निवृत्तानुपयोगित्वाद्दुरूहत्वादयं रसः ।
रहस्यत्वाच्च संक्षिप्य वितताङ्गोऽपि लिख्यते ॥
nivṛttānupayogitvād durūhatvād ayaṁ rasaḥ |
rahasyatvāc ca saṁkṣipya vitatāṅgo’pi likhyate ||
(Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 3.5.2)
“This rasa [i.e., madhura-rasa], although its components are extensive, is described [only] briefly [here in this text (Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu)] because of [its] being unsuitable for the non-inclined, difficult to comprehend, and confidential.”
Commentary
nivṛtteṣu prākṛta-śṛṅgāra-rasa-sama-dṛṣṭyā bhāgavatād apy asmād rasād virakteṣu, anupayogitvād ayogyatvāt |
(Durgama-saṅgamī-ṭīkā)
“‘For the non-inclined’ (nivṛtta) means for those who are averse to this rasa, although it is related to Bhagavān, because they see it to be the same as mundane romance (śṛṅgāra-rasa). ‘Because of being unsuitable’ (anupayogitvāt) means unfit.”
Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī describes madhura-rasa at length in Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi, his supplement to Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, and explains his reason for doing so at the outset of the text.