tayor apy ubhayor madhye rādhikā sarvathādhikā |
mahābhāva-svarūpeyaṁ guṇair ativarīyasī ||
(Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi: 4.3; cited in Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 1.4.70, 2.8.160)
“‘Furthermore, between the two of them [i.e., Rādhikā and Candrāvalī], Rādhikā is superior in all respects. She is the embodiment of mahābhāva and exceedingly excellent by virtue of [her] qualities.”
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.”
svāduṅkāraṁ kamala-nayanaḥ saspṛhaṁ tat-tad-annaṁ
hasta-sparśād amṛta-madhuraṁ mandamandaṁ priyāyāḥ |
tad-vāktrābja-prahita-nayana-prānta-bhṛṅgo nigūḍhaṁ
prāśnann ambā-manasi niviḍaṁ sa pramodaṁ vyatānīt ||
(Govinda-līlāmṛta: 4.46)
“Eagerly and leisurely tasting all that food [which had been cooked by Rādhā and her sakhīs],
Sweet more so than [even] nectar
Because of the touch
Of the hand of his beloved [i.e., Rādhā],
He [i.e., Kṛṣṇa], of lotus eyes,
By whom the bees of the corners of his eyes
Were discreetly cast towards the lotus of her face,
Ate and produced deep delight
In the mind of his mother.”
hṛdaya-dayita-mukha-vīkṣaṇa-hṛṣṭās
tad-ati-madhura-mṛdu-kānti-vikṛṣṭāḥ |
mumudur udita-pṛthu-bhāva-vihastā
ramaṇa-bhavanam adhi tāḥ puru-śastāḥ ||
(Govinda-līlāmṛta: 4.43)
“Elated by the sight of the face
Of the beloved of their hearts,
Attracted by his exceedingly sweet, tender beauty,
And overwhelmed by abundant, elevated bhāva,
They of abounding auspiciousness [i.e., Rādhā and her sakhīs]
Delighted in the home of their lover.”
āsvādayantaṁ ghṛta-pakvam annaṁ
sunarmabhis tān api hāsayantam |
ālokayantaṁ nayanāñcalena
rādhānanaṁ taṁ dadṛśur mudālyaḥ ||
(Govinda-līlāmṛta: 4.27)
“The sakhīs joyfully beheld him [i.e., Kṛṣṇa]
Relishing the food cooked in ghee,
Making them [i.e., Balarāma and his sakhās] also laugh with excellent jokes,
And beholding the face of Rādhā
From the corners of his eyes.”
gokulotsava-līlāyāḥ samāptau sad-rasāmbudheḥ |
anyatra kaḥ pravarteta vinā nija-durāgraham ||
(Bṛhad Vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī-ṭīkā on Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.35.26)
“At the conclusion of this līlā of the Joy of Gokula [i.e., Śrī Kṛṣṇa], who is an ocean of true rasa, who would pursue anything else without [i.e., were it not for] their own willfulness?”
jayanti vraja-devyas tā yāsāṁ gītārtham īpsati |
ajño’pi yāsāṁ māhātmya-prapatty-eka-balādayam ||
(Bṛhad Vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī-ṭīkā on Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.35.2)
“Glory to the devīs of Vraja, the meaning of whose song [i.e., the Yugala-gītā] even this ignorant person desires to understand, he whose sole strength and so forth is their greatness and surrender unto them!”
śrī-kṛṣṇātivaśīkāra-cuñcor jiṣṇu-śiromaṇeḥ |
premṇā hāsa ivāyaṁ śrī-rāsaḥ śrīr api nāpa yam ||
śāstra-buddhi-vivekādyair api durgamam īkṣyate |
gopīnāṁ rasa-vartmedaṁ tāsām anugatīr vinā ||
(Excerpt from the Sārārtha-darśinī-ṭīkā on Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.33.39)
“This Śrī Rāsa [i.e., this beautiful Rāsa-līlā], which even Śrī [i.e., Lakṣmī] did not attain, is like a smile with prema of the crest-jewel of conquerors renowned for greatly captivating Śrī Kṛṣṇa. This path of the gopīs’ rasa is seen to be difficult to comprehend even with [knowledge of] śāstra, intelligence, discernment, and so forth without anugati of [i.e., following] them [i.e., the gopīs].”
