Śrī-Śrī-Gaura-Govinda-Līlāmṛta Guṭikā 17

Then Śrī Kṛṣṇa expressed his sweet boyish nature to Mother Yaśodā and sat up, stretched his limbs and yawned. His moonlike face seemed to be worshiped by the splendor of his teeth. He left his bed and offered prayers at the feet of Paurṇamāsī and his mother. By Yaśodā’s order, the servant boys sat Kṛṣṇa on a jeweled seat and washed his face and so on. When they finished, Kṛṣṇa’s mother dried his limbs with the border of her dress. Then the boys bound up his disheveled hair, painted protective tilaka made of gorocanā(1) on his forehead and adorned him with necklaces, garlands and a jeweled turban. At that time, Baladeva stood beside Kṛṣṇa while Yaśodā offered a camphor lamp to them. Then Rohiṇī, Ambā, Kilimbā and others began to sing about Kṛṣṇa’s youthful charm. After that, Yaśodā Mā  fed Kṛṣṇa and his friends some butter and sugar-candy. Then Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma went with their sakhas to the cowshed to milk the cows. As they left for the cowshed, Kṛṣṇa’s astonishing ocean of sweetness began to swell. After seeing him from their palaces, the vraja-sundarīs became infatuated and began to worship that god of love with their lotus eyes. Baṭu Madhumaṅgala started cracking jokes that made Kṛṣṇa and the sakhas laugh. Like this, they all entered the cowshed. When the cows saw Kṛṣṇa and Baladeva, they melted in motherly affection and streams of milk began to spontaneously flow from their teats. Kṛṣṇa made the cows feel most blissful by calling their names and scratching their bodies; then he began to milk them.

In this way, Śyāmalā and Madhurikā caused Śrīmatī and her sakhīs to taste the nectar of Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes. When the two girls left, Śrīmatī began to feel separation from her sweetheart and became bewildered. A moment seemed like a yuga to her. Still, Śrīmatī’s dāsīs meticulously helped her complete her morning duties. After placing Śrīmatī on her toothbrushing platform, one kiṅkarī began to slowly pour water from a golden pot into Śrīmatī’s lotus hands. She rinsed her mouth and washed her face. Then a dāsī placed a soft mango-leaf cup containing fragrant powder in her hand. Śrīmatī cleaned her teeth with the powder and their luster was boundless. Another dāsī then placed a bow-shaped, golden tongue-scraper in Śrīmatī’s hand. Holding its two ends with the thumbs and forefingers of her soft lotus hands, she began to clean her tongue. While doing so, her head, eyes and so on began to shake slightly and locks of hair fell over her face. Recollecting some confidential pastime, the sakhīs began to laugh. When Śrīmatī saw this, she also smiled sweetly. She again rinsed her mouth and face, after which some dāsī dried her hands and face with a fine cloth and then showed her a jeweled mirror. Śrīmatī thought of Kṛṣṇa’s joy-giving face and again washed her own with the nectar of a smile. After Śrīmatī had gone to the toilet and so on, a sādhaka-dāsī sat her on a golden bench and washed her lotus hands and feet with fragrant clay and scented water and then dried them with a soft cloth. Śrīmatī was missing Kṛṣṇa so to distract her the sakhīs brought some of her pet birds for her to enjoy. As Śrī Rādhā marveled at the sporting of the cocks and other birds her viraha-rasa gradually disappeared and she began to have fun with her sakhīs.

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1. A bright yellow pigment secreted from a cow’s kidney

Śrī-Rādhā-Rasa-Sudhā-Nidhiḥ 11 (comm. by Śrī Anantadāsa Bābājī Mahārāja)

 

यत्पादपद्म-नखचन्द्रमणिच्छटाया 

विस्फूर्जितं किमपि गोपवधूष्वदर्शि ।

पूर्णानुराग-रससागर-सारमूर्तिः 

सा राधिका मयि कदापि कृपां करोतु ॥ ११ ॥

yat-pāda-padma-nakha-candra-maṇi-cchaṭāyā 

visphūrjitaṁ kim api gopa-vadhūṣv adarśi |

pūrṇānurāga-rasa-sāgara-sāra-mūrtiḥ 

sā rādhikā mayi kadāpi kṛpāṁ karotu || 11 ||

I have seen the indescribable effulgence of her moonstone toenails while she was among the countless gopīs. When will Śrī Rādhikā, the embodiment of the essence of the ocean of fulfilled love, give me her mercy.

The Luster of Śrī Rādhā's Toenails

Rasa-Varṣiṇī-Vyākhyā: In the previous verse, Śrīpāda had a vision and tasted the sweetness of one wonderful pastime while absorbed in spiritual consciousness. At the end of his vision, his mind was afflicted with pangs of separation. Separation for Śrī Rādhārāṇī will inevitably awaken to some degree in the heart of a sādhaka who is absorbed in his svarūpa. If someone feels no separation from another, he can also feel no longing for their union. The Gosvāmīs have taught that, “First you must feel separation; then you can taste the rasa of union.” Separation, viraha, does not arise in a mind that is absorbed in the body. In the mind of one absorbed in his svarūpa, the thought is always, “When shall I get my Svāminī’s mercy?” The prayers of a sādhaka absorbed in his svarūpa are so beautiful, and that beauty is experienced somewhat in Śrīmad Rūpa Gosvāmipāda’s Stavamālā, Śrīmad Raghunātha Dāsa Gosvāmipāda’s Stavāvalī and Śrīla Sarasvatīpāda’s Rādhā-Rasa-Sudhā-Nidhiḥ. Floating in the waves of his prayers, now and then his heart and mind go to the realm of līlā and in a vision are blessed with a taste of his beloved’s līlā-mādhurī. Moreover, at the end of the vision, deep lamentation, humility, distress and anxiety awaken in his heart. Then, the waves of his prayers of yearning flow on. The sādhaka’s ultimate desire is to attain this state.

Śrīpāda had previously obtained a vision of the springtime rāsa-līlā while absorbed in his svarūpa, and now he has experienced it once again. The rāsa dancing has begun and within the circle, a gopī, then Kṛṣṇa, then another gopī, then Kṛṣṇa again and so on. Śrī Vṛndāvana is illumined with beauty. Śrī Śuka Muni, enchanted by that beauty, described it in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.33.6:

tatrātiśuśubhe tābhir bhagavān devakī-sutaḥ |

madhye maṇīnāṁ haimānāṁ mahāmarakato yathā ||

One mahājana has skillfully given us a serving of the sweetness of this verse:

kāñcana maṇi-gaṇe, janu niramāyala, ramaṇī-maṇḍala sāja |

mājhahi mājha, mahāmarakata-sama, śyāmaru naṭabara rāja ||

dhani dhani aparūpa rāsa bihāra |

thira bijurī sañe, cañcala jaladhara, rasa bariṣaye anibāra ||

“The dark lord of dance appeared among the beautiful young women like a magnificent emerald strung between each two golden beads of a necklace. The blessed rāsa dance is wonderful! Steady bolts of lightning have joined with restless clouds to shower incessant rasa.” (Govinda Dāsa)

How sweet is the dancing of the gopīs!

pāda-nyāsair bhuja-vidhutibhiḥ sasmitair bhrū-vilāsair

bhajyan madhyaiś cala-kuca-paṭaiḥ kuṇḍalair gaṇḍa-lolaiḥ |

svidyan-mukhyaḥ kavara-rasanāgranthayaḥ kṛṣṇa-vadhvo

gāyantyas taṁ taḍita iva tā megha-cakre virejuḥ ||

“As the vraja-gopīs danced with Kṛṣṇa in measured steps, they shone brightly like streaks of lightning in a mass of clouds. Their arms swung about as though leaves fluttering in the breeze and they laughed and playfully moved their eyebrows as their waists bent slightly, their breasts shook and their garments swayed. They joyfully sang of Kṛṣṇa’s traits, with earrings dangling on their cheeks, faces perspiring and braids and sashes loosened.” (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.33.8)

maṇḍalī-bandhe gopī-gaṇa karena nartana |

madhye rādhā-saha nāce brajendranandana ||

“The gopīs all dance in a circle. In the center, Vrajendranandana dances with Śrī Rādhā.” (Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Antya 14.19)

In his kiṅkarī form, Śrīpāda observes how wonderfully sweet Śrī Rādhā’s dancing is. The kiṅkarī’s sight is completely fixed in the direction of Śrī Rādhā’s lotus feet. Those dancing feet are like newly blossomed red lotuses. Each of her toes is a petal and at the tip of each petal the nail sparkles like a jewel. The kiṅkarī’s heart and mind are completely enchanted by such sweetness. Even the sādhakas are blessed with a taste of this sweetness in their meditations. The primary goal of sādhanā is to relish the sweetness of one’s beloved deity. Contemplating līlā by laboriously following all the rules and regulations does not constitute smaraṇa (meditation) on the path of rāga-bhajana. Through smaraṇa, we want to have as much realization of the sweetness of the beloved’s form, qualities and pastimes as possible. The sādhaka must pay special attention to this from the very beginning. Otherwise, once one becomes habituated to following rules and regulations, even enjoyment (āsvādana) will become subservient to those rules. The state to be desired is that in which rules are subservient to enjoyment.

In his kiṅkarī form, Śrīpāda is witnessing the wonder of Rāseśvarī’s sweet dancing. How delightful to see the luster of her jewel-like toenails and hear the jingling of her jeweled anklets! We have all seen noisy displays of lightning: our eyes are dazzled and our hearts pound in fear. But the sheen of Śrī Rādhā’s toenails accompanied by the sound of her anklets cools our eyes and causes a wave of unprecedented joy to play within our hearts.

At this moment the kiṅkarī perceives Śrī Rādhā as the embodied essence of the ocean of fulfilled love.

anurāgaḥ svasaṁvedya-daśāṁ prāpya prakāśitaḥ |

yāvad āśraya-vṛttiś ced bhāva ity abhidhīyate ||

“If one’s love, previously known only to oneself, becomes manifest to others and serves as a shelter for them, that is called mahābhāva.” (Ujjvala-Nīlamaṇi 14.154)(1) The ocean surges majestically with a continuous series of new waves. In the same way, when love surges in continuous waves of emotion, it is called mahābhāva. Śrī Rādhā is the embodied essence of that mahābhāva, the ocean of love. At the end of Śrī-Kṛṣṇa-Sandarbhaḥ, Śrīmat Jīva Gosvāmipāda has written, tad evaṁ parama-madhura-prema-vṛttimayīṣu tāsv api tat-sārāṁśodrekamayī śrī-rādhikā, tasyām eva premotkarṣa parākāṣṭhāyā darśitatvāt. The meaning is that even though mahābhāva is abundantly present among all the gopīs, Śrī Rādhā possesses its essence to the highest degree. The state of mahābhāva known as mādana, which is the apex of love, exists only in Śrī Rādhārāṇī. Śrī Rādhā is the nectar-filled icon of mādana-rasa. This kiṅkarī is beside herself from relishing the sight of Śrīmatī’s beautiful toenails, not to speak of the loveliness of the rest of Rādhā’s body during the rāsa dance. The radiance of Śrī Rādhā’s gemlike toenails outshines even the incomparable luster of the countless gopīs dancing within the circle. For this reason, Śrīpāda says he has seen the unprecedented luster of Śrīmatī’s toenails while she was amidst the gopīs. Suddenly, his vision ended. In sādhaka consciousness he humbly prayed, sā rādhikā mayi kadāpi kṛpāṁ karotu: “When will Rādhikā give me her mercy? When, by her mercy, shall I get to see that sweet līlā again?” This is the gist of it.

Or, the sweetness of this verse may also be relished in the following way. In the previous verse, the king of lovers, enticed by Rādhā’s sweetness, had fallen anxiously at her feet as she stood with her sakhīs and mañjarīs, begging for just one embrace. At that time, the beauty of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the embodiment of the ocean of fulfilled love, was increased tenfold as it reflected from Śrīmatī’s ten gemlike toenails. Śyāmasundara’s ten splendorous forms being reflected from Śrī Rādhā’s ten gemlike toenails increased the pleasure of the sakhīs and mañjarīs’ eyes. The reason for calling Śrī Kṛṣṇa the embodied essence of the ocean of love is that when Kṛṣṇa, excited by experiencing Śrī Rādhā’s sweetness, fell at her feet and begged for a hug, a very powerful wave of love for her was playing in his heart. That love was expressed in his beautiful face, eyes and every part of his body. The sakhīs and mañjarīs then regarded him as the embodiment of love for Rādhā. It seemed that because of his overflowing love for Rādhā, just falling at her feet was not enough, so he divided himself among her ten gemlike toenails and took their shelter. The characteristics of anurāga are described in Ujjvala-Nīlamaṇi 14.146:

sadānubhūtam api yaḥ kuryān nava-navaṁ priyam |

rāgo bhavan nava-navaḥ so’nurāga itīryate ||

“The love that causes one to always perceive his or her beloved in ever-fresh ways and which is itself always being renewed is called anurāga.”  Anurāga produces an ever-new variety in the perception of objects and circumstances. In anurāga, the lover has such a powerful thirst that he thinks his beloved’s form, qualities and so on are at every moment new to him. This type of intense hankering is a measure of one’s taste for something. Even though someone may have an ocean of nectar before him, if he has no thirst, he will have no taste for it. Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the embodiment of the desire to embrace Śrī Rādhā. Moreover, the mutual submissiveness of the nāyaka and nāyikā is also one effect of anurāga.(2) After seeing the ultimacy of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s submissiveness toward Śrī Rādhā, the author has called her “the embodiment of the essence of the ocean of love.” At the end of his vision, he prayed, “When will Śrī Rādhikā give me her mercy?”

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1. Though the word bhāva has been used in the text itself, the author has used mahābhāva in his comments.

2. paraspara-vaśī-bhāvaḥ prema-vaicittyakaṁ tathā |

āprāṇiny api janmāptyai lālasā-bhara unnataḥ ||

vipralambhe’sya visphūrtir ity ādyāḥ syur iha kriyāḥ || (Ujjvala-Nīlamaṇiḥ 14.149)

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Śrī-Śrī-Gaura-Govinda-Līlāmṛta Guṭikā 16

Overwhelmed by love, Śrīmatī had forgotten all of last night’s pastimes. She said, “Śyāmalā, my friend! I was thinking about you and just at that moment you arrived. O sakhī! If the tree of my desires bears fruit in such a way, then I shall consider this a fine morning. O beautiful Śyāmā! My desire tree grows continuously and my sakhīs water it constantly. Why does it still not bear fruit? Alas, I don’t know when in great joy I shall see the fruits of that tree.” After hearing Śrīmatī’s words, Śyāmalā said in jest, “Rādhā, my friend! If your desire tree has not yet borne fruit, I’m sure it will soon. But, O weary one, this tree’s fruit seems strange because although it is always enjoyable, it causes itself to be perceived as imperceptible. It is amazing that the fruit by whose crimson juice your eyelashes have been reddened is not within the range of your eyes. O lotus face! It is even more amazing that you have not tasted this fruit, though you have a sore on your lip from eating it so many times.” Hearing this, Śrīmatī replied, “Śyāmā, my friend! You are joking with me without understanding my heartache. The momentary flash caused by lightning on a cloudy night seems to double the darkness of the eyes. In the same way, Śrī Kṛṣṇa gives darśana for only half a moment in life and burns our hearts doubly in the fire of separation when we cannot see him.” Understanding the advanced state of Śrīmatī’s powerful, thirsty love, Śyāmalā said, “O friend! Just as a virtuous person never performs any rite without first taking a morning bath, in the same way, I cannot engage in any work without first bathing in the nectarous Gaṅgā of your nightly pastimes, which flows from your lotus-like mouth. Therefore, O Rādhā, stop hiding your feelings and give us a little taste of your sweet nocturnal play.” Hearing this, Śrīmatī replied, “O Śyāmalā! When I was in the bower cottage in the dead of night, I was bathed in a stream of blue radiance from a bolt of blue lightning. Then it seemed like someone led me to a theater for drama and dance filled with countless gods of love who covered me from head to toe! I became anxious and perplexed. O friend! I was so overwhelmed watching the refined dancing skills of those gods of love that I surrendered all of my sense-coins to the dancers’ hands. O Śyāmā! Try as I might, I cannot remember what wonderful dancing occurred after that.” Śyāmalā replied, “Rādhā! An amazing story, no doubt! You saw the king of dancers, whose dancing amazes countless gods of love and who is an unfathomable ocean of amorous pastimes, dancing in Kandarpa’s war only in a refined and polite way. Did you make this up?” Śrīmatī replied, “Śyāmalā, just forget what we both said; neither of us knows. Moreover, there are countless feelings in my heart that I cannot express. Tell me, friend, was that magic, or a dream, or only a delusion of my mind? I cannot understand any of it. A sleeping person afflicted with thirst may drink a cool beverage in his dream but remains thirsty. In the same way, without feeling the satisfaction of my nighttime pastimes with Kṛṣṇa, it all seems fanciful like a dream.” Śyāmalā laughed and jokingly said, “Rādhā, my friend! This is not a dream or magic; the truth is, you are just confused. The sweet fragrance of Kṛṣṇa’s lip-nectar has blinded the virtuous girls from afar. After drinking too much of it, you have become delusional.”

The minnow-like minds of the sakhīs and mañjarīs swam happily in the countless fountains of Premamayī Śrī Rādhā’s recollections with Śyāmalā. Meanwhile, Śrīmatī’s dear friend Madhurikā arrived there. Knowing that Madhurikā had just come from Nandālaya, the sakhīs inquired about any news from there. Madhurikā began to recount Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s waking and other morning pastimes. “O Rādhā! At Nandālaya this morning, Mother Yaśomatī knew that Kṛṣṇa was still sound asleep, exhausted from grazing the cows. Fearful of waking him, she anxiously ordered her maidservants to not make any loud sounds while churning butter. Meanwhile, Paurṇamāsī Devī arrived at Nandālaya, eager to see Śrī Kṛṣṇa. She perceived Nanda’s pleasant home to be like Śvetadvīpa. She felt great joy when she saw Nanda’s home with Acyuta sleeping on Ananta, his comfortable bed, soft like the foam on milk. Its delightful courtyard, filled with gentle, loving people, is decorated with multicolored ocean gems and drops of milk from the churning. Seeing Paurṇamāsī Devī as the goddess of asceticism incarnate, Mother Yaśodā happily stood up and said, “O Bhagavatī! Come in, come in! How fortunate that I get to see you early in the morning. O one adored in Vraja! I bow to your lotus feet.” While Śrī Yaśodā was bowing, Bhagavatī embraced and blessed her. Then she inquired about Yaśodā’s welfare, along with that of her husband, son and cows. Śrī Yaśodā replied that all were well and then she eagerly accompanied Paurṇamāsī Devī to Kṛṣṇa’s bedroom. Meanwhile, Bhadrasena, Stokakṛṣṇa, Gobhaṭṭa, Subala, Arjuna, Śrīdāma, Sudāma, Dāma, Ujjvala, Kiṅkiṇī and Kṛṣṇa’s other friends arrived with Baladeva and began to call out to him: “Hey Kṛṣṇa! Get up, get up! Wake up quickly; morning has come. Your brother Balarāma is waiting for you in the courtyard.” Madhumaṅgala was awakened by the sakhās’ shouting. Baṭu(1) giggled and called out in a loud voice, “Hey Kṛṣṇa, get up! Let’s go quickly to the cowshed.” Even though Kṛṣṇa was awakened by Baṭu’s words, his eyes were swirling and he could not leave his bed. At the end of the universal dissolution, Veda Mātā wakens Śrī Bhagavān from his mystic slumber as he lies on Ananta-Śeṣa in a jeweled temple in the ocean of milk. In the same way, Vrajeśvarī Mātā began to wake Śrī Kṛṣṇa. She placed her left hand on the bedstead to bear her body weight and then caressed Kṛṣṇa with her right. She said, “My son, get up, get up! Let your mother feel the joy of seeing her son’s face. Without seeing you, the cows do not suckle their young. Nonetheless, concerned about waking you, your father has gone to the cowshed himself. Your friends have all arrived now, so go with them to the cowshed and milk the cows. Wait, what is this? Why is Balarāma’s blue cloth on your body?” Mother Yaśodā then gave the blue cloth to Dhaniṣṭhā, but when she saw the fingernail scratches on Kṛṣṇa’s body from his nocturnal pastimes, she said, “Look, Bhagavatī! This boy’s delicate body, softer than a lotus petal, has somehow been injured while wrestling with his rambunctious friends. So much red mineral powder has stuck to his limbs! Alas! I don’t know how to prevent this.” As Mother Yaśodā spoke with such affection, she showered the bed with drops of breastmilk and tears. Seeing that Kṛṣṇa’s eyes had narrowed with embarrassment at his mother’s tender words, Madhumaṅgala said, “O mother! Even if, as you say, the boys(2) are rambunctious, that doesn’t mean they should be prohibited. That’s just the way energetic friends play.”

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1. Baṭu is a nickname for Madhumaṅgala.

2. Baṭu uses the word bālālīkula here, which indicates the group of bālas or boys, but also refers in a hidden way to the bālās or girls of Vraja.

Śrī-Rādhā-Rasa-Sudhā-Nidhiḥ 10 (comm. by Śrī Anantadāsa Bābājī Mahārāja)

केनापि नागरवरेण पदे निपत्य 

संप्रार्थितैक-परिरम्भरसोत्सवायाः ।

सभ्रूविभङ्गमतिरङ्गनिधेः कदा ते 

श्रीराधिके नहि नहीति गिरः शृणोमि ॥ १० ॥

kenāpi nāgara-vareṇa pade nipatya 

saṁprārthitaika-parirambha-rasotsavāyāḥ |

sabhrū-vibhaṅgam atiraṅga-nidheḥ kadā te 

śrī-rādhike nahi nahīti giraḥ śṛṇomi || 10 ||

“O Śrī Rādhikā, ocean of playfulness, when shall I hear you say ’No! No!’ with knitted brows after Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the king of lovers, falls at your feet and begs for the joy of just one embrace?”

Śrī Rādhā, Ocean of Playfulness

Rasa-Varṣiṇī-Vyākhyā: In the previous verse, Śrīpāda humbly considered himself to be a sādhaka in whom love has not yet arisen and longed to become a broom in the courtyard of Śrīmatī’s keli-kuñja. He instructed his mind to abandon all other practices and take shelter of Śrī Vṛndāvana. While he was absorbed in such profound yearning, the state of anurāga (attachment) appeared, and in this verse, he again had a vision of līlā in his siddha-svarūpa. The more deeply he entered into his svarūpa, the more deeply he savored the sweetness. His only support was the relishing of Śrīmatī’s form, qualities, pastimes and sweetness. His recollection of tasting that rasa has manifested in the form of this verse. That which is realized in the state of anurāga is beyond description! There are no words to express such an experience. Very little of it can be articulated. Therefore, the writers of śāstra call it mūkāsvādanavat: like being a person who cannot speak. A mute person can taste some sweet juice and get satisfaction and joy from it, but he cannot express anything about it in speech. The same is said about tasting rasa. Due to the lack of any language of love, no one is able to completely describe the experience of anubhava or realization. Only a little is revealed. Just as the scent of food one has eaten is still present in a burp, in the same way, in rasodgāra, or recollection of rasa, the scent of one’s experience in bhajana remains. This excites intense desire in the hearts of those who perform śravaṇa-kīrtana.

While Śrīpāda was in sādhaka consciousness and feeling anxious, by Śrīmatī’s mercy he got a vision of one sweet pastime involving Śrī Rādhā on her way to meet Śrī Kṛṣṇa.(1) Filled with intense love, she has arrived at the prearranged meeting place, but Śyāmasundara is not there yet. Knowing that the jewel of lovers will surely come to the kuñja, Śrīmatī, in the mood of a vāsaka-sajjikā, decorates the cottage with her own hands. Ujjvala-Nīlamaṇi, Nāyikābheda-Prakaraṇa 76-77:

svavāsaka-vaśāt kānte sameṣyati nijaṁ vapuḥ |

sajjī-karoti gehaṁ ca yā sā vāsaka-sajjikā ||

ceṣṭā cāsyāḥ smara-krīḍā-saṅkalpo vartma-vīkṣaṇaṁ |

sakhī-vinoda-vārtā ca muhur dūtīkṣaṇādayaḥ ||

“After arriving at the prearranged meeting place certain that her lover will come, the abhisārikā woman who nicely decorates herself and the kuñja cottage while she waits is called a vāsaka-sajjikā. Intent on making love, she watches the arrival path of her lover while talking pleasantly with her sakhīs and looking repeatedly for her messenger to come.” Today, her preparation of the place for love-sports is wonderful. Jewel among nāgarīs Śrī Rādhā thinks thus:

aṅgane āoba yaba rasiyā | pālaṭi calaba hāma īṣat hāsiyā ||

ābeśe ācara piya dharabe | yāoba hāma yatana bahu karabe ||

kāñcuyā dharaba yaba haṭhiyā | kare kara bāraba kuṭila ādha diṭhiyā ||

rabhasa maṅgaba piya yabahi | mukha-moḍi bihasi balaba “nahi” tabahi ||

sahajahi supuruṣa bhamarā | cīra dhari piyaba adhara-rasa hāmarā ||

taikhane haraba mora cetane | bidyāpati kaha dhani tuā jībane ||

“When Kṛṣṇa arrives in the courtyard, I will smile slightly, turn and walk away. My beloved will passionately grab the border of my skirt, but I will continue walking. He will try to pull me back. When this impetuous one grabs my bodice, I will cast a sidelong glance at him and push his hand away with mine. When my dear one begs for love, I will turn my face away, laugh and say ‘No! No!’ This handsome youth will grab my dress and, like a bee, drink the honey from my lips. Then I will faint.” Vidyāpati says, “Your life is blessed.”(2)

Waves of such delightful thoughts play in Śrīmatī’s love-filled mind. Śrīpāda, in his kiṅkarī form, is absorbed in Śrīmatī’s sevā. Kṛṣṇa arrives in the kuñja. When Śrīmatī sees her beloved, she turns and heads for home. With a sidelong glance she reprimands her kiṅkarī, saying, “Why did you bring me here? Take me home right now!” Attracted by her sweetness, Kṛṣṇa grabs the edge of her shawl. Pulling on her cloth, Śrīmatī says, “Give it back; don’t touch me; I’m a respectable girl!” A lovely smile lights up her face, a smile mixed with superficial anger. What a surge of wonderful sweetness! Seeing such sweetness, Kṛṣṇa becomes restless with desire, overwhelmed with longing to unite with Śrī Rādhā, the embodiment of condensed joy. 

All of her movements arise from mahābhāva; in the embodiment of bhāva, bhāva is fully expressed. This is why Rasika-Śekhara Kṛṣṇa is so enchanted by her. Śrīmad Rūpa Gosvāmipāda has written the following in Śrī-Ujjvala-Nīlamaṇi 5.47-48 while describing the characteristics of the pragalbhā-nāyikā (saucy female lover): bhūri-bhāvodgamābhijñā rasenākrānta-vallabhā. “She who is skillful in expressing abundant love and who overwhelms her lover with rasa is called a pragalbhā-nāyikā.” In his Locana-Rocanī commentary on this partial verse, Śrīmat Jīva Gosvāmipāda has written, rasenākrānta-vallabhety ukteḥ premātmaka-rasenaiva tad-ākramaṇa-sambhavāt premṇas tu vallabha-sukhaikoddeśyatvād vallabha-sukhārtham evāsyāḥ prayatnas tad-bhāvecchāmayyevāsāv iti. “By saying that ‘she overwhelms her lover with rasa,’ it should be understood that this rasa is prema-rasa, because only prema-rasa can attract Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Moreover, the phrase ‘Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s happiness alone’ indicates the state of mind known as prema. Consequently, all of love-filled Rādhā’s various behaviors arise only for the sake of Kṛṣṇa’s happiness. Therefore, the only aim of her amorous gestures is to give Kṛṣṇa pleasure.” While describing the vraja-sundarīs’ powerful love (samarthā-rati), Śrīmad Rūpa Gosvāmipāda said, ity āsyāṁ kṛṣṇa-saukhyārtham eva kevalam udyamaḥ. “All of the endeavors of the vraja-sundarīs, who possess samarthā-rati, are manifest only for Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s happiness.” (tāsāṁ) mano-vāk-kāyānāṁ vyāpāraḥ tathā buddhi-pūrvako’buddhi-pūrvako vā yaḥ sa śrī-kṛṣṇa-saukhyārtham eva, tenodyamena śrī-kṛṣṇa-sukham eva prāpnotīty arthaḥ (from the Ānanda-Candrikā commentary on the aforementioned partial verse). “All actions of the vraja-sundarī’s body, mind and speech, intentional or not, are displayed only for Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s happiness.” Therefore, it goes without saying that all the actions of Śrī Rādhā, the crown-jewel of the beautiful girls of Vraja, are performed only for Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s pleasure.

Overwhelmed by Śrī Rādhā’s sweet affection, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the jewel of lovers, falls at her lotus feet and with a restless heart begs for the joy of just one embrace! A deep and mellow mood arises within Śrīmatī’s mind as she delights in her lover’s request, and it beams from her beautiful mouth and eyes. But because of her contrary nature, she turns away and with knitted brows exclaims “No! No!” Kṛṣṇa is enchanted by the beauty of those knitted brows. By captivating her lover with such delightful moods, Śrīmatī is giving him indescribable pleasure! In the rasa-śāstras, this is called the ornament of kuṭṭamita, “the affected repulse of a lover’s caresses.”(3)

stanādharādi-grahaṇe hṛt-prītāv api sambhramāt |

bahiḥ krodha-vyathitavat proktaṁ kuṭṭamitaṁ budhaiḥ ||

“When the nāyaka touches the nāyikā’s breasts, lips and so on, and though joyful inside, she externally feigns anger as though offended, her mood is declared by the sages to be kuṭṭamita.”

kṛṣṇa-bāñchā pūrṇa haya kare pāṇi-rodha |

antare ānanda rādhā bāhire bāmya krodha ||

byathā pāiyā kare yena śuṣka-rodana |

īṣat hāsiyā kare kṛṣṇake bhartsana || 

“By blocking Kṛṣṇa’s hands, Rādhā fulfills his desire. She feels joy within but shows anger without. As though offended, she pretends to cry and, with a slight smile, she scolds Kṛṣṇa.” (Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Madhya 14.198-199)

A scholar of the erotic (śṛṅgāra) rasa has said,

asaṁmukhālokanam ābhimukhyaṁ 

niṣedha evānumati prakāram |

pratyuttara-mudraṇam iva vācāṁ 

navāṅgaṇānāṁ nava eva panthāḥ ||

“The ways of young women are novel indeed! By aversion, they show favor; by preventing, they give permission; and by refusing to speak, they give their reply.” The kiṅkarī sees that Śrī Rādhā, the ocean of fun, is externally saying “No! No!” while inwardly she really wants to embrace him. For now, there is no “No” in her “No.” Now it seems that “Yes” has swallowed “No.” It is appropriate that Śrīmatī is called Rādhikā in that she has fully justified her name. She who worships Kṛṣṇa is Rādhikā. Even among the other vraja-sundarīs, no one worships Kṛṣṇa so sweetly. No one else understands how she thoroughly enchants her lover by giving him a taste of sweet rasa. For this reason, she has been addressed as “Śrī Rādhikā” in this verse. Even though the faculty of mahābhāva exists abundantly in all the vraja-sundarīs, no one but Vṛṣabhānu-Nandinī is called Rādhikā. Because Śrī Rādhā is the direct embodiment of mahābhāva, the essence of mahābhāva is joy.

As Śrīpāda was seeing like this, his vision of līlā came to an end. In sādhaka consciousness, he longingly prayed, “O Rādhikā! When shall I get to see your sweet, loving behaviors and hear you say ‘No! No!’ as your lover tries to embrace you?”

1. She is known as an abhisārikā when she goes to meet her lover. Abhisāra means lovers’ tryst.

2. I based my translation of this old poem on the one in Vaiṣṇava-Padāvalī.

3. Monier-Williams