Rādhā

astācalaṁ cumbati bhānu-bimbe

astācalaṁ cumbati bhānu-bimbe
gṛhe gṛhe gokula-sundarīṇām |
divyānulepābharaṇāmbarāṇi
kṛṣṇāhriyante paritaḥ sakhībhiḥ ||
(Alaṅkāra-kaustubha: 8.101)

“O Kṛṣṇa,
When the orb of the sun
Kisses the western horizon,
In house after house
The splendid unguents, ornaments, and garments
Of the beauties of Gokula
Are brought from all sides by [their] friends
[So that these beauties can be well-dressed when they meet Kṛṣṇa as he re-enters the village in the early evening from his day of cow-herding out in the forest].”

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phalam api phalaṁ mākandānāṁ sitā api tāḥ sitā

phalam api phalaṁ mākandānāṁ sitā api tāḥ sitā
amṛtam amṛtaṁ drākṣā drākṣā madhūni madhūny api |
saha tulayituṁ tenaiteṣāṁ na kiñcana yujyate
subala yad ayaṁ sāraṅgākṣyā bhavaty adharo’dharaḥ ||
(Alaṅkāra-kaustubha: 3.5)

“[Śrī Kṛṣṇa:] Even the fruit of mango trees
Is [just] fruit.
Even candied sugar
Is [just] candied sugar.
[Even] Nectar is [just] nectar.
[Even] Grapes are [just] grapes.
Even honey is [just] honey.
O Subala,
None of these are fit
To be compared with that,
Since [that, viz.,] this lower lip of she of doe-eyes [viz., Śrī Rādhikā]
Is [really] a lower lip (adharaḥ)
[i.e., Something that excels all else].”

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hantāyam adrir abalā hari-dāsa-varyo

hantāyam adrir abalā hari-dāsa-varyo
yad rāma-kṛṣṇa-caraṇa-sparaśa-pramodaḥ |
mānaṁ tanoti saha-go-gaṇayos tayor yat
pānīya-sūyavasa-kandara-kanda-mūlaiḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.21.18)

“Hanta!
O ladies!
This mountain is the best of Hari’s servants
Since he is possessed of great delight
At the touch of Rāma and Kṛṣṇa’s feet,
And since he offers honor to them,
Along with their cows and company,
With beverages, fine grass, hollows, bulbs, and roots.”

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svayaṁ śrī-rādhikā devī prātar adyādideśa mām

svayaṁ śrī-rādhikā devī prātar adyādideśa mām |
sarūpāyāti mat-kuñje mad-bhakto māthuro dvijaḥ ||
tatraikākī tvam adyādau gatvā mad-upadeśataḥ |
prabodhyāśvāsya taṁ kṛṣṇa-prasādaṁ prāpaya drutam ||
asmāt tasyāḥ samādeśāc chīghram atrāham āgataḥ |
na praharṣād apekṣe sma kṛṣṇa-saṅga-sukhaṁ ca tat ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.7.9–11)

“Śrī Rādhikā Devī herself instructed me first thing in the morning, ‘Sarūpa, a bhakta of mine, a twice-born from Mathurā, is coming to my arbor. First thing you should go alone there first [i.e., before he arrives], enlighten him with my instructions, pacify him, and cause him to quickly attain Kṛṣṇa’s grace.’ In accord with this instruction of hers, I have swiftly come here, and out of delight, I did not wait for that bliss of Kṛṣṇa’s company [which I would have experienced this morning by accompanying him from the village into the forest as I normally do each day].”

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na vayaṁ sādhvi sāmrājyaṁ svārājyaṁ bhaujyam apy uta

na vayaṁ sādhvi sāmrājyaṁ svārājyaṁ bhaujyam apy uta |
vairājyaṁ pārameṣṭhyaṁ vā ānantyaṁ vā hareḥ padam ||
kāmayāmaha etasya śrīmat-pāda-rajaḥ śriyaḥ |
kuca-kuṅkuma-gandhāḍhyaṁ mūrdhnā voḍhuṁ gadābhṛtaḥ ||
vraja-striyo yad vāñchanti pulindyas tṛṇa-vīrudhaḥ |
gāvaś cārayato gopāḥ pāda-sparśaṁ mahātmanaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.83.41–43; cited in Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā on Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.7.43; Prīti Sandarbha: 108; Durgama-saṅgamanī-ṭīkā on Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.2.59)

“[Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s sixteen thousand queens say:] O Sādhvi, [i.e., O Draupadī], neither universal sovereignty [over the earth], nor sovereignty over Svarga, nor the enjoyment [of these forms of sovereignty], nor extensive sovereignty [i.e., attainment of the siddhis of minuteness (aṇimā) and so on], nor the dominion of Brahmā, nor the unlimited [i.e., the unlimited bliss experienced in realization of Brahman], nor even the abode of Hari [i.e., sālokya-, sāmīpya, sārṣṭi, or sārūpya-mukti]—we desire [none of these and instead desire] to bear atop our heads his—the Club-bearer’s [i.e., Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s]—blessed foot-dust enriched with the fragrance of kuṅkuma from the bosom of Śrī [i.e., Śrī Rādhā], since the ladies of Vraja, the Pulindī women, the grass and creepers [of Vraja], and the cowherds [there] tending the cows [all] long for the touch of the feet of he of most exalted disposition [i.e., they too all long for the touch of Kṛṣṇa’s feet].”

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tat-saundaryaṁ sā ca lāvaṇya-lakṣmīs

tat-saundaryaṁ sā ca lāvaṇya-lakṣmīs
tan-mādhuryaṁ tasya kiṁ varṇitaṁ syāt |
dravyair yogyā laukikair nopamā syāt
kiṁ vānyena dvārakendreṇa nāpi ||
kṛṣṇo yathā nāgara-śekharāgryo
rādhā tathā nāgarikā-varāgryā |
rādhā yathā nāgarikā-varāgryā
kṛṣṇo tathā nāgara-śekharāgryaḥ ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.6.110–111)

“Can that beauty, that wealth of loveliness, or that sweetness of his [i.e., Kṛṣṇa’s] be described? Neither with worldly objects, nor with others [i.e., Nārāyaṇa of Vaikuṇṭha, or Rāma of Ayodhyā], nor even the Lord of Dvārakā shall any comparison [thereof] be appropriate. [There is only one appropriate object of comparison:] As Kṛṣṇa is the foremost of cultured lovers, so Rādhā is the foremost of cultured ladyloves, and as Rādhā is the foremost of cultured ladyloves, so Kṛṣṇa is the foremost of cultured lovers.”

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smerāṁ śrī-kuṅkumābhāṁ sphurad-aruṇa-paṭa-prānta-kḷptāvaguṇṭhāṁ

smerāṁ śrī-kuṅkumābhāṁ sphurad-aruṇa-paṭa-prānta-kḷptāvaguṇṭhāṁ
ramyāṁ veśena veṇī-kṛta-cikura-śikhālambi-padmāṁ kiśorīm |
tarjjany-aṅguṣṭha-yuktyā hari-mukha-kamale yuñjatīṁ nāgavallī-
parṇaṁ karṇāyatākṣīṁ tri-jagati madhurāṁ rādhikām arcayāmi ||
(Gaurī Tantra; cited in the Gaura-Govindārcana-smaraṇa-paddhati of Gopāla Guru Gosvāmī and Dhyānacandra Gosvāmī)

“Gently smiling,
Bright with beautiful kumkum,
Veiled by the edge of her lustrous, red silken garment,
Delightful in appearance,
A lotus dangling from the peak of her braided hair,
Adolescent,
Placing a betel leaf in the lotus mouth of Hari
With her forefinger and thumb,
Her eyes extending to her ears
[i.e., her lotus eyes so wide so as to almost extend to her ears],
Charming the three worlds—
Śrī Rādhikā—
I worship.”

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trailokye pṛthivī dhanyā yatra vṛndāvanaṁ purī

trailokye pṛthivī dhanyā yatra vṛndāvanaṁ purī |
tatrāpi gopikāḥ pārtha tatra rādhābhidhā mama ||
(Ādi Purāṇa; cited in Laghu Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.46; Prīti Sandarbha: 109)

“[Śrī Kṛṣṇa:] In the three worlds, the earth [particularly], where the abode of Vṛndāvana is present, is blessed; therein, furthermore, the gopīs [are blessed], O Pārtha, and therein mine [i.e., the gopī most dear to me] by the name of Rādhā [is (most) blessed].”

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