Gita Panda
Long, long ago there was a panda in Puri named Arjun Mishra. Every day
he used to read the whole Bhagavadgita. Because he spent a lot of his time
studying the Gita, and due to his unflinching faith, the local people called him
Gita Panda. He was a great devotee of Lord Jagannath, a very surrendered soul.
He depended upon his Lord for everything. Whatever happened, he accepted as the
desire of the Lord. Nothing could affect Gita Panda. He was a very poor person,
and lived by begging. Once there was heavy rain for about a week in Puri, and
there was no scope for Gita Panda to go out begging. Whatever little stock he
had, he finished very quickly. He and his family were forced to fast, yet Gita
Panda was not disturbed. He spent his days happily reciting the Gita. He was
happy that he could not go out, and felt it was a good opportunity for him
because he had more time to read the Gita.
His wife became very angry with him. She chastised him. "Unless you
go out and beg, how do you think your family will survive? We have three
children. They will all die if you do not go out and get something for
them!" Gita Panda was undisturbed. He showed her a verse from
Bhagavad-gita:
ananyas cintayanto mam yejanah paryupasate
tesam nityabhiyuktanam yoga-ksemam vahamy aham
"But those who always worship Me with exclusive devotion,
meditating on My transcendental form—to them I carry what they lack, and I
preserve what they have."
She became even angrier by her husbands behaviour. She waited for days,
but still her husband brought nothing. He just kept telling her, "If we
simply depend upon the Lord, He said He will take care of everything." The
wife wondered how long she could wait. The children were very hungry due to
want of food. She was very angry. Taking her husbands Bhagavad-gita, she opened
it at the verse he quoted and scratched three lines through the verse.
Afterwards, frustrated and hungry, she and her children went to sleep. Some
time later, Gita Panda also took rest. Soon after, Gita Pandas wife heard a
knock at the door. She rose from her bed and opened the door. There stood two
very beautiful boys, and they had brought with them so many ingredients for preparing
food. The brahmani was very surprised to see these two very beautiful boys. One
of them was dark and the other had skin, the colour of milk. The dark boy told
the brahmani ,“Please take these foodstuffs which have been sent by a friend
of Gita Panda. Please cook and then eat to your hearts content." The
brahmini was very pleased to see these very beautiful boys, and when she heard
the boys voice, her heart filled with joy. She felt very
affectionate towards them. She requested them to kindly wait until she prepared
the food and take prasada with them. But the boy replied, "Yes, we desire
greatly to take prasada with you and your good husband, but my tongue has been
cut, and I cannot eat anything." After this, the boys took their leave.
Gita Pandas wife placed all the ingredients in the store room and went
to call her husband to tell him of their good fortune. When Gita Panda came and
saw that the entire storehouse was filled with varieties of ingredients, he
asked his wife, "Did you feed these boys? I hope you were able to return
their kindness and give them some prasada" His wife replied, "I asked
them to wait and eat something, but the dark boy said that someone had cut his
tongue in three places and he was unable to eat." When Gita Panda heard
this, he immediately understood that the boy was the Lord Himself. Because his wife
had scratched the verse in the Gita three times, the words, which emanated from
the lotus mouth of the Lord, reflected on His tongue. Gita Panda s wife
realized that the Lord, to prove His promise that He maintains His devotees,
had brought bhoga to His dear devotee. Immediately Gita Panda and his wife
prepared to go to Jagannath temple to beg forgiveness and thank Him for His
kindness. When they approached the altar, they saw that Jagannath had three
spots on His lips.
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