Jagat

Divine Madness The reference to mahā-bhāva made by Kaviraja Goswami is particularly worth noting (quoted in Part I ). The principal characteristic, I believe, is the idea of a particular eternal moment or snapshot, containing all these different conflicting reactions to one particularly confusing situation. In the mahā-bhāva , as described in UN 14, Radha experiences both the ecstasies of union and separation simultaneously. Here, something similar is happening. As we go through the sthāyi-bhāvas described in Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi , what becomes evident to the observer is that we are watching a progression of madness in love--a disorientation that progresses to the point of a complete loss of touch with reality: e.g., attributing properties to lifeless objects and even being angry and envious of them, hallucinations, seeing the beloved where he is not, etc. If, as the Gītā (2.69) says, the sage sees day where the materialistic person sees night, and vice versa, it follows that what is...

(1) antaḥ-smeratayojjvalā jala-kaṇa-vyākīrṇa-pakṣmāṅkurā kiñcit pāṭalitāñcalā rasikatotsiktā puraḥ kuñcatī ruddhāyāḥ pathi mādhavena madhura-vyābhugna-tārottarā rādhāyāḥ kilakiñcita-stavakinī dṛṣṭiḥ śriyaṁ vaḥ kriyāt Radha’s eyes are a kilakiñcita bouquet of flowers: brightened by a repressed smile, with teardrops clinging like dew to the base of her eyelash petals; reddened slightly around the edges; overflowing with juices of amusement, or contracting like buds. Ah, such are Radha’s eyes, made more beautiful by their flashing sweet pupils as she is blocked on the path by Madhava, May they bring you all good fortune. ________________________________________ This is the first of the two nāndī verses. It contains elements both of the āśīrvāda or benediction and the vastu-nirdeśa indication of the subject matter to follow in the play itself. Āśīrvāda Blessings in this form are quite common in poetry related to the gods and are often found in the invocations of...