vikrīḍitaṁ vraja-vadhūbhir idaṁ ca viṣṇoḥ
śraddhānvito’nuśṛṇuyād atha varṇayed yaḥ |
bhaktiṁ parāṁ bhagavati pratilabhya kāmaṁ
hṛd-rogam āśv apahinoty acireṇa dhīraḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.33.39)
“One endowed with śraddhā who shall hear about or describe this extraordinary play and so forth of Viṣṇu with the ladies of Vraja attains superlative bhakti to Bhagavān, quickly casts off the heart disease of kāma, and without delay becomes steadfast.”
naṣṭo mohaḥ smṛtir labdhā tvat-prasādān mayācyuta |
sthito’smi gata-sandehaḥ kariṣye vacanaṁ tava ||
(Bhagavad-gītā: 18.73)
“[Arjuna to Kṛṣṇa:] O Acyuta, by your grace, my misunderstanding is dispelled, and remembrance has been attained by me. I am steady, free from doubt. I shall follow your instruction.”
saṅketāvasare cyute praṇayataḥ saṁsajjayā rādhayā
prārabhya bhrū-kuṭiṁ hiraṇya-raśanā-dāmnā nibaddhodaram |
kārttikyāṁ jananī-kṛtotsava-vara-prastāvanā-pūrvakaṁ
cāṭūni prathayan tam ātta-pulakaṁ dhyāyema dāmodaram ||
(Bhaviṣya Purāṇa: Uttara-khaṇḍa; cited in the Sāraṅga-raṅgadā-ṭīkā on Kṛṣṇa-karṇāmṛta: 110)
“When he missed the time of a tryst
[Planned for the full moon night
In the month of Kārtika,
And arrived late],
Fully prepared Rādhā,
Out of uninhibited love (praṇaya),
First furrowed her brows
And then bound him around the belly
With the band of her golden girdle.
When he coaxed her,
Explaining he had been at the commencement of a grand festival
Conducted by his mother for Kārtika,
She released him.
Let us meditate on Dāmodara,
Seized by horripilation
[Upon being bound and released
By his beloved Rādhā].”
īśāna-deva-caraṇābharaṇena nīvī-
dāmodara-sthira-yaśaḥ-stavakodbhavena |
līlāśukena racitaṁ tava kṛṣṇa-deva
karṇāmṛtaṁ vahatu kalpa-śatāntare’pi ||
(Kṛṣṇa-karṇāmṛta: 110)
“O Kṛṣṇadeva, may [this] nectar for your ears [i.e., this text Kṛṣṇa-karṇāmṛta] composed by Līlāśuka [i.e., Bilvamaṅgala Ṭhākura], whose ornament is the feet of Īśānadeva [i.e., you who are the playful vital air of Rādhā], and whose origin is the bouquet of the everlasting glory of Nīvi-dāmodara [i.e., you who are bound around the belly with the cord of Rādhā’s waistband], flow for hundreds kalpas.”
… kṛṣṇo vai dāma-bandhanāt |
goṣṭhe dāmodara iti gopībhiḥ parigīyate ||
(Hari-vaṁśa Purāṇa; cited in Sārārtha-darśinī-ṭīkā to Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.10.17)
“Because of being bound by a rope [around the belly], Kṛṣṇa is sung of by the gopīs in Vraja as ‘Dāmodara’ [lit. “rope-belly”].”
ārādhyo bhagavān vrajeśa-tanayas tad-dhāma vṛndāvanaṁ
ramyā kācid upāsanā vraja-vadhū-vargeṇa yā kalpitā |
śāstraṁ bhāgavataṁ pramāṇam amalaṁ premā pumārtho mahān
itthaṁ gaura-mahāprabhor matam atas tatrādaro naḥ paraḥ ||
(Caitanya-mata-mañjuṣā: 1.1)
“‘The object of worship is Bhagavān, the Son of Vraja’s king. His abode is Vṛndāvana. The lovely worship [that is to be performed] is that which is performed by the ladies of Vraja. The flawless pramāṇa [i.e., means of knowing these conclusions] is the śāstra [Śrīmad] Bhāgavatam, and the [rightful ultimate] aim of a human being is prema.’ This is the view of Gaura Mahāprabhu, and thus we have the highest regard for it.”
caitanya-līlā-amṛta-pūra, kṛṣṇa-līlā-sukarpūra,
do̐he meli haya sumādhurya |
sādhu-guru-prasāde, tāhā yei āsvāde,
se-i jāne mādhurya-prācurya ||
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.25.270)
“Caitanya-līlā is [like] an abundance of condensed milk [lit., nectar], and Kṛṣṇa-līlā is [like] fine camphor. By combining, the two become extremely sweet. One who tastes this [combination] by the grace of the sādhus and guru knows its abundance of sweetness.”
kṛṣṇa-līlāmṛta-sāra, tāra śata śata dhāra,
daśa-dike vahe yāhā haite |
se caitanya-līlā haya, sarovara akṣaya,
mano-haṁsa carāha tāhāte ||
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.25.264)
“Kṛṣṇa-līlā is the essence of nectar, and Caitanya-līlā is the inexhaustible reservoir from which hundreds of streams of it flow in the ten directions. May the swan of your heart play there.”
rādhā kṛṣṇa-praṇaya-vikṛtir hlādinī-śaktir asmād
ekātmānāv api bhuvi purā deha-bhedaṁ gatau tau |
caitanyākhyaṁ prakaṭam adhunā tad-dvayaṁ caikyam āptaṁ
rādhā-bhāva-dyuti-suvalitaṁ naumi kṛṣṇa-svarūpam ||
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 1.1.5)
“Rādhā is a transformation of Kṛṣṇa’s uninhibited love—[His] hlādinī-śakti.
Thus, although one by nature,
The two [viz., Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa] previously [i.e., beginninglessly] have taken on
A distinction in body
[i.e., existed in two separate bodies] on earth.
Now, those two have attained a manifest oneness
Known as Caitanya.
I praise the form of Kṛṣṇa
Excellently enveloped by the bhāva and luster of Rādhā.”
cirād āśā-mātraṁ tvayi viracayantaḥ sthira-dhiyo
vidadhyur ye vāsaṁ madhurima-gabhīre madhupure |
dadhānaḥ kaiśore vayasi sakhitāṁ gokula-pate
prapadyethās teṣāṁ paricayam avaśyaṁ nayanayoḥ ||
(Lalita-mādhava-nāṭakam: 10.37)
“[Rādhā to Kṛṣṇa:] O Lord of Gokula, please appear bearing your companionship in your adolescent age [i.e., accompanied by your friends beginning with Śrīdāma in your form of an adolescent flute-player] before the eyes of those of steady mind who have long resided in profoundly sweet Madhupurī [i.e., Mathurā Maṇḍala] desiring only you.”
