Rūpa Gosvāmī

barhendrāyudha-ramyāya jagaj-jīvana-dāyine

barhendrāyudha-ramyāya jagaj-jīvana-dāyine |
rādhā-vidyud-vṛtāṅgāya kṛṣṇāmbhodāya te namaḥ ||
(Stava-mālā: Praṇāma-praṇaya-stava, 10)

“Obeisance unto you,
Dark Cloud,
You whose body is surrounded
By streaks of lightning,
You who are the bestower of water upon the world,
You who appear beautiful
With a rainbow
Of peacock feathers
[Outspread as peacocks dance to announce you].”

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kṛṣṇaiśvaryādy-avijñānaṁ kṛtaṁ naiṣām avidyayā

kṛṣṇaiśvaryādy-avijñānaṁ kṛtaṁ naiṣām avidyayā |
kintu premottara-rasa-viśeṣeṇaiva tat kṛtam ||
(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 4.4.15)

“Their [i.e., bhaktas’] absence of awareness of Kṛṣṇa’s aiśvarya and so forth is not caused by ignorance (avidyā). Rather, it is caused solely by a particular rasa overlaid with prema.”

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vyādhasyācaraṇaṁ dhruvasya ca vayo vidyā gajendrasya kā

vyādhasyācaraṇaṁ dhruvasya ca vayo vidyā gajendrasya kā
kubjāyāḥ kim u nāma rūpam adhikaṁ kiṁ tat sudāmno dhanam |
vaṁśaḥ ko vidurasya yādava-pater ugrasya kiṁ pauruṣaṁ
bhaktyā tuṣyati kevalaṁ na ca guṇair bhakti-priyo mādhavaḥ ||
(An unidentified south kavi; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 11.593; Padyāvalī: 8)

“Did the hunter have good conduct?
Did Dhruva have age?
Did Gajendra have knowledge?
Did Kubjā have special beauty?
Did Sudāmā have wealth?
Did Vidura have a noble lineage?
Did the King of the Yadus, Ugrasena, have valor?
He whose pleasure is bhakti,
Mādhava,
Is satisfied only by bhakti,
And not by qualities [such as those aforementioned].”

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yan martya-līlaupayikaṁ svayoga

yan martya-līlaupayikaṁ svayoga-
māyā-balaṁ darśayatā gṛhītam |
vismāpanaṁ svasya ca saubhagardheḥ
paraṁ padaṁ bhūṣaṇa-bhūṣaṇāṅgam ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 3.2.12; cited in the Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā on Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.5.108; Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 2.1.215; the Durgama-saṅgamanī-ṭīkā on Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.1.1, 2.5.108; Prīti Sandarbha: 80; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.21.100)

“To show the power of his own yogamāyā, he [i.e., Śrī Kṛṣṇa] assumed [that form of his] which is suited to human [-like] līlā, which is astonishing even to himself, which is the apogee of the excellence of loveliness, and in which the limbs are the ornaments of the ornaments [upon them].”

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ratir aniśa-nisargoṣṇa-prabalatarānanda-pūra-rūpaiva

ratir aniśa-nisargoṣṇa-prabalatarānanda-pūra-rūpaiva |
uṣmāṇam api vamantī sudhāṁśu-koṭer api svādvī ||
(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.3.61)

“Verily of the nature of a flood of bliss that is very strong and hot as a result of [its] incessant nature, rati, although [thus] emitting heat, is relishable more so than even a crore of nectar-rayed moons.”

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vairāgyaṁ vidhi-rāga-bhaktim amalān nānā-rasān dvādaśa

vairāgyaṁ vidhi-rāga-bhaktim amalān nānā-rasān dvādaśa
premānaṁ vraja-vāsināṁ śuka-mukhair vipra-rṣibhiḥ saṁstutam |
gopīnāṁ paramāṁ lasat-para-mahābhāvāṁ samarthāṁ ratiṁ
rādhāyām iha mādanaṁ vada sakhe ko vetti rūpaṁ vinā ||
(Govardhana Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī)

“O friend,
Pray tell,
Who here [i.e., in this world] would understand
Non-attachment (vairāgya),
Vidhi- and rāgā-bhakti [i.e., vaidhī- and rāgānugā-bhakti],
The twelve different taintless rasas,
The prema of the residents of Vraja
Highly praised by the learned seers led by Śuka,
The gopīs’ paramount samartha-rati
Which shines ultimately as mahābhāva,
Or the mādana [i.e., the mādanākhyā-mahābhāva, manifest] in Rādhā
Without Rūpa?”

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kaḥ śrī-bhāgavatasya tattvam amalaṁ boddhuṁ kṣamo bhūtale

kaḥ śrī-bhāgavatasya tattvam amalaṁ boddhuṁ kṣamo bhūtale
ko vṛndāvana-mādhurīṁ kalayituṁ vaktuṁ ca dhatte matim |
goṣṭhendrāmala-rūpam adbhutatamaṁ ko vā nayen mānasaṁ
śrīmantaṁ karuṇākaraṁ guṇa-nidhiṁ rūpaṁ sabandhuṁ vinā ||
(Govardhana Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī)

“Who on the surface of the earth
Is able to understand
The taintless truth of Śrīmad Bhāgavam,
Who can cause the intellect to grasp and describe
The sweetness of Vṛndāvana,
And who can fix the mind
On the supremely astonishing, taintless figure
Of [Śrī Kṛṣṇa,] the Prince of the cowherd dwelling,
Without the illustrious reservoir of compassion
And treasury of qualities,
Śrī Rūpa,
Along with his companions?”

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hitvā rūpa-padāmbujaṁ bhavati yo rādhāṅghri-dāsyotsukas

hitvā rūpa-padāmbujaṁ bhavati yo rādhāṅghri-dāsyotsukas
tuṅgaṁ geham asau tanoti na kathaṁ ramye sthale saikate |
bāhubhyāṁ tridivaṁ spṛśen na hi kathaṁ no vā kathaṁ cchādayet
tūrṇaṁ bhūri-rajobhir ambara-maṇiṁ paṅguṁ na kiṁ cālayet ||
(Govardhana Bhaṭṭa Gosvāmī)

“Does one who becomes strongly desirous
Of service to the feet of Rādhā
But disregards the lotus feet of Rūpa
Not [in effect] build a lofty house
In a pleasant spot on a sand-bank?
Can one not touch the heavens with one’s arms?
Can one not cover the sun with a bunch of dust?
Can one not make a lame person walk?”

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kṣīre śyāmalayārpite kamalayā viśrāṇite phāṇite

kṣīre śyāmalayārpite kamalayā viśrāṇite phāṇite
datte laḍḍuni bhadrayā madhu-rase sobhābhayā lambhite |
tuṣṭir yā bhavatas tataḥ śata-guṇāṁ rādhā-nideśān mayā
nyaste’smin puratas tvam arpaya hare ramyopahāre ratim ||
(Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmīpāda; cited in Padyāvalī: 118)

“O Hari,
The satisfaction you felt in the kṣīra offered by Śyāmalā,
The phāṇita (vātāsā) presented by Kamalā,
The laḍḍus given by Bhadrā,
And the honey brought by Candrāvalī—
May you take a hundred times more pleasure than that
In this delectable offering placed before you by me
On the order of Rādhā.”

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na kiñcit sādhavo dhīrā bhaktā hy ekāntino mama

na kiñcit sādhavo dhīrā bhaktā hy ekāntino mama |
vāñchanty api mayā dattaṁ kaivalyam apunar-bhavam ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.20.34; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.215; Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.2.41; Bhakti Sandarbha: 174)

“My virtuous, wise, and one-pointed bhaktas [i.e., my bhaktas who foster prīti solely for me] do not desire anything, not even absolute non-repetition of birth [i.e., mokṣa] when offered [to them] by me.”

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