Chapter Nine
K®ß√a Enjoys Playing with His Friends
Superior to the Pulinda girl we have been
discussing are the
sakhås, and of them Çukadeva Gosvåmî says:
yadi düraμ gata˙ k®ß√o
vana-çobhekßa√åya tam
ahaμ pürvam ahaμ pürvam
iti saμsp®çya remire
Çrîmad-Bhågavatam (10.12.6); B®had-bhågavatåm®ta
(2.7.120)
During the day, while playing and jumping
about with His
sakhås, if K®ß√a, desiring to see the
splendour of the forest, would
go to a somewhat distant place, then with
great speed the sakhås
would run to Him saying, “I will touch Him
first! I will touch
Him first!” and in this way they enjoyed
life. They would embrace
K®ß√a, and K®ß√a would also embrace them.
They would refer to
one another as “Sakhå, Sakhå!” and they
would carry one another
on their shoulders. Because they would
play with K®ß√a in such
an unrestricted fashion, both indoors and
outside, these young
gopas are superior to the Pulinda girl.
In the early morning K®ß√a would still be
sleeping, and Subala,
Madhuma∫gala and others would come and
jump on His bed to
awaken Him. Mother Yaçodå would be
hesitant to awaken Him,
because generally a sleeping child should
not be awakened. If He
slept too late, then to awaken Him perhaps
she would sing
89
a sweet song and gently sprinkle some
water on His face. But the
sakhås would simply jump on Him, and then
they would accompany
Him to the forest for the day. While
eating and drinking,
while inside the house or outside, coming
and going, they would
always accompany K®ß√a. Seeing this, the gopîs
say, “These sakhås
are so fortunate! Day and night, anywhere
and everywhere, they
are always playing with K®ß√a. If we could
become sakhås, then
we would always feel great happiness! We
could always be by His
side. Sometimes Mother Yaçodå feeds them
at the same time she
feeds K®ß√a, and then they play together
all day long. In this way
they are always fully satisfied.”
Singing the glories of the youthful
cowherds, the gopîs became
absorbed in bhåva. This is the nature of prema,
and especially the
nature of mahåbhåva. Recognising even a
trace of prema in others,
the gopîs consider them to be more
fulfilled than they themselves.
When Çrî Caitanya Mahåprabhu was in Purî
surrounded by His
devotees, a dog approached Him. It was
making a whining sound,
and tears began to fall from its eyes.
Mahåprabhu was eating
coconut and gave that dog some of His prasåda,
and when the
next day the dog was nowhere to be found,
everyone understood
that it went to Vaiku√†ha. So who wouldn’t
desire to become
that dog and be able to approach
Mahåprabhu and receive some
of His prasåda? Then rolling on the ground
in ecstasy, relinquishing
his material body and becoming an eternal
associate of
Bhagavån in Vaiku√†ha – who wouldn’t
desire such a benediction?
Especially those who have prema would
desire it. Similarly,
upon seeing someone receiving the kindness
and affection of
K®ß√a – whether they are qualified for it
or not – Rådhikå becomes
intoxicated and thinks, “They are more
fortunate than Me; I wish
that My fortune could become like theirs.”
Accompanied by countless sakhås, K®ß√a
takes the calves out to
90 Bhakti-rasåyana
graze for the day. When calves become a
little bigger they give up
drinking the cows’ milk, and K®ß√a takes
something like 900,000
of these calves out to graze. Meanwhile
Çrîdåmå comes, and how
many calves does he have? All of his
calves join the procession.
Then Madhuma∫gala, Subala, Stokak®ß√a,
Arjuna and countless
other sakhås with countless calves join
them. Amongst this procession
there are different parties, like when a kîrtana
procession
is going along. One party holds a banner
with the words “Keçavajî
Gau∂îya Ma†ha”, another holds a banner
with the name “Rüpa-
Sanåtana Gau∂îya Ma†ha”, and another party
hold a banner displaying
the name of another temple. Similarly, the
sakhås are
going along together, but in separate
parties. Sometimes those
who desire to separate during the course
of the day do so, but at
the end of the afternoon when K®ß√a plays
the particular melody
on His flute that signifies it is time to
return, they again come
together. Then upon returning, they again
go their separate ways
when each sakhå takes his calves and goes
to his own father’s
house.
While going along together with their
millions of calves, the
sakhås play their flutes and horns, sing
and play various games. In
this verse it says remire, a derivative of
the word ramanå, which
means to enjoy. Enjoying with His friends,
K®ß√a enters the
forest, where they decorate each other
with the many varieties of
flowers and leaves as well as peacock
feathers. At once K®ß√a is
decorated like the king of dancers, and He
also decorates the
other boys. Then they begin playing; how
does it start? Çrîdåmå
steals one of Madhuma∫gala’s beloved la∂∂us
and gives it to
another boy, and it is passed around so
many times that no one
knows where it has gone. Madhuma∫gala
approaches everyone
asking them, “Have you seen my la∂∂u?” and
if they have it, they
keep it hidden. One gopa steals another’s
flute, horn or stick, and
Chapter Nine 91
when the owner of it pursues him, he
throws it away and then
another gopa picks it up and runs with it.
In this way they play in
their attractive childhood pastimes (båla-lîlå).
The boys are all laughing and K®ß√a
smiles, but if K®ß√a
doesn’t smile, then everything is spoiled.
Everything is going on
exclusively for K®ß√a’s pleasure. At that
time, these children have
forgotten their homes, families and even
their own bodily needs
– everything. One boy is playing the
flute, another is singing like
a bird, another is mimicking a monkey and
another is imitating
the sound of a frog. For the purpose of
increasing their eagerness,
sometimes K®ß√a hides, and then the sakhås
are unable to stay
where they are and they begin searching
for Him. If one of them
catches a glimpse of Him, then at once
they all race there. One
after the other they embrace K®ß√a, and
laughing, K®ß√a embraces
them in return.
When K®ß√a would sometimes go to a
slightly distant place to
see the splendour of the forest, the sakhås,
upon losing the great
ecstasy (paramånanda) they experience by
playing with Him,
become very unhappy. Sanåtana Gosvåmî says
in his commentary
that K®ß√a plays with the sakhås for nine
hours each day
while taking the cows and calves out to
graze. So when do the
gopîs receive the opportunity to be with
Him for that long? At
that time, by the arrangement of Yogamåyå,
K®ß√a assumes two
forms. In one form He remains playing with
the gopas, and in the
other form He enjoys with the gopîs at
Kusuma-sarovara or Rådhåku√∂
a. Or on some pretext He tells the sakhås,
“I am going to
Kusuma-sarovara to get a drink of water,”
and by the influence
of Yogamåyå He seems to return in one
second only. The gopas
don’t know how much time has elapsed, just
as an entire night of
Brahmå elapsed while the råsa dance was
being performed.
During the råsa-lîlå, did any of the
members of K®ß√a’s or the
gopîs’ households know of it? They
considered that it was only an
92 Bhakti-rasåyana
ordinary night lasting eight hours. So
either by assuming two
forms or remaining in only one form, K®ß√a
would sometimes
also enjoy with the gopîs during the day.
Next comes this verse:
itthaμ satåμ brahma-sukhånubhütyå
dåsyaμ gatånåμ para-daivatena
måyåçritånåμ nara-dårake√a
sårdhaμ vijahru˙ k®ta-pu√ya-puñjå˙
Çrîmad-Bhågavatam (10.12.11); B®had-bhågavatåm®ta
(2.7.121)
In this way the greatly fortunate cowherd
boys enjoy in various
ways with Çrî K®ß√a, who is seen as the
Brahman effulgence by the
jñånîs, as the supremely worshipful deity
by His servants and as an
ordinary boy by people in general. (Or,
the word måyåçrita can
also mean that those who had received His
utmost mercy, due to
being devoid of the mood of opulence, saw
Him merely as the son
of Nanda.)
K®ß√a had killed Aghåsura, and while
taking the cows out to
graze during the daytime, the sakhås were
playing with the
demon’s bones and skin. There was no bad
odour coming from
the demon’s body, and all the sakhås thought,
“How has it
become dried out like this?” Because K®ß√a
had assumed the
forms of those cowherd boys for one year
immediately after the
killing of Aghåsura, they thought that
only one day had elapsed
since the demon was slain. Brahmå had
hidden them in a cave for
one year under mystic trance, but when K®ß√a
glanced at them
they revived, and the expanded forms of
cowherd boys entered
back into His original form. When K®ß√a
killed Aghåsura, the
effulgence of the demon’s soul merged into
K®ß√a’s feet. Brahmå
and many yogîs were watching this and
thought, “Who is this? He
appears to be an ordinary young boy, so
how is this possible?”
This verse says satåm, which means saints
who are always fixed
in meditation. For them K®ß√a is the
personification of the joy
Chapter Nine 93
derived from immersion in the impersonal
Brahman, and for devotees
who consider themselves His servants, He
is para-daivatena –
the supreme god. When K®ß√a entered the
wrestling arena of
Kaμsa, who saw Him as the para-devatå? The
V®ß√is, who considered
Him to be their worshipful deity, but the gopîs
and other
residents of Vraja didn’t see Him like
that. Some saw Him as a
friend, some as a son and some as a
paramour. Måyåçritånåμ
nara-dårake√a – and those under the
influence of måyå saw Him
as an ordinary young boy. The cowherd boys
were playing with
Him because k®ta-pu√ya-puñjå˙ – by their “accumulation
of
pious activities”, they were able to enjoy
with Him in this way.
There are three meanings of the word pu√ya.
First it can mean
conventional pious activities, but
performance of this type of
pu√ya does not qualify one to meet K®ß√a.
Secondly it can mean
suk®ti, and by accumulation of this one
receives sådhu-sa∫ga, then
they may accept the shelter of a spiritual
master, and then develop
bhakti. And when bhakti becomes perfected,
prema comes, and
when one has this prema, then he can meet
K®ß√a. By the pu√ya
of personalities like Mahåråja
Hariçcandra, Dadhîci ‰ßi or
Mahåråja Çibi,3 can one meet Bhagavån? No. By the practice of
sådhana-bhakti one won’t meet Bhagavån,
and even by possessing
bhåva-bhakti one won’t meet Him. When one
has prema-bhakti,
then he can meet K®ß√a. Don’t consider all
types of bhakti to be
one and the same. The cultivation of sådhana-bhakti
will gradually
elevate one, by bhåva-bhakti one may receive
some darçana of
K®ß√a, but only prema-bhakti can overpower
Him. To become
94 Bhakti-rasåyana
3. The story of Mahåråja Hariçcandra is
found in Çrîmad-Bhågavatam, Ninth
Canto, Chapter 7. A description of Dadhîci ‰ßi
is found in Çrîmad-Bhågavatam,
Sixth Canto, Chapters 6–7, and a
description of Mahåråja Çibi is found in the
purport to Çrîmad-Bhågavatam (1.12.20).
K®ß√a’s friend and live with Him may not
even be accomplished
by having prema-bhakti if one does not
have the bhåva of Vraja.
These sakhås possessed this prema-bhakti with
vraja-bhåva, and
that is the meaning of k®ta-pu√ya-puñjå˙.
Sanåtana Gosvåmî describes how the sakhås would
play
together with great intimacy. Sometimes
they would run and
play with K®ß√a without any clothing. They
would eat from each
other’s plates and place food in each
other’s mouths, and they
had no fear of reprimand from their elders
or anyone. Speaking
this verse, Çukadeva Gosvåmî felt great ånanda,
though he could
not remain solely on this topic for long.
He is the parrot of
Rådhikå, and there is nothing that can
fully immerse him in
ånanda which doesn’t include Her name. But
here he became
spellbound in sakhya-rasa, and that bhåva poured
forth from his
heart in the form of his words. In this
verse he has used the word
satåm, which means “saint”, and here it
refers to those who view
K®ß√a as the personification of brahmånanda,
the bliss derived
from immersion in the impersonal Brahman.
It refers to those
who are adorned with the twenty-six
qualities of a devotee and
who are jñåni-bhaktas like the four
Kumåras. But if Rüpa and
Sanåtana Gosvåmîs had personally described
a saint by their own
definition, they would have referred to
those who have the bhåva
of Vraja, and amongst them those who
possess the bhåva of the
gopîs, and out of them the one who
possesses the bhåva of being
a maidservant of Çrîmatî Rådhikå.
Once, Durvåså Muni came and saw K®ß√a
playing with His
friends. The boys were putting dust on top
of K®ß√a’s head, and
K®ß√a was chasing them and throwing dust
on them also. They
were sometimes embracing one another,
sometimes singing and
sometimes verbally abusing one another as
children do. Durvåså
thought, “What is this? He who is the very
embodiment of
Chapter Nine 95
Brahman has taken birth in the house of
Nanda?” Gazing in
K®ß√a’s direction, he became spellbound
and just stood motionlessly.
K®ß√a saw him from a distance, and at once
left His playing
and approached him, saying, “Båbå, I have
defeated Subala!”
Then Subala came and said, “I have
defeated Kanhaiyå!” Another
boy came and said, “I defeated K®ß√a!” and
then K®ß√a said, “No
Båbå, I defeated him!” Durvåså could only
silently gaze at K®ß√a,
and then he sat down. He couldn’t
determine who defeated who
and was unable to give them a verdict.
Then K®ß√a sat in his lap,
and grabbing his beard, said, “Båbå, you
don’t speak? Are you
deaf and dumb?” Then, feeling restless,
K®ß√a raced away from
there smiling, and began playing again.
Durvåså had not entered Vraja after only
one or two days’
journey; he had been wandering for
millions of years and had
seen countless universes, countless
Brahmås and Ça∫karas – and
after that he entered Vraja. Wonderstruck,
he thought, “Here,
playing with these boys, is the personification
of brahmånanda?”
From a distance he offered obeisances so
as not to disturb K®ß√a’s
pastimes, and then he went away from
there. This is the vision of
K®ß√a being referred to in this verse by
the line itthaμ satåμ
brahma-sukhånubhütyå.
Then the next line refers to devotees who
see K®ß√a as paradevatå,
their supremely worshipful deity. And then
the third line
says måyåçritånåμ nara-dårake√a, which
means that those under
the influence of måyå see K®ß√a as an
ordinary child. But one
more meaning has been given here: if this
were to refer to those
souls trapped in material illusion, then
the sequence would be
inconsistent. First was described how the
sages see K®ß√a, and
then how the devotees see Him, so here måyåçritånåm
must refer
to those who are under the influence of
Yogamåyå. Sanåtana
Gosvåmî quotes this verse:
96 Bhakti-rasåyana
kåtyåyani mahå-måye
mahå-yoginy adhîçvari
nanda-gopa-sutaμ devi
patiμ me kuru te nama˙
Çrîmad-Bhågavatam (10.22.4)
O Kåtyåyanî, O possessor of the Yogamåyå
potency, please give us
the boon of having K®ß√a as our husband.
So in the verse we are discussing, nara means that those who
have taken shelter of Yogamåyå saw the son
of Nanda Mahåråja
as an ordinary boy. They didn’t see Him with
aiçvarya-bhåva,
awe and reverence, but with mådhurya-bhåva,
loving friendship.
They always played with Him in nara-lîlå,
His pastimes in
human form, never considering Him to be
the Supreme Lord. If
K®ß√a ever tried to tell them that He was
Bhagavån, the gopîs
would start clapping and say, “What, You are
Bhagavån? You are
only a liar and a cheat, and when You are
hungry You break Your
mother’s pots of yoghurt!” So here, måyåçritånåm
must refer
to the gopîs who by reciting this siddha-mantra
and offering püjå
to Kåtyåyanî received K®ß√a as their
paramour. Otherwise the
sequence of the verse would be incorrect.
And in the words naradårake√
a, the word dåra can also mean “wife”, so
in this way it
also refers to the gopîs, who always saw
K®ß√a as an adolescent
(kiçora), handsomely decorated like a new
bridegroom, and
appearing supremely attractive as the king
of dancers. This verse
is saying that with this dearest paramour
of the gopîs, the sakhås
are playing all day long, so how fortunate
must they be considered
to be?
Chapter Nine 97
Chapter Ten
The Glories of Sakhya-rasa
yat-påda-paμçur bahu-janma-k®cchrato
dh®tåtmabhir yogibhir apy alåbhya˙
sa eva yad-d®g vißaya˙ svayaμ sthita˙
kiμ var√yate di߆am aho vrajaukasåm
Çrîmad-Bhågavatam (10.12.12); B®had-bhågavatåm®ta
(2.7.122)
Great yogîs perform severe austerities for
many lifetimes, but even
when with great difficulty they have
completely controlled their
minds, they still cannot attain even one
particle of the dust of the
lotus feet of Çrî K®ß√a. How then can I
possibly describe the good
fortune of the Vrajavåsîs, who daily
received His direct darçana?
Yogîs, through many births of practising yama,
niyama, åsana,
prå√åyåma, pratyåhåra, dhåra√å, dhyåna and
samådhi, are unable
to touch even one particle of the dust of
K®ß√a’s lotus feet. They
perform such severe austerities but are
unable to reach Him, and
this refers to Brahmå also. Brahmå has a
very long lifespan, and
he even sees K®ß√a sometimes, but when he
approached K®ß√a,
did he receive the dust of His feet? When
Brahmå came to
V®ndåvana, K®ß√a was absorbed in playing
with His friends.
When Brahmå arrived, K®ß√a glanced at him,
but then quickly
returned to playing. Brahmå could only
offer prayers, and didn’t
directly receive the dust of His feet. So
what to speak of ordinary
yogîs? But that very Vrajendra-nandana,
although He is Bhagavån
99
Himself, stands before the Vrajavåsîs and
even plays with them.
Even the children younger than K®ß√a would
desire to accompany
Him when He took the cows out for grazing;
they certainly
wouldn’t just remain in their homes! The
mothers of these children
would tell K®ß√a, “Look after my son
today,” and K®ß√a
would take those small boys with Him. What
to speak of just
playing with them, after walking some
distance, K®ß√a would ask
one of them, “Are you feeling tired?” and
He would lovingly take
him on His lap and begin massaging his
feet.
In this verse Çukadeva Gosvåmî says, “Aho!
While taking the
cows out to graze, K®ß√a will sometimes
even massage their feet!
With His own hands He decorates the
youthful cowherd boys,
and they also decorate Him! They play
games together, and when
K®ß√a is victorious He smiles with great
joy. They eat together,
and play jokes on one another – who can
describe the good fortune
of the Vrajavåsîs? Påda-paμçu˙, the dust
of K®ß√a’s lotus
feet, which even the yogîs are searching
for in their meditation,
falls from His feet and is spread all
around as He jumps about, as
His friends massage His feet and as He
climbs the kadamba trees.
And Yaçodå wipes away the dust from K®ß√a’s
face and applies
fresh añjana to His eyes. And as He dances
with the gopîs, with
His own hands He wipes the dust from their
lotus faces and
places it on His head. Tell me, how
glorious is that dust? Who
can describe it?”
Quoting these verses in his B®håd-bhågavatåm®ta,
spiritual
ecstasy swells in the heart of Sanåtana
Gosvåmî, as if he is churning
cream and tasting its very essence. Then
another feeling comes
and he quotes this verse:
100 Bhakti-rasåyana
kvacit pallava-talpeßu
niyuddha-çrama-karçita˙
v®kßa-mülåçraya˙ çete
gopotsa∫gopabarha√a˙
Çrîmad-Bhågavatam (10.15.16); B®had-bhågavatåm®ta
(2.7.123)
Becoming fatigued from wrestling and
playing, K®ß√a spreads
His feet out, and one sakhå, his heart
melted with love and affection
for Him, takes K®ß√a’s feet on his lap.
Millions of sakhås
arrange millions of beds made of flowers
for His comfort. Then,
unknown even to Himself, by Yogamåyå, K®ß√a
expands into
millions of forms and accepts the service
of each and every one of
them. Otherwise, if millions of sakhås all
came at once to massage
His feet, there would be competition and a
great commotion.
Therefore Yogamåyå arranges everything
very beautifully so that
there will not be any conflict. Underneath
the cooling shade of a
tree, the sakhås use their own laps as
pillows for K®ß√a and gently
lull Him to sleep.
påda-saμvåhanaμ cakru˙
kecit tasya mahåtmana˙
apare hata-påpmåno
vyajanai˙ samavîjayan
Çrîmad-Bhågavatam (10.15.17); B®had-bhågavatåm®ta
(2.7.124)
At that time, one greatly fortunate sakhå would
massage His feet,
and another would fan His body with a fan
made of leaves.
Because they would massage K®ß√a’s legs
with great love,
here the sakhås are referred to as mahåtmås,
great souls. There are
millions of sakhås and all are exalted.
Some would fan Him, but
not with a cåmara; with a fan made of
leaves and peacock feathers
they would fan Him with great love. They
serve K®ß√a by providing
their own laps as pillows for His head –
can such good fortune
be seen anywhere else? Their affection for
K®ß√a is
Chapter Ten 101
supremely natural in the mood of nara-lîlå,
considering Him to
be an ordinary child. Seeing how K®ß√a has
exerted Himself in
wrestling with them and in taking the cows
out to graze, the
sakhås serve Him with great affection to
remove His exhaustion.
When K®ß√a was driving Arjuna’s chariot
and the sharp arrows of
Bhîßma were piercing Him, did anyone on
the battlefield feel any
real pain because of that? But are the sakhås
like this? To remove
even one drop of perspiration from K®ß√a’s
brow they are prepared
to give up their very lives.
Because the sakhås are engaged in
massaging K®ß√a’s legs, they
are described as mahåtmås. Mahåtmå means “a
great soul”, and
when does one become a great soul? When he
attains the service
of K®ß√a – otherwise not. Here the word mahåtmana˙
can also be
an adjective for K®ß√a, who is full in six
opulences and who,
though being åtmåråma (self-satisfied) and
åptakåma (without
desire), still desires to accept service
from others. Because He
never really becomes exhausted, He has no
need for the beds of
flowers arranged by the sakhås. If after
fighting with so many
demons and holding up Govardhana Hill for
seven days He did
not become exhausted, then how could
playing with some small
children exhaust Him? Thinking, “They have
such sincere desires
to serve Me that they have come running to
Me?”, then –
although He is Parabrahma and åptakåma –
still He melts in
emotion and lies down on the beds that
they arranged and falls
asleep. For this reason He is referred to
as a mahåtmå. Mahåtmå
can also mean “glories”, and K®ß√a’s
glories are the six opulences
that He possesses.
Though it seems that these glories would
not be exhibited as
He is playing the part of an ordinary
young boy in this nara-lîlå,
He manifests these opulences by expanding
into millions of
forms to accept service from each and
every sakhå, and not even
one sakhå knows of it. If K®ß√a were to
display to them that “I
102 Bhakti-rasåyana
am the possessor of all opulences and can
assume unlimited
forms,” then becoming astonished, they
would all begin offering
prayers, and there would be no service for
K®ß√a to accept.
Therefore He is mahåtmana˙.
It is like when someone gives millions of
rupees in charity but
doesn’t think anything of it. This is the
glory of giving charity,
but if someone gives something and then
says to others, “Do
you understand how much I have given?”
then it is not glorious.
Sudåmå didn’t consider what he gave K®ß√a
to be important, his
wife didn’t consider it to be, and no one
in the entire world
would consider it to be anything
substantial; but that offering
was the most glorious.4 In the same way, the sakhås are giving
their everything, their prema, and because
by manifesting His
opulences K®ß√a gives everyone an
opportunity to serve Him, He
is mahåtmana˙. In the råsa-lîlå He gave
all of the gopîs an opportunity,
and in the pastime of bewildering Lord
Brahmå He gave
all of the cows and older gopîs the chance
to become His mother
by expanding into so many forms, and in
both lîlås no one knew
of it. Therefore in this verse the
adjective mahåtmana˙ is more
appropriate in referring to K®ß√a.
There are countless parties of sakhås that
all have their respective
leaders, and just as there are various
kinds of gopîs, there are
also five kinds of sakhås: sakhå, priya-sakhå,
pre߆ha-sakhå, paramapre߆
ha sakhå and priya-narma-sakhå. Amongst
them are thousands
of parties, but there is never any
conflict in their service. When
the prime minister comes here, many
congressmen say, “I will
garland the prime minister!”, and there is
commotion. But there
are millions of sakhås and there is never
any conflict because
K®ß√a’s divine power (aiçvarya) is
wonderful. Each and every
sakhå thinks, “Today I am the most
fortunate; K®ß√a has given
Chapter Ten 103
4. This story is found in Çrîmad-Bhågavatam,
Tenth Canto, Chapter 81.
this good opportunity to me only because
He loves me so much!”
Yogamåyå arranges everything so that
neither K®ß√a nor the
sakhås know what is happening, otherwise
K®ß√a won’t be able to
taste the sakhya-rasa. But this way He can
simply go on playing
with the boys and tasting the rasa.
In this verse the words hata-påpmåna˙ don’t
mean “without
sin”, because there is no possibility of
sin in the sakhås anyway.
It means that they served K®ß√a with
melted hearts and great
affection. Sometimes we serve with love,
but mostly we serve
because we feel that it is our duty. But
if service is done out of
pure affection, then Bhagavån will really
desire our service. So
hata-påpmåna˙ means that the sakhås’ service
was free from any
feelings of duty, and with fans made of
leaves and peacock feathers
they softly fanned K®ß√a to relieve His
exhaustion. But it can
also have one more meaning: by hearing
descriptions of the lives
of great devotees such as these sakhås,
all of one’s sins will be
eliminated, and for those whose internal
forms are as sakhås,
intense hankering for this type of service
will arise within them.
Seeing all of this in his internal
identity as Lava∫ga-mañjarî,
Sanåtana Gosvåmî is submerged in sakhya-rasa,
thinking, “I would
also like to become a sakhå and serve K®ß√a
in that intimate way.”
Then he quotes the next verse:
anye tad-anurüpå√i
manojñåni mahåtmana˙
gåyanti sma mahå-råja
sneha-klinna-dhiya˙ çanai˙
Çrîmad-Bhågavatam (10.15.18); B®had-bhågavatåm®ta
(2.7.125)
My dear Mahåråja, other sakhås would sing
attractive songs
appropriate for resting-time, and all the
cowherd boys’ hearts
would melt in affection for K®ß√a.
Some other boys then began singing
charming songs that were
tasteful to K®ß√a. They sang songs of K®ß√a’s
childhood pastimes
104 Bhakti-rasåyana
that were manojña – so full of rasa that
it caused K®ß√a’s heart to
overflow with blissful feelings. Here the
word mahåråja refers to
Parîkßit Mahåråja, who being very rasika is
the cause of Çukadeva
Gosvåmî speaking such beautiful things.
If Sanåtana Gosvåmî had not come to this
world, then such
simple, beautiful and sweet explanations
of these verses would
have never been given. Even Çrîdhara
Svåmî, the famous commentator
on the Bhågavatam, didn’t give explanations
like
Sanåtana Gosvåmî’s; his explanations were
mostly in relation to
vaidhî-bhakti and for showing the
difference between our philosophy
and Advaitavåda. Çrî Caitanya Mahåprabhu
respected
Çrîdhara Svåmî’s commentary, and using
that as a foundation,
Sanåtana Gosvåmî established Mahåprabhu’s
beautiful transcendental
sentiments of bhakti in his own commentary
on the Tenth
Canto. Then Jîva Gosvåmî gave further
light to that explanation
with his Laghu-vaiß√ava-toßa√î commentary,
and accepting both
of those commentaries as remnants,
Viçvanåtha Cakravartî
ˇhåkura extracted the rasa from them and
composed his own
commentary. Hundreds of commentaries on
the Bhågavatam
have been written, but none of them are as
beautiful as his.
The cowherd boys, their hearts melted in
great affection, sang
beautiful songs for K®ß√a’s pleasure.
Seeing that K®ß√a was
fatigued, the sakhås made pillows of their
own laps and placed
K®ß√a’s head there. K®ß√a never really
becomes tired, but seeing
their desire to render service He became
fatigued. As K®ß√a was
lying like this, some were massaging His
legs, others were rubbing
His back, others were rubbing His head,
and by looking at
His face it appeared that He was resting
comfortably and His
fatigue was fading.
Sneha-klinna-dhiya˙ means that with tears
in their eyes and
melted hearts, the gopas sang softly in
such a way as to lull K®ß√a
to sleep. They sang songs related
exclusively to K®ß√a’s boyhood
Chapter Ten 105
pastimes that would give K®ß√a the most
pleasure. Sanåtana
Gosvåmî says in his commentary that these
boys’ voices were as
beautiful as the birdsong of the koel.
After all, they are eternal
associates of K®ß√a, so will they be any
less expert than Him
in singing? Madhuma∫gala and Subala could
sing just as sweetly
as K®ß√a, just as Mahåprabhu’s associates
could also sing very
sweetly. They sang softly and sweetly to
increase K®ß√a’s pleasure,
and they sang in the melody which was
appropriate for the afternoon
time.
Once, before Nårada had learned the art of
singing, he went to
the heavenly planets and began singing.
The words of the song
were good, but it was out of tune and the
melody was not correct.
Present there in heaven is the demigod of
melody named Sura,
and upon hearing Nårada singing out of
tune he actually became
physically deformed. Everyone there who
heard Nårada’s singing
felt pain in their hearts. Then someone
approached him and said,
“My friend, your singing has caused Sura
and all of the beautiful
singers present here to become ugly and
deformed, so you should
immediately go to Brahmå and learn the art
of singing.”
So Nårada went to Brahmå, and Brahmå told
him, “You should
approach Sarasvatî and learn from her.”
Sarasvatî taught him
how to sing the appropriate melodies, and
when he returned to
the heavenly planets and sang again, all
of the residents there
were restored to their original forms.
Then Nårada became the
greatest preacher in the world of
beautiful devotional songs. If in
kîrtana the correct melody is not sung at
the appropriate time,
then it will be inauspicious. In the
morning we sing a particular
melody, and in the evening we sing a
different one. If we don’t
sing the appropriate melodies according to
the time, then Sura,
the demigod of melody, will suffer
greatly. Those of us here who
have to hear it will feel pain, and he
will also feel pain.
Knowing all the appropriate songs and
melodies, the sakhås
106 Bhakti-rasåyana
were all masters of singing. In the same
way, Lalitå, Viçåkhå,
Tu∫gavidyå and all of the sakhîs are also
expert in singing as well
as in all other arts. The sakhås are not
less skilful than K®ß√a in
singing ability, and they have the skill
to slowly raise and again
lower their pitch to create very wonderful
melodies. This expertise
cannot be attained in only one life; if
someone has it, then we
can understand that it is coming from
previous lives.
K®ß√a was resting with His eyes closed,
and listening as the
sakhås did wonderful things with gentle
waves of sound. At that
time K®ß√a was more grave than millions of
oceans, and for His
pleasure the sakhås softly sang songs
which, being saturated with
bhakti, were very tasteful to Him. They
sang songs describing the
glories of His playful activities, the
glories of Mother Yaçodå and
the glories of the gopîs’ love for Him. In
this way, their hearts full
of rasa, they softly sang to K®ß√a in the
afternoon, and listening
more and more with feelings of great
bliss, K®ß√a closed His eyes
and became overwhelmed with prema.
When we offer food to K®ß√a, what are our
feelings? We chant
the mantra, but is the necessary bhåva there,
or not? Our feelings
should be like those of Mother Yaçodå:
with great affection she
seats K®ß√a and pampering Him, begins to
feed Him, saying,
“Take a little of this, it is very nice…
Here, take some of this, it is
the nicest.” Tell me, then, with how much prema
is she feeding
Him? We should try to offer food to K®ß√a
with these feelings,
and sing kîrtana at that time with the
feelings of Bhaktivinoda
ˇhåkura. When we make an offering, we sing
the songs he has
written – “Bhaja bhakata-vatsala” and “Yaçomatî-nandana”
– but
generally we only memorise them and don’t
consider the feelings
within them. There are so many beautiful
sentiments in those
songs, and this is how the sakhås serve
K®ß√a – massaging Him
with great affection, and singing to Him
with great bhåva. At
once their hearts melted, and as K®ß√a was
listening, His heart
Chapter Ten 107
also melted. Therefore Çukadeva Gosvåmî,
being very rasika, said
sneha-klinna-dhiya˙ – K®ß√a was
overpowered by prema and rendered
helpless. Once the singing started, even
if someone wanted
K®ß√a to get up and move to another place,
He couldn’t; being
spellbound, He could only remain in the
same position, with His
heart melted and tears rolling down His
cheeks. Seeing K®ß√a like
this, in this verse Çukadeva Gosvåmî has
described Him using the
word mahåtmana˙.
Çrîla Sanåtana Gosvåmî has given still one
more meaning
here: mahåtmana˙ can also mean lampa†a-çekhara,
the king of
debauchees. While K®ß√a seems to be
asleep, He is listening to
the sakhås singing songs about His
pastimes that are full of His
mischievous pranks. Taking the gopîs’ clothes,
He climbed a tree,
leaving the poor girls shivering in the
water and begging for their
clothing back. He said, “You have all
committed offences, so you
must come before Me and beg forgiveness.”
In beautiful, soft
voices the gopas sang songs of pastimes
like this and K®ß√a’s blissful
feelings at once increased.
K®ß√a is supremely rasika, and He is sarvajña,
the knower of
all. But still, even though He knows what
they will sing next
before they actually sing it, when He hears
it He becomes overwhelmed
with prema and tears begin to flow from
His eyes. And
He receives much more pleasure from their
singing than He does
from their massaging Him. Their singing is
what really makes
Him rest comfortably – and from this we
can understand that
kîrtana is the best service. Although all
the cowherd boys were
massaging Him and this certainly increased
His prema, when
their service included kîrtana, which is bhagavat-priya,
the service
most dear to K®ß√a, just see how wonderful
His condition became!
His prema increased until He was
completely overwhelmed.
In this verse the word mahåråja appears.
What is its meaning?
Mahån rüpe√a råjate – he who is radiant
with some special
108 Bhakti-rasåyana
splendour. He in whose mind the desire for
worldly enjoyment
doesn’t shine, but instead whose thinking
is always resplendent
with thoughts of bhagavad-bhakti, is
called “Mahåråja”. Here it
can refer to Parîkßit Mahåråja, and it can
also mean that these
most charming pastimes of K®ß√a with the sakhås
are the
mahåråja, or best of all lîlås. If one
hears and chants the descriptions
of these pastimes where K®ß√a is playing
in His full glory
with the sakhås, then he also becomes
fully glorious and can also
be called Mahåråja.
Hearing Çukadeva Gosvåmî describe how the sakhås
relaxed
K®ß√a, how K®ß√a’s heart was at once
melted in affection, and
how He became so overpowered that He was
unable to even
move, Parîkßit Mahåråja said, “Aho! Who
can conceive of their
good fortune?” This description influenced
him so deeply that
tears began to glide down his cheeks, and
his heart also melted.
This is why in this verse Çukadeva Gosvåmî
refers to him as
Mahåråja: in its full form bhakti had
entered his heart, and prema
began to flow there. Seeing that he was
fully qualified to hear the
transcendental glories of the fortunate
cowherd boys, Çukadeva
Gosvåmî referred to him as “Mahåråja”.
The word mahåråja can also refer to those
pastimes that are the
best of all. Through their singing, the gopas
are bringing remembrance
of the gopîs to K®ß√a. Being very pleased,
K®ß√a smiles
from ear to ear, and then the sakhås also
begin to smile, thinking,
“He is appreciating what we are singing.” Mahåråja
can also be an
adjective to describe the cowherd boys,
whose hearts are always
saturated with simple, natural sakhya-bhåva.
Being overwhelmed
in their intimate service to K®ß√a, they
would experience anuråga,
and sometimes even mahåbhåva. In her våtsalya,
Mother Yaçodå
may sometimes experience anuråga, but she
never experiences
mahåbhåva. But sometimes it comes to
Madhuma∫gala, Subala,
Çrîdåmå, Arjuna and other priya-narma-sakhås.
Their pristine
Chapter Ten 109
hearts radiant with the wealth of rasa,
they softly sing songs that
increase the blissful ecstasy of both K®ß√a
and themselves.
Om Tat Sat
(Continued...)
(My
humble salutations to the lotus feet of Swami jis great Devotees , Philosophic
Scholars, Purebhakti dot com for
the collection)
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