Sri Vraja Vilasa Stava 1/11

Sri Raghunatha Dasa Gosvami’s

Sri Vraja Vilasa Stava

  The Sri Vraja Vilasa Stava, in praise of pastoral exploits, is extracted from Stavavali, the collected works of Sri Raghunatha Dasa Gosvami (1494-1586)

pratiṣṭhā rajjūbhir baddhaṁ

kāmādyair vartma-pātibhiḥ |

chittvā tāḥ saṁharantas tā-

naghāreḥ pāntu māṁ bhaṭāḥ ||1||

Captured am I and bound by sturdy ropes

Of honour and distinctions’ ardent hopes,

And held in durance by the highwaymen,

Called desire, pleasure, and thirst for gain;

May highway guards of the adversary

Of Agha* cut my bonds and set me free. ** 1

dagdhaṁ vārdhaka-vanya-vahnibhir alaṁ daṣṭaṁ durāndhyāhinā

biddhaṁ mām atipāravaśya-viśikhaiḥ krodhādi-siṁhair vṛtam |

svāmin prema-sudhā-dravaṁ karuṇayā drāk pāyaya śrī-hare

yenaitān avadhīrya santatam ahaṁ dhīro bhavantaṁ bhaje ||2||

I am scorched in the conflagration dire

Of decrepitude, like the forest fire;

And bitten by the serpent of blindness;

Pierced by keen darts of the unhappiness,

Depending on others in my distress;

Loud roaring of the proud lions resound

Of desire, and on all sides surround;

O Swamin! O my Lord, O Sri Hari!

Administer the love potion to me,

That I may be steadfast in ardour due,

And, sans distraction, always worship you. 2

yan mādhurī divyasudhārasābdheḥ

smṛteḥ kaṇenāpy atilolitātmā |

padmair vrajasthān akhilān vrajaṁ ca

natvā svanāthau bata tau didṛkṣe ||3||

Recalling but a droplet of the sea

Of divine sweetness and pure ecstasy

Of my sovereigns, I yearn to them behold,

While high honour in verse shall be extolled,

And praising them and all Vraja beside

Those blessed ones who in Vraja reside. 3

prādurbhāva-sudhā-draveṇa nitarām aṅgitvam āptvā yayo-

rgoṣṭhe’tīkṣṇam anaṅga eṣa paritaḥ krīḍā-vinodaṁ rasaiḥ |

prītyollāsayatīha mugdha-mithuna-śreṇī-vataṁsāv imau

gāndharvā giridhāriṇau bata kadā drakṣyāmi rāgeṇa tau ||4||

The one whose body was of yore consumed, ***

Seemeth to have another form assumed,

By constant revelation, full replete

Of divine sports and ambrosia sweet;

Whence the cowherd settlement is endued,

With amorous sublime beatitude;

Ah, when will I with deep passion behold

Sri Gandharva and Giridhari bold?

Who as the crowning wreath refulgent shine,

Of all sweet amorous couples divine. 4

vaikuṇṭhād api sodarātmaja-vṛtā dvāravatī sā priyā

yatra śrī-śata-nindi-paṭṭa-mahiṣī-vṛndaiḥ prabhuḥ khelati |

prema-kṣetram asau tato’pi mathurā śreṣṭhā harer janmato

yatra śrī-vraja eva rājatitarāṁ tām eva nityaṁ bhaje ||5||

The city Dvaravati is more dear

Than Vaikuntha, since fondly he dwells there

With brother; and with sons the Lord abides,

And revels with a multitude of brides;

Who each with a radiant lustre gleam,

That dims a hundred Sri Goddess’s sheen.

More dear the realm of love here upon earth,

Mathura city, where Hari took birth;

And  in  the  environs, pre-eminent,

The meadows and the cowherd settlement

Of Vraja, where Lord Hari freely plays;

I  thus  adore  divine  Vraja  always. ****5

yatra krīḍati mādhavaḥ priyatamaiḥ snigdhaḥ sakhīnāṁ kulai-

rnityaṁ gāḍha-rasena rāma-sahito’py adyāpi go-cāraṇaiḥ |

yasyāpy adbhuta-mādhurī-rasa-vidāṁ hṛdy eva kāpi sphuret

preṣṭhaṁ tan-mathurā-purād api harer goṣṭhaṁ tad evāśraye ||6||

Where Madhava and his beloved friends,

And Rama, through the forest pasture wends,

And doth with cows affectionately stray,

His sports enacting to this very day.

Whoso the wonderful sweetness perceives,

The love within the heart thereon conceives;

May the pastures, dearer to Lord Hari

Than  Mathura  city,  my  refuge  be.  6

vaidagdhyottara-narma-karmaṭha-sakhī-vṛndaiḥ parītaṁ rasaiḥ

pratyekaṁ taru-kuñja-vallari-giri-droṇīṣu rātrindivam |

nānā-keli-bhareṇa yatra ramate tan navya-yūnor yugaṁ

tat-pādāmbuja-gandha-bandhurataraṁ vṛndāvanaṁ tad bhaje ||7||

Where their dear friends with height of skill display

Gestures of love and comic repartee;

In every mountain cave, through every grove,

Under each tree, all day and night they rove;

Where the young couple eagerly resort,

To take delight in their amorous sport;

Where groves are surcharged with the fragrance sweet,

Emitted from their lotus-flower-feet;

That Vrindavan, of divine love the store,

I contemplate devoutly and adore. 7

yatra śrīḥ parito bhramaty avirataṁ tās tā mahā-siddhayaḥ

sphītāḥ sṛṣṭir alaṁ gavām udayanī vāso’pi goṣṭhaukasām |

vātsalyāt paripālito viharate kṛṣṇaḥ pitṛbhyāṁ sukhai-

stan nāndīśvaram ālayaṁ vraja-pater goṣṭhottamāṅgaṁ bhaje ||8||

That place by Goddess Sri's wandering bless’d,

Where all accomplishments are manifest;

Where herds of cows flourish with fair increase,

And where the cowherd people dwell in peace;

Where Krishna is nurtured with loving care

By his affectionate parents, and where

He plays without a care. That worthy town,

Pre-eminent, as Nandisvara known,

The capitol of the cowherd estate,

Ruled by the cowherd chief, I contemplate. 8

putrasyābhyudayārtham ādara-bharair miṣṭānna-pānotkarai-

rdivyānāṁ ca gavāṁ maṇi-vraja-yuṣāṁ dānair iha pratyaham |

yo viprān gaṇaśaḥ pratoṣayati tad bhavyasya vārtāṁ muhuḥ

snehāt pṛcchati yaś ca tad-gata-manās taṁ gokulendraṁ bhaje ||9||

Who  celebrates  lavish  festivity,

With  a  largess  of  pious  charity;

Who for the welfare of his son bestows

Sweet rice and drinks and herds of milking cows;

Who wealth abundant doth each day supply,

The pious wise Vipras to satisfy,

Solicits of their grace and benison,

And lovingly inquires of his son,

And on him doth always deliberate;

On  Gokula's  Indra  I  meditate. ***** 9

putra-sneha-bharaiḥ sadā-snuta-kuca-dvandvā tadīyocchala-

dgharmasyāpi lavasya rakṣaṇa-vidhau sva-prāṇa-dehārbudaiḥ |

āsaktā kṣaṇa-mātram apy akalanāt sadyaḥ prasūteva gau-

rvyagrāyā vilapaty alaṁ bahu-bhayāt sā pātu goṣṭheśvarī ||10||

Whose breasts always trickle with affection,

And intense fondness for her darling son;

Who would billions of her life-breaths forgo,

That not a drop of sweat should from him flow;

Who for a moment if she does not see

Her son, is fraught with sore anxiety,

And is into dire lamentation tossed,

As the fond cow when her fond calf is lost.

May the queen of the cowherds be adored,

And unto us her protection afford. ****** 10

*Aghari; The slayer of the demon Agha, or agha is sin and who irradicates sin id Aghari Krishna.

**In his Sri Manah Shiksha 5, Raghunatha Dasa expresses a similar conceit in,

             The way-side thieves, desire and his train,

             The noose of vain endeavour, causing pain,

             Have flung about my neck, and so I die.

             O mind! To save us your must loudly cry

             For succour to the guardians of the way,

             The devotees of Baka’s enemy,

             And they will surely rescue you from grief,

             And set you free, affording swift relief.

***Cupid who was burnt by the yoga power of Shiva’s eye.

****Surpassing even Vaikuntha on earth,

       Is Madhupuri where the Lord took birth;

       Vrindavan still that glory doth surpass,

       Where celebrated he the festive Ras;

       Mount Govardhan that excellence exceeds,

       Where he of hands of bounty acts his deeds;

       But Radha’s lake surpassing all above,

       Is flooded over with Govinda’s love;

       What wise man would not serve and there abide,

       At that lake which adorns the mountainside!

           Sri Rupa’s Upadeshamrta 9

*****Krishna’s father, to all Vraja endeared,

       Is Nanda hight, by all the world revered;

       His chubby limbs shine like sandalwood paste,

       Red are his robes, protruding is his waist;

       His beard is a mixture of black and white,

       And bears him tall of stature and upright.

             Sri Rupa’s Radha Krishna Gannodesha Dipika. 1.22/23 Hereafter RKGD.

******His mother grants the cowherds endless fame,

       Of darksome hue, Yashoda is her name;

       She is affections’ self; her garments glow

       With various shades like great Shakra’s bow. RKGD. 1.27