Great Fortune of Kholavecha Sridhara

In the Chaitanya-bhagavata it is said:

kholāvecā sevakera dekha bhāgya-sīmā
brahmā śiva kāṅde yāra dekhiyā mahimā
dhane jane pāṇḍitye kṛṣere nāhi pāi
kevala bhaktira vaśa caitanya-gosāñi

“Behold the great fortune of the devotee Kholavecha. Lord Brahma and Shiva shed tears upon seeing his greatness. One cannot attain Lord Krishna by any amount of wealth, followers, or learning. Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu is controlled only by pure devotion.”

Simple Life and Pure Devotion

Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu had a very sincere devotee whose name was Kholavecha Sridhara and whose business was to sell cups made of the skin of banana trees.

Whatever income he had, he used fifty percent for the worship of mother Ganges, and with the other fifty percent he provided for his necessities.

He was so poor that he lived in a cottage with a broken roof full of holes. He could not afford brass utensils and drank water from an iron pot.

Nevertheless, he was a great devotee of Lord Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. He is a typical example of how a poor man with no material possessions can become a most exalted devotee of the Lord.

The conclusion is that one cannot attain shelter at the lotus feet of Lord Krishna or Sri Chaitanya Gosani through material opulence; that shelter is attainable only by pure devotional service.

When Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu started His civil disobedience movement in defiance of the Kazi, Sridhara danced in jubilation.

Sridhara presented a squash to Sachidevi to cook before Lord Chaitanya took sannyasa.

Every year he went to see Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu at Jagannatha Puri.

Refusing Material Opulence

Lord Chaitanya once revealed Himself to this confidential devotee, Kholavecha Sridhara, and offered him any opulence he liked.

But Sridhara informed the Lord that he did not want any material opulence. He was satisfied in his present position and wanted only unflinching faith and devotion unto the lotus feet of Lord Chaitanya.

That is the position of pure devotees. If they can be engaged twenty-four hours each day in devotional service they do not want anything else, not even the happiness of liberation or of becoming one with the Supreme.

Identity in Krishna-lila

According to Kavi-karnapura, Sridhara was a cowherd boy of Vrindavana whose name was Kusumasava.

In his Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā (133) it is stated:

kholā-vecātayā khyātaḥ paṇḍitaḥ śrīdharo dvijaḥ
āsīd vraje hāsya-karo yo nāmnā kusumāsavaḥ

“The cowherd boy known as Kusumasava in krishna-lila later became Kholavecha Sridhara during Chaitanya Mahaprabhu’s lila at Navadvipa.”

Lord Chaitanya’s Loving Dealings with Sridhara

Every day Lord Chaitanya Mahaprabhu jokingly snatched fruits, flowers and pulp from Sridhara and drank from his broken iron pot.