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

सद्गन्ध-माल्य-नवचन्द्र-लवङ्ग-सङ्ग-

ताम्बूलसम्पुटमधीश्वरि मां वहन्तीम् ।

श्यामं तमुन्मदरसादभिसंसरन्ती

श्रीराधिके करुणयानुचरीं विधेहि ॥ ४४ ॥

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

tāmbūla-sampuṭam adhīśvari māṁ vahantīm |

śyāmaṁ tam unmada-rasād abhisaṁsarantī

śrī-rādhike karuṇayānucarīṁ vidhehi || 44 ||

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

A Madwoman’s Tryst

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

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

sarvāvasthāsu sarvatra tan-manaskatayā sadā |

atasmiṁs tad iti bhrāntir unmāda iti kīrtitaḥ ||

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

bandhura lāgiyā, yoginī haiba, kuṇḍala pariba kāṇe |

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

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

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

śuna bāndhava! kṛṣṇera mādhurī |

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

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

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

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

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

———————————————————

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

krūrāṇām alināṁ kulair malinayā kṛtyaṁ na me mālayā

bālāhaṁ kim u narmaṇas tava padaṁ dūrī-bhava prāṅgaṇāt |

ity ādīni durakṣarāṇi paritaḥ svapne tathā jāgare

jalpantī jalajekṣaṇā kṣapayati kleśena rātriṁ divam ||

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

vitanvānas tanvā marakata-rucīnāṁ ruciratāṁ

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

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

kiṁ svapnasya vilakṣaṇā gatir iyaṁ kiṁ jāgarasyātha vā

kiṁ rātrer upasattir eva rabhasād ahnaḥ kim ahnāya vā |

itthaṁ śyāmala-candrikā-paricaya-syandena sandīpitair

antaḥ-kṣobha-kulair ahaṁ parivṛtā prajñātum ajñābhavam ||

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

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

dekha rāi karata abhisāra |

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

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

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

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

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

1. Unmada and unmāda are both accepted spellings.

2.  A woman maddened by love

My books are 15% off through October 24, 2025.

     My translations of Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā and Bhāvanā-Sāra-Saṅgrahaḥ are both 15% off through October 24, 2025. Use the code HAUNTEDTALES15. Click on the book images on the right of the blog page. Applies to print copies only.

My books are 15% off through October 10, 2025.

     My translations of Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā and Bhāvanā-Sāra-Saṅgrahaḥ are both 15% off through October 10, 2025. Use the code PRINTPROJECT15. Click on the book images on the right of the blog page. Applies to print copies only.

Śrī-Rādhā-Rasa-Sudhā-Nidhiḥ 43 (comm. by Śrī Anantadāsa Bābājī Mahārāja)

 

सङ्केतकुञ्जनिलये मृदुपल्लवेन

कॢप्ते कदापि नवसङ्ग-भय-त्रपाढ्याम् ।

अत्याग्रहेण करवारिरुहे गृहीत्वा

नेष्ये विटेन्द्र-शयने वृषभानुपुत्रीम् ॥ ४३ ॥

saṅketa-kuñja-nilaye mṛdu-pallavena

kḷpte kadāpi nava-saṅga-bhaya-trapāḍhyām |

atyāgraheṇa kara-vāriruhe gṛhītvā

neṣye viṭendra-śayane vṛṣabhānu-putrīm || 43 ||

“Śrī Rādhikā is apprehensive and shy about her first meeting with the king of paramours. When will I eagerly take her by her lotus hand to the bed of tender sprouts that he made in the bower house?”

Charming Śrī Rādhā

Rasa-Varṣiṇī-Vyākhyā: Śrīpāda was tasting unprecedented sevā-rasa while engrossed in his svarūpa. The ocean of prema had begun to churn and in a vision he experienced sevā-rasa mixed with mādhurya-rasa. As a result of that, he felt anxious and wept when the vision ended. Memories, dreams and visions can cause the desire for direct attainment to awaken in a powerful way. It is difficult for him to sustain his life without direct sevā to his cherished one. Weeping, he prayed,

jāno’yaṁ yācate duḥkhī rudann uccair idaṁ muhuḥ |

tat-padāmbhoja-yugmaika-gatiḥ kātaratāṁ gataḥ ||

kṛtvā nija-gaṇasyāntaḥ kāruṇyān nija-sevane |

niyojaya tu māṁ sākṣāt seyaṁ vṛndāvaneśvarī ||

“Tormented by separation from Śrī Rādhā, this miserable person repeatedly cries in a loud voice, asking that Śrī Vṛndāvaneśvarī please show compassion to her own followers and include me among them. Please engage me in her direct service because her lotus feet are my only refuge.” (Viśākhānandada-Stotram 129-130) Such intense yearning is the lifeblood of bhajana. parama nāgara kṛṣṇa, tāhe hao atitṛṣṇa, bhaja tāṅre braja-bhāba laiyā (Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā 98). “O mind, long for the supreme lover Śrī Kṛṣṇa and worship him in the Vraja mood.” iṣṭe gāḍha-tṛṣṇā rāgera svarūpa-lakṣaṇa (Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛtam, Madhya 22.151). “Deep longing for one’s desired object is the natural characteristic of rāga.” If the desire to attain one’s cherished deity is strong, an aversion to anything that is inimical to bhajana will arise. If something is unfavorable for bhajana, even though it may be charitable, it must be given up. Even if one’s iṣṭadeva speaks against bhajana, one should understand it as a test and not accept it. If one’s bhajana is ruined, everything will be ruined. Bhajana is the way, bhajana is the goal. There is no way to attain Śrī Kṛṣṇa without bhajana. Mahāprabhu is always submerged in bhajana-rasa in the company of his bhaktas.

caṇḍidāsa bidyāpati, rāyera nāṭaka-gīti, karṇāmṛta śrī-gīta-govinda |

svarūpa-rāmānanda-sane, mahāprabhu rātri-dine, gāya śune parama ānanda ||

“Along with Svarūpa Dāmodara and Rāmānanda Rāya, Mahāprabhu would day and night joyfully hear and sing the songs of Caṇḍidāsa and Vidyāpati, Rāmānanda’s Jagannātha-Vallabha-Nāṭakam, Kṛṣṇa-Karṇāmṛtam and Śrī-Gīta-Govindam.” (Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛtam, Madhya 2.77) One must learn about the flow of bhajana from the ācāryas. They are immersed in bhajana-rasa throughout the day and night with no fatigue. A mahājana has written,

chāpānna-daṇḍa rātri-dine, rādhā-kṛṣṇa guṇa-gāne, smaraṇete sadāi goṁyāya |

cari-daṇḍa supti thāke, svapne rādhā-kṛṣṇe dekhe, eka-kṣaṇa byartha nāhi yāya ||

“They spend twenty-two hours and twenty-four minutes, day and night, singing about Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa’s qualities and meditating. They sleep for one hour and thirty-six minutes. They see Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa in their dreams. Not a moment is wasted.” Śrīpāda Raghunātha Dāsa Gosvāmī’s bhajana-niṣṭhā (devotion to bhajana) has been described in the sixth wave of Bhakti-Ratnākara:

yadyapi śuṣka-deha bātase hālaya |

tathāpi nirbandha-kriyā saba samādhaya ||

bhūme paḍi praṇami uṭhite nāhi pāre |

ithe ye niṣedhe kichu nā kahaye tāre ||

anukūla haile praśaṁsaye bāra bāra |

dekhiyā sādhanāgraha debeo camatkāra ||

“Even though his emaciated body trembled in the wind, he still performed all of his prescribed actions. Sometimes, when he fell to the ground to offer obeisance, he would be unable to rise. If someone opposed him, he said nothing; if someone was favorable, he would praise that person repeatedly. Even the gods were astonished to see such enthusiasm for sādhana.”

Though being a nitya-parikara, Śrīpāda Sarasvaticaraṇa desired to practice the smaraṇa limb of bhajana while in sādhaka-consciousness. śrī-rādhikā-vadana-candram ahaṁ smarāmi. “I remember the moonlike face of Śrī Rādhikā.” His heart was filled with anguish. Before long, a vision appeared. An image of the līlā of Śrī Yugala’s first meeting manifested before him. Today, Śrī Rādhā, the jewel among eternally youthful girls, is mugdhā: innocent, charming and beautiful.

mugdhā nava-vayaḥ-kāmā ratau vāmā sakhī-vaśā |

rati-ceṣṭāsu savrīḍa-cāru-gūḍha-prayatna-bhāk ||

“A young woman who is beginning to feel passion, is contrary regarding love, is submissive to her friends, who is shy but agreeable during love-play, and who is secretly diligent about that is called mugdhā.” (Śrī-Ujjvala-Nīlamaṇi 5.13) Śrīmatī longs to see Kṛṣṇa, but when a girl first meets with her boyfriend, she is apprehensive and shy. This is the mādhurya of the sequential or manifest pastimes. Their eternally perfect sweet love (madhura-rati) gradually blossoms in the succession of līlās, beginning with pūrva-rāga. From the time of their acquaintance with Kṛṣṇa, these mugdhā girls had dedicated themselves to him. But at that time, the desire for love-play had not yet appeared, so there was none, even though their love for him was complete. At the rise of adolescence, Kandarpa appears in the heart as the thirst for sexual union. That longing unites with rati, causing every action of the girls’ bodies, minds and words to become a meditation on making Kṛṣṇa happy.

Śrīmatī was eager to meet with Kṛṣṇa and please him, but she was inexperienced, apprehensive about their first meeting and shy. The sakhīs had previously sent Śyāmasundara to the trysting bower. In the bower house, the impassioned lover created a bed and pillows made of fresh, tender sprouts with his own trembling hands. The bed was soaked with his tears of love. The sakhīs started walking in a particular direction under the pretense of collecting flowers for sūrya-pūjā.  They slowly and carefully led Śrīmatī toward the bower. Svāminī was thinking that her sakhīs must have some mysterious reason for bringing her so far to pick flowers today. Suddenly, she saw Śyāmasundara at the bower gate and felt bashful, contrary, anxious and agitated. With quick steps, she turned and headed for home. Kṛṣṇa was captivated by Śrīmatī’s mood and movements. Śrīmatī is socially equal to her sakhīs, so the sakhīs gestured to the kiṅkarīs, who are devoted to sevā, to assemble. The sakhīs then walked a little out of view under the guise of picking flowers. Even though the kiṅkarīs are also sakhīs, Śrīmatī feels less shy and hesitant with them. Śrīpāda, in dāsī form, is trying to persuade Svāminī to enter the kuñja. Śrīmatī says,

e sakhi e sakhi! lai jani yāha | muñi ati bālika, abanata nāha ||

pāśa yāite aba jiu mora kāṁpe | kāṁcā kamala bhramara karu jhāṁpe ||

dubara deha mora jhāṁpala cīra | yanu ḍagamaga kare nalinīko nīra ||

“O friend! O friend! If you go, I will follow. I am a chaste young girl. If he simply walks by me, I begin to tremble. He is like a bumblebee rushing toward a lotus bud. Cover my delicate body with a cloth, like a lotus immersed in a pond.” (Vidyāpati)

Seeing that Śrīmatī was distressed due to her shyness and apprehension about her first meeting with Kṛṣṇa, the kiṅkarī held her lotus hand and reassured her by saying, “Svāminī! Don’t worry; just go into the kuñja. Glance at the son of the king of Vraja, whom you are always anxious to see, and start a little conversation with him. Don’t miss this opportunity. kāhe ḍarasi dhani calu hāma saṅga, mādhaba nahi paraśiba tuyā aṅga. O fortunate one! What is there to fear? I’m going with you. Mādhava will not touch your body.” (Harivallabha) After comforting her like this, the kiṅkarī carefully held Śrīmatī’s hand and led her to the bed of fresh sprouts. Their first meeting! What a sweet experience! This solitary meeting came about by the many efforts of countless energetic and eager sakhīs. This intense eagerness of Parabrahma for Śrī Rādhā, and the passionate love of the embodiment of mahābhāva for Śrī Kṛṣṇa, can only be known in the heart of a premika-bhakta. They also know how this impossible event becomes possible. The karmīs, jñānīs and yogīs are far from this. Devotees of aiśvarya-jñāna are also far from this. Even the bhaktas of other vraja-rasas, like dāsya, vātsalya and so on find it difficult to comprehend. Only through devotion to Śrī Rādhā’s sakhīs and mañjarīs, who have taken shelter of madhura-rasa, can one appreciate the sweetness of this truth. For tasting the varieties of rasa, Parabrahma and his hlādinī-śakti Śrī Rādhā have manifested as two, though being eternally one. Each is the abode of the object of love and the source of love.

The kiṅkarī has taken the young and beautiful Svāminī to the pleasure-bed of the king of paramours and then left the bower. How sweet Svāminī’s graceful form is when her moods of shyness, respect, apprehension, desire, contrariness and so on converge! A brief meeting, therefore a brief delight.

 

kānu badana heri, uchalita antara, lāje basane mukha jhāṁpa |

īṣad avalokane, chala chala locane, keli-samāgame kāṁpa ||

dekha sakhi rāika ḍhaṅga |

kānuka adaraśe, aiche beyākula, daraśane iha cita-raṅga ||

rāi-badana heri, lubadhala mādhaba, kore baiṭhāyali gorī |

kuca kara paraśane, camaki uṭhaye dhanī, cumbane raha mukha moḍi ||

bhuje bhuje bandhana, dṛḍha-parirambhaṇa, adhare adhara rasa nela |

gobinda dāsa pahuṁ, pūrala manoratha, naba  naba saṅgama bhela ||

“Rādhikā’s heart swelled when she saw Kṛṣṇa’s face; she shyly covered her own face with her veil. She briefly looked at him with restless eyes. She began to tremble as the love-play began. Look, O friend, Rādhikā is flirting! When she could not see him, she was anxious; when she could, she was delighted. Kṛṣṇa was enchanted by seeing Rādhikā’s face, so he sat her on his lap. She was startled when Kṛṣṇa touched her breasts. When he tried to kiss her, she turned her face away. He embraced her and drank the nectar of her lips. Govinda Dāsa says, ‘Prabhu fulfilled his heart’s desire with ever-fresh trysts.’” (Pada-Kalpa-Taru)

The word viṭendra in this verse should be understood to mean “he who is the king of the paramours.” Having accepted this definition, one should not think that there is more than one such paramour in the world. In fact, braja binā ihāra anyatra nāhi bāsa (Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛtam, Ādi 4.47). “This love exists nowhere but Vraja.” In Vraja, the Supreme Lord has adopted the mood of a paramour to enjoy the essence of rasa. No one but Vrajendranandana can be such a paramour. In this mood, he is tasting some extraordinary rasa-mādhurī. Because of this, the word indra (king) has been used after the word viṭa (paramour) for this unimaginable transcendental manifestation. Śrīpāda’s mystical vision has ended. He wept as he cried out, “O Rādhā! You are apprehensive and shy about your first meeting with the king of paramours. When will I eagerly take you by your lotus hand to the bed of tender sprouts that he made in the bower?”

My books are 15% off through September 26, 2025.

     My translations of Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā and Bhāvanā-Sāra-Saṅgrahaḥ are both 15% off through September 26, 2025. Use the code HARVEST15. Click on the book images on the right of the blog page. Applies to print copies only.

My books are 15% off through September 12, 2025.

     My translations of Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā and Bhāvanā-Sāra-Saṅgrahaḥ are both 15% off through September 12, 2025. Use the code PHOTOBOOK15. Click on the book images on the right of the blog page. Applies to print copies only.

Śrī-Rādhā-Rasa-Sudhā-Nidhiḥ 42 (comm. by Śrī Anantadāsa Bābājī Mahārāja)

प्रेमोल्लसद्रसविलास-विकाशकन्दं

गोविन्द-लोचन-वितृप्तचकोरपेयम् ।

सिञ्चन्तमद्भुतरसामृत-चन्द्रिकौघैः

श्रीराधिकावदनचन्द्रमहं स्मरामि ॥ ४२ ॥

premollasad-rasa-vilāsa-vikāśa-kandaṁ

govinda-locana-vitṛpta-cakora-peyam |

siñcantam adbhuta-rasāmṛta-candrikaughaiḥ

śrī-rādhikā-vadana-candram ahaṁ smarāmi || 42 ||

“I always remember the moonlike face of Śrī Rādhā, which showers its nectarous rays to be drunk by the thirsty cakora-like eyes of Śrī Govinda, and which nourishes the seed of their delightful pastimes of love.”

Śrī Rādhā’s Moonlike Face

Rasa-Varṣiṇī-Vyākhyā: In the previous verse, Śrīpāda prayed in external consciousness that the desire for rādhā-dāsya would awaken in his heart. As much as feeling or realization grows, hope grows to the same degree. Hope becomes very strong while one is absorbed in his or her svarūpa. During the dawn of bhakti, the sādhaka’s realization of his own inadequacy in contrast to his lofty hope causes him to be restless. Śrīmad Rūpa Gosvāmipāda wrote the following in Utkalikā-Vallarī 26:

kva jano’yam atīva-pāmaraḥ, kva durāpaṁ ratibhāgbhir apy adaḥ |

iyam ullayaty ajarjarā gurur uttarṣa-dhurā tathāpi mām ||

“Where am I, a most foolish person? And where is loving devotion to you, difficult to attain even for bhaktas? Although such devotion is unlikely to happen for me, this great, ever-fresh hope always makes me restless.” Absorption in one’s svarūpa is a beautiful thing. “I am Rādhā’s kiṅkarī.” This absorption removes many anarthas. The sādhaka who is engrossed in his svarūpa feels separation from his cherished one (abhīṣṭa). For one who feels no viraha, not even the desire for meeting can be awakened. There is so much viraha in Vraja. In Bṛhad-Bhāgavatāmṛtam, Gopakumāra said to Janaśarmā, 

sadā mahārtyā karuṇa-svarair udan 

nayāmi rātri-divasāṁś ca kātaraḥ |

na vedmi yad yat sucirād anuṣṭhitaṁ 

sukhāya vā tat tad utārti-sindhave ||

“O Brāhmaṇa, in Vṛndāvana I would always weep in sorrow. I spent my days and nights overwhelmed by viraha. For a long time, I performed all of my sādhanas. Whether I did that because of happiness or sorrow, I cannot understand.” To get such prema for Śrīman Madana-Gopāla is truly an extraordinary thing. As a result of the increase in longing, the feeling of happiness is crushed and sadness is experienced in an astonishing way. For the kiṅkarī whose heart is devoted to Śrī Rādhā, the viraha state is even more unbearable. Śrīpāda Raghunātha Dāsa Gosvāmicaraṇa has said,

tvad-alokana-kālāhi-daṁśair eva mṛtaṁ janam |

tvat-pādābja-milal-lākṣā-bheṣajair devi jīvaya ||

“O Goddess! This poor person has died, bitten by the snake of time, your unseen form. A person killed by a snake-bite can be revived by a specific medicine. The red lac painted on your feet is the great medicine that can restore my life. Please revive this dead person with the gift of seeing and touching this lac.” (Vilāpa-Kusumāñjaliḥ 9) If an intelligent person thinks about this, he or she can understand that there is no other example of this fire of separation in the world. If the sādhaka pleases Bhakti Devī, he will never forget Śrī Rādhā’s lotus feet. She will gradually pull him to those feet through viraha. Śrīpāda’s desire is powerful! “I want nothing but the nectar of your kaiṅkarya-rasa. This desire for service makes my heart and mind constantly restless.” A vision of līlā appeared before his eyes.

Śrī Rādhā was walking to the kuñja with her sakhīs, eager to meet with Kṛṣṇa. The radiance from her moonlike face illuminated Vṛndāvana. Having previously arrived at the saṅketa-kuñja (trysting bower), Śyāmasundara is now looking anxiously toward Svāminī’s path. Svāminījī arrived at the bower gate filled with passion, but when she saw Śyāmasundara inside, she pulled up her veil, turned around and started walking away. She said to her sakhīs, “Why did you bring me here?” Seeing the sweetness of her mood at that time, Śyāmasundara felt excited. The sakhīs pulled Priyājī into the bower and brought her to sit on a flower-strewn seat on Kṛṣṇa’s left side. After pulling her veil up, Svāminījī sat down a little distance from Kṛṣṇa. To relish the loving couple’s sweetness and make it surge (through their clever conversation), the sakhīs sat in front of them on a lower seat. To drive away Śrīmatī’s contrary mood, Kṛṣṇa looked at the sakhīs and said, “O girls with eyes like cakoras! What more shall I say about my good fortune today? As I sat and chanted the gaurī-mantra in this solitary kuñja, an auspicious indication of my greatest happiness appeared. These virtuous girls whose bodily effulgences brighten the horizon have unexpectedly arrived before my eyes.” When Śrī Rādhā, the jewel of charming girls, heard Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s statement, her pupils moved to the edge of her wide, lotus-petal eyes. It was as though the beauty of her sidelong glance had given a silent reply to Śyāmasundara’s words. “We are not virtuous; you are the most virtuous. You are dedicated to the memory and enjoyment of your own favorite gaurī (Candrāvalī) in the kuñja.”

Śrī Kṛṣṇa spoke again, “O friends, today some astrologer said to me, ‘O king of the rasikas (persons of taste or feeling)! Today your throat will be decorated with a necklace made of gold from the Jambu River.’ When Śrīmatī heard Kṛṣṇa’s words, her eyebrows began to dance in delight. The sweetness of her dancing eyebrows gave a silent reply to Śyāma’s words. “‘Today your throat will be decorated with a necklace made of gold from the Jambu River.’ I don’t know what that means. But as long as I am here, my sakhīs will be here. To make them leave the kuñja, I will go out before them.”

Smiling, the sakhīs said, “Śyāmasundara! You are the son of the king of Vraja, so you have no shortage of golden necklaces. Still, today you have by good fortune received a sura-taru (wish-fulfilling tree of heaven).” Kṛṣṇa replied, “Friends, what you say is true. I will be satisfied with just the first three syllables of sura-taru, not to speak of all four (surata means amorous pleasure).”

When Śrīmatī heard this, her moonlike face became brightened by the splendor of her subtle smile, as white as a kunda flower (jasmine). Even though she tried to conceal the radiance of her smile, born of the bhāva named rati, a little was able to shine through. The amazing, nectarous radiance of the smile on Śrī Rādhā’s moonlike face nurtures the seed of her joyful, prema-filled rasika pastimes and provides a drink for Govinda’s thirsty cakora-like eyes. Just as Śrī Kṛṣṇa turned his face to the left to taste the sweetness of Śrīmatī’s splendorous smile, she also turned her own moonlike face to the left. The swaying of her right earring caused a beautiful glow to reflect upon her cheek. Kṛṣṇa is overwhelmed by joy. The meeting of pride, delight, shyness, anxiety, restlessness, inertia and other sañcārī-bhāvas on Śrīmatī’s moonlike face is creating an effulgence of exquisite beauty. When the nāyaka, thirsty for śṛṅgāra-rasa, sees her moonlike face, the seed of the desire for love-play sprouts in the form of dense goosebumps on his body. Even after drinking the sweet nectar of her moonlike face, he is still not satisfied. His insatiable desire is increasing more and more. The sakhīs and mañjarīs are overwhelmed with joy! The sādhaka will taste this rasa in meditation. How sweet, how clear, how pleasant is the nectar of remembering Śrī Yugala! The sādhaka must enter his or her siddha-svarūpa and try to taste this nectar. One cannot understand this while sitting in the prison of his body. One in the consciousness of being a worldly man or woman is unable to contemplate this supremely delightful love-play. The great teachings of the ācāryas are our support. Through them we will understand the essence of these confidential pastimes. Do not try to submerge your mind in Svāminī’s lotus feet by force, leaving aside the tasting of this rasa. Śrī Rādhā’s moonlike face showers its wonderful splendor on Śyāma’s thirsty cakora-like eyes to increase their satisfaction. The transcendental young god of love has lost himself in a stream of the nectar of mādana-rasa. The astonishing splendor of Śrī Rādhā’s moonlike face is mādana-rasa, and it maddens even the god of love.

The essential teaching for the sādhaka-bhaktas is that the moon of the material world destroys the darkness of the outer world, whereas remembrance of Śrī Rādhā’s moonlike face destroys the darkness of ignorance in the sādhaka’s heart. The sādhaka’s bhakti-kalpa-latā (a creeper that grows toward bhakti) is quickly and fully nourished, the result being flowers of bhāva and fruits of prema. Then he or she gets an unobstructed taste of Śrīmatī’s delightful pastimes of love. As a concomitant result of experiencing the rays of this extraordinary moon, the suffering caused by the three kinds of misery is relieved.(1) In this particular kali-yuga, the astonishing power of the radiance of Śrī Rādhā’s moonlike face has been revealed by Śrī Gauracandra, who has accepted this radiance as his own. Śrīla Kavirāja Gosvāmipāda has written,

sūrya-candra bāhirera tamaḥ se bināśe | 

bahir bastu ghaṭa-paṭa ādi se prakāśe ||

dui bhāi hṛdayera kṣāli andhakāra |

dui-bhāgabata-saṅge karāna sākṣātkāra ||

eka bhāgabata baḍa—bhāgabata śāstra |

āra bhāgabata—bhakta bhakti-rasa pātra ||

dui bhāgabata-dvārā diyā bhakti-rasa |

tāhāra hṛdaye tāra preme haya baśa ||

“The sun and moon destroy the darkness of the outer world, thus revealing external things like pots, cloth and so on. The two brothers (Caitanya and Nityānanda) remove the darkness from the sādhaka’s heart, and along with the two kinds of bhāgavatas, cause him to realize his goal. One kind of bhāgavata is the lofty Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and the other is the bhakta, the vessel of bhakti-rasa. After the Lord gives bhakti-rasa to the sādhakas through the two kinds of bhāgavatas, he becomes submissive to the prema in their hearts.” (Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛtam, Ādi 1.97-100)

Śrī Govinda’s senses have sunk into the rasa of Śrī Rādhā’s sweetness. When Rādhā saw his condition, she veiled her face and replied to Kṛṣṇa’s words in a voice choked with emotion. She spoke in soft, sweet tones as though it were a siddha-mantra from the Kandarpa-Āgama-Śāstra for controlling someone. “O wild elephant! Your three-syllable desire will be fulfilled by the she-elephants of the forest. I am a kalpa-latā (a creeper that fulfills all desires). A kalpa-latā itself does not fulfill anyone’s desires. It is that which is given by the kalpa-latā that fulfills the desires of the one who asks. So I am giving these sakhīs to you; let them fulfill your three-syllable desire.” Hearing this, her playful sakhīs said, “If you give your own lover to us she-elephants,(2) we will run into the forest!” Then they all ran out of the kuñja. When Śrī Rādhā also started to leave with them, Kṛṣṇa embraced her and led her back into the kuñja.(3) The kiṅkarī felt blessed to see Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa’s sweet pastimes. Śrīpāda’s mystic vision came to an end. Humbly considering that Śrī Rādhā’s sevā is difficult to attain, he said, “If I do not have the good fortune of directly seeing the moonlike face of Śrī Rādhā, a precious jewel among charming girls, then let me always keep it in my mind.”

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

 1. ādhibhautika: misery caused by other creatures,  ādhidaivika: misery caused by the gods of nature, and ādhyātmika: misery caused by one’s own mind

2.  The word used here is vana-padminī, which can mean forest-elephant, forest-lotus or beautiful girl of the forest.

3.  This līlā has been quoted from the Ānanda-Candrikā-Vyākhyā of Śrī-Ujjvala-Nīlamaṇi 4.41.