Śrī Rādhikāṣṭakam
Eight verses in prayer for the service of Śrī Rādhikā
By Śrīmad Raghunātha Dāsa Gosvāmīpāda
Rādhā Kuṇḍa
tasmin śrī-hari-rādhayor yugalitaṁ yad bhāti kuṇda-dvayaṁ
tasmin śrī-hari-rādhayor yugalitaṁ yad bhāti kuṇda-dvayaṁ
saṁsaṅgena parasparaṁ parimalān manye tayos tan-miṣam |
premāsīt prakaṭaṁ yataḥ
śvasanakaiḥ kampānvitaṁ jāḍya-yug
bhaktārdra-sthiti-kṛc ca tad ghana-rasākāraṁ darīdṛśyate ||
(Gopāla-campū: 1.9)
“The united pair of Śrī Hari and Rādhā’s kuṇḍas
Which shine there [i.e., at Govardhana]—
On account of the fragrance (parimala) [arising] from meeting one another [as their garlands are crushed against each other],
I consider that their [i.e., Rādhā and Śrī Hari’s] prema [for one another]
Has manifested on this pretext [i.e., in the forms of these kuṇḍas]
Since that [i.e., their prema] is fully visible [in these kuṇḍas]
In the form of water (ghana-rasa)
Which is filled with wavering (kampānvitaṁ)
Because of the winds (śvasanakaiḥ),
Possessed of coolness (jāḍya-yug),
And a cause of wetness (ārdra-stithi) for bhaktas [who bathe in them]
[Alt., I consider that their prema has manifested in the forms of these kuṇḍas]
Since their prema is experienced at the site of these kuṇḍas
In the form of thick rasa (ghana-rasa)
Which leads to one becoming filled with trembling (kampānvitaṁ)
As a result of breathing heavily (śvasanakaiḥ),
Creates stupor (jāḍya-yug),
And causes meltedness (ārdra-stithi) [of the heart] of bhaktas.”
śrī-vṛndā-vipinaṁ suramyam api tac chrīmān sa govardhanaḥ
śrī-vṛndā-vipinaṁ suramyam api tac chrīmān sa govardhanaḥ
sā rāsa-sthalikāpy alaṁ rasamayī kiṁ tāvad anya-sthalam |
yasyāpy aṁśa-lavena nārhati manāk sāmyaṁ mukundasya tat
prāṇebhyo’py adhika-priyeva dayitaṁ tat-kuṇḍam evāśraye ||
(Stavāvalī: Vraja-vilāsa-stava, 53)
“I take shelter in her kuṇḍa [i.e., Śrī Rādhā Kuṇḍa]—
Dear to Mukunda
Like [Śrī Rādhā,] she who is dearer [to him]
Then even his prāṇas—
[Her kuṇḍa] To even a minute portion of which
The beautiful, greatly charming forest of Vṛndā,
Beautiful Govardhana,
And the rasa-laden Rāsa-sthalī,
Much less any other place,
Do not merit [being considered to possess even] slight equivalence.”
yadā tava sarovaraṁ sarasa-bhṛṅga-saṅghollasat
yadā tava sarovaraṁ sarasa-bhṛṅga-saṅghollasat-
saroruha-kulojjvalaṁ madhura-vāri-sampūritam |
sphuṭat-sarasijākṣi he nayana-yugma-sākṣād babhau
tadaiva mama lālasājani tavaiva dāsye rase ||
(Vilāpa-kusumāñjali: 15)
“O you of blossoming lotus eyes! When your pond appeared before my eyes brimming with sweet water and splendid with clusters of lotuses shining amid swarms of enamored bumblebees, then only did my longing for the rasa of servitude exclusively unto you arise.”
līlānukūleṣu janeṣu
līlānukūleṣu janeṣu citte-
ṣūtpanna-bhāveṣu ca sādhakānām |
evaṁ-vidhaṁ sarvam idaṁ cakāsti
svarūpataḥ prākṛtavat pareṣu ||
(Govinda-līlāmṛta: 7.119)
“[Why do Rādhā Kuṇḍa and Śyāma Kuṇḍa appear to someone just like ordinary ponds and not as described here in Govinda-līlāmṛta?] All of this [i.e., the entire environment of and around Rādhā Kuṇḍa and Śyāma Kuṇḍa] shines as such [i.e., as has just been elaborately described in Govinda-līlāmṛta] in reality to persons favorable to the līlā [i.e., to nitya-siddha parikaras] and to the minds of sādhakas of manifest bhāva [i.e., to sādhakas who have attained bhāva-bhakti] but as though mundane (prākṛta) to others [i.e., to those in whom bhāva has not manifest].”