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yasyānanaṁ makara-kuṇḍala-cāru-karṇa-
bhrājat-kapola-subhagaṁ savilāsa-hāsam |
nityotsavaṁ na tatṛpur dṛśibhiḥ pibantyo
nāryo narāś ca muditāḥ kupitā nimeś ca ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 9.24.65; cited in Prīti Sandarbha: 82, 111; Durgama-saṅgamanī-ṭīkā on Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.1.1; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.21.123)
“Drinking with their eyes whose [i.e., his, Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s] face, which is a constant festival, filled with a charming smile, and lovely with shining cheeks and adorable ears [decorated] with makara earrings, delighted women and men were not satiated and became angry at Nimi.”
Read on →: yasyānanaṁ makara-kuṇḍala-cāru-karṇa
tat-tad-vinodāmṛta-sāgarāntaraṁ
bibhety alaṁ me rasanāvagāhitum |
sadaiva tat-tan-madhura-priyāpi yat
karmaṇy aśakye na janaḥ pravartate ||
pītaṁ sakṛt karṇa-puṭena tat-tal-
līlāmṛtaṁ kasya haren na cetaḥ |
pravartituṁ vāñchati tatra tasmāl
lajjāṁ na rakṣet kila lolatā hi ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.5.114–115)
“My tongue is extremely afraid of plunging into the ocean of the nectar of those pastimes [i.e., Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes in Vraja] even though those sweets [i.e., those pastimes] are indeed always dear [alt., pleasing] to it because a person does not engage in an impossible task. [But] Whose heart shall the nectar of those līlās, drunk once through hollows of the ears, not steal? Therefore, [my tongue] desires to engage in that since intense desire (lolatā, syn., laulya) certainly cannot hold to shyness.”
Read on →: tat-tad-vinodāmṛta-sāgarāntaraṁ
asmin karmādhikāriṇi manuṣya-loke dvivdhau bhūta-sargau manuṣya-sṛṣṭī bhavataḥ | yadāyaṁ manuṣya-loke śāstrāt svābhāvikau rāga-dveṣau vinirdhūya śāstrīyārthānuṣṭhāyī tadā daivaḥ | yadā śāstram utsṛjya svābhāvika-rāga-dveṣādhīno’śāstrīyān dharmān ācarati, tadā tv āsuraḥ |
(Gītā-bhūṣaṇa-ṭīkā on Śrīmad Bhagavad-gītā: 16.6)
“In this world of human beings governed by karma, the elementary nature of emanated human beings is twofold. When in the world of human beings one on account of the śāstra shakes off the attachment (rāga) and aversion (dveṣa) belonging to one’s acquired disposition (svabhāva), and acts in accord with the aim of the śāstra, then one is daiva [i.e., of godly nature]. When one is controlled by the attachment (rāga) and aversion (dveṣa) belonging to one’s acquired disposition (svabhāva), rejects the śāstra, and observes practices that are non-śāstric [i.e., contrary to the teaching of the śāstra], then one is āsura [i.e., of ungodly nature].”
Read on →: asmin karmādhikāriṇi manuṣya-loke dvivdhau bhūta-sargau
śrī-kṛṣṇaḥ śaraṇaṁ samasta-jagatāṁ kṛṣṇaṁ vinā kā gatiḥ
kṛṣṇena pratihanyate kali-malaṁ kṛṣṇāya kāryaṁ namaḥ |
kṛṣṇāt trasyati kāla-bhīma-bhujago kṛṣṇasya sarvaṁ vaśe
kṛṣṇe bhaktir akhanditā bhavatu me bho kṛṣṇa tvam eva āśrayaḥ ||
(Unknown source)
“Śrī Kṛṣṇa is [our] shelter.
What is the state [alt., course, way, or destination] of the entire world
Without Kṛṣṇa?
The contamination of Kali
Is dispelled by Kṛṣṇa.
We offer [our] action unto Kṛṣṇa.
The formidable snake of time
Is afraid of Kṛṣṇa.
Everything is under Kṛṣṇa’s control.
May I have uninterrupted bhakti to Kṛṣṇa.
O Kṛṣṇa!
You alone are [our] refuge.”
Read on →: śrī-kṛṣṇaḥ śaraṇaṁ samasta-jagatāṁ kṛṣṇaṁ vinā kā gatiḥ
gopyas tapaḥ kim acaran yad amuṣya rūpaṁ
lāvaṇya-sāram asamorddhvam ananya-siddham |
dṛgbhiḥ pibanty anusavābhinavaṁ durāpam
ekānta-dhāma yaśasaḥ śriya aiśvarasya ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.44.14; cited in Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.7.135; Kṛṣṇa Sandarbha: 101, 183; Prīti Sandarbha: 99, 111; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.21.112)
“What austerity did the gopīs perform as a result of which they drink through their eyes his form which is the essence of loveliness, unequalled and unsurpassed, not accomplished otherwise, new at every moment, difficult to attain, and the ultimate reservoir of fame, splendor, and mastery?”
Read on →: gopyas tapaḥ kim acaran yad amuṣya rūpaṁ
Eight verses in praise of Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu
By Śrī Vṛndāvana Dāsa Ṭhākura
Read on →: Śrī Nityānandāṣṭakam