Chapter summary
गोपपुरीमाहात्म्यम् Gopa Purī Māhātmyam
The Glory of Gopapurī
**Śrī Sadguru said:**
On the banks of the Krishnabhadra river lies the great and holy Kṛṣṇakṣetra. There, a city named Gopapurī was built by Brahmā himself. Within it stands the auspicious temple of Gopālakṛṣṇa, whose glory I shall now narrate, for merely listening to it destroys all sins. (v.1-2)
Once, the great sage Mṛkaṇḍu, accompanied by his wife Marutvatī, undertook a severe penance on the bank of the Krishnabhadra. His fervent desire was to behold Lord Trivikrama – that imperishable Viṣṇu, who, in a playful act of deception against Mahābali, had measured the entire universe in that very form of Mādhava. The sage prayed, "May He appear before me in that very form and grant me a divine vision." With unwavering devotion, he and Marutvatī subsisted solely on air as they performed this most arduous austerity. (v.3-6)
One day, a Brahmin, his limbs trembling with the frailty of old age and afflicted by hunger and thirst, arrived at Mṛkaṇḍu's hermitage. The great sage Mṛkaṇḍu, ever diligent in his duties, reverently welcomed the guest. He offered water for his hands and feet, performed other respects, and stood humbly with folded hands. (v.7-8)
**Mṛkaṇḍu said:**
"Welcome, O best of Brahmins! Please accept my worship, O Lord, for Lord Nārāyaṇa Himself comes in the guise of a guest. By worshipping you, O Brahmin learned in the Vedas, all the gods are worshipped, and our ancestors are gratified; of this, there is no doubt. Indeed, the Smṛti [sacred law texts] declares: 'He who fails to worship a guest arriving at the conclusion of the Vaiśvadeva ritual [a daily offering to gods, ancestors, and beings] immediately attains the state of an outcaste; there is no doubt.'" (v.9-11)
**The Brahmin said:**
"I have come, O fortunate one, a Brahmin advanced in age, afflicted by thirst and hunger, desiring to eat in your hermitage. O Mṛkaṇḍu, great sage, if you are able to provide as much food as my hunger demands, then I shall accept your worship. I am a great eater, yet you, I observe, subsist on air. It is by mere chance that the sacred duty of hospitality has fallen to you in your hermitage." (v.12-14)
**Mṛkaṇḍu said:**
"Here, O Lord, by your grace, everything is well-provided. Therefore, casting aside all hesitation, please accept my hospitality, O Master. By the power of my own penance, I shall surely provide as much sacrificial food as is needed until your stomach is full, O Brahmin." (v.15-16)
**Śrī Sadguru said:**
Having thus spoken to the Brahmin, and bowing with deep devotion, the great sage quickly instructed his dear wife to prepare the meal. The most fortunate Marutvatī, having cooked a vast quantity of food along with many side dishes – reporting back to her husband that there were many hundreds of *āḍhakas* [a traditional measure of grain] – Mṛkaṇḍu then went to the bank of the Krishnabhadra river to bring his Brahmin guest. There, to his astonishment, he saw that the Brahmin was none other than Trivikrama Himself. (v.17-19)
The Earth was His lotus foot, the ocean His belly, the mountains His bones, the grasses the hairs on His body, and the trees His body hair. The rivers were His veins, fire His mouth, the sun and the moon His eyes and mind respectively, the clouds His crest, and all directions His ears. The constellations were His ornaments, the very sky the heart of the Lord, whose Māyā [divine illusion], composed of the three *guṇas* [qualities of nature], was a garland of beautiful flowers, and whose Kaustubha gem was the soul, the imperishable and divine Ramā [Lakshmi] on the Śrīvatsa mark. Time was His Sudarśana [discus] in His hand, and the conch the embodiment of cosmic sound. Indra sprang from His arm, Varuṇa from His essence (*rasa*), Rudra from His ego, and from His vital breaths, the lotus-born Brahmā and all the gods as well. And in His various limbs resided the sages and all the worlds. May that Lord, in the form of Trivikrama, protect me everywhere. (v.20-22)
Seeing Him, the Lord of all worlds, bearing the form of Trivikrama, Mṛkaṇḍu, filled with faith and devotion, praised Him with folded hands. (v.23)
**Mṛkaṇḍu said:**
"I take refuge in You, the Cosmic Being, the ancient Puruṣa with a thousand heads, a thousand feet, and a thousand eyes, the singular cause of the entire universe. It was by making the sacrificial animal a representation of Your very form that the Creator (Brahmā) worshipped You alone in the beginning. Now, seeing You, the Cosmic Being, before me, who is truly capable of performing Your worship? (v.24-25)
I behold all the worlds within Your belly, O Soul of the Universe, O Vāsudeva! And yet, fool that I am, I worship You with this humble oblation for Your pleasure, O Viṣṇu. For You, the supreme Enjoyer, Death is merely a side-dish, and the worlds themselves are the food—so declares the Śruti [Vedic revelation]. You are the creator of the universe and the form of the universe; You are the enjoyer of the universe and the witness of the universe. (v.26-27)
Before You, of such immeasurable glory, what am I, a bearer of a tiny body? 'How shall I, so small, worship You, the greatest of the great, O Lord?'—thinking thus, I fall silent. Whatever little food has been cooked with devotion by my wife for Your worship, please accept it out of Your mercy, O Mukunda, and forgive the sins committed by me." (v.28-29)
**Śrī Sadguru said:**
Thus prayed to, Viṣṇu, the God of gods, Trivikrama, having partaken of the food offered to Him, spoke sweet words. (v.30)
**The Lord said:**
"O Brahmin, it is because of your profound penance that I have come to your hermitage. I have been worshipped by your hospitality, performed according to all sacred rules. Even in the Kali age, I shall remain here in this very form, bestowing upon human beings their desired ends; of this, there is no doubt." (v.31-32)
**Śrī Sadguru said:**
Having spoken thus, Lord Kṛṣṇa, the soul of the universe, bearing the form of Trivikrama, mercifully established His eternal presence there. Those devoted people who behold Hari, the Lord of the universe, as Trivikrama on the bank of the Krishnabhadra, are truly fulfilled; there is no doubt. (v.33-34)
Here ends the twenty-fourth chapter, entitled "The Glory of Gopapurī," in the Second Part of the "Divyadeśavaibhavam" [a work detailing the glories of the 108 sacred Vishnu temples], composed by Śrī Kṛṣṇapremi Mahāprabhu.
Thus ends Chapter 24, named "Gopa Purī Māhātmyam", in Dvitīya Bhāge, in the Divya Deśa Vaibhavam, composed by Śrī Kṛṣṇapremi Mahāprabhu.
