अतुलत्वादपारत्वादाप्तोऽसौ दुर्विगाहताम् ।
स्पृष्टः परं तटस्थेन रसाब्धिर्मधुरो मया ॥
atulatvād apāratvād āpto’sau durvigāhatām |
spṛṣṭaḥ paraṁ taṭasthena rasābdhir madhuro mayā ||
(Ujjvala-nīlāmaṇi: 15.259)
“This ocean of madhura-rasa, difficult to fully plunge into [i.e., difficult to fully grasp, even for great prema-bhaktas and rasika-kavis, such as Śukadeva, Līlāśuka, and Jayadeva] because of its being bottomless and boundless [i.e., superior to all other rasas in quality and quantity], has only been touched by me, who am situated on the shore [i.e., who am unable to enter into it, and so, I, from the shore, have just collected a drop of it with my finger and placed it on my tongue].”