niyamāt phalam āpnoti na śreyo niyamaṁ vinā ||
(Bhaviṣya Purāṇa; cited in Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 15.464, Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā on Hari-bhakti-vilāsa: 13.510, 15.630)
“One attains the result on account of the vow [i.e., the resolution (saṅkalpa) to perform a given vrata or sevā]. Without the vow, no auspicious result comes about.”
saṅketāvasare cyute praṇayataḥ saṁsajjayā rādhayā
prārabhya bhrū-kuṭiṁ hiraṇya-raśanā-dāmnā nibaddhodaram |
kārttikyāṁ jananī-kṛtotsava-vara-prastāvanā-pūrvakaṁ
cāṭūni prathayan tam ātta-pulakaṁ dhyāyema dāmodaram ||
(Bhaviṣya Purāṇa: Uttara-khaṇḍa; cited in the Sāraṅga-raṅgadā-ṭīkā on Kṛṣṇa-karṇāmṛta: 110)
“When he missed the time of a tryst
[Planned for the full moon night
In the month of Kārtika,
And arrived late],
Fully prepared Rādhā,
Out of uninhibited love (praṇaya),
First furrowed her brows
And then bound him around the belly
With the band of her golden girdle.
When he coaxed her,
Explaining he had been at the commencement of a grand festival
Conducted by his mother for Kārtika,
She released him.
Let us meditate on Dāmodara,
Seized by horripilation
[Upon being bound and released
By his beloved Rādhā].”
