Vraja-līlā

mātaḥ sapady eva vimiśritā gavāṁ

mātaḥ sapady eva vimiśritā gavāṁ
hambā-ravair veṇu-viṣāṇa-nikvaṇāḥ |
taumbeya-vīṇā-dala-vādya-carcitā
jātā gabhīrā madhurā vidūrataḥ ||
tau prāpitau bodham amībhir utthitau
tad-dīrgha-nādābhimukhe’bhyadhāvatām |
gopāla-devaṁ tam apaśyatām atho
suśyāma-gātra-dyuti-maṇḍalojjvalam ||
paśūn payaḥ pāyayituṁ vayasyaiḥ
samaṁ vihartuṁ taraṇeḥ sutāyām |
gajendra-līlārcita-nṛtya-gatyā-
ntike samāyāntam ananta-līlam ||
svakīya-kaiśora-mahāvibhūṣaṇaṁ
vicitra-lāvaṇya-taraṅga-sāgaram |
jagan-mano-netra-mudaṁ vivardhanaṁ
muhur muhur nūtana-mādhurī-bhṛtam ||
niḥśeṣa-sal-lakṣaṇa-sundarāṅgaṁ
nīpāvataṁsaṁ śikhi-piccha-cūḍam |
muktāvalī-maṇḍita-kambu-kaṇṭhaṁ
kauṣeya-pītāmbara-yugma-dīptam ||
guñjā-mahā-hāra-vilamba-bhūṣita-
śrī-vatsa-lakṣmy-ālaya-pīna-vakṣasam |
siṁhendra-madhyaṁ śata-siṁha-vikramaṁ
saubhāgya-sārārcita-pāda-paṅkajam ||
kadamba-guñja-tulasī-śikhaṇḍa-
pravāla-mālāvali-cāru-veṣam |
kaṭī-taṭī-rājita-citra-puṣpa-
kañcī-vilambāḍhya-nitamba-deśam ||
sauvarṇa-divyāṅgada-kaṅkaṇollasad-
vṛttāyatā-sthūla-bhujābhirāmam |
bimbādhara-nyasta-manojña-veṇu-
vādyollasat-padma-karāṅgulīkam ||
svotprekṣitāpaurvika-veṇu-gīta-
bhaṅgi-sudhā-mohita-viśva-lokam |
tiryaṅ manāg lola-viloka-līlā-
laṅkāra-saṁlālita-locanābjam ||
cāpopamā-bhrū-yuga-nartana-śrī-
saṁvardhita-preṣya-janānurāgam |
śrīmat-sadā-smera-mukhāravinda-
śobha-samākṛṣṭa-munīndra-cittam ||
tila-prasūnottama-nāsikāgrato
virājamānaika-gajendra-mauktikam |
kadāpi go-dhūli-vibhūṣitālaka-
dvirepha-sambhālanato lasat-karam ||
sūryātmajā-mṛd-racitordhva-puṇḍra-
sphītārdha-candrākṛti-bhāla-paṭṭam |
nānādri-dhātu-praticitritāṅgaṁ
nānā-mahāraṅga-taraṅga-sindhum ||
sthitvā tri-bhaṅgi-lalitaṁ kadācin
narmāṇi vaṁśyā bahu vādayantam |
tair hāsayantaṁ nija-mitra-vargān
bhūmiṁ padaiḥ svaiḥ paribhūṣayantam ||
tādṛg-vayo-veṣa-vatāgra-janmanā
nīlāṁśukālaṅkṛta-gaura-kāntinā |
rāmeṇa yuktaṁ ramaṇīya-mūrtinā
taiś cātma-tulyaiḥ sakhibhiḥ priyair vṛtam ||
tad-darśanādbhuta-mahāmudāvalī-
bhareṇa gāḍhena nipātitau hi tau |
daṇḍa-praṇāmārtham ivāśu petatuḥ
sambhrānti-vidhvaṁśita-sarva-naipuṇyau ||
sa ca priya-prema-vaśaḥ pradhāvan
samāgato harṣa-bhareṇa mugdhaḥ |
tayor upary eva papāta dīrgha-
mahābhujābhyāṁ parirebhatau dvau ||
premāśru-dhārābhir aho mahāprabhuḥ
sa snāpayām āsa kṛpārdra-mānasaḥ |
kṣaṇāt samutthāya kara-dvayena
tāv utthāpayām āsa cakāra ca sthirau ||
saṁmarjayann aśru rajaś ca gātre
lagnaṁ dayālur muhur āliliṅga |
tatraiva tābhyām upaviśya bhūmau
vākyāmṛtair vipram atoṣayac ca ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.7.19–36)

“[Parīkṣit Mahārāja to Uttarā Devī:] O Mother,
All of the sudden arose the deep,
Sweet sounds of flutes and horns
Blended with the mooing of cows
And joined by the music
Of gourd vīṇās and leaves [i.e., leaf whistles].
Brought to consciousness by these [sounds],
The two [i.e., the guru and disciple, Sarūpa and the Mathurā brāhmaṇa] arose and ran
Towards those long-traveling sounds.
Then,
They saw him,
Gopāladeva,
Effulgent with the radiance
Of his excellently swarthy figure;
Coming near with a dancing gait,
[Which is] Worshiped by the sporting of the king of elephants,
To water his animals
And play with his contemporaries [i.e., close friends]
In the Daughter of the Sun [i.e., the Yamunā];
[They saw Gopāladeva, he who is] Possessed of unlimited līlās;
Possessed of the tremendous, fine ornament
Of his own adolescence;
An ocean filled with waves
Of extraordinary loveliness;
Greatly increasing of the delight
Of the minds and eyes of the world;
Filled with fresh sweetness moment after moment;
Of beautiful figure [marked] with all the signs of auspiciousness;
[Adorned with] Kadamba flower ear-garlands [on his ears];
[Adorned with] A peacock feather plume [atop his head];
Of conch-shell neck adorned with a pearl necklace;
Luminous by virtue of his pair of yellow silken garments;
Of broad chest—the abode of the śrīvatsa and Lakṣmī—
Ornamented with a long, hanging necklace of guñjās;
Of a waist of the king of lions;
Of the strength of a hundred lions;
Of lotus feet worshiped by the essence of good fortune [i.e., paramount beauty];
Wearing the charming adornments
Of kadamba, guñjā, tulasī, peacock feather, and coral necklaces;
Of hips adorned with a hanging sash of bright flowers
Embellishing the slope of his waist;
Attractive with his long, round, buff arms
Shining with splendid golden bangles and armlets;
Of fingers on his lotus hands shining
As he plays his alluring flute
Fixed at his bimba [red] lips;
Enchanting the people of the world
With the nectar of the unprecedented embellishments
Of his flute song anticipated [alt., demonstrated] by him [alone];
Of lotus eyes finely caressed by the ornaments
Of the play of his side-long, slightly rolling glances;
Fully nourishing of the love of his servants
With the beauty of the dancing
Of his pairs of brows comparable to [the] bows [of an archer];
Possessed of a splendor in his beautiful ever-smiling lotus face
Fully attracting to the hearts of the best of the sages;
Possessed of one excellent pearl from a king of elephants
Shining on the tip of his fine sesame flower nose;
Of glistering hands sometimes brushing aside
The bees of his locks finely adorned with dust raised by the cows;
Possessed of a half-moon shaped, slab-like forehead
Endowed with vertical marks
Made with [bright] clay from the Daughter of the Sun [i.e., the Yamunā];
Of limbs painted all over with various mountain minerals [e.g., red gairika and yellow haritāla];
An ocean of the waves
Of various grand sports;
Standing sometimes in a thrice-bent posture;
Playing numerous humorous sounds with his flute;
Making his personal friends laugh thereby;
Decorating the earth all around with his own feet [i.e., with his foot-prints];
Accompanied by his elder brother of similar age and garb—
[That is,] Rāma of pleasing figure and fair luster
Bedecked with fine blue garments;
And surrounded by his dear friends equal to himself.
Knocked down by the heavy weight
Of the series of great joys
Produced the sight of him,
They [i.e., Sarūpa and the Mathurā brāhmaṇa] quickly dropped [to the ground] as if to offer prostrate obeisances,
All their adeptness dashed by their astonishment.
He [i.e., Śrī Gopāladeva] too became overwhelmed
With prema for his dear ones,
Ran over,
Joined [them],
Became bewildered by the weight of his delight,
And fell right on top of them,
Embracing them both with his long, mighty arms,
Aho!
He, the Supreme Master (Mahāprabhu),
His heart melted with compassion,
Bathed them with streams of his tears of prema.
Arising after a moment,
He raised and steadied them with his two hands.
Wiping away the tears and dust
Smeared on their bodies,
The Gracious One embraced them repeatedly.
And [then] sitting right there on the ground with them,
He satisfied the brāhmaṇa with the nectars of his speech.”

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karuṇā-nikuramba-komale

karuṇā-nikuramba-komale
madhuraiśvarya-viśeṣa-śālini |
jayati vraja-rāja-nandane
na hi cintā-kaṇikābhyudeti naḥ ||
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.21.45)

“Since the Son of Vraja’s king, who is tender by virtue of his abundance of compassion and replete with a special form of sweet (madhura) aiśvarya, remains triumphant, not even a trace of worry arises in us.”

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aho bhagavato naumi balāt sarva-pravartanam

aho bhagavato naumi balāt sarva-pravartanam |
prāhiṇod yaḥ sva-śūnye’pi śrī-nandadīn api vraje ||
tvāṁ vrajeśvari śocāmi tvāṁ ca vṛndāvaneśvari |
kṛṣṇaṁ vinā gateṣv eṣu hā hā jīviṣyathaḥ katham ||
(Laghu Vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī-ṭīkā on Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.45.25)

“Aho! I praise [only] by force all the promptings of Bhagavān, who sent even Śrī Nanda and company to Vraja even when it was devoid of himself. I grieve for you, O Vrajeśvarī! [i.e., O Mother Yaśodā!], and you, O Vṛndāvaneśvarī! [i.e., O Śrī Rādhā!] Hā hā! Now that they [i.e., Śrī Nanda and company] have gone [back to Vraja] without Kṛṣṇa, how will you two live?”

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aho kila tad evāhaṁ manye bhagavato hareḥ

aho kila tad evāhaṁ manye bhagavato hareḥ |
sugopya-bhagavattāyāḥ sarva-sāra-prakāśanam ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.5.88)

“Aho! I certainly consider that [i.e., the figure, qualities, pastimes, and so forth of Śrī Hari in Goloka] alone the manifestation of the essence of the entirety of the most confidential Bhagavattā of Bhagavān Hari!”

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lokānugāpi sānyonyaṁ priyatātīta-laukikā

lokānugāpi sānyonyaṁ priyatātīta-laukikā |
madhurātyadbhutaiśvarya-laukikatva-vimiśritā ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.5.84)

“Although following the [ways of] the world, that reciprocal fondness [of Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣna and the Vraja-vāsīs] is beyond the worldly, sweet (madhurā), exceedingly astonishing, and specially mixed with worldliness and aiśvarya.”

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tādṛg bhagavati premā pāramaiśvarya-dṛṣṭitaḥ

tādṛg bhagavati premā pāramaiśvarya-dṛṣṭitaḥ |
sadā sampadyate naiva bhaya-gaurava-sambhavāt ||
kevalaṁ laukika-prāṇa-suhṛd-buddhyā sa sidhyati |
lokālokottaro yo’sāv atilokottaro’pi yaḥ ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.5.82–83)

“Prema of such nature for Bhagavān certainly cannot be attained by means of constant vision of [his] paramount aiśvarya because of the ensuance of fear and reverence [i.e., because fear, reverence, and other sentiments that obstruct the manifestation of that prema ensue from focus on Śrī Bhagavān’s paramount aiśvarya]. That [i.e., prema which follows the beautiful prema of the residents of Vraja, as described in BB 2.5.81] is attained only by means of the mentality of [Śrī Bhagavān’s being like] the friend of one’s prāṇa as in the world. It [i.e., such prema] is that which is beyond the lokas and non-lokas, and which is beyond even that which is above the lokas [i.e., beyond even Vaikuṇṭha].”

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sa ca tad-vraja-lokānāṁ śrīmat-premānuvartinā

sa ca tad-vraja-lokānāṁ śrīmat-premānuvartinā |
kṛṣṇe śuddhatareṇaiva bhāvenaikena labhyate ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.5.81)

“And that [i.e., Goloka] is attained only through one-pointed, exceedingly pure bhāva for Kṛṣṇa which follows the beautiful prema of those residents of Vraja.”

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śrī-govindaṁ vrajānanda-sandohāmanda-mandiram

śrī-govindaṁ vrajānanda-sandohāmanda-mandiram |
vande vṛndāvanānandaṁ śrī-rādhā-saṅga-nanditam ||
(Govinda-līlāmṛta: 1.1)

“I offer obeisance to Śrī Govinda,
He who is the abode filled
With the totality of the bliss of Vraja,
He whose bliss is in Vṛndāvana,
He who is blissful in the company of Śrī Rādhā.”

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