VERSE 71:

KUṬILA BHRŪ CALAC CAṆḌA KANDARPODDAṆḌA KĀRMUKE
NYASTĀPĀṄGA ŚARA KṢEPAIR VIHVALĪKṚTA MĀDHAVA

Her restless arched eyebrows are like the powerful bow of Cupid,
from where She fires arrow-like glances that agitate Mādhava.

Stavāmṛta Kaṇā Vyākhyā:

Śrī Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī, who is the most expert poet to describe Śrī Rādhikā’s sweetness, now describes Her extraordinary beauty and fragrance and the nectar of Her names and pastimes, all of which are able to control Kṛṣṇa.

“Her restless arched eyebrows are like the powerful bow of Cupid from where She fires arrow-like glances that agitate Mādhava”.

bhāṅka bhaṅgima thori janu;
kājare sājalo madana janu
(Vidyāpati):

“The slightest movement causes Cupid to awaken.”

majhu mukha heri,
bharama bhare sundarī,
jhāmpai jhāmpai dehā,
kuṭila kaṭākha viśikhe tanu jara jara,
jīvane nā bāndhai thehā
(Govinda dāsa)

“When this beautiful girl looks at My face I start shivering. My body is pierced by the sharp arrows of Her crooked glances and I cannot remain alive anymore!”

All these Mahājana-vāṇīs reveal the limitless power of Śrī Rādhā’s bow-like eyebrows and arrow-like glances. Śrī Kṛṣṇa is called Mādhava because He is always desired by billions of goddesses of fortune in Vraja, but for Him the world is empty without Śrī Rādhikā! No one else but Śrī Rādhā can delight Mādhava with the taste of mādana rasa by piercing Him and agitating Him with the arrows of Her restless glances.

The word Mā also means beauty, and dhava means ‘husband’. Kṛṣṇa is the husband of the pinnacle of beauty and the whole world is mad after His beauty and sweetness,
but still, even He becomes agitated when He is pierced by the arrows of Śrī Rādhikā’s glances, that are tinted with madana rasa.

VERSE 72:

NIJĀṄGA SAURABHODGĀRA MĀDAKAUṢADHI VĀTYAYĀ
UNMADĪKṚTA SARVAIKA MĀDAKA PRAVARĀCYUTĀ

She maddens even the infallible Acyuta, who maddens the whole world, with the fragrant breeze that emanates from Her body and that is like an aphrodisiac for Him.

Stavāmṛta Kaṇā Vyākhyā:

Now Śrī Raghunātha dāsa turns to Rādhikā’s fragrance and glorifies it, saying:
“She maddens even the infallible Acyuta, who maddens the whole world, with the breeze that carries the fragrance that emanates from Her body and that is like an aphrodisiac for Him”.

The Vedic scriptures say: raso vai sah – “God is taste”, rasānām rasatamah – “He is the taste of tastes” and rasaṁ hyevāyaṁ labdhvānandī bhavati – “When you taste the flavour of God you will become happy”.

Śrī Kṛṣṇa is rasa-svarūpa, or rasa-rāja, who maddens the whole world with joy through His sounds, touch, form, smell, taste and pastimes, but Rādhikā maddens even Him with just Her fragrance, hence She is called Gandhonmādita Mādhavā.

Śrī Rādhikā sings to Her sakhīs during rasodgāra:

‘āmāra aṅgera varaṇa saurabha yokhona ye dige pāya,
bāhu pasāriyā bāula hoiyā tokhona se dige dhāya.’

‘āmāra aṅgera bātāsa ye dige se mukhe se dina thāke’ – “Wherever Kṛṣṇa smells My bodily fragrance, carried by the wind, He stretches out His arms and turns His face and runs in that direction like a madman!”

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, in the mood of Rādhā, was maddened by Kṛṣṇa’s bodily fragrance and sang:

kasturī lipta nīlotpala, tāra yei parimala,
tāhā jini Kṛṣṇa aṅga gandha
vyāpe caudde bhuvane, kore sarva ākarṣaṇe,
nārīgaṇera āṅkhi kore andha
sakhi he! Kṛṣṇa gandha jagat mātāy
nārīra nāsāya poiśe, sarva kāla tāhā boise,
Kṛṣṇa pāśe dhari loiyā yāy
………………………………
hare nārīra tanu mana, nāsā kore ghūrṇana,
khasāya nīvī, chuṭāya keśa bandha.
kori āge bāurī, nācāya jagat nārī
(C.C.)

“The fragrance of Kṛṣṇa’s body defeats that of a blue lotus flower smeared with musk. This smell pervades all the fourteen worlds and attracts everyone, blinding the eyes of the girls. O sakhi! Kṛṣṇa’s fragrance maddens the world! It enters the womens nostrils and always remains sitting there, holding them and taking them to Kṛṣṇa! It steals the bodies and minds of women and makes their noses twirl. The women of the world then become like madwomen whose braids and girdles loosen of agitation. That’s how the highwayman of Kṛṣṇa’s bodily fragrance is!” Although Kṛṣṇa is an ocean of nectarean fragrance, the fragrant breeze that emanates from Śrī Rādhā serves as an aphrodisiac even for Him!