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Article 2/4: Vidyapti gets the Darshan of Nila-Madhav

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She replied, "I promised not to tell, but I will tell you because you are my husband. He goes to worship Nila-madhava."



Vidyapati became very happy and thought, "After such a long time I have finally heard the name Nila-madhava. Nila-madhava must be somewhere nearby." He began to show so much love and affection to his wife that she revealed everything to him, and he then requested her, "Please ask your father to take his son-in-law with him."



She said, "Yes, I will help you."



After her father returned from worship in the evening and had taken prasada, Lalita approached him and sat on his lap. With much love and affection she told him, "My dear father, I want one benediction from you."



He replied, "Oh, very good. I desire to give you a benediction. What do you want?"



She told him, "I want something very special. I know that you will be hesitant to give this to me, but I want it."



Her father asked, "What do you want?"



She replied, "O father, I desire that you take my husband with you to see Nila-madhava. He wants to take darsana."



Visvavasu pondered whether or not to take him. Worried that if he brought anyone the deity might be taken or simply vanish, Visvavasu was hesitant. When Lalita saw that he was not very willing, she said, "If you do not show Nila-madhava to my husband, I will take poison and die right in front of you. Your objection means that you do not consider me your loving daughter." And she prepared herself to take poison.



Visvavasu was now in a dilemma and thought, "What shall I do? I must save my only daughter. I must give her this benediction."



He said, "I don't want you to die. I will take your husband with me and show him Nila-madhava, but there is one condition. I will tightly bind his eyes with a black cloth, and when we reach there I will remove it so he can take darsana. After that, I will put on the blindfold again. So he will have darsana, but he will not know where he is."



Lalita then went to her husband and told him, "Father has agreed to take you. He will blindfold you during the journey there, but never mind." Vidyapati was overjoyed and agreed to wear the blindfold. After that she told her father, "Yes, you can bind his eyes with a black cloth." Later, when they were seated on the bullock cart, Visvavasu placed the black cloth over Vidyapati's eyes. Lalita, being very clever and intelligent, gave her husband some mustard seeds and said, "Keep these in your pocket. Now it is the rainy season. You can drop them one after another along the way. After some time, those mustard seeds will grow into plants producing bright yellow flowers. Then you will be able to follow the flowers and go there by yourself; you will not have to ask my father the way."



Visvavasu then took Vidyapati with him along a zigzag route on the bullock cart. Vidyapati dropped the mustard seeds one by one on the ground without his father-in-law knowing. When they arrived at the foot of the mountain, they left the bullock cart there, and Visvavasu took Vidyapati by the hand and led him to the temple of Nila-madhava on the top of the mountain. When they entered the temple, Visvavasu removed the blindfold so that Vidyapati could see Nila-madhava. The deity was four-handed, and He carried the sankha (conch), cakra (disc), gada (club), and padma (lotus flower). He was very beautiful, but unlike Nanda-nandana Krsna, He had no flute and no peacock feather He was more like Narayana. Narayana is very beautiful, but Krsna is the most beautiful of all.



Vidyapati became very happy and began to weep, thinking, "I have been searching for Him for such a long time so many months and now I am satisfied. My life is now successful." Visvavasu then told him, "Wait here a while. I am going to the forest to bring some flowers and other paraphernalia to worship Him. Then I will offer chandana and other articles, perform arcana, and then we will return home."



While Vidyapati waited, he noticed a beautiful lake with lotus flowers, humming bees, and some sweetly-singing birds. The branches of a mango tree hung over the lake, and a black crow that was sleeping on one of the branches fell in. Immediately, his soul appeared with four hands. Then Garuda quickly came, took that very beautiful and glorious four-handed personality on his back, and flew to Vaikuntha. Vidyapati began to think, "Oh! With no practice in bhakti at all, he very quickly went to Vaikuntha. He never did anything auspicious. He was impure a crow eating flesh and other abominable things. Yet, simply by falling into the pond he became four-handed and went to Vaikuntha. Why should I remain here?" He wanted to climb the tree and jump into the lake as well, so that he could also attain a four-handed form and go to Vaikuntha. "I should not wait another moment," he thought, and at once began to climb the tree. When he was about halfway up the tree, however, an aerial voice called to him, "Don't commit suicide just so that you can be liberated and go to Vaikuntha. You will have to perform many important services for the benefit of the entire world, so don't die yet. Be patient. Everything will be accomplished. Return to Maharaja Indradyumna at once and tell him that Nila-madhava is here."



In the meantime, Visvavasu returned with many flowers and other paraphernalia and said to Vidyapati, "Oh, come join me." He had no idea what had happened. Visvavasu prepared chandana and other ingredients, and throughout the whole day he performed worship, offered prayers, and engaged in many other devotional activities. All the residents of that village were known as dayitas, which means those who are very near and dear to Krsna. Visvavasu was known as dayita-pati, the master of all those who are near and dear. He served in this way, although he was a sabara. He was fully surrendered and always called out, "Nila-madhava!" Now Vidyapati was also very much charmed with the glories of the deity and, seeing the worship of Nila-madhava performed by his father-in-law, he became overjoyed.



When Visvavasu had completed his services, he again covered Vidyapati's eyes with the blindfold, and they departed. After some hours, traveling again in that zigzag way, they reached their home.



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(to be continued)