In this chapter of the epic Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī has stressed that Lord Caitanya appeared for three principal purposes of His own. The first purpose was to relish the position of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, who is the prime reciprocator of transcendental love of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Lord Kṛṣṇa is the reservoir of transcendental loving transactions with Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. The subject of those loving transactions is the Lord Himself, and Rādhārāṇī is the object. Thus the subject, the Lord, wanted to relish the loving mellow in the position of the object, Rādhārāṇī.
The second reason for His appearance was to understand the transcendental mellow of Himself. Lord Kṛṣṇa is all sweetness. Rādhārāṇī’s attraction for Kṛṣṇa is sublime, and to experience that attraction and understand the transcendental sweetness of Himself, He accepted the mentality of Rādhārāṇī.
The third reason that Lord Caitanya appeared was to enjoy the bliss tasted by Rādhārāṇī. The Lord thought that undoubtedly Rādhārāṇī enjoyed His company and He enjoyed the company of Rādhārāṇī, but the exchange of transcendental mellow between the spiritual couple was more pleasing to Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī than to Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Rādhārāṇī felt more transcendental pleasure in the company of Kṛṣṇa than He could understand without taking Her position, but for Śrī Kṛṣṇa to enjoy in the position of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī was impossible because that position was completely foreign to Him. Kṛṣṇa is the transcendental male, and Rādhārāṇī is the transcendental female. Therefore, to know the transcendental pleasure of loving Kṛṣṇa, Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself appeared as Lord Caitanya, accepting the emotions and bodily luster of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī.
Lord Caitanya appeared to fulfill these confidential desires and also to preach the special significance of chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa, Hare Kṛṣṇa, Kṛṣṇa Kṛṣṇa, Hare Hare Hare Rāma, Hare Rāma, Rāma Rāma, Hare Hare, and to answer the call of Advaita Prabhu. These were secondary reasons.
Śrī Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī was the principal figure among Lord Caitanya’s confidential devotees. The records of his diary have revealed these confidential purposes of the Lord. These revelations have been confirmed by the statements of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī in his various prayers and poems.
This chapter also specifically describes the difference between lust and love. The transactions of Kṛṣṇa and Rādhā are completely different from material lust. Therefore the author has very clearly distinguished between them.
TEXT 1
śrī-caitanya-prasādena
tad-rūpasya vinirṇayam
bālo ‘pi kurute śāstraṁ
dṛṣṭvā vraja-vilāsinaḥ
SYNONYMS
śrī-caitanya-prasādena-by the mercy of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu; tat-of Him; rūpasya-of the form; vinirṇayam-complete determination; bālaḥ-a child; api-even; kurute-makes; śāstram-the revealed scriptures; dṛṣṭvā-having seen; vraja-vilāsinaḥ-who enjoys the pastimes of Vraja.
TRANSLATION
By the mercy of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, even a foolish child can fully describe the real nature of Lord Kṛṣṇa, the enjoyer of the pastimes of Vraja, according to the vision of the revealed scriptures.
PURPORT
One can ascertain the meaning of this Sanskrit śloka only when one is endowed with the causeless mercy of Lord Caitanya. Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, being the absolute Personality of Godhead, cannot be exposed to the mundane instruments of vision. He reserves the right not to be exposed by the intellectual feats of nondevotees. Notwithstanding this truth, even a small child can easily understand Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa and His transcendental pastimes in the land of Vṛndāvana by the grace of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
TEXT 2
jaya jaya śrī-caitanya jaya nityānanda
jayādvaita-candra jaya gaura-bhakta-vṛnda
SYNONYMS
jaya jaya-all glory; śrī-caitanya-to Lord Caitanya; jaya-all glory; nityānanda-to Lord Nityānanda; jaya-all glory; advaita-candra-to Advaita Ācārya; jaya-all glory; gaura-bhakta-vṛnda-to the devotees of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
TRANSLATION
All glory to Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. All glory to Lord Nityānanda. All glory to Śrī Advaita Ācārya. And all glory to all the devotees of Lord Caitanya.
TEXT 3
caturtha ślokera artha kaila vivaraṇa
pañcama ślokera artha śuna bhakta-gaṇa
SYNONYMS
caturtha-fourth; ślokera-of the verse; artha-the meaning; kaila-made; vivaraṇa-description; pañcama-fifth; ślokera-of the verse; artha-the meaning; śuna-please hear; bhakta-gaṇa-O devotees.
TRANSLATION
I have described the meaning of the fourth verse. Now, O devotees, kindly hear the explanation of the fifth verse.
TEXT 4
mūla-ślokera artha karite prakāśa
artha lāgāite āge kahiye ābhāsa
SYNONYMS
mūla-original; ślokera-of the verse; artha-the meaning; karite-to make; prakāśa-revelation; artha-the meaning; lāgāite-to touch; āge-first; kahiye-I shall speak; ābhāsa-hint.
TRANSLATION
Just to explain the original verse, I shall first suggest its meaning.
TEXT 5
caturtha ślokera artha ei kaila sāra
prema-nāma pracārite ei avatāra
SYNONYMS
caturtha-fourth; ślokera-of the verse; artha-the meaning; ei-this; kaila-gave; sāra-essence; prema-love of Godhead; nāma-the holy name; pracārite-to propagate; ei-this; avatāra-incarnation.
TRANSLATION
I have given the essential meaning of the fourth verse: this incarnation descends to propagate the chanting of the holy name and spread love of God.
TEXT 6
satya ei hetu, kintu eho bahiraṅga
āra eka hetu, śuna, āche antaraṅga
SYNONYMS
satya-true; ei-this; hetu-reason; kintu-but; eho-this; bahiraṅga-external; āra-another; eka-one; hetu-reason; śuna-please hear; āche-is; antaraṅga-internal.
TRANSLATION
Although this is true, this is but the external reason for the Lord’s incarnation. Please hear one other reason-the confidential reason-for the Lord’s appearance.
PURPORT
In the Third Chapter, fourth verse, it has been clearly said that Lord Caitanya appeared in order to distribute love of Kṛṣṇa and the chanting of His transcendental holy name, Hare Kṛṣṇa. That was the secondary purpose of Lord Caitanya’s appearance. The real reason is different, as we shall see in this chapter.
TEXT 7
pūrve yena pṛthivīra bhāra haribāre
kṛṣṇa avatīrṇa hailā śāstrete pracāre
SYNONYMS
pūrve-previously; yena-as; pṛthivīra-of the earth; bhāra-burden; haribāre-to take away; kṛṣṇa-Lord Kṛṣṇa; avatīrṇa-incarnated; hailā-was; śāstrete-the scriptures; pracāre-proclaim.
TRANSLATION
The scriptures proclaim that Lord Kṛṣṇa previously descended to take away the burden of the earth.
TEXT 8
svayaṁ-bhagavānera karma nahe bhāra-haraṇa
sthiti-kartā viṣṇu karena jagat-pālana
SYNONYMS
svayam-bhagavānera-of the original Supreme Personality of Godhead; karma-the business; nahe-is not; bhāra-haraṇa-taking away the burden; sthiti-kartā-the maintainer; viṣṇu-Lord Viṣṇu; karena-does; jagat-pālana-protection of the universe.
TRANSLATION
To take away this burden, however, is not the work of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The maintainer, Lord Viṣṇu, is the one who protects the universe.
TEXT 9
kintu kṛṣṇera yei haya avatāra-kāla
bhāra-haraṇa-kāla tāte ha-ila miśāla
SYNONYMS
kintu-but; kṛṣṇera-of Lord Kṛṣṇa; yei-that which; haya-is; avatāra-of incarnation; kāla-the time; bhāra-haraṇa-of taking away the burden; kāla-the time; tāte-in that; ha-ila-there was; miśāla-mixture.
TRANSLATION
But the time to lift the burden of the world mixed with the time for Lord Kṛṣṇa’s incarnation.
PURPORT
We have information from the Bhagavad-gītā that the Lord appears at particular intervals to adjust a time-worn spiritual culture. Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa appeared at the end of Dvāpara-yuga to regenerate the spiritual culture of human society and also to manifest His transcendental pastimes. Viṣṇu is the authorized Lord who maintains the created cosmos, and He is also the principal Deity who makes adjustments for improper administration in the cosmic creation. Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the primeval Lord, and He appears not to make such administrative adjustments but only to exhibit His transcendental pastimes and thus attract the fallen souls back home, back to Godhead.
However, the time for administrative rectification and the time for Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s appearance coincided at the end of the last Dvāpara-yuga. Therefore when Śrī Kṛṣṇa appeared, Viṣṇu, the Lord of maintenance, also merged in Him because all the plenary portions and parts of the absolute Personality of Godhead merge in Him during His appearance.
TEXT 10
pūrṇa bhagavān avatare yei kāle
āra saba avatāra tāṅte āsi’ mile
SYNONYMS
pūrṇa-full; bhagavān-the Supreme Personality of Godhead; avatare-incarnates; yei-that; kāle-at the time; āra-other; saba-all; avatāra-incarnations; tāṅte-in Him; āsi’-coming; mile-meet.
TRANSLATION
When the complete Supreme Personality of Godhead descends, all other incarnations of the Lord meet together within Him.
TEXTS 11-12
nārāyaṇa, catur-vyūha, matsyādy-avatāra
yuga-manvantarāvatāra, yata āche āra
sabe āsi’ kṛṣṇa-aṅge haya avatīrṇa
aiche avatare kṛṣṇa bhagavān pūrṇa
SYNONYMS
nārāyaṇa-Lord Nārāyaṇa; catuḥ-vyūha-the four expansions; matsya-ādi-beginning with Matsya; avatāra-the incarnations; yuga-manv-antara-avatāra-the yuga and manv-antara incarnations; yata-as many as; āche-there are; āra-other; sabe-all; āsi’-coming; kṛṣṇa-aṅge-in the body of Lord Kṛṣṇa; haya-are; avatīrṇa-incarnated; aiche-in this way; avatare-incarnates; kṛṣṇa-Lord Kṛṣṇa; bhagavān-the Supreme Personality of Godhead; pūrṇa-full.
TRANSLATION
Lord Nārāyaṇa, the four primary expansions [Vāsudeva, Saṅkarṣaṇa, Pradyumna and Aniruddha], Matsya and the other līlā incarnations, the yuga-avatāras, the manv-antara incarnations and as many other incarnations as there are-all descend in the body of Lord Kṛṣṇa. In this way the complete Supreme Godhead, Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself, appears.
TEXT 13
ataeva viṣṇu takhana kṛṣṇera śarīre
viṣṇu-dvāre kare kṛṣṇa asura-saṁhāre
SYNONYMS
ataeva-therefore; viṣṇu-Lord Viṣṇu; takhana-at that time; kṛṣṇera-of Lord Kṛṣṇa; śarīre-in the body; viṣṇu-dvāre-by Lord Viṣṇu; kare-does; kṛṣṇa-Lord Kṛṣṇa; asura-saṁhāre-killing the demons.
TRANSLATION
At that time, therefore, Lord Viṣṇu is present in the body of Lord Kṛṣṇa, and Lord Kṛṣṇa kills the demons through Him.
TEXT 14
ānuṣaṅga-karma ei asura-māraṇa
ye lāgi’ avatāra, kahi se mūla kāraṇa
SYNONYMS
ānuṣaṅga-karma-secondary work; ei-this; asura-of the demons; māraṇa-killing; ye-that; lāgi’-for; avatāra-the incarnation; kahi-I shall speak; se-the; mūla-root; kāraṇa-cause.
TRANSLATION
Thus the killing of the demons is but secondary work. I shall now speak of the main reason for the Lord’s incarnation.
TEXTS 15-16
prema-rasa-niryāsa karite āsvādana
rāga-mārga bhakti loke karite pracāraṇa
rasika-śekhara kṛṣṇa parama-karuṇa
ei dui hetu haite icchāra udgama
SYNONYMS
prema-rasa-of the mellow of love of God; niryāsa-the essence; karite-to do; āsvādana-tasting; rāga-mārga-the path of spontaneous attraction; bhakti-devotional service; loke-in the world; karite-to do; pracāraṇa-propagation; rasika-śekhara-the supremely jubilant; kṛṣṇa-Lord Kṛṣṇa; parama-karuṇa-the most merciful; ei-these; dui-two; hetu-reasons; haite-from; icchāra-of desire; udgama-the birth.
TRANSLATION
The Lord’s desire to appear was born from two reasons: He wanted to taste the sweet essence of the mellows of love of God, and He wanted to propagate devotional service in the world on the platform of spontaneous attraction. Thus He is known as supremely jubilant and as the most merciful of all.
PURPORT
During the period of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s appearance, the killing of asuras or nonbelievers such as Kaṁsa and Jarāsandha was done by Viṣṇu, who was within the person of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Such apparent killing by Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa took place as a matter of course and was an incidental activity for Him. But the real purpose of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s appearance was to stage a dramatic performance of His transcendental pastimes at Vrajabhūmi, thus exhibiting the highest limit of transcendental mellow in the exchanges of reciprocal love between the living entity and the Supreme Lord. These reciprocal exchanges of mellows are called rāga-bhakti, or devotional service to the Lord in transcendental rapture. Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa wants to make known to all the conditioned souls that He is more attracted by rāga-bhakti than vidhi-bhakti, or devotional service under scheduled regulations. It is said in the Vedas (Taittirīya Upaniṣad 2.7), raso vai saḥ: the Absolute Truth is the reservoir for all kinds of reciprocal exchanges of loving sentiments. He is also causelessly merciful, and He wants to bestow upon us this privilege of rāga-bhakti. Thus He appeared as His own internal energy. He was not forced to appear by any extraneous force.
TEXT 17
aiśvarya-jñānete saba jagat miśrita
aiśvarya-śithila-preme nahi mora prīta
SYNONYMS
aiśvarya jñānete-with knowledge of majesty; saba-all; jagat-the universe; miśrita-mixed; aiśvarya-śithila-weakened by majesty; preme-in love; nāhi-there is not; mora-My; prīta-pleasure.
TRANSLATION
[Lord Kṛṣṇa thought:] “All the universe is filled with the conception of My majesty, but love weakened by that sense of majesty does not satisfy Me.
TEXT 18
āmāre īśvara māne, āpanāke hīna
tāra preme vaśa āmi nā ha-i adhīna
SYNONYMS
āmāre-Me; īśvara-the Lord; māne-regards; āpanāke-himself; hīna-low; tāra-of him; preme-by the love; vaśa-controlled; āmi-I; nā ha-i-am not; adhīna-subservient.
TRANSLATION
“If one regards Me as the Supreme Lord and himself as a subordinate, I do not become subservient to his love, nor can it control Me.
TEXT 19
āmāke ta’ ye ye bhakta bhaje yei bhāve
tāre se se bhāve bhaji,–e mora svabhāve
SYNONYMS
āmāke-Me; ta’-certainly; ye ye-whatever; bhakta-devotee; bhaje-worships; yei-which; bhāve-in the mood; tāre-him; se se-that; bhāve-in the mood; bhaji-I reciprocate; e-this; mora-My; svabhāve-in the nature.
TRANSLATION
“In whatever transcendental mellow My devotee worships Me, I reciprocate with him. That is My natural behavior.
PURPORT
The Lord, by His inherent nature, reveals Himself before His devotees according to their inherent devotional service. The Vṛndāvana pastimes demonstrated that although generally people worship God with reverence, the Lord is more pleased when a devotee thinks of Him as his pet son, personal friend or most dear fiancī and renders service unto Him with such natural affection. The Lord becomes a subordinate object of love in such transcendental relationships. Such pure love of Godhead is unadulterated by any tinge of superfluous nondevotional desires and is not mixed with any sort of fruitive action or empiric philosophical speculation. It is pure and natural love of Godhead, spontaneously aroused in the absolute stage. This devotional service is executed in a favorable atmosphere freed from material affection.
TEXT 20
ye yathā māṁ prapadyante
tāṁs tathaiva bhajāmy aham
mama vartmānuvartante
manuṣyāḥ pārtha sarvaśaḥ
SYNONYMS
ye-all who; yathā-as; mām-unto Me; prapadyante-surrender; tān-them; tathā-so; eva-certainly; bhajāmi-reward; aham-I; mama-My; vartma-path; anuvartante-follow; manuṣyāḥ-all men; pārtha-O son of Pṛthā; sarvaśaḥ-in all respects.
TRANSLATION
” ‘In whatever way My devotees surrender unto Me, I reward them accordingly. Everyone follows My path in all respects, O son of Pṛthā.’
PURPORT
In the Fourth Chapter of the Bhagavad-gītā Lord Kṛṣṇa affirms that formerly (some 120 million years before the Battle of Kurukṣetra) He explained the mystic philosophy of the Gītā to the sun-god. The message was received through the chain of disciplic succession, but in course of time, the chain being broken somehow or other, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa appeared again and taught Arjuna the truths of the Bhagavad-gītā. At that time the Lord spoke this verse (Bg. 4.11) to His friend Arjuna.
TEXTS 21-22
mora putra, mora sakhā, mora prāṇa-pati
ei-bhāve yei more kare śuddha-bhakti
āpanāke baḍa māne, āmāre sama-hīna
sei bhāve ha-i āmi tāhāra adhīna
SYNONYMS
mora-my; putra-son; mora-my; sakhā-friend; mora-my; prāṇa-pati-lord of life; ei bhāve-in this way; yei-those who; more-unto Me; kare-do; śuddha-bhakti-pure devotion; āpanāke-himself; baḍa-great; māne-he regards; āmāre-Me; sama-equal; hīna-or lower; sei bhāve-in that way; ha-i-am; āmi-I; tāhāra-to him; adhīna-subordinate.
TRANSLATION
“If one cherishes pure loving devotion to Me, thinking of Me as his son, his friend or his beloved, regarding himself as great and considering Me his equal or inferior, I become subordinate to him.
PURPORT
In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta three kinds of devotional service are described-namely, bhakti (ordinary devotional service), śuddha-bhakti (pure devotional service) and viddha-bhakti (mixed devotional service).
When devotional service is executed with some material purpose, involving fruitive activities, mental speculations or mystic yoga, it is called mixed or adulterated devotional service. Besides bhakti-yoga, the Bhagavad-gītā also describes karma-yoga, jñāna-yoga and dhyāna-yoga. Yoga means linking with the Supreme Lord, which is possible only through devotion. Fruitive activities ending in devotional service, philosophical speculation ending in devotional service, and the practice of mysticism ending in devotional service are known respectively as karma-yoga, jñāna-yoga and dhyāna-yoga. But such devotional service is adulterated by the three kinds of material activities.
For those grossly engaged in identifying the body as the self, pious activity, or karma-yoga, is recommended. For those who identify the mind with the self, philosophical speculation, or jñāna-yoga, is recommended. But devotees standing on the spiritual platform have no need of such material conceptions of adulterated devotion. Adulterated devotional service does not directly aim for love of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Therefore service performed strictly in conformity with the revealed scriptures is better than such viddha-bhakti because it is free from all kinds of material contamination. It is executed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, solely to please the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Those who are spontaneously devoted to the Lord and have no aims for material gain are called attracted devotees. They are spontaneously attracted to the service of the Lord, and they follow in the footsteps of self-realized souls. Their pure devotion (śuddha-bhakti), manifested from pure love of Godhead, surpasses the regulative principles of the authoritative scriptures. Sometimes loving ecstasy transcends regulative principles; such ecstasy, however, is completely on the spiritual platform and cannot be imitated. The regulative principles help ordinary devotees rise to the stage of perfect love of Godhead. Pure love for Kṛṣṇa is the perfection of pure devotion, and pure devotional service is identical with spontaneous devotional service.
Flawless execution of regulative principles is exhibited in the Vaikuṇṭha planets. By strictly executing these principles one can be elevated to the Vaikuṇṭha planets. But spontaneous pure loving service is found in Kṛṣṇaloka alone.
TEXT 23
mayi bhaktir hi bhūtānām
amṛtatvāya kalpate
diṣṭyā yad āsīn mat-sneho
bhavatīnāṁ mad-āpanaḥ
SYNONYMS
mayi-to Me; bhaktiḥ-devotional service; hi-certainly; bhūtānām-of the living beings; amṛtatvāya-the eternal life; kalpate-brings about; diṣṭyā-by good fortune; yat-which; āsīt-was; mat-for Me; snehaḥ-the affection; bhavatīnām-of all of you; mat-of Me; āpanaḥ-the obtaining.
TRANSLATION
” ‘Devotional service rendered to Me by the living beings revives their eternal life. O My dear damsels of Vraja, your affection for Me is your good fortune, for it is the only means by which you have obtained My favor.’
PURPORT
Pure devotional service is represented in the activities of the residents of Vrajabhūmi (Vṛndāvana). During a solar eclipse, the Lord came from Dvārakā and met the inhabitants of Vṛndāvana at Samanta-pañcaka. The meeting was intensely painful for the damsels of Vrajabhūmi because Lord Kṛṣṇa had apparently left them to reside at Dvārakā. But the Lord obligingly acknowledged the pure devotional service of the damsels of Vraja by speaking this verse (Bhāg. 10.82.44).
TEXT 24
mātā more putra-bhāve karena bandhana
atihīna-jñāne kare lālana pālana
SYNONYMS
mātā-mother; more-Me; putra-bhāve-in the position of a son; karena-does; bandhana-binding; ati-hīna-jñāne-in thinking very poor; kare-does; lālana-nourishing; pālana-protecting.
TRANSLATION
“Mother sometimes binds Me as her son. She nourishes and protects Me, thinking Me utterly helpless.
TEXT 25
sakhā śuddha-sakhye kare, skandhe ārohaṇa
tumi kon baḍa loka,–tumi āmi sama
SYNONYMS
sakhā-the friend; śuddha-sakhye-in pure friendship; kare-does; skandhe-on the shoulders; ārohaṇa-mounting; tumi-You; kon-what; baḍa-big; loka-person; tumi-You; āmi-I; sama-the same.
TRANSLATION
“My friends climb on My shoulders in pure friendship, saying, ‘What kind of big man are You? You and I are equal.’
TEXT 26
priyā yadi māna kari’ karaye bhartsana
veda-stuti haite hare sei mora mana
SYNONYMS
priyā-the lover; yadi-if; māna kari’-sulking; karaye-does; bhartsana-rebuking; veda-stuti-the Vedic prayers; haite-from; hare-takes away; sei-that; mora-My; mana-mind.
TRANSLATION
“If My beloved consort reproaches Me in a sulky mood, that steals My mind from the reverent hymns of the Vedas.
PURPORT
According to the Upaniṣads, all living entities are dependent on the supreme living entity, the Personality of Godhead. As it is said (Kaṭha Upaniṣad 5.3), nityo nityānāṁ cetanaś cetanānām eko bahūnāṁ yo vidadhāti kāmān: one eternal living entity supports all the other eternal living entities. Because the Supreme Personality of Godhead maintains all the other living entities, they remain subordinate to the Lord, even when joined with Him in the reciprocation of loving affairs.
But in the course of exchanging transcendental love of the highest purity, sometimes the subordinate devotee tries to predominate over the predominator. One who lovingly engages with the Supreme Lord as if His mother or father sometimes supersedes the position of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Similarly, His fiancī or lover sometimes supersedes the position of the Lord. But such attempts are exhibitions of the highest love. Only out of pure love does the subordinate lover of the Supreme Personality of Godhead chide Him. The Lord, enjoying this chiding, takes it very nicely. The exhibition of natural love makes such activities very enjoyable. In worship of the Supreme Lord with veneration there is no manifestation of such natural love because the devotee considers the Lord his superior.
Regulative principles in devotional service are meant for those who have not invoked their natural love of Godhead. When natural love arises, all regulative methods are surpassed, and pure love is exhibited between the Lord and the devotee. Although on such a platform of love the devotee sometimes appears to predominate over the Lord or transgress regulative principles, such dealings are far more advanced than ordinary dealings through regulative principles with awe and veneration. A devotee who is actually free from all designations due to complete attachment in love for the Supreme exhibits spontaneous love for Godhead, which is always superior to the devotion of regulative principles.
The informal language used between lover and beloved is significant of pure affection. When devotees worship their beloved as the most venerable object, spontaneous loving sentiments are observed to be lacking. A neophyte devotee who follows the Vedic instructions that regulate those who lack pure love of Godhead may superficially seem more exalted than a devotee in spontaneous love of Godhead. But in fact such spontaneous pure love is far superior to regulated devotional service. Such pure love of Godhead is always glorious in all respects, more so than reverential devotional service rendered by a less affectionate devotee.
TEXTS 27-28
ei śuddha-bhakta lañā karimu avatāra
kariba vividha-vidha adbhuta vihāra
vaikuṇṭhādye nāhi ye ye līlāra pracāra
se se līlā kariba, yāte mora camatkāra
SYNONYMS
ei-these; śuddha-bhakta-pure devotees; lañā-taking; karimu-I shall make; avatāra-incarnation; kariba-I shall do; vividha-vidha-various kinds; adbhuta-wonderful; vihāra-pastimes; vaikuṇṭha-ādye-in the Vaikuṇṭha planets, etc.; nāhi-not; ye ye-whatever; līlāra-of the pastimes; pracāra-broadcasting; se se-those; līlā-pastimes; kariba-I shall perform; yāte-in which; mora-My; camatkāra-wonder.
TRANSLATION
“Taking these pure devotees with Me, I shall descend and sport in various wonderful ways, unknown even in Vaikuṇṭha. I shall broadcast such pastimes by which even I am amazed.
PURPORT
Lord Kṛṣṇa in the form of Lord Caitanya educates His devotees to develop progressively to the stage of pure devotional service. Thus He appears periodically as a devotee to take part in various wonderful activities depicted in His sublime philosophy and teachings.
There are innumerable Vaikuṇṭha planets in the spiritual sky, and in all of them the Lord accepts the service rendered by His eternal devotees in a reverential mood. Therefore Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa presents His most confidential pastimes as He enjoys them in His transcendental realm. Such pastimes are so attractive that they attract even the Lord, and thus He relishes them in the form of Lord Caitanya.
TEXT 29
mo-viṣaye gopī-gaṇera upapati-bhāve
yoga-māyā karibeka āpana-prabhāve
SYNONYMS
mo-viṣaye-on the subject of Me; gopī-gaṇera-of the gopīs; upapati-of a paramour; bhāve-in the position; yoga-māyā-yogamāyā, Lord Kṛṣṇa’s internal potency; karibeka-will make; āpana-her own; prabhāve-by the influence.
TRANSLATION
“The influence of yogamāyā will inspire the gopīs with the sentiment that I am their paramour.
PURPORT
Yogamāyā is the name of the internal potency that makes the Lord forget Himself and become an object of love for His pure devotee in different transcendental mellows. This yogamāyā potency creates a spiritual sentiment in the minds of the damsels of Vraja by which they think of Lord Kṛṣṇa as their paramour. This sentiment is never to be compared to mundane illicit sexual love. It has nothing to do with sexual psychology, although the pure love of such devotees seems to be sexual. One should know for certain that nothing can exist in this cosmic manifestation that has no real counterpart in the spiritual field. All material manifestations are emanations of the Transcendence. The erotic principles of amorous love reflected in mixed material values are perverted reflections of the reality of spirit, but one cannot understand the reality unless one is sufficiently educated in the spiritual science.
TEXT 30
āmiha nā jāni tāhā, nā jāne gopī-gaṇa
duṅhāra rūpa-guṇe duṅhāra nitya hare mana
SYNONYMS
āmiha-I; nā jāni-shall not know; tāhā-that; nā jāne-will not know; gopī-gaṇa-the gopīs; duṅhāra-of the two; rūpa-guṇe-the beauty and qualities; duṅhāra-of the two; nitya-always; hare-carry away; mana-the minds.
TRANSLATION
“Neither the gopīs nor I shall notice this, for our minds will always be entranced by one another’s beauty and qualities.
PURPORT
In the spiritual sky the Vaikuṇṭha planets are predominated by Nārāyaṇa. His devotees have the same features He does, and the exchange of devotion there is on the platform of reverence. But above all these Vaikuṇṭha planets is Goloka, or Kṛṣṇaloka, where the original Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, fully manifests His pleasure potency in free loving affairs. Since the devotees in the material world know almost nothing about these affairs, the Lord desires to show these affairs to them.
In Goloka Vṛndāvana there is an exchange of love known as parakīya-rasa. It is something like the attraction of a married woman for a man other than her husband. In the material world this sort of relationship is most abominable because it is a perverted reflection of the parakīya-rasa in the spiritual world, where it is the highest kind of loving affair. Such feelings between the devotee and the Lord are presented by the influence of yogamāyā. The Bhagavad-gītā states that devotees of the highest grade are under the care of daiva-māyā, or yogamāyā: mahātmānas tu māṁ pārtha daivīṁ prakṛtim āśritāḥ (Bg. 9.13). Those who are actually great souls (mahātmās) are fully absorbed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness, always engaged in the service of the Lord. They are under the care of daivī-prakṛti, or yogamāyā. Yogamāyā creates a situation in which the devotee is prepared to transgress all regulative principles simply to love Kṛṣṇa. A devotee naturally does not like to transgress the laws of reverence for the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but by the influence of yogamāyā he is prepared to do anything to love the Supreme Lord better.
Those under the spell of the material energy cannot at all appreciate the activities of yogamāyā, for a conditioned soul can hardly understand the pure reciprocation between the Lord and His devotee. But by executing devotional service under the regulative principles, one can become very highly elevated and then begin to appreciate the dealings of pure love under the management of yogamāyā.
In the spiritual loving sentiment induced by the yogamāyā potency, both Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa and the damsels of Vraja forget themselves in spiritual rapture. By the influence of such forgetfulness, the attractive beauty of the gopīs plays a prominent part in the transcendental satisfaction of the Lord, who has nothing to do with mundane sex. Because spiritual love of Godhead is above everything mundane, the gopīs superficially seem to transgress the codes of mundane morality. This perpetually puzzles mundane moralists. Therefore yogamāyā acts to cover the Lord and His pastimes from the eyes of mundaners, as confirmed in the Bhagavad-gītā (7.25), where the Lord says that He reserves the right of not being exposed to everyone.
The acts of yogamāyā make it possible for the Lord and the gopīs, in loving ecstasy, to sometimes meet and sometimes separate. These transcendental loving affairs of the Lord are unimaginable to empiricists involved in the impersonal feature of the Absolute Truth. Therefore the Lord Himself appears before the mundaners to bestow upon them the highest form of spiritual realization and also personally relish its essence. The Lord is so merciful that He Himself descends to take the fallen souls back home to the kingdom of Godhead, where the erotic principles of Godhead are eternally relished in their real form, distinct from the perverted sexual love so much adored and indulged in by the fallen souls in their diseased condition. The reason the Lord displays the rāsa-līlā is essentially to induce all the fallen souls to give up their diseased morality and religiosity, and to attract them to the kingdom of God to enjoy the reality. A person who actually understands what the rāsa-līlā is will certainly hate to indulge in mundane sex life. For the realized soul, hearing the Lord’s rāsa-līlā through the proper channel will result in complete abstinence from material sexual pleasure.
TEXT 31
dharma chāḍi’ rāge duṅhe karaye milana
kabhu mile, kabhu nā mile,–daivera ghaṭana
SYNONYMS
dharma chāḍi’-giving up religious customs; rāge-in love; duṅhe-both; karaye-do; milana-meeting; kabhu-sometimes; mile-they meet; kabhu-sometimes; nā mile-they do not meet; daivera-of destiny; ghaṭana-the happening.
TRANSLATION
“Pure attachment will unite us even at the expense of moral and religious duties [dharma]. Destiny will sometimes bring us together and sometimes separate us.
PURPORT
The gopīs came out to meet Kṛṣṇa in the dead of night when they heard the sound of Kṛṣṇa’s flute. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī has accordingly composed a nice verse (see Cc. Ādi 5.224) that describes the beautiful boy called Govinda standing by the bank of the Yamunā with His flute to His lips in the shining moonlight. Those who want to enjoy life in the materialistic way of society, friendship and love should not go to the Yamunā to see the form of Govinda. The sound of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s flute is so sweet that it has made the gopīs forget all about their relationships with their kinsmen and flee to Kṛṣṇa in the dead of night.
By leaving home in that way, the gopīs transgressed the Vedic regulations of household life. This indicates that when natural feelings of love for Kṛṣṇa become fully manifest, a devotee can neglect conventional social rules and regulations. In the material world we are situated in designative positions only, but pure devotional service begins when one is freed from all designations. When love for Kṛṣṇa is awakened, the designative positions are overcome.
The spontaneous attraction of Śrī Kṛṣṇa for His dearest parts and parcels generates an enthusiasm that obliges Śrī Kṛṣṇa and the gopīs to meet together. To celebrate this transcendental enthusiasm, there is need of a sentiment of separation between the lover and beloved. In the condition of material tribulation, no one wants the pangs of separation. But in the transcendental form, the very same separation, being absolute in its nature, strengthens the ties of love and enhances the desire of the lover and beloved to meet. The period of separation, evaluated transcendentally, is more relishable than the actual meeting, which lacks the feelings of increasing anticipation because the lover and beloved are both present.
TEXT 32
ei saba rasa-niryāsa kariba āsvāda
ei dvāre kariba saba bhaktere prasāda
SYNONYMS
ei-these; saba-all; rasa-niryāsa-essence of mellows; kariba-I shall do; āsvāda-tasting; ei dvāre-by this; kariba-I shall do; saba-all; bhaktere-to the devotees; prasāda-favor.
TRANSLATION
“I shall taste the essence of all these rasas, and in this way I shall favor all the devotees.
TEXT 33
vrajera nirmala rāga śuni’ bhakta-gaṇa
rāga-mārge bhaje yena chāḍi’ dharma-karma
SYNONYMS
vrajera-of Vraja; nirmala-spotless; rāga-love; śuni’-hearing; bhakta-gaṇa-the devotees; rāga-mārge-on the path of spontaneous love; bhaje-they worship; yena-so that; chāḍi’-giving up; dharma-religiosity; karma-fruitive activity.
TRANSLATION
“Then, by hearing about the pure love of the residents of Vraja, devotees will worship Me on the path of spontaneous love, abandoning all rituals of religiosity and fruitive activity.”
PURPORT
Many realized souls, such as Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī and King Kulaśekhara, have recommended with great emphasis that one develop this spontaneous love of Godhead, even at the risk of transgressing all the traditional codes of morality and religiosity. Śrī Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī, one of the six Gosvāmīs of Vṛndāvana, has written in his prayers called the Manaḥ-śikṣā that one should simply worship Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa with all attention. Na dharmaṁ nādharmaṁ śruti-gaṇa-niruktaṁ kila kuru: one should not be much interested in performing Vedic rituals or simply following rules and regulations.
King Kulaśekhara has written similarly, in his book Mukunda-mālā-stotra (5):
nāsthā dharme na vasu-nicaye naiva kāmopabhoge
yad bhāvyaṁ tad bhavatu bhagavan pūrva-karmānurūpam
etat prārthyaṁ mama bahu-mataṁ janma-janmāntare ‘pi
tvat-pādāmbho-ruha-yuga-gatā niścalā bhaktir astu
“I have no attraction for performing religious rituals or holding any earthly kingdom. I do not care for sense enjoyments; let them appear and disappear in accordance with my previous deeds. My only desire is to be fixed in devotional service to the lotus feet of the Lord, even though I may continue to take birth here life after life.”
TEXT 34
anugrahāya bhaktānāṁ
mānuṣaṁ deham āśritaḥ
bhajate tādṛśīḥ krīḍā
yāḥ śrutvā tat-paro bhavet
SYNONYMS
anugrahāya-for showing favor; bhaktānām-to the devotees; mānuṣam-humanlike; deham-body; āśritaḥ-accepting; bhajate-He enjoys; tādṛśīḥ-such; krīḍāḥ-pastimes; yāḥ-which; śrutvā-having heard; tat-paraḥ-fully intent upon Him; bhavet-one must become.
TRANSLATION
“Kṛṣṇa manifests His eternal humanlike form and performs His pastimes to show mercy to the devotees. Having heard such pastimes, one should engage in service to Him.”
PURPORT
This text is from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.33.36). The Supreme Personality of Godhead has innumerable expansions of His transcendental form who eternally exist in the spiritual world. This material world is only a perverted reflection of the spiritual world, where everything is manifested without inebriety. There everything is in its original existence, free from the domination of time. Time cannot deteriorate or interfere with the conditions in the spiritual world, where different manifestations of the Supreme Personality of Godhead are the recipients of the worship of different living entities in their constitutional spiritual positions. In the spiritual world all existence is unadulterated goodness. The goodness found in the material world is contaminated by the modes of passion and ignorance.
The saying that the human form of life is the best position for devotional service has its special significance because only in this form can a living entity revive his eternal relationship with the Supreme Personality of Godhead. The human form is considered the highest state in the cycle of the species of life in the material world. If one takes advantage of this highest kind of material form, one can regain his position of devotional service to the Lord.
Incarnations of the Supreme Personality of Godhead appear in all the species of life, although this is inconceivable to the human brain. The Lord’s pastimes are differentiated according to the appreciating capacity of the different types of bodies of the living entities. The Supreme Lord bestows the most merciful benediction upon human society when He appears in His human form. It is then that humanity gets the opportunity to engage in different kinds of eternal service to the Lord.
Special natural appreciation of the descriptions of a particular pastime of Godhead indicates the constitutional position of a living entity. Adoration, servitorship, friendship, parental affection and conjugal love are the five primary relationships with Kṛṣṇa. The highest perfectional stage of the conjugal relationship, enriched by many sentiments, gives the maximum relishable mellow to the devotee.
The Lord appears in different incarnations-as a fish, tortoise and boar, as Paraśurāma, Lord Rāma, Buddha and so on-to reciprocate the different appreciations of living entities in different stages of evolution. The conjugal relationship of amorous love called parakīya-rasa is the unparalleled perfection of love exhibited by Lord Kṛṣṇa and His devotees.
A class of so-called devotees known as sahajiyās try to imitate the Lord’s pastimes, although they have no understanding of the amorous love in His expansions of pleasure potency. Their superficial imitation can create havoc on the path for the advancement of one’s spiritual relationship with the Lord. Material sexual indulgence can never be equated with spiritual love, which is in unadulterated goodness. The activities of the sahajiyās simply lower one deeper into the material contamination of the senses and mind. Kṛṣṇa’s transcendental pastimes display eternal servitorship to Adhokṣaja, the Supreme Lord, who is beyond all conception through material senses. Materialistic conditioned souls do not understand the transcendental exchanges of love, but they like to indulge in sense gratification in the name of devotional service. The activities of the Supreme Lord can never be understood by irresponsible persons who think the pastimes of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa to be ordinary affairs. The rāsa dance is arranged by Kṛṣṇa’s internal potency yogamāyā, and it is beyond the grasp of the materially affected person. Trying to throw mud into transcendence with their perversity, the sahajiyās misinterpret the sayings tat-paratvena nirmalam and tat-paro bhavet. By misinterpreting tādrśīḥ krīḍāḥ, they want to indulge in sex while pretending to imitate Lord Kṛṣṇa. But one must actually understand the imports of the words through the intelligence of the authorized gosvāmīs. Śrīla Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura, in his prayers to the Gosvāmīs, has explained his inability to understand such spiritual affairs.
rūpa-raghunātha-pade ha-ibe ākuti
kabe hāma bujhaba se yugala-pīriti
“When I shall be eager to understand the literature given by the Gosvāmīs, then I shall be able to understand the transcendental love affairs of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa.” In other words, unless one is trained under the disciplic succession of the Gosvāmīs, one cannot understand Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. The conditioned souls are naturally averse to understanding the spiritual existence of the Lord, and if they try to know the transcendental nature of the Lord’s pastimes while they remain absorbed in materialism, they are sure to blunder like the sahajiyās.
TEXT 35
‘bhavet’ kriyā vidhiliṅ, sei ihā kaya
kartavya avaśya ei, anyathā pratyavāya
SYNONYMS
bhavet-bhavet; kriyā-the verb; vidhi-liṅ-an injunction of the imperative mood; sei-that; ihā-here; kaya-says; kartavya-to be done; avaśya-certainly; ei-this; anyathā-otherwise; pratyavāya-detriment.
TRANSLATION
Here the use of the verb “bhavet,” which is in the imperative mood, tells us that this certainly must be done. Noncompliance would be abandonment of duty.
PURPORT
This imperative is applicable to pure devotees. Neophytes will be able to understand these affairs only after being elevated by regulated devotional service under the expert guidance of the spiritual master. Then they too will be competent to hear of the love affairs of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa.
As long as one is in material, conditioned life, strict discipline is required in the matter of moral and immoral activities. The absolute world is transcendental and free from such distinctions because there inebriety is not possible. But in this material world a sexual appetite necessitates distinction between moral and immoral conduct. There are no sexual activities in the spiritual world. The transactions between lover and beloved in the spiritual world are pure transcendental love and unadulterated bliss.
One who has not been attracted by the transcendental beauty of rasa will certainly be dragged down into material attraction, thus to act in material contamination and progress to the darkest region of hellish life. But by understanding the conjugal love of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa one is freed from the grip of attraction to material so-called love between man and woman. Similarly, one who understands the pure parental love of Nanda and Yaśodā for Kṛṣṇa will be saved from being dragged into material parental affection. If one accepts Kṛṣṇa as the supreme friend, the attraction of material friendship will be finished for him, and he will not be dismayed by so-called friendship with mundane wranglers. If he is attracted by servitorship to Kṛṣṇa, he will no longer have to serve the material body in the degraded status of material existence, with the false hope of becoming master in the future. Similarly, one who sees the greatness of Kṛṣṇa in neutrality will certainly never again seek the so-called relief of impersonalist or voidist philosophy. If one is not attracted by the transcendental nature of Kṛṣṇa, one is sure to be attracted to material enjoyment, thus to become implicated in the clinging network of virtuous and sinful activities and continue material existence by transmigrating from one material body to another. Only in Kṛṣṇa consciousness can one achieve the highest perfection of life.
TEXTS 36-37
ei vāñchā yaiche kṛṣṇa-prākaṭya-kāraṇa
asura-saṁhāra–ānuṣaṅga prayojana
ei mata caitanya-kṛṣṇa pūrṇa bhagavān
yuga-dharma-pravartana nahe tāṅra kāma
SYNONYMS
ei-this; vāñchā-desire; yaiche-just as; kṛṣṇa-of Lord Kṛṣṇa; prākaṭya-for the manifestation; kāraṇa-reason; asura-saṁhāra-the killing of demons; ānuṣaṅga-secondary; prayojana-reason; ei mata-like this; caitanya-as Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu; kṛṣṇa-Lord Kṛṣṇa; pūrṇa-full; bhagavān-the Supreme Personality of Godhead; yuga-dharma-the religion of the age; pravartana-initiating; nahe-is not; tāṅra-of Him; kāma-the desire.
TRANSLATION
Just as these desires are the fundamental reason for Kṛṣṇa’s appearance whereas destroying the demons is only an incidental necessity, so for Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, promulgating the dharma of the age is incidental.
TEXT 38
kona kāraṇe yabe haila avatāre mana
yuga-dharma-kāla haila se kāle milana
SYNONYMS
kona kāraṇe-by some reason; yabe-when; haila-there was; avatāre-in incarnation; mana-inclination; yuga-dharma-for the religion of the age; kāla-the time; haila-there was; se kāle-at that time; milana-conjunction.
TRANSLATION
When the Lord desired to appear for another reason, the time for promulgating the religion of the age also arose.
TEXT 39
dui hetu avatari’ lañā bhakta-gaṇa
āpane āsvāde prema-nāma-saṅkīrtana
SYNONYMS
dui-two; hetu-reasons; avatari’-incarnating; lañā-taking; bhakta-gaṇa-the devotees; āpane-Himself; āsvāde-tastes; prema-love of God; nāma-saṅkīrtana-and congregational chanting of the holy name.
TRANSLATION
Thus with two intentions the Lord appeared with His devotees and tasted the nectar of prema with the congregational chanting of the holy name.
TEXT 40
sei dvāre ācaṇḍāle kīrtana sañcāre
nāma-prema-mālā gāṅthi’ parāila saṁsāre
SYNONYMS
sei dvāre-by that; ā-caṇḍāle-even among the caṇḍālas; kīrtana-the chanting of the holy names; sañcāre-He infuses; nāma-of the holy names; prema-and of love of God; mālā-a garland; gāṅthi’-stringing together; parāila-He put it on; saṁsāre-the whole material world.
TRANSLATION
Thus He spread kīrtana even among the untouchables. He wove a wreath of the holy name and prema with which He garlanded the entire material world.
TEXT 41
ei-mata bhakta-bhāva kari’ aṅgīkāra
āpani ācari’ bhakti karila pracāra
SYNONYMS
ei-mata-like this; bhakta-bhāva-the position of a devotee; kari’-making; aṅgīkāra-acceptance; āpani-Himself; ācari’-practicing; bhakti-devotional service; karila-did; pracāra-propagation.
TRANSLATION
In this way, assuming the sentiment of a devotee, He preached devotional service while practicing it Himself.
PURPORT
When Rūpa Gosvāmī met Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu at Prayāga (Allahabad), he offered his respectful obeisances by submitting that Lord Caitanya was more magnanimous than any other avatāra of Kṛṣṇa because He was distributing love of Kṛṣṇa. His mission was to enhance love of Godhead. In the human form of life the highest achievement is to attain the platform of love of Godhead. Lord Caitanya did not invent a system of religion, as people sometimes assume. Religious systems are meant to show the existence of God, who is then generally approached as the cosmic order-supplier. But Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s transcendental mission is to distribute love of Godhead to everyone. Anyone who accepts God as the Supreme can take to the process of chanting Hare Kṛṣṇa and become a lover of God. Therefore Lord Caitanya is the most magnanimous. This munificent broadcasting of devotional service is possible only for Kṛṣṇa Himself. Therefore Lord Caitanya is Kṛṣṇa.
In the Bhagavad-gītā Kṛṣṇa has taught the philosophy of surrender to the Supreme Personality of Godhead. One who has surrendered to the Supreme can make further progress by learning to love Him. Therefore the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement propagated by Lord Caitanya is especially meant for those who are cognizant of the presence of the Supreme Godhead, the ultimate controller of everything. His mission is to teach people how to dovetail themselves into engagements of transcendental loving service. He is Kṛṣṇa teaching His own service from the position of a devotee. The Lord’s acceptance of the role of a devotee in the eternal form of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is another of the Lord’s wonderful features. A conditioned soul cannot reach the absolute Personality of Godhead by his imperfect endeavor, and therefore it is wonderful that Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa, in the form of Lord Gaurāṅga, has made it easy for everyone to approach Him.
Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī has described Lord Caitanya as Kṛṣṇa Himself with the attitude of Rādhārāṇī, or a combination of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. The intention of Lord Caitanya is to taste Kṛṣṇa’s sweetness in transcendental love. He does not care to think of Himself as Kṛṣṇa, because He wants the position of Rādhārāṇī. We should remember this. A class of so-called devotees called the nadīyā-nāgarīs or gaura-nāgarīs pretend that they have the sentiment of gopīs toward Lord Caitanya, but they do not realize that He placed Himself not as the enjoyer, Kṛṣṇa, but as the enjoyed, the devotee of Kṛṣṇa. The concoctions of unauthorized persons pretending to be bona fide have not been accepted by Lord Caitanya. Presentations such as those of the gaura-nāgarīs are only disturbances to the sincere execution of the mission of Lord Caitanya. Lord Caitanya is undoubtedly Kṛṣṇa Himself, and He is always nondifferent from Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. But the emotion technically called vipralambha-bhāva, which the Lord adopted for confidential reasons, should not be disturbed in the name of service. A mundaner should not unnecessarily intrude into affairs of transcendence and thereby displease the Lord. One must always be on guard against this sort of devotional anomaly. A devotee is not meant to create disturbances to Kṛṣṇa. As Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī has explained, devotional service is ānukūlyena, or favorable to Kṛṣṇa. Acting unfavorably toward Kṛṣṇa is not devotion. Kaṁsa was the enemy of Kṛṣṇa. He always thought of Kṛṣṇa, but he thought of Him as an enemy. One should always avoid such unfavorable so-called service.
Lord Caitanya has accepted the role of Rādhārāṇī, and we should support that position, as Svarūpa Dāmodara did in the Gambhīrā (the room where Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu stayed in Purī). He always reminded Lord Caitanya of Rādhā’s feelings of separation as they are described in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, and Lord Caitanya appreciated his assistance. But the gaura-nāgarīs, who place Lord Caitanya in the position of enjoyer and themselves as His enjoyed, are not approved by Lord Caitanya or by Lord Caitanya’s followers. Instead of being blessed, the foolish imitators are left completely apart. Their concoctions are against the principles of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. The doctrine of transcendental enjoyment by Kṛṣṇa cannot be mixed up with the doctrine of transcendental feeling of separation from Kṛṣṇa in the role of Rādhārāṇī.
TEXT 42
dāsya, sakhya, vātsalya, āra ye śṛṅgāra
cāri prema, catur-vidha bhakta-i ādhāra
SYNONYMS
dāsya-servitude; sakhya-friendship; vātsalya-parental affection; āra-and; ye-that; śrṅgāra-conjugal love; cārī-four types; prema-love of God; catuḥ-vidha-four kinds; bhakta-i-devotees; ādhāra-the containers.
TRANSLATION
Four kinds of devotees are the receptacles of the four kinds of mellows in love of God, namely servitude, friendship, parental affection and conjugal love.
TEXT 43
nija nija bhāva sabe śreṣṭha kari’ māne
nija-bhāve kare kṛṣṇa-sukha āsvādane
SYNONYMS
nija nija-each his own; bhāva-mood; sabe-all; śreṣṭha kari’-making the best; māne-accepts; nija-bhāve-in his own mood; kare-does; kṛṣṇa-sukha-happiness with Lord Kṛṣṇa; āsvādane-tasting.
TRANSLATION
Each kind of devotee feels that his sentiment is the most excellent, and thus in that mood he tastes great happiness with Lord Kṛṣṇa.
TEXT 44
taṭastha ha-iyā mane vicāra yadi kari
saba rasa haite śṛṅgāre adhika mādhurī
SYNONYMS
taṭa-stha ha-iyā-becoming impartial; mane-in the mind; vicāra-consideration; yadi-if; kari-doing; saba rasa-all the mellows; haite-than; śṛṅgāre-in conjugal love; adhika-greater; mādhurī-sweetness.
TRANSLATION
But if we compare the sentiments in an impartial mood, we find that the conjugal sentiment is superior to all in sweetness.
PURPORT
No one is higher or lower than anyone else in transcendental relationships with the Lord, for in the absolute realm everything is equal. But although these relationships are absolute, there are also transcendental differences between them. Thus the transcendental relationship of conjugal love is considered the highest perfection.
TEXT 45
yathottaram asau svāda-
viśeṣollāsamayy api
ratir vāsanayā svādvī
bhāsate kāpi kasyacit
SYNONYMS
yathā-uttaram-one after another; asau-that; svāda-viśeṣa-of particular tastes; ullāsa-mayī-consisting of the increase; api-although; ratiḥ-love; vāsanayā-by the different desire; svādvī-sweet; bhāsate-exists; kā api-any; kasyacit-of someone (the devotee).
TRANSLATION
“Increasing love is experienced in various tastes, one above another. But that love which has the highest taste in the gradual succession of desire manifests itself in the form of conjugal love.”
PURPORT
This is a verse from Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī’s Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu (2.5.38).
TEXT 46
ataeva madhura rasa kahi tara nāma
svakīyā-parakīyā-bhāve dvi-vidha saṁsthāna
SYNONYMS
ataeva-therefore; madhura-sweet; rasa-mellow; kahi-I say; tāra-of that; nāma-the name; svakīyā-svakīyā (own); parakīyā-and named parakīyā (another’s); bhāve-in the moods; dvi-vidha-two types; saṁsthāna-positions.
TRANSLATION
Therefore I call it madhura-rasa. It has two further divisions, namely wedded and unwedded love.
TEXT 47
parakīyā-bhāve ati rasera ullāsa
vraja vinā ihāra anyatra nāhi vāsa
SYNONYMS
parakīyā-bhāve-in the mood of parakīyā, or conjugal relations outside of marriage; ati-very great; rasera-of mellow; ullāsa-increase; vraja vinā-except for Vraja; ihāra-of this; anyatra-anywhere else; nāhi-there is not; vāsa-residence.
TRANSLATION
There is a great increase of mellow in the unwedded conjugal mood. Such love is found nowhere but in Vraja.
TEXT 48
vraja-vadhū-gaṇera ei bhāva niravadhi
tāra madhye śrī-rādhāya bhāvera avadhi
SYNONYMS
vraja-vadhū-gaṇera-of the young wives of Vraja; ei-this; bhāva-mood; niravadhi-unbounded; tāra madhye-among them; śrī-rādhāya-in Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī; bhāvera-of the mood; avadhi-the highest limit.
TRANSLATION
This mood is unbounded in the damsels of Vraja, but among them it finds its perfection in Śrī Rādhā.
TEXT 49
prauḍha nirmala-bhāva prema sarvottama
kṛṣṇera mādhurya-rasa-āsvāda-kāraṇa
SYNONYMS
prauḍha-matured; nirmala-bhāva-pure condition; prema-love; sarva-uttama-best of all; kṛṣṇera-of Lord Kṛṣṇa; mādhurya-rasa-of the mellow of the conjugal relationship; āsvāda-of the tasting; kāraṇa-the cause.
TRANSLATION
Her pure, mature love surpasses that of all others. Her love is the cause of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s tasting the sweetness of the conjugal relationship.
TEXT 50
ataeva sei bhāva aṅgīkāra kari’
sādhilena nija vāñchā gaurāṅga-śrī-hari
SYNONYMS
ataeva-therefore; sei bhāva-that mood; aṅgīkāra kari’-accepting; sādhilena-fulfilled; nija-His own; vāñchā-desire; gaurāṅga-Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu; śrī-hari-the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
TRANSLATION
Therefore Lord Gaurāṅga, who is Śrī Hari Himself, accepted the sentiments of Rādhā and thus fulfilled His own desires.
PURPORT
Of the four kinds of reciprocation of loving service-dāsya, sakhya, vātsalya and mādhurya-mādhurya is considered the fullest. But the conjugal relationship is further divided into two varieties, namely svakīya and parakīya. Svakīya is the relationship with Kṛṣṇa as a formally married husband, and parakīya is the relationship with Kṛṣṇa as a paramour. Expert analysts have decided that the transcendental ecstasy of the parakīya mellow is better because it is more enthusiastic. This phase of conjugal love is found in those who have surrendered to the Lord in intense love, knowing well that such illicit love with a paramour is not morally approved in society. The risks involved in such love of Godhead make this emotion superior to the relationship in which such risk is not involved. The validity of such risk, however, is possible only in the transcendental realm. Svakīya and parakīya conjugal love of Godhead have no existence in the material world, and parakīya is not exhibited anywhere in Vaikuṇṭha, but only in the portion of Goloka Vṛndāvana known as Vraja.
Some devotees think that Kṛṣṇa is eternally the enjoyer in Goloka Vṛndāvana but only sometimes comes to the platform of Vraja to enjoy parakīya-rasa. The six Gosvāmīs of Vṛndāvana, however, have explained that Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes in Vraja are eternal, like His other activities in Goloka Vṛndāvana. Vraja is a confidential part of Goloka Vṛndāvana. Kṛṣṇa exhibited His Vraja pastimes on the surface of this world, and similar pastimes are eternally exhibited in Vraja in Goloka Vṛndāvana, where parakīya-rasa is ever existent.
In the Third Chapter of this epic, Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī has explicitly accepted the fact that Kṛṣṇa appears in this material world at the end of the Dvāpara age of the twenty-eighth catur-yuga of Vaivasvata Manu and brings with Him His Vrajadhāma, which is the eternal abode of His highest pastimes. As the Lord appears by His own internal potency, so He also brings all His paraphernalia by the same internal potency, without extraneous help. It is further stated here in Caitanya-caritāmṛta that the parakīya sentiment exists only in that transcendental realm and nowhere else. This highest form of ecstasy can exist only in the most confidential part of the transcendental world, but by the causeless mercy of the Lord we can have a peep into that invisible Vraja.
The transcendental mellow relished by the gopīs in Vraja is superexcellently featured in Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. Mature assimilation of the transcendental humor of conjugal love is represented by Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, whose feelings are incomprehensible even to the Lord Himself. The intensity of Her loving service is the highest form of ecstasy. No one can surpass Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī in relishing the transcendental mellow qualities of the Lord. Therefore the Lord Himself agreed to assume the position of Rādhārāṇī in the form of Lord Śrī Gaurāṅga. He then relished the highest position of parakīya-rasa, as exhibited in the transcendental abode of Vraja.
TEXT 51
sureśānāṁ durgaṁ gatir atiśayenopaniṣadāṁ
munīnāṁ sarva-svaṁ praṇata-paṭalīnāṁ madhurimā
viniryāsaḥ premṇo nikhila-paśu-pālāmbuja-dṛśāṁ
sa caitanyaḥ kiṁ me punar api dṛśor yāsyati padam
SYNONYMS
sura-īśānām-of the kings of the demigods; durgam-fortress; gatiḥ-the goal; atiśayena-eminently; upaniṣadām-of the Upaniṣads; munīnām-of the sages; sarva-svam-the be-all and end-all; praṇata-paṭalīnām-of the groups of the devotees; madhurimā-the sweetness; viniryāsaḥ-the essence; premṇaḥ-of love; nikhila-all; paśu-pālā-of the cowherd women; ambuja-dṛśām-lotus-eyed; saḥ-He; caitanyaḥ-Lord Caitanya; kim-what; me-my; punaḥ-again; api-certainly; dṛśoḥ-of the two eyes; yāsyati-will come; padam-to the abode.
TRANSLATION
“Lord Caitanya is the shelter of the demigods, the goal of the Upaniṣads, the be-all and end-all of the great sages, the beautiful shelter of His devotees, and the essence of the love of the lotus-eyed gopīs. Will He again be the object of my vision?”
TEXT 52
apāraṁ kasyāpi praṇayi-jana-vṛndasya kutukī
rasa-stomaṁ hṛtvā madhuram upabhoktuṁ kam-api yaḥ
rucaṁ svām āvavre dyutim iha tadīyāṁ prakaṭayan
sa devaś caitanyākṛtir atitarāṁ naḥ kṛpayatu
SYNONYMS
apāram-boundless; kasya api-of someone; praṇayi-jana-vṛndasya-of the multitude of lovers; kutukī-one who is curious; rasa-stomam-the group of mellows; hṛtvā-stealing; madhuram-sweet; upabhoktum-to enjoy; kam api-some; yaḥ-who; rucam-luster; svām-own; āvavre-covered; dyutim-luster; iha-here; tadīyām-related to Him; prakaṭayan-manifesting; saḥ-He; devaḥ-the Supreme Personality of Godhead; caitanya-ākṛtiḥ-having the form of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu; atitarām-greatly; naḥ-unto us; kṛpayatu-may He show His mercy.
TRANSLATION
“Lord Kṛṣṇa desired to taste the limitless nectarean mellows of the love of one of His multitude of loving damsels [Śrī Rādhā], and so He has assumed the form of Lord Caitanya. He has tasted that love while hiding His own dark complexion with Her effulgent yellow color. May that Lord Caitanya confer upon us His grace.”
PURPORT
Texts 51 and 52 are from the Stava-mālā of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī.
TEXT 53
bhāva-grahaṇera hetu kaila dharma-sthāpana
tāra mukhya hetu kahi, śuna sarva-jana
SYNONYMS
bhāva-grahaṇera-of accepting the mood; hetu-the reason; kaila-did; dharma-religion; sthāpana-establishing; tāra-of that; mukhya-principal; hetu-reason; kahi-I say; śuna-please hear; sarva-jana-everyone.
TRANSLATION
To accept ecstatic love is the main reason He appeared and reestablished the religious system for this age. I shall now explain that reason. Everyone please listen.
TEXT 54
mūla hetu āge ślokera kaila ābhāsa
ebe kahi sei ślokera artha prakāśa
SYNONYMS
mūla hetu-the root cause; āge-in the beginning; ślokera-of the verse; kaila-gave; ābhāsa-hint; ebe-now; kahi-I shall speak; sei-that; ślokera-of the verse; artha-meaning; prakāśa-manifestation.
TRANSLATION
Having first given hints about the verse describing the principal reason why the Lord appeared, now I shall manifest its full meaning.
TEXT 55
rādhā kṛṣṇa-praṇaya-vikṛtir hlādinī śaktir asmād
ekātmānāv api bhuvi purā deha-bhedaṁ gatau tau
caitanyākhyaṁ prakaṭam adhunā tad-dvayaṁ caikyam āptaṁ
rādhā-bhāva-dyuti-suvalitaṁ naumi kṛṣṇa-svarūpam
SYNONYMS
rādhā-Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī; kṛṣṇa-of Lord Kṛṣṇa; praṇaya-of love; vikṛtiḥ-the transformation; hlādinī śaktiḥ-pleasure potency; asmāt-from this; eka-ātmānau-both the same in identity; api-although; bhuvi-on earth; purā-from beginningless time; deha-bhedam-separate forms; gatau-obtained; tau-these two; caitanya-ākhyam-known as Śrī Caitanya; prakaṭam-manifest; adhunā-now; tat-dvayam-the two of Them; ca-and; aikyam-unity; āptam-obtained; rādhā-of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī; bhāva-mood; dyuti-the luster; suvalitam-who is adorned with; naumi-I offer my obeisances; kṛṣṇa-svarūpam-to Him who is identical with Śrī Kṛṣṇa.
TRANSLATION
“The loving affairs of Śrī Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa are transcendental manifestations of the Lord’s internal pleasure-giving potency. Although Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa are one in Their identity, They separated Themselves eternally. Now these two transcendental identities have again united, in the form of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya. I bow down to Him, who has manifested Himself with the sentiment and complexion of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī although He is Kṛṣṇa Himself.”
PURPORT
This text is from the diary of Śrīla Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī. It appears as the fifth of the first fourteen verses of Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta.
TEXT 56
rādhā-kṛṣṇa eka ātmā, dui deha dhari’
anyonye vilase rasa āsvādana kari’
SYNONYMS
rādhā-kṛṣṇa-Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa; eka-one; ātmā-self; dui-two; deha-bodies; dhari’-assuming; anyonye-one another; vilase-They enjoy; rasa-the mellows of love; āsvādana kari’-tasting.
TRANSLATION
Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa are one and the same, but They have assumed two bodies. Thus They enjoy each other, tasting the mellows of love.
PURPORT
The two transcendentalists Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa are a puzzle to materialists. The above description of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa from the diary of Śrīla Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī is a condensed explanation, but one needs great spiritual insight to understand the mystery of these two personalities. One is enjoying in two. Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the potent factor, and Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is the internal potency. According to Vedānta philosophy, there is no difference between the potent and potency: they are identical. We cannot differentiate between one and the other, any more than we can separate fire from heat.
Everything in the Absolute is inconceivable in relative existence. Therefore in relative cognizance it is very difficult to assimilate this truth of the oneness between the potent and the potency. The philosophy of inconceivable oneness and difference propounded by Lord Caitanya is the only source of understanding for such intricacies of transcendence.
In fact, Rādhārāṇī is the internal potency of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and She eternally intensifies the pleasure of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Impersonalists cannot understand this without the help of a mahā-bhāgavata devotee. The very name Rādhā suggests that She is eternally the topmost mistress of the comforts of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. As such, She is the medium transmitting the living entities’ service to Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Devotees in Vṛndāvana therefore seek the mercy of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī in order to be recognized as loving servitors of Śrī Kṛṣṇa.
Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu personally approaches the fallen conditioned souls of the iron age to deliver the highest principle of transcendental relationships with the Lord. The activities of Lord Caitanya are primarily in the role of the pleasure-giving portion of His internal potency.
The absolute Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, is the omnipotent form of transcendental existence, knowledge and bliss in full. His internal potency is exhibited first as sat, or existence-or, in other words, as the portion that expands the existence function of the Lord. The same potency while displaying full knowledge is called cit, or samvit, which expands the transcendental forms of the Lord. Finally, the same potency while playing as a pleasure-giving medium is known as hlādinī, or the transcendental blissful potency. Thus the Lord manifests His internal potency in three transcendental divisions.
TEXT 57
sei dui eka ebe caitanya gosāñi
rasa āsvādite doṅhe hailā eka-ṭhāṅi
SYNONYMS
sei-these; dui-two; eka-one; ebe-now; caitanya gosāñi-Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu; rasa-mellow; āsvādite-to taste; doṅhe-the two; hailā-have become; eka-ṭhāṅi-one body.
TRANSLATION
Now, to enjoy rasa, They have appeared in one body as Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
TEXT 58
ithi lāgi’ āge kari tāra vivaraṇa
yāhā haite haya gaurera mahimā-kathana
SYNONYMS
ithi lāgi’-for this; āge-first; kari-I shall do; tāra-of that; vivaraṇa-description; yāhā haite-from which; haya-there is; gaurera-of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu; mahimā-the glory; kathana-relating.
TRANSLATION
Therefore I shall first delineate the position of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. From that the glory of Lord Caitanya will be known.
TEXT 59
rādhikā hayena kṛṣṇera praṇaya-vikāra
svarūpa-śakti–‘hlādinī’ nāma yāṅhāra
SYNONYMS
rādhikā-Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī; hayena-is; kṛṣṇera-of Lord Kṛṣṇa; praṇaya-vikāra-transformation of love; svarūpa-śakti-personal energy; hlādinī-hlādinī; nāma-name; yāṅhāra-whose.
TRANSLATION
Śrīmatī Rādhikā is the transformation of Kṛṣṇa’s love. She is His internal energy called hlādinī.
TEXT 60
hlādinī karāya kṛṣṇe ānandāsvādana
hlādinīra dvārā kare bhaktera poṣaṇa
SYNONYMS
hlādinī-the hlādinī energy; karāya-causes to do; kṛṣṇe-in Lord Kṛṣṇa; ānanda-āsvādana-the tasting of bliss; hlādinīra dvārā-by the pleasure potency; kare-does; bhaktera-of the devotee; poṣaṇa-nourishing.
TRANSLATION
That hlādinī energy gives Kṛṣṇa pleasure and nourishes His devotees.
PURPORT
Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī has elaborately discussed the hlādinī potency in his Prīti-sandarbha. He says that the Vedas clearly state, “Only devotional service can lead one to the Personality of Godhead. Only devotional service can help a devotee meet the Supreme Lord face to face. The Supreme Personality of Godhead is attracted by devotional service, and as such the ultimate supremacy of Vedic knowledge rests in knowing the science of devotional service.”
What is the particular attraction that makes the Supreme Lord enthusiastic to accept devotional service, and what is the nature of such service? The Vedic scriptures inform us that the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Absolute Truth, is self sufficient, and that māyā, nescience, can never influence Him at all. As such, the potency that overcomes the Supreme must be purely spiritual. Such a potency cannot be anything of the material manifestation. The bliss enjoyed by the Supreme Personality of Godhead cannot be of material composition like the impersonalist conception of the bliss of Brahman. Devotional service is reciprocation between two, and therefore it cannot be located simply within one’s self. Therefore the bliss of self-realization, brahmānanda, cannot be equated with devotional service.
The Supreme Personality of Godhead has three kinds of internal potency, namely, the hlādinī-śakti, or pleasure potency, the sandhinī-śakti, or existential potency, and the samvit-śakti, or cognitive potency. In the Viṣṇu Purāṇa (1.12.69) the Lord is addressed as follows: “O Lord, You are the support of everything. The three attributes hlādinī, sandhinī and samvit exist in You as one spiritual energy. But the material modes, which cause happiness, misery and mixtures of the two, do not exist in You, for You have no material qualities.”
Hlādinī is the personal manifestation of the blissfulness of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, by which He enjoys pleasure. Because the pleasure potency is perpetually present in the Supreme Lord, the theory of the impersonalist that the Lord appears in the material mode of goodness cannot be accepted. The impersonalist conclusion is against the Vedic version that the Lord possesses a transcendental pleasure potency. When the pleasure potency of the Supreme Personality of Godhead is exhibited by His grace in the person of a devotee, that manifestation is called love of God. “Love of God” is an epithet for the pleasure potency of the Lord. Therefore devotional service reciprocated between the Lord and His devotee is an exhibition of the transcendental pleasure potency of the Lord.
The potency of the Supreme Personality of Godhead that always enriches Him with transcendental bliss is not material, but the Śaṅkarites have accepted it as such because they are ignorant of the identity of the Supreme Lord and His pleasure potency. Those ignorant persons cannot understand the distinction between impersonal spiritual bliss and the variegatedness of the spiritual pleasure potency. The hlādinī potency gives the Lord all transcendental pleasure, and the Lord bestows such a potency upon His pure devotee.
TEXT 61
sac-cid-ānanda, pūrṇa, kṛṣṇera svarūpa
eka-i cic-chakti tāṅra dhare tina rūpa
SYNONYMS
sat-cit-ānanda-eternity, knowledge and bliss; pūrṇa-full; kṛṣṇera-of Lord Kṛṣṇa; sva-rūpa-own form; eka-i-one; cit-śakti-spiritual energy; tāṅra-of Him; dhare-manifests; tina-three; rūpa-forms.
TRANSLATION
Lord Kṛṣṇa’s body is eternal [sat], full of knowledge [cit] and full of bliss [ānanda]. His one spiritual energy manifests three forms.
TEXT 62
ānandāṁśe hlādinī, sad-aṁśe sandhinī
cid-aṁśe samvit–yāre jñāna kari’ māni
SYNONYMS
ānanda-aṁśe-in the bliss portion; hlādinī-the pleasure energy; sat-aṁśe-in the eternal portion; sandhinī-the existence-expanding energy; cit-aṁśe-in the cognizant portion; samvit-the full energy of knowledge; yāre-which; jñāna kari’-as knowledge; māni-I accept.
TRANSLATION
Hlādinī is His aspect of bliss; sandhinī, of eternal existence; and samvit, of cognizance, which is also accepted as knowledge.
PURPORT
In his thesis Bhagavat-sandarbha (103), Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī explains the potencies of the Lord as follows: The transcendental potency of the Supreme Personality of Godhead by which He maintains His existence is called sandhinī. The transcendental potency by which He knows Himself and causes others to know Him is called samvit. The transcendental potency by which He possesses transcendental bliss and causes His devotees to have bliss is called hlādinī.
The total exhibition of these potencies is called viśuddha-sattva, and this platform of spiritual variegatedness is displayed even in the material world, when the Lord appears here. The pastimes and manifestations of the Lord in the material world are therefore not at all material: they belong to the pure transcendental state. The Bhagavad-gītā confirms that anyone who understands the transcendental nature of the Lord’s appearance, activities and disappearance becomes eligible for freedom from material bondage upon quitting the present material tabernacle. He can enter the spiritual kingdom to associate with the Supreme Personality of Godhead and reciprocate the hlādinī potency in transactions between him and the Lord. In the mundane mode of goodness there are tinges of passion and ignorance. Therefore mundane goodness, being mixed, is called miśra-sattva. But the transcendental variegatedness of viśuddha-sattva is completely free from all mundane qualities. Viśuddha-sattva is therefore the proper atmosphere in which to experience the Personality of Godhead and His transcendental pastimes. Spiritual variegatedness is eternally independent of all material conditions and is nondifferent from the Supreme Personality of Godhead, both being absolute. The Lord and His devotees simultaneously perceive the hlādinī potency directly by the power of the samvit potency.
The material modes of nature control the conditioned souls, but the Supreme Personality of Godhead is never influenced by these modes, as all Vedic literature directly and indirectly corroborates. Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself says in the Eleventh Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.25.12), sattvaṁ rajas tama iti guṇā jīvasya naiva me: “The material modes of goodness, passion and ignorance are connected with the conditioned souls, but never with Me, the Supreme Personality of Godhead.” The Viṣṇu Purāṇa confirms this as follows:
sattvādayo na santīśe
yatra na prākṛtā gunāḥ
sa śuddhaḥ sarva-śuddhebhyaḥ
pumān ādyaḥ prasīdatu
“The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Viṣṇu, is beyond the three qualities goodness, passion and ignorance. No material qualities exist in Him. May that original person, Nārāyaṇa, who is situated in a completely transcendental position, be pleased with us.” In the Tenth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.27.4), Indra praised Kṛṣṇa as follows:
viśuddha-sattvaṁ tava dhāma śāntaṁ
tapo-mayaṁ dhvasta-rajas-tamaskam
māyā-mayo ‘yaṁ guṇa-sampravāho
na vidyate te ‘grahaṇānubandhaḥ
“My dear Lord, Your abode is viśuddha-sattva, always undisturbed by the material qualities, and the activities there are in transcendental loving service unto Your feet. The goodness, austerity and penance of the devotees enhance such activities, which are always free from the contamination of passion and ignorance. Material qualities cannot touch You under any circumstances.”
When not manifested, the modes of material nature are said to be in goodness. When they are externally manifested and active in producing the varieties of material existence, they are said to be in passion. And when there is a lack of activity and variegatedness, they are said to be in ignorance. In other words, the pensive mood is goodness, activity is passion, and inactivity is ignorance. Above all these mundane qualitative manifestations is viśuddha-sattva. When it is predominated by the sandhinī potency, it is perceivable as the existence of all that be. When predominated by the samvit potency, it is perceived as knowledge in transcendence. And when predominated by the hlādinī potency, it is perceived as the most confidential love of Godhead. Viśuddha-sattva, the simultaneous manifestation of these three in one, is the main feature of the kingdom of God.
The Absolute Truth is therefore the substance of reality, eternally manifest in three energies. The manifestation of the internal energy of the Lord is the inconceivably variegated spiritual world, the manifestation of the marginal energy comprises the living entities, and the manifestation of the external energy is the material cosmos. Therefore the Absolute Truth includes these four principles-the Supreme Personality of Godhead Himself, His internal energy, His marginal energy and His external energy. The form of the Lord and the expansions of His form as svayaṁ-rūpa and vaibhava-prakāśa are directly the enjoyers of the internal energy, which is the eternal exhibitor of the spiritual world, the most confidential of the manifestations of energy. The external manifestation, the material energy, provides the covering bodies of the conditioned living entities, from Brahmā down to the insignificant ant. This covering energy is manifested under the three modes of material nature and appreciated in various ways by living entities in both the higher and lower forms of life.
Each of the three divisions of the internal potency-the sandhinī, samvit and hlādinī energies-influences one of the external potencies by which the conditioned souls are conducted. Such influence manifests the three qualitative modes of material nature, proving definitely that the living entities, the marginal potency, are eternally servitors of the Lord and are therefore controlled by either the internal or the external potency.
TEXT 63
hlādinī sandhinī samvit
tvayy ekā sarva-saṁsthitau
hlāda-tāpa-karī miśrā
tvayi no guṇa-varjite
SYNONYMS
hlādinī-pleasure potency; sandhinī-existence potency; samvit-knowledge potency; tvayi-in You; ekā-one; sarva-saṁsthitau-who are the basis of all things; hlāda-pleasure; tāpa-and misery; karī-causing; miśrā-a mixture of the two; tvayi-in You; na u-not; guṇa-varjite-who are without the three modes of material nature.
TRANSLATION
“O Lord, You are the support of everything. The three attributes hlādinī, sandhinī and samvit exist in You as one spiritual energy. But the material modes, which cause happiness, misery and mixtures of the two, do not exist in You, for You have no material qualities.”
PURPORT
This text is from the Viṣṇu Purāṇa (1.12.69).
TEXT 64
sandhinīra sāra aṁśa–‘śuddha-sattva’ nāma
bhagavānera sattā haya yāhāte viśrāma
SYNONYMS
sandhinīra-of the existence potency; sāra-essence; aṁśa-portion; śuddha-sattva-śuddha-sattva (pure existence); nāma-named; bhagavānera-of the Supreme Personality of Godhead; sattā-the existence; haya-is; yāhāte-in which; viśrāma-the resting place.
TRANSLATION
The essential portion of the sandhinī potency is śuddha-sattva. Lord Kṛṣṇa’s existence rests upon it.
TEXT 65
mātā, pitā, sthāna, gṛha, śayyāsana āra
e-saba kṛṣṇera śuddha-sattvera vikāra
SYNONYMS
mātā-mother; pitā-father; sthāna-place; gṛha-house; śayya-āsana-beds and seats; āra-and; e-saba-all these; kṛṣṇera-of Lord Kṛṣṇa; śuddha-sattvera-of the śuddha-sattva; vikāra-transformations.
TRANSLATION
Kṛṣṇa’s mother, father, abode, house, bedding, seats and so on are all transformations of śuddha-sattva.
PURPORT
Lord Kṛṣṇa’s father, mother and household affairs are all displayed in the same viśuddha-sattva existence. A living entity situated in the status of pure goodness can understand the form, quality and other features of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Kṛṣṇa consciousness begins on the platform of pure goodness. Although there is a faint realization of Kṛṣṇa at first, Kṛṣṇa is actually realized as Vāsudeva, the absolute proprietor of omnipotence or the prime predominating Deity of all potencies. When the living entity is situated in viśuddha-sattva, transcendental to the three material modes of nature, he can perceive the form, quality and other features of the Supreme Personality of Godhead through his service attitude. The status of pure goodness is the platform of understanding, for the Supreme Lord is always in spiritual existence.
Kṛṣṇa is always all-spiritual. Aside from the parents of the Personality of Godhead, all the other paraphernalia of His existence is also essentially a manifestation of sandhinī-śakti, or a transformation of viśuddha-sattva. To make this more clear, it may be said that this sandhinī-śakti of the internal potency maintains and manifests all the variegatedness of the spiritual world. In the kingdom of God, the Lord’s servants and maidservants, His consorts, His father and mother and everything else are all transformations of the spiritual existence of sandhinī-śakti. The existential sandhinī-śakti in the external potency similarly expands all the variegatedness of the material cosmos, from which we can have a glimpse of the spiritual field.
TEXT 66
sattvaṁ viśuddhaṁ vasudeva-śabditaṁ
yad īyate tatra pumān apāvṛtaḥ
sattve ca tasmin bhagavān vāsudevo
hy adhokṣajo me manasā vidhīyate
SYNONYMS
sattvam-existence; viśuddham-pure; vasudeva-śabditam-named vasudeva; yat-from which; īyate-appears; tatra-in that; pumān-the Supreme Personality of Godhead; apāvṛtaḥ-without any covering; sattve-in goodness; ca-and; tasmin-that; bhagavān-the Supreme Personality of Godhead; vāsudevaḥ-Vāsudeva; hi-certainly; adhokṣajaḥ-who is beyond the senses; me-my; manasā-by the mind; vidhīyate-is procured.
TRANSLATION
“The condition of pure goodness [śuddha-sattva], in which the Supreme Personality of Godhead is revealed without any covering, is called vasudeva. In that pure state the Supreme Godhead, who is beyond the material senses and who is known as Vāsudeva, is perceived by my mind.”
PURPORT
This text from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (4.3.23), spoken by Lord Śiva when he condemned Dakṣa, the father of Satī, as an opponent of Viṣṇu, confirms beyond a doubt that Lord Kṛṣṇa, His name, His fame, His qualities and everything in connection with His paraphernalia exist in the sandhinī-śakti of the Lord’s internal potency.
TEXT 67
kṛṣṇe bhagavattā-jñāna–saṁvitera sāra
brahma-jñānādika saba tāra parivāra
SYNONYMS
kṛṣṇe-in Kṛṣṇa; bhagavattā-of the quality of being the original Supreme Personality of Godhead; jñāna-knowledge; saṁvitera-of the knowledge potency; sāra-the essence; brahma-jñāna-knowledge of Brahman; ādika-and so on; saba-all; tāra-of that; parivāra-dependents.
TRANSLATION
The essence of the samvit potency is knowledge that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is Lord Kṛṣṇa. All other kinds of knowledge, such as the knowledge of Brahman, are its components.
PURPORT
The activities of the samvit-śakti produce the effect of cognition. Both the Lord and the living entities are cognizant. Śrī Kṛṣṇa, as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, has full knowledge of everything everywhere, and therefore there are no hindrances to His cognition. He can have knowledge merely by glancing over an object, whereas innumerable impediments block the cognition of ordinary living beings. The cognition of the living beings has three divisions: direct knowledge, indirect knowledge and perverted knowledge. Sense perception of material objects by the mundane senses, such as the eye, ear, nose and hand, always produces definitely perverted knowledge. This illusion is a presentation of the material energy, which is influenced by the samvit-śakti in a perverted manner. Negative cognition of an object beyond the reach of sense perception is the way of indirect knowledge, which is not altogether imperfect but which produces only fragmentary knowledge in the form of impersonal spiritual realization and monism. But when the samvit factor of cognition is enlightened by the hlādinī potency of the same internal energy, they work together, and only thus can one attain knowledge of the Personality of Godhead. The samvit-śakti should be maintained in that state. Material knowledge and indirect spiritual knowledge are by-products of the samvit-śakti.
TEXT 68
hlādinīra sāra ‘prema’, prema-sāra ‘bhāva’
bhāvera parama-kāṣṭhā, nāma–‘mahā-bhāva’
SYNONYMS
hlādinīra-of the pleasure potency; sāra-the essence; prema-love for God; prema-sāra-the essence of such love; bhāva-emotion; bhāvera-of emotion; parama-kāṣṭhā-the highest limit; nāma-named; mahā-bhāva-mahābhāva.
TRANSLATION
The essence of the hlādinī potency is love of God, the essence of love of God is emotion [bhāva], and the ultimate development of emotion is mahābhāva.
PURPORT
The product of the hlādinī-śakti is love of Godhead, which has two divisions-namely, pure love of Godhead and adulterated love of Godhead. Only when the hlādinī śakti emanates from Śrī Kṛṣṇa and is bestowed upon the living being to attract Him does the living being become a pure lover of God. But when the same hlādinī-śakti is adulterated by the external, material energy and emanates from the living being, it does not attract Kṛṣṇa; on the contrary, the living being becomes attracted by the glamor of the material energy. At that time instead of becoming mad with love of Godhead, the living being becomes mad after material sense enjoyment, and because of his association with the qualitative modes of material nature, he is captivated by its interactions of distressful, unhappy feelings.
TEXT 69
mahābhāva-svarūpā śrī-rādhā-ṭhākurāṇī
sarva-guṇa-khani kṛṣṇa-kāntā-śiromaṇi
SYNONYMS
mahā-bhāva-of mahābhāva; svarūpā-the form; śrī-rādhā-ṭhākurāṇī-Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī; sarva-guṇa-of all good qualities; khani-mine; kṛṣṇa-kāntā-of the lovers of Lord Kṛṣṇa; śiromaṇi-crown jewel.
TRANSLATION
Śrī Rādhā Ṭhākurāṇī is the embodiment of mahābhāva. She is the repository of all good qualities and the crest jewel among all the lovely consorts of Lord Kṛṣṇa.
PURPORT
The unadulterated action of the hlādinī-śakti is displayed in the dealings of the damsels of Vraja and Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, who is the topmost participant in that transcendental group. The essence of the hlādinī-śakti is love of Godhead, the essence of love of Godhead is bhāva, or transcendental sentiment, and the highest pitch of that bhāva is called mahābhāva. Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is the personified embodiment of these three aspects of transcendental consciousness. She is therefore the highest principle in love of Godhead and is the supreme lovable object of Śrī Kṛṣṇa.
TEXT 70
tayor apy ubhayor madhye
rādhikā sarvathādhikā
mahābhāva-svarūpeyaṁ
guṇair ativarīyasī
SYNONYMS
tayoḥ-of them; api-even; ubhayoḥ-of both (Candrāvalī and Rādhārāṇī); madhye-in the middle; rādhikā-Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī; sarvathā-in every way; adhikā-greater; mahā-bhāva-svarūpā-the form of mahābhāva; iyam-this one; guṇaiḥ-with good qualities; ativarīyasī-the best of all.
TRANSLATION
“Of these two gopīs [Rādhārāṇī and Candrāvalī], Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is superior in all respects. She is the embodiment of mahābhāva, and She surpasses all in good qualities.”
PURPORT
This text is verse 2 of the Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī.
TEXT 71
kṛṣṇa-prema-bhāvita yāṅra cittendriya-kāya
kṛṣṇa-nija-śakti rādhā krīḍāra sahāya
SYNONYMS
kṛṣṇa-prema-love for Lord Kṛṣṇa; bhāvita-steeped in; yāṅra-whose; citta-mind; indriya-senses; kāya-body; kṛṣṇa-of Lord Kṛṣṇa; nija-śakti-His own energy; rādhā-Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī; krīḍāra-of pastimes; sahāya-companion.
TRANSLATION
Her mind, senses and body are steeped in love for Kṛṣṇa. She is Kṛṣṇa’s own energy, and She helps Him in His pastimes.
PURPORT
Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is as fully spiritual as Kṛṣṇa. No one should consider Her to be material. She is definitely not like the conditioned souls, who have material bodies, gross and subtle, covered by material senses. She is all-spiritual, and both Her body and mind are of the same spiritual embodiment. Because Her body is spiritual, Her senses are also spiritual. Thus Her body, mind and senses fully shine in love of Kṛṣṇa. She is the personified hlādinī-śakti (the pleasure-giving energy of the Lord’s internal potency), and therefore She is the only source of enjoyment for Śrī Kṛṣṇa.
Śrī Kṛṣṇa cannot enjoy anything that is internally different from Him. Therefore Rādhā and Śrī Kṛṣṇa are identical. The sandhinī portion of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s internal potency has manifested the all-attractive form of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and the same internal potency, in the hlādinī feature, has presented Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, who is the attraction for the ail-attractive. No one can match Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī in the transcendental pastimes of Śrī Kṛṣṇa.
TEXT 72
ānanda-cinmaya-rasa-pratibhāvitābhis
tābhir ya eva nija-rūpatayā kalābhiḥ
goloka eva nivasaty akhilātma-bhūto
govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi
SYNONYMS
ānanda-bliss; cit-and knowledge; maya-consisting of; rasa-mellows; prati-at every second; bhāvitābhiḥ-who are engrossed with; tābhiḥ-with those; yaḥ-who; eva-certainly; nija-rūpatayā-with His own form; kalābhiḥ-who are parts of portions of His pleasure potency; goloke-in Goloka Vṛndāvana; eva-certainly; nivasati-resides; akhila-ātma-as the soul of all; bhūtaḥ-who exists; govindam-Lord Govinda; ādi-puruṣam-the original personality; tam-Him; aham-I; bhajāmi-worship.
TRANSLATION
“I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, who resides in His own realm, Goloka, with Rādhā, who resembles His own spiritual figure and who embodies the ecstatic potency [hlādinī]. Their companions are Her confidantes, who embody extensions of Her bodily form and who are imbued and permeated with ever-blissful spiritual rasa.”
PURPORT
This text is from the Brahma-saṁhitā (5.37).
TEXT 73
kṛṣṇere karāya yaiche rasa āsvādana
krīḍāra sahāya yaiche, śuna vivaraṇa
SYNONYMS
kṛṣṇere-unto Lord Kṛṣṇa; karāya-causes to do; yaiche-how; rasa-the mellows; āsvādana-tasting; krīḍāra-of pastimes; sahāya-helper; yaiche-how; śuna-please hear; vivaraṇa-the description.
TRANSLATION
Now please listen to how Lord Kṛṣṇa’s consorts help Him taste rasa and how they help in His pastimes.
TEXTS 74-75
kṛṣṇa-kāntā-gaṇa dekhi tri-vidha prakāra
eka lakṣmī-gaṇa, pure mahiṣī-gaṇa āra
vrajāṅganā-rūpa, āra kāntā-gaṇa-sāra
śrī-rādhikā haite kāntā-gaṇera vistāra
SYNONYMS
kṛṣṇa-kāntā-gaṇa-the lovers of Lord Kṛṣṇa; dekhi-I see; tri-vidha-three; prakāra-kinds; eka-one; lakṣmī-gaṇa-the goddesses of fortune; pure-in the city; mahiṣī-gaṇa-the queens; āra-and; vraja-aṅganā-of the beautiful women of Vraja; rūpa-having the form; āra-another type; kāntā-gaṇa-of the lovers; sāra-the essence; śrī-rādhikā haite-from Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī; kāntā-gaṇera-of the lovers of Kṛṣṇa; vistāra-the expansion.
TRANSLATION
The beloved consorts of Lord Kṛṣṇa are of three kinds: the goddesses of fortune, the queens, and the milkmaids of Vraja, who are the foremost of all. These consorts all proceed from Rādhikā.
TEXT 76
avatārī kṛṣṇa yaiche kare avatāra
aṁśinī rādhā haite tina gaṇera vistāra
SYNONYMS
avatārī-the source of all incarnations; kṛṣṇa-Lord Kṛṣṇa; yaiche-just as; kare-makes; avatāra-incarnation; aṁśinī-the source of all portions; rādhā-Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī; haite-from; tina-three; gaṇera-of the groups; vistāra-expansion.
TRANSLATION
Just as the fountainhead, Lord Kṛṣṇa, is the cause of all incarnations, so Śrī Rādhā is the cause of all these consorts.
TEXT 77
vaibhava-gaṇa yena tāṅra aṅga-vibhūti
bimba-pratibimba-rūpa mahiṣīra tati
SYNONYMS
vaibhava-gaṇa-the expansions; yena-as it were; tāṅra-of Her; aṅga-of the body; vibhūti-powerful expansions; bimba-reflections; pratibimba-counterreflections; rūpa-having the form; mahiṣīra-of the queens; tati-the expansion.
TRANSLATION
The goddesses of fortune are partial manifestations of Śrīmatī Rādhikā, and the queens are reflections of Her image.
TEXT 78
laksmī-gaṇa tāṅra vaibhava-vilāsāṁśa-rūpa
mahiṣī-gaṇa vaibhava-prakāśa-svarūpa
SYNONYMS
lakṣmī-gaṇa-the goddesses of fortune; tāṅra-Her; vaibhava-vilāsa-as vaibhava-vilāsa; aṁśa-of plenary portions; rūpa-having the form; mahiṣī-gaṇa-the queens; vaibhava-prakāśa-of vaibhava-prakāśa; svarūpa-having the nature.
TRANSLATION
The goddesses of fortune are Her plenary portions, and they display the forms of vaibhava-vilāsa. The queens are of the nature of Her vaibhava-prakāśa.
TEXT 79
ākāra svabhāva-bhede vraja-devī-gaṇa
kāya-vyūha-rūpa tāṅra rasera kāraṇa
SYNONYMS
ākāra-of features; svabhāva-of natures; bhede-with differences; vraja-devī-gaṇa-the gopīs; kāya-of Her body; vyūha-of expansions; rūpa-having the form; tāṅra-of Her; rasera-of mellows; kāraṇa-instruments.
TRANSLATION
The Vraja-devīs have diverse bodily features. They are Her expansions and are the instruments for expanding rasa.
TEXT 80
bahu kāntā vinā nahe rasera ullāsa
līlāra sahāya lāgi’ bahuta prakāśa
SYNONYMS
bahu-many; kāntā-lovers; vinā-without; nahe-there is not; rasera-of mellow; ullāsa-exultation; līlāra-of pastimes; sahāya-helper; lāgi’-for the purpose of being; bahuta-many; prakāśa-manifestations.
TRANSLATION
Without many consorts, there is not such exultation in rasa. Therefore there are many manifestations of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī to assist in the Lord’s pastimes.
TEXT 81
tāra madhye vraje nānā bhāva-rasa-bhede
kṛṣṇake karāya rāsādika-līlāsvāde
SYNONYMS
tāra madhye-among them; vraje-in Vraja; nānā-various; bhāva-of moods; rasa-and of mellows; bhede-by differences; kṛṣṇake-Lord Kṛṣṇa; karāya-cause to do; rāsa-ādika-beginning with the rāsa dance; līlā-of the pastimes; āsvāde-tasting.
TRANSLATION
Among them are various groups of consorts in Vraja who have varieties of sentiments and mellows. They help Lord Kṛṣṇa taste all the sweetness of the rāsa dance and other pastimes.
PURPORT
As already explained, Kṛṣṇa and Rādhā are one in two. They are identical. Kṛṣṇa expands Himself in multi-incarnations and plenary portions like the puruṣas. Similarly, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī expands Herself in multiforms as the goddesses of fortune, the queens and the damsels of Vraja. Such expansions from Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī are all Her plenary portions. All these womanly forms of Kṛṣṇa are expansions corresponding to His plenary expansions of Viṣṇu forms. These expansions have been compared to reflected forms of the original form. There is no difference between the original form and the reflected forms. The female reflections of Kṛṣṇa’s pleasure potency are as good as Kṛṣṇa Himself.
The plenary expansions of Kṛṣṇa’s personality are called vaibhava-vilāsa and vaibhava-prakāśa, and Rādhā’s expansions are similarly described. The goddesses of fortune are Her vaibhava-vilāsa forms, and the queens are her vaibhava-prakāśa forms. The personal associates of Rādhārāṇī, the damsels of Vraja, are direct expansions of Her body. As expansions of Her personal form and transcendental disposition, they are agents of different reciprocations of love in the pastimes of Lord Kṛṣṇa, under the supreme direction of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. In the transcendental realm, enjoyment is fully relished in variety. The exuberance of transcendental mellow is increased by the association of a large number of personalities similar to Rādhārāṇī, who are also known as gopīs or sakhīs. The variety of innumerable mistresses is a source of relish for Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and therefore these expansions from Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī are necessary for enhancing the pleasure potency of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Their transcendental exchanges of love are the superexcellent affairs of the pastimes in Vṛndāvana. By these expansions of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī’s personal body, She helps Lord Kṛṣṇa taste the rāsa dance and similar other activities. Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, being the central petal of the rāsa-līlā flower, is also known by the names found in the following verses.
TEXT 82
govindānandinī rādhā, govinda-mohinī
govinda-sarvasva, sarva-kāntā-śiromaṇi
SYNONYMS
govinda-ānandinī-She who gives pleasure to Govinda; rādhā-Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī; govinda-mohinī-She who mystifies Govinda; govinda-sarvasva-the be-all and end-all of Lord Govinda; sarva-kāntā-of all the Lord’s lovers; śiromaṇi-the crown jewel.
TRANSLATION
Rādhā is the one who gives pleasure to Govinda, and She is also the enchantress of Govinda. She is the be-all and end-all of Govinda, and the crest jewel of all His consorts.
TEXT 83
devī kṛṣṇa-mayī proktā
rādhikā para-devatā
sarva-lakṣmī-mayī sarva-
kāntiḥ sammohinī parā
SYNONYMS
devī-who shines brilliantly; kṛṣṇa-mayī-nondifferent from Lord Kṛṣṇa; proktā-called; rādhikā-Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī; para-devatā-most worshipable; sarva-lakṣmī-mayī-presiding over all the goddesses of fortune; sarva-kāntiḥ-in whom all splendor exists; sammohinī-whose character completely bewilders Lord Kṛṣṇa; parā-the superior energy.
TRANSLATION
“The transcendental goddess Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is the direct counterpart of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa. She is the central figure for all the goddesses of fortune. She possesses all the attractiveness to attract the all-attractive Personality of Godhead. She is the primeval internal potency of the Lord.”
PURPORT
This text is from the Bṛhad-gautamīya-tantra.
TEXT 84
‘devī’ kahi dyotamānā, paramā sundarī
kimvā, kṛṣṇa-pūjā-krīḍāra vasati nagarī
SYNONYMS
devī-the word devī; kahi-I say; dyotamānā-shining; paramā-most; sundarī-beautiful; kimvā-or; kṛṣṇa-pūjā-of the worship of Lord Kṛṣṇa; krīḍāra-and of sports; vasati-the abode; nagarī-the town.
TRANSLATION
“Devī” means “resplendent and most beautiful.” Or else it means “the lovely abode of the worship and love sports of Lord Kṛṣṇa.”
TEXT 85
kṛṣṇa-mayī–kṛṣṇa yāra bhitare bāhire
yāṅhā yāṅhā netra paḍe tāṅhā kṛṣṇa sphure
SYNONYMS
kṛṣṇa-mayī-the word kṛṣṇa-mayī; kṛṣṇa-Lord Kṛṣṇa; yāra-of whom; bhitare-the within; bāhire-the without; yāṅhā yāṅhā-wherever; netra-the eyes; paḍe-fall; tāṅhā-there; kṛṣṇa-Lord Kṛṣṇa; sphure-manifests.
TRANSLATION
“Kṛṣṇa-mayī” means “one whose within and without are Lord Kṛṣṇa.” She sees Lord Kṛṣṇa wherever She casts Her glance.
TEXT 86
kimvā, prema-rasa-maya kṛṣṇera svarūpa
tāṅra śakti tāṅra saha haya eka-rūpa
SYNONYMS
kimvā-or; prema-rasa-the mellows of love; maya-made of; kṛṣṇera-of Lord Kṛṣṇa; svarūpa-the real nature; tāṅra-of Him; śakti-the energy; tāṅra saha-with Him; haya-there is; eka-rūpa-oneness.
TRANSLATION
Or, She is identical with Lord Kṛṣṇa, for She embodies the mellows of love. The energy of Lord Kṛṣṇa is identical with Him.
PURPORT
Kṛṣṇa-mayī has two different imports. First, a person who always thinks of Kṛṣṇa both within and without and who always remembers only Kṛṣṇa, wherever he goes or whatever he sees, is called kṛṣṇa-mayī. Also, since Kṛṣṇa’s personality is full of love, His loving potency, Rādhārāṇī, being nondifferent from Him, is called kṛṣṇa-mayī.
TEXT 87
kṛṣṇa-vāñchā-pūrti-rūpa kare ārādhane
ataeva ‘rādhikā’ nāma purāṇe vākhāne
SYNONYMS
kṛṣṇa-vāñchā-of the desire of Lord Kṛṣṇa; pūrti-rūpa-of the nature of fulfillment; kare-does; ārādhane-worship; ataeva-therefore; rādhikā-Śrīmatī Rādhikā; nāma-named; purāṇe-in the Purāṇas; vākhāne-in the description.
TRANSLATION
Her worship [ārādhana] consists of fulfilling the desires of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Therefore the Purāṇas call Her Rādhikā.
PURPORT
The name Rādhā is derived from the root word ārādhana, which means “worship.” The personality who excels all in worshiping Kṛṣṇa may therefore be called Rādhikā, the greatest servitor.
TEXT 88
anayārādhito nūnaṁ
bhagavān harir īśvaraḥ
yan no vihāya govindaḥ
prīto yām anayad rahaḥ
SYNONYMS
anayā-by this one; ārādhitaḥ-worshiped; nūnam-certainly; bhagavān-the Supreme Personality of Godhead; hariḥ-Lord Kṛṣṇa; īśvaraḥ-the Supreme Lord; yat-from which; naḥ-us; vihāya-leaving aside; govindaḥ-Govinda; prītaḥ-pleased; yām-whom; anayat-lead; rahaḥ-to a lonely place.
TRANSLATION
“Truly the Personality of Godhead has been worshiped by Her. Therefore Lord Govinda, being pleased, has brought Her to a lonely spot, leaving us all behind.”
PURPORT
This text is from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.30.28).
TEXT 89
ataeva sarva-pūjyā, parama-devatā
sarva-pālikā, sarva jagatera mātā
SYNONYMS
ataeva-therefore; sarva-pūjyā-worshipable by all; parama-supreme; devatā-goddess; sarva-pālikā-the protectress of all; sarva jagatera-of all the universes; mātā-the mother.
TRANSLATION
Therefore Rādhā is parama-devatā, the supreme goddess, and She is worshipable for everyone. She is the protectress of all, and She is the mother of the entire universe.
TEXT 90
‘sarva-lakṣmī’-śabda pūrve kariyāchi vyākhyāna
sarva-lakṣmī-gaṇera tiṅho hana adhiṣṭhāna
SYNONYMS
sarva-lakṣmī-śabda-the word sarva-lakṣmī; pūrve-previously; kariyāchi-I have done; vyākhyāna-explanation; sarva-lakṣmī-gaṇera-of all the goddesses of fortune; tiṅho-She; hana-is; adhiṣṭhāna-abode.
TRANSLATION
I have already explained the meaning of “sarva-lakṣmī.” Rādhā is the original source of all the goddesses of fortune.
TEXT 91
kimvā, ‘sarva-lakṣmī’–kṛṣṇera ṣaḍ-vidha aiśvarya
tāṅra adhiṣṭhātrī śakti–sarva-śakti-varya
SYNONYMS
kimvā-or; sarva-lakṣmī-the word sarva-lakṣmī; kṛṣṇera-of Lord Kṛṣṇa; ṣaṭ-vidha-six kinds; aiśvarya-opulences; tāṅra-of Him; adhiṣṭhātrī-chief; śakti-energy; sarva-śakti-of all energies; varya-the best.
TRANSLATION
Or “sarva-lakṣmī” indicates that She fully represents the six opulences of Kṛṣṇa. Therefore She is the supreme energy of Lord Kṛṣṇa.
TEXT 92
sarva-saundarya-kānti vaisaye yāṅhāte
sarva-lakṣmī-gaṇera śobhā haya yāṅhā haite
SYNONYMS
sarva-saundarya-of all beauty; kānti-the splendor; vaisaye-sits; yāṅhāte-in whom; sarva-lakṣmī-gaṇera-of all the goddesses of fortune; śobhā-the splendor; haya-is; yāṅhā haite-from whom.
TRANSLATION
The word “sarva-kānti” indicates that all beauty and luster rest in Her body. All the lakṣmīs derive their beauty from Her.
TEXT 93
kimvā ‘kānti’-śabde kṛṣṇera saba icchā kahe
kṛṣṇera sakala vāñchā rādhātei rahe
SYNONYMS
kimvā-or; kānti-śabde-by the word kānti; kṛṣṇera-of Lord Kṛṣṇa; saba-all; icchā-desires; kahe-says; kṛṣṇera-of Lord Kṛṣṇa; sakala-all; vāñchā-desires; rādhātei-in Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī; rahe-remain.
TRANSLATION
“Kānti” may also mean “all the desires of Lord Kṛṣṇa.” All the desires of Lord Kṛṣṇa rest in Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī.
TEXT 94
rādhikā karena kṛṣṇera vāñchita pūraṇa
‘sarva-kānti’-śabdera ei artha vivaraṇa
SYNONYMS
rādhikā-Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī; karena-does; kṛṣṇera-of Lord Kṛṣṇa; vāñchita-desired object; pūraṇa-fulfilling; sarva-kānti-śabdera-of the word sarva-kānti; ei-this; artha-meaning; vivaraṇa-the description.
TRANSLATION
Śrīmatī Rādhikā fulfills all the desires of Lord Kṛṣṇa. This is the meaning of “sarva-kānti.”
TEXT 95
jagat-mohana kṛṣṇa, tāṅhāra mohinī
ataeva samastera parā ṭhākurāṇī
SYNONYMS
jagat-mohana-enchanting the universe; kṛṣṇa-Lord Kṛṣṇa; tāṅhāra-of Him; mohinī-the enchantress; ataeva-therefore; samastera-of all; parā-foremost; ṭhākurāṇī-goddess.
TRANSLATION
Lord Kṛṣṇa enchants the world, but Śrī Rādhā enchants even Him. Therefore She is the supreme goddess of all.
TEXT 96
rādhā–pūrṇa-śakti, kṛṣṇa–pūrṇa-śaktimān
dui vastu bheda nāi, śāstra-paramāṇa
SYNONYMS
rādhā-Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī; pūrṇa-śakti-the complete energy; kṛṣṇa-Lord Kṛṣṇa; pūrṇa-śaktimān-the complete possessor of energy; dui-two; vastu-things; bheda-difference; nāi-there is not; śāstra-paramāṇa-the evidence of revealed scripture.
TRANSLATION
Śrī Rādhā is the full power, and Lord Kṛṣṇa is the possessor of full power. The two are not different, as evidenced by the revealed scriptures.
TEXT 97
mṛgamada, tāra gandha–yaiche aviccheda
agni, jvālāte–yaiche kabhu nāhi bheda
SYNONYMS
mṛga-mada-musk; tāra-of that; gandha-fragrance; yaiche-just as; aviccheda-inseparable; agni-the fire; jvālāte-temperature; yaiche-just as; kabhu-any; nāhi-there is not; bheda-difference.
TRANSLATION
They are indeed the same, just as musk and its scent are inseparable, or as fire and its heat are nondifferent.
TEXT 98
rādhā-kṛṣṇa aiche sadā eka-i svarūpa
līlā-rasa āsvādite dhare dui-rūpa
SYNONYMS
rādhā-kṛṣṇa-Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa; aiche-in this way; sadā-always; eka-i-one; svarūpa-nature; līlā-rasa-the mellows of a pastime; āsvādite-to taste; dhare-manifest; dui-rūpa-two forms.
TRANSLATION
Thus Rādhā and Lord Kṛṣṇa are one, yet They have taken two forms to enjoy the mellows of pastimes.
TEXTS 99-100
prema-bhakti śikhāite āpane avatari
rādhā-bhāva-kānti dui aṅgīkāra kari’
śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya-rūpe kaila avatāra
ei ta’ pañcama ślokera artha paracāra
SYNONYMS
prema-bhakti-devotional service in love of Godhead; śikhāite-to teach; āpane-Himself; avatari-descending; rādhā-bhāva-the mood of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī; kānti-and luster; dui-two; aṅgīkāra kari’-accepting; śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya-of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu; rūpe-in the form; kaila-made; avatāra-incarnation; ei-this; ta’-certainly; pañcama-fifth; ślokera-of the verse; artha-meaning; paracāra-proclamation.
TRANSLATION
To promulgate prema-bhakti [devotional service in love of Godhead], Kṛṣṇa appeared as Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya with the mood and complexion of Śrī Rādhā. Thus I have explained the meaning of the fifth verse.
TEXT 101
ṣaṣṭha ślokera artha karite prakāśa
prathame kahiye sei ślokera ābhāsa
SYNONYMS
ṣaṣṭha-sixth; ślokera-of the verse; artha-meaning; karite-to do; prakāśa-manifestation; prathame-first; kahiye-I shall speak; sei-that; ślokera-of the verse; ābhāsa-hint.
TRANSLATION
To explain the sixth verse, I shall first give a hint of its meaning.
TEXT 102
avatari’ prabhu pracārila saṅkīrtana
eho bāhya hetu, pūrve kariyāchi sūcana
SYNONYMS
avatari’-incarnating; prabhu-the Lord; pracārila-propagated; saṅkīrtana-the congregational chanting of the holy name; eho-this; bāhya-external; hetu-reason; pūrve-previously; kariyāchi-I have given; sūcana-indication.
TRANSLATION
The Lord came to propagate saṅkīrtana. That is an external purpose, as I have already indicated.
TEXT 103
avatārera āra eka āche mukhya-bīja
rasika-śekhara kṛṣṇera sei kārya nija
SYNONYMS
avatārera-of the incarnation; āra-another; eka-one; āche-there is; mukhya-bīja-principal seed; rasika-śekhara-the foremost enjoyer of the mellows of love; kṛṣṇera-of Lord Kṛṣṇa; sei-that; kārya-business; nija-own.
TRANSLATION
There is a principal cause for Lord Kṛṣṇa’s appearance. It grows from His own engagements as the foremost enjoyer of loving exchanges.
TEXT 104
ati gūḍha hetu sei tri-vidha prakāra
dāmodara-svarūpa haite yāhāra pracāra
SYNONYMS
ati-very; gūḍha-esoteric; hetu-reason; sei-that; tri-vidha-three; prakāra-kinds; dāmodara-svarūpa haite-from Svarūpa Dāmodara; yāhāra-of which; pracāra-the proclamation.
TRANSLATION
That most confidential cause is threefold. Svarūpa Dāmodara has revealed it.
TEXT 105
svarūpa-gosāñi–prabhura ati antaraṅga
tāhāte jānena prabhura e-saba prasaṅga
SYNONYMS
svarūpa-gosāñi-Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosāñi; prabhura-of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu; ati-very; antaraṅga-confidential associate; tāhāte-by that; jānena-he knows; prabhura-of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu; e-saba-all these; prasaṅga-topics.
TRANSLATION
Svarūpa Gosāñi is the most intimate associate of the Lord. He, therefore, knows all these topics well.
PURPORT
Prior to the Lord’s acceptance of the renounced order, Puruṣottama Bhaṭṭācārya, a resident of Navadvīpa, desired to enter the renounced order of life. Therefore he left home and went to Benares, where he accepted the position of brahmacarya from a Māyāvādī sannyāsī. When he became a brahmacārī, he was given the name Śrī Dāmodara Svarūpa. He left Benares shortly after, without taking sannyāsa, and he came to Nīlācala, Jagannātha Purī, where Lord Caitanya was staying. He met Caitanya Mahāprabhu there and dedicated his life for the service of the Lord. He became Lord Caitanya’s secretary and constant companion. He used to enhance the pleasure potency of the Lord by singing appropriate songs, which were very much appreciated. Svarūpa Dāmodara could understand the secret mission of Lord Caitanya, and it was by his grace only that all the devotees of Lord Caitanya could know the real purpose of the Lord.
Svarūpa Dāmodara has been identified as Lalitā-devī, the second expansion of Rādhārāṇī. However, the authoritative Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā of Kavi-karṇapūra describes Svarūpa Dāmodara as the same Viśākhā-devī who serves the Lord in Goloka Vṛndāvana. Therefore it is to be understood that Śrī Svarūpa Dāmodara is a direct expansion of Rādhārāṇī who helps the Lord experience the attitude of Rādhārāṇī.
TEXT 106
rādhikāra bhāva-mūrti prabhura antara
sei bhāve sukha-duḥkha uṭhe nirantara
SYNONYMS
rādhikāra-of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī; bhāva-mūrti-the form of the emotions; prabhura-of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu; antara-the heart; sei-that; bhāve-in the condition; sukha-duḥkha-happiness and distress; uṭhe-arise; nirantara-constantly.
TRANSLATION
The heart of Lord Caitanya is the image of Śrī Rādhikā’s emotions. Thus feelings of pleasure and pain arise constantly therein.
PURPORT
Lord Caitanya’s heart was full of the feelings of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, and His appearance resembled Hers. Svarūpa Dāmodara has explained His attitude as rādhā-bhāva-mūrti, the attitude of Rādhārāṇī. One who engages in sense gratification on the material platform can hardly understand rādhā-bhāva, but one who is freed from the demands of sense gratification can understand it. Rādhā-bhāva must be understood from the Gosvāmīs, those who are actually controllers of the senses. From such authorized sources it is to be known that the attitude of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is the highest perfection of conjugal love, which is the highest of the five transcendental mellows, and it is the complete perfection of love of Kṛṣṇa.
These transcendental affairs can be understood on two platforms. One is called elevated, and the other is called superelevated. The loving affairs exhibited in Dvārakā are the elevated form. The superelevated position is reached in the manifestations of the pastimes of Vṛndāvana. The attitude of Lord Caitanya is certainly superelevated.
From the life of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, an intelligent person engaged in pure devotional service can understand that He always felt separation from Kṛṣṇa within Himself. In that separation He sometimes felt that He had found Kṛṣṇa and was enjoying the meeting. The significance of this separation and meeting is very specific. If someone tries to understand the exalted position of Lord Caitanya without knowing this, he is sure to misunderstand it. One must first become fully self-realized. Otherwise one may misidentify the Lord as nāgara, or the enjoyer of the damsels of Vraja, thus committing the mistake of rasābhāsa, or overlapping understanding.
TEXT 107
śeṣa-līlāya prabhura kṛṣṇa-viraha-unmāda
bhrama-maya ceṣṭā, āra pralāpa-maya vāda
SYNONYMS
śeṣa-līlāya-in the final pastimes; prabhura-of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu; kṛṣṇa-viraha-from separation from Lord Kṛṣṇa; unmāda-the madness; bhrama-maya-erroneous; ceṣṭā-efforts; āra-and; pralāpa-maya-delirious; vāda-talk.
TRANSLATION
In the final portion of His pastimes, Lord Caitanya was obsessed with the madness of separation from Lord Kṛṣṇa. He acted in erroneous ways and talked deliriously.
PURPORT
Lord Śrī Caitanya exhibited the highest stage of the feelings of a devotee in separation from the Lord. This exhibition was sublime because He was completely perfect in the feelings of separation. Materialists, however, cannot understand this. Sometimes materialistic scholars think He was diseased or crazy. Their problem is that they always engage in material sense gratification and can never understand the feelings of the devotees and the Lord. Materialists are most abominable in their ideas. They think that they can enjoy directly perceivable gross objects by their senses and that they can similarly deal with the transcendental features of Lord Caitanya. But the Lord is understood only in pursuance of the principles laid down by the Gosvāmīs, headed by Svarūpa Dāmodara. Doctrines like those of the nadīyā-nāgarīs, a class of so-called devotees, are never presented by authorized persons like Svarūpa Dāmodara or the six Gosvāmīs. The ideas of the gaurāṅga-nāgarīs are simply a mental concoction, and they are completely on the mental platform.
TEXT 108
rādhikāra bhāva yaiche uddhava-darśane
sei bhāve matta prabhu rahe rātri-dine
SYNONYMS
rādhikāra-of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī; bhāva-emotion; yaiche-just as; uddhava-darśane-in seeing Śrī Uddhava; sei-that; bhāve-in the state; matta-maddened; prabhu-Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu; rahe-remains; rātri-dine-day and night.
TRANSLATION
Just as Rādhikā went mad at the sight of Uddhava, so Lord Caitanya was obsessed day and night with the madness of separation.
PURPORT
Those under the shelter of the lotus feet of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu can understand that His mode of worship of the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa in separation is the real worship of the Lord. When the feelings of separation become very intense, one attains the stage of meeting Śrī Kṛṣṇa.
So-called devotees like the sahajiyās cheaply imagine they are meeting Kṛṣṇa in Vṛndāvana. Such thinking may be useful, but actually meeting Kṛṣṇa is possible through the attitude of separation taught by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
TEXT 109
rātre pralāpa kare svarūpera kaṇṭha dhari’
āveśe āpana bhāva kahaye ughāḍi’
SYNONYMS
rātre-at night; pralāpa-delirium; kare-does; svarūpera-of Svarūpa Dāmodara; kaṇṭha dhari’-embracing the neck; āveśe-in ecstasy; āpana-His own; bhāva-mood; kahaye-speaks; ughāḍi’-exuberantly.
TRANSLATION
At night He talked incoherently in grief with His arms around Svarūpa Dāmodara’s neck. He spoke out His heart in ecstatic inspiration.
TEXT 110
yabe yei bhāva uṭhe prabhura antara
sei gīti-śloke sukha dena dāmodara
SYNONYMS
yabe-when; yei-that; bhāva-mood; uṭhe-arises; prabhura-of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu; antara-in the heart; sei-that; gīti-by the song; śloke-or verse; sukha-happiness; dena-gives; dāmodara-Svarūpa Dāmodara.
TRANSLATION
Whenever a particular sentiment arose in His heart, Svarūpa Dāmodara satisfied Him by singing songs or reciting verses of the same nature.
TEXT 111
ebe kārya nāhi kichu e-saba vicāre
āge ihā vivariba kariyā vistāre
SYNONYMS
ebe-now; kārya-business; nāhi-there is not; kichu-any; e-saba-all these; vicāre-in the considerations; āge-ahead; ihā-this; vivariba-I shall describe; kariyā-doing; vistāre-in expanded detail.
TRANSLATION
To analyze these pastimes is not necessary now. Later I shall describe them in detail.
TEXT 112
pūrve vraje kṛṣṇera tri-vidha vayo-dharma
kaumāra, paugaṇḍa, āra kaiśora atimarma
SYNONYMS
pūrve-previously; vraje-in Vraja; kṛṣṇera-of Lord Kṛṣṇa; tri-vidha-three sorts; vayaḥ-dharma-characteristics of age; kaumāra-childhood; paugaṇḍa-boyhood; āra-and; kaiśora-adolescence; ati-marma-the very core.
TRANSLATION
Formerly in Vraja Lord Kṛṣṇa displayed three ages, namely childhood, boyhood and adolescence. His adolescence is especially significant.
TEXT 113
vātsalya-āveśe kaila kaumqāra saphala
paugaṇḍa saphala kaila lañā sakhāvala
SYNONYMS
vātsalya-of parental love; āveśe-in the attachment; kaila-made; kaumāra-childhood; sa-phala-fruitful; paugaṇḍa-boyhood; sa-phala-fruitful; kaila-made; lañā-taking along; sakhā-āvala-friends.
TRANSLATION
Parental affection made His childhood fruitful. His boyhood was successful with His friends.
TEXT 114
rādhikādi lañā kaila rāsādi-vilāsa
vāñchā bhari’ āsvādila rasera niryāsa
SYNONYMS
rādhikā-ādi-Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī and the other gopīs; lañā-taking along; kaila-did; rāsa-ādi-beginning with the rāsa dance; vilāsa-pastimes; vāñchā bhari’-fulfilling desires; āsvādila-He tasted; rasera-of mellow; niryāsa-the essence.
TRANSLATION
In youth He tasted the essence of rasa, fulfilling His desires in pastimes like the rāsa dance with Śrīmatī Rādhikā and the other gopīs.
TEXT 115
kaiśora-vayase kāma, jagat-sakala
rāsādi-līlāya tina karila saphala
SYNONYMS
kaiśora-vayase-in the adolescent age; kāma-amorous love; jagat-sakala-the entire universe; rāsa-ādi-such as the rāsa dance; līlāya-by pastimes; tina-three; karila-made; sa-phala-successful.
TRANSLATION
In His youth Lord Kṛṣṇa made all three of His ages, and the entire universe, successful by His pastimes of amorous love like the rāsa dance.
TEXT 116
so ‘pi kaiśoraka-vayo
mānayan madhusūdanaḥ
reme strī-ratna-kūṭa-sthaḥ
kṣapāsu kṣapitāhitaḥ
SYNONYMS
saḥ-He; api-especially; kaiśoraka-vayaḥ-the age of adolescence; mānayan-honoring; madhu-sūdanaḥ-the killer of the Madhu demon; reme-enjoyed; strī-ratna-of the gopīs; kūṭa-in multitudes; sthaḥ-situated; kṣapāsu-in the autumn nights; kṣapita-ahitaḥ-who destroys misfortune.
TRANSLATION
“Lord Madhusūdana enjoyed His youth with pastimes on autumn nights in the midst of the jewellike milkmaids. Thus He dispelled all the misfortunes of the world.”
PURPORT
This is a verse from the Viṣṇu Purāṇa (5.13.60).
TEXT 117
vācā sūcita-śarvarī-rati-kalā-prāgalbhyayā rādhikāṁ
vrīḍā-kuñcita-locanāṁ viracayann agre sakhīnām asau
tad-vakṣo-ruha-citra-keli-makarī-pāṇḍitya-pāraṁ gataḥ
kaiśoraṁ saphalī-karoti kalayan kuñje vihāraṁ hariḥ
SYNONYMS
vācā-by speech; sūcita-revealing; śarvarī-of the night; rati-in amorous pastimes; kalā-of the portion; prāgalbhyayā-the importance; rādhikām-Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī; vrīḍā-from shame; kuñcita-locanām-having Her eyes closed; viracayan-making; agre-before; sakhīnām-Her friends; asau-that one; tat-of Her; vakṣaḥ-ruha-on the breasts; citra-keli-with variegated pastimes; makarī-in drawing dolphins; pāṇḍitya-of cleverness; pāram-the limit; gataḥ-who reached; kaiśoram-adolescence; sa-phalī-karoti-makes successful; kalayan-performing; kuñje-in the bushes; vihāram-pastimes; hariḥ-the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
TRANSLATION
“Lord Kṛṣṇa made Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī close Her eyes in shame before Her friends by His words relating Their amorous activities on the previous night. Then He showed the highest limit of cleverness in drawing pictures of dolphins in various playful sports on Her breasts. In this way Lord Hari made His youth successful by performing pastimes in the bushes with Śrī Rādhā and Her friends.”
PURPORT
This is a verse from the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu (2.1.231) of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī.
TEXT 118
harir eṣa na ced avātariṣyan
mathurāyāṁ madhurākṣi rādhikā ca
abhaviṣyad iyaṁ vṛthā visṛṣṭir
makarāṅkas tu viśeṣatas tadātra
SYNONYMS
hariḥ-Lord Kṛṣṇa; eṣaḥ-this; na-not; cet-if; avātariṣyat-would have descended; mathurāyām-in Mathurā; madhura-akṣi-O lovely-eyed one (Paurṇamāsī); rādhikā-Śrīmatī Rādhikā; ca-and; abhaviṣyat-would have been; iyam-this; vṛthā-useless; visṛṣṭiḥ-the whole creation; makara-aṅkaḥ-the demigod of love, Cupid; tu-then; viśeṣataḥ-above all; tadā-then; atra-in this.
TRANSLATION
“O Paurṇamāsī, if Lord Hari had not descended in Mathurā with Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, this entire creation-and especially Cupid, the demigod of love-would have been useless.”
PURPORT
This verse is spoken by Śrī Vṛndā-devī in the Vidagdha-mādhava (7.3) of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī.
TEXTS 119-120
ei mata pūrve kṛṣṇa rasera sadana
yadyapi karila rasa-niryāsa-carvaṇa
tathāpi nahila tina vāñchita pūraṇa
tāhā āsvādite yadi karila yatana
SYNONYMS
ei mata-like this; pūrve-previously; kṛṣṇa-Lord Kṛṣṇa; rasera-of mellows; sadana-the reservoir; yadyapi-even though; karila-did; rasa-of the mellows; niryāsa-the essence; carvaṇa-chewing; tathāpi-still; nahila-was not; tina-three; vāñchita-desired objects; pūraṇa-fulfilling; tāhā-that; āsvādite-to taste; yadi-though; karila-were made; yatana-efforts.
TRANSLATION
Even though Lord Kṛṣṇa, the abode of all mellows, had previously in this way chewed the essence of the mellows of love, still He was unable to fulfill three desires, although He made efforts to taste them.
TEXT 121
tāṅhāra prathama vāñchā kariye vyākhyāna
kṛṣṇa kahe,–‘āmi ha-i rasera nidāna
SYNONYMS
tāṅhāra-His; prathama-first; vāñchā-desire; kariye-I do; vyākhyāna-explanation; kṛṣṇa-Lord Kṛṣṇa; kahe-says; āmi-I; ha-i-am; rasera-of mellow; nidāna-primary cause.
TRANSLATION
I shall explain His first desire. Kṛṣṇa says, “I am the primary cause of all rasas.
TEXT 122
pūrṇānanda-maya āmi cin-maya pūrṇa-tattva
rādhikāra preme āmā karāya unmatta
SYNONYMS
pūrṇa-ānanda-maya-made of full joy; āmi-I; cit-maya-spiritual; pūrṇa-tattva-full of truth; rādhikāra-of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī; preme-the love; āmā-Me; karāya-makes; unmatta-maddened.
TRANSLATION
“I am the full spiritual truth and am made of full joy, but the love of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī drives Me mad.
TEXT 123
nā jāni rādhāra preme āche kata bala
ye bale āmāre kare sarvadā vihvala
SYNONYMS
nā jāni-I do not know; rādhāra-of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī; preme-in the love; āche-there is; kata-how much; bala-strength; ye-which; bale-strength; āmāre-Me; kare-makes; sarvadā-always; vihvala-overwhelmed.
TRANSLATION
“I do not know the strength of Rādhā’s love, with which She always overwhelms Me.
TEXT 124
rādhikāra prema–guru, āmi–śiṣya naṭa
sadā āmā nānā nṛtye nācāya udbhaṭa
SYNONYMS
rādhikāra-of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī; prema-the love; guru-teacher; āmi-I; śiṣya-disciple; naṭa-dancer; sadā-always; āmā-Me; nānā-various; nṛtye-in dances; nācāya-causes to dance; udbhaṭa-novel.
TRANSLATION
“The love of Rādhikā is My teacher, and I am Her dancing pupil. Her prema makes Me dance various novel dances.”
TEXT 125
kasmād vṛnde priya-sakhi hareḥ pāda-mūlāt kuto ‘sau
kuṇḍāraṇye kim iha kurute nṛtya-śikṣāṁ guruḥ kaḥ
taṁ tvan-mūrtiḥ prati-taru-lataṁ dig-vidikṣu sphurantī
śailūṣīva bhramati parito nartayantī sva-paścāt
SYNONYMS
kasmāt-from where; vṛnde-O Vṛndā; priyā-sakhi-O dear friend; hareḥ-of Lord Hari; pāda-mūlāt-from the lotus feet; kutaḥ-where; asau-that one (Lord Kṛṣṇa); kuṇḍa-araṇye-in the forest on the bank of Rādhā-kuṇḍa; kim-what; iha-here; kurute-He does; nṛtya-śikṣām-dancing practice; guruḥ-teacher; kaḥ-who; tam-Him; tvat-mūrtiḥ-Your form; prati-taru-latam-on every tree and vine; dik-vidikṣu-in all directions; sphurantī-appearing; śailūṣī-expert dancer; iva-like; bhramati-wanders; paritaḥ-all around; nartayantī-causing to dance; sva-paścāt-behind.
TRANSLATION
“O my beloved friend Vṛndā, where are you coming from?”
“I am coming from the feet of Śrī Hari.”
“Where is He?”
“In the forest on the bank of Rādhā-kuṇḍa.”
“What is He doing there?”
“He is learning dancing.”
“Who is His master?”
“Your image, Rādhā, revealing itself in every tree and creeper in every direction, is roaming like a skillful dancer, making Him dance behind.”
PURPORT
This text is from the Govinda-līlāmṛta (8.77) of Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī.
TEXT 126
nija-premāsvāde mora haya ye āhlāda
tāhā ha’te koṭi-guṇa rādhā-premāsvāda
SYNONYMS
nija-own; prema-love; āsvāde-in tasting; mora-My; haya-there is; ye-whatever; āhlāda-pleasure; tāhā ha’te-than that; koṭi-guṇa-ten million times greater; rādhā-of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī; prema-āsvāda-the tasting of love.
TRANSLATION
“Whatever pleasure I get from tasting My love for Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, She tastes ten million times more than Me by Her love.
TEXT 127
āmi yaiche paraspara viruddha-dharmāśraya
rādhā-prema taiche sadā viruddha-dharma-maya
SYNONYMS
āmi-I; yaiche-just as; paraspara-mutually; viruddha-dharma-of conflicting characteristics; āśraya-the abode; rādhā-prema-the love of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī; taiche-just so; sadā-always; viruddha-dharma-maya-consists of conflicting characteristics.
TRANSLATION
“Just as I am the abode of all mutually contradictory characteristics, so Rādhā’s love is always full of similar contradictions.
TEXT 128
rādhā-premā vibhu–yāra bāḍite nāhi ṭhāñi
tathāpi se kṣaṇe kṣaṇe bāḍaye sadāi
SYNONYMS
rādhā-premā-the love of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī; vibhu-all-pervading; yāra-of which; bāḍite-to increase; nāhi-there is not; ṭhāñi-space; tathāpi-still; se-that; kṣaṇe kṣaṇe-every second; bāḍaye-increases; sadāi-always.
TRANSLATION
“Rādhā’s love is all-pervading, leaving no room for expansion. But still it is expanding constantly.
TEXT 129
yāhā va-i guru vastu nāhi suniścita
tathāpi gurura dharma gaurava-varjita
SYNONYMS
yāhā-which; va-i-besides; guru-great; vastu-thing; nāhi-there is not; suniścita-quite certainly; tathāpi-still; gurura-of greatness; dharma-characteristics; gaurava-varjita-devoid of pride.
TRANSLATION
“There is certainly nothing greater than Her love. But Her love is devoid of pride. That is the sign of its greatness.
TEXT 130
yāhā haite sunirmala dvitīya nāhi āra
tathāpi sarvadā vāmya-vakra-vyavahāra
SYNONYMS
yāhā haite-than which; su-nirmala-very pure; dvitīya-second; nāhi-there is not; āra-another; tathāpi-still; sarvadā-always; vāmya-perverse; vakra-crooked; vyavahāra-behavior.
TRANSLATION
“Nothing is purer than Her love. But its behavior is always perverse and crooked.”
TEXT 131
vibhur api kalayan sadābhivṛddhiṁ
gurur api gaurava-caryayā vihīnaḥ
muhur upacita-vakrimāpi śuddho
jayati mura-dviṣi rādhikānurāgaḥ
SYNONYMS
vibhuḥ-all-pervading; api-although; kalayan-making; sadā-always; abhivṛddhim-increase; guruḥ-important; api-although; gaurava-caryayā vihīnaḥ-without proud behavior; muhuḥ-again and again; upacita-increased; vakrimā-duplicity; api-although; śuddhaḥ-pure; jayati-all glories to; mura-dviṣi-for Kṛṣṇa, the enemy of the demon Mura; rādhikā-of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī; anurāgaḥ-the love.
TRANSLATION
“All glories to Rādhā’s love for Kṛṣṇa, the enemy of the demon Mura. Although it is all-pervading, it tends to increase at every moment. Although it is important, it is devoid of pride. And although it is pure, it is always beset with duplicity.”
PURPORT
This is a verse from the Dāna-keli-kaumudī (2) of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī.
TEXT 132
sei premāra śrī-rādhikā parama ‘āśraya’
sei premāra āmi ha-i kevala ‘viṣaya’
SYNONYMS
sei-that; premāra-of the love; śrī-rādhikā-Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī; parama-highest; āśraya-abode; sei-that; premāra-of the love; āmi-I; ha-i-am; kevala-only; viṣaya-object.
TRANSLATION
“Śrī Rādhikā is the highest abode of that love, and I am its only object.
TEXT 133
viṣaya-jātīya sukha āmāra āsvāda
āmā haite koṭi-guṇa āśrayera āhlāda
SYNONYMS
viṣaya jātīya-relating to the object; sukha-happiness; āmāra-My; āsvāda-tasting; āmā haite-than Me; koṭi-guṇa-ten million times more; āśrayera-of the abode; āhlāda-pleasure.
TRANSLATION
“I taste the bliss to which the object of love is entitled. But the pleasure of Rādhā, the abode of that love, is ten million times greater.
TEXT 134
āśraya-jātiya sukha pāite mana dhāya
yatne āsvādite nāri, ki kari upāya
SYNONYMS
āśraya-jātīya-relating to the abode; sukha-happiness; pāite-to obtain; mana-the mind; dhāya-chases; yatne-by effort; āsvādite-to taste; nāri-I am unable; ki-what; kari-I do; upāya-way.
TRANSLATION
“My mind races to taste the pleasure experienced by the abode, but I cannot taste it, even by My best efforts. How may I taste it?
TEXT 135
kabhu yadi ei premāra ha-iye āśraya
tabe ei premānandera anubhava haya
SYNONYMS
kabhu-sometime; yadi-if; ei-this; premāra-of the love; ha-iye-I become; āśraya-the abode; tabe-then; ei-this; prema-ānandera-of the joy of love; anubhava-experience; haya-there is.
TRANSLATION
“If sometime I can be the abode of that love, only then may I taste its joy.”
PURPORT
Viṣaya and āśraya are two very significant words relating to the reciprocation between Kṛṣṇa and His devotee. The devotee is called the āśraya, and his beloved, Kṛṣṇa, is the viṣaya. Different ingredients are involved in the exchange of love between the āśraya and viṣaya, which are known as vibhāva, anubhāva, sāttvika and vyabhicārī. Vibhāva is divided into the two categories ālambana and uddīpana. Ālambana may be further divided into āśraya and viṣaya. In the loving affairs of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa, Rādhārāṇī is the āśraya feature and Kṛṣṇa the viṣaya. The transcendental consciousness of the Lord tells Him, “I am Kṛṣṇa, and I experience pleasure as the viṣaya. The pleasure enjoyed by Rādhārāṇī, the āśraya, is many times greater than the pleasure I feel.” Therefore, to feel the pleasure of the āśraya category, Lord Kṛṣṇa appeared as Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
TEXT 136
eta cinti’ rahe kṛṣṇa parama-kautukī
hṛdaye bāḍaye prema-lobha dhakdhaki
SYNONYMS
eta cinti’-thinking this; rahe-remains; kṛṣṇa-Lord Kṛṣṇa; parama-kautukī-the supremely curious; hṛdaye-in the heart; bāḍaye-increases; prema-lobha-eager desire for love; dhakdhaki-blazing.
TRANSLATION
Thinking in this way, Lord Kṛṣṇa was curious to taste that love. His eager desire for that love increasingly blazed in His heart.
TEXT 137
ei eka, śuna āra lobhera prakāra
sva-mādhurya dekhi’ kṛṣṇa karena vicāra
SYNONYMS
ei-this; eka-one; śuna-please hear; āra-another; lobhera-of eager desire; prakāra-type; sva-mādhurya-own sweetness; dekhi’-seeing; kṛṣṇa-Lord Kṛṣṇa; karena-does; vicāra-consideration.
TRANSLATION
That is one desire. Now please hear of another. Seeing His own beauty, Lord Kṛṣṇa began to consider.
TEXT 138
adbhuta, ananta, pūrṇa mora madhurimā
tri-jagate ihāra keha nāhi pāya sīmā
SYNONYMS
adbhuta-wonderful; ananta-unlimited; pūrṇa-full; mora-My; madhurimā-sweetness; tri-jagate-in the three worlds; ihāra-of this; keha-someone; nāhi-not; pāya-obtains; sīmā-limit.
TRANSLATION
“My sweetness is wonderful, infinite and full. No one in the three worlds can find its limit.
TEXT 139
ei prema-dvāre nitya rādhikā ekali
āmāra mādhuryāmṛta āsvāde sakali
SYNONYMS
ei-this; prema-dvāre-by means of the love; nitya-always; rādhikā-Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī; ekali-only; āmāra-of Me; mādhurya-amṛta-the nectar of the sweetness; āsvāde-tastes; sakali-all.
TRANSLATION
“Only Rādhikā, by the strength of Her love, tastes all the nectar of My sweetness.
TEXT 140
yadyapi nirmala rādhāra sat-prema-darpaṇa
tathāpi svacchatā tāra bāḍhe kṣaṇe kṣaṇa
SYNONYMS
yadyapi-although; nirmala-pure; rādhāra-of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī; sat-prema-of real love; darpaṇa-the mirror; tathāpi-still; svacchatā-transparency; tāra-of that; bāḍhe-increases; kṣaṇe kṣaṇa-every moment.
TRANSLATION
“Although Rādhā’s love is pure like a mirror, its purity increases at every moment.
TEXT 141
āmāra mādhurya nāhi bāḍhite avakāśe
e-darpaṇera āge nava nava rūpe bhāse
SYNONYMS
āmāra-of Me; mādhurya-sweetness; nāhi-not; bāḍhite-to increase; avakāśe-opportunity; e-darpaṇera āge-in front of this mirror; nava nava-newer and newer; rūpe-in beauty; bhāse-shines.
TRANSLATION
“My sweetness also has no room for expansion, yet it shines before that mirror in newer and newer beauty.
TEXT 142
man-mādhurya rādhāra prema–doṅhe hoḍa kari’
kṣaṇe kṣaṇe bāḍe doṅhe, keha nāhi hāri
SYNONYMS
mat-mādhurya-My sweetness; rādhāra-of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī; prema-the love; doṅhe-both together; hoḍa kari’-challenging; kṣaṇe kṣaṇe-every second; bāḍe-increase; doṅhe-both; keha nāhi-no one; hāri-defeated.
TRANSLATION
“There is constant competition between My sweetness and the mirror of Rādhā’s love. They both go on increasing, but neither knows defeat.
TEXT 143
āmāra mādhurya nitya nava nava haya
sva-sva-prema-anurūpa bhakte āsvādaya
SYNONYMS
āmāra-of Me; mādhurya-the sweetness; nitya-always; nava nava-newer and newer; haya-is; sva-sva-prema-anurūpa-according to one’s own love; bhakte-the devotee; āsvādaya-tastes.
TRANSLATION
“My sweetness is always newer and newer. Devotees taste it according to their own respective love.
TEXT 144
darpaṇādye dekhi’ yadi āpana mādhurī
āsvādite haya lobha, āsvādite nāri
SYNONYMS
darpaṇa-ādye-beginning in a mirror; dekhi’-seeing; yadi-if; āpana-own; mādhurī-sweetness; āsvādite-to taste; haya-there is; lobha-desire; āsvādite-to taste; nāri-I am not able.
TRANSLATION
“If I see My sweetness in a mirror, I am tempted to taste it, but nevertheless I cannot.
TEXT 145
vicāra kariye yadi āsvāda-upāya
rādhikā-svarūpa ha-ite tabe mana dhāya
SYNONYMS
vicāra-consideration; kariye-I do; yadi-if; āsvāda-to taste; upāya-way; rādhikā-svarūpa-the nature of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī; ha-ite-to become; tabe-then; mana-mind; dhāya-chases.
TRANSLATION
“If I deliberate on a way to taste it, I find that I hanker for the position of Rādhikā.”
PURPORT
Kṛṣṇa’s attractiveness is wonderful and unlimited. No one can know the end of it. Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī alone can relish such extensiveness from Her position in the āśraya category. The mirror of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī’s transcendental love is perfectly clear, yet it appears clearer and clearest in the transcendental method of understanding Kṛṣṇa. In the mirror of Rādhārāṇī’s heart, the transcendental features of Kṛṣṇa appear increasingly new and fresh. In other words, the attraction of Kṛṣṇa increases in proportion to the understanding of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. Each tries to supersede the other. Neither wants to be defeated in increasing the intensity of love. Desiring to understand Rādhārāṇī’s attitude of increasing love, Lord Kṛṣṇa appeared as Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
TEXT 146
aparikalita-pūrvaḥ kaś camatkāra-kārī
sphurati mama garīyān eṣa mādhurya-pūraḥ
ayam aham api hanta prekṣya yaṁ lubdha-cetāḥ
sarabhasam upabhoktuṁ kāmaye rādhikeva
SYNONYMS
aparikalita-not experienced; pūrvaḥ-previously; kaḥ-who; camatkāra-kārī-causing wonder; sphurati-manifests; mama-My; garīyān-more great; eṣaḥ-this; mādhurya-pūraḥ-abundance of sweetness; ayam-this; aham-I; api-even; hanta-alas; prekṣya-seeing; yam-which; lubdha-cetāḥ-My mind being bewildered; sa-rabhasam-impetuously; upabhoktum-to enjoy; kāmaye-desire; rādhikā iva-like Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī.
TRANSLATION
“Who manifests an abundance of sweetness greater than Mine, which has never been experienced before and which causes wonder to all? Alas, I Myself, My mind bewildered upon seeing this beauty, impetuously desire to enjoy it like Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī.
PURPORT
This text is from the Lalita-mādhava (8.34) of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī. It was spoken by Lord Kṛṣṇa when He saw the beauty of His own reflection in a jeweled fountain in Dvārakā.
TEXT 147
kṛṣṇa-mādhuryera eka svābhāvika bala
kṛṣṇa-ādi nara-nārī karaye cañcala
SYNONYMS
kṛṣṇa-of Lord Kṛṣṇa; mādhuryera-of the sweetness; eka-one; svābhāvika-natural; bala-strength; kṛṣṇa-Lord Kṛṣṇa; ādi-beginning with; nara-nārī-men and women; karaye-makes; cañcala-perturbed.
TRANSLATION
The beauty of Kṛṣṇa has one natural strength: it thrills the hearts of all men and women, beginning with Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself.
TEXT 148
śravaṇe, darśane ākarṣaye sarva-mana
āpanā āsvādite kṛṣṇa karena yatana
SYNONYMS
śravaṇe-in hearing; darśane-in seeing; ākarṣaye-attracts; sarva-mana-all minds; āpanā-Himself; āsvādite-to taste; kṛṣṇa-Lord Kṛṣṇa; karena-makes; yatana-efforts.
TRANSLATION
All minds are attracted by hearing His sweet voice and flute, or by seeing His beauty. Even Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself makes efforts to taste that sweetness.
TEXT 149
e mādhuryāmṛta pāna sadā yei kare
tṛṣṇā-śānti nahe, tṛṣṇā bāḍhe nirantare
SYNONYMS
e-this; mādhurya-amṛta-nectar of sweetness; pāna-drinks; sadā-always; yei-that person who; kare-does; tṛṣṇā-śānti-satisfaction of thirst; nahe-there is not; tṛṣṇā-thirst; bāḍhe-increases; nirantare-constantly.
TRANSLATION
The thirst of one who always drinks the nectar of that sweetness is never satisfied. Rather, that thirst increases constantly.
TEXT 150
atṛpta ha-iyā kare vidhira nindana
avidagdha vidhi bhāla nā jāne sṛjana
SYNONYMS
atṛpta-unsatisfied; ha-iyā-being; kare-do; vidhira-of Lord Brahmā; nindana-blaspheming; avidagdha-inexperienced; vidhi-Lord Brahmā; bhāla-well; nā jāne-does not know; sṛjana-creating.
TRANSLATION
Such a person, being unsatisfied, begins to blaspheme Lord Brahmā, saying that he does not know the art of creating well and is simply inexperienced.
TEXT 151
koṭi netra nāhi dila, sabe dila dui
tāhāte nimeṣa,–kṛṣṇa ki dekhiba muñi
SYNONYMS
koṭi-ten million; netra-eyes; nāhi dila-did not give; sabe-to all; dila-gave; dui-two; tāhāte-in that; nimeṣa-a blink; kṛṣṇa-Lord Kṛṣṇa; ki-how; dekhiba-shall see; muñi-I.
TRANSLATION
He has not given millions of eyes to see the beauty of Kṛṣṇa. He has given only two eyes, and even those eyes blink. How then shall I see the lovely face of Kṛṣṇa?
TEXT 152
aṭati yad bhavān ahni kānanaṁ
truṭir yugāyate tvām apaśyatām
kuṭila-kuntalaṁ śrī-mukhaṁ ca te
jaḍa udīkṣatāṁ pakṣma-kṛd dṛśām
SYNONYMS
aṭati-goes; yat-when; bhavān-Your Lordship; ahni-in the day; kānanam-to the forest; truṭiḥ-half a second; yugāyate-appears like a yuga; tvām-You; apaśyatām-of those not seeing; kuṭila-kuntalam-adorned with curled hair; śrī-mukham-beautiful face; ca-and; te-Your; jaḍaḥ-stupid; udīkṣatām-looking at; pakṣma-kṛt-the maker of eyelashes; dṛśām-of the eyes.
TRANSLATION
[The gopīs say:] “O Kṛṣṇa, when You go to the forest during the day and we do not see Your sweet face, which is surrounded by beautiful curling hair, half a second becomes as long as an entire age for us. And we consider the creator, who has put eyelids on the eyes we use for seeing You, to be simply a fool.”
PURPORT
This verse is spoken by the gopīs in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.31.15).
TEXT 153
gopyaś ca kṛṣṇam upalabhya cirād abhīṣṭaṁ
yat-prekṣaṇe dṛśiṣu pakṣma-kṛtaṁ śapanti
dṛgbhir hṛdi kṛtam alaṁ parirabhya sarvās
tad-bhāvam āpur api nitya-yujāṁ durāpam
SYNONYMS
gopyaḥ-the gopīs; ca-and; kṛṣṇam-Lord Kṛṣṇa; upalabhya-seeing; cirāt-after a long time; abhīṣṭam-desired object; yat-prekṣaṇe-in the seeing of whom; dṛśiṣu-in the eyes; pakṣma-kṛtam-the maker of eyelashes; śapanti-curse; dṛgbhiḥ-with the eyes; hṛdi kṛtam-who entered the heart; alam-enough; parirabhya-embracing; sarvāḥ-all; tat-bhāvam-that highest stage of joy; āpuḥ-obtained; api-although; nitya-yujām-by perfected yogīs; durāpam-difficult to obtain.
TRANSLATION
“The gopīs saw their beloved Kṛṣṇa at Kurukṣetra after a long separation. They secured and embraced Him in their hearts through their eyes, and they attained a joy so intense that not even perfect yogīs can attain it. The gopīs cursed the creator for creating eyelids that interfered with their vision.”
PURPORT
This text is from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.82.39).
TEXT 154
kṛṣṇāvalokana vinā netra phala nāhi āna
yei jana kṛṣṇa dekhe, sei bhāgyavān
SYNONYMS
kṛṣṇa-Lord Kṛṣṇa; avalokana-looking at; vinā-without; netra-the eyes; phala-fruit; nāhi-not; āna-other; yei-who; jana-the person; kṛṣṇa-Lord Kṛṣṇa; dekhe-sees; sei-he; bhāgyavān-very fortunate.
TRANSLATION
There is no other consummation for the eyes than the sight of Kṛṣṇa. Whoever sees Him is most fortunate indeed.
TEXT 155
akṣaṇvatāṁ phalam idaṁ na paraṁ vidāmaḥ
sakhyaḥ paśūn anuviveśayator vayasyaiḥ
vaktraṁ vrajeśa-sutayor anuveṇu-juṣṭaṁ
yair vā nipītam anurakta-kaṭākṣa-mokṣam
SYNONYMS
akṣaṇvatām-of those who have eyes; phalam-the fruit; idam-this; na-not; param-other; vidāmaḥ-we know; sakhyaḥ-O friends; paśūn-the cows; anuviveśayatoḥ-causing to enter one forest from another; vayasyaiḥ-with Their friends of the same age; vaktram-the faces; vraja-īśa-of Mahārāja Nanda; sutayoḥ-of the two sons; anuveṇu-juṣṭam-possessed of flutes; yaiḥ-by which; vā-or; nipītam-imbibed; anurakta-loving; kaṭa-akṣa-glances; mokṣam-giving off.
TRANSLATION
[The gopīs say:] “O friends, those eyes that see the beautiful faces of the sons of Mahārāja Nanda are certainly fortunate. As these two sons enter the forest, surrounded by Their friends, driving the cows before Them, They hold Their flutes to Their mouths and glance lovingly upon the residents of Vṛndāvana. For those who have eyes, we think there is no greater object of vision.”
PURPORT
Like the gopīs, one can see Kṛṣṇa continuously if one is fortunate enough. In the Brahma-saṁhitā it is said that sages whose eyes have been smeared with the ointment of pure love can see the form of Śyāmasundara (Kṛṣṇa) continuously in the centers of their hearts. This text from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.21.7) was sung by the gopīs on the advent of the śarat season.
TEXT 156
gopyas tapaḥ kim acaran yad amuṣya rūpaṁ
lāvaṇya-sāram asamordhvam ananya-siddham
dṛgbhiḥ pibanty anusavābhinavaṁ durāpam
ekānta-dhāma yaśasaḥ śriya aiśvarasya
SYNONYMS
gopyaḥ-the gopīs; tapaḥ-austerities; kim-what; acaran-performed; yat-from which; amuṣya-of such a one (Lord Kṛṣṇa); rūpam-the form; lāvaṇya-sāram-the essence of loveliness; asama-ūrdhvam-not paralleled or surpassed; ananya-siddham-not perfected by any other ornament (self-perfect); dṛgbhiḥ-by the eyes; pibanti-they drink; anusava-abhinavam-constantly new; durāpam-difficult to obtain; ekānta-dhāma-the only abode; yaśasaḥ-of fame; śriyaḥ-of beauty; aiśvarasya-of opulence.
TRANSLATION
[The women of Mathurā say:] “What austerities must the gopīs have performed? With their eyes they always drink the nectar of the form of Lord Kṛṣṇa, which is the essence of loveliness and is not to be equaled or surpassed. That loveliness is the only abode of beauty, fame and opulence. It is self-perfect, ever fresh and extremely rare.”
PURPORT
This text from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.44.14) was spoken by the women of Mathurā when they saw Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma in the arena with King Kaṁsa’s great wrestlers Muṣṭika and Cāṇūra.
TEXT 157
apūrva mādhurī kṛṣṇera, apūrva tāra bala
yāhāra śravaṇe mana haya ṭalamala
SYNONYMS
apūrva-unprecedented; mādhurī-sweetness; kṛṣṇera-of Lord Kṛṣṇa; apūrva-unprecedented; tāra-of that; bala-the strength; yāhāra-of which; śravaṇe-in hearing; mana-the mind; haya-becomes; ṭalamala-unsteady.
TRANSLATION
The sweetness of Lord Kṛṣṇa is unprecedented, and its strength is also unprecedented. Simply by one’s hearing of such beauty, the mind becomes unsteady.
TEXT 158
kṛṣṇera mādhurye kṛṣṇe upajaya lobha
samyak āsvādite nāre, mane rahe kṣobha
SYNONYMS
kṛṣṇera-of Lord Kṛṣṇa; mādhurye-in the sweetness; kṛṣṇe-in Lord Kṛṣṇa; upajaya-arises; lobha-eager desire; samyak-fully; āsvādite-to taste; nāre-is not able; mane-in the mind; rahe-remains; kṣobha-sorrow.
TRANSLATION
Lord Kṛṣṇa’s own beauty attracts Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself. But because He cannot fully enjoy it, His mind remains full of sorrow.
TEXT 159
ei ta’ dvitīya hetura kahila vivaraṇa
tṛtīya hetura ebe śunaha lakṣaṇa
SYNONYMS
ei-this; ta’-certainly; dvitīya-second; hetura-of the reason; kahila-has been said; vivaraṇa-description; tṛtīya-the third; hetura-of the reason; ebe-now; śunaha-please hear; lakṣaṇa-the characteristic.
TRANSLATION
This is a description of His second desire. Now please listen as I describe the third.
TEXT 160
atyanta-nigūḍha ei rasera siddhānta
svarūpa-gosāñi mātra jānena ekānta
SYNONYMS
atyanta-extremely; nigūḍha-deep; ei-this; rasera-of mellow; siddhānta-conclusion; svarūpa-gosāñi-Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī; mātra-only; jānena-knows; ekānta-much.
TRANSLATION
This conclusion of rasa is extremely deep. Only Svarūpa Dāmodara knows much about it.
TEXT 161
yebā keha anya jāne, seho tāṅhā haite
caitanya-gosāñira teṅha atyanta marma yāte
SYNONYMS
yebā-whoever; keha-someone; anya-other; jāne-knows; seho-he; tāṅhā haite-from him (Svarūpa Dāmodara); caitanya-gosāñira-of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu; teṅha-he; atyanta-extremely; marma-secret core; yāte-since.
TRANSLATION
Anyone else who claims to know it must have heard it from him, for he was the most intimate companion of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
TEXT 162
gopī-gaṇera premera ‘rūḍha-bhāva’ nāma
viśuddha nirmala prema, kabhu nahe kāma
SYNONYMS
gopī-gaṇera-of the gopīs; premera-of the love; rūḍha-bhāva-rūḍha-bhāva; nāma-named; viśuddha-pure; nirmala-spotless; prema-love; kabhu-at anytime; nahe-is not; kāma-lust.
TRANSLATION
The love of the gopīs is called rūḍha-bhāva. It is pure and spotless. It is not at any time lust.
PURPORT
As already explained, the position of the gopīs in their loving dealings with Kṛṣṇa is transcendental. Their emotion is called rūḍha-bhāva. Although it is apparently like mundane sex, one should not confuse it with mundane sexual love, for it is pure and unadulterated love of Godhead.
TEXT 163
premaiva gopa-rāmānāṁ
kāma ity agamat prathām
ity uddhavādayo ‘py etaṁ
vāñchanti bhagavat-priyāḥ
SYNONYMS
prema-love; eva-only; gopa-rāmānām-of the women of Vraja; kāmaḥ-lust; iti-as; agamat-went to; prathām-fame; iti-thus; uddhava-ādayaḥ-headed by Śrī Uddhava; api-even; etam-this; vāñchanti-desire; bhagavat-priyāḥ-dear devotees of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
TRANSLATION
“The pure love of the gopīs has become celebrated by the name ‘lust.’ The dear devotees of the Lord, headed by Śrī Uddhava, desire to taste that love.”
PURPORT
This is a verse from Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu (1.2.285).
TEXT 164
kāma, prema,–doṅhākāra vibhinna lakṣaṇa
lauha āra hema yaiche svarūpe vilakṣaṇa
SYNONYMS
kāma-lust; prema-love; doṅhākāra-of the two; vibhinna-separate; lakṣaṇa-symptoms; lauha-iron; āra-and; hema-gold; yaiche-just as; svarūpe-in nature; vilakṣaṇa-different.
TRANSLATION
Lust and love have different characteristics, just as iron and gold have different natures.
PURPORT
One should try to discriminate between sexual love and pure love, for they belong to different categories, with a gulf of difference between them. They are as different from one another as iron is from gold.
TEXT 165
ātmendriya-prīti-vāñchā–tāre bali ‘kāma’
kṛṣṇendriya-prīti-icchā dhare ‘prema’ nāma
SYNONYMS
ātma-indriya-prīti-for the pleasure of one’s own senses; vāñchā-desires; tāre-to that; bali-I say; kāma-lust; kṛṣṇa-indriya-prīti-for the pleasure of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s senses; icchā-desire; dhare-holds; prema-love; nāma-the name.
TRANSLATION
The desire to gratify one’s own senses is kāma [lust], but the desire to please the senses of Lord Kṛṣṇa is prema [love].
PURPORT
The revealed scriptures describe pure love as follows:
sarvathā dhvaṁsa-rahitaṁ
saty api dhvaṁsa-kāraṇe
yad bhāva-bandhanaṁ yūnoḥ
sa premā parikīrtitaḥ
“If there is ample reason for the dissolution of a conjugal relationship and yet such a dissolution does not take place, such a relationship of intimate love is called pure.”
The predominated gopīs were bound to Kṛṣṇa in such pure love. For them there was no question of sexual love based on sense gratification. Their only engagement in life was to see Kṛṣṇa happy in all respects, regardless of their own personal interests. They dedicated their souls only for the satisfaction of the Personality of Godhead, Śrī Kṛṣṇa. There was not the slightest tinge of sexual love between the gopīs and Kṛṣṇa.
The author of Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta asserts with authority that sexual love is a matter of personal sense enjoyment. All the regulative principles in the Vedas pertaining to desires for popularity, fatherhood, wealth and so on are different phases of sense gratification. Acts of sense gratification may be performed under the cover of public welfare, nationalism, religion, altruism, ethical codes, Biblical codes, health directives, fruitive action, bashfulness, tolerance, personal comfort, liberation from material bondage, progress, family affection or fear of social ostracism or legal punishment, but all these categories are different subdivisions of one substance-sense gratification. All such good acts are performed basically for one’s own sense gratification, for no one can sacrifice his personal interest while discharging these much-advertised moral and religious principles. But above all this is a transcendental stage in which one feels himself to be only an eternal servitor of Kṛṣṇa, the absolute Personality of Godhead. All acts performed in this sense of servitude are called pure love of God because they are performed for the absolute sense gratification of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. However, any act performed for the purpose of enjoying its fruits or results is an act of sense gratification. Such actions are visible sometimes in gross and sometimes in subtle forms.
TEXT 166
kāmera tātparya–nija-sambhoga kevala
kṛṣṇa-sukha-tātparya-mātra prema ta’ prabala
SYNONYMS
kāmera-of lust; tātparya-the intent; nija-own; sambhoga-enjoyment; kevala-only; kṛṣṇa-sukha-for Lord Kṛṣṇa’s happiness; tātparya-the intent; mātra-only; prema-love; ta’-certainly; prabala-powerful.
TRANSLATION
The object of lust is only the enjoyment of one’s own senses. But love caters to the enjoyment of Lord Kṛṣṇa, and thus it is very powerful.
TEXTS 167-169
loka-dharma, veda-dharma, deha-dharma, karma
lajjā, dhairya, deha-sukha, ātma-sukha-marma
dustyaja ārya-patha, nija parijana
sva-jane karaye yata tāḍana-bhartsana
sarva-tyāga kari’ kare kṛṣṇera bhajana
kṛṣṇa-sukha-hetu kare prema-sevana
SYNONYMS
loka-dharma-customs of the people; veda-dharma-Vedic injunctions; deha-dharma-necessities of the body; karma-fruitive work; lajjā-bashfulness; dhairya-patience; deha-sukha-the happiness of the body; ātma-sukha-the happiness of the self; marma-the essence; dustyaja-difficult to give up; ārya-patha-the path of varṇāśrama; nija-own; parijana-family members; sva-jane-one’s own family; karaye-do; yata-all; tāḍana-punishment; bhartsana-scolding; sarva-tyāga kari’-giving up everything; kare-do; kṛṣṇera-of Lord Kṛṣṇa; bhajana-worship; kṛṣṇa-sukha-hetu-for the purpose of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s happiness; kare-do; prema-out of love; sevana-service.
TRANSLATION
Social customs, scriptural injunctions, bodily demands, fruitive action, shyness, patience, bodily pleasures, self-gratification and the path of varṇāśrama-dharma, which is difficult to give up-the gopīs have forsaken all these, as well as their own relatives and their punishment and scolding, for the sake of serving Lord Kṛṣṇa. They render loving service to Him for the sake of His enjoyment.
TEXT 170
ihāke kahiye kṛṣṇe dṛḍha anurāga
svaccha dhauta-vastre yaiche nāhi kona dāga
SYNONYMS
ihāke-this; kahiye-I say; kṛṣṇe-in Lord Kṛṣṇa; dṛḍha-strong; anurāga-love; svaccha-pure; dhauta-clean; vastre-in cloth; yaiche-just as; nāhi-not; kona-some; dāga-mark.
TRANSLATION
That is called firm attachment to Lord Kṛṣṇa. It is spotlessly pure, like a clean cloth that has no stain.
PURPORT
The author of Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta advises everyone to give up all engagements of sense gratification and, like the gopīs, dovetail oneself entirely with the will of the Supreme Lord. That is the ultimate instruction of Kṛṣṇa in the Bhagavad-gītā. We should be prepared to do anything and everything to please the Lord, even at the risk of violating the Vedic principles or ethical laws. That is the standard of love of Godhead. Such activities in pure love of Godhead are as spotless as white linen that has been completely washed. Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura warns us in this connection that we should not mistakenly think that the idea of giving up everything implies the renunciation of duties necessary in relation to the body and mind. Even such duties are not sense gratification if they are undertaken in a spirit of service to Kṛṣṇa.
TEXT 171
ataeva kāma-preme bahuta antara
kāma–andha-tamaḥ, prema–nirmala bhāskara
SYNONYMS
ataeva-therefore; kāma-preme-in lust and love; bahuta-much; antara-space between; kāma-lust; andha-tamaḥ-blind darkness; prema-love; nirmala-pure; bhāskara-sun.
TRANSLATION
Therefore lust and love are quite different. Lust is like dense darkness, but love is like the bright sun.
TEXT 172
ataeva gopī-gaṇera nāhi kāma-gandha
kṛṣṇa-sukha lāgi mātra, kṛṣṇa se sambandha
SYNONYMS
ataeva-therefore; gopī-gaṇera-of the gopīs; nāhi-not; kāma-gandha-the slightest bit of lust; kṛṣṇa-sukha-the happiness of Lord Kṛṣṇa; lāgi-for; mātra-only; kṛṣṇa-Lord Kṛṣṇa; se-that; sambandha-the relationship.
TRANSLATION
Thus there is not the slightest taint of lust in the gopīs’ love. Their relationship with Kṛṣṇa is only for the sake of His enjoyment.
TEXT 173
yat te sujāta-caraṇāmburuhaṁ staneṣu
bhītāḥ śanaiḥ priya dadhīmahi karkaśeṣu
tenāṭavīm aṭasi tad vyathate na kiṁ svit
kūrpādibhir bhramati dhīr bhavad-āyuṣāṁ naḥ
SYNONYMS
yat-which; te-Your; sujāta-very fine; caraṇa-ambu-ruham-lotus feet; staneṣu-on the breasts; bhītāḥ-being afraid; śanaiḥ-gently; priya-O dear one; dadhīmahi-we place; karkaśeṣu-rough; tena-with them; aṭavīm-the path; aṭasi-You roam; tat-they; vyathate-are distressed; na-not; kim svit-we wonder; kūrpa-ādibhiḥ-by small stones and so on; bhramati-flutters; dhīḥ-the mind; bhavat-āyuṣām-of those of whom Your Lordship is the very life; naḥ-of us.
TRANSLATION
“O dearly beloved! Your lotus feet are so soft that we place them gently on our breasts, fearing that Your feet will be hurt. Our life rests only in You. Our minds, therefore, are filled with anxiety that Your tender feet might be wounded by pebbles as You roam about on the forest path.”
PURPORT
This text from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.31.19) was spoken by the gopīs when Kṛṣṇa left them in the midst of the rāsa-līlā.
TEXT 174
ātma-sukha-duḥkhe gopīra nāhika vicāra
kṛṣṇa-sukha-hetu ceṣṭā mano-vyavahāra
SYNONYMS
ātma-sukha-duḥkhe-in personal happiness or distress; gopīra-of the gopīs; nāhika-not; vicāra-consideration; kṛṣṇa-sukha-hetu-for the purpose of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s happiness; ceṣṭā-activity; manaḥ-of the mind; vyavahāra-the business.
TRANSLATION
The gopīs do not care for their own pleasures or pains. All their physical and mental activities are directed toward offering enjoyment to Lord Kṛṣṇa.
TEXT 175
kṛṣṇa lāgi’ āra saba kare parityāga
kṛṣṇa-sukha-hetu kare śuddha anurāga
SYNONYMS
kṛṣṇa lāgi’-for Lord Kṛṣṇa; āra-other; saba-all; kare-do; parityāga-give up; kṛṣṇa-sukha-hetu-for the purpose of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s happiness; kare-do; śuddha-pure; anurāga-attachments.
TRANSLATION
They renounced everything for Kṛṣṇa. They have pure attachment to giving Kṛṣṇa pleasure.
TEXT 176
evaṁ mad-arthojjhita-loka-veda-
svānāṁ hi vo mayy anuvṛttaye ‘balāḥ
mayā parokṣaṁ bhajatā tirohitaṁ
māsūyituṁ mārhatha tat priyaṁ priyāḥ
SYNONYMS
evam-thus; mat-artha-for Me; ujjhita-rejected; loka-popular customs; veda-Vedic injunctions; svānām-own families; hi-certainly; vaḥ-of you; mayi-Me; anuvṛttaye-to increase regard for; abalāḥ-O women; mayā-by Me; parokṣam-invisible; bhajatā-favoring; tirohitam-withdrawn from sight; mā-Me; asūyitum-to be displeased with; mā arhatha-you do not deserve; tat-therefore; priyam-who is dear; priyāḥ-O dear ones.
TRANSLATION
“O My beloved gopīs, you have renounced social customs, scriptural injunctions and your relatives for My sake. I disappeared behind you only to increase your concentration upon Me. Since I disappeared for your benefit, you should not be displeased with Me.”
PURPORT
This text from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.32.21) was spoken by Lord Kṛṣṇa when He returned to the arena of the rāsa-līlā.
TEXT 177
kṛṣṇera pratijñā eka āche pūrva haite
ye yaiche bhaje, kṛṣṇa tāre bhaje taiche
SYNONYMS
kṛṣṇera-of Lord Kṛṣṇa; pratijñā-promise; eka-one; āche-there is; pūrva haite-from before; ye-whoever; yaiche-just as; bhaje-he worships; kṛṣṇa-Lord Kṛṣṇa; tāre-to him; bhaje-reciprocates; taiche-just so.
TRANSLATION
Lord Kṛṣṇa has a promise from before to reciprocate with His devotees according to the way they worship Him.
TEXT 178
ye yathā māṁ prapadyante
tāṁs tathaiva bhajāmy aham
mama vartmānuvartante
manuṣyāḥ pārtha sarvaśaḥ
SYNONYMS
ye-those who; yathā-as; mām-to Me; prapadyante-surrender; tān-them; tathā-so; eva-certainly; bhajāmi-reward; aham-I; mama-My; vartma-path; anuvartante-follow; manuṣyāḥ-men; pārtha-O son of Pṛthā; sarvaśaḥ-in all respects.
TRANSLATION
“In whatever way My devotees surrender unto Me, I reward them accordingly. Everyone follows My path in all respects, O son of Pṛthā.”
PURPORT
Kṛṣṇa was never ungrateful to the gopīs, for as He declares to Arjuna in this verse from the Bhagavad-gītā (4.11), He reciprocates with His devotees in proportion to the transcendental loving service they render unto Him. Everyone follows the path that leads toward Him, but there are different degrees of progress on that path, and the Lord is realized in proportion to one’s advancement. The path is one, but the progress in approaching the ultimate goal is different, and therefore the proportion of realization of this goal-namely the absolute Personality of Godhead-is also different. The gopīs attained the highest goal, and Lord Caitanya affirmed that there is no higher method of worshiping God than that followed by the gopīs.
TEXT 179
se pratijñā bhaṅga haila gopīra bhajane
tāhāte pramāṇa kṛṣṇa-śrī-mukha-vacane
SYNONYMS
se-that; pratijñā-promise; bhaṅga haila-was broken; gopīra-of the gopīs; bhajane-by the worship; tāhāte-in that; pramāṇa-the proof; kṛṣṇa-of Lord Kṛṣṇa; śrī-mukha-vacane-by the words from the mouth.
TRANSLATION
That promise has been broken by the worship of the gopīs, as Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself admits.
TEXT 180
na pāraye ‘haṁ niravadya-saṁyujāṁ
sva-sādhu-kṛtyaṁ vibudhāyuṣāpi vaḥ
yā mābhajan durjaya-geha-śṛṅkhalāḥ
saṁvṛścya tad vaḥ pratiyātu sādhunā
SYNONYMS
na-not; pāraye-am able to make; aham-I; niravadya-saṁyujām-to those who are completely free from deceit; sva-sādhu-kṛtyam-proper compensation; vibudha-āyuṣā-with a lifetime as long as that of the demigods; api-although; vaḥ-to you; yāḥ-who; mā-Me; abhajan-have worshiped; durjaya-geha-śṛṅkhalāḥ-the chains of household life, which are difficult to overcome; saṁvṛścya-cutting; tat-that; vaḥ-of you; pratiyātu-let it be returned; sādhunā-by the good activity itself.
TRANSLATION
“O gopīs, I am not able to repay My debt for your spotless service, even within a lifetime of Brahmā. Your connection with Me is beyond reproach. You have worshiped Me, cutting off all domestic ties, which are difficult to break. Therefore please let your own glorious deeds be your compensation.”
PURPORT
This verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.32.22) was spoken by Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself when He returned to the gopīs upon hearing their songs of separation.
TEXT 181
tabe ye dekhiye gopīra nija-dehe prīta
seho ta’ kṛṣṇera lāgi, jāniha niścita
SYNONYMS
tabe-now; ye-whatever; dekhiye-we see; gopīra-of the gopīs; nija-dehe-in their own bodies; prīta-affection; seho-that; ta’-certainly; kṛṣṇera lāgi-for Lord Kṛṣṇa; jāniha-know; niścita-for certain.
TRANSLATION
Now, whatever affection we see the gopīs show in their own bodies, know it for certain to be only for the sake of Lord Kṛṣṇa.
PURPORT
The selfless love of Godhead exhibited by the gopīs cannot have any parallel. We should not, therefore, misunderstand the carefulness of the gopīs in their personal decoration. The gopīs dressed themselves as beautifully as possible, just to make Kṛṣṇa happy by seeing them. They had no ulterior desires. They dedicated their bodies, and everything they possessed, to the service of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, taking for granted that their bodies were meant for His enjoyment. They dressed themselves on the understanding that Kṛṣṇa would be happy by seeing and touching them.
TEXT 182
‘ei deha kailuṅ āmi kṛṣṇe samarpaṇa
tāṅra dhana tāṅra ihā sambhoga-sādhana
SYNONYMS
ei-this; deha-body; kailuṅ-have done; āmi-I; kṛṣṇe-to Lord Kṛṣṇa; samarpaṇa-offering; tāṅra-of Him; dhana-the wealth; tāṅra-of Him; ihā-this; sambhoga-sādhana-brings about the enjoyment.
TRANSLATION
[The gopīs think:] “I have offered this body to Lord Kṛṣṇa. He is its owner, and it brings Him enjoyment.
TEXT 183
e-deha-darśana-sparśe kṛṣṇa-santoṣaṇa’
ei lāgi’ kare dehera mārjana-bhūsaṇa
SYNONYMS
e-deha-of this body; darśana-by sight; sparśe-and touch; kṛṣṇa-of Lord Kṛṣṇa; santoṣaṇa-the satisfaction; ei lāgi’-for this; kare-they do; dehera-of the body; mārjana-cleaning; bhūṣaṇa-decorating.
TRANSLATION
“Kṛṣṇa finds joy in seeing and touching this body.” It is for this reason that they cleanse and decorate their bodies.
TEXT 184
nijāṅgam api yā gopyo
mameti samupāsate
tābhyaḥ paraṁ na me pārtha
nigūḍha-prema-bhājanam
SYNONYMS
nija-aṅgam-own body; api-although; yāḥ-who; gopyaḥ-the gopīs; mama-Mine; iti-thus thinking; samupāsate-engage in decorating; tābhyaḥ-than them; param-greater; na-not; me-for Me; pārtha-O Arjuna; nigūḍha-prema-of deep love; bhājanam-receptacles.
TRANSLATION
“O Arjuna, there are no greater receptacles of deep love for Me than the gopīs, who cleanse and decorate their bodies because they consider them Mine.”
PURPORT
This verse is spoken by Lord Kṛṣṇa in the Ādi Purāṇa.
TEXT 185
āra eka adbhuta gopī-bhāvera svabhāva
buddhira gocara nahe yāhāra prabhāva
SYNONYMS
āra-another; eka-one; adbhuta-wonderful; gopī-bhāvera-of the emotion of the gopīs; svabhāva-nature; buddhira-of the intelligence; gocara-an object of perception; nahe-is not; yāhāra-of which; prabhāva-the power.
TRANSLATION
There is another wonderful feature of the emotion of the gopīs. Its power is beyond the comprehension of the intelligence.
TEXT 186
gopī-gaṇa kare yabe kṛṣṇa-daraśana
sukha-vāñchā nāhi, sukha haya koṭi-guṇa
SYNONYMS
gopī-gaṇa-the gopīs; kare-do; yabe-when; kṛṣṇa-daraśana-seeing Lord Kṛṣṇa; sukha-vāñchā-desire for happiness; nāhi-there is not; sukha-the happiness; haya-there is; koṭi-guṇa-ten million times.
TRANSLATION
When the gopīs see Lord Kṛṣṇa, they derive unbounded bliss, although they have no desire for such pleasure.
TEXT 187
gopīkā-darśane kṛṣṇera ye ānanda haya
tāhā haite koṭi-guṇa gopī āsvādaya
SYNONYMS
gopikā-darśane-in seeing the gopīs; kṛṣṇera-of Lord Kṛṣṇa; ye-whatever; ānanda-joy; haya-there is; tāhā haite-than that; koṭi-guṇa-ten million times more; gopī-the gopīs; āsvādaya-taste.
TRANSLATION
The gopīs taste a pleasure ten million times greater than the pleasure Lord Kṛṣṇa derives from seeing them.
PURPORT
The wonderful characteristics of the gopīs are beyond imagination. They have no desire for personal satisfaction, yet when Kṛṣṇa is happy by seeing them, that happiness of Kṛṣṇa makes the gopīs a million times more happy than Kṛṣṇa Himself.
TEXT 188
tāṅ sabāra nāhi nija-sukha-anurodha
tathāpi bāḍhaye sukha, paḍila virodha
SYNONYMS
tāṅ sabāra-of all of them; nāhi-not; nija-sukha-for their own happiness; anurodha-entreaty; tathāpi-still; bāḍhaye-increases; sukha-happiness; paḍila-happened; virodha-contradiction.
TRANSLATION
The gopīs have no inclination for their own enjoyment, and yet their joy increases. That is indeed a contradiction.
TEXT 189
e virodhera eka mātra dekhi samādhāna
gopikāra sukha kṛṣṇa-sukhe paryavasāna
SYNONYMS
e-this; virodhera-of the contradiction; eka-one; mātra-only; dekhi-I see; samādhāna-solution; gopikāra-of the gopīs; sukha-the happiness; kṛṣṇa-sukhe-in the happiness of Lord Kṛṣṇa; paryavasāna-the conclusion.
TRANSLATION
For this contradiction I see only one solution: the joy of the gopīs lies in the joy of their beloved Kṛṣṇa.
PURPORT
The situation of the gopīs is perplexing, for although they did not want personal happiness, it was imposed upon them. The solution to this perplexity is that Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s sense of happiness is limited by the happiness of the gopīs. Devotees at Vṛndāvana therefore try to serve the gopīs, namely Rādhārāṇī and Her associates. If one gains the favor of the gopīs, he easily gains the favor of Kṛṣṇa because on the recommendation of the gopīs Kṛṣṇa at once accepts the service of a devotee. Lord Caitanya, therefore, wanted to please the gopīs instead of Kṛṣṇa. But His contemporaries misunderstood Him, and for this reason Lord Caitanya renounced the order of householder life and became a sannyāsī.
TEXT 190
gopikā-darśane kṛṣṇera bāḍhe praphullatā
se mādhurya bāḍhe yāra nāhika samatā
SYNONYMS
gopikā-darśane-in seeing the gopīs; kṛṣṇera-of Lord Kṛṣṇa; bāḍhe-increases; praphullatā-the cheerfulness; se-that; mādhurya-sweetness; bāḍhe-increases; yāra-of which; nāhika-there is not; samatā-equality.
TRANSLATION
When Lord Kṛṣṇa sees the gopīs, His joy increases, and His unparalleled sweetness increases also.
TEXT 191
āmāra darśane kṛṣṇa pāila eta sukha
ei sukhe gopīra praphulla aṅga-mukha
SYNONYMS
āmāra darśane-in seeing me; kṛṣṇa-Lord Kṛṣṇa; pāila-obtained; eta-so much; sukha-happiness; ei-this; sukhe-in happiness; gopīra-of the gopīs; praphulla-full-blown; aṅga-mukha-bodies and faces.
TRANSLATION
[The gopīs think:] “Kṛṣṇa has obtained so much pleasure by seeing me.” That thought increases the fullness and beauty of their faces and bodies.
TEXT 192
gopī-śobhā dekhi’ kṛṣṇera śobhā bāḍhe yata
kṛṣṇa-śobhā dekhi’ gopīra śobhā bāḍhe tata
SYNONYMS
gopī-śobhā-the beauty of the gopīs; dekhi’-seeing; kṛṣṇera-of Lord Kṛṣṇa; śobhā-the beauty; bāḍhe-increases; yata-as much as; kṛṣṇa-śobhā-the beauty of Lord Kṛṣṇa; dekhi’-seeing; gopīra-of the gopīs; śobhā-the beauty; bāḍhe-increases; tata-that much.
TRANSLATION
The beauty of Lord Kṛṣṇa increases at the sight of the beauty of the gopīs. And the more the gopīs see Lord Kṛṣṇa’s beauty, the more their beauty increases.
TEXT 193
ei-mata paraspara paḍe huḍāhuḍi
paraspara bāḍhe, keha mukha nāhi muḍi
SYNONYMS
ei mata-like this; paraspara-reciprocal; paḍe-happens; huḍāhuḍi-jostling; paraspara-mutually; bāḍhe-increases; keha-someone; mukha-face; nāhi-not; muḍi-covering.
TRANSLATION
In this way a competition takes place between them in which no one acknowledges defeat.
TEXT 194
kintu kṛṣṇera sukha haya gopī-rūpa-guṇe
tāṅra sukhe sukha-vṛddhi haye gopī-gaṇe
SYNONYMS
kintu-but; kṛṣṇera-of Lord Kṛṣṇa; sukha-the happiness; haya-is; gopī-rūpa-guṇe-in the qualities and beauty of the gopīs; tāṅra-of Him; sukhe-in the happiness; sukha-vṛddhi-increase of happiness; haye-there is; gopī-gaṇe-in the gopīs.
TRANSLATION
Kṛṣṇa, however, derives pleasure from the beauty and good qualities of the gopīs. And when the gopīs see His pleasure, the joy of the gopīs increases.
TEXT 195
ataeva sei sukha kṛṣṇa-sukha poṣe
ei hetu gopī-preme nāhi kāma-doṣe
SYNONYMS
ataeva-therefore; sei-that; sukha-happiness; kṛṣṇa-sukha-the happiness of Lord Kṛṣṇa; poṣe-nourishes; ei-this; hetu-reason; gopī-preme-in the love of the gopīs; nāhi-there is not; kāma-doṣe-the fault of lust.
TRANSLATION
Therefore we find that the joy of the gopīs nourishes the joy of Lord Kṛṣṇa. For that reason the fault of lust is not present in their love.
PURPORT
By looking at the beautiful gopīs Kṛṣṇa becomes enlivened, and this enlivens the gopīs, whose youthful faces and bodies blossom. This competition of increasing beauty between the gopīs and Kṛṣṇa, which is without limitations, is so delicate that sometimes mundane moralists mistake these dealings to be purely amorous. But these affairs are not at all mundane, because the gopīs’ intense desire to satisfy Kṛṣṇa surcharges the entire scene with pure love of Godhead, with not a spot of sexual indulgence.
TEXT 196
upetya pathi sundarī-tatibhir ābhir abhyarcitaṁ
smitāṅkura-karambitair naṭad-apāṅga-bhaṅgī-śataiḥ
stana-stavaka-sañcaran-nayana-cañcarīkāñcalaṁ
vraje vijayinaṁ bhaje vipina-deśataḥ keśavam
SYNONYMS
upetya-having mounted their palaces; pathi-on the path; sundarī-tatibhiḥ ābhiḥ-by the women of Vraja; abhyarcitam-who is worshiped; smita-aṅkura-karambitaiḥ-intermingled with the sprouts of gentle smiles; naṭat-dancing; apāṅga-of glances; bhaṅgī-śataiḥ-with a hundred manners; stana-stavaka-the multitude of breasts; sañcarat-wandering about; nayana-of the two eyes; cañcarīka-like bees; añcalam-Him whose corners; vraje-in Vraja; vijayinam-coming; bhaje-I worship; vipina-deśataḥ-from the forest; keśavam-Lord Keśava.
TRANSLATION
“I worship Lord Keśava. Coming back from the forest of Vraja, He is worshiped by the gopīs, who mount the roofs of their palaces and meet Him on the path with a hundred manners of dancing glances and gentle smiles. The corners of His eyes wander, like large black bees, around the gopīs’ breasts.”
PURPORT
This statement appears in the Keśavāṣṭaka (8) of the Stava-mālā, compiled by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī.
TEXT 197
āra eka gopī-premera svābhāvika cihna
ye prakāre haya prema kāma-gandha-hīna
SYNONYMS
āra-another; eka-one; gopī-premera-of the love of the gopīs; svābhāvika-natural; cihna-symptom; ye-which; prakāre-in the way; haya-is; prema-the love; kāma-gandha-hīna-without a trace of lust.
TRANSLATION
There is another natural symptom of the gopīs’ love that shows it to be without a trace of lust.
TEXT 198
gopī-preme kare kṛṣṇa-mādhuryera puṣṭi
mādhurye bāḍhāya prema hañā mahā-tuṣṭi
SYNONYMS
gopī-preme-the love of the gopīs; kare-does; kṛṣṇa-mādhuryera-of the sweetness of Lord Kṛṣṇa; puṣṭi-nourishment; mādhurye-the sweetness; bāḍhāya-causes to increase; prema-the love; hañā-being; mahā-tuṣṭi-greatly pleased.
TRANSLATION
The love of the gopīs nourishes the sweetness of Lord Kṛṣṇa. That sweetness in turn increases their love, for they are greatly satisfied.
TEXT 199
prīti-viṣayānande tad-āśrayānanda
tāṅhā nāhi nija-sukha-vāñchāra sambandha
SYNONYMS
prīti-viṣaya-ānande-in the joy of the object of love; tat-of that love; āśraya-ānanda-the joy of the abode; tāṅhā-that; nāhi-not; nija-sukha-vāñchāra-of desire for one’s own happiness; sambandha-relationship.
TRANSLATION
The happiness of the abode of love is in the happiness of the object of that love. This is not a relationship of desire for personal gratification.
TEXTS 200-201
nirupādhi prema yāṅhā, tāṅhā ei rīti
prīti-viṣaya-sukhe āśrayera prīti
nija-premānande kṛṣṇa-sevānanda bādhe
se ānandera prati bhaktera haya mahā-krodhe
SYNONYMS
nirupādhi-without identification; prema-love; yāṅhā-which; tāṅhā-that; ei-this; rīti-style; prīti-viṣaya-of the object of love; sukhe-in the happiness; āśrayera-of the abode of that love; prīti-the pleasure; nija-one’s own; prema-of love; ānande-by the joy; kṛṣṇa-to Lord Kṛṣṇa; seva-ānanda-the joy of service; bādhe-is obstructed; se-that; ānandera prati-toward the joy; bhaktera-of the devotee; haya-is; mahā-krodhe-great anger.
TRANSLATION
Whenever there is unselfish love, that is its style. The reservoir of love derives pleasure when the lovable object is pleased. When the pleasure of love interferes with the service of Lord Kṛṣṇa, the devotee becomes angry toward such ecstasy.
PURPORT
As mentioned above, the gopīs are the predominated lovers, and Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the predominator, the beloved. The love of the predominated nourishes the love of the predominator. The gopīs had no desire for selfish enjoyment. Their feeling of happiness was indirect, for it was dependent on the pleasure of Kṛṣṇa. Causeless love of Godhead is always so. Such pure love is possible only when the predominated is made happy by the happiness of the predominator. Such unadulterated love is exemplified when the lover deprecates her happiness in service that hinders her from discharging it.
TEXT 202
aṅga-stambhārambham uttuṅgayantaṁ
premānandaṁ dāruko nābhyanandat
kaṁsārāter vījane yena sākṣād
akṣodīyān antarāyo vyadhāyi
SYNONYMS
aṅga-of the limbs; stambha-ārambham-the beginning of stupefaction; uttuṅgayantam-which was causing him to reach; prema-ānandam-the joy of love; dārukaḥ-Dāruka, the Lord’s chariot driver; na-not; abhyanandat-welcomed; kaṁsa-arāteḥ-of Lord Kṛṣṇa, the enemy of Kaṁsa; vījane-in fanning with a cāmara fan; yena-by which; sākṣāt-clearly; akṣodīyān-greater; antarāyaḥ-obstacle; vyadhāyi-has been created.
TRANSLATION
“Śrī Dāruka did not relish his ecstatic feelings of love, for they caused his limbs to become stunned and thus obstructed his service of fanning Lord Kṛṣṇa.”
PURPORT
This verse is from Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu (3.2.62).
TEXT 203
govinda-prekṣaṇākṣepi-
bāṣpa-pūrābhivarṣiṇam
uccair anindad ānandam
aravinda-vilocanā
SYNONYMS
govinda-of Lord Govinda; prekṣaṇa-the seeing; ākṣepi-hindering; bāṣpa-pūra-groups of tears; abhivarṣiṇam-which cause to rain; uccaiḥ-powerfully; anindat-condemned; ānandam-the bliss; aravinda-vilocanā-the lotus-eyed Rādhārāṇī.
TRANSLATION
“The lotus-eyed Rādhārāṇī powerfully condemned the ecstatic love that caused a flow of tears that hindered Her sight of Govinda.”
PURPORT
This verse is also from Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu (2.3.54).
TEXT 204
āra śuddha-bhakta kṛṣṇa-prema-sevā vine
sva-sukhārtha sālokyādi nā kare grahaṇe
SYNONYMS
āra-and; śuddha-bhakta-the pure devotee; kṛṣṇa-prema-out of love for Lord Kṛṣṇa; sevā-service; vine-without; sva-sukha-artha-for the purpose of one’s own pleasure; sālokya-ādi-the five types of liberation, beginning from sālokya (residing on the same spiritual planet as the Lord); nā kare-do not do; grahaṇe-acceptance.
TRANSLATION
Furthermore, pure devotees never forsake the loving service of Lord Kṛṣṇa to aspire for their own personal pleasure through the five kinds of liberation.
PURPORT
A pure devotee of Kṛṣṇa who loves Him exclusively will flatly refuse to accept any sort of liberation, beginning from merging in the body of the Lord and extending to the other varieties of liberation, such as equality of form, opulence or abode and the opulence of living near the Lord.
TEXT 205
mad-guṇa-śruti-mātreṇa
mayi sarva-guhāśaye
mano-gatir avicchinnā
yathā gaṅgāmbhaso ‘mbudhau
SYNONYMS
mat-of Me; guṇa-of the qualities; śruti-mātreṇa-only by hearing; mayi-to Me; sarva-guhā-in all hearts; āśaye-who am situated; manaḥ-gatiḥ-the movement of the mind; avicchinnā-unobstructed; yathā-just as; gaṅgā-ambhasaḥ-of the celestial waters of the Ganges; ambudhau-to the ocean.
TRANSLATION
“Just as the celestial waters of the Ganges flow unobstructed into the ocean, so when My devotees simply hear of Me, their minds come to Me, who resides in the hearts of all.
TEXT 206
lakṣaṇaṁ bhakti-yogasya
nirguṇasya hy udāhṛtam
ahaituky avyavahitā
yā bhaktiḥ puruṣottame
SYNONYMS
lakṣaṇam-the symptom; bhakti-yogasya-of devotional service; nirguṇasya-beyond the three modes of nature; hi-certainly; udāhṛtam-is cited; ahaitukī-causeless; avyavahitā-uninterrupted; yā-which; bhaktiḥ-devotional service; puruṣottame-to the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
TRANSLATION
“These are the characteristics of transcendental loving service to Puruṣottama, the Supreme Personality of Godhead: it is causeless, and it cannot be obstructed in any way.
TEXT 207
sālokya-sārṣṭi-sārūpya-
sāmīpyaikatvam apy uta
dīyamānaṁ na gṛhṇanti
vinā mat-sevanaṁ janāḥ
SYNONYMS
sālokya-being on the same planet as Me; sārṣṭi-having opulence equal to Mine; sārūpya-having the same form as Me; sāmīpya-having direct association with Me; ekatvam-oneness with Me; api-even; uta-or; dīyamānam-being given; na-not; gṛhṇanti-accept; vinā-without; mat-sevanam-My service; janāḥ-the devotees.
TRANSLATION
“My devotees do not accept sālokya, sārṣṭi, sārūpya, sāmīpya or oneness with Me-even if I offer these liberations-in preference to serving Me.”
PURPORT
These three verses from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (3.29.11-13) were spoken by Lord Kṛṣṇa in the form of Kapiladeva.
TEXT 208
mat-sevayā pratītaṁ te
sālokyādi-catuṣṭayam
necchanti sevayā pūrṇāḥ
kuto ‘nyat kāla-viplutam
SYNONYMS
mat-of Me; sevayā-by service; pratītam-obtained; te-they; sālokya-ādi-liberation, beginning sālokya; catuṣṭayam-four kinds of; na icchanti-do not desire; sevayā-by service; pūrṇāḥ-complete; kutaḥ-where; anyat-other things; kāla-viplutam-which are lost in time.
TRANSLATION
“My devotees, having fulfilled their desires by serving Me, do not accept the four kinds of salvation that are easily earned by such service. Why then should they accept any pleasures that are lost in the course of time?”
PURPORT
This verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (9.4.67) was spoken by the Lord in connection with the characteristics of Mahārāja Ambarīṣa. Merging into the existence of the Absolute is as temporary as living in the celestial kingdom. Both of them are controlled by time; neither position is permanent.
TEXT 209
kama-gandha-hīna svābhāvika gopī-prema
nirmala, ujjvala, śuddha yena dagdha hema
SYNONYMS
kāma-gandha-hīna-without any scent of lust; svābhāvika-natural; gopī-prema-the love of the gopīs; nirmala-spotless; ujjvala-blazing; śuddha-pure; yena-like; dagdha hema-molten gold.
TRANSLATION
The natural love of the gopīs is devoid of any trace of lust. It is faultless, bright and pure, like molten gold.
TEXT 210
kṛṣṇera sahāya, guru, bāndhava, preyasī
gopikā hayena priyā śiṣyā, sakhī dāsī
SYNONYMS
kṛṣṇera-of Lord Kṛṣṇa; sahāya-helpers; guru-teachers; bāndhava-friends; preyasī-wives; gopikā-the gopīs; hayena-are; priyā-dear; śiṣyā-students; sakhī-confidantes; dāsī-servants.
TRANSLATION
The gopīs are the helpers, teachers, friends, wives, dear disciples, confidantes and serving maids of Lord Kṛṣṇa.
TEXT 211
sahāyā guravaḥ śiṣyā
bhujiṣyā bāndhavāḥ striyaḥ
satyaṁ vadāmi te pārtha
gopyaḥ kiṁ me bhavanti na
SYNONYMS
sahāyāḥ-helpers; guravaḥ-teachers; śiṣyāḥ-students; bhujiṣyāḥ-servants; bāndhavāḥ-friends; striyaḥ-wives; satyam-truthfully; vadāmi-I say; te-unto you; pārtha-O Arjuna; gopyaḥ-the gopīs; kim-what; me-for Me; bhavanti-are; na-not.
TRANSLATION
“O Pārtha, I speak to you the truth. The gopīs are My helpers, teachers, disciples, servants, friends and consorts. I do not know what they are not to Me.”
PURPORT
This is a verse from the Gopī-premāmṛta.
TEXT 212
gopikā jānena kṛṣṇera manera vāñchita
prema-sevā-paripāṭī, iṣṭa-samīhita
SYNONYMS
gopikā-the gopīs; jānena-know; kṛṣṇera-of Lord Kṛṣṇa; manera-of the mind; vāñchita-the desired object; prema-sevā-of service in love; paripāṭī-perfection; iṣṭa-samīhita-achievement of the desired goal of life.
TRANSLATION
The gopīs know Kṛṣṇa’s desires, and they know how to render perfect loving service for His enjoyment. They perform their service expertly for the satisfaction of their beloved.
TEXT 213
man-māhātmyaṁ mat-saparyāṁ
mac-chraddhāṁ man-mano-gatam
jānanti gopikāḥ pārtha
nānye jānanti tattvataḥ
SYNONYMS
mat-māhātmyam-My greatness; mat-saparyām-My service; mat-śraddhām-respect for Me; mat-manaḥ-gatam-the intention of My mind; jānanti-they know; gopikāḥ-the gopīs; pārtha-O Arjuna; na-not; anye-others; jānanti-know; tattvataḥ-factually.
TRANSLATION
“O Pārtha, the gopīs know My greatness, My loving service, respect for Me, and My mentality. Others cannot really know these.”
PURPORT
This verse was spoken by Lord Kṛṣṇa to Arjuna in the Ādi Purāṇa.
TEXT 214
sei gopī-gaṇa-madhye uttamā rādhikā
rūpe, guṇe, saubhāgye, preme sarvādhikā
SYNONYMS
sei-those; gopī-gaṇa-the gopīs; madhye-among; uttamā-the highest; rādhikā-Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī; rūpe-in beauty; guṇe-in qualities; saubhāgye-in good fortune; preme-in love; sarva-adhikā-above all.
TRANSLATION
Among the gopīs, Śrīmatī Rādhikā is the foremost. She surpasses all in beauty, in good qualities, in good fortune and, above all, in love.
PURPORT
Among all the gopīs, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is the most exalted. She is the most beautiful, the most qualified, and above all the greatest lover of Kṛṣṇa.
TEXT 215
yathā rādhā priyā viṣṇos
tasyāḥ kuṇḍaṁ priyaṁ tathā
sarva-gopīṣu saivaikā
viṣṇor atyanta-vallabhā
SYNONYMS
yathā-just as; rādhā-Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī; priyā-very dear; viṣṇoḥ-to Lord Kṛṣṇa; tasyāḥ-Her; kuṇḍam-bathing place; priyam-very dear; tathā-so also; sarva-gopīṣu-among all the gopīs; sā-She; eva-certainly; ekā-alone; viṣṇoḥ-of Lord Kṛṣṇa; atyanta-vallabhā-most dear.
TRANSLATION
“Just as Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is most dear to Śrī Kṛṣṇa, Her bathing place [Rādhā-kuṇḍa] is also dear to Him. Among all the gopīs, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is supermost and very dear to Lord Kṛṣṇa.”
PURPORT
This verse is from the Padma Purāṇa.
TEXT 216
trai-lokye pṛthivī dhanyā
yatra vṛndāvanaṁ purī
tatrāpi gopikāḥ pārtha
yatra rādhābhidhā mama
SYNONYMS
trai-lokye-in the three worlds; pṛthivī-the earth; dhanyā-fortunate; yatra-where; vṛndāvanam-Vṛndāvana; purī-the town; tatra-there; api-certainly; gopikāḥ-the gopīs; pārtha-O Arjuna; yatra-where; rādhā-Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī; abhidhā-named; mama-My.
TRANSLATION
“O Pārtha, in all the three planetary systems, this earth is especially fortunate, for on earth is the town of Vṛndāvana. And there the gopīs are especially glorious because among them is My Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī.”
PURPORT
This verse, spoken by Lord Kṛṣṇa to Arjuna, is cited from the Ādi Purāṇa.
TEXT 217
rādhā-saha krīḍā rasa-vṛddhira kāraṇa
āra saba gopī-gaṇa rasopakaraṇa
SYNONYMS
rādhā-saha-with Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī; krīḍā-pastimes; rasa-of mellow; vṛddhira-of the increase; kāraṇa-the cause; āra-the other; saba-all; gopī-gaṇa-gopīs; rasa-upakaraṇa-accessories of mellow.
TRANSLATION
All the other gopīs help increase the joy of Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes with Rādhārāṇī. The gopīs act as the instruments of Their mutual enjoyment.
PURPORT
It is said that the gopīs are divided into five groups, namely the sakhīs, nitya-sakhīs, prāṇa-sakhīs, priya-sakhīs and parama-preṣṭha-sakhīs. All these fair-complexioned associates of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, the Queen of Vṛndāvana-dhāma, are expert artists in evoking erotic sentiments in Kṛṣṇa. The parama-preṣṭha-sakhīs are eight in number, and in the ecstatic dealings of Kṛṣṇa and Rādhā they side sometimes with Kṛṣṇa and at other times with Rādhārāṇī, just to create a situation in which it appears that they favor one against the other. That makes the exchange of mellows more palatable.
TEXT 218
kṛṣṇera vallabhā rādhā kṛṣṇa-prāṇa-dhana
tāṅhā vinu sukha-hetu nahe gopī-gaṇa
SYNONYMS
kṛṣṇera-of Lord Kṛṣṇa; vallabhā-beloved; rādhā-Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī; kṛṣṇa-prāṇa-dhana-the wealth of the life of Lord Kṛṣṇa; tāṅhā-Her; vinu-without; sukha-hetu-cause of happiness; nahe-are not; gopī-gaṇa-the gopīs.
TRANSLATION
Rādhā is the beloved consort of Kṛṣṇa, and She is the wealth of His life. Without Her, the gopīs cannot give Him pleasure.
TEXT 219
kaṁsārir api saṁsāra-
vāsanā-baddha-śṛṅkhalām
rādhām ādhāya hṛdaye
tatyāja vraja-sundarīḥ
SYNONYMS
kaṁsa-ariḥ-Lord Kṛṣṇa, the enemy of Kaṁsa; api-moreover; saṁsāra-for the essence of enjoyment (rāsa-līlā); vāsanā-by the desire; baddha-tied on; śṛṅkhalām-who was like the chains; rādhām-Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī; ādhāya-taking; hṛdaye-in the heart; tatyāja-left aside; vraja-sundarīḥ-the other gopīs.
TRANSLATION
“Lord Kṛṣṇa, the enemy of Kaṁsa, left aside the other gopīs during the rāsa dance and took Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī to His heart, for She is the helper of the Lord in realizing the essence of His desires.”
PURPORT
In this verse from the Gīta-govinda (3.1), Jayadeva Gosvāmī describes Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s leaving the rāsa-līlā to search for Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī.
TEXT 220
sei rādhāra bhāva lañā caitanyāvatāra
yuga-dharma nāma-prema kaila paracāra
SYNONYMS
sei-that; rādhāra-of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī; bhāva-the emotion; lañā-taking; caitanya-of Lord Caitanya; avatāra-the incarnation; yuga-dharma-the religion of the age; nāma-prema-the holy name and love of Godhead; kaila-did; paracāra-preaching.
TRANSLATION
Lord Caitanya appeared with the sentiment of Rādhā. He preached the dharma of this age-the chanting of the holy name and pure love of God.
TEXT 221
sei bhāve nija-vāñchā karila pūraṇa
avatārera ei vāñchā mūla-kāraṇa
SYNONYMS
sei-that; bhāve-in the mood; nija-vāñchā-His own desires, karila-did; pūraṇa-fulfilling; avatārera-of the incarnation; ei-this; vāñchā-desire; mūla-root; kāraṇa-cause.
TRANSLATION
In the mood of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, He also fulfilled His own desires. This is the principal reason for His appearance.
TEXT 222
śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya gosāñi vrajendra-kumāra
rasa-maya-mūrti kṛṣṇa sākṣāt śṛṅgāra
SYNONYMS
śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya gosāñi-Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu; vrajendra-kumāra-the child of King Nanda; rasa-maya-consisting of mellows; mūrti-the form; kṛṣṇa-Lord Kṛṣṇa; sākṣāt-directly; śṛṅgāra-amorous love.
TRANSLATION
Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya is Kṛṣṇa [Vrajendra-kumāra], the embodiment of rasas. He is amorous love personified.
TEXT 223
sei rasa āsvādite kaila avatāra
ānusaṅge kaila saba rasera pracāra
SYNONYMS
sei-that; rasa-mellow; āsvādite-to taste; kaila-made; avatāra-incarnation; ānusaṅge-as a secondary motive; kaila-did; saba-all; rasera-of mellows; pracāra-broadcasting.
TRANSLATION
He made His appearance to taste that conjugal mellow and incidentally to broadcast all the rasas.
TEXT 224
viśveṣām anurañjanena janayann ānandam indīvara-
śreṇī-śyāmala-komalair upanayann aṅgair anaṅgotsavam
svacchandaṁ vraja-sundarībhir abhitaḥ praty-aṅgam āliṅgitaḥ
śṛṅgāraḥ sakhi mūrtimān iva madhau mugdho hariḥ krīḍati
SYNONYMS
viśveṣām-of all the gopīs; anurañjanena-by the act of pleasing; janayan-producing; ānandam-the bliss; indīvara-śreṇī-like a row of blue lotuses; śyāmala-bluish black; komalaiḥ-and soft; upanayan-bringing; aṅgaiḥ-with His limbs; anaṅga-utsavam-a festival for Cupid; svacchandam-without restriction; vraja-sundarībhiḥ-by the young women of Vraja; abhitaḥ-on both sides; prati-aṅgam-each limb; āliṅgitaḥ-embraced; śṛṅgāraḥ-amorous love; śakhi-O friend; mūrtimān-embodied; iva-like; madhau-in the springtime; mugdhaḥ-perplexed; hariḥ-Lord Hari; krīḍati-plays.
TRANSLATION
“My dear friends, just see how Śrī Kṛṣṇa is enjoying the season of spring! With the gopīs embracing each of His limbs, He is like amorous love personified. With His transcendental pastimes, He enlivens all the gopīs and the entire creation. With His soft bluish-black arms and legs, which resemble blue lotus flowers, He has created a festival for Cupid.”
PURPORT
This is a verse from Jayadeva Gosvāmī’s Gīta-govinda (1.11).
TEXT 225
śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya gosāñi rasera sadana
aśeṣa-viśeṣe kaila rasa āsvādana
SYNONYMS
śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya gosāñi-Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu; rasera-of mellow; sadana-the residence; aśeṣa-viśeṣe-unlimited varieties of enjoyment; kaila-did; rasa-mellow; āsvādana-tasting.
TRANSLATION
Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya is the abode of rasa. He Himself tasted the sweetness of rasa in endless ways.
TEXT 226
sei dvāre pravartāila kali-yuga-dharma
caitanyera dāse jāne ei saba marma
SYNONYMS
sei dvāre-in that way; pravartāila-He initiated; kali-yuga-of the Age of Kali; dharma-the religion; caitanyera-of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu; dāse-the servant; jāne-knows; ei-these; saba-all; marma-secrets.
TRANSLATION
Thus He initiated the dharma for the Age of Kali. The devotees of Lord Caitanya know all these truths.
PURPORT
Lord Caitanya is Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself, the absolute enjoyer of the love of the gopīs. He Himself assumes the role of the gopīs to taste the predominated happiness of transcendental mellows. He appeared in that mode, but simultaneously He propagated the religious process for this age in a most fascinating way. Only the confidential devotees of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu can understand this transcendental secret.
TEXTS 227-228
advaita ācārya, nityānanda, śrīnivāsa
gadādhara, dāmodara, murāri, haridāsa
āra yata caitanya-kṛṣṇera bhakta-gaṇa
bhakti-bhāve śire dhari sabāra caraṇa
SYNONYMS
advaita ācārya-Advaita Ācārya; nityānanda-Lord Nityānanda; śrīnivāsa-Śrīvāsa Paṇḍita; gadādhara-Gadādhara Paṇḍita; dāmodara-Svarūpa Dāmodara; murāri-Murāri Gupta; haridāsa-Haridāsa Ṭhākura; āra-other; yata-all; caitanya-kṛṣṇera-of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya; bhakta-gaṇa-devotees; bhakti-bhāve-with a devotional attitude; śire-on my head; dhari-I take; sabāra-of all of them; caraṇa-the lotus feet.
TRANSLATION
Bowing down with devotion, I hold on my head the lotus feet of Advaita Ācārya, Nityānanda, Śrīvāsa Paṇḍita, Gadādhara, Svarūpa Dāmodara, Murāri Gupta, Haridāsa and all the other devotees of Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya..
PURPORT
The author of Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta teaches us that we must offer our respectful obeisances to all such pure confidential devotees of Lord Caitanya if we indeed want to know Him in truth.
TEXT 229
ṣaṣṭha-ślokera ei kahila ābhāsa
mūla ślokera artha śuna kariye prakāśa
SYNONYMS
ṣaṣṭha-ślokera-of the sixth verse; ei-this; kahila-has been spoken; ābhāsa-a hint; mūla ślokera-of the original verse; artha-meaning; śuna-please hear; kariye prakāśa-I am revealing.
TRANSLATION
I have given a hint of the sixth verse. Now please hear as I reveal the meaning of that original verse.
TEXT 230
śrī-rādhāyāḥ praṇaya-mahimā kīdṛśo vānayaivā-
svādyo yenādbhuta-madhurimā kīdṛśo vā madīyaḥ
saukhyaṁ cāsyā mad-anubhavataḥ kīdṛśaṁ veti lobhāt
tad-bhāvāḍhyaḥ samajani śacī-garbha-sindhau harīnduḥ
SYNONYMS
śrī-rādhāyāḥ-of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī; praṇaya-mahimā-the greatness of the love; kīdrśaḥ-of what kind; vā-or; anayā-by this one (Rādhā); eva-alone; āsvādyaḥ-to be relished; yena-by that love; adbhuta-madhurimā-the wonderful sweetness; kīdṛśaḥ-of what kind; vā-or; madīyaḥ-of Me; saukhyam-the happiness; ca-and; asyāḥ-Her; mat-anubhavataḥ-from realization of My sweetness; kīdṛśam-of what kind; vā-or; iti-thus; lobhāt-from the desire; tat-Her; bhāva-āḍhyaḥ-richly endowed with the emotions; samajani-took birth; śacī-garbha-of the womb of Śacīdevī; sindhau-in the ocean; hari-Lord Kṛṣṇa; induḥ-like the moon.
TRANSLATION
“Desiring to understand the glory of Rādhārāṇī’s love, the wonderful qualities in Him that She alone relishes through Her love, and the happiness She feels when She realizes the sweetness of His love, the Supreme Lord Hari, richly endowed with Her emotions, appeared from the womb of Śrīmatī Śacīdevī, as the moon appeared from the ocean.”
TEXT 231
e saba siddhānta gūḍha,–kahite nā yuyāya
nā kahile, keha ihāra anta nāhi pāya
SYNONYMS
e-this; saba-all; siddhānta-conclusions; gūḍha-very confidential; kahite-to speak; nā-not; yuyāya-quite fit; nā-not; kahile-speaking; keha-anyone; ihāra-of it; anta-end; nāhi-not; pāya-gets.
TRANSLATION
All these conclusions are unfit to disclose in public. But if they are not disclosed, no one will understand them.
TEXT 232
ataeva kahi kichu kariñā nigūḍha
bujhibe rasika bhakta, nā bujhibe mūḍha
SYNONYMS
ataeva-therefore; kahi-I speak; kichu-something; kariñā-squeezing; nigūḍha-essence; bujhibe-can understand; rasika-humorous; bhakta-devotees; nā-not; bujhibe-will understand; mūḍha-rascals.
TRANSLATION
Therefore I shall mention them, revealing only their essence, so that loving devotees will understand them but fools will not.
TEXT 233
hṛdaye dharaye ye caitanya-nityānanda
e-saba siddhānte sei pāibe ānanda
SYNONYMS
hṛdaye-in the heart; dharaye-captures; ye-anyone who; caitanya-Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu; nityānanda-and Lord Nityānanda; e-saba-all these; siddhānte-by transcendental conclusions; sei-that man; pāibe-will get; ānanda-bliss.
TRANSLATION
Anyone who has captured Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Lord Nityānanda Prabhu in his heart will become blissful by hearing all these transcendental conclusions.
TEXT 234
e saba siddhānta haya āmrera pallava
bhakta-gaṇa-kokilera sarvadā vallabha
SYNONYMS
e-these; saba-all; siddhānta-transcendental conclusions; haya-are; āmrera-of mango; pallava-twigs; bhakta-gaṇa-the devotees; kokilera-to those who are just like cuckoo birds; sarvadā-always; vallabha-pleasing.
TRANSLATION
All these conclusions are like the newly grown twigs of a mango tree; they are always pleasing to the devotees, who in this way resemble cuckoo birds.
TEXT 235
abhakta-uṣṭrera ithe nā haya praveśa
tabe citte haya mora ānanda-viśeṣa
SYNONYMS
abhakta-nondevotee; uṣṭrera-of a camel; ithe-in this; nā-not; haya-is there; praveśa-entrance; tabe-then; citte-in my heart; haya-there is; mora-my; ānanda-viśeṣa-special jubilation.
TRANSLATION
The camellike nondevotees cannot enter into these topics. Therefore there is special jubilation in my heart.
TEXT 236
ye lāgi kahite bhaya, se yadi nā jāne
ihā va-i kibā sukha āche tribhuvane
SYNONYMS
ye lāgi-for the matter of which; kahite bhaya-afraid to speak; se yadi nājāne-if they do not know; ihā va-i-except this; kibā-what; sukha-happiness; āche-there is; tri-bhuvane-in the three worlds.
TRANSLATION
For fear of them I do not wish to speak, but if they do not understand, then what can be happier in all the three worlds?
TEXT 237
ataeva bhakta-gaṇe kari namaskāra
nihśaṅke kahiye, tāra hauk camatkāra
SYNONYMS
ataeva-therefore; bhakta-gaṇe-unto the devotees; kari-I offer; namaskāra-obeisances; niḥśaṅke-without any doubt; kahiye-I say; tāra-of the devotees; hauk-let there be; camatkāra-astonishment.
TRANSLATION
Therefore after offering obeisances to the devotees, for their satisfaction I shall speak without hesitating.
TEXT 238
kṛṣṇera vicara eka āchaye antare
pūrṇānanda-pūrṇa-rasa-rūpa kahe more
SYNONYMS
kṛṣṇera-of Lord Kṛṣṇa; vicāra-consideration; eka-one; āchaye-is; antare-within the heart; pūrṇa-ānanda-complete transcendental bliss; pūrṇa-rasa-rūpa-full with transcendental mellows; kahe more-they say unto Me.
TRANSLATION
Once Lord Kṛṣṇa considered within His heart,”Everyone says that I am complete bliss, full of all rasas.
TEXT 239
āmā ha-ite ānandita haya tribhuvana
āmāke ānanda dibe–aiche kon jana
SYNONYMS
āmā ha-ite-from Me; ānandita-pleased; haya-becomes; tri-bhuvana-all the three worlds; āmāke-unto Me; ānanda dibe-will give pleasure; aiche-such; kon jana-what person.
TRANSLATION
“All the world derives pleasure from Me. Is there anyone who can give Me pleasure?
TEXT 240
āmā haite yāra haya śata śata guṇa
sei-jana āhlādite pāre mora mana
SYNONYMS
āmā haite-than Me; yāra-whose; haya-there is; śata śata guṇa-hundreds of qualities more; sei-jana-that person; āhlādite-to give pleasure; pāre-is able; mora-My; mana-to the mind.
TRANSLATION
“One who has a hundred times more qualities than Me could give pleasure to My mind.
TEXT 241
āmā haite guṇī baḍa jagate asambhava
ekali rādhāte tāhā kari anubhava
SYNONYMS
āmā haite-than Me; guṇī-qualified; baḍa-greater; jagate-in the world; asambhava-there is no possibility; ekali-only; rādhāte-in Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī; tāhā-that; kari anubhava-I can understand.
TRANSLATION
“One more qualified than Me is impossible to find in the world. But in Rādhā alone I feel the presence of one who can give Me pleasure.
TEXTS 242-243
koṭi-kāma jini’ rūpa yadyapi āmāra
asamordhva-mādhurya–sāmya nāhi yāra
mora rūpe āpyāyita haya tribhuvana
rādhāra darśane mora juḍāya nayana
SYNONYMS
koṭi-kāma-ten million Cupids; jini’-conquering; rūpa-beauty; yadyapi-although; āmāra-Mine; asama-ūrdhva-unequaled and unsurpassed; mādhurya-sweetness; sāmya-equality; nāhi-there is not; yāra-of whom; mora-My; rūpe-in beauty; āpyāyita-pleased; haya-becomes; tri-bhuvana-all three worlds; rādhāra-of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī; darśane-seeing; mora-My; juḍāya-satisfies; nayana-eyes.
TRANSLATION
“Although My beauty defeats the beauty of ten million Cupids, although it is unequaled and unsurpassed and although it gives pleasure to the three worlds, seeing Rādhārāṇī gives pleasure to My eyes.
TEXT 244
mora vaṁśī-gīte ākarṣaye tri-bhuvana
rādhāra vacane hare āmāra śravaṇa
SYNONYMS
mora-My; vaṁśī-gīte-by the vibration of the flute; ākarṣaye-I attract; tri-bhuvana-the three worlds; rādhāra vacane-the words of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī; hare-conquers; āmāra-My; śravaṇa-hearing power.
TRANSLATION
“The vibration of My transcendental flute attracts the three worlds, but My ears are enchanted by the sweet words of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī.
TEXT 245
yadyapi āmāra gandhe jagat sugandha
mora citta-prāṇa hare rādhā-aṅga-gandha
SYNONYMS
yadyapi-although; āmāra-My; gandhe-by the fragrance; jagat-the whole universe; su-gandha-sweet-smelling; mora-My; citta-prāṇa-mind and heart; hare-attracts; rādhā-of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī; aṅga-bodily; gandha-flavor.
TRANSLATION
“Although My body lends fragrance to the entire creation, the scent of Rādhārāṇī’s limbs captivates My mind and heart.
TEXT 246
yadyapi āmāra rase jagat sarasa
rādhāra adhara-rasa āmā kare vaśa
SYNONYMS
yadyapi-although; āmāra-of Me; rase-by the taste; jagat-the whole world; sa-rasa-is palatable; rādhāra-of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī; adhara-rasa-the taste of the lips; āmā-Me; kare-makes; vaśa-submissive.
TRANSLATION
“Although the entire creation is full of different tastes because of Me, I am charmed by the nectarean taste of the lips of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī.
TEXT 247
yadyapi āmāra sparśa koṭīndu-śītala
rādhikāra sparśe āmā kare suśītala
SYNONYMS
yadyapi-although; āmāra-My; sparśa-touch; koṭi-indu-like millions upon millions of moons; śītala-cool; rādhikāra-of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī; sparśe-the touch; āmā-Me; kare-makes; su-śītala-very, very cool.
TRANSLATION
“And although My touch is cooler than ten million moons, I am refreshed by the touch of Śrīmatī Rādhikā.
TEXT 248
ei mata jagatera sukhe āmi hetu
rādhikāra rūpa-guṇa āmāra jīvātu
SYNONYMS
ei mata-in this way; jagatera-of the whole world; sukhe-in the matter of happiness; āmi-I am; hetu-the cause; rādhikāra-of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī; rūpa-guṇa-beauty and attributes; āmāra-My; jīvātu-life and soul.
TRANSLATION
“Thus although I am the source for the happiness of the entire world, the beauty and attributes of Śrī Rādhikā are My life and soul.
TEXT 249
ei mata anubhava āmāra pratīta
vicāri’ dekhiye yadi, saba viparīta
SYNONYMS
ei mata-in this way; anubhava-affectionate feelings; āmāra-My; pratīta-understood; vicāri’-by consideration; dekhiye-I see; yadi-if; saba-everything; viparīta-contrary.
TRANSLATION
“In this way My affectionate feelings for Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī may be understood, but on analysis I find them contradictory.
TEXT 250
rādhāra darśane mora juḍāya nayana
āmāra darśane rādhā sukhe ageyāna
SYNONYMS
rādhāra-of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī; darśane-in meeting; mora-My; juḍāya-are satisfied; nayana-eyes; āmāra-of Me; darśane-in meeting; rādhā-Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī; sukhe-in happiness; ageyāna-more advanced.
TRANSLATION
“My eyes are fully satisfied when I look upon Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, but by looking upon Me, She becomes even more advanced in satisfaction.
TEXT 251
paraspara veṇu-gīte haraye cetana
mora bhrame tamālere kare āliṅgana
SYNONYMS
paraspara-against each other; veṇu-gīte-the singing of the bamboo; haraye-attracts; cetana-consciousness; mora-of Me; bhrame-in mistake; tamālere-a black tree known as tamāla; kare-She does; āliṅgana-embracing.
TRANSLATION
“The flutelike murmur of the bamboos rubbing against one another steals Rādhārāṇī’s consciousness, for She thinks it to be the sound of My flute. And She embraces a tamāla tree, mistaking it for Me.
TEXT 252
kṛṣṇa-āliṅgana pāinu, janama saphale
kṛṣṇa-sukhe magna rahe vṛkṣa kari’ kole
SYNONYMS
kṛṣṇa-of Lord Kṛṣṇa; āliṅgana-the embrace; pāinu-I have gotten; janama sa-phale-My birth is now fulfilled; kṛṣṇa-sukhe-in the matter of pleasing Kṛṣṇa; magna-immersed; rahe-She remains; vṛkṣa-the tree; kari’-taking; kole-on the lap.
TRANSLATION
” ‘I have gotten the embrace of Śrī Kṛṣṇa,’ She thinks, ‘so now My life is fulfilled.’ Thus She remains immersed in pleasing Kṛṣṇa, taking the tree in Her arms.
TEXT 253
anukūla-vāte yadi pāya mora gandha
uḍiyā paḍite cāhe, preme haya andha
SYNONYMS
anukūla-vāte-in a favorable breeze; yadi-if; pāya-there is; mora-My; gandha-fragrance; uḍiyā-flying; paḍite-to drop; cāhe-She wants; preme-in ecstatic love; haya-becomes; andha-blind.
TRANSLATION
“When a favorable breeze carries to Her the fragrance of My body, She is blinded by love and tries to fly into that breeze.
TEXT 254
tāmbūla-carvita yabe kare āsvādane
ānanda-samudre ḍube, kichui nā jāne
SYNONYMS
tāmbūla-betel nut; carvita-chewed; yabe-when; kare-does; āsvādane-tasting; ānanda-samudre-in an ocean of transcendental bliss; ḍube-drowns; kichui-anything; nā-not; jāne-knows.
TRANSLATION
“When She tastes the betel chewed by Me, She merges in an ocean of joy and forgets everything else.
TEXT 255
āmāra saṅgame rādhā pāya ye ānanda
śata-mukhe bali, tabu nā pāi tāra anta
SYNONYMS
āmāra-My; saṅgame-in association; rādhā-Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī; pāya-gets; ye-whatever; ānanda-transcendental bliss; śata-mukhe-in hundreds of mouths; bali-if I say; tabu-still; nā-not; pāi-I reach; tāra-its; anta-limitation.
TRANSLATION
“Even with hundreds of mouths I could not express the transcendental pleasure She derives from My association.
TEXT 256
līlā-ante sukhe iṅhāra aṅgera mādhurī
tāhā dekhi’ sukhe āmi āpanā pāśari
SYNONYMS
līlā-ante-at the end of Our pastimes; sukhe-in happiness; iṅhāra-of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī; aṅgera-of the body; mādhurī-sweetness; tāhā-that; dekhi’-seeing; sukhe-in happiness; āmi-I; āpanā-Myself; pāśari-forget.
TRANSLATION
“Seeing the luster of Her complexion after Our pastimes together, I forget My own identity in happiness.
TEXT 257
doṅhāra ye sama-rasa, bharata-muni māne
āmāra vrajera rasa seha nāhi jāne
SYNONYMS
doṅhāra-of both; ye-whatever; sama-rasa-equal mellows; bharata-muni-the saintly person named Bharata Muni; māne-accepts; āmāra-My; vrajera-of Vṛndāvana; rasa-mellows; seha-he; nāhi-not; jāne-knows.
TRANSLATION
“The sage Bharata has said that the mellows of lover and beloved are equal. But he does not know the mellows of My Vṛndāvana.
PURPORT
According to expert sexologists like Bharata Muni, both male and female enjoy equally in material sexual pleasure. But in the spiritual world the relationships are different, although this is unknown to mundane experts.
TEXT 258
anyera saṅgame āmi yata sukha pāi
tāhā haite rādhā-sukha śata adhikāi
SYNONYMS
anyera-others; saṅgame-by meeting; āmi-I; yata-all; sukha-happiness; pāi-get; tāhā haite-than that; rādhā-sukha-happiness by association with Rādhārāṇī; śata-one hundred times; adhikāi-increased.
TRANSLATION
“The happiness I feel when meeting Rādhārāṇī is a hundred times greater than the happiness I get from meeting others.”
TEXT 259
nirdhūtāmṛta-mādhurī-parimalaḥ kalyāṇi bimbādharo
vaktraṁ paṅkaja-saurabhaṁ kuharita-ślāghā-bhidas te giraḥ
aṅgaṁ candana-śītalaṁ tanur iyaṁ saundarya-sarvasva-bhāk
tvām āsādya mamedam indriya-kulaṁ rādhe muhur modate
SYNONYMS
nirdhūta-defeats; amṛta-of nectar; mādhurī-the sweetness; parimalaḥ-whose flavor; kalyāṇi-O most auspicious one; bīmba-adharaḥ-red lips; vaktram-face; paṅkaja-saurabham-which smells like a lotus flower; kuharita-of the sweet sounds made by the cuckoos; ślāghā-the pride; bhidaḥ-which defeat; te-Your; giraḥ-words; aṅgam-limbs; candana-śītalam-as cool as sandalwood pulp; tanuḥ-body; iyam-this; saundarya-of beauty; sarva-sva-bhāk-which displays the all-in-all; tvām-You; āsādya-tasting; mama-My; idam-this; indriya-kulam-all the senses; rādhe-O Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī; muhuḥ-again and again; modate-become pleased.
TRANSLATION
“My dear auspicious Rādhārāṇī, Your body is the source of all beauty. Your red lips are softer than the sense of immortal sweetness, Your face bears the aroma of a lotus flower, Your sweet words defeat the vibrations of the cuckoo, and Your limbs are cooler than the pulp of sandalwood. All My transcendental senses are overwhelmed in ecstatic pleasure by tasting You, who are completely decorated by beautiful qualities.”
PURPORT
This verse, spoken by Lord Kṛṣṇa to Rādhā, is recorded in the Lalita-mādhava (9.33) of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī.
TEXT 260
rūpe kaṁsa-harasya lubdha-nayanāṁ sparśe ‘tihṛṣyat-tvacaṁ
vāṇyām utkalita-śrutiṁ parimale saṁhṛṣṭa-nāsā-puṭām
ārajyad-rasanāṁ kilādhara-puṭe nyañcan-mukhāmbho-ruhāṁ
dambhodgīrṇa-mahā-dhṛtiṁ bahir api prodyad-vikārākulām
SYNONYMS
rūpe-in the beauty; kaṁsa-harasya-of Kṛṣṇa, the enemy of Kaṁsa; lubdha-captivated; nayanām-whose eyes; sparśe-in the touch; ati-hṛṣyat-very much jubilant; tvacam-whose skin; vāṇyām-in the vibration of the words; utkalita-very eager; śrutim-whose ear; parimale-in the fragrance; saṁhṛṣṭa-stolen by happiness; nāsā-puṭām-whose nostrils; ārajyat-being completely attracted; rasanām-whose tongue; kila-what to speak of; adhara-puṭe-to the lips; nyañcat-bending down; mukha-whose face; ambhaḥ-ruhām-like a lotus flower; dambha-by pride; udgīrṇa-manifesting; mahā-dhṛtim-great patience; bahiḥ-externally; api-although; prodyat-manifesting; vikāra-transformations; ākulām-overwhelmed.
TRANSLATION
“Her eyes are enchanted by the beauty of Lord Kṛṣṇa, the enemy of Kaṁsa. Her body thrills in pleasure at His touch. Her ears are always attracted to His sweet voice, Her nostrils are enchanted by His fragrance, and Her tongue hankers for the nectar of His soft lips. She hangs down her lotuslike face, exercising self-control only by pretense, but She cannot help showing the external signs of Her spontaneous love for Lord Kṛṣṇa.”
PURPORT
Thus Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī describes the countenance of Rādhārāṇī.
TEXT 261
tāte jāni, mote āche kona eka rasa
āmāra mohinī rādhā, tāre kare vaśa
SYNONYMS
tāte-thereupon; jāni-I can understand; mote-in Me; āche-there is; kona-some; eka-one; rasa-transcendental mellow; āmāra-My; mohinī-captivator; rādhā-Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī; tāre-Her; kare vaśa-subdues.
TRANSLATION
“Considering this, I can understand that some unknown mellow in Me controls the entire existence of My captivator, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī.
TEXT 262
āmā haite rādhā pāya ye jātīya sukha
tāhā āsvādite āmi sadāi unmukha
SYNONYMS
āmā haite-from Me; rādhā-Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī; pāya-gets; ye-whatever; jātīya-types of; sukha-happiness; tāhā-that; āsvādite-to taste; āmi-I; sadāi-always; unmukha-very eager.
TRANSLATION
“I am always eager to taste the joy that Rādhārāṇī derives from Me.
TEXT 263
nānā yatna kari āmi, nāri āsvādite
sei sukha-mādhurya-ghrāṇe lobha bāḍhe citte
SYNONYMS
nānā-various; yatna-attempts; kari-do; āmi-I; nāri-I am not able; āsvādite-to taste; sei-that; sukha-of the happiness; mādhurya-the sweetness; ghrāṇe-by smelling; lobha-desire; bāḍhe-increases; citte-in the mind.
TRANSLATION
“In spite of various efforts, I have not been able to taste it. But My desire to relish that pleasure increases as I smell its sweetness.
TEXT 264
rasa āsvādite āmi kaila avatāra
prema-rasa āsvādiba vividha prakāra
SYNONYMS
rasa-mellow; āsvādite-to taste; āmi-I; kaila-made; avatāra-incarnation; prema-rasa-transcendental mellow of love; āsvādiba-I shall taste; vividha prakāra-different varieties of.
TRANSLATION
“I have appeared in the world to taste mellows. I shall taste the mellows of pure love in various ways.
TEXT 265
rāga-mārge bhakta bhakti kare ye prakāre
tāhā śikhāiba līlā-ācaraṇa-dvāre
SYNONYMS
rāga-mārge-on the path of spontaneous love; bhakta-the devotee; bhakti-devotional service; kare-does; ye prakāre-in what way; tāhā-that; śikhāiba-I shall teach; līlā-pastimes; ācaraṇa-dvāre-by means of practical demonstration.
TRANSLATION
“I shall teach devotional service, which springs from the spontaneous love of the devotees, by demonstrating it Myself with My pastimes.
TEXT 266
ei tina tṛṣṇā mora nahila pūraṇa
vijātīya-bhāve nahe tāhā āsvādana
SYNONYMS
ei-these; tina-three; tṛṣṇā-desires; mora-My; nahila-were not; pūraṇa-satisfied; vijātīya-of the opposite partner of a relationship; bhāve-in ecstasy; nahe-is not possible; tāhā-that; āsvādana-tasting.
TRANSLATION
“But these three desires have not been satisfied, for one cannot enjoy them in a contrary position.
TEXT 267
rādhikāra bhāva-kānti aṅgīkāra vine
sei tina sukha kabhu nahe āsvādane
SYNONYMS
rādhikāra-of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī; bhāva-kānti-luster of ecstatic love; aṅgīkāra-accepting; vine-without; sei-those; tina-three; sukha-happiness; kabhu-at any time; nahe-is not possible; āsvādane-tasting.
TRANSLATION
“Unless I accept the luster of the ecstatic love of Śrī Rādhikā, these three desires cannot be fulfilled.
TEXT 268
rādhā-bhāva aṅgīkari’ dhari’ tāra varṇa
tina-sukha āsvādite haba avatīrṇa
SYNONYMS
rādhā-bhāva-the moods of Rādhārāṇī; aṅgīkari’-accepting; dhari’-taking; tāra varṇa-Her bodily complexion; tina-three; sukha-happiness; āsvādite-to taste; haba-I shall; avatīrṇa-descend as an incarnation.
TRANSLATION
“Therefore, assuming Rādhārāṇī’s sentiments and bodily complexion, I shall descend to fulfill these three desires.”
TEXT 269
sarva-bhāve kaila kṛṣṇa ei ta’ niścaya
hena-kāle āila yugāvatāra-samaya
SYNONYMS
sarva-bhāve-in all respects; kaila-made; kṛṣṇa-Lord Kṛṣṇa; ei-this; ta’-certainly; niścaya-decision; hena-kāle-at this time; āila-came; yuga-avatāra-of the incarnation according to the age; samaya-the time.
TRANSLATION
In this way Lord Kṛṣṇa came to a decision. Simultaneously, the time came for the incarnation of the age.
TEXT 270
sei-kāle śrī-advaita karena ārādhana
tāṅhāra huṅkāre kaila kṛṣṇe ākarṣaṇa
SYNONYMS
sei-kāle-at that time; śrī-advaita-Advaita Ācārya; karena-performs; ārādhana-worship; tāṅhāra-of Him; huṅkāre-by the tumultuous call; kaila-did; kṛṣṇe-to Lord Kṛṣṇa; ākarṣaṇa-attraction.
TRANSLATION
At that time Śrī Advaita was earnestly worshiping Him. Advaita attracted Him with His loud calls.
TEXTS 271-272
pitā-mātā, guru-gaṇa, āge avatāri’
rādhikāra bhāva-varṇa aṅgīkāra kari’
nava-dvīpe śacī-garbha-śuddha-dugdha-sindhu
tāhāte prakaṭa hailā kṛṣṇa pūrṇa indu
SYNONYMS
pitā-mātā-parents; guru-gaṇa-teachers; āge-first; avatāri’-descending; rādhikāra-of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī; bhāva-varṇa-the luster of transcendental ecstasy; aṅgīkāra kari’-accepting; navadvīpe-in Navadvīpa; śacī-garbha-the womb of Śacī; śuddha-pure; dugdha-sindhu-the ocean of milk; tāhāte-in that; prakaṭa-manifested; hailā-became; kṛṣṇa-Lord Kṛṣṇa; pūrṇa indu-full moon.
TRANSLATION
First Lord Kṛṣṇa made His parents and elders appear. Then Kṛṣṇa Himself, with the sentiments and complexion of Rādhikā, appeared in Navadvīpa, like the full moon, from the womb of mother Śacī, which is like an ocean of pure milk.
TEXT 273
ei ta’ kariluṅ ṣaṣṭha ślokera vyākhyāna
śrī-rūpa-gosāñira pāda-padma kari’ dhyāna
SYNONYMS
ei ta’-thus; kariluṅ-I have made; ṣaṣṭha ślokera-of the sixth verse; vyākhyāna-explanation; śrī-rūpa-Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī; gosāñira-of the master; pāda-padma-lotus feet; kari’-doing; dhyāna-meditation.
TRANSLATION
Meditating on the lotus feet of Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī, I have thus explained the sixth verse.
TEXT 274
ei dui ślokera āmi ye karila artha
śrī-rūpa-gosāñira śloka pramāṇa samartha
SYNONYMS
ei-these; dui-two; ślokera-of the verses; āmi-I; ye-whatever; karila-gave; artha-the meanings; śrī-rūpa-gosāñira-of Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī; śloka-verse; pramāṇa-evidence; samartha-competent.
TRANSLATION
I can support the explanation of these two verses [verses 5 and 6 of the First Chapter] with a verse by Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī’.
TEXT 275
apāraṁ kasyāpi praṇayi-jana-vṛndasya kutukī
rasa-stomaṁ hṛtvā madhuram upabhoktuṁ kam api yaḥ
rucaṁ svām āvavre dyutim iha tadīyāṁ prakaṭayan
sa devaś caitanyākṛtir atitarāṁ naḥ kṛpayatu
SYNONYMS
apāram-boundless; kasya api-of someone; praṇayi-jana-vṛndasya-of the multitude of lovers; kutukī-one who is curious; rasa-stomam-the group of mellows; hṛtvā-stealing; madhuram-sweet; upabhoktum-to enjoy; kam api-some; yaḥ-who; rucam-luster; svām-own; āvavre-covered; dyutim-luster; iha-here; tadīyām-related to Him; prakaṭayan-manifesting; saḥ-He; devaḥ-the Supreme Personality of Godhead; caitanya-ākṛtiḥ-having the form of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu; atitarām-greatly; naḥ-unto us; kṛpayatu-may He show His mercy.
TRANSLATION
“Lord Kṛṣṇa desired to taste the limitless nectarean mellows of the love of one of His multitude of loving damsels [Śrī Rādhā], and so He has assumed the form of Lord Caitanya. He has tasted that love while hiding His own dark complexion with Her effulgent yellow color. May that Lord Caitanya confer upon us His grace.”
PURPORT
This is the third verse of the second Caitanyāṣṭaka of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī’s Stava-mālā.
TEXT 276
maṅgalācaraṇaṁ kṛṣṇa-
caitanya-tattva-lakṣaṇam
prayojanaṁ cāvatāre
śloka-ṣaṭkair nirūpitam
SYNONYMS
maṅgala-ācaraṇam-invoking auspiciousness; kṛṣṇa-caitanya-of Lord Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu; tattva-lakṣaṇam-symptoms of the truth; prayojanam-necessity; ca-also; avatāre-in the matter of His incarnation; śloka-verses; ṣaṭkaiḥ-by six; nirūpitam-ascertained.
TRANSLATION
Thus the auspicious invocation, the essential nature of the truth of Lord Caitanya, and the need for His appearance have been set forth in six verses.
TEXT 277
śrī-rūpa-raghunātha-pade yāra āśa
caitanya-caritāmṛta kahe kṛṣṇadāsa
SYNONYMS
śrī-rūpa-Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī; raghunātha-Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī; pade-at the lotus feet; yāra-whose; āśa-expectation; caitanya-caritāmṛta-the book named Caitanya-caritāmṛta; kahe-describes; kṛṣṇa-dāsa-Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī.
TRANSLATION
Praying at the lotus feet of Śrī Rūpa and Śrī Raghunātha, always desiring their mercy, I, Kṛṣṇadāsa, narrate Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, following in their footsteps.
Thus end the Bhaktivedanta purports to Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā, Fourth Chapter, describing the confidential reasons for the appearance of Lord Caitanya.