Vraja-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.”

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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.”

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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.”

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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.”

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te ca sarve janāḥ pūrva-dṛṣṭa-sarva-vilakṣaṇāḥ

te ca sarve janāḥ pūrva-dṛṣṭa-sarva-vilakṣaṇāḥ |
kenāpi hṛta-hṛd-vittās tad-bhāva-vyākulā iva ||
teṣāṁ darśana-mātreṇa tādṛśaṁ bhāvam āpnuvan |
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.6.23–24)

“[Gopa Kumāra describes his experience of first entering Goloka:] All those people [in Goloka], furthermore, were different from everyone I had seen before [elsewhere]. They were as though they had had the wealth of their hearts stolen by someone and were overcome by bhāva for him [i.e., for he who had stolen their hearts]. Just by the sight of them, I acquired a similar bhāva.”

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tad bhūri-bhāgyam iha janma kim apy aṭavyāṁ

tad bhūri-bhāgyam iha janma kim apy aṭavyāṁ
yad gokule’pi katamāṅghri-rajo-’bhiṣekam |
yaj-jīvitaṁ tu nikhilaṁ bhagavān mukundas
tv adyāpi yat-pada-rajaḥ śruti-mṛgyam eva ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.14.34)

[A translation based on the commentary of Śrī Śrīdhara Svāmīpāda:] “May I have that great fortune in which a birth of any sort here in the forest in Gokula shall occur wherein I may also receive an ablution in the dust of the feet of anyone [there] whose entire life is Bhagavān, Mukunda, [he] whose footdust is verily an object to be sought by the Śrutis even to this very day.”

[A translation based on the commentary of Śrī Viśvanātha Carkavartīpāda:] “May I have that great fortune in which a birth of any sort here in the forest or even in Gokula shall occur wherein I may receive an ablution in the dust of the feet of anyone [there] whose entire life is Bhagavān, Mukunda, and whose footdust is verily an object to be sought by the Śrutis even to this very day.”

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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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tat-tad-vinodāmṛta-sāgarāntaraṁ

tat-tad-vinodāmṛta-sāgarāntaraṁ
bibhety alaṁ me rasanāvagāhitum |
sadaiva tat-tan-madhura-priyāpi yat
karmaṇy aśakye na janaḥ pravartate ||
pītaṁ sakṛt karṇa-puṭena tat-tal-
līlāmṛtaṁ kasya haren na cetaḥ |
pravartituṁ vāñchati tatra tasmāl
lajjāṁ na rakṣet kila lolatā hi ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.5.114–115)

“My tongue is extremely afraid of plunging into the ocean of the nectar of those pastimes [i.e., Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes in Vraja] even though those sweets [i.e., those pastimes] are indeed always dear [alt., pleasing] to it because a person does not engage in an impossible task. [But] Whose heart shall the nectar of those līlās, drunk once through hollows of the ears, not steal? Therefore, [my tongue] desires to engage in that since intense desire (lolatā, syn., laulya) certainly cannot hold to shyness.”

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kaṣṭhām amutraiva parāṁ prabhor gatā

kaṣṭhām amutraiva parāṁ prabhor gatā
sphuṭā vibhūtir vividhā kṛpālutā |
surūpatāśeṣa-mahattva-mādhurī
vilāsa-lakṣmīr api bhakta-vaśyatā ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.5.103)

“Only there [i.e., in the land of Vraja] has the clearly evident, variegated magnificence, graciousness, excellence of figure, sweetness of complete greatness, splendor of play, and subservience to bhaktas of Prabhu reached the pinnacle.”

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