Kṛṣṇa

namas tasmai bhagavate kṛṣṇāyākuṇṭha-medhase

namas tasmai bhagavate kṛṣṇāyākuṇṭha-medhase |
rādhādhara-sudhā-sindhau namo nitya-vihāriṇe ||
rādhāṁ kṛṣṇa-svarūpāṁ vai kṛṣṇaṁ rādhā-svarūpiṇaṁ |
kalātmānaṁ nikuñjasthaṁ guru-rūpaṁ sadā bhaje ||
(Mahāvāṇī: Sakhī-rūpācārya-nāma-ratnāvalī-stava, 1–2)

“Obeisance unto him,
Bhagavān,
Kṛṣṇa,
He of unblunted brilliance.
Obeisance unto the constant Frolicker
In the ocean of the nectar
Of Rādhā’s lips.
Forever I worship
Rādhā,
She whose essence is Kṛṣṇa
[Alt., she who is the essential nature of Kṛṣṇa],
And Kṛṣṇa,
He whose essence is Rādhā,
[Alt., he who is the essential nature of Rādhā]—
They whose spirit is the arts
[Alt., they who are the essence of expertise, or, they who are the constitution of the seed syllable klīṁ]
And the form of the guru situated in the bower.”

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mallānām aśanir nṛṇāṁ nara-varaḥ strīṇāṁ smaro mūrtimān

mallānām aśanir nṛṇāṁ nara-varaḥ strīṇāṁ smaro mūrtimān
gopānāṁ sva-jano’satāṁ kṣiti-bhujāṁ śāstā sva-pitroḥ śiśuḥ |
mṛtyur bhoja-pater virāḍ aviduṣāṁ tattvaṁ paraṁ yogināṁ
vṛṣṇīnāṁ para-devateti vidito raṅgaṁ gataḥ sāgrajaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.43.17)

“Being perceived as
A lighting bolt by the wrestlers,
The best of men by the menfolk,
Kāmadeva embodied by women,
A kinsmen by the cowherds,
A punisher by the kings,
A child by his parents,
Death by the ruler of the Bhogas [viz., Kaṁsa],
A [mere, ordinary human] kṣatriya by the ignorant,
The Supreme Reality by the yogīs,
And the Supreme Devatā by the Vṛṣṇis,
He entered the area
Along with his elder brother.”

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govardhana-girim upetya kaṭākṣa-bāṇān

govardhana-girim upetya kaṭākṣa-bāṇān
karṇa-sphuran-maṇi-śilopari saṅkṣuvānā |
kā bhrū-dhanur-dhuvana-sūcita-luñcaneyaṁ
vyagrīkaroty ahaha mām api sambhrameṇa ||
(Dāna-keli-kaumudī: 30; cited in Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi: 14.3)

“Reaching Govardhana Hill
And sharpening the arrows of her side-long glances
Atop the sparkling jewel-slabs on her ears,
Who is this
By whom thievery is intimated
By the quivering of the bows of her brows,
That, ahaha,
Makes even me restless with excitement?”

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Śrī Keśavāṣṭakam

Śrī Keśavāṣṭakam

Eight verses in praise of Śrī Keśava’s return to Vraja from the forest in the evening

By Śrīmad Rūpa Gosvāmīpāda

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aṅga-śyāmalima-cchaṭābhir abhito mandīkṛtendīvaraṁ

aṅga-śyāmalima-cchaṭābhir abhito mandīkṛtendīvaraṁ
jāḍyaṁ jāguḍa-rociṣāṁ vidadhataṁ paṭṭāmbarasya śriyā |
vṛndāraṇya-vilāsinaṁ hṛdi lasad-dāmābhir āmodaraṁ
rādhā-skandha-niveśitojjvala-bhujaṁ dhyāyema dāmodaram ||
(Stava-mālā)

“He by whom blue lotuses are belittled
With the radiance of the swarthiness of his limbs,
He by whom the splendors of saffron are rendered dull
With the loveliness of his silken garments,
He who sports in the forest of Vṛndā,
He who is fragrant with shining garlands across his chest,
He whose lustrous arm is set on Rādhā’s shoulder—
Let us meditate on Dāmodara.”

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jayati jana-nivāso devakī-janma-vādo

jayati jana-nivāso devakī-janma-vādo
yadu-vara-pariṣat svair dorbhir asyann adharmam |
sthira-cara-vṛjina-ghnaḥ susmita-śrī-mukhena
vraja-pura-vanitānāṁ vardhayan kāma-devam ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.90.48; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 3.23; Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.7.154; Durgama-saṅgamanī-ṭīkā on Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.1.1; Laghu Bhāgavatāmṛta: 1.5.430; Kṛṣṇa Sandarbha: 63, 116, 136, 182; Prīti Sandarbha: 52; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.13.79; Ānanda-candrikā-ṭīkā on Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi: 15.185)

“He who is the abode of all beings [alt., he whose abode is all beings],
He whose birth is said to be from Devakī,
He whose retinue is the best of the Yadus,
He who destroys adharma with his own arms,
He who dispels the distress of the stationary and the moving—
Enkindling divine desire in the women of the abode of Vraja
With his beautiful, sweetly smiling face—
Triumphs!”

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ekale īśvara kṛṣṇa, āra saba bhṛtya

ekale īśvara kṛṣṇa, āra saba bhṛtya |
yāre yaiche nācāya, se taiche kare nṛtya ||
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 1.5.142)

“Kṛṣṇa alone is Īśvara. Everyone else is a servant, and one whom he causes to dance dances just so.”

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eka kṛṣṇa sarva-sevya jagat-īśvara

eka kṛṣṇa sarva-sevya jagat-īśvara |
āra yata saba tā̐ra sevakānucara || …
keho māne, keho nā māne, saba tā̐ra dāsa |
ye nā māne tāra haya sei pāpe nāśa ||
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 1.6.83, 85)

“One Kṛṣṇa, the Īśvara of the world, is to be served by everyone. Everyone else is his servant and follower. … Someone accepts [this]. Someone does not accept [this]. [Nevertheless,] Everyone is his servant. One who does not accept [this] is ruined by that sin [of non-acceptance].”

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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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