Contents
Gita Govinda -Shri Jayadeva Gosvami
Act One : sämoda dämodaraù
The Delighted Captive of Love
Song 4
Scene Four
Verse 48
Commentary
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The sakhé says that Kṛṣṇa’s elegant limbs are darker and softer than a blue lotus. The word blue lotus (indévara) conveys the sense of darkness, softness and refreshing coolness; the word çreëé of freshness that appears newer at every moment; and the word çyämala of handsome tender youthfulness. Kṛṣṇa is observing a festival of transcendental lust with those tender limbs. The attractive vraja-gopés are embracing each and every limb of Kṛṣṇa’s body spontaneously at their pleasure, without the slightest hesitation. Rasa emerges from the combination of two components: the hero’s anuräga for the heroine and the heroine’s anuräga for the hero. The hero may be attached to the heroine, but unless the heroine is also attached to the hero, rasa will not manifest. One might ask, “Here we find only paraspara-anuraïjana, the act of pleasing each other; so where is rasa?” The stage of rasa begins with the integration of vibhäva, anubhäva, sättvika-bhäva and saïcäré-bhäva. Then it increases through the stages of sneha, praëaya, mäna, räga, anuräga, bhäva and mahäbhäva. Consequently, rasa flourishes with the maturity of prema. When prema-rasa begins to manifest, the hero and heroine harbour no reservations about their activities, the time or the place. Yet union still does not reach its pinnacle, despite the absence of inhibitions. The complete union of every limb is perfectly accomplished only by mahäbhäva-rasa. One might conjecture that Kṛṣṇa has only partial experience of the cowherd damsels. Therefore it is stated here, praty-aìgam äliìgita – Kṛṣṇa has satisfied the gopés by embracing each of their limbs, by kissing, by touching and by other appropriate activities. Furthermore, one might ask, “How could Kṛṣṇa have embraced all of them?” The answer is that çåìgära-rasa is one, yet it pervades the entire creation. Similarly, Kṛṣṇa is one and also all-pervading. By virtue of this attribute, he is competent to delight the whole universe. The current verse includes dépaka alaìkära, vaidarbhé réti, çärdüla-vikréòita chanda, çåìgära-rasa and väkyaucitya. The heroine of the song, Rädhä, is utkaëöhitä näyikä. When the hero’s behaviour is inconsistent, the heroine who becomes indifferent to the world in the anxiety of separation is called utkaëöhitä näyikä. |
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