Jagat

A doorway in Radha Kund. yatra krīḍanti kṛṣṇa-priya-sakhi-subalādy-adbhutābhīra-bālā modante yatra rādhā-rati-maya-lalitādy-ujjvala-śrī-kiśoryaḥ | āścaryānaṅga-raṅgair ahaha niśi-divā khelanāsakta-rādhā- kṛṣṇau raty-eka-tṛṣṇau mama samudayatāṁ śrīla-vṛndāvanaṁ tat || May that Vrindavan become manifest to me, where play Krishna and his dear friends, the amazing cowherd boys like Subala and others, where the effulgent maidens like Lalita, filled with love for Radha, find their joy, and where the Divine Couple, Radha and Krishna, whose only desire is for the mutual exchange of love, are attached day and night to erotic dalliances in which the god of love demonstrates his wondrous skills. (1.15) Commentary Prabodhananda Saraswati switches back and forth from the sādhaka-deha  and its different moods to the siddha-deha throughout all his works, and especially here in Vṛndāvana-mahimāmṛta .  The relation of the siddha or eternal perfected ideal form and ...

Jayadev Foundation Trust (4) Radha, the Empress of Love Our fourth essential verse of the Gīta-govinda  or Gita-govinda pañca-ślokī, comes in the final chapter and summarizes the last prabandha or song 24. racaya kucayoś citraṁ patraṁ kuruṣva kapolayor ghaṭaya jaghane kāñcīṁ mugdha-srajā kavarī-bharaṁ | kalaya valaya-śreṇīṁ pāṇau pade maṇi-nūpurāv iti nigaditaḥ prītaḥ pitāmbaro’pi tathākarot || Radha said, "Draw pictures on my breasts, decorate my cheeks with dots of musk, tie a sash of bells around my hips, braid my hair with a charming garland. Place bangles on my wrists and jeweled ankle bells on my feet." So being told, the yellow-robed Krishna, being pleased, did so. (12.25) This is the last verse that contains a description related to the overall dramatic theme of the Gīta-govinda . Rupa Goswami quotes it at UN 5.93 as an example of the svādhīna-bhartṛkā . As we have been saying, the eight situations of the heroine are the principal theme ...

So, seeing that the time was ripe for Hari Katha, I have decided to try a daily serial. So we are going to do the last song of Jayadeva's Gita Govinda, which is the image of the svādhīna-bhartṛkā. So, just to prepare, as a prerequisite, you go and enjoy the following about Jayadeva's Krishna . What is a nāgara ? And why is God a nāgara ? But that will have to await another today, for today, Radha is on the stage and it is the final dramatic scene of the Gita Govinda , the lovers have just made love and it is a HAPPY ending! And now to culminate the scene, Radha, like an empress on her flower bed, looks toward Krishna and says, "Peel me a grape." And Krishna, well I don't have to tell you what Krishna has been through!! If I were to tell that story, I would have to start the Gīta-govinda at the very beginning and that would take us a bit out of the way. Let us just say, he is very, very thankful to all the gods and saints that Radha has finally accepted h...

I had a break yesterday and plunged back into Chandidas. I was reading Biman Bihari Majumdar's edition, which has much to say for it, as he has gone deeply into the Chandidas mystery, sorting out which Chandidas is which. There are so many Chandidasas -- minimum four, probably five or more. Majumdar divides his book into four sections: definitely Chandidas, not so sure, definitely Baru Chandidas and Dina Chandidas, and ones that though ascribed or attributed are definitely not the original Chandidas. Many of the latter are signed Dvija Chandidas, who is definitely post-Chaitanya, though he shows no direct knowledge of or devotion to Chaitanya. The  rāgātmikā-padas  of the Sahajiya Chandidas are left out entirely, since everyone seems to agree that they are post-Chaitanya. Majumdar also thinks Baru Chandidas is at least contemporary with Chaitanya, which I don't agree with. Basically all the students of early Bengali literature pick over each  pada  and...

I just uploaded a new version of  Gīta-govinda  to the Grantha Mandir, with the commentary atttributed to Prabodhananda . Here are a few notes I jotted down while working on it, with no real theme. I can't tell you how, even with my limited sensibility, the  Gīta-govinda  shows its power. Just repeat these pieces of Sanskrit and let the rhythm and power of the words penetrate you. We cannot yet translate these words. We have other words that are true to our experience. But there is a rawness in Jayadeva; even in all the exaggeration there is a truth. vasati vipina-vitāne, tyajati lalita-dhāma  luṭhati dharaṇi-śayane, bahu vilapati tava nāma He dwells in the wide forest, He has given up his pleasant home. He lies restlessly, trying to sleep on the ground And repeats unceasingly your name. Prabodhananda in his commentary says that dhāma has many meanings--the body, home, effulgence, place, birth, influence. When it says that Krishna has given up h...