10 Then Lalita Sundari leaps like a flash lightning, to the center of the circle, which is dark like a cloud, colored by Krishna’s aṅga-kānti! As the bangles on her lotus hand resound, jhana jhana jhana, she smiles and loudly recites: thai thai thotho tigaḍa tigathai tho ! tathai tho tathaitā !

11 Next Vishakha takes her turn and dances in harmony with the kana kana kana of the vina and the mridanga’s drimi drimi drimi dho dho dho! Then, while she shows her dancing expertise, her ornaments make a jhanana jha-jhat sound to her recitation of the bola: dṛgiti dṛgiti dṛk ! thai tho tatho tho

12 One gopa sundari comes forward to dance: the nupuras and kinkinis jingle on her feet and waist; she shakes her wrists making the bangles jangle and excitedly utters: thaiyā tathaiyā tatha-thai tathaiyā!

13 Another sakhi swiftly moves her hands and footsteps to make her bangles jangle and her anklebells tinkle; and with those sounds she recites the bola for the following beat: thai, thai thai thai thai tathai, thai tathai thāḥ!

14 Another gopa ramani comes on to the stage to display her talents; she boldly utters:

Rasa-taraṅginī Tīkā: Kṛṣṇa-bhāvanāmṛta adds: Seeing the Vraja sundaris’ fantastic dancing, one might consider, “Oh, after Kandarpa churned the saundaryāmṛta-sāgara (ocean of beautiful divine nectar)—are these the Lakshmis that surfaced? And have they advented on the Rasa maṇḍala to display their supreme skill to the world?” (19.67)

But seeing Krishna’s many murtis dancing between each gopi one might guess: “Oh, here’s Kandarpa’s japa mala! But what is it made of? Could it be the lightning amongst the clouds? Or is it indranila mani with gold? Or perhaps it’s fashioned with champak flowers and blue lotus? Oh, now I see, this sweet mala is molded from kunkum and deer musk!” (19.68)

hastaka-śasta-padartha-vibheda-
khyāpana-tāla-gati-krama-nāṭyāt |
ye parirambha-kucagraha-cumbās
te na tataḥ pṛthag āsata rāsāt ||

The Rasa consists of all these things: the gopis perform the drama of showing moons, lotuses and other objects with their flowing hand movements. But Krishna’s embracing them, touching their breasts and kissing them are not separable from this Rasa. (19.69)

15 While enjoying the gopa kishoris’ dancing, Krishna joyfully sings: aa ia tia, ati ai a tiaa, a a a! Hey Radhe! Just see! The moonlit Yamuna’s bank is dancing with us: a a a, ati a a! And Priye! The forest is dancing with its Malayan breezes! a a a ati ihai!” Thus singing, Krishna begins dancing also.

Rasa-taraṅginī Tīkā: Nikhila kala guru Sri Krishna sings a tenaka while showing his skills in gamaka, pada and svara. In Kṛṣṇa-bhāvanāmṛta he praises Radharani as following:

Hey Sundari! Your face is an abode of radiant beauty, and a playground for your roaming eyes, but therein, all of the kāma keli arts display incomparable wonder to enchant my enthralled mind!

16 Rai Vinodini dances and sings: “Oh hey Priya! Your smile is effulgent like the moon, softer than the kunda flowers, more playful than the swan, tastier than khira, and glossier than a pearl necklace—ai, aai, aare are ai aai a!

Rasa-taraṅginī Tīkā: To answer Krishna, Sudhamukhi Rai sings this poem while displaying her manohara nritya. Then combining sura, tāla, māna and laya she concludes with a tenaka.

17 Though they appear like dull objects, the mohana mridangas are actually great pandits—for they resound tā dhik, tā dhik, tā dhik! to spite the heavenly devis’ dancing, which cannot be compared to that of the vidagdha Vraja sundaris.

Rasa-taraṅginī Tīkā: Tā dhik is a mridanga bola, but it also means “shame on them.” Being the greatest saṅgīta acharyas, Radha Thakurani and the other Vraja sundaris display a unique standard of rāgas and rāgiṇīs, tālas, manas, mūrchanās, śrutis and gamakas. Hence the Rasa raṅga sthali is the most amazing stage for music within the three worlds! So as Urvasi, Menaka, Rambha, Tilottama and other leading saṅgīta acharyas of heaven watch the Rasa spectacle from the clouds, the gopis’ mridangas point at them and resound tā dhik, tā dhik, tā dhik! (“Shame on them! Shame on them! Shame on them!”) to proclaim the Vraja sundaris’ superiority.

18-20 Then the gopis singing and playing the vinas, the flutes, the mridangas and the other instruments ecstatically get up to join with the dancing. As the Vraja sundaris lose themselves in the Rasa’s splendor, their nivi-bandhanas, kanchulis and braided hairs unfasten. Thus Rasika-mohana swiftly dances near to retie them. Using the scale sā ri ga ma pa da ni, the very expert gopa kishoris create newer and newer rāgas and rāgiṇīs.

Rasa-taraṅginī Tīkā: There are more than sixteen thousand varieties.

21 With thousands of voices and with thousands of songs, the Vraja Devis sing śuddha (unchanged) and saṅkīrṇa (mixed) songs beloning to the mārga (heavenly) and deśīya (wordly) category.

Rasa-taraṅginī Tīkā: The mārga singing of heaven is also called svarga saṅgīta and Lord Brahma is its acharya. Music used to entertain worldly kings is called deśīya.

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Diwali gifts for the poor. Vrindavan, Wednesday: The Braj Golok Seva Samiti, which also runs a charitable crematorium, distributed sweets to the poor and gave gifts to children from impoverished families. Samiti chairman, Bhagwan Das Chaudhary, told reporters that the organization decided to distribute sweets because, “we do not feel like resting and enjoying Diwali unless everyone can enjoy the festivities”. Read more (Hindi)

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P.C. WIkimedi

Bihariji Goswamis discourage deep daan. Every year on Diwali, thousands of Brijwasis do their deep daan offering at Banke Bihari temple, before returning home to offer lamps to their own Thakurji. This year, the tradition is being disturbed by the temple management, who are struggling to ensure safety for the huge number of visitors that the temple attracts. Temple manager, Munish Sharma, said that there is no need for individuals to do their own offerings because lamps are offered to Bihariji by the temple authorities and visitors to the temple share the benefit. Read more (Hindi)

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P.C. Jagran

Yamuna activism in lead up to Yama Dwitiya. In the lead up to Yama Dwitiya, preparations are being made to facilitate the millions of pilgrims who will bathe in Yamuna. Yama Dwitiya is one of the most auspicious days of the year for snan because it is believed that Yamuna Devi can save people from being punished by her brother, Yamraj. As people become more and more aware of Vrindavan’s potential to as a tourist and pilgrimage destination, which should be the pride of India, more and more individuals and organizations are adding their voice to the cry of “Save Yamuna!” Today, Jagran is running a story about the poor state of the bathing ghats. Questions are being raised about why the cleaning campaigns and development work never seem to make progress. Read more on Yama Dwitiya (English)

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P.C. Margavp

Diwali: Festival of inner light. Today, all over India, people are cleaning and decorating their homes in preparation for the anniversary Lord Ram’s re-entrance to his kingdom in Ayodhya. In Braj, many people live with the bare minimum, but today, the owners of the biggest mansions, and those living on the side of the road, all have something in common: all are cleaning and decorating whatever shelter they call ‘home’.  It is quite an amazing sight, when, despite living in poverty, jopedi vallas take time out of their struggle-to-make-ends-meet to decorate, to celebrate, to worship, and to be with family. Whatever we do to celebrate Diwali, the different rituals and family traditions all have this idea in common: that if we roll out the welcome carpet at the door of our hearts, the Lord will enter. Read more (English)

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Vrindavan’s Diwali is the best of all. Thousands of pilgrims entered Braj for Diwali (yesterday) Goverdhan Pooja (today) and Yama Dwitia Yamuna snan (tomorrow). The tourist crowd is less on Diwali than on the other main  festivals, because, Diwali is primarily a home-based festival; where families gather to welcome Sri Ram into their homes. Vrindavan’s migrant worker population also shrinks considerably, because, whenever possible, people return to their villages for the festival, which is often the only time in the whole year that they make the journey to see their relatives. Whoever gets the chance to visit Vrindavan’s temples at this time, will find the atmosphere festive. As Dhruva Sharma from Hindi VT said, in Vrindavan, Diwali is not one day, it is a whole month. Read more (Hindi)

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Clik here to view.No consensus in meeting on Biharji development work. Tuesday, Vrindavan: Banke Bihari Goswamis met with officials from Braj Tirth Vikas Parishad (BTVP) to discuss needed improvements in visitor services and temple access. Last month, the Yogi Government announced the plan to spend 100 crore on developing the area surronding Banke Bihari temple. At the meeting, BTVP officials gave suggestions about ways that Goswamis could facilitate visitors. Their three main suggestions were: (1) extend darshan timings (2) bring Bihariji out from the inner chamber (3) widen the walkway at the entrance of the temple. Bihariji Goswamis were not interested in any of these suggestions. The Goswamis had their own demands, including: improvement of the roads to Bihariji, improvements in lighting, installation of handrails on the stairs on the pavement outside and installation of drinking water facilities close to the temple.  Read more (Hindi)

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P.C. Paterson Energy

Vrindavan’s recycling plant opening soon. Paterson Energy will soon create gasoline and diesel from Braj’s plastic waste. Two committees have been set up to acquire 1.5 acres of land for the plant. The company will work under government contract, under the National Green Tribunal and the Swachh Bharat Abhiyan (Clean India Movement). The municipality does not have any suitable area for the plant, so land will be purchased from a private owner. The search for suitable land is now underway. The site for the plant must be at least 200 meters away from any river, pond, highway, housing, public garden or water supply. Read more (Hindi)

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P.C. Hindustan

Supreme Court panel on Vrindavan’s Widows. In August this year, the Supreme Court formed a panel to discuss the upliftment of Vrindavan’s widows. Widow remarriage is being encouraged by the panel, but, they are also investigating a range of solutions to reduce widows’ vulnerability. The final report will be given on November 30^th, but, interim reports have indicated the need for measures such as vocational training centres and job placements, in order to give widows financial independence. One of the members of the 6 member panel, Meera Khanna, from the Guild for Service, said that many widows, especially if older, do not wish to get remarried. They are in need of security and need to be protected from the “vicious circle of cultural marginalization and economic deprivation”.  Read more (English)

**UPCOMING EVENTS**

OCT. 21-27 Pundrik Goswami at Hare Krishna Orchid Read more

OCT. 24 Parikrama. Chaurasi Kos Parikrama run by Hit Ashram from Oct. 24. Read more

OCT 24-29 Naresh Sharma (Fajilka) Sankirtan program. Pushpanjali Vaikunth, Phase 1, on Tehra Road. Some big talent coming, namely Vinode Agarwal on Oct. 29th. Read more

OCT. 25 ISKCON Rath yatra in Vrindavan. 12-5pm. Read more

OCT. 25-Nov. 1 Hit Ashram Swami Nimai Sriramji’s troupe doing both Gauranga lila (mornings 9-12) and Rasa Lila (evenings 6-9), Read more

OCT. 31 Samuhika Vivaha  A mass charitable marriage, where sponsors finance the marriages of poor women, who cannot afford dowry. This event is scheduled for the first day when Hindu marriages become possible – Utthan Ekadashi, the day of Vishnu’s rising from his four month sleep. Read more

*If you have an upcoming event, contact us at: vrindavantoday@gmail.com

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22 The gopis’ song resounded like the monsoon thunder with the accompaniment of gongs and cymbals, with their wind instruments it added a fine sound like the hole in a needle; their stringed instruments pervaded it like the infinite breadth of the sky, and it was bound like jewels in a gold setting with their percussion instruments.

Rasa-taraṅginī Tīkā: The four classes of instrument are named after objects having qualities they share with the sounds they produce:

1. Ghana means a cloudy sky and thunder or metal percussion instruments like cymbals;
2. śuṣira means a hole or hollow, as well as the wind instruments like a flute;
3. tata means spreading or expansive like the sky, and it can also mean stringed instruments like the vina;
4. ānaddha means bound, or percussion instruments that are bound with a leather covering.

23 The anklebells, waist-bells, bangles and armlets worn by Krishna and the gopis produce a fifth class of instrument as their enchanting ring blends with the rhythm of their dancing feet on the ground.

24 As their dancing goes on, the Vraja sundaris sing with their mouths, enact dramas with their hands, keep the tāla moving with their feet, shaking their necks and hips, and moving their eyes to the right and to the left. Thus with their attention fixed on Krishna’s mukhāravinda—they enjoy great erotic rapture!

25 The gopis effortlessly sing those śrutis, yatis, mūrchanās and gamakas that are impossible for humans to divine without the help of a vina.

Rasa-taraṅginī Tīkā: The last chapter’s verses 77, 80 and 81 define the śrutis, mūrchanās and gamakas.

26 One talented gopi blends the undivided śrutis, gamakas and yatis to sing beautiful, and Krishna zealously exclaims sādhu sādhu ! to praise her. But then her frowning eyebrows chastise him, so he respects her even more!

Rasa-taraṅginī Tīkā: It sound like this is Lalita.

27 Natini Shiromani Rai’s chālikya dancing enthralls Krishna! Thus unable to find a more suitable reward, Krishna dashes to offer himself with a firm embrace.

Rasa-taraṅginī Tīkā: Krishna thinks, “What more can I give for Rai’s wonderful performance? I’ll give my very atma!” In the chālikya dance someone dances while balancing over a jug, or while balancing the jug on one’s head.

28 Sometimes Muralidhara Krishna’s flute playing inspires Radhika’s dancing. But while viewing Radha’s hāsya mādhuri (sweet smile), Krishna slips on the tāla; so Radhika quickly makes her ornaments jingle to correct Krishna’s blunder and concludes the song with her own graceful dance steps. Then Radhika induces Krishna to dance while she plays the vina.

Rasa-taraṅginī Tīkā: A similar pastime is described in Mahajan padāvali. Here is the summary: Once Krishna playfully joked with Radhika, saying, “Hey priyatama! Look, I’ll mark the stage with the picture of a bow. Can you dance over this picture without making your anklebells, nose ring and earrings jingle, and yet following my vamshi’s quick tāla with your footsteps? If you can, then I’ll admit defeat and surrender to you!”

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Clik here to view.Hearing Krishna’s challenge, Lalita replies, “Why should you only admit defeat? You’ll have to hand over your vamshi, too!”

Krishna smiles and says, “Alright, I’ll accept the wager, but if Rai fails, then what will I get?”

Lalita: “Since your heart dances as Radha’s nose-pearl swings, it shall be yours!”

Then, while fixing his glance upon Priya-mani’s face—saṅgīta-durandhara Shyamasundar plays a frantic tāla! Aho! the unlimitedly virtuous Radha keeps the wager’s conditions. Not only that—while shaking her hips, waist and neck with her intricate rasamaya dancing poses—she looks Shyamasundar right in the eye with a playful smile! Hence Radha’s mukha madhuri, her wonderful nritya chaturi and her flowing mohini murti fascinate Shyam—and so he misses a beat! But Kalavati Rai is right on top of the situation: she quickly picks up the tāla to finish the song with her superb dancing steps! Thus even though he is defeated, Krishna becomes overjoyed—such is prema’s wonderful dharma.

Next Lalita proposes: “Hey Shyamasundar! As you’ve made our Raja-nandini dance, now it’s your turn. Let’s see your skill as she plays the vina. But be forewarned—this isn’t your sakhas’ playground, nor does this include the art of stealing the tarunis’ hearts with stealthy sidelong glances. Rather, this is an assembly where the best sundari ramanis display their dancing talents. So watch out—lest you become a laughing-stock in our presence!”

Krishna answers with a smile: “Well, if I can dance up to the mark, what will you give me?”

Lalita looks towards Rai Rangini’s face and blushes, saying, “We’ll serve you chandra sudha (the nectar of the moon) and maha-padma madhu (the honey of the great lotus), meaning the nectar of Radha’s moon-like face along with the sweet honey of her lotus mouth!”

So Radha beings playing the vina with an incredibly intricate tāla—and she’s backed by her entire sakhi orchestra! Yet Nata Rajendra Shiromani waits for the right cue and with all eyes upon him—he leaps onto the center stage! Aho! Krishna Chandra’s nritya kala is spectacular! He expertly bends and curves long with Gandharvika’s frantically flowing tāla and laya! What a mohaniya natua!

Now Madana Mohan’s charming talents stifle even Mohini Rai’s concentration—so her hand slips from the strings! But while immediately catching the tāla with his fast moving footsteps—Krishna finishes the beat with the quick rhythmic sound of his jingling nupuras! Vrinda and all the sakhis are amazed! “Wonderful!” they exclaim. Even Radha is struck with wonder! Then smiling Rasika Mohana comes to reap his reward.

29 The sakhis eagerly assist Radha Krishna’s dancing with their fantastic nritya, gita and vadya, but they cannot match the Divine Couple’s talents. 30 Then, just as the last beat falls, Rasika Chudamani’s hand reaches out to touch Priyaji’s breast! Although she is pleased by his bold behavior, Radha feigns anger and brushes his hand away!

Rasa-taraṅginī Tīkā: Kṛṣṇa-bhāvanāmṛta tells a slightly different story: Just before the Rasa dance comes to an end, Radha and Krishna release their mutual hold and begin dancing solo. But Krishna can’t resist the urge to dance beside Rai to touch her breast, and he does it! However, on the music’s last beat, Radha flicks Krishna’s hand away! So the sakhis cheer in unison, “Jaya Radhe!”

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CM Yogi to visit again on 1st November. CM Yogi Adityanath is set to visit Vrindavan for the 4th time since he became Chief Minister of U.P. in March this year. The BJP’s anti-corruption campaign, which focuses on the moral and religious qualifications of candidates, is likely to be a boon for pilgrimage places like Vrindavan. Since coming to power, the CM has visited Gorakhpur 5 times, Varanasi and Ayodhya 4 times each and Vrindavan thrice. In Ayodhya, CM Yogi arranged for Sita-Ram to descend in a helicopter, causing people to feel as if they had been transported back to Treta Yug.  CM Yogi’s last visit to Vrindavan did not have such a positive effect, because the CM got stuck in the middle of protests by Yamuna floodplain homeowners. On this next scheduled visit, the CM will be part of the inauguration ceremony of a new Radha Krishna temple and guest house in Keshav Kunj, Burja road. Read more (Hindi)

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P.C. Newsx

Hanuman statue removed in land dispute. Thursday, Tentigaon: Four men have been charged with disturbing the peace after a Hanuman statue was secretly placed on a plot land in an attempt to claim possession of the land. On Wednesday night, village resident Mr. Murlidhar installed the Hanuman statue.  On Thursday morning, a crowd gathered at the site, arguments ensued and police arrived. Murlidhar claims that, one year ago, he paid Rs. 3 Lakh in advance because Rajkumar Agarwal said that he was selling the land. Police charged Murlidhar, Rajkumar, Dilip and Ombabu with disturbing the peace and moved the Hanuman statue to a more peaceful place.   Read more (Hindi)

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P.C. Trip Advisor

Mathura’s elephant shelter is world class. Today, Hindustan is reporting that foreign visitors, Justin and Edmu from Brampton, Canada, spoke in praise of Mathura’s elephant shelter. The Canadian nationals said that Mathura’s Elephant Conservation and Care Centre is better than the zoos in their country. The centre rescues injured and abused elephants from across India. The park also gives visitors the chance to participate in serving the elephants by bathing, feeding and walking them.

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P.C. Jagran

Vegetables barred from Diwali parties. Umesh Chaudhary, fresh produce market inspector, said that the demand for vegetables was reduced by 25-30% this Diwali. Despite the crowds in Braj, demand for vegetables during festival times remains low, as people dine on sweets and pakwan (fried foods). Also, many households and ashrams order vegetables in advance. Fearing higher prices, people are disinclined to buy vegetables, and, during festivals, farmers send less produce to the market. Over the Diwali period, cabbage and potato prices remained steady, but the price of cauliflower increased. Read more (Hindi)

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Govardhan Baba at Radhakund – P.C. Shakti Lee

Vrindavan, 2017.10.21 (VT): For lovers of Shri Krishna, one of the most special days of the year is Govardhan Pooja. On the day after Diwali, about five thousand years ago, Shri Krishna taught the people of Vrindavan to worship Govardhan Hill, and revealed that the hill is a form of his own self. During that first Govardhan pooja, the Brajwasis worshiped Govardhan by offering him huge amounts of food, and Krishna in the form of the sacred mountain accepted their offerings.

Today, Govardhan Pooja is celebrated much in the same way as it was in Dwapar Yuga. First, abhishek is performed by bathing the stones of the sacred hill with milk, yoghurt and other dairy products. Flowers and new clothes are offered and lamps are lighted for him. And most importantly of all, a mountain of food (annakut) is offered. Throughout Braj’s villages, the Brajwasis make replicas of the hill called “Govardhan Baba” out of cow dung. Conversely, many devotees from Bengal replicate the mountain with a pile of rice, which is then offered to the Deity.

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Chhapan Bhog Offering – P.C. Shri Radha Shyamsundar Temple

In Vrindavan’s ancient temples, chhappan bhog (56 types of food) was offered to the deities of Govind Dev, Gopinath, Madanmohan, Radharaman, Radhavallabh and others. Govardhan Baba was artistically formed out of cow dung in the temple courtyards. At the ISKCON temple in Raman Reti, a replica of Govardhan Hill was made with 500 kilograms of semolina halwah complete with a minature Radha Kund, Shyam Kund, Kusum Sarovar and other holy lakes filled with honey. Devotees from all over India as well as foreign countries like Russia, Australia, South Africa, the UK and Canada attended the program.

In Govardhan, hundreds of thousands of devotees performed Govardhan Parikrama – the sacred walk around Govardhan Hill. The main temples like Giriraj Mukharvind in Jatipura saw huge crowds of devotees waiting to offer abhishek, while others offered their worship in the more isolated areas of the forest around the hill. “Govardhan Baba” (cowdung replicas of Govardhan) could be seen all along the Govardhan Parikrama path. Chhappan bhog was offered by many devotees for Govardhan’s pleasure. At Mansi Ganga and Radha Kund, the steps of the holy lakes were covered with thousands of lamps. Some individuals sponsored as many as 5,100 lamps at a time.

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Devotees dancing at Govardhan Puja celebrations at Jiva.

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Yamuna and Yamraj at Vishram Ghat, Mathura (P.C. Anjana Aggarwal)

Vrindavan, 2017.10.21 (VT): Today (kartik shukla dwitiya) is a special celebration for brothers and sisters known as Bhai Dooj or Yama Dwitiya. According to legend, once upon a time on this day the god of death Yamraj visited his sister, the river goddess Yamuna. Yamuna served her brother so lovingly during his visit that Yamraj gave a blessing that if brothers and sisters bathe together in the Yamuna River on this day, they will never enter his realm (the underworld).

Hundreds of thousands of devotees bathe in the Yamuna River on this day in Vrindavan and Mathura. Special security arrangements were made in advance to handle the influx of bathers. The ghats along the river have been equipped with wooden bars for people to hold onto whilst bathing, and boats with lifeguards patrolled the sacred waters in Mathura at Vishram Ghat, Bengali Ghat, Swami Ghat, and Yamunapar.

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P.C. Anjana Aggarwal

Near the ghats, barricading was done to control traffic and illegal encroachments were removed ahead of the event. Temporary changing rooms for women were provided.

Additionally, almost 1,500 cusecs of water was released from dams upstream to facilitate bathing. The district magistrate of Mathura Shri Arvind Malappa Bangari said that the security of the bathers is of utmost importance and every precation was being taken to ensure their safety.

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31 One gopi kneels down while outstretching her lata-like arms, and starts to spin. Aho! She appears like Kamadeva’s whirling golden discus !

Rasa-taraṅginī Tīkā: As Radha and Krishna pause to rest, the other sakhi begin showing their various dancing skills to please them. Though we have never heard of Kamadeva possessing a discus weapon along with his blow and flowery arrows, it is not unreasonable to think that he has many weapons in his arsenal.

32 Another Vrajabala repeatedly raises and contracts her arms, stretching them out and then withdrawing them to touch her own bodily limbs, displaying many dancing postures too difficult for others.

33 Touching the ground with her right hand, a gopi lifts her body to the sky and rotates it again and again, sometimes falling to the ground. Then sometimes she performs the same a rotating dance without any support.

Rasa-taraṅginī Tīkā: Sounds like break dancing. Vrindavan Chakravarti says it is not so amazing that the gopis can dance in the air without any support, since they belong to the supreme independent potency.

34 One slim-waisted gopi stands and bends backwards until her veni touches her heels. While stretching in this way she dances, making it look like she is Cupid’s golden bow taking aim.

35 Another Vraja sundari made the little silver beads in her ankle bells jingle in their spaces to the music’s rhythm, first once, then twice, then three times, in sequence. Then sometimes she would silence them altogether, even while continuing her wondrous dance. Seeing this, Krishna and all the other talented performers honored her with exclamations of, “Well done! Well done!”

Rasa-taraṅginī Tīkā: In these verses, we can hear the echo of the Bhāgavatam

kācit samaṁ mukundena svarajātīr amiśritāḥ |
unninye pūjitā tena prīyatā sādhu sādhv iti |
tad eva dhruvam unninye tasyai mānaṁ ca bahv adāt ||

“One gopi, joining Lord Mukunda in his singing, sang pure melodious tones that rose harmoniously above his. Krishna was pleased and showed great appreciation for her performance, saying “Excellent! Excellent!” Then another gopi repeated the same chorus, but improving on it, and Krishna praised her also.” (BhP 10.33.10)

36 Whether it was the song, dance and instrumentation that Brahma, Shiva and other gods had created, or those that Lord Narayan and all his Lakshmis created appropriate to their world of Vaikuntha, or whether it was the song, dance and instrumentation that the Vraja sundaris themselves created — in the Rasa maṇḍala Krishna further expanded them all in their company in ways never before seen or heard.

37 While displaying inconceivable dancing prowess, Krishna enjoys viewing the gopis, kissing them and petitioning them for rati. He also fondles their breasts or marks them with his nails. Thus becoming Radhika and the sakhi’s ramana, he plunges within the Rasa lila’s rasa sagara!

Rasa-taraṅginī Tīkā: Here is svayam bhagavan rasikendra mauli’s paramount feature. By giving supreme pleasure to the gopis he nourishes his own pleasure. Here we can are reminded of the description of the Rasa that is given by Jayadeva at the beginning of Gita-govinda:

candana-carcita-nīla-kalevara-pīta-vasana-vana-mālī |
keli-calan-maṇi-kuṇḍala-maṇḍita-gaṇḍa-yuga-smita-śālī ||1||
harir iha mugdha-vadhū-nikare vilāsini vilasati keli-pare ||dhru||

Krishna has applied sandal paste to his dark blue body,
is clothed in bright yellow and wears a garland of forest flowers.
The ear-globes adorning his smiling cheeks oscillate while he sports.
Refrain: Hari shines among the enchanted gopis who frolick with him.

pīna-payodhara-bhāra-bhareṇa hariṁ parirabhya sarāgam |
gopa-vadhūr anugāyati kācid udañcita-pañcama-rāgam ||2||

One gopi, weighed down by her ample bosom embraces Krishna
with manifest love and gleefully sings in the panchama raga.

kāpi vilāsa-vilola-vilocana-khelana-janita-manojam |
dhyāyati mugdha-vadhūr adhikaṁ madhusūdana-vadana-sarojam ||3||

One artless gopi contemplates the handsome lotus-face of Madhusudana
with its moving, playful eyes radiating passion.

kāpi kapola-tale militā lapituṁ kim api śruti-mūle |
cāru cucumba nitambavatī dayitaṁ pulakair anukūle ||4||

One gopi puts her cheek against his to whisper something in his ear.
Another shapely one kisses him sweetly, her hair standing favorably on end.

keli-kalā-kutukena ca kācid amuṁ yamunā-jala-kūle |
mañjula-vañjula-kuñja-gataṁ vicakarṣa kareṇa dukūle ||5||

Another gopi playfully leads Krishna along the banks of the Yamuna
to a pretty bower and there starts pulling at his clothes.

kara-tala-tāla-tarala-valayāvali-kalita-kala-svana-vaṁśe |
rāsa-rase saha-nṛtya-parā hariṇā yuvatī praśaśaṁse ||6||

Another gopi dances, mingling the rhythmic tinkling of her bracelets
with the melody from the flute of Krishna, who praises her for her skills.

śliṣyati kām api cumbati kām api kām api ramayati rāmām |
paśyati sa smita-cāru parām aparām anugacchati vāmām ||7||

Krishna embraces one gopi, kisses another, gladdens yet another;
He looks at another with a charming smile, and follows behind yet another.

śrī-jayadeva-bhaṇitam idam adbhuta-keśava-keli-rahasyam |
vipina-vinoda-kalā-valitaṁ vitanotu śubhāni yaśasyam ||8||

Thus Jayadeva describes the wonderful secret of Krishna’s sports
as artistically conducted in his playground forest of Vrindavan.
May it bestow auspiciousness and fame on those who hear it.

One can also look at BhP 10.33.11-14.

38 Krishna he sings and makes them, his consorts, sing. He dances and induces them to dance, and dances according to their direction. He praises their performance and they praise his. So just as a boy plays with his own shadow, Krishna enjoys with them.

Rasa-taraṅginī Tīkā: This verse is inspired by Bhagavatam 10.33.17—

In this way, by hugging, by touching, by looking affectionately, by extravagant playing, the Lord of Ramā Devi enjoyed with the Vraja sundaris, just like a boy plays with his bewildering reflection in a mirror.

As no dancer is satisfied by dancing alone, and no song is wonderful without an audience, how could the topmost sundara purusha ever be happy and complete without his parama sundari counterparts? Hence, Rasa is the greatest showcase where love and beauty combine in harmony with singing, dancing and music. Here everything is ideal and perfect.

39 One Vraja kishori places Krishna’s chandan anointed arm on her shoulder. But as its divine fragrance enters her nostrils, she shivers, horripilates and sheds ecstatic tears! Thus being stunned, she appears like a sthira-saudamini (steady lightning streak) within a nava jaladhara (new monsoon cloud)!

40 The gopis dancing fatigue personifies like a friendly sakhi to decorate their forehead and cheeks with attractive perspiration beads—the sign of their sweet vilasa with Krishna.

Rasa-taraṅginī Tīkā: As the gopis dancing goes on, the friendly sakhi of fatigue congratulates them for their wonderful vilasa with a gift of pearl necklaces. Thus the gopis perpiration enhances their beauty.

41 At the Rasa’s conclusion the gopis’ hair becomes undone, their clothes loosen, the tips of their breasts pulsate with their heavy breathing, perspiration beads cling to their foreheads and cheeks and their bodies turn weak due to exhaustion. Yet Krishna relishes it all!

Rasa-taraṅginī Tīkā: Rasika bhaktas may ponder: “Where is the abode of saundarya, refined beauty? And who is actually beautiful?” By meditating on these lilas, anubhava or direct experience awakens. Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi defines saundarya as refined beauty in all situations. Hence the gopis are the ideal example.

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Vrindavan, 2017.10.22 (VT): On Bhaiya Dooj, men who are incarcerated in Mathura’s local jail were allowed to receive visits from their sisters. On this day, brothers and sisters traditionally meet to perform religious rituals and exchange their affection. From 8am to 5pm the jail made special arrangements for sisters to meet their jailed brothers.

About 1,500 women showed up to apply tilak to their brothers’ foreheads and feed them sweets. Muslim women were also given the special opportunity to meet their brothers despite it being a Hindu holiday. Extra security personnel were stationed at the scene while the jail’s superintendent Shailendra Kumar Maitre and jailkeeper Arvind Pandey monitored the happenings to make sure the event ran smoothly.

A 2011 study by the Minnesota Department of Corrections shows that prisoners who received at least one visit by friends or family at any time during their prison term were 13 percent less likely to commit another felony. They were also 25 percent less likely to return to prison on a parole violation. The study also showed that the more visits a prisoner received, the less likely he or she was to commit another crime after being released.

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I worship Kaliya’s lake (kāliya-hrada), where Sri Krishna punished Kaliya by dancing on him with the soles of his feet, kicking him for committing an offence to his friends, who are dearer to him than life.

Stavāmṛta Kaṇā Vyākhyā: In this verse Raghunath Das Goswami praises Kaliya-hrada. When Sri Krishna’s dear friends drank the poisoned water of the this cove in the Yamuna, they left their bodies and lay dead on the lake’s shore. Sri Krishna revived them by casting his nectarean glance upon them. Therefore Raghunath here says : “Kaliya committed an offense to Sri Krishna’s dear friends.”

This event is described in Śrīmad Bhāgavatam as follows:

Sri Śuka Muni told Maharaj Parīkṣita: “O King! Being thirsty and afflicted by the summer heat, the cows and cowherd boys came to drink the water of the Yamuna, which was polluted by the poison of the Kaliya snake. By the machinations of fate or of God’s will, upon sipping the poisonous water, the boys, who knew no other Lord but Krishna, fell lifeless at the water’s edge. Seeing them in this state, Krishna, the king of the kings of yoga, completely revived them by showering the ambrosia of his glance upon them. (Bhāgavata 10.15.49-51)

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Clik here to view.Seeing his friends and cows in this condition and considering this poisoned water to be a threat to the entire community, Krishna jumped from a tall kadamba tree standing on the bank of the lake and directly into the coils of the angry Kaliya snake, where he remained motionless for some time. But when he saw that his friends, cows, mother, father, the gopas and gopis, indeed all the Vrajavasis, were almost losing consciousness due to fears for his safety, Krishna came out of the grip of Kaliya’s coils, climbed on his hoods and began to kick him by dancing on them. This is described in Śrīmad Bhāgavatam (10.16.25-30) as follows:

When Kaliya had become exhausted from whirling about for so long trying to throw Krishna off, Krishna pulled down his raised hood with his left hand and mounted his big head. Thus Sri Krishna, the teacher of all arts like singing and dancing, began to dance on Kaliya’s head, whose jewels illuminated the reddish soles of his feet.

Seeing him starting to dance like this, the Lord’s associates as well as the Gandharvas, Siddhas, Cāraṇas, gods and goddesses, all began to sing, play drums like the mridanga and kettle drum, shower flowers and offer praises.

Whichever head of the whirling 101-hooded Kaliya had not yet been lowered was kicked down by the dancing feet of Sri Krishna, the punisher of the wicked. Kaliya’s life force became depleted and blood began to vomit forth from his mouths and nostrils, which gave him great pain and put him into complete bewilderment.

Then Kaliya began to breath heavily in anger and issued streams of poison from his eyes. It was as if Sri Krishna, the Original Lord, was working for the benefit of the demigods, being pleased with the flowers they showered upon him, by kicking down with his feet any of Kaliya’s hoods that had not yet been lowered, on the pretext of dancing.

O King! Through this wonderful tāṇḍava dance of Sri Krishna, the thousand hoods of Kaliya, that served as an umbrella, were broken and each of his limbs were like crushed while blood forcefully rushed from his mouths. Then Kaliya remembered that the person who danced on his head was the ruler of all the worlds and the Original Person, and took shelter of his lotus feet.”

Raghunath Das Goswami thus says: “I worship Kaliya-hrada, the place where Kaliya was defeated by Sri Krishna, for the fulfillment of all my desires and for the destruction of all my anarthas.”

In his Stavamālā Śrīla Rūpa Goswamipāda used the pastime of the subjugation of Kaliya to praise Sri Krishna. At the end he wrote:

O Damodar! In your pastime of defeating Kaliya, the evil snake has been justly subdued, that is for sure, but I do not think that this constitutes the end of your pastimes of defeating snakes! The great serpent of my mind that is dwelling in the broad lake of my heart is even more poisonous and frightening than Kaliya and is crawling around everywhere, extending its hundreds of thousands of desires, that are like its hoods. These hundreds of hoods of my sensual desires are not in any way less powerful, expansive and thick than this Kaliya-snake. Just as Kaliya did so much harm with his poisoned fangs and his naturally crooked gait, similarly my big snake-like mind has poisonous fangs in the form of its various desires for material enjoyment and a crooked gait in the form of thoughts about harming others, and is thus always engaged in causing mischief to others. Therefore, O most powerful Lord! Just as you have subdued the Kaliya-snake and have broken his 100 hoods by performing wonderful dances on them, you should also break the hundreds of thousands of hoods of material desires of the great snake of my mind and bless it forever by printing the marks of your footprints on its head!”

Raghunath Das Goswami says:

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Clik here to view.Commentary of Sri Radha Kund Mahant, Pandit Sri Ananta Das Babaji Maharaj is named Stavāmṛta Kaṇā Vyākhyā (a drop of the nectar of Stavāvalī), and was published in Gaurābda 503 (1989 A.D.) from Sri Krishna Chaitanya Shastra Mandir, Vrajananda Ghera, PO Radhakunda (district Mathura), U.P., India.

Devotional songs in Bengali that follow each commentary were composed by Dr. Haripada Sheel.

© Translated by Advaita dāsa in 1994

More of Ananta Das Pandit’s writings in English translation can be found at Tarun Govinda’s blog, Amrita Tarangini.

TAGS: Ananta Das Pandit, Raghunath Das Goswami,Vraja Vilasa Stava

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Temple entrance

Vrindavan, 2017.10.22 (VT): At the end of Loi Bazaar if one takes a turn towards Nidhivan, one finds the grand entrance of Shahji Mandir. The temple’s real name is Lalit Nikunj, but it is called Shahji Mandir because it was built by two brothers from Lucknow named Shah Kundan Lal and Shah Phundan Lal. Its other nickname is Tedhe Khamba Mandir, after its oddly-shaped pillars.

The temple’s construction was completed in 1867. Made of Italian marble with an unusual mixture of Indian and European styles, the temple was originally intended for the ancient deity of Radharaman. Radharaman, however, preferred to stay in his current traditional sandstone temple, where there is adequate space for his Goswamis to reside. The Shah brothers’ own deity of “Choto Radharaman” now presides over the Shahji Mandir. The two brothers’ samadhis are also there, just outside of the temple’s main entrance.

Click here to view more photos of Shahji Mandir and its surroundings

Shah Kundan Lal and Shah Phundan Lal were disciples of Shri Radha Govinda Goswami of the Shri Radharaman Temple. They were also extremely wealthy: employees of the last Nawab of Avadh, Wajid Ali Shah. Their grandfather Shah Bihari Lal sponsored the present temple of Radharaman. The brothers were devotionally inclined since childhood, but when their father sent them to Vrindavan with a golden throne for Radharamanji, they received his darshan for the first time.

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Shah Kundan Lal – mural on the floor of the temple verandah

After seeing Radharaman once, it was as if they were under a magic spell. All their other desires fell away and they wanted nothing more than to serve him day and night for the rest of their lives. After their father and grandfather passed away, they moved to Vrindavan. They left their army – and their shoes – on the other side of the Yamuna River and entered the holy land to stay. They passed their days writing poetry for Radharaman under the pen names Lalit Kishori (Kundan Lal) and Lalit Madhuri (Phundan Lal). “Lalit Madhuri”’s contribution to Raas Lila songs and dialogues is well-known to this day.

After moving to Vrindavan, Shah Kundan Lal made a vow never to leave the holy land, and his brother followed suit. He had so much love for the dust of Vrindavan that he found it impossible to even think of easing the call of nature upon it. So he used to pass urine and stool in pots made from Agra clay and have them couriered out of Braj for disposal.

When people die in Vrindavan, the body is carried on a stretcher through the streets before being burned or entombed. But Shah Kundan Lal made it clear early on that when the time came for him to die, he did not want his body to be carried through the streets. He wanted it to be dragged through the streets instead, so that his body would be caressed by the blessed dust of Vrindavan.

Just a year after the brothers moved to Vrindavan, the Sepoy Mutiny of 1857 occurred. Shah Kundan Lal had once helped a rebel group and given them shelter on his property, and so a warrant was issued for his arrest. The trial was to be held in Mathura.

Everyone was very worried but Shah Kundan Lal said, “Is there any weapon sharper than the eyes of Govind Dev? If one who has been wounded by those arrows just once, why should he fear any other weapon? I am ready to stand before the British government and bear any consequences this trial brings, for the eyes of Govind Dev are upon me and they are my protection.”

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Shah Phundan Lal on temple verandah’s floor (slightly damaged)

Shah Kundan Lal went to the court singing kirtan along with a large crowd of devotees. When the judge asked if he had sheltered the rebel group, he immediately admitted that he had. When the judge asked him if he knew the punishment for treason, he replied, “Yes, the punishment is death.”

When the judge warned that he may be hanged, Shah Kundan Lal said:

“You may hang me if you wish. But my last wish is that you hang me in Vrindavan. And let there be kirtan around me when I die. If you do that, I will regard such a punishment as the greatest reward.”

The magistrate was so astonished by Shah Kundan Lal’s fearless devotion that he let him go.

On Kartik Shukla Pratipad of 1873 Kundan Lal took sannyas. The next morning he told his brother “I have gotten the call from Radharani. It is time for me to go. Please make a platform out of Braj Raj and decorate it like a kunj (forest bower) and place in it a picture of our beloved Radharaman.” When the kunj was ready, he sat on the platform of Braj dust and asked his companions to begin kirtan. He also sang along. Soon he entered an ecstatic trance and suddenly left his body while gazing at the image of Radharaman ji. Shah Phundan Lal also left this world in a similar manner in 1885.

When Shah Kundan Lal passed away, the lanes of Vrindavan were filled with soft Yamuna sand and his body was gently dragged over it. The body was taken on parikrama around Vrindavan passed the ancient temples, before it was laid in samadhi.

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Siblings drown during Yamuna snan. Yesterday hundreds of thousands of brothers and sisters took bath together in Yamuna to celebrate Bhai Dooj (brother-sister) festival. Among the pilgrims were 24-year-old Gauri Sharma and her brother Bhola. Due to the crowding at Mathura’s Vishram Ghat, Gauri and Bhola decided to find a more peaceful place to bathe. In some places, the Yamuna gets deep very quickly and they lost their footing in the muddy riverbed. Mahesh Chand Sharma, Gauri’s husband, was waiting on the shore. When he saw that his wife and her brother were in trouble, he started to shout for help, however, by the time police and divers arrived at the scene, Gauri and Bola had entered jal samadhi. Read more (Hindi)

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P.C. Facebook

Yuva Mandal’s 5-day festival. Shri Guru Karshni Yuva Mandal Pathankot held a 5-day festival over Diwali, including chappan bhog, abhishek and, on the night of Diwali, a ceremony which included the lighting of lamps on both side of the Yamuna. The deep daan ceremony was followed by a celebration which saw Indian and foreign devotees singing lively bhajans and lighting fireworks. Read more (Hindi)

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P.C. Jagran

More than 120 nationalities in one temple. Tomorrow from 10am, Vrindavan ISKCON will hold a truly international festival, with devotees from over 120 countries gathering to celebrate Srila Prabhupada’s disappearance day. To celebrate Prabupada’s achievement of opening 108 temples around the world, the flags of 120 countries will be displayed around the temple. Leaving his peaceful life of bhajan and his room in Radha Damodar temple, Prabhupada left Vrindavan at an advanced age, taking the risk of dying outside of Braj. Prabhupada was instructed by his guru to preach in English, so that people all over the world could experience the joy of devotion. After returning from 10 years of preaching in the West, Prabhupada came back to his true home, Vrindavan. Tomorrow, on the anniversary of his disappearance day, Prabhupada’s deity will be carried around on a palanquin, for his pleasure, and in memory of the seva that devotees did for their most revered guru as he lived out his last days in Vrindavan. Read more (Hindi)

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P.C. ideatrash

Cows give less milk after Diwali. As well as reducing the harm done to the environment, people and property, pets and wild animals have also benefited from the The Supreme Court ban on the sale of fireworks in the Delhi NCR. Animal activists say that birds are particularly badly affected. Fireworks cause birds to fly out of their nests in fright, leaving their children and eggs unattended. Birds often sustain serious injuries, getting burned by the fireworks whilst flying, and their lack of night vision causes them become disorientated and bump into buildings. Dr Aman Mauj, a veterinarian, said that cows give less milk on the morning after Diwali and the effect is permanent because, when a cow’s milk ejection reflex is affected by fright, it leads to increased residual milk and an overall reduction in the amount of milk that she can give. Read more (English)

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P.C. Indian Express

ATMs out of service over weekend. Questions are being asked about why most of the 300 ATMs in Braj are found empty during festival times. Tourists from big cities and overseas are often inconvenienced as they expect to be able to withdraw cash from ATMs to spend at local businesses. The ATMs of almost all banks in the area are not well-serviced and often run out of cash on Sundays and on festivals. Read more (Hindi)

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A Morning with Vanshi Baba

Taking photographs of the holy city of Vrindavan has been a family tradition for Abhinav Goswami — one that dates all the way back to 1860, three generations ago. It was one of Abhinav’s great uncles who piqued his interest in the city and in the world of photography.

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at the gates

“He was a professional photographer with a passion for clicking photos of Vrindavan, where I was born and brought up. His photos date all the way back to the ’40s and ’50s. When I turned 18, he handed over all his photographs and negatives to me. I knew then that I wanted to continue the legacy,” reminisces Abhinav.

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By the river

Since the 1990s, when he first got his hands on a camera, till today, Abhinav has never missed an opportunity to photograph his beloved hometown. “If I am in the city, then the evening always finds me on the streets — sometimes I go to the ghats, sometimes to the temples. There’s no fixed destination, but I always head out to click photos. It may seem repetitive but I get new perspectives each time,” says Abhinav.

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Sari ceremony (Chunri Manorath) by Gujaratis

The streets of the holy city are different from those of a cosmopolitan metro. Replete with sadhus flocking to the temples, snake charmers with serpents wrapped around their necks, ghats where a hundred different types of ceremonies take place, the town has a million stories to be told through the lens of a camera. “One of my favorite places to visit is the Keshi Ghat. Of the 42 ghats in Vrindavan, this is the only one where the river touches the steps. Ceremonies to pray for the souls of the dead, ceremonies where young boys have their heads shaved and a ceremony that Gujaratis have where they tie 50 saris together and take it into the river Yamuna by boat — these are some of the memorable subjects I have shot here,” recalls the photographer.

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Shadows

Abhinav, who has had his work exhibited in both solo and group exhibitions in Mumbai, Agra and Delhi, prefers the black and white medium, though he does take colour photographs too. “When I started taking photographs, black and white processing wasn’t done in Vrindavan. So, I started processing them myself. Black and white images have a longer shelf-life than colour when it comes to film. Since I still shoot about 40 per cent of my pictures on film, and the rest in digital, it’s just more practical to shoot them this way. Besides, I think color often distracts the mind from the actual subject of the photograph,” he says.

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Solitary Vigil

Though he feels the city of his childhood has deteriorated, it is here that he keeps coming back to for inspiration. “The city is not what it was when I was a child. The burden of development has created a city that clings to its dilapidated heritage, with the government trying to push for more developments to make it at par with India’s metropolitan cities. Indeed, the city began crumbling from the time I first started documenting it. Still, I have taken photos of Varanasi, Kolkata, and did a project photographing Taj Mahal, but none of them keep me coming back the way this city continues to do. I have thousands of photographs, and I will continue to take more,” he concludes.

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Splash

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Chath Pooja begins tomorrow. Tomorrow, thousands of women in Braj will begin a four-day fast and period of intense prayer for the health and longevity of family members. The rituals of Chath Pooja include standing waist-deep in water and facing the rising and setting sun. Chath Pooja is mentioned in Ramayana as having been conducted after Sri Ram’s return from exile. Mahabharata also mentions Draupadi doing similar rituals.  Chath Pooja is also associated with rishis, who are said to live without food, taking nourishment only from the sun.  This year, Chath Pooja has also become associated with the campaigns to save Yamuna, because standing waste deep in water for the pooja is becoming difficult, due to the low water levels in Braj’s Yamuna. Read more (Hindi)

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P.C. Indian Express

Saffron busses and helicopters on the way.  Earlier this month, the Yogi Government released the first phase of new busses across the State; with 50 saffron coloured buses unveiled in the State’s capital, Lucknow. The Secretariat Administration department has also replaced the blue straps of Government identity cards with saffron. Certificates and booklets issued by the Government are also invariably saffron. Speaking about the issue, U.P. Minister, Shrikant Sharma said: “We like all colours, but saffron is our favourite because it represents tyaag, balidaan aur shaurya (sacrifice, strength and bravery). The national flag also has saffron. Saffron is our personal choice and nobody should have any objection to it.” CM Yogi Adityanath has announced plans for a helicopter to connect religious places, including Vrindavan, with the aim of increasing religious tourism. To date, there has been no mention of which colour it will be. Read more (English)

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P.C. Jagran

Conservationists hold Yamuna Aarti. Officials from the Keshi Tirth Foundation held a Maha aarti with chappan bhog for Yamuna Maharani, to mark the first year anniversary of the organization’s inauguration. The organization’s website says that they are primarily dedicated to the preservation of Vrindavan’s historical Keshi Ghat. Dr. Siddharth Shukla, the organizations secretary, said that as well as honouring Yamuna Maharani, the aarti will strengthen the sankalp (resolution) of the organization’s members to work wholeheartedly to promote Yamuna cleaning and Keshi Ghat preservation. Read more (Hindi)

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Rail Minister Piyush Goyal. P.C. Zee News

Mathura Station to showcase temples. Yesterday, when Rail Minister Piyush Goyal arrived at Mathura station, he was not happy with the decor. The minister said that when people arrive at the Station, they should realize they have reached a place of immense religious significance.  The minister ordered that pictures of Mathura’s temples be placed on the walls of every platform. The Director of Mathura Station has been ordered to make a proposal for the temple theme decorations. The Rail Minister also checked security and timetabling arrangements and ordered that the levels of some of the platforms be raised to enable ease of access to trains for elderly and differently-abled passengers. Read more (Hindi)

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Photo: BBC.com

Widows to be given a voice. A Supreme Court panel investigating the condition of widows in Vrindavan has found that, “There can be little or no doubt at all that widows in some parts of the country are socially deprived and to an extent ostracized. Perhaps this is the reason why many of them choose to come to Vrindavan and other ashrams where, unfortunately, they are not treated with the dignity they deserve,” Highlighting the need  to give widows ‘a voice’, the panel has recommended that each State set up a functional ‘Commission for Women’. Read more (English)

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Worship at Udupi Shri Krishna Mutt

Vrindavan, 2017.10.23 (VT): A national-level religious parliament in Udupi, Karnataka, will be attended by a number of sants and mahants from Braj. A preliminiary meeting was held in Radhika Vihar under the chairmanship of Mahant Phooldol Bihari Dasji Maharaj to encourage participation in the event.

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Udupi Sri Krishna

Holy men from around the country have been invited to attend the religious parliament, which is to be held from November 24-26, 2017. The event is being organised by the Vishwa Hindu Parishat (VHP).

The parliament will invite the sants to discuss various issues related to religion, such as cow protection, untouchability and conversion of Hindus to other religions. The Ram Janmabhoomi issue is also on the table for discussion. Prominent members of the VHP like Mohan Bhagwat will also attend the event.

Udupi is the main seat of Jagadguru Shri Madhwacharya’s Dwaita sect, and a Vaishnava stronghold for centuries. It is also home to the beautiful ancient deity of Udupi Sri Krishna. The nearby Udupi Ananteshwara Temple of Lord Shiva is over 1,000 years old.

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Vrindavan, 2017.10.23 (VT): The state government has authorized a Chennai company to set up shop in Mathura, where it will produce diesel fuel from plastic waste. The plant will be located in Yamunapar, where the company has been given approximately two acres of land on lease for fifteen years by the government, for a mere 1.15 lakhs annual rent.

With over a billion people, the sheer amount of plastic garbage generated every day in India is unimaginable, and Vrindavan is no exception. The garbage generated by Vrindavan residents is often burned, polluting the air we breathe; and whatever is not burned is buried in the local landfill, or ends up in the Yamuna River.

Innovative solutions like this one are greatly needed in the temple town, where development has not been able to keep up with growth due to the city’s booming tourism industry. According to the nagar nigam‘s Assistant Comissioner Shri Brajesh Kumar, 175 tons of garbage are being produced every day in the Mathura-Vrindavan area, about 70 percent of which is plastic.

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42 One gopa sundari, a great expert in the tandava dance, placed the orb of her cheek on that of Krishna, on which his makara earrings swing. Krishna, whose eyes destroy the pride of ponds of blooming lotus flowers, gives her the pan he has been chewing and she relishes them!

43 Feeling another anaṅga raṅgiṇī gopi’s touch on his shoulder, Krishna horripilates—but her arm too horripilates from his touch! But leaning against him and blissfully placing her arms on his shoulders, she rests for a moment.

44 One gopi, weary from all the dancing, placed Krishna’s hand on her breasts and head, and all her fatigue came to an end, as her hair stood on end. Even though his hand shook and perspired, its touch was more cooling than thousands of moons!

45 Immersed in an ocean of compassion, Madhava uses his lotus hand to again and again wipe the sweat from the gopis’ faces. But aho! he was unable, for the sattvika ecstasies from his divine touch causes their perspiration to double.

46 In a gesture of friendly intimacy, another gopi uses Krishna’s upper garment to wipe the sweat from her own face. Then using her own cloth, she wipes the sweat from his.

47 Many of the doe-eyes gopis become immersed in waves of joyful lassitude in the ocean of Krishna’s physical presence and touch! Hence they could not check their malas and ornaments from slackening, their clothes and hair from loosening!

48-49 Thus Krishna concludes his Rasa vilasotsava with its many forms of dancing, singing and music. Yet only the gopis can performs this pastime with him. Then, Vrinda Devi understood that Gopi-jana-vallabha’s desire for the dance of love had awakened, and so she escorts Radha and Krishna along the camphor white sands of the Yamuna’s bank, and after seating them on a bedstead, she and the sakhis take up various kinds of seva.

Rasa-taraṅginī Tīkā: In Kṛṣṇa-bhāvanāmṛta, Shrila Vishwanath Chakravarti sums up the Rasa by saying:

How is it possible for anyone living now to relish the Rasa lila with his tongue, when the words of those who were fortunate enough to see the Rasa with their own eyes were incapable of doing so? Even when premika bhaktas begin speaking, their voices falter in ecstasy, so they are unable to go on! (Kṛṣṇa-bhāvanāmṛta, 19.81)

Nevertheless, the Radha and Krishna’s incomparable kripa shakti has illumined the world through Sri Shukadeva Goswami’s recitation, showing the way so that anyone with eyes can find the Rasa-sthali’s parama-dhāma by following it. (Kṛṣṇa-bhāvanāmṛta, 19.82)

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Radha Baba (1913-1992) was a devotee of Mahaprabhu and Radha-Krishna who lived in Gorakhpur. Born in a Vaishnav Brahmin family in Gaya, he became an Advaitin sannyasi, but later took the path of Braj devotion. Shri Hanuman Prasad Poddar, the founder of Gita Press, was his inseparable spiritual companion.  It is said that Radha Baba spent fourteen years performing a very strict maun vrat, during which he kept complete silence, without even using gestures to communicate. During this period he was completely absorbed in Braj Lila. Several beautiful books were written by him, including Keli Kunj, Satsang Sudha and Mahabhaga Brajdeviyan. The following excerpt is taken from his book Easy Steps to Eternal Vrindavan, translated into English by Lakhpat Rai, M.A. It appears to be out of print, but the original Hindi edition, Prem Satsang Sudha Mala, is still available from Gita Press, as are his other works.

You should not feel disappointed. Someday or the other such an incident will happen in an instant that you will just be carried away in that ocean of bliss. There is no rule that you must slowly rise higher and higher. Someday, suddenly there will arise such a storm of grace that lifting you up into the air, nay, removing you altogether from the ground it will throw you down right in the middle of the ocean of bliss from where it will be impossible to return. But if you remain on the shore, you may perhaps even return; the gale will blow so far away that you will not be able to see even the land’s end.

Three means are prescribed in the Srimad Bhagwatam:

1. One should continue to wait for such grace. It is going to happen just now, it is going to happen just now, it will happen now, it will happen tomorrow, it is bound to happen this month, it is sure to happen this year, it will certainly happen – in this way, at every moment, one should go on burning to ashes everything one has in the hope of obtaining God’s grace, just as a poor bankrupt person awaits the cast of a favorable dice and goes on striking bets. For the sake of the Lord’s Love, sacrificing all things, one should await his grace. In the gamble of this world one may not win, but his grace is sure to come. In this gamble of God’s grace, victory is assured.

2. Whatever pain or pleasure comes to one’s lot, one should accept it with great delight, thinking it to be the result of one’s own deeds.

3. One should continue to bow down to the Lord constantly with one’s mind, speech and body.

One who passes life in this manner attains God’s Love. He does get liberation too, but as a mere side effect.

जब श्री बनवास मिल्यो सजनी
तब तीरथ आन गए न गए
जब लाड़िलि लाल कौ नाम लियौ
तब नाम न आन लए न लए
पदकंज किसोरिहि चित्त पग्यो
तब पायन आन नए न नए
जब नैन लगे मन मोहन सों
तब औगुन आन भए न भए

jab shri banwaas milyo sajani, tab teerath aan gaye na gaye
jab laadili laal ko naam liyo, tab naam na aan laye na laye
padakanj kisorihi chitt pagyo, tab paayan aan naye na naye
jab nain lage man mohan so, tab augun aan bhaye na bhaye

There was a very eminent saint in Braj, Shri Lalit Kishoriji. This is his pada (song). The loving devotees develop such faith as this. The purport of the song is: if you have got the good fortune to live in Shri Priyaji’s bower – to live in Vrindavan – it is immaterial whether or not you go to other places of pilgrimage. It is all the same whether you go or don’t go. The fruit of all the sadhana you have already obtained in the shape of dwelling in Vrindavan. What is the need of going to other places of pilgrimage? Secondly, when the Name of the Divine Couple, Shri Ladli-Lal has escaped your lips, it is immaterial whether other names and other words escape you or not. There is no need at all.

Thirdly, when the mind becomes respectuflly engrossed in the lotus feet of Shri Priyaji – becomes dyed in the colour of her love – it is just the same whether you bow down or not at anyone else’s feet. Fourthly, when your glance is set on Manmohan – when your eye is set on Shri Krishna, it is then all the same whether you have any other vice or not. It is considered to be a great vice for a woman to set eyes on another man [other than her husband], but when that very eye is set on the nectarean moon in the form of Shri Krishna, the vice is transformed into a supreme virtue.

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Shri Radha Baba

In this way, a seeker of love for Shri Krishna moves forward keeping just four objects before him (Krishna’s Name, form, virtues and lilas). He moves forward throwing away all the worldly cares to the winds. He does not pay a bit of attention to what people say. Turning his face away altogether and absolutely from the world and all propriety, he takes delight in the Name, form, virtues, lilas and abode of the most beloved Lord; only in these things. Howsoever his external life may be, he should constantly maintain only one atmosphere, only one subject of speech through practice. If he gets an opportunity to listen to the lilas, he should do so. Otherwise, he should read them, dwell on them. The mind should just take delight in those very things.

What is the condition of the love of the blessed Gopis? Nobody can describe it at all in writing. By seeing an electric light, one who has never seen the resplendent light of the sun cannot even imagine how brilliant it is. Just so, whatever talks you listen to, they can give you no proper idea at all of the real nature of the Gopis’ love. Like the sun’s rays, it is like an extremely brilliantly-lit object; it is beyond intellect. Only by seeing it one can understand its nature, and that happens only through their unlimited compassion.

One can experience – can imagine only a part of it by constantly praying to them and weeping at their feet. Therefore, read the lilas, listen to them, offer prayers, go on begging constantly for their compassion and as far as possible, try to keep the mind away from worldly affairs.

Sitting in a lonely spot, weep, sitting at the feet of the Divine Couple in their presence. If the weeping is not sincere, it does not matter. Even if it is insincere, weep with whatever sentiments you can muster up – O Lord! Make this dull heart of mine sweet. Fill my dry heart by bestowing a particle of your love. O Lord! Do this because of your grace alone.

Take it for certain that an often-repeated prayer never goes in vain. He can make even an insincere prayer real through his grace.

© Translated by Lakhpat Rai, M.A.
(With light editing by Vrindavan Today)
Published in 1981 by Sahitya Sansthan
Part of Gita Vatika, Gorakhpur

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Vrindavan, 2017.10.24 (VT): Devotees heading back to Delhi after the long weekend were faced with a five-kilomenter traffic jam on Sunday. The toll plaza remained nearly impassible from just after midnight on Saturday until Sunday evening.

The toll plaza was opened after 6PM and no toll was charged thereafter, however the situation still took about an hour to normalize. Travelers also had to fight through an ocean of cars at the petrol pumps, with many waiting an hour or more to fill up.

An estimated 80 thousand vehicles were caught up in the day-long traffic jam. The huge amount of traffic can be attributed to the long weekend, which encompassed the holidays of Dhanteras, Diwali, Govardhan Pooja and Bhaiya Dooj.

The government plans to widen NH-2, making it a six-lane highway, however the work is currently running behind schedule. Increased connectivity of Vrindavan to the Indian railway system has been proposed as a possible solution.

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In a quest to promote Hindu religious places as tourism hubs of Uttar Pradesh, the Yogi Adityanath government has neglected Muslim shrines and even historical sites of Lucknow, raising a big question on the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) government’s much touted philosophy of `Sabka saath, sabka vikas’ (When everyone is together, everyone benefit).

This ugly face of the UP government came to the fore when it released the calendar of 2018 and the same was distributed among masses during Diwali. Of the 12 months in this calendar, seven have pictures of Hindu religious places including Prayag in Allahabad, Vidhyavasinbi temple in Mirzapur, Kashi Vishwanath in Varanasi, Holi of Barsana in Mathura, Ayodhya’s Ram ki Paidi, Krishna Janmasthali in Mathura and Gorakhnath Temple in Gorakhpur of which Yogi Adityanath is himself a Mahant.

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The calendar printed by the Department of Information and Publicity of Uttar Pradesh government

The calendar also has pictures of Stupa of Sarnath (Buddhism), Nanakmata Sahib in Pilibhit (Sikhism) and Devgarh Jain Temple in Lalitpur. Two historical monuments – Taj Mahal in Agra and Jhansi Ka Quila in Jhansi – also find mention in the calendar.  TourismMinister Dr Rita Bahuguna Joshi said that this calendar reflects the priority of the government and has identified places which need to be projected as tourism hubs.

“The religious places were neglected during the previous regime. Now, we have decided to promote them in a big way,” Dr Joshi said.

The said calendar is printed by the Department of Information and Publicity of Uttar Pradesh government and carries the pictures of Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Chief Minister Yogi Adityanath with the slogan – “Sabka saath, sabka vikas – Uttar Pradesh Government ka satat prayas.” (Everyone together, everyone’s progress is the mission of the U.P. government)

The said calendar has raised many eyebrows. Nawab of Lucknow Mir Jaffar said that the Yogi government might have a priority to promote Ayodhya, Kashi and Mathura but it cannot neglect monuments like the Imambaras of Lucknow. Both Chota and Bada Imambara are historic monuments and people from far-flung areas come to see them. The Bhul Bhulaiya of Lucknow is architectural beauty which has mesmerized people across the globe, he said.

“As the Yogi government wants to promote religious tourism, it cannot ignore imambaras as they have religious significance too as it is a shrine built by Shia Muslims for the purpose of Azadari,” he said.

Scholars also question as to why Yogi has missed out on Dewa Sharif – a mofussil town in Barabanki, neighbouring Lucknow, famous for the shrine of Haji Waris Ali Shah, a Sufi saint, who has followers across the world.

Samajwadi Party spokesman Rajendra Chaudhry said that Yogi government’s slogan of Sabka saath, sabka vikas was a farce. The mantra of this government is only to go for `apna vikas’ (our own progress) “Can you ever think of a government which identifies places that need to be developed as tourism hubs on the basis of religion? This is the Yogi Government.”he said. You can’t compare it with the Akhilesh Yadav government which had promoted all religious places, he added.

He has a point. When Akhilesh Yadav was Chief Minister, he had passed an order where eight prominent religious places in Uttar Pradesh received uninterrupted power supply, “Our government had provided 24-hour power supply at Dargah Kichaucha Sharif (in Ambedkar Nagar), Dargah Naseemabad ( Hastinapur), Panch Pyare, Dewa Shareef, Shravasti, Mathura and Vrindavan,” he said adding: “This is Sabka saath (everyone together) and sabka vikas (everyone’s benefit) in the true sense”.

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