Śrī-Śrī-Gaura-Govinda-Līlāmṛta Guṭikā 13

Prātar-Līlā: Vraja-Dhāma (2 Hours 24 Minutes)

From 6:00 AM to 8:24 AM

Śrī-Śrī-Vrajadhāma-Prātar-Līlā-Sūtra:

rādhāṁ snāta-vibhūṣitāṁ vraja-payāhūtāṁ sakhībhiḥ prage

tad-gehe vihitānna-pāka-racanāṁ kṛṣṇāvaśeṣāśanām |

kṛṣṇaṁ buddham avāpta-dhenu-sadanaṁ nirvyūḍha-godohanaṁ

susnātaṁ kṛta-bhojanaṁ sahacarais tāṁ cātha taṁ cāśraye ||

“I seek refuge at Śrī Rādhikā’s lotus feet. After being bathed and decorated in the early morning, she and her sakhīs are called by Mother Yaśodā to cook for Kṛṣṇa, and afterwards, they all eat the food remnants left by him. I also seek refuge from Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who wakes in the morning and goes to the cowshed to milk the cows, then returns, bathes and eats breakfast with his dear friends.” (Govinda-Līlāmṛtam 2.1)

Vrajadhāma: Śrī Rādhā Rises from Bed and Reminisces with Her Friends

In the early morning in Vraja, the sādhaka-mañjarī rose from bed in her home in the village of Yāvaṭa. After brushing her teeth and completing her other morning duties, she cleaned the toilets of Śrī Rādhā, Śrī Gurudevī and so on, washing them with scented water, drying them with her hair and perfuming them with incense. After bathing, she adorned herself with Śrī Rādhā’s prasādī clothing, ornaments and so on. Then she cleaned the courtyard outside Śrī Gurudevī’s bedroom and prepared the articles for morning sevā. The sādhaka-mañjarī then awakened Śrī Gurudevī by massaging her feet. After Śrī Gurudevī finished her morning duties, the sādhaka-mañjarī bathed her and adorned her with clothing and ornaments. (In this way, each of the guru-mañjarīs is served by her own kiṅkarīs.) Then the sādhaka-dāsī followed Śrī Gurudevī to join with the other guru-mañjarīs, after which they all entered Śrī Rādhā’s home. Śrī Rūpa and the other mañjarīs also arrived at Śrī Rādhā’s house after they had bathed and decorated themselves. They then all entered the house, admiring its beauty. 

Her residence is inlaid with multifarious gems and jewels; its splendor surpasses that of countless moons. The sound of the maidservants churning milk and grinding wheat was like the roar of the sea. The house’s four sides have golden walls. On the eastern and southern sides are two large gates with diamond panels. Two private entrances are located on the northern and western sides. The house is surrounded by a beautiful six-season garden with rows of trees bowed by the weight of their fruits and flowers. Coral, night jasmine, white sandalwood and other trees sway in the gentle breeze; they spread their fragrance and intoxicate the bees. The trees are adorned with blossoming creepers bearing large clusters of flowers. When touched by a breeze, like expert dancers they captivate the mind of the viewer. The cuckoos and other birds sing with sweet voices and the peacocks dance in great joy. On the northern side of the house stands a grove of golden plantain trees. Within that, the toilets of Śrī Rādhā and Anaṅga-Mañjarī are in a bower of mādhavī, mālatī, svarṇa-yūthī and nava-mallikā creepers. The house is surrounded by plantain groves, flower groves and fruit groves, one after the other. Four pathways come through four gates and meet in the middle. The house is divided into four sections containing a total of twenty-five rooms. Jaṭilā has nine rooms in a section of the northeast corner: Gola Gopa’s room is in the northwest, to the east of that is Jaṭilā’s bedroom and to the east of that is Durmada’s room. To the south of that is Āyāna’s room and to the west of that is a sitting room. A storeroom lies to the west of that and a kitchen to the south of that. To the east of that is the dining room and to the east of that is a room for meeting with friends. Śrī Rādhā has three sections with a total of sixteen rooms. There are six rooms in a section of the southeast corner: In the northeast part of that is Śyāmalā’s room and to the south of that a candraśālā. To the west of that is a room for the sakhīs and to the north of that a room for the mañjarīs and other dāsīs. To the west of that is Śrī Rādhā’s dining room and to the south of that her sitting room. There are also six rooms in the southwest section: In the northeast part of that is a room for dressing Śrī Rādhā and Śrī Anaṅga Mañjarī. To the south of that is Śrī Rādhā’s bedroom. (Abhisāra and so on are carried out from this bedroom through a secret pathway on the southern side of the house.) Anaṅga Mañjarī’s bedroom is to the south of that, and to the west of that is a storeroom for sweets and a kitchen. To the north of that is a storeroom for jewels and to the north of that is a storeroom for milk. There are four more rooms in a section of the northwest corner: In the northeast part of that is Śrī Rādhā’s and Śrī Anaṅga Mañjarī’s tooth-brushing room. To the south of that is their bathing room, to the west of that is a storeroom for ghee and to the north of that is an aviary. In the four sections there are a total of twenty-five rooms.