Song 22

(Varāḍi rāga-Dhūlā Khelā-jāta)

93. Please hear another wonderful song describing Lord Gaura’s glories, a song beyond anything the people or even the demigods know. Lord Gaura, who is decsroated with the jewels of all virtues, who is filled with ecstatic love, and who is mercy personified, preached the glories of bhaktī-yoga (devotional service).

94. Please listen with all your heart, and I will tell another story. Accompanied by His associates, Lord Viśvambhara, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, went to Candraśekhara’s house.

95. With a voice choked with emotion, Lord Gaura glorified the gopīs. Tears flowed from His reddened eyes. He manifested the ecstasies of the transcendental rasas.

96. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is the gopīs master, and whose feet Goddess Laksmī is wildly eager to serve, became filled with feelings of devotion. Simply by describing devotional service, Lord Gaura became rapt in ecstasy.

97. Manifesting the features of a gopī, and now overcome with bliss, Lord Viśvambhara, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, danced in Śrī Candraśekhara’s house. Then Śrīvāsa manifested the features of Nārada Muni.

98. Bowing down before Lord Gaura’s feet, Śrīvāsa humbly said: "Please think of me as Your servant." After speaking these words, the great sage Nārada said to Gadādhara Paṇḍita:

99. "Please listen to what I say. You are a gopī. Please understand who You were before. I describe great wonders. You are a very exalted a rare person in this world. Please carefully hear my description of You.

100. "Everyone please hear my description. Life after life You are born in Gokula. Rejecting Your vow of faithfulness to Your husband, You always serve Lord Kṛṣṇa. In this way You stay in Vṛndāvana.

101. "You are Lord Kṛṣṇa’s most imprtant potency. You are Kṛṣṇa’s potency Rādhā. What do I know that I can describe You?

102. "You are the crest jewel of the beautiful gopīs. You deeply love Lord Kṛṣṇa. How can I describe the truth about You?

103-104. "No one understands the great devotion You feel for Lord Kṛṣṇa. That devotion is the greatest secret in the three worlds. Brahmā, Śiva, Lakṣmī, Ananta, Prahlāda, Nārada, Sanat-kumāra, and all the sages and demigods do not understand even a small fragment of the devotion You feel for Lord Kṛṣṇa. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, the master of all the glory and opulence in the world, desires to feel the love that You feel. Therefore He has now placed Your fair complexion on His own limbs.

105. "The Supreme Personality of Godhead, whose maidservant is Goddess Lakṣmī, yearns to feel the spiritual love You feel. He nows holds that love in His heart. The master of all the worlds is now overcome by those feelings of love, the glorious love that You feel.

106. "You know the glories of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s heart. With Your love You bind Him. Uddhava, Akrūra, and the other great devotees serve Your feet. In Your heart please do not stop being merciful to us."

107. In this way Śrīvāsa, the jewel of the brāhmaṇas, spoke. Hearing his words, the devotees became blissful. The Vaiṣṇavas embraced each other. They gazed at Lord Viśvambhara’s feet.

108. Overcome with bliss and love, they danced. At that time Hariḍasa arrived. He held a stick in his hand. He respectfully stood before the Lord. Then he very joyfully sang the Lord’s glories.

109. "O my brothers, at every moment please sing the glories of Lord Harī (harī-guṇa-saṅkīrtana).", he said. Then he loudly, loudly laughed. As he sang Lord Hari’s glories, flooding rivers of tears flowed from his two eyes. He joyfully looked in the four directions.

110. Hearing Haridāsa’s words, all the jewellike Vaiṣnavas responded by making a great rain-shower of nectar. They joyfully sang and danced. In the center danced Lord Gaura Rāya. Weeping, the devotees grasped the Lord’s reddish feet.

111. Then the devotee whho is the king of all the Vaiṣṇavas, the devotee who is an abode of all transcendental virtues, the devotee who bears the name Advaita Acārya, arrived. His handsome glory had never before been seen on the earth. He stood before Lord Gaura. He was very powerful. He was born as a plenary expansion of the Lord.

112. Calling out "Hari! Hari!", Lord Advaita danced with bliss and love. From head to foot the hairs of His body stood erect. Tears flowed from His two eyes. He filled everyone with wonder.

113. He gazed at Lord VIśvambhara’s graceful feet. He roared. He slapped His arms. The kīrtana had become like a great marketplace, a wonderful marketplace of ecstatic spiritual love.

114. All the Vaiṣṇavas found their hearts filled with bliss. They were plunged in an ocean of ecstatic spiritual love. Surrounded by the Vaiṣṇavas, Lord Gaura-Harī placed spiritual bliss within the world of birth and death.

115. Then Lord Gaura said: "Listen. Everyone be attentive." Then Lord Gaura was suddenly transformed into a gopī. On His breast was a bodice. On His wrists were conchshell bracelets. His two eyes were plunged in nectar.

116. His garments were silk. Anklets adorned His feet. His waist was slender like a fist. His beauty enchanted the three worlds. What metaphor can I speak to describe His form? In this way Lord Gaura manifested the form of a gopī.

117. The splendor of His limbs was beyond anything of this world. The breeze from them was like the fragrant breezes from the Malaya Hills. He was adorned with a garland of new jasmine flowers. He was like the peak of Mount Sumeru. It was as if two flooding celestial Gaṅgā rivers flowed over Lord Gaura’s limbs.

118. Tasting the nectar of the rasas, Lord Gaura, the king of dancers, danced in the midst of the Vaiṣṇavas. Then Lord Gaura thought of Goddess Lakṣmī. Filled with ecstasy, He entered the Deity room of the temple.

119. In the Deity room Lord Gaura manifested the divine four-armed form of Goddess Lakṣmī. Seeing this, everyone respectfully stood like sticks. In this form the Lord walked with graceful half-steps. A veil covered His half-closed eyes.

120. Falling before the Lord’s graceful feet, everyone offered prayers. Overcome with bliss, someone prayed: "Thīs boon I ask: Please give me pure love and devotion."

121. Listening to everyone’s prayers, the Lord thought of Goddess Durgā. Suddenly He manifested the form of Goddess Durgā. Everyone was filled with wonder. How many demigods suddenly came and recited how many prayers?

122. Sitting on a throne, and pleased with the prayers of the devotees and demigods, Goddess Durgā gently, gently smiled and said: "I have come to see your love and devotion.

123. "I have come to see you sing and dance. Please speak the desires in your hearts." Hearing these words, everyone prayed: "Please give us devotion to You."

124. When everyone had asked this boon, Goddess Durgā said: "Listen. Listen. Listen, everyone. I am powerful Goddess Durgā. I fulfill everyone’s desire.."

125. Hearing these words, everyone offered obeisances, falling like sticks to ground. Then Goddess Durgā smiled, took Haridāsa by the hand, and placed him on her lap.

126. Placing him on her lap, the goddess rocked Haridāsa to and fro as if he were a five-year old boy. Seeing this wonder, everyone became joyful at heart. Even the birds and beasts became joyful.

127. Then someone said: "Please cast a merciful glance at Murāri. He is Your servant." Hearing these words, the Lord smiled with a smile sweeter than nectar.

128. Tears of love and mercy flowed from the Lord’s eyes. The moon of His face was red with mercy. Overcome with bliss and love, Śacī-devī served the Lord’s graceful feet.

129. In His heart thinking of them as His children, Lord Gaura as Goddess Durgā brought everyone there close to Him. Loving them like a mother, with eyes filled with tears of love He looked at everyone.

130. At that moment a brāhmaṇa suddenly arrived. Loudly he called out to the Lord. Seeing the distressed person’s sufferings, the Lord became wild with grief. Tears flowed from His eyes.

131. Again manifesting his form of Lord Gaura, the Lord mercifully gave ecstatic spiritual love to that person. Seeing that the Lord again manifested His form of Lord Gaura, the devotees offered obeisances. Again and again they fell down ltke sticks.

132. In these nectar pastimes the night passed. At dawn everyone returned to his home. Accompanied by His associates, Lord Gaura, a stout staff in His hand, walked home.

133. At that moment merciful Lord Gaura, who is the master of all the worlds, humbly and mercifully removed all suffering from the earth.

134. Anyone who hears this wonderful truth will find that all material sufferings in his heart become destroyed. Such a person will never perish. Fie on the wretches who doubt these words!

135. How can a person who, accepting only logic, scripture, and direct perception as sources of knowledge, and not having directly seen any of these pastimes, and not willing to accept them on the basis of logic, and not having read of them in any scripture, does not accept that these pastimes are true, become delivered?

136. To give His mercy to others, Lord Gaura descended to this world. No one is like Him. Let the people say what they say. I will say what I have directly seen, and what I know in my mind and my heart.

137. In this way I worry. This worry brings pain to my heart. My heart weeps. To whom will I tell this? Locana dāsa sings this song glorifying Lord Gaura.