TEXT 206
duhkhi vaisnava dekhi' tanre karana bhojana
gaudiya aile dadhi, bhata, taila-mardana
SYNONYMS
duhkhi vaisnavaa poverty-stricken Vaisnava; dekhi'-seeing; tanreto him; karana bhojanagives food for eating; gaudiya ailewhen a Bengali Vaisnava came to Mathura; dadhiyogurt; bhatacooked rice; taila-mardanamassaging mustard oil on the body.
TRANSLATION
Subuddhi Raya used to spend his savings to supply yogurt to Bengali Vaisnavas who came to Mathura. He also gave them cooked rice and oil massages. When he saw a poverty-stricken Vaisnava, he would use his money to feed him.
PURPORT
There is a special reference for the maintenance of Bengali Vaisnavas. A Gaudiya Vaisnava is a Bengali Vaisnava. Most of the devotees of Lord Caitanya at that time were Gaudiyas and Oriyas, inhabitants of Bengal and Orissa. There are still many hundreds and thousands of disciples in Bengal and Orissa. Bengalis are habituated to eating cooked rice as their staple food. When they went to Mathura in the North, they found that the people generally ate chapatis or roti made of wheat. The Bengalis could not digest this food because they were used to cooked rice. Therefore as soon as Subuddhi Raya saw a Bengali Vaisnava arriving in Mathura, he would try to supply him with cooked rice. Bengalis are also accustomed to taking a massage with mustard oil. In any case, Subuddhi Raya wanted to serve the Vaisnavas according to their needs. Therefore he would supply yogurt to ease the digestion of food eaten in Mathura, particularly the wheat-made chapatis and roti.

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