Līlā

barhāpīḍaṁ naṭavara-vapuḥ karṇayoḥ karṇikāraṁ

barhāpīḍaṁ naṭavara-vapuḥ karṇayoḥ karṇikāraṁ
bibhrad vāsaḥ kanaka-kapiśaṁ vaijayantīṁ ca mālām |
randhrān veṇor adhara-sudhayā pūrayan gopa-vṛndair
vṛndāraṇyaṁ sva-pada-ramaṇaṁ prāviśad gīta-kīrtiḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.21.5)

“Wearing a peacock-feather chaplet, a [blue] karṇikāra flower on his ears, golden-yellow garments, and a victory garland, the best of actors [i.e., Śrī Kṛṣṇa] filled the holes of his flute with the nectar of his lips and entered the forest of Vraja, whose delight is his feet, as the gopas sang his glories.”

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kam prati kathayitum īśe samprati ko vā pratītim āyātu

kam prati kathayitum īśe samprati ko vā pratītim āyātu |
go-pati-tanayā-kuñje gopa-vadhūṭī-viṭaṁ brahma ||
(Raghupati Upādhyāya; cited in Padyāvalī: 98; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.19.98)

“Who can I tell, and who will now believe, that Brahman is a hunter of the wives of cowherd men in the groves along the Yamunā?”

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yat pālitaṁ tāta-mukhair vardhitaṁ

yat pālitaṁ tāta-mukhair vardhitaṁ
līlā-rasair mitra-gaṇair niṣevitam |
bhaktaiḥ sadāsvāditam etad ālibhiḥ
śrī-rādhayā kṛṣṇa-rasāmṛtaṁ phalam ||
(Govinda-līlāmṛta: 23.92)

“This fruit—Kṛṣṇa, the nectar of rasa [i.e., Kṛṣṇa, who is the nectar of prema personified]—which is continuously nourished with the rasas of līlās [i.e., with līlās full of varieties of rasa] by his father and so forth, [continuously] increased [with the rasas of līlās] by his friends, and [continuously] served [with the rasas of līlās] by his bhaktas [i.e., his servants], is [continuously] tasted [through the rasas of līlās] by Śrī Rādhā and friends.”

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dadhi-mathana-ninādais tyakta-nidraḥ prabhāte

dadhi-mathana-ninādais tyakta-nidraḥ prabhāte
nibhṛta-padam agāraṁ ballavīnāṁ praviṣṭaḥ |
mukha-kamala-samīrair āśu nirvāpya dīpān
kavalita-navanītaḥ pātu māṁ bāla-kṛṣṇaḥ ||
(Padyāvalī: 143)

“Awakened at daybreak by the sounds of yoghurt-churning, he enters the homes of the gopīs on silent feet, quickly extinguishes the lamps with puffs of air from his lotus mouth, and devours their fresh butter. May child Kṛṣṇa protect me.”

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alaukika kṛṣṇa-līlā—divya-śakti tāra

alaukika kṛṣṇa-līlā—divya-śakti tāra |
tarkera gocara nahe caritra yā̐hāra ||
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 3.19.103)

“Kṛṣṇa-līlā is otherworldly, and it possess divine śakti the acts of which are not within the scope of tarka.”

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ānanda-cinmaya-rasātmatayā manaḥsu

ānanda-cinmaya-rasātmatayā manaḥsu
yaḥ prāṇināṁ pratiphalan smaratām upetya |
līlāyitena bhuvanāni jayaty ajasraṁ
govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi ||
(Brahma-saṁhitā: 42)

“I worship Govinda, the Original Person, who, by virtue of being constituted of blissful spiritual rasa, appears to living beings engaged in remembrance [of Him] by reflecting into their minds and thus perpetually conquers the worlds with his play.”

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kṛṣṇera yateka khelā sarvottama nara-līlā

kṛṣṇera yateka khelā sarvottama nara-līlā
nara-vapu tāhāra svarūpa |
gopa-veśa, veṇu-kara nava-kiśora, naṭa-vara
nara-līlāra haya anurūpa ||
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.21.101)

“Of all of Kṛṣṇa’s play, his human [i.e., human-like] līlā is the supreme. His human form is his true nature. His cowherd dress, flute-in-hand, adolescence, and superb dancing [perfectly] suit his human līlā.”

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