Texts

bhavet saundaryam aṅgānāṁ sanniveśo yathocitam

bhavet saundaryam aṅgānāṁ sanniveśo yathocitam ||
yathā—
mukhaṁ te dīrghākṣaṁ marakata-taṭī-pīvaram uro
bhuja-dvandvaṁ stambha-dyuti suvalitaṁ pārśva-yugalam |
parikṣīṇo madhyaḥ prathima-laharī-hāri jaghanaṁ
na kasyāḥ kaṁsāre harati hṛdayaṁ paṅkaja-dṛśaḥ ||
(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 2.1.336–337)

“Formation as is felicitous of the parts and sub-parts [of the body] shall be [called] beauty (saundarya), as [is described] in [the following verse],
‘Your face with wide eyes,
Chest firm like a swathe of emerald,
Two arms like pillars of light,
Flanks finely ridged,
Midsection lean,
And loins captivating with burgeoning waves [of sweetness],
O Enemy of Kaṁsa,
The heart of which lady of lotus eyes
Do [these] not attract?’”

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aṅga-pratyāngakānāṁ yaḥ sanniveśo yathocitam

aṅga-pratyāngakānāṁ yaḥ sanniveśo yathocitam |
suśliṣṭa-sandhi-bandhaḥ syāt tat saundaryam itīryate ||
(Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi: 10.31)

“Formation as is felicitous of the parts and sub-parts [of the body] which shall be that wherein the unions with the joints are well-set is called beauty (saundarya).”

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cet kṛṣṇacandrasya mahāvatāras

cet kṛṣṇacandrasya mahāvatāras
tādṛg-nija-prema-vitāna-kārī |
syād vā kadācid yadi rādhikāyāḥ
premānubhūtiṁ tad upaity athāpi ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.5.234)

“If a great avatāra of Kṛṣṇacandra who is a distributor of such prema for himself, or, if [such a great avatāra] of Rādhikā, should ever come about, then too one would attain experience of that prema.”

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duḥsaṅga kahi—kaitava ātma-vañcanā

duḥsaṅga kahi—kaitava ātma-vañcanā |
‘kṛṣṇa’-‘kṛṣṇa-bhakti’ vinu anya-kāmanā ||
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.2.24.100)

“We call deceit and self-deception, that is, desire for anything other than Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa-bhakti, wrong attachment (duḥsaṅga).”

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emana kṛpālu nāhi śuni tribhuvane

emana kṛpālu nāhi śuni tribhuvane |
kṛṣṇa-premā haya yāra dūra-daraśane ||
(Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.16.121)

“We do not hear of anyone so gracious in the three worlds, by [even] the distant sight of whom prema for Kṛṣṇa manifests.”

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sarvāṇi mad-dhiṣṇyatayā bhavadbhiś

sarvāṇi mad-dhiṣṇyatayā bhavadbhiś
carāṇi bhūtāni sutā dhruvāṇi |
sambhāvitavyāni pade pade vo
vivikta-dṛgbhis tad uhārhaṇaṁ me ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 5.5.26)

“[Ṛṣabhadeva:] O sons! All beings, moving and stationary, are to be honored from moment to moment by you all possessed of prowess and pure vision [i.e., vision free from observation of envy and the like] as being abodes of me. That itself is worship of me.”

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sā rādhikā bhagavatī kvacid īkṣyate cet

sā rādhikā bhagavatī kvacid īkṣyate cet
premā tadānubhavam ṛcchati mūrtimān saḥ |
śakyeta ced gaditum eṣa tayā tadaiva
śrūyeta tattvam iha ced bhavati sva-śaktiḥ ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.5.233)

“If ever she, Bhagavatī Rādhikā, is seen, then one attains experience of the embodiment of prema, and if this [i.e., prema] can ever be described by her, only then the essential nature [of that prema] shall be heard about, if one’s ability for that remains.”

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sāmānyataḥ kiñcid idaṁ mayoktaṁ

sāmānyataḥ kiñcid idaṁ mayoktaṁ
vaktuṁ viśeṣeṇa na śakyate tat |
premā tu kṛṣṇe vraja-yoṣitāṁ yas
tat-tattvam ākhyātum alaṁ kathaṁ syām ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.5.231)

“This much [about prema] is said by me in general. I am not able to describe that in depth. Indeed how would I be able to describe the essential nature of the prema for Kṛṣṇa of the ladies of Vraja?”

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aurva-stomāt kaṭur api kathaṁ durbalenorasā me

aurva-stomāt kaṭur api kathaṁ durbalenorasā me
tāpaḥ prauḍho hari-virahajaḥ sahyate tan na jāne |
niṣkrāntā ced bhavati hṛdayād yasya dhūma-cchaṭāpi
brahmāṇḍānāṁ sakhi kulam api jvālayā jājvalīti ||
(Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi: 14.187)

“[Rādhā to Viśākhā:]
Scorching even more so
Than a cluster of submarine volcanos,
How is the brutal heat [alt., sorrow, or, pain]
Produced by separation from Hari
Endured by my weak chest?
This I do not know.
If even a puff of its smoke
Is released from my heart,
O Sakhī,
Even the multitude of universes
Will be incinerated in a blaze.”

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gurubhir api niṣiddhā tām ahaṁ yāvad akṣṇoḥ

gurubhir api niṣiddhā tām ahaṁ yāvad akṣṇoḥ
padam anayam ananta-śreyasāṁ sadma rādhām |
tṛṣitam iva mano me prekṣate tanvi tāvad
diśi diśi viharantīṁ śyāmalāṁ śālabhañjīm ||
(Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi: 14.27)

“[A gopī newly arrived near Vṛṣabhānupura:]
O slender one [i.e., O Sakhī],
Although forbidden by elders,
Ever since I brought that Abode of infinite virtue,
Rādhā,
Onto the path of my eyes,
My mind,
As though thirsty,
Sees a sporting swarthy figure
In every direction.”

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