जयति जयति वृन्दारण्यमेतन्मुरारेः
प्रियतममतिसाधुस्वान्तवैकुण्ठवासात् ।
रमयति स सदा गाः पालयन्यत्र गोपीः
स्वरितमधुरवेणुर्वर्धयन्प्रेम रासे ॥
jayati jayati vṛndāraṇyam etan murāreḥ
priyatamam ati-sādhu-svānta-vaikuṇṭha-vāsāt |
ramayati sa sadā gāḥ pālayan yatra gopīḥ
svarita-madhura-veṇur vardhayan prema rāse ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 1.1.5)
“This Vṛndāvana—
Which is dearmost to Murāri,
More so than the hearts of great sādhus
And [more so than even] residence in Vaikuṇṭha,
And in which he,
Tending the cows,
Sweetly playing the flute,
And increasing prema for rāsa,
Ever delights the gopīs—
Triumphs!
Triumphs!”
Commentary
śrī-mathurāyāṁ cāsyāṁ śrī-vraja-bhūmir eva śrī-bhagavato’sādhāraṇa-madhura-madhura-vihāra-paramparāspadaṁ, tasyām api ‘vṛndāvanaṁ govardhanaṁ yamunā-pulināni ca | vīkṣyāsīd uttamā prītiḥ rāma-mādhavayor nṛpa ||’ iti śrī-daśama-skandhokteḥ tat-sthāna-trayam eva tasya parama-priyatamam iti tat-prasāda-prāptaye teṣāṁ paramotkarṣaṁ varṇayann ādau śrī-vṛndāvanasyāha—-jayatīti | paramotkarṣa-bharāpekṣayā tata eva harṣātiśayena vīpsā | etad iti grantha-kārasya tadānīṁ tatraiva vāsaṁ bodhayati | atipriyatamam ity anvayaḥ | athavā atisādhavaḥ atyanta-bhagavad-bhakti-parāyaṇā janāḥ teṣāṁ svānte citte vaikuṇṭhe ca yo vāsaḥ tasmād api, yad vā tat-tad-rūpād āvāsād api, parama-priyaṁ, sadā prākaṭyena vicitra-madhura-svaira-vihārāmṛta-laharī-vistāraṇāt tatra tatra ca tad-asambhavāt | ataḥ kadācit tatra tatrācchanno’pi bhavet, na tv atra | ata evoktaṁ—‘nityaṁ sannihito hariḥ’ ity-ādi | tathā, ‘puṇyā bata vraja-bhūvo yad ayaṁ nṛ-liṅga-gūḍhaḥ purāṇa-puruṣo vana-citra-mālyaḥ | gāḥ pālayan saha balaṁ kvaṇayaṁś ca veṇuṁ vikrīḍayāñcati giritra-ramārcitāṅghriḥ ||’ ity-ādau añcatīti vartamāna-nirdeśādivat | tad evāha—ramayatīti | sa murārir yatra vṛndāraṇye sadā gāḥ pālayan gopīḥ śrī-rādhikā-prabhṛtī ramayati rasa-vara-vistāraṇena sukhayati | rāse rāsa-krīḍā-viṣaye, yad vā rāse nimitte svasmin prema vardhayan | svarito vāditaḥ, yad vā svaritaḥ vicitra-svaraṁ prāpito, madhuro jagac-cittākarṣako veṇur yena tathā-bhūtaḥ san | yadi ca vardhayann iti hetau śatṛṅ, tataś ca go-pālanasya tad-dvāraka-veṇu-vādanādinā gopī-ramaṇasyāpi vividha-vaidagdhyādinā rāse prema-vardhanam eva mukhyaṁ prayojanam ity ūhyaṁ prema-rasa-viśeṣa-vistāraṇārtham evāvatīrṇatvāt | go-pālanaṁ gopī-ramaṇādikaṁ ca tad-upakaraṇam iti dik |
(Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā)
“Within this [district of] Śrī Mathurā, the region [therein] of Śrī Vraja specifically is the site of a series of extraordinary, sweet, sweet sports of Śrī Bhagavān, and in that regard as per a statement in the Tenth Canto [i.e., SB 10.11.36], ‘Seeing Vṛndāvana, Govardhana, and the banks of the Yamunā, Rāma and Mādhava [i.e., Balarāma and Kṛṣṇa] felt the greatest pleasure, O king,’ these three places [viz., Vṛndāvana, the Yamunā, and Govardhana] specifically are supremely dearmost to him. Thus, for the sake of [attaining] their grace, he describes their supreme excellence and speaks first of Śrī Vṛndāvana: jayati … [i.e., he states this verse]. The repetition [of the word jayati, ‘triumphs,’] is out of regard for the abundance of supreme excellence [found in Vṛndāvana] and a profusion of delight specifically because of that [excellence]. [The pronoun] ‘This’ (etat) makes known the author’s dwelling there specifically then [i.e., at the time of writing this text]. ‘Supremely’ (ati) ‘dearmost’ (priyatamam) is the syntactic connection [of the words priyatamam and ati, i.e., the mention of the word ati in syntactic connection with the word priyatamam implies that Vṛndāvan is even more dear to Śrī Kṛṣṇa than the district of Mathurā in general]. Alternately, [the word ati is in compound with the word sādhu, in which case the compound ati-sādhu-svānta-vaikuṇṭha-vāsāt means that Vṛndāvana is] supremely dear more so than even residence in Vaikuṇṭha and [residence] in the hearts (svānta) of great sādhus (ati-sādhu), that is, persons completely devoted to bhakti to Bhagavān, or alternately, [Vṛndāvana is supreme dear] even more so than that form of dwelling [i.e., than dwelling in those places, viz., Vaikuṇṭha and the hearts of great bhaktas] because of the constantly manifest unfolding of waves of the nectar of sweet, variegated, free-spirited sport [there specially in Vṛndāvana] and the impossibility of that [i.e., such sport] there and there [i.e., in the hearts of great bhaktas and in Vaikuṇṭha]. Thus, sometimes that [i.e., Śrī Bhagavān’s sport] shall also be covered there and there [i.e., in the hearts of great bhaktas and in Vaikuṇṭha], but not, rather, here [i.e., in Vṛndāvana]. Thus, it is said [in SB 10.1.28], ‘Hari is eternally present in full [there in Mathurā, and Vṛndāvana specifically].’ Similarly, as in the case of the usage of the present tense in [the verb] ‘roam about’ (añcati) in [SB 10.44.13], ‘Bata! Glorious are the tracts of Vraja wherein this Primeval Puruṣa—he whose feet are worshiped by Śiva and Ramā—hidden in a human-like figure and wearing a variegated forest garland, playfully roams about tending the cows with Bala and playing the flute’ [i.e., since Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s roaming about in Vraja is described in the present tense in this verse, there is an implication that he remains present in Vraja eternally].
“He describes this [sporting of Śrī Kṛṣṇa in Vraja] specifically: ramayati … [i.e., he makes the point found in the second half of the verse]: where (yatra) he (saḥ), Murāri, ever tends the cows and delights, that is, pleases, the gopīs—Śrī Rādhikā and so forth—by means of manifesting most excellent rasa. ‘Increasing’ (vardhayan) prema ‘for rāsa’ (rāse) means for the object of rāsa play [itself], or, for himself by means of rāsa. [Svarita-madhura-veṇuḥ means] Being so existent as he by whom the flute (veṇuḥ) is ‘played’ (svarita), or, caused to possess variegated notes (svarita), and [is thus] sweet (madhura), that is, attractive to the hearts of [all the people in] the world. Also, if the śatṛṅ [affix] is [taken to be] in the sense of cause in [the word] ‘increasing’ (vardhayann), then too it is to be inferred that along with the flute playing and so forth of [i.e., that occurs in the course of] cow herding and the various artistries and so forth [that are expressed in the course] of delighting the gopīs [secondarily], increasing prema by means of rāsa specifically is the primary aim (prayojana) [of his flute playing] because of [his] having descended specifically for the purpose of expanding that special rasa of prema [that is nourished most greatly by rāsa-līlā with the gopīs]. Cow-herding, delighting the gopīs, and so forth are means to that [end]. This is the direction.”