How Candidasa became a great devotee of the Lord

Candidasa coined a mantra which is even today used by worshipers of 
Durgadevi: dhanang deji rupang dehi rupa-pati-bhajang dehi. "O 
worshipable Mother Durgadevi, please give me wealth, strength, fame, a 
good wife and so on." So Candidasa was engaged in Durga worship, and 
naturally when one worships Durga, so much material facility comes. He 
had a big garden and a palace.

Candidasa's brother was a Vaisnava engaged in salagram worship. 
Vaisnavas were generally quite poor. The Vaisnava brother had a 
salagram, but he had no flower to offer. So he would look in his 
brother's garden, and he would lust over it. "So many flowers and my 
salagram gets no flower."

One day while he was looking at the garden, he mentally offered a 
flower from that garden to his salagram. And somehow or other, 
Candidas picked the very same flower the next day and he offered to 
Candi. Immediately she appeared, "I am pleased with you, Candidas. 
What benediction do you want?" Candidas said, "Wait, every day I am 
worshiping you. Why today have you suddenly become present? Tell me 
that."

"Because you have offered me the flower which has been offered to 
salagram and that it is prasadam. By seeing that prasadam flower I 
became pleased, so I appeared before you."

"But if salagram is superior to you," Candidas said, "why did you not 
tell me, stupid Candidas, why are you worshiping me? You should 
worship salagram."

So Candi said, "Well you never asked me who was Supreme. Did you ever 
ask me? I would have given you reply. I know who is Supreme, Krsna is 
Supreme, and salagram is the worshipable object, not me. But because 
you were at least worshiping me, so I thought I would train you in 
worship. And then you find out who is to be worshiped, then you will 
actually worship properly."

So when Candidas heard this, he said, "I'm really sorry that I've 
wasted my life. Please excuse me, I'm going to worship salagram. Is 
that all right?" 

"No no, I'm happy! Go worship Salagram," Candi said. And then in 
lamentation, Candidas wrote many songs and Caitanya Mahaprabhu used to 
listen to these songs and get ecstasy.

