Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu

rundhann ambu-bhṛtaś camatkṛti-paraṁ kurvan muhus tumburuṁ

rundhann ambu-bhṛtaś camatkṛti-paraṁ kurvan muhus tumburuṁ
dhyānād antarayan sanandana-mukhān vismāpayan vedhasam |
autsukyāvalibhir baliṁ caṭulayan bhogīndram āghūrṇayan
bhindann aṇḍa-kaṭāha-bhittim abhito babhrāma vaṁśī-dhvaniḥ ||
(Vidagdha-mādhava-nāṭaka: 1.26; cited in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 2.1.214; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 3.1.164)

“Stopping the clouds,
Repeatedly astonishing Tumburu,
Pulling Sanandana and company out of meditation,
Astounding Brahmā,
Exciting Bali with eagernesses,
Causing the king of serpents [i.e., Ananta Śeṣa] to whirl,
And piercing through the wall of the egg’s [i.e., universe’s] shell,
The sound of the flute roved all about.”

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advaita-vīthī-pathikair upāsyāḥ

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.”

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sarvādbhuta-camatkāra-līlā-kallola-vāridhiḥ

sarvādbhuta-camatkāra-līlā-kallola-vāridhiḥ
atulya-madhura-prema-maṇḍita-priya-maṇḍalaḥ |
tri-jagan-mānasākarṣi-muralī-kala-kūjitaḥ
asamānordhva-rūpa-śrī-vismāpita-carācaraḥ ||
līlā premṇā priyādhikyaṁ mādhuryaṁ veṇu-rūpayoḥ |
ity asādhāraṇaṁ proktaṁ govindasya catuṣṭayam ||
­(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 2.1.41–43)

“[Kṛṣṇa is:] He who is an ocean of waves of līlā that are astounding and amazing to all; (2) he who has a circle of dear ones adorned with incomparable sweet prema; (3) he the melodious coos of whose flute are attractive to the hearts of [everyone throughout] the three worlds; (4) he by the beauty of whose unequalled and unsurpassed figure [all] moving and inert beings are enchanted. (1) Līlā, (2) a superiority with respect to dear ones by virtue of [their superlative] prema, (3–4) the sweetness (mādhurya) of his flute and of his figure—in this way the four extraordinary qualities of Govinda [found in no other form of Śrī Bhagavān] are stated.”

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smerāṁ bhaṅgī-traya-paricitāṁ sāci-vistīrṇa-dṛṣṭiṁ

smerāṁ bhaṅgī-traya-paricitāṁ sāci-vistīrṇa-dṛṣṭiṁ
vaṁśī-nyastādhara-kiśalayām ujjvalāṁ candrakeṇa |
govindākhyāṁ hari-tanum itaḥ keśi-tīrthopakaṇṭhe
mā prekṣiṣṭhās tava yadi sakhe bandhu-saṅge’sti raṅgaḥ ||
(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.2.239; cited in Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 1.5.224)

“O friend! If you enjoy in the company of kinsmen, then from here do not look towards the figure of Hari known as Govinda near Keśi Tīrtha smiling with the vaṁśī fixed on the sprouts of lips as he casts sidelong glances in a threefold posture and shines with the eye of a peacock feather [decorating his diadem].”

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sā hānis tan mahac chidraṁ sa mohaḥ sa ca vibhramaḥ

sā hānis tan mahac chidraṁ sa mohaḥ sa ca vibhramaḥ |
yan muhūrtaṁ kṣaṇaṁ vāpi vāsudevaṁ na kīrtayet ||
(Kātyāyana Saṁhitā; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 11.508; Bhakti Sandarbha: 115; Sarva-samvādinī on Bhagavat Sandarbha, Durgama-saṅgaminī to Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.2.247; Krama-sandarbha-ṭīkā on Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 2.9.35)

“That moment or even instant in which Vāsudeva is not praised is a loss, a great fault, a delusion, and a fiasco.”

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sarva-laukikātīte’pi tasmin laukikārtha-viśeṣopamā-dvārā

sarva-laukikātīte’pi tasmin laukikārtha-viśeṣopamā-dvārā lokānāṁ buddhi-praveśaḥsyād iti kenāpy aṁśenopameyam |
(Durgama-saṅgamanī-ṭīkā on Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.1.1)

“People’s intellect can have [some limited] entrance into that [i.e., the subject matter of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, bhakti-rasa, and so forth], even though it is beyond everything of the world, through comparisons [made] with particular worldly objects. Thus, it is comparable in some respect [i.e., things of the world can be compared to particular aspects of it as required to convey general knowledge of those aspects of its nature].”

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tatra bhāgavatān dharmān śikṣed gurv-ātma-daivataḥ

tatra bhāgavatān dharmān śikṣed gurv-ātma-daivataḥ |
amāyayānuvṛttyā yais tuṣyed ātmātmado hariḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.3.22; cited in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.2.98; Bhakti Sandarbha: 206)

“One for whom the guru is the Self (ātmā) and the Devatā should, through unaffected adherence, learn from him [viz., the guru] Bhāgavata-dharmas by which Hari, he who is the Self and the Bestower of himself, can be pleased.”

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tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta jijñāsuḥ śreya uttamam

tasmād guruṁ prapadyeta jijñāsuḥ śreya uttamam
śābde pare ca niṣṇātaṁ brahmaṇy upaśamāśrayam
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.3.21; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 1.32; Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.2.97; Bhakti Sandarbha: 202, 238)

“Therefore [i.e., because there is no lasting fulfillment in saṁsāra and bhakti is the only means of crossing over saṁsāra], one who wishes to know the highest good should take shelter in a guru who is adept in śabda-brahman and Parabrahman, and is an abode of tranquility.”

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harau ratiṁ vahann eṣa narendrāṇāṃ śikhāmaṇiḥ

harau ratiṁ vahann eṣa narendrāṇāṃ śikhāmaṇiḥ |
bhikṣām aṭann ari-pure śvapākam api vandate ||
(Padma Purāṇa; cited in Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 1.3.33)

“Holding rati for Hari [in his heart], this crest jewel among kings [i.e., Bhagīratha Mahārāja] went to beg alms at the homes of enemies and bowed down even to outcastes [lit., dog-cookers].”

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