When Mukunda Datta announced his arrival, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu called Raghunatha Dasa forward at once, stood up, and embraced him. The assembled devotees, Svarupa Damodara Gosvami among them, were filled with wonder at this mercy. Mahaprabhu told him gently that Krishna's mercy alone had pulled him out of what He called the ditch of materialistic family life. Then, making a light family joke, He remarked that Raghunatha's father and uncle were in fact His own distant relatives through His grandfather Nilambara Cakravarti. They were good men, He said, charitable to brahmanas, but not yet pure Vaishnavas.
| Detail | Description |
|---|---|
| Assigned guardian | Svarupa Damodara Gosvami, Mahaprabhu's personal secretary |
| New name | "Svarupera Raghu", the Raghu of Svarupa Damodara |
| Daily discipline | More than twenty-two of twenty-four hours in chanting; under ninety minutes for eating and sleeping |
| Gifts from Mahaprabhu | A Govardhana-sila and a garland of small conchshells, which He had personally kept for three years |
| Total years at Puri | Roughly sixteen, spanning Mahaprabhu's final years and beyond |
Handed to Svarupa Damodara #
Turning to His secretary, Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu spoke the words that would define the rest of Raghunatha's life: "I entrust this Raghunatha Dasa to you. Please accept him as your son or servant." Svarupa Damodara agreed at once and embraced him in turn. Because there were already two other associates named Raghunatha in Mahaprabhu's circle, the Lord declared that from that day this one would be known specifically as the Raghunatha of Svarupa Damodara, Svarupera Raghu. Govinda, the Lord's personal servant, was told to see that the exhausted traveler ate well for a few days before anything else was expected of him.
Chanting, Begging, and the Discipline of a Vairagi #
After five days of taking the Lord's own remnants, Raghunatha began standing at the Simha-dvara gate each night. There he received alms from temple servants returning home, which was the accepted way for a penniless Vaishnava to live at Puri. When Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu heard of it, He was pleased, not concerned. He told Svarupa Damodara that this was exactly the conduct expected of one in the renounced order. He also said that a person who is a servant of the tongue could never attain Krishna. Some time later Raghunatha judged even this practice too uncertain a thing to depend on. So instead he began eating at a booth where food was given out free. When Mahaprabhu learned of this change, He again approved. For two years Raghunatha also invited Mahaprabhu to dine at his residence twice a month, using money sent by well-wishing relatives back home. Then his conscience troubled him about accepting gifts given with material motives, and he stopped. Raghunatha had feared that Mahaprabhu would be disappointed. But the Lord accepted his decision with a smile.
The Govardhana-sila and the Conchshell Garland #
Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu recognized how deep Raghunatha's renunciation was. So He gave him two objects He personally treasured: a small stone from Govardhana Hill and a garland of conchshells. Both had originally been brought from Vrindavana years earlier, and the Lord had kept them close to His own heart the entire time. He instructed Raghunatha to worship the stone with water and tulasi leaves alone. He promised that such simple worship, offered with faith, would bring more ecstatic love than elaborate ritual ever could. Raghunatha understood the gifts as a double blessing. Through the stone he received shelter near Govardhana Hill, and through the garland, shelter at Radha's own feet. He worshipped both for the rest of his days with what Sri Chaitanya-charitamrita calls unlimited transcendental bliss.
Twenty-Two Hours of Chanting #
At Puri, Mahaprabhu also gave Raghunatha personal instruction in a verse that has since become one of the most quoted in Gaudiya Vaishnavism. It says that one who considers himself lower than a blade of grass, more tolerant than a tree, and free of any desire for personal honor can chant the holy name without any obstacle. Raghunatha took the teaching almost literally. He wore nothing but a single torn cloth. He allowed himself less than ninety minutes a day in all for eating and sleep. At night he began collecting the temple's spoiled, discarded prasadam. This rice was so far gone that even the cows near the Simha-dvara gate would not touch it. He washed it and ate only the hard inner part that could still be eaten. When Svarupa Damodara discovered the practice, he tasted a portion himself out of curiosity. Then he teased Raghunatha for hoarding such "nectar." Mahaprabhu heard of it and came the next day. He took a morsel by force before Svarupa Damodara could stop Him. He declared that in all His years at Puri He had never tasted prasadam so fine.
This was the life that shaped Raghunatha Dasa for everything that followed. First Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu left this world, and later Svarupa Damodara Gosvami himself. That turning point is told in Arrival in Vrindavana.
