Text 44

Govinda-līlāmṛta (2.1) describes the early morning pastimes (prātaḥlīlā) as follows:

राधां स्नात-विभूषितां व्रजपयाहूतां सखीभिः प्रगे तद्-गेहे विहितान्न-पाक-रचनां कृष्णावशेषाशनाम्
कृष्णं बुद्धम् अवाप्त-धेनु-सदनं निर्व्यूढ-गो-दोहनं सुस्नातं कृत-भोजनं सहचरैस् तां चाथ तं चाश्रये

rādhāṃ snāta-vibhūṣitāṃ vrajapayāhūtāṃ sakhībhiḥ prage tad-gehe vihitānna-pāka-racanāṃ kṛṣṇāvaśeṣāśanām
kṛṣṇaṃ buddham avāpta-dhenu-sadanaṃ nirvyūḍha-go-dohanaṃ susnātaṃ kṛta-bhojanaṃ sahacarais tāṃ cātha taṃ cāśraye

After the kuñja-bhaṅga-līlā, or niśānta-līlā (pastimes at night’s end), Śrī Rādhā-Śyāmasundara return to Their respective abodes and lie down on Their beds. The condition of Śrī Kiśorī in Jāvaṭa is indescribable as She burns in separation from Her beloved. Śrī Rūpa and Rati Mañjarīs are absorbed in their service to Her and give Her encouragement, again infusing Her with life. Sometimes Jaṭilā, sometimes Mukharā and sometimes Paurṇamāsī enter Śrī Kiśorī’s quarters, and at this time Śyāmalā also comes. Kiśorī and Śyāmalā become immersed in joking with each other. In this way, the pastime always takes on newer and newer aspects. Rūpa, Rati and other mañjarīs render intimate service to Śrīmatī by bathing Her, decorating Her and so forth, and at the same time, they remind Her of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes.

राधा स्नात विभूषित, श्री-यशोदा-समाहुत,
सखी-सङ्गे तद् गृहे गमन
तथा पाक-विरचन, श्री-कृष्णावशेषाशन,
मध्ये-मध्ये दुङ्हार मिलन

rādhā snāta vibhūṣita, śrī-yaśodā-samāhuta,
sakhī-saṅge tad gṛhe gamana
tathā pāka-viracana, śrī-kṛṣṇāvaśeṣāśana,
madhye-madhye duṅhāra milana

कृष्ण निद्रा परिहरि, गोष्ठे गो-दोहन करि,
स्नानाशन सहचर सङ्गे
एइ लीला चिन्ता कर, नाम-प्रेमे गरगर,
प्राते भक्त-जन-सङ्गे रङ्गे

kṛṣṇa nidrā parihari, goṣṭhe go-dohana kari,
snānāśana sahacara saṅge
ei līlā cintā kara, nāma-preme garagara,
prāte bhakta-jana-saṅge raṅge

एइ लीला चिन्त आर कर सङ्कीर्तन
अचिरे पाइबे तुमि भाव-उद्दीपन

ei līlā cinta āra kara saṅkīrtana
acire pāibe tumi bhāva-uddīpana

Commentary: Bhajana-rahasya-vṛtti:

Śrī Kiśorī and Her sakhīs depart for Nanda-bhavana. On the way, they meet Śrī Śyāmasundara and many past imes full of rasa take place. Our Gosvāmīs have revealed these pastimes in their writings. Upon reaching Nanda-bhavana, Kiśorī starts to cook and prepares many tasty dishes on the countless stoves that surround Her.

Śyāmasundara is sleeping in His home. Yaśodā-maiyā awakens Him, and upon seeing the nail-marks on the body of her dear son (lālā), she becomes sad and says, “The limbs of my lālā are as soft as the petals of a blue lotus. Why have the boys hurt Him in their wrestling matches? And His limbs are smeared with so much mineral pigments! Alas, alas! What to do? I do not know how to put an end to this.”

Kundalatā jokingly says, “Your lālā is performing rāsa at night.” But the word rāsa is unknown to Yaśodā-maiyā. Then, after expressing affection for His mother, Śyāmasundara jumps up from bed and goes to milk the cows. Upon His return, He bathes, eats and then leaves for cowherding. Kiśorī shyly accepts some of Her beloved’s remnants and returns to Jāvaṭa with Her sakhīs.

Many other pastimes take place amidst all these līlās, and it would be very difficult to describe them all. A premī-bhakta performs bhajana while remembering these pastimes, which are alluded to here, and tastes their rasa even in the stage of sādhana.

Thus ends the Dvitīya-yāma-sādhana,
Prātaḥ-kālīya-bhajana, of Śrī Bhajana-rahasya.