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- Read on →: cirād āśā-mātraṁ tvayi viracayantaḥ sthira-dhiyo
cirād āśā-mātraṁ tvayi viracayantaḥ sthira-dhiyo
vidadhyur ye vāsaṁ madhurima-gabhīre madhupure |
dadhānaḥ kaiśore vayasi sakhitāṁ gokula-pate
prapadyethās teṣāṁ paricayam avaśyaṁ nayanayoḥ ||
(Lalita-mādhava-nāṭakam: 10.37)“[Rādhā to Kṛṣṇa:] O Lord of Gokula, please appear bearing your companionship in your adolescent age [i.e., accompanied by your friends beginning with Śrīdāma in your form of an adolescent flute-player] before the eyes of those of steady mind who have long resided in profoundly sweet Madhupurī [i.e., Mathurā Maṇḍala] desiring only you.”
- Read on →: kākaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ pikaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ
kākaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ pikaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ ko bhedaḥ pika-kākayoḥ |
vasanta-samaye prāpte kākaḥ kākaḥ pikaḥ pikaḥ ||
(Unknown source)“A crow is black, and a cuckoo is black. What is the difference between a crow and a cuckoo? When spring time arrives, a crow is a crow, a cuckoo is a cuckoo.”
- Read on →: apasaraṇam eva śaraṇaṁ
apasaraṇam eva śaraṇaṁ maunaṁ vā tatra rajahaṁsasya |
kaṭu raṭati nikata-vartī vācālaṣ ṭiṭṭibho yatra |
(Unknown source)“A royal swan simply retreats or takes recourse to silence there where a nearby talkative ṭiṭṭibha (lapwing, Vanellus indicus) bitterly bawls.”
- Read on →: kas tvaṁ lohita-locanāsy acaraṇaḥ haṁsaḥ kuto mānasāt
kas tvaṁ lohita-locanāsy acaraṇaḥ haṁsaḥ kuto mānasāt
kiṁ tatrāsti suvarṇa-paṅkaja-vanāny aṁbhaḥ sudhā-sannibham |
ratnānāṁ nicayāḥ pravāla-maṇayo vaidūrya-rohāḥ kvacit
śambūkā api santi neti ca bakair ākarṇya hīhīkṛtam ||
(Unknown Source)“[Cranes inquire:] ‘Who are you, O red-eyed one? You are legless.’
‘I am a swan [whose legs are invisible while floating on water].’
‘From where?’
‘From Mānasa [Sarovara].’
‘What is there?’
‘Clusters of golden lotuses, water like nectar, stores of gems, coral ingots, and lodes of cat’s-eye.’
‘Are there also snails there?’
‘No.’
Hearing this, the cranes laughed [at the swan].” - Read on →: haṁsās sarvāṅga-śucayaḥ
haṁsās sarvāṅga-śucayaḥ padmebhyo bahir āsate |
antarviśānti madhupāḥ śrīmatāṁ gatir īdṛśī ||
(Unknown source)“Swans, who are white all over their body, remain outside lotus flowers. Bees [lit. “nectar-drinkers”] enter within [them]. The way of the exalted is such.”
- Read on →: haṁsaḥ śveto bakaḥ śvetaḥ
haṁsaḥ śveto bakaḥ śvetaḥ ko bhedo baka-haṁsayoḥ |
nīra-kṣīra-viveke tu haṁso haṁso bako bakaḥ ||
(Unknown source)“A swan is white; a stork is white.
What is the difference between a swan and a stork?
In discriminating between water and milk,
A swan is a swan, and a stork is a stork
[i.e., one can do so and the other cannot].”