Śrī-Rādhā-Rasa-Sudhā-Nidhiḥ 49 (comm. by Śrī Anantadāsa Bābājī Mahārāja)

 

वीणां करे मधुमतीं मधुरस्वरां ता-

माधाय नागरशिरोमणि-भावलीलाम् ।

गायन्त्यहो दिनमपारमिवाश्रुवर्षै-

र्दुःखान्नयन्त्यहह सा हृदि मेऽस्तु राधा ॥ ४९ ॥

vīṇāṁ kare madhumatīṁ madhura-svarāṁ tām

ādhāya nāgara-śiromaṇi-bhāva-līlām |

gāyanty aho dinam apāram ivāśru-varṣair

duḥkhān nayanty ahaha sā hṛdi me’stu rādhā || 49 ||

“To extinguish the terrible fire of separation, Śrī Rādhā picks up her sweet-toned vīṇā and sings in a dulcet voice about the loving pastimes of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the crest-jewel of lovers. Alas, by doing so, she brings to herself endless days of sorrow filled with showers of tears.”

Virahiṇī Śrī Rādhā

Rasa-Varṣiṇī-Vyākhyā: In the absence of a mystical vision, Śrīpāda is offering the agony in his heart at Svāminī’s lotus feet. His entire consciousness is pervaded by Rādhārāṇī. He has no other pursuit. If one’s absorption in his svarūpa is deep, his feeling of separation from Śrī Rādhā will be strong. A sādhaka stricken by viraha will feel anguish. “O Śrī Rādhā! Please let me see you today. Time passes so slowly. I am alone; I lead a solitary life. Without you, with whom shall I be?” This kind of beautiful mood appears in the mind of one affected by Svāminī’s bhāva. In nīlācala-līlā, Śrīman Mahāprabhu personally taught the virahī-rāga-sādhakas of the world that when a sādhaka feels separation from his deity, his mind forgets the world and constantly focuses on the deity. Śrī Gaurāṅgadeva’s behavior in the Gambhīrā is the highest and brightest example of this. āpane kari āsvādane, śikhāila bhakta-gaṇe (Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛtam 2.81). “He taught the bhaktas by tasting it himself.” How wonderful is the anguish in Śrīpāda’s heart! He prays, “Please end my suffering; I am your confidential maidservant. Please engage me in your nectarous service.” Will Svāminī herself not come to console the one for whom she is everything and who weeps in separation from her? By Svāminī’s mercy, a vision of līlā soon appeared before Śrīpāda’s eyes.

In the vision, he sees vāsaka-sajjikā(1) Śrī Rādhā in the bower-house. Knowing that her beloved Śyāmasundara would arrive soon, she was decorating the house and herself in many ways.

svavāsaka-vaśāt kānte sameṣyati nijaṁ vapuḥ |

sajjī-karoti gehaṁ ca yā sā vāsaka-sajjikā ||

“When the nāyikā (heroine) knows for sure that her lover will come, she nicely decorates both her body and the house. She is known as a vāsaka-sajjikā-nāyikā.” (Ujjvala-Nīlamaṇi 5.76)

ceṣṭā cāsyāḥ smara-krīḍā-saṅkalpo vartma-vīkṣaṇam |

sakhī-vinoda-vārtā ca muhur dūtīkṣaṇādayaḥ ||

“The behaviors of a nāyikā include desiring to engage in love-play, watching her lover’s arrival path, having playful conversations with her sakhīs, repeatedly looking toward her messenger and so on.” (Ujjvala-Nīlamaṇi 5.77) In this way, the specified time for her lover’s arrival passed as she waited. Seeing that he had still not come, Śrīmatī became anxious.

anāgasi priyatame cirayaty utsukā tu yā |

virahotkaṇṭhitā bhāva-vedibhiḥ sā samīritā ||

asyās tu ceṣṭā hṛt-tāpo vepathur hetu-tarkaṇam |

aratir bāṣpa-mokṣaś ca svāvasthā-kathanādayaḥ ||

“If the innocent nāyaka does not come for a long time, the nāyikā becomes anxious, overwhelmed by viraha. According to those who understand bhāva, her behavior includes feeling heartache, trembling, speculating about the cause of her lover’s delay, suffering anxiety, shedding tears, talking about her condition and so on.” (Ujjvala-Nīlamaṇi 5.79-80)

In his kiṅkarī form, Śrīpāda sits beside his anxious svāminī and comforts her. Weeping, Śrīmatī describes her condition to the kiṅkarī:

bandhura lāgiyā śeja  bichāyaluṁ gāṁthiluṁ phulera mālā |

tāmbūla sājāluṁ dīpa-ujāraluṁ mandira haila ālā ||

sai pāche e-saba haibe āna |

se hena nāgara guṇera sāgara kāche nā milala kāna ||

śāśuḍi-nanade bañcanā kariyā āiluṁ gahana bane |

baḍa sādha mane e rūpa-yaubane milaba bandhura sane ||

patha pāne cāhi kata nā rahiba kata prabodhiba mane |

rasa-śiromaṇi āsiba ekhani dīna caṇḍidāsa bhaṇe ||

“For my lover, I spread out a bed and strung a garland of flowers. I prepared tāmbūla and lit a lamp to brighten the cottage. O friend, I fear that all these will go to waste. Kṛṣṇa, who is an ocean of virtues, has not come near me. I arrived in this dense forest after deceiving my mother-in-law and sister-in-law. I have a great desire to meet with my beloved while I possess this beauty and youth. How long shall I gaze toward his path? How much more can I console my heart?” The humble Caṇḍidāsa says, “Rasa-Śiromaṇi Kṛṣṇa will arrive soon.”

Seeing that her lover had still not come, Śrīmatī picked up her sweet-toned vīṇā and began to sing of Kṛṣṇa’s bhāva-līlā to alleviate her intense agony of separation. Bhāva-līlā means the delightful and sweet pastimes of Rasarāja Śrī Kṛṣṇa with Bhāvamayī Śrī Rādhā. When Kṛṣṇa had met with Śrīmatī earlier, he relieved her pain of separation and gave her the highest joy. She was singing about all of those sweet pastimes while playing her vīṇā. The expression nāgara-śiromaṇi (crest-jewel of lovers) has been used for this reason. One who knows exceptionally well how to awaken viraha in the nāyikā and then make their sweet reunion most delightful, and how to awaken a taste of the thousandfold wonders of each other’s sweet love amidst a thousand anxieties, he is a nāgara-śiromaṇi. Or, bhāva-līlā means the songs about his sweet pastimes, sung with feeling. Here, bhāva means tanmayatā or deep absorption. Bhāva is the name given to the modification of a mind that has assumed the form of the object of contemplation and is untouched by any other knowable object. Meaning, Śrīmatī is singing about the nectarous pastimes of Nāgara-Śiromaṇi with a focused mind, devoid of any other inquiry. On difficult days, the only way the viraha-stricken vraja-sundarīs can sustain their lives is to sing about their beloved’s pastimes. In Bhramara-Gītā (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.47.17), we see this: tad alam asita-sakhyair dustyajyas tat-kathārthaḥ. “Enough of this friendship with a blacksnake! But it is difficult to give up the wealth of his stories.” In a huff, Śrī Rādhā is making a strong display of indignation. Having no desire to say the word śyāma, she instead uses the word asita, or blacksnake. Still, at that moment, she said to a bee, “Oh, everything can be forsaken; even your friend can be abandoned. But we are unable to give up the treasure of singing and hearing his pastimes. We stay alive during this terrible viraha with the help of his stories. If those stories are paused for even a moment, there will be no more life in this body.”

Śrī Rādhā’s vīṇā is madhumatī, meaning that, like honey, it causes restlessness in the mind. Moreover, Śrīmatī is engrossed in sweetly singing the songs of Rasarāja’s sweeter-than-sweet bhāva-līlā. In śrī-nīlācala-līlā, when Śrīman Mahāprabhu felt great viraha in śrī-rādhā-bhāva, he found supreme peace through the songs of this bhāva-līlā.

rāmānandera kṛṣṇa-kathā, svarūpera gāna |

biraha-bedanāya prabhura rākhaye parāṇa ||

dine prabhu nānā-saṅge haya anya-manā |

rātri-kāle bāḍe prabhura biraha-bedanā ||

“The kṛṣṇa-kathā of Rāmānanda and the singing of Svarūpa-Dāmodara sustained Mahāprabhu’s life when he suffered the agony of separation. During the day, his mind was distracted by the association of various devotees, but at night the pain increased.” (Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛtam, Antya 6.6-7)

To alleviate her pain of separation, Śrīmatī began to sing sweetly about her bhāva-līlā, accompanied by the pleasant tones of her vīṇā. Though her heart was being showered with nectar, externally she began to feel a great increase in the pain of separation, due to her passions having been inflamed by Śyāmasundara today. bahir biṣa-jvālā haya, antara ānandamaya, kṛṣṇa-premāra adbhuta carita. “Outside, torment like that caused by poison; inside, complete joy. Such is the amazing nature of kṛṣṇa-prema.” (Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛtam, Madhya 2.50) Śrīmatī had been bathed by a stream of her own tears, flowing like a river in the monsoon season, causing her kiṅkarī to cry too. As she sang the songs of bhāva-līlā, she was thinking, “Where is that ocean of virtues now? The world feels empty in want of a vision of my lover.” While in rādhā-bhāva, Śrīman Mahāprabhu also had a vision of this kind of viraha. He said,

yugāyitaṁ nimeṣeṇa cakṣuṣā prāvṛṣāyitam |

śūnyāyitaṁ jagat sarvaṁ govinda-viraheṇa me ||

“Because I miss Govinda, a moment feels like a yuga, my eyes are like the rainy season and the whole world seems empty.” (Śikṣāṣṭakam 7)

udvege dibasa nā yāya, kṣaṇa haila yuga-sama |

barṣāra megha-prāya aśru bariṣe nayana ||

gobinda-birahe śūnya haila tribhubana |

tuṣānale poḍe yena nā yāya jībana ||

“When I am in such anxiety, the day stands still. A moment feels like a yuga. Tears pour from my eyes like rain from a monsoon cloud. The three worlds seem empty in Govinda’s absence. May my life not burn in the fire of suffering.” (Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛtam, Antya 20.40-41)

Śrīmatī is bringing days of misery with an endless shower of tears. The meaning of the phrase ‘is bringing days of misery’ is that, as the saying goes, a period of suffering is difficult to get through. But for the girls of Vraja, the period of feeling separation from Śrī Kṛṣṇa is so very long. There is no way to understand this through the experience of suffering viraha in the world. The reason is that for those who feel śrī-kṛṣṇa-viraha, even one moment seems like a yuga. In śrī-kṛṣṇa-viraha, the perception of a moment as an eon is a characteristic of mahābhāva. All of the anubhāvas(2) of mahābhāva appear in Śrī Rādhārāṇī in an extraordinary way. Even her sakhīs are unable to understand how much she suffers from viraha. In śrī-rādhā-bhāva, Śrīman Mahāprabhu said,

anyera ye duḥkha mane,        anya tāhā nāhi jāne,

satya ei śāstrera bicāre |

anya-jana kāṁhā likhi,        nāhi jāne prāṇa-sakhī,

yāte kahe dhairya dharibāre ||

    

“According to śāstra, one person cannot know the misery in the heart of another. Not to speak of others, even my dearest friends cannot understand, so they just tell me to be patient.” (Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛtam, Madhya 2.23)

Even the sakhīs’ attempts to console Śrī Rādhā’s viraha-stricken heart were unsuccessful. Śrīpāda, in his kiṅkarī-form, was stunned to see how much she was suffering. She decided to go and search for Śyāmasundara to alleviate Śrī Rādhā’s pain. She mused, “If Śyāma is sitting in the rival Candrāvalī’s kuñja, and there is no opportunity to tell him of Śrī Rādhā’s condition, then what will be the solution? If he can understand Śrī Rādhā’s pain of separation by seeing my sorrowful face, without me having to speak, then he will come here quickly.” Therefore, she prays at the feet of Śrī Rādhā, “O Rādhā, who are afflicted by the pain of separation, please appear in my heart.” sā hṛdi me’stu rādhā. For this reason, she is praying for Śrī Rādhā to appear in her heart. The kiṅkarī does not want Śrī Rādhā to be sad. By nature, the body, mind and soul of a sakhī are one with the body, mind and soul of Śrī Rādhā. For example,

pataty asre sāsrā bhavati pulake jāta-pulakāḥ

smite bhāti smerā sumalimani jāte sumalināḥ |

anāsādya svālir mukuram abhivīkṣya svavadanaṁ

sukhaṁ vā duḥkhaṁ vā kim api kathanīyaṁ mṛga-dṛśaḥ ||

“When a tear falls from her eyes, her friend becomes tearful. When she has goosebumps, her friend has goosebumps. When she smiles, her friend smiles. When she feels sad, her friend feels sad. Even without meeting with this doe-eyed girl, her friend can describe whether she is happy or sad just by looking at her own face in a mirror.” (Alaṅkāra-Kaustubhaḥ 3.59) Śrī Kṛṣṇa said, “O doe-eyed girl! When your sakhīs are present before you, what need do you have for a mirror?” The emotional oneness of the kiṅkarīs with Śrī Rādhā is even more profound. Moreover, the kiṅkarī will go to Śyāmasundara carrying her virahiṇī-svāminī in her heart. Therefore, she prays, “May Śrī Rādhā reside in my heart.”

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

1. A woman preparing to meet her lover

2.  An anubhāva is an external manifestation or indication of a feeling.

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Śrī-Rādhā-Rasa-Sudhā-Nidhiḥ 48 (comm. by Śrī Anantadāsa Bābājī Mahārāja)

कुञ्जान्तरे किमपि जातरसोत्सवायाः

श्रुत्वा तदालपित-शिञ्जित-मिश्रितानि ।

श्रीराधिके तव रहःपरिचारिकाहं

द्वारस्थिता रसह्रदे पतिता कदा स्याम् ॥ ४८ ॥

kuñjāntare kim api jāta-rasotsavāyāḥ

śrutvā tad-ālapita-śiñjita-miśritāni |

śrī-rādhike tava rahaḥ-paricārikāhaṁ

dvāra-sthitā rasa-hrade patitā kadā syām || 48 ||

“O Śrī Rādhikā! When will I be immersed in a lake of rasa as I perform confidential service for you? I will stand at the gate of the bower as you create an indescribable festival of rasa therein. I will hear your sweet conversations and the pleasant jingling of your ornaments.”

A Lake of Rasa

Rasa-Varṣiṇī-Vyākhyā: In the previous verse, Śrīpāda got an extraordinary taste of Śyāmāmaṇi’s prema-vaicittya-rasa. The visions of līlā flowed one after another in a stream. There is truth even in visions, and within them a wonderful experience of rasa has been stored. One who has found the truth can never be deceived by lies. In his vision, Śrīpāda stays with Svāminī constantly like a shadow. Śyāmasundara was captivated when he saw Śrī Rādhā’s loving gestures while she was feeling prema-vaicittya. bhaktera prema-ceṣṭā dekhi kṛṣṇera camatkāra (Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛtam). “Kṛṣṇa is amazed to see the loving efforts of his bhaktas.” Mādanākhya-prema is the highest state. Therefore, Śyāmasundara’s amazement is also unprecedented. Śrī Rādhā is the enchanter of the one who enchants the whole world. An experience of Śyāmasundara’s heart awakens in the heart of the kiṅkarī. The sādhaka must also to some degree get a taste of that rasa through meditation. The sādhaka’s mental conception regarding this is not refined. One must follow the ācāryas. Following them means hearing and reciting their wise teachings. The powerful teachings, like powerful mantras, will perfume the sādhaka’s heart and mind with the desire to serve Śrī Rādhā. Every syllable is full of bhajana-rasa. The sweet taste of a mahājana’s words is so desirable that Śrī Bhagavān longs for the company of his dear bhaktas. But Śrīman Mahāprabhu ultimately forbade the bhaktas to come to Nīlācala. In the Gambhīrā, along with Svarūpa and Rāmānanda, he relished the stream of nectar coming from the works of Caṇḍidāsa and Vidyāpati, Rāmānanda’s Jagannātha-Vallabha-Nāṭakam, Kṛṣṇa-Karṇāmṛtam and Gīta-Govindam. In this current of enjoyment, where the undivided, non-dual knowledge of ultimate reality has drifted away, there is a domain forever beyond the comprehension of the world of jīvas. By relishing those great teachings, the sādhaka-bhaktas forget the world and are blessed with a taste of Śrī Yugala’s transcendental sweetness.

Śrīpāda, in his siddha-svarūpa, is giving praise to the goddess of the bower. Śyāmāmaṇi’s prema-vaicittya-bhāva gradually fades away and she can once again see Śyāmasundara. As she returned to her normal state, she lowered her head slightly in shyness. Her beloved’s state of ecstasy had not yet subsided. After experiencing Śrī Rādhārāṇī’s prema-vaicittya-bhāva, Śyāmasundara’s heart and mind became immersed in ānanda-rasa (joy). His eyes were closed. Śrī Rādhā became curious when she saw Śyāmasundara’s condition. Smiling gently, she then hid herself in a nearby bower. Seeing the fun, the kiṅkarī laughed and covered her mouth. With an eye gesture, Śrīmatī forbade the kiṅkarī to tell Śyāmasundara what she had said. (“O Mohana, where are you?”) Gradually, consciousness returned to Rasarāja’s mind, which had been immersed in rādhā-rasa. As he opened his eyes, he saw that Priyājī was nowhere to be found. Alarmed, he looked in every direction of the bower. “O Rādhā! Where are you? Let me see you!” Saying this repeatedly, he frantically began to search for Śrī Rādhā. In his kiṅkarī form, Śrīpāda was hiding among the creepers and relishing the sweetness of Śyāmasundara’s face as he longed for Śrī Rādhā. “O dear one! Where are you? Stop joking. In your absence, the merciless god of love gives me great pain.” dehi sundari darśanaṁ mama manmathena dunomi. “O dear one! How much longer will you tease me? Let me see you and thus cool my heart, which burns from viraha.” Kṛṣṇa began to see Rādhā everywhere. He mistakenly embraced a golden creeper, thinking it was Rādhā. 

kanakalatā dhari āliṅgaye tuyā kalebara bhāne |

birahe bibaśa bhaigela mādhaba mūrache madana-bāṇe ||

“Mādhava embraced a golden creeper, thinking it to be your body. Pierced by Madana’s arrows, he swooned, overwhelmed by the pain of separation.” (Mahājana) This is the condition of a nāgara made helpless by viraha. He forgets his own body. He inquires from the does and peacocks about news of Śrī Rādhā. After seeing Śyāma’s condition, the kiṅkarī was beside herself with pride. She was proud of Śrī Rādhā’s glory. Whereas countless vraja-sundarīs yearn for Śrī Kṛṣṇa, he yearns for Śrī Rādhā. When the kiṅkarī saw Śyāmasundara’s extreme anxiety, she revealed herself to him. Seeing Rādhā’s kiṅkarī, he felt reassured and with folded hands asked her about Priyājī. “O Sakhī! Tell me, where is your īśvarī? Is she hiding in some kuñja just to tease me? Please quickly tell me where to find her.”

The kiṅkarī smiled sweetly and said, “O crest-jewel of rasikas! You don’t know where the nāyikā in your lap went? Look; a little while ago Svāminī was sitting in your lap, but feeling separation from you, she began to weep. Now, though you’ve lost her, you don’t cry even a little? She has gone with her sakhīs to Yāvaṭa. You can abandon any hope of being with her today.” Śyāmasundara could understand by seeing the kiṅkarī’s face that she was joking. Śrī Rādhārāṇī was undoubtedly hiding in some nearby kuñja. He expressed his anguish to the kiṅkarī so he could be with Rādhārāṇī. Seeing Śyāma’s intense suffering, the kiṅkarī directed him to the kuñja with a gesture. He entered the kuñja and when he and Rādhā saw each other, they both became overwhelmed by prema. The kiṅkarī felt blessed upon seeing Śrī Yugala’s sweet forms, filled with intense yearning and the nectar of love.

doṁhe doṁhā kore āgori | sahacarī heri bibhorī ||

adabhuta prema ki carita | heraite camakita cita |

puna doṁhe nibiḍa bilāsa | dūre geo biraha hutāśa ||

“The sakhī is overwhelmed by seeing them in close embrace. How wondrous is their affection! Her heart and mind are amazed to see their pastimes. They are again deeply immersed in the play of love. The fire of viraha has gone far away.” (Pada-Kalpa-Taru) 

kuñjāntare kim api jāta-rasotsavāyāḥ. After their pain of separation had ended, Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa celebrated their reunion in the bower. Śrī Rādhā showered streams of nectar into her beloved’s ears with her sweet and gentle words. She said,

rati biśārada tuhuṁ rākha māna |

bāḍile yaubana tāhe diba dāna ||

ebe se alapa-rase nā pūrabe āśa |

thori-salile tuyā nā yābe piyāsa ||

alape alape yadi cāha niti niti |

pratipada cāṁda kalā sama rīti ||

“O expert in the art of love, maintain your honor. When my youth has fully blossomed, I will offer it to you as a gift. Right now, a little nectar will not fulfill your longing. A few drops of water will not satisfy your thirst. But if you seek me little by little, day by day, our love will grow like the phases of the moon.” (Vidyāpati)

Premānanda-rasa overflowed from the dulcet tones of their anklets, waist-bells and other ornaments mixed with soft and sweet conversations, with voices choked by emotion. Śrīpāda is their maidservant in this secluded place. She has obtained the good fortune of performing confidential service to the Divine Couple, even when they are making love. She remains at the gate and relishes the sweetness of their nectarous conversations and the delightful sounds of their ornaments. It is as though she has fallen into a lake of rasa and obtained complete happiness. Just as a lake is a confined body of water, this lake of rasa is confined within the secluded bowers of Śrī Vṛndāvana. This lake of rasa does not appear in any of Śrī Bhagavān’s other pastimes, forms or abodes. This is the treasure of Vṛndāvana’s bowers. Therefore, information about this lake of rasa is forever difficult to access and obtain for even Brahmā, Maheśvara, Śrī Uddhava and others. In this particular kali-yuga, Śrīman Mahāprabhu and the ācāryas sheltered at his lotus feet have introduced confidential information about this lake of rasa to the worldly jīvas who are afflicted by the miseries of kali. These kali-jīvas have been given the great blessing of swimming in this lake of rasa. 

Śrīpāda is a recipient of Śrīman Mahāprabhu’s profound mercy. He has been fortunate enough to swim in a lake of rasa as he performs intimate service to Śrī Yugala. Suddenly, his mystical vision ends. Weeping, he prays, “O Śrī Rādhikā! When will I be immersed in a lake of rasa as I perform confidential service for you? I will stand at the gate of the bower as you create an indescribable festival of rasa therein. I will hear your sweet conversations and the pleasant jingling of your ornaments.” Those who are disinterested in other kinds of sādhana and want only the service of Śrī Rādhikā, the most beloved of Śrīman Madana-Gopāladeva, think “I am Śrī Rādhikā’s dāsī.” They nourish only this sentiment and consider its attainment the fulfillment of all their desires. They reside in the unfathomable Śrī Vṛndāvana, the land of Śrī Rādhā’s pastimes. (If it is not possible to live there physically, live there mentally.) They engage in the internal prema-sādhanas of hearing, chanting, remembering and so on in the association of rasika-bhaktas. They soon discover this mysterious lake of rasa and are blessed. This is the essential teaching for the sādhaka-bhaktas.

Śrī-Rādhā-Rasa-Sudhā-Nidhiḥ 47 (comm. by Śrī Anantadāsa Bābājī Mahārāja)

अङ्कस्थितेऽपि दयिते किमपि प्रलापं

हा मोहनेति मधुरं विदधत्यकस्मात् ।

श्यामानुरागमदविह्वल-मोहनाङ्गी

श्यामामणिर्जयति कापि निकुञ्जसीम्नि ॥ ४७ ॥

aṅka-sthite’pi dayite kim api pralāpaṁ

hā mohaneti madhuraṁ vidadhaty akasmāt |

śyāmānurāga-mada-vihvala-mohanāṅgī

śyāmā-maṇir jayati kāpi nikuñja-sīmni || 47 ||

“Though sitting in the lap of her beloved, Śrī Rādhā suddenly began to lament in sweet, incoherent words, crying out, ‘O Mohana!’ Intoxicated by her love for Śyāma, this beautiful crown-jewel of śyāmā-nāyikās reigns supreme within the borders of the forest bower.”

Śrī Rādhā’s Swoon of Love

Rasa-Varṣiṇī-Vyākhyā: Śrīpāda is feeling anxious due to his separation from Śrī Rādhā. His experience of the sweetness of Svāminī’s form, qualities and so on in his vision has increased his impatience in the sādhaka state. The mind becomes absorbed wholeheartedly in its cherished one’s lotus feet, so occasionally the vision pauses. Absorbing oneself in thoughts of one’s beloved and forgetting everything else is called prema. If a miserly person obtains great wealth but suddenly loses it, the thought of that wealth dominates all other thoughts and spreads such a web of influence on the mind that it becomes very difficult to let the thought go. In the same way, if a premika attains Śrī Bhagavān directly or in a vision and then suddenly loses him, the mind becomes so absorbed in thinking about him that it becomes very difficult to let him go. Moreover, Śrī Rādhā’s kiṅkarī is the direct embodiment of sevā-rasa (the nectar of service). Śrīpāda was getting a taste of sevā-rasa in his mystical vision. When the vision ended, he felt like his heart was breaking in grief due to a lack of sevā. For one to taste the unbounded mādhurya-rasa of the endlessly sweet Yugala-Kiśora, one condition must be met. If a mañjarī-bhāva-sādhaka devotes himself to bhajana for some time, by the mercy of Śrī Rādhārāṇī, he will gradually attain this condition. Śrī Rādhārāṇī is the embodiment of prema. If one is able to surrender himself at her lotus feet, his life will be successful. How wonderful to be under the shelter of Śrī Rādhā’s lotus feet, where the joy of govinda-rasa personally welcomes the sādhaka in an indescribable way! saṁsiddhanti yad-āśrayeṇa hi paraṁ govinda-sakhy-utsukāḥ (Śrī-Rādhā-Rasa-Sudhā-Nidhiḥ 98). Under the shelter of Śrī Rādhārāṇī, the joy of govinda-rasa is completely realized.  

Śrīpāda has tasted the sweetness of Śrī Yugala’s conversation, an elixir for the ears, by the power of taking exclusive shelter of Śrī Rādhā’s lotus feet. After his vision came to an end, the absence of it caused a great agitation in his heart. By Śrī Rādhārāṇī’s mercy, a vision of that līlā appeared to him again. The kiṅkarī entered the kuñja after Śrī Yugala’s lovemaking ended, knowing it to be the appropriate time for sevā. Śrī Yugala’s beautiful bodies were covered with perspiration, so she cooled them with the breeze of a charming fan. She was also blessed with other sevās such as offering water, tāmbūla and so on. The kiṅkarīs make every effort to please the divine couple. Their desire is to remain close to Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa and make them happy, not caring for their own happiness. Although there are many selfless premikas in Vraja, Śrī Rādhā’s kiṅkarīs are the most selfless of all. The kiṅkarī was submerged in Śrī Yugala’s sevā-rasa. Suddenly she saw that Śrī Rādhā had become intoxicated by drinking the nectar-wine of the indomitable Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Though seated on Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s lap, she was overcome by viraha and cried out, “O Mohana! Where are you?” and then began to speak incoherently. The state called prema-vaicittya has arrived.

priyasya sannikarṣe’pi premotkarṣa-svabhāvataḥ |

yā viśleṣa-dhiyārtis tat prema-vaicittyam ucyate ||

“Prema-vaicittya is the rise of anguish caused by the thought of separation, due to the natural intensity of prema, even though being in the presence of the beloved.” (Ujjvala-Nīlamaṇi 15.147)

sajani! premaka ko kaha biśeṣa |

kānuka kore, kalābatī kātara, kahata kānu paradeśa ||

cāṁdaka heri, suraya kari bhākhaye, dinahiṁ rajanī kari māna |

bilapai tāpe, tapāyata antara, priyaka biraha kari bhāna ||

“O friend! Who can describe the special nature of love? Though seated on Kṛṣṇa’s lap, Rādhā, the abode of fine arts, is distraught, even saying that he had gone to another land. She mistakes the moon for the sun and the day for the night. She laments with a burning heart, suffering from an imagined separation from her lover.” (Vallabha Dāsa)

Suddenly, beautiful Śrī Rādhā became alarmed. Burning in the powerful blaze of viraha, she began to weep loudly and rave. vyarthālāpaḥ pralāpaḥ syāt (Śrī-Ujjvala-Nīlamaṇi 11.87). Incomprehensible conversation is called pralāpa (delirium). Even though she was sitting on Śyāmasundara’s lap, she became overwhelmed by viraha and began to cry loudly and speak incoherently.

korahi śyāma camaki dhanī bolata, kabe mohe milaba kāna |

hṛdayaka tāpa, tabahuṁ majhu miṭaba, amiyā karaba sināna ||

so mukha-mādhurī, baṅka nehārai, soṅari soṅari mana jhura |

so tanu sarasa, paraśa yaba pāoba, tabahīṁ manoratha pūra ||

eta kahi sundarī, dīgha niśāsai, mūrachita harala geyāna |

ākula rāi, śyāma parabodhai, gobinda dāsa paramāṇa ||

“Sitting on Śyāma’s lap, enchanted Rādhā became alarmed and said, ‘When will I meet Kṛṣṇa? My heart burns, but I will be satisfied; I will bathe in nectar. Remembering his sweet face and sidelong glances disintegrates my mind. When will I touch his handsome form and fulfill my heart’s desire?’ The beautiful Rādhā then sighed deeply and fell into a swoon. Rādhā was anxious; Śyāma consoled her. Govinda Dāsa was a witness.”

Śrīpāda says, śyāmānurāga-mada-vihvala-mohanāṅgī. “The captivating Śrī Rādhā was intoxicated by the wine of her love for Śyāma.” This prema-vaicittya is the result of intense, yearning passion. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartipāda has clearly mentioned the cause of prema-vaicittya in his Ānanda-Candrikā commentary on the previously mentioned verse beginning with priyasya sannikarṣe’pi. Namely, premotkarṣo’nurāgaḥ sthāyī sa ca tṛṣṇātiprābalya-mūlaka eva muhur anubhūtasyāpi vastuno’nanubhūtatva-bhāna-samarpako bhavet. yathā kaścid atibubhukṣu-svabhāvo vipro bhojayitvocyate brahman suṣṭhu bhuktaṁ bhavateti. tatas tena pratyucyate na kiñcid api bhuktam iti tathaiva…yatra sati śrī-kṛṣṇaṁ sākṣāt śaśvad anubhavato’pi janasya buddhi-vṛtter api tathā lopaḥ syād ayathā śrī-kṛṣṇaṁ nānu bhavānīty eva pratyayaḥ syāt yathā sannipātavato janasya pratikṣaṇaṁ jalaṁ pibato’pi hāhā māṁ jalaṁ pāyayety uktiḥ. atreyaṁ yuktiḥ anurāge kvacid buddhi-vṛttes tathā sūkṣmatvaṁ syāt yathā sā śrī-kṛṣṇaṁ tadīya-guṇa-gaṇa-mādhuryaṁ ca yugapanna viṣayī karoti. yataḥ śrī-kṛṣṇānubhave tadīya-guṇādy-anunabhavaḥ tadīya guṇānubhave tad-ananubhavaḥ. yathā kācid atisūkṣmā sūcī-vastra-syūtāv atisūkṣmam apy ekaṁ sūtram eva vidhyati natu sūtra-dvaya-sandhim iti, tathaiva sambhogākhye rase kānto’yaṁ māṁ saṁbhuṅkte yasya surata-lāmpaṭya vāk-cāturya gīta-vādya-nṛtyādayo guṇā apārā iti guṇeṣu praviṣṭāyāṁ buddhi-vṛttau kṣaṇāntare ca yasya guṇā īdṛśāḥ sa kva iti guṇān api tyaktvā tan-mārgaṇe praviṣṭā viraham evānubhāvayantī pura-sthitam api taṁ na viṣayī karotīti jñeyā. The meaning is that the sthāyībhāva(1) of prema-vaicittya-rasa is anurāga (affection), which springs from the intense power of the desire for prema. This anurāga gives rise to a lack of perception even of objects constantly perceived. For example, some naturally hungry brāhmaṇa eats a hearty meal, but afterward feels like he has eaten nothing at all. In the same way, because of the thirsty nature of anurāga, the anurāgī feels like he is never fortunate enough to taste kṛṣṇa-mādhurya, even though he tastes it all the time. A typhoid patient cries “water, water” in distress, even though he constantly drinks water. Regarding this, the argument is that in deep anurāga, the intellect is so intensely focused that it becomes impossible to conceive of Śrī Kṛṣṇa and his sweet qualities simultaneously. In this condition, when one perceives Śrī Kṛṣṇa, there is no perception of his sweet qualities, and when one perceives his sweet qualities, there is no perception of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. When sewing a piece of cloth with a slender needle, only one fine thread can fit through the eye of the needle, not two. In the same way, because of deep anurāga, the intellect becomes so focused that when meeting Śrī Kṛṣṇa, Śrī Rādhā thinks, “My beloved Kṛṣṇa and I are engaged in love-play. He is adorned with endless qualities such as fondness for making love, eloquence of speech and so on.” In this way, when her intellect enters into Kṛṣṇa’s qualities, she comprehends them in full but loses awareness of his form. Therefore, after a moment she thinks, “Where is the lord of my life, who is adorned with endless heroic qualities?” Like this, after having forgotten even talking about Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s qualities, Śrī Rādhā’s intellect began to eagerly search for him. Then, although he was nearby, she could not see him.

While sitting on Kṛṣṇa’s lap, Śrīmatī called out, “O Mohana! Where are you?” and wept in confusion. The skillful Śrī Kṛṣṇa began to console Śyāmāmaṇi(2) Śrī Rādhā with sweet words. Śyāmāmaṇi, intoxicated by her love for Śyāma, is also the enchanter of Śyāma. Her beauty and charm are naturally captivating to Kṛṣṇa. sā lāvaṇya-camatkṛtir nava-vayo rūpaṁ ca tan-mohanam (Śrī-Rādhā-Rasa-Sudhā-Nidhiḥ 103). “Mohana means astonishing charm, youthfulness and beauty.” Moreover, her unprecedented charm flows from her beautiful body in waves of prema-vaicittya-rasa. Though still sitting in the lap of her beloved, she has become intoxicated. viveka-hara ullāso madaḥ (Bhakti-Rasāmṛta-Sindhuḥ 2.4.35). “Excessive joy that steals one’s power of discrimination is called mada.” By using the words mada-vihvala (overwhelmed by joy), it is made clear that this viraha is the ultimate fruit of the great happiness born of contact with Śrī Kṛṣṇa. The Gosvāmīs have ascertained that the pleasantness, astonishment and flavor of joy produced by viraha is greater than even the joy of meeting with Śrī Kṛṣṇa.(3) For this reason, prema-vaicittya has been called rasa. The prema-vaicittya of the mahiṣīs (Kṛṣṇa’s queens) is also described in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.90.15. But the sweetness of prema-vaicittya risen from mahābhāva is of a much higher order. Though seated in Kṛṣṇa’s lap, Śyāmāmaṇi is lamenting incoherently in a display of intense separation. A śyāmā is a particular type of nāyikā (heroine):

śīta-kāle bhaved uṣṇā grīṣma-kāle ca śītalā |

padma-gandhi-mukhaṁ yasyāḥ sā śyāmā parikīrtitā ||

“A woman who is warm in the winter and cool in the summer, and whose mouth is fragrant like a lotus, is known as a śyāmā.” Śrī Rādhā is the crown-jewel of śyāmā-nāyikās. In his kiṅkarī-form, Śrīpāda is celebrating Śrī Rādhā’s prema-vaicittya-bhāva. May Śyāmāmaṇi Śrī Rādhā remain in her supreme glory! The stream of līlā-visions continues to flow, one after another.

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1. Lasting or durable state of mind or feeling—MW

2. Jewel among beautiful women

3. tathāpi sambhoga-sukhād api stutaḥ sa ko’pi nirvācyatamo manoramaḥ | pramoda-rāśiḥ pariṇāmato dhruvaṁ tatra sphuret tad rasikaika-vedyaḥ || “The misery of separation transforms into a state of happiness that is more praiseworthy than even the pleasure of union. It causes the manifestation of an indescribable delight to be known only by the rasika-bhakta.” (Bṛhad-Bhāgavatāmṛtam 1.7.126)