Fourth Wave: Compassion
Karuṇa-rasa
ātmocitair vibhāvādyair nītā puṣṭiṃ satāṃ hṛdi |
bhavec choka-ratir bhakti-raso hi karuṇābhidhaḥ ||4.4.1||
“When śoka-rati is nourished in the heart of the devotee by suitable vibhāvas
and other elements [of bhakti] it is called karuṇa-bhakti-rasa.”
||4.4.2||
“Though imperishably blissful Kṛṣṇa can never fall from His svarūpa of bliss into misery, because of particular varieties of prema, Kṛṣṇa and his dear ones take on the appearance of falling into misfortune and become the viṣaya of karuṇa-rasa.”
||4.4.3||
“The relatives of the devotee, or those devoid of the happiness of devotion also become the viṣaya of karuṇa-rasa. Thus there are three types of viṣaya.”
||4.4.4||
“Three types of devotees who experience karuṇa in relation to the three types of viṣaya are the three āśrayas of karuṇa-bhakti-rasa. For the most part this rasa does not arise in śānta devotees. The uddīpanas are Kṛṣṇa’s actions, qualities and form.”
||4.4.5||
“The anubhāvas are drying of the mouth, moaning, slackening of the body, heavy breathing, shouting, falling on the ground, beating the ground with the fist and beating the chest.”
||4.4.6||
“The eight sāttvika-bhāvas appear and the vyabhicārī-bhāvas of jāḍyam, nirveda, glāni, dainya, cintā, viṣāda, autsukhya, cāpalā, unmāda, mṛti, ālasya, apasmṛti, vyādhi and moha appear.”
||4.4.7||
“When rati transforms into lamentation in the heart by one’s perception of another person attaining misfortune, it is called śoka-rati. This śoka-rati is the sthāyī-bhāva of karuṇa-rasa.”
||4.4.8||
Kṛṣṇa as an object of lamentation, from the Tenth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam [10.16.10]:
“When the members of the cowherd community, who had accepted Kṛṣṇa as their dearmost friend, saw Him enveloped in the snake's coils, motionless, they were greatly disturbed. They had offered Kṛṣṇa everything—their very selves, their families, their wealth, wives and all pleasures. At the sight of the Lord in the clutches of the Kāliya snake, their intelligence became deranged by grief, lamentation and fear, and thus they fell to the ground.”
||4.4.9||
Another example:
“When Kṛṣṇa entered the fearful lake of Kāliya, Yaśodā’s upper cloth became wet from hot tears. She reached a state in which all her senses ceased to function.”
||4.4.10||
Kṛṣṇa’s devotees as an object of lamentation:
“When the demon Śaṅkhacūḍa took away all of Kṛṣṇa’s girl friends, Balarāma’s moon-like face became increasingly blue with sorrow.”
||4.4.11||
Friends as an object of lamentation, from Haṃsadūta:
“Seeing the toenails of Kṛṣṇa, which were touched by the tip of the crown of the repentant Brahmā after he stole the cowherd boys, Nārada lost control of himself in great bliss, and began to lament greatly for his fellow sages who had attained impersonal liberation.”
||4.4.12||
Another example [of relatives being the object of karuṇa-rasa]:
“Seeing the intense effulgence emanting from the two lotus feet of Govinda, Sahadeva, overcome with bliss, began to lament. ‘O mother Mādrī! Where
have you gone? O father Paṇḍu! Where are you? You could not see Kṛṣṇa, the ocean of sweet bliss!”
||4.4.13||
“Sometimes it is possible for hāsya and other emotions to appear without rati. However, śoka cannot manifest without rati.”
||4.4.14||
“The greater the rati, the more the lamentation, and the less the rati, the less the lamentation. The quality of not manifesting without rati is a special distinction of śoka.”
||4.4.15||
“Lack of awareness of Kṛṣṇa’s powers (which causes śoka-rati directed towards Kṛṣṇa) is not created by ignorance. This lack of awareness of His powers takes place by the special rasa of heightened prema.”
ataḥ prādurbhavan śoko labdhāpy udbhaṭatāṃ muhuḥ |
durūhām eva tanute gatiṃ saukhyasya kām api ||4.4.16||
“Though lamentation appears and becomes intense, it also spreads a condition of undetected happiness, which is difficult to describe.”
iti śrī-śrī-bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhāv uttara-vibhāge
gauṇa-bhakti-rasa-nirūpaṇe karuṇa-bhakti-rasa-laharī caturthī ||
“Thus ends the Fourth Wave of the Northern Ocean of Śrī Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, concerning karuṇa-bhakti-rasa.”