Childhood Pastimes

The Crying That Stopped at the Holy Name #

Even before He could speak, the infant Vishvambhara showed a nature that no ordinary child has. Vaishnava biographers record that He would cry in His mother's arms and could not be comforted, sometimes for hours. Nothing would quiet Him except the sound of women in the neighbourhood calling out "Haribol! Haribol!" ("Chant the name of Hari!"). Sachi Devi soon learned to invite the neighbourhood women to gather and chant whenever her son wept. The crying would stop the moment the holy names were chanted. It was as if the child Himself, even from the cradle, was teaching Nabadwip what would become the medicine for the whole world's suffering.

Eating Clay and His Answer to His Mother #

As a toddler He was mischievous in ways that tried His family's patience, though looking back they saw them as miraculous. It is said that He was once found eating clay from the courtyard instead of the sweets His mother had left for Him. Sachi Devi scolded Him and asked why. He innocently replied that earth is used to make cooking pots, and cooking pots hold the food she gives Him, so He didn't see the difference. This mischievous reasoning already gave a hint of the brilliant mind that was to come.

The Two Thieves Who Carried Him Away #

On another occasion two travelling thieves saw the extraordinarily beautiful golden child playing alone. They wanted to steal the gold ornaments He wore, so they tried to lure Him away with the promise of sweets. The stories tell that they then became hopelessly lost, wandering in circles around Nabadwip. At last, terrified and sorry for what they had done, they had no choice but to bring the child safely back to His mother's door.

The Dream of Sannyasis and the Offered Food #

Before his son was born, Nimai's father Jagannatha Mishra had once dreamed that many sannyasis had come to worship the child in his house. Wandering holy men and Vaishnavas were indeed drawn to their home. One detail appears again and again in the biographies. Whenever a guest arrived and left food offerings unattended even for a moment, the infant would help Himself. His embarrassed parents were forced to keep the doors closed to visiting brahmanas. This went on until they discovered that Nimai only ever touched food that had truly been offered to Krishna in the heart of the devotee bringing it. He never touched the food of a hypocrite, or of a casual visitor whose devotion was insincere. For those who could understand, small incidents like these were clear signs that this was no ordinary brahmana boy.

Learning the Alphabet in a Single Day #

At the age of five, Nimai was enrolled in the village pathasala and is said to have learned the entire Bengali alphabet within a single day of instruction, astonishing His teacher.

Studying Grammar Under Gangadasa Pandita #

By eight He was sent to study under the famous pandit Gangadasa at his tola in the neighbouring village of Ganganagar. There, within about two years, He mastered Sanskrit vyakarana (grammar), the most difficult of the traditional sciences. He also learned the beginnings of rhetoric (alankara) and logic. The accounts agree that He was a restless and playful student. Still, He understood in a single hearing what other students needed weeks to memorise. His father passed away while Nimai was still a boy. After that, He continued His education largely by teaching Himself from His father's books, studying especially smriti (scriptural law) and nyaya (logic).

The Young Logician of Nabadwip #

By His early teenage years Nimai had opened His own tola in Nabadwip. At that time Nabadwip was the leading centre of Sanskrit scholarship in all of Bengal, and He was already recognised there as one of its sharpest young logicians. This reputation prepared the way for His famous encounter with the visiting scholar Keshava Kashmiri Pandita, which is told in full on its own page. Besides His scholarship, Nimai was known among the townspeople for His wit, which could be gently cutting toward false pride and religious hypocrisy. He also had a playful sense of humour with His young friends and fellow students. Later, once He revealed Himself as Krishna Chaitanya, many of them remembered these moments as pastimes of clearly divine playfulness, not as ordinary childhood mischief.

Why These Pastimes Matter #

These childhood pastimes are precious to Gaudiya Vaishnavas, and not only because they are charming. They show that the child born in Sachi Devi's house was never an ordinary brahmana boy who later "became" enlightened. This is clear even before the Lord ever lifts His arms in sankirtana. From His very first cry, which only the holy name could quiet, He was Krishna Himself. He was playing the part of a human child so that Nabadwip, and through Nabadwip the entire world, would have a human life to look to, learn from and love.