setu-bandha-sarovara-prasangah

Visiting Setu-Bandha Sarovara

 tatah supto 'pi bhagavan / bhakti-rasa-samanvitah

 utkanthitah kna-lila / gayan premashru-mocayan 1

   tatah - then; supta - rested; api - although; bhagavan - the Supreme Lord; bhakti-rasa-samanvitah - filled with devotional mellows; utkanthitah - ; kna-lilam - the pastimes of Krishna; gayan - singing; prema-ashru-mocayan - releasing tears of love.

  Having rested, Bhagavan Gaura then sang with great eagerness and open throat about Shri Krishna's pleasure-pastimes. Filled with the mellows of bhakti and great eagerness, tears of pure love dropped from His eyes.

 prati-kana ptavan sa / kna-dasa vadasva me

 sharvvari dirghata prapta / mama duhkha-pradayini 2

   prati-kanam - at each moment; ptavan - He inquired; sa - He; kna-dasa - O Krishna Dasa; vadasva me - tell Me; sharvari - the night; dirghatam - lengthy; prapta - endng; mama - for Me; duhkha-pradayini - giving sorrow.

  From moment to moment He would inquire, "Krishna Dasa, tell Me - is this long night now ended? It is giving Me pain."

 sa praha shnu he natha / mathura-mandalasya ca

 pramana kathyate vijnaish / catur-ashiti-kroshakam 3

   sa - he; praha - said; shnu - please hear; he natha - O Lord; mathura-mandalasya - of the circle of Mathura; ca - indeed; pramanam - the measurement; kathyate - it is said; vijnai - by the learned; catu-ashiti-kroshakam - 84 kroshas (168 square miles).

  Krishna Dasa would reply, "He Natha! Hear from me: The length and breadth of Mathura Manala is said by learned men to be 84 kroshas.

 kramato darshayiyami / sthira-citto bhavan yadi

 bhaviyasi tato mahya / sukha syad bhakta-vatsala 4

   kramata - in sequence; darshayiyami - I shall show; sthira-citta - steady mind; bhavan - Your grace; yadi - if; bhaviyasi - You will be; tata - then; mahyam - to me; sukham - happiness; syat - it can be; bhakta-vatsala - O lover of Your devotees.

  "I shall show it all to You in sequence. Dear Lord! You are famous as bhakta-vatsala, for You are very kind to Your bhaktas. If Your Grace can maintain steadiness of mind, it will bring  happiness to this bhakta."

 agatya kundottaratah / kiyad dure sarovaram

 setu-bandakhyaka pashya / shri-knena ca nirmitam 5

   agatya - arriving; kunda-uttaratah - north of the pond; kiyat - some; dure - distance; sara-varam - beautiful lake; setu-banda-akhyakam - named Setu-Bandhu, or where the bridge was built; pashya - behold; shri-knena - by Shri Krishna; ca - and; nirmitam - made.

  "Some distance to the north of the kuna, please look upon this reservoir of water named Setu-Bandha, which was personally created by Shri Krishna."

 shrutva sa-vismaya praha / pulakancita-vigrahah

 asya vivarana bruhi / kna-daseti sadaram 6

   shrutva - hearing; sa-vismayam - with wonder; praha - He said; pulaka-ancita-vigrahah - form covered by thrill bumps; asya - of this; vivaranam - description; bruhi - please tell; kna-dasa - O Krishna Dasa; iti - thus; sa-adaram - with respect.

  Hearing this with great wonder, Shri Gaura's divine body became covered by pulakas, and He said respectfully, "O Krishna Dasa! Kindly tell Me the story of this lake."

 iti shri-gaura-candrasya / vacana shravanamtam

 piban knam anusmtya / praha prahasitananah 7

   iti - thus; shri-gaura-candrasya - of Shri Gaura Candra; vacanam - the words; shravana-amtam - the nectar of hearing; piban - drinking; knam - who stops the repetition of birth and death; anusmtya - remembering through previous authorities; praha - declared; prahasita-ananah - with a laughing face.

  Quaffing through his ears the ambrosial words of Shri Gaura Candra, and remembering Shri Krishna, Krishna Dasa smiled brightly and replied as follows:

 ekada rasika-shekharo harir / gopika-rasa-vinoda-vinodi

 sarasi catra nava-kunjara-tulyah / kridati raghu-varo 'ham iti jalpan 8

   ekada - once; rasika-shekhara - the chief of rasikas; hari - the dispeller of evil; gopika-rasa - the mellows felt by the milk-maids; vinoda-vinodi - the enjoyer of the pleasure; sarasi - in the lake; ca - very; atra - here; nava-kunjara-tulyah - like a young elephant; kridati - He plays; raghu-vara - the best of the Raghu dynasty, Shri Rama Candra; aham - I; iti - thus; jalpan - talking.

  "Shri Hari, the chief among all rasikas, delights in tasting sweet relishable mellows in the midst of the assembly of gopikas. Once, while sporting like a young elephant within this very lake, He announced, `I am Shri Rama Candra, the best of the Raghu dynasty!'

 praha ta ramani-shiromani-radha / gopa-putras tvam asi godhana-cari

 satya-dharma-pratipalaka-rajas / tasya karma para-durghatam eva 9

   praha - She said; tam - to Him; ramani - amongst lovers; shira-mani - the crest jewel; radha - Radha; gopa-putra - the son of a cowherd; tvam - You; asi - are; go-dhana - with a wealth of cows; cari - wanderer; satya-dharma - the virtue and truthfulness; pratipalaka - protector; raja - the king; tasya - his; karma - work; para-durghatam - very difficult for others; eva - indeed.

  "Shrimati Radharani, the crest-jewel of all charming goddesses, responded, `You are only a cow-herd's son. Indeed, You wander about tending his herds of cows. A king is the protector of truth and virtue. His task is certainly a very difficult one for others to attempt.'

 sindhu-bandhana-ravana-nashanam / etad eva hi tasya su-shobhanam

 ma kuru nija-guna-prakashana / balika-vasana-bhuana-caura 10

   sindhu - ocean; bandhana - bridging; ravana-nashanam - destroying Ravana; etat - this; eva - indeed; hi - certainly; tasya - His; su-shobhanam - very glorious; ma - not; kuru - do; nija-guna-prakashanam - broadcast Your own glories; balika - of young girls; vasana - of garments; bhuana - of ornaments; caura - O thief.

  "`To destroy the demon Ravana, Shri Rama Candra built a bridge to Lanka. That was certainly a very glorious achievement. Don't venture to broadcast Your own qualities and compare Yourself to Him, for You are nothing but a thief of the clothes and ornaments of young girls!'

 kna aha parama-kautaka-rashir / hasya-kautuka-rasaika-vilasi

 sarvva-sad-guna-nidhir aham eva / janihiti tvam asi gopa-kumari 11

   kna - all-attractive; aha - said; parama-kautaka - supreme pranks; rashi - series; hasya - laughter; kautuka - jest-filled; rasa - mellows; eka - exclusive; vilasi - enjoyer; sarva - all; sat-guna - fine qualities; nidhi - treasure; aham - I; eva - indeed; janihi - You should know; iti - thus; tvam - You; asi - You are; gopa-kumari - the daughter of a cowherd.

  "Then Shri Krishna, who is the master-mind of uncountable transcendental pranks and the exclusive enjoyer of mischievous rasa-imbued jests, replied to Radha, `I am an exquisite jewel of all sublime qualities, and this You know very well, for You are a cowherd's daughter!

 vka-parvvata-maha-dhana-banaih / prastara yadi kadapi na plavyah

 tarhi sarvva-guna-ratna-sameta / pashyata bhava-nidhe 'pi prabhavam 12

   vka - trees; parvata - mountain; maha-dhana - great abundance; vanaih - by weaving; prastara - couches of leaves and flowers; yadi - if; kadapi - at any time; na - not; plavyah - floating; tarhi - since; sarva-guna-ratna - all jewel-like qualities; sametam - assembled; pashyata - just see; bhava-nidhe - O ocean of ecstasy; api - although; prabhavam - influence.

  "`If someone were to take the great abundance of rocks and trees from the mountains and weave them together upon the water, they could never float. Still, O source of My ecstasy! You may now witness a demonstration of the power of My host of sublime jewel-like qualities!'

 shrutva sarvvah parama-rasika radhika-vakya-saram

    baddhva hy anga parama-rabhasat prastaradin sva-sakhyah

 aninyus tah sa-taru-nicayan tena baddha kta tat

    pashyantyas tah sa-jaya-dhvanibhis ta pranamyashashasuh 13

   shrutva - hearing; sarvah - all; parama-rasika - topmost experts of rasa; radhika-vakya-saram - the essence of Radha's words; baddhva - tying together; hi - indeed; angam - their bodies; parama-rabhasat - out of supreme enthusiasm; prastara-adin - the rocks and so on; sva-sakhyah - Her friends; aninyu- they brought; tah - they; sa-taru-nicayan - with all the trees; tena - by Him; baddham - bound; ktam - done; tat - that; pashyantya - looking on; tah - they; sa-jaya-dhvanibhi - with cries of "All glories!"; tam - to Him; pranamya - bowing down; prashashasuh - they praised.

  "All of Radha's sakhis are the topmost rasikas, and understood the inner meaning of Radhika's words, Enthusiastically forming a line and they brought many rocks, trees and so forth from the forest. Shri Krishna used these to form a bridge that floated upon the water of this kuna, and as everyone looked upon the scene, they bowed down and glorified Him with utterances of `Jaya! Jaya!'

 shri-radha-kna-lila parama-madhura hasya-rasadi-prayukta

    * * * gopikabhir jayati ca parama santata-prema-purna

 ya * * * shrutvapi parama-rasikas tau smareyuh sukhena

    jnanananda hasantah sa-rabhasam akhila mokam apy akipanti 14

   shri-radha-kna - of the original youthful Couple; lila - the pastimes; parama-madhura - extremely relishable; hasya-rasa-adi - by the mellows headed by the mellow of laughter; prayukta - imbued; gopikabhi - with the milk-maids; jayati - glories!; ca - and; paramam - zenith; santata-prema-purna - forever filled by love; yam - whom; shrutva - hearing; api - indeed; parama-rasika - topmost rasikas; tau - those two (Radha and Krishna); smareyuh - they remember; sukhena - with glad hearts; jnana-ananda - the happiness of transcendental knowledge; hasantah - laughing; sa-rabhasam - without a qualm; akhilam - entirely; mokam - liberation; api - even; akipanti - deride.

   "The pastimes of Shri Shri Radha-Krishna in the company of their gopi friends are imbued with the zenith of relishable rasa, always beginning with the rasa of comedy. All glories to those pleasure-pastimes, which are forever filled with the uninterrupted ever-expanding flow of Their divine prema! The topmost rasikas who hear of these pastimes and thus remember the Divine Couple simply laugh at the idea of achieving happiness through mere transcendental knowledge, and without a qualm they utterly ridicule the thought of liberation."

    [* words lost from original manuscript.]

 etad gaura-harih kna-rahasya paramadbhutam

 shrutva radha-rasavesho / nanartta vivasha muda 15

   etat - this; gaura-harih - the golden Lord; kna-rahasyam - the confidential pastimes of Krishna; parama-adbhutam - very astonishing; shrutva - hearing; radha-rasa-avesha - immersed in the mellow of Radha; nanarta - He danced; vivasham - uncontrollably; muda - in gladness.

   Hearing this most astounding and confidential narration of Shri Krishna-lila, Shri Gaura Hari became immersed in the ecstatic moods of Shrimati Radharani, and He danced in joyful abandon.

   Thus ends the Fifth Sarga entitled "Visiting Setu-Bandha Sarovara," in the Fourth Prakrama of the great poem Shri Chaitanya Carita.