तथैव कालियदमः पुनः पुन-
स्तथैव गोवर्धनधरणं मुहुः ।
परापि लीला विविधाद्भुतासकृत्
प्रवर्तते भक्तमनोहरा प्रभोः ॥
tathaiva kāliya-damaḥ punaḥ punas
tathaiva govardhana-dharaṇaṁ muhuḥ |
parāpi līlā vividhādbhutāsakṛt
pravartate bhakta-manoharā prabhoḥ ||
(Bṛhad Bhāgavatāmṛta: 2.6.356)
“So indeed the subduing of Kāliya occurs again and again. So indeed the lifting of Govardhana occurs repeatedly. Various other astonishing līlās of Prabhu captivating of the minds of bhaktas too take place repeatedly.”
Commentary
na ca kevalaṁ tasya madhupurī-gamanāgamanādi-līlaivedṛśī, anyāpi sarvā tādṛśyevety āha—tathaiveti | kāliyasya damaḥ damanaṁ punaḥ punar bhavati, parā anyā api pūtanā-mocanādyā vividhā prabhor līlā adbhutā adṛṣṭāśruta-rūpā satī asakṛt muhur muhuḥ svayam eva pravartate | nanu prāyaḥ pūrva-pūrvācaritaiva līlā kathaṁ punaḥ punar vistāryate? na ca pūtanā kācid anyā nityam ācaryate? tatrāha—bhaktānāṁ nityānām ādhunikānām api manohareti tatra yāsāṁ līlānāṁ smaraṇādinā bhagavati bhakti-viśeṣo jāto’sti, tā eva prītyā atyantaṁ manasi saṁlagnāḥ santi | tad-anubhavenaiva ca teṣāṁ sukha-viśeṣodayaḥ syād ity evam ādhunikānāṁ manoharā, nityānāṁ sarva-vilakṣaṇa-mādhuryāścaryatādivattvād iti dik |
(Dig-darśinī-ṭīkā)
“And it is not that only his [i.e., Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s] līlās of going to Mathurā, returning [from there], and so forth are such [i.e., are performed again and again recurrently]. All others too are indeed that way [i.e., all of Kṛṣṇa’s other līlās also take place again and again recurrently]. Thus, he says tathaiva … [i.e., Sarūpa speaks this verse]. The subduing (damaḥ) of Kāliya occurs again and again. Various other (parā) līlās beginning with the liberation of Pūtanā too take place repeatedly (asakṛt), that is, again and again entirely of their own accord, being astonishing (adbhutā), that is, [being again and again experienced as] unseen and unheard of in appearance [by Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s companions even though they have experienced them repeatedly in the past].
“[A question is raised:] ‘Well, why as a rule are līlās that have already been performed before repeatedly manifested again and again? And are not some līlās other than that of [liberating] Pūtanā performed eternally? [i.e., aren’t there only certain other līlās that recurrently manifest eternally?]’ To this, he says ‘captivating of the minds of bhaktas’ (bhakta-manoharā), meaning, those particular līlās by remembrance and so forth of which a specific form of bhakti to Bhagavān becomes manifested become completely fixed in the minds of the eternal and the new [i.e., in the minds of both Kṛṣṇa’s eternal companions (nitya-siddha-parikaras) and those who have newly become Kṛṣṇa’s bhaktas] because of love (prīti) [i.e., because all Kṛṣṇa’s eternal companions and new bhaktas foster love (prīti) specifically for particular līlās of Kṛṣṇa and the particular manifestation of Śrī Kṛṣṇa who performs them]. A manifestation of superlative bliss can occur, furthermore, only as a result of experience of those [i.e., those particular līlās of Kṛṣṇa that are completely fixed in their minds of Kṛṣṇa’s bhaktas—eternal and new—because of their love (prīti) specifically for those līlās and the particular manifestation of Kṛṣṇa who performs those līlās], and thus those līlās are captivating of the minds (manoharā) of the new [i.e., of new bhaktas of Kṛṣṇa] because of [those līlās’] being possessed of sweetness (mādhurya), wondrousness (āścaryatā), and so forth that are extraordinary [even] in comparison to all [other līlās] for the eternal [i.e., for Kṛṣṇa’s eternal companions (nitya-siddha-parikaras)]. This is the direction [i.e., the līlās Śrī Kṛṣṇa performs with his nitya-siddha-parikaras are filled with a superlative degree of sweetness (mādhurya), wondrousness (āścaryatā), and so forth such that they are recurrently captivating of the minds of his nitya-siddha-parikaras to such an extent that these parikaras feel as though they are experiencing these līlās for the very first time every time they again recurrently experience them throughout eternity, that is, their minds become completely captivated by those līlās by virtue of their paramount love (prīti) for those līlās and the performer of them, viz., Śrī Kṛṣṇa; because Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s līlās with his nitya-siddha-parikaras are such, new bhaktas hear about, praise, remember, and meditate on them such that their minds become completely fixed upon these līlās out of love (prīti) for them, and because their minds become so fixed on those līlās specifically they can experience superlative bliss only by experiencing those līlās, their minds are said to become captivated by those līlās].”