Kṛṣṇa

mantrās tu kṛṣṇa-devasya sākṣād bhagavato hareḥ

mantrās tu kṛṣṇa-devasya sākṣād bhagavato hareḥ |
sarvāvatāra-bījasya sarvato vīryavattamāḥ ||
tatrāpi bhagavattāṁ svāṁ tanvato gopa-līlayā |
tasya śreṣṭhatamā mantrās teṣv apy aṣṭādaśākṣaraḥ ||
(Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 1.155, 159)

“Mantras of Kṛṣṇadeva, that is, Bhagavān Hari himself, he who is the source of all avatāras, however, are the most potent of all. … Therein, furthermore, the mantras related to him spreading his own Bhagavattā [i.e., nature of Bhagavān] by means of [his] līlā as a cowherd are the best of all, and even among those, the eighteen-syllable [mantra, i.e., the Gopāla-mantra, is the very best of all].”

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sarveṣāṁ mantra-varyāṇāṁ śreṣṭho vaiṣṇava ucyate

sarveṣāṁ mantra-varyāṇāṁ śreṣṭho vaiṣṇava ucyate |
viśeṣāt kṛṣṇa-manavo bhoga-mokṣaika-sādhanam ||
yasya yasya ca mantrasya yo yo devas tathā punaḥ |
abhedāt tan-manūnāṁ ca devatā saiva bhāṣyate ||
kṛṣṇa eva paraṁ brahma sac-cid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ |
smṛti-mātreṇa teṣāṁ vai bhukti-mukti-phala-pradaḥ ||
(Bṛhad Gautamīya Tantra; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 1.156–158)

“Among all excellent mantras, the Vaiṣṇava [mantras] are said to be the best, and in particular Kṛṣṇa-mantras are the primary means of attaining enjoyment and mokṣa. Because of the non-difference between whichever deva and whichever mantra, the particular devatā of those mantras is also addressed [in the mantra, i.e., the mantra related to any particular deva is non-different from that deva, and thus whenever the mantra related to a particular deva is chanted, the deva of the mantra is directly addressed]. Kṛṣṇa is verily the Supreme Brahman, the embodiment of eternal being, consciousness, and bliss, and the bestower of the results of enjoyment and mukti upon them [i.e., upon the seekers of those objects] just by means of remembrance [i.e., just as a result of his being remembered by those seekers of enjoyment or mukti when they chant a mantra related to him].”

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na cāntar na bahir yasya na pūrvaṁ nāpi cāparam

na cāntar na bahir yasya na pūrvaṁ nāpi cāparam |
pūrvāparaṁ bahiś cāntar jagato yo jagac ca yaḥ ||
taṁ matvātmajam avyaktaṁ martya-liṅgam adhokṣajam |
gopikolūkhale dāmnā babandha prākṛtaṁ yathā ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.9.13–14)

“Who has neither interior, nor exterior, nor anterior, nor posterior, who is the anterior, posterior, interior, and exterior of the universe, who is the universe, and who is beyond sensory perception, unmanifest, and possessed of human characteristics—considering him her son, the gopīkā bound [him] with a rope to a mortar like an ordinary child.”

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tad evaṁ sandarbha-catuṣṭayena sambandho vyākhyātaḥ

tad evaṁ sandarbha-catuṣṭayena sambandho vyākhyātaḥ | tasminn api sambandhe śrī-rādhā-mādhava-rūpeṇaiva prādurbhāvas tasya sambandhinaḥ paramaḥ prakarṣaḥ | etad-artham eva vyatāniṣamimāḥ sarvā api paripāṭīr iti pūrṇaḥ sambandhaḥ |
(Kṛṣṇa Sandarbha: 189)

“Thus, in this way, the sambandha [i.e., the relation of the referrer, viz., the text, Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, with its referent, the subject of the text] has been explained in [the first] four sandarbhas. Furthermore, in this sambandha, the supreme excellence of its sambandhi [i.e., its referent, lit., the bearer of a relation with the text, viz., the sambandhi-tattva] is specifically the manifestation with the form of Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava [i.e., among all the manifestations of the Para-tattva, which is the subject (viṣaya) taught in Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, the manifestation of Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava is supreme]. Only for this purpose [i.e., to establish this conclusion] all these methods [i.e., all the various means employed to establish this conclusion] were presented. Thus, [the discussion of] the sambandha is complete.”

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iha sambandhi-tattvaṁ brahmānandād api prakṛṣṭo rucira-līlā

iha sambandhi-tattvaṁ brahmānandād api prakṛṣṭo rucira-līlā-vaśiṣṭaḥ śrīmān ajita eva | sa ca pūrṇatvena mukhyatayā śrī-kṛṣṇa-saṁjña eveti śrī-bādarāyaṇa-samādhau vyaktībhaviṣyati | tathā prayojanākhyaḥ puruṣārthaś ca tādṛśa-tad-āsakti-janakaṁ tal-līlā-śravaṇādi-lakṣaṇaṁ tad-bhajanam evety āyātam |
(Tattva Sandarbha: 29)

“Here [i.e., in this text], the sambandhi-tattva [i.e., the subject, lit., ‘the entity bearing a relation (sambandha) [with the text],’ meaning, the entity related to through the text] is Śrīman Ajita [i.e., Śrī Bhagavān], who is possessed of relishable līlā and superior even to the bliss of Brahman. That he, furthermore, is known primarily as Śrī Kṛṣṇa by virtue of completeness [i.e., by virtue of the completeness he manifests only in his aspect known as Śrī Kṛṣṇa] will be clarified in [the forthcoming discussion of] Śrī Bādarāyaṇa’s samādhi. So also, the puruṣārtha [i.e., ‘object of a human being’], known as the prayojana [i.e., aim], and worship of him [i.e., the abhidheya], the characteristic of which is hearing and so forth of his līlā that produces such attachment (āsakti) to him [i.e., that leads to attainment of the prayojana, namely, prema for him] are understood.”

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athaivaṁ sūcitānāṁ śrī-kṛṣṇa-tad-vācya-vācakatā-lakṣaṇa-sambandha

athaivaṁ sūcitānāṁ śrī-kṛṣṇa-tad-vācya-vācakatā-lakṣaṇa-sambandha-tad-bhajana-lakṣaṇa-vidheya-saparyāyābhidheya-tat-prema-lakṣaṇa-prayojanākhyānām arthānāṁ nirṇayāya tāvat pramāṇaṁ nirṇīyate |
(Tattva Sandarbha: 9)

“Now, to ascertain the [four] topics thus indicated [in the preceding verse, i.e., yasya Brahmeti …], namely, (1) Śrī Kṛṣṇa [i.e., the subject], (2) the sambandha [i.e., the ‘relation’ of the text] with him the characteristic of which is [that of] referrer (vācakatā) and referent (vācya), (3) the abhidheya [i.e., ‘directive,’ lit., ‘that which is to be stated’], synonymous the with vidheya [i.e., ‘practice,’ lit., ‘that which is to be done’], the characteristic of which is worship (bhajana) of him [i.e., Śrī Kṛṣṇa], and (4) the prayojana [i.e., aim, lit., ‘that motivated by which one acts’] the characteristic of which is prema for him, first pramāṇa [i.e., the means of knowing] is ascertained.”

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sva-premāmṛta-kallola-vihvalī-kṛta-cetasaḥ

sva-premāmṛta-kallola-vihvalī-kṛta-cetasaḥ |
sadayaṁ nandayan gopīr udgato nanda-nandanaḥ ||
(Bhāvārtha-dīpikā on Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.32.1)

“Graciously delighting the gopīs,
They whose hearts were overwhelmed
By the waves of the nectar
Of [their] prema for himself,
The Son of Nanda emerged.”

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yasyānanaṁ makara-kuṇḍala-cāru-karṇa

yasyānanaṁ makara-kuṇḍala-cāru-karṇa-
bhrājat-kapola-subhagaṁ savilāsa-hāsam |
nityotsavaṁ na tatṛpur dṛśibhiḥ pibantyo
nāryo narāś ca muditāḥ kupitā nimeś ca ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 9.24.65; cited in Prīti Sandarbha: 82, 111; Durgama-saṅgamanī-ṭīkā on Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.1.1; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.21.123)

“Drinking with their eyes whose [i.e., his, Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s] face, which is a constant festival, filled with a charming smile, and lovely with shining cheeks and adorable ears [decorated] with makara earrings, delighted women and men were not satiated and became angry at Nimi.”

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tat-tad-vinodāmṛta-sāgarāntaraṁ

tat-tad-vinodāmṛta-sāgarāntaraṁ
bibhety alaṁ me rasanāvagāhitum |
sadaiva tat-tan-madhura-priyāpi yat
karmaṇy aśakye na janaḥ pravartate ||
pītaṁ sakṛt karṇa-puṭena tat-tal-
līlāmṛtaṁ kasya haren na cetaḥ |
pravartituṁ vāñchati tatra tasmāl
lajjāṁ na rakṣet kila lolatā hi ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.5.114–115)

“My tongue is extremely afraid of plunging into the ocean of the nectar of those pastimes [i.e., Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes in Vraja] even though those sweets [i.e., those pastimes] are indeed always dear [alt., pleasing] to it because a person does not engage in an impossible task. [But] Whose heart shall the nectar of those līlās, drunk once through hollows of the ears, not steal? Therefore, [my tongue] desires to engage in that since intense desire (lolatā, syn., laulya) certainly cannot hold to shyness.”

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