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
No comments:
Post a Comment