Friday, September 28, 2012

'Shri Krishna Karnamrita:' Thirteenth Shloka

pranaya-parinatabhyam shri-bharalambanabhyam ,
prati-pada-lalitabhyam pratyaham nutanabhyam  |
prati-muhur adhikabhyam prasphural-locanabhyam ,
pravahatu hridaye nah prana-nathah kishorah  ||13||


Simple Meaning:


May the Youthful Lord Krishna Forever Reside in Our Hearts

May the forever youthful Krishna, the supreme lover of our lives, constantly  shine in our hearts through His sparkling eyes which are laden with love, are the refuge of ineffable beauty, are attractive every moment, are newly fresh every single day and captivating every second.

The Rasa-laden Commentary: 
Shri Lilashuk ji had described the madhurya or sweetness of Krishna's lotus feet in the previous shloka. Here he gives an account of the wide open, fully blooming eyes of Krishna and prays fervently:

Ah! May that youth Krishna, the supreme lover, gush forth in our hearts for all times to come; which means may He always be resplendent in our hearts. May the new  waves of His amorous love forever transmit the terrifying rush of rasa or religious rapture in our hearts.



Lord Krishna's Love-laden Lotus Eyes

His eyes are the further development of love or in other words are certainly the  result of love, in particular. Just as a bracelet and kundals (large earrings) are the svarupas or true forms of gold, in the same way Krishna is the vigraha (individual form) of Sacchidanand (being, thought and bliss, a title of the Ultimate Being.) Therefore Krishna's hands, feet, eyes, face and other limbs are indeed the outcome of ecstasy and the stimuli of radiant beauty.


shri-bharalambanabhyam : Loveliness and newness are bursting forth in His eyes, every single moment. They bud and become wide open with a novel ineffable beauty every day...May such a youthful Chudamani, the supreme lover, forever reside in my heart.



Lord Krishna Eyes are Brimming with the Love of Shri Radha

Because of brimming with the love of Shri Radha these naturally beautiful and blossoming pair of eyes have become even bigger. Turning fresh and lovely every single moment, they churn our hearts. This lovely gaze is not of an ordinary nayaka but the beautiful gaze of Shri Madan Mohan, the icon of shringara rasa(the sentiment of sweet romance). 


 A Black Bee Hovers over Shri Radha's Lotus Face

Relishing the potion of Shri Radha's eyes, Shyam Sunder, the supreme lover, is seen hovering over the lotus face of Shri Radha  like a capricious black bee. He is enraptured by the tips of Shri Radha's eyes, that is why this gaze is flooded with the pollen of Shri Radha's lotus eyes.



Lord Krishna's Eyes Relish the Gopis' Beauty

They are becoming increasingly fragrant with the perfume of gopi's beauteous forms. Again and again the capricious eyes of the gopis are passionately fixed right there. Leaving the lotus where else can the bee go? What is truly amazing is that these lotus eyes are black bees greedy to savour the beauteous forms of Braj beauties as well as the lotus itself. They grant rasa as well as relish the rasa. What a unique juncture of amorous love is this!(The very foundation of a religion of union is that the individual partial and manifest self must ultimately be joined with the universl, whole and unmanifest Self.)


These eyes of Krishna are very generous and forever eager to shower compassion but the worldly lustful person screens himself from that rasa and deprives himself from it's ecstasy.


Rasik Shiromani, the blue-hued Krishna, is the receiver of rasa Himself. The stench of lust which spoils the rasa or sentiment of sweet love is not dear to Him. His pair of lotus eyes are the doors from which the mundane  poisonous lust can not gain entry. And yes! They are the magnificent playground of divine romantic dalliances.


 
The Lotus Eyes of Krishna Enrapture the Braj Gopis

Overwhelmed by the sakhi bhava, Shri Bilavmangal ji says, “ Truly sakhi! These wide lotus eyes are a tight noose to bind the young maidens of Braja. Will any lovelorn maiden ever want to be released from this bond?”


The love of the Braja beauties which has attained the zenith of spiritual awareness wants to experience the religious rapture of shringara rasa in many new ways.


May such a youthful Lord Krishna, the supreme lover, drenching our minds with His blossoming, wide, fickle, lovely, forever fresh and captivating pair of lotus eyes, swiftly flow in our hearts.

Sunday, September 23, 2012

'Shri Krishna Karnamrita' : Twelfth Shloka

nikhila-bhuvana-lakshmi-nitya-lilaspadabhyam ,
kamala-vipina-vithi-garva-sarvam kashabhyam  |
pranamad-abhaya-dana-praudhi-gadhadritabhyam ,
kim api vahatu cetah krishna-padambujabhyam  ||12||

Simple Meaning:


Lakshmi Resides in Lord Krishna's Lotus Feet

Those lotus feet of Lord Krishna are the refuge (splendour) of the *Lakshmi of fourteen *bhuvans or cosmological regions. They defeat lotus clusters who take pride in their beauty; are honoured (must be worshipped) because of being  distinctly capable of giving shelter to humble devotees. May the lotus feet of such a Krishna make the inexpressible joy of madhurya or sweetness constantly gush forth in my mind- or in other words may my mind continue to forever relish the unutterable ecstasy of religious rapture.

The Rasa-laden Commentary:


 May Krishna's Lotus Feet Reside in My Heart

In the shloka being presented, Shri Bilavmangal ji Maharaj is describing the majestic grandeur of Lord Krishna's holy feet and wishes that these lotus feet forever dally in his heart-may the rush of madhurya rasa (sentiment of sweet love) always drench his heart-making it sentimental. The pair of Lord Krishna's lotus feet are the refuge of Lakshmi who resides in fourteen cosmological regions, and are the site of her splendour. They are the abode of the aishwarya or divine majesty and saundarya or ineffable beauty of this world. All of the (Sri) beauty and all of the virtue of the world comingle in their character and form. 

Devotees Seek Refuge in Lord Krishna's Lotus Feet

Goddess Laksmi is also forever steeped in these holy  feet and they are the site of her playful dalliance. These feet totally uproot the arrogance of the lotus forests' coolness, their tenderness, their heart-stealing charm, beauty and fragrance. These lotus feet are worthy of great respect because of assuring protection to hordes of bhaktas who seek refuge in them.They are famed famed for making those who bow their heads before them, their very own.


Vibhishan Takes Shelter of  Lord Rama's Lotus Feet

The same feet on seeing Shri Vibhishan come to seek their shelter, smiled and said:

jo sabheet aavaa sharnnai | raakhaun taahi praan ki naain  |

May my heart carry the lotus feet of such a youthful blue-hued Kishore. May these lovingly tender lotus feet forever be contained in my heart.


 Mirabai Sings the Glories of Krishna's Feet

Bhaktimati Mirabai, the bhakti poet, sang the glories of Krishna's lotus feet in her song compositions:

man! re paras hari ke charan |
subhag sheetal kamal-komal, trividh jvala harann  ||

How lovingly tender, comforting, the granter of boons and auspicious are these lotus feet. The innate virtue of a lotus is to distribute coolness therefore these lotus feet instantly relieve the threefold suffering. These blue-hued lotus feet  douse the searing pain of  daihik (physical) daivik (spiritual) and bhautik (materialistic) and all other kinds of sorrows.


Gopis Welcome Krishna when He Returns after Grazing Cows

The gopis of Braja have given such a moving account of the loving tenderness of these lotus feet. The milkmaids themselves have fondly flirted with them in various ways. They have caressed them with their braided hair; given rest to the feet's fatigue when they returned from  grazing the cows, by lovingly positing them on their heart.


Gopis Beg Krishna to Come Back in the 'Gopi Geet'

The milkmaids complained to Krishna in the Gopi Geet, “ Alas! How hard-hearted are you. If you do not have mercy on us it does not matter but oh, you do not pity  the delicacy and softness of these tender pair of  feet! This pain is tormenting us. Beloved, we can not bear this torture! You come back now. Do not roam in the absolute silence of this earth scattered with thorns. Your tender butter like feet may not be hurt or struck by our hard body-the gopis are apprehensive and overpowered by these bhavas. But, “O hard-hearted One! You are wandering with those same reddish soft feet on the earth mushrooming with thorns-now just let it be, and come back.”


 May the Lotus Feet of Lord Krishna Forever Swing in Our Hearts

Let us also combine our voice with the voice of Shri Bilavmangal ji and cry out genuinely in unison that these pair of tender lotus feet keep swinging  in our heart.

*Lakshmi: wife of Vishnu and goddess of good fortune and wealth

bhuvans: cosmological regions