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Śrī-Śrī-Gaura-Govinda-Līlāmṛta Guṭikā 20

Meanwhile, Hiraṇyāṅgī Sakhī arrived and Śrī Rādhā affectionately inquired, “Sakhī! From where have you come?” Hiraṇyāṅgī replied, “From Nanda’s home.” Hearing that, Śrīmatī became impatient and said, “So tell us how Nanda’s family is doing.” Then Hiraṇyāṅgī began to speak, “O Rādhā! When Kṛṣṇa left to milk the cows, Mother Yaśomatī was overwhelmed by the nectar of love for her son. Anxious about the preparation of Kṛṣṇa’s foods, she instructed the dāsīs to bring all the ingredients for cooking to the kitchen. She then spoke lovingly to Rohiṇī, ‘Rohiṇī, my friend, even though there are many dāsas present, Rāma and Kṛṣṇa always go to graze the cows. They get tired from roaming about the austere forest, so by evening they do not feel like eating anything. Because of this, they have become extremely weak and thin. Early this morning I saw that their bellies were touching their backs! Therefore, O lovely one, please go quickly to the kitchen and prepare some delicious food for them.’ After saying this to Rohiṇī, Mother Yaśomatī instructed Payoda, Vārida and other dāsas to arrange scented bathwater suitable for the time, fragrant oil, massage oil, clothes, ornaments and so on in the proper places for Kṛṣṇa and Baladeva’s bathing and dressing. After the dāsas were engaged in their respective duties, Yaśodā went to the outer gate and watched the path for Rāma and Kṛṣṇa to arrive. Finally, seeing that the boys were late, she sent a servant named Raktaka to retrieve them. At the other end, Nanda Mahārāja insisted that Kṛṣṇa leave the pasturing grounds and go home. When Mother Yaśodā saw Kṛṣṇa arrive, her dress became moist with tears of joy and breastmilk. She said to him, ‘My darling, come quickly! Though hungry, why are you so late coming home?’ While massaging Kṛṣṇa’s limbs, Yaśomatī said to his friends, ‘My sons! I know you are all hungry, so go to your respective homes, take a bath and get dressed and decorated. Then come here without delay to enjoy your meal.’ After sending the boys away, Mother Yaśodā entered the house with Kṛṣṇa, Balarāma and Madhumaṅgala. She sent Kṛṣṇa to the bathing platform where a servant named Sāraṅga removed his ornaments and dressed him in a bathing garment. Then he sat comfortably on an elevated seat on the platform where a servant named Patrī washed his lotus feet with scented water from a golden pot and dried them with a soft cloth. After that, a barber’s son named Subandha gently massaged Kṛṣṇa’s limbs with fragrant nārāyaṇa oil. Then a servant named Sugandha rubbed his body with an aromatic yellow oil even smoother and cooler than butter. Two servants named Snigdha and Karpūra dressed his locks of hair with smooth, cool and sweet-smelling āmalakī paste. Two servants named Raktaka and Payoda washed his body with cool water and then rubbed it with a soft cloth. After this, other servants bathed him with small pots of scented water. Then the servant named Patrī dried Kṛṣṇa’s body and hair with soft towels and then dressed him in upper and lower garments the color of lightning. After that, Kṛṣṇa sat on the dressing platform and a servant named Kumuda dried and perfumed his hair with the smoke of aloeswood and incense. He then arranged his hair with a jeweled comb and tied it in a knot. A servant named Makaranda painted tilaka on Kṛṣṇa’s forehead with gorocanā and then anointed his entire body with a mixture of musk, camphor, aloeswood and vermilion. Then a servant named Premakanda adorned his arms with golden bangles, his ears with makara(1)-shaped earrings, his lotus feet with jeweled anklets and his chest with a lustrous jeweled necklace.

“Meanwhile, Śrī Baladeva, Madhumaṅgala and the other sakhās arrived after being bathed, anointed with fragrant oils and adorned with various ornaments. At that time, Śrī Yaśomatī and Rohiṇī Mātā waved a camphor lamp before Rāma and Kṛṣṇa. Ambā, Kilimbā and others sang their praises and the sakhās shouted jaya jaya. Then Śrī Bhāgurī Muni arrived and gave his blessings to Rāma and Kṛṣṇa, after which Yaśodā Mā had Kṛṣṇa give him a cow and calf decorated with yellow cloth and jewels. Then Yaśodā brought Rāma, Kṛṣṇa and the sakhās to the dining room and fed them butter and rock candy along with various kinds of sweets and cooked foods. After eating, Rāma, Kṛṣṇa and the sakhās all rinsed their hands and mouths, chewed tāmbūla and went to an outer room to play games. Filled with affection, Yaśodā Mā then gave me some sweets to bring to you. Dhaniṣṭhā has mixed Kṛṣṇa’s lip nectar with those sweets. I gave them to Rati Mañjarī in your dining room, so you and your sakhīs go eat them now.” So Śrī Rādhā and her sakhīs went there in great delight. After eating the sweets sent with love by Yaśomatī and mixed with the nectar of Kṛṣṇa’s lips, they rinsed their hands and mouths, then sat in a parlor and enjoyed tāmbūla. After the mañjarīs, guru-mañjarīs and the sādhaka-dāsī consumed the remaining sweets, they cleaned the room, the pots and so on and began to fan and perform other services for Śrī Rādhā.

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

1. A makara is a kind of sea-monster sometimes confounded with the crocodile, shark or dolphin. Monier-Williams 

Śrī-Rādhā-Rasa-Sudhā-Nidhiḥ 14 (comm. by Śrī Anantadāsa Bābājī Mahārāja)

राधाकरावचित-पल्लव-वल्लरीके 

राधापदाङ्कविलसन्मधुरस्थलीके ।

राधा-यशोमुखरमत्त-खगावलीके 

राधा-विहार-विपिने रमतां मनो मे ॥ १४ ॥

rādhā-karāvacita-pallava-vallarīke 

rādhā-padāṅka-vilasan-madhura-sthalīke |

rādhā-yaśo-mukhara-matta-khagāvalīke 

rādhā-vihāra-vipine ramatāṁ mano me || 14 ||

“Let my mind sport in the forest of Śrī Rādhā’s pastimes, where she gently gathers the creeper blossoms with her lotus hands. It is a charming place where her footprints sparkle, and where the birds joyfully sing of her glory.”

Śrī Rādhā’s Forest Playground

Rasa-Varṣiṇī-Vyākhyā: After Śrīpāda’s vision ended, deep humility and sorrow arose in his mind. His heart melted with longing, but due to his humility, Śrī Rādhā’s lotus feet seemed very difficult for him to attain. In Śrīpāda Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa’s commentary on the first verse of Utkalikā-Vallarī (Stava-Mālā), he has written, alabdhābhīṣṭasyābhīṣṭotkaṇṭhayā vigalita-cittasya tal-lābhe svāyogyatva sphūrtyābhyudita-dainyasya bhaktasya sakrando’śru-nirjharaḥ patatīti… iyam avasthā khalu bhakta-janasya puruṣārtha-dātrī. On the one hand, a virahī-bhakta’s(1) heart melts with intense longing because he has not attained his beloved. On the other, because of his deep humility, he weeps day and night lamenting his lack of qualification for attaining his goal. This condition is most desirable for a bhakta and bestows upon him the goal of his life. Filled with humility, Śrīpāda thinks, “Śrī Rādhā’s lotus feet are very difficult to attain. Where and how can I find them?” Suddenly, a ray of hope appeared in Śrīpāda’s dejected heart. He remembered stories about the mercy of Śrī Vṛndāvana. Śrīpāda was a recipient of the highest mercy from Śrī Rādhā’s playground, Śrī Vṛndāvana. Those who have studied his book Śrī-Vṛndāvana-Mahimāmṛta can easily understand how Śrī Vṛndāvana’s mercy has rained upon him. To induce the people of the world to accept the sweet shelter of Śrī Rādhā’s forest playground, he said in a simple way,

gaura-śyāma-sunāgara-divya-kiśora-dvayaṁ sadā yatra |

nava-nava-keli-vilāsair viharati vṛndāvanaṁ tad eva bhaja ||

“Worship Śrī Vṛndāvana, where the two divine youthful lovers Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa always sport in ever-fresh pastimes. By the mercy of Śrī Vṛndāvana, you will obtain their lotus feet.” (Śrī-Vṛndāvana-Mahimāmṛtam 3.94) In the verse we are discussing, he instructs his mind by saying, rādhā-vihāra-vipine ramatāṁ mano me. “O mind, just enjoy yourself in Śrī Rādhā’s forest playground!” yathā hari-rase manaḥ svayam anaṅkuśe dhāvati. (Śrī-Vṛndāvana-Mahimāmṛtam 3.51) The purport is that by the power of Vṛndāvana, the mind of one who takes shelter of Vraja becomes engaged without restraint in hari-rasa, meaning in the beautiful, sweet and captivating lotus feet of Śrī Rādhā-Govinda. What misery for a jīva like me! I have no experience whatsoever of residing in Śrī Rādhā’s forest playground. My attachment for this body and all that goes with it is nothing but delirium. In the last half of the above-mentioned verse, Śrīpāda has written, paraṁ tu yadi tad-gata-sthira-careṣu no kāya-vāṅ-manobhir aparādhitā bhavati bādhitā tattva-dhīḥ. The meaning is that everything in Vṛndāvana, mobile or immobile, is cinmaya or conscious. If you live in Vraja in this state of mind, you will receive the fruit of living in Vraja. If, however, you ignorantly commit an offense with your body, mind or speech toward a vrajavāsī, mobile or immobile, your realization of vraja-rasa will be obstructed. Even if a jīva like me resides permanently in Rādhā’s forest playground, because of such an offense there will be no realization.

By the mercy of Śrī Vṛndāvana, a vision of one sweet pastime has appeared before Śrīpāda. He is witnessing one of Śrī Yugala-Kiśora’s madhura-līlās in the forest around Śrī Rādhā-Kuṇḍa. Along with their girlfriends, the divine couple is enjoying the springtime beauty of the forest. Śrīpāda is engaged in serving them in his kiṅkarī form. The forest is replete with various kinds of flowers, and the buzzing bees sport in one after the other. The sweet songs of the cuckoos ignite their desire for love, so the transcendental young Madana(2) and his devoted sweetheart, surrounded by their sakhīs and mañjarīs, begin to playfully sing songs of amour. With each holding the other’s neck, the two lovers absorb themselves in sweet forest pastimes, like the king of elephants and his mate. The honey-voiced sakhīs sing of the sweetness of their romantic play to further inflame their passion. Sometimes, Priyājī personally collects flowers for decorating her lover. Under the guise of opening in full bloom, the creeper flowers smile when touched by Svāminī’s hand. Under the guise of sprouting, goosebumps appear, and under the guise of showering honey, they shower tears of joy. When she collects flowers along with her sakhīs, they enjoy much joking and laughing. Viśākhā says, “My dear friend Rādhā, do not take the flower from this creeper because it is kṛṣṇa-pakṣa-sarasā. It even clashes with your dress.” (The joke is that on the one hand she says that this creeper becomes fully blossomed in the dark fortnight [kṛṣṇa-pakṣa] and therefore its flower is no good. On the other hand she says that this creeper is no good because it is biased toward Kṛṣṇa [kṛṣṇa-pakṣa]. Therefore, after quarreling with Rādhā’s dress, the creeper does not want Śrīmatī to meet with Kṛṣṇa.) Rādhā replies, “But Viśākhā, this creeper bears flowers in the bright fortnight (śukla-pakṣa); why are you saying it blooms in kṛṣṇa-pakṣa? It conflicts with my dress because it cannot bear to be apart from me.” In Svāminī’s opinion, the creeper is on her side. Viśākhā sometimes says, “Sakhī Rādhā, look! A restless bee has flown here to drink honey from your lotus face. Be careful!” (She is hinting that Kṛṣṇa has arrived.) Śrīmatī replies, “Friend, why should a bee give up drinking honey from the fragrant lotus faces of beautiful girls like you and come to me? You girls keep saying that my face is like the moon. A bee has no attraction for the scentless moon.” Submerged in countless such rasika discussions they continue to gather flowers. In his kiṅkarī form Śrīpāda sees rādhā-karāvacita-pallava-vallarīke, the beautiful creeper blossoms in Śrī Rādhā’s forest playground of Vṛndāvana are delighted by the touch of  her hand. Through the līlā-rasa he has gotten a taste of Vṛndāvana’s natural beauty.

One day Śrīmatī was diligently trying to pick flowers from a high branch and her underarms were exposed. Attracted by this, Śyāmasundara quickly arrived. Śrīmatī cannot reach the flowers on the high branch, so Śyāmasundara bends it down for her. Just as Śrīmatī is preparing to pick the flowers, Śyāma releases the branch. Up goes delicate Rādhā along with the branch and she is left hanging in the air! Frightened, she calls out, “Lalitā, Lalitā!” Śyāma claps his hands and laughs loudly. Lalitā pulls the branch down again and Svāminī gets back on the ground. In his kiṅkarī form, Śrīpāda sees that Rādhā’s captivating footprints have spread wondrous beauty across Vṛndāvana’s bosom. rādhā-padāṅka-vilasan-madhura-sthalīke. He experiences this within the līlā.

The flower picking is complete. While sitting on a jeweled bench, Śrīmatī makes various kinds of flower ornaments and decorates Śyāmasundara with her own hands. The birds are loudly singing songs of Śrīmatī’s glory, and when Śyāmasundara and the sakhīs hear this, they are overcome with joy. In some grove, a parrot couple sits upon a tree branch and argues, one taking Rādhā’s side and one Kṛṣṇa’s, sinking Yugala-Kiśora and the sakhīs into an ocean of bliss.(3) In his dāsī form, Śrīpāda is experiencing rādhā-yaśo-mukhara-matta-khagāvalīke.

A devoted sādhaka is blessed with a taste of this rasa in meditation. These sweet pastimes of the divine couple cause extreme eagerness to awaken in the sādhaka and make him impatient to obtain direct sevā. Then his heart and mind become constantly afflicted with viraha. When a continuous state of longing awakens in him, he will then be blessed with direct sevā.

kabe hena daśā habe sakhī saṅga pāba | 

bṛndābane phula gāṅthi doṅhāke parāba ||

sammukhe rahiyā kabe cāmara ḍhulāba | 

aguru candana gandha doṅhā aṅge diba ||

sakhīra ājñāya kabe tāmbūla yogāba | 

sindūra tilaka kabe doṅhāke parāba ||

bilāsa kautuka-keli heriba nayane | 

candra-mukha nirakhiba basāye siṁhāsane ||

sadā se mādhurī dekhi manera lālase | 

kata-dine habe dayā narottama dāse ||

“When, along with the sakhīs in Vṛndāvana, shall I get to string garlands of flowers and place them on the divine couple? When shall I stand before them and fan them with a cāmara, or anoint their bodies with fragrant aloeswood and sandalwood pastes? When, by the sakhīs’ order, shall I provide them with tāmbūla and adorn them with vermilion tilaka? When shall I witness their joyous pastimes with my own eyes? When shall I see their moonlike faces as I seat them on a throne? My mind always yearns to see such sweetness! How long before Narottama Dāsa gets such mercy?” (Prārthanā 45)

After entering a flowering kuñja, the divine couple submerged themselves in amorous pastimes. The kiṅkarī was blessed with a taste of those sweet līlās by gazing through an opening in the kuñja. Then suddenly his mystic vision ended. In external consciousness, he humbly prayed, rādhā-vihāra-vipine ramatāṁ mano me. “O mind! Though you may not be so fortunate as to see those nectarous pastimes directly, become joyful by always contemplating them as you roam about in Śrī Rādhā’s forest playground of Vṛndāvana.”

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1. A virahī-bhakta is a devotee who feels pangs of separation from Śrī Kṛṣṇa.

2. God of love

3. This quarrel is described in Śrī Govinda-Līlāmṛtam 13.13-42.

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My translations of Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā and Bhāvanā-Sāra-Saṅgrahaḥ are both 15% off through February 10. Use the code FEBRUARY15. Click on the book images on the right of the blog page. Applies to print copies only.  

Śrī-Śrī-Gaura-Govinda-Līlāmṛta Guṭikā 19

Vrajadhāma: Śrī Rādhā’s Bath and Hiraṇyāṅgī’s Stories About Kṛṣṇa 

Śrī Rādhā and her sakhīs were happily watching the birds play in Yāvaṭa. Meanwhile, the dāsīs placed the articles for Śrīmatī’s bath on her bathing platform and have been waiting for her. After Śrī Rādhā sat on the bathing platform, Lalitā Sakhī lovingly removed her ornaments as though plucking flowers from a golden creeper. The sakhīs and mañjarīs felt great joy at seeing the astonishing beauty of her unadorned limbs. Then two washerman’s daughters named Mañjiṣṭhā and Raṅgavatī arrived with Śrī Rādhā’s bathing garment. Śrīmatī looked timidly in all directions and then put it on. It seemed as though the soft rays of a full moon had covered a statue of lightning. Then Śrīmatī sat on a soft seat and Rati Mañjarī removed her veil, untied her braid and moistened her curly locks with fragrant oil. She groomed her hair with a jeweled comb and then retied it. At Śrī Guru Mañjarī’s signal, the sādhaka-dāsī massaged Śrīmatī’s beautiful limbs with fragrant nārāyaṇa oil. Then she anointed her with a mixture of red powder, saffron, camphor, sandalwood paste and rosewater, as though sanctifying a statue of lightning. After massaging and anointing her, the sakhīs and mañjarīs began to bathe Śrī Rādhā. From a crystal pitcher they poured water scented with roses and other flowers on her head. That crystal pitcher appeared as blue from the luster of Śrī Rādhā’s hair, golden from the luster of her face and ruby-red from the luster of her lips. After Rādhā’s bath, the kiṅkarīs wiped the drops of water from her body with soft white towels. They appeared to be gently removing pearls from a steady streak of lightning using fragments of autumnal white clouds. One kiṅkarī began to carefully squeeze the water from Rādhā’s hair with a white towel. It seemed as though intense darkness veiled by moonlight white as a lotus fiber were shedding tears. Then, to remove the remaining water, Śrī Rādhā held the two ends of a towel and repeatedly struck bunches of her hair with it, scattering tiny drops into the air. After that, the sakhīs adorned her with a red undergarment and lovely blue dress. The deer of Kṛṣṇa’s eyes get willingly entangled in the beautiful net of that blue dress.

Then Śrī Rādhā sat on the dressing platform and a sakhī dried and scented her hair with the smoke from aguru incense. Sudevī arranged Śrīmatī’s hair with a jeweled comb, making a part in it like a Gaṅgā of sweetness, and then tied her braid like a snake to attract Kṛṣṇa’s mind. Lalitā attached an ornament made of cornflowers atop Śrīmatī’s head and a string of nine pearls in the part of her hair. Then with her left hand she slightly lifted Śrīmatī’s moonlike face and with her right painted a beautiful kāma-yantra on her brow. She first drew a circle of musk mixed with liquified aloeswood (aguru). Within that, she drew a delicate lotus with strokes of vermilion and within that, a dot of sandalwood paste mixed with camphor to create the beautiful tilaka. She then made collyrium paint with the glossy lampblack from a camphor lamp and applied it around Śrīmatī’s large eyes. It seemed as though dense darkness had enclosed a pair of lotuses beloved of Sūrya with the net of its own blackness! On Śrī Rādhā’s nose, lovelier than a sesame flower, Lalitā attached an amazing pearl nose-ring, like a seed from a creeper of beauty strung on a golden thread. After that, with Śrīmatī’s smiling face slightly bowed in shyness, Lalitā placed a drop of musk on the middle of her chin, like a baby bee on a golden lotus. Citra Devī painted beautiful leaves on Śrī Rādhā’s breasts with liquified camphor, aloeswood, sandalwood and vermilion. It seemed that by Kandarpa’s desire a charming pair of ruddy geese had risen from a lake of rasa adorned with moss. Indulekhā Sakhī placed jeweled bracelets on Śrīmatī’s arms that resembled full moons divided in two and tied with lotus fiber creepers. Then Campakalatā placed sapphire bangles on Śrī Rādhā’s wrists, nine-jeweled armlets on her lotus-stalk arms and jeweled rings on her leaflike fingers. Viśākhā placed a pearl-decorated crimson bodice on Śrīmatī’s bosom, along with a jeweled necklace and a throat ornament made of golden lattice. Tuṅgavidyā Sakhī then placed a lovely sash on Śrīmatī’s broad hips. It appeared as though Madanarāja had built a jeweled archway on the gateway to his home. Raṅgadevī placed jeweled anklets and toe-rings on Śrīmatī’s lotus feet and a sādhaka-dāsī then painted them with lac-dye. Rasa Mañjarī applied an ointment of camphor mixed with sandalwood paste to Śrīmatī’s beautiful limbs. Tulasī Mañjarī placed a garland of mādhavī flowers around Rādhā’s neck and a līlā-kamala(1) in her hand. Then Raṅgaṇamālā (Rūpa Mañjarī) placed a large jeweled mirror in front of her. When Śrīmatī saw the flawless beauty of her sweet form reflected in the mirror, she was amazed and began to consider, “My sweetheart floats in an ocean of bliss when he perceives only a particle of the luster of my unadorned body. When he sees this elegant, well-dressed and well-decorated beauty, his joy will be immeasurable. If he were to not enjoy this beauty, it would all be in vain.” In this way, Śrīmatī anxiously waited to see Kṛṣṇa. Then a sādhaka-dāsī placed the articles for ārati in Lalitā’s hands and she offered them to Śrī Rādhā.

____________________

1. A lotus used as a plaything

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My translations of Prema-Bhakti-Candrikā and Bhāvanā-Sāra-Saṅgrahaḥ are both 15% off through January 27. Use the code JANUARY15. Click on the book images on the right of the blog page. Applies to print copies only.  

Śrī-Rādhā-Rasa-Sudhā-Nidhiḥ 13 (comm. by Śrī Anantadāsa Bābājī Mahārāja)

 

वृन्दावनेश्वरि तवैव पदारविन्दं 

प्रेमामृतैक-मकरन्दरसौघपूर्णम् ।

हृद्यर्पितं मधुपतेः स्मरतापमुग्रं 

निर्वापयत् परमशीतलमाश्रयामि ॥ १३ ॥

vṛndāvaneśvari tavaiva padāravindaṁ 

premāmṛtaika-makaranda-rasaugha-pūrṇam |

hṛdy arpitaṁ madhu-pateḥ smara-tāpam ugraṁ 

nirvāpayat parama-śītalam āśrayāmi || 13 ||

“O Goddess of Vṛndāvana! I take refuge in your lotus feet. By holding to his chest those most cooling feet, which are filled with the honey-nectar of love, Śrī Kṛṣṇa allayed his terrible torment from the god of passion.”

Śrī Rādhā’s Lotus Feet

Rasa-Varṣiṇī-Vyākhyā: In the previous verse, some confusion appeared in Śrīpāda’s mind after his vision of līlā. The pain of separation is unbearable for the premika devotees. Śrīpāda is in the kingdom of mahābhāva; his sweet vision of līlā has agitated his mind. With a sorrowful heart he prays, “O Svāminī! Just once send your holy glance toward this wretched soul.” Svāminī possesses boundless mercy; how can she remain tranquil when she perceives her dear maidservant’s agony of separation? To this question the mahājanas have replied that the sole purpose of viraha (separation) is to enhance the flavor of union.

na vinā vipralambhena sambhogaḥ puṣṭim aśnute |

kaṣāyite hi vastrādau bhūyān rāgo vivardhate ||

“If a piece of clothing is to be dyed, the impurities must be removed with an alkali, thus increasing the intensity of color. In the same way, without viraha, sambhoga (union) is not nourished.” (Ujjvala-Nīlamaṇi 15.3) Viraha is not only a nourisher of union, but it has also been called a rasa. Even in the books of the Gosvāmīs, it has been shown that the rasa of separation is more enjoyable than the rasa of meeting. Therefore, there is so much viraha in pure, sweet vraja-prema. Viraha is seen to be constantly present in the love of the vraja-sundarīs, who possess the highest mahābhāva. Consequently, they always get to savor viraha-rasa. Even at the time of union, the dread of future separation is in their hearts. The greatest devotees feel blessed and gratified to be in the presence of the gopīs’ viraha. Śrīla Uddhava Mahāśaya said to the vrajadevīs, viraheṇa mahābhāgā mahān me’nugrahaḥ kṛtaḥ. “O most fortunate ones, through your feelings of separation you have conferred a great boon on me. If not for your viraha, Śrī Kṛṣṇa would not have sent me here to console you and I would not have been blessed to perceive the glory of your astonishing love.” Feeling strong separation, Śrīpāda thinks, “Without taking shelter at Śrī Rādhā’s most cooling lotus feet, there is no way to mitigate this unbearable pain.” parama-śītalaṁ tavaiva padāravindam āśrayāmi.

Suddenly, a vision of līlā appeared before viraha-stricken Śrīpāda’s eyes. Śrīmatī is waiting anxiously at the meeting place and Śyāmasundara is a little late arriving. Holding the neck of her sakhī, Śrīmatī laments:

bandhura lāgiyā śeja bichāyaluṅ gāṅthiluṅ phulera mālā |

tāmbūla sājāluṅ dīpa ujāraluṅ mandira haila ālā ||

sai, pāche esaba haibe āna |

se hena nāgara guṇera sāgara kāhe nā milana kāna ||

śāśurī-nanade bañcanā kariyā āiluṅ gahana bane |

baḍa sādha mane e rūpa yaubane milaba bandhura sane ||

patha pāne cāhi kata nā rahiba kata prabodhiba mane |

rasa-śiromaṇi āsiba ekhani dīna caṇḍīdāsa bhane ||

Dīna Caṇḍīdāsa narrates, “For my lover, I have prepared our bed and strung flower garlands, made tāmbūla and lit a lamp to brighten the room. Sakhī, I fear all this may have been for naught. There may be no union with my dear Kṛṣṇa, the ocean of good qualities. After deceiving my mother-in-law and sister-in-law, I have come to this dense forest in my youth, yearning to meet my lover. How long shall I closely watch the path, thinking that Rasa-Śiromaṇi will soon arrive?”

In his kiṅkarī form, Śrīpāda encourages the forlorn Śrī Rādhā to endure: “Just be a little patient; your beloved will come soon.” After a short while, Kṛṣṇa arrived. Though delighted that he had come, Śrī Rādhā felt slightly offended and contrary because he was late. Donning her veil, she looked back in Kṛṣṇa’s direction and sat down. The King of Charm must now do some smooth talking to drive away the beautiful Śrī Rādhā’s indignation. Sitting at her feet, with folded hands he begins to plead:

cāha mukha tuli rāi cāha mukha tuli | nayāna-nācane nāce hiyāra putalī ||

abhimāna dūra kari cāha ekabāra | dūre yāu saba mora hiyāra āṅdhāra ||

rāi, kata parikhasi āra | tuyā ārādhana mora bidita saṁsāra ||

pīta pindhana mora tuyā abhilāṣe | parāṇa camake yadi chāḍaha niśvāse ||

leha leha leha rāi sādhera murali | paraśite cāhi tomāra caraṇera dhūli ||

tuyā mukha nirakhite āṅkhi bhela bhora | nayana-añjana tuyā para-cita-cora ||

rūpe guṇe yaubane bhubane āgali | bihi niramila tohe pirīti putali ||

eta dhane dhani yei se kene kṛpaṇa | jñāna-dāsa kahe—kebā jānibe marama || 

“Please lift your face and look at me, Rādhā! Your dancing eyes make my heart dance like a puppet. Give up your anger and look, just once. Send all the gloom of my heart far away. Rādhā, how much more will you test me? The whole world knows I adore you. I wear the color yellow because of my affection for you. My heart blooms in wonder if you simply sigh. Out of love for you, my muralī flute plays of its own accord. I want to touch the dust of your lotus feet. My eyes are enchanted by your lotus face. The collyrium on your eyes steals my heart. You are a storehouse of beauty, good qualities and youth in the world. The creator made you as an embodiment of love. O blessed one, you have so much wealth. Why be a miser?” Jñāna Dāsa says, “Who can fathom the heart?”

Now, even though Kṛṣṇa made various attempts to change Śrīmatī’s mind, he could not do so. His heart burns in the intense fire of love. He keeps thinking, “Please, let me touch your beautiful feet just once.” Then, a wave of rasa rose in his heart. A mahājana has written, hiyāra mājhāre uṭhe rasera hilloli; (yabe) paraśite cāhi tomāra pāyera aṅgulī. “When I wish to touch your beautiful toes, a wave of rasa rises in my heart.” 

Śrī Rādhā sat on a jeweled seat with her feet resting on a footstool below. Suddenly, just as Rasarāja grabbed Śrīmatī’s feet to place them on his head, out of modesty Śrīmatī simultaneously pulled her feet away. As they both pulled, her lotus feet landed on Śyāmasundara’s chest! It looked as though two red lotuses had bloomed from the heart of the blue Yamunā. Śyāmasundara’s bluish chest was so beautiful smeared with the red lac melted from Śrīmatī’s perspiring lotus feet! Śrīpāda Kavi Karṇapūra has skillfully described this beauty:

śrīvatsasya ca kaustubhasya ca ramādevyāś ca garhākaro

rādhā-pāda-saroja-yāvaka-raso vakṣaḥ-sthala-stho hareḥ |

bālārka-dyuti-maṇḍalīva timiraiś chandena vandī-kṛtā

kālindyāḥ payasīva pīva-vikacaṁ raktotpalaṁ pātu vaḥ ||

“May Śrī Rādhā’s foot-lac smeared upon Śrī Hari’s chest protect you all. It is more beautiful than the Śrīvatsa, Kaustubha and Ramādevī (Lakṣmī) on his chest. The beauty of the radiant red lac on Kṛṣṇa’s smooth dark chest is incomparable. It is like the rays of the newly-risen sun are being offered prayers by the darkness, or a red lotus has blossomed within the dark waters of the Kālindī.” (Alaṅkāra-Kaustubhaḥ 8.59)

The cooling touch of her lotus feet has allayed the terrible fire of love burning in Nāgarendra’s heart. He is a madhupati, a rasika bee. A bee cools himself by drinking the honey from lotuses, but here, the madhupati cools himself by placing a lotus foot upon his chest. To have a pair of them is even more uncommon. Even though a lotus is soothing, it excites a person pierced by Cupid’s arrows and increases his suffering. But the wonderful coolness of Śrī Rādhā’s lotus feet relieves Madhupati’s agony of love. After being shown the transcendent characteristics of these extraordinary lotus feet, Śrīpāda said, premāmṛtaika-makaranda-rasaugha-pūrṇam. “They are filled with a stream of the flower-nectar of love.” Premāmṛta-rasa is the honey from her lotus feet, meaning that an endless stream of the nectar of love is oozing from her lotus feet, and it extinguishes Madanamohana’s burning desire. In this rasa, the coolness of nectar and the intoxicating quality of honey exist simultaneously. Moreover, the word makaranda-rasa (flower-honey) is also suggestive of the term madhu-sneha:

madīyatvātiśaya-bhāk priye sneho bhaven madhu |

svayaṁ prakaṭa-mādhuryo nānā-rasa-samāhṛtiḥ ||

The type of affection characterized by a sense that “Kṛṣṇa is mine” is known as madhu-sneha.(1) Candrāvalī possesses ghṛta-sneha (love that is like ghee) and Śrī Rādhā possesses madhu-sneha (love that is like honey).(2) In madhu-sneha, various rasas are combined and it has thus been called rasaugha, a flood of rasa. When sneha reaches an elevated state, it is known as māna (pride). (Ujjvala-Nīlamaṇi 14.93-94)

snehas tūtkṛṣṭatāvāptyā mādhuryaṁ mānayan navam |

yo dhārayaty adākṣiṇyaṁ sa māna iti kīrtyate ||

“When sneha becomes elevated, it manifests a new and amazing sweetness and assumes a crooked nature. That is called māna.” (Ujjvala-Nīlamaṇi 14.96) By the touch of that elevated sneha-rasa, Rasarāja’s burning desire has been alleviated.

By holding Śrīmatī’s lotus feet to his chest, Śrī Kṛṣṇa has caused her māna to run away. Śrīpāda was blessed in his kiṅkarī form with an experience of the sweetness of their union. Suddenly, his mystic vision ended. His heart burned in the fire of separation. To allay this terrible pain, he prayed for shelter at Śrīmati’s most cooling lotus feet. By holding those feet to his chest, Śrī Kṛṣṇa also got relief from the passion god’s torment. “Your cooling lotus feet are my only refuge from the pain of separation.”

__________________

1. See verses 170-171 in Dhyānacandra’s Paddhati.

2. Rādhā thinks, “Kṛṣṇa is mine.” Candrāvalī thinks, “I am Kṛṣṇa’s.”

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Śrī-Rādhā-Rasa-Sudhā-Nidhiḥ 12 (comm. by Śrī Anantadāsa Bābājī Mahārāja)

 

उज्जृम्भमाणरसवारिनिधेस्तरङ्गै-

रङ्गैरिव प्रणयलोलविलोचनायाः ।

तस्याः कदा नु भविता मयि पुण्यदृष्टि-

र्वृन्दाटवी-नवनिकुञ्जगृहाधिदेव्याः ॥ १२ ॥

ujjṛmbhamāṇa-rasa-vāri-nidhes taraṅgair

aṅgair iva praṇaya-lola-vilocanāyāḥ |

tasyāḥ kadā nu bhavitā mayi puṇya-dṛṣṭir

vṛndāṭavī-nava-nikuñja-gṛhādhidevyāḥ || 12 ||

“When will the auspicious glance of Śrī Rādhā, the goddess of Vṛndāvana’s new bower cottage, fall upon me? Her restless, thirsty eyes fill with love at the sight of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s smiles, sidelong glances and so on that rise like waves in the billowing ocean of rasa.”

Śrī Rādhā, Ocean of Love

Rasa-Varṣiṇī-Vyākhyā: In the previous verse, a deep longing for Śrīmatī’s mercy awoke in Śrīpāda’s mind when his vision of līlā faded and he returned to sādhaka consciousness. The sādhaka advances on the path toward his objective according to the amount of longing in his heart. Specifically, this eager desire or longing is the life of rāga-bhakti. In the heart of a jīva like me, desires for so many things constantly arise, but not even a scent of longing for the divine beloved appears. Longing will arise in the sādhaka’s heart if he continuously hears about the loving affairs of the divine couple. This is the way to obtain strong desire for the beloved.

tat-tat-bhāvādi-mādhurye śrute dhīr yad apekṣate |

nātra śāstraṁ na yuktiṁ ca tal-lobhotpatti-lakṣaṇam ||

“The indication of the appearance of lobha, or strong desire, is that upon hearing about Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s sweet loving affairs from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and other līlā-granthas written by rasika-bhaktas, one gains a slight experience of that bhāva. Then, without regard for scriptural injunctions or logic, a desire to obtain it arises in one’s mind.” (Śrī-Bhakti-Rasāmṛta-Sindhuḥ 1.2.292)

This intense desire for tasting mādhurya is the primary support for rāga-bhajana. Śrīpāda longs for Śrīmatī’s merciful glance. Woven within her compassionate glance is the attainment of sevā to the beloved. In his Prārthanā, Śrīla Ṭhākura Mahāśaya has written the following:

prāṇeśvari! kabe more habe kṛpā-diṭhi |

ājñāya āniyā kabe, bibidha phulabara, bacana śunaba duṅhu miṭhi ||

mṛga-mada tilaka, sindura banāoba, lepaba candana gandhe ||

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

lalitā kabe more, bījana deoyaba, bījaba māruta mande ||

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

“Goddess of my life! When shall I get your merciful glance? When, by your order, shall I bring varieties of beautiful flowers and hear your sweet conversations with Kṛṣṇa? I shall prepare tilaka of musk and vermilion for the two of you, and anoint your bodies with fragrant sandal-paste. I shall string garlands of mālatī flowers, replace your necklaces and chase away the bees. When will Lalitā give me the opportunity to fan you, removing the perspiration from your bodies with a gentle breeze. I shall behold all this in great joy!”

By Śrīmatī’s mercy, a vision of līlā has appeared before Śrīpāda’s eyes. Śrī Rādhā, filled with profound love, has departed for the kuñja today to meet her lover. Śrī Rādhā’s mood during the journey is truly amazing: on the one hand, she is eager, while on the other, she is apprehensive. Then there is the difficulty of the path itself. People say that love is tender, but they will be astonished if they consider that such tenderness is the source (or vessel) of infinite power.

māthahi tapana, tapata patha bāluka, ātapa dahana bithāra |

nanika putali tanu, caraṇa kamala janu, dinahi kayala abhisāra ||

hari hari! premaka gati anibāra |

kānu paraśa rase, parabaśa rasabatī, bichurala sakala bicāra ||

“On the day of Rādhā’s journey to see her lover, the sun overhead was hot and the sand on the road even hotter. Her body was like a doll made of butter and her lotus feet like glowing coals. Hari Hari! The movement of one with divine love is unstoppable. Overcome by Kṛṣṇa’s charm, Rādhā forgot all caution.” (Govinda Dāsa)

Longing intensely to serve Kṛṣṇa, Śrīmatī prevailed over all obstacles and hazards and has now arrived at the meeting place. When her eager lover, waiting in the bower, saw his devoted Śrī Rādhā’s moonlike face, he was filled with joy. Because Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the incomparable ocean of mādhurya-rasa, when he saw Śrī Rādhā’s moonlike face, waves of beauty began to surge in him. Waves of smiles, sidelong glances and so on rose within that expanding ocean of rasa. Śrī Kṛṣṇa is an ocean full of nectarous rasa. Śruti has said, raso vai saḥ, ānandaṁ brahma. Śrī Bhagavān is full of rasa or joy; but all rasas are not fully manifested in all avatāras. After Nṛsiṁhadeva killed Hiraṇyakaśipu, the gods sent Śrī Lakṣmīdevī to allay his anger, but she could not find any madhura-rasa in him. Śrī Prahlāda Mahāśaya found vātsalya-rasa(1) within him. In no other incarnation of Śrī Bhagavān are all the rasas displayed at once. But Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the full embodiment of rasa; all rasas are completely manifested in him. He has so many qualities that nourish rasa and those qualities are called his mādhurya (sweetness). Śrī Kṛṣṇa's rūpa-mādhurya (bodily sweetness) is one of them. With the support of pure love, the devotee perceives Kṛṣṇa's sweetness, and in the presence of that devotee's love, Kṛṣṇa's sweetness is seen to surge. In the invocation to his Durgama-Saṅgamanī commentary on Bhakti-Rasāmṛta-Sindhu, Śrīmat Jīva Gosvāmipāda has written, tatrāpi rasa-viśeṣa-viśiṣṭa-parikara-vaiśiṣṭyenāvirbhāva-vaiśiṣṭyaṁ dṛśyate; ataevādi-rasa-viśeṣa-viśiṣṭa-sambandhena nitarām. The meaning is that Kṛṣṇa's sweetness surges in response to the degree of the devotee's love. Therefore, in the presence of the damsels of Vraja, whose pure love in madhura-rasa surpasses all others, the bodily sweetness of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the king of the erotic sentiment, surges in abundance. In the presence of Śrī Rādhārāṇī, who possesses mādanākhya-mahābhāva, the highest of all, endless waves of mādhurya surge in that ocean of śṛṅgāra-rasa.(2)

In his kiṅkarī form, Śrīpāda observes that when the delighted nāgara (lover boy) sees Śrī Rādhā's face, his own boundless beauty is displayed. His sweetly smiling face is very attractive, and upon that face his captivating eyebrows play. When Śrīmatī sees the face of her beloved, her eyes become restless with love. The jewel of lovers reveals boundless sweetness in her sidelong glances. Śrī Rādhā's eyes swim like fish in the waves of the ocean of the lover king's beauty. Śrī Rādhā is a transformation of Śrī Kṛṣṇa's love. rādhikā hayena kṛṣṇera praṇaya-bikāra (Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Ādi 4.59). The love in Śrīmatī’s heart emerges through her eyes and paints countless pictures of rasa on the canvas of Kṛṣṇa’s heart.(3) The reason for saying praṇaya-lola-vilocanā rather than prema-lola-vilocanā is that where there is an abundance of love, one considers one's own body, mind and soul to be one with his or her lover's.(4) Today, the jewel of lovers Śrī Rādhā is very open-hearted, so by means of his beauty and sweetness the lover king drives away her naturally contrary nature and enchants her. Her loving, sidelong glances are restless. This restlessness reveals her countless erotic moods. Through her eyes she makes love-offerings to her beloved. The ornament named vilāsa, or flirtatious behavior, is expressed by her beautiful limbs.

gati-sthānāsanādīnāṁ mukha-netrādi-karmaṇām |

tātkālikaṁ tu vaiśiṣṭyaṁ vilāsaḥ priya-saṅga-jam ||

“The particular manner of the girl's walking, standing, sitting and so on, as well as the movements of her mouth and eyes that manifest when she meets with her lover is called vilāsa.” (Ujjvala-Nīlamaṇi 11.31)

When he saw the sweetness of Śrīmatī's mouth, eyes and limbs, Kṛṣṇa was enticed by her beauty and became eager for romance. The kiṅkarī left the bower, knowing that Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa were going to make love. Such sweet union! The fortunate kiṅkarī was blessed with a taste of that sweetness by peeking through an opening in the bower. After the lovemaking, the kiṅkarī knew there would be an opportunity for sevā, so she reentered the bower, where Śrīmatī was sitting on the bed. It seemed as though a cascade of mādhurī was falling from her beautiful form. Kṛṣṇa was spellbound.

līlā-ante sukhe ihāra ye aṅga mādhurī |

tāhā dekhi sukhe āmi āpanā pāsari ||

“Seeing the beauty of her body after our love play, I forget myself in ecstasy.” (Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Ādi 4.256)

By observing Śyāmasundara, the kiṅkarī understood that Śrīmatī is the presiding deity of the new bower cottage and she illuminates it with her beauty.

debī kahi dyotamānā paramā-sundarī |

kimbā kṛṣṇa-krīḍā-pūjāra basati nagarī ||

“The word devī means luminous and most beautiful, or the abode of the worship of Kṛṣṇa and his pastimes.” (Śrī-Caitanya-Caritāmṛta, Ādi 4.84)

The enchanted nāgara relishes insatiably the beauty of Śrīmatī's form. The kiṅkarī engages in sevā. Suddenly the vision came to an end. In sādhaka consciousness he prayed with deep anguish, “When will Śrī Rādhā’s auspicious glance fall upon me?” Here, the word puṇya-dṛṣṭi (auspicious glance) means “charming or pleasant glance.” He hopes to relish Śrīmatī's sweet glance as she, with longing eyes, savors the sight of Śyāmasundara. Or the word puṇya can mean “conferring happiness.” In his sādhaka state, he humbly said, “Śrī Rādhā’s glance confers the greatest happiness. When will that sweet glance deliver me from this wretched condition and lead me to the most auspicious kingdom of līlā?”

1. Parental sentiment

2. Śṛṅgāra is the erotic mood.

3. Could this mean that when Kṛṣṇa sees the love in Rādhā’s eyes, the possibility of countless rasika pastimes with her appears in his heart?

4. Prema and praṇaya both generally mean love or affection, but praṇaya seems to specifically indicate intimacy.