Texts

vana-mālini yādṛśāśayo mama tādṛṅ na kapāla-mālini

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.”

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kṛṣṇera aiśvarya apāra—amṛtera sindhu

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.”

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guṇaiḥ svair hīnā me yadapi kavitā nātimadhurā

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.”

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vaśam alpikayāpi sevayāmuṁ

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].”

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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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santv avatārā bahavaḥ paṅkaja-nābhasya sarvato-bhadrāḥ

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?”

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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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kaiśora-mādhurya-bharollasac-chrī

kaiśora-mādhurya-bharollasac-chrī-
gātrābhra-kānty-ujjvalitākhilāśaḥ |
tatratya-nitya-priya-loka-citta-
grāhyādbhutāneka-mahattva-sindhuḥ ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.6.59)

“He shining with an abundance of the mādhurya of adolescence by whom all directions are illuminated with the cloud-like luster of his brilliant figure, he who is an ocean of numerous, astonishing greatnesses perceptible eternally to the minds of his beloveds situated there [i.e., in Śrī Goloka] … ”

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phullendīvara-kāntim indu-vadanaṁ barhāvataṁsa-priyaṁ

phullendīvara-kāntim indu-vadanaṁ barhāvataṁsa-priyaṁ
śrīvatsāṅkam udāra-kaustubha-dharaṁ pītāmbaraṁ sundaram |
gopīnāṃ nayanotpalārcita-tanuṁ go-gopa-saṅghāvṛtaṁ
govindaṁ kala-veṇu-vādana-paraṁ divyāṅgabhūṣaṁ bhaje||
(Śāradākāra; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 1.3.114; Padyāvalī: 46; Kṛṣṇa Sandarbha: 106; Gaura-govindārcana-paddhati: 142)

“Blossoming blue-lotus luster,

A moon face,
A dear peacock-feather crest [atop his crown],
Marked with the śrīvatsa,
Wearing the charming Kaustubha,
Clad in yellow garments,
Charming,
His figure worshipped by the water lilies of the gopīs’ eyes,
Surrounded by a drove of cows and cowherds,
Sublime softly playing the flute,
Replete divine body ornaments,
I meditate on Govinda [in this way].”

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