trailokye pṛthivī dhanyā yatra vṛndāvanaṁ purī |
tatrāpi gopikāḥ pārtha tatra rādhābhidhā mama ||
(Ādi Purāṇa; cited in Laghu Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.46; Prīti Sandarbha: 109)
“[Śrī Kṛṣṇa:] In the three worlds, the earth [particularly], where the abode of Vṛndāvana is present, is blessed; therein, furthermore, the gopīs [are blessed], O Pārtha, and therein mine [i.e., the gopī most dear to me] by the name of Rādhā [is (most) blessed].”
ataḥ prabhoḥ priyāṇāṁ ca dhāmnaś ca samayasya ca |
avicintya-prabhāvatvād atra kiṁ ca na durghaṭam ||
(Laghu Bhāgavatāmṛta: 1.5.515)
“Therefore, because of the utterly inconceivable power of Prabhu’s dear ones, abode, and time, nothing is impossible in this regard [i.e., it is not impossible for time and space to expand and contract to accommodate innumerable participants in Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s līlās in Vraja and their having simultaneously distinct perceptions of those līlās and their environs].”
vyāmohāya carācarasya jagatas te te purāṇāgamās
tāṁ tām eva hi devatāṁ paramikāṁ jalpantu kalpāvadhi |
siddhānte punar eka eva bhagavān viṣṇuḥ samastāgama-
vyāpāreṣu vivecana-vyatikaraṁ nīteṣu niścīyate ||
(Padma Purāṇa: 5.97.27; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 1.107; Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 2.4.142; Laghu-bhāgavatāmṛta: 1.2.53; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.20.142)
“Let the various Purāṇas and Āgamas chatter about the [supposed] supremacy of various devatās for the sake of deluding the world of moving and stationary beings to the end of the kalpa. When, however, the expressions of all the Āgamas are brought into conjoint examination, then, in accord with their siddhānta, one alone, Bhagavān Viṣṇu, is ascertained [to be supreme].”
yadā paśyaḥ paśyate rukma-varṇaṁ
kartāram īśaṁ puruṣaṁ brahma-yonim |
tadā vidvān puṇya-pāpe vidhūya
nirañjanaḥ paramaṁ sāmyam upaiti ||
(Muṇḍaka Upaniṣad: 3.1.3; cited in Paramātma Sandarbha: 37; Laghu Vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī-ṭīkā on Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.87.17; Govinda-bhāṣya on VS: 1.2.23, 1.3.2; Sāraṅga-raṅgadā-ṭīkā on Laghu Bhāgavatāmṛta: 1.1.2)
“When a seer sees the golden-complexioned Maker, Īśa, the Puruṣa, the Source of Brahman, then that wise one casts away virtue and sin, and attains taintless, supreme likeness (sāmya) [to the Puruṣa].”
ahaṁ kilendro devānāṁ tvaṁ gavām indratāṁ gataḥ |
govinda iti lokās tvāṁ gāsyanti bhuvi śāśvatam ||
(Hari-vaṁśa: 2.16.54; cited in Laghu Bhāgavatāmṛta: 1.5.76)
“[Indra to Śrī Kṛṣṇa:] I am certainly the Indra of the devas, and you are present [here] as the Indra of the cows. Thus, the people on the earth will always sing of you as [being, alt., having the name] Govinda.”
ādi-purāṇe ca śrīmad-arjuna-vākyaṁ—
trailokye bhagavad-bhaktāḥ ke tvāṁ jānanti marmaṇi |
keṣu vā tvaṁ sadā tuṣṭaḥ keṣu prema tavātulam ||
śrī-bhagavad-vākyaṁ—
na tathā me priyatamo brahmā rudraś ca pārthiva |
na ca lakṣmīr na cātmā ca yathā gopī-jano mama ||
bhaktā mamānuraktāś ca kati santi na bhū-tale |
kintu gopī-janaḥ prāṇādhika-priyatamo mama ||
na māṁ jānanti munayo yoginaś ca parantapa |
na ca rudrādayo devā yathā gopyo vidanti mām ||
na tapobhir na vedaiś ca nācārair na ca vidyayā |
vaśo’smi kevalaṁ premṇā pramāṇaṁ tatra gopikāḥ ||
man-māhātmyaṁ mat-saparyāṁ mac-chraddhāṁ man-manogatam |
jānanti gopikāḥ pārtha nānye jānanti marmaṇi ||
nijāṅgam api yā gopyo mameti samupāsate |
tābhyaḥ paraṁ na me pārtha nigūḍha-prema-bhājanam ||
(Ādi Purāṇa; cited in Laghu Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.1.34–40; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 1.4.184, 213)
“Also a statement of Śrīmad Arjuna [to Śrī Kṛṣṇa] in Ādi Purāṇa: ‘Which bhaktas of Bhagavān throughout the three worlds know you in truth? With whom are you always pleased? For whom do you have unparalleled prema? The reply of Śrī Bhagavān: ‘O royal, neither Brahmā, nor Rudra, nor Lakṣmī, nor myself are so beloved to me as the gopīs. How many devoted bhaktas do I have on the surface of the earth? [So many.] The gopīs, however, are beloved to me more so than [even] my life [so, it goes without saying they are more dear to me than all my other bhaktas]. The sages and yogīs do not know me, O tormenter of enemies. Not even Rudra or any of the other devas know me as the gopīs do. I am not captivated by austerities, by [study of] the Vedas, by observances of conduct, or by knowledge. [Rather, I am captivated] Only by prema. The gopīs are the evidence (pramāṇa) of this. The gopīs know my greatness, my service, my desire, and my intent. O Pārtha, no one else knows [these] in truth. O Pārtha, there are no greater vessels of highly confidential prema for me than the gopīs, who care even for their own bodies as my own [i.e., they care for their own bodies only because they consider them instruments for my service].”
śrī-bṛhad-vāmane ca bhṛgv-ādīn prati śrī-brahma-vākyaṁ—
ṣaṣṭhi-varṣa-sahasrāṇi mayā taptaṁ tapaḥ purā |
nanda-gopa-vraja-strīṇāṁ pāda-reṇūpalabdhaye |
tathāpi na mayā prāptās tāsāṁ vai pāda-reṇavaḥ ||
bhṛgv-ādi-vākyaṁ—
vaiṣṇavānāṁ pāda-rajo gṛhyate tvad-vidhair api |
santi te bahavo loke vaiṣṇavā nāradādayaḥ ||
teṣāṁ vihāya gopīnāṁ pāda-reṇus tvayāpi yat |
gṛhyate saṁśayo me’tra ko hetus tad vada prabho ||
śrī-brahma-vākyaṁ—
na striyo vraja-sundaryaḥ putrāḥ śreṣṭhāḥ śriyo’pi tāḥ |
nāhaṁ śivaś ca śeṣaś ca śrīś ca tābhiḥ samāḥ kvacit ||
(Bṛhad-vāmana Purāṇa; cited in Laghu Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.1.31–33)
“A statement of Śrī Brahmā to Bhṛgu and others in Śrī Bṛhad-vāmana Purāṇa: ‘Austerity was practiced by me for 60,000 years to attain the foot-dust of the women of Nanda’s cowherd pasturelands. Still, their foot-dust was not attained by me.’ The reply of Bhṛgu and so forth: ‘[If] The foot-dust of Vaiṣṇavas is honored even by those like yourself, [then] there are many Vaiṣṇavas in the world such as Nārada [whose foot-dust you could honor]. [Still,] Avoiding theirs [i.e., their foot-dust], the foot-dust of the gopīs is honored even by you. I have a doubt about this. Please say, O Prabhu, what is the reason for that?’ The reply of Śrī Brahmā: ‘O sons! The beauties of Vraja are not women. They are superior even to Śrī [i.e., Lakṣmī]. Neither I, nor Śiva, nor Śeṣa, nor Śrī are ever equal to them.”
kṛṣṇa-varṇaṁ tviṣākṛṣṇaṁ sāṅgopāṅgāstra-pārṣadam |
yajñaiḥ saṅkīrtana-prāyair yajanti hi sumedhasaḥ ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 11.5.32; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 11.458; Laghu Bhāgavatāmṛta: 1.1.2; Tattva Sandarbha: 1; Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 1.3.52, 2.6.103, 2.11.100, 2.20.342, 3.20.10)
“Those of fine intellect verily worship with sacrifices consisting primarily of saṅkīrtana he whose name contains the syllables kṛṣ-ṇa [i.e., whose name is Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya] (kṛṣṇa-varṇam), who is non-swarthy (akṛṣṇam) by virtue of his luster (tviṣā), and who is replete with the weapons and associates of his limbs and sub-limbs [i.e., ornaments and so forth].”
nanu śraiṣṭhyaṁ mukundasya brahmato yujyate katham |
yad brahma śrī-bhagavator aikyam eva prasidhyate ||
puruṣaṁ paramātmā ca brahma ca jñānam ity api |
sa eko bhagavān eva śāstreṣu bahudhocyate ||
tathā ca skānde—
bhagavān paramātmeti procyate’ṣṭāṅga-yogibhiḥ |
brahmety upaniṣan-niṣṭhair jñānaṁ ca jñāna-yogibhiḥ ||
śrī-prathame ca—
vadanti tat tattva-vidas tattvaṁ yaj jñānam advayam |
brahmeti paramātmeti bhagavān iti śabdyate || iti |
satyam uktaṁ śṛṇu tatas tṛtīye kāpilaṁ vacaḥ ||
yathā—
yathendriyaiḥ pṛthag-dvārair artho bahu-guṇāśrayaḥ |
eko nāneyate tadvad bhagavān śāstra-vartmabhiḥ || iti |
atra kārikāḥ—
tat tat śrī-bhagavaty eva svarūpaṁ bhuvi vidyate |
upāsanānusāreṇa bhāti tat-tad-upāsake ||
yathā rūpa-rasādīnāṁ guṇānām āśrayaḥ sadā |
kṣīrādir eka evārtho jñāyate bahudhendriyaiḥ ||
dṛśā śuklo rasanayā madhuro bhagavāṁs tathā |
upāsanābhir bahudhā sa eko’pi pratīyate ||
jihvayaiva yathā grāhyaṁ mādhuryaṁ tasya nāparaiḥ |
yathā cakṣur-ādīni gṛhṇanty arthaṁ nijaṁ nijam ||
tathānyā bāhya-karaṇa-sthānīyopāsanākhilā |
bhaktis tu cetaḥ-sthānīyā tat-tat-sarvārtha-lābhataḥ ||
iti pravara-śāstreṣu tasya brahma-svarūpataḥ |
mādhuryādi-guṇādhikyāt kṛṣṇasya śreṣṭhatocyate ||
(Laghu Bhāgavatāmṛta: 1.5.194–205)
“[A question is raised:] ‘Well, how is Mukunda’s superiority to Brahman established, since the oneness of Brahman and Śrī Bhagavān is certainly well known? In many places in the śāstras, he, the one Bhagavān, is certainly called the Puruṣa [“the (Supreme) Person”], Paramātmā [“the Supreme Self”], Brahman [“the Absolute”], and jñāna [“consciousness”]. Furthermore, in Skanda Purāṇa [it is said], “Bhagavān is called Paramātmā by aṣṭāṅga-yogīs, Brahman by followers of the Upaniṣads, and jñāna by jñāna-yogīs.” In the First Canto (SB 1.2.11) also [it is said:] “Knowers of tattva (reality) state that tattva is non-dual consciousness (advaya-jñāna), and is known as Brahman, Paramātmā, and Bhagavān.”’ [In reply to this question, it is said:] Rightly stated. Therefore, listen as follows to a statement of Kapila in the Third Canto (SB 3.32.33): ‘As a singular object which is a substratum of numerous qualities is perceived differently by [each of] the senses by distinct means, so Bhagavān is [one yet perceived differently] by [various] paths [enjoined] in the śāstra.’ An aphorism (kārikā) in this regard: As a singular object, such as milk, which is always a substratum of qualities such as form and taste, is perceived by the senses in many [different] ways—to the eye it is white, to the tongue it is sweet—so Bhagavān, although he is one, is perceived in many [different] ways by [different kinds of] upāsanas. As its [i.e., milk’s] sweetness is perceptible only by the tongue and not by others [i.e., by other senses], and as the eyes and so forth perceive [only] their own respective object [and not the aspect of the object they perceive which the other senses perceive], so all the other [kinds of] upāsanas are comparable to external senses, while bhakti is comparable to the mind because of [its leading to the] perceiving all of these various objects [i.e., as the mind perceives all the various objects related to it by all of the external senses, but the external senses perceive only the one type of object they are able to, so bhakti leads to perception of all aspects of the Para-tattva, including the personal aspect, Bhagavān, where all the qualities of the Para-tattva are manifest in full, while all other forms of upāsana lead only to perception of one particular aspect of the Para-tattva]. Thus, in the best of śāstras, Kṛṣṇa’s [i.e., Bhagavān’s personal aspect’s] superiority to his Brahman aspect is stated because of [Kṛṣṇa’s possessing and manifesting] an abundance of qualities, beginning with sweetness.”
tatrāpi gokule tasya mādhurī sarvato’dhikā ||
caturdhā mādhurī tasya vraja eva virājate |
aiśvarya-krīḍayor veṇos tathā śrī-vigrahasya ca ||
tatra aiśvaryasya—
kutrāpy aśruta-pūrveṇa madhuraiśvarya-rāśinā |
sevyamāno haris tatra vihāraṁ kurute vraje ||
krīḍāyāḥ yathā pādme—
caritaṁ kṛṣṇa-devasya sarvam evādbhutaṁ bhavet |
gopāla-līlās tatrāpi sarvato’timanoharā ||
śrī-bṛhad-vāmane—
santi yadyapi me prājyā līlās tās tā manoharāḥ |
na hi jāne smṛte rāse mano me kīdṛśaṁ bhavet ||
veṇoḥ, yathā—
yāvatī nikhile loke nādānām asti mādhurī |
tāvatī vaṁśikā-nāda-paramāṇau nimajjati ||
cara-sthāvarayoḥ sāndra-paramānanda-magnayoḥ ||
bhaved dharma-viparyāso yasmin dhvanati mohane ||
mohanaḥ ko’pi mantro vā padārtho vādbhutaḥ paraḥ |
śruti-peyo’yam ity uktvā yatrāmuhyaś chivādayaḥ ||
cara-sthāvarayoḥ sāndra-paramānanda-magnayoḥ ||
bhaved dharma-viparyāso yasmin dhvanati mohane ||
śrī-vigrahasya, yathā—
asamānordhva-mādhurya-taraṅgāmṛta-vāridhiḥ |
jaṅgama-sthāvarollāsi-rūpo gopendra-nandanaḥ ||
yathā tantre—
kandarpa-koṭy-arbuda-rūpa-śobhā-
nīrājya-pādābja-nakhāñcalasya |
kutrāpy adṛṣṭa-śruta-ramya-kānter
dhyānaṁ paraṁ nanda-sutasya vakṣye ||
(Laghu-Bhāgavatāmṛta: 1.520, 526–526, 530–533, 538–539)
“Even therein [i.e., even in regard to the three abodes—Gokula, Mathurā, and Dvārakā], his [i.e., Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s] sweetness in Gokula is superior to all [i.e., to his sweetness in Mathurā and Dvārakā]. … Only in Vraja [i.e., Gokula] shines the fourfold sweetness of his power, play, flute, and beautiful figure. Regarding [his] power therein: ‘Being served by multitude of sweet powers unheard of before anywhere else, Hari sports there in Vraja.’ Regarding [his] play, as in Padma Purāṇa: ‘All of Kṛṣṇadeva’s activities can certainly be astonishing. Even among them, [however,] his līlās with the gopas and gopīs are the most charming of all [i.e., are more charming than his līlās as a king in Mathurā and Dvārakā].’ In Śrī Bṛhad Vāmana Purāna: ‘[Bhagavān:] Although I have many well-known charming līlās [e.g., the līlā of being tied around the belly by Yaśodā], when I remember the rāsa-līlā, I do not know what becomes of my mind.’ Regarding [his] flute, as follows: ‘All the sweetness of the sounds that exist throughout the entire world become engulfed in an atom of the sound of the flute. A reversal of the nature (dharma) of [all] mobile and stationary beings, who become absorbed in intense, paramount bliss, can occur when the enchanting flute resounds [i.e., mobile beings can become stationary, and stationary beings can become mobile].’ … Regarding [his] beautiful figure, as follows: ‘An ocean of nectar filled with waves of incomparable sweetness, the figure of the Son of the gopa’s king delights [all] mobile and stationary beings.’ As in the Tantra, ‘I will describe the supreme meditation on the Son of Nanda, the tips of the toenails of whose lotus feet are worthy of lustration by the beauty of the figures of crores and crores of Kandarpas [i.e., Kāmadevas], and whose pleasing luster is unseen and unheard of anywhere [else, i.e., including even in Mathurā and Dvārakā].’”
