Līlā

yad-bhāva-bhāvita-dhiyaḥ praṇayottha-vācāṁ

yad-bhāva-bhāvita-dhiyaḥ praṇayottha-vācāṁ
mudrāpi durgamatamā muni-puṅgavānām |
rāsotsukaṁ madana-mohanam acyutaṁ taṁ
rādhā-samedhita-rasollasitaṁ nato’smi ||
(Sāraṅga-raṅgadā-ṭīkā on Kṛṣṇa-karṇāmṛta: 1)

“I offer obeisance unto him,
Acyuta,
The Enchanter of Madana—
Eager for rāsa
And elated with rasa
Greatly increased by Rādhā—
Even the literal expression of the speech
Arising from the uninhibited love
Of those whose minds are imbued with bhāva for whom
Is most difficult to understand
For the foremost of sages.”

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karṇākarṇi sakhī-janena vijane dūtī-stuti-prakriyā

karṇākarṇi sakhī-janena vijane dūtī-stuti-prakriyā
patyur vañcana-cāturī guṇanikā kuñja-prayāṇe niśi |
bādhiryaṁ guru-vāci veṇu-virutāv utkarṇateti vratān
kaiśoreṇa tavādya kṛṣṇa guruṇā gaurī-gaṇaḥ paṭhyate ||
(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 2.1.333)

“[A messenger informs Kṛṣṇa:] Whispering ear to ear with a friend,
Fine technique in praising messengers in private,
Dexterity in deception of the husband,
Steady practice of sneaking out to an arbor at night,
Deafness to the speech of elders,
Keeping the ears pricked at the sound of the flute—
O Kṛṣṇa,
Today,
With the guru of your adolescence,
Fair young women [viz., the gopīs]
Are studying all these rites.”

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bibhemy asmād dhanta durbodha-līlāt

bibhemy asmād dhanta durbodha-līlāt
kva tat tasyāḥ sāra-saubhagya-dānam |
kva sadyo’ntardhānato rodanābdhāv
anāthāyā yātanaikākinī yā ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.5.154)

“Hanta! I fear he of unfathomable līlā! Where is that granting of the ultimate fortune to her? And where is that solitary anguish of hers as she was helpless in an ocean of [her own] tears because of his sudden disappearance?”

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aho vaidagdhī sā madhura-madhurā śrī-bhagavataḥ

aho vaidagdhī sā madhura-madhurā śrī-bhagavataḥ
samākarṣaty uccair jagati kṛtinaḥ kasya na manaḥ |
kula-strīṇāṁ tāsāṁ vana-bhuvi tathākarṣaṇam atho
tathā vāk-cāturyaṁ sapadi ruditaṁ tābhir api yat ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.5.151)

“Aho! What adept’s mind in this world does Śrī Bhagavān’s sweet, sweet artistry [in flute playing], [his] thereby attracting those noble women [i.e., the gopīs] into the region of the forest, and [his] similar expertise with speech because of which weeping was resorted to immediately even by them [i.e., the gopīs, once he spoke to them upon their arrival in his midst in the forest], not intensely attract in full?”

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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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cic-chakti-prādhānyena kṛṣṇa-rāmādy-avatāra-līlā iva

cic-chakti-prādhānyena kṛṣṇa-rāmādy-avatāra-līlā iva māyā-śakti-prādhānyena puruṣāvatāra-līlā brahmāṇḍa-nirmāṇādyā vaiṣṇavaiḥ śravyā eva, nātra kaṭākṣaḥ kārya iti śrotṛ-vaktroḥ parīkṣit-śukayor abhiprāyo veditavyaḥ |
(Excerpt from the Sārārtha-darśinī-ṭīkā on Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 2.4.10)

“Like the līlās of avatāras with primacy of the cit-śakti, such as Kṛṣṇa and Rāma, the līlās of the Puruṣāvatāras with primacy of the māyā-śakti, such as the creation of the universe, are certainly fit to be heard by Vaiṣṇavas. A side-long glance is not to be cast towards them [i.e., one should not be disapproving of Vaiṣṇavas listening to the līlās of the Puruṣāvatāras and assert that only the līlās of Kṛṣna, Rāma, and other avatāras wherein there is primacy of the cit-śakti should be heard]. In this way the intention of the listener and speaker, viz., Parīkṣit and Śuka, is to be understood.”

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madhyasthau rādhikā-kṛṣṇau gaura-śyāmojjvalāṅgakau

madhyasthau rādhikā-kṛṣṇau gaura-śyāmojjvalāṅgakau |
divya-veśa-svalaṅkṛtau hāsyonmukha-parasparau ||
(Śrī Manohara Dāsa Bābājī’s Nāma-ratna-mālā: 42)

“Situated in the middle [of the yogapīṭha lotus]
Are the fair and swarthy radiant figures
Rādhikā and Kṛṣṇa,
Finely adorned with divine garments,
And facing towards one another with smiles.”

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aṭati yad bhavān ahni kānanaṁ

aṭati yad bhavān ahni kānanaṁ
truṭir yugāyate tvām apaśyatām |
kuṭila-kuntalaṁ śrī-mukhaṁ ca te
jaḍa udīkṣatāṁ pakṣma-kṛt dṛśām ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.31.15)

“[The gopīs to Śrī Kṛṣṇa:] ‘When you go out to the forest during the day, a truṭi [i.e., half a milisecond] seems like a yuga for we who do not see you [all day], and the creator of lids for the eyes of we who eagerly behold your wavy locks and beautiful face [when you return in the late afternoon] is [considered by us to be] a fool.”

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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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