VERSE 52:
KṚṢṆA MĀNASA HAṀSASYA MĀNASĪ SARASĪ VARĀ
KṚṢṆA CĀTAKA JĪVĀTU NAVĀMBHODA PAYAḤ ŚRUTIShe is the great Mānas Sarovara where the swan of Kṛṣṇa’s mind flies,
and She is the shower from the fresh monsoon cloud
that gives life to the Cātaka-bird named Kṛṣṇa.
Stavāmṛta Kaṇā Vyākhyā:
The Mānas Sarovara is situated in North India and the swans go there annually to mate. It is the abode of their greatest happiness, and similarly Śrī Rādhikā is the Mānas Sarovara for the swan of Kṛṣṇa’s mind.
He can never forget Śrī Rādhā.
Śrī Rādhā is like a fresh monsoon cloud that is the only life-support of the Cātaka-bird named Kṛṣṇa. The thirsty Cātaka-bird may have a parched throat in the summer,
but it will still not go to the clear rivers and ponds for drinking. It only drinks its fill with the water that is showered by the clouds at the beginning of the monsoon, and similarly Kṛṣṇa cannot be pleased even by millions of gopīs if premamayī Rādhā is not there with them.
This is best proven by the poet Jayadeva in the Vasanta Rāsa chapter of his Gīta Govinda. Only the unceasing mahā bhāva-shower from the fresh Rādhā-cloud can quench the thirst of the Cātaka-bird named Kṛṣṇa, who then tells Her:
śrī rādhe śrī rādhe vāṇī, ye dige yāra mukhe śuni,
sei dike dhāya more mana.
cātaka phukāra yeno, ghana cāhe variṣana,
teno heri o cānda vadana.
(Pada Kalpataru)
“Whenever I hear the name ‘Śrī Rādhe Śrī Rādhe’ from anyone’s mouth,
My mind runs there. I look at Your moon-like face just as a Cātaka-bird hankers for the rain from the monsoon cloud!”
