VMA 2.41-43 :: The service activities of the manjaris


The next three verses form a single unit (sandānitaka), with the subject and verb in the last line of the third verse. The rest of the verses contain the object of the verb, giving various descriptions of the gopis and their service.

kāścic candana-gharṣiṇīḥ sa-ghusṛṇaṁ kāścit srajo granthatīḥ
kāścit keli-nikuñja-maṇḍana-parāḥ kāścid vahantīr jalam|
kāścid divya-dukūla-kuñcana-parāḥ saṁgṛhṇatīḥ kāścanā-
laṅkāraṁ navam anna-pāna-vidhiṣu vyagrāś ciraṁ kāścana ||2.41||

tāmbūlottama-vīṭikādi-karaṇe kāścin niviṣṭā navāḥ
kāścin nartana-gīta-vādya-sukalā-sāmagri-sampādikāḥ |
snānābhyaṅga-vidhau ca kāścana ratāḥ saṁvījanādye sadā
kāścit saṁnidhi-sevanātimuditāḥ kāścit samastekṣikāḥ ||2.42||

kāścit sva-priya-yugma-ceṣṭita-dṛśaḥ stabdhā sva-kṛtye sthitāḥ
kṣiptvānyāli-pravartitā dayitayoḥ kāścit sukhelā-parāḥ |
itthaṁ vihvala-vihvalāḥ praṇayataḥ śrī-rādhikā-kṛṣṇayor
dāsīr adbhuta-rūpa-kānti-vayaso vṛndāvane'nvīyatām ||2.43||

Some gopi girls are grinding sandalwood paste mixed with saffron,
others are stringing garlands;
others are decorating the pleasure grove,
yet others are bringing water.
Some are folding splendid garments
while others gathering new ornaments,
and others eagerly prepare food and drink.

 Some of the gopis handmaids are absorbed
in preparing folded pan leaves with condiments,
others are gathering instruments and other paraphernalia
for displaying in dramatic and musical performances;
some are preparing their bath and massage,
others are fanning, overjoyed to serve in near proximity,
while others are overlooking everything.

 Some of the handmaids are immobile, their eyes fixed
on the actions of the beloved Divine Couple,
some are fixed in their own duties,
ignoring those taken up by the other sakhis,
while others are absorbed in the love-play of the Divine Lovers.

 In this way completely agitated by love of Radha and Krishna,
these dasis, amazing in their beauty and effulgence,
are present in Vrindavan. You should follow in their footsteps.


This verse elaborates on the previous one, and here instead of sakhi, the word dāsī ("maidservant") is being used, like in the verse by Raghunath Das quoted there. There we saw that the manjaris or handmaids are a subdivision of Radha's sakhis. It should be noted that for Prabodhananda Saraswati, they are the summum bonum of sakhya-rasa in relation to Radha. There is no bhakti, on whatever level, that is not dominated by service.

bhaja ity eṣa vai dhātuḥ sevāyāṁ parikīrtitaḥ |
tasmāt sevā budhaiḥ proktā bhaktiḥ sādhana-bhūyasī ||

The root bhaj means to offer service. Therefore the wise have described bhakti, the preeminent path of spiritual attainment, as service. (Garuda Purana, Pūrva 227.3)

In the eleven characteristics (ekādaśa-bhāva) that were taught by Bhaktivinoda Thakur in keeping with his received disciplic tradition as a part of the intitiation into the practice of raganuga bhakti, a specific service is given.

sādhite ujjvala-rasa āche bhāva ekādaśa
sambandha vayasa nāma rūpa |
yūtha veśa ājñā-vāsa sevā parākāṣṭhāśvāsa
pālya-dāsī ei aparūpa ||58||

Needed to cultivate the most brilliant love for Krishna are eleven characteristics:
relationship, age, name, physical appearance, membership in a group, dress,
a mission, an address, a specific service, aspiration for the ultimate goal,
and the inner identification as a protected maidservant. (HNC 15.58)

Bhaktivinoda Thakur himself cites Ramananda Ray from the Caitanya-caritāmṛta:

ata eva gopī‑bhāva kari aṅgīkāra |
rātri‑dina cinte rādhā‑kṛṣṇera vihāra ||
siddha‑dehe cinti kare tāhāṅñi sevana |
sakhī‑bhāve pāya rādhā‑kṛṣṇera caraṇa ||
gopī‑ānugatya vinā aiśvarya‑jñāne |
bhajileha nāhi pāya vrajendra‑nandane ||

One cannot obtain Krishna in Goloka Vrindavan simply by serving him according to regulative principles. Therefore one should accept the mood of the gopis and meditate on the pastimes of Sri Radha and Krishna both night and day. One should meditate on one’s eternal spiritual body and use it to serve Radha and Krishna; by so doing one will attain the direct association of their lotus feet. If one does not follow in the footsteps of the gopis and remains absorbed in the consciousness of the Lord’s majesty, he cannot attain the service of the lotus feet of the son of Nanda Maharaj, even though he may be engaged in devotional service. (CC 2.8.227-9)

One whose natural tendency is to cultivate the conjugal rasa should definitely adopt the female form and attitude of a gopi in Vrindavan. No living entity can enter the conjugal mood of Vraja in a masculine mood or body. Only when one has adopted the identity of a gopi can she truly worship Krishna. This identity is composed of eleven aspects. Thus only one who has adopted these eleven attitudes can be said to have taken a gopi identity. They are:
  • sambandha (a specific relationship with Radharani in Vrindavan),
  • vayas (age, such as 12 years, 6 months, 10 days),
  • nāma (a name, such as Kamala Manjari),
  • rūpa (bodily appearance, usually expressed in terms of bodily hue, such as the color of lightning),
  • yūtha-praveśa (entry into a particular group under the command of one of Radharani’s intimate friends, such as Lalita),
  • veśa (a dress of a particular style and color, such as a blue cloth cover ed in stars),
  • ājñā (a specific instruction),
  • vāsa-sthāna (a place of residence, such as Svananda-sukhada Kunj),
  • sevā (a specific service, such as providing the Divine Couple with camphor),
  • parākāṣṭhā (the ambition to attain a particular blessing, such as being directly asked to do something by Sri Rupa Manjari),
  • pālya-dāsī-bhāva (the mood of a completely dependent maidservant, under the tutelage of one of Radharani’s sakhis).
Whatever one’s identity in this world, one should internally adopt a spiritual identity in these eleven aspects and worship Radha and Krishna directly in that form. Once one has received such an initiation in the manjari identity through the grace of guru, one should follow in his footsteps and those of the previous acharyas.

Srila Thakur Mahashay was one of the most important preachers of this mood in the Gaudiya sampraday, teaching this path most prominently in Prema-bhakti-candrikā and in his book of songs, Prārthanā,where there are many direct prayers to Radha and the other sakhis for such service in the mood and role of a manjari. These songs, like those of Bhaktivinoda Thakur written in the same mood, are a kind of garland that the rāgānugā-sādhaka should wear around his neck, memorizing them and repeating them daily. This is what is meant by following in the footsteps of the previous acharyas:

caudike sakhīra mājhe, rādhikāra iṅgite,
ciruṇī loiyā kore dhari
kuṭila kuntala sab, vithāriyā āṅcarab
bonāibo vicitra kavarī

Standing in the midst of the sakhīs, taking Radhika's hint, I will take a comb in my hand and begin to arrange her curly hair, binding it into a wonderful braid.

mṛgamada malayaja, sab aṅge lepaba,
porāibo manohara hāra
candana kuṅkume, tilaka banāiba,
heraba mukha sudhākara

I will anoint her whole body with musk and sandalwood pulp, and adorn her with an enchanting necklace. I will make tilak for her with sandalwood pulp and vermilion and gaze upon her moon-like face.

nīla paṭṭāmbara, yatane porāibo,
pāye dibo ratana mañjīre
bhṛṅgārera jale, rāṅgā caraṇa dhoyāibo,
muchāibo āpana cikure

I will meticulously dress her in a blue silken sari, placing jewelled ankle-bells on her feet. I will wash her reddish feet with water from a jug and dry them off with my own hair.

kusuma komala dale, śeja bichāibo,
śayana korābo doṅhākāre
dhabala cāmara āni, mṛdu mṛdu bījabo,
charamita duhuka śarīre

I will make a bed of soft flower-petals for the Divine Couple and make them lie down on it, bring a white chamara whisk and start softly fanning their exhausted bodies.

kanaka sampuṭa kori, karpūra tāmbūla bhori,
yogāibo doṅhāra badane
adhara sudhā rase, tāmbūla subāse,
bhokhabo adhika yatane

I will bring a golden box filled with betel-leaves scented with camphor and place them in their mouths, and afterwards I will eat them conscientiously after their lip-nectar has made them more fragrant.

There are many other such songs in the same mood, for which one should study


VMA 2.40 : Taking shelter of the handmaids of Radha
VMA 2.39 : May Radha's sakhis be ever venerated
VMA 2.38 : A fair and dark couple now fills our eyes
VMA 2.37 : My Swamini and her peerless lover, Shyam
VMA 2.36 : Churning the Shyamsundar ocean to extract his essence
VMA 2.35 : The play at the center
VMA 2.34 : The fortunate, the more fortunate, and the most fortunate of all
VMA 2.33 : Vrindavan, on the divine island
VMA 2.30-32 : The ever youthful Divine Couple sport in the kunjas of Vrindavan




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