VERSE 11:

prema mūrti-vara kārtika devī
kīrti gāna mukharī-kṛta vaṁśam
viśva nandana mukunda samajñā
vṛnda kīrtana rasajña rasajñām

O Kṛṣṇa! With Your flute You sing the glories of Kārtika-devī Rādhikā, who is the embodiment of pure love! O Rādhe! Your tongue always relishes the nectar of glorifying the name of world-delighting Mukunda!

PĀRASPARIKA YAŚO-GĀNA  (Mutual Glorification in Song):

         Makaranda Kaṇā Vyākhyā:

Śrī Rūpa’s heart and mind are floating in the flavors of the Yugala’s sweetness, and he makes his body melt in the powerful current of
Śrī-Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava’s inexhaustibly sweet forms and qualities. The sweetness of the Yugala can only be relished in svarūpāveśa  (absorption in one’s spiritual identity); this is the most coveted treasure of the life of sādhana.
Bodily consciousness is taking a soul like me away from the lotus-feet of my beloved deity and I am never aware of my siddha svarūpa; day and night I am intoxicated by the world.
The insignificant living entities are constantly overpowered by the Lord’s illusory potency, but I want to awaken my svarūpāveśa, and that’s why there is sādhana bhajana.
Surely the mercy of the svarūpa śakti (the Lord’s intrinsic potency) will be attained when the sādhaka hears and chants the great words of the ācāryas.
Gradually he will recognize himself as Rādhā’s maidservant and the desires for sense gratification will become insignificant and make way for a desire for the lotus-feet of the Divine Couple.
Both in dreams and in wakefulness the beauty of the Vraja-nikuñja will then blossom before the eyes.
The eyes will see Their forms, the ears will hear Their sounds, the tongue will taste Their flavours. In this consciousness Śrī Rūpa’s ‘Utkalikā Vallari’ will be very relishable.

         In this verse Śrī Rūpa is having a transcendental vision of Śrī-Śrī Rādhā-Mādhava’s sweet glories, so he says: “O Kṛṣṇa! Your flute is singing the glories of Śrī Rādhā, the presiding goddess of the month of Kārtika!” Śrī Rādhā is known as jagac chreṇī lasad yaśaḥ: She whose glories pervade the entire universe.

utphullaṁ kila kurvatī kuvalayaṁ devendra patnī śrutau
kundaṁ nikṣipatī viriñci gṛhiṇī romauṣadhir harṣiṇī
karṇottaṁsa sudhāṁsu ratna sakalaṁ vidrāvya bhadrāṅgi te
lakṣmīm apy adhunā cakāra cakitāṁ rādhe yaśaḥ kaumudī
(Ujjvala Nīlamaṇi Rādhā Pra. 32)

         Śrī Paurṇamāsī told Śrī Rādhā: “O Rādhe! How wonderful is the power of the moonlight of Your fame! It makes all the lilies of the world blossom! When it falls on the ears of the Queen of the demigods (Śacī) it looks like white Kunda-flowers and it gives great delight to the herbs, that are considered to be Sāvitrī’s (the wife of Lord Brahmā) bodily hairs. O Bhadrāṅgi (beautiful-limbed girl)! Even the goddess of fortune is amazed when She sees how the moon stones on Your earrings melt from the touch of these moon beams!” 

         From this we can understand that the glorification of Śrī Radhā, Who is also called Kṛṣṇa kāntā śiromaṇi, pervades both the spiritual and material world. What to speak then of the devotees!
Śrī Rādhā’s glorification is like their necklace (constantly embracing their voices)!

Although Śrī Śuka Muni was busily engaged in singing Śrī Rādhā’s sweet glories when he described the Rāsa-līlā in the Bhāgavata, he could still not pronounce Her holy name because he was afraid to faint out of ecstatic love.
The greater the devotee of Kṛṣṇa is, the more famous he is.

Śrīman Mahāprabhu inquired from Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya: kīrtigaṇa madhye jīvera kon boḍo kīrti? “Which living being is the most famous and glorious?”, and Rāmānanda replied: Kṛṣṇa prema bhakta boli yāra hoy khyāti – “A person who is known to have loving devotion for Kṛṣṇa!”

Of all the devotees in the world Kṛṣṇa’s Vraja-devotees are the best, and amongst them again the gopīs, who are endowed with sweet rasa, have the strongest love. But these gopīs again praised the glories of Vṛṣabhānu-nandinī Śrī Rādhā, the crownjewel of Kṛṣṇa’s consorts, during the Mahā Rāsa-dance.  

anayārādhito nūnaṁ bhagavān harir īśvaraḥ
yan no vihāya govindaḥ prīto yām anayad rahaḥ
(Śrīmad Bhāgavata 10.30.28)

         After Kṛṣṇa disappeared from the Rāsa-dance the gopīs followed His footsteps, that were printed on the ground alongside Śrī Rādhā’s footprints.

Śyāmalā and other gopīs of the friendly party (suhṛt pakṣa) then told the Vrajasundarīs: “O sakhīs! This Rādhā, whose footprints are visible here, was able to subdue the Lord, who removes all the distress from His devotees and who fulfills all their desires; hence Her name is ‘Rādhā’. We were not able to worship Kṛṣṇa like Her! Because She was able to control Govinda with Her love He has now taken Her into the dense forest, that is impassable for us, leaving us all behind here! There’s no comparison possible to the glories of Her good fortune!”

In this way everyone glorifies Premamayī Rādhā according to his or her devotion, but because Śrī Govinda Himself also glorifies Her with His world-enchanting flutesong Her love is truly incomparible!

         One of the extraordinary qualities of Kṛṣṇa is veṇu mādhurī, the sweetness of His fluteplaying.
This quality maddens the whole world:
trijagan manasākarṣi muralī kala kūjitaḥ (B.R.S.).
śabda brahma-maya veṇu (Brahma Samhitā).

This tune, this sound is the great treasure of the kingdom of God!
This flute sound contains the Vedic mantras. This sweet, inarticulate sound is like an all-attractive mantra that reveals the kāma bīja . Nectar streams from each and every hole of this flute, and this nectar can be relished according to one’s own mood.
The gopīs, who see Kṛṣṇa as the embodiment of erotic rasa, are attracted most of all.

sei dhvani caudike dhāya,             aṇḍa-bhedi vaikuṇṭhe yāya,
bole poiśe jagatera kāne.
sabhā mātoyāla kori,               balātkāra āne dhari,
viśeṣataḥ yuvatīra gaṇe.

dhvani boḍo uddhata,          pati-vratāra bhāṅge vrata,
pati kola hoite ṭāni āne.
vaikuṇṭhera lakṣmī-gaṇe,                 yei kore ākarṣaṇe,
tāra āge kevā gopī-gaṇe?
(Caitanya Caritāmṛta) 

         “This sound goes all around, piercing the coverings of the universe and going to Vaikuṇṭha, forcibly entering the ears of the world, maddening everyone and bringing them, especially the young girls, to Him. This sound is very bold and it breaks all the vows of chaste wives, pulling them away from their husbands’ laps. It even attracts the goddesses of fortune from Vaikuṇṭha, what to speak of the gopīs?”

         Amongst the gopīs Śrī Rādhā, ´Who is endowed with mādana mahā bhāva, is again most attracted to Kṛṣṇa. The flute sings Rādhā’s name and glories, and thus steals Her heart and mind.

In pūrva rāga (the first love) Śrīmatī heard this flute song and told Paur-ṇamāsī-devī:

ke nā bāṅśī bāe boḍāyi kālinī noi kūle;
ke nā bāṅśī bāe boḍāyi e goṭha gokule
ākula śarīra mora veākula mana;
bāṅśīra śabade mo āulāilo rāndhana
ke nā bāṅśī bāe boḍāyi ye nā kon janā;
dāsī hoā tāra pātra niśibo āpanā
ke nā bāṅśī  bāe boḍāyi cittera hariṣe;
tāra pātra boḍāyi mo koiloṅ kon doṣe
ājhara jharae mora nayanera pānī;
bāṅśīra śabade boḍāyi hārāyilo parāṇī
ākula korite kibā āndhāra mana;
bājāe susara bāṅśī nandera nandana
pākhī nahoṅ tāra ṭhāi ūḍī poḍi jāo;
medinī vidāra deu pasiāṅ lukāo
vana poḍe āga boḍāyi jaga jane jānī;
mora mana poḍe yehna kumbhārera panī
āntara sukāe mora kāhna abhilāṣe
vāsalī śire vandī gāilo caṇḍī dāse

        “O governess! Who is playing His flute there on the bank of the Yamunā? Who’s playing His flute there in Gokula’s meadows?
My mind and body have gone mad of agitation after hearing this flute-sound, and My cooking work is spoiled by it! O governess!
Who is playing that flute? I will offer Myself to Him as a maidservant. O governess! Who is playing the flute there to the delight of My heart? O governess! What offense did I commit to Him? Unbroken streams of tears trickle from My eyes. O governess! This flute sound takes My life away! This sweet flute of Nanda’s son is agitating or blinding My mind! Birds cannot fly near Him, but fall on the ground. They would like the earth to burst so that they can enter into it (being ashamed, as the sweetness of their song is defeated by the playing of Kṛṣṇa’s flute).  When there is a forest fire all the people can understand that there is a blaze, but My mind burns like the stove of a potter (No one knows that it burns, because its surface is smeared with clay). O governess! My heart is parched because of My yearning for Kāna (Kṛṣṇa) (or: How happy I feel inside in My yearning for Kṛṣṇa)!” Thus Caṇḍī dāsa sings, bowing his head before Vāsalī (the goddess Caṇḍī).

         Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī says: “O Rādhike! Your tongue is expert in relishing the glories of Mukunda!”

Kṛṣṇa nāma guṇa yaśaḥ avataṁsa kāne;
Kṛṣṇa nāma guṇa yaśaḥ pravāha vacane
(C.C.)

“The glories of Kṛṣṇa’s name and qualities are Her earrings, and the glories of Kṛṣṇa’s names and qualities flow from Her words.”

The name Mukunda does not only mean ‘the bestower of liberation’ here; it also means that His smile, or teeth (mukha) shines as white as Kunda-flowers. This indicates the whiteness (purity) of Mukunda’s glories. When Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī describes Kṛṣṇa’s glories he gives the following example of the attribute kīrtimān (famous): 

bhītā rudraṁ tyajati girijā śyāmam aprekṣya kaṇṭhaṁ
śubhram dṛṣṭvā kṣipati vasanaṁ vismito nīla vāsāḥ
kṣīraṁ mattvā śrapayati yamī nīram ābhīrikotkā
gīte dāmodara yaśasi te vīṇayā nāradena
(Bhakti Rasāmṛta Sindhu 2.1.160) 

         “O Dāmodara! When Nārada Muni sings Your glories with His Vīṇā, Pārvatī fearfully leaves Her husband Rudra (Śiva), seeing that His neck is no longer blue, Baladeva gives up His dhotī, seeing that its blue colour changed into white, and the gopīs start churning the blue Yamunā-water, thinking it has become milk!”

In this way Śrī Rādhikā’s tongue relishes Mukunda’s glorification, and She can never give that up. In the Bhramara Gīta  She personally says dustyajaṁ tat kathārthaḥ (it is hard to give up talking about Him).

In the Bhramara Gīta-pastime, Śrī Rādhā is angry with Kṛṣṇa and finds different faults with Him, causing the bumblebee to say:
“O Īśvari! If Kṛṣṇa has so many faults, then why are You speaking about nothing and nobody else but Him ever since I came to You? Is He so worthy to speak about if He is anyway so wrong and bad?”  

To this Śrīmatī answers: “O rey! We are unable to give up the treasure of Kṛṣṇa-topics! We can give up everything, even the association of your friend (Kṛṣṇa), but we can’t give up talking about Him! This is our only life-support during this intolerable separation! If we stop these talks for even a moment we cannot keep our life-airs in our bodies anymore!”

         Or, the word Mukunda can have another confidential meaning. He who liberates Śrīmatī Rādhā from the bondage of Her braid, Her blouse and Her girdle is named Mukunda. Śrī Rādhā’s very surasikā tongue relishes the nectar of glorifying Mukunda’s confidential nikuñja-pastimes before Her sakhīs:

rūpa heri locana tirapita bhelo;
guṇa śuni śravaṇa saphala bhoi gelo
manaka manoratha manamatha delo;
candana cānde cita hari nelo
e sakhi e sakhi ājuka raṅga;
śudhui sudhāya siñcita bhelo aṅga
ārati guruyā piriti naha thora;
lākho mukhe kohite nā pāiye ora
paraśe avaśa tanu veśa nirajhampa;
ghāmalo sab tanu upajalo kampa
sarasa sambhāṣaṇa hāsa paripāṭī;
tāmbūla adhare adhare lei bāṅṭi 

         “When I see His form My eyes are satisfied, and when I hear His glories My ears are blessed. I have offered the desires of My mind to Cupid and My heart was stolen by (His) sandalpaste and camphor. O sakhi! O sakhi! Today’s pastimes have sprinkled My body with only nectar! I cannot describe My loving eagerness even with thousands of mouths! When He touches Me I shiver, My whole body becomes overwhelmed and I perspire over every limb. He speaks sweet words to Me, He’s expert in joking, and He places betel leaves on My lips.”

         In the mood of Śrī Rādhā, Śrīman Mahāprabhu was also constantly absorbed in hearing and chanting Kṛṣṇa’s glories.

āra kārya prabhura nāhiko avasara;
nāma guṇa bolen śunena nirantara
(Caitanya Bhāgavata)

“The Lord was not doing anything else but hearing and speaking of Kṛṣṇa’s names and qualities. There was no time left for anything else.”

From this Gaura-līlā innumerable fountains of Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa glories have sprung.
The Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇava-storehouse is most enriched with these glories of Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa.

prema-mūrti varā gaurī,              kārtikera adhīśvarī,
Kṛṣṇa priyā Kṛṣṇa-gata prāna
vrajendra kula candramā,          vaṁśī-nāde sarvottamā,
rādhikāra kīrti kore gāna.

         “Kṛṣṇa, the moon of Vrajendra Nanda’s dynasty, sings the glories of Śrī Rādhikā, who is the embodiment of love, Who is fair-complexioned, Who is the presiding goddess of the month of Kārtika, who is Kṛṣṇa’s beloved and whose life is dedicated to Kṛṣṇa, with the superb playing of His flute.”

madhura śrī vṛndāvane,         varaja lalanā gaṇe,
sīmanta mañjarī śrī rādhikā.
yāhāra rasanā sadā,        hari guṇa kīrti gāthā,
kīrtana rasete surasikā. 

         “The tongue of Śrī Rādhikā, who is the bud in the parts (the greatest) of all the young girls of sweet Śrī Vrndāvana, is always engaged in relishing Hari’s fame and glories.”