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THE GOD GIVES KSHIR TO MADHAV PURI
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he had coveted the kshir struck him as a sin. So he sat down in the deserted square of the village-market singing hymns.

In the meantime the priest laid the image to sleep, finished his duties, and went to bed, where he had a dream. The god came and told him, "Up, priest, and open my door. I have kept a pot of kshir for the hermit. You will find it concealed under the skirt of my lower garment. You all did not notice it under my illusion. Take the kshir quickly to Madhav Puri who is sitting in the market place." The priest arose, bathed, opened the shrine, and found the kshir under the lappet of the god's dhoti. He washed the spot and went into the village with the pot of kshir and walked through the market crying, "Take this kshir, whosoever is named Madhav Puri! For your sake Gopinath had concealed this kshir. Take it and eat it, Puri, thou luckiest man in the three worlds."

At this the Puri disclosed himself. The priest gave him the kshir, bowed, and told the whole story, to the rapture of the Puri. The attendant priest marvelled at his devotion and said, "It is only fitting that Krishna should be obedient to him."

Lovingly did the Puri drink the kshir, then he washed the pot, broke it, and tied the sherds in a corner of his sheet, eating one of the broken pieces every day, at which he grew wonderfully enraptured. At the close of the night he set off for Puri (Jagannath), bowing to Gopinath then and there, in fear that a crowd would gather round him next morning, when they heard that the Lord had sent him kshir.

So he fared on, till he came to Puri in the Blue Mountain; the sight of Jagannath threw him into an ecstasy,