VERSE 5:

dadhataṁ vapur aṁśu kandalīṁ
dalad indīvara vṛnda bandhurām
kṛta kāñcana kānti vañcanaiḥ
sphuritāṁ cāru marīci sañcayaiḥ

         (O Kṛṣṇa!) You carry a lustre in Your body that defeats the beauty of blue Indīvara-lotuses! (O Rādhe!) Your lustre defeats the shining of garlands of golden lightrays! 

MANOJÑA KĀNTIḤ  (Enchanting Luster):

         Makaranda Kaṇā Vyākhyā:

Prayer opens the shackles of grace. By the mercy of the presiding goddess of Vraja-vana, Vṛndā-devī, a vision comes to Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī – the great sweetness of the Yugala.
In the following ten verses he will describe this. The best way of relishing the special sweetness of the Yugala is to accept the mood of a maidservant of Śrī Rādhā.
How great is the life of sādhanā! Although Śrīpāda is himself a direct associate of the Lord he relishes the sweetness of the Yugala by descending to the level of a sādhaka.

By performing sādhanā himself, he shows the perfect example of how Śrīman Mahāprabhu’s surrendered devotees perform bhajana. There was of course also Yugala-worship before Mahāprabhu descended, but not like this! After Mahāprabhu came hundreds of streams of Yugala-sweetness inundated all the directions.

Kṛṣṇa līlāmṛta sāra,                 tāra śata śata dhāra,
daśa dige bohe yāhā hoite
se caitanya līlā hoy,                 sarovara akhoy,
mana haṁsa corāho tāhāte
(Caitanya Caritāmṛta) 

         “The essence of Kṛṣṇa’s nectarean pastimes float in hundreds of streams in all ten directions. The pastimes of Śrī Caitanya are a boundless lake. Make the swan of your mind swim there!”

This inexhaustible fountain of Yugala mādhurya rasa springs from Śrī Caitanya deva and His associates.

Śrīmat Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī has written:

anavedyāṁ pūrvair api muni-gaṇair bhakti nipuṇaiḥ
śrute gūḍhāṁ premojjvala rasa phalāṁ bhakti latikām
kṛpālus tāṁ gauḍe prabhur ati kṛpābhiḥ prakaṭayan
śacī-sūnuḥ kiṁ me nayana śaraṇīṁ yāsyati punaḥ 

         “Will the son of mother Śacī, who very mercifully revealed in Bengal the vine of devotion, which bears the fruits of ujjvala prema rasa (the flavours of amorous love) which is hidden in the Vedas and which was not previously known even to the wise men who were experts in devotion to God, cross the path of my eyes again?”

Śrīla Prabodhānanda Sarasvatīpāda said: “The sweetness of Vraja, and Śrī Rādhā, the greatest shelter of the erotic mellow – they are the revelations of Śrīman Mahāprabhu!

premā nāmādbhutārthaḥ śravaṇa patha gataḥ kasya nāmnāṁ mahimnaḥ
ko vettā kasya vṛndāvipina mahā mādhurīṣu praveśaḥ
ko vā jānāti rādhāṁ parama rasa camatkāra mādhurya sīmām
ekaś caitanya candraḥ parama karuṇayā sarvam āviścakāra
(Caitanya Candrāmṛta – 130)

         “Who would have heard that prema is the highest goal of human life? Who would have known that the holy name is so glorious? Who would have been able to enter into the most confidential great sweetness of Śrī Vṛndāvana? Who would have known about Śrī Rādhā, who is the limit of the most astonishing sweetness and flavour? It is only by the topmost mercy of Śrī Caitanya-candra that this was revealed!”

The Lord relished all these ´kinds of sweetness Himself and established His example in the world as the peak of the Sumera-mountain.
Infusing His transcendental power into the ācāryas, He made them write different books that described this sweetness and that would make it easier for the living beings that are afflicted by the malices of Kali to enter onto the path leading to the relish of this most confidential Vraja-sweetness. This was His personal mission.

When Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī wanted to commit suicide by throwing himself before the wheels of Lord Jagannātha’s chariot He told him:

tomāra śarīra āmāra pradhāna sādhana;
e śarīre sādhibo āmi bahu prayojana
bhakta bhakti Kṛṣṇa prema tattvera nirdhāra;
vaiṣṇavera kṛtya āra vaiṣṇava ācāra
Kṛṣṇa bhakti Kṛṣṇa prema sevā pravartana;
lupta tīrtha uddhāra āra vairāgya śikṣaṇa
nija priya sthāna mora mathurā vṛndāvana
tāhā eto dharma cāhi korite pracāraṇa
(Caitanya Caritāmṛta) 

         “Your body is My main tool, through which I want to accomplish many things – ascertainment of the truth about the devotee, devotion and love for Kṛṣṇa, the duties and codes of conduct of the Vaiṣṇavas, the preaching of devotion to Kṛṣṇa and the loving service of Kṛṣṇa, the unearthing of the lost holy places and the teaching of dispassion. Mathurā and Vṛndāvana are My own dearmost abodes. It is there that I want to preach this religion.”

         The ācāryas have personally relished the Vraja-sweetness and left their remnants in their books. These remnants can be relished by hearing and chanting the topics of their books – hence this discussion. They also encouraged us to become blessed by relishing this nectar by saying:

tomarā e amṛta pile saphala hoy śrama (C.C.) – “My work will be successful when you drink this nectar.”

How merciful they are! How much they cared for the fallen souls! If we don’t understand it even now then when will we understand it?

         By the grace of Śrī Vṛndā-devī, Śrī Rūpa perceives the sweetness of the Divine Pair. A sweet brilliant dual light of blue and gold illuminates the world internally and externally like two lotusflowers in a lake of love – an Indīvara (blue lotus) and a Hemāravinda (golden lotus). One shines like a fresh monsooncloud, enchanting millions of Cupids and having a face more enchanting than the autumn moon. All the directions are turned into Indīvara-lotusflowers by His bluish luster and like full moons by His beautiful face. The other resembles the family-goddess of luster, the female embodiment of sweet wealth and the golden luster of Her body turns bluish Vṛndāvana into a golden Vṛndāvana.

         Śrī Rūpa says: “He is even more enchanting than an Indīvara-lotus and She is defeating the brilliant lustre of a golden lotus! How insignificant are blue lotuses and gold compared to Their luster This is not a ray of light from a material luminary! Is it possible to compare this transcendental lustre with any mundane lustre? This light soothes the eyes, it does not hurt them! The eyes cannot see this light – this light sees the eyes and makes them see! When you see a material object you lose interest after some time, but this lustre is ever-more desirable. It is an ever-delightful lustre!”

In Śrīmad Bhāgavata, Śuka Muni says:
“This is not mere lustre – it is lāvaṇya sāram!”

Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī comments on this: tat lāvaṇyasya kānti kandalī cākcikyasya sāraḥ śreṣṭhāṁśo yatra tādṛśaṁ tat prācuryāt tad rūpam eva vā (Vaiṣṇava Toṣaṇī) – “It is like the essence of an abundance of lustre or lāvaṇya, an ocean of lāvaṇya (elegance).”

Therefore the comparisons with blue lotus flowers, fresh monsoon-clouds, molten gold and lightning strikes are futile here. Then again, when They approach Each other Their luster even increases unlimitedly: 

yadyapi nirmala rādhāra sat prema darpaṇa;
tathāpi svacchatā tāra bāḍe kṣaṇe kṣaṇa
āmāra mādhuryera nāhi bāḍite avakāśe;
e darpaṇera āge nava nava rūpe bhāse
man mādhurya rādhā prema doṅhe hoḍa kori;
kṣaṇe kṣaṇe bāḍe doṅhe keho nāhi hāri 

         “Although the mirror of Rādhā’s true love is spotless, still its clarity increases at every moment. There is no pause in the increase of My sweetness. Before this mirror it shines in ever-new forms. My sweetness and Rādhā’s love increase each other, and neither of them can accept defeat.”

The corona of this ever-new lustre is increasing at every moment and its waves inundate the eyes and mind of Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī.

he vṛndāvaneśvara,           aṅga kānti indīvara,
parama sundara giridhārī.
he rādhe hemāṅginī,              galita kāñcana jini,
dyotamānā paramā sundarī. 

         “O Lord of Vṛndāvana, most beautiful Giridhārī, whose limbs shine like blue Indīvara-lotuses! O Golden-limbed Rādhe! O most beautiful girl! You defeat even molten gold!”