Rādhā

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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cet kṛṣṇacandrasya mahāvatāras

cet kṛṣṇacandrasya mahāvatāras
tādṛg-nija-prema-vitāna-kārī |
syād vā kadācid yadi rādhikāyāḥ
premānubhūtiṁ tad upaity athāpi ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.5.234)

“If a great avatāra of Kṛṣṇacandra who is a distributor of such prema for himself, or, if [such a great avatāra] of Rādhikā, should ever come about, then too one would attain experience of that prema.”

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sā rādhikā bhagavatī kvacid īkṣyate cet

sā rādhikā bhagavatī kvacid īkṣyate cet
premā tadānubhavam ṛcchati mūrtimān saḥ |
śakyeta ced gaditum eṣa tayā tadaiva
śrūyeta tattvam iha ced bhavati sva-śaktiḥ ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.5.233)

“If ever she, Bhagavatī Rādhikā, is seen, then one attains experience of the embodiment of prema, and if this [i.e., prema] can ever be described by her, only then the essential nature [of that prema] shall be heard about, if one’s ability for that remains.”

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sāmānyataḥ kiñcid idaṁ mayoktaṁ

sāmānyataḥ kiñcid idaṁ mayoktaṁ
vaktuṁ viśeṣeṇa na śakyate tat |
premā tu kṛṣṇe vraja-yoṣitāṁ yas
tat-tattvam ākhyātum alaṁ kathaṁ syām ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.5.231)

“This much [about prema] is said by me in general. I am not able to describe that in depth. Indeed how would I be able to describe the essential nature of the prema for Kṛṣṇa of the ladies of Vraja?”

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