CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR<\/p>\n
Devotional Service In Conjugal Love<\/p>\n
A pure devotee\u2019s attraction to K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a in conjugal love is called devotional service in conjugal love. Although such conjugal feelings are not at all material, there is some similarity between this spiritual love and material activities. Therefore, persons who are interested only in material activities are unable to understand this spiritual conjugal love, and these devotional reciprocations appear very mysterious to them. R\u016bpa Gosv\u0101m\u012b therefore describes conjugal love very briefly.<\/p>\n
The impetuses of conjugal love are K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a and His very dear consorts, such as R\u0101dh\u0101r\u0101\u1e47\u012b and Her immediate associates. Lord K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a has no rival; no one is equal to Him, and no one is greater than Him. His beauty is also without any rival, and because He excels all others in the pastimes of conjugal love, He is the original object of all conjugal love.<\/p>\n
In the G\u012bta-govinda, by Jayadeva Gosv\u0101m\u012b, one gop\u012b tells her friend, \u201cK\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a is the reservoir of all pleasure within this universe. His body is as soft as the lotus flower. And His free behavior with the gop\u012bs, which appears exactly like a young boy\u2019s attraction to a young girl, is a subject matter of transcendental conjugal love.\u201d A pure devotee follows in the footsteps of the gop\u012bs and worships the gop\u012bs as follows: \u201cLet me offer my respectful obeisances to all the young cowherd girls, whose bodily features are so attractive. Simply by their beautiful attractive features they are worshiping the Supreme Personality of Godhead, K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a.\u201d Out of all the young gop\u012bs, \u015ar\u012bmat\u012b R\u0101dh\u0101r\u0101\u1e47\u012b is the most prominent.<\/p>\n
The beauty of \u015ar\u012bmat\u012b R\u0101dh\u0101r\u0101\u1e47\u012b is described as follows: \u201cHer eyes defeat the attractive features of the eyes of the cakor\u012b bird. When one sees the face of R\u0101dh\u0101r\u0101\u1e47\u012b, he immediately hates the beauty of the moon. Her bodily complexion defeats the beauty of gold. Thus, let us all look upon the transcendental beauty of \u015ar\u012bmat\u012b R\u0101dh\u0101r\u0101\u1e47\u012b.\u201d K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a\u2019s attraction for R\u0101dh\u0101r\u0101\u1e47\u012b is described by K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a Himself thus: \u201cWhen I create some joking phrases in order to enjoy the beauty of R\u0101dh\u0101r\u0101\u1e47\u012b, R\u0101dh\u0101r\u0101\u1e47\u012b hears these joking words with great attention; but by Her bodily features and counterwords She neglects Me. And I even possess unlimited pleasure by Her neglect of Me, for She becomes so beautiful that She increases My pleasure one hundred times.\u201d A similar statement can be found in G\u012bta-govinda, wherein it is said that when the enemy of Ka\u1e41sa, \u015ar\u012b K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, embraces \u015ar\u012bmat\u012b R\u0101dh\u0101r\u0101\u1e47\u012b, He immediately becomes entangled in a loving condition and gives up the company of all other gop\u012bs.<\/p>\n
In the Pady\u0101val\u012b of R\u016bpa Gosv\u0101m\u012b it is stated that when the gop\u012bs hear the sound of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a\u2019s flute, they immediately forget all rebukes offered by the elderly members of their families. They forget their defamation and the harsh behavior of their husbands. Their only thought is to go out in search of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a. When the gop\u012bs meet K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, the display of their exchanging glances as well as their joking and laughing behavior is called anubh\u0101va, or subecstasy in conjugal love.<\/p>\n
In the Lalita-m\u0101dhava, R\u016bpa Gosv\u0101m\u012b explains that the movements of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a\u2019s eyebrows are just like the Yamun\u0101 and that the smiling of R\u0101dh\u0101r\u0101\u1e47\u012b is just like the moonshine. When the Yamun\u0101 and the moonshine come in contact on the bank of the river, the water tastes just like nectar, and drinking it gives great satisfaction. It is as cooling as piles of snow. Similarly, in the Pady\u0101val\u012b, one constant companion of R\u0101dh\u0101r\u0101\u1e47\u012b says, \u201cMy dear moon-faced R\u0101dh\u0101r\u0101\u1e47\u012b, Your whole body appears very content, yet there are signs of tears in Your eyes. Your speech is faltering, and Your chest is also heaving. By all these signs I can understand that You must have heard the blowing of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a\u2019s flute, and as a result of this, Your heart is now melting.\u201d<\/p>\n
In the same Pady\u0101val\u012b there is the following description, which is taken as a sign of frustration in conjugal love. \u015ar\u012bmat\u012b R\u0101dh\u0101r\u0101\u1e47\u012b said, \u201cDear Mr. Cupid, please do not excite Me by throwing your arrows at My body. Dear Mr. Air, please do not arouse Me with the fragrance of flowers. I am now bereft of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a\u2019s loving attitude, and so, under the circumstances, what is the use of My sustaining this useless body? There is no need for such a body by any living entity.\u201d This is a sign of frustration in ecstatic love for K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a.<\/p>\n
Similarly, in D\u0101na-keli-kaumud\u012b, \u015ar\u012bmat\u012b R\u0101dh\u0101r\u0101\u1e47\u012b, pointing to K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, says, \u201cThis clever boy of the forest has the beauty of a bluish lotus flower, and He can attract all the young girls of the universe. Now, after giving Me a taste of His transcendental body, He has enthused Me, and it is more than I can tolerate. I am now feeling like a female elephant who has been enthused by a male elephant!\u201d This is an instance of jubilation in ecstatic love with K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a.<\/p>\n
The steady ecstasy of conjugal love is the original cause of bodily enjoyment. In the Pady\u0101val\u012b this original cause of union is described when R\u0101dh\u0101r\u0101\u1e47\u012b tells one of Her constant companions, \u201cMy dear friend, who is this boy whose eyelids, dancing constantly, have increased the beauty of His face and attracted My desire for conjugal love? His ears are decorated with buds of a\u015boka flowers, and He has dressed Himself in yellow robes. By the sound of His flute, this boy has already made Me impatient.\u201d<\/p>\n
The conjugal love of R\u0101dh\u0101-K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a is never disturbed by any personal consideration. The undisturbed nature of the conjugal love between R\u0101dh\u0101 and K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a is described thus: \u201cJust a little distance away from K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a was mother Ya\u015bod\u0101, and K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a was surrounded by all of His friends. In front of His eyes was Candr\u0101val\u012b, and, at the same time, on a chunk of stone in front of the entrance to Vraja stood the demon known as V\u1e5b\u1e63\u0101sura. But even in such circumstances, when K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a saw R\u0101dh\u0101r\u0101\u1e47\u012b standing just behind a bush of many creepers, immediately His beautiful eyebrows moved just like lightning toward Her.\u201d<\/p>\n
Another instance is described as follows: \u201cOn one side of the courtyard the dead body of \u015aa\u1e45kh\u0101sura was lying, surrounded by many jackals. On another side were many learned br\u0101hma\u1e47as who were all self-controlled. They were offering nice prayers, which were as soothing as the cool breeze in summer. In front of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a, Lord Baladeva was standing, causing a cooling effect. But even amid all these different circumstances of soothing and disturbing effects, the lotus flower of ecstatic conjugal love that K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a felt for R\u0101dh\u0101r\u0101\u1e47\u012b could not wither.\u201d This love of K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a for R\u0101dh\u0101r\u0101\u1e47\u012b is often compared to a blooming lotus; the only difference is that K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a\u2019s love remains ever-increasingly beautiful.<\/p>\n
Conjugal love is divided into two portions: vipralambha, or conjugal love in separation, and sambhoga, or conjugal love in direct contact. Vipralambha, separation, has three subdivisions, known as (1) p\u016brva-r\u0101ga, or preliminary attraction, (2) m\u0101na, or seeming anger, and (3) prav\u0101sa, or separation by distance.<\/p>\n
When the lover and the beloved have a distinct feeling of not meeting each other, that stage is called p\u016brva-r\u0101ga, or preliminary attraction. In Pady\u0101val\u012b R\u0101dh\u0101r\u0101\u1e47\u012b told Her companion, \u201cMy dear friend, I was just going to the bank of the Yamun\u0101, and all of a sudden a very nice boy whose complexion is like a dark blue cloud became visible in front of My eyes. He glanced over Me in a way that I cannot describe. But since this has occurred, I am sorry that I can no longer engage My mind in the duties of My household affairs.\u201d This is an instance of preliminary attraction for K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a. In \u015ar\u012bmad-Bh\u0101gavatam, Tenth Canto, fifty-third chapter, verse 2, K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a told the messenger br\u0101hma\u1e47a who came from Rukmi\u1e47\u012b, \u201cMy dear br\u0101hma\u1e47a, just like Rukmi\u1e47\u012b I cannot sleep at night, and My mind is always fixed on her. I know that her brother Rukm\u012b is against Me and that due to his persuasion My marriage with her has been cancelled.\u201d This is another instance of preliminary attraction.<\/p>\n
As far as m\u0101na, or anger, is concerned, there is the following incident described in G\u012bta-govinda: \u201cWhen \u015ar\u012bmat\u012b R\u0101dh\u0101r\u0101\u1e47\u012b saw K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a enjoying Himself in the company of several other gop\u012bs, She became a little jealous because Her special prestige was being dimmed. Therefore, She immediately left the scene and took shelter in a nice flower bush where the black drones were humming. Then, hiding Herself behind the creepers, She began to express Her sorrow to one of Her consorts.\u201d This is an instance of a seeming disagreement.<\/p>\n
An example of prav\u0101sa, or being out of contact because of living in a distant place, is given in the Pady\u0101val\u012b as follows: \u201cSince the auspicious day when K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a left for Mathur\u0101, \u015ar\u012bmat\u012b R\u0101dh\u0101r\u0101\u1e47\u012b has been pressing Her head on one of Her hands and constantly shedding tears. Her face is always wet now, and therefore there is no chance of Her sleeping even for a moment.\u201d When the face becomes wet, the sleeping tendency is immediately removed. So when R\u0101dh\u0101r\u0101\u1e47\u012b was always weeping for K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a because of His separation, there was no chance of Her getting any sleep for Herself. In the Prahl\u0101da-sa\u1e41hit\u0101 Uddhava says, \u201cThe Supreme Personality of Godhead, Govinda, panic-stricken due to being pierced by the arrows of Cupid, is always thinking of you [the gop\u012bs], and He is not even accepting His regular lunch. Nor is He getting any proper rest.\u201d<\/p>\n
When the lover and beloved come together and enjoy one another by direct contact, this stage is called sambhoga. There is a statement in Pady\u0101val\u012b as follows: \u201cK\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a embraced \u015ar\u012bmat\u012b R\u0101dh\u0101r\u0101\u1e47\u012b in such an expert manner that He appeared to be celebrating the dancing ceremony of the peacocks.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u015ar\u012b R\u016bpa Gosv\u0101m\u012b thus ends the fifth wave of his Ocean of the Nectar of Devotion. He offers his respectful obeisances to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who appeared as Gop\u0101la, the eternal form of the Lord.<\/p>\n
Thus ends the Bhaktivedanta summary study of the third division of Bhakti-ras\u0101m\u1e5bta-sindhu in the matter of the five primary relationships with K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
CHAPTER FORTY-FOUR Devotional Service In Conjugal Love A pure devotee\u2019s attraction to K\u1e5b\u1e63\u1e47a in conjugal love is called devotional service in conjugal love. Although such conjugal feelings are not at all material, there is some similarity … Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":81,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-38411","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-english"],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-23 09:36:30","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.isvara.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38411","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.isvara.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.isvara.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.isvara.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/81"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.isvara.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=38411"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.isvara.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/38411\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.isvara.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=38411"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.isvara.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=38411"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.isvara.org\/archive\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=38411"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}