tataḥ sā tulasī rūpa-mañjarī ca vaneśvarī |
bhakṣyāṇy urvaritāny āduḥ sevikālī-cayaiḥ samam ||
(Govinda-līlāmṛta: 15.142)
“Then, Tulasī, Rūpa Mañjarī,
And the lordess of the forest [i.e., Vṛndā]
Ate the remaining foods
Together with the serving sakhīs.”
śrī-rādhikātha sagaṇā muditopaviṣṭā
kāntādharāmṛtatayā parivāñchitāni |
śrī-rūpa-mañjarikayā ca vaneśayā ca
bhakṣyāṇi tāni bubhuje pariveśitāni ||
(Govinda-līlāmṛta: 15.138)
“Then, Śrī Rādhikā, along with her group,
Delightedly sat and ate the foods,
Which were greatly desired
Because of [their] containing the nectar
From the lips of her beloved,
And were served by Śrī Rūpa Mañjarikā and the lordess of the forest [i.e., Vṛndā].”
yātas tataḥ sa harir ambuja-mandirāntaḥ
śete’tra sat-kusuma-kalpita-talpa-madhye |
tāmbūla-dāna-pada-lālana-vījanādyais
tatra priyālibhir amuṁ tulasī siṣeve ||
(Govinda-līlāmṛta: 15.136)
“Hari then entered the Lotus Pavilion
And lay there
Atop a bed arranged with excellent flowers.
Tulasī served him there,
Along with her dear friends,
With an offering of tāmbūla,
A foot massage,
Fanning,
And so forth.”
yadā tava sarovaraṁ sarasa-bhṛṅga-saṅghollasat-
saroruha-kulojjvalaṁ madhura-vāri-sampūritam |
sphuṭat-sarasijākṣi he nayana-yugma-sākṣād babhau
tadaiva mama lālasājani tavaiva dāsye rase ||
(Vilāpa-kusumāñjali: 15)
“O you of blossoming lotus eyes! When your pond appeared before my eyes brimming with sweet water and splendid with clusters of lotuses shining amid swarms of enamored bumblebees, then only did my longing for the rasa of servitude exclusively unto you arise.”
sakhyāṁ sva-sneho, yathā—
śaila-mūrdhni hariṇā viharantī
roma-kuḍmala-karmabita-mūrtiḥ |
rādhikā salalitaṁ lalitāyāḥ
paśya mārṣṭi lulitālakam āsyam ||
(Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi: 13.104)
“Personal [i.e., a nāyikā’s own] affection for sakhīs is [described] as follows: ‘[Rūpa Mañjarī says to a sakhī of Lalitā:] Look! While sporting with Hari atop the mountain, her figure inlaid with budding pores [i.e., horripilation], Rādhikā wipes Lalitā’s charming face with disheveled locks.”
sañcārī syāt samāno vā kṛṣṇa-ratyāḥ suhṛd-ratiḥ |
adhikā puṣyamāṇā ced bhāvollāsā ratiḥ ||
(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 2.5.128)
“Rati for a friend (suhṛt) that is equal or otherwise to [i.e., lesser than] rati for Kṛṣṇa shall be [considered] a sañcāri [-bhāva]. If it is [sometimes] greater and flourishing [more so than one’s Kṛṣṇa-rati], [then] it is [called] bhāvollāsa-rati.”
atha priya-sakhyāṁ snehādhikāḥ—
tadīyatābhimāninyo yāḥ snehaṁ sarvadāśritāḥ |
sakhyām alpādhikaṁ kṛṣṇāt sakhī-snehādhikās tu tāḥ ||
yāḥ pūrvaṁ prāṇa-sakhyaś ca nitya-sakhyaś ca kīrtitāḥ |
sakhī-snehādhikā jñeyās tā evātra manīṣibhiḥ ||
(Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi: 8.131, 134)
“Now, those who have greater affection for their dear sakhī [are described]—Those who have the identity of being her own [i.e., of belonging to their dear sakhī] and are always endowed with affection slightly greater for their sakhī than Kṛṣṇa are [known as] those of greater affection for their sakhī. … They who were previously called the prāṇa-sakhīs and nitya-sakhīs are to known by the wise in this regard as those of greater affection for their sakhī.”
gopa-rāmā-jana-prāṇa-preyase’tiprabhuṣṇave |
tadīya-priya-dāsyāya māṁ madīyam ahaṁ dade ||
(Sārārtha-darśinī-ṭīkā on Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 1.1.1, 2.1.1, 3.1.1, 4.1.1, 5.1.1, 6.1.1, 7.1.1, 8.1.1, 9.1.1, 10.1.1, 11.1.1, 12.1.1)
“I offer myself and my own [i.e., all that belongs to me and my very sense of possessiveness] unto the Beloved of the hearts of beautiful gopīs, he of all-surpassing capability, and the service of his beloveds.”
śrī-rādhā-prāṇa-tulyā madhura-rasa-kathā-cāturī-citra-dakṣāḥ
sevā-santarpiteśāḥ svasurata-vimukhā rādhikānanda-ceṣṭāḥ |
sarvāḥ sarvārtha-siddhā nija-guṇa-karuṇā-pūrṇa-mādhvīka-sārā
narmālyo rādhikāyā mayi kurutaḥ kṛpāṁ prema-sevottarā yāḥ ||
(Sādhanāmṛta-candrikā: 1.27)
“Rādhikā’s narma-sakhīs, who are one at heart with Śrī Rādhā, who are wonderfully adept in the cleverness of discussion of madhura-rasa, who keep their Īśā [i.e., Rādhikā] fully satisfied with their service, who are averse to amour themselves [i.e., to personally engaging in amour with Kṛṣṇa], who endeavor for Rādhikā’s bliss, who are accomplished in all respects, who are filled with the essence of the nectar that is their own virtue of compassion, and who are devoted to prema-sevā—may they all bestow their grace upon me.”
tāmbūlārpaṇa-pāda-mardana-payodānābhisārādibhir
vṛndāraṇya-maheśvarīṁ priyatayā yās toṣayanti priyāḥ |
prāṇa-preṣṭha-sakhī-kulād api kilāsaṅkocitā bhūmikāḥ
keli-bhūmiṣu rūpa-mañjarī-mukhās tā dāsikāḥ saṁśraye ||
(Stavāvalī: Vraja-vilāsa-stava, 38; cited in Sādhanāmṛta-candrikā: 1.27)
“I take full shelter in those dāsīs headed by Rūpa Mañjarī, who out of affection satisfy the great Īśvarī of Vṛndāvana [i.e., Śrī Rādhikā] with offerings of pan, foot massages, servings of water, [arrangements for] trysts, and so forth [for her and her beloved Śrī Kṛṣna], who are more dear [to her] than even the prāṇa-preṣṭha-sakhīs, and who have uninhibited roles in the locales of [her] amorous play [with Śrī Kṛṣṇa, i.e., they render service without any inhibition and also cause no inhibition in Rādhā or Kṛṣṇa in the midst of their līlās].”
