Fifth Wave: Conjugal Love
Mādhurya-rasa
ātmocitair vibhāvādyaiḥ puṣṭiṃ nītā satāṃ hṛdi |
madhurākhyo bhaved bhakti-raso’sau madhurā ratiḥ ||3.5.1||
“When madhura-rati is nourished by suitable vibhāva and other elements [of rasa] in the devotees’ hearts, it is called madhura-bhakti-rasa.”
nivṛttānupayogitvād durūhatvād ayaṃ rasaḥ |
rahasyatvāc ca saṃkṣipya vitatāṇgo vilikhyate ||3.5.2||
“Though this rasa has many components, it will be described in summary because it is difficult to describe, because it is very confidential, and because it is unsuitable for those who do not have a taste for madhura-rasa, since it appears similar to the rasa of mundane love.”
||3.5.3||
Ālambanas:
“The ālambanas in this rasa are Kṛṣṇa and His dear, beautiful women.”
||3.5.4||
Kṛṣṇa:
“Kṛṣṇa, who is the abode of abundant beauty, pastimes and skill in the arts that cannot be equalled or surpassed, is considered the ālambana (viṣaya).”
||3.5.5||
From Gīta-govinda:
“O friend! Attractive Kṛṣṇa, who produces bliss in the hearts of everyone in the universe by inducing their love, who produces the bliss of Cupid in women by His soft limbs the color of a forest of blue lotuses, and whose every limb is embraced spontaneously by the young women of Vraja, sports in the spring season like the incarnation of madhura-rasa.”
||3.5.6||
The dear women:
“I offer my respects to the most astonishing young women, who are endowed with the most excellent, freshest sweetness, whose hearts are mixed with waves of prema, and who adore Kṛṣṇa as their own lover.”
||3.5.7||
“Among the lovers of Kṛṣṇa, Rādhā, the daughter of Vṛṣabhānu, is the chief.”
||3.5.8||
Rādhā’s form:
“Just look at Rādhā, the abode of sweet nectar, whose blissful eyes steal the beauty of a cakorī bird quivering with excitement, whose face defeats the fame of the new moon, and whose excellent beauty exceeds the luster of pure gold.”
||3.5.9||
Rādhā’s rati:
“I derive a hundred time more delight from Rādhā than from respectful friendship, even when She does not hear My jokes filled with the highest pleasure and instead, looking skyward, ignores these jokes with clever words that indicate Her contempt.”
||3.5.10||
Kṛṣṇa’s rati, from Gīta-govinda:
“When Rādhā left the arena of the rāsa dance out of pride, Kṛṣṇa gave up the other beautiful women and left the arena, thinking only of Rādhā who was bound up by the chains of the highest love.”
||3.5.11||
Uddīpanas:
“In madhura-bhakti-rasa, the uddīpanas are the sound of the flute and other similar items.”
||3.5.12||
From Padyāvalī [172]:
“How astonishing! The sound of Kṛṣṇa flute makes the gopīs forget the scolding of their elders, the infamy from breaking social rules, and the terrifying treatment from their husbands.”
||3.5.13||
Anubhāvas:
“The anubhāvas of madhura-rasa are such things as glancing from the corner of the eyes and smiles.”
||3.5.14||
An example, from Lalita-mādhava [1.14]:
“By drinking the nectar of the Gaṅgā in the form of Rādhā’s sweet smile, as it mixes at the Triveṇī junction with the waves of the Yamunā in the form of the dark tips of Kṛṣṇa’s eyes, and by extinguishing the rising heat by bathing slightly in the cool water of the satisfied mind, we have surpassed the seven worlds and now live in the topmost planet. ”
||3.5.15||
Sāttvika-bhāvas, from Padyāvalī [181]:
“O moon-faced friend! Seeing Your body with hairs standing on end, Your choked voice and trembling chest, I can understand that the sound of Kṛṣṇa’s flute has melted Your heart.”
||3.5.16||
Vyabhicārī-bhāvas:
“In madhurya-bhakti-rasa, all the vyabhicārī-bhāvas manifest except ālasya (sloth) and augrya (ferocity).”
||3.5.17||
Nirveda (self-deprecation):
“O Cupid! Do not shoot My body with your five arrows. O Vāyu! Do not wet My body with the sap of forest flowers. How can My wretched limbs that have caused a break in Kṛṣṇa’s love maintain their life?”
||3.5.18||
Harṣa (joy), from Dāna-keli-kaumudī [34]:
“This cheater, standing in the forest on Govardhana Hill, performing pastimes that surpass those of a young, intoxicated elephant, whose bodily effulgence causes attraction for the bee-like eyes of all the women of the earth, and whose complexion surpasses the luster of a blue lotus petal, has destroyed my self-control.”
||3.5.19||
Sthāyī-bhāva:
“The sthāyī-bhāva of madhura-rasa is the previously described madhura-rati.”
||3.5.20||
From Padyāvalī [158]:
“O friend! Who is this person wearing cloth the color of a gold streak on a touchstone, whose face is sweet with dancing eyebrows, whose ears are decorated with aśoka buds, who has brought Me under control by the sound of His flute?”
||3.5.21||
“That love of Rādhā and Mādhava is never at any time or in any circumstance covered by other similar relationships or by different sthāyī-bhāvas.”
||3.5.22||
An example:
“At a short distance stands the Queen of Vraja, and all around are Kṛṣṇa’s friends. Candrāvalī is standing right in front of Him, and Arisṭāsura is standing at the edge of Vraja on stony soil. But Kṛṣṇa’s restless glance falls only upon the form of Rādhā, covered by flowering creepers.”
||3.5.23||
“On one side lay dead Śaṅkhacūḍa, whose body was like an arena for pastimes, surrounded by frightful, ferocious, ignorant jackals. In another place, the wind, like a group of sages situated in brahman realization, recited soothing praises, cool as falling snow. In front stood Balarāma, glowing like the full moon. But the lotus of Rādhā’s love suitable for giving joy unto Kṛṣṇa did not fade, but rather sprang into full bloom.”
||3.5.24||
“Madhura-bhakti-rasa has two types: vipralambha (in separation) and sambhoga (in union).”
||3.5.25||
“The wise describe many types of vipralambha such as pūrva-rāga, māna and pravāsa.”
||3.5.26||
Pūrva-rāga:
“The love between two lovers in separation before they ever meet one another is called pūrva-rāga.”
||3.5.27||
An example from Padyāvalī [181]:
“One day while going to the bank of the Yamunā, I suddenly saw one man with the complexion of a new rain cloud. I do not know what He did by moving His eyes playfully, but since then My heart has become unstable, and I no longer partake of household duties.”
||3.5.28||
An example from the Tenth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam [10.53.2]:
“Just as Rukmiṇī's mind is fixed on Me, My mind is fixed on her. I can't even sleep at night. I know that Rukmī, out of envy, has forbidden our marriage.”
||3.5.29||
“Māna, described in the following example, is well known, and therefore need not be explained.”
||3.5.30||
An example from Gīta-govinda [2.1]:
“When Kṛṣṇa was sporing with all the gopīs in the forest, treating them all with equal affection, Rādhā left that place in anger because of His slighting Her superior position. Later, while hiding in a grove of creepers while bees were buzzing overhead, She spoke to a friend in private of Her grief-stricken state.”
||3.5.31||
“Pravāsa refers to separation after meeting.”
||3.5.32||
An example from Padyāvalī [350]:
“Since the auspicious day when Kṛṣṇa departed for Mathurā, the lotus-faced Rādhā, putting Her left hand on Her left cheek, soaked Her face with unremitting tears. How could She sleep at all?”
||3.5.33||
From Prahlāda-saṃhitā, the words of Uddhava:
“Lord Govinda also, being affected by the arrows of Cupid, thinks of You alone day and night, cannot eat or sleep.”
||3.5.34||
“The enjoyment experienced when two lovers meet is called sambhoga.”
||3.5.35||
An example from Padyāvalī [199]:
“Kṛṣṇa, with peacock feather on His head, executed the festival of Cupid with Rādhā, who was endowed with the highest attachment for Kṛṣṇa, and who expressed Her love with skillful embraces.”
śrīmad-bhāgavatādy-arha-śāstra-darśitayā dṛśā |
iyam āviṣkṛtā mukhya-pañca-bhakti-rasā mayā ||3.5.36||
“I have described the five principal types of bhakti-rasa according to the knowledge given in suitable scriptures such as Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.”
gopāla-rūpa-śobhāṃ dadhad api raghunātha-bhāva-vistārī |
tuṣyatu sanātanātmā paścima-bhāge rasāmbu-nidheḥ ||3.5.37||
“May the eternal soul who has the beautiful form of a cowherd boy and who spread the bhāvas to Rāma and other forms be pleased with this Western Ocean of the ocean of nectar.”
iti śrī-śrī-bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhau paścima-vibhāge
madhurākhya-bhakti-rasa-laharī caturthī ||
“May Sanātana who nourishes the bhāva of Gopāla Bhaṭṭa and distributes the bhāva of Raghunātha dāsa be pleased with this Western Ocean!”
iti śrī-śrī-bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhau
mukhya-bhakti-rasa-nirūpakaḥ paścima-vibhāgaḥ samāptaḥ ||
“Thus ends the Fifth Wave in the Wedstern Ocean of Śrī Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, concerning madhura-bhakti-rasa. Here ends the Western Ocean.”