योऽञानम्ंअत्तं भुवनं कृपालु-
रुल्लाघयन्नप्यकरोत्प्रमत्तम् ।
स्वप्रेमसम्पत्सुधयाद्भुतेहं
श्रीकृष्णचैतन्यममुं प्रपद्ये ॥
yo’jñāna-mattaṁ bhuvanaṁ kṛpālur
ullāghayann apy akarot pramattam |
sva-prema-sampat-sudhayādbhutehaṁ
śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanyam amuṁ prapadye ||
(Govinda-līlāmṛta: 1.2; cited in Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.19.54)
“I take shelter in him,
The gracious Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya,
Astonishing in his activities,
Who cured the world
Maddened by ignorance,
And drove it thoroughly mad,
With the nectar of the wealth
[alt., the vṛddhi-tonic]
Of prema for himself.”
Commentary
A variant reading of dayāluḥ in place of kṛpāluḥ is found in most editions of Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta. There is no significant difference in meaning.
atra adbhutatve hetuḥ—yaḥ kṛpāluḥ kṛpā-pūrṇaḥ san sva-prema-sampat-sudhayā ajñānena mattaṁ bhuvanam ullāghayan saṁsāra-roga-rahitaṁ kurvann api pramattam anavahitam akarod iti |
(Excerpt from the Sadānanda-vidhāyinī-ṭīkā)
“Here, the cause of [Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya’s] being astonishing [is stated]: [he] who (yaḥ), being gracious (kṛpāluḥ), that is, full of grace, cured (ullāghayan), that is, made free from the disease of saṁsāra, the world (bhuvanam) maddened (mattam) by ignorance (ajñānena), and then drove it thoroughly mad (pramattam), that is, [made it] heedless [of sāmsāric concerns], with the nectar of the wealth of prema for himself.”
A possible point of alternate interpretation in the verse is that the word sampat (as well as the related word sampatti) can refer to the medicinal plant more commonly known as vṛddhi (Habenaria edgeworthii), which is a standard ingredient in Astavarga tonic and Chyavanprash. Taken in this way, the compound sva-prema-sampat-sudhayā could be read to mean “with the vṛddhi-tonic (sampat-sudhayā) of prema for himself,” and thus extend the metaphor in the verse to say that it is with this tonic of prema for himself that Śrīman Mahāprabhu cures people of bhava-roga, that is, the disease of material existence, and further thoroughly maddens, that is, blissfully intoxicates them (with the elation of that prema for himself). A standard reading of the word sampat to mean fortune, wealth, property, or the like doesn’t contribute significantly to the broader metaphor expressed in the verse. Although it would match the notion of sva-bhakti-śriyā expressed by Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmīpāda in his esteemed verse anarpita-carīṁ cirāt (found in CC 1.1.4), a reading of sampat to refer to a medicinal herb would be in keeping with the custom in classical Sanskrit literature of using jewels, mantras, and herbs as metaphors for things that are inexplicable and a causes of wonder.