The Latest

  • bhakti-nirdhūta-doṣāṇāṁ prasannojjvala-cetasām |
    śrī-bhāgavata-raktānāṁ rasikāsaṅga-raṅgiṇām ||
    jīvanī-bhūta-govinda-pāda-bhakti-sukha-śriyām |
    premāntaraṅga-bhūtāni kṛtyāny evānutiṣṭhatām ||
    bhaktānāṁ hṛdi rājantī saṁskāra-yugalojjvalā |
    ratir ānanda-rūpaiva nīyamānā tu rasyatām ||
    kṛṣṇādibhir vibhāvādyair gatair anubhavādhvani |
    prauḍhānanda-camatkāra-kāṣṭhām āpadyate parām ||
    (Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 2.1.7–10)

    “In the hearts of bhaktas who have been purified by bhakti of all faults [e.g., attachment, aversion, delusion, etc.], whose hearts are clear [i.e., fit for the manifestation of higher pure existence (śuddha-sattva-viśeṣa)] and bright [i.e., all knowing by virtue of this manifestation], who cherish [tasting] Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, who rejoice in the company relishers of rasa, whose life is the wealth of the bliss of bhakti to the feet of Govinda, and who engage in all of prema’s natural activities—rati, which is bliss itself, appears bright as a result of the two types of saṁskāras [i.e., impressions in the citta made by pure bhakti in one’s previous births and one’s present birth], reaches the state of being relishable [i.e., of being rasa] on the pathway of perception on account of present vibhāvas and so forth [i.e., anubhāvas, sāttvika-bhāvas, vyabhichārī-bhāvas], beginning with Kṛṣṇa, and reaches the highest pinnacle of intense bliss and wonder [i.e., transforms into sneha, māna, praṇaya, anurāga, bhāva, and mahābhāva].”

    Read on →: bhakti-nirdhūta-doṣāṇāṁ prasannojjvala-cetasām

  • mahāśakti-vilāsātmā bhāvo’cintya-svarūpa-bhāk |
    raty-ākhyā ity ayaṁ yukto na hi tarkeṇa bādhitum |
    (Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 2.5.92)

    “This bhāva, known as rati, by constitution an expression of the supreme potency [i.e., the hlādinī-śakti], and [thus] possessed of an inconceivable nature, is not fit to be assailed with argument.”

    Read on →: mahāśakti-vilāsātmā bhāvo’cintya-svarūpa-bhāk

  • bhagavān api tā rātṛīḥ śāradotphulla-mallikāḥ |
    vīkṣya rantuṁ manaś cakre yogamāyām upāśritaḥ ||
    (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.29.1)

    “Seeing those nights in the autumn blooming with jasmine flowers, even Bhagavān made up his mind to enjoy and took recourse to yogamāyā.”

    Read on →: bhagavān api tā rātṛīḥ śāradotphulla-mallikāḥ

  • parisphuratu sundaraṁ caritram atra lakṣmī-pates
    tathā bhuvana-nandinas tad-avatāra-vṛndasya ca |
    harer api camatkṛti-prakara-vardhanaḥ kintu me
    bibharti hṛdi vismayaṁ kam api rāsa-līlā-rasaḥ ||
    (Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 2.1.210)

    [Uddhava:] “The beautiful feats of Lakṣmīpati and his avatāras who delight the world may manifest in full here [i.e., throughout the universe], but the rasa of the rāsa-līlā, which increases the abundance of even Hari’s astonishment, continually produces some sort of [indescribable] wonder in my heart.”

    Read on →: parisphuratu sundaraṁ caritram atra lakṣmī-pates

  • santi yadyapi me prājyā līlās tās tā manoharāḥ |
    na hi jāne smṛte rāse mano me kīdṛśaṁ bhavet ||
    (Bṛhad Vāmana Purāṇa; cited in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 2.1.209)

    [Bhagavān:] “Although I have many well-known enchanting līlās, when I remember the rāsa-līlā, I do not know what becomes of my mind.”

    Read on →: santi yadyapi me prājyā līlās tās tā manoharāḥ

  • vaṁśī-sañjalpitam anurataṁ rādhayāntardhi-keliḥ
    prādurbhūyāsanam adhi-paṭaṁ praśna-kūṭottaraṁ ca |
    nṛtyollāsaḥ punar api rahaḥ-krīḍanaṁ vāri-khelā
    kṛṣṇāraṇye viharaṇam iti śrīmatī rāsa-līlā ||
    (Vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī-ṭīkā on Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.33.26)

    “The call of the vaṁśī, the response, the sport of disappearing with Rādhā, the [re-] appearance, sitting on [the gopīs’] garments, incisive questions and answers, the exultation of dancing, further private play, sporting in the water, and strolling in the forest along the Kṛṣṇā [i.e., the Yamunā]—such is the beautiful rāsa-līlā [of Śrī Kṛṣṇa].”

    Read on →: vaṁśī-sañjalpitam anurataṁ rādhayāntardhi-keliḥ

Scroll to Top