Page 47 - Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu (English)

The Adolescent Scholar 17

Nimäi jokingly retorted, “You are a cheater.
You have plenty of hidden treasure and are just
pretending to be destitute. If you don’t give Me a
share of your riches I will expose you to others.” “I
am a poor man,” Çrédhara replied. “How can I offer
You anything? You are a respectable brähmaëa.
Why are You behaving like this?” But Nimäi would
persist in His demands, and in the end Çrédhara
would give in: “Take any vegetable You want.” So
every day Nimäi would take freely from him .
“Who do you think I am?” Nimäi would ask
Çrédhara. “You are a young brähmaëa boy, part
and parcel of Kåñëa.” “No, you are wrong. I am
the maintainer of the Gaìgä, who you worship.”
Unable to comprehend the truth of such words,
Çrédhara would cover his ears with his hands and
shout, “Viñëu! Viñëu! What are You speaking?
How can You claim to be God? Usually as people
grow older they become wiser, but in You I find the
opposite to be true.” Çrédhara could not recognize
that the Lord of his heart had come to joke with
him.

Nimäi married Lakñmépriyä, the same girl
whom in childhood He had encountered on the
bank of the Gaìgä. As an ideal wife Lakñmépriyä
faithfully performed her household duties and was