Līlā

māthurottama tatratyaṁ mahāścaryam idaṁ śṛṇu

māthurottama tatratyaṁ mahāścaryam idaṁ śṛṇu |
kathyamānaṁ mayā kiñcit śrī-kṛṣṇasya prabhāvataḥ ||
bālakās taruṇā vṛddhā gopās te koṭi-koṭiśaḥ |
sarve vidur mahāpreyān ahaṁ kṛṣṇasya netaraḥ ||
tathaiva vyavahāro’pi teṣāṁ kṛṣṇe sadekṣyate |
pratyekaṁ teṣu tasyāpi viśuddhas tādṛg eva saḥ ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.6.210–212)

“O best among those from Mathurā, hear of this great wonder found there. Something [of it] can be related by me by the power of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. The children, the youth, and the elderly—all of those crores and crores of cowherds—feel, ‘I am most dear to Kṛṣṇa; not anyone else.’ Their behavior too with Kṛṣṇa is always observable to be exactly so, and that of his as well with every one of them is pure and exactly such.”

Read on →

śrī-gopyas tv anugacchantyo bāṣpa-samruddha-kaṇṭhikāḥ

śrī-gopyas tv anugacchantyo bāṣpa-samruddha-kaṇṭhikāḥ |
gānāśaktāḥ skhalat-pādā aśru-dhārāsta-dṛṣṭayaḥ ||
kartuṁ vaktuṁ ca tāḥ kiñcid aśaktā lajjayā bhiyā |
mahāśokārṇave magnās tat-pratikāraṇe’kṣamāḥ ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.6.178–179)

“They—
The blessed gopīs—
However,
Following [him] further,
Their throats choked by weeping,
Unable to sing,
Their feet stumbling,
Their eyes obscured by streams of tears,
Unable to do or even say anything
Because of their shyness and fear,
Became submerged in an ocean of great sorrow
And unable to alleviate it.”

Read on →

sā carvāṇodyad-aruṇādhara-cāru-jihvā

sā carvāṇodyad-aruṇādhara-cāru-jihvā-
gaṇḍu-sthalānana-saroja-vilāsa-bhaṅgī |
bhrū-cāpa-locana-saroruha-nartana-śrī-
vidyotitā na vacasā manasāpi gamyā ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.6.125)

“That [extraordinarily astonishing] expression of play
In his cheeks, charming tongue, and dawn-red lips
Emerging on his lotus face as he chews,
Illumined by the beauty of the dancing
Of the lotuses of his eyes
And the bows of his brows,
Is not graspable by speech or even the mind.”

Read on →

tat-saundaryaṁ sā ca lāvaṇya-lakṣmīs

tat-saundaryaṁ sā ca lāvaṇya-lakṣmīs
tan-mādhuryaṁ tasya kiṁ varṇitaṁ syāt |
dravyair yogyā laukikair nopamā syāt
kiṁ vānyena dvārakendreṇa nāpi ||
kṛṣṇo yathā nāgara-śekharāgryo
rādhā tathā nāgarikā-varāgryā |
rādhā yathā nāgarikā-varāgryā
kṛṣṇo tathā nāgara-śekharāgryaḥ ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.6.110–111)

“Can that beauty, that wealth of loveliness, or that sweetness of his [i.e., Kṛṣṇa’s] be described? Neither with worldly objects, nor with others [i.e., Nārāyaṇa of Vaikuṇṭha, or Rāma of Ayodhyā], nor even the Lord of Dvārakā shall any comparison [thereof] be appropriate. [There is only one appropriate object of comparison:] As Kṛṣṇa is the foremost of cultured lovers, so Rādhā is the foremost of cultured ladyloves, and as Rādhā is the foremost of cultured ladyloves, so Kṛṣṇa is the foremost of cultured lovers.”

Read on →

ghana-praṇaya-medurau śarad-amanda-candrānanau

ghana-praṇaya-medurau śarad-amanda-candrānanau
kirīṭa-mukuṭe dhṛtau vidhṛta-nīla-pītāmbarau |
śarat-sukhada-kānane sarasa-yogapīṭhāsane
puraḥ kalaya nāgarau madhura-rādhikā-mādhavau ||
(Unknown source; cited in Sādhana-dīpikā: 2)

“Brimming with deep, uninhibited love,
Faces like the full, early autumn moon,
Wearing a tiara and diadem,
Sporting blue and yellow garb,
In the delightful early autumn forest,
On the seat at the charming yogapīṭha—
Behold before you
The Clever Pair,
Sweet Rādhikā and Mādhava.”

Read on →

āraṇya-veśo vicalat-kadamba

āraṇya-veśo vicalat-kadamba-
mālāvataṁsāmbara-bārha-mauliḥ |
saurabhya-saṁvāsita-dik-taṭānto
līlā-smita-śrī-vikasan-mukhābjaḥ ||
kṛpāvalokollasad-īkṣaṇāmbujo
vicitra-saundarya-bharaika-bhūṣaṇaḥ |
go-dhūlikālaṅkṛta-cañcalālaka-
śreṇy-āvṛti-vyagra-karāmbujāṅguliḥ ||
dharā-tala-śrī-bhara-dāna-hetunā
bhūmi-spṛśor nṛtya-vilāsa-gāminoḥ |
sujātayoḥ śrī-pada-padmayor javad-
uccālanollāsa-bharair manoharaḥ ||
kaiśora-mādhurya-bharollasac-chrī-
gātrābhra-kānty-ujjvalitākhilāśaḥ |
tatratya-nitya-priya-loka-citta-
grāhyādbhutāneka-mahattva-sindhuḥ ||
sva-dīna-loka-priyatā-niyantrito
balād athotplutya samīpam āgataḥ |
tad-īkṣaṇa-prema-vimohitaṁ hi māṁ
gale gṛhitvā sahasāpatad bhuvi ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.6.56–60)

“With forest garb,
Kadamba garland, earrings, and peacock feather crest swaying,
The extremes of the directions
Fully scented with his fragrance,
Lotus face blossoming
With the splendor of a mild, playful smile,
Lotus eyes beaming with a glance of grace,
An abundance of variegated beauty
As his preeminent ornament,
The fingers of his lotus hand eagerly engaged
In retaining his locks
That had become decorated
With the dust raised by the cows,
Captivating the heart
With abundances of elation—
The high steps of his superb, blessed lotus feet
Moving with the joviality of dance
And touching the earth
For the sake of granting an abundance of blessedness
Upon the earth’s surface—
All directions illuminated
By the cloud-like luster of his blessed figure
Shining with an abundance of the sweetness of adolescence,
An ocean of numerous, astonishing greatnesses
Constantly perceptible to the minds
Of his dear ones present there [i.e., in Goloka],
And controlled by his fondness [i.e., prema]
For this humble person of his own [i.e., me (Gopa Kumāra)],
He then,
Forcibly jumping,
Came near me—
I who was overwhelmed with prema
Just by the sight of him—
Grabbed hold of my neck,
And suddenly [i.e., unintentionally] fell to the ground.”

Read on →

tadīya-nāmehita-gāna-tatparā

tadīya-nāmehita-gāna-tatparā
vicitra-veśāmbara-kānti-bhūṣitāḥ |
ramātisaubhagya-mada-prahārikā
javena kṛṣṇā-taṭam āśrayanta tāḥ ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.6.53)

“Absorbed in singing his names and of his acts,
Adorned with extraordinary ornaments, garments, and embellishments,
And demolishing Ramā’s pride in her great beauty,
They swiftly converged on the bank of the Yamunā.”

Read on →

gavāṁ hāmbā-rāvaiḥ sulalitataraṁ moha-muralī

gavāṁ hāmbā-rāvaiḥ sulalitataraṁ moha-muralī-
kalaṁ līlā-gīta-svara-madhura-rāgeṇa kalitam |
jagad-vailakṣaṇyācita-vividha-bhaṅgi-vilasitaṁ
vrajasthānāṁ teṣāṁ sapadi paramākarṣa-valitam ||
yasmāt sasrus taru-vitatito dīrgha-dhārā rasānāṁ
ghoṣa-sthānām api tanu-bhṛtāṁ netrato’śru-pravāhaḥ |
tan-mātṝṇām api vivayasāṁ kṣīra-pūraḥ stanebhyaḥ
kālindyāś ca pracala-payasāṁ te nyavartanta vegāḥ ||
na jāne sā vaṁśy udgirati garalaṁ vāmṛta-rasaṁ
na jāne tan-nādo’py aśaṇi-paruṣo vāmbu-mṛdulaḥ |
na jāne cātyuṣṇo jvalita-dahanād vendu-śiśiro
yato jātonmādā mumuhur akhilās te vraja-janāḥ ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.6.46–48)

“[I heard] The soft sound of an enchanting flute,
Greatly delightful [as it blended] with the sounds of the mooing of cows,
Furnished with sweet melodies (rāgas) of sportively sung notes,
Embellished with various modalities [i.e., manners of modulation, etc.]
Filled with otherworldliness,
And instantly possessed
Of paramount attraction of those residents of Vraja.^
Because of it,
Long streams of sap
Poured out from clusters of trees,
Streams of tears [poured out] from the eyes
Of all embodied beings—
Even those situated [at a distance] in the village,
Streams of milk [poured out] from the breasts
Of all his [i.e., Kṛṣṇa’s] mothers—
Even the elderly,
And the rapids
Of the Kālindī’s swiftly flowing waters
Reverted.
I do not know
Whether that flute
Emits poison or nectar.
I do not know
Whether even the sound of it
Is as harsh as thunder
Or as soft as water.
And I do not know
Whether it is hotter than a blazing fire
Or cooler than the moon;
All those people of Vraja
Became maddened and bewildered by it.”

Read on →

Scroll to Top