SRI MADHAVENDRA PURI

During Nityananda Prabhu's tour of all the holy places of India for the
purpose of purifying them, by the will of providence, he happened to meet
Madhavendra Puripada somewhere in western India. When Nityananda Prabhu saw
Madhavendra Puri he fainted away in a swoon of ecstatic love and His
transcendental body became completely still. Similarly, when Madhavendra Puri
gazed upon Nityananda Prabhu, he completely forgot himself and fainted to the
ground.

Sri Gauracandra used to repeatedly remark that, in relishing the mellows of
love in devotion, there is no one to compare with Madhavendra Puri. When the
disciples of Madhavendra Puri, headed by Isvara Puri, saw their spiritual
master and the Prabhu fallen in a faint of ecstatic love, they began to cry.
Gradually, Nityananda Prabhu and Madhavendra got back their external
consiousness. When their eyes opened and they again got sight of one another,
they put their arms around each other's necks and cried tears of joy. Then
they began to roll in the sandy earth carried by the waves of ecstatic love,
while rending the sky with their loud roaring. As a river of love began to
flow from their eyes, Mother Earth considered herself to be blessed in being
flooded by that inundation. With the appearance of the transformations brought
by bhava, trembling, tears, and standing of the hairs on end, it could be
understood that their bodies had become a place of pastimes for Caitanya
Gosai.

Nityananda exclaimed, "Today I have received the fruit of all my travels to
the holy places. In seeing the feet of Madhavendra Puri, I have received the
treasure of love of God, and thus my life has become blessed."

Madhavendra Puri continued to embrace Nityananda Prabhu tightly to his chest.
He wanted to say something but his voice was choked up due to experiencing
intense emotions. Isvara Puri, Brahmananda Puri and the other disciples of Sri
Puripada present, became compeletely enamoured by Nityananda Prabhu. Some
other pilgrims were present at that place but due to being devoid of devotion,
they couldn't understand what was going on and continued to converse amongst
themselves. The devotees felt some sorrow to see the behaviour of those
dullheaded brutes so they retreated into the forest to be rid of their
company. When they were alone together again, their distress was destroyed and
they continued to relish the mellows of Krsna-prema. In this way Nityananda
Prabhu and Madhavendra Puri spent some days together in the happiness of
Krsna-katha.

Madhavendra Puri's love of God was very uncommon. Simply upon seeing a dark
raincloud he would fall down unconsious. Day and night he imbibed the
spirituous liquor of Krsna-prema, and thus remained intoxicated, sometimes
laughing, sometimes crying, sometimes raising a tumultuous hue and cry.
Nityananda also behaved just like a madman, falling down on the ground, his
body agitated by waves of ecstasy. As lava belches forth from a volcano, loud
laughter erupted from his mouth while his whole body, as if in the throes of a
great earthquake, trembled violently.

Never before having seen such unprecedented displays of ecstatic emotions,
Madhavendra Puri's disciples continuously remained engaged in hari-kirtana. No
one knew whether it was day or night. Having become completely absorbed in the
mellows of Krsna-prema, the days were passing though it seemed to them that
not even a moment had elapsed yet. Whatever was discussed between Madhavendra
and Nityananda is known only to them and Sri Krsnacandra. Who else is capable
of understanding such subject matter? Madhavendra Puri was unable to give up
Nityananda's company and so he continued to roam about, keeping Nityananda
with him.

Madhavendra Puri told his disciples, "Never before anywhere in all my travels
to all the holy places, have I ever seen such love as this. I could understand
that the Supreme Lord is merciful to me when I got a friend like Nityananda as
my close companion. Whenever one gets His association, that place becomes the
sum total of all holy places and non-different from Vaikuntha itself. Whoever
simply hears about Him will definitly get the association of Sri Krsnacandra.
And whoever bears even the slightest enmity towards Him, though he may be a
devotee, is not dear to Krsna." In this way, day and night, Madhavendra
praised the attractive qualities of Nityananda Prabhu.

Lord Nityananda respected Madhavendra Puri as his guru and always behaved with
him in that relationship. After travelling together for some days finally
Nityananda Prabhu set of in the direction of Setu Bandha while Madhavendra
Puri started for Sarayu. Having lost contact with the external world neither
of them was aware of his own body. In order to maintain body and soul
together, they thus remained in these transcendental states of consiousness.
If in external consiousness, they would cease to live. [C.B. Adi 9.158-192]

At the time of his departure from this world, Madhavendra Puri was completely
absorbed in separation from Krsna and constantly repeated one sloka. This
verse is considered by Gaudiya Vaisnavas to be the essence of expression of
the mood of separation.

Among his associates and disciples were Sri Advaita Acarya, Sri Pundarika
Vidyanidhi, Sri Nityananda Prabhu, Sri Isvara Puri, Sri Paramananda Puri, Sri
Ranga Puri, Sri Ramacandra Puri, Sri Nrsimha Tirtha, Sri Raghupati Upadhyaya,
Sri Sukhananda Puri, among others.

"Madhavendra Puri's body is totally imbued with divine love, as are his
followers as well. He takes nothing other than the juice of the mellows of
love for Krsna as his foodstuffs. Thus his body has become the place of
pastimes of Sri Krsna." [C.B.Adi 9.155]

His worshippable Deity, Gopalji, is presently residing at Nathdwar in
Rajasthan, and is worshipped by the followers of Vallabhacarya.

