Kṛṣṇa arises from His ecstatic swoon and, not seeing His Priyājī anywhere, anxiously starts looking around for Her. Through a window in the cave Rūpa Mañjarī and Tulasī relish the sweet sight of Sundara’s (beautiful Kṛṣṇa’s) wonderful emotions when He cannot see their Svāminī. For the maidservants Kṛṣṇa is most beautiful when He is anxious to meet Śrī Rādhā . With the brushes of their love they make a picture of this eagerness on the canvases of their hearts and carry it to Śrī Rādhā to show it to Her when She is separated from Śyāmasundara. In this way they render wonderful prasaṅga-service to Śrīmatī.
How blessed they are that they can say: “O Rādhe! Out of separation from You Śyāma is also very upset!”
vasati vipina vitāne tyajati jhaṭiti dhāma
luṭhati dharaṇī śayane bahu vilapati tava nāma
“For Your sake He has given up His beautiful home and lives in a forest-abode! He rolls around on the bed of the earth and loudly laments, crying out Your name!” (Gīta Govindam)
tuyā patha cāi, rāi rāi boli,
gada gada vikala parāṇa
kṣaṇa eka koṭi, koṭi yuga mānato,
hari vallabha paramāṇa
“He looks down the road for You to come, saying “Rāi! Rāi!” with faltering voice and agitated heart, and He thinks one moment without You lasts a million ages!”
Although Sundara looks in all four directions He cannot find His Priyājī, so He gets up from the play-bed and comes out of the cave to have a good search for Her. Then the wind of Vṛndāvana carries the full weight of Śrī Rādhikā’s fragrance into His nostrils and tells Him: “Ogo black bee! Don’t be upset! The land-lotus is not far away anymore!” The wind has made his name gandhavaha (carrier of fragrances) effective, Madhusūdana’s nose can specifically testify of that! When Nāgara eagerly runs after that fragrance, eager to meet His Priyājī, He meets Padmā and Śaibyā, the girlfriends of Rādhikā’s arch-rival Candrāvalī, on the way. They try to lure Him away, but He ignores them and continues His search for Śrī Rādhikā, casting His glances in the direction where He smells Her delectable scent. Rūpa Mañjarī and Tulasī secretly follow Nāgara and become very proud of their Svāminī’s prestige when they see how eager He is to meet Her. Suddenly Nāgara notices that Rūpa and Tulasī are following Him and He comes to them and asks them with folded hands: “O Rūpa! O Tulasi! Your mistress tricked Me and is hiding out somewhere, leaving Me behind! Although I can smell Her fragrance I cannot see Her! You must certainly know where My beloved is! Quickly take Me to Her!” That is the speciality of the maidservants of Śrī Rādhikā: That Supreme Person, who is sought for by the Vedas, is now folding His hands before Rādhikā’s kiṅkarīs (maidservants), and humbly prays to them: “Come, arrange for My meeting with your Svāminī, I have no other shelter but you girls!”
Blessed is the position of Rādhā’s kiṅkarīs !
…
Śrīla Viśvanātha Cakravartī glorifies the beauty of the mañjarīs as follows in his ‘Kṛṣṇa Bhāvanāmṛta’ (3.2):
tā vidyud udyuti jayi prapadaika rekhā vaidagdhya eva kila mūrtibhūtas tathāpi
yūtheśvarītvam api samyag arocayitvā dāsyāmṛtābdhim anusasnur ajasram asyāḥ
“Each line on these mañjarīs’ toes defeats the bright splendour of the lightning. They are cleverness personified and although they are qualified to be yūtheśvarīs (gopī-groupleaders) they have no taste for this at all. They are always immersed in the nectar-ocean of Śrī Rādhikā’s service.”
Śrī Kiśora Gopāla Gosvāmī
Śrīmat Ananta dāsa Bābājī
Leave a Reply