snehas tūtkṛṣṭatāvāptyā mādhuryaṁ mānayan navam |
yo dhārayaty adākṣiṇyaṁ sa māna iti kīrtyate ||
(Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi: 14.96)
“Sneha which, upon having reached excellence [i.e., full manifestation], causes experience of fresh sweetness (mādhurya) and adoption of non-compliance [i.e., external crookedness or obstinacy in one’s behavior so as to conceal one’s feelings] is called māna.”
snehas tūtkṛṣṭatāvāptyā mādhuryaṁ mānayan navam Read on →
yaṁ pravrajantam anupetam apeta-kṛtyaṁ
dvaipāyano viraha-kātara ājuhāva |
putreti tan-mayatayā taravo’bhinedus
taṁ sarva-bhūta-hṛdayaṁ munim ānato’smi ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 1.2.2)
“[Sūta Gosvāmī:] I bow to him [i.e., Śukadeva Gosvāmī], the sage upon whom the hearts of all beings are fixed [alt., the sage who is present in the hearts of all beings], he whom Dvaipāyana [i.e., Vyāsadeva], despairing in separation, called out to, ‘O son!’ as he withdrew [i.e., as Śukadeva departed from household life into seclusion to live as a renunciant just after his birth] unattained [i.e., not attained by Vyāsa; alt., alone] without rites [i.e., without receiving the upanaya and other customary saṁskāras], and, because of being absorbed [in whom], the trees echoed [‘O son!’ in return].”
yaṁ pravrajantam anupetam apeta-kṛtyaṁ Read on →
jālena sarasi mīnā hiṁsrair eṇā vane ca vāgurayā |
saṁsāre bhūtasṛjā snehena narāś ca badhyante ||
(Kāvyālaṅkāra: 8.104)
“Fish are caught by cruel persons in a lake with a net as are deer in a forest with traps; men [are caught] by the emanator of living beings in saṁsāra with affection.”
jālena sarasi mīnā hiṁsrair eṇā vane ca vāgurayā Read on →
āruhya paramāṁ kāṣṭhāṁ premā cid-dīpa-dīpanaḥ |
hṛdayaṁ drāvayann eṣa sneha ity abhidhīyate |
atrodite bhavej jātu na tṛptir darśanādiṣu ||
(Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi: 14.79)
“Prema which reaches its ultimate limit, illuminates the lamp of perception [i.e., produces perception of the object of prema—Kṛṣṇa], and melts the heart is called sneha. When it arises, no satiation can ever come about by darśana and so forth [i.e., by hearing of Kṛṣṇa, remembering Him, etc.; when sneha manifests, desire for Kṛṣṇa becomes insatiable even by direct interaction with him, much less seeing him, thinking of him, and so on].”
āruhya paramāṁ kāṣṭhāṁ premā cid-dīpa-dīpanaḥ Read on →
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.”
sāndraś citta-dravaṁ kurvan premā sneha itīryate Read on →
atrodite bhavej jātu na tṛptir darśanādiṣu ||
(Ujjvala-nīlāmaṇi: 14.79)
[The taṭastha-lakṣaṇa of the stage of prema-bhakti known as sneha:] “When this [i.e., sneha] arises, no satiation ever occurs by vision [of Kṛṣṇa] or otherwise [by hearing, meditating, or any other means].”
atrodite bhavej jātu Read on →
tvaṁ tu sarvaṁ parityajya snehaṁ svajana-bandhuṣu |
mayy āveśya manaḥ samyak sama-dṛg vicarasva gām ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.7.6; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha: 66)
[Kṛṣṇa:] “But you [i.e., O Uddhava] should completely forsake all affection for relatives and friends, fully absorb your mind in me, and, being of equal vision, wander the earth.”
tvaṁ tu sarvaṁ parityajya Read on →
atha viśveśa viśvātman viśva-mūrte svakeṣu me |
sneha-pāśam imaṁ chindhi dṛḍhaṁ pāṇḍuṣu vṛṣṇiṣu ||
tvayi me’nanya-viṣayā matir madhu-pate’sakṛt |
ratim udvahatād addhā gaṅgevaugham udanvati ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 1.8.41–42)
[Kuntī Devī to Śrī Kṛṣṇa:] “Now, O Lord of the universe, O Giver of consciousness to the universe, O Form of the universe, please cut these strong bonds of affection of mine for my relatives, the Pāṇḍavas and Vṛṣṇis [i.e., not my affection for them based on their endearment to you, but that affection which is based on bodily relationships and causes bondage; you are always attentive to their welfare, so why should I unnecessarily spend my life worrying about them?] O Madhupati, may my mind, having no other object [i.e., no thought of anything except you and your bhaktas], continuously [i.e., without cessation, or, without regard for obstacles] carry rati for you, just as the Gaṅgā carries its stream [i.e., its water to the ocean, disregarding all obstacles in its path].”
atha viśveśa viśvātman Read on →
darśane sparśane vāpi śravaṇe bhāṣaṇe’pi vā |
yatra dravaty antaraṅgaṁ sa sneha iti kathyate ||
(Subhāṣita-ratna-bhāṇḍāgāram)
“That wherein the inner self melts upon seeing, touching, hearing, or conversing [with someone] is called sneha (affection).”
darśane sparśane vāpi Read on →
