Several devotees asked me to share something to read about “manjari-bhava”.
I compiled some nice verses and made them into a PDF together with the commentaries of Srila Ananta das Babaji and Srila Ananda Gopal Goswami.
Vraja Vilasa Stava, verse 38
(Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī)
tāmbūlārpaṇa-pāda-mardana-payo-dānābhisārādibhir
vṛndāraṇya-maheśvarīṁ priyatayā yās toṣayanti priyāḥ |
prāṇa-preṣṭha-sakhī-kulād api kilāsaṅkocitā-bhūmikāḥ
kelī-bhūmiṣu rūpa-mañjarī-mukhās tā dāsikāḥ saṁśraye
“I take shelter of Śrī Rādhikā’s maidservants, headed by Rūpa Mañjarī, who always engage in serving betel leaves, massaging the feet, serving water, and arranging for the Divine Couple’s secret trysts. These maidservants are even more dear to the great Queen of Vṛndāraṇya (Śrī Rādhikā) than the prāṇa-preṣṭha-sakhīs (the girlfriends who are dearer to Her than life), and She is therefore not at all shy before them!”
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Vṛndāvana Mahimāmṛta 16, 94
(Srila Prabhodhananda Sarasvati)
ananya śrī rādhā padakamala dāsyaika rasadhī
hareḥ saṅge raṅgam svapana samaye nā’pi dadhati
balāt kṛṣṇa kūrpāsakabhidi kim apy ācarati kā-
py udāśrur meveti pralapati mamātma ca hasati
“The maidservants, who are exclusively devoted to the service of Śrī Rādhā’s lotus feet, which are like an ocean of nectar, do not enjoy with Śrī Hari even in their dreams. When Kṛṣṇa forcibly pulls at their bodices, they cry out: ‘No, no!’ while Rādhikā watches and laughs.”
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Vilapa Kusumanjali 16
(Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī)
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!”
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Vilapa Kusumanjali 92
(Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī)
VIHĀRAIS TRUṬITAṀ HĀRAṀ GUMPHITAṀ DAYITAṀ KADĀ
SAKHĪNĀṀ LAJJAYĀ DEVI SAṀJÑAYĀ MĀṀ NIDEKṢYASI
“O Devi! When will You, being shy before Your girlfriends, order me through a hint to restring Your dear necklace which broke during Your loving pastimes with Kṛṣṇa?”
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Radha Rasa Sudhanidhi 142
(Śrī Prabodhānanda Sarasvatī)
RĀDHĀ NĀMA SUDHĀ-RASAṀ RASAYITUṀ JIHVĀS TU ME VIHVALĀ
PĀDAU TAT PADAKAṄKITĀSU CARATĀṀ VṚNDĀṬAVĪ VĪTHIṢU’
TAT KARMAIVA KARAḤ KAROTU HṚDAYAṀ TASYĀḤ PADAṀ DHYĀYATĀT
TAD BHĀVOTSAVATAḤ PARAṀ BHAVATU ME TAT PRĀṆANĀTHE RATIḤ
“May my tongue become overwhelmed by relishing the nectarean flavour of Rādhā’s holy name, may my feet walk over Vṛndāvana’s pathways that are marked with Her footprints, may my hands be engaged only in Her menial service, may my heart meditate on Her lotus-feet, and may I develop love for the Lord of Her life (Kṛṣṇa) through Her festival of emotions.”
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Rādhā Rasa Sudhānidhi, verse 74
(Śrī Prabodhānanda Sarasvatī)
dūre snigdha paramparā vijayatāṁ dūre suhṛṅ maṇḍalī
bhṛtyāḥ santu vidūrato vraja-pater anyāḥ prasaṅgaḥ kutaḥ
yatra śrī vṛṣabhānujā kṛta ratiḥ kuñjodare kāminā
dvārasthā priya kiṅkarī param ahaṁ śroṣyāmi kāñci-dhvanim
“Let Kṛṣṇa’s parents and all elders of Vraja stay at a distance, all glories to them! Let the circle of Kṛṣṇa’s friends keep some distance!
Let the servants of the Lord of Vraja, Kṛṣṇa, stay especially far away, what to speak of others! Let them all stay away from the kunja-gate where I stand as a loving maidservant, hearing the sash of bells of Vṛṣabhānu’s beautiful daughter jingling as She plays loving pastimes with Her lover!”
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Radha Rasa Sudhanidhi 259
(Śrī Prabodhānanda Sarasvatī)
DHYĀYAṀS TAṀ ŚIKHI PIÑCHA MAULIM ANIŚAṀ TAN NĀMA SAṄKĪRTAYAN
NITYAṀ TAC CARAṆĀMBUJAṀ PARICARAṀS TAN MANTRA VARYAṀ JAPAN
ŚRĪ RĀDHĀ PADA DĀSYAM EVA PARAMĀBHĪṢṬAṀ HṚDĀ DHĀRAYAN
KARHI SYĀṀ TAD ANUGRAHEṆA PARAMODBHUTĀNURĀGOTSAVAḤ
“I always meditate on Kṛṣṇa, who wears a crown of peacock-feathers, I always sing His name in saṅkīrtana, I always serve His lotus-feet (the deity) and repeat His best of mantras, holding the desire for the supremely cherished service of Śrī Rādhā’s lotus-feet in my heart. When will that great festival of divine love arise in my heart by His grace?”
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Prema Bhakti Chandrika, verse 51
(Srila Narottama das Thakur)
sama snehā viṣama snehā, nā koriho dui lehā
kohi mātra adhika snehā-gaṇa
nirantara thāke saṅge, kṛṣṇa kathā līlā raṅge
narma sakhī ei sab jana (51)
“Equal affection for Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa or more affection for Kṛṣṇa than for Śrī Rādhā – do not become attached to that. I will just speak about preference for Śrī Rādhā! They are always in Her company, blissfully telling Her about Kṛṣṇa. They are all called narma sakhīs.”
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Utkalika Vallari, verses 19-20
(Srila Rupa Goswami)
PRAṆIPATYA BHAVANTAM ARTHAYE
PAŚUPĀLENDRA KUMĀRA KĀKUBHIḤ
VRAJA YAUVATA MAULI MĀLIKĀ
KARUṆĀ PĀTRAM IMAM JANAṀ KURU
“O Prince of the cowherders (Kṛṣṇa)! I offer my obeisances unto You and I pitifully pray to You:
Please make me the object of mercy of the crowngarland of young girls of Vraja (Śrī Rādhikā)!”
BHAVATĪM ABHIVĀDYA CĀṬUBHIR
VARAM ŪRJEŚVARI VARYAM ARTHAYE
BHAVADĪYATAYĀ KṚPĀṀ YATHĀ
MAYI KURYĀD ADHIKĀṀ BAKĀNTAKAḤ
O Ūrjeśvari (Rādhikā, the goddess of the Kārtika-month)! I pitifully pray to You for this benediction:
May Bakāntaka (Kṛṣṇa, the killer of Bakāsura), be more kind to me, knowing me to be Yours!
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Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī’s Utkaṇṭhā daśakam
prāṇebhyo’py adhikā priyā mura-ripor yā hanta yasyā api
svīya prāṇa parārddhato’pi dayitās tat pāda-reṇoḥ kaṇāḥ
dhanyāṁ tāṁ jagatī-traye parilasaj jaṅghāla kīrtiṁ hareḥ
preṣṭhā-varga śiro’gra bhūṣaṇa-maṇiṁ rādhāṁ kadāhaṁ bhaje
“When will I serve Śrī Rādhā, Who is dearer to Kṛṣṇa than His own life, Who considers a speck of Kṛṣṇa’s footdust millions of times more dear than Her own life,
Who is supremely fortunate, Whose fames shine in the three worlds, and Who is the crown jewel of all of Hari’s beloveds?”
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Amrita-Tarangini 