कृष्णश्च कृष्णभक्ताश्च बुधैरालम्बना मताः ।
रत्यादेर्विषयत्वेन तथाधारतयापि च ॥
kṛṣṇaś ca kṛṣṇa-bhaktāś ca budhair ālambanā matāḥ |
raty-āder viṣayatvena tathādhāratayāpi ca ||
(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 2.1.16)
“Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa’s bhaktas are known by the wise to be the ālambanas (supports) by virtue of [their] being the object (viṣaya) and the vessel (ādhāra) of rati and so forth [i.e., and the secondary rasas of laughter and so on].”
Commentary
kṛṣṇaś ca kṛṣṇa-bhaktāś cety atrāyaṁ vivekaḥ | yam uddiśya ratiḥ pravartate sa viṣayaḥ | sa ca śrī-kṛṣṇa evātra | ādhāras tu rater āśrayaḥ | sa cātra mūlaṁ rateḥ pātraṁ gṛhyate, tan-niṣyandena hy ādhunikā api bhaktāḥ snigdhā bhavanti | sa punaḥ sthāpayiṣyamāṇa-mahā-rasa-mūrtis tal-līlā-parikara-gaṇa eva |
(Excerpt from the Durgama-saṅgamanī-ṭīkā)
“Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa’s bhaktas—this distinction is [made] here [i.e., in this verse]. Towards whom rati proceeds [i.e., for whose sake it exists] is the viṣaya (object). That too is Śrī Kṛṣṇa alone in this regard. The vessel (ādhāra), however, is the basis (āśraya) of rati. That too in this regard is accepted as the origin, the container of rati; only by showering down [from them] do present day bhaktas also become moist [i.e., only from Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s eternal companions in līlā do present day bhaktas in saṁsāra receive rati]. That [i.e., the vessel of rati] furthermore is only the companions in līlā of the embodiment of supreme rasa to be established [i.e., described] ahead [i.e., Śrī Kṛṣṇa].”