Jagat

A book that I have been interested in finding for a considerable amount of time is the Prema-pattanam of Rasikottamsa (Yadupati Bhatta). I did not know much about this book other than that it has been quoted once or twice here and there, especially in relation to Prabodhananda and Harivamsa and their rejection of many of the rules and regulations of vidhi bhakti . I have, as I sometimes do in such cases, dropped everything [though I can ill afford to] to go through the book, typing furiously verses and tika for the Gaudiya Grantha Mandir . Will I manage to finish in this race against all external pressures, in this extreme act of renunciation for the sake of rasa? Probably not! But in the meantime, I am discovering a delicious bit of rasika literature, and it is incumbent on ME (!) to share it, after first tasting whatever few drops of this fruit of this all-too-little-known early 18th century Gaudiya text I can manage to swallow. For this is what the Grantha Mandir was meant for!...

These are some notes on the word bhāva as it appears in the BRS and UN, compiled while I was working on Mādhurya-kādambinī . They were originally posted a few years ago on Gaudiya Discussions and the now defunct Wise Wisdoms site. Somewhat modified and updated here. prāyo dvividha evāyaṁ bhāvo dvividhānāṁ bhaktānāṁ dvividha-cid-vāsanā-sanātheṣu hṛdayeṣu sphuran dvividhāsvādyatvaṁ bhajate, ghana-rasa iva rasāla-panasekṣu-drākṣādiṣu praviṣṭaḥ pṛthak-pṛthaṅ-mādhuryavattvaṁ bhajate . When this bhāva , which is usually of these two types, enters into the hearts of the two kinds of devotees ( vaidha and rāgānugā ), which are ruled by two different kinds of transcendental desire, it is relished in two different ways. It can be compared to the water ( ghana-rasa ) that enters various kinds of fruit—mangoes, jackfruit, sugarcane or grapes—but takes on a different flavor in each of them. ( Mādhurya-kādambinī 7.4) The point being: Vishwanath seems to be saying, nay emphasizing...

Ashudhir Dev was the guru of Haridas, as proven in Nija-mata-siddhānta , not his father. The same is hinted (Dhvani!) in the Bhaktamāla . The hereditary Bankebihariji Gussains from Sharan Behari Goswami onwards, preach the contrary yet they have never been able to come up with hard evidence. SBG’s work does not even bear credibility in this regard. The reverend Amolakram Shastri, the Sadhus of Tatiya Sthan, the Beriwala family, etc., all are Haridasis but they offer their respect to the entire Guruparampara (i.e. Nimbarki until Swami Haridas). I could do with some enlightenment if anyone has more on the subject. That is, only if it ventures into credibility, beyond for example, the old-scholars-tale that the Haridasis were seeking to legitimize themselves (in the old days) by claiming allegiance with the Nimbarkis. (from a private correspondent). The Tatia Sthan (Lalita Prakashan) edition of Kelimāl includes a section called sampradāya-vandanā-stuti , which is headed with the f...

This post was on Vrindavan Today a while back, but I am adding it here because of the dana theme, which we are covering more or less exhaustively on this site. Without commentary here. ========== Fateh Krishna Ji pays sashtanga pranams to the swaroops before the performance. Vrindavan, 2011.08.13 ( VT ): Today was the last day of the Rasa Lila at Jai Singh Ghera. I have been coming down with a cold and there has been a certain amount of fatigue involved in producing this series, as shallow a presentation as it has been. Still, I am happy that my initiation into this Braj tradition was such a delightful one. My limitations in understanding the language were, at times, acute. Since humorous argument delivered rapid fire seems to be a staple of the Rasa Lila, these limitations were especially evident in plays like today's, the Dana Lila, in which such argument dominates. The dāna-līlā is a subject I have some interest in, as I have been working on Dāna-keli-kaumudī for some...