अमन्दप्रेमाङ्क-श्लथसकलनिर्बन्धहृदयं
दयापारं दिव्यच्छविमधुर-लावण्यललितम् ।
अलक्ष्यं राधाख्यं निखिलनिगमैरप्यतितरां
रसाम्भोधेः सारं किमपि सुकुमारं विजयते ॥ ५२ ॥
amanda-premāṅka-ślatha-sakala-nirbandha-hṛdayaṁ
dayāpāraṁ divya-cchavi-madhura-lāvaṇya-lalitam |
alakṣyaṁ rādhākhyaṁ nikhila-nigamair apy atitarāṁ
rasāmbhodheḥ sāraṁ kim api sukumāraṁ vijayate || 52 ||
“Glory to the youthful Śrī Rādhā, the indescribable essence of the ocean of rasa. She is unseen in the śāstras and above them. She bears the signs of intense love for Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Her heart is free from all restraints and full of compassion. She has a beautiful complexion and is sweet, charming and playful.”
Śrī Rādhā’s Divine Qualities
Rasa-Varṣiṇī-Vyākhyā: In the previous verse we discussed how Śrī Rādhāraṇī brought Śrī Kṛṣṇa under her control by the movements of her eyes. The beauty of those eyes has flooded the entire universe with prema-rasa. Śrīpāda’s heart and mind were overwhelmed by experiencing the sphūrti (vision). The devatā of visions is sporting inside and out after submerging Śrīpāda in boundless beauty and sweetness. A sādhaka who is devoted to smaraṇam and silent regarding the world continuously relishes this transcendental sweetness while immersed in contemplation. For one who has tasted even a drop of this rasa, all things of the world seem insignificant. prema-bhakti sudhā-nidhi, tāhe ḍuba nirabadhi, āra yata kṣāra-nidhi prāya. “Prema-bhakti is like an ocean of nectar; submerge yourself in it continuously. Everything else is like an ocean of salt.” (Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā 72) How wonderful is Śrīpāda’s devotion to Śrī Rādhā! His mind never leaves Rādhāraṇī. Such affection is inevitable for those who share an eternal bond. The nectar of Śrī Rādhā’s lotus feet is also the ultimate shelter for a sādhaka. “The body and all things related will come to an end. Everything is temporary. Before whom shall I stand? My merciful Śrī Gurudeva has revealed to me the nature of service to Śrī Rādhā. Therefore, other than at Śrī Rādhā’s lotus feet, I have nowhere to stand.” This mental state is bound to awaken to some extent in a bhakta who is exclusively devoted to Śrī Rādhā. Through remembrance, dreams and visions, the bhakta will realize a modicum of Śrī Rādhā’s mādhurya—then there is some assurance! Śrīpāda is a nitya-parikara (eternal companion). His love is by nature filled with affection. Thus, every verse is an expression of his deep, heart-felt attachment.
In the previous verse, Śrīpāda got a taste of the sweetness of Śrīmatī’s eyes and adolescence while absorbed in his svarūpa. When his mystical vision ended, he cried out in anguish. In this verse, while suffering the pain of separation, he receives a vision of the sweetness of Śrīmatī’s qualities. Śrīpāda has described Śrīmatī as nava-ratna (nine jewels). This may cause someone to wonder if Śrīmatī’s limbs are hard like jewels. Due to the possibility of such a question, in external consciousness he says, rādhākhyaṁ kim api sukumāraṁ vijayate. “May that indescribably beautiful gem named Rādhā be ever victorious.” In this verse, that gem named Rādhā is distinguished by five attributes. amanda-premāṅka-ślatha-sakala-nirbandha-hṛdayam. All of the objections or other attachments in the heart of one bearing the signs of sublime love for Śrī Kṛṣṇa become loosened. The word amanda is understood to mean extremely pure or intense love. Bhagavat-prema is of two kinds, conditional and unconditional. Because conditional love is impure, the experience of it is also impure. Wherever there is unconditional love, there the experience of rasa is pure. Because of the abundance of such enjoyment, the thought of being absorbed in anything but Kṛṣṇa has gone far away for the premika. kṛṣṇa-pāda-padma gandha yeijana pāya, brahmaloka ādi sukha tāre nāhi bhāya (Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛtam, Antya 6.136). “For someone who has inhaled the fragrance of Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet, the happiness of Brahmaloka and so on is not appealing.” Pure prema reaches its highest stage in the vraja-sundarīs. They give up everything in the madness of prema and become experts in śrī-kṛṣṇa-bhajana.
loka-dharma beda-dharma deha-dharma karma |
lajjā dhairya deha-sukha ātma-sukha marma ||
dustyajya ārya-patha nija parijana |
svajane karaye yata tāḍana-bhartsana ||
sarba-tyāga kari kare kṛṣṇera bhajana |
kṛṣṇa-sukha hetu kare prema-sebana ||
ihāke kahiye kṛṣṇe dṛḍha anurāga |
svaccha dhauta bastre yaiche nāhi kona dāga ||
“They give up social customs, vaidika religion, attachment to the body, fruitive work, shyness, patience, bodily pleasure, mental happiness, the difficult to abandon varṇāśrama-dharma, their associates and family members who scold and punish them so much. They give up everything and do kṛṣṇa-bhajana. They lovingly serve Kṛṣṇa for his own happiness. This is called unshakeable love for Kṛṣṇa. It is pure and stainless, like a freshly washed cloth.” (Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛtam, Ādi 4.167-170)
Śrī Rādhā is by nature the crest-jewel of the vraja-sundarīs. Her love is the highest and purest of all. There are five upādhis (attributes, limitations) in the love of an ordinary woman: dedication to her own happiness, desire for opulence, seeking someone with charm and other good qualities, seeking a husband, and “He is the lover; I am the beloved.” In Śrī Rādhā’s love, these upādhis do not exist. Therefore, her devotion to Kṛṣṇa and her lack of devotion to anything else are both at the highest level.
Moreover, Śrīmatī is dayāpāram, meaning she is the embodiment of the boundless ocean of mercy. She showers infinite mercy on those who take refuge in her. Stories are told about her showering unrestrained mercy even on those who have not taken shelter. I am referring here to a well-known true occurrence in Vrajadhāma. A young henpecked man from the Punjab had gone mad due to separation from his wife. Because his mind was so disturbed, he wandered from place to place, eventually arriving in Śrī Vṛndāvana. Once, deep in the night, he was in Śrī Rādhāraṇī’s hometown of Varṣāṇā when he began to weep in separation from his wife. His wife’s name is Kiśorī. He lamented loudly for her, repeatedly saying, “O Kiśorī!” When the infinitely merciful Śrīmatī Rādhāraṇī heard this, she said, “Lalitā! Some devoted bhakta is calling for me in great distress. Please bring him to me quickly.” Lalitā replied, “Rādhā! He is not your bhakta; he is an inhabitant of hell. His love for his wife has driven him crazy. His wife’s name is Kiśorī, so he was calling out for her; he wasn’t calling for you.” Śrī Rādhāraṇī replied, “Lalitā! I know that, but what shall I do? After hearing his call, my heart is melting and I can no longer remain calm. Everyone here calls me Kiśorī. Therefore, you must give him prema, make him my sakhī and bring her to me.” This example gives us an indication of Śrīmatī’s incomparable compassion toward even the residents of hell. From hellish creatures up to Śrī Govinda, the ocean of mercy himself, everyone begs at the door of Śrīmatī’s mercy. Even Śrī Govinda considers himself fortunate to be constantly showered with her karuṇā-rasa. Śrī Bhagavān, the condensed form of sac-cid-ānanda, always desires the mercy of a premika. Such is the conclusion of śāstra and the mahājanas.(1) Prema is at its fullest in Śrīmatī Rādhāraṇī; therefore, her mercy is also most desired by Śrī Kṛṣṇa. In this particular kali-yuga, as Śrī Gaurāṅga, he accepted the mood and complexion of the most merciful Śrī Rādhā and got the good fortune of relishing his three unfulfilled wishes of Vraja. He openly showed the whole world how much mercy Śrī Rādhā, the embodiment of the boundless ocean of mercy, had safely kept in a secret storehouse in Vraja. Had he not accepted the mood and complexion of Śrī Rādhā, he would not have become so compassionate. May Śrī Rādhā’s compassion, the purifier of the fallen, be victorious.
Thirdly, Śrī Rādhā is divya-cchavi-madhura-lāvaṇya-lalitam. She possesses divine beauty, sweetness and charm. She is very pleasant. Her beauty is not like the beauty of this world; hers has arisen from mahābhāva. Therefore, the word divya (divine) has been used before the word chavi (complexion, luster, beauty). Her beauty is divine or spiritual, so it cannot be described with words. It is perceptible to the experienced bhaktas and savored in contemplation. Due to her sweetness and charisma, she is sulalita or most enchanting. It seems as though a shimmering garland of light is oozing from her beautiful form. This sweet charisma is most enjoyable to Śrī Govinda, the essence of charm. The minnow-like eyes of the sakhīs and mañjarīs constantly swim in great joy in this ocean of grace and charm. The sādhaka-bhaktas can also continually relish this nectar through hearing, chanting and meditation.
Moreover, Śrī Rādhā is nikhila-nigamair apy atitarām alakṣyam, extremely difficult to be perceived through the scriptures. The scriptures are vast: in some parts karma is described; in others, jñāna and yoga; in yet others, bhakti. The most confidential tattva of vraja-bhakti has been kept hidden deep within the heart of śāstra. Śrī Rādhā is the greatest secret of Vraja; needless to say, she is utterly imperceptible in the scriptures. Even in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the nectarous fruit of the Vedic desire tree, Śrī Śukadeva Muni has kept the śrī-rādhā-tattva hidden away like the soul in the body, or the fire within a kindling stick.(2) This most mystical truth is hidden within the heart of the śāstras and the mahājanas. In Śrīmad-Bhagavad-Gītā, the essence of the Vedic scriptures and fifth Veda, brahma-jñāna is called secret, paramātma-jñāna is more secret, and bhagavat-jñāna is most secret. At the end of the Gītā, Śrī Bhagavān referred to prema-dharma, whose root is śaraṇāgati (seeking refuge), as sarva-guhyatama (most secret). Śrī Rādhā is the supreme essence of that prema-tattva(3) and the embodied Goddess of Love. Therefore, it is easy to deduce that she would be unseen in the scriptures. In this particular kali-yuga, Śrīman Mahāprabhu has introduced this most mysterious tattva into the world of jīvas. Although it is a profound mystery of the śāstras, he gave the jīvas distressed by kali-yuga the right to rādhā-dāsyam, the highest form of prema-bhakti. Therefore, a mahājana has sung,
karaye locana pāna, rūpa-līlā duṁhu gāna,
ānande magana sahacarī |
beda bidhi agocara, ratana bedira para,
bhaja niti kiśorī-kiśora ||
“Always worship Śrī Śrī Kiśorī-Kiśora, who are beyond the reach of the Vedic injunctions. Their sakhīs, immersed in joy, drink in their beauty with their eyes and sing of their forms and pastimes as they sit upon a jeweled throne.”
Finally, Śrīpāda said, “Śrī Rādhā is rasāmbhodheḥ sāram, the essence of the ocean of nectar.” Poets have compared Śrī Rādhā’s face to the moon, the fount of nectar. But there is no comparison of Śrī Rādhā’s face with a moon risen from the material world’s ocean of milk. If some moon appears from the ocean of prema-rasa, a slight comparison can be made with Śrī Rādhā’s moonlike face. Or, just as the churning of the ocean produced its essential nectar, in the same way, the supreme nectar of mahābhāva rose from the ocean of prema. The one whose nature is mahābhāva is therefore the essence of the ocean of rasa. Or, rasāmbhodheḥ śrī-kṛṣṇasya sāram. Śrī Rādhā is the essence of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, who is the nectarous ocean of all rasas, and the embodiment of his heart. One day, to soothe sulky Śrī Rādhā’s injured pride, he sat at her feet with folded hands. With tearful eyes, he said,
tvam asi mama jīvanaṁ tvam asi mama bhūṣaṇaṁ
tvam asi mama bhava-jaladhi-ratnam |
bhavatu bhavatīha mayi satatam anurodhinī
tatra mama hṛdayam atiyatnam ||
“O Rādhā! You are my ornament, you are my life, you are the gem in the ocean of my being. Therefore, it is my heart’s desire that you always remain favorable to me.” (Śrī-Gīta-Govindam 10.4) Such words by Śrī Bhagavān, who is subdued by prema, spoken to Śrī Rādhā, the presiding deity of prema, are logical. If a mere drop of the essence of prema appears in a living vessel, Śrī Bhagavān surrenders himself at the door of this individual soul. He has personally proclaimed this loudly in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the essence of all the Vedas.
ahaṁ bhakta-parādhīno hy asvatantra iva dvija |
sādhubhir grasta-hṛdayo bhaktair bhakta-jana-priyaḥ ||
Śrī Bhagavān said to Durvāsā, “O brāhmaṇa! I remain always under the control of my bhaktas, as though I were not independent. These saintly devotees are very dear to me. They have taken possession of my heart and there reside.” (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 9.4.63) Therefore, Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s humility is appropriate at the door of Prema-Lakṣmī Śrī Rādhā. Śrīpāda said, rādhākhyaṁ kim api sukumāraṁ vijayate. “That indescribably beautiful jewel of youth named Śrī Rādhā reigns supreme.”
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(1) In Śrī-Bṛhad-Bhāgavatāmṛtam 2.7.38, Śrī Kṛṣṇa said to the māthura-brāhmaṇa named Janaśarmā, “By your grace, my family and I are currently well. I forever await your mercy.”
(2) See the commentary on verse 41 of this book.
(3) Tattva means a true principle.
