Vraja

evaṁ tatra ciraṁ tiṣṭhan martya-loka-sthitaṁ tv idam

evaṁ tatra ciraṁ tiṣṭhan martya-loka-sthitaṁ tv idam |
māthura-maṇḍalaṁ śrīmad apaśyaṁ khalu tādṛśam ||
tat-tac-chrī-gopa-gopībhis tābhir gobhiś ca tādṛśaiḥ |
paśu-pakṣi-kṛmi-kṣmābhṛt-sarit-tarv-ādibhir vṛtam ||
tathaivāvirataṁ śrīmat-kṛṣṇacandreṇa tena hi |
vistāryamāṇayā tādṛk-krīḍā-śreṇyāpi maṇḍitam ||
tat kadācid itas tatra kadāpi vidadhe sthitim |
bhedaṁ nopalabhe kañcit padayor adhunaitayoḥ ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.6.371–374)

“In this way, after staying there [i.e., in Goloka] for a long time, I perceived this blessed district of Mathurā situated in the mortal world to indeed be such [i.e., to be just like Goloka], to be filled with those very blessed gopas and gopīs, those very cows, and similar animals, birds, insects, mountains, rivers, trees, and so forth, and to verily be likewise also adorned with series of similar sports being expanded never-endingly by him—blessed Kṛṣṇacandra. Thus, I dwell sometimes here [i.e., in Bhauma Vraja] and sometimes there [i.e., in Goloka]. Now I do not perceive a distinction between these two places at all.”

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prāṇair viyuktā na bhavanti yāvat

prāṇair viyuktā na bhavanti yāvat
tāvad vinodaṁ karuṇa tyajaitam |
kṛṣṇānyathā goṣṭha-janaika-bandho
gantāsi śokaṁ mṛdula-svabhāvaḥ ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.6.239)

“[Baladeva appeals to Kṛṣṇa lying motionless in the coils of Kāliya:] Before they become deprived of their prāṇas,
O Compassionate One,
Stop this play.
Otherwise,
O Kṛṣṇa,
O you whose only kinsmen are the people of the cowherd community,
You who are of tender disposition
Will undergo sorrow.”

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gavāṁ hāmbā-rāvaiḥ sulalitataraṁ moha-muralī

gavāṁ hāmbā-rāvaiḥ sulalitataraṁ moha-muralī-
kalaṁ līlā-gīta-svara-madhura-rāgeṇa kalitam |
jagad-vailakṣaṇyācita-vividha-bhaṅgi-vilasitaṁ
vrajasthānāṁ teṣāṁ sapadi paramākarṣa-valitam ||
yasmāt sasrus taru-vitatito dīrgha-dhārā rasānāṁ
ghoṣa-sthānām api tanu-bhṛtāṁ netrato’śru-pravāhaḥ |
tan-mātṝṇām api vivayasāṁ kṣīra-pūraḥ stanebhyaḥ
kālindyāś ca pracala-payasāṁ te nyavartanta vegāḥ ||
na jāne sā vaṁśy udgirati garalaṁ vāmṛta-rasaṁ
na jāne tan-nādo’py aśaṇi-paruṣo vāmbu-mṛdulaḥ |
na jāne cātyuṣṇo jvalita-dahanād vendu-śiśiro
yato jātonmādā mumuhur akhilās te vraja-janāḥ ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.6.46–48)

“[I heard] The soft sound of an enchanting flute,
Greatly delightful [as it blended] with the sounds of the mooing of cows,
Furnished with sweet melodies (rāgas) of sportively sung notes,
Embellished with various modalities [i.e., manners of modulation, etc.]
Filled with otherworldliness,
And instantly possessed
Of paramount attraction of those residents of Vraja.^
Because of it,
Long streams of sap
Poured out from clusters of trees,
Streams of tears [poured out] from the eyes
Of all embodied beings—
Even those situated [at a distance] in the village,
Streams of milk [poured out] from the breasts
Of all his [i.e., Kṛṣṇa’s] mothers—
Even the elderly,
And the rapids
Of the Kālindī’s swiftly flowing waters
Reverted.
I do not know
Whether that flute
Emits poison or nectar.
I do not know
Whether even the sound of it
Is as harsh as thunder
Or as soft as water.
And I do not know
Whether it is hotter than a blazing fire
Or cooler than the moon;
All those people of Vraja
Became maddened and bewildered by it.”

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bhaume cāsmin sapadi mathurā-maṇḍale yāna-mātrāt

bhaume cāsmin sapadi mathurā-maṇḍale yāna-mātrāt
sidhyeyus tāḥ sakala-samaye yasya kasyāpi naiva |
kintv etasya priya-jana-kṛpā-pūrataḥ kasyacit syus
tad bho mātaś cinu pada-rajas tat-padaika-priyāṇām ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.7.76)

“Those [various delightful līlās of Madana Gopāla] certainly cannot be attained by anyone at all times just by suddenly going to the district of Mathurā on this earth [i.e., only during the time of the descent of the blessed Lord of Goloka to the district of Mathurā on earth can someone simply arrive there suddenly and perceive his delightful līlās by his grace]. [At all other times,] Rather, those can be had by someone [only] as a result of a flood of grace from a person dear to him [as in the case of Janaśarmā receiving the grace of Sarūpa (Gopa Kumāra)]. Therefore, O Mother, gather dust from the feet of those to whom only his feet are dear [i.e., gather dust from the feet of his bhaktas who hold Kṛṣṇa-bhakti alone and not mokṣa or anything else dear].”

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saric-chaila-vanoddeśān mukunda-pada-bhūṣitān

saric-chaila-vanoddeśān mukunda-pada-bhūṣitān |
ākrīḍān īkṣyamāṇānāṁ mano yāti tad-ātmatām ||
(Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: 10.46.22)

“The mind of those who behold the rivers, hills, forests, spots, and pleasure-grounds decorated by the feet of Mukunda enter a state of absorption in him.”

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trailokye pṛthivī dhanyā yatra vṛndāvanaṁ purī

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].”

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kṛpā kari kahe śuna nityānanda dāsa

kṛpā kari kahe śuna nityānanda dāsa |
yei yei sthāne sadā kṛṣṇera vilāsa ||
padma-prāya yena vṛndāvanera ghaṭana |
śāstra vākye āche mahāprabhura sthāpana ||
mudita prakāśa haila dui ta prakāra |
vilāse mudita hana līlāya vistāra ||
ei-rūpe haya saba gamanāgamana |
tad-āśrita yei tāra haya ei mana ||
yogamāyā bale ihā ghaṭanā āchaya |
yāhāra gamana sei kichu nā jānaya ||
(Prema-vilāsa: 16)

“Graciously, he [i.e., Raghunātha Dāsa Gosvāmī, in response to a question as to how Rādhā, Kṛṣṇa, and the sakhīs can walk between sites in Vraja that are numerous miles apart in less than half an hour] said, ‘Listen, Nityānanda Dāsa. The formation of Vṛndāvana, that is, all the places in which Kṛṣṇa’s play continues forever, is nearly like a lotus. Mahāprabhu’s establishment [of this conclusion] is in accord with the statements of the śāstra. It [i.e., the lotus of Vṛndāvana] has two states: contracted and open. It becomes contracted in the case of pleasure (vilāsa) [i.e., when Kṛṣṇa has intimate exchanges with Rādhā and the sakhīs that require seclusion] and expansion [of it] occurs in the case of līlā [i.e., when they engage in their various other līlās in general]. In this way everyone’s [i.e., Rādhā, Kṛṣṇa, and their sakhīs’] coming and going occurs. One who is sheltered in them has this understanding. This phenomenon occurs by the power of yogamāyā, she who does not make known her movements at all [i.e., she who causes this expansion and contraction of Vṛndāvana without anyone noticing it].”

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tatraiva sādhanaṁ satyaṁ sādhu sampadyate’cirāt

tatraiva sādhanaṁ satyaṁ sādhu sampadyate’cirāt |
vaikuṇṭhopari vibhrājac chrīmad-goloka-yāpakam ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.5.253)

“[Śrī Nārada to Gopa Kumāra:] Truly, there alone [i.e., only in the land of Vraja within the district of Mathurā], the sādhana that is a cause of attainment of blessed Goloka above Vaikuṇṭha is aptly accomplished without delay.”

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lokottara-padārthānāṁ prabhāvaḥ ko’py anargalaḥ

lokottara-padārthānāṁ prabhāvaḥ ko’py anargalaḥ |
ratiṁ tad-viṣayaṁ cāsau bhāsayet tūrṇam ekadā ||
(Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi: 14.16)

“Otherworldly objects have extraordinary unchecked potency, and one [such object] can immediately at once manifest rati [for Śrī Kṛṣṇa] and the object thereof [i.e., Śrī Kṛṣṇa himself, the object of rati].”

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