NITAAI-Veda.nyf > All Scriptures By Acharyas > Krishnadasa Kaviraja Goswami > Govinda Lilamrta 2 > Chapter-12 |
CHAPTER 12
"The service of the
six seasons"
Vrnda said: "0 King
and queen of Vrndavana! Radha-Krishna! The six seasons (summer, monsoon,
autumn, heman(a, winter and spring) and their chief designers have a request at
Your lotusfeet! Please hear this with all of Your ladyfriends!" (1)
The six seasons prayed:
"We are Your servants, and we have very carefully and expertly surrendered
everything for Your love, so that Vrndavana became beautiful. Therefore, 0 king
and queen of Vrndavana, please make our work usefull by looking at it! Only
when the Lord sees the expert work of His servants their work is usefull! 0
Radhe! 0 Krishna! Please hear this plea at Your lotusfeet by all the moving and
nonmoving creatures of Vrndavana that are situated on Your playgrounds! We will
be blessed if we can see Your blissfull meeting, and by Your grace we merve
serve You then! Please fulfill our desires and reveal Yourselves unto us!"
(2-4)
Then Madhumangala and
Subala said: "Hey Krishna! Radha has robbed all the eiti7ens of Vrndavana!
She has taken away all the beauty and sweetness of the forest with Her own
beauty! Along with Her girlfriends She even stole the forest's external
features like its fruits and flowers!" (5-6)
Then Nandimukhi came and
said: "Radhe! Krishna! Accept my blessings! Holy Paurnamasi blesses You
and Your friends a hundred times! Listen to her auspicious message: "0
Radhe! Syama! King Cupid, who wields a fierce scepter, has crowned You both,
giving You equal rights to rule his kingdom Vrndavana. He gave You the
Pikabirds, the bumblebees and other creatures as Your attendants! Don't quarrel
anymore! You obstruct Your own enjoyment and You'll have to fear king Cupid's
punishment! So enter his kingdom on my order and enjoy Yourselves!" (7-9)
"Paurnamasi also
told me that: "If Radha and Krishna are quarreling you should consult
Vrnda with Them and tell me who is to blame!" (10)
Hearing this, Han told
Nandimukhi: "You know everything about Radhika! How can We meet? Look how
this crooked Radhika has plundered the forest with Her friends! They have taken
My flute also!" (11)
Kundalata said:
"Hare! You both went to king Cupid's court to quarrel, being both too
proud to admit wrong? Tell us the truth, what happened there?" (12)
Krishna said: "I
took Radhika to the king and handed Her over to him, saying:" She has
plundered your forest! Take a fine from Her and give Me My wealth back!"
When the king asked Radhika about Her version of the story She said: "The
cowherdboys with their innumerable cows have broken so many fruits and flowers out
of greed, but we nourished the forest with our own beauty!" (13-14)
"The king believed
these lies, being very partial to Radhika! Her offense was clear, I showed him,
but still he did not punish Her! That's why I'm submitting this case to
you!" (15)
Kundalata said: "If
the king is partial, then why did He stifle Her, taking the jewels of Her
youth?" (16)
Krishna said: "On
king Cupid's indication I stopped Radhika and asked My possesions back and when
She didn’t give Me I began to punish Her. But She forcibly punished Me in
return!" (17)
As She heard this, Shri
Radhika pierced Krishna's mind with Her arrow-like glances from under Her
crooked eyebrows, crying with faltering voice. Krishna became very happy when
He was beaten by Radha's playlotus. Then He pulled the iettcr from His turban
(Sec Ch. 11, verse 6) and gave it to Nandimukhi. Nandimukhi read it to herself
and the sakhis eagerly said: "Read it out loud!". So she loudly read:
"King Cupid makes it known to Nandimukhi, Vrnda, Kundalata and all the
assembled sakhis that all the wealth that Radha stole from the forest-creatures
must be returned and that a decision must be made in Radha and Madhava's
quarrel over the Muralika-flute!" (18-20)
Hearing this, the sakhis
became eager to ask Radhika aboul it. Then Visakha stood before them and asked:
"I don't understand! Radhika already told the king that She had nourished
the forest with Her own beauty!" (21)
Lalita said: "You
fool! Why are you saying this? The beautiful form of the Vraja-forest is Radhika's
reflection! What is the king going to do to us? Wicked people complain about
us! We will sustain the forest ourselves and reap its fruits and flowers. If
you say we should still execute king Cupid's order, then look at the forest, go
ahead! It is nourished by the Queen of Vrndavana (Shri Radhika) as if it was
Her own girlfriend!" (22-24)
"We have not seen
Your flute, which is initiated in a vow to destroy the ladies' chastity,
anywhere! We'll be lucky if we can throw it into the Yamuna! Let it float to
the ocean!" (25)
Nandimukhi said:
"Krishna! Radhika says that She nourishes the whole forest with Her own
lustre. Consider whether this is true or false, and then we will decide about
Your flute!" (26)
Lalita, who was eager to
arrange for Radha and Krishna's enjoyment in the forest, followed Radhika and
said to the sakhis: "Come along! You can see how Radha ornaments the
forest, nourishing it with Her own beauty! All the birds, deer, trees, vines,
leaves, flowers and so have become purely golden!" Lalita showed Krishna
and His girlfriends which item was which, since they were now only
distinguishable by their shapes. (27-28)
Nandimukhi said:
"The words of Vrsabhanu's beautiful daughter are true! She has nourished
the whole forest with Her own lustre and created a festival for our eyes!"
(29)
Krishna said: "When
Radhika goes back home She will take all the wealth of the forest with Her, but
when She returns to the forest She brings it back out of fear of Cupid. Does
She know magic?" (30)
Seeing that all the
sakhis were blooming up of joy, Madhumangala brought Krishna before Radhika.
When Krishna's luster mixed with Radhika's lustre, the whole forest became
colored greeb like an emerald. (31)
Joyfully Madhumanala
said: "Friends! How splendid is the combination of Radha-Mukunda's lustre!
Did this splendor appear becauc They melted together from Cupid's heat, thus
attaining Oneness?" (32)
Tungavidya, the queen of
poets, smiled and told the assembly: "Even you all became colored like
emeralds from the melting of Gandharva-Murari's splendor as an example of the
ornamentation of Their attributes!" (33)
Then Vrnda wanted to say
something, so she waved her hand, which held Krishna's flute and by chance the
wind blew through it, so it resounded. Hearing this, everyone was astonished.
Kundalata and all the sakhis came up to Vrnda and, taking the Murali out of her
hand, said: "Vrnda is the thief!!", and took her along to
Hari.(34-35)
Radha told Kundalata:
"Sakhi Kundalatike! Your cousin has given Me unnessecary pain! Look! Now
He found the flute in Vrnda's hand! Now ask Vrnda where she got the flute, and
if she does not speak the truth, she is to be punished!" (36)
Vrnda said: "Kunde!
Kakkhati, the old she-monkey, forcibly took the flute from Saibya's hand and
gave it to me in front of Nandimukhi in the kunja!" (37)
Then Kundalata gave the
flute back to Krishna, who began to play on it, happy to have it back after so
long. The sound of this flute is like the conjugal fever caused by the
Ghuna-worm, which causes the bamboo-like chastity of all the ladies of the
three worlds to rot. It causes all immobile creatures to move and it stuns all
mobile creatures, it causes all the six seasons of the year to appear
simultaneously and it sprinkles the whole world with the nectar of
transcendental bliss. The fixed arrows of Shri Krishna's Murali (flute)-songs
madden even the most calm women, casting their patience far away! Even the men
become afflicted by Cupid's arrows! This is not so astonishing, since Krishna
is Himself the transcendentaL Cupid! (38-40)
The flickering sound of
this flute causes mountains to melt and to flow in all directions. The thirsty
birds and deer that eagerly approach this fluid become stunned after hearing
this flutesong and are unable to drink it. The water in the lakes is stoned and
causes the female swans to become stunned also, as if their feet were firmly
bound in it. Although their husbands wanted to mate with them and feed them
lotusstems, they were also stunned and could neither move nor eat. (41-42)
Then Vrnda took Radha and
Krishna along to show Them the beauty of Vrndavana in the six seasons, saying:
"Look! This forest looks as beautiful as Your girlfriends, being absorbed
in love. Just as the sakhis are beautiful with their ecstasies like inertia, so
the forest is also beautiful when its mobile creatures become inert and its
immobile creatures start moving, it perspires with its melting stones, it's
voice falters with the flapping of it's birds' wings and its sprouts show its ecstatic
goosepimples (In this way the forest shows its eight sa(tvika ecstatic
transformations)." (43-44)
"In the spring
Vrndavana's body shines with ornaments of Madhavi- and Bakula-flowers, in the
summer with Mallika-, Amogha (rose)- and Sirisa-flowers, in the monsoon with
Yuthika-, Kadamba- and Ketaki-flowers, in the autumn with Jati-, lotus- and
blue Jhintiflowers, in the Hemanta-season with Lodhra- and Amlana and in the
winter with Bandhuka-, Kunda- and other pretty flowers!" (45)
"0 destroyer of
Bakasura! For the sake of Your worship the Madhavi-vines blossom with mangoes,
the best Mallika's with the Sirasa-flowers, the Yuthika's with the Kadamba's,
the Jatiflowers with the Chatima-trees, the Lodhra's with blooming, unwilted
Pali's and the Priyanga-vines with the Kunda-flowers!" (46)
"Somewhere the bees
sing with the cuckoos, somewhere the Casabirds (golden Cataka's) sing with the
Dhumyataka's (fork-tailed passerine-birds), somewhere the Datyuha's
(gallulines) sing with the peacocks and the Cataka-birds, somewhere the cranes
sing with the swans, somewhere the parrots sing with the Kikhi-birds and
somewhere the larks and the Haritaki's always blissfully and lovingly sing Your
glories and fame!" (47)
"Some branches carry
buds, other branches blooming sprouts, others only flowers, some have green
leaves, some have pale leaves, some have ripe, some have half-ripe and some
have unripe fruits. These You are served by the six seasons with their own
individual characteristics!" (48)
"The six seasons
with their Laksmi's (presiding goddesses) desire the happiness of direct loving
service to You with their own paraphernalia, their bodies beautifled with
sweetness and opulence as if they were Your loving girlfriends!" (49)
"Knowing that You
will come from Your home, Vrndikatavi (Vrndavana) spreads out a canopy of
upflying flowerpollen (or petals) and its vines and trees blissfully dance in
the wind. The multicolored flowers that fall from these trees are like a nice
dress that joyfully cover the paths for Your arrival, the moonstone altars in
the forest melt when Your moonlike faces appear and that water is Your padya
(footwater for the deity in puja) flowing down the path, mixing with
Durva-sprouts, Syamaka- and lotusfiowers that grow there. The flowers,
Durva-grass and sprouts offer arghya, Jatiphala and clove-buds falling from the
trees are Your mouthwatei; the honey dripping from the flowers are madhuparka,
which is brought before You by the trees that are bowing down. The cool
fragrant breezes carry many drops of water that give You a shower."
(50-54)
"Your bodies defeat
the lustre of jeweled mirrors. For these bodies the forest of Vrndavana has
made suitable dresses and ornaments of fresh buds, flowers and leaves of
various colours. The restless wind meets with the nice fragrance of
sandalpaste, aguru, musk and vermilion that came from the forest and blissfully
smears Your limbs with the fragrant pollen named Pattavasa!" (55-56)
"The forest
blissfully ornaments You with half bunches of Bakula-flowers, single strings of
Jasmine-flowers, a Gostananecklace of Yuthi-flowers, earrings of fresh
Malati-flowers, blooming Amlana-flowers for the braid, little bells made of
Kundaflowers and other floral ornaments!" (57)
"Vrndavana offers
You different kinds of garlands with the best self-grown flowers, Tulasi-leaves
and buds as well as sprouts. The forest offers You incense with ascending waves
of fragrance in the form of its restless bumblebees, a lamp with its swinging
Campaka-flowers and foodstuffs with their sweet fruits. The barks of the
banana-trees offer You betelleaves with camphor, cardamom and cloves it
produces itself along with guvak and leaves from the ahi vines. These leaves
automatically fall from the trees with Bakula- and Sephali-flowers. Along with
this flower shower, the sari and suka-parrots sing Your glories!" (58-61)
"The buds of the
Campaka-flowers that grow on the tips of the branches are like lamps for
offering to You, waved by the wind The songs of the birds are like the playing
of musical instruments and the humming of the bees are like the songs sung in
arati that the forest joyfully offers to You. The branches of the trees
blissfully bow down to You with their burden of flowers, fruits and sprouts,
swinging up and down in the wind They blissfully offer innumerable obeisances
to Your lotusfeet!" (62-63)
"The birds sing Your
glories, the bumblebees play musical instruments and the Pika-birds sing in the
fifth note, the suka and sarika-parrots talk about You and the peacocks are
dancing. The joyful whirlwind puts up an umbrella with a net of flowerpollen,
from which nectarean honeydrops ooze, the whisk-like vines and the palm-like
banana-leaves are happily fanning You here and there as if they are in a great
sacrificial festival of bliss. In this way the forest also pleases all other
living beings!" (64-66)
"0 Mukunda! The soft
breeze becomes like a weaver, making a multi-colored canopy of flowerpollen
here and there as Your shelter from the sun, and the bees help him holding the
cloth!" (67)
(Then Vrnda took Radha
and Krishna along to the spring-forest and said:) "0 king and queen!
Behold the Vasanta Kanta-forest in front of You, where the spring, the king of
seasons, is eagerly and joyfully awaiting You to serve You with its own
opulences!" (68)
Seeing the beauty of this
forest, Han happily described it to His heart's beloved who was eager to know
its sweetness: "0 Kundadanti (girl with teeth as white as Kundaflowers)!
Look! The bumblebees, being satisfied with drinking their honey, leave the
Kunda-flowers and go to the mango-vines, loudly humming out of greed for their
honey." (69-70)
"0 Kalakanthi (girl
with a sweet voice)! The cuckoos are singing, eating the mango-pits! Now look!
The cuckoos and their wives give up their vows of silence and go to the budding
mango-tree to sweeten their voices with it's harsh!" (71)
"These Campaka-vines
that are embraced by blooming Madhavi- and golden Yuthika-vines and the
Bakulatrees that are entwined by fresh Jasmine-vines are shining before the
Tamala-garlands, the Punnaga-, the beautiful Tilaka-, mango-, Vanjula- and Naga
Kesartrees!" (72)
"And look, 0
Moonfaced girl! The fresh Jasmine-flowers shine with the Punnaga-trees, the
best clove-garlands with the Bakula-trees, the Kubja-vines with the golden
Kovidara-trees, the Ketakiflowcrs with the Campaka's, the Asoka-trees with the
golden Yuthi-vines, the nice Kimsuka-trees with the roses, the Madhavivines
with the mango-vines and the white lotusfiowers with the Kesars!" (73)
"This forest has
Atimukta-trees, therefore the chariotmakers take shelter of it (chariots are
made out of its wood), the makers of Madhavi-garlands like it (Atimukta means
Madhavi flower) and those who desire liberation come here (to Vrndavana.
Atimukta means completely liberated)." (74)
"The flower arrows
of Cupid are made from the trees and vines of this foresL A phalanx of bees are
its inspectors, wandering from flower to flower, loudly buzzing to indicate
which one is fit and which one is unfit" (75)
"This female bee now
sees her lover within a flower. Seeing her own reflection beside him she burns
with jealous anger, thinking this to be a rival of hers. Although she is very
thirsty she refuses to enter that flower and drink it's honey" (76)
"Look, 0 lotusfaced
girl! The bananatree shows its teeth in the form of it's fresh fruits out of
joy from seeing Us! Their bark is their lips and they shower honey on us,
smiling with bodies shivering of joy! The young bees form a group with their
mates and begin to dance the Hallisaka (circular dance of one man and many
ladies) on the vines and then go to hide in the lotuscluster." (77-78)
Madhumangala showed his
dear Vrndatavi (Vrndavana) to Radha and Krishna, saying: "0 king and queen
of the Vraja-forests! Look at the beautiful summer-forest that is very eager to
serve You! Seeing Your auspicious arrival, it has become very beautiful!"
(79-80)
"The Tittibha-birds
sing like Dundubhi-drums, the Dhumyataka's sing like Bheri-drums, the crickets
hum like hand cymbals, the cuckoos sing like vina's and the Casa-birds sing
like [)amaru-drums (an X-shaped drum like Lord Siva's). The sarika- parrots
recite Your praises, the bees are singing and the vines are dancing out of joy
from seeing You! The forest is eager to serve You with roses for garments,
Sirasaflowers for earrings and Jasmines for body ornaments! These are all
blissfully provided by the forest! This forest wants to serve You with eatables
like thcsc ripe Pilu-fruits, Kari's, Myrobalans, good jackfruits, mangoes,
Bael-fruits, Vikantha's and palmseeds. They make me very happy also!"
(81-83)
"The trees and vines
become afraid that You will suffer from the heat caused by the sunrays that
shine on the sunstone-studded floor and lovingly shade and fan You with their
leaves. The banana-trees are like ladies that have seven sons, keeping them all
around them, fondling them with their hand-like foliage and showering them with
the honey dripping from their flowers as if they're breastfeeding them."
(84-85)
"0 llare! Look!
Looking at the cuckoo, that keeps its long beak in the ripe mango, the sakhis
laugh, taking it to be You kissing Radha on the mouth! Seeing this, Radhika
lowers Her head out of shyness!" (86)
"A Jasmine-creeper
embraces a Tamala-tree by the side of this beautiful lake. It's flowers are the
smiling face of this Tamalatree and the wandering bees are it's eyebrows. It is
as if the prince of cowherders takes the excellent gopis with Him and joyfully
dances the Hallisaka!" (87)
Radha and Mukunda smiled
sweetly when They heard Madhumangala's words and They put Sirasa-flowers,
handed by Vrnda, on Eachother's ears. Krishna showered Radhika's curly locks
with flowerpollen and Radhika lifted Her arm, showing Her armit, to shower
Krishna's locks and crowning peacockfeather with flowerpollen.(88-89)
Krishna touched His
beloved's heart and said: "Priye! Has the quality of coolness, being burned
by the summerheat, fled and taken shelter of the boulder-fortress of Your
breasts?" (90)
"0 Beloved One! The
irrigation-reservoirs' moonstone dams'start producing water when they see the
rising of Your moonlike face (a moonstone melts when the moonrays touch it), so
the birds and their wives start enjoying on the crests of their bridges,
bathing and drinking there to remove the summer heat!" (91)
Then Subala told Radha
and Krishna: "Look at this beautiful monsoon-forest before You, where the
peacocks, blinded with love, dance like mad, taking You to be a lightning in a
cloud!" (92)
"And look! The
Yuthika-flowers in this forest smile very proudly when they attract the
restless honeybees to themselves from the laps of the best housewives, the
jasmine-flowers, with their fragrance (like prostitutes attracting unfaithful
husbands from their wives' laps with their fragrance)!" (93)
"This forest shines
with swarms of bumblebees, great rainshowers and Yuthika-vines that keep the
bees together, covered by dark clouds. The sky is covered by clouds and the
earth is inundated. All directions are pervaded by blooming Arjuna, Nipa and
Kadambatrees, the Pika-birds, bumblebees, Datyuha's, Cakravaka's, Cataka's and
frogs blissfully sing, and the geese, peacocks, waterfowls and swans are cooing
loudly." (94-97)
"The monsoon-forest
serves You with a dress of blue clouds, a row of ducks in the sky provides Your
pearl necklaces and the rainbow offers You jeweled ornaments. The
monsoon-goddess (pravrn laksmi) offers You a long and simple garland of
Kadamba-flowers, nice hair-ornaments with mountain jasmines, coronets of
Ketaki- and Rangana-flowers and various necklaces with blooming Arjunaflowers
and Yuthi-flowers at Your lotusfeet." (98-99)
"The monsoon-goddess
offers You ripe palmfruits that look like Shri Radhika's breasts, smeared with
kunkuma and musk, Her hairs are like ripe rose-apples and Her fingertips are
like ripe dates." (100)
krishnam vina susilah ko
va vrajam rte kva lila
bhanyata iti datyuhaih ko
va ko va kva va kva va virutaih
"Who (ka) is as
wellbehaved as Krishna, and where (kva) else (va) but in Vraja does He
play?" To ask this, the Datyuha-birds (gallulines) sing ko va ko va (who
else, who else) kva va kva va (where else, where else)." (101)
"The frogs criticize
the monsoon-cloud because the Krishna-cloud showers nectarean pastimes
everywhere, in all seasons and in all five rasas (conjugal love, parental love,
friendly love, servanthood and neutral feelings), but the monsoon showers only
one place for two months. Who (ke va) will ever leave this Krishnacloud, they
happily croak: ke va ko va." (102)
varsayate madhu sravo madhupali
ghanayate purah kadamba batiyam pasya tam durdinayate
"Look! The trees
shower honey like rain, the bees look like rainclouds and the shady
Kadamba-trees look like cloudy wcather!" (103)
"Look! This peacock,
that enjoys with his peahen, seeing other peahens coming, puts up his feathers
and begins to dance before them, hiding his beloved peahen from their
sight!" (104)
Thus the Krishna-cloud
embraced the Radha-lightning, giving great luster and growlh to the
monsoon-season. The Cataka-bird like eyes of the sakhis and indeed of the whole
universe were showered by Their nectarean pastimes! (105)
In the great poem Govinda
Lilamrta, which was the result of service to Shri Rupa Gosvami, who is a honeybee at Shri Chaitanya's lotusfeet'
the encouragement of Shri Raghunatha Dasa Gosvami, the association of Shri Jiva Gosvami and the
blessing of Shri Raghunatha Bhatta Gosfami, this was the twelfth chapter, dealing with
Radha-Govinda's midday-pastimes.