Srila Sridhara Pandit - Kholavecha
There
was a great devotee of Lord Caitanya known as Kholävecä Çrédhara, who
was a very poor man. He was doing a small business selling cups made
from the leaves of plantain trees, and his income was almost nothing.
Still, he was spending fifty percent of his small income on the worship
of the Ganges, and with the other fifty percent he was somehow living.
Lord Caitanya once revealed Himself to this confidential devotee,
Kholävecä Çrédhara, and offered him any opulence he liked. But Çrédhara
informed the Lord that he did not want any material opulence. He was
quite happy in his present position and wanted only to gain unflinching
faith and devotion unto the lotus feet of Lord Caitanya. That is the
position of pure devotees. If they can be engaged twenty-four hours
each day in devotional service they do not want anything else, not even
the happiness of liberation or of becoming one with the Supreme. (A.C.
Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Nectar of Devotion. Chapter 1.
Characteristics of Pure Devotional Service.)
kholavechaataya khyaatah
panditah shridharo dvijah
aasid vraje haasya kaari
yo naamnaa kusumaasavah
“The
cowherd boy named Kusumaasava, who joked with Lord Krishna and made Him
laugh in Vrajabhumi, appeared in Lord Cgaitanta’s pastimes as the
learned braahmana named Kholavecha Shridhar.” (Gaura-ganodesh-dipika
133.)
kholävecä sevakera dekha bhägya-sémä
brahmä çiva käìde yära dekhiyä mahimä
dhane jane päëòitye kåñëa nähi päi
kevala bhaktira vaça caitanya-gosäïi
“Behold
the great fortune of the devotee Kholävecä. Lord Brahmä and Çiva shed
tears upon seeing his greatness. One cannot attain Lord Kåñëa by any
amount of wealth, followers, or learning. Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu is
controlled only by pure devotion. “Lord Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu had a
very sincere devotee whose name was Kholävecä Çrédhara and whose only
business was to sell pots made of the skin of banana trees. Whatever
income he had, he used fifty percent for the worship of mother Ganges,
and with the other fifty percent he provided for his necessities. On
the whole, he was so very poor that he lived in a cottage that had a
broken roof with many holes in it. He could not afford brass utensils,
and therefore he drank water from an iron pot. Nevertheless, he was a
great devotee of Lord Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu. He is a typical example
of how a poor man with no material possessions can become a most
exalted devotee of the Lord. The conclusion is that one cannot attain
shelter at the lotus feet of Lord Kåñëa or Çré Caitanya Gosäïi through
material opulence; that shelter is attainable only by pure devotional
service. (A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Srimad Bhagavatam 5:19:7
purport.)
kholä-vecä çrédhara prabhura priya-däsa
yäìhä-sane prabhu kare nitya parihäsa
TRANSLATION
“The
twenty-ninth branch was Çrédhara, a trader in banana-tree bark. He was
a very dear servant of the Lord. On many occasions, the Lord played
jokes on him.”
PURPORT
Çrédhara was a poor brähmaëa who
made a living by selling banana-tree bark to be made into cups. Most
probably he had a banana-tree garden and collected the leaves, skin and
pulp of the banana trees to sell daily in the market. He spent fifty
percent of his income to worship the Ganges, and the balance he used
for his subsistence. When Çré Caitanya Mahäprabhu started His civil
disobedience movement in defiance of the Käzé, Çrédhara danced in
jubilation.The Lord used to drink water from his water jug. Çrédhara
presented a squash to Çacédevé to cook before Lord Caitanya took
sannyäsa. Every year he went to see Lord Caitanya Mahäprabhu at
Jagannätha Puré. According to Kavi-karëapüra, Çrédhara was a cowherd
boy of Våndävana whose name was Kusumäsava. In his
Gaura-gaëoddeça-dépikä, verse 133, it is stated:
kholä-vecätayä khyätaù
paëòitaù çrédharo dvijaù
äséd vraje häsya-karo
yo nämnä kusumäsavaù
“The
cowherd boy known as Kusumäsava in kåñëa-lélä later became Kholävecä
Çrédhara during Caitanya Mahäprabhu’s lélä at Navadvépa.”
Ädi 10.68
prabhu yäìra nitya laya thoòa-mocä-phala
yäìra phuöä-lauhapätre prabhu pilä jala TRANSLATION
“Every
day Lord Caitanya Mahäprabhu jokingly snatched fruits, flowers and pulp
from Çrédhara and drank from his broken iron pot.”
“There is the
story of Kholaveca Sridhara, a devotee of Lord Caitanya, who although
he was a very poor man, gave half of his meager income for worshiping
Mother Ganges, and by so doing, he greatly pleased the Lord. It is not
so much important the quantity of books that we distribute, but that we
serve Krishna as best we can, and depend on Him for the results.” (A.C.
Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada. Letter to Dharma – 22nd April1972. Tokyo