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Sri chaitanya Mahaprabhu at Puri

sri rathagra-bhakta-gita-divya-narttanadbhutam
yatri-patra-mitra-rudraraja-hriccamatkritam
gundicagamadi-tattva-rupa-kavya-sancaram
prema-dhama-devam eva naumi gaura-sundaram
Surrounded by innumerable devotees congregationally chanting the Holy Names, Lord Gaurasundar danced in an astonishing ways in front of the Ratha (chariot) of Lord Jagannatha. Lord Sri Krishna Chaitanya charmed the hearts of Prataparudra Maharaj and the assembled pilgrims.

The Lord also revealed the inner meaning of Jagannatha's pastimes of riding on the chariot when he recited the verse by Srila Rupa Goswami "priyah so'yam......."

I sing with joy the unending glories of my sweet Lord, my golden Gaurasundar, the One and Only Divine Abode of Pure Love.

prema-mugdha-rudra-sauryya-viryya-vikramam
prathitanghri-varjitanya-sarva-dharma-sangaman
lunthita-pratapa-sirsa-pada-dhuli-dhusaram
prema-dhama-devam eva naumi gaura-sundaram
Maharaj Prataparudra of Utkala, the king of Orissa, was overwhelmed and wonderstruck when he witnessed and could appreciate the loving mood, spiritual genius and self-manifest effulgence of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. Maharaj Prataparudra discarded all his previous religious views and gave up thinking of himself as a hero and a king, realizing that his real identity is that he is an eternal servitor of the Lord. With a single-minded desire to satisfy the Lord, Prataparudra Maharaj threw himself to the ground at the feet of Sri Chaitanya, hoping that his head might be annointed with the dust of the Lord's feet. I sing with joy the glories of Sri Chaitanyadev the Beautiful, the Golden Volcano of Divine Love

indu-sindhu-nritya-dipta-krishna-keli-mohitam
urmi-sirsa-supta-deha-vata-ranga-vahitam
yamunali-krishna-keli-magna-saukhya-sagaram
prema-dhama-devam eva naumi gaura-sundaram

On one moonlit night, Lord Gaurangadeva was wandering along the ocean's shore with His associates, relishing sweet discussions he was having with his friends about the mellows of Sri Krishna's pastimes. Suddenly the Lord Gaurangadeva saw the reflection of the moon dancing upon the rolling waves and He became overwhelmed by memories of Sri Krishna's playful pastimes in the Yamuna river. Lord Gaurangadeva fell unconscious on the sand.

Then, unseen by the devotees, the Lord's form (which seemed to be sleeping) became as light as the air and He was carried away by the wind-god. In a divine trance the Lord's golden form drifted upon the crests of the rolling waves of the sea. While His body was floating on the waves, inwardly Sri Chaitanyadev was having a vision of Lord Krishna's water-sport pastimes in the Kalindi River with His dearmost cowherd-maiden friends. Sri Chaitanya dove deep into that ocean of rememberance and divine ecstasy.

I fall at the feet of Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the Golden Volcano of Divine Love.

At Puri a miracle happened. During the car festival, the car of Jagannath did not move. All the pilgrims tried their combined strength. It proved futile. The gigantic elephants of the Raja of Puri also failed to move the car. All were in a stage of suspense and dilemma. Gauranga came just then. He pushed the car by his head and the car moved at once. All the pilgrims and devotees rent the air with the sound 'Hari Bol!'.

Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya was a great Vedantic scholar. Once Chaitanya went in an ecstatic mood to the temple of Jagannath. He rushed to embrace the image, but fell down on the ground in a deep swoon. The guard was about to beat Gauranga. The learned scholar Sarvabhauma Bhattacharya, the minister of King Pratap Rudra of Orissa, removed Chaitanya to his house. His students carried Gauranga on their shoulders and put him down on a clean spot in the house. The devotees uttered loudly the name of 'Hari' in the ears of Gauranga. Gauranga came back to consciousness.
Sarvabhauma thought that Gauranga was a young man without any control of passion and knowledge of Vedanta. He did not like Kirtan and Nritya (dancing). He desired to re-initiate Gauranga. Gauranga humbly listened to Sarvabhauma for many days. Sarvabhauma expounded the following verse in nine different ways. Chaitanya showed his skill in Sanskrit and expounded the same verse in sixty-one different ways. Sarvabhauma was struck with wonder. The verse runs:
"Atmaramascha Munayo Nigranthapi Urukrame,
Kurvanty Ahaitukim Bhaktim Ithambhuta Guno Hari"
"Hari's qualities are so charming that the Atmarama Yogis--though they are Nigranthas (i.e., outside the influence of illusion or Shastraic injunctions) become contemplative and are attracted by the same into adoring the Urukrama Hari with selfless love and devotion." Sarvabhauma had neither devotion nor realizations. He was only a dry learned Pundit. Gauranga was a great scholar and yet he was humble. He would never indulge in such talks as were calculated to wound the feelings of others. He would never feel a sense of elation if he got victory in his debates.

Gauranga eventually converted Sarvabhauma to his faith and criticized his arguments one by one. Gauranga embraced Sarvabhauma. Sarvabhauma fainted in an ecstasy of divine joy. He then rose and danced. He prostrated at the feet of Gauranga and said, "Oh venerable Master! Logic had made my heart as hard as iron. I had no devotion. Thou hast melted me. Salutations unto thee, O powerful Lord!".
Lord Gauranga converted all the leaders of Advaita and the heads of the Vaishnavas who came under his fold. Prakasananda, the Advaitacharya of Varanasi, was also converted. The ministers of the King of Gour were subjugated. Kazi, the Governor, was conquered. The King of Orissa became Gauranga's ardent and devoted disciple. He recognized Gauranga as an Avatara of Lord Krishna.
When Gauranga was in a fit of devotional ecstasy, he jumped into the blue sea at Puri.

He imagined that the blue sea was the Yamuna. He wanted to join in the frolics of the Gopis of Brindavan. As his body was in an emaciated condition, owing to constant fasts and vigils, it floated on the water and fell into the net of a fisherman. It was night. The fisherman was extremely glad as he felt that the net was very heavy. He thought that he had caught a big Brobdingnagian fish. He dragged the net to the shore with difficulty. He found in the net a human corpse instead of a big fish. He was disappointed. The corpse made a faint sound. The fisherman took it for a ghost or hobgoblin. He was greatly frightened.

He slowly walked along the shore with trembling feet. Swaroopa and Ramananda, who were searching for their master from sunset, met the fisherman. Swaroopa asked him if he had seen Gauranga Deva anywhere. The fisherman narrated his story. Then Swaroopa and Ramananda hurried to the place where the net was lying. They removed their Master from the net and placed him on the ground. They sang the name of Hari loudly. Gauranga came back to consciousness.
From this time, i.e, from His 31st year, Mahaprabhu continually lived in Puri in the house of Kasi Misra, until His disappearance in His forty-eighth year at the time of Sankirtan in the temple of Tota Gopinath. During these 18 years, His life was one of settled love and piety. He was surrounded by numerous followers, all of whom were of the highest order of the Vaishnavas and distinguished from the common people by their purest character and learning, firm religious principles and spiritual love in Radha-Krishna. Svarup Damodar, who had been known by the name of Purushottam Acharya while Mahaprabhu was in Nadia, joined Him from Benares, and accepted His service as His secretary.

No production of any poet or philosopher could be laid before Mahaprabhu, unless Svarup has passed it as pure and useful. Rai Ramananda was his second mate. Both he and Svarup sang, while Mahaprabhu expressed His sentiment on a certain point of worship. Parmanada Puri was His minister in matters of religion. There are hundreds of anecdotes described by His biographers, which we do not think it mete here to reproduce. Mahaprabhu slept short. His sentiments carried Him far and far in the firmament of spirituality, every day and night, and all His admirers and followers watched Him throughout. He worshipped, communicated with His missionaries at Vrindavan, and conversed with those religious men who newly came to visit Him. He sang and danced, took no care of Himself and often times lost Himself in religious beatitude. All who came to Him, believed Him as the All Beautiful God, appearing in the nether world for the benefit of mankind. He loved His mother all along, and sent her mahaprasad now and then with those who went to Nadia.

He was most amiable in nature. Humility was personified in Him. His sweet appearance gave cheers to all who came in contact with Him. He appointed Prabhu Nityananda as the missionary in charge of Bengal. He dispatched six disciples (Gosvamins) to Vrindavan to preach love in the up-country. He punished all of His disciples who deviated from a holy life. This He markedly did in the case of junior Haridas. He never lacked in giving proper instructions in life to those who solicited them. This will be seen in His teachings to Raghunath Das Gosvami. His treatment to Haridas (senior) will show how He loved spiritual men and how He defied caste distinction in case of spiritual brotherhood.