Mahā-prakāśa Lila

After this incident, the Lord remained in an ecstatic position for twenty-one hours, and all the devotees saw His specific pastimes.
PURPORT
….All the devotees worshiped Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu in this way, and the Lord remained in ecstasy for seven praharas, or twenty-one hours. He took this opportunity to show the devotees that He is the original Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, who is the source of all other incarnations, as confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā (BG 10.8): ahaṁ sarvasya prabhavo mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartate. All the different forms of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, or viṣṇu-tattva, emanate from the body of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu exposed all the private desires of the devotees, and thus all of them became fully confident that Lord Caitanya is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Some devotees call this exhibition of ecstasy by the Lord sāta-prahariyā bhāva, or “the ecstasy of twenty-one hours,” and others call it mahābhāva-prakāśa or mahā-prakāśa. There is a description of this sāta-prahariyā bhāva in the Caitanya-bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa, Chapter Nine, which mentions that Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu blessed a maidservant named Duḥkhī with the name Sukhī. He called for Kholāvecā Śrīdhara and showed him His mahā-prakāśa. Then He called for Murāri Gupta and showed him His feature as Lord Rāmacandra. He offered His blessings to Haridāsa Ṭhākura, and at this time He also asked Advaita Prabhu to explain the Bhagavad-gītā as it is (gītāra satya-pāṭha) and showed special favor to Mukunda.
(CC Adi 17.18)

He ordered, “Quickly, go and bring Śrīdhara. Let him come and behold My opulences. “As he constantly thinks of Me, he feels great unhappiness. Bring him at once so that he may see My glories. “Go to the edge of town and wait there. Bring that person who is calling out My name.” Following the Lord’s instruction, some Vaiṣṇavas hurried to the house of Śrīdhara. Now hear some topics about Śrīdhara. He earned his livelihood by selling banana leaves. The phrase kholā-gāchi refers to a whole banana tree with the trunk intact. He offered half of whatever he earned in a day in worship of the Ganges. With the other half, he maintained his life. This is the test of a devotee of Viṣṇu. He was as truthful as Mahārāja Yudhiṣṭhira. He never deviated from whatever price he fixed. Sometimes those who knew his glories would buy his goods without bargaining. In this way, he resided in Navadvīpa. No one recognized him, for everyone thought he was simply a banana leaf seller. He passed the entire night without sleep while loudly chanting the names of Kṛṣṇa and Hari. All the atheists complained, “Due to Śrīdhara’s loud cries, we cannot sleep at night and our ears are broken. He is a low-class fellow who cannot fill his stomach. Being afflicted with hunger, he stays up all night.” In this way, the atheists continued their blasphemy as Śrīdhara happily engaged in his own activities. Śrīdhara continued to loudly call out the name of Hari with love throughout the night. As soon as the devotees got halfway there, they heard the loud cries of Śrīdhara. The devotees followed that sound and quickly found Śrīdhara. “O Mahāśaya, come. Come and see the Lord. Let us become glorious by your touch.” On hearing the Lord’s name, Śrīdhara became overwhelmed with ecstasy and fell unconscious to the ground. The devotees quickly picked him up and carefully brought him before Viśvambhara. On seeing Śrīdhara, the Lord was pleased and called him, “Come, come. You have worshiped Me so long. You have passed many lifetimes to obtain My love. In this life you have also served Me so much. I always eat rice off of your banana leaves. “I have eaten many items obtained from you. You have forgotten your conversations with Me.” When the Lord manifested His pastimes as a scholar, He acted like a most arrogant person. Keeping His identity concealed, He enjoyed various pastimes with Śrīdhara on the pretext of buying banana leaves. The Lord daily visited Śrīdhara’s shop and bought banana leaves, bananas, and banana stems. He would daily quarrel with Śrīdhara for two hours and then buy his goods for half price. Although truthful Śrīdhara quoted a reasonable price, the Lord would take the goods at half price. Then Śrīdhara would stand up, grab hold of the goods, and a tug-of-war would ensue. In this way, Śrīdhara and the Lord would shove each other. The Lord would say, “O brother Śrīdhara, why do you live like an ascetic when you have so much wealth? “Why are you taking the goods from My hands? Don’t you know yet who I am?” The most Brahminical Śrīdhara did not become angry. After looking at the Lord’s face, he gave Him all the goods. The form of Gaurasundara was more enchanting than that of Cupid. His forehead was beautifully decorated with tilaka. He was dressed in a dhotī tucked in at three places, His hair was curly, and both His nature and eyes were restless. In a subtle form, Anantadeva resided in the white brāhmaṇa thread that adorned His body. The Lord chewed betel nuts as He looked at Śrīdhara. Then He again picked up the banana leaves with His own hands. Śrīdhara said, “Listen, O respected brāhmaṇa. Please forgive me, for I am Your dog.” The Lord said, “I know you are very clever. You have accumulated so much wealth by selling banana leaves.” “Are there no other shops?” Śrīdhara asked. “Go there and buy leaves cheaper.” The Lord replied, “I will not give up My supplier. Take My money and give Me stems and bananas.” On seeing the Lord’s beauty, Śrīdhara would become overwhelmed and smile. Then Viśvambhara would jubilantly speak harsh words to him. “You buy ingredients that you regularly offer to the Ganges, so what is wrong if you give Me a discount? “I am the father of the Ganges, whom you regularly worship. This is the truth I am telling you.” Śrīdhara then covered his ears with his hands and exclaimed, “Viṣṇu! Viṣṇu!” Seeing the Lord so arrogant, Śrīdhara then gave Him the leaves and stems. In this way, they both regularly quarreled with each other. Śrīdhara considered the Lord as a most restless brāhmaṇa. Śrīdhara said, “I am defeated. Please leave me alone. I will give You something free. “I will give You a piece of stem, a few bananas, and a few leaves. Then am I still at fault?” The Lord said, “Good, good. I have no more complaints.” The Lord regularly ate rice off of Śrīdhara’s leaf plates. In this way the Lord enjoys the gifts of His devotees and does not glance at millions of gifts offered by nondevotees. Lord Caitanya had a desire to perform these pastimes, that is why He had Śrīdhara sell banana leaves. In order to perform such pastimes, He made Śrīdhara sell banana leaves. Who can understand the pastimes of Lord Viṣṇu and the Vaiṣṇavas? No one can know these pastimes unless the Lord reveals them. The Lord reminded everyone of this principle.The Lord said, “O Śrīdhara, look at My form. Today I will award you the eight mystic perfections. The exalted Śrīdhara raised his head and saw that Viśvambhara was blackish like a tamāla tree. He held an enchanting flute in His hands, and Balarāma stood at His right side. Śrīdhara saw the entire place was filled with a bright effulgence. He saw goddess Lakṣmī offer betel nuts into the hand of the Lord and the four-headed Brahmā and five-headed Śiva offer prayers to the Lord. He saw Ananta hold His thousand hoods as an umbrella over the head of the Lord and Sanaka, Nārada, and Śukadeva chanting the glories of the Lord. In the four directions, greatly beautiful women were glorifying the Lord with folded hands. On seeing this, Śrīdhara was struck with wonder. As such, he reeled and fell to the ground. The Lord ordered, “Get up. Get up, Śrīdhara.” Śrīdhara then regained consciousness by the words of the Lord. The Lord said, “Śrīdhara, offer prayers to Me.” Śrīdhara replied, “O Lord, I am most foolish. I have no ability to offer any prayers.” The Lord then said, “Your words alone are prayers to Me.” By the order of the Lord, Sarasvatī, the mother of the universe, appeared on Śrīdhara’s tongue and Śrīdhara began to offer prayers. “All glories to Mahāprabhu! All glories to Viśvambhara! All glories to the Lord of Navadvīpa! “All glories to the Lord of innumerable universes! All glories to He who was born from the womb of the pious mother Śacī! “All glories to the Lord, who is unknown to the Vedas! All glories to the best of the brāhmaṇas! You assume various forms in every age to protect religious principles. You wandered throughout the city, unknown to all. Who can know You unless You reveal Yourself? You are dharma, You are karma, You are bhakti, and You are jñāna. You are the scriptures, You are the Vedas, and You are the object of all meditation. You are the mystic perfections, You are prosperity, You are enjoyment, and You are yoga. You are faith, You are compassion, You are illusion and greed. You are Indra, You are Candra, You are Agni and Varuṇa. You are Sūrya, You are Vāyu, You are wealth and strength. You are devotional service, You are liberation, You are Brahmā and Śiva. But why consider You to be them? They are all subordinate to You. “Previously You personally told Me, `The water of your Ganges has emanated from My feet.’ “Yet neither did my sinful heart recognize You, nor did I understand the glories of Your invaluable lotus feet. It was You who made the town of Gokula glorious, and now You have appeared as the King of Navadvīpa. You conceal devotional service within Your body, but You have manifested that devotional service in Navadvīpa. It was through devotional service that Bhīṣma conquered You on the battlefield, and it was through devotional service that Yaśodā bound You. It was through devotional service that Satyabhāmā sold You. Being controlled by devotional service, You carried a cowherd damsel of Vraja on Your shoulders. You who are carried in the minds of the inhabitants of innumerable universes personally carried the cowherd boy Śrīdāma. You are conquered by devotional service, therefore it is most confidential. Ordinary people do not understand this. You are always conquered by devotional service. You therefore hid devotional service and wander around like a conqueror. This characteristic of Yours is now shattered and inactive. Just see, the entire world hankers for Your devotional service. At that time You were defeated by only two or four persons, but now You will be bound by one and all.” After hearing Śrīdhara’s transcendental prayers, all the exalted Vaiṣṇavas were struck with wonder.The Lord said, “O Śrīdhara, choose and ask for a benediction. Today I will give you the eight mystic perfections.” Śrīdhara replied, “O Lord, will You again deceive Me? Stay peaceful, for this will not be possible again.” The Lord said, “Seeing Me cannot be fruitless. You must take some benediction according to your desire.” Viśvambhara repeatedly said, “Ask, ask,” and Śrīdhara replied, “O Lord, then give me this benediction. Let that brāhmaṇa who forcibly took away my banana leaves be my Lord birth after birth. Let me always engage in the service of the lotus feet of that brāhmaṇa who constantly quarreled with me. While speaking in this way, Śrīdhara’s love for the Lord increased and he began crying loudly with his arms raised. On seeing Śrīdhara cry, all the Vaiṣṇavas became overwhelmed and also cried. Viśvambhara smiled and said, “Listen, Śrīdhara, I want to make you the king of a great kingdom.” Śrīdhara replied, “I do not want anything. Make such arrangement, O Lord, that I may chant Your names.” The Lord said, “O Śrīdhara, you are My servant. That is why you are able to see My opulences. That is why your mind does not deviate from Me. Thus I am giving you a devotional service that is confidential to the Vedas. All the Vaiṣṇavas chanted “Jaya! Jaya!” as they heard the benediction given to Śrīdhara. He had no wealth, no followers, and no education. Who can recognize such servants of Lord Caitanya? What is the value of education, wealth, beauty, fame, and high birth? They only increase one’s pride and bring about one’s falldown. In millions of kalpas Lord Brahmā will never see that which Śrīdhara received simply by selling bananas and banana stems. One who is full of false pride and is envious of the goal of life falls down to an uncertain future. One who ridicules a poor, uneducated saintly person goes as a result of his actions to the hell known as Kumbhīpāka. Who has the ability to recognize a Vaiṣṇava? Although a Vaiṣṇava possesses all perfection, he appears to be afflicted. The story of Śrīdhara, the banana seller, is proof of this, for he accepted only devotional service and rejected the eight mystic perfections. Know for certain that whatever worldly distress is seen in a Vaiṣṇava is actually spiritual happiness. People blinded with pride over material enjoyment do not know anything. They cannot recognize a Vaiṣṇava due to pride born of education and wealth. Even after studying Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, one’s intelligence may be ruined, for anyone who blasphemes Nityānanda is certainly vanquished. Anyone who hears the prayers of Śrīdhara and the benediction he received from the Lord will obtain the wealth of prema, or love of Godhead. One who does not blaspheme the Vaiṣṇavas attains Kṛṣṇa by developing love and devotion at His lotus feet. There is no gain in the act of blasphemy; one simply incurs sin. Therefore the most fortunate persons do not engage in blasphemy. Kṛṣṇa will certainly deliver anyone who chants His names without offense or blasphemy. I offer my respectful obeisances at the feet of the Vaiṣṇavas. Let Śrī Caitanya and Nityānanda be my life and soul. Accepting Śrī Caitanya and Nityānanda Prabhu as my life and soul, I, Vṛndāvana dāsa, sing the glories of Their lotus feet.
(Śrī Caitanya-bhāgavata, Madhya-khaṇḍa 9.135 – 9.248)