bhagavān api tā rātṛīḥ śāradotphulla-mallikāḥ |
vīkṣya rantuṁ manaś cakre yogamāyām upāśritaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.29.1)
“Seeing those nights in the autumn blooming with jasmine flowers, even Bhagavān made up his mind to enjoy and took recourse to yogamāyā.”
parisphuratu sundaraṁ caritram atra lakṣmī-pates
tathā bhuvana-nandinas tad-avatāra-vṛndasya ca |
harer api camatkṛti-prakara-vardhanaḥ kintu me
bibharti hṛdi vismayaṁ kam api rāsa-līlā-rasaḥ ||
(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 2.1.210)
[Uddhava:] “The beautiful feats of Lakṣmīpati and his avatāras who delight the world may manifest in full here [i.e., throughout the universe], but the rasa of the rāsa-līlā, which increases the abundance of even Hari’s astonishment, continually produces some sort of [indescribable] wonder in my heart.”
santi yadyapi me prājyā līlās tās tā manoharāḥ |
na hi jāne smṛte rāse mano me kīdṛśaṁ bhavet ||
(Bṛhad Vāmana Purāṇa; cited in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 2.1.209)
[Bhagavān:] “Although I have many well-known enchanting līlās, when I remember the rāsa-līlā, I do not know what becomes of my mind.”
vaṁśī-sañjalpitam anurataṁ rādhayāntardhi-keliḥ
prādurbhūyāsanam adhi-paṭaṁ praśna-kūṭottaraṁ ca |
nṛtyollāsaḥ punar api rahaḥ-krīḍanaṁ vāri-khelā
kṛṣṇāraṇye viharaṇam iti śrīmatī rāsa-līlā ||
(Vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī-ṭīkā on Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.33.26)
“The call of the vaṁśī, the response, the sport of disappearing with Rādhā, the [re-] appearance, sitting on [the gopīs’] garments, incisive questions and answers, the exultation of dancing, further private play, sporting in the water, and strolling in the forest along the Kṛṣṇā [i.e., the Yamunā]—such is the beautiful rāsa-līlā [of Śrī Kṛṣṇa].”
