Śrī-Rādhā-Rasa-Sudhā-Nidhiḥ 26 (comm. by Śrī Anantadāsa Bābājī Mahārāja)

 

लावण्यसार-रससार-सुखैकसारे

कारुण्यसार-मधुरच्छविरूपसारे ।

वैदग्ध्यसार-रतिकेलि-विलास-सारे

राधाभिधे मम मनोऽखिलसारसारे ॥ २६ ॥

lāvaṇya-sāra-rasa-sāra-sukhaika-sāre

kāruṇya-sāra-madhura-cchavi-rūpa-sāre |

vaidagdhya-sāra-rati-keli-vilāsa-sāre

rādhābhidhe mama mano’khila-sāra-sāre || 26 ||

“Let my mind be absorbed in the supreme truth named Śrī Rādhā, who is the essence of charm and the essence of rasa-sāra Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s happiness. She is the essence of intelligence, compassion, romantic pastimes and pleasant hue and form. She is the essence of the essence of all that is.”

Śrī Rādhā, the Quintessence of All that Is

Rasa-Varṣiṇī-Vyākhyā: Śrīpāda’s visions have continued to stream forth, one after another. In sādhaka-consciousness, he has recollected in three consecutive verses the way in which he experienced the devatā of his meditations within mystical visions of līlā. These verses have been created through the rasa of feeling. Śrī Rādhā is being experienced as the supreme quintessential truth.

hlādinīra sāra aṁśa—tāra ‘prema’ nāma |

ānanda-cinmaya-rasa—premera ākhyāna ||

premera parama-sāra—mahābhāba jāni |

sei mahābhāba-rūpā rādhā-ṭhākurāṇī ||

“The essential part of the hlādinī-śakti is called prema. It is described as being the nectar of spiritual joy. We understand the purest essence of prema to be mahābhāva, the great love. Śrī Rādhā Ṭhākurāṇī is the embodiment of that mahābhāva.” (Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Madhya 8.159-160)

The word sāra means “the best part.” The best part of Śrī Bhagavān’s svarūpa-śakti called hlādinī is Śrī Rādhā because the essence of charm, rasa, compassion, beauty, sweetness, intelligence and so on is present in her. Realization of this requires actual sādhana. It is not possible to perceive this in a distracted mind devoid of bhāva. Just as Śrī Rādhā is full of love for Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the kiṅkarīs are full of love for her. The beauty of the lives of Śrī Rādhā’s kiṅkarīs is not experienced even by the devotees of Śrī Bhagavān. These girls have completely dedicated themselves to Śrī Rādhārāṇī. Śrīpāda’s wonderful sense of rādhā-tattva has manifested as a result of him taking exclusive shelter of her.

Śrī Rādhā is the embodiment of the essence of charm. Śrī Rūpa says the following in Śrī-Ujjvala-Nīlamaṇiḥ 10.28:

muktā-phaleṣu chāyāyās taralatvam ivāntarā |

pratibhāti yad-aṅgeṣu lāvaṇyaṁ tad ihocyate || 

“Just as a soft glow emanates from within a pearl, in the same way, a soft glow may emanate from someone’s limbs. This is called lāvaṇya.”(1) Having relished the sweetness of Kṛṣṇa’s bodily luster during his tour of Mathurā, the ladies of the town said, “His form is the essence of charm.” lāvaṇya-sāram asamordhvam ananya-siddham (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.44.14). “This form is the essence of charm; it is unequalled and unsurpassed; it needs nothing more to complete it.” Lāvaṇya-sāra means the essence of charm. A question may arise. Is this lāvaṇya-sāra possible in other forms of Śrī Bhagavān? The answer is that it is asamordhva, neither surpassed nor even equaled. No other form of Bhagavān is so charming. Someone may say, “If there is no such charm elsewhere, then from where did Kṛṣṇa’s charm come?” The answer is ananya-siddham. It did not come from any of Bhagavān’s other forms; it is part of Kṛṣṇa’s nature. In the eyes of lāvaṇya-sāra Śrī Kṛṣṇa, Śrī Rādhā is the embodiment of lāvaṇya-sāra. She is the empress of charm. Śrī Kṛṣṇa said in Śrī-Ujjvala-Nīlamaṇiḥ 10.29,

jagad-amala-rucir vicitya rādhe 

vyadhita vidhis tava nūnam aṅgakāni |

maṇimaya-mukuraṁ kuraṅga-netre 

kiraṇa-gaṇena viḍambayanti yāni ||

“O Rādhā! The creator of the universe collected all the spotless beauty of the world and created your limbs. O doe-eyed one! The radiance emanating from your form is more beautiful than that of a bejeweled mirror.”

One day at around noontime, Śrī Kṛṣṇa came to the banks of Śrī Rādhā-Kuṇḍa in search of Śrī Rādhā. The lake’s incomparable natural beauty stimulated deep thoughts of separation from Śrī Rādhā in Kṛṣṇa’s mind and he became impatient to see her. At that time, he suddenly saw a golden light illuminating the banks of the lake. Astonished, he began to look in all directions, wondering what the source of this effulgence was. When in the distance he saw the most beautiful Śrī Rādhā, he said (in Govinda-Līlāmṛtam 8.109),

kiṁ kānteḥ kula-devatā kim uta vā tāruṇya-lakṣmīr iyaṁ

sampad vā kim u mādhurī tanumatī lāvaṇya-vanyā nu kim |

kiṁ vānanda-taraṅgiṇī kim athavā pīyūṣa-dhārā-śrutiḥ

kāntāsāv uta vā mamendriya-gaṇān āhlādayanty āgatā ||

“Is she the kula-devatā of beauty? Or is she the Lakṣmī of youth, or the embodiment of sweetness, or a flood of charm? Is she a wave of joy, or a fountain of nectar? Did my beloved come to give pleasure to my senses?” Because even lāvaṇya-sāra Śrī Kṛṣṇa is filled with such wonder upon seeing Śrī Rādhā’s charm, Śrī Rādhā is therefore the true lāvaṇya-sāra, the essence of charm. 

Moreover, Śrīmatī is rasa-sāra-sukhaika-sāra: she is the essence of rasa-sāra Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s happiness. All of Śrī Bhagavān’s forms are embodiments of rasa. raso vai saḥ, ānandaṁ brahma (Śruti). But Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the embodiment of the nectar of all rasas, is the rasa-sāra or essence of rasa. The best part of rasa is that which contains endless sweetness. He is the embodiment of sweetness: mādhuryam eva nu (Līlāśuka). Through mādhurya-rasa he steals everyone’s heart, even his own. Śrī Govinda is the essence of rasa. ki rūpa herinu madhura murati piriti-rasera sāra (Govinda Ācārya). “I have seen the sweet form of the essence of love.” The essence of his happiness, meaning the most delightful part, is Śrī Rādhā.

kṛṣṇera bicāra eka āchaye antare | 

pūrṇānanda-rasa-svarūpa sabe kahe more ||

āmā haite ānandita haya tribhubana | 

āmāre ānanda dibe aiche kona-jana ||

āmā haite yāra haya śata śata guṇa | 

sei-jana āhlādite pāre mora mana ||

āmā haite guṇī baḍa jagate asambhaba | 

ekali rādhāte tāhā kari anubhaba ||

Śrī Kṛṣṇa deliberates, “If someone has hundreds of times more joy than me, the embodiment of complete joy, then that person can give some to me. But it is not possible for there to be someone in the world who has more joy than me. Only in Śrī Rādhikā do I feel it to my heart’s content. She alone has always made me happy with unexpected pleasures.” (Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Ādi 4.238-241)

koṭī kāma jini rūpa yadyapi āmāra | 

asamordhva mādhurya sāmya nāhi yāra ||

mora rūpe āpyāyita haya tribhubana | 

rādhāra darśane mora juḍāya nayana ||

mora baṁśī-gīte ākarṣaye tribhubana | 

rādhāra bacane āmāra haraye śrabaṇa ||

yadyapi āmāra gandhe jagat sugandha | 

mora citta ghrāṇa hare rādhā aṅga-gandha ||

yadyapi āmāra rase jagata surasa | 

rādhāra adhara-rase āmā kare baśa ||

yadyapi āmāra sparśa koṭīndu-śītala | 

rādhā-aṅga sparśe āmā kare suśītala ||

ei mata jagatera sukhe āmi hetu | 

rādhikāra rūpa guṇa āmāra jībātu ||

“Although my beauty defeats countless gods of love and my sweetness is unequaled and unsurpassed, and although my form pleases the three worlds, the sight of Rādhā satisfies my eyes. Although the song of my flute attracts the three worlds, my ears are captured by Rādhā’s words. Although the world is fragrant due to my aroma, Rādhā’s fragrance steals my mind and heart. Although the world is full of flavor because of my rasa, I am subdued by the rasa of Rādhā’s lips. Although my touch is as cool as countless moons, the touch of Rādhā’s body makes me cooler still. In this way, I am the cause of happiness in the world, but Rādhikā’s beauty and qualities are my life.” (Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Ādi 4.242-248)

kṛṣṇendriyāhlādi-guṇair udārā śrī-rādhikā rājati rādhikeva (Govinda-Līlāmṛtam 11.118). Śrī Rādhā is beyond compare in qualities that give joy to Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s senses. There is no one else like her. For this reason it has been said that Śrī Rādhā is the essence of rasa-sāra Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s happiness.

Or, Śrī Rādhā alone is the essence of rasa and the essence of happiness. Śrīpāda Kavi Karṇapūra has said rase sāraś camatkāraḥ. “The essence of rasa is camatkāra, or astonishment.” Mādanākhya-mahābhāva, which is the highest stage of taste and wonder, is always present in Śrī Rādhā. Mādanākhya-mahābhāva is her nature. Thus, following the logic of āyur ghṛtam (ghee is life), it has been said that Śrī Rādhā is the essence of rasa. Even rasa-sāra Śrī Govinda himself is astonished by mādana-rasa, and it only exists in Śrī Rādhārāṇī. rājate hlādinī-sāro rādhāyām eva yaḥ sadā (Ujjvala-Nīlamaṇi 14.219). Because Śrī Rādhā is the embodiment of mādanākhya-mahābhāva, she is the essence of rasa. She is also the essence of joy. When considering joy or ānanda, śāstra has seated prema at the highest level of ānanda. She who is the essence of prema is the embodiment of ānanda. premera parama-sāra mahābhāba jāni, sei mahābhāba-rūpā rādhā-ṭhākurāṇī (Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Madhya 8.160). “I understand that the absolute essence of prema is mahābhāva and that Rādhā Ṭhākurāṇī is the embodiment of mahābhāva.” Śrī Govinda, who is the form of joy, also desires joy from Śrī Rādhā; she is the only cause of prema and joy for the bhaktas. sukha-rūpa kṛṣṇa kare sukha-āsvādana, bhakta-gaṇe sukha dite hlādinī kāraṇa (Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Madhya 8.158). For this reason, Śrī Rādhā is the essence of joy.

Moreover, she is the essence of compassion. If we first understand the meaning of compassion, then we can understand the meaning of its essence. dayā hi nāma svārtha-nirapekṣā para-duḥkhāsahiṣṇutā (from Śrīpāda Rāmānujācārya’s commentary on Vedānta-Darśana 2.1.3). Intolerance of the suffering of others, without any relation to one’s own self-interests, is called mercy or compassion. Compassion characterized by the inability to tolerate the suffering of others is not possible for insentient objects. Although the jīva is by nature a spiritual entity, he is still incapacitated by his dependence on time, action, māyā and God. The compassionate nature of the jīva is his only cause of misery. asamarthasya karuṇā duḥkhayaiva hi samatā. “Compassion is the same as misery for one who has no power.” Compassion is also impossible for the nirviśeṣa-brahma-svarūpa, which is devoid of śakti, because compassion (karuṇā) is a śakti. Compassion is also impossible for the paramātmā-svarūpa, which is indifferent to worldly matters. Therefore, compassion is the natural dharma only of Śrī Bhagavān, who possesses supremely independent qualities like bhakta-vātsalya (affection for his devotees).

After describing the characteristics of Śrī Bhagavān’s compassion in his Prīti-Sandarbha, Śrī Jīva Gosvāmipāda wrote the following: anukampā ca pūrṇe’pi svasmin nija-sevādy-abhilāṣaṁ sampādya sevakādiṣu sevādi-saubhāgya-sampādika bhagavataś cittārdratāmayī tad-upakārecchā. Though Śrī Bhagavān is complete within himself and has no reliance on being served, he awakens the desire for sevā within the bhakta in order to bless him or her. This soft-hearted desire to help is Bhagavān’s compassion, the abundance of which is manifested in his gift of bhakti. Within that also, his greatest compassion is revealed in his gift of rāgānugā-bhakti. Śrī Bhagavān gives prema-bhakti to the devotees through his hlādinī-śakti. hlādinī dvārāya kare bhaktera poṣaṇa. “He maintains his bhaktas through his hlādinī-śakti.”(2) Just as it is the work of hlādinī-śakti to manifest Śrī Bhagavān’s transcendentally sweet and joyful form in the bhakta’s heart, it is also hlādinī’s work to manifest prema toward that particular form. Śrī Bhagavān’s compassion toward his bhaktas is manifest through the hlādinī-śakti. Śrī Rādhā is the embodiment of the essence of that hlādinī; for this reason she has been called the essence of compassion. In vraja-līlā, Śrī Rādhā’s compassion has been well-protected in a storehouse in a secret bower. Now, in kali-yuga, Śrī Bhagavān has accepted the nature and complexion of Śrī Rādhā to make the glory of her compassion known to the jīvas of the world. Under the shelter of Śrī Rādhā’s sweet mercy, Śrīman Mahāprabhu has blessed the jīvas with prema and made known to all that Śrī Rādhā is truly the embodiment of the essence of compassion. 

Moreover, Śrī Rādhā is madhura-cchavi-rūpa-sāra. The word chavi means complexion or radiance. Therefore, the one in whom the best part of sweetness, radiance and beauty exists is the essence of pleasant hue and form.

aṅgāny abhūṣitāny eva kenacit bhūṣaṇādinā |

yena bhūṣitavad bhāti tad-rūpam iti kathyate ||

“If someone, though devoid of ornaments, is as beautiful as if she were adorned, that is called rūpam.” (Śrī-Ujjvala-Nīlamaṇiḥ 10.25)

nītaṁ te punaruktatāṁ bhramarakaiḥ kasturikā-patrakaṁ

netrābhyāṁ viphalīkṛtaṁ kuvalaya-dvandvaṁ ca karṇārpitam |

hāraś ca smita-kāntibhir alaṁ piṣṭānupeṣīkṛtaḥ

kiṁ rādhe tava maṇḍanena nitarām aṅgair asi dyotitā || 

Śrī Kṛṣṇa said, “O Rādhā! The musk leaves painted on your brow needlessly imitate the beauty of your forelocks. (Just as scholars point out mistakes in books by drawing circles around them, your lovely curls fall in circles around the musk leaves to show they are redundant.) The blue lotuses on your ears have been made useless by the natural beauty of your eyes. The beauty of your pearl necklace has been crushed by the radiance of your subtle smile. Thus, when you are beautiful with or without ornaments, why wear them?” (Vidagdha-Mādhava 7.47) Śrīmad Rūpa Gosvāmipāda has described Śrī Rādhā’s loveliness, saying that she is so amazingly beautiful that she also beautifies nearby objects. There is a charming secondary meaning within the phrase madhura-cchavi-rūpa-sāre. Nothing in the world is as sweet as prema. Sweet prema continuously flows from her splendorous form. Therefore, one who perceives Śrī Rādhā intuitively is blessed with prema, even without sādhana. Śrīman Mahāprabhu revealed Śrī Rādhā’s splendor to the world and blessed everyone with prema. In his Krama-Sandarbha commentary on the kṛṣṇa-varṇaṁ tviṣākṛṣṇam verse (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 11.5.32), Śrī Jīva Gosvāmipāda has written, tviṣā (kāntyā) sva-śobhā-viśeṣenaiva kṛṣṇopadeṣṭāraṁ ca. yad-darśanenaiva sarveṣāṁ kṛṣṇaḥ sphuratīty arthaḥ. The meaning is that simply by seeing the one who has accepted Śrī Rādhā’s complexion, everyone gets a vision of Śrī Kṛṣṇa.

Śrī Rādhā is also the essence of vaidagdhī. Expertise in various fine arts is called vaidagdhī. The most excellent part of vaidagdhī is present in Śrī Rādhā. Even Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the guru of all arts, is unable to cross the ocean of her expertise. In his Premendu-Sudhā-Sattra-Stava, Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmipāda has written, vaidagdhī-prathamācāryā cāru-cāturya-carcitā. “The foremost teacher of vaidagdhī is adorned with pleasing skills.” In his commentary on this, Śrīpāda Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa said, vaidagdhīnāṁ nṛtyādi-kalānāṁ prathamācāryā tās tatra vādau prakaṭā ity arthaḥ. She is the foremost teacher of dancing and other fine arts. All these skills first manifested from Śrī Rādhā and have been blessed to be in constant service to her. Among the various types of vaidagdhī, expertise in rati-keli-vilāsa (romantic pastimes) is preeminent in madhura-rasa. Śrīmatī is the essence of romantic pastimes. kṛṣṇake karāya śyāma-rasa-madhu pāna (Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Madhya 8.180). “She causes Kṛṣṇa to drink the honey of śyāma-rasa.” She induces the embodiment of the erotic rasa to drink the honey of the erotic rasa. Therefore, such expertise is necessary. There are many limbs of rati-keli-vilāsa, such as seeing, talking, touching, blocking the path, the rāsa-dance, water-sports, boating, playing dice, drinking honey, pretending to sleep, pulling at clothing, drinking the nectar of each other’s reddish lips, making love and so on. Śrī Rādhā is the greatest expert on all limbs of rati-keli-vilāsa. She is well-versed in all the arts.

Finally, he says that Śrī Rādhā is akhila-sāra-sāra, the essence of the essence of all that is. Śrī Govinda is the essence of everything; his essence is Śrī Rādhā. prāṇasya prāṇavat nikhila-rūpa-guṇa-līlā-saubhāgya-sampada-keli-vayādināṁ sāra-sampadatvāt. Śrī Govinda, the non-dual, undivided, conscious reality and essence of everything, is said to be the life of life. He is the essence of all forms, qualities, pastimes, good fortune, love-sports and so on. Śrī Rādhā is his essence or breath of life.

kṛṣṇera biśuddha-prema-ratnera ākara | 

anupama-guṇa-gaṇa-pūrṇa-kalebara ||

yāṅhāra saubhāgya-guṇa bāñche satyabhāmā | 

yāṅra thāñi kalā-bilāsa śikhe braja-rāmā ||

yāṅra saundaryādi-guṇa bāñche lakṣmī-pārbatī | 

yāṅra pati-bratā-dharma bāṅche arundhatī ||

yāṅra sad-guṇa-gaṇera kṛṣṇa nā pāna pāra | 

tāṅra guṇa gaṇibe kemane jība chāra ||

“Śrī Rādhā is a mine full of jewels of pure love for Kṛṣṇa. Her body abounds in incomparable qualities. Satyabhāmā longs for Rādhā’s good fortune. The beautiful girls of Vraja go to Rādhā’s home to learn the fine arts from her. Lakṣmī and Pārvatī wish for her beauty and other qualities. Arundhatī yearns for her faithfulness and virtue. Even Śrī Kṛṣṇa cannot reach the end of her attributes; how can an ordinary jīva count them all?” (Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Madhya 8.181, 183-185)

Śrīpāda said, rādhābhidhe mama manaḥ astu. “Let my mind delight in the abode of all good qualities and supreme reality named Śrī Rādhā.”

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1. Lāvaṇya means charm, beauty, loveliness.

2. Pleasure potency