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- Read on →: Śrī Keśavāṣṭakam
Śrī Keśavāṣṭakam
Eight verses in praise of Śrī Keśava’s return to Vraja from the forest in the evening
By Śrīmad Rūpa Gosvāmīpāda
- Read on →: aṅga-śyāmalima-cchaṭābhir abhito mandīkṛtendīvaraṁ
aṅga-śyāmalima-cchaṭābhir abhito mandīkṛtendīvaraṁ
jāḍyaṁ jāguḍa-rociṣāṁ vidadhataṁ paṭṭāmbarasya śriyā |
vṛndāraṇya-vilāsinaṁ hṛdi lasad-dāmābhir āmodaraṁ
rādhā-skandha-niveśitojjvala-bhujaṁ dhyāyema dāmodaram ||
(Stava-mālā)“He by whom blue lotuses are belittled
With the radiance of the swarthiness of his limbs,
He by whom the splendors of saffron are rendered dull
With the loveliness of his silken garments,
He who sports in the forest of Vṛndā,
He who is fragrant with shining garlands across his chest,
He whose lustrous arm is set on Rādhā’s shoulder—
Let us meditate on Dāmodara.” - Read on →: jayati jana-nivāso devakī-janma-vādo
jayati jana-nivāso devakī-janma-vādo
yadu-vara-pariṣat svair dorbhir asyann adharmam |
sthira-cara-vṛjina-ghnaḥ susmita-śrī-mukhena
vraja-pura-vanitānāṁ vardhayan kāma-devam ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.90.48; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 3.23; Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.7.154; Durgama-saṅgamanī-ṭīkā on Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.1.1; Laghu Bhāgavatāmṛta: 1.5.430; Kṛṣṇa Sandarbha: 63, 116, 136, 182; Prīti Sandarbha: 52; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.13.79; Ānanda-candrikā-ṭīkā on Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi: 15.185)“He who is the abode of all beings [alt., he whose abode is all beings],
He whose birth is said to be from Devakī,
He whose retinue is the best of the Yadus,
He who destroys adharma with his own arms,
He who dispels the distress of the stationary and the moving—
Enkindling divine desire in the women of the abode of Vraja
With his beautiful, sweetly smiling face—
Triumphs!” - Read on →: kathaṁ vinā romaharṣaṁ dravatā cetasā vinā
kathaṁ vinā romaharṣaṁ dravatā cetasā vinā |
vinānandāśru-kalayā śudhyed bhaktyā vināśayaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.14.23)“How without horripilation, without meltedness of the heart, without a teardrop of bliss—without bhakti—could the heart be purified?”
- Read on →: naṣṭa-prāyeṣv abhadreṣu nityaṁ bhāgavata-sevayā
naṣṭa-prāyeṣv abhadreṣu nityaṁ bhāgavata-sevayā |
bhagavaty uttama-śloke bhaktir bhavati naiṣṭhikī ||
tadā rajas-tamo-bhāvāḥ kāma-lobhādayaś ca ye |
ceta etair anāviddhaṁ sthitaṁ sattve prasīdati ||
evaṁ prasanna-manaso bhagavad-bhakti-yogataḥ |
bhagavat-tattva-vijñānaṁ mukta-saṅgasya jāyate ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 1.2.18–20)“When [all] ills are nearly destroyed by service to Bhāgavatas [alt., to Śrīmad Bhāgavatam] continually, bhakti to Bhagavān, he of highest praise, becomes fixed. Then, the mind, situated in sattva and unassailed by states of rajas and tamas—desire, greed, and so forth—becomes satisfied. Realized knowledge [i.e., direct experience] of the essential nature of Bhagavān arises for one who in this way is of satisfied mind and [thus] freed from attachment as a result of the practice of bhakti to Bhagavān.”
- Read on →: śāstroktaṁ dharmam uccārya svayam ācarate sadā
śāstroktaṁ dharmam uccārya svayam ācarate sadā |
anyebhyaḥ śikṣayed yas tu sa ācāryo nigadyate ||
(Unknown source)“One who speaks the dharma stated in the śāstras, always personally practices it, and can teach it to others is called an ācārya.”