Over the ages, countless goldsmiths had lived in the ancient mercantile town of Saptagrāma, on the bank of the Sarasvatī River. By Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu’s mercy, since the time of Śrī Uddhāraṇa Datta, these merchants had become addicted to hari-nāma-saṅkīrtana. One of them, however, was a very miserly person named Caṇḍīdāsa, who used to abstain from hari-kīrtana with the townspeople because he was afraid of having to spend money for sponsoring festivals. Caṇḍīdāsa had managed to accumulate a good deal of wealth through stingy dealings. His wife, Damayantī, had adopted the same mood and did not extend even the least hospitality to Vaiṣṇavas or other guests. This merchant couple in their youth, had given birth to four sons and two daughters. Their daughters had both married, and a vast inheritance was reserved for their sons.
If saintly people never visit a house, the children in it are less likely to become kind and compassionate. As the sons grew up, they became increasingly selfish, and began to wish that their parents would die so that they could have their inheritance. The merchant couple became extremely unhappy. One by one, the sons were married. As their wives grew older, they imbibed their husbands’ natures and also began to wish that their parents-in-law would die. After some time, the sons became proficient in business and began to oversee the buying and selling very expertly. Dividing up most of their father’s wealth, they set up their own businesses.