vṛndāvanāvani-pate jaya soma soma-
maule sanandana-sanātana-nāradeḍya |
gopīśvara vraja-vilāsa-yugāṅghri-padme
prītiṁ prayaccha nitarāṁ nirupādhikam me ||
(Saṅkalpa-kalpadruma: 103)
“O protector of the land of Vṛndāvana! Glory to you! O husband of Umā! O you whose crown is the moon! O you are worshipped by Sananda, Sanātana, and Nārada! O guardian of the gopīs! Please bestow upon me firm, unconditional prīti for the lotus feet of the Playful Couple of Vraja.”
śruti-ratna-vibhūṣaṇa-ruci-jita-pūṣaṇam alidūṣaṇa-nayanānta-gatiṁ
yamunā-taṭa-talpita-puṣpam analpita-mada-jalpita-dayitāpta-ratim |
vandemahi vandita-nandam amandita-kulam andhita-khala-kaṁsa-matiṁ
tvām iha dāmodara haladhara-sodara hara no daram anubaddha-ratim ||
(Stava-mālā: Tribhaṅgī-pañcakam, 5)
“Unto you whose jeweled earrings have conquered the splendor of the sun, you whose sidelong glances belittle black bees, you who lie on a bed of flowers on the bank of the Yamunā, you who become delighted by the plentiful proud words of your beloved, you by whom Nanda is venerated, you who are of a prominent family, you who blinded the mind of wicked Kaṁsa, you who are bound by rati [to your bhaktas]—we offer obeisance. O Dāmodara! O Brother of Haladhara [i.e., O Kṛṣṇa, brother of Balarāma]! Please remove our fear here [i.e., our fear related to saṁsāra].”
tulayāma lavenāpi na svargaṁ nāpunar-bhavam |
bhagavat-saṅgi-saṅgasya martyānāṁ kim utāśiṣaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 1.18.13 and 4.30.34; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 10.284, Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.2.228; Bhakti Sandarbha: 134, 247; Prīti Sandarbha: 31, 112)
[The sages at Naimiṣāraṇya to Sūta Gosvāmī and the Pracetās to Bhagavān:] “We cannot equate Svarga or non-repetition of birth, much less benedictions had by human beings, with even an instant of association with those who are attached to Bhagavān.”
hā devi kāku-bhara-gadgadayādya vācā
yāce nipatya bhuvi daṇḍavad udbhaṭārtiḥ |
asya prasādam abudhasya janasya kṛtvā
gāndharvike nija-gaṇe gaṇanāṁ vidhehi ||
(Stava-mālā: Gāndharvā-prārthanāṣṭakam, 2)
“Hā! O Devī! Today, filled with intense heartache, I fall prostrate in obeisance on the ground [before you] and pray [to you] with a faltering voice filled with sorrow: O Gāndharvikā! Please bestow your grace upon this foolish fellow and count him within your own retinue.”
apāra-karuṇā-pūra-pūritāntar-mano-hrade |
prasīdāsmin jane devi nija-dāsya-spṛhā-juṣi ||
(Stava-mālā: Cāṭu-puṣpāñjali, 17)
“O you the deep lake of whose inner heart is filled with a boundless flood of compassion! O Devī! Please be gracious to this person, who cherishes longing for your service.”
tvām asau yācate natvā viluṭhan yamunā-taṭe |
kākubhir vyākula-svānto jano vṛndāvaneśvari ||
kṛtāgaske’py ayogye’pi jane’smin kumatāv api |
dāsya-dāna-pradānasya lavam apy upapādaya ||
yuktas tvayā jano naiva duḥkhito’yam upekṣitum |
kṛpā-dyota-dravac-citta-navanītāsi yat sadā ||
(Stava-mālā: Prārthanā-paddhati, 5–7)
“Offering obeisance to you,
And rolling about on the bank of the Yamunā,
This person of agitated heart,
Begs with cries of sorrow,
O Vṛndāvaneśvarī!
Although a transgressor,
Although unfit,
And although foul-minded,
Please bestow upon this person
Just a tiny portion of the gift
Of a share of [your] service.
It is not proper for this sorrowful person
To be neglected by you,
For the fresh butter of your heart
Is always melting under the sunshine of your grace.”
tvāṁ natvā yācate dhṛtvā tṛṇaṁ dantair ayaṁ janaḥ |
sva-dāsyāmṛta-sekena jīvayāmuṁ suduḥkhitam ||
na muñcec charaṇāyātam api duṣṭaṁ dayāmayaḥ |
ato gāndharvike hā hā muñcainaṁ naiva tādṛśam ||
(Stavāvalī: Premambodha-maranda-stava-rāja, 10–11)
“Bowing to you, holding straw between his teeth, this person is begging: ‘By sprinkling the nectar of your own service, please give life to this most sorrowful one.’ One who is gracious should not reject even a depraved person who has sought shelter. Therefore, O Gāndharvikā! Hā! Hā! Please do not ever reject [even] someone such as this.”
bhavatīm abhivādya cāṭubhir
varam ūrjeśvari varyam arthaye |
bhavadīyatayā kṛpāṁ yathā
mayi kuryād adhikāṁ bakāntakaḥ ||
(Stava-mālā: Utkalikā-vallariḥ, 20)
“O Ūrjeśvarī [i.e., O Rādhā, presiding goddess over Kārtika], I salute you, and with endearing words I pray for this finest benediction: may Bakāntaka [i..e, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the killer of Bakāsura], bestow greater grace upon me on account of [my] being your own.”
vijaya-ratha-kuṭumba ātta-totre
dhṛta-haya-raśmini tac-chriyekṣaṇīye |
bhagavati ratir astu me mumūrṣor
yam iha nirīkṣya hatā gatāḥ sva-rūpam ||
lalita-gati-vilāsa-valguhāsa-
praṇaya-nirīkṣaṇa-kalpitoru-mānāḥ |
kṛtam anukṛtavatya unmadāndhāḥ
prakṛtim agan kila yasya gopa-vadhvaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 1.9.39–40; cited in Prīti Sandarbha: 81)
[Bhīṣmadeva:] “Let me, desiring death, have rati for Bhagavān, who is sightly on account of his splendor, holding the reins of horses [in his left hand] and grasping a whip [with his right] as he protects the chariot of Vijaya [i.e., Arjuna]; by seeing whom the dead [in the battle of Kurukṣetra] attained their own forms [i.e., mukti]; and whose nature the wives of the gopas verily attained as they were highly honored by [his] charming movements, play, attractive smiles, and loving glances, [thus] blinded by [the] madness [of prema], and [so became] engaged in imitating his deeds.”
gaura-śyāma-rucojjvalābhir amalair akṣṇor vilāsotsavair
nṛtyantībhir aśeṣa-mādana-kalā-vaidagdhya-digdhātmabhiḥ
anyonya-priyatā-sudhā-parimala-stomonmadābhiḥ sadā
rādhā-mādhava-mādhurībhir abhitaś cittaṁ mamākrāmyatām
(Kṛṣṇa Sandarbha: 189)
“The brilliance of their fair and blackish lusters, their dancing amid a festival of pure delight in their eyes [as they gaze upon one another], their figures anointed with mastery in all the arts of amour, their inebriety brought about by the fragrances of the nectars of their love for one another—let my heart be continuously and completely overwhelmed by the [aforementioned] sweetnesses of Rādhā and Mādhava.”
