Līlā

astācalaṁ cumbati bhānu-bimbe

astācalaṁ cumbati bhānu-bimbe
gṛhe gṛhe gokula-sundarīṇām |
divyānulepābharaṇāmbarāṇi
kṛṣṇāhriyante paritaḥ sakhībhiḥ ||
(Alaṅkāra-kaustubha: 8.101)

“O Kṛṣṇa,
When the orb of the sun
Kisses the western horizon,
In house after house
The splendid unguents, ornaments, and garments
Of the beauties of Gokula
Are brought from all sides by [their] friends
[So that these beauties can be well-dressed when they meet Kṛṣṇa as he re-enters the village in the early evening from his day of cow-herding out in the forest].”

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phalam api phalaṁ mākandānāṁ sitā api tāḥ sitā

phalam api phalaṁ mākandānāṁ sitā api tāḥ sitā
amṛtam amṛtaṁ drākṣā drākṣā madhūni madhūny api |
saha tulayituṁ tenaiteṣāṁ na kiñcana yujyate
subala yad ayaṁ sāraṅgākṣyā bhavaty adharo’dharaḥ ||
(Alaṅkāra-kaustubha: 3.5)

“[Śrī Kṛṣṇa:] Even the fruit of mango trees
Is [just] fruit.
Even candied sugar
Is [just] candied sugar.
[Even] Nectar is [just] nectar.
[Even] Grapes are [just] grapes.
Even honey is [just] honey.
O Subala,
None of these are fit
To be compared with that,
Since [that, viz.,] this lower lip of she of doe-eyes [viz., Śrī Rādhikā]
Is [really] a lower lip (adharaḥ)
[i.e., Something that excels all else].”

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vinyasta-śruti-pālir adya muralī-nisvāna-śuśrūṣā

vinyasta-śruti-pālir adya muralī-nisvāna-śuśrūṣā
bhūyaḥ prasrava-varṣiṇī dviguṇitotkaṇṭhā pradoṣodaye |
gehād aṅganam aṅganāt punar asau gehaṁ viśanty ākulā
govindasya muhur vrajendra-gṛhiṇī panthānam ālokate ||
(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 3.4.55)

“Today [i.e., throughout the day]
Wishing with her ears pricked
To hear the sound of the flute,
And again at the onset of evening,
With doubled longing
And milk streaming [from her breasts]
As she repeatedly entered the courtyard from the house
And the house from the courtyard,
The anxious queen of Vraja
Looked again and again at Govinda’s path
[i.e., the path by which he was expected to soon return home from the forest].”

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niculita-giri-dhātu-sphīta-patrāvalīkān

niculita-giri-dhātu-sphīta-patrāvalīkān
akhila-surabhi-reṇūn kṣālayadbhir yaśodā |
kuca-kalasa-vimuktaiḥ sneha-mādhvīka-medhyais
tava navam abhiṣekaṁ dugdha-pūraiḥ karoti ||
(Lalita-mādhava-nāṭaka: 1.46; cited in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sidhu: 3.4.47)

“[O Kṛṣṇa!]
Yaśodā conducts your first bath [after you return from the forest in the afternoon]
With the supremely pure streams of milk
Replete with the honey of her affection
Released from the urns of her breasts
That wash away all the dust from [i.e., raised by] the cows,
By which your leaves [i.e., the decorative leaf designs drawn on your body] made of minerals
Become covered over.”

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vijñāpya tātaṁ dohāya gato’sau gāś ca tā mudā

vijñāpya tātaṁ dohāya gato’sau gāś ca tā mudā |
militāḥ svābhitaḥ kṛṣṇaḥ sāntvayāmāsa sāntvanaiḥ ||
śrī-hasta-mārjanaiḥ kaṇḍūyanair gāḥ prīṇayan hariḥ |
dudoha dohayāmāsa vatsāṁs tais taiś ca pāyayan ||
vatsā nipīyodara-pūram uccakais
tṛptiṁ gatā gopa-gaṇā yathepsitam |
dugdhvā nivṛttāś ca gavāṁ tathāpy aho
nodhaḥ-payaḥ-pūrtir avāpa hīnatām ||
kṛṣṇānanābjārpita-netra-cetasāṁ
gavāṁ svayaṁ saṁsravad audhasaṁ payaḥ |
gopāḥ stanādho-dhṛta-kumbha-sañcayaiḥ
sambhṛtya ninyuḥ purato vrajeśituḥ ||
(Govinda-līlāmṛta: 20.30–33)

“He informed his father and went to milk [the cows]. Kṛṣṇa comforted the cows delightedly assembled around him with comforting gestures. After pleasing them by scratching and wiping them with his beautiful hands, Hari milked the cows and had them [i.e., his fellow cowherds] feed the calves milk and milk [the other cows]. The calves drank a belly-full [of milk] and greatly felt satisfaction. The cowherds also milked [the cows] to the extent desired and desisted. Still, aho! The fulness with milk of the cows’ udders did not undergo depletion. The cowherds collected in pots held below their udders the milk flowing of its own accord from the udders of the cows, whose eyes and hearts were fixed on the lotus of Kṛṣṇa’s face, and [then] brought it before the king of Vraja [viz., Nanda Mahārāja].”

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hihī gaṅge godāvari śabali kālindi dhavale

hihī gaṅge godāvari śabali kālindi dhavale
hihī dhūmre tuṅgi bhramari yamune haṁsi kamale |
hihī rambhe campe kariṇi hariṇīti vraja-vidhur
muhur nāma-grāhaṁ nikhila-surabhīr āhvayad asau ||
nyastāṅgaḥ prapadopari praghaṭayan jānu-dvaye dohanīṁ
kāścid dogdhi payaḥ svayaṁ tv atha parāḥ svair dohayaty unmukhīḥ |
anyāḥ pāyayati sva-tarṇaka-gaṇān kaṇḍūyanaiḥ prīṇayann
itthaṁ nanda-sutaḥ prage sva-surabhīr ānandayan nandati ||
(Govinda-līlāmṛta: 2.40–41)

“‘Hihī, Gaṅge!
Godāvari! Śabali! Kālindi! Dhavale!
Hihī, Dhūmre! Tuṅgi! Bhramari! Yamune! Haṁsi! Kamale!
Hihī, Rambhe! Campe! Kariṇi! Harini!’
Repeatedly taking their names in this way,
The Moon of Vraja calls all the cows.
Placing his body [weight] over the tips of his toes
And setting a milk vessel between his knees,
He personally milks some of the cows himself
And has other eager ones milked by his companions.
He pleases others by scratching [them]
And has their calves drink [their] milk.
In this way delighting his cows,
The Son of Nanda delights in the morning.”

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suciram api savatsās tvām anālokayantyo

suciram api savatsās tvām anālokayantyo
na khalu surabhayas tā yadyapi prasnuvanti |
(Govinda-līlāmṛta: 2.14)

[Mother Yaśodā to Śrī Kṛṣṇa to prompt him to arise from bed and start his day:]
“Although they have been with their calves [this morning] already for a long time, the cows do not give any milk without seeing you.”

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kālindy-ādyās tava surabhayaḥ stabdha-karṇordhva-vaktrā

kālindy-ādyās tava surabhayaḥ stabdha-karṇordhva-vaktrā
hambā-rāvair uṣasi tṛṣitānn āhvayantyaḥ sva-vatsān |
yuṣman-mārge nihita-nayanās tvan-mukhālokanotkāḥ
sīdanty ūdho-bhara-janitayā pīḍayeti pratīhi ||
(Govinda-līlāmṛta: 1.43)

[The parrot Dakṣa sings to prompt Śrī Kṛṣṇa to arise before dawn and return to his home in Nandīśvara from the secluded cottage where he had spent the night before the sun rises:]
“Ears pricked
Faces upraised,
Calling their thirsty calves with mooing sounds,
Eyes fixed on your path,
And longing to see your face,
At dawn
Your cows,
Kālindī and so on,
Are troubled by the ache
Produced by the weight of their [unmilked] udders.
You know this!”

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labdhārcāś cāru-veśaiḥ śabalita-vapuṣaḥ prāpta-bhogāvalīkā

labdhārcāś cāru-veśaiḥ śabalita-vapuṣaḥ prāpta-bhogāvalīkā
vatsaiḥ pṛktāḥ pramodaṁ pṛthutaram abhajan dhenavaḥ satyam eva |
kintu śrī-kṛṣṇa-dṛṣṭi-pramada-valayitā yarhi tarhy eva no cet
kecid yadvad bhajante madhura-vidhurataḥ saṁskṛtaṁ ṣāḍavādi ||
(Gopāla-campū: 1.18.71)

“Receiving worship, becoming of variegated figures because of [being outfitted with] charming decorations, obtaining numerous foods, and becoming united with their calves, the cows felt very great delight, but only indeed truly [do they feel delight] then when they become enveloped in the delight of seeing Śrī Kṛṣṇa. When this does not occur, they become like some who eat prepared ṣāḍavas and so on because of avoiding sweets [i.e., they feel no real delight at all just as persons who abstain from eating sweets for medical reasons instead eat medicinal formulations known as ṣāḍavas to recover their health yet feel no real delight in only eating such sour medicines].”

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pratyekaṁ gāva etā bahir api ca hareḥ prāṇa-rūpā yad āsāṁ

pratyekaṁ gāva etā bahir api ca hareḥ prāṇa-rūpā yad āsāṁ
śaśvat tṛptau ca tṛptiṁ kṣudhi ca kalayati kṣud-vikāraṁ sa eṣaḥ |
ānīyānīya caitā nija-hṛdi vidadhad ghrāṇa-saukhyaṁ dadhānaḥ
śliṣyann uccair vicinvann aśanam upadadat pālayan svena bhāti ||
usrāṇāṁ prāṇa-sāmyaṁ vahati harir amūs taṁ vinā rikta-cittāś
citra-prāyāḥ samantād yad iha vana-tati-śrī-nibhā visphuranti |
(Gopāla-campū: 1.12.31–32)

“And every one of these cows, although outside [Hari’s body], is like an embodiment of Hari’s vital air (prāṇa), since he always feels satisfied when their satisfaction occurs and [he feels] the pang of hunger when their hunger occurs. He repeatedly fetches them, takes pleasure in smelling them, and holds them to his heart; he embraces them, avidly inspects them, and feeds them; he along with those who are his own shines as he protects them. Hari sustains the cows like his vital air (prāṇa), and without him they become of void hearts and [motionless] like pictures since they appear like the beauty of the forests all around here [i.e., since they remain motionless like the beautiful trees in Goloka when he disappears from their sight].”

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