-
to make lucid or clear; throw light upon; explain
extemporarily-
done, spoken, performed, etc., without special advance preparation; impromptu: an extemporaneous speech.
extraneous- introduced or coming from without; not belonging or proper to a thing

 

  Answers:  1-C;   2-C;  3-A;  4-B;  5-D;  6-C;  7-D;  8-D;  9-B&D;  10-C&D;  11-C;