Śrī Kṛṣṇasya Līlāmṛtākhyaṁ Nāma-daśakam
A poem consisting of ten names known as The Nectar of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s Līlā
By Śrīmad Rūpa Gosvāmīpāda
Sambhoga
vidagdhānāṁ mitho līlā-vilāsena yathā sukham
vidagdhānāṁ mitho līlā-vilāsena yathā sukham |
na tathā samprayogeṇa syād evaṁ rasikā viduḥ ||
yathā—
balena parirambhaṇe nakha-śikhābhir ullekhanaṁ
haṭhād adhara-khaṇḍane bhuja-yugena bandha-kriyām |
dukūla-dalane hatim kuvalayena kurvāṇayā
ratād api sukhaṁ harer adhikam ādadhe rādhayā ||
yathā vā—
narmotseka-kalā dṛg-añcala-camatkārī bhruvor vibhramaḥ
saṁvyānasya vikarṣaṇe caṭulatāṁ karṇotpalenāhatiḥ |
krīḍeyaṁ vraja-nāgarī-rati-guror gāndharvikāyās tathā
bhūyiṣṭhaṁ suratotsavād api navāsvādaṁ vitene sukham ||
ata eva śrī-gīta-govinde—
pratyūhaḥ pulakāṅkureṇa niviḍa-śleṣe nimeṣeṇa ca
krīḍā-kūta-vilokite’dhara-sudhā-pāne kathā-narmabhiḥ |
ānandābhigamena manmatha-kalā-yuddhe’pi yasminn abhud
udbhūtaḥ sa tayor babhūva suratārambhaḥ priyaṁbhāvukaḥ ||
(Ujjvala-nīlāmaṇi: 15.253–256)
“For the cultured, pleasure shall not arise from full union (samprayoga) as it shall from sportive coquetry (līlā-vilāsa) with one another. This rasikas know.
As [is described in the following verse]:
‘By scratching [him on the chest] with the tips of her nails
When he embraces [her] by force,
By blocking [him] with her arms
When he forcibly bites her lip,
And by striking [him] with a water lily
When he pulls her raiment,
Pleasure for Hari
Greater than even [that of] union [i.e., samprayoga]
Was created by Rādhā.’
Or as [is described in the following verse]:
‘The art of pouring forth jokes [exhibited by Kṛṣṇa],
And the waggling of the eyebrows
[That was] Astonishing with sidelong glances [exhibited by Rādhā in return],
The vivacity in pulling upon the upper garment [of Rādhā exhibited by Kṛṣṇa],
And the blow with a lotus from her ear [dealt to Kṛṣṇa by Rādhā in return]—
This play
Between the ladies of Vraja’s Love-teacher (Rati-guru) and Gāndharvikā
Manifested pleasure abundant and freshly relishable
Even more so than the delight of full union (samprayoga).’
Therefore, in Śrī Gīta-govinda (12.10) [the following is found], ‘Wherein obstruction arose
To their tight embraces
By their horripilation,
To their observation of the plentitude of their play
By the blinking of their eyes,
To their drinking the nectar of one another’s lips
By their talks and jokes,
And to their battle in the arts of the Mind-churner [i.e., Kāma]
By the arrival of bliss—
That [wonderful] beginning of their amorous union,
Being [most] pleasing [to them both],
Became perceptible.’”
sā kāmarūpā sambhoga-tṛṣṇāṁ yā nayati svatām
sā kāmarūpā sambhoga-tṛṣṇāṁ yā nayati svatām |
yad asyāṁ kṛṣṇa-saukhyārtham eva kevalam udyamaḥ ||
(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.2.283)
“That [bhakti] which draws desire for complete enjoyment [i.e., amorous union] (sambhoga) into its own self is [known as] kāma-rūpā [-rāgātmikā-bhakti] since within it is only endeavor exclusively for the sake of Kṛṣṇa’s happiness.”
tasya ca bhaved dvayaṁ vipralambhaḥ sambhogaś ceti
tasya ca bhaved dvayaṁ vipralambhaḥ sambhogaś ceti | tatra vipralambho viprakarṣeṇa lambhaḥ prāptir yasya sa tathā | yathoktam—‘yūnor ayuktayor bhāvo yuktayor vā tayor mithaḥ | abhīṣṭāliṅganādīnām anavāptau prakṛṣyate | sa vipralambho vijñeyaḥ sambhogonnati-kārakaḥ ||’ iti | … tasya vipralambhasya catvāro bhedāḥ—pūrva-rāgo mānaḥ prema-vaicittyaṁ pravāsaś ceti | atha sambhogaś ca yūnoḥ saṅgatayoḥ sambaddhatayā bhogo yatra sa bhāva ucyate | yathoktam—’darśanāliṅganādīnām ānukūlyān niṣevayā | yūnor ullāsam ārohan bhāvaḥ sambhoga ucyate ||’ iti |
(Prīti Sandarbha: 370)
“It [i.e., ujjvala-rasa], furthermore, shall have two varieties: (1) vipralambha [i.e., separation] and (2) sambhoga [i.e., enjoyment together]. Therein, vipralambha is [known as] that the attainment (lambha) of which occurs because of distance (vipra—viprakarṣa) [between the couple, lit., the ‘drawing apart’ of the couple], as is described [in Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi 15.2], ‘That bhāva of a couple, [be they] non-united or united together [at a given time], which is distinctly brought forth when their mutually desired embraces and so forth are not attained, and which is a cause of the elevation of [their] sambhoga, is to be known as vipralambha [i.e., separation].’ … This vipralambha has four varieties: (1) pūrva-rāga [lit., ‘prior attachment,’ that is, the vipralambha felt by a couple after they have developed attachment (rāga) to one another but prior to their ever meeting one another], (2) māna [i.e., jealous anger], (3) prema-vaicittya [lit., ‘bewilderment because of prema’], and (4) pravāsa [i.e., dwelling abroad]. Then, that bhāva in which a united couple’s enjoyment (bhoga) occurs on account of being joined together is called sambhoga [lit., ‘enjoyment (bhoga) together (sam)’], as is described [in Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi 15.188], ‘That bhāva that elevates a couple’s elation by means of acts of service [for one another], such as looking [at one another] and embracing [one another], out of favorability (anukūlya) [towards one another] is called sambhoga [i.e., enjoyment together].’”
darśanāliṅganādīnām ānukūlyān niṣevayā
darśanāliṅganādīnām ānukūlyān niṣevayā |
yūnor ullāsam ārohan bhāvaḥ sambhoga īryate ||
(Ujjvala-nīlāmaṇi: 15.188)
“Through the adoration of seeing [one another], embracing, and so forth out of favorability [i.e. intentness upon the satisfaction of the other], the bhāva that increases the delight of a pair of youths [i.e., a nāyaka and nāyikā] is called sambhoga.”
kānta-sevā sukha-pūra, saṅgama haite sumadhura
kānta-sevā sukha-pūra, saṅgama haite sumadhura |
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 3.20.60)
[For the gopīs:] “Service to the beloved is an outpouring of joy, and is far sweeter than union.”