Third Wave: Chivalry
Vīrya-rasa
saivotsāha-ratiḥ sthāyī vibhāvādyair nijocitaḥ |
ānīyamānā svādyatvaṃ vīra-bhakti-raso bhavet ||4.3.1||
“When utsāha-rati attains an enjoyable nature by suitable vibhāvas and other elements [of rasa], it is called vīra-bhakti-rasa.”
yuddha-dāna-dayā-dharmaiś caturdhā-vīra ucyate |
ālambana iha prokta eṣa eva caturvidhaḥ ||4.3.2||
“There are four type of vīra or valiant persons: yuddha-vīra, dāna-vīra, dayā-vīra and dharma-vīra. These devotees are the ālambana for vīra-bhakti-rasa.”
||4.3.3||
“It is possible for utsāha-rati to appear in all types of devotees.”
||4.3.4||
Yuddha-vīra:
“Special friends endowed with fortitude in fighting for satisfying Kṛṣṇa are called yuddha-vīra.”
||4.3.5||
“In this rasa, the friends fight against Kṛṣṇa, or fight against His best friends in Kṛṣṇa’s presence, according to Kṛṣṇa’s desire.”
||4.3.6||
Fighting with Kṛṣṇa:
“O Mādhava! You are very unsteady, but You think that no one can beat You. If You do not flee from the fight, I will now defeat You and please Your friends!”
||4.3.7||
Another example:
“Śrīdāma and Kṛṣṇa who were the very best of friends, displayed the splendor of fighting with anger on the bank of the Yamunā. Their intense pride in fighting with increased desire to win astonished all their friends.”
||4.3.8||
Fighting with His best friends:
“Skillful Śrīdāma stopped the countless arrows with leather tips fired by all his friends by whirling his stick around. The son of Nanda praised him, with hairs standing on end, because it appeared that Śrīdāma was enclosed in a large cage made by the whirling stick.”
||4.3.9||
“Sometimes there are astonishing mock battles between two fighters who are naturally on the same side.”
||4.3.10||
From Hari-vaṃśa:
“The Lord Madhusūdana defeated Arjuna, wielder of Gāṇḍīva, the best of the Bharata dynasty, in front of Kuntī in mock battle.”
||4.3.11||
“The uddīpanas of yuddha-vīra-rasa are boasting, striking the arms in challenge, rivalry, showing strength, taking up weapons and being aroused by the words of the opponent.”
||4.3.12||
Boasting as uddīpana:
“O Dāmodara! You are expert only at eating. Do not boast after winning over the weak Subāla by cheating. This peacock in the form of Stoka-kṛṣṇa, destroyer of the snake of Your long arms, is dancing madly nearby while making loud sounds.”
||4.3.13||||4.3.14||
“If the above actions such as boasting are only for one’s own awareness they are anubhāvas. The wise say that the other anubhāvas are self-pride, roaring like a lion, proud words, bounding about, enthusiasm to fight even without assistance, not fleeing from battle, and making the fearful fearless.”
||4.3.15||
Boasting as anubhāva:
“O killer of Keśi! You know that I am Bhadrasena. Why are You eager to fight with weak Baladeva? My arm resembling a shining door bolt is ashamed of this.”
||4.3.16||
Show of self-pride:
“O lord of the cowherds! All glories to Sudāma who, displaying great self-confidence and roaring like a lion, danced around until his hairs stood on end and his eagerness of fighting increased, when the proud Kṛṣṇa tightened His belt with great show.”
||4.3.17||
“All the four types of heros show all the sāttvika-bhāvas and all the vyabhicārī-bhāvas such as garva, āvega, dhṛti, vrīḍā, mati, harṣa, avahitta, amarṣa, utsukatā, asūyā and smṛti.”
||4.3.18||
“The steady desire to win at fighting either acquired or natural, induced either by one’s own strength or with encouragement of others’ help, which arises when yuddhotsāha-rati becomes the sthāyī-bhāva, is called yuddhotsāha.”
||4.3.19||
Beginning desire to fight on one’s own:
“When his father discouraged him, Stoka-kṛṣṇa was unwilling to fight with Kṛṣṇa. However, when challenged by Kṛṣṇa, he became eager to fight. He took up his stick and began to whirl it around.”
||4.3.20||
Natural desire to fight encouraged only by oneself:
“O wimpy Bhadrasena! I am Śrīdāma. Do not be afraid on seeing my arm, think like an elephant’s trunk. Today I will defeat Balarām in mock battle, and then challenge Kṛṣṇa to fight.”
||4.3.21||
Another example:
“Deep-voiced Bhadrasena, on Kṛṣṇa’s side, deafening the friends on strong Balarāma’s side by his harsh roaring, churned them all by himself like the Mandara Mountain churning the ocean of milk. This gave great pleasure to Kṛṣṇa.”
||4.3.22||
Regaining enthusiasm for battle by another person’s assistance:
“ ‘Do not accept defeat in this battle, since I am bursting with fierce prowess!’ After hearing these words from a friend, Varūthapa charged toward the Lord, uttering unnatural sounds.”
||4.3.23||
Natural enthusiasm for battle, with additional encouragement:
“Expert Sudāma with arms eager for battle had sufficient strength to conquer Kṛṣṇa in battle. If he were to take the help of strong Subala, he would be like a jewel set in gold.”
||4.3.24||
“In vīra-bhakti-rasa the friends are the opponents of Kṛṣṇa. They are not the opponents of enemies. When there is an enemy giving agitation to the devotee, the devotee becomes the ālambana of raudra-rasa. In raudra-rasa the eyes become red, etc. This is absent in vīra-rasa. This is the difference between vīra-rasa and raudra-rasa.”
||4.3.25||
“There are two types of dāna-vīras: the person who gives in plenty (bahu-prada) and the renounced person who does not want to accept what is given by the Lord (upasthita-durāpārtha-tyāgi).”
||4.3.26||
“The person who will give everything immediately for Kṛṣṇa’s pleasure is called bahu-prada (generous giver).”
||4.3.27||||4.3.28||
“The uddīpana for the dana-vīra is seeing a person worthy of charity. The anubhāvas are giving more than asked, talking with a slight smile, steadiness, kindness and patience etc. The vyabhicārī-bhāvas are vitarka, autsukya, harṣa and others.”
||4.3.29||
“In the dana-vīra, dānotsāha-rati is the sthāyī-bhāva. A very steady desire to give is called dānotsāha.”
||4.3.30||
“There are two types of plentiful givers: ābhyudayika (giving on auspicious occasions) and kṛṣṇa-sampradānaka (giving in surrender to Kṛṣṇa).”
||4.3.31||
“The person who gives everything to the requesters such as brāhmaṇas for the sake of Kṛṣṇa is called the ābhyudaika-dāna-vīra.”
||4.3.32||
An example:
“When the pure-hearted Nanda gave all the best cows to the brāhmaṇas on the occasion of Kṛṣṇa’s birth celebration, the surrounding brāhmaṇas were so satisfied that they exclaimed loudly that it eclipsed the charity of King Nṛga.”
||4.3.33||||4.3.34||
“When a person realizes the real nature of the Lord, and gives the Lord all his possessions that are sources of material identity and possessiveness, he is called tat-sampradānaka. There are two types: giving out of affection and giving as worship.”
||4.3.35||
Giving in affection:
“What is given to the Lord as an affectionate friend is called prīti-dāna.”
||4.3.36||
“After completing all the ceremonial functions at the rājasūya sacrifice, King Yudhiṣṭhira desired to give Kṛṣṇa sandalwood, a vaijayantī garland, ornaments with the best rubies and gold, elephants, chariots and horses bedecked in gold. Not seeing anything else worth giving, he became afflicted.”
||4.3.37||
“What is given to the Lord Himself, or to his form representing the devatās or the brāhmaṇas is called pujā-dāna.”
||4.3.38||
From the Eighth Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam [8.20.11]:
“O great sage, great saintly persons like you, being completely aware of the Vedic principles for performing ritualistic ceremonies and yajñas, worship Lord Viṣṇu in all circumstances. Therefore, whether that same Lord Viṣṇu has come here to give me all benedictions or to punish me as an enemy, I must carry out His order and give Him the requested tract of land without hesitation.”
||4.3.39||
From Daśa-rūpaka:
“Bali offered the ball of grains to the hand of the Lord, which was colored with the kuṅkuma from the breast of Lakṣmī.”
||4.3.40||
“The person who does not want to accept even the five types of liberation, offered by the Lord who is pleased with him, is called upasthita-durāpārtha-tyāgī (one who is resolute to reject things rarely attained by others).”
||4.3.41||||4.3.42||
“This person is the opposite of the sampradānaka-dānavīra (who gives to the Lord), for here the donor is the Lord and the beneficiary is the devotee. In this type of bhakti-rasa, the uddīpanas are the mercy of Kṛṣṇa, conversations of the Lord, and His smiles. The anubhāvas are conviction in the descriptions of the Lord’s qualities, and the vyabhicārī-bhāvas are such things as dhṛti (resoluteness).”
||4.3.43||
“The wise say that the sthāyī-bhāva of this rasa is tyāgotsāha-rati. Tyāgotsāha means the deep desire to reject things like the five type of liberation.”
||4.3.44||
From the Hari-bhakti-sudhodaya:
“O Lord! I desired a king’s throne, but I attained You, who are hidden even from the chief devatās and sages. As a person, on searching for glass and attaining jewels, no longer desires the glass, having attained You I have become successful and do not desire anything else.”
||4.3.45||
From the Third Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam [3.15.48]:
“Persons who are very expert and most intelligent in understanding things as they are engage in hearing narrations of the auspicious activities and pastimes of the Lord, which are worth chanting and worth hearing. Such persons do not care even for the highest material benediction, namely liberation, to say nothing of other less important benedictions like the material happiness of the heavenly kingdom.”
||4.3.46||
“Some of these tyāgīs, by partaking of intense dāsya-bhāva, attain the level of vīra among the three types of pāriṣadas (dhurya, dhīra and vīra).”
||4.3.47||
“The person who, heart flowing with mercy, offers his body piece by piece to Kṛṣṇa in a disguised form, is called dayā-vīra (resolute in showing mercy).”
||4.3.48||||4.3.49||
“The uddīpanas for the dāya-vīra are such things as the appearance of suffering in a person who will be the object of mercy (Kṛṣṇa in disguise). The anubhāvas are steadiness, words of comfort and protecting those in distress, even at the cost of one’s life. The vyabhicārī-bhāvas are such things as autsukya, mati and harṣa.”
||4.3.50||
“The sthāyī-bhāva is dayotsāha-rati. Resoluteness endowed with strong compassion is called dayotsāha.”
||4.3.51||
An example:
“I offer my respects with folded hands to Mayūradhvaja. Alas! Desiring to offer half of his body to Kṛṣṇa disguised as a brāhmaṇa, he ordered his wife and son to cleave his head with a saw. Oh! In telling this tale, my voice chokes up.”
||4.3.52||
“If Mayūadhvaja had been aware that the brāhmaṇa were actually Kṛṣṇa, he would not have displayed such compassion. Without the display of compassion, he would instead be a clear example of dāna-vīra, one who gives to the Lord in surrender.”
||4.3.53||
“Since the King was a devotee of the Lord, he always had rati for Kṛṣṇa. Thus in showing bhakti for Kṛṣṇa in the disguised form of a brāhmaṇa, it was still an expression of his bhakti.”
||4.3.54||
“Vopadeva and other learned persons class the dāya-vīra within the dāna-vīra. Thus they say there are only three classes of vīras.”
||4.3.55||
“The dhīra-śānta (peaceful devotee) who is fixed at all times in dharma pleasing to Kṛṣṇa alone is called dharma-vīra.”
||4.3.56||
“The uddīpanas for the dharma-vīra are activities such as hearing the revealed scriptures. The anubhāvas are proper conduct, adherence to scriptural rules, tolerance and following rules of sense control. The vyabhicārī-bhāvas are mati, smṛti and others.”
||4.3.57||
“The wise say that dharmotsāha-rati is the sthāyī-bhāva of the dharma-vīra. Dharmotsāha means to be absorbed only in the subject of dharma.”
||4.3.58||
An example:
“O Kṛṣṇa, defeater of demons! When Indra was called by Yudhiṣṭhīra, who performed elaborate sacrifices for Your pleasure, his wife Śacī’s left cheek became marked with her hand print.”
||4.3.59||
“When the Vaiṣṇavas offer a sacrifice to Indra, the Vaiṣṇavas consider the sacrifice as worship of the Lord, and meditate on worshiping the limbs of the Lord, which give shelter to Indra and others.”
||4.3.60||
“And Yudhiṣṭhīra, who is an ocean of prema and a first-class devotee, undertook the sacrifices on the order of Kṛṣṇa alone.”
||4.3.61||
“Some experts like Dhanika have accepted three types of vīra—dana-vīra, dayā-vīra and yuddha-vīra—and do not accept the dharma-vīra.”
iti śrī-śrī-bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhāv uttara-vibhāge
vīra-bhakti-rasa-nirūpaṇe adbhuta-bhakti-rasa-laharī tṛtīyā ||
“Thus ends the Third Wave of the Northern Ocean of Śrī Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, concerning vīra-bhakti-rasa.”