rāsa-līlā jayaty eṣā yayā saṁyujyate’niśam |
harer vidagdhatā-bheryā rādhā-saubhāgya-dundubhiḥ ||
(Sāraṅga-raṅgadā-ṭīkā on Kṛṣṇa-karṇāmṛta: 3)
“This rāsa-līlā—
By which the dundubhi of Rādhā’s charm
Is continuously united
With the bheri of Hari’s cleverness—
Triumphs!”
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.”
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.”
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?”
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?”
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.”
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.”
preyāṁs te’haṁ tvam api ca mama preyasīti pravādas
tvaṁ me prāṇā aham api tavāsmīti hanta pralāpaḥ |
tvaṁ me te syām aham iti yat tac ca no sādhu rādhe
vyāhāre nau na hi samucito yuṣmad-asmat-prayogaḥ ||
(Alaṅkāra-kaustubha: 5.27)
“‘[Śrī Kṛṣṇa:] [Our saying,] “I am your lover and you are my beloved” is [just] prattle. Oh! “You are my prāṇas and I am yours” is [just] chatter. O Rādhe! [Even] “You are mine and I am yours” is not correct, since usage [even] of [the words] “you” and “I” in our speech is not befitting.’
ekadā kṛṣṇa-patnyas tu śrī-kṛṣṇa-virahāturāḥ |
kālindīṁ muditā vīkṣya papracchur gata-matsarāḥ ||
śrī-kṛṣṇa-patnya ūcuḥ |
yathā vayaṁ kṛṣṇa-patnyas tathā tvam api śobhane |
vayaṁ viraha-duḥkhārtās tvaṁ na kālindi tad vada ||
tac chrutvā smayamānā sā kālindī vākyam abravīt |
sāpatnyaṁ vīkṣya tat tāsāṁ karuṇāpara-mānasā ||
śrī-kālindy uvāca |
ātmārāmasya kṛṣṇasya dhruvam ātmāsti rādhikā |
tasyā dāsya-prabhāveṇa viraho’smān na saṁspṛśet ||
tasyā evāṁśa-vistārāḥ sarvāḥ śrī-kṛṣṇa-nāyikāḥ |
nitya-sambhoga evāsti tasyāḥ sāmmukhya-yogataḥ ||
(Skanda Purāṇa: Vaiṣṇava-khaṇḍa, Bhāgavata-māhātmya, 2.8–12)
“Once, wives of Kṛṣṇa who were distressed in separation from Śrī Kṛṣṇa [and had come to Śrī Vṛndāvana] saw Kālindī [i.e., Yamunā Devī] delighted, and been covetous, inquired [from her]. Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s wives said, ‘As we are wives of Kṛṣṇa, so too are you, O splendid one. We are stricken with sorrow in separation, but you are not, O Kālindī. Please explain this.’ Hearing this [inquiry], observing their rivalry [towards her as a co-wife], and being of compassionate mind towards them, she, Kālindī, smiling, spoke this statement [to them]. Śrī Kālindī said, ‘Rādhikā is the eternal self (ātmā) of Kṛṣṇa, he whose joy is in the self [i.e., he who is known to be ātmārāma]. By the influence of service to her, separation [from Kṛṣṇa] cannot touch us. All of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s mistresses (nāyikās) are extensions of a part of her alone. There is certainly perpetual union [with Kṛṣṇa] (nitya-sambhoga) as a result of being present before her [alt., as a result of her favor, or, as a result of attentive service to her].”
