The Brahmana Sees Little Gopala

Illustration 1. One day a traveling brahmana stayed at Jagannatha Mishra’s home. Wherever he went, he cooked for his beloved Bala Gopala.

Illustration 2. His hosts gave him a clean place, rice, and other ingredients. The brahmana carefully prepared an offering.

Illustration 3. He placed the meal before the Lord and closed his eyes. “Gopala, please accept this food,” the guest prayed.

Illustration 4. Suddenly Nimai ran in, took a handful of rice, and tasted it. The brahmana opened his eyes in dismay.

Illustration 5. Jagannatha Mishra wanted to scold his son. But the kind brahmana stopped him, saying, “He is still very young.”

Illustration 6. The guest calmly prepared the offering a second time. Nimai was carried away, and the family watched Him closely.

Illustration 7. Yet when the brahmana called Gopala again, Nimai appeared beside the plate. The little Guest tasted the second offering too.

Illustration 8. Late that night, the brahmana cooked for a third time. Every door was closed, and the family fell asleep.

Illustration 9. The brahmana softly called Gopala’s name. The radiant Nimai appeared before him once more.

Illustration 10. This time the Lord revealed His wonderful eight-armed form as Bala Gopala. The brahmana saw a conch, disc, club, lotus, flute, and butter.

Illustration 11. “You called Me, so I came to accept your offering,” the Lord said. The guest understood that Nimai was his beloved Krishna.

Illustration 12. The brahmana wept with joy and thanked Gopala. The Lord asked him not to tell anyone yet.

Illustration 13. In the morning, the family saw that their guest was peaceful and happy. To everyone else, Nimai was once again a playful little boy.

Illustration 14. Krishna first accepts the love with which food is offered to Him. Food offered in this loving way is called prasada.

Illustration 15. The brahmana honored the prasada and softly repeated Gopala’s name. Now he knew who had been playing beside him.

Authoritative sources

The story and its short spiritual teaching were checked against these editions of Śrīla Prabhupāda’s books:

• Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā 14.37 and purport
• Bhagavad-gītā As It Is 9.26