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Śrī-Śrī-Gaura-Govinda-Līlāmṛta Guṭikā 30

Śrī Rādhā and Dhaniṣṭhā entered the grove through the back gate, followed by the sakhīs and mañjarīs. Taking in the captivating beauty of the grove as she walked, Śrīmatī soon arrived at the banks of Gupta-Kuṇḍa. There she became extremely restless, anxious to meet with Śrī Kṛṣṇa. When she saw the beauty of the grove and the lake, her passion became inflamed. Meanwhile, Kṛṣṇa was also eager to meet with Śrī Rādhā as they had previously agreed. Seeing the beauty of the forest through the back gate, he left his bedroom in secrecy. At that time, the peacocks saw Kṛṣṇa and inhaled his aroma. They spread their plumage, cried ke-kā and began to dance. The birds and bees began to sing in sweet voices. When Śrī Rādhā saw Kṛṣṇa and heard the sweet tones of his anklets, she felt drunk with love and mistakenly said, “O Lalitā! O Viśākhā! One amazing new cloud has unseasonably appeared before me. In it I can simultaneously see steady lightning, a rainbow and a row of herons. I can hear the sweet sounds of swans, storks and other birds.” Hearing that, Lalitā replied, “O lovely one! What you said is not quite correct. It is your beloved, whose form is beautiful like a new cloud, that has just arrived. You have mistaken the peacock feathers on his topknot to be a rainbow, his yellow cloth to be steady lightning and his pearl necklace to be a row of herons. You have mistaken the sounds of the small bells on his waist and his anklets to be the calls of swans, storks and other birds.” After hearing Lalitā’s words, Śrīmatī silently disappeared within the Aśokānandada Kuñja prepared by Vīrādevī.

Not seeing Śrī Rādhā among the sakhīs when he arrived, Śrī Kṛṣṇa asked them for news about her. The sakhīs replied, “Śyāma! She’s not here.” Kṛṣṇa: “Then from where is her aroma coming?” Sakhīs: “We’re with her all the time, so her fragrance has clung to our bodies.” Kṛṣṇa: “It’s not possible for all of you to come here without Śrī Rādhā. Is it possible for moonlight to appear without the rise of the moon?”Sakhīs: “Hey! There is no moonrise (appearance of Candrāvalī). This is the unprecedented rise of the opulence of the daughter of Vṛṣabhānu.” The sakhīs began to make various jokes like this. When Kṛṣṇa became dejected from not being able to see Śrīmatī, Vīrādevī directed him with an eye gesture toward the kuñja. Kṛṣṇa entered the kuñja and saw everything there as Śrī Rādhā, so he began to embrace the trees and creepers. When Premamayī Śrī Rādhā saw that, she stood before him and his love-born delusion disappeared. The meeting of Rasarāja and Mahābhāva caused the ocean of prema-rasa to overflow. Both sank deep into the ocean of keli-rasa (love-sports). The minnow-like eyes of the fortunate sakhīs and mañjarīs began to happily swim in the waves of this ocean of sweetness.

My books are 15% off through October 20, 2023.

  My translations of Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā and Bhāvanā-Sāra-Saṅgrahaḥ are both 15% off through October 20, 2023. Use the code TREATS15. Click on the book images on the right of the blog page. Applies to print copies only.

Śrī-Śrī-Gaura-Govinda-Līlāmṛta Guṭikā 29

 Vrajadhāma: Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa Go to Gupta-Kuṇḍa

Śrī Rādhā was sleeping with her sakhīs at Nandīśvara in Vraja. After resting for a while, everyone awoke and got up. At Śrī Gurudevī’s signal, the sādhaka-dāsī brought scented water in a golden pitcher along with a golden basin so Śrī Rādhā could wash her hands and face. The sakhīs then washed their hands and faces and sat in a circle around Śrīmatī. Meanwhile, Dhaniṣṭhā arrived and gave to Viśākhā the blue cloth that Śrī Rādhā had accidentally exchanged at the end of night. Viśākhā gave Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s yellow cloth to Dhaniṣṭhā to be transferred to Subala. At that time, the sakhīs began to joke and laugh about Śrī Rādhā-Śyāma’s exchange of clothing, and for a little while everyone was submerged in ānanda-rasa. Meanwhile, Tuṅgavidyā whispered something into Viśākhā’s ear and Viśākhā expressed her approval with a gentle smile and a graceful gesture of her neck. When Śrī Rādhā saw them both smiling, she understood their mood and said, “O friends! When I see you smiling and whispering with your fingertips on your lips, it occurs to me that your intentions may not be good. I am an innocent girl and a virtuous wife; therefore, it is not proper for me to stay here any longer.” After saying this, Śrīmatī stood up and was about to depart for home when Śrī Viśākhā blocked her and said with a smile, “My dear friend, are you expressing your desire for your lover under the guise of fear? Otherwise, why does our whispering cause you to worry about your future?” Meanwhile, crafty Dhaniṣṭhā said to Śrī Rādhā, “Sakhī Rādhā! These girls are deceitful. Leave them and come with me through the rear gate to the garden to pick bandhūka flowers for sūrya-pūjā.” After saying this, Dhaniṣṭhā took Śrīmatī to a beautiful six-season grove in a valley of Nandīśvara Hill to the west of Nandīśvara Pura.

In that grove there are mango, jackfruit, coconut, betel-nut, date palm, kadamba, pārijāta and other trees laden with fruits and flowers and covered with mādhavī, mālatī, yūthī and navamallikā creepers (types of jasmine). The area resounds with the sweet calls of cuckoos and other birds and the pleasant humming of bees. The path that leads from the western gate of the village to the grove is like a beautiful terrace inlaid with multicolored gemstones from Nandīśvara. On rows of trees that line both sides, various kinds of creepers have grown into an umbrella shape above the path, their leaves arrayed to create a dense shade. Beautiful gem-studded benches surround the bases of all the trees. In the middle of the grove is a delightful lake named Gupta-Kuṇḍa that is surrounded by a terrace inlaid with jewels. The lake is filled with pure water and beautified by white, blue, yellow and red lotuses. The sweet sounds of swans, storks and other birds fill the air. The jeweled ghāṭa is adorned with a beautiful pavilion, a swing, a terrace and so on. It is surrounded by charming bowers and multicolored jeweled benches. On the western side of the lake there is a nikuñja-mandira called Aśokānandada. It was constructed by a vanadevī(1) named Vīrā for Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes and contains a lovely flower bed and so on. Four desire-fulfilling trees in the four corners of the nikuñja-mandira joined their limbs above to form a beautiful and colorful canopy covered by flowering creepers. The bees move from one flower cluster to another, attracted by their sweet fragrance. The amazing madana-rasa (the erotic mood) has been awakened by the melodious cooing of the cuckoos. On the four sides of the kuñja are four entrances with doors made of flowers. In the middle of the kuñja is a jeweled bedstead bearing a mattress strewn with stemless flowers. The bedstead is surrounded by golden benches furnished with a cāmara, a fan, a bowl of tāmbūla, a golden pitcher filled with scented water, a spittoon and other articles.

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1. A forest goddess

Śrī-Rādhā-Rasa-Sudhā-Nidhiḥ 21 (comm. by Śrī Anantadāsa Bābājī Mahārāja)

 

श्रीराधिके सुरतरङ्गिणि दिव्यकेलि-

कल्लोलमालिनि लसद्वदनारविन्दे ।

श्यामामृताम्बुनिधि-सङ्गमतीव्रवेगि-

न्यावर्तनाभिरुचिरे मम सन्निधेहि ॥ २१ ॥

śrī-rādhike surata-raṅgiṇi divya-keli-

kallola-mālini lasad-vadanāravinde |

śyāmāmṛtāmbu-nidhi-saṅgama-tīvra-vegi-

ny āvarta-nābhi-rucire mama sannidhehi || 21 ||

“O Śrī Rādhikā! O one who delights in making love! O one garlanded by the joy of her wonderful pastimes! O one with a radiant lotus face and a lovely navel! Like a powerful river you rush to join with the ocean of nectar that is Śyāmasundara. Please stay close to me.”

Śrī Rādhā Rushes to Her Rendezvous. 

Rasa-Varṣiṇī-Vyākhyā: Absorbed in his svarūpa, Śrīpāda is getting visions of Śrī Rādhā’s abhisāra-līlā one after the other. The enjoyment obtained from a vision is amazing. For those who are siddha, experience (anubhava) is everything. Their lives are a continuous flow of enjoyable feelings. A series of anubhavas comes even to those who are only a little advanced in bhajana. Otherwise, how can they continue to follow? Śrīpāda’s absorption in his svarūpa is natural; there is nothing artificial about it. First, the sādhaka must make some effort; after that, absorption in one’s svarūpa comes naturally. Absorption in the svarūpa (svarūpāveśa) is spontaneous for a bhakta whose love has evolved (jāta-rati). On the level of rati, the sādhaka’s self-concept is that he has taken shelter of his siddha-deha in such a way that he has, as it were, nearly abandoned his sādhaka body. How sweet it is to be near Śrī Rādhārāṇī while absorbed in spiritual consciousness! Śrīpāda always thinks he is near to his beloved Rādhā! In the previous verse, he encouraged Īśvarī to go on her abhisāra. The experience of sevā-rasa (the nectar of service) is given along with the enjoyment of Śrī Rādhā’s mādhurya. Service to Śrī Rādhā is amazing!

The sound of Kṛṣṇa’s flute, which attracts the whole world, is today resonating to attract Śrī Rādhā’s heart. This indescribable magnetism has caused Śrīmatī to run like a rushing river to unite with the Śyāma ocean. A river swollen with rainfall floods both banks with her powerful waves, then, overwhelmed by her own nature, rushes out to sea with a roar. In the same way, Śrī Rādhā Mandākinī,(1) filled with passion for Śrī Kṛṣṇa, is today flooding over both her banks (her father’s family and her father-in-law’s family), as the waves of her transcendental beauty rise higher and higher. Overwhelmed by Kṛṣṇa’s love, she runs swiftly to unite with the dark ocean. Śrīpāda is comparing abhisārikā Śrī Rādhā to the Gaṅgā (sura-taraṅgiṇī).(2) She moves so fast! This lover’s journey has such irrepressible power! All obstacles and dangers are trampled by the powerful urge of her love for Śyāma. She abandons all dharma and runs like a madwoman through the forest filled with gravels and thorns. The poet Vidyāpati has sung,

naba anurāginī rādhā | kichu nāhi mānaye bādhā ||

ekali karali payāna | pantha bipatha nāhi māna ||

tejala maṇimaya hāra | ucakuca mānaye bhāra ||

kara sañe kaṅkaṇa mudari | panthahi tejali sagari ||

maṇimaya mañjīra pāya | durahi teji cali yāya ||

yāminī ghora āndhiyāra | manamatha hiyā ujiyāra || 

bighini bithārala bāṭa | premaka āyudhe kāṭa || 

bidyāpati mati jāna | aiche nā heriye āna ||

“Young and in love, Rādhā yields to no impediments. She departs alone without knowing the way. She discards her jeweled necklace. She regards her lovely breasts to be a burden. She removes the bangles and rings from her hands and drops them on the path. She removes her anklets, throws them away and runs on. The night is dreadfully dark, but her heart glows with passion. She clears away all obstacles with her weapon of love. Vidyāpati realizes he has never seen anything like this.”

Śrīpāda has been following behind Śrīmatī in the form of a sakhī devoted to sevā. With sweet reminders, she is giving Śrīmatī, maddened with prema, a taste of śyāma-rasa, hoping to unite her with the Śyāma ocean. Within each appellation lies a rapturous intoxicating power. She says, “O Rādhikā! You are so expert in serving Kṛṣṇa! Because you perform sevā that fulfills all of Kṛṣṇa’s desires, your name is Rādhikā.” kṛṣṇa-bāñchā-pūrti-rūpa kare ārādhane, ataeba rādhikā nāma purāṇe bākhāne (Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Ādi 4.87). The lovers’ tryst, or abhisāra, is one of the main components of her service to Śrī Kṛṣṇa. At the stage of pūrva-rāga,(3) she must have regularly practiced this service to him with great effort. The mahājana Govinda Dāsa has said,

kaṇṭaka-gāḍi kamala sama pada-tala mañjīra cirahi jhāṅpi |

gāgari bāri ḍhāri kari pichala calatahi aṅguli cāpi ||

hari abhisāraka lāgi |

dūtara pantha gamana dhani sādhaye mandire yāminī jāgi ||

kara-yuge nayana mudi calu bhābinī timira payānaka āśe |

maṇi-kaṅkaṇa-paṇa phaṇi-mukha-bandhana śikhai bhujaga-guru pāśe ||

guru-jana-bacana badhira sama mānai āna śunai kaha āna |

parijana bacane mugadhi sama hāsai gobinda-dāsa paramāṇa ||

The meaning is that Śrī Rādhikā is going to meet with Śyāma, but to get to him, she must walk on a slippery path through a forest of thorns in the dark of night. Therefore, she prepares at home for the rendezvous. She plants thorns in her courtyard and practices walking on them. She wraps her ankle-bells in cloth and practices walking silently. After pouring water from a pitcher onto the courtyard, she practices walking on a slippery path, and waking up in the middle of the night, she goes for long walks to increase her stamina. She covers her eyes with her hands and walks around, preparing for her journey in the darkness. For protection against snakebites on a forest path infested with wild animals, she gave a jeweled bangle to a snake-charmer in exchange for a mantra that binds a snake’s mouth, and she repeatedly practices pronouncing it properly. When her elders speak to her, she hears one thing and then replies to something completely different, as though she were deaf. When her family members criticize or reprimand her, she just laughs like a simpleton. Even the boundless misery she experiences for the sake of Śyāmasundara becomes boundless happiness to her.

In his kiṅkarī form, Śrīpāda calls, “Hey Sura-Taraṅgiṇī! Like the Gaṅgā, you have been rushing to unite with the Śyāma ocean, surging with countless waves of attraction for his form. śyāma-rūpa jāgaye marame, kibā niśi kibā diśi śayane svapane (mahājana). The endless awareness of Śyāma’s form within your heart, day and night, is the root cause of the abhisāra. When, because of constant rains, the Gaṅgā swells and overflows both banks, she rushes toward the sea as though she has no other way. Similarly, what way is there for you other than to go on this impetuous journey to meet your lover? You are also properly called Surata-Raṅgiṇī. You delight most in your love sports with Śyāmasundara. The waves of your joy in making love play upon all your limbs.”

“Hey Divya-Keli-Kallola-Mālinī! There is no dearth of similarities between you and the Sura-Taraṅgiṇī Gaṅgā. Just as in the rainy season the Gaṅgā swells with surging waves, in the same way, you are garlanded with divine, surging waves of amorous play meant to make Śyāma happy.” These names used by the kiṅkarī to address Śrī Rādhā are all connected with sweet memories of her former pastimes with Kṛṣṇa. By awakening so many delightful memories within virahavatī Rādhā, she is exciting the power of the mūlā-śakti. These are the eternal kiṅkarīs. From them, the sādhaka learns the skills of sevā. priya sahacarī saṅge, sebana kariba raṅge. “She happily performs sevā alongside her dear friends.” (Prārthanā 33)

“Hey Lasad-Vadanāravindā! Full-blown lotuses illuminate the bosom of the Gaṅgā, attracting by their sweet fragrance the hearts and minds of the bees. In the same way, your lotus face upon your golden lotus-stalk body bewilders by its beauty and aroma the heart and mind of Madhusūdana!” In describing the sweetness of Śrī Rādhā’s face, Śrīmad Rūpa Gosvāmipāda has said, mukhollāsaḥ phullaṁ kamala-vanam ullaṅghayati. “The beauty and fragrance of her face surpass that of a forest of blooming lotuses.” “Moreover, just as there are whirlpools in the Gaṅgā, your navel is in the shape of a beautiful whorl: a whirlpool of rasa in a river of rasa. Having fallen into that whirlpool, Mādhava’s mind twirls continuously like a piece of straw. Also, just as the Gaṅgā rushes with a roar to unite with the ocean, you also rush to unite with the ocean of Śyāma-nectar.” Here, the suggestion is that just as the place where a river meets the sea is considered a pilgrimage site for Hindus, in the same way, for the bhaktas, Śrī Yugala’s meeting place is a great tīrtha that fulfills all desires. The sakhīs and mañjarīs feel transcendental bliss by always bathing in this mahātīrtha. The purport is that as the bhaktas always bathe their minds in the waters of this mahātīrtha, they also become sanctified and competent for serving Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa.

Attracted by the sound of Śyāmasundara’s flute, Śrīmatī ran like a madwoman at the speed of a howling gale, without knowing in which direction she was going. From behind, her kiṅkarī called, “O Rādhā! Wait for me! You shouldn’t run so fast on the abhisāra path. It’s very rough, strewn with gravels and thorns. Slow down or you’ll hurt your tender feet!”

rādhe! pathi muñca sambhramam abhisāre |

cāraya caraṇāmburuhaṁ dhīraṁ sukumāre ||

“O delicate young Rādhā! You are going so quickly to meet your lover. Please make your lotus feet move a little more slowly!” (Mahājana)

“If you injure your delicate feet, it will interfere with your abhisāra. Moreover, I’m falling behind; I can’t run fast like you. You should just walk along with me.” Saying mama sannidhehi (stay close to me), the distressed kiṅkarī is trying to get Śrīmatī to slow down, anxious that some harm may come to her. Because she knows that Śrīmatī is very affectionate to her dāsīs, the kiṅkarī hopes that by expressing her frustration at not being able to run so fast, Śrīmatī’s compassion will be aroused.

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1. The heavenly Gaṅgā

2. Surataraṅginī can be divided as either surata-raṅginī, as in my translation of the verse, or sura-taraṅginī, as here in the commentary.

3. Amorous attraction felt even before acquaintance with the lover (Samsad)

My books are 15% off through October 6, 2023.

  My translations of Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā and Bhāvanā-Sāra-Saṅgrahaḥ are both 15% off through October 6, 2023. Use the code FALL15. Click on the book images on the right of the blog page. Applies to print copies only.