PARAṀ TUṄGĀDYĀ YAUVATA SADASI VIDYĀDBHUTA GUṆAIḤ
SPHUṬAṀ JITVĀ PADMĀ PRABHṚTI NAVA NĀRĪ BHRAMATI YĀ
JANO’YAṀ SAMPĀDYAḤ SAKHI VIVIDHA VIDYĀSPADATAYĀ
TAYĀ KIṀ ŚRĪ NĀTHĀ CCHALA NIHITA NETREṄGITA LAVAIḤ

O sakhi Rūpa Mañjari! With her wonderful qualities Tuṅgavidyā has completely defeated the entire assembly of young women, headed by Padmā, and thus she can proudly wander among them!
Will my mistress (Śrī Rādhā) with a slight hint of Her eyes, order this Tuṅgavidyā to also make me the abode of all wonderful sciences, like her?

Stavāmṛta Kaṇā Vyākhyā:

The succession of Śrīpāda Raghunātha’s prayers for devotional service to the different sakhīs continues.

In this verse Śrī Raghunātha, in svarūpāveśa, prays to Tuṅgavidyā to teach her different devotional services.

Śrī Tuṅgavidyā-devī is described as follows in Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa Gaṇoddeśa Dīpikā:

pañcamī tuṅgavidyā syājjāyasī pañcabhir dinaiṅ;
candra candana bhūyiṣṭhā kuṅkuma dyuti śālinī
pāṇḍu maṇḍala vastreyaṁ dakṣiṇa prakharoditā;
medhāyāṁ puṣkarāj jātā patir asyāstu bāliśaḥ

“The fifth of the eight sakhīs is Tuṅgavidyā. She’s five days older than Śrī Rādhā, her body smells of sandal paste mixed with camphor and shines like vermilion.
She wears a yellow dress and her nature is submissive, yet harsh. Her mother’s name is Medhā, her father’s name Puṣkara, and her husband’s name is Bāliśa.”

tuṅgavidyā tu vidyānām aṣṭādaśa tayāṁśitā;
sandhāv atīva kuśalā Kṛṣṇa vibhrama śālinī
rasa śāstre naye nāṭye nāṭakākhyāyikādiṣu;
sarva gāndharva vidyāyām ācāryakam upāgatā
viśeṣān mārga gītādau vīṇā yantrādi paṇḍitā

“Tuṅgavidyā masters all eighteen sciences, she is very expert in sandhi (making alliances or blending Sanskrit syllables) and she is the object of Kṛṣṇa’s trust.
She is the ācārya (teacher by example) of the Rasa-śāstra (aesthetic scriptures), the Nīti-śāstra (scriptures on morality), Nāṭya-vidyā (the science of poetry),
Nāṭaka (theater-play), Ākhyāyika (narration), and all the Saṅgīta śāstras (scriptures on the art of song).
She is also a master in playing the Vīṇā.and the (musical) trairyaktrika vidyā (science) promulgated by the Ṛṣis and the Devatās.”

The maidservant will learn all the above mentioned arts and sciences from Tuṅgavidyā, who really has a suitable name, because Tuṅga means ‘summit’, and vidyā means ‘knowledge’.
Being adorned with the wonderful ornaments of her knowledge, Tuṅgavidyā-devī defeats all of Śrī Rādhārāṇī’s youthful rivals, headed by Padmā and Śaibyā, in all respects, so she can wander around proudly in the assembly of the young girls of Vraja.

It is from this Tuṅgavidyā that Tulasī learns all arts and sciences. Tulasī has given her heart and her life to Rādhā’s service, and she knows nothing else but Her service.

Śrī Rādhā is the boundless ocean of compassion, so She makes Her exclusively surrendered maidservants expert in all arts and sciences and has this also done through Her sakhīs.

Śrī Rādhārāṇī gives Tuṅgavidyā a hint with Her eyes to teach Tulasī all arts and sciences. Tuṅgavidyā, who has become expert in all sciences by Śrī Rādhā’s mere sidelong glance, understands Śrī Rādhā’s hint and takes Tulasī to a lonely place to teach her everything she knows.

Each one of Rādhikā’s sakhīs has a different nature, and the mañjarīs learn all their different self-perfect skills from them.

This variety was created to nourish the transcendental mellows to be relished by Śrī Kṛṣṇa. The aggregate of all these different bhāvas are present within the kiṅkarīs, therefore Śrī Rādhārāṇī has them educated in all arts and sciences by Her different sakhīs. She makes the dāsī qualified for Her own service either by teaching her Herself or by having them educated through Her sakhīs.

Blessed is Śrī Rādhā’s wonderful, variegated mercy