Rūpa Gosvāmī

vartitavyaṁ śam-icchadbhir bhaktavan na tu kṛṣṇavat

vartitavyaṁ śam-icchadbhir bhaktavan na tu kṛṣṇavat |
ity evaṁ bhakti-śāstrāṇāṁ tātparyasya vinirṇayaḥ ||
rāmādivad vartitavyaṁ na kvacid rāvaṇādivat |
ity eṣa mukti-dharmādi-parāṇāṁ naya īryate ||
(Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi: 3.24–5)

“[Conduct] is to be observed like a bhakta, and not, rather, like Kṛṣṇa, by those who desire well-being—this is the proper determination of the intent of the bhakti-śāstras. [Conduct] is to observed like Rāma and others [i.e., other forms of Bhagavān], and never like Rāvaṇa and others [i.e., those who are inimical to Bhagavān]—this is said to be proper for those who seek mukti, dharma, and so on [but not for those who follow bhakti-śāstra].”

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vidagdhānāṁ mitho līlā-vilāsena yathā sukham

vidagdhānāṁ mitho līlā-vilāsena yathā sukham |
na tathā samprayogeṇa syād evaṁ rasikā viduḥ ||
yathā—
balena parirambhaṇe nakha-śikhābhir ullekhanaṁ
haṭhād adhara-khaṇḍane bhuja-yugena bandha-kriyām |
dukūla-dalane hatim kuvalayena kurvāṇayā
ratād api sukhaṁ harer adhikam ādadhe rādhayā ||
yathā vā—
narmotseka-kalā dṛg-añcala-camatkārī bhruvor vibhramaḥ
saṁvyānasya vikarṣaṇe caṭulatāṁ karṇotpalenāhatiḥ |
krīḍeyaṁ vraja-nāgarī-rati-guror gāndharvikāyās tathā
bhūyiṣṭhaṁ suratotsavād api navāsvādaṁ vitene sukham ||
ata eva śrī-gīta-govinde—
pratyūhaḥ pulakāṅkureṇa niviḍa-śleṣe nimeṣeṇa ca
krīḍā-kūta-vilokite’dhara-sudhā-pāne kathā-narmabhiḥ |
ānandābhigamena manmatha-kalā-yuddhe’pi yasminn abhud
udbhūtaḥ sa tayor babhūva suratārambhaḥ priyaṁbhāvukaḥ ||

(Ujjvala-nīlāmaṇi: 15.253–256)

“For the cultured, pleasure shall not arise from full union (samprayoga) as it shall from sportive coquetry (līlā-vilāsa) with one another. This rasikas know.
As [is described in the following verse]:
‘By scratching [him on the chest] with the tips of her nails
When he embraces [her] by force,
By blocking [him] with her arms
When he forcibly bites her lip,
And by striking [him] with a water lily
When he pulls her raiment,
Pleasure for Hari
Greater than even [that of] union [i.e., samprayoga]
Was created by Rādhā.’
Or as [is described in the following verse]:
‘The art of pouring forth jokes [exhibited by Kṛṣṇa],
And the waggling of the eyebrows
[That was] Astonishing with sidelong glances [exhibited by Rādhā in return],
The vivacity in pulling upon the upper garment [of Rādhā exhibited by Kṛṣṇa],
And the blow with a lotus from her ear [dealt to Kṛṣṇa by Rādhā in return]—
This play
Between the ladies of Vraja’s Love-teacher (Rati-guru) and Gāndharvikā
Manifested pleasure abundant and freshly relishable
Even more so than the delight of full union (samprayoga).’
Therefore, in Śrī Gīta-govinda (12.10) [the following is found], ‘Wherein obstruction arose
To their tight embraces
By their horripilation,
To their observation of the plentitude of their play
By the blinking of their eyes,
To their drinking the nectar of one another’s lips
By their talks and jokes,
And to their battle in the arts of the Mind-churner [i.e., Kāma]
By the arrival of bliss—
That [wonderful] beginning of their amorous union,
Being [most] pleasing [to them both],
Became perceptible.’”

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pīyūṣa-dyutibhiḥ stanādri-patitaiḥ kṣīrotkarair jāhnavī

pīyūṣa-dyutibhiḥ stanādri-patitaiḥ kṣīrotkarair jāhnavī
kālindī ca vilocanābja-janitair jātāñjana-śyāmalaiḥ |
ārān madhyama-vedim āpatitayoḥ klinnā tayoḥ saṅgame
vṛttāsi vraja-rājñi tat suta-mukha-prekṣāṁ sphuṭaṁ vāñchasi ||
(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 3.4.58)

“[When Mother Yaśodā travelled to Kurukṣetra on the pretext of a solar eclipse with great desire to see Śrī Kṛṣṇa, a feminine ascetic previously known to her says the following upon meeting her there:]
The Gaṅgā has appeared from the streams of milk (kṣīra)
Endowed with luster like nectar
Falling from the mountains of your breasts,
And the Kālindī [has appeared from the streams of water (kṣīra), that is, tears]
Produced by your lotus eyes
That are black because of your mascara [running off into them].
You have been bathed at the confluence of these two [rivers]
That have descended from above
Onto the altar of your midsection
[alt., They—the Gaṅgā and Kālindī—have in this way descended
And joined at Prayāga].
Thus, O Queen of Vraja!
You clearly desire to behold the face of your son
[Since it is well known
That people only go to bath at Prayāga
When they desire to attain the sight of Śrī Bhagavān].”

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vinyasta-śruti-pālir adya muralī-nisvāna-śuśrūṣā

vinyasta-śruti-pālir adya muralī-nisvāna-śuśrūṣā
bhūyaḥ prasrava-varṣiṇī dviguṇitotkaṇṭhā pradoṣodaye |
gehād aṅganam aṅganāt punar asau gehaṁ viśanty ākulā
govindasya muhur vrajendra-gṛhiṇī panthānam ālokate ||
(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 3.4.55)

“Today [i.e., throughout the day]
Wishing with her ears pricked
To hear the sound of the flute,
And again at the onset of evening,
With doubled longing
And milk streaming [from her breasts]
As she repeatedly entered the courtyard from the house
And the house from the courtyard,
The anxious queen of Vraja
Looked again and again at Govinda’s path
[i.e., the path by which he was expected to soon return home from the forest].”

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niculita-giri-dhātu-sphīta-patrāvalīkān

niculita-giri-dhātu-sphīta-patrāvalīkān
akhila-surabhi-reṇūn kṣālayadbhir yaśodā |
kuca-kalasa-vimuktaiḥ sneha-mādhvīka-medhyais
tava navam abhiṣekaṁ dugdha-pūraiḥ karoti ||
(Lalita-mādhava-nāṭaka: 1.46; cited in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sidhu: 3.4.47)

“[O Kṛṣṇa!]
Yaśodā conducts your first bath [after you return from the forest in the afternoon]
With the supremely pure streams of milk
Replete with the honey of her affection
Released from the urns of her breasts
That wash away all the dust from [i.e., raised by] the cows,
By which your leaves [i.e., the decorative leaf designs drawn on your body] made of minerals
Become covered over.”

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tanau mantra-nyāsaṁ praṇayati harer gadgadamayī

tanau mantra-nyāsaṁ praṇayati harer gadgadamayī
sabāṣpākṣī rakṣā-tilakam alike kalpayati ca |
snuvānā pratyūṣe diśati ca bhuje kārmaṇam asau
yaśodā mūrteva sphurati suta-vātsalya-paṭalī ||
(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 3.4.14)

“Early in the morning,
Stuttering,
Her eyes filled with tears,
Milk flowing [from her breasts],
She performs mantra-nyāsa on Hari’s body,
Draws a tilaka for protection on his forehead,
And places a spell-infused root on his arms;
Yaśodā shines
Like the embodiment
Of a profusion of affection for a son.”

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kṣaumaṁ vāsaḥ pṛthu-kaṭi-taṭe bibhratī sūtra-naddhaṁ

kṣaumaṁ vāsaḥ pṛthu-kaṭi-taṭe bibhratī sūtra-naddhaṁ
putra-sneha-snuta-kuca-yugaṁ jāta-kampaṁ ca subhrūḥ |
rajjv-ākarṣa-śrama-bhuja-calat-kaṅkaṇau kuṇḍale ca
svinnaṁ vaktraṁ kabara-vigalan-mālatī nirmamantha ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.9.3; cited in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 3.4.12)

“Bearing a linen garment bound with a cord
Around her wide hips,
Shaking breasts
Flowing [with milk]
Out of affection for her son,
Bangles moving along her arms
In the midst of the labor of pulling the [churning] ropes,
[Swaying] Earrings,
And a perspiring face,
She of fine brows [viz., Yaśodā],
With mālatī flowers falling from her braid,
Churned [the yoghurt].”

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atha bhūṣaṇāni

atha bhūṣaṇāni—
ambārpitā mahārakṣā navaratnāṅkitā bhuje ||
aṅgade raṅgadābhikhye caṅkane nāma kaṅkaṇe |
mudrā ratnamukhī pītaṁ vāso nigama-śobhanam ||
kiṅkiṇī kala-jhaṅkārā mañjīrau haṁsa-gañjanau |
kuraṅga-nayanā-citta-kuraṅga-hara-śiñjitau ||
hāraṁ tārāvalī nāma maṇimālā taḍit-prabhā |
ruddha-rādhā-pratikṛtir niṣko hṛdaya-modanaḥ ||
kaustubhākhyo maṇir yena praviśya hradam auragam |
kāliya-preyasī-vṛnda-hastair ātmopahāritaḥ ||
kuṇḍale makarākāre rati-rāgādhidaivate |
kirīṭaṁ ratnapārākhyaṁ cūḍā cāmara-ḍāmarī ||
navaratna-viḍambākhyaṁ śikhaṇḍaṁ mukuṭaṁ viduḥ |
rāgavallī tu guñjālī tilakaṁ dṛṣṭi-mohanam ||
patra-puṣpamayī mālā vanamālā padāvadhiḥ |
vaijayantī tu kusumaiḥ pañca-varṇair vinirmitā ||
(Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa-gaṇodeśa-dīpikā: 2.125–132)

“Now, the ornaments [of Śrī Kṛṣṇa are described]. The special amulets on his arms placed [there] by his mother are inlaid with the nine jewels [viz., (1) ruby (māṇikya), (2) pearl (muktā), (3) coral (vidruma), (4) emerald (marakata), (5) yellow sapphire (puṣparāga), (6) diamond (vajra), (7) blue sapphire (nīla), (8) hessonite (gomeda), and (9) cat’s eye (vaidūrya)]. His armlets [on his upper arms] are called Raṅgada [i.e., ‘givers of merriment’]. His bangles [on his wrists] are called Caṅkaṇa [i.e., ‘caṅ-sound makers,’ meaning, they named after the clinking sound they make]. His signet-ring is [called] Ratnamukhī [i.e., ‘that on the face of which there are jewels’]. His yellow [lower] garment is called Nigama-śobhana [i.e., ‘the beauty [alt., ornament] of the town’]. His belled sash is [called] Kala-jhaṅkarā [i.e., ‘that which jingles sweetly‘], and his anklets, the tinkling of which captures the does of the hearts of they of doe eyes [viz., the gopīs], are [called] Haṁsa-gañjana [i.e., ‘they which surpass swans’]. His pearl necklace is named Tārāvalī [i.e., ‘line of stars’], and his jewel necklace is [called] Taḍit-prabhā [i.e., ‘that of lightning-like luster’]. His golden medallion, in which an image of Rādhā is held [i.e., reflected], is [called] Hṛdaya-modana [i.e., ‘delighting to the heart’]. His jewel, by which the backwater inhabited by the serpent [viz., Kāliya] had been entered [when the jewel was transferred to Kāliya’s treasury from the body of Śrī Kṛṣṇa when he first appeared to Vasudeva and Devakī] and which was [later] gifted of itself [to him] by the hands of the wives of Kāliya, is known as Kaustubha [i.e., ‘that which comes from the ocean’]. His earrings, which are makaras in shape, are [called] Rati-rāgādhidaivata [i.e., ‘they who are the tutelary deity of the rāga [i.e., loving attachment] of rati—madhura-rasa’]. His diadem is known as Ratnapāra [i.e., that which is covered with jewels’], and his top-knot is [called] Cāmara-ḍāmarī [i.e., ‘that which resembles a cāmara’]. Know the peacock-plume named Navaratna-viḍamba [i.e., ‘that which mocks the nine jewels’] to be his crown. His guñjas [i.e., dried guñjā berry necklace] is [called] Rāgavallī [i.e., ‘creeper of loveliness [alt., reddishness]’], and his tilaka is [called] Dṛṣṭi-mohana [i.e., ‘enrapturing to the eye’]. His garland made of leaves and flowers extending [down] to his feet is [called] Vanamālā [i.e., ‘forest garland’], and that fashioned with flowers of five types is [called] the Vaijayantī [i.e., ‘victory garland’].”

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