Text 7

The sentiments of Śrī Rādhā in the state of dūra-pravāsa (separation by distance) are most favourable for the meditation of the sādhaka, who, immersed in these sentiments, should read Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam’s Bhramara-gīta and other such chapters.

Śrī Mādhavendra Purī has expressed Śrī Rādhikā’s bhāvocchvāsa, outburst of feeling that expresses the bhāva hidden in the heart, at the time of pravāsa (Padyāvalī 334):

अयि दीन-दयार्द्र नाथ हे मथुरा-नाथ कदावलोक्यसे
हृदयं त्वद्-अलोक-कातरं दयित भ्राम्यति किं करोम्य् अहम्

ayi dīna-dayārdra nātha he mathurā-nātha kadāvalokyase
hṛdayaṃ tvad-aloka-kātaraṃ dayita bhrāmyati kiṃ karomy aham

O You whose heart is most merciful to the wretched! O Master! O Lord of Mathurā! When will I see You again? O beloved Lord of My life, because I cannot see You, My heart has become agitated. What shall I do now?

हे दीन-दयार्द्र-नाथ, हे कृष्ण मथुरा-नाथ,
कबे पुनः पाब दरशन
ना देखि’ से चाङ्दमुख, व्यथित हृदये दुःख,
हे दयित! कि करि एखन?

he dīna-dayārdra-nātha, he kṛṣṇa mathurā-nātha,
kabe punaḥ pāba daraśana
nā dekhi’ se cāṅdamukha, vyathita hṛdaye duḥkha,
he dayita! ki kari ekhana?

Commentary: Bhajana-rahasya-vṛtti:

As the Kaustubha jewel is the topmost of all jewels, this verse is foremost among rasa poetry. Śrī Svāminī spoke it in the state of divyonmāda (divine madness), when She was deeply aggrieved in separation from Kṛṣṇa, and by Her mercy it manifested in the speech of Śrī Mādhavendra Purīpāda. Then, accepting the mood of Śrī Rādhā, Śrī Kṛṣṇacandra relished this verse as Śrī Gauracandra. No fourth person has ever tasted its inner moods. Uttering this verse, Śrīman Mahāprabhu would become overwhelmed by prema and faint. In the madness of love, sometimes He would run here and there, sometimes He would laugh and sometimes He would dance. He was unable to utter more than “ayi dīna, ayi dīna” due to absorption in ecstatic love (premāveśa ). Tears would flow from His eyes, and sāttvika, vyabhicārī and other bhāvas appeared in His body in their blazing state (sūddīpta ). (This is described by Śrī Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī in Śrī Caitanyacaritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā 4.191–203.)

Śrīman Mahāprabhu is the gardener of the desire tree of kṛṣṇaprema. He distributes the fruits of this tree and also relishes them Himself. Śrī Mādhavendra Purī, whose heart was saturated with kṛṣṇa-prema, was the very first sprout of this desire tree. With Śrī Īśvara Purī, this sprout of prema-rasa grew. The gardener, Śrī Caitanya Himself, manifested as the trunk. Previous to Śrī Mādhavendra Purīpāda, there was no rasamayī-upāsanā, devotional service in amorous love, in the Madhva sampradāya. Through the ideas expressed by the Tattvavādīs, whom Śrīman Mahāprabhu met while travelling in South India, one can understand that worship in the Madhva sampradāya used to be performed only in a mood of awe and reverence (aiśvaryamayī-upāsanā).

Various sañcāri-bhāvas manifest in the state of separation (viraha) and agitate the ocean of prema. Humility (dainya), envy (asūyā) and contrariness (māna) due to jealousy appear in the heart and nourish the sthāyibhāva. Many kinds of sañcāri-bhāvas arise in Śrī Rādhā’s heart when She is submerged in the ocean of separation from Śrī Kṛṣṇa. Bhāva-utpatti (the generation of a bhāva), bhāvasandhi (the meeting together of two bhāvas, either of the same or different types), bhāva-śābalya (the clashing of many bhāvas, in which one bhāva suppresses another and becomes prominent) and bhāva-śānti (pacification of an extremely powerful bhāva ) create waves in this ocean of separation.

Rādhā, who is mad in separation (viraha-unmādinī), addressed Kṛṣṇa in extreme humility: “Ayi dīna-dayārdra-nātha ! O Kṛṣṇa, You are very simple-hearted and affectionate. It is You who remove the sorrows of the residents of Vraja, so please bestow Your mercy upon Me. You give mercy to all living entities, thus protecting them from all distress, so why will You not give mercy to Me, who am separated from My master? If You do not bestow Your mercy upon Me, Your reputation as ‘He who removes the distress of the residents of Vraja’ will be ruined. Only You are My beloved.” This is why the word nātha, meaning ‘master’, is used in this verse.

In this ocean of separation, though, there is a towering wave that represses this feeling of humility (dainya ) and manifests the mood of envy (asūyā) and contrariness (māna ) due to jealousy. Now Śrī Rādhā addresses Śyāmasundara as Mathurā-nātha, the Lord of Mathurā. “O Mathurā-nātha, why would You be merciful to us now? How can You remember us while You are in Mathurā, where hundreds of affectionate, beautiful ladies serve You? Surely You have forgotten us milkmaids. Since You are receiving so much honour from the fabulously opulent kings of Mathurā, how can You have time to remember us wretched persons? In the company of Mathurā’s Yādavas, Your heart has also become hard. Why would it melt upon seeing the condition of us gopīs, who are anguished in separation?”

Speaking thus, Śrī Rādhā becomes momentarily stunned, and the sañcāri-bhāva of dainya again appears. She says, “O beloved (dayita)! O Śyāmasundara, You are more dear to us than our own lives. How can we forget Your loving dealings? When we would become tired during the rāsa dance, You would wipe away our drops of perspiration with Your own pītāmbara. And if our kuṅkuma stained the pītāmbara, You would lovingly hold it to Your heart. When You left us You said, ‘I will return.’ With this assurance, we remain alive. But having to wonder whether You will return or not confuses us, so please give us some consolation. Our restless hearts are truly hankering to see Your moon-like face.”

Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura writes that the topmost bhajana is to follow the vraja-devīs’ moods of separation from Śrī Kṛṣṇa.