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.