VERSE 4:

DĀMODARĀDVAITA SAKHĪ KĀRTIKOTKĪRTIDEŚVARĪ
MUKUNDA DAYITĀ VṚNDA DHAMMILLA MAṆI MAÑJARĪ

7) Dāmodarādvaita sakhī: Dāmodara’s unrivalled girlfriend
8) Kārtikotkīrtideśvarī: The greatest bestower of fame on the Kārtika-month, and the goddess of Kārtika.
9) Mukunda dayitā vṛnda dhammilla maṇi mañjarī: The jewelbud on the braids of all of Mukunda’s beloveds.

Stavāmṛta Kaṇā Vyākhyā:

In this verse Śrī Raghunātha dāsa reveals the seventh to the ninth name of Śrī Rādhārānī. Her seventh name is “Dāmodarādvaita sakhī”, Dāmodara’s best girlfriend (advaita means unrivalled here) Śrī Kṛṣṇa is generally known as Dāmodara because during His childhood-pastimes His mother, Yaśodā, bound His belly with ropes, being angry with Him for stealing butter in the month of Kārtika.

In this pastime Kṛṣṇa showed how greatly He is subdued by the love of His devotees. The Lord is bound by the rope of the love of His devotees, and He surely always dwells in their hearts in this way, but in this particular Vraja-pastime He manifested this fact also externally by having Himself bound by mother Yaśomati. It’s not only that Kṛṣṇa was bound by ropes in His childhood by His angry mother Yaśodā, He was also once bound by Rādhārāṇī in His adolescence. Thus He is known as Nīvi Dāmodara, Kṛṣṇa Who was bound by Rādhārāṇī’s girdle.

In the Uttara-khaṇḍa of the Bhaviṣya Purāṇa this story is described:

saṅketāvasare cyute praṇayataḥ saṁsajjayā rādhayā
prārabhya bhrūkuṭiṁ hiraṇya rasanā dāmnā nibaddhodaram
kārtikyāṁ jananī kṛtotsavavare prastāvanāpūrvakaṁ
cāṭuni prathayas tam ātma pulakaṁ dhyāyema dāmodaram

“Once, on the full moon night in the month of Kārtika, Rādhā had made an appointment with Kṛṣṇa, but Kṛṣṇa failed to show up in time, so Rādhā angrily frowned Her eyebrows and bound Him around the belly with the golden strings that held Her girldle. When Kṛṣṇa explained to Her that He was late because of attending a Kārtika-festival held by His mother and flattered Her with sweet words, Rādhā forgave Him and released Him. Since then He is Śrī Kṛṣṇa is known as ‘Nīvi Dāmodara’ or ‘Dāmodara’. Let us meditate on the thus ecstatically horripilating Dāmodara”.

Śrī Rādhā is the unrivalled (greatest) girlfriend of this Dāmodara. Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī teaches in ‘Ujjvala Nīlamaṇi, when he defines the activities of the sakhīs in the beginning of the sakhī-prakaraṇa-chapter: prema līlā vihārānāṁ samyag vistārikā sakhī: “The girlfriends fully expand the loving pastimes of the Divine Couple.”

Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is unrivalled in expanding the love, pastimes and enjoyments of Śrī Kṛṣṇa. When Śrīmatī’s mādana prema reaches its summit, She makes Kṛṣṇa drown in an incomparable ocean of ecstasy when Her love culminates in prema vilāsa vivarta (reverse pastimes). In the same way, as the Queen of the Rāsa-dance, Rāseśvarī, She manifests the crown jewel of all transcendental pastimes, the Rāsa-līlā, in which She gives Rāsa Rasika (Kṛṣṇa, the relisher of the Rāsa-dance) incomparable happiness. Therefore She is called Dāmodara’s unrivalled girlfriend. There is nobody like Her.

Śrīmatī’s eighth name is Kārtikotkīrtideśvarī, She is the Queen of the month of Kārtika (October- November), who makes this month most famous. Because Rādhārānī bound Kṛṣṇa with the string of Her girdle on the full moon-night of this month the month of Kārtika is considered to be the most auspicious month of the year, and is very dear to the Vaiṣṇavas.

As a rule the Vaiṣṇavas worship Śrī Rādhā-Dāmodara in this month, reside in the dhāma, and engage in the process of hearing and chanting the glories of Śrī-Śrī Rādhā-Dāmodara. For this reason the month is also known as Niyama Sevā (lit: regulated service). Scriptures like the Padma Purāṇa, Skanda Purāṇa and others have extensively glorified this month. We will quote a little from the Padma Purāṇa, where the following discussion between the sages Saunaka and Śrī Nārada is found:

dvādaśāsv api māseṣu kārtikaḥ Kṛṣṇa-vallabhaḥ;
tasmin sampūjito viṣṇur alpakair apy upāyanaiḥ
dadāti vaiṣṇavaṁ lokam ity evaṁ niścitaṁ mayā
yathā dāmodaro bhakta vatsalo vidita janaiḥ;
tasyāyaṁ tādṛśo māsaḥ svalpam apy urukārakaḥ
durlabho mānuṣo deho dehināṁ kṣaṇa bhaṅguraḥ;
tatrāpi durlabha kālaḥ kārtiko hari vallabhaḥ
dīpenāpi hi yatrāsau prīyate harir īśvaraḥ;
sugatiṁ ca dadāty eva para dīpa prabodhanāt

“Of the twelve months of the year, the month of Kārtika is most dear to Kṛṣṇa. When a Vaiṣṇava performs even a small worship in this month, Lord Viṣṇu will be pleased with him and will grant him a place in Viṣṇu-loka, this I know for sure! Just as Lord Kṛṣṇa is world-famous as bhakta vatsala, the benefactor of His devotees, similarly the month of Kārtika will grant great benefits to a person who even performs a little worship then. The human form of life is very rare, and short and uncertain too, and in the same way the month of Kārtika is only short and occurs rarely (once a year). What to speak of using many opulent ingredients, if one offers even a little lamp in that month, or even if one kindles another person’s extinguished lamp, the Supreme Lord Hari will be very pleased and will bestow a good destination on the worshipper”.

It is Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī who bestows all these glories on the month of Kārtika, and She is indeed the presiding goddess of this month, Ūrjeśvarī.

ūrjā is a name for the month of Kārtika, and its goddess is known as Ūrjeśvarī.

Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī’s ninth name is Mukunda dayitā vṛnda dhammilla maṇi mañjarī, She is the jewel-bud in the braids of Mukunda’s beloved gopīs. She is indeed the crown jewel of all of the Lord’s consorts.

In Śrī Caitanya Caritāmṛta it is written:

Kṛṣṇa kāntā-gaṇa dekhi trividha prakāra; eka lakṣmī-gaṇa pure mahiṣī-gaṇa āra
vrajāṅganā-rūpa āra kāntā-gaṇa sāra; śrī rādhikā hoite kāntā-gaṇera vistāra
avatārī Kṛṣṇa yaiche kore avatāra; aṁśinī rādhā hoite tina gaṇera vistāra
lakṣmī-gaṇa tāra vaibhava vilāsāṁśa rūpa; mahiṣī-gaṇa vaibhava prakāśa svarūpa
ākāra-svabhāva bhede vraja gopī-gaṇa; kāya vyūha rūpa tāra rasera kāraṇa
bahu kāntā vinā nahe rasera ullāsa; līlāra sahāya lāgi bahuta prakāśa
tāra madhye vraje nānā bhāva rasa bhede; Kṛṣṇake korāya rāsādika līlāsvāde
govindānandinī rādhā – govinda mohinī; govinda sarvasva – sarva kāntā śiromaṇi

“I see three different kinds of consorts of Kṛṣṇa – the goddesses of fortune, the Queens of Dvārakā, and the Vraja-gopīs, who are the greatest. All these consorts expand from Śrī Rādhikā. Just as Kṛṣṇa also descends, although He is the source of all avatāras, similarly these three classes of consorts all emanate from Rādhā. The goddesses of fortune are Her Vaibhava-vilāsa plenary portions and the Queens are Her Vaibhava-prakāśa-emanations. The Vraja-goddesses (gopīs) appear in different forms and with different natures. They are all Rādhā’s expansions and they are the cause of rasa. Without the presence of many consorts there can be no joy in rasa, therefore many consorts are manifested to assist in the pastimes. Of them, there are many kinds of consorts in Vraja with different natures and different flavours, which make Kṛṣṇa relish the Rāsa-līlā and other pastimes. Rādhā delights Govinda, She enchants Govinda, She is everything to Govinda and She is the crown jewel of all divine consorts!”

Just as Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the origin of all the forms of God, similarly svayaṁ bhagavatī Śrī Rādhā is the supreme shelter of all the Lord’s consorts. Just as all the avatāras emanate from the avatārī Śrī Kṛṣṇa, similarly all the consorts of the Lord emanate from their aṁśinī Śrī Rādhā.

Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is the crown jewel of all of the Lord’s consorts since She is the unrivalled abode of mādanākhya mahābhāva and She is the root cause of all coveted prīti rasa of rasika śekhara śṛṅgāra rasa rāja Śrī Kṛṣṇa. She always keeps Śrī Kṛṣṇa charmed with the flavours of blissful eros through the sweetness of Her wonderful forms and pastimes, that arises from mādanākhya mahābhāva, hence She is known as mukunda dayitā-vṛnda dhammilla maṇi mañjarī.