Śrī Śrī Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā 68 (comm. by Śrī Anantadāsa Bābājī Mahārāja)

ব্রজপুর-বনিতার,        চরণ-আশ্রয় সার,

কর মন একান্ত করিয়া ।

অন্য বোল গণ্ডগোল,        না শুনহ উতরোল,

রাখ প্রেম হৃদয়ে ভরিয়া ॥ ৬৮ ॥

brajapura-banitāra,        caraṇa-āśraya sāra,

kara mana ekānta kariyā |

anya bola gaṇḍagola,        nā śunaha utarola,

rākha prema hṛdaye bhariyā || 68 || 

     O mind! Take exclusive shelter at the feet of the girls of Vrajapura. All other talk is just noise; do not listen to it. Keep the surge of love within your heart.

     टीका–उतरोल उत्तरलः ॥

Exclusive Shelter

     Sudhā-Kaṇikā-Vyākhyā: In this verse, Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya is absorbed again in the mood of a sādhaka, his mystic vision having faded. He is giving to his own mind the most essential or most substantial instruction regarding rāgānugā-bhajana: brajapura-banitāra, caraṇa-āśraya sāra, kara mana ekānta kariyā. “O mind! Take exclusive shelter at the feet of the girls of Vrajapura.” We have said that in rāgānugā-bhajana, the sādhaka must contemplate the loving service he performs to Śrī Kṛṣṇa and his companions in his siddha-deha, which has been given by the guru and is suitable for the particular mood of service. During that meditation, the primary focus should be on the bhāva (mood). Without concentrating on the bhāva, a suitable body will be very difficult to attain. The Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava sādhaka worships in gopī-bhāva; therefore, he is able to progress in bhajana to the extent that his longing for gopī-bhāva grows and to the extent his heart and mind are affected by it. Eagerness for the Vrajadevīs’ sweet bhāva and eagerness to know about their method of tasting Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s mādhurya are characteristics of rāgānugā-bhajana. The Vrajadevīs’ sweet mood and their way of tasting Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s sweetness is their personal treasure. Among countless bhaktas, none but them has this unique wealth of bhāva. Therefore, without their mercy, it is impossible to generate a desire for that treasure. To attain their mercy, the sādhaka must take exclusive shelter at their lotus feet. By doing so, he will also become familiar with their bhāva. What can be said of others who don’t follow this bhāva? Even Svayaṁ Vaikuṇṭheśvarī Śrī Lakṣmīdevī does not get to touch the dust of Śrī Vrajendranandana’s lotus feet. On the other hand, the śrutis followed the gopīs. After attaining gopī-bhāva, they became qualified to perform the rāsa dance with Śrī Kṛṣṇa in their gopī bodies. In Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Madhya 9.133-136, Śrīman Mahāprabhu said to Veṅkaṭa Bhaṭṭa,

śruti-saba gopī-gaṇera anugata haiyā |

brajeśvarī-suta bhaje gopī-bhāba laiyā || 

bāhyāntare gopī-deha braje yabe pāila |

sei dehe kṛṣṇa-saṅge rāsa-krīḍā kaila ||

gopa-jāti kṛṣṇa–gopī preyasī tāṅhāra |

debī bā anya strī kṛṣṇa na kare aṅgīkāra ||

lakṣmī cāhe sei dehe kṛṣṇera saṅgama |

gopikā anugā hañā nā kaila bhajana ||

     The śrutis performed bhajana in allegiance to the gopīs and obtained gopī forms, along with the right to serve Śrī Kṛṣṇa in Vraja. This is celebrated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.87.23:

nibhṛta-marun-mano’kṣa-dṛḍha-yoga-yujo hṛdi yan

munaya upāsate tad arayo’pi yayuḥ smaraṇāt |

striya uragendra-bhoga-bhuja-daṇḍa-viṣakta-dhiyo

vayam api te samāḥ sama-dṛśo’ṅghri-saroja-sudhāḥ ||

     The śrutis said to Śrī Kṛṣṇa, “O Lord! The spiritual truth that is worshiped in the hearts of great sages who have controlled their breath, mind and senses is attained even by your enemies simply by remembering you. Moreover, your eternally beloved gopīs, who long for your large, serpentine arms, as well as we who have attained equal vision and a bhāva like theirs, have obtained the nectar of your lotus feet. Meaning, just as the gopīs have obtained the right to serve you in the form of Śrī Nandanandana, we also, in allegiance to them, have obtained gopī forms and have been blessed to taste the sweetness of your sevā.” ‘sama-dṛśaḥ’-śabde kahe sei bhābe anugati, ‘samā’-śabde kahe śrutira gopī-deha prāpti (Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Madhya 8.225). Therefore, there is no way to taste Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa’s ujjvala-rasa-mādhurī than by taking shelter at the lotus feet of the gopīs.

     Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya has instructed his own mind to take exclusive shelter at the feet of the gopikās. Taking exclusive shelter means giving up the mind’s attachment or absorption in any other subject and taking shelter with one’s body, mind and words solely and thoroughly at the feet of the gopīs. Exclusive shelter at the lotus feet of Śrī Rādhārāṇī, the crown-jewel of all gopikās, is the ultimate goal of the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas who are devoted to rādhā-dāsya. Their ekāntitva or deep attachment for their object of devotion is truly amazing. Because the worshipers of Śrī Hari are superior to those worshipers who desire some reward, they are called ekāntī or devoted to one aim. For this reason, they only have faith in spiritual truths. Moreover, those devotees whose hearts and minds are attracted to the form of Śrī Nandanandana are greater than the devotees of any other form of Śrī Hari. Just as Śrī Hari has with deep love accepted exclusive dependence upon them, in the same way, no form of Śrī Hari but Śrī Nandanandana can capture their hearts and minds. Śrīmad Rūpa Gosvāmipāda has written the following in Bhakti-Rasāmṛta-Sindhuḥ 1.2.58:

tatrāpy ekāntināṁ śreṣṭhā govinda-hṛta-mānasāḥ |

yeṣāṁ śrīśa-prasādo’pi mano hartuṁ na śaknuyāt ||

     “Among the exclusive devotees of the various forms of Śrī Hari, the bhaktas whose minds and hearts have been stolen by Śrī Nandanandana are the best, because even the graciousness of the great Śrī Nārāyaṇa, the Lord of the spiritual sky, cannot attract them.” Moreover, those bhaktas who have offered their lives at the lotus feet of Śrī Rādhārāṇī, the crown-jewel of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s girlfriends, and are devoted to mañjarī-bhāva, have such amazing single-mindedness that without Śrī Rādhārāṇī, the magnanimity of Śrī Vrajendranandana alone cannot steal their minds. When Śrī Rādhārāṇī wanted to give him (in his mañjarī form) to Śrī Kṛṣṇa, Śrīmad Raghunātha Dāsa Gosvāmipāda said, tvaṁ cet kṛpāṁ mayi vidhāsyasi naiva kiṁ me, prāṇair vrajena ca varoru bakāriṇāpi (Vilāpa-Kusumāñjali 102). “O Śrī Rādhā! O one with beautiful thighs! If you do not give me your mercy, then what use is my life, my staying in Vraja or even Śrī Kṛṣṇa?” Their faith is only tavaivāsmi tavaivāsmi na jīvāmi tvayā vinā (Vilāpa-Kusumāñjali 96): “O Rādhā! I am yours! I am yours! I cannot live without you!” There is no comparison anywhere to the single-minded devotion in this state of exclusive shelter or highest śaraṇāgati. Therefore, Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya has said, brajapura-banitāra, caraṇa-āśraya sāra, kara mana ekānta kariyā. Those who have accepted engrossment in the body and all related to it, or bear the self-concept of being a physical woman or man, do not take exclusive shelter at Śrī Rādhā’s feet or devote themselves to her. The awakening of one’s own guru-given mañjarī-svarūpa is essential. This svarūpa self-concept does not accept any connection with anyone in the material world. For the sādhaka absorbed in mañjarī-bhāva, the universe is empty without the presence of Śrī Rādhārāṇī’s lotus feet. To the degree of the sādhaka’s devotional practices and mercy from the great souls, his sādhana will be slight, moderate or intense. Accordingly, his eternally perfect, sevā-suitable pārṣada body will at first be indistinct, then gradually somewhat clear and finally very clear. The sādhaka’s self-concept in that pārṣada body also awakens in a similar fashion and he takes shelter at the feet of Śrī Rādhārāṇī, the crown-jewel of the Vraja girls, in the same single-minded way.

     Then Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya said, anya bola gaṇḍagola, nā śunaha utarola, rākha prema hṛdaye bhariyā. “All other talk is just noise; do not listen to it. Keep the surge of love within your heart.” Other than discussions about bhajana in allegiance to the gopīs, all other news is simply useless noise. When we hear and repeat information about some object, it causes our hearts and minds to become absorbed in that object. Thus, for those who practice rāgānugā-bhakti with profound absorption in their cherished object, any discussion about something else is a distraction to their minds. Therefore, after giving up the association of incompatible people and ceasing to hear, speak or think of other news, the mañjarī-bhāva-sādhaka must hear and speak of topics related to his object of desire in the association of affectionate rasika-bhaktas who have similar aspirations.

     Moreover, he said, “Keep the surge of love within your heart.” The meaning is that if the love in your heart overflows and is about to manifest externally, you must endeavor to restrain its force within. It is inappropriate to display symptoms of prema like tears, horripilation or other sāttvika-bhāvas, or anubhāvas like dancing, rolling about and so on, in an assembly of worldly-minded people. Intelligent bhaktas should keep their prema hidden like a great treasure when in the presence of worldly people. Furthermore, if a bhakta allows a surge of prema to manifest externally even in an assembly of virtuous people, his humility will be diminished and he will become famous as a respected premika. Therefore, you must keep your prema hidden safely in your heart at all times. It is seen that if steam is confined in some type of apparatus, it builds up powerful pressure and can help move even a very large machine. In the same way, if powerful prema is confined within a bhakta’s heart, it forces the body-machine to move and very soon brings him to the lotus feet of his cherished object. Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartipāda has written the following in Prema-Sampuṭa 68 regarding Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava’s mutual love:

premā dvayo rasikayor ayi dīpa eva

hṛd-veśma bhāsayati niścala eva bhāti |

dvārād ayaṁ vadanatas tu bahis-kṛtaś cet

nirvāti śīghram athavā laghutām upaiti ||

     “The lamp of prema illumines the heart abodes of both the charming lovers and shines without flicker. But if it were to escape through the door of the mouth, it would be extinguished quickly or become diminished.” It is understood by this example that prema is also harmed if it is revealed externally. Therefore, thoughtful, magnanimous bhaktas do not expose their prema; they always keep it within their hearts.

Śrī Śrī Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā 67 (comm. by Śrī Anantadāsa Bābājī Mahārāja)

শীতল-কিরণ-কর,        কল্পতরু গুণধর,

তরু-লতা ছয়-ঋতু সেবা ।

গোবিন্দ আনন্দময়,        নিকটে বনিতাচয়,

মধুর বিহার অতিশোভা ॥ ৬৭ ॥

śītala-kiraṇa-kara,        kalpa-taru guṇa-dhara,

taru-latā chaya-ṛtu sebā |

gobinda ānanda-maya,        nikaṭe banitā-caya,

madhura bihāra atiśobhā || 67 ||

     Śrī Vṛndāvana is illumined by the soothing rays of the moon. Her trees and creepers are like desire trees; she is served by the six seasons. The sweet pastimes of joyful Govinda with his girlfriends are very beautiful.

The Beauty of Śrī Vṛndāvana

     Sudhā-Kaṇikā-Vyākhyā: By saying tribhubane śobhā-sāra, hena sthāna nāhi āra in the last half of the previous verse, Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya has given a hint of the splendor of Śrī Vṛndāvana, the most beautiful place in the three worlds. In this verse, he gives a brief description of that beauty: śītala-kiraṇa-kara, kalpa-taru guṇa-dhara, taru-latā chaya-ṛtu sebā. Śītala-kiraṇa-kara means Śrī Vṛndāvana is illumined by the soothing rays of the moon. In the previous verse it was said, bṛndābana-bhūmi tejomaya. The self-luminous Vrajabhūmi personally appears here. Because of this, there is no need for the sun or moon, so they rise only to nourish the earthly līlā. But that sun and moon are not like the material universe; they are cinmaya or spiritual and constantly drop beams of sweetness and charm. In his commentary on the śriyaḥ kāntāḥ verse of Śri-Brahma-Saṁhitā, Śrīmat Jīva Gosvāmipāda has written the following regarding the words cid-ānandaṁ jyotiḥ param api tad-āsvādyam api ca: jyotir laukika-līlā-mādhuryāya mahāpralaye’py anaśvaraṁ sūryādi-rūpaṁ yat tatra vartate, tathā teṣām āsvādyam api yat kiñcit tat sarvaṁ cid-ānanda-rūpaṁ param api parama-tattvam eva, na tu prākṛtam. candrārkayoḥ sthitiś ca tatra vilakṣaṇatvenaiva gautamīya-tantre kathitā. samānodita-candrārkam iti hi vṛndāvana-viśeṣaṇam. samānatvaṁ ca rātrau rātrau rākā-candramayatvād iti (Śrī-Kṛṣṇa-Sandarbhaḥ 172 anuḥ). “Even though the dhāma is self-manifest and self-luminous, still, to reveal the sweetness of the humanlike pastimes, an indestructible sun and moon shine there even after the universal dissolution. That light and everything else to be enjoyed by the residents of that cinmaya-dhāma is spiritual, of the nature of consciousness and joy. Nothing there is material. The uncommon existence of the sun and moon there has been described in the Gautamīya-Tantra. Vṛndāvana has a samānodita-candrārkam or ‘uniformly risen moon and sun.’ There, the full moon rises every night!” The soothing halo of that full moon spreads across the heavens and falls upon the bosom of Vṛndāvana’s spiritual form, keeping the place of Śrī Gopīnātha’s pastimes with the gopīs pleasant, charming and radiant with joy.

     All of Śrī Vṛndāvana’s trees and creepers bear the qualities of a kalpa-taru or kalpa-latā (wish-fulfilling tree or creeper). In Śrī-Brahma-Saṁhitā, the words kalpa-taravo drumāḥ mean that every tree in Vṛndāvana is a kalpa-taru. In the Rudra-Yāmala-Tantra, Śrīman Mahādeva said to Śrī Gaurī Devī,

vīthyāṁ vīthyāṁ nivāso’dhara-madhu-suvacas tatra santānakānām

eke rākendu-koṭy-ātapa-viśada-karās teṣu caike kamante |

rāme rātrer virāme samudita-tapana-dyoti-sindhūpameya

ratnāṅgānāṁ suvarṇa-cita-mukura-rucas tebhya eke drumendrāḥ ||

yat-kusumaṁ yadā mṛgyaṁ yat phalaṁ ca varānane |

tat tadaiva prasūyante vṛndāvana-sura-drumāḥ ||

     After quoting these two verses in Śrī-Kṛṣṇa-Sandarbhaḥ 172 anuḥ, Śrīmat Jīva Gosvāmipāda gives an explanation, the gist of which is, “O one who speaks sweetly! O fair one! Bejeweled wish-fulfilling trees line the paths to Śrī Vṛndāvana. Among them, some of these excellent trees are as brilliant as a full moon with millions of rays. O charming one! Others are splendorous like the newly risen sun. Some trees possess a luster greater than all the rest; they are like mirrors made of gold. O lovely one! When one searches for a particular fruit or flower, the kalpa-vṛkṣas of Śrī Vṛndāvana immediately bring forth that very fruit or flower.” The kalpa-vṛkṣas of Śrī Vṛndāvana are able to give any object of human pursuit to those who desire them. But because such aiśvarya is an obstacle to mādhurya-līlā, it does not manifest itself. Nor do any of the residents there desire it. kalpa-bṛkṣa latāra yāṅhā sāhajika bana, phala-phula binā keho nā māge anya dhana (Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Madhya 14.222). “In this natural forest, no one asks for riches other than the fruits and flowers of the desire trees and creepers.” Though bearing all the qualities of kalpa-vṛkṣas and kalpa-latās, the trees and creepers of Śrī Vṛndāvana simply decorate Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa’s pastime places with great beauty, thus giving them much delight in their amorous play. The following is written in Śrī-Vṛndāvana-Mahimāmṛtam 10.83-84:

vicitra-patra-pallava-prasūna-guccha-jālakair

apāram ullasan mahāmaranda-sindhu-nirjharam |

vicitra-rociṣācitaṁ sudhā-rasātmakaiḥ phalaiḥ

smarāmi kṛṣṇa-kānane vicitra-śākhi-maṇḍalam ||

ananta-hari-rādhikā-praṇaya-phulla-vallī-drumaṁ

tad-aṅghri-rasa-vihvalaiḥ khaga-mṛgādibhir maṇḍitam |

tad adbhuta-vilāsavan-nava-nikuñja-puṣpodayaṁ

smarāmy atimahojjvalan madhura-vṛnda-vṛndāvanam ||

     “I meditate upon the amazing trees of Śrī Vṛndāvana. They are jubilant with endless varieties of leaves, sprouts and clusters of flowers. They are great fountains of nectar, pervaded by multicolored splendor and filled with nectarous fruits.

     “I meditate upon Śrī Vṛndāvana, forever decorated with brilliant and charming qualities. Its ever-new bowers are always filled with the astonishing pastimes of Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa. It is beautified by trees and creepers blooming with boundless love for Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa and adorned with animals and birds overwhelmed by the rasa from their lotus feet.”

     The six seasons always serve Śrī Vṛndāvana. The moon, sun, wind and time are all servants of the līlā. To aid in making Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes pleasant, some groves in Śrī Vṛndāvana are beautified by one season, some by two seasons and some by all six at once, wherein the climates of every season appear simultaneously along with beautiful animals, birds, trees, fruits and flowers.

     Then Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya said, gobinda ānanda-maya, nikaṭe banitā-caya, madhura bihāra atiśobhā. Śrī Vṛndāvana is illuminated by the cooling rays of its spiritual moon and constantly served by the six seasons. Joyful Śrī Govinda looks very beautiful submerged in the sweeter than sweet rasa of his pastimes in the kalpa-vṛkṣa groves with the girls of Vraja. In this half-verse, the author has indicated the great and inconceivable meeting place of Śrī Gopīnātha with the gopīs in the transcendentally beautiful Śrī Vṛndāvana. In the conversation between Īśvara and Devī in the Svāyambhuvāgama, there is a meditation on the yogapīṭha within the halo of Śrī Vṛndāvana’s incomparable beauty.

pīyūṣa-latikā-kīrṇāṁ nānā-sattva-niṣevitām |

sarvartu-sukhadāṁ svacchāṁ sarva-jantu-sukhāvahām ||

nīlotpala-dala-śyāmāṁ vāyunā cālitāḥ mṛdu |

vṛndāvana-parāgais tu vāsitāṁ kṛṣṇa-vallabhām ||

sīmni kuñja-taṭāṁ yoṣit-krīḍā-maṇḍapa-madhyamām |

kālindīṁ saṁsmared dhīmān suvarṇa-taṭa-paṅkajām ||

nitya-nūtana-puṣpādi-rañjitaṁ sukha-saṅkulam |

svātmānanda-sukhotkarṣa-śabdādi viṣayātmakam ||

nānā-citra-vihaṅgādi-dhvanibhiḥ parirañjitam |

nānā-ratna-latā-śobhi mattāli-dhvani-maṇḍitam ||

cintāmaṇi-paricchannaṁ jyotsnā-jāla-samākulam |

sarvartu-phala-puṣpāḍhyaṁ pravālaiḥ śobhitaṁ pari ||

kālindī-jala-saṁsargī-vayunā kampitaṁ muhuḥ |

vṛndāvanaṁ kusumitaṁ nānā-vṛksa-vihaṅgamaiḥ ||

saṁsmaret sādhako dhīmān vilāsaika-niketanam |

ekī-bhāvo dvayor yatra vṛkṣayor madhya-deśataḥ ||

tad-adhaś cintayed devi maṇi-maṇḍapam uttamam |

trilokī-sukha-sarvasvaṁ suyantraṁ keli-vallabham ||

tatra siṁhāsane ramye nānā-ratnamaye sukhe |

sumano’dhika-mādhurya-komale sukha-saṁstare ||

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

tatra prema-bharākrāntaṁ kiśoraṁ pīta-vāsanam |

kalāya-kusuma-śyāmaṁ lāvaṇyaika-niketanam ||

līlā-rasa-sukhāmbhodhi-saṁmagnaṁ sukha-sāgaram |

navīna-nīradābhāsaṁ candrikāñcita-kuntalam ||

     “An intelligent person should deeply contemplate the River Yamunā. She is like a creeper filled with nectar; she is always being served by many kinds of creatures; she bestows pleasure in all seasons; her water is crystal clear; she gives happiness to all living beings; she is dark in color, like the petals of a blue lotus; her waves roll gently in the wind; she is perfumed by the pollen of Vṛndāvana’s flowers; she is very dear to Śrī Kṛṣṇa. In a bower on the Yamunā’s bank lies the pastime pavilion of the vraja-sundarīs. The earth on her shores is golden, and beautiful golden lotuses grow from her waters.

     “An intelligent sādhaka should deeply contemplate the flower-covered Śrī Vṛndāvana, the sole abode of amorous sports. That Vṛndāvana is brightly colored with ever-fresh flowers; is always filled with happiness; is full of sense objects that increase the pleasure born of one’s realization of his own true nature; brings delight with the sounds of her different kinds of birds and so on; is beautified by various kinds of jeweled creepers; is adorned with the humming sounds of drunken bees; is decorated with cintāmaṇi (desire-fulfilling gems); is pervaded by moonlight; is filled with fruits and flowers of all seasons; green and tender leaves abound everywhere; a gentle Malayan breeze always blows across the waters of the Kālindī; many different kinds of beautiful trees and birds reside there.

     “O Devī! At one place in Vṛndāvana a pair of kalpa-vṛkṣas have grown together. Imagine beneath them a pavilion decorated with exquisite gems. It is the abode of happiness for the three worlds, a beautiful yantra and a favorite place for Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes. Within that lies a charming, jewel-studded throne, covered by a cushion soft as a flower, elegant and comfortable. On that throne sits a love-struck teenage boy dressed in yellow cloth. His complexion is dark blue, like a grass-pea flower. He is the singular abode of charm. He is submerged in an ocean of happiness born of his nectarous pastimes; he is himself an ocean of happiness. His complexion is the color of a new cloud and his hair is always adorned with a peacock feather.” He plays his flute softly and sweetly with his flower-bud lips, and when the countless loving young girls of Vraja hear this subtle madhura sound, they are attracted and come to him from all sides. Vṛndāvana is inundated with a flood of the sweet nectar of the Vraja girls’ loving pastimes with Śrī Govinda, the direct embodiment of the erotic sentiment. Like this, they remain immersed in the play of ever-fresh rasa. The poet Vidyāpati has sung the following:

naba bṛndābana, naba naba taru-gaṇa, naba naba bikasita phula |

nabala basanta, nabala malayānila, mātāla naba ali-kula ||

biharai nabala-kiśora |

kālindī-pulina, kuñja naba śobhana, naba naba prema bibhora ||

nabala rasāla, mukula-madhu-mātiyā, naba kokila-kula gāya |

naba yubatī-gaṇa, citta umatāyai, naba rase kānane dhāya ||

naba yubarāja, nabala naba nāgarī, mīlaye naba naba bhāti |

niti niti aichana, naba naba khelana, bidyāpati-mati māti ||

     “In fresh Vṛndāvana, a fresh adolescent boy sports among fresh trees bearing freshly blooming flowers. Springtime is fresh, fresh Malayan breezes blow gently and drunken young bees buzz about. Overwhelmed by fresh love, he wanders in a beautiful fresh bower on the banks of the Yamunā, filled with the singing of young cuckoos high on the nectar from fresh mango blooms. Fresh young girls, with hearts excited by fresh rasa, run through the forest. The young prince meets his young lover and their splendor is doubly fresh. Fresh pastimes like this always bewilder Vidyāpati’s mind.”

     In some books, another verse is seen either before or after the current one: pūrṇacandra, samajyoti, cid-ānandamaya-mūrti, mahālīlā-daraśana lobhā; duṅhu preme ḍagamagi, doṅhe doṅhā anurāgī, duṅhu-rūpe duṅhu-mana lobhā. “In this supremely beautiful Vṛndāvana, Śrī Govinda, whose bodily splendor is more radiant and cooling than a full moon, who is the condensed form of consciousness and joy, who is eager to witness his wonderful pastimes, this Śrī Govinda is submerged in līlā-rasa with the girls of Vraja. Moreover, in Śrī Vṛndāvana, Śrī Rādhārāṇī surpasses all in love, beauty and sweetness; she is the crest-jewel of all the girls of Vraja. Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava are submerged in mutual love; they are deeply devoted to each other and their hearts and minds are allured solely by their love for each other.”

Śrī Śrī Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā 66 (comm. by Śrī Anantadāsa Bābājī Mahārāja)

গোবিন্দ-শরীর সত্য,        তাহার সেবক নিত্য,

বৃন্দাবন-ভূমি তেজোময় ।

ত্রিভুবনে শোভাসার,        হেন স্থান নাহি আর,

যাহার স্মরণে প্রেম হয় ॥ ৬৬ ॥

gobinda-śarīra satya,        tāhāra sebaka nitya,

bṛndābana-bhūmi tejomaya |

tribhubane śobhā-sāra,        hena sthāna nāhi āra,

yāhāra smaraṇe prema haya || 66 ||

     Govinda’s body is real, his servants are eternal and the land of Vṛndāvana is radiant. It is the most beautiful place in the three worlds. Nowhere else compares. Simply by remembering it one obtains prema.

Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s Form, His Devotee and Vraja

     Sudhā-Kaṇikā-Vyākhyā: In this verse, Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya describes the reality of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s form, the nature of the bhakta and the nature of Śrī Vṛndāvana. First, to establish the reality of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s form, he says, gobinda-śarīra satya. The body of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Being in human form, exists eternally. This eternality is only one component of his saccidānanda form. Though the jīvas are by nature particles of spirit and thus eternal, their illusory bodies have been fabricated with the materials of prakṛti and are therefore transitory or perishable. There is no difference in God’s body and his soul: deha-dehī-bhidā caiva neśvare vidyate kvacit. In his Sarva-Saṁvādinī commentary on Bhagavat-Sandarbhaḥ, Śrī Jīva Gosvāmipāda has given a quote from the Mahābhārata: na bhūta-saṁgha-saṁsthāno deho’sya paramātmanaḥ. “The body of the Supreme Being is never composed of the five elements.” In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 5.5.19, Śrī Rṣabhadeva said, idaṁ śarīraṁ mama durvibhāvyam. “This body of mine is difficult to understand.” In his commentary, Śrī Śrīdhara Svāmī writes, idaṁ manuṣyākāraṁ śarīraṁ mama durvibhāvyam avitarkyaṁ mad-icchā-vilasitaṁ na tv ahaṁ prākṛto manuṣya ity arthaḥ. “My humanlike body is indeed beyond logic. It is manifested by my desire and is the embodiment of spiritual joy. I am never an ordinary man.” Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s natural state is undivided spiritual joy; his body is the same. tam ekaṁ govindaṁ sac-cid-ānanda-vigraham (śruti). In Śrī-Bhagavad-Gītā, Śrī Kṛṣṇa said to Śrī Arjuna, brahmaṇo hi pratiṣṭhāham (14.27), and nāhaṁ prakāśaḥ sarvasya yogamāyā-samāvṛtaḥ (7.25). “I am the condensed foundation of brahma. Concealed by yogamāyā, I am not manifest to all.” In the Gopāla-Tāpanī Upaniṣad we see, kṛṣṇo vai paramaṁ daivatam; kṛṣṇa eva paro devas taṁ dhyāyet taṁ raset taṁ yajed iti. Śrī Sanaka and other sages asked Brahmā, “Who is the Supreme God?” Brahmā replied, “Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the Supreme God.” At the end of the same book, we see, “Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the parama-devatā because he surpasses all others. Meditate upon him, relish his sweetness and worship him.” All these statements establish that the cause of the superiority of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s humanlike form is that this form is the supreme spiritual truth. ānanda-mātraḥ kara-pāda-mukhodarādi (śruti). Just as all the limbs of a sugar-doll are made of sugar, Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s hands, feet and all other limbs are made of saccidānanda: existence, consciousness and joy.

     Therefore, in the beginning of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the essence of all vedānta, the great sage Vedavyāsa has meditated upon the embodiment of truth, the Supreme Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, with the words satyaṁ paraṁ dhīmahi. At the beginning of their glorification of Śrī Kṛṣṇa within the womb of Devakī Devī in Kaṁsa’s prison, Brahmā and the other gods established in various ways that Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the embodiment of truth and that he exists in past, present and future. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.2.26:

satya-vrataṁ satya-paraṁ tri-satyaṁ

satyasya yoniṁ nihitaṁ ca satye |

satyasya satyam ṛta-satya-netraṁ

satyātmakaṁ tvāṁ śaraṇaṁ prapannāḥ ||

     Brahmā and the other gods said, “We take shelter of Śrī Govinda, the embodiment of truth. He is always truthful; devoted to truth; true in the past, present and future. He is the source of earth and the rest of the five elements. (By this, he establishes truth in the time before creation.) He is the antaryāmī or inner guide. (By this, he displays the truth in the present time.) He is paramārtha-tattva, spiritual truth. (By this, he establishes the truth after the universal dissolution.) He is the originator of true speech and impartiality.” Therefore, Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya has said, gobinda-śarīra satya.

     Then he said, tāhāra sebaka nitya. All of Śrī Govinda’s servants and other nitya-siddha companions are also made of saccidānanda and exist eternally. ātma-koṭi-guṇaṁ kṛṣṇe premāṇaṁ paramaṁ gatāḥ, nityānanda-guṇāḥ sarve nitya-siddhā mukundavat (Śrī-Bhakti-Rasāmṛta-Sindhuḥ 2.1.290). mukundavad ye nityānanda-guṇās te nitya-siddhā ity anvayah. nityāś cānanda-svarūpāś ca guṇās tad-upalakṣita-dehāś ca yeṣāṁ ta iti (Śrī Jīvapāda’s commentary). Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s nitya-siddha companions love him a million times more than they love themselves. Like Śrī Kṛṣṇa, they possess qualities full of spiritual happiness and have bodies made of consciousness and joy. By Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s mercy, even all of his earthly bhaktas who faithfully follow his companions also obtain bodies made of saccidānanda. In Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Antya 4.191-193, Śrīman Mahāprabhu said to his dear companion Śrīmat Sanātana Gosvāmipāda,

prabhu kahe–baiṣṇabera deha prākṛta kabhu naya |

aprākṛta-deha bhaktera cid-ānanda-maya ||

dīkṣā-kāle bhakta kare ātma-samarpaṇa |

sei kāle kṛṣṇa tāre kare ātma-sama ||

sei deha tāṅra kare cid-ānanda-maya |

aprākṛta dehe tāṅra caraṇa bhajaya ||

     “The body of a Vaiṣṇava is never material. His transcendental body is composed of consciousness and joy. At the time of initiation, the bhakta dedicates himself to kṛṣṇa-sevā and Śrī Kṛṣṇa makes him equal to himself. He makes the bhakta’s body spiritual, and in that body the bhakta serves the Lord’s lotus feet.”

     Later, Śrīman Mahāprabhu established the reliability of his own words with evidence from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 11.29.34:

martyo yadā tyakta-samasta-karmā

niveditātmā vicikīrṣito me |

tadāmṛtatvaṁ pratipadyamāno

mayātma-bhūyāya ca kalpate vai ||

     Śrī Kṛṣṇa said to Śrī Uddhava, “O Uddhava! When a man gives up all duties and dedicates himself to me,* I want to favor him above even the jñānīs or yogīs. After attaining immortality, he receives a cidānandamaya body like mine.” The purport of Śrīman Mahāprabhu’s sei kāle kṛṣṇa tāre kare ātma-sama statement is that for the faithful devotee who has obtained the mercy of a great soul, this process begins with taking shelter of the lotus feet of a sad-guru and receiving dīkṣā. By the practice of bhajana, the sādhaka’s heart and mind become cleansed and he is gradually lifted to the levels of niṣṭhā, ruci and āsakti. As he advances, his body, senses, mind and intellect give up their material nature and slowly but surely attain the spiritual nature. When the bhakta is lifted to the stage of rati, his inner sense (meaning his mind, intellect, heart, ego and so on) becomes fully spiritual. At the stage of prema, his body and senses also attain full spirituality. Therefore Śrīmat Sanātana Gosvāmipāda has written the following in his Śrī-Bṛhad-Bhāgavatāmṛtam:

kṛṣṇa-bhakti-sudhā-pānād deha-daihika-vismṛte |

teṣāṁ bhautika dehe’pi sac-cid-ānanda-rūpatā ||

     “Those who drink the nectar of devotion to Śrī Kṛṣṇa forget their bodies and all related to them. Even those bodies made of the five elements attain the state of saccidānanda.” One may ask that if the bhakta’s physical body becomes saccidānanda, then why do we see disease, old age and death in it? Moreover, it is described that after the destruction of the bhakta’s body (death), he obtains a spiritual body and becomes one of Śri Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa’s companions. But how is it possible to destroy a supernatural body? If the body is not destroyed, then when the bhakta obtains a pārṣada body, where is the prior body located and in what way does it remain? Thus, many doubts arise about this matter. A satisfactory answer to them all is obtained in the śāstras and the words of the mahājanas. The gist is that Śrī Bhagavān always wants to keep his esoteric bhakti and the actions or results of bhakti-sādhanā hidden. If its fruit is visible to everyone, unqualified people might meddle with bhakti-sādhanā and make some offense. Secondly, mysterious Bhakti Devī always likes to remain concealed, and humble-hearted devotees always want to keep the fruits of their bhakti or bhakti-sādhanā hidden away. In this way, nourishment is given to their humility, the natural treasure of prema-sādhanā. Therefore, the great magician Śrī Bhagavān, the lord of māyā, causes the eyes of ordinary people to see old age, disease and death in the devotee’s cidānandamaya body just as in a material body. In truth, the devotee’s cidānandamaya body unites with his pārṣada body and enters the kingdom of līlā. As with the Yādavas, an illusory form of the siddha-bhakta is seen burning in the funeral fire. To prove this mystery with sthālīpulāka-nyāya,** Śrī Bhagavān has caused devotees such as Dhruva in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and Gopakumāra in Śrī-Bṛhad-Bhāgavatāmṛtam to enter the kingdom of līlā in their existing bodies.

     Then, to establish that Śrī Vṛndāvana Dhāma has a saccidānanda form like Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s, Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya said, bṛndābana-bhūmi tejomaya. This world, for example, is a transformation of the external māyā-śakti or an alteration of prakṛti (material nature). The places of Śrī Bhagavān’s pastimes, such as Śrī Vṛndāvana and the other dhāmas, are not like that. Śrī Dhāma is a manifestation of his internal sandhinī-śakti.

sandhinīra sāra aṁśa–śuddha-sattva nāma |

bhagavānera sattā haya yāhāte biśrāma ||

mātā pitā sthāna gṛha śayyāsana āra |

e saba kṛṣṇera śuddha-sattvera bikāra ||

     “The essence of the sandhinī-śakti, in which Śrī Bhagavān’s existence rests, is called śuddha-sattva. Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s mother, father, habitat, home, bed, seat and so on are all transformations of śuddha-sattva.” (Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Ādi 4.64-65)

     Chāndogya Upaniṣad 7.24 says, sa bhagavaḥ kasmin pratiṣṭhita iti sve mahimni. “Where is that Bhagavān situated?” The reply: “He is situated in his own inconceivable glory.” Gopāla-Tāpanī śruti says, gokulaṁ vana-vaikuṇṭham, sākṣād brahma gopālapurī hi, and so on. “Another name of Gokula is Vana-Vaikuṇṭha. Gopāla Purī is directly brahma.” Much scriptural evidence has remained that Śrī Vṛndāvana Dhāma is beyond the phenomenal reality, eternal, transcendent, the place of Śrī Bhagavān’s infinite pastimes, luminous yet imperceptible to the physical eye. In Bṛhad-Gautamīya-Tantra, Śrī Nārada asks Śrī Kṛṣṇa, “O king of cowherds! What is the nature of this Śrī Vṛndāvana consisting of twelve forests? If I am eligible to hear this, please be merciful and describe it.” In reply, Śrī Kṛṣṇa said the following:

idaṁ vṛndāvanaṁ ramyaṁ mama dhāmaiva kevalam |

atra ye paśavaḥ pakṣi-vṛkṣāḥ kīṭānarāmarāḥ ||

ye vasanti mamādhiṣṇe mṛtā yānti mamālayam ||

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

pañca-yojanam evāsti vanaṁ me deha-rūpakam |

kālindīyaṁ suṣumnākhyā paramāmṛta-vāhinī ||

atra devāś ca bhūtāni vartante sūkṣma-rūpataḥ |

sarva-deva-mayaś cāhaṁ na tyajāmi vanaṁ kvacit ||

āvirbhāvas tirobhāvo bhaved atra yuge yuge |

tejo-mayam idaṁ ramyam adṛśyaṁ carma-cakṣuṣā ||

     “O Nārada! This delightful Vṛndāvana is my only abode. All of the animals, birds, trees, worms, insects, humans, gods and so on who live in this dhāma enter my eternal abode after death. This forty-five-square-mile Vṛndāvana is my metaphorical body. The transcendental nectar-bearing Kālindī River is known as its suṣumnā or main artery. The gods and creatures reside here in subtle forms. I, who contain all the gods, never leave Vṛndāvana. Indeed, in age after age, I appear and disappear here. This charming Vṛndāvana is luminous and beyond the range of the physical eye.”

     Then Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya says, tribhubane śobhā-sāra, hena sthāna nāhi āra, yāhāra smaraṇe prema haya. Some people have the conception that Vṛndāvana and the other dhāmas that we can see are not the real cinmaya-dhāmas; they are just specific regions on earth. “At the time of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s līlā, the dhāma descends here; and when the līlā disappears, the dhāma also disappears.” Such a conception is detestable to the sādhus and śāstras. Although Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the embodiment of saccidānanda and exists beyond māyā, he manifests his pastimes in this world and accepts many kinds of human dharmas for the purpose of his nara-līlā (humanlike pastimes). The only cause for this is his mercy. In the same way, out of extreme compassion toward the jīvas of the world, the transcendental cinmaya-dhāma of Vraja accepts a worldly dharma at the end of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s manifest līlā and personally remains here. The illusion-bound humans of earth would not be able to obtain the mercy of Śrī Dhāma if it remained in its transcendental cinmaya form. Thus, Śrī Dhāma is a manifestation of compassion. Śrī Jīva Gosvāmipāda has called this display of great mercy a dṛśyamāna-prakāśa or visible manifestation. Clear evidence of that is the fact that many great premika devotees remain here even today, perceiving directly the true cinmaya form of Śrī Dhāma: viśeṣatas tādṛg laukika-rūpatva bhagavan-nitya-dhāmatve tu divya-kadambāśokādi-vṛkṣādayo’py adyāpi mahābhāgavataiḥ sākṣāt kriyante iti prasiddheḥ (Śrī-Kṛṣṇa-Sandarbhaḥ). This is described in Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Ādi 5.17-21:

sarbopari śrī-gokula braja-loka-dhāma |

śrī-goloka śvetadvīpa bṛndābana nāma ||

sarba-ga ananta bibhu kṛṣṇa-tanu sama |

upary adho byāpi āche nāhika niyama ||

brahmāṇḍe prakāśa tāra kṛṣṇera icchāya |

ekai svarūpa tāra nāhi dui kāya ||

cintāmaṇi-bhūmi kalpa-bṛkṣa-maya bana |

carma-cakṣe dekhe tāre prapañcera sama ||

prema-netre dekhe tāra svarūpa-prakāśa |
gopa-gopī-saṅge yāṅhā kṛṣṇera bilāsa ||

     “Above all lies Śrī Gokula, known as Vrajaloka Dhāma, Śrī Goloka, Śvetadvīpa and Vṛndāvana. Like Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s body, it is all-pervading, boundless and eternal. It extends above and below without limit. It manifests in the universe by Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s will. It is of one nature; it does not have two bodies.*** It is the land of the wishing gem, with forests full of desire trees. Physical eyes see it as of the material world; eyes of love see the manifestation of its true form as the place of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes with the gopas and gopīs.”

     Even remembrance of this love-filled Śrī Vṛndāvana Dhāma from a distance incites prema in the innocent heart, not to speak of residing there and performing other types of sevā. yāhāra smaraṇe prema haya. Another reading of this half of the verse is tāhāte yamunā-jala, kare nitya jhalamala, tāra tīre aṣṭa kuñja haya. “Therein, the waters of the Yamunā always sparkle; there are eight bowers on its banks.” In this, the words ‘always sparkle’ describe the Yamunā’s eternal nature, saccidānanda form and extreme beauty. In the previously quoted verses from Bṛhad-Gautamīya-Tantra, Śrī Bhagavān called the Yamunā River the paramāmṛta-vāhinī-suṣumnā or ‘transcendental nectar-bearing artery’ in Vṛndāvana, which is of the same nature as his transcendental form. By saying, “There are eight bowers on its banks,” he has described the location of Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava’s charming pleasure groves on the beautiful, solitary banks of the Yamunā.

*After receiving the spontaneous mercy of my supremely independent devotee

**If, when boiling rice, one pinches a few grains from the pot to test whether all the rice in the pot has cooked, that is called sthālīpulāka-nyāya, or the logic of the boiled rice in the cooking pot.

***It exists simultaneously in both the spiritual and the material worlds.

Śrī Śrī Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā 65 (comm. by Śrī Anantadāsa Bābājī Mahārāja)

নূপুর মরাল ধ্বনি,        কুলবধূ মরালিনী,

শুনিয়া রহিতে নারে ঘরে ।

হৃদয়ে বাড়ায় রতি,        যেন মিলে পতি সতী,

কুলের ধরম গেল দূরে ॥ ৬৫ ॥

nūpura marāla dhvani,        kulabadhū marālinī,

śuniyā rahite nāre ghare |

hṛdaye bāḍāya rati,        yena mile pati satī,

kulera dharama gela dūre || 65 ||

     Like female swans responding to the calls of their mates, when the swanlike virtuous girls hear the sound of Kṛṣṇa’s ankle bells, they are unable to remain in their homes. Their hearts surge with love and they meet with him as though husband and wife. Their family traditions have gone far away.

Parakīya-Rasa

     Sudhā-Kaṇikā-Vyākhyā: In this verse, Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya describes the sweetness of the parakīya-rasa of the beautiful young girls of Vraja in the context of reflecting upon the charming sound of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s anklets. The sound of the anklets on Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet is very pleasant, like the cry of a swan. When female swans are attracted by the call of a male, they move quickly in that direction. In the same way, when the virtuous girls of Vraja hear the tinkling of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s anklets, they also are unable to remain in their homes. The female swans who are devoted to their mates go with deep affection in their hearts to meet with them. In the same way, the girls of Vraja abandon their family traditions and run with intense love to unite with Śrī Govinda. In this verse, the words kulabadhū marālinī kulera dharama gela dūre are understood to refer to the vraja-sundarīs, who are Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s parakīya lovers, meaning they are married to other men. Those who are Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s eternal lovers, his hlādinī-śakti, are by their powerful affection naturally one with him, like fire and its burning power. By the influence of his yogamāyā-śakti, who makes the impossible possible, these eternal lovers believe they are married to others. They would never even look at a man other than Śrī Kṛṣṇa, not to mention thinking of one. Nor do they ever even see the shadows of those whom they think are their husbands, not to speak of meeting or touching them. Still, yogamāyā has extended such indescribable power that Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s eternal lovers mistake the gopas to be their husbands and their true husband Śrī Kṛṣṇa to be their paramour. By the influence of his own yogamāyā-śakti, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, whose knowledge is unimpeded, also thinks of himself as the paramour of his eternal lovers, the vraja-sundarīs. Therefore, even though they feel themselves to be the wives of the gopas rather than of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, in truth, their chastity remains intact and Śrī Kṛṣṇa is not an adulterer. Only by the power of yogamāyā do the girls of Vraja think of themselves as wives of other gopas; and their friends and relatives as well as Śrī Kṛṣṇa all think the same thing. Therefore, when they saw Śrī Kṛṣṇa, their family traditions were destroyed and this consciousness arose in them. Śrī Kṛṣṇa also thinks of himself as the companion of other men’s wives. This is all an illusion: it has no beginning and it will remain eternally the same. Because this illusion is created by yogamāyā, it is not an act of ignorance. It is a particular function of the cit-śakti. Through this illusion, ānandamaya Śrī Kṛṣṇa and his ānandinī-śakti, the girls of Vraja, experience a deep mutual attraction and enjoy ever-fresh, love-saturated delights. Therefore, the following is written in Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛta Ādi 4.47:

parakīya-bhābe ati rasera ullāsa |

braja binu ihāra anyatra nāhi bāsa ||

     “There is a great increase of rasa in parakīya-bhāva; this exists only in Vraja.” An extraordinary natural quality of parakīya-bhāva is that a boundless variety of enjoyment is revealed through it. In Śrī-Ujjvala-Nīlamaṇiḥ 1.20, after quoting a statement by Bharata Muni, Śrīmad Rūpa Gosvāmipāda ascertained the cause for this enjoyment:

bahu vāryate khalu yatra pracchanna-kāmukatvaṁ ca |

yā ca mitho durlabhatā sā manmathasya paramā ratiḥ ||

     “The highest rati, śṛṅgāra-rati or erotic love, contains many impediments to the lovers’ meeting; their amorous moods must remain hidden and there is much difficulty for both of them.” Because there are many restrictions regarding them meeting with each other, and because such doe-eyed girls are very rare, the hearts and minds of the nāyakas (the heroes) become profoundly attached to this rati. When extreme eagerness is also awakened in the nāyikās (the heroines), their meetings are filled with intense love and sweetness. 

     A question may arise here. In the traditional rasa-śāstras, parakīya-rasa is not accepted and is rather considered to be defective because of the fault of rasābhāsa. Therefore, how can we accept the rasa of the girls of Vraja who are married to other men? For this reason it has been said, braja binu ihāra anyatra nāhi bāsa. Other than for Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s beloved vraja-nāyikās, a nāyikā being married to another man is rasābhāsa, or something that impedes rasa. But in the vrajadevīs, this is not so; it has become the essence of rasa. In Śrī-Ujjvala-Nīlamaṇiḥ 5.3, Śrīmad Rūpa Gosvāmipāda has quoted the words of a previous ācārya: neṣṭā yad aṅgini rase kavibhiḥ paroḍhā tad-gokulāmbuja-dṛśāṁ kulam antareṇa. The scholars have declared that in madhura-rasa, a woman married to another man is an impediment to rasa. This is applicable to nāyikās other than the beautiful girls of Vraja. The reason that the parakīya-bhāva of the vraja-nāyikās is not defective is that they are the ultimate forms of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s hlādinī-śakti, being of his own nature and always saturated with joyful, spiritual rasa. They are Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s eternal lovers; their parakīya-bhāva is only an illusion imposed by their friends and families, who are bewildered by yogamāyā. Therefore, they are parakīya in mood only; in truth, they are his eternal sweethearts. This is yogamāyā’s arrangement for causing the king of rasikas Śrī Kṛṣṇa to taste a particular extraordinary rasa. Instead of vraja-parakīya-bhāva being a corruption of rasa, it has become the highest ornament of rasa. For this reason, great sages like Śrī Uddhava have with joy and wonder repeatedly praised the vraja-sundarīs’ parakīya-bhāva. When devotion toward the gopīs appeared in their hearts, the sages prayed to be born as grass, shrubs and so on in the forests of Vraja, hoping to be sprinkled with just a particle of dust from the girls’ lotus feet. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.47.61:

āsām aho caraṇa-reṇu-juṣām ahaṁ syāṁ

vṛndāvane kim api gulma-latauṣadhīnām |

yā dustyajaṁ svajanam ārya-pathaṁ ca hitvā

bhejur mukunda-padavīṁ śrutibhir vimṛgyām ||

     “Ah! Let me become a shrub, herb or creeper in Vṛndāvana so that I may worship the foot-dust of the girls of Vraja, who have resorted to the path of loving devotion to Śrī Kṛṣṇa, a path difficult to obtain even for the Vedas. These girls have forsaken their friends and relatives, as well as the path of the virtuous, all of which are very hard to abandon.” In his Laghu-Toṣaṇī commentary on this verse, Śrīmat Jīva Gosvāmipāda has written, śrutibhiḥ kartrībhir vimṛgyāṁ parama-puruṣārthatayānveṣaṇīyām. kiṁ kṛtvā bhejuḥ? svajanam ārya-pathaṁ ca hitvā, loka-maryādāṁ veda-maryādāṁ ca tyaktvety arthaḥ. tat tu dustyajaṁ pūrvokte śrī-prabhṛtibhiḥ sarvair apy atyājyam. te khalu sarva-loka-sarva-mahāveda-puruṣārtha-sāra-buddhyaiva bhajantīty ato na teṣu rāgotkaṭyam eva kāraṇam ity etā evāsamorddhva-rāgā iti bhāvaḥ. tad evaṁ mukunda-padavīm iti tatrāpi śrutibhir vimṛgyām iti tasyā nityatvaṁ sarvottamatvaṁ ca gamyate. The essence of the commentary is that the śrutis must search for the way to obtain prema-bhakti for Mukunda, which they perceive as the highest human goal. The gopīs abandoned their friends and relatives as well as the path of the virtuous (devotion to their husbands), meaning they transgressed the popular customs and the Vedic customs, and adopted the path of devotion to Śrī Kṛṣṇa. To transgress these customs is extremely difficult. In the verse prior to this one, Śrī Uddhava Mahāśaya proclaimed the superiority of the vraja-sundarīs over even Lakṣmīdevī. Accordingly, it is impossible for Lakṣmī and the other celestial damsels dear to Śrī Hari to transgress these customs because they worship Śrī Kṛṣṇa with the mentality that he is the ultimate goal of all the great knowledge of all the worlds. Therefore, an abundance of affection or love-filled thirst is not the cause of their worship of Śrī Hari. The implication is that the beautiful girls of Vraja are unequalled in their love. It is also understood from this that the means of attaining Mukunda, which is to serve the vraja-sundarīs, is to be sought by the śrutis. This reference indicates the constancy and superiority of their abundant love and parakīya-bhāva. In Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.32.22, Śrī Bhagavān acknowledges his deep absorption in the parakīya-bhāva of the gopīs and his indebtedness to them: na pāraye’haṁ niravadya-saṁyujām. Therefore, we see that Śrī Uddhava Mahāśaya, the crown jewel of sādhus; Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the crown jewel of scriptures; and Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the crown jewel of the forms of Bhagavān are all deeply absorbed in the parakīya-bhāva of Vraja.

     Someone may think that because parakīya behavior is accompanied by a sinful mentality, the minds and hearts of those who hear, sing and remember such pastimes could be negatively affected. After expressing his unhappiness toward the people who are antagonistic to the parakīya-bhāva of the girls of Vraja, Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmipāda said, āḥ kiṁ vānyad yatas tasyām idam eva mahāmuniḥ. jagau pāramahaṁsyāṁ ca saṁhitāyāṁ svayaṁ śukaḥ (Ujjvala-Nīlamaṇiḥ 3.22). “Why speak of anyone else? In the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the sacred book of the paramahaṁsas, the great sage Śrī Śukadeva, who is the epitome of the liberated man, has with great devotion described the parakīya behavior of the Vraja girls in songs and poems in an assembly of high-minded souls.” kṛtvā tāvantam ātmānaṁ yāvatīr gopa-yoṣitaḥ. rarāma bhagavāṁs tābhir ātmārāmo’pi līlayā (Bhāg. 10.33.20). “Though being self-satisfied, Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the possesser of six opulences, assumed as many forms as there were gopīs and began to sport with them.” Was he not clearly describing sambhoga-rasa? Anyone can be blessed with prema by hearing, singing and remembering these pastimes of great love. After explicitly describing this in the phala-śruti at the end of the rāsa-līlā, in verse 10.33.40 Śrī Śukamuni loudly proclaimed the great power of this premamaya-līlā in bestowing love:

vikrīḍitaṁ vraja-vadhūbhir idaṁ ca viṣṇoḥ

 śraddhānvito’nuśṛṇuyād atha varṇayed yaḥ |

bhaktiṁ parāṁ bhagavati pratilabhya kāmaṁ

hṛd-rogam āśv apahinoty acireṇa dhīraḥ ||

     “After constantly hearing and narrating Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s rāsa-līlā and other love-sports with the girls of Vraja, a person with a faithful heart obtains supreme devotion for Śrī Kṛṣṇa, gives up the disease of the heart (lust) and quickly attains the ultimate serenity.”

     Some people say, “In the manifest pastimes, Śrī Kṛṣṇa enjoys the delights of rasa while absorbed in parakīya-bhāva with the gopīs; but in the unmanifest pastimes, there is no parakīya-bhāva, so those who worship in this way attain svakīya-bhāva. Even Śrī Jīva Gosvāmipāda concludes his book Śrī-Gopāla-Campūḥ with svakīya-bhāva pastimes after he finishes those regarding parakīya.” Such comments are not logical. Why should one who has tasted the superior rasa of parakīya-bhāva in the sādhaka state be so misfortunate as to be deprived of such enjoyment in the siddha state and be left to taste a comparatively inferior rasa? Previously, through statements like sādhane bhābiba yāhā, siddha-dehe pāba tāhā, rāga-pathera ei se upāya and sādhane ye dhana cāi, siddha-dehe tāhā pāi, pakvāpakva mātra se bicāra, Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya has described the oneness of that which is sought in the sādhana stage and that which is attained in the siddha stage. How can there be any deviation in that? The eternality of each of Śrī Bhagavān’s līlās has been repeatedly described in the śruti-śāstras and in the words of the mahājanas. Therefore, if a person thinks that the preeminent pastimes of Vraja’s parakīya-rasa are transitory, he recklessly disagrees with the śruti-śāstras and the mahājanas. The existence of parakīya-bhāva in the unmanifest has been clearly described in the Śrī-Sanat-Kumāra-Saṁhitā and in the fifty-second chapter of the Pātāla-Khaṇḍa of Padma-Purāṇa:

yathā prakaṭa-līlāyāṁ purāṇeṣu prakīrtitāḥ |

tathā te nitya-līlāyāṁ santi vṛndāvane bhuvi ||

gamanāgamane nityaṁ karoti vana-goṣṭhayoḥ |

gocāraṇaṁ vayasyaiś ca vināsura-vighātanam ||

parakīyābhimāninyas tathā tasya priyā janāḥ |

pracchannaiva bhāvena ramayanti nija-priyam ||

     “Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s manifest pastimes in the earthly Vṛndāvana have been narrated in the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, Viṣṇu-Purāṇa and so on, and his unmanifest pastimes are in accord with those descriptions. In nitya-līlā also, Śrī Kṛṣṇa goes to the forest daily with his friends to graze the cows and returns to the village in the evening. His demon-fighting pastimes alone do not exist in the aprakaṭa or unmanifest. The vrajadevīs, absorbed in the parakīya mood, also meet secretly with their beloved Śrī Kṛṣṇa in the unmanifest līlā.”

     Moreover, we see in the Bṛhad-Vāmana-Purāṇa that the śrutis prayed to Śrī Kṛṣṇa, longing to see his parakīya-bhāva pastimes with the gopīs in nitya-līlā.

kandarpa-koṭi-lāvaṇye tvayi dṛṣṭe manāṁsi naḥ |

kāminī-bhāvam āsādya smara-kṣubdhāny asaṁśayaḥ ||

yathā tval-loka-vāsinyaḥ kāma-tattvena gopikāḥ |

bhajanti ramaṇaṁ matvā cikīrṣājani nas tathā ||

     “O Kṛṣṇa! When we see your beauty, surpassing that of millions of Cupids, our hearts become excited with passion like lovesick girls. There is no doubt of this. As your vraja-gopikās worship you in parakīya-bhāva, thinking you to be their paramour, we also want to worship you in such amorous love.” When he heard their prayer, Śrī Kṛṣṇa replied,

durlabho durghaṭaś caiva yuṣmākaṁ sumanorathaḥ |

mayānumoditaḥ samyak satyo bhavitum arhati ||

āgāmini viriñcau tu jāte sṛṣṭy-artham udyate |

kalpaṁ sārasvataṁ prāpya vraje gopyā bhaviṣyatha ||

pṛthivyāṁ bhārate kṣetre māthure mama maṇḍale |

vṛndāvane bhaviṣyāmi preyān vo rāsa-maṇḍale ||

jāra-dharmeṇa susnehaṁ sudṛḍhaṁ sarvato’dhikam |

mayi samprāpya sarve’pi kṛta-kṛtyā bhaviṣyatha ||

     “Your heart’s desire is very good, but it is something that is extremely rare and difficult to attain. Nevertheless, I give my consent; let your wish become true. In a future universe, when Brahmā is born and prepares to begin creation, in that sārasvata-kalpa all of you will become vraja-gopīs. You will obtain me as your beloved in the rāsa circle of Śrī Vṛndāvana, in the district of Mathurā in the country of Bhārata, planet Earth. Having attained me through that highest mood of an affectionate and absolutely unwavering paramour, you will be crowned with success.” By such statements, the eternal existence of parakīya-bhāva in the unmanifest Vraja has been firmly established. Śrīla Kavirāja Gosvāmipāda also has written, ataeba madhura-rasa kahi tāra nāma, svakīyā-parakīyā-rūpe dvibidha-saṁsthāna. The word saṁsthāna means ‘existence in all respects,’ so it is understood that madhura-rasa exists eternally in two ways: svakīyā and parakīyā.

     The critics say that after describing the parakīya-bhāva pastimes in his book Śrī-Gopāla-Campūḥ, Śrī Jīva Gosvāmipāda reveals his conclusion in svakīya-bhāva, referring to Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava’s wedding and other pastimes. It seems they are unable to determine the true meaning of this profoundly deep book. Śrī Jīva himself has written the following in its beginning: tatra ca prakaṭāprakaṭa-prakāśamayasya vṛndāvanasya bahu-vidha-saṁsthānatayā bahu-vidha-śāstra-śrutasyāprakaṭa-prakāśamaya-vaibhava-viśeṣa eva samprati varṇanīyaḥ. sa ca gokula-pradhāna eveti sva-vivakṣita-hitā brahma-saṁhitānusaṁhitā kriyate. tad-vacanāni tu bodha-kramāya kramam atikramyānukramyante (1.1.29). “There are unlimited manifestations of the spiritual Vrajadhāma, and all of them exist in two ways. One type is manifest within the range of human eyes and the other is not. The manifestations that are sometimes visible to the human eye are called prakaṭa-prakāśa; the manifestations that never come within the range of an ordinary person’s eyes are called aprakaṭa-prakāśa. We receive information about all those prakaṭa and aprakaṭa manifestations from many śāstras and in many ways. Among them, I shall now describe the glorious unmanifest Śrī Goloka. The description will predominantly relate to gokula-līlā, relying upon statements in the Brahma-Saṁhitā as the primary authority for the subject I wish to discuss. To help explain these statements from the Brahma-Saṁhitā, I will enumerate them according to subject matter rather than in their original order.” This very clearly demonstrates that wherever Śrī Jīva Gosvāmipāda has described the existence of svakīya in Gopāla-Campūḥ, he is referring to the Vṛndāvana pastimes of the splendorous, unmanifest Goloka. Moreover, it is not that svakīya-bhāva exists in Gokula in all manifestations of the divine Goloka. While describing the pastimes of Goloka in Śrī-Bṛhad-Bhāgavatāmṛtam, Śrīmat Sanātana Gosvāmipāda has shown the existence of parakīya-bhāva in verse 2.6.109:

etat-pāda-nakhāgraika-saundaryasyāpi nārhati |

saundarya-bhāraḥ sarvāsām āsāṁ nīrājanaṁ dhruvam ||

     Commentary: nanu anya jano mā bhavatu nāma imās tu gaurāṅgyaḥ śrī-rādhādyāḥ parama-sundaryas tatrāha–etad iti. sarvāsām āsāṁ śrī-rādhādīnāṁ saundarya-bhāraḥ etasya madīya-śyāmasundarasya yat-pāda-nakhāgrasya ekam ekataraṁ saundaryaṁ tasyāpi nīrājanaṁ nārhati. dhruvaṁ niścitam. bhāra-śabdasyāyam abhiprāyaḥ yac ca kiñcit saundaryam āsāṁ vidyate, tan-madīya-śyāmasundarasya vadhūtvābhāvena vaiphalyāpatter bhāra eveti. The purport is that in Śrī Goloka, situated above the paravyoma (spiritual sky), Mother Yaśodā said to Mukharā, “Needless to say, no one is as beautiful as my Gopāla, not even the lovely Śrī Rādhā or the other fair-skinned gopīs. Their burdensome beauty cannot outshine even a drop of the splendor of the tips of my Śyāmasundara’s toenails. This is for sure.” The significance of the words burdensome beauty being used here is that Śrī Rādhā and the other gopīs are no doubt very beautiful, but because they cannot become Śyāmasundara’s wife, their beauty is fruitless. Therefore, that beauty has become a burden for them. From this description we can understand that parakīya-bhāva is also present in Śrī Goloka. For this reason, the mahājanas have said that in Goloka it is avivikta-svakīyā-parakīyā, meaning it is difficult to determine exactly whether the bhāva is svakīyā or parakīyā. 

     However, it is clearly understood here that parakīyā exists eternally in the aprakaṭa manifestation of Śrī Vṛndāvana. Now the question will be, if parakīya-bhāva is forever present in the aprakaṭa manifestation, what will produce the desire in Śrī Kṛṣṇa to relish the astonishing nature of parakīya-bhāva when it appears in the prakaṭa manifestation? The answer to this is that in the aprakaṭa Goloka manifestation, whenever Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava’s love sports are described in svakīya-bhāva, Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s self-conception and absorption are that “I am the husband of the gopīs and they are my eternal wives.” Absorbed in this way, the desire to taste the rasa of parakīya-bhāva in the prakaṭa manifestation is born in his heart. goloke brajera saha nitya-bihāra (CC. Ādi 3.5). Here, the word saha (along with) is understood to mean that Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa’s eternal amorous pastimes exist in both locations, Goloka and Vraja. The Lord of Goloka and the Lord of Gokula do not see the different pastimes manifested in one place. Whenever līlā becomes perceptible to worldly humans, Golokanātha resolves to taste parakīya-rasa in prakaṭa-līlā and the desire awakens in Gokulanātha to relish the astonishing nature of parakīya-rasa in the sequence of pūrva-rāga and so on. The reason is that if there is no manifestation of his pastimes with his companions in the phenomenal world, the rasa of pūrva-rāga and other līlās will never come forth. Therefore, the desire awakens in both Golokanātha and Gokulanātha to experience the wonders of parakīya-rasa in prakaṭa-līlā. This is why the statement se se līlā kariba yāte mora camatkāra is seen in CC. Ādi 4.28. “I shall perform pastimes that amaze even me.”

     After observing Śrī Golokanātha, Śrī Jīva Gosvāmipāda narrated the pastimes of svakīya-bhāva in Gopāla-Campūḥ. At the end, after the wedding of Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava, he quoted a verse from Kāvya-Prakāśa (yaḥ kaumara-haraḥ sa eva hi varas tā eva caitra-kṣapāḥ) and then discussed his dissatisfaction regarding svakīya-bhāva and confirmed the superiority of parakīya-bhāva.

*A defect characterized by semblance of flavors or introduction of opposed flavor. (Saṁsad)

**Sambhoga-rasa is a subdivision of the śṛṅgāra or erotic sentiment, described as ‘successful love leading to union.’ MW

***See Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Madhya 1.58.