वैदग्ध्यसिन्धुरनुरागरसैकसिन्धु-
र्वात्सल्यसिन्धुरतिसान्द्रकृपैकसिन्धुः ।
लावण्यसिन्धुरमृतच्छविरूपसिन्धुः
श्रीराधिका स्फुरतु मे हृदि केलिसिन्धुः ॥ १८ ॥
vaidagdhya-sindhur anurāga-rasaika-sindhur
vātsalya-sindhur atisāndra-kṛpaika-sindhuḥ |
lāvaṇya-sindhur amṛta-cchavi-rūpa-sindhuḥ
śrī-rādhikā sphuratu me hṛdi keli-sindhuḥ || 18 ||
“May Śrī Rādhikā appear within my heart. She is an ocean of wisdom, an ocean of passionate love, an ocean of affection, an ocean of deep compassion, an ocean of charm, an ocean of imperishable beauty and an ocean of amorous play.”
Śrī Rādhā as Seven Oceans
Rasa-Varṣiṇī-Vyākhyā: When his vision ended, Śrīpāda was filled with lamentation. Without direct sevā, he is suffering unbearable sorrow. He prays, “When shall I serve you, taking your crimson feet upon my chest?” His realization of sevā-rasa is evident. For a sādhaka devoted to contemplation, the object is to experience this sevā-rasa to some degree. This realization causes one to feel a constant need for direct sevā. Śrīmat Jīva Gosvāmipāda has said in his Prīti-Sandarbha that the desire to obtain sevā and friendship is always in the sādhaka’s mind. These desires cannot arise in a mind muddied by material intentions; they appear in a mind purified by sādhana-bhakti. By meditation, a smaraṇa-niṣṭha-sādhaka gets the association of his deity within his mind. Just as bhaktas associate with each other, the sādhaka wants to associate with the sakhīs and mañjarīs. The prefix upa means “nearby,” so the word upāsanā means “to remain nearby.” In meditation, the smaraṇa-niṣṭha-sādhaka performs each component of bhajana in his siddha-deha along with the sakhīs and mañjarīs. This bhajana in the association of friends is very pleasant.
In this verse, Śrīpāda’s intense feelings of separation in sādhaka consciousness have brought the mādhurya of Śrī Rādhā’s qualities to his mind. To engross the kiṅkarī’s mind in the mādhurya of her form, qualities and pastimes, Śrī Rādhā plays this game of hide-and-seek with her. She appears from time to time in a vision and then hides. Śrīmatī’s transcendentally sweet qualities are revealed in a mind saturated with viraha. Śrī Rādhā is like an ocean of good qualities, beautiful like the earth with seven seas, the wonderful gathering of seven seas in one place! The material world has oceans of salt water, sugar-cane juice, wine, ghee, yogurt, milk and sweet water. In contrast to this, Śrīpāda has cited the oceans of Śrī Rādhā’s seven transcendent qualities of wisdom, love, affection, compassion, charm, beauty and amorous play.
Śrīmatī Rādhā is a vaidagdhya-sindhuḥ, an ocean of wisdom. The word vaidagdhī means “expertise in the subject of rasa.” Rasikā-Maṇi Śrī Rādhā is like an ocean of such wisdom. Even Rasika-Śekhara Śrī Kṛṣṇa learns about śṛṅgāra-rasa from her. rādhikāra prema guru āmi śiṣya naṭa; sadā āmā nānā nṛtye nācāya udbhaṭa. “Śrī Rādhikā’s love is my guru; I am its dancing student. It always makes me dance in extraordinary ways.” (Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Ādi 4.124) Or, another meaning of vaidagdhī could be “expertise in various arts and pastimes.” kalā-vilāsa-digdhātmā vidagdha iti kīrtyate. “One skilled in various arts and pastimes is called vidagdha.” To illustrate Śrīmatī’s vaidagdhī, Śrīmad Rūpa Gosvāmipāda has written the following in his Śrī Ujjvala-Nīlamaṇi 4.33:
ācāryā dhātu-citre pacana-viracanā-cāturī-cāru-cittā
vāg-yuddhe mugdhayantī gurum api ca girāṁ paṇḍitā mālya-gumphe |
pāṭhe śārī-śukānāṁ paṭur ajitam api dyūta-keliṣu jiṣṇur
vidyā-vidyoti-buddhiḥ sphurati rati-kalā-śālinī rādhikeyam ||
Kundalatā said to Gārgī, “O Devī! What more shall I say of Śrī Rādhā’s expertise? She is an ācāryā in the art of painting pictures with colored minerals. ācāryā na tu kadācid api kasyāścic chiṣyā… evaṁ sarvatra jñeyam (Ānanda-Candrikā Ṭīkā). The word ācāryā means one who does not learn this knowledge from another; all such knowledge must be known spontaneously. Śrī Rādhikā, who has a beautiful mind, is expert in cooking. She fascinates even Śrī Kṛṣṇa in debates. She is skilled in stringing flower garlands and well-versed in the language of parrots and mynahs. She conquers even the unconquerable Kṛṣṇa in playing dice, and her keen intellect illuminates all types of knowledge. Possessing all good qualities, she directly embodies the art of love.” Śrīmatī’s vaidagdhī quality is like sweet water and is the life of the sakhīs, mañjarīs and Rasarāja Śyāmasundara. For the rāgānugīya-sādhaka, it increases the thirst for things related to Śrī Rādhā and removes the thirst for anything else.
Śrīmatī is the anurāga-rasaika-sindhuḥ, the one and only ocean of love. “Ocean of love” means mahābhāva. The reason is that when love reaches a boundless state knowable only by itself, when it is revealed by sāttvika-bhāvas like uddīptā and so on, and becomes a source of refuge, it is called mahābhāva. Here, the significance of calling her an ocean of love (anurāga) rather than the possessor of mahābhāva is that anurāga produces ever-fresh variety in familiar things. Even though she may be constantly experiencing Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s mādhurya, the love that grows from profound longing causes her to feel she has no perception of it, with the effect that the sweetness of her experience increases at every moment.
ko’yaṁ kṛṣṇa iti vyudasyati dhṛtiṁ yas tanvi karṇaṁ viśan |
rāgāndhe kim idaṁ sadaiva bhavatī tasyorasi krīḍati ||
hāsyaṁ mā kuru mohite tvam adhunā nyastāsya haste mayā |
satyaṁ satyam asau dṛg-aṅgaṇam agād adyaiva vidyun-nibhaḥ ||
One day, Lalitā and the other sakhīs brought Rādhārāṇī and Kṛṣṇa together. Kṛṣṇa was overwhelmed with joy from relishing Śrīmatī’s mādana-rasa. To poke fun at her delirious lover, Śrīmatī entered the kuñja and joined her sakhīs. When Kṛṣṇa’s name was mentioned during their conversation, Rādhā said to Lalitā, “O slender one! Who is that person whose name you spoke?” Lalitā replied, “Whoever he may be, why do you care?” Śrī Rādhā said, “Sakhī! There is a reason for knowing. We need to think of a plan to protect our family traditions from this person whose name destroys our forbearance when it enters our ears.” Śrī Lalitā replied, “O one blinded by love! What are you talking about? You are always playing on his chest!” Śrī Rādhā said, “Sakhī! Why are you teasing me? I know nothing about him!” Lalitā replied, “O bewildered one! Has your intelligence been overcome by desire? I just now placed you in his hands.” Śrī Rādhā then remembered and said, “Sakhī, you have spoken the truth. Just today, he was visible to me for only a moment, like lightning.” (Śrī-Ujjvala-Nīlamaṇiḥ 14.148) From this example we can understand that love causes a great thirst to awaken in the lover and makes her tasting of Kṛṣṇa’s mādhurya ever-sweet and amazing. The reason for calling Śrīmatī the only ocean of love is that when love is further developed, it becomes mahābhāva. The highest state of mahābhāva is called mādana, and this mādanākhya-mahābhāva only exists in Śrī Rādhārāṇī. Or, just as the ocean is the original source and refuge of rivers, ponds and other bodies of water, Śrī Rādhārāṇī is the original source of the mahābhāva present in the vraja-sundarīs. The vraja-sundarīs are all representative manifestations of Śrī Rādhā’s body meant to facilitate Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s enjoyment of the varieties of rasa. For this reason, Śrī Rādhā has been called the only ocean of love. Love has been compared to an ocean of milk. When milk is condensed, kṣīra remains; whenever love is condensed, mahābhāva remains.
Śrīmatī Rādhā is also an ocean of vātsalya-rasa. Great affection for an unfortunate or needy person is called vātsalya.(1) Just as she is an inexhaustible storehouse of madhura-rasa, she is also a vast ocean of vātsalya-rasa. The writers of rasa-śāstra have referred to vātsalya-rasa as being incompatible with madhura-rasa, but in Śrī Rādhā, even this incompatible rasa rises at the opportune moment and nourishes madhura-rasa. For example, when Rasika-Śiromaṇi Śrī Kṛṣṇa takes his meal, Śrī Rādhā’s deep vātsalya toward him appears and causes him, the sakhīs and mañjarīs to all feel great joy. The manifestation of Śrī Rādhā’s vātsalya toward her sakhīs is also wonderful. Because of her affection, she always feels herself subservient to them.
upadiśa sakhi vṛnde ballavendrasya sūnuṁ
kim ayam iha sakhīnāṁ mām adhīnāṁ dunoti |
apasaratu saśaṅkaṁ mandirān māninīnāṁ
kalayati lalitāyāḥ kiṁ na śauṭīrya-dhāṭīm ||
Even though in her heart she was eager to meet with Kṛṣṇa, to show her profound loyalty to her sakhīs, Śrī Rādhā spoke to Vṛndā in the mood of a kalahāntaritā:(2) “O Vṛndā, my friend! Please tell Vrajarāja-Nandana that I am obedient to my sakhīs. Why is he giving me unnecessary pain? We are honorable girls; it isn’t proper for him to be in our homes. Tell him to flee in fear. Does he not know of Lalitā’s power?” (Śrī-Ujjvala-Nīlamaṇiḥ 4.46) With these words, Sakhī-Vatsalā(3) Śrī Rādhā secretly advised Śyāmasundara to please her girlfriends if he wants to meet with her. Śrī Rādhā’s vātsalya toward her dāsīs or mañjarīs is beyond compare. Her kiṅkarīs remain thoroughly soaked by the waves in the ocean of her vātsalya, which is permeated by a sense of madīyatā(4) that makes her think of them as “my Rūpa Mañjarī or my Rati Mañjarī.” In the eighth śatakam of his Vṛndāvana-Mahimāmṛta, Śrīpāda has drawn a charming picture of the nature of the mañjarīs, who are always bathed in the nectar of Śrī Rādhā’s boundless mercy. There is truly no comparison in the realm of love.
kṣaṇaṁ caraṇa-vicchedāc chrīśvaryāḥ prāṇa-hāriṇīm |
padāravinda-saṁlagnatayaivāhar-niśaṁ sthitām ||
preṣṭha-dvandva-prasāda-srag-vastra-bhūṣādi-mohinīm |
mahā-vinaya-sauśīlyādy-anekāścarya-sad-guṇām ||
rādhā-padābja-sevānya-spṛhā-kāla-trayojjhitām |
rādhā-prīti-sukhāmbhodhāv apāre buḍitāṁ sadā ||
rādhā-padāmbujād anyat svapnānte’pi na jānatīm |
rādhā-sambandha-sandhāvat-prema-sindhaugha-mālinīm ||
The meaning is that the mañjarīs nearly die if they are separated from their goddess Śrī Rādhā for even a moment. For this reason, they stay close to her lotus feet day and night. They look very beautiful wearing the prasādī(5) garlands, clothing, ornaments and so on from their beloved couple. They are adorned with many wonderful qualities like modesty and amiability. Whether in the past, present or future, or whether awake, asleep or in deep sleep, they have no other desire than to serve Śrī Rādhā’s lotus feet. Because of their deep love for her, they are always submerged in a boundless ocean of happiness. Even while dreaming, they perceive nothing but Śrī Rādhā’s lotus feet. Like rivers toward the sea, they always run lovingly toward anything related to her. Bathed in Śrī Rādhā’s vātsalya-rasa, they attain her sevā by following their own natures. Because of the abundance of sneha(6) in vātsalya, it has been likened to an ocean of yogurt.
Śrī Rādhā is an atisāndra-kṛpaika-sindhuḥ, meaning she is a deep ocean of compassion. At every moment, the nectar of mercy drips upon those who belong to Śrī Rādhā, the boundless sea of kindness. The proof of this lies in the experiences of those who are touched by this kṛpāmṛta. Śrīmad Raghunātha Dāsa Gosvāmipāda has said, karuṇā-vidravad-dehā, meaning “one whose body is melted by compassion.” Generally, when one’s heart melts upon seeing another’s misery, that is called karuṇā, or compassion. So we hear of the heart being melted by compassion, but never of a body being melted. But Śrīmatī’s body is also melted by compassion. She constantly bathes in a stream of the nectar of kindness. Śrīman Mahāprabhu has accepted her mood and is just as merciful. Without considering whether they were qualified or not, he has generously given prema to all the jīvas of the world. His body is melted by compassion, the compassion from Śrī Rādhā’s storehouse, not Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s. In vraja-līlā, that compassion was secretly kept in mysterious Śrī Rādhā’s storehouse of mercy, but Śrīman Mahāprabhu, accepting Śrī Rādhā’s mood and complexion, has revealed it to the world. By accepting Śrī Rādhā’s compassionate mood, Śrīman Mahāprabhu showed the people of the world how kindness can even melt one’s body. Therefore, a mahājana has sung,
patita heri kānde, thira nāhi bāndhe, karuṇa nayane cāya |
nirupama hema jini, ujora gorā-tanu, abanī ghana gaḍi yāya ||
gaurāṅgera nichani laiyā mari |
o rūpa-mādhurī, piriti cāturī, tila ādha pāsarite nāri ||
baraṇa-āśrama, kiñcana-akiñcana, kāro kona doṣa nāhi māne |
kamalā-śiba-bidhi,-dulaha prema-nidhi, dāna karaye jaga-jane ||
aichana sadaya, hṛdaya rasamaya, gaura bhela parakāśa |
prema-dhanera dhanī, kayala abanī, bañcita gobinda dāsa ||
“When Gaurāṅga sees the fallen, he weeps, loses composure and gazes at them with dolorous eyes. He rolls on the ground with his radiant fair-complexioned body, more beautiful than the finest gold. I would die to protect him from harm. He is so beautiful, affectionate and intelligent that I cannot forget him for even half a moment. Whether someone is a member of varṇāśrama or not, or whether he is rich or poor, Gaurāṅga sees no fault in him. He freely gives to the people of the world the treasure of prema that is so hard for Lakṣmī, Śiva and Brahmā to obtain. Kindhearted, full of wit and humor, Gaura appeared in the world, rich with the treasure of prema. Alas, poor Govinda Dāsa mistook this treasure for a lump of coal.” Because it makes the heart melt, compassion has been likened to an ocean of ghee.
Śrīmatī is also a lāvaṇya-sindhuḥ, meaning an ocean of grace and charm. Just as a beautiful radiance flows from within a pearl, if such a radiance emerges from the limbs of one’s body, that is called lāvaṇya.(7) Śrīmatī is like an ocean of such lāvaṇya. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, she has been called lāvaṇya-sāra. Though Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s minnow-like eyes always swim in the ocean of Śrī Rādhā’s loveliness, they never tire, but rather desire to swim more and more. Śrīpāda Bilvamaṅgala Ṭhākura has said, lāvaṇyāmṛta-vīci-lolita-dṛśam (Śrī-Kṛṣṇa-Karṇāmṛtam 3). śrī-rādhāyā eva lāvaṇyāmṛta-vīcibhir lolite satṛṣṇī-kṛte dṛśo yasya tam (Sāraṅga-Raṅgadā Ṭīkā). “Agitated by the waves of Śrī Rādhā’s charm, Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s eyes become extremely thirsty.” When Śrī Kṛṣṇa sees Śrī Rādhā’s beauty, he becomes intoxicated, and when the sakhīs and mañjarīs see Kṛṣṇa relishing Śrī Rādhā’s beauty, they also become intoxicated. Because of this, the nectarous ocean of charm has been likened to an ocean of wine. If the sādhaka-bhakta contemplates this lāvaṇya during sādhana, he or she also becomes oblivious to all matters of this life or the next and becomes intoxicated by the service of Śrī Rādhā’s lotus feet.
Śrīmatī is an amṛta-cchavi-rūpa-sindhuḥ, meaning that as Śrī Rādhā is the icon of nectar, she is like a vast ocean of beauty. Śrī Rādhā is the embodiment of mahābhāva, which has been compared to nectar. varāmṛta-svarūpa-śrīḥ svaṁ svarūpaṁ mano nayet. Just as among worldly substances, amṛta or nectar is the most enjoyable, among the different levels of prema, mahābhāva is the most enjoyable. The most concentrated state of love for Kṛṣṇa is mahābhāva. As a faculty of the hlādinī-śakti, love is by nature enjoyable, and as it becomes more intense, it naturally becomes even more enjoyable. Because mahābhāva is the most concentrated state of love, its inherent enjoyment is unequalled. As Śrī Rādhā is the embodiment of mahābhāva, she has been called the icon of nectar. The enjoyment derived from experiencing Śrī Rādhā’s beauty is of a very high nature. Therefore, she is an ocean of imperishable beauty, a drop of which drowns the whole world, and in which Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the most attractive male, struggles to stay afloat.
koṭi kāma jini rūpa yadyapi āmāra |
asamordhva mādhurya sāmya nāhi yāra ||
mora rūpe āpyāyita haya tribhubana |
rādhāra darśane āmāra juḍāya nayana ||
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eimata jagatera sukhe āmi hetu |
rādhikāra rūpa-guṇa āmāra jībātu ||
“Although my beauty conquers millions of gods of love, has no equal and satisfies the three worlds, my eyes are satisfied by seeing Śrī Rādhā. I am the cause of happiness in the world, but Śrī Rādhikā’s beauty and qualities are my very life.” (Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Ādi 4.242-243, 248) Because of its great sweetness, Śrī Rādhā’s ocean of beauty has been compared to an ocean of sugarcane juice.
Śrīmatī is also a keli-sindhuḥ, or ocean of amorous play. Her romantic pastimes with her beloved Śyāmasundara are known as keli. At their meeting place, Śrī Rādhā keeps Śyāmasundara submerged in the billowy ocean of delight. When waves of passion arise within Śrī Rādhā’s keli-sindhu, even the transcendental young god of love Śrī Kṛṣṇa is afraid to place the boat of his mind upon her surging ocean breasts. For example, at the mouth of the Gaṅgā, a helmsman plies his boat slowly along the shoreline, fearful that the beating of large waves may damage it. Kṛṣṇa is like that helmsman. Just as the ocean is the original source of the water in all rivers, ponds and so on, in the same way, Śrīmatī Rādhā is the original source of all the different consorts of Bhagavān, who cause their particular beloved form of Bhagavān to experience the sweetness of romantic pastimes. For this reason, she is an ocean of amorous play. The keli-sindhu has been compared to an ocean of salt water because by seeing, touching and bathing in salt water, piety is accumulated and the mind becomes purified, but if one drinks it, death occurs. In the same way, by faithfully hearing, chanting and contemplating Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Govinda’s transcendental romantic pastimes, one attains the highest level of devotion at their lotus feet and the plague of material desires is destroyed. But if one ventures to behave like Kṛṣṇa, his eventual downfall is inevitable. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.33.30, at the conclusion of the rāsa-līlā, Śrīpāda Śuka Muni said,
naitat samācarej jātu manasāpi hy anīśvaraḥ |
vinaśyaty ācaran mauḍhyād yathārudro’bdhijaṁ viṣam ||
“O King! A jīva who considers the body to be his own should not even mentally imitate Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s līlā. Just as if anyone other than Rudra drinks poison, he will die, in the same way, if due to ignorance a jīva who is subservient to his body behaves like Kṛṣṇa, he will surely be destroyed.” In Śrī-Ujjvala-Nīlamaṇiḥ 3.24, Śrīpāda Rūpa Gosvāmicaraṇa said,
vartitavyaṁ śam icchadbhir bhaktavan na tu kṛṣṇavat |
ity evaṁ bhakti-śāstrāṇāṁ tātparyasya vinirṇayaḥ ||
“Those jīvas who seek auspiciousness should behave like bhaktas. They should never behave like Śrī Kṛṣṇa (as in enjoying with the gopīs). This is the purport of all bhakti-śāstras.”
While Śrīpāda was in sādhaka consciousness, a revelation of the splendor of Śrīmatī’s sweet qualities destroyed the gloom in his heart caused by feelings of unworthiness. He thinks, “Alas Svāminī! I have no skill in serving you. Where is my qualification for serving alongside your most devoted kiṅkarīs? You are an ocean of wisdom; please mercifully accept me and teach me to be expert in your service. Moreover, service must be done with love or it will not make you happy. You are an ocean of love, so just give me one drop and make me competent to serve. Even though I am most wretched, you are a boundless sea of affection. Sprinkle me with one drop of vātsalya-rasa and give me shelter at your lotus feet.” He further considers, “How arrogant of me! Being unqualified, do I dare pray for Śrīmatī’s service and affection?” The next moment he thinks, “She is not only an ocean of affection, but also a deep ocean of compassion; so she will surely be merciful to someone in distress.” Forgetting his own unworthiness in this revelation of her compassion, he has expressed his prayer to bathe in the oceans of Śrīmatī’s charm, beauty and amorous play. Such a deeply felt prayer opens the door to the beloved one’s mercy. Praying like this is an essential practice for the sādhaka-bhaktas.
1. Particularly showing affection toward children
2. A heroine separated from her lover in consequence of a quarrel (MW)
3. One who is affectionate to her girlfriends
4. My-ness
5. Previously worn by Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa
6. Sneha can mean either affection or smoothness, among other things.
7. muktā-phaleṣu chāyāyās taralatvam ivāntarā | pratibhāti yad-aṅgeṣu lāvaṇyaṁ tad ihocyate || (Ujjvala-Nīlamaṇiḥ 10.28)
