dṛṣṭe’pi śāmyen mayi tan na duḥkhaṁ
viccheda-cintākulitātmanāṁ vai |
harṣāya teṣāṁ kriyate vidhir yo
duḥkhaṁ sa sadyo dviguṇīkaroti ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 1.7.96)
“Even if I am seen [by them at last],
That suffering shall not cease
For they whose hearts are indeed overwhelmed
By unrest because of separation [from me].
The means which are enacted [by me]
For the sake of their elation
Immediately double their suffering.”
rūpeṇa veṣeṇa ravāmṛtena
vaṁśyāś ca pūrvānuditena viśvam |
sammohitaṁ prema-bhareṇa kṛtsnaṁ
tiṣṭhantu dūre vraja-vāsinas te ||
ākāśa-yānā vidhi-rudra-śakrāḥ
siddhāḥ śaśī deva-gaṇās tathānye |
gāvo vṛṣā vatsa-gaṇā mṛgāś ca
vṛkṣāḥ khagā gulma-latās tṛṇāni ||
nadyo’tha meghāḥ sacarāḥ sthirāś ca
sacetanācetanakāḥ prapañcāḥ |
prema-pravāhottha-vikāra-ruddhāḥ
sva-sva-svabhāvāt parivṛttim āpuḥ ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 1.7.110–112)
“By means of my previously unmanifested
Figure, garb, and nectar—the sound of my flute,
The entire world became completely stupefied
By a profusion of prema.
Let those residents of Vraja remain aside.
Vidhi, Rudra, Śakra,
The siddhas, Śaśī, the devas,
And others moving in the sky,
The cows, the bulls, the calves, and the animals,
The trees, the birds, the shrubs, the creepers, and the grass,
The rivers and the clouds,
The mobile and the stationary,
And the sentient and the non-sentient entities
[All] Became seized by transformations
Springing forth from a stream of prema
And underwent a reversal
From their own respective natures.”
citrāticitrai rucirair vihārair
ānanda-pāthodhi-taraṅga-magnaḥ |
nājñāsiṣaṁ rātri-dināni tāni
tat-tan-mahāmohana-loka-saṅgāt ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 1.7.107)
“Submerged in the waves of an ocean of bliss
By the most wonderful of wonderful,
Relishable sports,
I did not notice those nights and days [pass]
Because of the company of those most enchanting people.”
yadi ca prītaye teṣāṁ tatra yāmi vasāmi ca |
tathāpi kim api svāsthyaṁ bhāvyaṁ nālocayāmy aham ||
mad-īkṣaṇād eva vigāḍha-bhāvo-
dayena labdhā vikalā vimoham |
na daihikaṁ kiñcana te na dehaṁ
vidur na cātmānam aho kim anyat ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 1.7.94–95)
“And if I go and reside there
For their pleasure,
I still do not consider
That their well-being will occur at all.
Becoming overwhelmed
And seized by intense stupor
Because of the arising of very deep bhāva
Just by the sight of me,
They know neither the bodily,
Nor the body,
Nor even themselves whatsoever.
Aho!
What [to speak] of anything else?”
yat tāta tāsām api dhairya-moṣakaṁ
yā vai kula-strī-kula-pūjitāṅghrayaḥ |
rūpeṇa śīlena guṇena karmaṇā
śraiṣṭhyaṁ gatā hanta mahāśriyo’pi yāḥ ||
yad-darśane pakṣma-kṛtaṁ śapanti
vidhiṁ sahasrākṣam api stuvanti |
vañchanti dṛktvaṁ sakalendriyānāṁ
kāṁ kāṁ daśāṁ vā na bhajanti lokāḥ ||
kiṁ varṇyatāṁ vraja-bhuvo mahimā sa tasya
yatraiva tat sa bhagavān vitanoti rūpam |
yat tādṛśa-prakṛtināpy amunā sametā
nānyatrikā dadhati bhāvam ime’pi tadvat ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.5.109–111)
“O dear one, can that greatness of the land of Vraja be described, [that land of Vraja] alone wherein that Bhagavān [viz., Śrī Kṛṣṇa] manifests that [supremely astonishing] form [of himself] which is a stealer of the composure even of they [viz., the gopīs] whose feet are worshiped by women of noble families and who by virtue of [their] figure, character, qualities, and actions are possessed of superiority even to Mahāśrī [i.e., Mahālakṣmī]; [that form of Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa found only in Vraja] by seeing which people curse the Creator, the maker of eyelids, praise even he of a thousand eyes [viz., Indra], desire that all [their] senses become eyes, and attain not what sort of state [i.e., attain all sorts of extraordinary states], since even they who are from elsewhere [e.g., the residents of Vaikuṇṭha and Dvārakā] even [when] together with he of such nature [viz., Bhagavān Śrī Kṛṣṇa of Vraja] do not possess bhāva like them [i.e., the people of Vraja]?”
mādhvīka-jaitra-madhura-svaram akṣarāṇām
uccāraṇād vijita-veda-vid-ādi-garvam |
kṛṣṇārtha-tṛṣṇa-rasa-bhāva-kulākalaṅkā-
laṅkāram īritam api sphuṭam atra gānam ||
(Gopāla-campū: 2.37.38)
“That the sweet sound of which
Is victorious over spirituous liquor,
That by [just] pronunciation of the phonemes of which
The pride of those conversant in the Vedas and others
Is thoroughly defeated,
That the flawless ornaments within which
Are the rasas and bhāvas arising from thirst for the sake of Kṛṣṇa—
Certainly even [such] speech here [i.e., in Goloka]
Is [fit to be considered] singing
[And thus how marvelous is the actual singing here?].”
tat tu laukika-sad-bandhu-buddhyā prema bhayādi-jam |
vighnaṁ nirasya tad-gopa-gopī-dāsyepsayārjayet ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.5.217)
“With the mentality of an excellent kinsmen of the world in relation to him [viz., Kṛṣṇa], one should overcome the obstruction [to prema for Kṛṣṇa] produced by fear and so forth, and with the desire to attain the servitude of those gopas and gopīs [who are so dear to Kṛṣṇa], one should verily acquire prema [for him].”
yat-pāda-paṁśur bahu-janma-kṛcchrato
dhṛtātmabhir yogibhir apy alabhyaḥ |
sa eva yad-dṛg-viṣayaḥ svayaṁ sthitaḥ
kiṁ varṇyate diṣṭam aho vrajaukasām ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.12.12; cited in Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.7.122; Kṛṣṇa Sandarbha: 100)
“Aho! How can the fortune be described of these residents of Vraja, the sole object of whose vision present directly [before them] is he the dust of whose feet is unattainable even by yogīs who have painstakingly controlled their minds for many births?”
kṣaṇa-mātraṁ ca tatratyair adṛṣṭe’smin na jīvyate ||
vṛkṣādibhis tv antarite kadācid
asmin sati syāt sahacāriṇāṁ bhṛśam |
śrī-kṛṣṇa-kṛṣṇeti mahāpluta-svarair
āhvāna-bhaṅgyākulatā sa-rodanā ||
vraja-sthitānāṁ tv ahar eva kāla-
rātrir bhaved eka-lavo yugaṁ ca |
raviṁ rajo-vartma ca paśyatāṁ muhur
daśā ca kācin muralīṁ ca śṛṇvatām ||
ayaṁ hi tat-tad-vipineṣu kautukād
vihartu-kāmaḥ paśu-saṅgha-saṅgataḥ |
vayasyavagaiḥ saha sarvato’ṭituṁ
prayāti nityaṁ svayam agrajānvitaḥ ||
yatrātimattāmbu-vihaṅga-mālā-
kulīkṛtāly-āvalī-vibhrameṇa |
vicālitānāṁ kamalotpalānāṁ
sarāṁsi gandhair vilasaj-jalāni ||
tathā mahāścarya-vicitratāmayī
kalindajā sā vraja-bhūmi-saṅginī |
tathā-vidhā vindhya-nagādi-sambhavāḥ
parāś ca nadyo vilasanti yatra ca ||
tat-tat-taṭaṁ komala-bālukācitaṁ
ramyaṁ sadā nūtana-śādvalāvṛtam |
svābhāvika-dveṣa-visarjanollasan-
manojña-nānā-mṛga-pakṣi-saṅkulam ||
divya-puṣpa-phala-pallavāvalī-
bhāra-namrita-latā-taru-gulmaiḥ |
bhūṣitaṁ mada-kalāpi-kokila-
śreṇi-nāditam aja-stuti-pātram ||
vṛndāraṇye vraja-bhuvi gavāṁ tatra govardhane vā
nāste hiṁsā-haraṇa-rahite rakṣakasyāpy apekṣā |
gāvo gatvoṣasi vipinatas tā mahiṣy-ādi-yuktāḥ
svairaṁ bhuktvā sa-jala-yavasaṁ sāyam āyānti vāsam ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 1.6.103–111)
“[Rohiṇī to Padmāvatī:] When he [viz., Kṛṣṇa] is unseen by those situated there [i.e., the people in Vraja] for even just a moment, they cannot live. O virtuous lady, whenever he is concealed [from their vision] by trees or anything else, tearful heartache will immediately arise in his companions along with a gesture of calling out [to him] in highly drawn-out tones, ‘O Śrī Kṛṣṇa! O Kṛṣṇa!’ Indeed for those situated in Vraja [i.e., those such as Śrī Rādhikā who remain back in the village while Śrī Kṛṣṇa is out for the day with his companions in the forest herding the cows], just the day can become [like] a night of destruction [i.e., it can feel as long as the night of universal dissolution] and one instant [can feel like] an epoch (yuga). Some [indescribable] state [of near madness arising from profound prema] comes about for those [residents of Vraja who can be observed daily to be] constantly watching the sun [in the afternoon since it indicates how close it is to the early evening when Kṛṣṇa will return to the village], the dust [which rises when Kṛṣṇa and the cows are approaching the village], and the path [by which Kṛṣna will re-enter the village] and listening for the flute [which Kṛṣṇa plays as he re-enters to the village]. Out of eagerness, he [viz., Śrī Kṛṣṇa] of his own accord goes out daily surrounded by his herds of animals and accompanied by his elder brother to roam all about with his companions, being desirous of sporting in those [completely ineffable] forests [of Vṛndāvana and so on] (1) in which there are lakes of sparking water [filled] with the fragrances of lotuses and lilies swaying [back and forth] because of the frolicking of swarms of bees frenzied by flocks of highly excited water birds, (2) in which the land of Vraja’s companion, she [of immense ineffable beauty] the daughter of [Mount] Kalinda [viz., the River Yamunā], replete with greatly astonishing variegatedness, and other similar rivers like those coming from the Vindhya Mountains [i.e., the Carmaṇvatī (Chambal)] and elsewhere, shine [alt., play], and (3) [in which] there are those [completely ineffable] delightful banks [of those river and lakes] that are (a) loaded with soft sand, (b) always topped with fresh grass, (c) filled with various charming birds and animals sporting [together] having given up their natural enmity [towards one another], (d) decorated by creepers, trees, and shrubs bowed by the weight of the rows of their splendid flowers, fruits, and sprouts, (e) made resonant by flocks of maddened peacocks and cuckoos, and (f) recipient of the unborn one’s [viz., Brahmā’s] praise [as expressed in SB 10.14.34 and elsewhere]. There is no need even for protection of the cows there in the forest of Vṛndā, in the land of Vraja [i.e., in the village of Nandīśvara and so on], or in Govardhana [since all of these places are] free from violence and theft. Those [ineffably exalted] cows, accompanied by the buffaloes and so on [i.e., goats and other animals], go out in the morning, partake of grass along with water, and at will return from the forest to the village in the evening [and thus it is not that Kṛṣṇa has to herd them, that the people of Vraja require and force Kṛṣṇa to do so, or that he suffers while doing so, but rather that Kṛṣṇa goes out each to day to herd them of his own free will out of his own desire to sport with them and his beloved companions in the midst of the forests, mountains, rivers, and lakes of the land of Vraja and by doing so he rejoices immensely].”
prabho sunirṇītam idaṁ pratīhi
tvadīya-pādābja-yugasya tatra |
śubha-prayāṇaṁ na vināsya jīved
vrajaḥ kathañcin na ca kiñcid icchet ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 1.6.98)
“[Śrī Uddhava to Śrī Kṛṣṇa in Dvārakā:] O Prabhu, please recognize this which has been rightly determined [by me]: Vraja [i.e., the people of Vraja] cannot live [any longer] without an auspicious journey of this pair of lotus feet of yours there, and they shall never desire anything else [i.e., they will never be satisfied by receiving messages of love, representatives, gifts, or anything else from you, or by your presence within them in the form of the Inner Regulator (Antaryāmī)].”
