It is the full-moon night in spring (vāsantī pūrṇimā) and when Śrī Kṛṣṇa sees the full moon rising in the sky He remembers Śrī Rādhā’s face.

In great secrecy He comes to Vṛndāvana and starts playing His enchanting flute there to attract the hearts and minds of the gopīs. Śrī Rādhā and the gopīs meet Vaṁśīdhārī (Kṛṣṇa) on the broad bank of the Yamunā and commence the Rāsa-dance with Him. Śrī Hari embraces some of them, kisses some of them and enjoys with some of them. Śrī Rādhikā then becomes proud and jealous and leaves the Rāsa dance. Not seeing Her, Hari becomes very upset and He leaves all the other gopīs to search for Her only.

itas tataḥ bhrami kāhā rādhā nā pāiyā;
viṣāda koren kāma bāṇe khinna hoiyā
śata koṭi gopīte nahe kāma nirvāpaṇa;
ihātei anumāni śrī rādhāra guṇa
(C.C.)

Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya told Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu:
“Hari could not find Rādhā anywhere, although He wandered here and there looking for Her. Thus He began to lament, being pierced by Cupid’s arrows. Even a billion gopīs could not extinguish His lusty desires! From this I can understand Śrī Rādhā’s glories!”

Despite the presence of countless gopīs, Kṛṣṇa was pierced by the darts of millions of Cupids, and wailing “Hā Rādhe! Hā Rādhe!”, He fainted. There is no material Cupid in Vṛndāvana, for there is nothing material in that abode whatsoever. Therefore, when it is said that Hari was pierced by millions of Cupids’ darts it is meant here that the eternally self-satisfied transcendental Supreme Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is always eager to accept the loving service of His devotees.

Śrī Kṛṣṇa manifests His transcendental desires according to the amount of loving devotion His devotees have for Him. Although the sweet and beautiful gopīs of Vraja all have an abundance of mahā-bhāva for Kṛṣṇa, Śrī Rādhārāṇī is the essence of mahā-bhāva personified, so the other gopīs can never satisfy Him like She can.

Śrī Rādhikā proudly left the Rāsa-dance, but when She saw the beauty of the spring-forest She remembered Śyāmasundara. Śrīpāda, in his kiṅkarī-form, stays with Her and serves Her. Seeing how eager her Īśvarī is to meet Her lover, the maidservant consoles Her and goes out to find Him. She suddenly finds Śyāmasundara in the Dhīra Samīra-garden, but He is in a state of swoon. The maidservant decides not to tell Svāminī anything, but simply to encourage Her to meet Kṛṣṇa, saying:

vahati malaya samīre madanam upanidhāya;
sphuṭati kusuma nikare virahī hṛdaya dalanāya
sakhi he! sīdati tava virahe vanamālī
dahati śiśira mayūkhe maraṇam anukaroti;
patati madana viśikhe vilapati vikalataro’ti
dhvanati madhupa samūhe śravaṇam api dadhāti;
manasi kalita virahe niśi niśi rujam upayāti
vasati vipina vitāne tyajati lalita dhāma;
luṭhati dharaṇī śayane bahu vilapati tava nāma
(Gīta Govindam)

“O Rādhe! I came there and I saw that Vanamālī is greatly suffering out of separation from You. The southern breezes, that carry the fragrance of vernal flowers, only increase His agony! When He is touched by the corona of moonrays He almost dies, He laments when He is pierced by Cupid’s cruel arrows, and when He hears the humming of the bees He blocks His ears. Tonight He suffers even more from separation; He cannot tolerate to be without You for a single moment anymore! He gives up His abode of joy and rolls in the thorny bushes for Your sake, singing Your names in great lamentation!”

In this way the maidservant encourages Svāminī, in order to extinguish the fire of Śyāmasundara’s separation. When Svāminī hears about Prāṇanātha’s pitiful condition She comes to the Dhīra Samīra-garden with Her maidservant and sees Her hero lying there in a swoon. Śrīmatī is very upset when She sees Her beloved in such a state, so She tries to revive Him by showering Him with waves of the essence of the transcendental blissful rasa of Her bodily company: divya pramoda rasa sāra nijāṅga saṅga pīyūṣa vīci nicayair abhiṣecayanti. She kisses Him and embraces Him with Her vine-like arms, reviving Him with Her nectarean flavours, scents and touches, just as a heroic warrior who has fainted from the onslaughts of his enemy’s arrows is revived by a shower of cold water and some medicinal herb.

from “Śrī-Śrī Rādhā Rasa Sudhānidhi”
(English commentary based on the Bengali commentary made by Śrī Madhusūdana Dāsa Adhikārī, Prabhupāda Śrīla Ananda Gopāla Gosvāmī and Rādhākuṇḍa Mahānta Paṇḍita Śrīmat Ananta Dāsa Bābājī Mahārāja)

Translated by Sri Advaita das