Madhya-līlā

Chapter 25: How All the Residents of Vārāṇasī Became Vaiṣṇavas

Verse 206 of 282
Cc Madhya 25.206

দুঃখী বৈষ্ণব দেখিঽ তাঙ্রে করান ভোজন গৌডীযা আইলে দধি, ভাত, তৈলমর্দন

दुःखी वैष्णव देखिऽ ताङ्रे करान भोजन गौडीया आइले दधि, भात, तैलमर्दन

duḥkhī vaiṣṇava dekhi' tāṅre karāna bhojana gauḍīyā āile dadhi, bhāta, taila-mardana

Synonyms

duḥkhī vaiṣṇavaa poverty-stricken Vaiṣṇava; dekhi'seeing; tāṅreto him; karāna bhojanagives food for eating; gauḍīyā āilewhen a Bengali Vaiṣṇava came to Mathurā; dadhiyogurt; bhātacooked rice; taila-mardanamassaging mustard oil on the body..

Translation

Subuddhi Rāya used to spend his savings to supply yogurt to Bengali Vaiṣṇavas who came to Mathurā. He also gave them cooked rice and oil massages. When he saw a poverty-stricken Vaiṣṇava, he would use his money to feed him.

Purport

There is a special reference for the maintenance of Bengali Vaiṣṇavas. A Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava is a Bengali Vaiṣṇava. Most of the devotees of Lord Caitanya at that time were Gauḍīyas and Oriyās, inhabitants of Bengal and Orissa. There are still many hundreds and thousands of disciples in Bengal and Orissa. Bengalis are habituated to eating cooked rice as their staple food. When they went to Mathurā in the North, they found that the people generally ate chapatis or roṭi made of wheat. The Bengalis could not digest this food because they were used to cooked rice. Therefore as soon as Subuddhi Rāya saw a Bengali Vaiṣṇava arriving in Mathurā, he would try to supply him with cooked rice. Bengalis are also accustomed to taking a massage with mustard oil. In any case, Subuddhi Rāya wanted to serve the Vaiṣṇavas according to their needs. Therefore he would supply yogurt to ease the digestion of food eaten in Mathurā, particularly the wheat-made chapatis and roṭi.

Verse 206 of 282
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