Long ago, in a royal court, lived a kind poet who spent his life singing the praises of kings. He had a son named Prabhudas. The father hoped that Prabhudas would grow up to be a great poet just like him. He spent a lot of time and money on Prabhudas’s learning, but no matter how hard Prabhudas tried, he could not write poetry. This made his father very sad.
After his father passed away, Prabhudas went to Delhi. He met the emperor, who asked him to recite a poem. But Prabhudas gently replied, “Why should I praise kings? Shri Krishna is the one who gives me everything I need. What can a king give me?”
The emperor became angry and ordered Prabhudas to leave the city. Feeling lost and sad, Prabhudas walked to Mathura and reached a quiet place near the Yamuna River. He sat down by the water and began to cry. “Why has Shri Krishna made me like this?” he wondered, tears rolling down his cheeks.
Just then, Shri Mahaprabhuji came to that place. He saw Prabhudas crying and lovingly called out to him, “Prabhudas, why are you so sad? Go take a bath in the holy Shri Yamunaji. I will take away your pain.”
Prabhudas did as he was told. After bathing, he came back to Shri Mahaprabhuji, who gently welcomed him and gave him a special blessing. Shri Mahaprabhuji shared the beautiful Path of Grace with him. Suddenly, something amazing happened—Prabhudas’s heart filled with devotion, and he began to sing beautiful poetry to praise Shri Mahaprabhuji and Shri Krishna. A wonderful poem came from his heart, full of love and thankfulness.
Shri Mahaprabhuji smiled and gave Prabhudas a sacred Child form of Shri Krishna, called a svarupa. He asked Prabhudas to take the svarupa home and lovingly serve Shri Krishna every day.
Prabhudas went home and followed all of Shri Mahaprabhuji’s words. Even though some people in his family and community did not support him, he did not let that stop him. He offered pure love and devotion to Shri Krishna every day. He spent his time talking about Shri Krishna’s stories with other devotees, and many happy years passed this way.
Later in life, Prabhudas became very sick. His relatives thought he was going to die soon, so they took him to a holy place called Prithodak. They thought it would be a good place for him to leave his body.
But Prabhudas woke up and asked, “Why did you bring me here?” His family explained that dying in a holy place was special.
Prabhudas calmly said, “I am a follower of Shri Mahaprabhuji. I will leave my body only at the feet of Shri Krishna. Even if you keep me here for a whole year, I will not pass away here.”
The others thought Prabhudas was not thinking clearly because of his illness. But when he started walking around and getting better, they understood he was serious. They brought him back home.
As soon as he returned, Prabhudas took a bath and went to the temple. He spoke to Shri Krishna in his heart, asking why he had been taken away from his home. Then, with full faith and peace in his heart, he handed over his sacred Shri Krishna svarupa to another devoted Vaishnav. Prabhudas bowed at the temple door and joyfully left his body. He had finally reached Shri Krishna’s eternal home.
After his passing, many Vaishnavs gathered to remember him. They spoke of his great devotion and pure heart. But one man—the mayor—spoke rudely and said, “Why are you praising him? He came back from a holy place just to die!”
That night, something strange happened. Four divine servants of Shri Vishnu came to the mayor in his sleep. They scolded him and beat him with sticks. The mayor cried out, asking why he was being punished.
The servants replied, “We are punishing you for speaking badly about a pure devotee. Shri Krishna may forgive those who speak against Him, but those who speak badly about His devotees must answer to His servants. This time, we will let you go. But if you ever say such things again, we will not stop.”
The next morning, the mayor came to the Vaishnavs with a new heart. He spoke kindly of Prabhudas and showed everyone the bruises on his back. From that day on, he never again said a single harsh word about any devotee. He had learned that those who love Shri Krishna are very dear to the Lord, and must always be respected.
Poem: The Gift of Grace
Tags: prabhudas bhat, shri mahaprabhuji, 84 vaishnavas, vaishnav stories, pushtimarg for children, hindu bedtime stories, bhakti for kids, devotional values, sanatan dharma teachings, stories of pure devotion, krishna bhakti stories, spiritual parenting, vaishnav poems for kids, moral stories hindu tradition, children and vaishnav bhakti