Sakhīs – Page 4 – Anuśīlana.in

yat pālitaṁ tāta-mukhair vardhitaṁ

yat pālitaṁ tāta-mukhair vardhitaṁ
līlā-rasair mitra-gaṇair niṣevitam |
bhaktaiḥ sadāsvāditam etad ālibhiḥ
śrī-rādhayā kṛṣṇa-rasāmṛtaṁ phalam ||
(Govinda-līlāmṛta: 23.92)

“This fruit—Kṛṣṇa, the nectar of rasa [i.e., Kṛṣṇa, who is the nectar of prema personified]—which is continuously nourished with the rasas of līlās [i.e., with līlās full of varieties of rasa] by his father and so forth, [continuously] increased [with the rasas of līlās] by his friends, and [continuously] served [with the rasas of līlās] by his bhaktas [i.e., his servants], is [continuously] tasted [through the rasas of līlās] by Śrī Rādhā and friends.”

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tatas te bhojayitvānyā vayasyā dāsikā api

tatas te bhojayitvānyā vayasyā dāsikā api |
sa-gaṇaiḥ saha saṁhṛṣṭaiḥ sveśā-śeṣānnam ādatuḥ ||
(Govinda-līlāmṛta: 20.74)

“Thereafter, they [i.e., Tulasī and Rūpa Mañjarī] fed their contemporaries and servants and then with their companions delightedly ate their Īśā’s [i.e., Rādhā’s] remnants.”

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ramaṇa-kavala-śiṣṭaṁ san-mṛṇālaṁ marālyaḥ

ramaṇa-kavala-śiṣṭaṁ san-mṛṇālaṁ marālyaḥ
kiśalaya-kulam eṇyaḥ śrī-marandaṁ bhramaryaḥ |
amṛtam iva cakroyaś caindavaṁ rādhikādyā
mumudur adhikam annaṁ prāsya kṛṣṇāvaśiṣṭam ||
(Govinda-līlāmṛta: 20.71)

“Rādhikā and her companions felt abundant delight eating the remnants of Kṛṣṇa’s food just as female swans do by eating morsels of the remnants of fine lotus stems left by their husbands, deer do by eating young shoots, bees do by eating bright flower nectar, and cakorīs do by drinking the moon’s nectar.”

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praṇayi-jana-visṛṣṭaṁ śrī-harer bhukta-śiṣṭaṁ

praṇayi-jana-visṛṣṭaṁ śrī-harer bhukta-śiṣṭaṁ
tad-adhara-madhu-miṣṭaṁ tat-kareṇābhimṛṣṭam |
nija-nikhila-gaṇeṣṭaṁ rādhayā netra-dṛṣṭaṁ
mitam api ca tad āsīd akṣayaṁ vaṇṭane’nnam ||
(Govinda-līlāmṛta: 20.70)

“Although scant, as it was served, the food became [i.e., was felt to be] inexhaustible, since it was distributed by beloved friends [i.e., Tulasī and Kastūrī], it was the remnants of Śrī Hari, it was sweetened by the nectar from his lips, it was handled by his hand, it was desired by her [Rādhā’s] entire party, and it was glanced upon by Rādhā’s eyes.”

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snātānulipta-vapuṣaḥ pupuṣuḥ svabhās tan- nirmālya-mālya-vasanābharaṇena dāsyaḥ

snātānulipta-vapuṣaḥ pupuṣuḥ svabhās tan-
nirmālya-mālya-vasanābharaṇena dāsyaḥ |
prāsya svakāmam anuvṛtti-ratās tayor yāḥ
śrī-rūpa-mañjari-samāna-guṇābhidhānāḥ ||
tā vidyud-uddyuti-jayi-prapadaika-rekhā
vaidagdhya eva kila mūrtibhṛtas tathāpi |
yūtheśvarītvam api samyag arocayitvā
dāsyāmṛtābdhim anusasnur ajasram asyāḥ ||
(Kṛṣṇa-bhāvanāmṛta: 3.1–2)

“The dāsīs whose bodies are bathed and anointed and whose own lusters are nourished with her [i.e., Śrī Rādhā’s] remnant garlands, garments, and ornaments, [the dāsīs] who have cast away selfish desire and are engaged in pleasing them [i.e., Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa], [the dāsīs] who are known to possess qualities equal [in excellence] to the buds (mañjarīs) of their figures and splendors [alt., who are known to have qualities equal to those of Śrī Rūpa Mañjarī], [the dāsīs] one ray from the tips of whose toes defeats the brilliance of lightning, [the dāsīs] who are verily embodiments of cleverness, [the dāsīs] who nevertheless have no taste whatsoever for being a yūtheśvarī [even though they are fully qualified to be one], [those dāsīs] forever bath in the ocean of the nectar of servitude (dāsya) unto her [i.e., Śrī Rādhā].”

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śrī-rādhā-pāda-padma-cchavi-madhuratara-prema-cij-jyotir ekā-mbodher

śrī-rādhā-pāda-padma-cchavi-madhuratara-prema-cij-jyotir ekā-
mbodher udbhūta-phena-stavaka-maya-tanūḥ sarva-vaidagdhya-pūrṇāḥ |
kaiśora-vyañjitās tad-ghana-rug-apaghana-śrī-camatkāra-bhājo
divyālaṅkāra-vastrā anusarata sakhe rādhikā-kiṅkarīs tāḥ ||
(Vṛndāvana-mahimāmṛta: 2.86)

“Their forms are made of clusters of foam arising from the superexcellent ocean of the spiritual light of prema made even sweeter by the luster of Śrī Rādhā’s lotus feet. They are replete with all expertise and vividly youthful, their figures are splendorous and astonishing with the intense luster thereof [i.e., of their youth] and adorned with charming ornaments and garments. O sakhī, follow those maidservants of Rādhikā.”

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rāgera bhajana-patha

rāgera bhajana-patha, kahi ebe abhimata,
loka-veda-sāra ei vāṇī |
sakhīra anugā haiyā, vraje siddha-deha pāiyā,
sei bhāve juḍābe parāṇī ||
(Prema-bhakti-candrika: 48)

“I now speak of the approved path of rāga-bhajana. This teaching is the essence of the world [i.e., worldly propriety] and the Vedas. Becoming a follower of the sakhīs, and receiving a siddha-deha in Vraja, soothe the heart with this bhāva.”

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mātar gopa-kiśoraṁ taṁ

mātar gopa-kiśoraṁ taṁ tvañ ca rāsa-rasāmbudhim |
tat-prema-mohitābhiḥ śrī-gopībhir abhito vṛtam ||
amūṣāṁ dāsyam icchantī tādṛśa-prema-bhaṅgibhiḥ |
nityaṁ bhajasva tan-nāma-saṅkīrtana-parāyaṇā ||
(Bṛhad-Bhāgavatāmṛta: 1.7.154–5)

“The Adolescent Cowherd, the Ocean of the rasa of rāsa, surrounded on all sides by the beautiful gopīs enchanted by prema for him—O Mother, you too should always worship him with similar means of prema [i.e., with means of prema similar to those of the gopīs’ prema], desiring servitude to them [i.e., to the gopīs] and being absorbed in saṅkīrtana of his name.”

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sabe eka sakhī-gaṇera ihā̐ adhikāra |

sabe eka sakhī-gaṇera ihā̐ adhikāra |
sakhī haite haya ei līlāra vistāra ||
sakhī vinu ei līlā puṣṭi nāhi haya |
sakhī līlā vistāriyā, sakhī āsvādaya ||
sakhī vinu ei līlāya nāhi anyera gati |
sakhī-bhāve tā̐re yei kare anugati ||
rādhā-kṛṣṇa-kuñja-sevā-sādhya sei pāya |
sei sādhya pāite āra nāhika upāya ||
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.8.201–204)

“Among all, only the sakhīs have eligibility here [i.e., within Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa’s līlā], and expansion of this līlā occurs [only] through the sakhīs. Without the sakhīs, this līlā is not nourished. The sakhīs expand this līlā, and the sakhīs taste it. Apart from the sakhīs, others have no entrance into this līlā. One who with the bhāva of a sakhī follows them attains the sādhya [i.e., goal] of service in the kuñja to Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. There is no other way to attain this sādhya.”

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