The word MANJARI:

The word mañjarī in its sense as a servant-girl of Rādhā does not seem to have been used anywhere prior to Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmin’s writings.
Even then it is not found in a large number of his works such as Vidagdha-mādhava, Lalita-mādhava, Dāna-keli- kaumudī, Haṁsadūta, Uddhava-sandeśa, Laghu-bhāgavatāmṛta, etc.

The mood of the mañjarīs called bhāvollāsā rati has been identified and defined in the Bhakti-rasāmṛta- sindhu, written in 1463 Śaka, i.e., AD 1541,
but the word mañjarī itself is nowhere used.
In fact, the first occurrence of the term in the corpus of Rūpa’s oeuvre is in Ujjvala- nīlamaṇi, which was likely finished in 1464 or 1465 Śaka, i.e. AD 1542-3.
There the names of Kastūrī Mañjarī, Maṇi Mañjarī and Lavañga Mañjarī are found and they are identified as

In the Rādhā-kṛṣṇa-gaṇoddesa-dīpikā, which was written in 1472 Śaka, i.e. AD 1550, the names of eighteen chief mañjarīs are listed.
Of these, the first name mentioned is that of Rūpa Mañjarī.
Rūpa Gosvāmin is identified as an incarnation of Rūpa Mañjarī in the Gaura-gaṇoddeśa-dīpikā of Kavi Karṇapūra (AD 1571) and it is thus felt,
that out of humility he did not write about her in any work prior to the Rādhā-kṛṣṇa-gaṇoddeśa- dīpikā, but in this, his very last book, he could not avoid mentioning her name.
Another early occurrence of the term is found in Jīva Gosvāmin’s Mādhava-mahotsava (AD 1555),
where the names of Kastūrī Mañjarī and others are mentioned.

Raghunātha Dāsa Gosvāmin worshipped the Divine Couple as a follower of Rūpa Mañjarī, as is clear from his Stavāvalī.
Indeed, it is evident from a verse in the Vilāpa- kusumāñjalī that even though he had spent many years in the company of Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu in Puri as the protīgī of Svarūpa Dāmodāra,
it was not until he came to Braj in 1535 that he was introduced to the concept of serving Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa as a mañjarī. Thus Raghunātha writes at the end of his Muktā-carita:
“Holding straw in my teeth, I beg repeatedly to become a speck of dust at Rūpa’s lotus feet, birth after birth.”

In the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava school, Rūpa Gosvāmin and Raghunātha Dāsa Gosvāmin are particularly held to be the exemplars of worship in the mood of the mañjarīs.
Of the two, Rūpa Gosvāmin is the guru of Raghunātha Dāsa Gosvāmin.

Rūpa’s elder brother Sanātana describes himself as Rādhā-dāsyecchuḥ, “one who desires the service to Rādhā,” in his Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta (2.1.21).
Sanātana Gosvāmin called this servitude to Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī “the most uncommon and elevated of all spiritual goals” in his commentary on his own Bṛhad-bhāgavatāmṛta.

ye sarva-nairapekṣyeṇa
rādhā-dāsyecchavaḥ param
saṅkīrtayanti tan-nāma
tādṛśa-priyatā-mayāḥ

“They chant His names and are full of unique love for Him.
Indifferent to everything else, they want only to become servants of Śrī Rādhā.”

Commentary: The devotees of Śrī Rādhā, who is the dearmost beloved of Lord Madana-gopāla, are not impersonalists void of desires.
They are fully confident that if Śrī Rādhikā accepts them as Her servants, everything they desire will be achieved, and more.
The privilege of serving Śrī Rādhā is the rarest goal of life, and it is fitting that this privilege be attainable only by executing the most excellent of sādhanas.
(sarvāsādharaṇa-parama-mahā-sādhya-vastu BṛBhāg 2.1.21)

The sum and substance of Sanātana’s own commentary to the word Rādhā-dāsyecchuḥ is that such a person desires only to be the servant of Madana Gopāla’s most dear Rādhā.
He considers that the obtention of such service is all perfection to him; from this all things even beyond his own desires are attained automatically.
From this it is clear that service to Rādhā is the extraordinarily supreme great goal of spiritual life.
(Jagadananda das – Forword to “Manjari Svarupa Nirupana”)

THE LOVE OF THE MANJARIS

Amongst Rādhārāṇī’s girlfriends or sakhīs there are again several divisions, all of which participate in the spirit of tad-bhāvecchātmikā devotion.
Some of the girlfriends have equal love for both Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa; others are more inclined to either one or the other.
Those who are more favorable to Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, Kṛṣṇa’s leading lady, are known as Rādhā- snehādhikā; these are also known as the mañjarīs, or “flower buds.”
Rūpa Gosvāmin has given their unique affection or devotional sentiment a special name, that of bhāvollāsā rati,
for they consider themselves to be exclusively the maidservants of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī and are more devoted to her that to even Śrī Kṛṣṇa himself.

Pure devotional service, the general definition of which is given at the beginning of the “Ocean of the Nectar of Sacred Rapture” (Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu 1.1.6: anyābhilāṣitā- śūnyam…),
namely that it is completely free from any other desire, finds its most perfect actualization in this spirit of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī’s maidservants, bhāvollāsā rati.

Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is the chief of Vrindavan’s milkmaids; she is the presiding deity of this competent devotion.
Nevertheless, she herself is incapable of creating any change or transformation in the determination of the mañjarīs to exclusively serve her, their mistress.

yathā—
tvayā yad upabhujyate murajid-aṅga-saṅge sukhaṁ
tad eva bahu jānatī svayam avāptitaḥ śuddha-dhīḥ |
mayā kṛta-vilobhanāpy adhika-cāturī-caryayā
kadāpi maṇi-mañjarī na kurute’bhisāra-spṛhām
||Ujjvala Nilamani 88||

An example:
Maṇi-mañjarī attains much greater happiness from your association with Kṛṣṇa than from attaining Kṛṣṇa for herself. She is very pure. Though I allured her with clever arguments, Maṇi-mañjarī has no desire at any time for a conjugal meeting with Kṛṣṇa.

yathā vā—
rādhā-raṅga-lasat-tvad-ujjvala-kalā-sañcāraṇa-prakriyā
cāturyottaram eva sevanam ahaṁ govinda samprārthaye |
yenāśeṣa-vadhū-janodbhaṭa-mano-rājya-prapañcāvadhau
nautsukyaṁ bhavad-aṅga-saṅgama-rase’py ālambate man-manaḥ
||Ujjvala Nilamani 89||

Another example:
O Govinda! I request that you please engage me in excellent service where you expertly stimulate the spread of dazzling conjugal arts on the dancing stage of Rādhā. This service is the topmost treasure in the exalted kingdom of all the gopis’ hearts. My heart has no desire for your intimate association since by this service countless women reach the limit of their desires.

Even though she is the source and abode of the innumerable goddesses of fortune, she still feels herself to be indebted to the mañjarīs.
She is the reservoir of unlimited compassion and is always anxious to fulfill the desires of all the devotees, but the mañjarīs’ only desire is service to her, and they will have nothing else of her.
These are confidential and difficult facts that are not known to all, secrets only the select few can comprehend.

When Lord Gaurāṅga, the combined form of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa, appeared on this earth, Rādhā’s dearest maidservant, Rūpa Mañjarī, also appeared as Rūpa Gosvāmin.
The following incident from Śrī Rūpa’s life will help clarify the above statement.

At one time, Rūpa Gosvāmin was living and performing his bhajan at a place called Tero Kadamba, which lies halfway between Nanda Gram and Javat (Yāvaṭa) in the district of Braj.
One day he thought to himself that if he only had some milk and sugar he could prepare some condensed milk (khīr) to offer his deity and then serve it as sacred remnants (prasād) to his spiritual master, Sanātana.
Only a few moments after having this thought, a young girl came by carrying milk and sugar, which she gave to him, telling him to make khīr for his deity.
Having done this, she went away. Rūpa then did as he had been told; he boiled the sugar and milk down into a sweet and delicious preparation for offering up to the Lord.
Afterwards he gave the sacred remnants to Sanātana to enjoy. While Sanātana was eating, he was seized by uncontrollable spasms of ecstasy. ‘
When he had calmed down somewhat, he inquired from his brother where he had gotten his ingredients. Rūpa told him the story of the Vrajavāsī girl.
When he had heard the entire account, Sanātana immediately realized that it had in fact been Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī herself who had come personally bearing gifts for them.
But Sanātana was concerned because, despite the great blessing Rādhā had given them, she was their goddess and they were her servants.
As the proper relation of served and servant had thus been reversed, he therefore strictly forbad Rūpa accepting any such gifts in the future.
(Bhakti-ratnākara, 5.1311-30)

Prabodhānanda Sarasvatī, once the spiritual guide of sixty thousand ascetics, elaborates on being EXCLUSIVELY fixed on RADHA-DASYAM in his Vṛndāvana-mahimāmṛta (“Nectar of the Greatness of Vṛndāvana”):

dhanyo loke mumukṣur hari-bhajana-paro dhanya-dhanyas tato’sau
dhanyo yaḥ kṛṣṇa-pādāmbuja-rati-paramo rukmiṇīśa-priyo’taḥ |
yāśodeya-priyo’taḥ subala-suhṛd ato gopakāntā-priyo’taḥ
śrīmad-vṛndāvaneśvary-atirasa-vivaśa-vivaśārādhakaḥ sarva-mūrdhni || 2.35.

“Glorious are those persons who desire to climb out of the well of material existence and attain liberation;
even more glorious are those who have dedicated themselves to the service of the Lord.
More elevated again are those who have become attached to Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet.
Those who love the husband of the Queen Rukmiṇī are superior again to such devotees, while more praiseworthy still are those who are dear to the son of Yaśodā.
More glorious again are those who have made friends with Subala’s comrade.
Superior to those in the mood of friendship are those who worship the Lord as the lover of the gopīs.
Yet standing at the head of all devotees in the creation are those,
whose thoughts have been washed away by the flood of sacred rapture emanating from the daughter of King Vṛṣabhānu, Rādhā, and worship her above all.”

That devotion that has been described in the introductory verse to the Vidagdha-mādhava (and then quoted in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta)
as “the most elevated of all sacred erotic raptures” is this affection of Rādhārāṇī’s girlfriends, who care even more for her than they do for Kṛṣṇa himself.
Their bhāvollāsā rati—a mood of constant exultation in Rādhā’s divine feelings for Kṛṣṇa—is the crown jewel of all mystic achievements.
It is the priceless boon of Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s limitless mercy.

anarpita-carīṁ cirāt karuṇayāvatīrṇaḥ kalau
samarpayitum unnatojjvala-rasāṁ sva-bhakti-śriyām |
hariḥ puraṭa-sundara-dyuti-kadamba-sandīpitaḥ
sadā hṛdaya-kandare sphuratu vaḥ śacī-nandanaḥ ||

“This elevated, effulgent, taste of sacred rapture
is the wealth of devotional love;
the Lord never gives it at any time;
yet, out of his mercy, he came in this Age of Quarrel
to distribute this treasure to the world, becoming incarnate in his golden form. The son of Śacī is like a lion;
may he dwell in your hearts forever.”

Mahāprabhu infused all of his power into the heart of Rūpa Gosvāmin, his dearest associate, and had him reveal to the world what was his own heart’s desire.

In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta it is said:

The Lord taught Rūpa the truths about Kṛṣṇa, devotion to him and sacred æsthetics, as well as the conclusions of the Bhāgavata.
Those conclusions he had heard from Rāmānanda Rāya he compassionately infused into Rūpa.
The Lord transmitted his own powers into the heart of Śrī Rūpa and made
him an expert in explaining all these truths.
(CC 2.19.105-7)

Prema-bhakti-candrikā, 2:
śrī-caitanya-mano’bhīṣṭaṁ sthāpitaṁ yena bhūtale |
so’yaṁ rūpaḥ kadā mahyaṁ dadāti sva-pādāntikam ||

When will that Rūpa
who has estabished on earth
the heart’s desire of Śrī Caitanya,
bestow on me a place at his feet?

Caitanya Mahāprabhu himself resided in the whorl of Rūpa’s lotus-like heart in the form of the raptures of the Bhāgavata Purāṇa for the purpose of giving himself to the unfortunate souls of the world.
As a result, Śrīla Rūpa Prabhu was able to produce two master works on the varieties of spiritual experience:
Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu, “The Ocean of the Nectar of Sacred Rapture,” and Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi, “The Blazing Sapphire.”

In the twelfth verse of the Manaḥ-śikṣā (“Instructions to the Mind”), Raghunātha Dāsa writes:

sayūtha-śrī-rūpānuga iha bhavan gokula-vane
jano rādhā-kṛṣṇātula-bhajana-ratnaṁ sa labhate || Manaḥ-śikṣā 12

“One who recites this poem becomes a follower of Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmin and his group and receives the jewel of worship of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa in the forest of Gokula.”

In his gloss to this verse, Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa expands on the idea by saying,
“One should follow in the footsteps of Rūpa Gosvāmin and of those in his entourage (i.e., Śrī Gopāla Bhaṭṭa, Śrī Sanātana, Śrī Lokanātha, etc.)
by living in Vrindavan and serving Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa there.”

Raghunātha Dāsa also designated Śrī Rūpa as the leader of the six Gosvāmins elsewhere,
in Muktā-carita (“The Story of the Pearls”) where he makes the following final prayer:

ādadāno radais tṛṇam idaṁ yāce punaḥ punaḥ |
śrī-rūpa-padāmbhoja-dhuliḥ syāṁ janma-janmani ||

Taking straw in my teeth, I make this one prayer again and again: May I
become a piece of dust at Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmin’s lotus feet, birth after birth.

The conclusion, then, is that if one wishes to get a full appreciation of the inner desires of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu,
he should know that he has no alternative but to wholeheartedly follow in the footsteps of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmin.

The process of attaining bhāvollāsa love is described by Narottama Dāsa Ṭhākur in the
first song of his famous “Prema-bhakti-candrikā”:

yugala-kiśora dhan, yena lakṣa-bāṇa hem, hena prema prakāśila yārā
jaya rūpa-sanātan, deha more sei dhan, se ratan mor gale hārā ||
prema-bhakti rīti jata, nija granthe subekata, kariyāchen dui mahāśay |
jāhāra śravaṇa haite, parānanda hay citte, yugala madhura rasāśray ||

The love of the Divine Couple is as pure
as gold refined thousands of times.
May glory crown Rūpa and Sanātana, who revealed this treasure to the world.
O, please be kind and give me that treasure of love
and I will wear it as a pendant around my neck.
In their books, these two great ones
clearly showed all the intricacies of this sacred love.
Hearing their works produces
the greatest joy in the heart
and shelter in the erotic rapture of the loving Couple.

Raghunātha Dāsa writes:

anārādhya rādhā-padāmbhoja-reṇum anāśritya vrndāṭavīṁ tat-padāṅkām |
asambhāṣya tad-bhāva-gambhīra-cittān kutaḥ śyāma-sindho rasāvagāhaḥ ||
(Svasaṁkalpa-prakāśa-stotra, 1)

Not ever having worshipped once the dust
that sprinkles from Śrīmatī’s lotus feet;
not having taken shelter even once
of Vraja Dhām, marked with her dainty tread;
not ever having spoken with the souls
so laden with a weighty love for her ,
how foolish they who think that they can plunge
into the secret sea of nectar that is Śyāma!

And from the Padyāvalī:

kṛṣṇa-bhakti-rasa-bhāvita-matiḥ
kriyatāṁ yadi kuto’pi labhyate |
tatra laulyam api mūlyam ekalaṁ
janma-koṭi-sukṛtair na labhyate || 

O friend, if you should find it anywhere,
that heart absorbed in Kṛṣṇa rasa so rare,
be quick to buy, how much the soul’s in need! In that bazaar is posted just one price;
millions of pious works will not suffice,
the cost is to be paid in coins of greed.

Where does such spiritual greed come from? Rūpa Gosvāmin summarizes this in Bhakti- rasāmṛta-sindhu:

tat-tad-bhāvādi-mādhurye śrute dhīr yad apekṣate |
nātra śāstraṁ na yuktiṁ ca tal lobhotpatti-lakṣaṇam ||
BRS 1.2.292.

When one has gained some perception, from hearing the Bhāgavata Purāṇa or other books on the Lord’s sports written by rapturous devotees,
that all of Kṛṣna’s senses are pleased by the feelings, beauty and qualities of the residents of Vraja such as Nanda and Yaśodā,
an attitude arises that is indifferent to scripture or argument and is a symptom of the development of eagerness or greed (lobha).
This attitude is, more specifically, the innate, spontaneous desire for the sweetness of those various moods: “May I also have the same kinds of feelings and qualities.”

Even though spontaneous attraction to the mood of the residents of Vrindavan is so natural, not all persons develop it instantly upon first hearing about it.
The Caitanya- caritāmṛta says:

ihā śuni lubdha hay kono bhāgyavān
(CC 2.22.87)

“Some rare fortunate soul develops greed on hearing the glories of the residents of Vrindavan.”

One needs the mercy of a devotee who is himself endowed with this spirit and the candidate must be possessed of certain qualities on his own—
a certain lucidity or clearness of mind—before such greed can appear.

The Spirit of Rādhārāṇī’s girlfriends

In the previous chapter, the sthāyi-bhāva of Kṛṣṇa’s mistresses was described in extenso.
Here we turn to the dominant mood of affection of Rādhā’s girlfriends and its various divisions.

Tad-bhāvecchātmikā bhakti is defined as a type of devotion that is saturated with the desire to realize the fullness of the sweet mood.
which succeeds in winning the interest of the lover and his beloved,
because it finds extreme joy in helping Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa’s other leading ladies enjoy erotic dalliances with him and takes pleasure in seeing their fulfillment.
This mood (bhāva) is also called the mood of the girlfriends (sakhī-bhāva).

Sakhī-bhāva means unqualified love for the leading lady or yūtheśvarī. That love is without limit and is free from even the slightest touch of selfishness,
to the extent that the sakhī thinks that the leading lady is dearer to her than her own life or her own self.

The essence of sakhī-bhāva is trust, or viśrambhā, which Jīva Gosvāmin has further defined as meaning a feeling of mutual identity.

viśrambho gāḍha-viśvāsa-viśeṣaḥ |
BRS 3.3.106
Jīva’s tika:
gāḍha-viśvāsa-viśeṣo’tra parasparaṁ sarvathā
svābheda-pratītiḥ |

As a result of maintaining this intimate trust, the sakhīs are able to understand the nāyikā spontaneously,
without her having to say anything, or make the slightest hint or gesture.

Kavi Karṇapūra has also defined the sakhī in the following way:

nirupādhi-prīti-parā sadṛśī sukha-duḥkhayoḥ |
vayasya-bhāvād anyo’nyaṁ hṛdaya-jñā sakhī bhavet ||
AK 5.279

“Those who are dedicated with an untainted love, who feel happiness and distress in accordance with the moods of the nāyikā,
and who are similar to her in age and temperament, and are thus able to know her heart, are called sakhīs.”

Rūpa Gosvāmin’s definition is found in Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi:

svātmano’py adhikaṁ prema kurvāṇānyo’nyam acchalam |
viśrambhinī vayo-veṣādibhis tulyā sakhī matā ||
UN 7.70. (Kāvya-mālā edn., 7.66, p. 178)

“Those who sincerely feel greater love for each other than they do for even themselves, who have intimate confidence in one another,
and who are equal in age, dress, talent, beauty and temperament, are known as sakhīs.”

In the chapter treating the subject of the sakhī in the same book, Rūpa writes:

prema-līlā-vihārāṇāṁ samyag vistārikā sakhī |
viśrambha-ratna-peṭī ca tataḥ suṣthu vivicyate || UN 8.1.

“The sakhīs are the perfect expanders of the loving affairs and intrigues of
the Divine Couple and are veritable treasure chests of the rare and valuable secret jewels of faith and trust.”

The nāyikā’s mood is one of desiring to give pleasure to her lover (nāyaka) by serving him with every limb of her own body.
The sakhī’s mood is one of desiring especially for the union of the lover and his mistress, the nāyaka and the nāyikā.
The nāyikā is her friend and by giving her pleasure in this way, she achieves her own plenitude and perfection.
This is the difference between the two types of gopīs participating in the creation of erotic sacred rapture.

The worshipable object of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī and the other leading lady-loves of the Lord is Śrī Kṛṣṇa alone and no other.
On the other hand, the sakhīs have the feature of wanting to see Kṛṣṇa with Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī (or some other nāyikā, as the case may be).
As Narottama Dās Ṭhākur has put it, “My life and soul are the Divine Couple, Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa.”
The purpose of this work is to explain sakhī-bhāva specifically where the nāyikā is Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī.

There are primarily three divisions amongst Rādhā’s girlfriends.
Some are equal in their affection for both Kṛṣṇa and his mistress, others lean toward Kṛṣṇa, while others are more sympathetic to Rādhā.
The sakhīs belonging to this last category are otherwise known as mañjarīs.
No matter how intense the feeling of friendship the mañjarīs have for Rādhā, their special interest is to exclusively serve the Divine Couple.
This is their life; it is as if their feelings of intimate friendship and servitude have merged.
It is as though their friendship has become the manifestation of their service and their service identified with their friendship.

Śrīla Raghunātha Dāsa Gosvāmin expresses this feeling of dedication to Rādhā’s service in the following famous prayer:

PĀDĀBJAYOS TAVA VINĀ VARA DĀSYAM EVA
NĀNYAT KADĀPI SAMAYE KILA DEVI YĀCE
SAKHYĀYA TE MAMA NAMO’STU NAMO’STU NITYAṀ
DĀSYĀYA TE MAMA RASO’STU RASO’STU SATYAM 

“O Goddess! I shall never pray to You for anything else but the excellent service of Your lotus feet!
I offer my constant obeisances to the idea of becoming Your friend, but I really relish the idea of becoming Your maidservant!”
(Vilapa Kusumanjali, verse 16)

Srila Ananta das Babaji, Mahanta of Sri Radhakunda explains this verse:

The transcendental revelations do not fade away from Śrī Raghunātha dāsa. Svāminī stands before Tulasī and wants to offer her a friendly relationship, saying:

“Tulasi! Please accept My friendship! You can become equal to Lalitā and the others and serve both Me and Śyāmasundara!”
Tulasī then says: “O goddess! I don’t want anything else but the excellent service of Your lotus feet! I offer my obeisances to Your friendship! Let it stay on my head! I only want to serve You!”

No one but Dāsa Gosvāmī is so fixed in that desire for Śrī Rādhā’s service! That should be our target! Such sincere eagerness cannot be found anywhere else!

Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī is an eternally liberated maidservant of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī,
so he is the greatest authority, the ācārya of the (Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava) sampradāya (tradition) and by following in his footsteps one will surely attain this service.
He gave the perfect example to the practising devotees with his sādhana-maya jīvana, his life, that was full of devotional practice.

“I want to think of myself as a follower of the Gosvāmīs like Rūpa and Raghunātha dāsa. What can I do to accomplish that?”

Hearing and chanting of the mahā vāṇī (great words) of Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī will awaken that identification as follower of Rūpa and Raghunātha.
His very powerful words are even greater than the words of the Ṛṣis of yore,
for these words are filled with the līlā-rasa of the most confidential Vraja nikuñjas to which even the great sages did not have access.
The kiṅkarīs know even better how to attain Rādhārāṇī’s foot-service than Rādhārāṇī Herself! The six Gosvāmīs are all eternally perfect maidservants from the groves of Vraja, therefore it is required to follow in their footsteps. Śrī Raghunātha’s love can be understood through this Vilāpa. For this reason we are discussing Vilāpa Kusumāñjali.

Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī prays: “Hā devi! Please give me the excellent service of Your lotus feet!”

This service is so excellent because it is completely free from shame and reverence, and it is very luscious.
Such service cannot be found anywhere, but now it is given as a special token of mercy of Śrī Gaurasundara.
Raghunātha dāsa is a nitya siddha kiṅkarī and the guru of the (Gauḍīya) sampradāya. The beautiful and sweet service of Śrī Rādhā is also most dear to us.

Of all kinds of servanthood the servitude of Śrī Rādhā is the greatest.
Although you are a sakhī, you are also a maidservant, adolescent in form and attributes, and qualified for the most intimate services.
There is no other kind of servitude that can soothe the hearts of the Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavas.
The mañjarīs are actually taking part in the madhura rasa, but still it is servitude, for their service is within the scope of the madhura rasa—
rūpa raghunātha pade hoibe ākuti; kobe hām bujhabo sei yugala prīti?

“When, will I, by following in the footsteps of Śrīla Rūpa and Śrīla Raghunātha Dāsa Gosvāmī, understand the love of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa?” (Narottama dāsa Ṭhākura)

Rūpa and Raghunātha dāsa’s bodies are made from tip to toe of yugala ujjvala rasa, splendid consciousness of the Divine Couple.
How eager their hearts were! How can one become absorbed in this splendid consciousness without being full of this yugala ujjvala rasa?
Meditation on the Kāma gāyatrī-mantra is very helpful for entering into this mood.

vṛndāvane aprākṛta navīna madana;
kāma bīja kāma gāyatrī yāhāra upāsana (C.C. Madhya 8)
“The transcendental youthful Cupid of Vṛndāvana (Kṛṣṇa) is meditated upon and attained by the Kāma gāyatrī-mantra which has the Kāma-bīja (seed of transcendental desire) joined to it.”

He who makes the devotees forget the material world and who maddens them with His transcendental form, qualities and pastimes,
is the transcendental youthful Cupid, and on Him we meditate (dhīmahi). gāyantaṁ trāyate yasmād iti gāyatrī:

“That which liberates by being sung is a gāyatrī.”

The worship with the Kāma-gāyatrī-mantra is meant to save us from material existence and to make our bodies, minds and life-airs fit for relishing the flavours of Rādhā-Govinda’s transcendental pastimes.

In his spiritual absorption Śrī Raghunātha dāsa submits to Svāminī’s feet:
“Let me meditate how You overwhelm Śyāma with Your ecstatic plays in the kuñjas! When even You are unable to bring Him back to consciousness, You will need me”.

During His loving pastimes in the kuñja Śyāma faints of ecstasy because of encountering the waves of Rādhikā’s vast mādana mahā bhāva,
but Anurāgavatī (passionate Rādhikā) is not satisfied yet, so here some excellent service is required. Svāminī thinks:
“Tulasi! I cannot break Priyatama’s swoon! Why don’t you please come?”

Where else is such a confidential service to be found? Even Lalitā and Visākhā cannot attain this!
This is the most excellent service! Rādhikā is called devi in this verse because She takes part in such playful sports.

Once the Divine Couple plays a game of dice for a wager. She who gives the most joy wins. Śyāma is defeated.
On Rādhārāṇī’s indication the maidservant begins to deride Śyāma, saying:
“Ohe! Don’t come here to play dice anymore! Better You go and herd the cows, understand? For cowherding You need a cow’s brain!
You must have become like them because of too much association with them! Qualifications are indispensible! Go and play there where bodily strength is required!
For this game You need some brain, You understand?! Don’t come here to play this game anymore!”

Śyāma is embarrassed by these joking words. There’s no limit to Svāminī’s ecstasy! This is the most excellent service!
What a sweet upāsanā (subject of meditation)! How can servitude ever be supreme? When it is anointed with the madhura rasa!
Without being in madhura bhāva (a sweet spiritual mood) one can not enter into Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes.
Only those who know the feelings and the thoughts of Bhāvamaya and Bhāvamayī (all-emotional Rādhikā and Kṛṣṇa-candra) can enter into this.

The maidservants don’t want Kṛṣṇa alone, not even in their dreams!
They pray to Kṛṣṇa: “Please take me along wherever You plays Your loving pastimes – with Your Priyājī – so that I can engage in Your loving service!”

Śrīmat Rūpa Gosvāmī says:
The kāma rūpa rāga bhakti (rāgānugā-devotion in the erotic mood) is of two kinds:
sambhogecchātmikā (devotion full of desire to enjoy with Kṛṣṇa personally) and tad bhāvecchātmikā (sakhībhāva) –
tad bhāvecchātmikā tāsāṁ bhāva mādhurya kāmitā (Bhakti Rasāmṛta Sindhuḥ 1.2.299).

These devotees are finding more happiness in assisting Kṛṣṇa’s direct lady-lovers, like Rādhā and Candrāvalī, in meeting Kṛṣṇa than in meeting Him personally.
Examples are sakhīs like Lalitā and Viśākhā.
Their sthāyi bhāva (intrinsic, permanent mood) is Kṛṣṇa-rati (love for Kṛṣṇa), and their suhṛt rati (love for the friend like Rādhārāṇī) is a sañcārībhāva,
an infused mood.
sañcārayanti bhāvasya gatiṁ sañcārino’pi te (B.R.S. 2.4.2).
They love Kṛṣṇa first, and that love is infused in Rādhārāṇī.
During pūrva rāga (beginnings of love), Śrī Rādhā met Lalitā and the sakhīs on the bank of the Kāliya-hrada.
Because they had the same mood they became acquainted with each other that day,
but when the gopīs saw the superiority of Śrī Rādhā’s love for Kṛṣṇa they wanted to become happy by arranging for Her meeting with Kṛṣṇa. Kṛṣṇa then told His friend Subala:

kāliya damana dina māha; kālindī kūla kadambaka chāho
koto śata vraja nava bālā; pekhaluṁ janu thira vijurīka mālā
tohe kahoṅ subala sāṅgāti; taba dhari hāma nā jāno dina rāti
tahi dhanī-maṇi dui cāri; tahi mana mohinī eka nārī
so rahu majhu mone paiṭhī; manasija dhūme ghume nāhi diṭhi
anukhana tahika samādhi; ko jāne kaichana viraha veyādhi
dine dine kṣīna bhelo dehā; govinda dāsa koho aiche nava lehā

“How many hundreds of Vraja-gopīs didn’t I see under the shade of the Kadamba-tree on the bank of the Yamunā on the day I subdued the Kāliya-snake?
I tell you, O friend Subala! Then (I was so startled that) I didn’t know whether it was day or night!
Amongst them there were about two or four jewel-like girls, and among them there was again one particularly mind-enchanting girl.
She entered My mind and the resultant smoke of Cupid did not allow me to sleep anymore.
I am now constantly meditating on Her; who knows how the pain of separation feels?
My body becomes skinnier and weaker every day.” Govinda dāsa says: “Such are the ways of new, young love!”

Śrīmatī showed similar loving attachment when She first saw Śyāmasundara:

dekhiyā nāgara śiromani; nā jāniye divasa rajanī
ki hoilo marame vyathā; kāhāre kohibo kothā
sakhi! ki āra puchasi more; marama kohiluṁ tore
yadi se milaye moya; tabe se saphala hoy
nahile nā jīva āra; tohāre kohiluṁ sāra

“When I saw this crown-jewel of lovers I did not know anymore whether it was night or day (out of ecstasy). Who can I tell about My heartache?
O sakhi! What more do you want to know? I told you what’s on My heart! When He will meet Me, then I will feel fulfilled, and if not then I cannot live anymore! This is definite!”

The sakhīs like Lalitā and Viśākhā are getting more ecstasy from establishing the meeting of the anurāgī eager Couple Rādhā and Mādhava than from meeting with Kṛṣṇa themselves,
and in this way their love has become known as tad-bhāvecchātmikā-love.
Still, Śrī Rādhā sometimes desires to give them the position of nāyikā (lady-love of Kṛṣṇa), but, although the mañjarīs are also a kind of sakhī,
they never accept such a role! The mañjarīs (buds) enhance the beauty of a flower (gopī), but are never separately enjoyable to the blackbee (Kṛṣṇa).

Lalitā and the sakhīs have sama sneha (equal love for Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa), but the mañjarīs are rādhā snehādhikā (they have more love for Rādhikā).
This kind of love is called bhāvollasa. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī states in his ‘Bhakti Rasāmṛta Sindhuḥ’ (2.5.128) :

sañcāri syāt samonā vā kṛṣṇa-ratyāḥ suhṛd ratiḥ
adhikā puṣyamānā ced bhāvollāsa itīryate

“When the sakhīs love Rādhā (suhṛd ratiḥ) as much as or less than Kṛṣṇa, then their sañcārībhāva is called Kṛṣṇa rati.
But if they love Rādhikā more, then it is called bhāvollāsa rati.” The mañjarīs are endowed with this bhāvollāsa rati. Śrīla Rāmāi Ṭhākura inquired from Śrīmatī Jāhnavā Ṭhākurāṇī about this bhāvollāsa rati:

ṭhākura kohe – āge kṛpā kori koho; bhāvollāsā rati kothā āmāre śunāho
jāhnavā kohena – bāpu! śona sāvadhāne!; bhāvollāsā rati mātra hoy vṛndāvane
vṛndāvana sthāna se devera agocara; yāhā vilasaye nitya kiśorī kiśora
śrī rūpa mañjarī āra śrī rati mañjarī; sevānande magna rahe divā vibhāvarī
bhāvollāsā rati mātra ihā sabhākāra; duhu sukhe sukhī kichu nāhi jāne āra
rādhā-Kṛṣṇa sevānande sadā kāla hare; ānanda sāgare tārā sadāi vihare
śrīmatīra samā sabe deha bheda mātra; eka prāṇa eka ātmā sabhe rādhā-tantra

“Rāmāi Ṭhākura said: Please tell me more about bhāvollāsa rati!” Mother Jāhnavā said: “Listen carefully, O son! Bhāvollāsa rati can only be found in Vṛndāvana!”
Vṛndāvana, where Kiśora (adolescent Kṛṣṇa) eternally sports with Kiśorī (adolescent Rādhikā) cannot be perceived even by the demigods.
Śrī Rūpa Mañjarī and Śrī Rati Mañjarī are absorbed in the ecstasy of devotional service day and night.
They are all endowed with bhāvollāsā rati, and they are happy only when the Divine Couple is happy; they don’t know anything else but that.
They are completely equal to Śrīmatī; only their bodies are different. They are one soul and one life-air and they are all controlled by Rādhā.”

One who wants to relish Kṛṣṇa’s sweetness to the utmost must take complete shelter of Śrī Rādhā.
Śrīpāda Prabodhānanda Sarasvatī writes in Rādhā Rasa Sudhānidhiḥ (261):
kvāsau rādhā nigama padavī dūragā kutra cāsau Kṛṣṇas tasyāḥ kuca mukulayor antaraikānta vāsaḥ

“Where is Rādhā, who is hard to perceive by following the Vedas, and where is Kṛṣṇa, who always lives inbetween Her bud-like breasts?”
Śrī Rādhārāṇī says: “If you want to see My Sundara (beautiful Kṛṣṇa) you must take full shelter of My lotus feet!”

And why do the mañjarīs love Kṛṣṇa? Because He is Rādhārāṇī’s gallant! “Remember Kṛṣṇa in this Vraja forest as the Prāṇa-vallabha of my Svāminī!
First Rādhā – then Śyāma! When Kṛṣṇa makes any trouble we’ll take Him by the hand and throw Him out of the kuñja! We are the maidservants of Rādhā!”
Why do the kiṅkarīs love Kṛṣṇa? Because He is the lover of Rādhārāṇī!

Once, when Kṛṣṇa takes His supper in Nandīśvara, a kiṅkarī fans Him. Without being seen by others Śyāma keeps His hand on that kiṅkarī’s foot, as a means of asking her:
“Will I meet My Dearest One or not?”
That maidservant then places one toe on Śyāma’s hand, indicating that a meeting will be possible – that is the most excellent service!
This is vara dāsya, the most excellent service! Nothing is done for personal happiness, everything is done for the pleasure of the Yugala!
Although the mañjarīs are in the category of sakhīs they are servants because of their complete dedication to devotional service.
The sakhīs may have a superior position in the pastimes, but the fortune of service is greater for the mañjarīs!
They know Śrī Rādhikā’s innermost purpose and therefore they can perform their service without hesitation like no one else in the world.

One day Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa are intimately enjoying Themselves in a kuñja, and a mañjarī relishes the sweetness of these pastimes through a passage between the vines.
It appears to the maidservant that there is some obstacle in Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes, but They don’t notice anything out of ecstasy.
The maidservant then notices that Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa got stuck to Each other with Their hair,
so very carefully she enters the kuñja, so as not to disturb Them, and unravels the hairs, so that the amorous pastimes can continue again.
Who else can perform such a clever, intimate service? Even Lalitā and the sakhīs don’t know!
This is vara dāsya, the most excellent service, which is attained by chanting the name of Śrī Rādhā:

jaya jaya rādhā nāma, vṛndāvana yāra dhāma, kṛṣṇa sukha vilāsera nidhi
(Narottama Dāsa Ṭhākura, Prema Bhakti Candrikā)

“Glory, glory to Śrī Rādhā’s name, that dwells in Vrndāvana and that is the jewel of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s blissful pastimes!”
“O Rādhe! For attaining Your most excellent service I’m taking shelter of Your lotus feet, that even Śyāma holds to His chest for soothing His lust-afflicted heart!

vṛndāvaneśvari tavaiva padāravindaṁ premāmṛtaika makaranda rasaugha pūrṇam
hṛdy arpitam madhupateḥ smara tāpam ugraṁ nirvāpayat parama śītalam āśrayāmi

“O Queen of Vṛndāvana! I take shelter of Your cooling lotus feet, that are filled with all the nectar- honey of pure love,
and that even Madhupati, the Lord of sweetness Śrī Kṛṣṇa, keeps to His heart to soothe His terrible lusty affliction!” (Rādhā Rasa Sudhānidhiḥ – 13)

Śrī Rādhikā protects Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s senses, that’s why She is a GOPĪ (the verbal root ‘gup’ means ‘protecting’).
Giridhārī does not feel the slightest distress while lifting Govardhana Hill. His pleasure potency stands before Him and solves everything.
She’s made of the quintessence of the Cintāmaṇi jewel of mahā-bhāva, the pinnacle of love.
In sandalwoodpulp or a Cintāmaṇī-stone there is no asāra, or useless refuse, but still Her mahā-bhāva is the sāra, or quintessence, of the Cintāmani-jewel of prema.
The maidservants say: “Śyāma! Do You know why You’re so beautiful? Because Your Priyā is here!”

rādhā saṅge yadā bhāti tadā madana mohanaḥ
anyathā viśvamoho’pi svayaṁ madana mohitaḥ

(Govinda Līlāmṛta 8.32)

“When He shines with Rādhā, He is Madana Mohana, the enchanter of Cupid, but otherwise He is Himself enchanted by Cupid, although He enchants the whole world!”

coḍi gopīra manoratha, manmathera mana mathe, nāma dhare madana mohana

“Mounting the chariots of the gopīs’ desires, He stirs even Cupid’s mind, hence He is called Madana Mohana.” (Caitanya Caritāmṛta)
ballabī bhuja-latā baddhe manobhāvati brahmani mano me ramate
“The supreme brahman delights my mind when it is bound by the vine-like arms of the cowherd girls.”

Kṛṣṇa is very happy when someone calls Him Rādhā-sevaka (the servant of Rādhā), but almost nobody says this.
Śrī Kṛṣṇa is so much under Rādhā’s control that He is willing to give everything to those who serve Her. Śrīla Prabodhānanda Sarasvatī writes (Rādhā Rasa Sudhānidhih 155):

anulikhyānantān api sad aparādhan madhupatir
mahā premāviṣṭas tava parama deyaṁ vimṛśyati
tavaikaṁ śrī rādhe gṛṇata iha nāmāmṛta rasaṁ
mahimnaḥ kaḥ sīmaṁ spṛśatu dāsyaika manasām

“O Śrī Rādhe! Madhupati (Kṛṣṇa) cancels innumerable offenses of anyone who even once relishes the nectarean spiritual flavour of Your name,
and in great ecstasy He considers what is the greatest gift He can give to such a person. Who can then imagine the glories of someone whose mind is fixed on becoming Your maidservant?”

Śrīla Raghunātha Dāsa Gosvāmī says: “I don’t want anything else but Your excellent service! If I am not qualifed for Your service,
then please at least make me attached to this aspiration, so that one day I may get it.” dāsyāya te mama raso’stu raso’stu satyaṁ: “Let me truly have eager spiritual thirst for Your service!”

The five divisions of sakhī-bhāva

The above-mentioned general division of sakhī-bhāva has been further subdivided into five in the Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi.
There it is said that Rādhārāṇī, queen of Vrindavan, has five kinds of sakhī, known respectively as –
sakhī (friends), priya-sakhī (dear friends), parama- preṣṭha-sakhī (dearmost friends), prāṇa-sakhī (life-companions) and nitya-sakhī (constant companions).

asyā vṛndāvaneśvaryāḥ sakhyaḥ pañca-vidhā matāḥ |
sakhyaś ca nitya-sakhyaś ca prāṇa-sakhyaś ca kāścana |
priya-sakhyaś ca parama-preṣṭha-sakhyaś ca viśrutāḥ ||
UN 4.50

In this classification, sakhīs are those inclined primarily toward Kṛṣṇa; they include Dhaniṣṭhā and Vindhyā.
Priya-sakhīs and parama-preṣṭha-sakhīs are equal in their affections to both the lover and the beloved; Kuraṅgākṣī and Sumadhyamā belong to the former grouping,
while Rādhā’s closest companions—Lalitā, Viśākhā, Campakalatā, Sucitrā, Indulekhā, Tuṅgavidyā, Raṅgadevī and Sudevī (often known as the eight friends, or aṣṭa-sakhī) belong to the latter.
Their title of parama-preṣṭha-sakhī would indicate that they are the dearest of all to Rādhā.
The last two categories, which include the mañjarīs, are Rādhā-snehādhikā, i.e., they have stronger feelings of love for Rādhā than for Kṛṣṇa.
Kastūrī and Maṇi Mañjarīs’ names are specifically mentioned in the Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi as nitya-sakhīs, while Śaśimukhī, Vāsantī and Lāsikā are the names of some prāṇa-sakhīs.

MORE LOVE FOR KRISHNA – Kṛṣṇa-snehādhikā

Viśvanātha has discussed rāgānugā bhakti and the different categories of sakhī in his Ānanda-candrikā commentary to Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi:

rāgānugīya-bhakta-mate śrī-kṛṣṇād anyūna-prītimattayaivānujigamiṣitā gopī khalv anugamyate |
tasmān nyūna-prītyāpy anugamane vācye vaidhād rāgasya ko viśeṣaḥ ? bhaktānugatiṁ vinā vaidha-bhakter apy asiddheḥ |
tasmāc chrī-kṛṣṇe’dhikā sakhī tad-anujigamiṣubhir janaiḥ śrī-kṛṣṇād anyūna-prīti-viṣayī-kartavyā |
śrī-rādhikādyā sarva-yūtheśvarī tu śrī-kṛṣṇād īṣan-nyūna-prīti-viṣayī-kāryeti sakhyāḥ sakāśād api yūtheśvaryā apakarṣe dyotite mahān evānaya iti |
ataḥ sakhyo nānugamyanta iti tā eka-vidhā eveti sarvam avadātam
(Ānanda-candrikā to UN 8.137 (Kāvya-mālā edn., 238) 

In the opinion of those devoted to the rāgānugā path, one must follow a specific gopī with a feeling of submission at least equal to the one with which one worships Kṛṣṇa.
Therefore, if one follows with less affection for the devotee, then there is no distinction between the vaidha and rāgānugā paths,
for one cannot attain the desired result of rāgānuga-bhakti without following in the footsteps of one of the Vrindavan devotees.
In this case, though, if one adores a girlfriend of Rādhā’s whose affections lean proportionately somewhat more towards Kṛṣṇa, then Rādhā’s prominence is diminished;
she takes a position inferior to that of her own girlfriend.
This is a great breach of protocol, for Rādhārāṇī is the greatest of all the yūtheśvarīs or nāyikās.

The conclusion is that Dhaniṣṭhā and other sakhīs of her category are not to be followed by one who wishes perfection on the rāgānugā path and attainment of spiritual handmaidenhood.

Equal love for Radha and Krishna – Sama-snehā

Priya-sakhīs have exactly the same measure of love for Kṛṣṇa as they do for their dear friend, the yūtheśvarī.
That love is simultaneously, inexplicably great and yet always clearly expressed. Their numbers are greater than the other types of girlfriend. Rūpa gives the following example of the actions of a sakhī of this type:

vinā kṛṣṇaṁ rādhā vyathayati samantān mama mano
vinā rādhāṁ kṛṣṇo’py ahaha sakhi māṁ viklavayati |
janiḥ sā me mā bhūt kṣaṇam api na yatra kṣaṇaduhau
yugenākṣṇor lihyāṁ yugapad anayor vaktra-śaśinau ||
(Ujjvala Nilamani 8.128) 

One day, when Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī and Kṛṣṇa were separated as a result of some misdeed of his,
Śyāmā’s friend Bakulamālī came and revealed her mind to Campakalatā,
“Dear friend, when Rādhā is separated from Kṛṣṇa, then to see her gives me a pain in the heart.
And when I see Kṛṣṇa without Rādhā, I truly feel great suffering.
What misery! O beautiful one, I pray therefore that I shall never take any birth in which I shall not be able to drink with my eyes the beauty of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa’s moon-like faces,
creating a joyful festival, together.”

The parama-preṣṭha-sakhīs ike Lalitā and Viśākhā are also sama-snehā like the priya-sakhīs, with the distinction that, although they love both Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa equally,
they definitely feel themselves to be Rādhā’s.
These eight sakhīs (Lalitā, Viśākhā, Sudevī, Raṅgadevī, Campakalatā, Citrā, Tuṅgavidyā and Indulekhā) have reached such heights of love for both members of the Divine Couple,
that they sometimes appear to feel more affection for either the one or the other, but this distinction is slight and manifests only briefly.
For example, when Rādhārāṇī is in one of her sulking moods, then their sympathies might sway toward Kṛṣṇa, the spurned and forlorn lover.
On the other hand, when Kṛṣṇa breaks his promise or fails to appear for an assignation, they will take Rādhā’s side.

More love for Radhika – Rādhā-snehādhikā

The prāṇa-sakhīs and nitya-sakhīs are more affectionate toward Rādhā. Of these two groups of sakhīs, the first category is more prominent.

In his Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi-kiraṇa, Viśvanātha states that the prāṇa-sakhīs are chief amongst the nitya-sakhīs who include all those who are Rādhā-snehādhikā.

yā rādhikāyāṁ snehādhikā sā nitya-sakhī, tatra mukhyā yā sā prāṇa-sakhy uktā

In his commentary on Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi 8.129, Viśvanātha makes the following further distinction between these two types of mañjarī:

gopī-padavī-prāptī rāgānugāṁ bhaktiṁ vinā na bhavatīti pūrva-pratipāditvāt siddhāntād ānugyaṁ ca vina
rāgānugāyā asiddhe rāgānugamanenaiva rāgavatīnāṁ tāsām apy anugatir vyākhyāteti anugamyā nitya-siddhā
gopya ivānugantryo’pi labdha-siddhayo’nādita evānugamyābhyaḥ kiñcin nyūnatayā vartanta eva

“Those devotees who are to be followed for the attainment of spiritual perfection should be nitya-siddha or eternally perfected souls.
Those who are labdha-siddha, having become perfected either through grace or long practice, are seen in a slightly lesser light.
This difference has existed since time immemorial and is here expressed in this verse by making a division between the prāṇa-sakhīs and the nitya-sakhīs,
the latter being followers of the former.”

The example given of these sakhīs is found in Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi.
One day an outspoken girlfriend of Rādhā’s who belongs to the prāṇa-sakhī category tried to stop Rādhā from going to a pre-arranged tryst with Kṛṣṇa.
She said to Vṛndā Devī, the go-between,

viramatu tava vṛnde dūtya-cāturya-caryā
sahacari vinivṛtya brūhi goṣṭhendra-sūnum |
viṣama-viṣadhareyaṁ śarvarī prāvṛṣeṇyā
katham iha giri-kuñje bhīrur eṣā praheyā ||
UN 8.13

“Vṛnde! Stop making all these clever arrangements for a liaison.
Just go and tell the son of the cowherd king that it is the rainy season.
There are so many poisonous snakes slithering about in the dark forests, how can he expect this timid girl, Rādhā, to find her way to the mountain cave?
Tell him that he should take the trouble to come here in secret himself.”

The superiority of the Rādhā-snehādhikā sakhīs – LOVING RADHIKA MORE

In the Ānanda-candrikā commentary on Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi 2.15, Viśvanātha writes that although all sakhīs find their own happiness by arranging for the pleasure of the nāyikā in union with her Lord,
still a general division can be made of two categories from amongst them.
They are (1) those whose bodies are extremely attractive to Kṛṣṇa due to their having salient qualities of love, beauty and coquettishness, etc., and
(2) others who are somewhat inferior in these respects and so are not so attractive to the Lord’s romantic aspirations.

atra sakhī-bhāvaṁ samāśrita iti | yadyapi sakhyo hi sva-sva-yūtheśvarīṇāṁ śrī-rādhādīnām eva śrī- kṛṣṇāṅga-saṅga-sukhena sukhinyo na tu sveṣām, tadapi tāḥ sāmānyato dvidhā bhavanti:
prema-saundarya- vaidagdhyādīnām ādhikyena śrī-kṛṣṇasyātilobhanīya-gātryas teṣāṁ nyūnatvena tasyātilobhanīya-gātryaś ca |
tatra pūrvāḥ śrī-kṛṣna-sukhānurodhāt tata eva sva-yūtheśvarīṇām apy āgrahādhikyāc ca kadācit kṛṣnāṅga- saṅga-spṛhāvatyo’pi bhavanti |
tāś ca lalitādyāḥ parama-preṣṭha-sakhyādaya uttarās tu tad-dvayābhāvāt kadāpi kṛṣnāṅga-saṅga-spṛhāvatyo na bhavanti |
tāś ca kastūry-ādayo nitya-sakhyaḥ |
Ānanda-candrikā to UN 2.15 (Kāvya-mālā edn., 46) 

Thus, girls of the former category may occasionally, at the behest of their friend and mistress (yūtheśvarī), desire for erotic dalliance with Kṛṣṇa, for his pleasure.
These sakhīs include Lalitā and the other parama-preṣṭha-sakhīs. The second category of sakhī, however, never entertain such aspirations.
They are Kasturī and the other nitya- sakhīs.

For an example, we can look to the Vṛndāvana-mahimāmṛta by Prabodhā-nanda Sarasvatī:

ananya-śrī-rādhā-pada-kamala-dāsyaika-rasa-dhī
hareḥ saṅge raṅgaṁ svapana-samaye nāpi dadhatī |
balāt kṛṣṇe kūrpāsaka-bhidi kimapy ācarati kāpy
udaśrur meveti pralapati mamātmā ca hasati ||
VMA 16.94

“One day one of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī’s handmaidens whose exclusive desire is to relish the flavour of serving her lotus feet and who never thinks for a moment,
not even in dreams, that she would have any kind of intercourse with Kṛṣṇa, was accosted by him who shocked her by tearing away at her blouse and uncovering her bosom.
She started crying, “No, no, what are you doing?” while Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, my very life and soul, stood by and watched, laughing.”

The nitya-sakhīs have a certain reward for their unique spirit of abnegation, something which is withheld even from Rādhārāṇī’s dearest comrades like Lalitā and Viśākhā.
That reward is described for us by Raghunātha Dāsa Gosvāmin in Vraja-vilāsa-stava:

tāmbūlārpaṇa-pāda-mardana-payo-dānādibhisārādibhir vṛndāraṇya-maheśvarīṁ priyatayā yās toṣayanti priyāḥ |
prāṇa-preṣṭha-sakhī-kulād api kilāsaṅkocitā bhūmikāḥ
kelī-bhūmiṣu rūpa-mañjarī-mukhās tā dāsikāḥ saṁśraye ||
Verse 38

“I take shelter of the handmaidens of the Queen of Vrindavan,
who are led by Śrī Rūpa Maṣjarī and who lovingly satisfy her by offering hazelnuts and other condiments, massaging her feet,
bringing fragrant water and arranging trysts with her gallant and have thus become most dear to her.
They are thus allowed to enter the scene of the Divine Couple’s most intimate affairs
without the slightest discomfiture a reward not given even to her dearest friends.”

This is the area where the mañjarīs are unique and distinctive.

vraja-navīna-yuva-dvandva-ratnaṁ prati Viśākhādi-dvārā kvacit svayaṁ vā lajjām abhinīya mṛdu bhāṣita-
vivicyamāna-narma-kalā-kalāpa-janita-paramānanda-viśeṣa-lābhāya abhilaṣita-paricaraṇa-viśeṣa-lobhāya ca
raṅgaṇamālā-prabhṛtaya etāḥ parama-praṇayi-sakhyo’pi paricārikā iva vyavaharanti |
Muktā-carita, p.111

“Raṅgaṇamāla and her friends, though they are themselves loving friends, either on their own initiative or at the behest of Viśākhā and her friends,
sometimes behave towards the Ever-youthful Couple of Vraja just as if they were maidservants.
Behaving shyly, they do this in order to obtain the highest ecstasy by listening to their extremely funny conversations as well as to gain their most cherished service.”

Similarly, in the Kṛṣṇa-bhāvanāmṛta, it is said:

tā vidyud-dyuti-jayi-prapadaika-rekhā
vaidagdhya eva kila mūrti-bhṛtas tathāpi |
yūtheśvarītvam api samyag arocayitvā
dāsyāmṛtābdhim anu sasnur ajasram asyāḥ ||
KBhA 3.2

“Rūpa Mañjarī and the other handmaidens of Rādhāraṇī, one sparkle of whose toenails is brighter than a flash of lightning, are certainly qualified in all respects,
whether in talents or in coquettishness, to become yūtheśvarīs or nāyikās themselves, and yet they are completely devoid of any attraction for such glories.
They would much rather bathe constantly in the nectarean ocean of Rādhā’s service.”

A further special feature of the nitya-sakhīs or mañjarīs is,
that just as Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī and the other yūtheśvarīs are spontaneously and instinctively filled with an intense thirst to relish the flavour of Kṛṣṇa’s form,
taste, fragrance, touch and sound,
so similarly the mañjarīs are spontaneously and instinctively attracted to both Rādhā’s and Kṛṣṇa’s qualities.

To what extent and how they are so attracted can be explained as follows.

The nature of madhura-rasa is clear: the gopīs want to please Kṛṣṇa by offering their own bodies.
Even Brahmā prays to be able to drink “again and again from the cup of his senses the honey-like nectar of Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet.”

According to Caitanya-caritāmṛta, “the nectar of Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet” means his direct bodily contact.

From this we can understand that the nāyikās serve Kṛṣṇa by directly relinquishing their bodies to him—
that is their qualification for being in the madhura rasa.
The mañjarīs, on the other hand,are unenthusiastic about such type of service. They never contemplate such a possibility, even in their dreams.
Yet, the question may be asked, if there is no possibility of madhura rasa or romance without physical intimacy,
how can the platonic spirit of the mañjarīs be graced with the name of samarthā rati or kāma-rūpā bhakti?

In answer to this question, it should be said that the object of the mañjarīs’ affection is the Holy Couple of Śrī Śrī Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa together.
Therefore, the perfection of the mañjarīs’ power of sight and the thirst of their eyes is to see that couple locked in embrace.

The craving of their ears is to hear the Holy Couple’s sweet murmuring conversations and that is the fulfillment of their sense of hearing.

The desire of their tongues is to relish the flavour of the condiments touched by the Holy Couple’s lips, and in that way their sense of taste attains perfection.

Similarly, the sweet fragrance that arises at the Holy Couple’s union is the object craved for by their nostrils and its experience is the fulfillment of their sense of smell.

The tactile sense finds plenitude in massaging the Holy Couple’s feet and bodies, and this is the only object of their sense of touch.

(Excerpts are from the book “MANJARI SVARUPA NIRUPANA” written by Kunjabihari das Babaji)

Translation wonderfully done by Jagadananda das.
Srila Ananta das Babaji´s purport was translated by Advaita das