विचिन्वन्ती केशान् क्वचन करजैः कञ्चुकपटं
क्व चाप्यामुञ्चन्ती कुचकनकदीव्यत्कलशयोः ।
सुगुल्फे न्यस्यन्ती क्वचन मणिमञ्जीरयुगलं
कदा स्यां श्रीराधे तव सुपरिचारिण्यहमहो ॥ ५४ ॥
vicinvantī keśān kvacana karajaiḥ kañcuka-paṭaṁ
kva cāpy āmuñcantī kuca-kanaka-dīvyat-kalaśayoḥ |
sugulphe nyasyantī kvacana maṇi-mañjīra-yugalaṁ
kadā syāṁ śrī-rādhe tava suparicāriṇy aham aho || 54 ||
“Aho! Śrī Rādhā! When will I become your maidservant? I will separate your locks of hair with my fingertips, remove the damp bodice from your golden water-pot breasts and place jeweled anklets on your lotus feet.”
Serving Śrī Rādhā
Rasa-Varṣiṇī-Vyākhyā: Śrīpāda’s devotion to rādhā-dāsyam has swallowed up all his other attachments. The beauty and sweetness of rādhā-dāsyam, which is realized through whole-hearted devotion, is incomparable. Having dispelled all other preoccupations, it will flavor the citta(1) by immersing it in the nectar of sevā. A constant yearning for direct sevā will arise in the heart.
jano’yaṁ yācate duḥkhī rudann uccair idaṁ muhuḥ |
tat-padāmbhoja-yugmaika-gatiḥ kātaratāṁ gataḥ ||
kṛtvā nija-gaṇasyāntaḥ kāruṇyān nija-sevane |
niyojayatu māṁ sākṣāt seyaṁ vṛndāvaneśvarī ||
“This miserable soul has taken full refuge in Vṛndāvaneśvarī Śrī Rādhā’s lotus feet and feels the terrible distress of separation. Crying out in a loud voice, he repeatedly prays for her to mercifully accept him as her own and engage him directly in her service.” (Viśākhānandada-Stotram 129-130) It is only possible to savor the astonishing sweetness of Śrī Yugala’s forms, qualities and pastimes through the nectar of sevā in mañjarī-bhāva. The wise say that the tasting of rasa is in bhāva and the expression of bhāva is in rasa. Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the embodiment of all rasas and Śrī Rādhā is the embodiment of unabated mahābhāva. Their mutual experience of this unbroken rasa and bhāva is extraordinary. The kiṅkarī is blessed to relish this through sevā. She experiences the sweetness of the divine couple, but her prayer is to the lotus feet of her most cherished Śrī Rādhāraṇī. She feels that she belongs to Śrī Rādhā, whose kiṅkarīs are fond of Śyāmasundara only because he is the lord of her life. “My goddess is the queen of Vṛndāvana. Because Giridhārī is the lord of her life, I also worship him.” This is their mūla-mantra (guiding principle) for śrī-kṛṣṇa-bhajana. The path shown by Śrīpāda is the ideal path for the worshipers of Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. It is a singular form of worship, devoid of any other expectation. Simply, “Where are you, Rādhāraṇī?” Rādhāraṇī’s lotus feet are the objects of their worship.
In the previous verse, in sādhaka-consciousness, Śrīpāda prayed to serve Śrī Rādhā in the form of a delicate adolescent girl dressed in prasādī clothing. Floating on the waves of his prayer, Śrīpāda’s heart and mind have gone to the kingdom of līlā. By Śrīmatī’s mercy, he gets a vision of another sweet pastime. Śrī Yugala are in the bower, deeply absorbed in love-play. Their passionate embraces have left them both in ecstasy. Śrīpāda received the great fortune of seeing their vilāsa through an opening in the bower. Śrī Rādhā’s kiṅkarīs desire no other treasure than this. All other types of joy pale in comparison to that of her kiṅkarīs. Śrīpāda wrote the following in his Vṛndāvana-Mahimāmṛtam 1.54:
rādhā-nāgara-keli-sāgara-nimagnālī-dṛśāṁ yat sukham |
no tal-leśa-lavāyate bhagavataḥ sarvo’pi saukhyotsavaḥ ||
“The eyes of the sakhīs and mañjarīs are immersed in the ocean of Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa’s love-sports. A tiny drop of their happiness surpasses all of the happiness in the kingdom of God.” Moreover, regarding this, the good fortune of the mañjarīs, who are devoted to sevā, is even greater than that of Śrī Rādhā’s beloved sakhīs, headed by Lalitā and Viśākhā. Śrīpāda Raghunātha Dāsa Gosvāmipāda has written the following in his Vraja-Vilāsa-Stava 38:
prāṇa-preṣṭha-sakhī-kulād api kilāsaṅkocitā-bhūmikā
keli-bhūmiṣu rūpa-mañjarī-mukhās tā dāsikāḥ saṁśraye |
“I take refuge in Śrī Rādhā’s kiṅkarīs, who are led by Śrī Rūpa Mañjarī. They move freely and without hesitation in the places of Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa’s intimate pastimes, more so than even Lalitā and the other prāṇa-preṣṭha-sakhīs.” In his kiṅkarī form, Śrīpāda watches the amorous couple swim in the ocean of vilāsa-rasa. From time to time, it seems as though something creates an obstacle in their love-play. Śrī Yugala, absorbed in vilāsa-rasa, cannot understand the cause of that disturbance. In his kiṅkarī form, Śrīpāda has understood the problem: locks of their hair have become entangled. She immediately entered the bower. Śrī Yugala perceived her as an ecstatic manifestation of their vilāsa-rasa. Therefore, in līlā, there is no fear or hesitation. The kiṅkarī quickly untangled Śrī Yugala’s knotted hair and then left the kuñja. Having been set free, the vilāsa-rasa began to rise! Fortunate is the kiṅkarī! Blessed is her sevā! Other than Śrī Rādhā’s kiṅkarīs, no one knows how to perform such excellent sevā. Sevā is part of the nature of madhura-rasa. First comes the experience of rasa, then sevā. The only goal of sevā is to bring happiness to the one being served. The unselfish sādhaka’s profound desire for sevā causes him to understand how the one to be served will be pleased. To please Śrīman Mahāprabhu, his personal servant Śrīla Govinda Dāsa would not hesitate even to step over him. Śrī Rādhā’s kiṅkarīs have but one goal: to make Śrī Yugala happy. Their desire for sevā gives them the intelligence or judgement required for performing proper service. If the sādhakas wholeheartedly take shelter of these mañjarīs, the qualification for offering proper sevā is also transmitted into them. The sakhīs and mañjarīs of Vraja have incarnated in gaura-līlā as the Gosvāmīs. By their mercy, the sādhakas will be blessed with Śrī Yugala’s sevā. Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya has said, rūpa raghunātha bali haibe ākuti, kabe hāma bujhaba se yugala-piriti. “When will I yearn for Rūpa and Raghunātha? When will I understand Śrī Yugala’s love?” (Prārthanā 1)
The kuñja-līlā has come to an end. The kiṅkarīs have entered the bower, knowing that it was time for them to perform sevā. Śrī Yugala’s hair and clothing were disheveled. Their bodies were covered with perspiration from making love. The devoted mañjarīs were overjoyed to get the good fortune of performing services suitable for the time. Someone is gently fanning them to dry the perspiration from their bodies and bring them comfort. Someone else is rearranging Śrī Yugala’s moistened locks of hair and brightening their smeared vermilion, tilaka and so on. Someone else is removing their broken and crushed garlands and replacing them with garlands strung with fresh, sweet-smelling flowers untouched by the bees. Someone is offering scented water and someone else is offering fragrant tāmbūla filled with camphor and so on. As all their sevās are performed with love, they are therefore most enjoyable.
rati-raṇe śrama-yuta, nāgarī nāgara, mukha-bhari tāmbūla yogāya |
mṛga-mada kuṅkuma, malayaja karpūra, militahi gāti lāgāya ||
aparūpa priya-sakhī prema
nija prāṇa-koṭi, dei nirmañchai, naha tula lākhabāna hema ||
manohara mālya, duṁhu gale arpai, bījai śīta-mṛdu-bāta |
sugandhī śītala, jala karu arpaṇa, yaiche hoyata duṁhu śāṁta ||
“Exhausted on the battlefield of love, the nāgarī and nāgara fill each other’s mouth with tāmbūla. They anoint each other with a combination of musk, saffron, sandalwood paste and camphor. The love of a priya-sakhī (dear girlfriend) is wonderful. ‘I would give millions of my lives in Śrī Rādhā’s service.’ Her heart is purer than gold smelted a hundred thousand times. She places beautiful garlands around their necks and fans them to create a cool and gentle breeze. She offers them cold and fragrant water to drink to their satisfaction.” (Śrīla Rādhāmohana Ṭhākura)
The sweet sevās of the sweet kiṅkarīs! The sādhaka also must experience this sevā in meditation. mane nija siddha-deha kariyā bhābana, rātri-dine kare braje kṛṣṇera sebana. “In his mind, he contemplates his siddha-deha and serves Kṛṣṇa day and night in Vraja.” To get a taste of this sevā-rasa in meditation, it is essential that the sādhaka considers himself a follower of Śrī Rādhā’s eternal maidservants. ei saba sebā yāra, dāsī yena haṅ tāra, anukṣaṇa thāki tāra saṅge. “Let me be the servant of those who serve you. I will remain with them at every moment.” (Prārthanā 33)
In his kiṅkarī form, Śrīpāda is searching for a service suitable for his nature. Due to the intensity of Śrī Yugala’s vilāsa, Śrīmatī’s thick, black locks of hair have become loosened, disheveled and knotted. The kiṅkarī freed the knots with her supple fingers, then carefully brushed her hair and tied it in a braid. Such heartfelt service! A longing for such sevā should also awaken in the sādhaka’s heart. Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya wrote the following in Prārthanā 35:
caudike sakhīra mājhe, rādhikāra iṅgite, ciruṇī laiyā kare dhari |
kuṭila kuntala saba, bithāriyā āṁcaḍaba, banāiba bicitra kabarī ||
“Standing in the midst of the sakhīs, I will follow Śrī Rādhikā’s gesture and take a comb in my hand. I will spread out her curling locks of hair, comb them and tie them into a beautiful braid.”
Śrīpāda saw that Śrīmatī’s bodice had become damp with perspiration. After removing it from her chest, the kiṅkarī placed a soft, dry and perfumed bodice on her golden pot-shaped breasts. She replaced the fallen jeweled anklets on her lotus feet, thus skillfully completing her cherished services. Her mind was enchanted by the beauty of Śrīmatī’s ornamented lotus feet, but she was unable to hold them to her chest again—the vision had ended. She cried out, “O Rādhā! When will I become your devoted maidservant? When will I arrange your disheveled hair after your love-play? When will I remove the damp bodice from your heavenly golden pot-like breasts and replace it with a new dry one? If you think I am unsuitable for any other sevā, at least kindly let me place the jeweled anklets on your lotus feet.” Her mind yearns for the beauty of Śrī Rādhā’s feet. Eager to remain in constant contact with those beautiful feet, a mahājana has revealed his desire to become her jeweled anklets. yāba go brajendra-pura, haba gopikāra nūpura, tāṁdera caraṇe madhura madhura bājiba go. “I will go to the village of the King of Vraja and become the anklet of a gopikā. I will make sweet, sweet sounds on her feet.”
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(1) Heart, mind
