Śrī-Rādhā-Rasa-Sudhā-Nidhiḥ 45 (comm. by Śrī Anantadāsa Bābājī Mahārāja)

श्रीराधिके तव नवोद्गम-चारुवृत्त-

वक्षोजमेव मुकुलद्वय-लोभनीयम् ।

श्रोणीं दधद्रसगुणैरुपचीयमानं

कैशोरकं जयति मोहनचित्तचौरम् ॥ ४५ ॥

śrī-rādhike tava navodgama-cāru-vṛtta-

vakṣojam eva mukula-dvaya-lobhanīyam |

śroṇīṁ dadhad rasa-guṇair upacīyamānaṁ

kaiśorakaṁ jayati mohana-citta-cauram || 45 ||

“O Śrī Rādhikā! Your beautiful, budlike breasts are most attractive to Śrī Kṛṣṇa. The delightful qualities of your hips steal his mind. May your adolescence be victorious!”

Śrī Rādhā’s Adolescence

Rasa-Varṣiṇī-Vyākhyā: The flow of Śrīpāda’s mystical vision has not stopped. He is deeply absorbed in his svarūpa. In this condition, his prayers are very sweet. śrī-rādhike karuṇayānucarīṁ vidhehi. “Śrī Rādhikā! Please accept me as your maidservant. I will remain at your lotus feet and I will serve you.” These girls are at the highest stage of freedom from worldly desires. Even in their dreams, they have not a whiff of self-interest. If even the scent of desire remains, rādhā-dāsya cannot be attained. Nothing is for oneself; everything is dedicated to the joyful service of Śrī Yugala. “Our hearts break into a hundred pieces at the possibility of a hint of a trace of unhappiness in you. We can and will do anything to bring you a particle of joy.” Śrīmad Rūpa Gosvāmipāda has prayed,

parasparam apaśyatoḥ praṇaya-māninor vāṁ kadā

dhṛtotkalikayor api svam abhirakṣator āgraham |

dvayoḥ smitam udañcaye nudasi kiṁ mukundāmunā

dṛg-anta-naṭanena mām uparamety alīkoktibhiḥ ||

     “O Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava! One day you were both eager to be together, but you were also both in a huff. To protect your own pride, you each showed indifference to the other, causing distress to both. Then I said, ‘O Kṛṣṇa! Why do you glance at me again and again? I will not be able to plead with my Svāminī on your behalf.’ When will I make you both laugh with such lies? I will perform amazing sevā for you by telling lies! We can do anything for your happiness.” (Utkalikā-Vallarī 63) In the previous verse, the kiṅkarī became distressed when she thought that Śrīmatī’s tender feet might be injured as she walked to see Kṛṣṇa. The soft-hearted kiṅkarī asked Śrīmatī to slow down a bit. “Take me with you. There is no progress without your grace, so please extend a little compassion to this poor one.” The devotion of Śrī Rādhā’s kiṅkarīs is incomparable. Svāminī’s lotus feet mean everything to them. Even though jīvas like me may have obtained the path of unselfish worship, we are still drunk on the insignificant happiness of the body and things related. A mahājana shows us the light:

dehe nā kariha āsthā,        marile se yama śāstā,

duḥkhera samudra karma-gati |

dekhiyā śuniyā bhaja,        sādhu-śāstra-mata yaja,

yugala-caraṇe kara rati ||

         “Do not place your hopes in the body; when you die, Yama will chastise you. The result of karma is an ocean of misery. After seeing and hearing all this, perform loving devotional service at Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet according to the instructions of the saints and the scriptures.” (Śrī-Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā 93)

Anxious Śrī Rādhā is situated outside the trysting bower, while Vrajendranandana waits inside. The kiṅkarī starts to take her svāminī inside. Śrīmatī says, “No!” In an attempt to awaken some enthusiasm for love-play in Śrīmatī’s heart, the kiṅkarī praises her adolescence. She also describes Kṛṣṇa’s sweet adolescent charm to Śrī Rādhā, whose only desire is to make him happy. tava kaiśorakaṁ jayati mohana-citta-cauram. The kiṅkarī says, “O Rādhā! Your youthful beauty has enchanted the one who enchants the universe.” A mahājana has shown great skill in his description of Madana-Mohana Śyāmasundara being charmed by Śrī Rādhā’s beauty:

yaba godhūli-samaya beli dhanī mandira-bāhira bheli |

naba-jaladhare bijurī-rehā dvandva pasāriyā geli ||

dhanī—alapa-bayasi-bālā janu—gāṁthani puhapa-mālā |

thori-daraśane āśa nā pūrala bāḍhala madana-jvālā ||

gorī kalebara nūnā janu—āṁcare ujora sonā |

keśarī jini mājhahi khīni dulaha locana-koṇā ||

īṣat hāsani sane mujhe—hānala nayana-bāṇe |

cirañjība rahu pañca-gauḍeśvara kabi bidyāpati bhane ||

“At dusk the beautiful girl left her home.

The couple, a streak of lightning on a new raincloud, began to walk.

The girl strung a garland of flowers.

He watched her for a moment; his hopes went unfulfilled.

His flame of passion grew stronger.

Her body was graceful, with a fair complexion.

The border of her dress was lustrous gold, more beautiful than saffron.

Her lovely waist was slender. 

Smiling slightly,  she shot an arrow from the corner of her eye.

The poet Vidyāpati says, ‘May the Lord of Pañcagauḍa live forever.’”

The sweetness of thought, language and description here seems to embody the enchanter’s enchantment upon seeing Śrī Rādhā. Regarding this, the following narration of Śrīla Govinda Dāsa is as clear as it is sweet.

yaba karu kheli āli-saṅge bālā | heriluṁ pathe janu cāṁdaki mālā ||

aparūpa rūpa nayane majhu lāgi | anukhaṇa mādhurī maramahi jāgi ||

e sakhi e sakhi mohe heri rāi | bihasi rahali dhani gīma moḍāi ||

so mukha jhalamala niramala jyoti | lolita nāsika beśara moti ||

raṅgima jāda bithārala pīṭha | cakitahi majhu mana lāgala dīṭha ||

aiche sukeśinī hāma nāhi pekhi | cita mūrati hiye rahalahi lekhi ||

pada nakha aṅguli yābaka śobhā | daśa bhai cāṁda aruṇa bahu lobhā ||

so pada-kamala hṛdaya kari seba | gobinda dāsa yaba anumati deba ||

  Śrī Kṛṣṇa said, “When I saw Rādhā sporting on the path with her friends, she appeared like a moon with its halo. My eyes were fixed on her infinitely beautiful form. At every moment, she awakened sweetness in my heart. O friend, O friend! I was enchanted by her smiling face. I draped my arm around her neck. Her face shimmered with pure light. A pearl ornament dangled from her nose. She spread a colorful silken cloth over a wooden seat. Excited, my mind was attached to this sight. I had never seen such beautiful long hair. The image remains in my mind, body and heart. Her lovely feet were painted with lac-dye and her toenails appeared like suns and moons.” Govinda Dāsa says, “When will you let me serve your lotus feet in my heart?”

The kiṅkarī knows very well that Śrīmatī’s happiness lies in Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s happiness. Therefore, by describing Kṛṣṇa’s attraction to her body, she is awakening the desire in Śrīmatī’s heart to meet with him. “O Rādhā! Your beautiful breasts are very attractive to Śyāmasundara.” Her body is made of mādanākhya-rasa, the highest essence of mahābhāva. Śrī Rādhā is the crest-jewel of eternally youthful girls. The gradual manifestation of her bodily beauty in a sequence of līlās is indeed the nourisher of an astonishing rasa.

The kiṅkarī says, “O Rādhikā! Don’t be afraid. You are devoted to Kṛṣṇa. Your sweet heart and mind, which are suitable for worship, have joined with your sweet adolescence. Go into the kuñja. Let your adolescence be fruitful in the service of your beloved. May your sweet adolescence be glorious!”

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Śrī-Rādhā-Rasa-Sudhā-Nidhiḥ 44 (comm. by Śrī Anantadāsa Bābājī Mahārāja)

सद्गन्ध-माल्य-नवचन्द्र-लवङ्ग-सङ्ग-

ताम्बूलसम्पुटमधीश्वरि मां वहन्तीम् ।

श्यामं तमुन्मदरसादभिसंसरन्ती

श्रीराधिके करुणयानुचरीं विधेहि ॥ ४४ ॥

sad-gandha-mālya-nava-candra-lavaṅga-saṅga-

tāmbūla-sampuṭam adhīśvari māṁ vahantīm |

śyāmaṁ tam unmada-rasād abhisaṁsarantī

śrī-rādhike karuṇayānucarīṁ vidhehi || 44 ||

“O my queen, Śrī Rādhikā! Please accept me as your maidservant. When, maddened by love, you go to meet with Śyāmasundara, I will carry fragrances, garlands and a small box bearing fresh tāmbūla made with camphor and cloves.”

A Madwoman’s Tryst

Rasa-Varṣiṇī-Vyākhyā: In the previous verse, Śrīpāda obtained the good fortune of seeing a vision of Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava’s first meeting. After the vision ended, his desire to see the līlā again rose in waves of prayer. Śrīpāda’s amazing experience of bhajana-rasa is expressed in every verse. In appreciation of the unprecedented līlā-rasa of Śrī Yugala, beautiful poetry overflowing with bhāva has been published and is attracting the transcendental faith of the bhajana-rasika sages of the world. Just as after a hearty meal, if one burps, the aroma of the food remains in the burp, in the same way, the aroma of the yugala-mādhurī Śrīpāda experienced has been kept in the words of his recollections. By relishing this rasika poetry, the sādhaka will gradually increase his or her desire to serve Śrī Rādhā’s lotus feet. His absorption in his svarūpa will become strong. There is nothing in the world as sweet as immersion in one’s svarūpa. In this, one feels like, “I am close to Śrī Rādhārāṇī.” The different limbs of bhajana gradually arise according to one’s bhāva.

Śrīpāda is a nitya-siddha-parikara; his heart and mind are absorbed completely in his svarūpa. Even after his vision has ended, he thinks of himself as a follower of Śrī Rādhā. Continuously weeping in the absence of service to her, he obtains another vision of a sweet līlā. Today Śrī Rādhā has become a madwoman due to her longing to meet with Kṛṣṇa. The dam of her patience and shyness has broken in this state of madness. The love-crazed girl walks alone on her journey to meet with Śyāma. She has lost all power of discrimination! unmada-rasāt taṁ śyāmaṁ (prati) abhisaṁsarantī. Śrīmatī is filled with unmāda-rasa(1) as she walks to meet with Kṛṣṇa. unmāda-yukto yo rasas tasmāt. This unmādanā has a wonderful flavor. The profound mystery of this rasa-madness is beyond the range of scholarship and indiscernible by language. It is the delight of the siddha-bhaktas only and the deep meditation of the sādhakas. Śrīmad Rūpa Gosvāmipāda has shown us the cause of this rasa-madness in Ujjvala-Nīlamaṇiḥ 15.40:

sarvāvasthāsu sarvatra tan-manaskatayā sadā |

atasmiṁs tad iti bhrāntir unmāda iti kīrtitaḥ ||

“The disorder in which one’s mind is fixed on the beloved in all circumstances, everywhere and at all times is called unmāda.” śyāma-rūpa jāgaye marame; kibā niśi kibā diśi śayane svapane. The endless, day and night awareness of Śyāma’s form within her heart and mind is the root cause of this rasa-madness.  In this state of unmādanā (madness, excitement, intoxication), the knot of the Vraja girls’ patience, modesty, family prestige and so on becomes loosened. Having lost all solemnity, they sit down and resolve,

bandhura lāgiyā, yoginī haiba, kuṇḍala pariba kāṇe |

yāba deśe deśe, bandhura uddeśe, sudhāiba jane jane ||

“Fixed on my lover, I will become a yoginī and wear an earring. I will go from place to place, running quickly from person to person in search of my lover.” (Caṇḍidāsa) 

There was no delay in their resolution being transformed into action. birati āhāre, rāṅgā bāsa pare yemata yoginī pārā. “I can abstain from eating and wear a scarlet cloth like a yoginī.” She dresses like a yoginī and runs like a madwoman to meet Śyāma. All of these conditions are most powerful in Śrī Rādhārāṇī. Having accepted this mood of Śrī Rādhā, Śrīman Mahāprabhu’s mind became a yogī, eager to taste the sweetness of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Embracing the necks of Śrīpāda Svarūpa Dāmodara and Śrīla Rāya Rāmānanda, Mahāprabhu raved,

śuna bāndhava! kṛṣṇera mādhurī |

yāra lobhe mora mana, chāḍi loka-beda-dharma, yogī hañā  haila bhikhārī ||

kṛṣṇa-līlā-maṇḍala, śuddha-śaṅkha-kuṇḍala, gaḍhiyāche śuka-kārikara |

sei kuṇḍala kāṇe pari, tṛṣṇā-lāu-thāli dhari, āśā-jhuli kāndhera upara ||

cintā-kānthā uḍhi gāya, dhūli-bibhūti-malina kāya, ‘hā hā kṛṣṇa’ pralāpa-uttara |

udvega-dvādaśa hāthe, lobhera jhulani māthe, bhikṣā-bhābe kṣīṇa kalebara ||

———————————————————

kṛṣṇa-guṇa-rūpa-rasa, gandha-śabda-paraśa, se sudhā āsvāde gopī-gaṇa |

tā-sabāra grāsa-śeṣe, āne pañcendriya-śiṣye, sei bhikṣāya rākhaye jībana ||

śūnya-kuñja-maṇḍapa-koṇe, yogābhyāsa kṛṣṇa-dhyāne, tāṁhā rahe laiyā śiṣya-gaṇa |

kṛṣṇa ātmā nirañjana, sākṣāt dekhite mana, dhyāne rātri kare jāgaraṇa ||

“O friends, please hear about the mādhurī of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. My mind has eagerly abandoned worldly and vaidika principles and has become a yogī and a beggar. The craftsman Śukadeva has created an earring made of pure conch shell, a ring of Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes. This yogī wears the ring on his ear and holds a pot made from a gourd representing his thirst. A torn blanket of thought covers his dust and ash soiled body, and a bag of hope hangs from his shoulder. If spoken to, he replies deliriously, saying ‘Oh Kṛṣṇa!’ He bears a staff of anxiety in his hand and a turban of longing on his head. Being a beggar, his body is thin.”

“The gopīs relish the nectar of Kṛṣṇa’s qualities, form, taste, aroma, sound and touch. The yogī’s students, the five senses, bring him the gopīs’ food remnants, and by this begging sustain his life. He remains there with his students, sitting in the corner of a pavilion in an empty kuñja, practicing yoga by meditating on Kṛṣṇa. To directly see the immaculate supersoul Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the yogī spends the night awake in meditation.” (Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛtam, Antya 14.43-45, 49-50)

In these verses, the far-reaching, profound and solemn state of kṛṣṇa-prema-rasa-madness has been expressed. Śrī Rādhā’s bhāva makes Śrīman Mahāprabhu’s mind unsteady through thoughts, hope, longing, desire, eagerness, anxiety and so on. His mind sits in a corner of a pavilion in a solitary, empty bower in Śrī Vṛndāvana meditating day and night on Śrī Kṛṣṇa. If you think about this, it is impossible to not be amazed. This is the power of Śrī Rādhā’s bhāva. Śrīmatī has become a madwoman from tasting Kṛṣṇa’s mādhurya. In the description of Śrīmatī’s pūrva-rāga in his Vidagdha-Mādhava-Nāṭaka, Śrīmad Rūpa Gosvāmipāda gives a depiction of Śrī Rādhā’s amazing rasa-madness when she sees a painting of Kṛṣṇa. (When Viśākhā noticed Śrīmatī’s absent-minded state, she showed her a painting of Kṛṣṇa.) It is truly unparalleled in the kingdom of prema. To describe Śrīmatī’s condition at that time to Nāndīmukhī, Mukharā said the following:

krūrāṇām alināṁ kulair malinayā kṛtyaṁ na me mālayā

bālāhaṁ kim u narmaṇas tava padaṁ dūrī-bhava prāṅgaṇāt |

ity ādīni durakṣarāṇi paritaḥ svapne tathā jāgare

jalpantī jalajekṣaṇā kṣapayati kleśena rātriṁ divam ||

“O Nāndīmukhī! That lotus-eyed Śrī Rādhā, while awake and sleeping, always says, ‘I don’t need a garland soiled by a swarm of cruel bees! I am a young girl; am I worthy of your jokes? Get out of my courtyard immediately!’ Continuously saying harsh words like this, she passes her days and nights with great difficulty.” (Vidagdha-Mādhava-Nāṭakam 2.1) Meanwhile, when Śrī Rādhā’s close friends Lalitā and Viśākhā asked her about the cause of her condition, Śrīmatī replied,

vitanvānas tanvā marakata-rucīnāṁ ruciratāṁ

paṭān niṣkrānto’bhūt dhṛta-śikhi-śikhaṇḍau nava-yuvā |

“O friends! A boy whose bodily luster is more beautiful than an emerald, and whose head is adorned with a peacock feather, has emerged from his painting.” (Vidagdha-Mādhava-Nāṭakam 2.3) Śrīmatī chokes up. Her two sakhīs watch in speechless wonder. After regaining a little of her composure, Śrīmatī speaks again: bhruvaṁ tenākṣiptā kim api hasatonmādita-mateḥ śaśī-vṛtto vahniḥ paramahaha vahnir mama śaśī. “Then that boy smiled gently and cast a sidelong glance at me, causing my intelligence to be swallowed by madness. From that moment, the moon has seemed like fire to me and fire cool like the moon.” Śrīmatī’s astonished sakhīs asked if she had seen this in a dream. She replied,

kiṁ svapnasya vilakṣaṇā gatir iyaṁ kiṁ jāgarasyātha vā

kiṁ rātrer upasattir eva rabhasād ahnaḥ kim ahnāya vā |

itthaṁ śyāmala-candrikā-paricaya-syandena sandīpitair

antaḥ-kṣobha-kulair ahaṁ parivṛtā prajñātum ajñābhavam ||

“Friends, I don’t know whether I saw him in a dream or while awake, at night or in the day. The stream of blue moonlight excited me and filled me with emotion.” (Vidagdha-Mādhava-Nāṭakam 2.4)

If Śrī Rādhā is overcome by rasa-madness like this just from seeing a painting of Kṛṣṇa, it goes without saying that when she actually comes in contact with his form, qualities, pastimes and so on, she will float in an even greater stream of rasa-madness. Today, Śrīmatī’s abhisāra is taking place while she is deep in that condition. None of her sakhīs are present. In kiṅkarī form, Śrīpāda is walking behind prema-pāgalinī(2) Śrī Rādhā carrying the paraphernalia for sevā, such as a garland of fragrant jasmine flowers and a small box of tāmbūla made of camphor and cloves. Continuously floating in a river of rasa-madness, Śrīmatī wandered on and off the path, causing the kiṅkarī to worry that Śrīmatī’s feet, which are soft like butter, might become injured. “O my queen! Don’t leave me behind; walk a little slower. I am your maidservant, so please slow down so I can walk with you.” In describing Śrīmatī’s hurried abhisāra, the poet Śrīla Rādhā-Mohana Ṭhākura has written,

dekha rāi karata abhisāra |

śirīṣa-kusuma jini, komala pada-tala, bipathe paḍata anibāra ||

yo thala-kamala, paraśe ati komala, jhāmara bhai upacaṅka |

so aba yāṁhā tāṁhā, kaṭhina dharaṇī māṁhā, ḍārata bhai niśaṅka ||

“Look! Rādhā is going to her tryst. The soles of her feet, softer than rain-tree flowers, keep landing off the path. They are very soft to the touch, like land-lilies, and are covered with dust. I was alarmed to see her placing them on the hard ground without fear.” The kiṅkarī felt anxious after thinking about Śrīmatī’s flower-soft feet. She prayed with a doleful voice, “O Rādhā! Please slow down. I am your maidservant, so take me with you. I cannot walk quickly due to the weight of the paraphernalia. Move your feet slowly.” rādhe! pathi muñca sambhramam abhisāre, cāraya caraṇāmburuhaṁ dhīraṁ sukumāre.

-------------------------

1. Unmada and unmāda are both accepted spellings.

2.  A woman maddened by love

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