Monday, March 16, 2009

Pratah Stava: 9th Shloka


Sanchintneyamnumrigyambheesht dohan,

Sansartaapshamanan charanan maharham.

Nandatmajasya satatan mansa gira cha,

Sansevyami vapusha pranyen ramyam.


'I lovingly worship the roaming holy pair of feet of the pampered son of Nanda with my mind, words and body...who are solely worth meditating upon and revering. Fulfilling desires, granting all wishes plus the destroyers of worldly sorrows are these feet.'


Irresistibly attractive, the lotus feet of the dark-hued handsome god, are the love of our lives. May they constantly flourish in the elusive fields, forests and streams of our hearts! And soon enough the mundane world, its grief and earthly objects become immaterial. The domain of their spirited antics, is overwhelming.


Adorned with romantic dalliances, the ardent realm...absorbed in the loving tenderness of Krishna's terrifying love...has no entry of pangs of pain or even its thought. They invade the human heart spreading joy and delight with thrusts of Krishna's secret and sudden love.The perennial quest of mankind for ultimate reality; seeking a divine and transcendental love...is reflected in this search!


Come let us venture to watch...the playful dalliance of those feet...their amorous frolic, as they roam and wander! Inhale the immense fragrance exuding in the narrow lanes, sight footprints ornamenting the golden sandy banks of the Yamuna. Sakhis...let us proceed to the shrine-like nikunja (bower)...its creepers throbbing longingly...the scent laden intoxicating breeze...the environs...the ground enraptured in the guise of these shrubs.


Certainly our romantic hero Krishna...Pranvallabha is engrossed in charming escapades with his beloved Radha, and he has probably noticed our arrival...Listen, can you hear? The sweet sound of anklets adorning his holy feet...And guess what...the flute in the hands of Krishna, perched on his lips... draws us, as he breathes life into it. A call to eternity is the mellifluous sound of the flute, the breath of love! And listen to the melody of two voices singing in unison...Radha along with her supreme lover,Krishna.


Priya follows those footprints, attracted by the bodily fragrance...revering them...let us accompany her to that kunja...the same sandy river-bank...the market place...the mountain passes...the fields and forests, the very same bhavan... and verdant Vrindavan which resonates with the lively feet absorbed in spirited antics.


Snuggled in the bosom of irresistibly attractive Radha...covered by her veil...is this blued-hued handsome picture...the splendour...the majesty...yes! They are certainly the dark god's pair of feet..Krishna resides in the sap that animates the birds and the bees, the trees and the creepers of Vrindavan; for to express joy is to realize Krishna.


The repository of madhurya or sweet love are the pair of feet...granting desired wishes, their search and pursuit. The enraptured Braj beauties passionately drawn by the footprints have no spare time to dwell upon worldly grief.Treasuring the lotus feet in their heart, steeped in love, the cowherdesses are constantly absorbed in new amorous frolics and romantic dalliances.


I worship the divine Yugal's (Shri Radha-Krishna) feet with my mind, voice and body. With energy and joyfulness and love, I make obeisance to the supremely favoured deity...bestowing fruition of exquisite desires...fulfilling all longings...the protective canopy...the essence of my being...my very life...soul...the tangible form of my love...My quest seeks a divine and transcendental love... the ultimate reality. Ethereal are these feet.

Concluding the stotra or hymn of praise, Nimbarkacharyaji says,


Pratah stavmiman punyan pratrutthay yah pathet

Sarv kalan kriyastsya safalasyuh sada dhruvah.


Whosoever recites the Pratah Stava early in the morning, everyday...all his actions will certainly be rewarded.


Construing the essence of this hymn of praise,we concurrently pray to Nimbarkacharyaji that he may attach us...with focused concentration on these feet. So that we attain their constant closeness...not just emotionally... while in contemplation, meditation or smarana...but visibly relish their proximity or union with the divine.

Whatever may be our shortcomings...drawbacks...wrongdoings...are soon enough rectified by Shri Radha-Krishna. The Yugal deliver us ultimately with their generosity and loving tenderness.

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