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Snippets of Bhava

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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