Mahäprabhu met Çré Ranga Puri and put an end to the sufferings of Rama Das.

  

(Chaitanya Charitamrita 2.1.113)

                       

During His travels through South India, Mahäprabhu came to the town Pandharpur on the banks of the Bhima River. Pandharpur is in Sholapur district of Maharastra about 38 miles towards the west os Sholapur and is the home of the four-armed deity of Narayan, Vitthala or Vitthoba deva. Pandharpur is also well-known as the home of the famous Vaiñëava saint Tukarama, who lived there in the 15th century of the Çaka era.

(Anubhasya 2.9.282)

 

While in Pandharpur, Mahäprabhu was invited by a Brahmin to his home where He was lavishly fed. While there, He heard that Madhavendra Puri’s disciple, Çré Ranga Puri, was staying nearby in another Brahmin’s house. Mahäprabhu immediately went there to meet him. He prostrated Himself before his guru’s godbrother and was immediately inspired by a mood of ecstatic love. Çré Ranga Puri was also impressed by the sight of Mahäprabhu’s ecstatic symptoms and guessed that the Lord must have some relation to the spirit of devotion promulgated by his own spiritual master, without which such symptoms would be impossible. He lifted the Lord up and embraced Him and the two of them began to cry in devotional ecstasy.

 

Kṛṣṇa Das Kaviraj’s account of this meeting is given as follows:

 

From there Çré Chaitanya Mahäprabhu went to Pandharpur, where He joyfully saw the deity of Viööhala Öhäkura. A local Brahmin was delighted when he saw the Lord chanting and dancing in ecstatic love and invited Him to his home for lunch. The Brahmin offered Mahäprabhu food with great respect and love. After the Lord finished His lunch, He heard the auspicious news that Çré Ranga Puri, one of Çré Madhavendra Puri’s disciples, was currently residing at the home of another Brahmin. The Lord immediately went to that Brahmin’s home and, upon entering, saw Çré Ranga Puri. He was overwhelmed with ecstatic love and prostrated Himself in obeisance. All the symptoms of ecstatic transformation were visible in His body – tears, jubilation, trembling and perspiration.

                                     (Chaitanya Charitamrita 2.9.282-7)

 

Upon learning that Mahäprabhu was Ishvara Puripada’s disciple, Çré Ranga Puri was filled with great affection for him. Just by touching each other, they were both flooded with ecstatic feelings. They passed seven days together in discussions of Kṛṣṇa consciousness. Çré Ranga Puri was overjoyed to hear that the Lord’s birthplace was in Nabadvépa. He told the Lord that he had previously been to Nabadvépa with his spiritual master and that they had eaten at Jagannath Mishra’s house. He recalled that Jagannath Mishra’s wife Sachi had fed them a delicious banana flower curry. The Mother of the Universe, Sachi Devi had served the sannyasis as though they were her own sons. Çré Ranga Puri continued to tell Mahäprabhu that Sachi Devi and Jagannath Mishra had a worthy son who took sannyas, taking on the name Shankararanya, but who had left the body there in Pandharpur.

 

Upon hearing all this, Mahaprabhu was overcome with feelings of separation and He told Çré Ranga Puri that Shankararanya was His very own elder brother and that Jagannath Mishra and Sachi Devi were His father and mother. Mahaprabhu and Çré Ranga Puri discussed their favotite topics – istagosti for several days. Çré Ranga Puri went on to Dvaraka after that.

 

Madhavendra Puri is an abode of divine loving sentiments. Simply by remembering his name one achieves all perfection. All of his disciples such as Ishvara Puri and Çré Ranga Puri, were similarly intoxicated with moods of sacred rapture.

(Bhakti-ratnäkara 5.2272-3)

 

Some people say that Çré Ranga Puri later came to Jagannath Puri to join the Lord and spend the remainder of his life in His association.