Śrī Śrī Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā 93 (comm. by Śrī Anantadāsa Bābājī Mahārāja)

দেহে না করিহ আস্থা,        মরিলে সে যম শাস্তা,

দুঃখের সমুদ্র কর্মগতি ।

দেখিয়া শুনিয়া ভজ,        সাধু-শাস্ত্র-মত যজ,

যুগল-চরণে কর রতি ॥ ৯৩ ॥

dehe nā kariha āsthā,        marile se yama śāstā,

duḥkhera samudra karma-gati |

dekhiyā śuniyā bhaja,        sādhu-śāstra-mata yaja,

yugala-caraṇe kara rati || 93 ||

टीका—देहे ना करिह आस्था–देहेऽस्मिन् आस्थां मा कुरु । देहाभिमानं मा कुर्वित्यर्थः ।

     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.

Devotion to Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa’s Lotus Feet

     Sudhā-Kaṇikā-Vyākhyā: To teach his own mind about yugala-bhajana, the venerable author first describes the suffering of a person who identifies with his body. dehe nā kariha āsthā, marile se yama śāstā, duḥkhera samudra karma-gati. Placing one’s hope in this transitory body made of five elements is not reasonable. The mind of a person engrossed in the body and things related cannot be engaged in hari-bhajana. Faith, care, refuge, reliance and attention are synonyms of the word āsthā. Śrī-bhagavad-bhajana is not possible unless these attitudes toward the material body are abandoned. It is inappropriate to maintain faith in the body. Many people think, “I am now in my youth; I will live for many years. Let me happily enjoy my senses for now, and when I am old, I will worship Śrī Hari.” It is improper to keep this kind of faith toward the perishable body because it can expire at any moment. There is no doubt about this. We must always be prepared for our death. It is nothing but a great folly when a person resolves to perform hari-bhajana in old age, after passing his energetic youth engaged in sense enjoyment, keeping faith in a transitory body that will meet death in the blink of an eye. Śrī Prahlāda Mahāśaya said to the demon boys, kaumāra ācaret prājño dharmān bhāgavatān iha, durlabhaṁ mānuṣaṁ janma tad apy adhruvam arthadam (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.6.1). “O friends! Intelligent people should practice bhāgavata-dharma from childhood because this human birth is very difficult to obtain, and though transitory, it bestows the highest truth.”

     Moreover, āsthā means that it is improper to give excessive care to the body. If the mind becomes absorbed in the affairs of the body, it cannot be absorbed on the spiritual path. No matter how much care is given to this frail body, someday it will die. Therefore, one should care for the body only as much as is needed to maintain it. Always keep this in mind: Take care of your body in order to stay alive and use your life for bhajana, not for sense enjoyment. Hence, the body should be cared for appropriately with the understanding that it is an instrument for bhajana, not for enjoyment.

     Another meaning of the word āsthā is refuge. An intelligent person should never waste the precious moments of human life by taking refuge in the perishable body and thus neglecting bhajana. An intelligent person should always bear in mind the stories and discussions about the unfortunate condition of the jīva who has fallen into the well of material life. A man entered a dense forest to go hunting and suddenly fell in a hidden well. He grabbed clumps of grass on each side of the well (which represent the span of his life) and remained about halfway down. Below, a monstrous snake (hell) awaits him, and above, a tiger (heaven), both with their mouths gaping, ready to devour him. Moreover, two mice, one white and one black, are chewing on the roots of the two clumps of grass that support him. (The mice are the days and nights of his lifetime.) Though understanding his dreadful situation, he drinks a drop of honey (sense enjoyment) dripping from a beehive near the clump of grass. Intoxicated by tasting the honey, he thinks himself to be happy and without a care. Though looking at death, he does not see it. Ah! What great power illusion has!* Therefore, an intelligent person will never be carefree by taking shelter of this body.

     The word āsthā can also mean reliance. Many people think, “The renunciation, indifference to the world, adherence to rules, firm faith and so on required for bhajana make it very difficult. Thus, is it even possible for me to perform bhajana?” Even though they have some interest, they are unable to take shelter of the path of bhajana because of their reliance on the body. After observing them, a mahājana said, “Do not lose this golden opportunity for bhajana due to fear born of dependence on the body.” Why should you not rely so much on the body? One day it will die. Therefore, if you spend the precious moments of this perishable body engaged in bhajana, you will be blessed.

     Yet another meaning of āsthā is attention. Though having entered the path of bhajana, some people cannot advance because their attention is toward the body and things related. Their minds remain absorbed in mundane sense enjoyment. Even if one practices bhajana in accordance with the precepts as far as possible, if done inattentively, it is mechanical bhajana. As a result of this, there is no progress in bhajana, even after a long time. Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya’s extraordinary eloquence is such that through this two-syllable word (āsthā), he has given mankind many valuable instructions.

     Then he says, marile se yama śāstā. Human forms are difficult for even the gods to obtain and are well-suited for bhajana. Those who have human bodies but do not engage in bhajana will inevitably suffer Yama’s punishment after death. The ways in which Yama’s punishments are dreadful can be known from the description of hell in the fifth canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, which by reading or hearing makes one’s body and mind shudder. But there is no promise that Yama’s punishment is the end: duḥkhera samudra karma-gati. After suffering the miseries of hell, one takes birth according to his karma in the miserable wombs of ferocious snakes, tigers and other creatures. These births are endless and all are filled with suffering. Therefore, they are like an ocean that is difficult to cross. In this way, the consequence of karma is great misery. 

     Therefore, dekhiyā śuniyā bhaja, sādhu-śāstra-mata yaja, yugala-caraṇe kara rati. After seeing the mortality of the human body and the miserable condition of the jīvas in various wombs, and after hearing from sādhu and śāstra about the necessity of performing bhajana in this well-suited human body, an intelligent person will take shelter of a great soul and engage in devotional service according to his or her instructions. An intelligent person should particularly serve the lotus feet of Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa in the yuga of Śrīman Mahāprabhu. This yugala-bhajana is distributed only once in a day of Brahmā, or after nearly eight thousand yugas, through the incarnation of Śrīman Mahāprabhu. Though difficult to be obtained by Brahmā, Maheśvara, Lakṣmī and Uddhava in other yugas, in this particular kali-yuga, this rare yugala-bhajana can by the mercy of Śrīman Mahāprabhu be relished even by the wretched jīvas. Therefore, true success in life for a person in the kali-yuga of Mahāprabhu is taking shelter of this unprecedented path of yugala-bhajana. For this reason, Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya said, sādhu-śāstra-mata yaja, yugala-caraṇe kara rati. After collecting all the scriptural statements in support of their own doctrines, the sādhus of Śrīman Mahāprabhu’s sampradāya have given instructions on yugala-bhajana. The people of this kali-yuga should perform devotional service in accordance with these instructions, always keeping their attachment for Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet.

*Author’s note: There is an illustrated description worth seeing in the book Bhaba-Kūpe Jībera Gati composed by my most worshipable Śrīla Guru Mahārāja (Śrī Kuñjavihārī Dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja).

Śrī Śrī Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā 92 (comm. by Śrī Anantadāsa Bābājī Mahārāja)

বিষয় বিষম গতি,        নাহি ভজ ব্রজপতি,

কৃষ্ণচন্দ্র-চরণ সুখসার ।

স্বর্গ আর অপবর্গ,        সংসার নরক ভোগ,

সর্বনাশ জনম বিকার ॥ ৯২ ॥

biṣaya biṣama gati,        nāhi bhaja braja-pati,

kṛṣṇacandra-caraṇa sukha-sāra |

svarga āra apabarga,        saṁsāra naraka bhoga,

sarba-nāśa janama bikāra || 92 ||

     The consequences of sense enjoyment are severe. Why do you not worship the Lord of Vraja? Kṛṣṇacandra’s lotus feet contain the highest joy. Worldly happiness, heavenly happiness, the happiness of liberation and the suffering of hell involve the jīva in repeated births, deaths and other transformations that bring about his ruin.

The Highest Joy

     Sudhā-Kaṇikā-Vyākhyā: Under the guise of instructing his own mind, the venerable author, an embodiment of prema, is giving humanity important guidance regarding śrī-kṛṣṇa-bhajana. In this verse, he first describes the poisonous fruit of enjoying sense objects such as form, flavor and so on. Then he describes the joy of serving Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet. biṣaya biṣama gati, nāhi bhaja braja-pati, kṛṣṇacandra-caraṇa sukha-sāra. The consequences of sense enjoyment are severe, meaning poisonous or filled with misery. Even though mundane sense objects such as form, flavor and so on seem pleasing at first, the true nature of sense enjoyment is concentrated suffering. For example, if one drinks poison, thinking it to be nectar, his body, mind and life-breath begin to burn and he quickly welcomes death. In the same way, sensual enjoyment causes one to suffer the terrible burning of the three kinds of afflictions and the dreadful miseries of birth, death and hell. One may understand the poisonous consequences of sense enjoyment, but as a result of repeatedly engaging in it such a powerful saṁskāra forms in the heart and mind that there is no way to stop it. Prahlāda Mahāśaya thus instructed the young demon boys in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 7.6.9-13:

ko gṛheṣu pumān saktam ātmānam ajitendriyaḥ |

sneha-pāśair dṛḍhair baddham utsaheta vimocitum ||

ko nv artha-tṛṣṇāṁ visṛjet prāṇebhyo’pi ya īpsitaḥ |

yaṁ krīṇāty asubhiḥ preṣṭhais taskaraḥ sevako vaṇik ||

kathaṁ priyāyā anukampitāyāḥ saṅgaṁ rahasyaṁ rucirāṁś ca mantrān |

suhṛtsu tat sneha-sitaḥ śiśūnāṁ kalākṣarāṇām anurakta-cittaḥ ||

putrān smaraṁs tā duhitṝr hṛdayyā bhrātṝn svasṝr vā pitarau ca dīnau |

gṛhān manojñor uparicchadāṁś ca vṛttis tu kulyāḥ paśu-bhṛtya-vargān ||

tyajeta kośas-kṛd ivehamānaḥ karmāṇi lobhād avitṛpta-kāmaḥ |

aupasthya-jaihvyaṁ bahu manyamānaḥ kathaṁ virajyeta duranta-mohaḥ ||

     “O friends! If one is attached to his home in youth, he cannot give up that attachment later on. Who can hope to liberate himself if he has no control of his senses and is bound by the strong ropes of property, riches, family and friends? Can anyone give up his thirst for wealth, which is more desirable than life itself? Thieves, merchants and servants remain devoted to gathering wealth even after giving up their attachment to life.* Moreover, who, after reflecting upon his intimate and pleasurable conversations and so on with his compassionate wife, is able to give them up? Which soft-hearted man, bound by ropes of affection for his loved ones, can relinquish kinship with them after hearing the sweet murmurs of his children? Who can abandon his affectionate sons, daughters, brothers, sisters, helpless mother and father, beautiful home, attractive clothing, livelihood, cows and other animals, servants and so on? In truth, just as a silk worm while building her own home blocks the way out and traps herself inside, a worldly person attached to family and so on, with unfulfilled desires and greedy for sense enjoyment, remains continually engaged in worldly pursuits. Regarding highly the pleasures of the tongue and genitals, they become covered by a powerful web of illusion. There is no way for them to become free from the inclination for sense enjoyment.”

     Having understood the poisonous effects of sense enjoyment, every intelligent person should serve Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet in this human body, which is well-suited for bhajana and is difficult for even the gods to attain. Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya therefore said, nāhi bhaja braja-pati, kṛṣṇacandra-caraṇa sukha-sāra. “O mind! Though knowing the severe consequences of sense enjoyment, why do you still not serve the lotus feet of Vrajapati Śrī Kṛṣṇa? You are searching for happiness. The source of the highest, most enjoyable happiness is Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s two lotus feet.”

     A human’s thirst for joy is ancient. He tries to obtain true joy, but he doesn’t know how. Śāstra has shown the path; this is the mystical meaning of the word darśana. Sense enjoyment, which infatuates almost everyone in the world, is a mere particle of the glow of parabrahmānanda (spiritual joy). This vast ānanda sustains the misery-filled creation. If this were not the case, no one would be able to continue living. For this reason, Taittirīyopaniṣad says, ko hy evānyāt kaḥ prāṇyāt yady eṣa ākāśa ānando na syāt eṣa evānandayati. It has also been mentioned in the purāṇas: kas tiṣṭheta jīved vāpi yady ānando na vidyate.

     Now, a question naturally arises: What is the source of this vast ānanda? One day, the high-minded Śatakarṇi was meditating in a solitary āśrama. He thought, kuto hy evāyam ānandaḥ: “From where is this stream of joy coming?” Behind this continuously changing universe, Śrī Bhagavān stands eternally as the Supreme Truth. He is madhumaya (charming), ānandamaya (joyful) and rasamaya (full of nectar). The jīva’s sādhanā is to search for that person who always remains situated within his own nature amidst endless change and constant transformation. When she becomes successful through this great and exalted sādhanā, her joy will be everlasting. Chāndogyopaniṣad has therefore said, yo vai bhūmā tat-sukham, nālpe sukham asti. “Joy is present in Śrī Bhagavān, the eternal, infinite, all-pervading spiritual essence. There is no joy in that which is limited, meaning in transitory sense pleasures.” That infinite joy appears before the vraja-bhakta’s love-filled eyes in the form of Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇacandra, the embodiment of the nectar contained in all rasas. There are no words to express the joy that fills the premika’s heart. Language thus remains silent, as it has no power to express such a feeling. While the great devotee Śrīla Bilvamaṅgala Ṭhākura struggled to find words that would express such unprecedented joy, he arrived at the gate of wonder. Like a person enchanted by magic, he stopped suddenly and said, madhuram madhuram madhuram madhuram (sweet, sweet, sweet, sweet). Therefore, Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya says, kṛṣṇacandra-caraṇa sukha-sāra. “Kṛṣṇacandra’s lotus feet are the essence of joy.”

     Then he says, svarga āra apabarga, saṁsāra naraka bhoga, sarba-nāśa janama bikāra. It was previously said that true happiness comes only from serving Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet. Someone may say, “But do we not see descriptions of heavenly happiness in the karma-kāṇḍa section of śruti and the happiness of liberation in the jñāna-kāṇḍa section?” The answer to this question has been given in the second half of the verse. Worldly happiness, heavenly happiness, the happiness of liberation and the suffering of hell are all the same for those who have obtained the joy of bhagavad-bhajana. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 6.17.28 says svargāpavarga-narakeṣv api tulyārtha-darśinaḥ. “Śrī Bhagavān’s devotees see the heavenly worlds, liberation and hell as equal.” In the happiness of svarga and so on, the purely spiritual jīva, eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa, is caught up in repeated births, deaths and other transformations. That is not happiness. In truth, it is a complete loss for the jīva.

*The Sanskrit here literally means they gather wealth at the cost of their precious lives.

Śrī Śrī Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā 91 (comm. by Śrī Anantadāsa Bābājī Mahārāja)

দুর্লভ ভজন হেন,        নাহি ভজ হরি কেন,

কি লাগি মরহ ভববন্ধে ।

ছাড় অন্য ক্রিয়াকর্ম,        নাহি দেখ বেদ-ধর্ম,

ভক্তি কর কৃষ্ণপদদ্বন্দ্বে ॥ ৯১ ॥

durlabha bhajana hena,        nāhi bhaja hari kena,

ki lāgi maraha bhaba-bandhe |

chāḍa anya kriyā-karma,        nāhi dekha beda-dharma,

bhakti kara kṛṣṇa-pada-dvandve || 91 ||

     Why do you not worship Śrī Hari? It is such a rare bhajana. Why should you perish in material bondage? Give up other scriptural rites and do not look at veda-dharma. Just worship Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet.

Rare Bhajana

     Sudhā-Kaṇikā-Vyākhyā: By saying beda-bidhi-agocara (beyond the range of Vedic injunctions) in the previous verse, Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya has established the rarity of yugala-bhajana. Now, in the yuga of Śrīman Mahāprabhu, that rare bhajana has become easily obtainable for all jīvas, including those broken by immorality and suffering. Taking shelter at Śrīman Mahāprabhu’s lotus feet, Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava ācāryas such as Śrī Rūpa, Sanātana, Raghunātha, Śrī Jīva and the rest of the Six Gosvāmīs, and then later on, Śrīnivāsācārya, Śyāmānanda Prabhu, Narottama Ṭhākura Mahāśaya, Viśvanātha Cakravartipāda, Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa and other ācāryas and poet mahājanas have in endless ways made the rare path of yugala-bhajana magnanimous and open.

     To draw the attention of worldly people toward this rare bhajana, Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya said, durlabha bhajana hena, nāhi bhaja hari kena, ki lāgi maraha bhaba-bandhe, under the pretext of instructing his own mind. “Why do you not worship Śrī Hari? It is such a rare bhajana. Why should you perish in material bondage?” Śrīman Mahāprabhu has mercifully given to the jīvas tormented by kali-yuga an unparalleled taste of vraja-rasa, which in other yugas was difficult for even Brahmā and Maheśvara to obtain. Though having now received a human body, if someone is deprived of this golden opportunity or does not take shelter of the path of bhajana, he will, due to saṁskāras of attachment to sense objects, pass his rare human lifetime pursuing the happiness derived from food and other pleasures. He will fall into the gaping jaws of repeated birth and death and remain perpetually bound by the fetters of the material world. Śrīla Premānanda Ṭhākura has sung the following in his Manaḥ-Śikṣā:

e mana! mānuṣa habe ki āra |

badana bhariyā, ‘hari hari’ bala, ‘śodha’ nā yamera dhāra ||

bhābiyā dekha nā, se hāre āpanā, ihāte ye kare pāpa |

āpanāra doṣe, āpani pāya se, janame janame tāpa ||

sei se catura, bāpera ṭhākura, ye laya harira nāma |

ihāte yāhāra, ruci nā janmila, bidhātā tāhāre bāma ||

e bodha bujhibe, narake majibe, śamana ruṣibe yabe |

āṅkhira palake, e ṭhāṭa bhāṅgibe, ki bali eḍābe tabe ||

bhāi bandhu jāyā, tanaya-tanayā, āpanā balicha yāre |

jāna nā mukhete, anala bhejāye, agādha jalete ḍāre ||

mūrati dekhiyā, ḍare ḍarāiyā, tile nā rākhibe ghara |

kahe premānanda, ‘hari hari’ bala, tā binu sakali para ||

     “O mind! Will you get a human body again? If you fill your mouth with harināma, you will no longer owe payment to Yama, the god of death. Having considered it, do you not see? As a result of losing himself, a man commits sin. It is because of his own mistakes that he suffers birth after birth. Those who are intelligent and worthy of reverence chant the name of Śrī Hari. Providence is unfavorable to those who have no taste for this. You will understand this when you anger Yama and sink into hell. In the blink of an eye this outward show will disintegrate. How then will you escape suffering? You claim your friends, wife, sons and daughters to be your own. Do you not know that they will light a fire in your mouth and dump you in deep water?* After seeing your dead body, they will be frightened and remove it from the house immediately. Premānanda says, ‘Chant Hari! Hari!’ Other than that, all is irrelevant.”

bhāi re bhaja gorācāṅdera caraṇa |

e tina bhubane āra, dayāra ṭhākura nāi, gorā baḍa patita pābana |

hena abatāre yāra, nahila bhakati-leśa, bala tāra ki habe upāya ||

rabira kiraṇe yāra, āṅkhi parasanna naila, bidhātā bañcita bhela tāya ||

hema-jalada kāya, prema-dhārā bariṣaya, karuṇāmaya abatāra |

gorā hena prabhu peye, ye jana śītala naila, ki jāni kemana mana tāra ||

kali—bhaba-sāgare, nija nāma bhelā kari, āpane gaurāṅga kare pāra |

tabe ye ḍubiyā mare, ke tāre uddhāra kare, e premānandera parihāra ||

     “O brother! Serve the lotus feet of Śrī Gauracandra. There is not a more compassionate spiritual guide in the three worlds. Gaura is a benevolent savior of the fallen. Tell me, what will be the solution for one who has not even a trace of bhakti in such an avatāra? One has been deprived by fate if his eyes are not pleased by a ray of the sun. This merciful incarnation’s body is like a golden cloud that rains down a constant stream of prema. How do I understand the mind of one who is not soothed after getting a master like Śrī Gaura? In the age of Kali, Gaurāṅga will ferry you across the ocean of material existence in a raft of his own holy name. But if one instead immerses himself in this ocean and perishes, who will rescue him? Premānanda gives up!”

     Then Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya says, chāḍa anya kriyā-karma, nāhi dekha beda-dharma, bhakti kara kṛṣṇa-pada-dvandve. Here, anya kriyā-karma means engaging in illusory rites and rituals meant to produce mundane bodily happiness rather than performing śrī-kṛṣṇa-bhajana. Veda-dharma means the varṇāśrama-dharma mentioned in the Vedas. He advises us to abandon such things and take shelter of the path of pure bhajana.

     The jīva is by nature the eternal servant of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Therefore, the desire to serve Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the jīva’s natural dharma. The jīva who is averse to Śrī Kṛṣṇa desires independent enjoyment of illusory things. Because of that, the desire for sevā that is naturally related to the svarūpa (spiritual form) instead manifests through the body and senses. Influenced by the dharma of the senses, it is transformed into the desire for service to the senses. This is why we see the jīva try to gratify his senses through the enjoyment of mundane objects. The māyā-bound jīva engages in various kinds of rituals or adopts varṇāśrama or other forms of veda-dharma in an attempt to become happy through sense-enjoyment. But the sense-enjoyment described in the karma-kāṇḍa section of the Vedas can never make one happy. There is no true or lasting happiness in sense-enjoyment; only the arrival of misery after misery. Other than bhakti or service to Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet, there is no means of release from this misery. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 3.9.6 says the following:

tāvad bhayaṁ draviṇa-deha-suhṛn-nimittaṁ 

śokaḥ spṛhā paribhavo vipulaś ca lobhaḥ |

tāvan mamety asad-avagraha ārti-mūlaṁ 

yāvan na te’ṅghrim abhayaṁ pravṛṇīta lokaḥ ||

     In Brahmā’s glorification of Śrī Bhagavān, he says, “O Bhagavān! As long as people do not take shelter of your fear-removing lotus feet, they continue to experience apprehension, grief, desire, humiliation and extreme greed regarding their wealth, bodies, friends and families. They maintain the mentality of ‘I and mine’ regarding the illusory body and things related. This is the root of all misery.”

     The first fetter of the māyā-bound jīva who is averse to Śrī Kṛṣṇa is avidyā, or ignorance. Through this, he forgets his own spiritual nature and his dharma as a servant of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. The second fetter is asmitā, or egoism, through which he considers the transitory body to be himself. He also develops a possessive mentality regarding wealth, family members and other things related to the body. The third fetter is rāga, or attachment, through which is born a fondness for acquiring money, property and so on, which are pleasurable to the body and senses. The fourth is dveṣa, or enmity, through which he becomes averse to anything antagonistic to the body and things related. The fifth is abhiniveśa, which means devoting the mind to the acquisition of things conducive to sense enjoyment, or the mind being transformed into the shape of sense objects. Firmly bound by this five-limbed ignorance, the jīva sinks into the mud of desire for mundane sense enjoyment. The inclination for spiritual joy, which is the natural dharma of the self, is transformed into an inclination for worldly pleasures. There is no other way for the māyā-bound jīva than to abandon through sādhu-saṅga his attachment to good and evil actions, which are impediments to devotion, and take shelter of śrī-kṛṣṇa-bhakti. For this reason, Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya said, chāḍa anya kriyā-karma, nāhi dekha beda-dharma, bhakti kara kṛṣṇa-pada-dvandve. “Give up other scriptural rites and do not look at veda-dharma. Just worship Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet.”

* “Normally the eldest son carries out the funerary rites. He lights the funeral pyre after first placing a burning stick in the mouth of the deceased.” From factsanddetails.com.

Backyard Sunset

Govinda-Līlāmṛtam 5.39

तासां मनोदीनकुरङ्गसंघान् 

विलोक्य लोलान् रुचिपल्लवान् स्वान् ।

निन्ये स्फुटं चारयितुं स्वसङ्गे 

सन्दान्य दृक्शृङ्खलया स्वयासौ ॥

tāsāṁ mano-dīna-kuraṅga-saṁghān 

vilokya lolān ruci-pallavān svān |

ninye sphuṭaṁ cārayituṁ svasaṅge 

sandānya dṛk-śṛṅkhalayā svayāsau ||

     Seeing the timid deer of their minds to be restless, he bound them with the fetters of his eyes and led them close to graze upon the fresh leaves of his beauty. 

Śrī Śrī Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā 90 (comm. by Śrī Anantadāsa Bābājī Mahārāja)

করিয়ে লোচন পান,        রূপলীলা দুঁহ গান,

আনন্দে মগন সহচরী ।

বেদবিধি-অগোচর,        রতন-বেদীর পর,

সেব নিতি কিশোর-কিশোরী ॥ ৯০ ॥

kariye locana pāna,        rūpa-līlā duṅha gāna,

ānande magana sahacarī |

beda-bidhi-agocara,        ratana-bedīra para,

seba niti kiśora-kiśorī || 90 ||

     Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa’s girlfriends drink in the divine couple’s beauty and pastimes through their eyes and sing of them in great joy. Always offer service to Śrī Kiśorī-Kiśora as they sit upon a jeweled loveseat in Vraja. This is beyond the reach of Vedic injunctions.

     टीका–आनन्दे इत्यादि–सख्य एवं कृत्वा आनन्दे मग्न भवन्ति ।

The Joy of the Sakhīs

     Sudhā-Kaṇikā-Vyākhyā: After describing Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa’s prema-mādhurī (sweetness of love) and rūpa-mādhurī (sweetness of form), Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya now speaks of the sakhīs’ joyful experience of that sweetness. Filled with beauty and charm, Kiśorī-Kiśora Śrī Rādhā-Śyāma happily relax on a jeweled loveseat in a bower-cottage in delightful Śrī Vṛndāvana. Śrī Rādhā’s girlfriends, who surround them on all sides, are unique portraits of prema-rasa. They are unparalleled in beauty, sweetness and humor, and they sport everywhere, far and wide, as though the oceans of prema and rasa were overflowing. The sakhīs’ bee-like eyes drink with intense devotion the nectar flowing from Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava’s astonishing golden lotus and blue lotus forms, glowing with beauty and sweetness. The sakhīs sing in mellow voices about Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa’s charming pastimes in śṛṅgāra-rasa (the erotic sentiment). In this way, the sakhīs swim in the nectarous ocean of the divine couple’s forms, qualities and pastimes, immersed in the highest joy. Śrī Rādhā’s maidservants, her mañjarīs, are also sakhīs. Though they swim in the endless river of Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa’s sweetness, the mañjarīs are always engaged in service to them and the other sakhīs. They never ignore their sevā and just absorb themselves in mādhurya. They bathe in Śrī Yugala’s mādhurī-rasa by engaging in acts of service. This is the difference between them and the other sakhīs. We can get a clear idea of this from some verses in Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya’s Prārthanā:

aruṇa-kamala-dale, seja bichāiba, basāiba kiśora-kiśorī |

alakā-āvṛta-mukha, paṅkaja manohara, marakata-śyāma hema-gaurī ||

prāṇeśvari! kabe more habe kṛpā-diṭhi |

ājñāya āniba kabe, bibidha phula-bara, śunaba bacana duṅha miṭhi ||

mṛga-mada tilaka, sindūra banāyaba, lepaba candana-gandhe |

gāṅthi mālatī-phula, hāra pahirāoba, dhāoyāba madhukara-bṛnde ||

lalitā kabe more, bījana deoyaba, bījaba māruta mande |

śrama-jala sakala, miṭaba duṅha kalebara, heraba parama ānande ||

narottama dāsa, āśa pada-paṅkaja, sebana mādhurī pāne |

haoyaba hena dina, nā dekhiye kona cina, duṅha jana heraba nayāne ||

     “I will scatter red lotus petals upon their bed and invite Kiśorī-Kiśora to sit. Their captivating emerald* and golden lotus faces are surrounded by locks of dark hair. O goddess of my life! When will you give your merciful glance to me? When, with your permission, will I bring you a bouquet of beautiful flowers? When will I hear your sweet conversations? I will decorate you with musk tilaka and vermilion in the part of your hair. I will anoint you both with fragrant sandalwood paste. I will string garlands of jasmine flowers and place them round your necks. If too many bees come, attracted by the aroma, I will shoo them all away. When Lalitā gives a fan to me, I will dry your perspiration with a gentle breeze. I will behold all this in great joy. Narottama Dāsa’s only wish is to drink the sweet nectar of service to your lotus feet. Alas, I see no sign of the day when I will gaze upon you two with my own eyes.”

     These verses from Prārthanā give us a very clear notion of how the mañjarīs relish the sweetness of the divine couple through service. Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas perform yugala-bhajana following the path of Śrī Rādhā’s maidservants. Śrīmat Prabodhānanda Sarasvatīpāda wrote the following in his reflections on the nature of Śrī Rādhā’s kiṅkarīs in Vṛndāvana-Mahimāmṛta 2.86:

śrī-rādhā-pāda-padma-cchavi-madhuratara-prema-cij-jyotir-ekām-

bhodher udbhūta-phena-stabakamaya-tanūḥ sarva-vaidagdhya-pūrṇāḥ |

kaiśora-vyañjitās tad-ghana-rug-apaghana-śrī-camatkāra-bhājo

divyālaṅkāra-vastrā anusarata sakhe rādhikā-kiṅkarīs tāḥ ||

     “The luster from Śrī Rādhā’s lotus feet is a sea of light born of sweet spiritual love. From that sea the forms of Śrī Rādhā’s kiṅkarīs have risen like clusters of foam. They are adolescent in age and expert in all skills. They are vessels of extraordinary beauty; they glow with the freshness of youth and are adorned with elegant clothing and ornaments. O friend! Follow them.” Śrīpāda has also described their divine forms in Vṛndāvana-Mahimāmṛta 2.58-59:

kiśora-vayasaḥ sphurat-puraṭa-rociṣo mohinīḥ

sucāru-kṛśa-madhyamāḥ pṛthu-nitamba-vakṣoruhāḥ |

suratna-kanakāñcita-sphurita-nāsika-mauktikāḥ

suveṇi-paṭa-bhūṣaṇāḥ smarata rādhikā-kiṅkarīḥ ||

suramyā dor-vallī-valaya-gaṇa-keyūra-rucirāḥ

kvaṇat-kāñcī-mañjīraka-maṇi-sutāṭaṅka-lalitāḥ |

lasad-veṇī vakṣoruha-mukula-hārāvali-rucaḥ

smarānanya-snigdhāḥ kanaka-ruci-rādhāṅghry-anucarīḥ ||

     “Meditate upon Śrī Rādhikā’s youthful handmaids, who have radiant, golden complexions and are the embodiments of charm. Their waists are lovely and slender; their hips and breasts well-formed. From their noses dangle lustrous pearls set in gold and fine jewels. Their hair is tied in elegant braids and they dress in silken cloth.

     “Meditate upon Śrī Rādhā’s delightful, golden-hued handmaids, who are devoted to none but her. Their delicate creeper-like arms are adorned with exquisite bracelets and armlets. They are decorated with jingling waist-bells, anklets, jeweled earrings and glistening plaits. Their beauty is enhanced by the luster of the necklaces resting on their budding breasts.”

     Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya is saying that the confidential bhajana of Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava in the mood of Śrī Rādhā’s kiṅkarīs in Vraja, the abode of sweetness, is beyond the reach of Vedic injunctions. beda-bidhi-agocara, ratana-bedīra para, seba niti kiśora-kiśorī. The Vedas discuss karma, jñāna and upāsanā. In the chapter on upāsanā, or worship, the topics mostly relate to vidhi-bhakti or the worship of Bhagavān’s majestic forms. In this particular kali-yuga, Śrī Gaurāṅga Mahāprabhu’s compassionate contribution, never before offered, is Vraja’s sweet mañjarī-bhāva-upāsanā. Śrīmat Prabodhānanda Sarasvatīpāda has written the following in Śrī-Caitanya-Candrāmṛtam 111:

śrīmad-bhāgavatasya yatra paramaṁ tātparyam uṭṭaṅkitaṁ

śrī-vaiyāsakinā duranvayatayā rāsa-prasaṅge’pi yat |

yad-rādhā-rati-keli-nāgara-rasāsvādaika-sad-bhājanaṁ

tad-vastu-prathanāya gaura-vapuṣā loke’vatīrṇo hariḥ ||

     “Because the highest meaning of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the cream of all vedānta, is very confidential and difficult to comprehend, Śrī Vyāsa’s son Śrīpāda Śukadeva Muni has only given a hint of it in his discourse on rāsa-līlā. To relish the erotic pastimes of Śrī Rādhārāṇī’s lover Śrī Kṛṣṇa and to propagate in the world the madhura-rasa type of prema, which is the cause of such enjoyment, Śrī Hari descended in the form of Gaurāṅga.”

     Therefore, this confidential worship of Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa sitting on a jeweled loveseat under a desire tree in Śrī Vṛndāvana, which is beyond the reach of Vedic injunctions, is the extraordinary good fortune of the jīvas of kali-yuga. The people of kali-yuga should take shelter at Śrī Gaura’s lotus feet and perform the transcendental bhajana or sevā of Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava. Hence, Śrīmat Prabodhānanda Sarasvatīpāda has written the following in Śrī-Caitanya-Candrāmṛtam 34:

are mūḍhā gūḍhāṁ vicinuta harer bhakti-padavīṁ

davīyasyā dṛṣṭyāpy aparicita-pūrvāṁ muni-varaiḥ |

na viśrambhaś citte yadi yadi ca daurlabhyam iva tat

parityajyāśeṣaṁ vrajata śaraṇaṁ gaura-caraṇam ||

     “O deluded ones! Search out the confidential service of Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava’s lotus feet. In previous times, even the wisest of sages were unable to obtain this knowledge. (Because of this, there is nothing said about it in the Vedas.) If you have no faith in this or if you think it is very difficult to attain (even for sages), then just give up everything and take shelter of Śrī Gaurāṅga’s lotus feet.” The implication is that by doing this, one will no doubt be blessed with the qualification for this esoteric bhajana.

*“Śrī Kṛṣṇa is said to possess the hue of the sapphire. Here he has been likened to an emerald apparently due to his color being blended with the golden hue of the gopīs and thus appearing green rather than cerulean.” From a comment on Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.33.7 (Gītā Press Edition)

Śrī Śrī Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā 89 (comm. by Śrī Anantadāsa Bābājī Mahārāja)

রাধিকা প্রেয়সীবরা,        বামা দিক্-মনোহরা,

কনক-কেশর-কান্তি ধরে ।

অনুরাগে রক্তশাড়ী,        নীলপট্টমনোহারী,

মণিময় আভরণ পরে ॥ ৮৯ ॥

rādhikā preyasī-barā,        bāmā dik-manoharā,

kanaka-keśara-kānti dhare |

anurāge rakta-śāḍī,        nīla-paṭṭa-manohārī,

maṇimaya ābharaṇa pare || 89 ||

     Śrī Rādhikā is Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s dearest sweetheart. She is strong-willed by nature; she charms the whole world. Her complexion is golden like the filaments of a lotus. She wears a crimson petticoat to express her hidden love. She looks enchanting wearing her dark blue dress and adorned with jeweled ornaments.

     टीका–नीलपट्ट-कृष्णवर्ण-सादृश्येन । अनुरागे–अनुरागेण हेतुना । वामा–वाम स्वभाव ॥

Kṛṣṇa’s Favorite: Śrī Rādhā

     Sudhā-Kaṇikā-Vyākhyā: In the commentary on the pīriti sukhera duṅhu bandhu segment of the previous verse, it was said that without Śrī Rādhārāṇī, Śrī Kṛṣṇa is unable to find joy even in the company of countless gopīs. In this verse, Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya explains the reason for that by describing Śrī Rādhārāṇī. He first says, rādhikā preyasī-barā, bāmā dik-manoharā, kanaka-keśara-kānti dhare. Śrī Rādhārāṇī is the crest jewel of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s lovers. All of the vraja-gopīs who are Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s lovers are to be regarded as Śrī Rādhārāṇī’s bodily expansions; Śrī Rādhā is incomparable in beauty, good qualities and prema. We find the following description in Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā, chapter 4:

kṛṣṇa-kāntā-gaṇa dekhi tribidha prakāra | 

eka lakṣmī-gaṇa pure mahiṣī-gaṇa āra ||

brajāṅganā-rūpa āra kāntā-gaṇa sāra | 

śrī-rādhikā haite kāntā-gaṇera bistāra ||

lakṣmī-gaṇa tāṅra baibhaba-bilāsāṁśa-rūpa | 

mahiṣī-gaṇa baibhaba-prakāśa-svarūpa ||

ākāra svabhāba bhede braja-debī-gaṇa | 

kāya-byūha-rūpa tāṅra rasera kāraṇa ||

bahu kāntā binā nahe rasera ullāsa | 

līlāra sahāya lāgi bahuta prakāśa ||

tāra madhye braje nānā bhāba rasa-bhede | 

kṛṣṇake karāya rāsādika līlāsvāde ||

gobindānandinī rādhā gobinda-mohinī | 

gobinda-sarbasva sarba-kāntā-śiromaṇi ||

     “Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s lovers are seen to be of three types: the goddesses of fortune, the queens of Dvārakā and, best of all, the beautiful girls of Vraja. They are all expansions of Śrī Rādhikā. The lakṣmīs are partial expressions of her vaibhava-vilāsa and the queens represent her vaibhava-prakāśa. The Vrajadevīs are all unique in appearance and nature. They are expansions of Śrī Rādhā’s body and are the instruments of rasa. Without many lovers the rasa does not come forth, so there are many manifested in Vraja with various natures and sentiments favorable to the līlā. They cause Śrī Kṛṣṇa to enjoy the rāsa-līlā and other pastimes. Śrī Rādhā gives joy to Govinda, enchants Govinda and is everything to Govinda. She is the crest-jewel of his lovers.”

     The reason that Śrī Rādhārāṇī is everything to Govinda, and the crest-jewel of all his lovers, is that present within her is the mahābhāva (great love) known as mādana, which intoxicates the transcendental young God of Love Śrī Kṛṣṇa. This treasure of love belongs only to Śrī Rādhārāṇī. She possesses extraordinary qualities that have arisen from this mādanākhya-mahābhāva which are not possible in any other lover. A few of those qualities can be seen in this verse from the Bṛhad-Gautamīya-Tantra:

devī kṛṣṇa-mayī proktā rādhikā para-devatā |
sarva-lakṣmī-mayī sarva-kāntiḥ sammohinī parāḥ ||

     “Śrī Rādhikā has been described as devī, kṛṣṇa-mayī, para-devatā, sarva-lakṣmī-mayī, sarva-kānti, sammohinī and parā.” These qualities have been explained in Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Ādi 4.84-88:

debī kahi–dyotamānā paramā sundarī | 

kimbā kṛṣṇa-pūjā-krīḍāra basati nagarī ||

kṛṣṇa-mayī–kṛṣṇa yāra antare bāhire | 

yāṅhā yāṅhā netra paḍe tāṅhā kṛṣṇa sphure ||

kimbā prema-rasa-maya kṛṣṇera svarūpa | 

tāṅra śakti tāṅra saha haya eka-rūpa ||

kṛṣṇa-bāñchā-pūrti-rūpa kare ārādhane | 

ataeba ‘rādhikā’ nāma purāṇe bākhāne ||

     “The word devī means a brilliant and most beautiful young woman; or it can also mean the abode of Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes and worship. Kṛṣṇa-mayī means one for whom Śrī Kṛṣṇa is within and without; wherever her eyes may fall, Kṛṣṇa appears. Or, Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s form is filled with the nectar of love and his śakti is identical with him. Through her worship she fulfills all of Kṛṣṇa’s desires; she is therefore known in the Purāṇas as Rādhikā.” Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.30.28 says the following:

anayārādhito nūnaṁ bhagavān harir īśvaraḥ | 

yan no vihāya govindaḥ prīto yām anayad rahaḥ ||

     During the great rāsa dance, Śrī Kṛṣṇa took Śrī Rādhārāṇī from the circle of gopīs and disappeared. When searching diligently for Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the other gopīs came upon Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa’s lotus footprints. After seeing that Candrāvalī and their other rivals had become extremely perturbed, Śrī Rādhā’s gopī friends said, “This girl has surely given abundant service to Bhagavān Lord Hari because Govinda abandoned all of us and led her with great pleasure to a secluded place.” From Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Ādi 4.89-95:

ataeba sarba-pūjyā parama-debatā | 

sarba-pālikā sarba-jagatera mātā ||

‘sarba-lakṣmī’-śabda pūrbe kariyāchi byākhyāna | 

sarba-lakṣmī-gaṇera teṅho haya adhiṣṭhāna ||

kimbā ‘sarba-lakṣmī’–kṛṣṇera ṣaḍ-bidha aiśvarya | 

tāṅra adhiṣṭhātrī śakti–sarba-śakti-barya ||

sarba-saundarya-kānti baisaye yāṅhāte | 

sarba-lakṣmī-gaṇera śobhā haya yāṅhā haite ||

kimbā ‘kānti’-śabde kṛṣṇera saba icchā kahe | 

kṛṣṇera sakala bāñchā rādhātei rahe ||

rādhikā karena kṛṣṇera bāñchita pūraṇa | 

‘sarba-kānti’-śabdera ei artha bibaraṇa ||

jagata-mohana kṛṣṇa, tāṅhāra mohinī | 

ataeba samastera parā ṭhākurāṇī ||

     “Therefore, Śrī Rādhā is to be worshiped by all. She is the supreme goddess, the guardian of all and the mother of the entire world. I have already given one explanation of the phrase sarva-lakṣmī: she is the basis of all the goddesses of fortune. Or, sarva-lakṣmī means she is the presiding deity of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s six opulences. She is the greatest of all śaktis. Sarva-kānti means that all beauty and grace rest within her; the loveliness of the lakṣmīs originates in her. Or, the word kānti can mean the totality of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s desires; all of his desires live in Śrī Rādhā. Śrī Rādhikā fulfills all of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s desires. This is the meaning of sarva-kānti. Śrī Kṛṣṇa enchants the entire universe, but Śrī Rādhā enchants even him. Therefore, she is the supreme goddess.”

     For these reasons, Śrī Rādhārāṇī is Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s most beloved sweetheart. Moreover, Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya describes her as vāmā, meaning she is strong-willed by nature. aher iva gatiḥ premṇaḥ svabhāva-kuṭilā bhavet; ato hetor ahetoś ca yūnor māna udañcati. “Just as the movement of a snake is by nature crooked, in the same way, the movement of prema is naturally crooked. Therefore, with or without cause, the pride of Śrī Kṛṣṇa and his Vraja girlfriends may at any time appear.” Śrī Rādhārāṇī is above all others. We see the following in Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Madhya 14.160-162:

gopī-gaṇa madhye śreṣṭhā rādhā-ṭhākurāṇī | 

nirmala-ujjvala-rasa-prema-ratna-khani ||

bayase ‘madhyamā’ teṅho–svabhābete samā | 

gāḍha prema-bhābe teṅho nirantara ‘bāmā’ ||

bāmya-svabhābe ‘māna’ uṭhe nirantara | 

uṅhāra bāmye uṭhe kṛṣṇera ānanda-sāgara ||

     “Among all the gopīs, Śrī Rādhā Ṭhākurāṇī is the best; she is a jewel-mine of pure and passionate love. In age, she is neither youngest nor oldest. She is equable in disposition. Though deeply in love, she remains strong-willed. From her contrary nature, indignation rises within her, causing Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s ocean of joy to swell.”

     Moreover, Śrī Rādhārāṇī is dik-manoharā, meaning she captivates all the mobile and immobile creatures in all ten directions. Śrīmat Prabodhānanda Sarasvatīpāda has described Śrī Rādhā’s enchanting form in his Saṅgīta-Mādhava 2.29-39:

vara-sīmanta-rasāmṛta-saraṇī-dhṛta-sindūra-surekhām |

śrī-vṛṣabhānu-kulāmbudhi-sambhava-subhaga-sudhākara-lekhām ||

smaratu mano mama niravadhi rādhām |

madhupati-rūpa-guṇa-śravaṇodita-sahaja-manobhava-bādhām ||

surucira-kavari-virājita-komala-parimala-malli-sumālām |

mada-cala-khañjana-khelana-gañjana-locana-kamala-viśālām ||

mada-karirāja-virājad anuttama-calita-lalita-gati-bhaṅgīm |

atisukumāra-kanaka-nava-campaka-gaura-madhura-madhurāṅgīm ||

maṇi-keyūra-lalita-valayāvali-maṇḍita-mṛdu-bhuja-vallīm |

pratipadam adbhuta-rūpa-camatkṛti-mohana-yuvati-matallīm ||

mṛdu-mṛdu-hāsa-lalita-mukha-maṇḍala-kṛta-śaśi-bimba-viḍambām |

kiṅkiṇi-jāla-khacita-pṛthu-sundara-nava-rasa-rāśi-nitambām ||

citrita-kañculikā-sthagitodbhaṭa-kuca-hāṭaka-ghaṭa-śobhām |

sphurad-aruṇādhara-sīdhu-sudhā-rasa-kṛta-hari-mānasa-lobhām ||

sundara-cibuka-virājita-mohana-mecaka-bindu-vilāsām |

sakanaka-ratna-khacita-pṛthu-mauktika-ruci-rucirojjvala-nāsām ||

ujjvala-rāga-rasāmṛta-sāgara-sāra-tanuṁ sukha-rūpām |

nipatita-mādhava-mugdha-mano-mṛga-nābhi-sudhā-rasa-kūpām ||

nūpura-hāra-manohara-kuṇḍala-kṛta-rucim aruṇa-dukūlām |

pathi pathi madana-madākula-gokula-candra-kalita-pada-mūlām ||

rasika-sarasvatī-gīta-mahādbhuta-rādhā-rūpa-rahasyam |

vṛndāvana-rasa-lālasa-manasām idam upageyam avaśyam ||

     “May my mind always remember Śrī Rādhā, who appeared from the ocean of Vṛṣabhānu’s family like a lovely crescent moon. She wears a beautiful vermilion streak in the part of her hair, which is like a channel for the flow of nectar. When she hears about Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s form, qualities and so on, she spontaneously feels lovesick. In her beautiful braid she wears a splendid garland of soft and fragrant jasmine flowers. The movements of her large eyes, excited with joy, defeat the dancing of a restless wagtail. Her captivating gait is graceful like that of an elephant king in rut. Her delicate and charming form is yellowish in color, like a fresh golden campaka flower. Her soft, slender arms are adorned with jeweled armlets and bangles. At every moment, her extraordinary and astonishing beauty creates wonder in all the young women. Her delightful, gently smiling face is more radiant than a full moon. She wears strings of tiny bells around her shapely hips, the embodiments of ever-fresh rasa. A colorful bodice covers the beauty of her flawless, golden-pot breasts. The nectar of her beguiling reddish lips allures Śrī Hari’s mind. Her exquisite chin is adorned with an elegant dot of musk, and her lovely nose is enhanced by the luster of a large pearl set in gold and jewels. Her body is the essence of the ocean of the nectar of passionate love. She is the embodiment of happiness. The enchanted deer of Mādhava’s mind has fallen into the well of nectar that is her navel. Her bodily luster is made brighter by her ankle bells, necklaces and earrings; she wears a crimson dress. Gokulacandra becomes intoxicated by love when he sees Śrī Rādhā’s footprints on the pathways. Those whose hearts and minds long for vṛndāvana-rasa should sing about the mysterious and extraordinary form of Śrī Rādhā as described by the rasika Prabodhānanda Sarasvatī.”

     Another reading is bāma-dike manoharā, which means “Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s beloved Śrī Rādhā looks very beautiful standing at his left side.” Śrīmat Prabodhānanda Sarasvatīpāda wrote the following in Saṅgīta-Mādhava 2.43:

cetaḥ kām api kunda-sundara-sudhā-niḥsyandi-mandasmita-

jyotir-mohana-vaktra-candra-vigalat-premāmṛtāmbho-nidhim |

pratyaṅgocchalitānurāga-sahajānaṅgotsavaikāvadhiṁ

śrī-vṛndāvana-candra-durmada-manaś-caurīṁ kiśorīṁ smara ||

     “O mind! Always remember Śrī Rādhā, the indescribable jewel among young women, who steals the lovesick mind and heart of Śrī Vṛndāvanacandra. An ocean of sweet love flows from her captivating moonlike face, illumined by the luster of her gentle smile, beautiful and oozing nectar like a jasmine flower. Passion surges through her every limb; she is the singular limit of the natural festival of love.”

     Then, to describe the beauty of Śrī Rādhārāṇī’s complexion, dress and ornaments, Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya said, kanaka-keśara-kānti dhare, anurāge rakta-śāḍī, nīla-paṭṭa-manohārī, maṇimaya ābharaṇa pare. Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, whose complexion is golden like the filaments of a lotus, looks enchantingly beautiful as she stands on the left side of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, whose complexion is deep-blue, like a brilliant sapphire. The love for Kṛṣṇa in her heart manifests as a scarlet petticoat on her lovely form. Red is the color of anurāga or passion. Śrīmatī keeps her love for Kṛṣṇa hidden in her heart; accordingly, she wears a scarlet undergarment. Śrīmatī is devoted to Śyāma, so she has great fondness for the color blue. She always looks very charming in her elegant dark blue dress. For Śyāma’s happiness, Śrīmatī adorns her graceful limbs with ornaments made of gems and jewels.