Gita Govinda -Jayadeva 193

Gita Govinda -Shri Jayadeva Gosvami

Act Four : snigdha madhusüdanaù

The Tender Slayer of Madhu

Scene Nine

Song 9

Verse 11

stana-vinihitam api häram udäram sä manute kåça-tanur iva bhäram rädhikä virahe t tava keçava Translation “O Keçava, Rädhä is so emaciated in separation from you that the charming necklace upon her breasts has become a burden.” Commentary In this song the sakhé describes Rädhä’s agony in a new way. Rädhä’s limbs have become painfully thin in the absence of Kṛṣṇa. Now she cannot even bear the weight of the garland of lotus flowers upon her breasts. The author of Géta-govinda-dépikä comments that kam is another name for sukha (happiness). Kṛṣṇa is the controller of kam, therefore he is called Keçava. The word keça means “to bestow happiness upon all”. The syllable va in Keçava indicates the specific nectar (amåta) that is the life and soul of young women. Consequently, Kṛṣṇa is called Keçava because he is the life and soul of all the young women of Vraja. This being the case, why is his lover, Rädhä, so unhappy? Impelled by loneliness, she says the most wonderful things without even speaking. Her ornaments are not a burden; they are a curse. Therefore she wants to throw them away.