Yugala-gītā
Twelve pairs of verses sung by the gopīs in separation from Śrī Kṛṣṇa
Excerpted from Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 10.35.1–26.
Separation
kṛṣṇe gate madhupurīṁ bata ballavīnāṁ
kṛṣṇe gate madhupurīṁ bata ballavīnāṁ
bhāvo’bhavat sapadi yo laya-vahni-tīvraḥ |
premāsya hetur uta tattvam idaṁ hi tasya
mā tad-viśeṣam aparaṁ bata boddhum iccha ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.5.232)
“Bata!
The bhāva of the gopīs,
More intense than the fire of [universal] dissolution,
Which instantly arose
When Kṛṣṇa went to Madhupurī—
The cause of that [bhāva] is prema,
And this [bhāva] is verily the quiddity of it [i.e., of prema].
Bata!
Do not desire to understand
Any other distinguishing characteristic of it [i.e., of prema,
Lest you and I enter an overwhelmingly perfervid state].”
śūnyāyate mahāgoṣṭhaṁ girīndro’jagarāyate
śūnyāyate mahāgoṣṭhaṁ girīndro’jagarāyate |
vyāghra-tuṇḍāyate kuṇḍaṁ jīvātu-rahitasya me ||
(Stavāvalī: Prārthanāśraya-caturdaśaka, 11)
“The great pastureland [i.e., Vraja] seems empty, the king of mountains [i.e., Girirāja Govardhana] seems like a python, and the pool [i.e., Rādhā Kuṇḍa] seems like the jaws of a tiger for I who am bereft of [my] vitality [i.e., Śrī Rūpa].”
śrī-kṛṣṇa-rūpādi-niṣevaṇaṁ vinā
śrī-kṛṣṇa-rūpādi-niṣevaṇaṁ vinā
vyarthāni me’hāny akhilendriyāṇy alam |
pāṣāṇa-śuṣkendhana-bhārakāṇy aho
bibharmi vā tāni kathaṁ hatatrapaḥ ||
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.2.28)
“Without the service of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s figure and so forth, my days and all my senses are like a completely useless burden of stone and dry wood. Aho! How do I bear them? I am shameless.”
amūny adhanyāni dināntarāṇi
amūny adhanyāni dināntarāṇi
hare tvad-ālokanam antareṇa |
anātha-bandho karuṇaika-sindho
hā hanta hā hanta kathaṁ nayāmi ||
(Kṛṣṇa-karṇāmṛta: 41; cited Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.2.58)
“O Hari! O Friend of the helpless! O one and only Ocean of mercy! Hā! Hanta! Hā! Hanta! How shall I pass these unfortunate days and nights without sight of you?”
ayi dīna-dayārdra nātha he
ayi dīna-dayārdra nātha he
mathurānātha kadāvalokyase |
hṛdayaṁ tvad-aloka-kātaraṁ
dayita bhrāmyati kiṁ karomy aham ||
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.4.197)
“O you who are melted with grace for the destitute! O Nātha! O Nātha of Mathurā! When will I see you [again]? Without the sight of you, my heart trembles. O Beloved! What shall I do now?”
sāndraś citta-dravaṁ kurvan premā sneha itīryate
sāndraś citta-dravaṁ kurvan premā sneha itīryate |
kṣaṇikasyāpi neha syād viśleṣasya sahiṣṇutā ||
(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 3.3.84)
“Intense prema melting the heart (citta) is called sneha. Within it, tolerance for even a moment of separation [from Kṛṣṇa] is not possible.”
na vinā vipralambhena sambhogaḥ puṣṭim aśnute
na vinā vipralambhena sambhogaḥ puṣṭim aśnute |
(Bhojadeva’s Sarasvatī-kaṇṭhābharaṇa: 5.52; cited in Ujjvala-nīlāmaṇi: 15.3)
“Without separation, union does not attain richness.”
saṅgama-viraha-vikalpe
saṅgama-viraha-vikalpe
varam iha viraho na saṅgamas tasya |
ekaḥ sa eva saṅge
tribhuvanam api tanmayaṁ virahe ||
(Unknown source; cited in Padyāvalī: 239; Ānanda-candrikā-ṭīkā on Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi: 15.3)
“In the instance of [a lover having] an option between union and separation, separation is preferable in this case, and not union with him [i.e., the beloved]. In union, he alone is there, while in separation, indeed the three worlds are filled with him.”
yathā dūracare preṣṭhe mana āviśya vartate
yathā dūracare preṣṭhe mana āviśya vartate |
strīṇāṁ ca na tathā cetaḥ sannikṛṣṭe’kṣi-gocare ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.47.35; cited in Kṛṣṇa Sandarbha: 162)
“The minds of women do not remain as absorbed in their beloved when he is nearby in the range of the eyes as they do when he is far away.”