श्रीगोविन्दं व्रजानन्दसन्दोहामन्दमन्दिरम् ।
वन्दे वृन्दावनानन्दं श्रीराधासङ्गनन्दितम् ॥
śrī-govindaṁ vrajānanda-sandohāmanda-mandiram |
vande vṛndāvanānandaṁ śrī-rādhā-saṅga-nanditam ||
(Govinda-līlāmṛta: 1.1)
“I offer obeisance to Śrī Govinda,
He who is the abode filled
With the totality of the bliss of Vraja,
He whose bliss is in Vṛndāvana,
He who is blissful in the company of Śrī Rādhā.”
Commentary
The reading given above of sandohāmanda is found in the edition of Śrī Śrī Govinda-līlāmṛta published by Śrī Hari Dāsa Dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja and is the reading taken by Śrī Vṛndāvana Cakravartī, the author of the Sanskrit Sadānanda-vidhāyinī-ṭīkā on the text. A variant sandohānanda can be found in some editions of Govinda-līlāmṛta and seems to be the reading accepted by Śrī Yadunandana Ṭhākura, a disciple of Śrīnivāsa Ācārya’s daughter Hemalatā Ṭhākurāṇī, who wrote a poetic Bengali translation of Śrī Śrī Govinda-līlāmṛta. According to this variant reading, the meaning of the whole compound becomes “the abode of the bliss of the totality of the bliss of Vraja,” and the implied sense of Śrī Govinda’s being the “bliss of all bliss in Vraja” is that he is fundamental cause of all the bliss experienced by all the living beings throughout Vraja.
Śrī Yadunandana Ṭhākura also seems to have accepted a variant reading of Vṛndāvanānandaṁ as Vṛndāvanādhīśaṁ, “the Lord of Vṛndāvana.”
According to the Sadānanda-vidhāyinī-ṭīkā, vande means “I offer obeisance” (namaskaromi) or “I praise” (staumi); ‘Govinda’ refers to Śrī Kṛṣṇa as described in Brahma-saṁhitā 5.1 (Īśvaraḥ paramaḥ Kṛṣṇaḥ …). ‘Śrī’ indicates that Govinda is (1) endowed with beauty (śriyā śobhayā yuktaḥ) as per SB 10.44.14 (ekānta-dhāma yaśasaḥ śriya aiśvaryasya), SB 10.32.14 (trailokya-lakṣmy-eka-padaṁ vapur dadhat), and SB 10.29.40 (trailokya-saubhagam idaṁ ca nirīkṣya rūpam); (2) endowed with fortune (śriyā sampattyā vā yuktaḥ) as per SB 10.31.1 (śrayata indirā śaśvad atra hi) and Kṛṣṇa-karṇāmṛta (cintāmaṇiś caraṇa-bhūṣaṇam aṅganānāṁ); (3) accompanied by Lakṣmī in the form of the golden streak [of hair] situated on his chest (śriyā lakṣmyā vakṣaḥ-stha-svarṇa-rekhā-rūpayā yuktaḥ) as per Śrī Rūpapāda’s kārikā in LB 1.5.351 (svarṇa-rekheva te Nātha vastum icchāmi vakṣasi) [wherein Śrī Lakṣmī Devī prays to Bhagavān, “O Nātha, I wish to reside on your chest like a streak of gold,” and Bhagavān is said to have granted her request]; and (4) accompanied by the beauties of Vraja [i.e., the gopīs] (śrībhir vraja-sundarībhir yuktaḥ) as per Brahma-saṁhitā 5.55 (śriyaḥ kāntāḥ kāntaḥ Parama-puruṣaḥ).
“The abode filled with the totality of the bliss of Vraja” (Vrajānanda-sandohānanda-mandiram) means Śrī Govinda is the the abode (mandiram) filled (amanda—pūrṇa) with the totality (sandoha) of the bliss (ānanda) of the land of Vraja, or, of all the moving and inert beings situated in Vraja (Vraja-padena Vraja-bhūmer Vraja-stha-sthāvara-jaṅgamānāṁ vā). Alternately, it can also mean “he whose abode filled with the totality of bliss is Vraja itself (Vraja evānanda-sandohāmanda-mandiraṁ yasya tam).
“He whose bliss is in Vṛndāvana” (Vṛndāvanānandaṁ) alternately means (1) he for whom the special, supremely sweet place known as Vṛndāvana within the region of Śrī Vraja causes bliss greater than even [that caused by] the region of Vraja [in general] (Śrī-Vraja-maṇḍala-madhye tu Vṛndāvanaṁ nāma parama-mādhurya-viśeṣa-pradeśas tad-Vraja-maṇḍalād apy adhikam ānandayati iti tam); (2) he who is the bliss of Vṛndāvana (Vṛndāvanasyānandam ānanda-rūpam); and (3) he because of whom Vṛndāvana has bliss (Vṛndāvanasyānando yasmāt tam).
“He who is blissful in the company of Śrī Rādhā” (Śrī-Rādhā-saṅga-nanditam) means he whose bliss there in Śrī Vṛndāvana which is produced by the association of Śrī Rādhā is greater than the bliss produced by Vṛndāvana [in general] (tatra Śrī-Vṛndāvana-madhye tu tasmāt Vṛndāvanānandāt adhikaṁ Śrī-Rādhayā saṅgena nanditaṁ jātānandaṁ), as per the statement later in Govinda-līlāmṛta (13.32):
rādhā-saṅge yadā bhāti tadā madana-mohanaḥ |
anyathā viśva-moho’pi svayaṁ madana-mohitaḥ ||
“When he shines in the company of Rādhā, then he is the Enchanter of Madana. Otherwise [i.e., whenever he is elsewhere], even though he is the Enchanter of the world, he himself becomes enchanted by Madana.”
Thus, a successive superiority of the three qualifiers [of Śrī Govinda stated in the verse] is to be understood (eṣāṁ viśeṣaṇa-trayāṇām uttarottaram ādhikyaṁ jñeyam), meaning, the domain of Vraja in general is a source of bliss for him, Vṛndāvana is even more so, and Śrī Rādhā’s company is the greatest source of bliss of him.