patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati |
tad ahaṁ bhakty-upahṛtam aśnāmi prayatātmanaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā: 9.26)
[Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa:] “One who with bhakti offers a leaf, flower, fruit, or water to me—I partake of that offered out of bhakti from one of pure heart.”
nāhaṁ kāmān na saṁrambhān na dveṣān nārtha-kāraṇāt |
na hetuvādāl lobhād vā dharmaṁ jahyāṁ kathañcana ||
saṁprīti-bhojyāny annāni āpad-bhojyāni vā punaḥ |
na ca saṁprīyase rājan na cāpy āpad-gatā vayam ||
akasmād dviṣase rājañ janma-prabhṛti pāṇḍavān |
priyānuvartino bhrātṝn sarvaiḥ samuditān guṇaiḥ ||
akasmāc caiva pārthānāṁ dveṣaṇaṁ nopapadyate |
dharme sthitāḥ pāṇḍaveyāḥ kas tān kiṁ vaktum arhati ||
yas tān dveṣṭi sa māṁ dveṣṭi yas tān anu sa mām anu |
aikātmyaṁ māṁ gataṁ viddhi pāṇḍavair dharma-cāribhiḥ ||
kāma-krodhānuvartī hi yo mohād virurutsati |
guṇavantaṁ ca yo dveṣṭi tam āhuḥ puruṣādhamam ||
yaḥ kalyāṇa-guṇāñ jñātīn mohāl lobhād didṛkṣate |
so’jitātmājita-krodho na ciraṁ tiṣṭhati śriyām ||
atha yo guṇa-sampannān hṛdayasyāpriyān api |
priyeṇa kurute vaśyāṁś ciraṁ yaśasi tiṣṭhati ||
sarvam etan na bhoktavyam annaṁ duṣṭābhisaṁhitam |
kṣattur ekasya bhoktavyam iti me dhīyate matiḥ ||
(Mahābhārata: 5.89.24–32)
“Neither out of desire, nor out of anger, nor out of enmity, nor for the sake of wealth (artha), nor because of a dispute, nor out of greed shall I ever forsake dharma. Foods are to be eaten out of affection or to be eaten [when] in distress. Neither are you affectionate, O King, nor are we beset with distress [and thus we will not accept your offering of foods]. O King, without cause, you hate the Pāṇḍavas, your brothers, who, since birth, have been amiable, compliant, and endowed with all virtues. Furthermore, hatred of the Pāṇḍavas without cause is not right. Who can say what against them—the Pāṇḍavas—who are fixed in dharma? One who hates them hates me. One who is with them is with me. Know me to be possessed of oneness of heart with the Pāṇḍavas, who are adherent to dharma. They say one who, acquiescing to desire (kāma) and anger out of delusion, hates and contends with a person endowed with virtue is the lowest of human beings. One of uncontrolled mind and uncontrolled anger who out of delusion and greed wishes to see relatives endowed with auspicious qualities does not remain in prosperity for long. Alternately, one who with kindness captivates even those endowed with virtue who are not dear to one’s heart long remains in eminence. All this food beset with sin is not fit to be eaten. The lone kṣattṛ’s [food] is fit to be eaten—this my judgement determines [to be the right course of action].”
āji muñi anāyāse jininu tribhuvana |
āji muñi karinu vaikuṇṭhe ārohaṇa ||
āji mora pūrṇa haila sarva abhilāṣa |
sārvabhaumera haila mahāprasāde viśvāsa ||
āji niṣkapaṭe tumi hailā kṛṣṇāśraya |
kṛṣṇa niṣkapaṭe hailā tomāre sadaya ||
āji se khaṇḍila tomāra dehādi-bandhana |
āji chinna kaile tumi māyāra bandhana ||
āji kṛṣṇa-prāpti-yogya haila tomāra mana |
veda-dharma laṅghi kaile prasāda-bhakṣaṇa ||
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.6.230–234)
“[Śrīman Mahāprabhu to Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya:] Today I have easily conquered the three worlds. Today I have ascended to Vaikuṇṭha. Today all my desires are fulfilled: Sārvabhauma has attained faith in mahāprasāda. Today you have guilelessly become sheltered in Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa has guilelessly been gracious to you. Today he has cut away the bondage of your body and so forth. Today you have cut through the bondage of māyā. Today your mind has become first for attainment of Kṛṣṇa: transgressing Vedic dharma, you have eaten prasāda.”
tataḥ sā tulasī rūpa-mañjarī ca vaneśvarī |
bhakṣyāṇy urvaritāny āduḥ sevikālī-cayaiḥ samam ||
(Govinda-līlāmṛta: 15.142)
“Then, Tulasī, Rūpa Mañjarī,
And the lordess of the forest [i.e., Vṛndā]
Ate the remaining foods
Together with the serving sakhīs.”
śrī-rādhikātha sagaṇā muditopaviṣṭā
kāntādharāmṛtatayā parivāñchitāni |
śrī-rūpa-mañjarikayā ca vaneśayā ca
bhakṣyāṇi tāni bubhuje pariveśitāni ||
(Govinda-līlāmṛta: 15.138)
“Then, Śrī Rādhikā, along with her group,
Delightedly sat and ate the foods,
Which were greatly desired
Because of [their] containing the nectar
From the lips of her beloved,
And were served by Śrī Rūpa Mañjarikā and the lordess of the forest [i.e., Vṛndā].”
kṛṣṇādharāmṛtāsvāda-siddhir atra na saṁśayaḥ ||
(Viṭṭhalanātha Gosvāmī’s Sarvottama-stotra: 6; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha: 110)
“The complete fulfillment (siddhi) of tasting the nectar of Kṛṣṇa’s lips is present in this [i.e., here on the path of bhakti]. [Of this] There is no doubt.”
ramaṇa-kavala-śiṣṭaṁ san-mṛṇālaṁ marālyaḥ
kiśalaya-kulam eṇyaḥ śrī-marandaṁ bhramaryaḥ |
amṛtam iva cakroyaś caindavaṁ rādhikādyā
mumudur adhikam annaṁ prāsya kṛṣṇāvaśiṣṭam ||
(Govinda-līlāmṛta: 20.71)
“Rādhikā and her companions felt abundant delight eating the remnants of Kṛṣṇa’s food just as female swans do by eating morsels of the remnants of fine lotus stems left by their husbands, deer do by eating young shoots, bees do by eating bright flower nectar, and cakorīs do by drinking the moon’s nectar.”
bhaktyā kṛṣṇasya rājendra prasādaṁ caraṇodakam |
ye gṛhṇanti bhaveyur bhū-pāvanā nātra saṁśayaḥ ||
(Garga-saṁhitā: 10.62.8)
“O best of kings, those who partake of Kṛṣṇa’s prasādam and foot-water with bhakti become purifiers of the earth. Of this there is no doubt.”
vrajātula-kulāṅganetara-rasāli-tṛṣṇā-hara-
pradīvyad-adharāmṛtaḥ sukṛti-labhya-phelā-lavaḥ |
sudhā-jid-ahivallikā-sudala-vīṭikā-carvitaḥ
sa me madana-mohanaḥ sakhi tanoti jihvā-spṛhām ||
(Govinda Līlāmṛta: 8.8; cited in Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 3.16.119)
“[Rādhārāṇī to Viśākhā:] The amṛta of his most lustrous lips takes away the incomparable noble women of Vraja’s thirst for [all] other rasas. A morsel of his remnants is attainable [only] by sukṛti. And the pan roll he has chewed made from fine leaves of betel defeats nectar. O sakhi, Madana-mohana increases the desire of my tongue.”
adharera ei rīti, āra śunaha kunīti,
se-adhara sane yāra melā |
sei bhakṣya bhojya pāna, haya amṛta-samāna,
nāma tāra haya ‘kṛṣṇa-phelā’ ||
se phelāra eka lava, nā pāya devatā-saba,
e dambhe kebā pātiyāya? |
bahu janma puṇya kare, tabe sukṛti nāma dhare,
se sukṛti tāra lava pāya ||
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 3.16.130–131)
“This is the way of your lips. Please hear of further ill-conduct [on their part]. The food, drink, and pan that meet with your lips becomes like amṛta, and are then known as ‘Kṛṣṇa-phelā’ [i.e., Kṛṣṇa’s remnants]. All the devatās do not attain [even] one morsel of such phelā.’ Who can believe this pride [on the part of Kṛṣṇa’s phelā]? One who engages in puṇya for many births bears the name sukṛti [i.e., “a person of excellent action”], and [only] such a sukṛti attains a morsel of this [phelā].”
