Manaḥ ŚikṣāManaḥ Śīkṣā - Verse 7
Manaḥ ŚikṣāManaḥ Śīkṣā - Verse 9

Manaḥ ŚikṣāVerse 8

yathā duṣṭatvaṁ me davayati śaṭhasyāpi kṛpayā
yathā mahyaṁ premāmṛtam api dadāty ujjvalam asau
yathā śrī-gāndharvā-bhajana-vidhaye prerayati māṁ
tathā goṣṭhe kākvā giridharam iha tvaṁ bhaja manaḥ

(“In order that He will mercifully drive away my malice, in order that He will give me the splendid nectar of prema, and in order that He will inspire me to engage in the bhajana of Śrī Gāndharvā, O mind, with a voice full of lamentation, you must do bhajana of Giridhara in Vraja.”)


Bhajana-darpaṇa Bhāṣya

 VERSE MEANING:

He mana! tumi vraja-maṇḍale dainya-kākutira sahita śri-giridharake seirūpa bhajana kara, yāhāte tini kṛpā kariyā śaṭha ye āmī, āmāra duṣṭatā dūra karen, ujjvala premāmṛta-u āmāke dena evaṁ śrī-gāndharvāra bhajana-lābhera janya āmāke preraṇā dāna karen  (8)

“O mind! You should engage in bhajana of Śrī Giridhara with a voice full of humility in Vraja-maṇḍala, and although I am devious, He will graciously remove my wickedness, gives me the splendid nectar of prema, and gives me the inspiration to perform bhajana of Śrī Gāndharvā.”


1) Dainya-kākuti (a voice full of humility):

“I am completely without shelter and most fallen!” – this mood is fully endowed with bhakti.  Śrī Rūpa has shown this:

(1)
vṛndāvane viharator iha keli-kuñje
matta-dvipa-pravara-kautuka-vibhrameṇa
sandarśayasva yuvayor vadanāravinda-
dvandvaṁ vidhehi mayi devi! kṛpāṁ prasīda

(“You Both revel in splendid, playful pastimes in the kuñjas of Vṛndāvana like two intoxicated elephants. Kindly give me darśana of Your Two lotus-like faces. O Goddess! Please give me Your mercy!”)

(2)
hā devi kāku-bhara-gadgadayādya vācā
yāce nipatya bhuvi daṇḍavad udbhaṭārtiḥ
asya prasādam abudhasya janasya kṛtvā
gāndharvike! nija-gaṇe gaṇanāṁ vidhehi

(“O Goddess! Stammering, with a choked voice full of lamentation, in distress I fall upon the ground like a stick and beg You – be merciful unto this foolish person! O Gāndhārvikā! Kindly count me amongst Your associates.”)

(3)
śyāme ramā-ramaṇa-sundaratā-variṣṭha-
saundarya-mohita-samasta-jagaj-janasya
śyāmasya vāma-bhuja-baddha-tanuṁ kadāhaṁ
tvām indirā-virala-rūpa-bharāṁ bhajāmi

(“O Śyāmā! Your intense beauty leaves Ramā, the goddess of fortune, far behind, and Your transcendental form is embraced by the left arm of Śyāma, who charms all the worlds with His handsomeness that even exceeds that of Nārāyaṇa. When shall I worship You?”)

(4)
tvāṁ pracchadena mudira-cchavinā pidhāya
mañjīra-mukta-caraṇāṁ ca vidhāya devi
kuñje vrajendra-tanayena virājamāne
naktaṁ kadā pramuditām abhisārayiṣye

(“Covering You with a veil as beautiful as a cloud, and removing Your ankle-bells from Your feet, O Goddess, when will I happily lead You to a kuñja at night to meet with the Son of the king of Vraja?”)

(5)
kuñje prasūna-kula-kalpita-keli-talpe
saṁviṣṭayor madhura-narma-vilāsa-bhājoḥ
loka-trayābharaṉayoś caraṇāmbujāni
saṁvāhayiṣyati kadā yuvayor jano ’yam

(“Performing Your amorous sports, lying upon a bed made of flowers within that kuñja, both of You, who are the ornaments of the three worlds, enjoy pastimes of speaking sweet joking words with each other. When will this person massage Your lotus feet?”)

(6)
tvat-kuṇḍa-rodhasi vilāsa-pariśrameṇa
svedāmbu-cumbi-vadanāmburuha-śriyau vām
vṛndāvaneśvari kadā taru-mūla-bhājau
saṁvījayāmi camarī-caya-cāmareṇa

(“When both of Your lotus like-faces are kissed with drops of perspiration due to the fatigue of Your sportive pastimes, You rest under a tree on the bank of Your kuṇḍa. O Vṛndāvaneśvarī, when will I fan you with a camara?”)

(7)
līnāṁ nikuñja-kuhare bhavatīṁ mukunde
citraiva sūcitavatī rucirākṣi nāham
bhugnāṁ bhruvaṁ na racayeti mṛṣāruṣāṁ tvām
agre vrajendra-tanasya kadā nu neṣye

(“O beautiful-eyed one, when You playfully hide from Mukunda in the nikuñja, Citra gives Him a hint where You are. I will say, ‘It was not me! Don’t frown at me!’ When will I pacify your false anger in the presence of the Son of the king of Vraja?”)

(8)
vāg-yuddha-keli-kutuke vraja-rāja sūnuṁ
jitvonmadām adhika-darpa vikāsi-jalpām
phullābhir ālibhir analpam udīryamāṇa-
stotrāṁ kadā nu bhavatīm avalokayiṣye

(“You defeat the Son of the king of Vraja in a playful battle of words, and becoming intoxicated with Your victory, You speak many proud and funny statements. When will I behold this situation, as You are praised by Your blossoming friends?”)

(9)
yaḥ ko ’pi suṣṭhu vṛṣabhānu-kumāri-kāyāḥ
samprārthanāṣṭakam idaṁ paṭhati prapannaḥ
sā preyasā saha sametya dhṛta-pramodā
tatra prasāda-laharīm urarī-karoti

(“Anyone who is fully surrendered and takes shelter of the Daughter of Vṛṣabhānu by nicely reciting these eight prayers, will joyfully be accepted by Her, along with Her Beloved, and will be caught within the waves of Their mercy.”)


2)
Śaṭha ye āmī, āmāra duṣṭatā (I am devious, this is my wickedness):

 Deviousness is the wickedness of the conditioned jīva. Pure jīvas are naturally simple. As soon as a jīva takes shelter of avidyā, that jīva immediately becomes devious, proud, fond of fame, hypocritical and engrossed in futile activities, becoming distant from bhagavatatattva. If that jīva cultivates the mentality that he is lower than straw, his intellect is fixed upon giving respect to others, and he takes shelter of harināma, then he will attain the mercy of Kṛṣṇa and the sādhus.


3) Ujjvala-premāmṛta (The splendid nectar of prema):

Ujjvala means śṛṇgārarasa, which is another name for madhurarasa. Śrī Rūpa says:

mukhya-raseṣu purā yaḥ saṅkṣepeṇodito ’ti rahasyatvāt
pṛthag eva bhakti-rasarāṭ sa vistāreṇocyate madhuraḥ
vakṣyamāṇair vibhāvādyaiḥ svādyatāṁ madhurā ratiḥ
nītā bhakti rasaḥ prokto madhurākhyo manīṣibhiḥ

 (“That best amongst all rasas was only briefly described previously because of its confidential nature. Although bhakti is performed within the different rasas, madhura will be described in detail here. When madhurārati becomes relishable with the presence of vibhāva etc. which will be described hereafter, that bhakti-rasa is called madhura by those who are wise.” – Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi 1.2-3)

When that rati which is the sthāyī-bhāva (permanent bhāva) of dāsya, sakhya and vātsalya combines with the four bhāvas of vibhāva, anubhāva, sāttvika and vyabhicāri it attains the quality of rasa – this also applies to madhurarasa. In madhura-rasa, Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa’s Beloved are alambana (supports). Their qualities are uddīpana (stimulants). At the time of līlā, Kṛṣṇa’s gopīs, and sometimes even Śrī Kṛṣṇa, manifest aṣṭa-sāttvika-bhāva (the eight types of ecstatic symptoms) and the thirty-three vyabhicāribhāvas (bodily symptoms that manifest in prema), and these churn the ocean of rasa. At the time when sādhana-bhakti becomes bhāva, it becomes sthāyī-bhāva. Upon mixing with vibhāva, anubhāva etc. the quality of rasa is produced and prema-bhakti occurs. This is called bhaktirasa. Śrī  Kṛṣṇa’s vṛndāvana-līlā, and especially His līlā with the gopīs in Vraja-maṇḍala, are examples of this rasa. Those who are fortunate enough to attain this rasa, follow the gopīs and pray repeatedly with a faltering voice to Śrī Rādhā to gain Her mercy. Then, a ray of hlādinī enters their hearts and that rasa manifests. Otherwise rasa cannot arise.


4) Śrī Gāndharvā-bhajana (The bhajana of Śrī Gāndharvā):

The finite jīva may attain some meagre bliss from brahmānanda or ātmānanda. However, if he does not get the mercy of the hlādinīśakti, he will never attain the eligibility for paramānanda. The method of attaining it is this – when the jīva, with utmost humility, prays for the attainment of vrajabhāva, or acquires greed for it upon witnessing the bhāva of the Vraja-vāsīs, then by taking shelter of the feet of the sakhīs of Śrīmatī or their assistants, the mañjarīs, then gradually his eligibility increases and his qualification for service is born. By the gradual mercy of the sakhīs, he acquires the mercy of Śrīmatī. As that mercy increases, the more the hlādinī-śakti is transmitted to his heart and gradually he attains the fully divine, blissful sevā of Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa in relation to his eligibility. As long as the sādhaka identifies with a sense of masculinity, the eligibility for this sevā does not arise. It has no connection with the male body or the material female body. There is only the feminine nature which appears in the finite consciousness of the pure jīva. When this is presented in relation to mundane male and female bodies, it becomes totally depraved.

Manaḥ ŚikṣāManaḥ Śīkṣā - Verse 7
Manaḥ ŚikṣāManaḥ Śīkṣā - Verse 9

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