Goloka – Anuśīlana.in

yat tāta tāsām api dhairya-moṣakaṁ

yat tāta tāsām api dhairya-moṣakaṁ
yā vai kula-strī-kula-pūjitāṅghrayaḥ |
rūpeṇa śīlena guṇena karmaṇā
śraiṣṭhyaṁ gatā hanta mahāśriyo’pi yāḥ ||
yad-darśane pakṣma-kṛtaṁ śapanti
vidhiṁ sahasrākṣam api stuvanti |
vañchanti dṛktvaṁ sakalendriyānāṁ
kāṁ kāṁ daśāṁ vā na bhajanti lokāḥ ||
kiṁ varṇyatāṁ vraja-bhuvo mahimā sa tasya
yatraiva tat sa bhagavān vitanoti rūpam |
yat tādṛśa-prakṛtināpy amunā sametā
nānyatrikā dadhati bhāvam ime’pi tadvat ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.5.109–111)

“O dear one, can that greatness of the land of Vraja be described, [that land of Vraja] alone wherein that Bhagavān [viz., Śrī Kṛṣṇa] manifests that [supremely astonishing] form [of himself] which is a stealer of the composure even of they [viz., the gopīs] whose feet are worshiped by women of noble families and who by virtue of [their] figure, character, qualities, and actions are possessed of superiority even to Mahāśrī [i.e., Mahālakṣmī]; [that form of Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa found only in Vraja] by seeing which people curse the Creator, the maker of eyelids, praise even he of a thousand eyes [viz., Indra], desire that all [their] senses become eyes, and attain not what sort of state [i.e., attain all sorts of extraordinary states], since even they who are from elsewhere [e.g., the residents of Vaikuṇṭha and Dvārakā] even [when] together with he of such nature [viz., Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa of Vraja] do not possess bhāva like them [i.e., the people of Vraja]?”

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vrajaḥ sa nandasya guṇaiḥ svakīyair

vrajaḥ sa nandasya guṇaiḥ svakīyair
vilāsa-bhūr āsa mahāvibhūteḥ |
yasyāḥ kaṭākṣena jagad-vibhūtir
vaikuṇṭha-nāthasya gṛheśvarī yā ||
yasyaika-vṛkṣo’pi nijena kenacid
dravyena kāmāṁs tanute’rthino’khilān |
tathāpi tat tan na sadā prakāśayed
aiśvaryam īśaḥ sva-vihāra-vighnataḥ ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.5.104–105)

“By virtue of its own qualities, that abode of Nanda—even one tree of which can produce with any aspect of itself all the desired objects of any seeker, and by the sidelong glance of which the magnificence of the world exists—has become the play-land of she of great magnificence [viz., Mahālakṣmī], the Mistress of the household of the Lord of Vaikuṇṭha. Still, Īśa [viz., Śrī Kṛsṇa] shall not always manifest that particular splendor (aiśvarya) on account of obstruction to his own sporting [i.e., if he were to do so, and thus he doesn’t manifest it always but rather only when doing so is suitable].”

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mādhvīka-jaitra-madhura-svaram akṣarāṇām

mādhvīka-jaitra-madhura-svaram akṣarāṇām
uccāraṇād vijita-veda-vid-ādi-garvam |
kṛṣṇārtha-tṛṣṇa-rasa-bhāva-kulākalaṅkā-
laṅkāram īritam api sphuṭam atra gānam ||
(Gopāla-campū: 2.37.38)

“That the sweet sound of which
Is victorious over spirituous liquor,
That by [just] pronunciation of the phonemes of which
The pride of those conversant in the Vedas and others
Is thoroughly defeated,
That the flawless ornaments within which
Are the rasas and bhāvas arising from thirst for the sake of Kṛṣṇa—
Certainly even [such] speech here [i.e., in Goloka]
Is [fit to be considered] singing
[And thus how marvelous is the actual singing here?].”

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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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sthānaṁ gopī-gaṇa-kuca-taṭī-kuṅkuma-śrī-bharārdra

sthānaṁ gopī-gaṇa-kuca-taṭī-kuṅkuma-śrī-bharārdra-
śrīmat-padāmbuja-yuga-sadā-prīti-saṅga-prādāyi |
jijñāsos te janani kathito’śeṣa-sandeha-ghāṭī
goloko’yaṁ madhura-gahana-praśna-bhāvānusārāt ||
vaikuṇṭhasyāpy upari nitarāṁ rājate yo nitānta-
śrīmad-gopī-ramaṇa-caraṇa-prema-pūraika-labhyaḥ |
vāñchā-vāñchopari-guru-phala-prāpti-bhūmir yadīyā
lokā dhyātā dadhati paramāṁ prema-sampatti-niṣṭhām ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.7.77–78)

“O Mother,
In accord with the sweet and deep mood (bhāva)
Of the inquiry of you who are desirous to know
The place which is a bestower
Of eternal loving connection
With the two blessed lotus feet [of Śrī Kṛṣṇa]
Moistened by a beautiful mass of kumkum
From the slopes of the gopīs’ breasts,
And which is a destroyer of all doubts,
This [place, known as] Goloka—
Which shines profoundly beyond even Vaikuṇṭha,
Which is attainable
Only by means of an extraordinary abundance of prema
For the feet of blessed gopīs’ Beloved,
Which is the land of the attainment
Of the great aim
Of our desires and [that is] beyond our desires,
And the people belonging to which,
As they are meditated upon,
Grant paramount fixity in the wealth of prema—
Has been described [by me to you].”

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aho golokīyair nikhila-bhuvana-vāsi-mahitaiḥ

aho golokīyair nikhila-bhuvana-vāsi-mahitaiḥ
sadā tais tair lokaiḥ samanubhavanīyasya mahataḥ |
padārthasyākhyātuṁ kati vivaraṇāni prabhur ahaṁ
tad āstaṁ tal-lokākhila-parikarebhyo mama namaḥ ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.6.380)

“Aho!
How many descriptions can I articulate
Of that paramount object
Eternally experienceable in full
By those people of Goloka
[Who are] Honored by the residents of all the worlds?
Thus,
Let my obeisance be [offered]
Unto all the companions [of Śrī Kṛṣṇa] in that plane [of Goloka].”

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evaṁ tatra ciraṁ tiṣṭhan martya-loka-sthitaṁ tv idam

evaṁ tatra ciraṁ tiṣṭhan martya-loka-sthitaṁ tv idam |
māthura-maṇḍalaṁ śrīmad apaśyaṁ khalu tādṛśam ||
tat-tac-chrī-gopa-gopībhis tābhir gobhiś ca tādṛśaiḥ |
paśu-pakṣi-kṛmi-kṣmābhṛt-sarit-tarv-ādibhir vṛtam ||
tathaivāvirataṁ śrīmat-kṛṣṇacandreṇa tena hi |
vistāryamāṇayā tādṛk-krīḍā-śreṇyāpi maṇḍitam ||
tat kadācid itas tatra kadāpi vidadhe sthitim |
bhedaṁ nopalabhe kañcit padayor adhunaitayoḥ ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.6.371–374)

“In this way, after staying there [i.e., in Goloka] for a long time, I perceived this blessed district of Mathurā situated in the mortal world to indeed be such [i.e., to be just like Goloka], to be filled with those very blessed gopas and gopīs, those very cows, and similar animals, birds, insects, mountains, rivers, trees, and so forth, and to verily be likewise also adorned with series of similar sports being expanded never-endingly by him—blessed Kṛṣṇacandra. Thus, I dwell sometimes here [i.e., in Bhauma Vraja] and sometimes there [i.e., in Goloka]. Now I do not perceive a distinction between these two places at all.”

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teṣāṁ tu śokārti-bharaṁ kadāpi taṁ

teṣāṁ tu śokārti-bharaṁ kadāpi taṁ
paraiḥ prakārair anivartyam āptataḥ |
janāt sa vikhyāpya janeṣu sarvato
vrajaṁ priya-prema-vaśo’cirād gataḥ ||
vidagdha-mūrdhanya-maṇiḥ kṛpākulo
vraja-sthitānāṁ sa dadat sapady asūn |
tathā samaṁ tair vijahāra te yathā
visasmarur duḥkham adaḥ samūlakam ||
yadi ca ko’pi kadācid anusmared
vadati tarhi mayā śvapatā bata |
kim api duṣṭam ananvayam īkṣitaṁ
saruditaṁ ca bhayād bahu śocati ||
cireṇa gopāla-vihāra-mādhurī-
bharaiḥ samākṛṣṭa-vimohitendriyāḥ |
na sasmaruḥ kiñcid atītam eṣyad apy
amī vidur na vraja-vāsino janāḥ ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.6.348–351)

“Making known among the people [i.e., the Yadus and others] everywhere through a credible person [such as Uddhava] that that [i.e., the ineffable] profusion of their [i.e., the people of Vraja‘s] sorrow and distress was inexorable by other means [i.e., by any means other than his returning to Vraja], he [i.e., Śrī Kṛṣṇa] without delay went to Vraja, being captivated by the prema of his dear ones [there]. He, the crest-jewel of the artful, overcome with compassion, immediately gave vital airs to the residents of Vraja [who had been as though without them in his absence]. He enjoyed with them such that they forgot that [i.e., the suffering of separation from him] along with its root [i.e., Akrūra’s coming to Vraja, his going to Mathurā, and so on]. And if ever anyone would remember [that separation from him or its suffering], then [in confusion or distress] one would say, ‘Bata! What sort of inauspicious inanity has been seen by me as I was dreaming [since Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s ever leaving Vraja is utterly impossible]!’ and grieve profusely with lamentation out of fear [thus demonstrating the manifest presence of the Vraja-vāsīs’ special, paramount prema verily in every respect]. These people residing in Vraja soon did not remember anything of the past [i.e., they soon lost all awareness of Kṛṣṇa’s ever having left Vraja] and did not think of the future [i.e., they never thought that he would leave again], their senses being fully attracted and engrossed by the profusion of sweetness of Gopāla’s play [there in Vraja with them].”

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tathaiva kāliya-damaḥ punaḥ punas

tathaiva kāliya-damaḥ punaḥ punas
tathaiva govardhana-dharaṇaṁ muhuḥ |
parāpi līlā vividhādbhutāsakṛt
pravartate bhakta-manoharā prabhoḥ ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.6.356)

“So indeed the subduing of Kāliya occurs again and again. So indeed the lifting of Govardhana occurs repeatedly. Various other astonishing līlās of Prabhu captivating of the minds of bhaktas too take place repeatedly.”

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āraṇya-veśo vicalat-kadamba

āraṇya-veśo vicalat-kadamba-
mālāvataṁsāmbara-bārha-mauliḥ |
saurabhya-saṁvāsita-dik-taṭānto
līlā-smita-śrī-vikasan-mukhābjaḥ ||
kṛpāvalokollasad-īkṣaṇāmbujo
vicitra-saundarya-bharaika-bhūṣaṇaḥ |
go-dhūlikālaṅkṛta-cañcalālaka-
śreṇy-āvṛti-vyagra-karāmbujāṅguliḥ ||
dharā-tala-śrī-bhara-dāna-hetunā
bhūmi-spṛśor nṛtya-vilāsa-gāminoḥ |
sujātayoḥ śrī-pada-padmayor javad-
uccālanollāsa-bharair manoharaḥ ||
kaiśora-mādhurya-bharollasac-chrī-
gātrābhra-kānty-ujjvalitākhilāśaḥ |
tatratya-nitya-priya-loka-citta-
grāhyādbhutāneka-mahattva-sindhuḥ ||
sva-dīna-loka-priyatā-niyantrito
balād athotplutya samīpam āgataḥ |
tad-īkṣaṇa-prema-vimohitaṁ hi māṁ
gale gṛhitvā sahasāpatad bhuvi ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.6.56–60)

“With forest garb,
Kadamba garland, earrings, and peacock feather crest swaying,
The extremes of the directions
Fully scented with his fragrance,
Lotus face blossoming
With the splendor of a mild, playful smile,
Lotus eyes beaming with a glance of grace,
An abundance of variegated beauty
As his preeminent ornament,
The fingers of his lotus hand eagerly engaged
In retaining his locks
That had become decorated
With the dust raised by the cows,
Captivating the heart
With abundances of elation—
The high steps of his superb, blessed lotus feet
Moving with the joviality of dance
And touching the earth
For the sake of granting an abundance of blessedness
Upon the earth’s surface—
All directions illuminated
By the cloud-like luster of his blessed figure
Shining with an abundance of the sweetness of adolescence,
An ocean of numerous, astonishing greatnesses
Constantly perceptible to the minds
Of his dear ones present there [i.e., in Goloka],
And controlled by his fondness [i.e., prema]
For this humble person of his own [i.e., me (Gopa Kumāra)],
He then,
Forcibly jumping,
Came near me—
I who was overwhelmed with prema
Just by the sight of him—
Grabbed hold of my neck,
And suddenly [i.e., unintentionally] fell to the ground.”

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