Śrī-Śrī Rādhā Rasa Sudhānidhi

UJJĀGARAṀ RASIKA NĀGARA SAṄGA RAṄGAIḤ
KUÑJODARE KṚTAVATĪ NU MUDĀ RAJANYĀM
SUSNĀPITĀ HI MADHUNAIVA SUBHOJITĀ TVAṀ
RĀDHE KADĀ SVAPIṢI MAT KARA LĀLITĀṄGHRIḤ
(17)

O Rādhe! After You blissfully spent the night enjoying pastimes with Your rasika lover in a kuñja, I bathe You and serve You some honey-sweet eatables.
When will You then fall asleep while I massage Your lotus feet with my hands?

THE SERVICE ATTITUDE OF RĀDHĀ’S MAIDSERVANTS

Commentary:

After Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa meet, the maidservant gives Śrīmatī a bath in the Yamunā and brings Her back home. Śrīmatī is not just bathed in the stream of Kṛṣṇa’s sweetness, She is also actually bathed in the cool blackish Yamunā-water which reminds Her of Śyāma. Because She is bathed in both the Kṛṣṇāmrtas, Śrīmatī is justly called susnāpitā, or well bathed, here. The maidservant reminds Virahini Svāminī of Śyāma by speaking sweetly about Him while she brings Her home. Is it so simple to serve kṛṣṇa prema pāgalini (Rādhā, Who is mad with love for Kṛṣṇa)? Nobody knows how to serve Her with such full awareness of Her feelings as the kiṅkarīs do!

When Svāminī comes home Her girlfriends and maidservants complete Her dressing and ornamentation. All this is actually done to serve Kṛṣṇa. The sakhīs decorate Śrīmatī while speaking about Kṛṣṇa with Her, but the maidservants quickly finish their service so that they can prepare something to eat for Śrīmatī. Their love is marked with a strong feeling of mine-ness towards Svāminī. A similar mine-ness can be found in Śrīla Govinda dāsa, Mahāprabhu’s faithful doorkeeper at the Gambhīrā. Mahāprabhu, Who descended to sanctify the age of Kali, sat in the Gambhīrā, relishing the sweetness of Rādhā’s feelings of separation from Kṛṣṇa. He did not sleep at night, and even when the morning had almost passed He was still absorbed in devotional trance. His servant Śrīla Govinda dāsa was rolling in the dust on the floor. Crying, he prayed to Śrī Svarūpa Dāmodara: “Śrīpāda Svarūpa! Please bring the Lord back to external awareness! The morning is almost over and I could not even make the Lord drink some water!” This is the feeling of mine-ness of a servant who serves with all his heart!

Śrīmatī’s dressing and ornamentation is completed, and Her girlfriends and Her maidservants are now serving Her some sweet-meats. The maidservants know that Īśvarī doesn’t eat anything else but Kṛṣṇa’s remnants, so they mix some nectarean remnants from Kṛṣṇa’s last meal with these sweets. It is as if Svāminī directly tastes the nectar of Kṛṣṇa’s lips when She eats these sweets! madhunaiva subhojitā – She doesn’t know anymore whether She tastes Kṛṣṇa’s lips or the remnants of His food! This is not at all astonishing, because when She is separated from Kṛṣṇa, She also feels as if She is actually with Him simply by constantly meditating on Him.

After Śrīmatī eats this honey-sweet meal, She flushes Her mouth and holds court with Her girlfriends. She becomes absorbed in speaking with them about Kṛṣṇa while chewing betel leaves served to Her by Her maidservants. Śrīpāda, in his kiṅkarī-form, thinks that Svāminī should take a little rest. After all, She’s been up the whole night playing the most ecstatic love games with Her rasika nāgara! The word ujjāgara in the text means that Svāminī was up all night, making jokes and having funny romantic talks with Her lover, lying on a bed of flowers with Him.

Śyāmasundara kept His head on a flower pillow and Svāminī used Śyāma’s left arm as Her pillow. Thus They lay facing Each other, speaking romantic and funny words to Each other. Their hearts and minds floated in all directions on waves of love nectar. Their girlfriend nidrā (the goddess of sleep) did not have any chance to serve Them that night (They didn’t sleep a wink) because They were so absorbed in Each other’s sweetness, therefore Śrīpāda says: ujjāgara. The maidservant says:
“Svāmini! You’ve been up all night! Go and sleep a little bit!”

The sakhīs all praise this kiṅkarī, saying: “O! You know how to serve! We have completely forgotten that Rādhikā should take some rest! Go, sakhi! Take a little rest!”

The kiṅkarī holds Śrīmatī’s hand and brings Her to a handmade bed of flowers. Śrīmatī lies down and Her maidservant covers Her with a blue cādara (a kind of sheet), whose colour reminds Her of Śyāma. Then Śrīpāda, as a kiṅkarī, attains the good fortune of massaging Śrīmatī’s lotus-feet. The maidservant places all the tenderness of her heart in her hands, so that the massage will not be rough. The word lālanā in the text means: affectionate service. The maidservant is blessed by seeing the sweetness of Svāmini’s beautiful feet. Svāminī has fallen asleep. Sometimes the maidservant holds Her feet to her chest and sometimes she kisses them. Their is no limit to the bliss of the fortunate maidservant! Suddenly the vision stops and in his sādhaka-state Śrīpāda humbly prays for service: rādhe kadā svapiṣi mat kara lālitāṅghriḥ?