Second Sarga: Morning Pastimes

Second Sarga

I take shelter of Rādhā, who bathes and adorns Herself at dawn, is summoned with Her friends by the queen of Vraja, prepares many foods in her home, and eats Kṛṣṇa's remnants. I also take shelter of Kṛṣṇa, who awakens, goes to the cowshed, completes the milking of the cows, bathes beautifully, and takes His meal with His companions. (1)

At dawn, after completing her regular duties, Paurṇamāsī quickly approached the home of Vraja's king. Her heart was intensely restless with affection for Acyuta, and she was filled with the full moon of prema. (2)

Paurṇamāsī joyfully beheld the home of Vraja's king. Its charming courtyard was sprinkled with countless drops of dairy products raised by the churning rods; it was filled with people softened by love, and its interior was variegated with many kinds of jewels. Milk surged there like waves, and Acyuta slept upon a splendid bed. The house resembled Śvetadvīpa, and she became delighted. (3)

Seeing her arrive like the embodied splendor of austerity, the queen of Vraja, deeply perceptive and fully aware of the situation, rose joyfully to greet her. (4)

'Come, revered lady, worshiped throughout Vraja! Welcome. I bow to you.' As Mukunda's mother spoke these words and bowed before her, Paurṇamāsī embraced her. (5)

Paurṇamāsī welcomed her with blessings. Eager to see Govinda, she asked about the welfare of Yaśodā's husband, son, and herd of cows. (6)

After reporting that all was well, the eager queen of Vraja entered her son's bedchamber together with the equally eager Paurṇamāsī. (7)

Meanwhile Kṛṣṇa's friends Gobhaṭa, Bhadrasena, Subala, Stokakṛṣṇa, Arjuna, Śrīdāma, Ujjvala, Dāma, Kiṅkiṇi, Sudāma, and others hurried from their homes and joyfully assembled with glorious Balarāma in the courtyard. They stood calling, 'Kṛṣṇa, rise! Come, friend, let us go to our beloved cowherd grounds!' (8)

'Oh! Oh, friend, dawn has surely come. How can our companion still be sleeping? I shall awaken Him.' Saying this, Madhumaṅgala too rose from his own bed. (9)

Calling, 'Rise, my friend!' Madhumaṅgala entered Hari's bedchamber, his drowsy, languid steps stumbling as he went. (10)

Madhumaṅgala's voice drove away the Lord's sleep. Yet although He wished to rise, for a moment even the all-powerful Lord was unable to do so, for His eyes were still filled with drowsy rolling. (11)

Within the mansion that resembled an ocean of excellent milk, Hari slept upon a bed radiant with endless jewels. His mother began to awaken Him, like the personified Veda awakening the Lord at the end of cosmic dissolution. (12)

Yaśodā placed her left hand upon the bed and rested her weight upon it. Bending slightly at the waist, she touched Kṛṣṇa's body with her other lotus hand. Tears of joy and a stream of milk flowing from her breasts sprinkled His bed. She said, 'Child, rise quickly! Give up sleep and show me Your lotus face.' (13)

'The surabhi cows have not seen You for so long that, although their udders stream with milk, they will not let their calves drink. Even so, child, Your father went alone to the cowshed without awakening You, afraid that he would disturb the happiness of Your sleep.' (14)

'Rise, and I shall wash Your face. Why is Balarāma's garment upon Your body?' Speaking in this way, she removed the blue cloth from His body and addressed the venerable lady. (15)

'Revered lady, look! This lotus-soft body of my son has been scratched by the sharp nails of restless boys during their wrestling games and made strangely colorful with mineral pigments. Alas, I am undone. What shall I do?' (16)

Hearing His mother's affection-laden words, however extraordinary their meaning, Murāri's eyes became bashful and startled. (17)

Madhumaṅgala, the young brāhmaṇa expert in joking, perceived Kṛṣṇa's alarm and addressed His mother, whose heart was softened by affection. (18)

'It is true, Mother. Although I repeatedly forbade Him throughout the night, this exceedingly greedy boy sported in the bowers with a restless band of companions.' (19)

Then Hari displayed the charming manner of a child. With effort He repeatedly opened His eyes, looked at His mother before Him, and closed them again, a smile upon His lotus face. (20)

Hearing the words of Vraja's queen and seeing Kṛṣṇa's childish behavior, which concealed another inner mood from His mother, Paurṇamāsī smiled and addressed Him. (21)

'Intelligent one, it is only proper that You sleep, exhausted by endless rounds of great play with Your many companions. Yet because they have not seen You, the thirsty calves will not drink from the udders. Therefore, O lord of Vraja's community, awaken!' (22)

'Rise at once, O son of the lord of the cowherd settlement! Look, Your elder brother stands in the courtyard with Your friends and the calves. Though eager to go to the pastures, they wait for You.' (23)

Then the tamāla-dark Kṛṣṇa raised both hands with fists closed and stretched His body, still languid with rasa. As He yawned, a web of rays spread from His teeth, and He rose from the bed. (24)

Sitting upon one edge of the cot with His two lotus feet placed upon the floor, He said, His voice choked by an emerging yawn, 'O revered lady, I bow to you.' (25)

His soft mass of hair, lovely as a cluster of collyrium, had come loose and its flowers were falling. Overwhelmed by the fullness of her mature affection, His mother gathered it up and tied it into a topknot. (26)

His mother brought water in her hand from the golden sprinkler before her. She happily washed her son's face, whose eyes still rolled with drowsiness, and wiped it with the edge of her cloth. (27)

Holding Madhumaṅgala's hand in His left hand and His flute in the other, Kṛṣṇa left the bedchamber and reached the courtyard, followed by His mother and the venerable Paurṇamāsī. (28)

Some friends touched His hands, others the edge of His cloth, and still others His limbs, all at once. Their eyes fully blossomed and their hearts eager with love, they surrounded Him on every side. (29)

His mother told Him, 'Child, go to the cowshed. Let those calves drink, milk Your surabhi cows, and then quickly return home to take Your morning meal.' (30)

Thus sent by His mother, Kṛṣṇa hurried with His friends toward the dwelling of His cows. Along the path, the young Madhumaṅgala, expert in joking, raised his eyes to the sky and spoke to Him. (31)

'Friend, look! In the great lake of the sky, the fisherman Sun is extending the many nets of his rays. Seeing him, the frightened star-fish have hidden themselves in every direction.' (32)

'Seeing the rising sun, the lion who creates the deer's thirst, the moon enters a cave in the mountain of sunset to protect the deer within his own markings.' (33)

'Look at the lady Sky at dawn. She has cast off her ornaments of stars and, as the moon gradually leaves her womb, she seems to groan with exhaustion under the guise of the pigeons' cooing.' (34)

'Lotus-faced one, Your face, the lotus's own kinsman, has surpassed it. Yet look! The lotus now laughs as it sees the moon, its natural enemy, departing from the sky.' (35)

Hearing these laughter-provoking words of Madhumaṅgala, the young protectors of the cowherd settlement laughed and entered their respective rows of cowsheds. (36)

Gopāla too entered His own cowshed with Rāma and Madhumaṅgala, the poetic master of speech, just as the moon enters the sky at evening. (37)

Surrounded by rows of white cows, Rāma created the impression of Airāvata standing among the clustered slopes and peaks of Mount Kailāsa. (38)

As dark Acyuta moved among the smiling rows of white cows standing all around Him, people saw Him as a black bee moving among rows of fully blossomed white lotuses. (39)

The moon of Vraja repeatedly called all the surabhi cows by name: 'Come, come, Gaṅgā! Godāvarī! Śabalī! Kālindī! Dhavalā! Come, come, Dhūmrā! Tuṅgī! Bhramarī! Yamunā! Haṁsī! Kamalā! Come, come, Rambhā! Campā! Kariṇī! Hariṇī!' (40)

Resting His body upon the fronts of His feet and securing the milking pot between His knees, Nanda's son personally milked some cows and had His companions milk others as they looked toward Him. He let still others feed their calves and pleased them by scratching their bodies. Thus at dawn He delighted His surabhi cows and rejoiced. (41)

Elsewhere, Mukharā's sleep broke early. The old woman rose from her bed, streaming the nectar of ever-wakeful grandmotherly affection, and eagerly hurried to her granddaughter's home. (42)

Though crooked by nature, Jaṭilā was anxious for her own son's prosperity. She addressed Mukharā when the latter arrived. (43)

'Wise lady, to increase my son's offspring, longevity, and wealth, you must regularly engage this daughter-in-law in an auspicious bath and adornment and then in worship of the sun, which bestows the merit of millions of cows.' (44)

'The perceptive Paurṇamāsī has instructed me repeatedly: "The order of the queen of your own cowherd settlement must never be disregarded. Reserve your disregard for the words of those who do not understand what should be done."' (45)

'Therefore, noble lady, adorn your granddaughter with every auspicious ornament so that my son may obtain prosperity of every kind.' (46)

Jaṭilā then addressed her daughter-in-law: 'Daughter, rise quickly from bed and worship the household deities. After performing the prescribed auspicious bath, prepare the offerings for worship of the sun.' (47)

Repeatedly saying, 'Oh, dawn has come, yet my granddaughter still sleeps,' Mukharā, her whole being softened by affection, entered the bedchamber and spoke to Her. (48)

'Rise from bed, my charming child. Have you forgotten that today belongs to the sun? Bathe, offer him the prescribed morning water, and quickly prepare the articles for his worship.' (49)

Awakened by Mukharā's words, Viśākhā rose, still languid, and quickly said, 'Friend, rise at once! Rise!' (50)

The charming girl, Her body languid from love, repeatedly awakened upon the bed at their words and then fell asleep again, like a royal swan upon a lake rocked by successive waves. (51)

At that very moment Rati Mañjarī, who understood the opportunity, grasped the splendid lotus feet of her friend, the Queen of Vṛndāvana. (52)

Awakened in this way by many voices, She rose from Her spacious bed. Seeing Her body clothed in brilliant yellow, Mukharā became suspicious at heart and spoke. (53)

'Viśākhe, your friend is wearing this garment the color of molten gold, which I saw upon Murāri's chest yesterday evening. What is this? Alas, carelessness, sheer carelessness! Look at the behavior chosen by this girl of a pure family!' (54)

Startled at heart by Mukharā's words, Viśākhā cast a darting glance upon her friend's yellow garment. Exclaiming, 'Oh, what is this?' and pointing toward Her, she quickly addressed the old woman. (55)

'Old woman, you are blind by nature! The web of the rising sun's dawn rays has entered through the lattice and touched my friend's golden body. The flood of its brilliance has made even Her dark garment appear yellow. Foolish one, why do you suspect those whose minds are pure?' (56)

Meanwhile Lalitā and the other friends hurried from their respective homes to their friend's side, their steps stumbling in their haste. (57)

The maidservants arranged the bathing articles beside the bathing platform and stood before their mistress, waiting for Her. (58)

The beautiful-limbed Rādhā then rose and sat upon the excellent seat placed before Her by a maidservant, a seat patterned with many kinds of jewels. (59)

With tender affection, Lalitā removed the many ornaments from her friend's body, as though lovingly removing clusters of leaves and flowers from a golden vine. (60)

Meanwhile the washerman's two young daughters, named Mañjiṣṭhā and Raṅgavatī, brought garments and approached their mistress. (61)

Using fragrant powder from a small folded packet of mango leaf, Rādhā polished Her teeth, whose brilliance surpassed that of crystal inlaid with rubies. (62)

Taking a golden tongue cleaner in Her hands, She first cleansed Her tongue. She then rinsed Her mouth with repeated mouthfuls of water from the golden pitcher given by a maidservant. (63)

After drying Her hands and moonlike face and taking the bathing garment they offered, She went to the bathing platform, which was surrounded by golden pitchers filled with water. (64)

There She sat upon a soft golden seat covered with fine cloth. Expert in service and bearing their offerings, Her attendants immediately surrounded Her. (65)

The barber's two daughters, Sugandhā and Nalinī, arrived. They were expert in massage, applying fragrant powders and red lac, and dressing the hair. (66)

They anointed Her with abundant Nārāyaṇa oil and lovingly rubbed Her naturally radiant, cooling body with smooth, fragrant, cooling powders. (67)

They treated Her hair with ground āmalaka rich in fragrance. Then, after wiping Her with fine cloth, they washed Her radiant limbs beneath streams of water. (68)

Her companions joyfully bathed Her with abundant water collected in rows of jars, gently warmed and perfumed, pouring it from small golden pitchers. (69)

Her friends dried Her limbs with soft, fine cloths and removed the drops of water from Her hair. They then dressed their friend in fresh garments suited to the morning. (70)

When She came to the ornamentation platform, Her friends adorned Her with ornaments suited to the morning, as though adorning the splendor of youth with the emotions and gestures of the bodiless god of love. (71)

Lalitā dried Rādhā's glossy, curling, fragrant hair in incense smoke and carefully combed it with the ivory comb named Svastidā, which glittered with many jewels. (72)

Lalitā placed upon Her head the flawless crest jewel that Kṛṣṇa had taken from Śaṅkhacūḍa and given to Her. She arranged Rādhā's braid with bakula flowers and many pearl strands, bound its root with a cord, fastened its end with gold set with clusters of gems, and made its tip shine with a splendid fly-whisk of bright red silk threads. (73)

(This completes the paired construction.) She then joyfully dressed Rādhā in the silk garment named Meghāmbara, dark like a swarm of bees, over a red undergarment radiant like a cluster of newly sprouting rubies. Its shining middle was gathered to the size of a curled fist and bound by two cords ending in twin red silk tassels joined with gold. (74)

She raised a girdle around Rādhā's hips. Its base was set with many jewels, its ends bore clusters of five-colored silk tassels, and its tiny bells were strung upon golden threads. (75)

Viśākhā anointed Rādhā's back, arms, breasts, and chest with sandal paste blended with camphor, aguru, and saffron. (76)

From both sides up to Her cheeks, Viśākhā traced clusters of musk leaf-vines. Upon Her forehead she made the design called the instrument of Kāma, surrounded by many sandal-paste dots and adorned below with a sandal crescent rising around musk at its center. She then completed the tilaka and the line of Her hair part with dense vermilion paste. (77)

With musk, Citrā drew wonderful designs beside Her breasts: a cluster of flowers, a crescent moon, a lotus, a makara, and a tender mango shoot. (78)

I think that Kāma, whose power was defeated merely by the movement of Her eyebrow-bow, hid his own emblems, arrows, spear, and bow within the treasury of Her breasts under the guise of fish, flowers, fresh shoots, and crescent moons. (79)

Her red silk bodice, set with many wondrous gems and pearls arranged in intricate patterns, covered Her breasts like evening radiance spreading over two mountains, variegated with stars and a rainbow. (80)

Raṅgadevī then placed a pair of large earrings upon Rādhā's ears. They were fashioned from folded golden palm leaves, their tips shone with small sapphire flowers, and beside Her bee-dark hair they resembled golden lotus buds. (81)

Citrā fixed ornaments upon the upper parts of the beautiful girl's ears. Each golden ornament had a large sapphire at its center set with diamonds and rubies, its edge encircled by a row of pearls. Its lovely wheel-shaped spoke shone like the rising sun, and at its tip glittered a golden little vase with a pearl at its mouth. (82)

With her hand adorned by a regal jeweled stylus, Viśākhā made a fresh dot of musk in the middle of Rādhā's lovely chin. Beautifying the moon of Her face, it shone like a bee seated at the edge of a lotus petal. (83)

A pearl fastened by a small golden hook shone at the tip of the wide-eyed girl's nose. It surpassed a ripe lavalī fruit hanging from a slender stem and bitten by a parrot's beak. (84)

Seeing that Rādhā's cakora-like eyes were intensely eager to drink the immaculate radiance of the full moon of Kṛṣṇa's face, she adorned those eyes with lovely lines of collyrium, clusters of beauty upon Her form. (85)

Viśākhā immediately covered the lotus-eyed girl's neck with a spotless sheet of gold glittering beneath a network of many jewels. It concealed the lovely marks left by Hari's hands, as though out of fear of Hari Himself. (86)

She placed a wondrous golden swan ornament near the hollow of Rādhā's throat. Its broad middle was patterned with unbroken gems set with diamonds, and its beak was tied by a cord. (87)

She placed upon Rādhā's chest the necklace called Gostana. It was strung with rows of exceedingly fine pearls and, at regular intervals, sapphire beads nestled between pairs of golden beads. (88)

She placed a jeweled garland upon Her heart, strung with pearls and coral interspersed with beads of sapphire, moonstone, ruby, and gold. (89)

Another wonderful cluster of pearl strands shone upon Her heart. At intervals it bore golden beads shaped like āmalaka seeds, each adorned by a pair of cat's-eye gems. (90)

At midnight during the rāsa, Hari had been pleased by Her dancing and singing and had given Her the guñjā necklace from His own neck. She now placed it upon Rādhā's heart, where it appeared like the embodied royal fortune of Hari Himself. (91)

An ekāvalī necklace, lovely with a row of large star-like pearls and adorned by a splendid central gem, decorated the sky of Her heart with moonlight. (92)

The golden catuṣkī necklace that Viśākhā placed upon Her heart shone brilliantly. Its emerald-filled interior was set with diamonds encircled by rubies, and it hung from slender, splendid golden chains. (93)

The spotless rows of necklaces descending from Her neck down Her back, together with the ribbon, cords, and tassels binding Her braid, shone beautifully. I think that compassionate fate had plainly made them into a staircase by which the serpent of Her braid could climb from the slope of Her lovely hip-mountain to Her head. (94)

Although Hari already embraced Her two arms, Viśākhā placed golden armlets upon them. The armlets bore long clusters and dark silk cords and were bordered by radiant rows of fresh jewels. (95)

Lalitā placed lovely sapphire bangles upon Her two wrists. They shone with a beauty that stole the luster of swarms of bees resting upon the honey-coated stalks of blossoming red lotuses. (96)

The arrangement of bangles was encircled by two golden bracelets set with rows of pearls. It shone upon Her as though Rāhu, son of Siṁhikā, stood between images of the moon joined to two solar discs. (97)

Her wrist ornament shone, decorated with a row of glittering golden drum-shaped pieces, hung with long silk tassels, and beautified within by many rows of jewels. (98)

Her finger ring bore Her own name and bathed Her hand in the radiance of many jewels. It shone as the crusher of Her rivals' pride. (99)

Viśākhā quickly placed upon Rādhā's lotus feet the two anklets called Caṭakarāva and Haṁsaka. Their captivating sound stole the hearing, composure, and mind of Kaṁsa's enemy, and they were wonderfully radiant with networks of many jewels set in gold. (100)

The two anklets placed upon Her feet shone like jeweled gateways and served as teachers of musical recitation to the rows of royal swans upon the Kālindī. (101)

The toe rings that Sudevī placed upon Rādhā's toes shone with the mingled radiance of rows of jewels. The artistry of their form could astonish even the creator Brahmā. (102)

At dawn Viśākhā placed a play-lotus in the lotus hand of her lotus-eyed friend, whose face was a smiling lotus. It had been presented by Narmadā, the garland-maker's daughter. (103)

At that very moment Sugandhā, the barber's daughter who understood the needs of the occasion, held before Her a mirror with a jeweled handle. (104)

In the mirror She beheld Her own reflected form and attire, perfectly suited to delight Kṛṣṇa's eyes, and became restless to approach Him. For noble young women, the true fruit of special adornment is the gaze of the beloved. (105)

Thus ends the Second Sarga, consisting of the description of the morning pastimes, in Govinda-līlāmṛta: a poem that is the fruit of service to Śrī Rūpa, the honeybee at Śrī Caitanya's lotus feet; undertaken at the direction of the accomplished Śrī Raghunātha Dāsa; arisen from the association of Śrī Jīva; and born from the blessing of Śrī Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa. (Colophon to the Second Sarga)