Jiva’s Goswami’s discovery of the Divine Couple in the first text of Bhagavatam

Verse 1.1.1 of the Bhāgavatam is commented on three times by Sri Jiva Goswami in the Sandarbhas, once in Paramātma Sandarbha (Anu 105) and twice in Kr̥ṣṇa Sandarbha (Anu 82 and 189). All of these are contained within the Krama Sandarbha. This is a Facebook post from May 12, 2016 but was never published on the blog,

I finally got through the Krishna Sandarbha and set it off for the next level of corrections. I am not a final authority, only the member of a team. Which is a good thing.

Verse 1.1.1 of the Bhagavatam is commented on three times by Sri Jiva Goswami in the Sandarbhas, once in Paramatma Sandarbha (Anu 105) and twice in Krishna Sandarbha (Anu 82 and 189). All of these are contained within the Krama Sandarbha.

According to each explanation, the verse must be translated in a different way. KS 189 is the last Anuccheda of the Krishna Sandarbha and is also the concluding section of the entire four Sandarbhas that discuss the sambandha-tattva. So this text precedes the ultimate conclusion that Radha and Krishna together are the Ultimate Truth, eternally connected and inseparable.

Prior to this in Anuccheda 189, Jiva Goswami has established that Radha is the Supreme Shakti. Now he has to show how that knowledge can be found in the first verse of the Bhagavatam, his ultimate authority. If he can do that, then its authority will be unblemished.

The following is the version of the translation after I have edited it. This will undergo further revisions before publication. Still, as it is unique and fairly difficult, I thought I would share.

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Jiva’s Goswami’s discovery of Radha and Krishna in the first text of Bhagavatam

Intending all this, I have uncovered just such a meaning in the first verse of the Bhagavatam. The interpretation of the verse that establishes the supreme majestic feature of Radha and Krishna should be sought out in the way it was done previously [in the earlier anuccheda]. Now the meaning that establishes their supreme sweetness is given:

janmādy asya yato'nvayād itarataś cārtheṣv abhijñaḥ svarāṭ
tene brahma hṛdā ya ādi-kavaye muhyanti yat sūrayaḥ |
tejo-vāri-mṛdāṁ yathā vinimayo yatra tri-sargo'mṛṣā
dhāmnā svena sadā nirasta-kuhakaṁ satyaṁ paraṁ dhīmahi ||

[Translation in keeping with commentary below:] From Krishna and His Other [comes] the birth of the original rasa. Because of this, He is knowledgeable in all matters and she is self-resplendent. He propagated the spiritual sound to the original poet by way of the heart. And even the wise and learned become confounded about her. Their appearance makes the elements – fire, water and earth – to exchange their properties. In them, the tripartite creation is false. I meditate on that Divine Couple, which is the truth by whose own aura all trickery is forever eliminated. They are supreme.

One who always follows behind or becomes attached to Shri Radha, the manifestation of His own supreme bliss potency is called anvaya, that is Krishna. From (yataḥ) such a Krishna and from the Other (itarataḥ), i.e., from Shri Radha who is always accompanying him, comes the birth (janma) or manifestation of the original rasa (ādyasya), i.e., the erotic. They alone are the supreme repository of the art of erotic love (ādi-rasa).

Therefore, the verse further directs us towards the hub of the sweetness of their wonderful pastimes: "He who is knowledgeable in all matters" (artheṣu abhijñaḥ), i.e., extremely adept at the various sports of love. And she who is is self-resplendent (sva-rāṭ), i.e., she reigns (rājate) or sports in the company of her self, her soul [i.e., Krishna].

About her (yat), "And even the wise and learned (sūrayaḥ) such as Seṣa also become confounded (muhyanti)," for when they begin to inquire who is this person who is so extraordinary due to her natural beauty and virtues, they are unable to ascertain anything. If she who is so endowed had not showered her grace on me, then even though I may have attained comparable grace from Lord Mādhava himself, I would never have carried out such an audacious act as attempting to describe even a tiny portion of her pastimes, as I did [in the Rāsa Līlā]:

tais taiḥ padais tat-padavīm anvicchantyo'grato'balāḥ |
vadhvāḥ padaiḥ supṛktāni vilokyārtāḥ samabruvan ||

While tracing Krishna’s path with the help of his footprints, the poor gopīs saw that they were interspersed with the footprints of a lady (vadhū). Distressed, they spoke to one another as follows. (10.30.26)

Srila Vyāsa next reveals the astonishing form of that Divine Couple: "so that the elements – fire, water and earth – exchange their properties (tejo-vāri-mṛdāṁ yathā vinimayaḥ). [The word] “shines” (vibhrājate) needs to be added to complete the sense. Thus, [they shine] in such a way (yathā) that even inert objects mutually exchange their characteristics." It is to be understood that Shri Vyāsa was not able to add this word due to being overwhelmed by ecstatic feelings of love. Thus luminous objects (tejas), such as the moon take on the characteristic of dullness like water (vāri) and earth (mṛt), upon being subjugated by the expansion of effulgence from their toenails. Water (vāri) such as in the rivers swells up like flames of fire (tejas) and [then] becomes immobile like earth (mṛt) made up of stones and so forth due to his playing on the flute. Earth (mṛt) in the form of stones, etc., appears like fire (tejas) because of its glowing from the reflection of their bodily effulgence on it and it also becomes fluid like water (vāri) by his playing on the flute. All this is well known from the descriptions of his sports.

"Wherein the tripartite creation is false" (yatra tri-sargo mṛṣā): In her [Radha's] presence, the tripartite creation (trisargaḥ), meaning either the manifestation of the three potencies—Shri, Bhū and Līlā, or the manifestation of the three potencies existing in the three places—Dvārakā, Mathurā, and Vṛndāvana, or the manifestation of the Vraja Devis according to their three divisions of friendly (suhṛt), indifferent (udāsīnā) and hostile (pratipakṣā) according to their behavior in matters related to taste (rasa), are all false. The meaning is that because of [Radha's] great wealth of attributes such as beauty, all those other [śaktis in any of the three possible divisions] serve no purpose for Krishna [as he is already fully satisfied in her].

"I meditate on that [Divine Couple]" (dhīmahi). The [relative pronouns, etc.] yat found [forms: yataḥ, yaḥ, yat, yathā, yatra] throughout the verse is to be coupled with its correlative "that" (tat) [as the object of the verb dhīmahi]. The word tat [in the singular neuter form] refers to both of them [Radha and Krishna], who have assumed mutual non-difference because of being the Supreme Potent and Supreme Potency, or [they do so] because of their superabundant manifestation as loving feeling (bhāva) and loving rapture (rasa). Therefore, considering them in general [i.e., as neither male nor female], the neuter gender has been used.

What is this [Divine Couple] like? They always (sadā) defeat by their own (svena) aura (dhāmnā), i.e., by their power and majesty, the trickery (kuhaka) or illusory power of the senior women [like Jaṭilā] and the competing heroines of the opposing camp, all of whom try to cause impediments to their sports.

And they are true (satya) or eternally existing in such a form. Or, [they are true] because they seem to be keeping their promise (kṛta-satyam) to provide incessant bliss to each other through sporting, i.e., they have become fixed in such behavior. Therefore they are supreme (param), meaning they are superior to all others because they astonish the entire universe through attributes and activities, etc., that are not seen anywhere else.

This is the poetic embellishment (alaṅkāra) called prativastūpamā, since one understands the similarity of both [Radha and Krishna] because the same attributes are described with different words in separate statements. And since this process has been repeated, it is a mālā-prativastūpamā alaṅkāra. And because by these qualities it is shown that they are mutually worthy of each other, it is also sama alaṅkāra: Oh! This indescribable tattva, existing as couple that is mutually better than even the supermost, has attained equality by their mutual attributes and sweetness. Who would not relish this type of wealth fountain of the shower of nectarean juice, which is the very life of all living beings in the form of the beauty of their lotus feet?

This self-possible (svataḥ sambhavī) subject is being suggested by the above alaṅkāras. This is explained as follows:

The implied meaning (vyañjanā) coming from the potency of meaning is of twelve types: First, meaning itself (artha) is of two types, being either a subject matter (vastu) or a poetic ornament (alaṅkāra). Of these, some are self-possible (svataḥ sambhavī) and some are only in the bold assertion (prauḍhokti) of a poet, or again in the bold assertions of a fictional character, making six types. Then again, the meaning suggested by these six is twofold, i.e., vastu and alaṅkāra, makes a total of twelve. (Sāhitya-darpaṇa 4.7-8)

[“Self possible” means possible in nature, rather than being a creation of language alone.]

Therefore, among all the manifestations of Shri Krishna, the one which causes most astonishing supreme bliss, the most amazing prakāśa, is Shri Krishna coupled with Shri Radha in Vṛndāvana. This was said in the Shruti, “Lord Mādhava with Radha.” And again in the Ädi Purāṇa after the verse beginning with vedāntino’pi:

"I am indeed the supreme form, no one else but Rādhikā knows this. The devas worship only my partial manifestations."

Their eternal sports are as they have been described by our preceptor, our very support [Shri Rupa Goswami]:

vācā sūcita-śarvarī-rati-kalā-prāgalbhyayā rādhikāṁ
vrīḍā-kuñcita-locanāṁ viracayannagre sakhīnāmasau |
tad-vakṣo-ruha-citra-keli-makarī-pāṇḍitya-pāraṁ gataḥ
kaiśoraṁ saphalī-karoti kalayankuñje vihāraṁ hariḥ ||

Shri Krishna was relating the expertise of Radha in their amorous sports of the previous night to her girl-frends. Hearing this Shri Radha became bashful and closed her eyes. At that time Krishna demonstrated the height of cleverness by drawing decorative designs of fish on her breasts. This is how by playing in the bowers He makes His adolescence successful. (BRS 2.1.231)

In this way, the sambandha-tattva has been explained over the course of four Sandarbhas. Furthermore, in this sambandha, the supreme limit of the sambandhī is found in the manifestation of Shri Radha and Mādhava’s form. For this reason only all these arguments and proofs were developed. In this way the sambandha is complete.