THE SERVICE OF SRI RADHA’S LOTUS FEET

Not only the gopis desire the service of Sri Radha’s lotus feet, since She is the greatest of
them all, but even Sri Krishna Himself desires this. Once, after enjoying loving pastimes with
Him, Sri Radhika proudly orders Him to redress Her before Her girlfriends will notice that
They have made love, and will ridicule Her. Sripada, in his form as Radhika’s maidservant,
brings all the items for Her dressing. Srimati orders Krishna: “Anoint My feet with footlac!”
Krishna places Nagari-mani’s (Radha, the jewel of ladyloves) feet on His chest and starts the
job. The kinkari brings Him a brush and a cup with the liquid lac. Nagara holds the brush and
the kinkari holds the cup. Nagara loses Himself when He beholds the sweetness and beauty of
Radhika’s foot soles. Sometimes He holds them to His chest and sometimes He kisses them
while tears of love flow from His eyes. Srimati nervously says: “What are You doing? Put the
lac on! Quickly!” Nagara’s hands shiver of ecstasy, so Svamini slightly smiles and tells Her
kinkari, “Nagara cannot do it, you do it!”, so the kinkari softly pushes Krishna away, saying:
“Syama, move up! You can’t do it!” Nagara thinks: “Alas! When will I be so fortunate to
serve Svamini’s feet like this kinkari? How can I become as qualified as her?” This shows
how even Krishna desires the foot service of Sri Radha.

The Kamadhenu (desire-cow) was churned out of the Milk Ocean by the demons and the
demigods and she fulfills all desires. In the same way the dust of Sri Radhika’s lotus feet
gives Radhika’s maidservants the perfection of rasa. Within the mellow of service these
kinkaris also relish the mellow of friendship. The writers of the rasa-sastras say that the
parental mellow (vatsalya rasa) is incompatible with the sweet amorous mellow (madhurya
rasa), but in Sri Radhika’s storehouse of rasa there is no shortage of parental affection for Her
maidservants. The footdust of Sri Radhika is thus a wish yielding Kamadhenu-cow, that
contains dasya, sakhya, vatsalya and madhurya rasa. [An excerpt from the commentary of the
fifth verse.]

BASHFUL SRI RADHA

Syama hears from a parrot that Radha is going to the Yamuna to take a bath, so after milking
His cows He leaves His cowherd boyfriends behind on the pretext of wanting to admire the
beauty of the gardens of Nandisvara Hill, and goes to the bank of the Yamuna. Svamini sees
Rasikendra’s moonlike face from a short distance. First She was excited by waves of
passionate feelings for Syamasundara when She saw the blackish water of the Yamuna and
now She even sees Her lover’s moonlike face directly! Srimati’s limbs become beautified by
the twenty bhavalankaras (emotional ornaments), of which vilasa is one:

gati sthAnAsanAdInAM mukha netrAdi karmaNAm |

tat kAlikaM tu vaiziSTyaM vukAsaH priya saGgajam ||

“When the steps, sitting posture, face and eyes of the beloved become extra special because
she meets Her lover, it is called vilasa.” (Ujjvala Nilamani)

Srimati timidly looks down to Her own toenails. How sweetly She looks then! It is as if
sweetness gushes out of Her! In Govinda Lilamrta (9.11) it is described as follows:

puraH KrishnalokAt sthagita kuTilasya gatir abhUt

tiraz cInaM Krishnambara dara vRtaM zrI mukham api |
calat tAraM sphAraM nayana yugam abhUgnam iti sA
vilAsAkhya svAlaGkarana valitAsIt priya mude ||
“When Radha sees Krishna before Her She is stunned and Her gait becomes crooked. She
bends Her head and slightly covers Her face with Her blue veil, the pupils of Her eyes move
about restlessly and Her eyes become wide and crooked. When She is thus beautified by the
bhavalankara named vilasa She gives Her beloved great pleasure.”

In Sri Caitanya Caritamrta Sri Krishna says:

ei bhAva yukta dekhi rAdhAsya nayana |

saGgama hoite sukha pAy koTi guNa ||

“When I see these moods on Radha’s face and in Her eyes, I get a million times more pleasure
than when I directly unite with Her.”

The duty of mahabhava is to make Krishna happy. When anuraga becomes unlimited it
becomes like the powerful sun, destroying the darkness of personal desires in the cave of the
heart and filling even the most subtle realms of the heart with desires for Krishna’s happiness.
This is called mahabhava, and Sri Radha’s very form is composed of this maha-bhava. It is
therefore logical that all Her activities are meant for Krishna’s pleasure. Maha-bhava is as if
gushing from Her transcendental body. The kinkari sees how Srimati’s rasika anklebells
jingle, twanging the strings of Syamasundara’s heart with rasa. She experiences how Srimati
is now caritabhirama, enchanting the eyes and the minds of Syamasundara and Her
maidservants. Sripada also considers his own eyes and mind to be blessed by experiencing
Srimati’s sweet behaviour and character. The maidservants then accomplish the meeting of
Srimati and Her Nagara, who is eager to enjoy Her sweetness.

THE EMBODIMENT OF SEVEN OCEANS

Srimati Radha is (1) vaidagdhya sindhuh, an ocean of cleverness. This means rasa
panditya: She is learned in the science of taste. She even teaches rasika sekhara, the king of
relishers Sri Krishna, expertise in the erotic mellow. Sri Krishna Himself admits in Caitanya
Caritamrta: radhikara prema - guru; ami - sisya nata; sada ama nana nrtye nacaye udbhata
– “Radhika’s love is the teacher and I am the dancing pupil. She always causes Me to dance
different wonderful dances!” She is the teacher of arts. Because of Her cleverness, Srimati
is compared here with the ocean of sweet water (the seventh cosmic ocean).

Srimati is (2) the only ocean of anuraga. Anuraga means maha-bhava. Anuraga is ever-
fresh and ever-astonishing. Srimati thinks Krishna’s sweetness is ever fresh and She
always has more taste for His sweetness, so She always relishes it. With the statement that
Radharani is the only ocean of anuraga rasa is meant that when anuraga increases, it becomes
maha-bhava and that when, maha-bhava increases it is called madana maha-bhava. Sri
Radharani is the only one who has this madana maha-bhava and She is the fountainhead of all
maha-bhava, just as the ocean is the fountainhead of all the rivers and ponds. The other gopis
are Her phalanx that help Her to complete Krishna’s relishing of transcendental mellows. Just
as milk becomes thick ksira (cream) when it is boiled down, anuraga turns into maha-bhava
when it becomes ‘thick’ (intensified). Therefore the anuraga-ocean is compared to the sixth
cosmic ocean, the ocean of milk.

Sri Radha is (3) the ocean of vatsalya. Vatsalya means love for the poor and the fallen.
Just as Sri Radha is an inexhaustible storehouse of erotic rasa, She is also a great ocean of
vatsalya-affection. The writers of the rasa sastras (aesthetic scriptures) say that the
vatsalya rasa is not compatible with the madhurya rasa, but Radharani makes them
compatible in some situations. For instance, She gives the greatest bliss to Rasika
Siromani (Krishna) and Her girlfriends and maidservants when She gives this ‘motherly’
affection to Krishna while He takes His meal. Sri Radha’s vatsalya towards Her
girlfriends is also most wonderful. She is always controlled by their affection. Because
there is a lot of the essential part of affection in the vatsalya-ocean, just as yoghurt is the
essence of milk, this ocean can be compared to the fifth cosmic ocean, the ocean of
yoghurt.

Sri Radha is (4) the ocean of deep compassion, always showering Her devotees with the
nectar stream of Her mercy. Those who have been touched by the nectar of that compassion,
can testify. Srila Raghunatha Dasa Gosvami says: karuna vidravad deha – “Her body melts
with compassion”. Normally, a person’s heart melts with compassion, but only in
Radharani’s case the whole body melts with compassion. She always bathes in streams of
ambrosial compassion, and because Krishna accepted Her mood when He became Sri
Caitanya Mahaprabhu, Mahaprabhu is so merciful! Mahaprabhu does not consider who is
qualified or unqualified, who is from which caste or from which asrama. He gives prema
(love of God) without making such distinctions! That is ‘a body melting with compassion’!
It is Radha’s storehouse of compassion, not Krishna’s! In Vraja-lila the storehouse of
Radha’s mercy remained hidden and closed, but when Mahaprabhu accepted the mood and
complexion of Sri Radha, it became manifest to the world! Mahaprabhu showed the people
of the world how the body can melt with compassion, because He assumed Sn Radha’s
merciful mood. Because Radhika’s body melts with compassion, it can be compared to the
fourth cosmic ocean, the ocean of clarified butter.

Srimati is (5) the ocean of lavanya. Srila Rupa Gosvami defines lavanya as follows in his
‘Ujjvala Nilamani’: muktAphaleSu chAyAyAs taralatvam ivAntarA | pratibhAti yad aGgeSu
lAvaNyam tad ihocyate || “The luster that gushes out of each bodily limb like the luster
shining out from inside pearls, is called lavanya.” Srimati is the ocean of lavanya, or
elegance. The fishlike eyes of Sri Krishna, who is called lavanya sara (the essence of
lavanya, or elegance) in Srimat Bhagavata (10.44.14), never get tired of swimming in the
ocean of Sri Radha’s lavanya. Indeed, His desire to swim in that ocean simply increases!
Sripada Bilvamangala Thakura said in Krishna Karnamrtam (3): lavanyAmRta vici lolita
dRsaM – “Krishna’s eyes billow on the waves of nectarean lavanya.” Srila Krishna Dasa
Kaviraja writes in his ‘Saranga Rangada’-commentary on this verse: zrI rAdhAyA evA
lAvanyAmRta vIcibhir lolite satRSNIkRte dRzau yasya tam – “Sri Krishna’s eyes have
become very thirsty after the nectar waves of Sri Radha’s lavanya.” Because Krishna is
intoxicated by seeing Radha’s lavanya and Her maidservants and girlfriends are intoxicated
by seeing Krishna looking at Radhika like this, the ocean of lavanya is compared to the
third cosmic ocean, the ocean of wine. The practicing devotees should also forget
everything related to this world or the next world and become intoxicated by worshiping the
lotus feet of that Sri Radha!

Sri Radha is (6) the ocean of amrta cchabi rupa. She is the very form of glowing nectar and
Her form is like a vast ocean. She is mahabhava personified and mahabhava is compared to
nectar. It is the deepest possible love for Krishna, and Radha’s form reveals this beauty and
tastefulness to the utmost, therefore She is the amrtacchabi rupa sindhu. Although Sri
Krishna inundates the world with a mere drop of His beauty, even He drowns in the nectar
ocean of Radha’s form! Because the ocean of Sri Radha’s form is so sweet, it is compared
to the second cosmic ocean, the ocean of sugarcane juice.

Srimati is (7) the ocean of playfulness, which means Her frolics with Her beloved
Syamasundara. She keeps Syamasundara immersed in the waves of the ocean of Her
pastimes when She meets Him. When the waves of madana rasa swell in the ocean of Sri
Radha’s pastimes even Sri Krishna, the transcendental youthful Cupid of Vrindavana, does
not dare to place His boat-like heart on its surface, just as a boatman fearfully keeps his
boat on the bank of the Ganga when her huge waves meet the ocean. This ocean of play is
compared to the first cosmic ocean, the ocean of salt water, because although the very sight
of this ocean destroys all sins, a person who drinks it’s water will die. Similarly, when one
faithfully chants and hears about the pastimes of Radha and Madhava one will become free
from all sins and from the heart’s disease of lust, but when one tries to imitate these
pastimes one will perish.

[An excerpt from the commentary of the 18th verse.]

THE COURSE OF SRI RADHA’S LOVE

When Krishna plays His all-enchanting flute, Srimati rushes out to meet Him as a forceful
river goes forward to meet the ocean. Just as during the rainy season current of a river
becomes very forceful and floods its own banks (dukula), similarly the Ganga-river named
Radha overflows the restrictions of Her dukula (two families, Her own and Her in-laws’
family) when it is filled with extraordinarily sweet waves of passionate love for Krishna,
and forcefully flows on towards the Krishna-ocean. That is why Sripada calls Svamini
suratararigini, the river of the Gods Ganga, here in this verse. This river of passion breaks
all dams of religious or traditional principles with its great force of desire for Krishna, not
caring about the dangers that might occur on the way. [An excerpt from the commentary of
the 21st verse.]

THE SIX JEWELS

cintAmaNiH praNamatAM vraja nAgarINAM

cUDAmaNiH kulamaNir Vrisabhanu nAmnAH |
sA zyAma kAma vara zAntimaNir nikuJja
bhUSAmaNir hRdaya samputa san maNir naH || 27 ||

“May Sri Radhika, Who is a Cintamani-gem for the surrendered souls, the crown jewel
of girls in Vraja, the jewel of Maharaja Vrisabhanu’s dynasty, the jewel who pacifies
Syama’s desires and the jewel who adorns the cottage in the play bower, be the real
jewel in the jewelbox of our hearts!”

Just as a Cintamani-jewel fulfills all desires, Sri Radhika is the prema-cintamani,

fulfilling the single desire of the surrendered souls: devotional service and love of God. Sri
Radha is a storehouse of compassion for the surrendered souls. Cintamani also indicates the
remembrance practised by the devotees. She is like a jewel (mani) playing within the thoughts
(cinta) of the surrendered souls. When that remembrance becomes intense, then that
Cintamani will be visible inside out. The holy name is also Cintamani, and is appearing on the
devotees’ tongues. Srimat Jiva Gosvami writes: yat tattvaM zrI vigraha rUpeNa cakSur
AdAvudayate tad eva nAma rUpena vAg AdAviti sthitam – “The deity-form of the Lord
appears before the eyes, and the name-form appears on the tongue and from the throat.” In
this way the devotees can feel this Cintamani-gem in all of their senses and become blessed.

Sri Radhika is the crown jewel of millions of sweet Vraja-gopis of Sri Vrindavana who are
all endowed with mahabhava, and all the gopis, even Candravali, are simply Her expansions.
Just as there is no difference between musk and its fragrance and fire and its heat, so there is
also no difference between God (Krishna) and His energy (Radha), but still, in the kingdom of
lild, Radha and Krishna have separated for the sake of playing sweet pastimes with Eachother
and with Their devotees. For this reason Krishna has made Radha the queen of Vrindavana.
This is confirmed in the Puranas: vRndAvanAdhipatyaM ca dattaM tasyai pratuSyatA.
Sri Radha is the jewel that brightens Vrisabhanu Maharaja’s dynasty. Srila Raghunatha
Dasa Gosvami wrote in his Radhikastakam: vrajavara vRSabhAnoH punya gIrbAna-vallI –
“She is the blessed desire-vine of Maharaja Vrisabhanu, the best man of Vraja.” She greatly
increased the prestige of Maharaja Vrisabhanu’s dynasty by taking Her birth in it. Srila
Visvanatha Cakravarti comments as follows on the verse rAjan patir gurur alaM bhavatAM
yadUnAm (5.6.18) from the Bhagavata: “When Maharaja Pariksit heard from Suka Muni
about his dynasty, the Puru-dynasty, he understood that the Lord had not descended in it, so
he was very disappointed. Suka Muni could understand what was on the emperor’s mind and
consoled him by saying: “O King! God may not have descended into Your family personally,
but Love of God has certainly descended in it, and I cannot praise the dynasty in which prema
has descended, enough!” From this follows that the dynasty of Maharaja Vrisabhanu is even
more brilliant than the dynasty of Nanda Maharaja, because maha-bhava Herself has
descended in it! Maharaja Nanda’s name and his family are certainly successful, because
nandayati jagad iti: “He who gives joy to the world, is named Nanda.” Nanda Maharaja
caught the Krishna-bird in the net of his own love and made the whole world most happy by
making Him visible to their eyes. But a life without love does not attract Krishna, who is
transcendental bliss personified, therefore Maharaja Vrisabhanu gave Him Premalaksmi
Srimati Radharani, the goddess of love. His name Vrisabhanu has thus become a success.
Vrisa means the astrological sign of Taurus (April-May, a very hot time of the year in Vraja)
and bhanu means the sun. Maharaja Vrisabhanu illuminates the cave-like hearts of all the
people of the world with the sunrays of his love! Who has a more glorious name and dynasty
than him? Srimati Radha is the jewel of that dynasty.

She is syama kama vara kantimanih, the jewel that instantly pacifies Syamasundara’s
intensely burning lust, which leaves a poisonous scorching effect in His heart. In Sri
Jayadeva’s Vasanta Rasa it was shown that apart from Sri Radha none of the Gopa Sundaris
were able to extinguish the poisonous fire of Rasika Siromani’s (Krishna’s) lusty desires.

zata koTi gopIte nahe kAma nirvApana |

ihAtei anumAni zrI rAdhikAra guNa || CC ||

“Billions of gopis could not extinguish the fire of His lust; from this I can understand Sri
Radhika’s glories.”

On Srimati Radhika’s mere sight or touch this vast fire of lust is extinguished. Syama
kamavara means Syamasundara’s greatest desire. This is not the desire of this material world,
which is base and is simply centered around personal sense gratification.

Sri Radhika is the nikunja bhusamanih, the jewel of the bowers. The bower houses of
Vrindavana are the holiest places in existence, but when Sri Radha doesn’t appear in them,
they will die of misery. Our hero (Krishna) will have an empty heart when He sees the empty
bowers, without Radha, and when He becomes agitated by feelings of separation from Her all
the moving and nonmoving beings of Vrindavana begin to weep along with Him. The
darkness in Syama’s desperate heart will then also fill the bower houses, that thus lose all
their beauty as soon as Sri Radha appears in the bower house, She illuminates the cave-like
hearts of Syama and all the other moving and nonmoving beings that are present there.
Sripada knows all these confidential pastimes, and therefore he calls Sri Radha nikunja
bhusamanih, the jewel decorating the bowers.

Finally he says: “Sri Radha shines like a genuine gem in the jewel-boxes of our hearts!”
Just as nobody cares for a box without jewels, similarly a heart without the jewel-like Radhika
is empty. A great devotee of Radha can get that Radha-jewel in the box of his heart simply by
constantly remembering Her. Without Her, the hearts of these devotees are filled with
darkness, therefore Sripada submits to Srimati’s lotus feet: “May this glistening Radha-jewel
always illuminate the jewel boxes of our hearts!”
 THE DEEP LOVE OF RADHA

Sri Radha is a deep and unbridled ocean of nectarean love (premamritambudhim agadham
avadham). Although that nectar flows eternally, the ocean never dries out. Sri Radha is the
shelter of all the innumerable devotees of Krishna. The material oceans may dry up, but the
transcendental love-ocean named Radha is only increasing Her volume; not a single drop is
ever lost, therefore She is called agadha, or deep. In the material oceans there are
dangerous crocodiles and sharks, but in the nectar ocean of Radha s love there are no
crocodile and shark-like obstacles in the form of desires for personal enjoyment or
liberation, and therefore this ocean is called avadha, or unobstructed. O Saintly mind!
Quickly take shelter of this Supreme Personality named Radha! [An excerpt from the
commentary of the 28th verse.]

SRI RADHIKA’S ARROW-LIKE GLANCES

veNuH karAn nipatitaH skhalitaM zikhandaM

bhraStaM ca pItavasanaM vrajarAja sUnoH |
yastyAH kaTAkSa-zara ghAta vimUrcchitasya
tAM rAdhikAM paricarAmi kadA rasena || 39 ||

“When can I blissfully worship that Radhika, whose arrow-like glances cause the
prince of Vraja to faint, His yellow cloth to fall off, His crown to loosen and His flute to
fall from His hand?”

Just as a hero at war may faint and drops His bow and arrows while his crown falls off and
his clothes become disarranged when he is hit by an arrow, so also Krishna, the
transcendental youthful Cupid of Vrindavana, drops His flute while His peacock feather
crown falls off and His yellow dhoti becomes disheveled when He is hit by Sri Radhika’s
arrow-like glance. An ordinary hero may slay hundreds of soldiers on the battlefield, but
when a great hero (maha vira) strikes him with an arrow, then even the ordinary hero will
faint. Similarly, Krishna can make hundreds of gopis faint with His glances, but when the
great heroine Sri Radhika casts even one single arrow-like glance at Him, even He will
faint!

Hundreds of gopis squirm like deer struck by arrows when they hear the song of Krishna’s
flute, but when Radha casts one single glance at Krishna, that same flute will fall from His
hand! That peacock feather, that is the unique hallmark of the Vraja-pastimes and that
enchants all the beautiful girls of Vraja, rolls in the dust of Vraja, and that yellow cloth, that
looks most beautiful like a steady lightning strike within a rain cloud (Krishna’s body), or
like a golden line drawn by a whetstone, and that steals the pride of the beautiful girls of
Vraja’s families, is now falling from Krishna’s waist when Radhika casts one powerful
glance at Him! The force of love brings ecstasy to Sri Krishna! Sri Krishna, Who is the very
form of transcendental bliss, has fainted from one single glance of Sri Radha, and Sripad is
very upset with that! She tries to bring Him back to life in different ways, but to no avail!
Finally Svamini desperately takes shelter of Her maidservant, saying: “O, I could not
remove Priyatama’s swoon, why don’t you see what you can do?”
Now the rasika service of the rasika maidservant starts. In order to revive Nagara, the
maidservant sings a sweet love song that Svamini once taught her in a cave of Govardhana
Hill. After the maidservant brought Syama back to consciousness in this way, the sweet
pastimes of the divine Couple begin. How blissful that makes our rasika paricarika
(maidservant)! After these love-pastimes the maidservant fans the divine Couple and
serves Them cold water, betel leaves and flower garlands.

SRI RADHA’S LOVING DELUSION

saMgatyApi mahotsavena madhurAkArAM hRdi preyasaH

sva cchAyAm abhivIkSya kaustubha maNau sambhUta zokA krudhA |
utkSipta priya pANi tiSTha zunayetyuktvA gatAyA bahiH
sakhyai sAsra nivedanAni kim ahaM zroSyAmi te rAdhike || 247 ||

O Sri Radhike! Will I hear You tell Krishna: “O Knower of morality (meant
sarcastically)! Stay away!”, and see You slap His hand before You go out of the kunja
and angrily lament to Your girlfriends with tear-filled eyes that You saw Your own sweet
form reflected in the Kaustubha gem on Your lover’s chest (and You thought it was some
other girl) although You just met Him during Your festival of love?

Sri Krishna’s illusion is gone when Radhika smiles at Him and He understands now that He
mistook His own reflection in Her shining breasts for some other boys. Now He continues His
job of redressing and ornamenting Srimati. Just then the sakhis enter the kunja, laughing and
making great waves on the ocean of the divine Couple’s sweetness. The maidservant sees it
all as a great festival of rasa. You cannot make a festival with just one or two people, more
people are required, and the sakhis help to complete that festival.

sakhI vinu ei lIlA puSTa nAhi hoy |

sakhI lIlA vistAriyA sakhI AsvAdoy || CC ||

“Without the sakhis, the pastimes of Radha and Krishna are not complete. They expand these
pastimes and make them relishable.”

The laughter and joking of the sakhis make the Divine Couple eager for loving pastimes once
more. The sakhis understand that and discretely leave the kunja. But right in the beginning of
the love-play Svamini sees Her own sweet form reflected in the glittering Kaustubha-gem on
Krishna’s chest and She becomes angry and upset, thinking it to be another girl sporting with
Krishna. Krishna, very disappointed that Svamini rejects Him right at the beginning of the
love-play, holds His hand on Her body and asks Her why She is angry with Him, but Svamini
angrily pushes His hand away and says: “O Knower of morality! Don’t try to flatter me! Just
find your own enjoyment!”, and goes out of the kunja to meet Her girlfriends. The
maidservant understands everything and laughs within herself. The sakhis are surprised to see
Srimati coming out of the kunja just after Her festival of love has started, and they ask Her
why She is so angry.

With tear-filled eyes Srimati tells them: “O Friends! This king of debauchees is embracing
another girl right in front of me! Who can tolerate this?” The sakhis say: “Radhe! We’ve been
standing by the door of this kunja all the time; we didn’t see any other girl entering! We think
You must have been hit by some wave of illusion while You were swimming in the ocean of
love!” Srimati replies: “I saw this other girl myself, how could I have come under such an
illusion then?” Then the sakhis ask the maidservants if they understand what is going on, and
the maidservants tell them that Srimati mistook Her own reflection in Krishna’s Kaustubha
jewel for some other girl. When the sakhis hear this they have so much fun! They bring
Svamini back to Syamasundara and make so many waves of laughter with Them. The fishlike
hearts of the maidservants blissfully enjoy swimming on these waves.

SVAMINI IN SEPARATION

It is afternoon. Srimati is back home after having played many blissful love sports with Her
beloved at Radhakunda, Kusuma Sarovara and Suryakunda at noontime. Now again the fever
of Her separation goes up. Her girlfriends try to console Her, but despite that Srimati feels
that Her in-laws’ house is like a dark blind well and Her bashfulness is like a thunderbolt. She
laments to Her friends: “O fair-faced friends, how long will it take before this day is over and
I can see Vrajendranandana walking by, His curly locks that flank His sweet smiling face,
grayed by the dust thrown up by the hooves of the cows?” In this state of separation Srimati
repeatedly mutters the nectarine syllables ‘Syama, Syama!’. How much more sweet this name
sounds when it is sung by the nectarine, love-laden voice of Srimati Radhika! The
maidservants can feel this in their heart of hearts! While Svamini loudly sings Syama’s name,
She can visualize all His transcendental qualities, forms and pastimes and this causes goose
pimples as big as the buds of Kadamba-flowers to erupt on Her beautiful limbs.

Srimati very eagerly looks down the road, hoping that She can see Syama coming, and She
restlessly walks all over Her house, to Her watchtower (candrasalika), Her balcony and Her
terrace, but nowhere She can find peace. The word sarvatroccatana, She cannot find peace
anywhere, refers to the uccatana-sacrifice, a kind of black magic which takes care that one’s
enemy cannot find peace anywhere, not even in his own house. In the same way Svamini,
bitten by the snake of separation from Krishna, walks around restlessly everywhere, unable to
find peace unless and until She can see a glimpse of Krishna. She tells Her friends: “It only
takes a few hours before Syama walks by My house on His uttara gostha yatra, but even these
few hours don’t seem to end! It is as if they last for thousands of ages! Has the creator made
these hours like a rod that have to grind My heart to pulp every day?”

In this way Srimati waits in great misery. No material misery can compare to the misery of
even a minute of Radhika’s separation from Krishna. The door to these realizations remains
firmly closed for those who do not accept the mood of the gopis. Srimati is uselessly angry at
the sun, because it doesn’t seem to want to set.

[An excerpt from the commentary of the 255th verse.]

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