Chapter 2: Kṛṣṇa’s Wonderful Associates
atulya-madhura-prema-maṇḍita-priya-maṇḍalaḥ
“In His activities of conjugal love, He is always surrounded by His dear devotees who possess unequaled love for Him.”
The next quality that Śrīla Rūpa Goswāmī explains belongs exclusively to Kṛṣṇa and not to any other form of the Lord is that Kṛṣṇa has wonderful associates who are always serving Him with love and affection: atulya-madhura-prema-maṇḍita-priya-maṇḍalaḥ. All the Vraja-vāsīs and associates of Kṛṣṇa in Śrī Vṛndāvan Dhām give pleasure to Kṛṣṇa’s heart twenty-four hours a day with their miraculous service, miraculous faith, and miraculous love. Nārāyaṇ and other incarnations of the Lord do not have this quality. They do not have such an all-attractive character that attracts such spontaneous loving devotional affection from Their servitors.
Five types of relationships
In Vṛndāvan Dhām, Kṛṣṇa is always served by His devotees with five types of divine relationships: śānta-rasa, dāsya-rasa, sakhya-rasa, vātsalya-rasa, and madhura-rasa.
In sakhya-rasa, Kṛṣṇa’s friends always try to give pleasure to His heart as if they are in an equal position with Him. When they eat something and feel it is very good, even if it is half-eaten, they give it to Kṛṣṇa saying, “O Kṛṣṇa, this apple is very good, taste it. This śak is so nice, please try it. This mango is wonderful, take it!” Or, “This type of play is very nice. Let’s play.” They play with Kṛṣṇa and feel Kṛṣṇa and themselves are equal — only that Kṛṣṇa is a little more special.
In Govardhan-dharāṇ-līlā, Kṛṣṇa lifted Govardhan Hill and held it for seven days. All the cowherd boys, cowherd men, and even the cowherd girls took sticks to help Him.
They thought, “Kṛṣṇa has taken the whole of Govardhan Hill in His hand. He has some special power, no doubt, but still we must help Him.”
Parental service: vātsalya-rasa
Everyone has heard how much Kṛṣṇa’s father and mother — Nanda Mahārāj and Yaśodāmayī — and Rohiṇī serve Him. An example of this intense servitorship is shown in the ślokas of Śrī Dāmodarāṣṭakam:
rudantaṁ muhur netra-yugmaṁ mṛjantaṁ
karāmbhoja-yugmena sātaṅka-netram
muhuḥ svāsa-kampa-trirekhāṅka-kaṇṭha-
sthita-graiva-dāmodaraṁ bhakti-baddham
The expression in this śloka is very nice. Mother Yaśodā is angry. She is chasing Kṛṣṇa and wants to capture Him and beat Him for being naughty. Kṛṣṇa is running and looking over His shoulder and then can’t see anymore because His eyes are full of tears. He is so afraid, rudantaṁ muhur netra-yugmaṁ mṛjantaṁ. He is out of breath and so tired. He is suffering so much, muhuḥ svāsa-kampā-trirekhāṅka-kaṇṭha.
You won’t see these qualities in the Pastimes of Nārāyaṇ-līlā. Kṛṣṇa is sach-chid-ānanda-vigrahaḥ, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and this is vividly expressed in other ślokas of Śrī Dāmodarāṣṭakam. The last verse is especially nice:
namas te ’stu dāmne sphurad dīpti-dhāmne
tvadīyodarāyātha viśvasya dhāmne
namo rādhikāyai tvadīya-priyāyai
namo ’nanta-līlāya devāya tubhyam
Mother Yaśodā wants to bind Kṛṣṇa with a rope. An effulgence has come from that rope, and the author says, “I bow down to that rope”, namas Te ’stu dāmne sphurad dīpti-dhāmne. Who has Mother Yaśodā bound? She has bound the Creator of the whole creation with a rope. Mother Yaśodā has bound Kṛṣṇa’s belly with a rope! These are the Pastimes of vātsalya-rasa which take place in Vṛndāvan Dhām between Kṛṣṇa and His devotees.
Madhura-rasa, the Pastimes of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī
In the last śloka of Dāmodarāṣṭakam, the author mentions madhura-rasa, the conjugal Pastimes of Kṛṣṇa. He says, “Namo Rādhikāyai Tvadīya-priyāyai, namo ’nanta-līlāya Devāya Tubhyam: I do not want to say anything more; I can only say I bow to Rādhikā and the Supreme Lord. I can’t say anything about Your transcendental Pastimes which are manifest in this material world with Your divine associates. Your Pastimes are infinite. There is no end and no beginning to them.”
Here the author also indicates the glories of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī: “I can’t say anything more about Rādhārāṇī’s Pastimes. They are beginningless and continue twenty-four hours a day with Her Lord, Kṛṣṇa, Her prāṇa-vallabha, Her heart and soul. She is the dearest of the dearest and nearest of the nearest.”
More examples of madhura-rasa
Rādhārāṇī’s service is briefly expressed in the above śloka. Śrīla Baladev Vidyābhūṣaṇ has given another very nice śloka:
govindābhidham indirāśrita-padaṁ hastastha-ratnādivat
tattvaṁ tattvavid-uttamau kṣiti-tale yau darśayāñ chakratu
He says, “If one holds a jewel high in his hand, he can show the beauty of that jewel by slowly turning its various facets. Rūpa and Sanātan Goswāmīs have each held the beautiful jewel who is known by the name of Govinda, and who is always served by the Supreme Goddess of Fortune, high in their hands and shown His beautiful form to the world.”
Only Rādhārāṇī can do this type of service. Rūpa and Sanātan Goswāmīs can also do it, but without Rādhārāṇī’s mercy, no one can do it. No one can give a second example of this type of exclusive service. She is Her own example.
A sparkling light of the jeweled Pastimes of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa has come to this world through Jayadev Goswāmī, Chaṇḍī Dās, Rūpa Goswāmī, Rāmānanda Rāy, and from various goswāmīs. A small amount of sparkling light comes to this world, and through that we understand a very little.
We can’t conceive of Kṛṣṇa’s Pastimes and of Kṛṣṇa’s relations with His devotees that take place in madhura-rasa in Vṛndāvan Dhām. There are three groups of Vraja-gopīs. One is the adolescent group, another is mature and married, and the third is the paramour group. We cannot conceive of these Pastimes from our present position. Jayadev Goswāmī has written many ślokas about Rādhārāṇī’s Pastimes, and they are of the first group, the adolescent group, and it is best not to try and explain them.
Loving affection: the law of Vṛndāvan
Another example of madhura-rasa with the Vraja-gopīs is shown in a verse composed by Prabodhānanda Saraswatī. In this verse, Kṛṣṇa says, “When Rādhārāṇī walks in front of Me and I feel a little breeze from Her cloth, I think, ‘Oh, I am so fortunate.’”
yasyaḥ kadāpi vasanāñchala-khelanottha-
dhanyātidhanya-pavenena kṛtārtha-mānī
yogīndra-durgama-gatir madhusūdano ’pi
tasyāḥ namo ’stu vṛṣabhānubhuvo diśe ’pi
Prabodhānanda Saraswatī composed this miraculous śloka. The meaning is, “I bow to the direction where Rādhārāṇī lives — whether it is in the east or the west — I bow to that direction. I do not bow to Her lotus feet or Her house but only to the direction where Her father’s house is.” When Kṛṣṇa feels a little breeze from Rādhārāṇī’s cloth, He feels this way.
Every day in Vṛndāvan, Rādhārāṇī would distribute food to the Vraja-bālakas by the order of Mother Yaśodā. Rādhārāṇī cooked one item for Kṛṣṇa because Durvāsā Muni had very mercifully given Her a boon that whoever She cooked for would get a long life:
durvāsāra ṭhāñi te̐ho pāñāchhena vara
amṛta ha-ite pāka tā̐ra adhika madhura
Mother Yaśodā knew this, so every day she requested Jaṭilā and Kuṭilā to send their sister-in-law to make a subji for Kṛṣṇa. When Rādhārāṇī would distribute that, a breeze from Her cloth would come to Kṛṣṇa, and He would feel, “Oh, I am so fortunate. I am so happy.” Kṛṣṇa feels His life is blessed and fulfilled by feeling only a little breeze from Rādhārāṇī’s cloth. He thinks this breeze inspires Him so much that He wants to feel it again and again. He is fully satisfied by feeling the breeze from Rādhārāṇī’s cloth. Kṛṣṇa gets these feelings from only the breeze of Rādhārāṇī’s cloth, so you can imagine how much Kṛṣṇa must be satisfied by getting Her intimate association. This is madhura-rasa.
These are the types of Pastimes that take place between Kṛṣṇa and Rādhārāṇī and Her associates in Vṛndāvan Dhām. They take place in madhura-rasa twenty-four hours a day in Govardhan, Rādhā Kuṇḍa, Śyāma Kuṇḍa, the Mānasa-gaṅgā, the Yamunā, and in Her house. They take place everywhere in Vṛndāvan Dhām.
Nārāyaṇ can’t taste these Pastimes. They won’t come to His taste. If they would, He would feel they are bitter. Nārāyaṇ lives by rules and regulations. He is a law-abiding personality. In Vṛndāvan Dhām, the only law is love and affection, or Kṛṣṇa-prema.