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  • tan niśamyātha munayo vismitā mukta-saṁśayāḥ |
    bhūyāṁsaṁ śraddadhur viṣṇuṁ yataḥ śāntir yato’bhayam ||
    dharmaḥ sākṣād yato jñānaṁ vairāgyaṁ ca tad-anvitam |
    aiśvaryaṁ cāṣṭadhā yasmād yaśaś cātma-malāpaham ||
    munīnāṁ nyasta-daṇḍānāṁ śāntānāṁ sama-cetasām |
    akiñcanānāṁ sādhūnāṁ yam āhuḥ paramāṁ gatim ||
    sattvaṁ yasya priyā mūrtir brāhmaṇās tv iṣṭa-devatāḥ |
    bhajanty anāśiṣaḥ śāntā yaṁ vā nipuṇa-buddhayaḥ ||
    (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.89.14–17)

    “Then, hearing that [i.e., Bhṛgu’s account of his meetings with Brahmā, Śiva, and Viṣṇu], the sages became amazed, freed from doubt, and possessed of immense śraddhā in Viṣṇu, from whom comes peace; from whom comes fearlessness; from whom comes direct dharma, [direct] knowledge (jñāna), and non-attachment (vairāgya) following that; from whom comes eightfold metaphysical power, glory, and removal of the impurities in the psyche; whom they [i.e., the wise] call the ultimate refuge of the sages, of those who have laid down the staff, of the tranquil, and of the equanimous—the divested, the sādhus; whose dear form is Existence [i.e., Brahman]; [whose] iṣṭa-devatās are the brāhmaṇas; and whom those who are desireless, tranquil, and of sharp intellect worship.”

    Read on →: tan niśamyātha munayo vismitā mukta-saṁśayāḥ

  • tasmān mad-bhakti-yuktasya yogino vai mad-ātmanaḥ |
    na jñānaṁ na ca vairāgyaṁ prāyaḥ śreyo bhaved iha ||
    yat karmabhir yat tapasā jñāna-vairāgyataś ca yat |
    yogena dāna-dharmeṇa śreyobhir itarair api ||
    sarvaṁ mad-bhakti-yogena mad-bhakto labhate’ñjasā |
    svargāpavargaṁ mad-dhāma kathañcid yadi vāñchati ||
    (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.20.31–33)

    “Therefore, for a yogī engaged in bhakti to me with mind on me, neither jñāna nor vairāgya shall in general be a means of benefit here. What can come to be by means of righteous acts, what can come to be by means of austerity, and what can come to be by means of jñāna and vairāgya, as well as by yoga, charity, and other means of benefit—all of that, as well as Svarga, apavarga [i.e., mukti], and my abode, my bhakta attains quickly by means of the practice (yoga) of bhakti to me if one somehow desires [to attain any of those ends].”

    Read on →: tasmān mad-bhakti-yuktasya yogino vai mad-ātmanaḥ

  • Cāṭu-puṣpāñjaliḥ

    A flower-offering of pleasing words

    By Śrīmad Rūpa Gosvāmīpāda

    Read on →: Cāṭu-puṣpāñjaliḥ

  • namas tasmai bhagavate kṛṣṇāyākuṇṭha-medhase |
    rādhādhara-sudhā-sindhau namo nitya-vihāriṇe ||
    rādhāṁ kṛṣṇa-svarūpāṁ vai kṛṣṇaṁ rādhā-svarūpiṇaṁ |
    kalātmānaṁ nikuñjasthaṁ guru-rūpaṁ sadā bhaje ||
    (Mahāvāṇī: Sakhī-rūpācārya-nāma-ratnāvalī-stava, 1–2)

    “Obeisance unto him,
    Bhagavān,
    Kṛṣṇa,
    He of unblunted brilliance.
    Obeisance unto the constant Frolicker
    In the ocean of the nectar
    Of Rādhā’s lips.
    Forever I worship
    Rādhā,
    She whose essence is Kṛṣṇa
    [Alt., she who is the essential nature of Kṛṣṇa],
    And Kṛṣṇa,
    He whose essence is Rādhā,
    [Alt., he who is the essential nature of Rādhā]—
    They whose spirit is the arts
    [Alt., they who are the essence of expertise, or, they who are the constitution of the seed syllable klīṁ]
    And the form of the guru situated in the bower.”

    Read on →: namas tasmai bhagavate kṛṣṇāyākuṇṭha-medhase

  • mallānām aśanir nṛṇāṁ nara-varaḥ strīṇāṁ smaro mūrtimān
    gopānāṁ sva-jano’satāṁ kṣiti-bhujāṁ śāstā sva-pitroḥ śiśuḥ |
    mṛtyur bhoja-pater virāḍ aviduṣāṁ tattvaṁ paraṁ yogināṁ
    vṛṣṇīnāṁ para-devateti vidito raṅgaṁ gataḥ sāgrajaḥ ||
    (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.43.17)

    “Being perceived as
    A lighting bolt by the wrestlers,
    The best of men by the menfolk,
    Kāmadeva embodied by women,
    A kinsmen by the cowherds,
    A punisher by the kings,
    A child by his parents,
    Death by the ruler of the Bhogas [viz., Kaṁsa],
    A [mere, ordinary human] kṣatriya by the ignorant,
    The Supreme Reality by the yogīs,
    And the Supreme Devatā by the Vṛṣṇis,
    He entered the area
    Along with his elder brother.”

    Read on →: mallānām aśanir nṛṇāṁ nara-varaḥ strīṇāṁ smaro mūrtimān

  • govardhana-girim upetya kaṭākṣa-bāṇān
    karṇa-sphuran-maṇi-śilopari saṅkṣuvānā |
    kā bhrū-dhanur-dhuvana-sūcita-luñcaneyaṁ
    vyagrīkaroty ahaha mām api sambhrameṇa ||
    (Dāna-keli-kaumudī: 30; cited in Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi: 14.3)

    “Reaching Govardhana Hill
    And sharpening the arrows of her side-long glances
    Atop the sparkling jewel-slabs on her ears,
    Who is this
    By whom thievery is intimated
    By the quivering of the bows of her brows,
    That, ahaha,
    Makes even me restless with excitement?”

    Read on →: govardhana-girim upetya kaṭākṣa-bāṇān

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