The special reward the mañjarīs get from their abhinava bhāva-śuddhi (novel, immaculate attitude) is unatttainable even for the preṣṭha sakhīs like Śrī Lalitā.
Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī has written in his Vraja Vilāsa Stava (38):
tāmbūlārpaṅa pāda-mardana payo dānābhisārādibhir
vṛndāraṇya maheśvarīṁ priyatayā yās toṣayanti priyāḥ
prāṇa preṣṭha sakhī kulād api kilāsaṅkocitā bhūmikāḥ
kelī bhūmiṣu rūpa mañjarī mukhās tā dāsikāḥ saṁśraye
“I take shelter of Śrī Rādhikā’s maidservants, headed by Rūpa Mañjarī, who always engage in serving betel leaves, massaging the feet, serving water, and arranging for the Divine Couple’s secret trysts.
These maidservants are even more dear to the great Queen of Vṛndāraṇya (Śrī Rādhikā) than the prāṇa preṣṭha sakhīs (the girlfriends that are dearer to Her than life), and She is therefore not at all shy before them!”
rati-raṇe śramayuta, nāgarī nāgara
mukha bhari tāmbūla yogāya
malaya-ja kuṅkuma, mṛga-mada karpūra,
militahi gāta lāgāya
aparūpa priya sakhī prema!
nija prāṇa koṭi, dei niramañchai,
naha tula lākho bāṇa hema
“How wonderful is the love of the priya sakhīs! They serve Nāgarī (heroine Rādhikā) and Nāgara (hero Kṛṣṇa) with millions of lives when They are tired of lovemaking, by filling Their mouths with betel leaves and by anointing Their bodies with sandalwood paste, vermilion, musk and camphor. Their love is so pure that it cannot even be compared to gold molten a hundred-thousand times over!”
manorama mālya, duhu gole arpai,
vījai śīta mṛdu bāta
sugandhī śītala, koru jala arpaṇa,
yaiche hota duhu śāṅta
“They offer enchanting garlands to Their necks, give Them a cool breeze by fanning Them, and relieve Them from Their heated affliction by offering Them cool and fragrant water.”
duhuka caraṇa puna, mṛdu saṁvāhana,
kori śrama korolohi dūra
iṅgite śayana, korolo duhu sakhī-gaṇa
sabahu manoratha pūra
“These sakhīs again softly massage Their feet and thus remove Their fatigue. On Their indication they put the Divine Pair to rest and fulfill any of Their other desires.”
kusuma śeje duhu, nidrita herai,
sevana parāyaṇa sukha.
rādhā mohana dāsa, kiye herabo,
meṭabo sab mano-dukha
“These girls, that are totally dedicated to their devotional service, then put the Divine Pair to sleep on a bed of flowers. All the mental distress of Rādhā Mohana dāsa is mitigated when he sees this.”
The sweet relish of this confidential pastime of the Śrī-Śrī Yugala Kiśora is the long-desired treasure of the mañjarīs. Hence the mañjarīs never desire personal meetings with Śrī Kṛṣṇa. But that does not mean that they are deprived of this rasa. Their one-ness in feeling (bhāva-tādātmya) with Śrī Rādhā is so remarkable that they experience all of Her bodily relish in a special way.
spṛśati yadi mukundo rādhikāṁ tat sakhīnāṁ
bhavati vapuṣi kampa sveda romañca vāṣpam
adhara madhu mudāsyās cet pibaty esa yatnād
bhavati bata tad āsāṁ mattatā citram etat
“How amazing! When Mukunda touches Rādhikā, Her girlfriends cry of ecstasy and their bodies tremble, perspire, and are studded with goosepimples, and when Kṛṣṇa blissfully drinks the honey of Rādhikā’s lips (by kissing Her), then they all become mad!” (Govinda Līlāmrta 11.137)
Srila Ananta das Babaji
