VMA 1.55 : “Vrindavan: playground of the Divine Cupid"

rādhā-keli-mṛgasya kasyacid aho śyāmasya yūnau nava-

syābhīrī-gaṇa-kāṅkṣamāna-karuṇā-dṛṣṭeḥ smaronmādinī |

sarvāmnāya-durūha-kṛṣṇa-rasa-sarvasvaika-saṁcāriṇī

śrī-vṛndā-vipinābhidhā vijayate kandarpa-keli-sthalī ||

All glories to that playground of Cupid known as Vrindavan,
which increases the desires of Radha’s pet and plaything,
a certain black-colored youth,
whose merciful glances are coveted by all the milkmaids!

This land is the one inspirator
that sets into motion
the sum total of Krishna rasa,
something impossible to find in any of the Vedas.

Commentary

This verse further confirms what was said at the conclusion of the previous verse about Vrindavan. The dhāma, being the viśuddha-sattva or completely pure existence is the locus of the Lord’s pastimes. It is the prominent manifestation of Krishna’s sandhinī śakti. The essential thing to know is that this is the “internal” energy, which can only be known subjectively. It is not “external” or accessible empirically, through the senses. It is the environment in which the Lord is revealed.

sattvaṁ viśuddhaṁ vasudevaśabditaṁ

yad īyate tatra pumān apāvṛtaḥ

sattve ca tasmin bhagavān vāsudevo

hy adhokṣajo me manasā vidhīyate

"The condition of pure existence (śuddha-sattva), in which the Supreme Spirit is revealed without any covering, is called vasudeva. In that pure state the Lord Vāsudeva, who is beyond the material senses, is perceived by my mind." (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 4.3.23)

Krishna has three energies–sandhinī, saṁvit and hlādinī, and each of them takes a specific quality appropriate to the līlās that he manifests. They correspond to the three characteristics of sat, cit and ānanda that are the inherent attributes of Brahman, namely existence, consciousness and bliss. Bliss, the essence of the hlādinī śakti, or bliss, which is manifested in love, is the culmination of God’s self-expression through his energies.

hlādinī sandhinī saṁvit tvayy ekā sarva-saṁsthitau

hlāda-tāpa-karī miśrā tvayi no guṇa-varjite

O Lord, you are the support of everything. The three attributes hlādinī, sandhinī and saṁvit exist in you as one spiritual energy. But the material qualities, which cause happiness (sattva), misery (tamas) and the mixture of the two (rajas), do not exist in you, for you have no material qualities. (Viṣṇu-purāṇa 1.12.69)

Krishnadas Kaviraj further explains the functions of the sandhinī energy.

sandhinīra sāra aṁśa śuddhasattva nāma

bhagavānera sattā haya yāhāte viśrāma

mātā pitā sthāna gṛha śayyāsana āra

e saba kṛṣṇera śuddhasattvera vikāra

The essential portion of the sandhinī potency is śuddha-sattva. Lord Krishna’s existence rests upon it. Krishna’s mother, father, abode, house, bedding, seats and so on are all transformations of the śuddha-sattva. (Caitanya-caritāmṛta 1.4.6465)

What this means is that–in the case of the madhura-rasa–the various other personalities are in fact only supporting characters, similar to all the other uddīpanas. They serve the purpose of enhancing the development of the “plot,” as it were, for there can be no rasa without a plot. However, the romantic sentiment, the madhura-rasa, is so absorbing, that direct participation of Krishna’s parents immediately douses the mood, except to create an obstacle, i.e., a plot device.

In another verse of the Bhāgavatam, the viśuddha-sattva is specifically equated to the dhāma:

viśuddha-sattvaṁ tava dhāma śāntaṁ

tapo-mayaṁ dhvasta-rajas-tamaskam|

māyā-mayo’yaṁ guṇa-saṁpravāho

na vidyate te grahaṇānubandhaḥ ||

"Your effulgence, a manifestation of the particularized pure energy of existence (viśuddha-sattva), is undisturbed by change, shining with knowledge, and devoid of rajas and tamas. In you the mighty flow of the guṇas of material nature, made of Maya, does not exist." (SB 10.27.4)

Here Jiva Goswami defines dhāma as svarūpa-bhūta-prakāśa-śaktiḥ, “that energy of self-revealing light that emanates from God’s essential identity.”

The different manifestations of the different forms of the Lord require different environments along with enhancing factors that are suitable to the will of the Lord to relish particular exchanges with his devotees. So the specific manifestation of Krishna’s pastimes in the romantic mood require an environment that is appropriate for it, and that is Vrindavan.

But it should be kept in mind that despite the Vrindavan’s appearance as the place of romantic love, it is not a product of the material qualities. Therefore one should not be misled by expressions like kandarpa-keli-sthalī, “Cupid’s playground.”

VMA 1.54 : All the Supreme Lord’s festive pleasures, and more
VMA 1.53 : Take shelter of Vrindavan and merge into the ocean of rasa
VMA 1.52 : Be indifferent to all other duties: go to Vrindavan!
VMA 1.51 : The intelligence of recognizing Vrindavan
VMA 1.50 : “Do you know the secret of defeating death?”
VMA 1.49 : Even while in Vrindavan, you wander about in externals!
VMA 1.48 : Never leave Vrindavan
VMA 1.47 : What can Vrindavan give you?
VMA 1.46 : Vrindavan: The ripe fulfillment of Krishna prema