brahman yam anugṛhṇāmi tad viśo vidhunomy aham |
yan madaḥ puruṣaḥ stabdho lokaṁ māṁ cāvamanyate ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 8.22.24; cited in Prīti Sandarbha: 47)
“[Śrī Bhagavān:] O Brahmā, from one whom I favor I remove that wealth by which the person becomes proud, obstinate, and disrespectful towards the world and myself.”
prīyatāṁ puṇḍarīkākṣaḥ sarva-yajñesvaro hariḥ |
tasmiṁs tuṣṭe jagat tuṣṭaṁ prīṇite prīṇitaṁ bhavet ||
(Matsya Purāṇa: 238.38)
“May Hari of lotus eyes, the Lord of all sacrifices (yajñās), be pleased. When he is satisfied, the world is satisfied, and when he is pleased, the world is pleased.”
vana-mālini yādṛśāśayo mama tādṛṅ na kapāla-mālini |
asite mudire yathā śikhī mudam abhyeti tathā na pāṇḍure ||
devyas taṭinyas tridaśās taḍāgā viśveśvaro’yaṁ saritām adhīśaḥ |
tṛṣṇāharaḥ ko’pi kṛṣṇa-meghaṁ vihāya cintāmaṇi-cātakasya ||
(Cintāmaṇi Dīkṣita; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha 106)
“My heart does not find delight in he who wears a skull-garland [i.e., Śiva] as it does in he who wears a forest garland [i.e., Kṛṣṇa]; a peacock does not find delight in a white cloud as it does in a dark cloud. The devīs are [like] rivers, the devas are [like] ponds, and this Viśveśvara [i.e., Śiva] is [like] an ocean, but no one is the remover of the cātaka Cintāmaṇi’s thirst except the cloud Kṛṣṇa.”
veda-śāstre upadeśe—kṛṣṇa eka sāra |
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.22.3)
“The Vedic śāstra teaches that Kṛṣṇa is sole essence.”
kṛṣṇera aiśvarya apāra—amṛtera sindhu |
avagāhite nārila, tāra chu̐ila eka bindu ||
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.21.98)
“Kṛṣṇa’s boundless aiśvarya is an ocean of nectar. I cannot swim within it and have only touched upon one drop of it.”
guṇaiḥ svair hīnā me yadapi kavitā nātimadhurā
satāṁ svādyāthāpy acyuta-guṇa-yutatvena bhavitā |
ayaḥ-śastrī spṛṣṭā mṛgayu-gṛha-gā sparśa-maṇinā
suvarṇatvaṁ prāptā bhavati mahatāṁ bhūṣaṇa-kṛte ||
(Govinda-līlāmṛta: 16.5)
[On the order of Vṛndā following the indication of Rādhā, a parrot begins to speak in praise of Kṛṣṇa:] “Although my poetry is deficient in its own attributes and not very sweet, still it shall be relishable to sādhus because of it being endowed with [descriptions of] the qualities of Acyuta, since [even] an iron knife situated in the home of a hunter that has been touched by a touchstone and attained the state of being golden becomes suitable for decorating a great person.”
vaśam alpikayāpi sevayāmuṁ
vihite’py āgasi duḥsahe smitāsyam |
para-duḥkha-lave’pi kātaraṁ me
harim udvīkṣya manas tanoti tṛṣṇām ||
(Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi: 10.4)
“Observing Hari captivated by even a little service, with a smiling face even when an intolerable offense is committed [against him], and distressed by even very slight suffering in another, my mind thirsts [for him].”
sarvārthināṁ bāḍham abhīṣṭa-pūrtyā
vyarthīkṛtāḥ kaṁsa-nisūdanena |
hriyeva cintāmaṇi-kāmadhenu-
kalpa-drumā dvāravatīṁ bhajanti ||
(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 2.1.124)
“Made useless by the Enemy of Kaṁsa’s abounding fulfillment of all seekers’ desires, thought-jewels, desire-cows, and desire-trees serve Dvārakā as though embarrassed.”
advaita-vīthī-pathikair upāsyāḥ
svānanda-siṁhāsana-labdha-dīkṣāḥ |
śaṭhena kenāpi vayaṁ haṭhena
dāsī-kṛtā gopa-vadhū-viṭena ||
(Bilvamaṅgala Ṭhākura; cited in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 3.1.44; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.10.178, 2.24.133)
“We, who were worshipped by the followers of the path of non-dualism (advaita) and consecrated on the throne of the bliss of the self, have been converted into a servant deceitfully and forcibly by some paramour of cowherd men’s wives.”
santv avatārā bahavaḥ paṅkaja-nābhasya sarvato-bhadrāḥ |
kṛṣṇād anyaḥ ko vā latāsv api prema-do bhavati ||
(Bilvamaṅgala Ṭhākura; cited in Laghu Bhāgavāmṛta: 1.5.37; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 1.3.27)
“There may be many all-auspicious avatāras of he of lotus-navel [i.e. Bhagavān], but who other than Kṛṣṇa is the bestower of prema upon even creepers?”
