चिन्तामणिः प्रणमतां व्रजनागरीणां
चूडामणिः कुलमणिर्वृषभानु-नाम्नः ।
सा श्यामकामवर-शान्तिमणिर्निकुञ्ज-
भूषामणिर्हृदयसम्पुट-सन्मणिर्नः ॥ २७ ॥
cintāmaṇiḥ praṇamatāṁ vraja-nāgarīṇāṁ
cūḍā-maṇiḥ kula-maṇir vṛṣabhānu-nāmnaḥ |
sā śyāma-kāma-vara-śānti-maṇir nikuñja-
bhūṣā-maṇir hṛdaya-sampuṭa-sanmaṇir naḥ || 27 ||
“Śrī Rādhā is a thought-jewel for those who bow to her, and the crest-jewel of the girls of Vraja. She is the jewel of Vṛṣabhānu Rāja’s family, the peace-jewel who assuages Śyāmasundara’s burning heart, and the jewel of the pastime bower. May she forever be the precious jewel in the chambers of our hearts.”
Six Gems
Rasa-Varṣiṇī-Vyākhyā: While in sādhaka-consciousness, Śrīpāda has experienced Śrī Rādhā as the quintessence of everything. It seems the bhajana-rasika author has no desire to stop describing Śrī Rādhā’s glories. Her glories have illuminated Śrīpāda’s mind with pure goodness and are revealing themselves abundantly in his heart. The sweet, low hum of his svarūpa is present even in external consciousness. He considers himself to be Śrī Rādhā’s dāsī. Śrī Rādhārāṇī seems to have entered and cooled Śrīpāda’s heart. The sādhaka must also gradually develop this bhāva in his mind. Rādhā-dāsya is not achieved while in body-consciousness. dehe na kariha āsthā, marile se yama śāstā, duḥkhera samudra karma-gati (Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā 93) “Do not place your hopes in the body; when you die, Yama will chastise you. The result of karma is an ocean of misery.” This is a powerful impediment for a jīva like me. I am constantly intoxicated by pride in my body and things related. The thought that “I am Rādhā’s dāsī” never enters my mind. Therefore, my heart is always empty. O Rādhā! Please be merciful!
jībane maraṇe gati, rādhā-kṛṣṇa prāṇa-pati, doṅhāra pirīti-rasa-sukhe |
yugala-saṅgati yārā, mora prāṇa gale hārā, ei kathā rahu mora buke ||
“Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa are the rulers of my life and my only shelter in this world and the next. Those sakhīs and mañjarīs who are always with them, submerged in the joy of Śrī Yugala’s mutual love, are like a garland around not only my neck, but also my very life. Let these words remain forever in my heart.” (Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā 42)
In this verse also Śrīpāda has expressed Śrī Rādhā’s greatness in a wonderful way. citta dṛḍha kari lāge mahimā-jñāna haite (Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Ādi 2.118). “The mind becomes strong and steady through knowledge of greatness.” Therefore, we must properly appreciate the meaning of verses filled with descriptions of greatness. Śrī Rādhā is cintāmaṇiḥ praṇamatām. The absolute entity named Rādhā is a cintāmaṇi or thought-gem for those who are humble. Just as a thought-gem fulfills the desires of a person who has resorted to it, in the same way, prema-cintāmaṇi Śrī Rādhā blesses her humble ones with the treasure of prema. Accepting the sweet nature of this cintāmaṇi in his heart, Mahāprabhu said, tomarā yadi āmāya praṇāma nā kara, adhikantu nindā bidveṣādio kara; tabu āmi tomādera praṇāma karāiba ebaṁ prema-sampada dāna kariba. “If you do not bow to me, or you condemn or bear malice against me, I will still cause you to bow to me and give you the treasure of prema.”
more nā mānile saba loka habe nāśa |
ei lāgi kṛpārdra prabhu karilā sannyāsa ||
sannyāsī-buddhye more karibe namaskāra |
tathāpi khaṇḍibe duḥkha pāibe nistāra ||
“‘If the people do not show respect to me, they will be ruined.’ Feeling compassion for them, Prabhu accepted sannyāsa. ‘Thinking me to be a sannyāsī, they will offer obeisance. Their misery will end and they will attain liberation.’” (Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Ādi 8.10-11)
This compassion comes from the storehouse of Śrī Rādhā, who is a cintāmaṇi for the humble. Śrī Bhagavān has become humble after thinking continuously of this cintāmaṇi. rādhāra dheyāne hiyā ki sāje sājila go, ei gorā tanu tāra sākhi (Locana Dāsa). “By meditating on Śrī Rādhā, Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s heart has embellished his form. His fair complexion is proof of this.” Moreover, the word cintāmaṇi also indicates the smaraṇa limb of bhakti. She always sports in the thoughts of those who are humble, meaning those who have taken shelter of her. By the power of smaraṇāṅga-bhakti, the form of the object of meditation appears in one’s heart. A thought-gem is experienced within one’s thoughts. If meditation becomes deep, the cintāmaṇi manifests itself inside and out. A taste of the thought-gem of her name (nāma-cintāmaṇi) appears on the tongue. Śrī Jīva Gosvāmipāda said, yat-tattvaṁ śrī-vigraha-rūpeṇa cakṣur-ādāv udayate tad eva nāma-rūpeṇa vāg-ādāv iti sthitam. That reality who appears to the eyes in the form of śrī-vigraha manifests on the tongue in the form of nāma. In this way, the sādhaka is blessed to experience this wonderful cintāmaṇi with all his senses. This is the implied meaning.
Śrī Rādhā is vraja-nāgarīṇāṁ cūḍā-maṇiḥ. In Śrī Vṛndāvana, there are countless gopīs who possess mahābhāva and are nāyikās (lovers) in madhura-rasa. Among them all, Śrī Rādhā and Candrāvalī are principal.
rādhā-candrāvalī-mukhyāḥ proktā nitya-priyā vraje |
kṛṣṇavan nitya-saundarya-vaidagdhyādi-guṇāśrayāḥ ||
tayor apy ubhayor madhye rādhikā sarvathādhikā |
mahābhāva-svarūpeyaṁ guṇair ativarīyasī ||
“In Vṛndāvana, Śrī Rādhā and Candrāvalī are predominant among Kṛṣṇa’s eternal lovers. Like Śrī Kṛṣṇa, they are the everlasting shelter of beauty, wisdom and other qualities. Moreover, between the two of them, Śrī Rādhā is in every way superior. She is the embodiment of mahābhāva and is unsurpassed in all good qualities.” (Ujjvala-Nīlamaṇi 3.54, 4.3) The other vraja-sundarīs are expansions of Rādhā’s body; they exist in the form of many lovers to nourish the līlā-rasa. Therefore, their love, beauty, grace, greatness and so on all come from Rādhā.
ākāra svabhāba-bhede braja-debī-gaṇa |
kāya-byūha-rūpa—tāṅra rasera kāraṇa ||
bahu kāntā binā nahe rasera ullāsa |
līlāra sahāya lāgi bahuta-prakāśa ||
“The girls of Vraja differ in appearance and nature. As Śrī Rādhā’s bodily expansions, they serve as instruments of her rasa. Without many lovers, there is not as much delight in the rasa. Therefore, to support the pastimes, there are many manifestations.” (Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Ādi 4.79-80)
Like the light of the moon and the burning power of fire, she is always nondifferent from Kṛṣṇa. Still, she is present in the realm of līlā as the crown-jewel of lovers.
rādhā pūrṇa-śakti kṛṣṇa pūrṇa-śaktimān |
dui bastu bheda nāhi śāstra-paramāṇa ||
mṛga-mada tāra gandha—yaiche abiccheda |
agni-jvālāte yaiche nāhi kabhu bheda ||
taiche rādhā-kṛṣṇa sadā ekai svarūpa |
līlā-rasa āsvādite dhare dui rūpa ||
“Rādhā is the full power; Kṛṣṇa is the fully powerful. Scripture teaches that there is no difference between the two. Just as musk and its fragrance are inseparable, like fire and its burning power, in the same way, Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa are always one form. They assume two forms to enjoy the nectar of their pastimes.” (Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Ādi 4.96-98) For this reason, vṛndāvanādhipatyaṁ ca dattaṁ tasyai pratyuṣyatā. Śrī Kṛṣṇa has given Śrī Rādhā sovereignty over Vṛndāvana because she is the crown-jewel of all the gopīs.
Moreover, she is kula-maṇir vṛṣabhānu-nāmnaḥ, a gem that brightens the family of Vṛṣabhānu Rāja. Śrīpāda Raghunātha Dāsa Gosvāmipāda has written, vrajavara-vṛṣabhānoḥ puṇya-gīrvāṇa-vallī (Rādhikāṣṭakam) Śrī Rādhā is a virtuous, desire-fulfilling creeper of Vṛṣabhānu, the eminent king of Vraja. Since Rādhā’s birth, the incomparable glory of Vṛṣabhānu’s family has increased. The meaning is explained in Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartipāda’s Sārārtha-Darśinī commentary on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 5.6.18 (rājan patir gurur alaṁ bhavatāṁ yadūnām). When Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam speaker Śrīpāda Śukamuni began to describe the Puru dynasty, Mahārāja Parīkṣit listened eagerly, thinking that Śrī Bhagavān had without doubt descended in his family. When he heard there was no avatāra in his family, Mahārāja began to lament. “Alas! I have taken birth in a clan wherein Śrī Bhagavān has not descended.” Śrīpāda Śukamuni understood Mahārāja’s state of mind, so to reassure him, he said, “O King! It is true that Śrī Bhagavān has not descended in your family, but prema has. I am unable to give due praise to the family in which Śrī Bhagavān descends, and I equally laud the family in which prema descends.” To that effect, Vṛṣabhānu’s family is even more illustrious than Nanda Mahārāja’s because mahābhāva herself has appeared therein. The family and name of Nanda Mahārāja are also significant because nandayati jagad iti. He who causes joy in the world is called Nanda. He who captured the Kṛṣṇa-bird of the sky of glory in the net of his love, revealing him to the worldly jīvas, has given supreme joy to everyone. He is nanda or happiness; therefore the name Nanda is appropriate. But a person who lives a life devoid of prema is unable to experience that condensed saccidānanda Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Śrīla Vṛṣabhānu Mahārāja has presented prema-lakṣmī Śrī Rādhārāṇī at the door of the world-dwellers. Therefore the name Vṛṣabhānu is most significant. The month of Jyaiṣṭha occurs in vṛṣa-rāśi (Taurus). Vṛṣabhānu means the sun in the month of Jyaiṣṭha. He who caused Śrī Rādhārāṇī to descend, and who illuminated the jīva’s heart-cave with rays of love, like the sun in the month of Jyaiṣṭha, he is Vṛṣabhānu. Who else has such a celebrated name and family? Śrīmatī Rādhā is the jewel of that family.
She is śyāma-kāma-vara-śānti-maṇiḥ, a peace-gem who immediately soothes Śyāmasundara’s intense suffering from the blaze of amorous desire. In Śrī Jayadeva’s narration of the springtime rāsa-līlā, even countless gopīs were unable to assuage rasika-śiromaṇi Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s burning passion without Śrī Rādhā.
śata-koṭi-gopīte nahe kāma-nirbāpaṇa |
ihātei anumāni śrī-rādhikāra guṇa ||
“Even countless gopīs cannot mitigate Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s yearning. From this, we can only imagine the qualities of Śrī Rādhikā.” (Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Madhya 8.116) Kṛṣṇa’s powerful, burning passion is allayed when he simply sees or touches Śrī Rādhikā. Śyāma-kāma-vara means Śyāmasundara’s sublime desire. It is not like the repugnant kāma of the material world, which is aimed at one’s own sense-pleasure. Śrī Rādhā’s mādanākhya-mahābhāva awakens in Śrī Govinda’s heart the desire to accept the sevā of mādana-rasa.(1) Mādana-rasa is situated exclusively in Śrī Rādhā. Therefore, without Śrī Rādhā, it is impossible to cool Govinda’s burning desire to accept that sevā. To fulfill his desire for the sevā of Śrī Rādhā’s mādana-rasa, mādana-bhāva awakened in Śrī Kṛṣṇa an intense longing for Śrī Rādhā’s happiness, devoid of any desire for his own sense-pleasure. This longing is so unbearable that it has been compared to a terrible burning. The peace-jewel of this sublime kāma is Śrī Rādhā.
She is nikuñja-bhūṣā-maṇiḥ, the jewel of the bower! Śyāmasundara is the transcendental young god of love, made of condensed saccidānanda, and the foremost of rasikas. Śrī Rādhā is the embodiment of undivided mahābhāva. In Śrī Vṛndāvana, the bower cottage is the great tīrtha for tasting the sweet rasa of their meeting. If Śrī Rādhā does not arrive, the cottage becomes downhearted. When the lonely nāgara saw how desolate the kuñja was without Rādhā, he became agitated by the fire of separation. His weeping caused the mobile and immobile creatures of the bower to feel anxious. The darkness of Śyāma’s despair even seemed to cover the cottage. Everything was dying and without beauty. As soon as Śrīmatī arrived, her beautiful, golden form illuminated the cave of lonely Śyāma’s heart, as well as the cottage, and brightened and exhilarated the darkened hearts and minds of the mobile and immobile creatures. The cottage became an abode of boundless splendor. After Śrīpāda experienced this mystery within the līlā, he said, “Śrī Rādhā is the jewel of the bower.”
Finally, he said that Śrī Rādhā is hṛdaya-sampuṭa-sanmaṇiḥ. “May she remain like a precious jewel in the chamber of my heart.” As a jewelry box without jewels is empty and unappreciated, in the same way, a heart without the Śrī Rādhā jewel is empty and unappreciated by the great ones. During meditation, a sādhaka devoted to Śrī Rādhā obtains this precious gem in the chamber of his heart. Without remembering Śrī Yugala, the mind is lifeless, and the jackals and dogs of lust, anger and so on carry it away as they celebrate in joy. smaraṇa manera prāṇa, madhura madhura dhāma, yugala-bilāsa smṛti-sāra. “Smaraṇa is the life of the mind and the sweeter-than-sweet abode. The love sports of Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa are the cream of meditation.” (Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā 61) A Govinda-gem alone does not make the heart-chamber of Rādhā’s kiṅkarī bright; rather it deepens the darkness of misery and pain. Śrīmatī is the precious gem in the heart of the rādhā-rasa-sādhaka; without her, everything is darkness. Therefore, Śrīpāda prays, “May she who illuminates so many places like a brilliant gemstone forever illuminate the chambers of our hearts.”
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1. Mādana-rasa is rasa (nectar) that is related to Madana, the god of love.
