तयोरप्युभयोर्मध्ये राधिका सर्वथाधिका ।
महाभावस्वरूपेयं गुणैरतिवरीयसी ॥
tayor apy ubhayor madhye rādhikā sarvathādhikā |
mahābhāva-svarūpeyaṁ guṇair ativarīyasī ||
(Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi: 4.3; cited in Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 1.4.70, 2.8.160)
“‘Furthermore, between the two of them [i.e., Rādhikā and Candrāvalī], Rādhikā is superior in all respects. She is the embodiment of mahābhāva and exceedingly excellent by virtue of [her] qualities.”
Commentary
atra tāsu śrī-vṛndāvaneśvarī mahābhāva-svarūpeyam iti | tathā hi brahma-saṁhitāyāṁ ‘ānanda‑cinmaya‑rasa‑pratibhāvitābhiḥ’ ity anena tāsāṁ sarvāsām api bhakti-rasa-pratibhāvitātvaṁ gamyate | bhaktir hi pūrva-granthe śuddha-sattva-viśeṣātmety atra paramānandatayā darśitā | tasyāś ca rasatvāpattiḥ sthāpitā | tataś ca tenānanda-cinmayātmakena rasena bhakti-viśeṣa-mayena pratibhāvitābhiḥ pratikṣaṇaṁ nityam eva bhāvitābhiḥ sampādita-sattābhiḥ kalābhiḥ śaktibhir ity arthaḥ | ata eva ‘yasyāsti bhaktir bhagavaty akiñcanā sarvair guṇais tatra samāsate surāḥ’ ity anena sarvottama-sarva-guṇa-lakṣaṇābhir iti ca labhyate | tad evaṁ tāsāṁ bhakti-viśeṣe rasa-maya-bhakti-rūpatve sati tāsu sarvāsu varīyasyāṁ śrī-rādhāyāṁ labhyata eva mahābhāva-svarūpatā guṇair ativarīyastā ca |
(Excerpt from the Locana-rocanī-ṭīkā)
“Here, among them [i.e., among all the gopīs], the Īśvarī of Śrī Vṛndāvana [i.e., Śrī Rādhikā] is the embodiment of mahābhāva. Similarly, in Brahma-saṁhitā [5.37], ‘with they who are ever-manifested’ (pratibhāvitābhiḥ) out of rasa constituted of consciousness and bliss’—by this [verse], even all of them [i.e., all the gopīs] being manifested out of bhakti-rasa is understood since bhakti, which in the prior text [i.e., BRS, specifically, BRS 1.3.1] is [said to be] ‘a special aspect of śuddha-sattva,’ is here shown as being the supreme bliss. Its [i.e., bhakti’s] entering the state of being rasa is also established [by this verse, viz., BS 5.37]. Furthermore, ‘with they who are potencies’ (kalābhiḥ) [in BS 5.37] means with [they who are] śaktis ‘ever-manifest’ (pratibhāvitābhiḥ), that is, manifested (bhāvita), meaning. of established existence, continuously (prati), that is, eternally, out of rasa constituted of consciousness and bliss and filled with a particular form of bhakti. This is the meaning. Therefore, ‘The suras along with all qualities reside in full within one who has unconditional bhakti to Bhagavān,’—by this [statement in SB 5.18.12], [all the gopīs’ being] they who are replete with all of the most excellent qualities of all is also understood. Thus, in this way, with their [i.e., the gopīs’] particular form of bhakti existent as a form of bhakti full of rasa, [the characteristic of] being the embodiment of mahābhāva and [the characteristic of] being exceedingly excellent by virtue of qualities is understood [to exist only] in Śrī Rādhikā, who is [most] excellent among them all.”
prema-bhaktir hi pūrva-granthe ‘śuddha-sattva-viśeṣātmā’ ity atra paramānanda-rūpatayā darśitā | tasyāś ca rasatvāpattiḥ sthāpitā | asmiṁś ca granthe ‘ānanda-cinmaya’ iti brahma-saṁhitā-vacanena gopya eva ānanda-cinmayatvena sthāpitāḥ |
(Excerpt from the Ānanda-candrikā-ṭīkā)
“Prema-bhakti, which was shown in the prior text to be ‘‘a special aspect of śuddha-sattva’ [ref., BRS 1.3.1], is shown here as being the supreme bliss. Its [i.e., prema-bhakti’s] entering the state of being rasa is also established. Also in this text, by the statement of Brahma-saṁhitā [BS 5.37], ‘with they who are ever-manifest out of rasa constituted of consciousness and bliss,’ the gopīs are established as being constituted of consciousness and bliss.”