Viśvanātha Cakravartī

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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atha bhakta-niṣṭhām aiśvarya-jñānam

atha bhakta-niṣṭhām aiśvarya-jñānam | īśvaro’yam ity anusandhāne sati hṛt-kampā-janaka-sambhrameṇa svīya-bhāvasyātiśaithilyaṁ yat pratipādayati tad aiśvarya-jñānam, ata eva ‘yuvāṁ na naḥ sutau sākṣāt pradhāna-puruṣeśvarau’ ity ādi vasudevokteḥ, ‘sakheti matvā prasabhaṁ yad uktam’ ity arjunokteś ca | īśvaro’yam ity anusandhāne’pi hṛt-kampā-janaka-sambhrama-gandhasyānudgamāt svīya-bhāvasyātisthairyam eva yad utpādayati tan mādhurya-jñānam, yathā—‘vandinas tam upadeva-gaṇā ye vādya-gīta-balibhiḥ parivavruḥ | vatsalo vraja-gavāṁ yad aga-dhro vandyamāna-caraṇaḥ pathi vṛddhaiḥ ||’ iti ca yugala-gītokteḥ |
(Rāga-vartma-candrikā: 2.5)

“Now, awareness of Godhood (Aiśvarya-jñāna) present in bhaktas [will be discussed]. That [awareness] which produces a great slackening of one’s own bhāva [for Kṛṣṇa] by means of reverential excitement (sambhrama) productive of trembling of the heart when the thought is present, ‘He is Īśvara,’ is [called] ‘awareness of Godhood’ (Aiśvarya-jñāna), thus in accord with the statement of Vasudeva [in SB 10.85.15], ‘You two are not our sons; you two are directly the Īśvaras of material existence (pradhāna) and [all] embodied beings (puruṣa),’ and the statement of Arjuna [in BG 11.41–42], ‘O Acyuta, I beg you, the Immeasureable, for forgiveness for what was importunately said by me out of inattention or because of uninhibited affection—‘Hey Kṛṣṇa! Hey Yādava! Hey Sakhā!’—considering you a friend and not knowing this greatness of yours, and for your not being honored [by me] while sporting, resting, sitting, and eating alone or in the presence of others for the sake of jesting.’ That [awareness] which causes only great steadiness of one’s own bhāva [for Kṛṣṇa] as a result of the non-production of [even] a trace of reverential excitement (sambhrama) productive of trembling of the heart even in the presence of the thought, ‘He is Īśvara,’ is [called] ‘awareness of sweetness’ (mādhurya-jñāna), as per the statement by the gopīs in the Yugala-gīta [in SB 10.35.21–22], ‘Praisers, who are minor devas, worship him all around with music, songs, and tributes; [he is] affectionate to the cows of Vraja since he is the lifter of the mountain [viz., Govardhana], and his feet are being worshiped by the elders [i.e., the devatās] along the path.’”

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atra vidhi-mārgeṇa rādhā-kṛṣṇayor bhajane

atra vidhi-mārgeṇa rādhā-kṛṣṇayor bhajane mahāvaikuṇṭhastha-goloke khalv avivikta-svakīyā-parakīyā-bhāvam aiśvarya-jñānaṁ prāpnoti | madhura-bhāva-lobhitve sati vidhi-mārgeṇa bhajane dvārakāyāṁ śrī-rādhā-satyabhāmayor aikyāt satyabhāmā-parikaratvena svakīyā-bhāvam aiśvarya-jñāna-miśra-mādhurya-jñānaṁ prāpnoti | raga-mārgeṇa bhajane vraja-bhūmau śrī-rādhā-parikaratvena parakīyā-bhāvaṁ śuddha-mādhurya-jñānaṁ prāpnoti |
(Rāga-vartma-candrikā: 2.6)

“In this regard, from worship of Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa by means of the path of injunction (vidhi) one attains in the Goloka situated in Mahāvaikuṇṭha awareness of [Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s] Godhood (Aiśvarya-jñāna) and a bhāva that is indiscriminate between svakīyā and parakīyā [i.e., a bhāva that possesses no specificity as to whether Kṛṣṇa’s beloveds are ‘his own’ (svakīyā), meaning, his wives, or ‘another’s’ (parakīyā), meaning, the wives of others]. When one [i.e., a sādhaka] is desirous of madhura-bhāva, from worship by means of the path of injunction (vidhi) one attains awareness of [Kṛṣṇa’s] sweetness (mādhurya) mixed with awareness of [his] Godhood (Aiśvarya-jñāna) and svakīyā-bhāva [i.e., the perception that Kṛṣṇa’s beloveds are his own wives] by virtue of [one’s then] being a companion of Satyabhāmā on account of the oneness between Śrī Rādhā and Satyabhāmā in Dvārakā. From worship by means of the path of attachment (rāga) one attains pure awareness of [Kṛṣṇa’s] sweetness (mādhurya) [i.e., awareness that is free from awareness of his Godhood (Aiśvarya)] and parakīyā-bhāva [i.e., the perception that Kṛṣṇa’s beloveds are ‘another’s’] by virtue of [one’s then] being a companion of Śrī Rādhā in the land of Vraja.”

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atha vaidhī-lakṣanaṁ

atha vaidhī-lakṣanaṁ—śravaṇa-kīrtanādīni śāstra-śāsana-bhayena yadi kriyante tadā vaidhī bhaktiḥ |
(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu-bindu: 8)

“Now, the characteristic of vaidhī [-bhakti is stated]: when hearing, praising, and so forth are done out of fear of the ruling of śāstra, then vaidhī-bhakti [is being practiced].”

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vaidhī-bhaktir bhavet śāstraṁ bhaktau cet syāt pravartakam

vaidhī-bhaktir bhavet śāstraṁ bhaktau cet syāt pravartakam |
rāgānugā syāc ced bhaktau lobha eva pravartakaḥ ||
bhaktau pravṛttir atra syāt tac-cikīrṣā suniścayā |
śāstrāl lobhāt tac-cikīrṣū syātāṁ tad-adhikāriṇau ||
(Rāga-vartma-candrikā: 1.3–4)

“Vaidhī-bhakti shall be when the motivator for bhakti shall be śāstra [i.e., injunctions in the śāstra]. Rāgānugā [-bhakti] shall be when the motivator for bhakti shall be intense desire (lobha) specifically. In this regard, an inclination (pravṛtti) towards bhakti [which may be of either of the two aforementioned types] shall be [understood as] a firmly resolved desire to enact that [viz., bhakti]. Those possessed of desire to enact that [viz., bhakti] because of śāstra [i.e., injunctions in the śāstra] or because of intense desire (lobha) shall be the two bearers of eligibility (adhikārīs) for that [i.e., for bhakti, meaning, for vaidhī-bhakti and rāgānugā-bhakti respectively].”

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atraiva narakaḥ svarga iti mātaḥ pracakṣyate

atraiva narakaḥ svarga iti mātaḥ pracakṣyate |
yā yātanā vai nārakyas tā ihāpy upalakṣitāḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 3.30.29)

“O mother, they say Naraka and Svarga exist [i.e., are experienced] here [i.e., in this plane] itself. Sufferings which are hellish are perceived here too.”

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rājovāca maharṣa etad vaicitryaṁ lokasya katham iti

rājovāca
maharṣa etad vaicitryaṁ lokasya katham iti |
ṛṣir uvāca
tri-guṇatvāt kartuḥ śraddhayā karma-gatayaḥ pṛthag-vidhāḥ sarvā eva sarvasya tāratamyena bhavanti |
athedānīṁ pratiṣiddha-lakṣaṇasyādharmasya tathaiva kartuḥ śraddhāyā vaisādṛśyāt karma-phalaṁ visadṛśaṁ bhavati, yā hy anādy-avidyayā kṛta-kāmānāṁ tat-pariṇāma-lakṣaṇāḥ sṛtayaḥ sahasraśaḥ pravṛttāḥ, tāsāṁ prācuryeṇānuvarṇayiṣyāmaḥ |
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 5.26.1–3)

“The king said: ‘O great seer, why does the world have this variegatedness?’
“The seer said, ‘The destinations [reached by way] of actions are of different types in accord with the conviction (śraddhā) of the agent [of the actions] on account of [agents and their conviction’s] being constituted of the three guṇas. Indeed they all [i.e., the various destinations reached by way of actions] occur for all [agents] in a gradation. Thus, in this case in exactly the way [as a dissimilar result occurs for agents of dharma on account of a dissimilarity in their convictions (śraddhās)], a dissimilar result of an action occurs on account of the dissimilarity in the conviction (śraddhā) of an agent of adharma, the nature of which is a prohibition [in the śāstra]. I will describe extensively the thousands of determined destinations, the natures of which are transformations of [worldly] desires, for those who have acted upon those [worldly desires] as a result of beginningless (anādi) ignorance (avidyā).”

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hantāyam adrir abalā hari-dāsa-varyo

hantāyam adrir abalā hari-dāsa-varyo
yad rāma-kṛṣṇa-caraṇa-sparaśa-pramodaḥ |
mānaṁ tanoti saha-go-gaṇayos tayor yat
pānīya-sūyavasa-kandara-kanda-mūlaiḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.21.18)

“Hanta!
O ladies!
This mountain is the best of Hari’s servants
Since he is possessed of great delight
At the touch of Rāma and Kṛṣṇa’s feet,
And since he offers honor to them,
Along with their cows and company,
With beverages, fine grass, hollows, bulbs, and roots.”

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kim upāyanam ānītaṁ brahman me bhavatā gṛhāt

kim upāyanam ānītaṁ brahman me bhavatā gṛhāt |
aṇv apy upāhṛtaṁ bhaktaiḥ premṇā bhūry eva me bhavet |
bhūry apy abhaktopahṛtaṁ na me toṣāya kalpate ||
patraṁ puṣpaṁ phalaṁ toyaṁ yo me bhaktyā prayacchati |
tad ahaṁ bhakty-upahṛtam aśnāmi prayatātmanaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.81.3–4)

“O brāhmaṇa, what gift has been brought by you from your home for me? Even something small offered by bhaktas with prema shall certainly be great to me. Even a great [i.e., lavish] offering by a non-bhakta [however] does not lead to satisfaction for me. One who with bhakti offers a leaf, flower, fruit, or water to me—I partake of that offered out of bhakti from one of pure heart.”

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