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  • yat kiñcit tṛṇa-gulma-kīkaṭa-mukhaṁ goṣṭhe samastaṁ hi tat
    sarvānandamayaṁ mukunda-dayitaṁ līlānukūlaṁ param |
    śāstrair eva muhur muhuḥ sphuṭam idaṁ niṣṭaṅkitaṁ yāchñayā
    brahmāder api saspṛheṇa tad idaṁ sarvaṁ mayā vandyate ||
    (Stavāvalī: Vraja-vilāsa-stava, 102)

    “Everything beginning with the grass, shrubs, and insects in Vraja is indeed constituted of all bliss, beloved to Mukunda, and completely favorable to [his] līlā; this is declared by the śāstras again and again by means of the prayers of Brahmā and others [e.g., Uddhava], and all of this [i.e., everything in Vraja] is [thus] bowed to by me with longing.”

    Read on →: yat kiñcit tṛṇa-gulma-kīkaṭa-mukhaṁ goṣṭhe samastaṁ hi tat

  • aho’tiramyaṁ pulinaṁ vayasyāḥ
    sva-keli-sampan mṛdulāccha-vālukam |
    sphuṭat-saro-gandha-hṛtāli-patri-ka-
    dhvani-pratidhvāna-lasad-drumākulam ||
    (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.13.5)

    [Kṛṣṇa:] “Aho! Friends! This bank is very pleasant, with amenities for our play; soft, clear sand; and an abundance of swaying trees and echoes of sounds from the water of birds and bees attracted by the fragrance of the blooming pools.”

    Read on →: aho’tiramyaṁ pulinaṁ vayasyāḥ

  • cintāmaṇiś caraṇa-bhūṣaṇam aṅganānāṁ
    śṛṅgāra-puṣpa-taravas taravaḥ surāṇām |
    vṛndāvane vraja-dhanaṁ nanu kāma-dhenu-
    vṛndāni ceti sukha-sindhur aho vibhūtiḥ ||
    (Kṛṣṇa-karṇāmṛta; cited in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 2.1.173; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.14.228)

    “‘Nanu! In Vṛndāvana, the ladies’ foot-ornaments are thought-jewels, the decorative flowering trees are desire-trees [lit., trees of the suras], and the communal wealth is herds of desire-cows. Aho! The opulence [here] is thus an ocean of joy!”

    Read on →: cintāmaṇiś caraṇa-bhūṣaṇam aṅganānāṁ

  • śriyaḥ kāntāḥ kāntaḥ parama-puruṣaḥ kalpa-taravo
    drumā bhūmiś cintāmaṇi-gaṇa-mayī toyam amṛtam |
    kathā gānaṁ nāṭyaṁ gamanam api vaṁśī priya-sakhī
    cid-ānandaṁ jyotiḥ param api tad āsvādyam api ca ||
    sa yatra kṣīrābdhiḥ sravati surabhībhyaś ca sumahān
    nimeṣārdhākhyo vā vrajati na hi yatrāpi samayaḥ |
    bhaje śvetadvīpaṁ tam aham iha golokam iti yaṁ
    vidantas te santaḥ kṣiti‑virala‑cārāḥ katipaye ||
    (Brahma-saṁhitā: 5.55–56; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 5.143; Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.7.94–95; Laghu Bhāgavatāmṛta: 1.5.500–501; Kṛṣṇa Sandarbha: 172, 177, 186; Prīti Sandarbha: 111; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.14.227)

    “That [place] where the lovers [alt., women] are Śrīs [i.e., resemblant of Lakṣmī], the beloved is the Supreme Puruṣa [i.e., he who is superior even to Nārāyaṇa and expands himself to reciprocate with every lover], the trees are desire-trees, the land is made of thought-jewels, the water is nectar, the speech is song, the movement is dance, the vaṁśī [i.e., flute] is a dear sakhī [i.e., is a friend to Kṛṣṇa as his constant companion and a friend to the residents of Vraja by making Kṛṣṇa’s pleasure and whereabouts known], the conscious, blissful, superb light is supremely relishable, an ocean of milk flows from the cows [i.e., where the cows become absorbed in the sound of the flute and yield unlimited milk], and where even the time [i.e., the time span] known as half of the most immense [i.e., half of the lifespan of Brahmā] or [the time span known as half of] the blink of the eye [i.e., an instant] does not pass [i.e., where the troublesome effects of time are absent and the residents are unaware of time on account of their absorption]—I worship [i.e., take shelter in] that Śvetadvīpa [lit., ‘white island’] which [only] a few sādhus in this world, who move about in seclusion on the earth [out of attachment to Kṛṣṇa and non-attachment to everything of the world; alt., who are extremely rare], know to be Goloka.”

    Read on →: śriyaḥ kāntāḥ kāntaḥ parama-puruṣaḥ kalpa-taravo

  • cintāmaṇi-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vṛkṣa-
    lakṣāvṛteṣu surabhīr abhipālayantam |
    lakṣmī-sahasra-śata-sambhrama-sevyamānaṁ
    govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi ||
    (Brahma-saṁhitā: 5.29; cited in Kṛṣṇa Sandarbha: 80, 106, 116, 137, 153, 172; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 1.5.22)

    “I serve him, Govinda, the original Person, who in abodes made of spiritual gemstone filled with lakhs of wish-fulfilling trees tends the cows and is lovingly served by hundreds of thousands of lakṣmīs.”

    Read on →: cintāmaṇi-prakara-sadmasu kalpa-vṛkṣa

  • parityajeyaṁ trailokyaṁ rājyaṁ deveṣu vā punaḥ |
    yadvāpy adhikam etābhyāṁ na tu satyaṁ kathañcana ||
    tyajec ca pṛthivī gandham āpaś ca rasam ātmanaḥ |
    jyotis tathā tyajed rūpaṁ vāyuḥ sparśa-guṇaṁ tyajet ||
    prabhāṁ samutsṛjed arko dhūmaketus tathoṣṇatām |
    tyajec chabdaṁ tathākāśaḥ somaḥ śītāṁśutāṁ tyajet ||
    vikramaṁ vṛtrahā jahyād dharmaṁ jahyāc ca dharmarāṭ |
    na tv ahaṁ satyam utsraṣṭuṁ vyavaseyaṁ kathañcana ||
    (Mahābhārata: 1.97.15–18)

    “[Bhīṣmadeva insisting to his mother Satyavatī that he will not break his vow of not begetting children:] I shall renounce the three worlds, an empire among the devas, or even anything greater than these, but never by any means my vow. The earth may give up its fragrance, and water its own taste. Similarly, light may give up its form, and air may give up the quality of touch. Similarly, the sun may cease to emit light and fire [cease to emit] heat. Similarly, the sky may give up sound, and the moon may give up having cooling rays. The slayer of Vṛtra [i.e., Indra] may abandon valor, the king of dharma [i.e., Yama] may abandon dharma, but I shall never resolve by any means to abandon my vow.”

    Read on →: parityajeyaṁ trailokyaṁ rājyaṁ deveṣu vā punaḥ

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