devo bhūtvā yajed devaṁ nādevo devam arcayet |
(Tantra-śāstra; cited in Tattva Sandarbha: 22, Bhagavat Sandarbha: 64, and Bhakti Sandarbha: 306)
“Becoming a deva, worship the deva. A non-deva cannot worship a deva.”
rādhāyā bhavataś ca citta-jatunī svedair vilāpya kramād
yuñjann adri-nikuñja-kuñjara-pate nirdhūta-bheda-bhramam |
citrāya svayam anvarañjayad iha brahmāṇḍa-harmyodare
bhūyobhir nava-rāga-hiṅgula-bharaiḥ śṛṅgāra-kāruḥ kṛtī ||
(Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi: 14.155; cited in Prīti Sandarbha: 81; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.8.194)
[Vṛndā addresses Kṛṣṇa:] “O elephant king of the mountain arbors, the expert artisan of amorous love has gradually melted the lac of the hearts of Rādhā and yourself with heat, stirred them, removed any appearance of separation [between them, i.e., made them one], and then personally dyed them with a rich abundance of fresh red vermillion dye to decorate [alt., to paint a picture within] the interior of the palace of the universe.”
atra kṛtānukaraṇaṁ nāma līlākhyo nāyikānubhāvaḥ | tad uktaṁ kriyānukaraṇaṁ līleti | prakṛtiṁ svabhāvam | tādṛśa-premāveśo jātaḥ | yena tat-svabhāva-nija-svabhāvayor aikyam eva tāsu jātam ity arthaḥ | yathā śrīmad-ujjvala-nīlamaṇau mahā-bhāvodāharaṇam—rādhāyā bhavataś ca … |
(Prīti Sandarbha: 81)
“Here [in reference to the līlā described in SB 1.9.40 and 10.30.14–23], imitation of deeds, which is called līlā, is an ensuant (anubhāva) of a nāyikā [i.e., the gopīs]. This is stated [in Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi 10.28]: kriyānukaraṇaṁ līlā [“imitating actions [of one’s beloved] is [called] līlā”]. ‘Nature’ (prakṛti) means svabhāva. Absorption in such prema arose [in the gopīs] whereby a oneness arose in them of his svabhāva with their own svabhāvas, as [is described] in the illustration of mahābhāva in Śrīmad Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi: rādhāyā bhavataś ca ….”
vijaya-ratha-kuṭumba ātta-totre
dhṛta-haya-raśmini tac-chriyekṣaṇīye |
bhagavati ratir astu me mumūrṣor
yam iha nirīkṣya hatā gatāḥ sva-rūpam ||
lalita-gati-vilāsa-valguhāsa-
praṇaya-nirīkṣaṇa-kalpitoru-mānāḥ |
kṛtam anukṛtavatya unmadāndhāḥ
prakṛtim agan kila yasya gopa-vadhvaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 1.9.39–40; cited in Prīti Sandarbha: 81)
[Bhīṣmadeva:] “Let me, desiring death, have rati for Bhagavān, who is sightly on account of his splendor, holding the reins of horses [in his left hand] and grasping a whip [with his right] as he protects the chariot of Vijaya [i.e., Arjuna]; by seeing whom the dead [in the battle of Kurukṣetra] attained their own forms [i.e., mukti]; and whose nature the wives of the gopas verily attained as they were highly honored by [his] charming movements, play, attractive smiles, and loving glances, [thus] blinded by [the] madness [of prema], and [so became] engaged in imitating his deeds.”
gaura-śyāma-rucojjvalābhir amalair akṣṇor vilāsotsavair
nṛtyantībhir aśeṣa-mādana-kalā-vaidagdhya-digdhātmabhiḥ
anyonya-priyatā-sudhā-parimala-stomonmadābhiḥ sadā
rādhā-mādhava-mādhurībhir abhitaś cittaṁ mamākrāmyatām
(Kṛṣṇa Sandarbha: 189)
“The brilliance of their fair and blackish lusters, their dancing amid a festival of pure delight in their eyes [as they gaze upon one another], their figures anointed with mastery in all the arts of amour, their inebriety brought about by the fragrances of the nectars of their love for one another—let my heart be continuously and completely overwhelmed by the [aforementioned] sweetnesses of Rādhā and Mādhava.”
ālībhiḥ paripālitaḥ prabalitaḥ sānandam ālokitaḥ
pratyāśaṁ sumanaḥ-phalodaya-vidhau sāmodam āsvāditaḥ
vṛndāraṇya-bhuvi prakāśa-madhuraḥ sarvātiśāyi-śriyā
rādhā-mādhavayoḥ pramodayatu mām ullāsa-kalpa-drumaḥ
(Prīti Sandarbha: 429)
“May the desire-tree of Rādhā and Mādhava’s joy
[Alt., may the effulgent desire-tree of Rādhā and Mādhāva]
In the land of Vṛndāvana,
Splendorous with sweetness;
Nurtured in full,
Fortified,
Blissfully beheld with expectation,
And, upon the emergence of its fruits and flowers,
Delightedly relished by the sakhīs;
Completely delight me
With [its] all-surpassing beauty.”
namo’stu te mahāyogin prapannam anuśādhi mām |
yathā tvac-caraṇāmbhoje ratiḥ syād anapāyinī ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.29.40)
“[Uddhava to Kṛṣṇa:] May my obeisance be [offered] unto you, O greatest of yogīs. Please instruct me, who have taken shelter [in you], so that I may have everlasting rati for your lotus feet.”
ānanda-rūpatvam asya mahad-dhṛdaya-sākṣikaṁ yathā śrī-vigrahasya |
(Bhagavat Sandarbha: 47)
“Its [i.e., the name of Bhagavān’s] being a form of bliss like the blessed figure [of Bhagavān] is witnessed [i.e., evidenced] by the hearts of the great ones (mahats).”
pitṛ-deva-manuṣyāṇāṁ vedaś cakṣus taveśvara |
śreyas tv anupalabdhe’rthe sādhya-sādhanayor api ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.20.4; cited in Tattva Sandarbha: 11)
“O Lord, regarding an imperceptible object, as well as the goal and the means [pertaining to it], your Veda is the best eye for the forefathers, the devas, and human beings.”
yo vā etad akṣaraṁ gārgy aviditvāsmāl lokāt praiti sa kṛpaṇaḥ |
(Bṛhadāraṇyaka Upaniṣad: 3.8.10; cited in Bhakti Sandarbha: 62)
“[Yājñavalkya:] O Gārgī, one who departs this world without knowing the Absolute is indeed wretched [alt., pitiable, lowly].”
