Gaura Hari

prema-ccheda-rujo 'vagacchati harir nāyam na ca prema vā
sthānāsthānam avaiti nāpi madano jānāti no durbalāh
anyo veda na cānya-duhkham akhilam no jīvanam vāśravam
dvi-trāny eva dināni yauvanam idam hā-hā vidhe kā gatih

[Srimati Radharani says in Jaganatha-vallabha Nataka:] "'Our Krishna does not realize the pain that comes of loving separation. Love too knows not where to strike and where not to strike. Cupid knows that we are weak women and harries us. No one understands another's suffering, no matter how great. Our lives are uncertain and, moreover, our youth will only remain for a few short days before being extinguished. So in view of this, O Lord, what will be our fate?'"

upajila premānkura, bhāngila ye duhkha-pūra,
krishna tāhā nāhi kare pāna
bāhire nāgara-rāja, bhitare śathera kāja,
para-nārī vadhe sāvadhāna

[Krishnadas translates Ramananda Ray’s verse] First grew the sprout of love, but then it broke and left me in the depths of misery. Krishna does not himself experience this suffering. Outwardly, he is a very attractive young lover, but at heart he acts like a rascal, giving his attention to killing others' wives.

sakhi he, nā bujhiye vidhira vidhāna
sukha lāgi' kailum prīta, haila duhkha viparīta,
ebe jāya, nā rahe parāna

My dear sakhi, I do not understand Fate’s workings. I loved Krishna in the hope of finding happiness, but got just the opposite, suffering. Now I can bear it no longer; my life cannot go on.

kutila premā ageyāna, nāhi jāne sthānāsthāna,
bhāla-manda nāre vicārite
krūra śathera guna-dore, hāte-gale bāndhi' more,
rākhiyāche, nāri' ukāśite

Love is a cheater, and ignorant to boot. He has no idea of who is a worthy object or not. He has no capacity to distinguish good from bad. He bound me hand and foot with the ropes of that scoundrel Krishna’s qualities. He has imprisoned me and I cannot escape.

je madana tanu-hīna, para-drohe paravīna,
pānca bāna sandhe anukshana
abalāra śarīre, vindhi' kaila jarajare,
duhkha deya, nā laya jīvana

Cupid has no body, but he is very expert in giving pain to others. He has five arrows, and fixing them on his bow, he shoots them into the bodies of innocent women, racking them with pain. He gives me pain, but will not take my life.

anyera ye duhkha mane, anye tāhā nāhi jāne,
satya ei śāstrera vicāre
anya jana kāhān likhi, nā jānaye prāna-sakhī,
jāte kahe dhairya dharibāre

It is true what is said in the scriptures, that one person can never know the unhappiness in the mind of another. This is evidently true of ordinary folk, but even Lalitā and my other sakhis do not understand, for they try to console me by telling me to just hold on.

krishna kripā-pārāvāra, kabhu karibena angīkāra'
sakhi, tora e vyartha vacana
jīvera jīvana cañcala, yena padma-patrera jala,
tata dina jīve kon jana

O sakhi, you say that Krishna is an ocean of mercy and that at some time he is sure to come, but these are meaningless words. Our lives are unsteady, like the water on a lotus leaf. Who can live long enough to see Krishna give his mercy?

śata vatsara paryanta, jīvera jīvana anta,
ei vākya kaha nā vicāri'
nārīra yauvana-dhana, yāre krishna kare mana,
se yauvana-dina dui-cāri

Think about it: No one lives more than a hundred years. What is more, a woman’s youthful beauty, which is the treasure that attracts Krishna's mind, does not last but a few days.

agni yaiche nija-dhāma, dekhāiyā abhirāma,
patangīre ākarshiyā māre
krishna aiche nija-guna, dekhāiyā hare mana,
pāche duhkha-samudrete dāre

Just as fire attracts a moth by showing its warm glowing light and then kills it, so too did Krishna attract our minds with his qualities, only to fling us into the ocean of misery.