Eleventh Sarga: Midday Pastimes

Eleventh Sarga

Following Nāndīmukhī, Vṛndā came to the gathering of sakhīs with the flute concealed against her breast. She said, 'Friends, where have the lord and lady of Vraja's forest gone? We have a report to offer at Their feet.' (1)

They replied, 'The two of Them went quarreling into the presence of Love, the universal emperor. Tell us what you must report. If it is highly confidential, let us go to the pavilion within the garden enclosure.' (2)

Vṛndā said, 'This need not be hidden from you, for you are as dear as Rādhā's mind, life, and body. It must certainly be reported to Her ministers, but only when they are graced by the presence of both sovereigns.' (3)

Judging that Their play was nearing its end, the sakhīs became eager to behold the Divine Couple's intimate pleasure within the bower. They approached from every side, quietly loosened the door fastenings, and stood all around with their eyes placed at the openings. (4)

Though repeatedly urged to adorn His own body, He was stopped by Her when He began to do so. Amid Her surging gestures of enchantment, She adorned Him, and He in turn adorned Her. (5)

Then, with liquid kuṅkuma, He drew a lovely leaf design upon the spotless petal of a white lotus and fixed it upon His own headcloth. He said to His beloved, 'Rise. Let Us go outside.' (6)

Her desire to emerge was checked by shame before Her friends. Kṛṣṇa's eyes blossomed as He forcibly took Her hand, like a thief lawfully conquered, and led Her from the bower-house into the courtyard. (7)

The two dearest of Their lives stood before them with eyes alternately contracting and blossoming. Delighted, the sakhīs surrounded their friend and addressed Her with playful excitement. (8)

'Where did You go after abandoning us? Although we searched, we could not find You anywhere. Where did You encounter this insolent fellow? By good fortune, He did not overpower You.' (9)

Hearing the playful tenor of their jokes and noticing the signs of lovemaking, Rādhā saw Her beloved pointing those signs out to Her friends. She became agitated by both shame and jealous anger. (10)

Her beloved laughed. Rādhā curved Her brows, Her lips trembled, and emotion choked Her voice. Waving Her forefinger, She threatened Her laughing friends and spoke to them with expressive gestures. (11)

'When I turn toward home, you drag Me back by My clothes. When I hide somewhere, you immediately reveal Me to Him. When I stand beside Him, you join Him in tormenting Me. How, then, can I continue to associate with you?' (12)

'Friends, you sent this most intoxicated and restless serpent after Me, eager for My touch. As I fled from Him in alarm, the thorny vines and the bowers filled with beautiful red and white hundred-petaled flowers caught Me at once.' (13)

Kundavallī said, 'Rādhe, Your words are true, not false. The marks produced when those vines obstructed You are clearly visible upon Kṛṣṇa's body.' (14)

'Friend, those lively vine-sakhīs scratched His body with the sharp nails of their thorns in order to conceal You. The marks upon Him are therefore fitting. What is truly strange is that even greater marks appear upon Your body.' (15)

'It is fitting that the steadfast Candrāvalī should rest upon the spotless chest of one so wantonly devoted to the multitude of cowherd girls. But, friend, it is exceedingly strange that You bear that rival within Your own heart. Tell us the reason for this.' (16)

Lalitā replied to her, 'Do not harbor even the slightest suspicion. Virtuous lady, when faithful women flee in fear from an exceedingly fickle man eager to touch them, how could their bodies possibly lack wounds made by the forest thorns?' (17)

Their Lord was eager to hear every one of Her limbs described and to behold Her face beautified by a succession of emotions, and He pondered many means to accomplish this. Understanding Him, the sakhīs jokingly began to describe their own friend. (18)

To satisfy Murāri, they wished to prepare the nectar of their poetry and perfume it with the camphor of Rādhikā's sweetness, although She tried to forbid them with Her crooked brows. (19)

Bathed in the gentle nectar of the soft smile upon Govinda's fully blossoming lotus face, His intimate friends understood His signal. They laughed as, one after another, they described the restless-eyed Rādhā to Him. (20)

Then, through an artful pretense of describing Kundavallī, the sakhīs made their own friend the true subject of indirect praise. (21)

Lalitā then said, 'Friends, look! This Kundavallikā bears the marks of intimate union with Madhusūdana.' (22)

'The many Śiva liṅgas upon the earth are each adorned with a single crescent digit of the moon. I think the two Śambhus of her breasts bear numerous such crescents because they desire to conquer all those liṅgas.' (23)

Her beautiful row of teeth blossomed in laughter as Viśākhā spoke for Kṛṣṇa's delight. (24)

'Rejecting the waning moon, which carries a hare upon its belly and possesses only a limited number of digits, did the pair of Śiva liṅgas that are her breasts decorate themselves with the many rays of the nail-moons upon Aghāsura's enemy's hands, moons that are always full, spotless, and endowed with countless digits?' (25)

Satisfied by Viśākhā's words, slender-waisted Śrī Campakavallī then spoke, bringing happiness to Kṛṣṇa. (26)

'When Hari's lotus hands saw the dancing marks a pomegranate had placed upon her lotus feet, did they enter into rivalry and joyfully leave wounds through their own dancing upon the two pomegranates of her breasts?' (27)

Citrā, foremost among women, then spoke. (28)

'This wondrous golden creeper has taken shelter of a dark tamāla tree. She clearly bears a pair of ripe and splendid fruits, scratched by that tree's moving branches and twigs.' (29)

Tuṅgavidyā, sovereign among poets, spoke in words that delighted the assembly while making her friend blush. (30)

'Within the shining forest of her body roams the lordly elephant of profound amorous passion. The two pitchers upon its forehead are her breasts, beautifully streaked with ichor and bearing hundreds of wounds from Love's goads born from Hari's hands.' (31)

Her row of lovely teeth shone like a garland of moons as Indulekhā spoke in great delight. (32)

'Kṛṣṇa, a lordly elephant, sported in this river of amorous love. The flower buds of her breasts were distressed and scratched by the striking of His hands.' (33)

Although her friend tried to stop her with a glance, Raṅgadevī spoke, filling Kṛṣṇa's ears with the nectar of her words. (34)

'The Creator secretly hid and firmly sealed upon her chest two golden pots filled with the jewels of youth. Greedy Kṛṣṇa sent the thieves of His pickaxe-like nails, and they have dug here and there as though making tunnels into those pots.' (35)

Then Sudevī teased the moon-faced maiden for Giridhara's satisfaction. (36)

'Know her to be a golden pomegranate tree, beloved of the forest-lover. Golden-hued and scored by a parrot's claws, she bears a pair of excellent fruits.' (37)

When her turn arrived, delighted Candramukhī described her friend. (38)

'This golden pomegranate tree is beyond anything in the world. Though its two fruits grow separately from it, they contain fully ripened seeds and conceal the wounds made by a bee beneath a pair of flowers.' (39)

Śrī Jyeṣṭhā, foremost among women, then spoke. (40)

'By contact with the collyrium of her glance, Kṛṣṇa's lip has become like a ripe jambu fruit, while her tooth has become a hungry parrot eager to eat it.' (41)

The Lord of her heart urged Kāñcanalatā with His brows, while the sovereign of her eyes tried to forbid her with a glance. Even so, Kāñcanalatā described Rādhā in unmistakably clear terms. (42)

'What observers take to be Śrī Rādhā's navel, line of fine hair, pair of breasts, and face is merely an illusion fashioned by Brahmā. In truth there is a lake of condensed nectar, a single stalk rising from it with two lotuses, and a radiant moon that continually closes those lotuses through the familiar touch of its rays.' (43)

Mādhavī then spoke about the doe-eyed Rādhā. (44)

'Rādhā shines as a sacrificial pavilion. Her navel is the fire pit, the expanse of Her three folds the girdle, Her slender waist the altar, and Her line of fine hair the offering ladle. Her beautiful breasts are the auspicious pots, Love is the officiating priest, Her shapely hips are the seat, and Her throat the conch. The fruit of this sacrifice is the attraction of the enemy of Bakāsura's heart.' (45)

Vāsantī gazed upon this blessed daughter of Vṛṣabhānu and spoke. (46)

'Śrī Rādhā shines as the vast armory of King Love. Her brows and line of fine hair are the vines of his bow and sword, Her beautiful sidelong glances his arrows, Her arms his nooses, Her throat his conch, and Her lovely hips his chariot wheel. Her radiant cheeks are golden shields, and Her beautiful nails are elephant goads.' (47)

Satisfied by Vāsantī's words, Vṛndā spoke. (48)

'Rādhā's beautiful body is a celestial river of nectar. Her arms are its two tributaries, Her lovely breasts a pair of cakravāka birds, and Her face, navel, hands, and feet its lotuses. Her curling locks are bees, Her sweet smile a white water lily, Her eyes blue lotuses, and Her line of fine hair the dark algae upon its water. Within that river sports the elephant of Śrī Kṛṣṇa's heart.' (49)

Again understanding Kṛṣṇa's signal, Lalitā and the other sakhīs lovingly described their friend, each speaking a separate verse about Her. (50)

'Śrī Rādhā's two feet are marked with auspicious signs headed by the conch, crescent moon, barleycorn, lotus, elephant, chariot, plow, goad, arrow, banner, bow, svastika, fish, and javelin. Armored in red lac and equipped with these implements of battle, they have conquered everything and shine as splendid fortresses endowed with imperial fortune.' (51)

'The radiance of Rādhā's feet robbed tender shoots of their beauty and left them merely the name pallava. It gave the lotus its name padma but reduced it to pallor; in grief the night lotus became known as kokanada, lamenting like a cakravāka bird, and the red lotus likewise cried out. With what on earth, then, could Her two feet be compared?' (52)

'The unprecedented row of nail-moons upon Śrī Rādhā's lotus feet is always full and shines spotless and rosy within Hari's heart. It makes the lilies of His senses bloom completely and forcibly causes Him to forget even Candrāvalī.' (53)

'When Youth became the new king and discipline grew lax in the city of Rādhā's body, the two bandits of Her breasts, assisted by Her hips, forcibly invaded Her waist and stole away all its fullness. They bound the stolen wealth with the cords of Her three folds and stored it there. Learning this, Her ankles hid themselves in fear of the bandits' threatening cries.' (54)

'Her lovely thighs shine like two golden plantain trunks rendered motionless merely by standing beside them. The Creator made them the pillars of a cool, shaded pavilion for the elephant Kṛṣṇa when He is scorched by Love's heat.' (55)

'At Love's request, did Brahmā extend these two golden hitching posts in the guise of Her thighs? For Love bound the rut-maddened elephant of Kṛṣṇa's heart to them with the immensely strong chain of their sweetness.' (56)

'These are not the two knees of Vṛṣabhānu's daughter, but Love's two well-concealed golden caskets. After stealing the jewels of Kṛṣṇa's heart and eyes through many exertions, Love joyfully placed them within these two boxes.' (57)

'Lotus stalks fear comparison because their skin is rough to the touch, while watery plantain trunks are ashamed of their hollow, pithless stems. With what, then, can Her incomparably sweet thighs be compared, when they are accessible only through the playful exertions of the elephant-calf Hari?' (58)

'When the enemy of Aghāsura wanders upon beautiful Govardhana's slopes, He does not obtain the joy born from remembering the qualities and sports of the Yamunā's bank. But when He discovers the riverbank of Her hips there, He beholds the virtues of both Govardhana and the Yamunā and attains limitless delight.' (59)

'The poet speaks truly: Rādhā's hips are identical with a riverbank, for Her braid is the Yamunā, Her hips its shore, and Her girdle a line of swans. Otherwise, why would Hari's mind, the finest dancer, perform the graceful rāsa there without rest, accompanied by the dancing sakhīs of its own thoughts?' (60)

'The deceitful thieves of Her massive hips, thighs, and breasts formed an alliance with the swollen frontal globes of a rutting elephant, maddened by their strength, and stole all the fullness of Her waist. As if overcome by fear, anger, and grief, Her distressed waist therefore swiftly befriended the slender middle of a lion.' (61)

'Did Brahmā first forge an alliance between Her impoverished hips and breasts so that they might steal the wealth of Her waist, and then, seeing those greedy partners quarrel over it, establish a boundary between them in the guise of Her three folds?' (62)

'Seeing that Her waist had grown thin from separation from its childhood companion, did the Creator, distressed by fear that it might break, bind it securely with the three cords of Her folds?' (63)

'Is this a golden lotus leaf upon a lake of nectar, with a row of bees and a blossoming lotus shining at its center? No. It is Rādhikā's abdomen, adorned with Her line of fine hair and Her navel.' (64)

'Her abdomen shines with imperial majesty. By its victory it makes networks of moving leaves tremble and leaves the radiant new petals of golden lotuses stunned. Its row of fine hair appears like a tilaka painted in musk.' (65)

'Rādhikā's two hands bear auspicious marks of a waterpot, lotus, garland, fan, crescent moon, earrings, parasol, sacrificial post, conch, sacred tree, altar, seat, flower, vine, yak-tail fan, svastika, and more. She shines as though, in the guise of these signs, She carries every article required for serving Her beloved.' (66)

'If lotuses ever possessed sharp and lovely tips like Love's goads, ruby full moons, and rows of petals resembling split fragrant cloves, then perhaps they could attain some comparison with Śrī Rādhikā's hands, which have conquered multitudes of tender shoots and lotuses.' (67)

'The nails upon Rādhā's lotus hands clearly shine as exceedingly fine and sharp chisels belonging to Love's artisan, used to carve beautiful designs upon the jeweled Garuḍa doors of the enemy of Bakāsura's broad chest.' (68)

'These are not two golden lotus stalks bearing a downward-facing pair of cowrie shells at their roots and lotuses at their tips, nor are they merely the nooses of Love. They are Rādhā's two arm-vines, with the lovely shoots of Her hands at their ends, skillful at embracing the blossoming tamāla tree Kṛṣṇa beneath the bilva fruits of Her breasts.' (69)

'Did the Creator fashion Rādhā as a golden boat inlaid with jewels so that Hari might cross the ocean of love's anguish, set Her lovely line of fine hair as the boat's guiding pole, and place Her two arms as its pair of oars?' (70)

'The two auspicious, intoxicated bee-maidens at Śrī Rādhikā's sides are daughters of Beauty. Reversing the customary order of left and right, they themselves chose as their excellent husbands the two sons of Sweetness who dwell at Hari's sides.' (71)

'Is this a golden tablet inscribed with Love's proclamation of victory, a golden throne bearing Love's weapon, or a golden quiver holding the serpent-noose of passion? No. It is Rādhā's beautiful back, upon which Her radiant braid shines.' (72)

'The greatest poets say that Her naturally sloping shoulders bow beneath the perpetual weight of Giridhara's hands. My own view is that, although they are not physically high, their good fortune raises them far above every head in existence.' (73)

'The goddesses of beauty, poetry, and music all dwell here in fullness for Hari's delight. After counting these three complete treasures, did Brahmā mark the result with the three lines that shine upon Her throat?' (74)

'When Her powerful nose and breasts loudly disputed which of them stood higher, the Creator drew the three lines across the neck in the middle province of Rādhā's body to establish their boundary.' (75)

'The musical qualities of Her voice rendered the cuckoos useless and drove them deep into the forest. Beside its beauty, nectar became bitter and the vīṇā grew lifeless, while rows of conches retreated to the ocean. Poets, with what can Her lovely throat be compared?' (76)

'A golden lotus petal opened by the young sun, with a sleeping bee upon it, and the ledge beneath the window of a golden palace where a cuckoo rests both longed to equal Rādhā's lovely chin with its drop of passion. Yet Her chin shines in triumph over them through the blessed virtue of Śrī Kṛṣṇa's finger touching it.' (77)

'Rādhā's two lips are the very life of Her intimate beloved Hari and the outward image of Her love for Him. The bandhujīva flower and bimba fruit are therefore merely themselves and possess no true equality with Her lips.' (78)

'Kṛṣṇa is the embodied essence of nectar filled with bliss, yet Rādhā's lip is renowned as the very source of His life. Its true greatness has been described by this fact alone, so what need is there to speak of its other virtues?' (79)

'Rādhā's teeth are the triumphant enemies of mountain peaks, blossoming kunda flowers, and every other white object. Their maddened rays spread throughout the universe. Had Brahmā not immediately concealed them securely behind Her upper and lower lips, they would have stripped the many-colored world of all distinction and made it an absolute nonduality of white.' (80)

'The wondrous row of parrot-like teeth belonging to Śrī Rādhikā has the form of kunda buds and the brilliance of diamonds. By constantly tasting nothing but the bimba fruit of Kṛṣṇa's lip, their tips have acquired its reddish luster.' (81)

'Rādhā's tongue shines as a red jeweled ladle, serving Kṛṣṇa the excellent transformations of the nectar of Her playful speech in the forms of refined jokes, music, and beautiful poetry.' (82)

'Rādhā has welcomed the accomplished dancer named Kṛṣṇa's true glory into the dwelling of Her throat. Does the fine red edge of that dancer's sari now shine outside in the guise of Rādhā's tongue?' (83)

'For the beautiful young couple named Śrī Kṛṣṇa's True Glory, who delight in swinging pastimes, the Creator fashioned the red cloth swing of Rādhā's tongue.' (84)

'Śrī Rādhikā's speech is sweet in color and cadence like waves upon an ocean of nectar and is filled with playful riddles. Through the powers of both word and meaning, it suggests rasa, poetic ornaments, themes, and resonances. It teaches the arts of sound even to female and male bees and cuckoos, and it shines as a life-giving elixir for Śrī Kṛṣṇa's ears.' (85)

'Her wondrous speech is a delicious preparation made from the ghee of love and the sugar and juices of playful words, mixed with the honey of Her gentle moonlike smile and seasoned with the pepper of feigned jealousy. Rich with rasa, it fully satisfies Her Lord.' (86)

'Is this a river of nectar that shelters the swan of Hari's mind, moonlight of nectarean rays that sustains the thirsty cakora birds of His eyes, or a bank of pale nectar-clouds that gives life to the slender cātakī bird? No. It is the opening wave of Rādhikā's nectarean smile.' (87)

'Hari's many virtues are excellent wish-fulfilling vines that blossom throughout the garden of Rādhā's heart. The flowers shining upon those vines have slipped outside in the guise of Her smile.' (88)

Śrī Rādhā's face is an inexhaustible lake of nectar that enters the ocean of Kṛṣṇa. From it flow in different directions a river of nectar formed from the fifth musical note, a current of musical nectar, a river of nectarean speech, a stream of nectarean fragrance, and the divine river of Her nectarean smile. (89)

Rādhā's face shines in triumph over Mount Sumeru's summit. From it the celestial Ganges of Her smile's pure nectar, the heavenly river of divine fragrant nectar, the golden river of nectarean speech, the Jāhnavī of musical nectar, and the Mandākinī of nectarean notes all flow toward the ocean of Kṛṣṇa's nectar. (90)

For the auspicious journey of Aghāsura's enemy, whose eyes are travelers, Brahmā fashioned Rādhikā's lotus face. Seeing the two restless khañjana birds of Her eyes placed upon it, he quietly bound them to the golden staff of Her nose. (91)

To delight the cakora birds of Hari's eyes, the Creator produced the unprecedented full moon of Rādhikā's face. He placed upon it the exceedingly restless pair of deer that are Her eyes, then set the nooses of Her ears on either side to restrain them. (92)

The moon is stained, wanes, and is deeply troubled, while the lotus is soiled by the blows of Her feet. Tell me, then, with what can Rādhikā's perfectly spotless and eternally full face be compared? (93)

Rādhā's beautiful cheeks humble the pride of golden mirrors. They are two lakes upon a golden landscape, filled with the nectar of loveliness. Her earrings are their golden lotus buds, musk designs their graceful moss, and playful makara patterns curl across them. These lakes dispel Kṛṣṇa's intense thirst. (94)

To nourish the pair of honeybees that are beautiful Kṛṣṇa's eyes, the Creator produced two blue lotuses in the guise of Rādhikā's eyes within the lake of nectarean beauty that is Her face. Beside them he placed the two moons of Her splendid cheeks so that those lotuses might fully bloom. (95)

Surely some thirsty king of parrots dwells here with his body concealed within the inner chamber of Rādhā's forehead. Behold! At the sight of Her juicy bimba-fruit lips, his beak has emerged in the guise of Her nose. (96)

Her lovely nose is Love's wondrous arrow, set upon the bow of Her playfully arching brows. Although tipped only with a pearl, it swiftly pierced Hari's heart even though that heart was armored with fortitude. (97)

Beneath Her face, Her beautiful sesame-flower nose is Love's quiver, filled with the flower arrows of Her two many-hued deer-like eyes. Those arrows fall from the doorway of Her mouth in the guise of clustered smiles, and Hari's deer-like heart becomes their target. (98)

The unknowing may poetically suppose that Rādhā's nose pearl has become a guñjā berry because it is suffused by the black radiance of Her eye cosmetic and the red glow of Her lips. My own conclusion is that the breaths from Her passionately loving heart, in which Kṛṣṇa forever shines, have infused it and swiftly transformed it into their respective colors and qualities. (99)

In fashioning Rādhikā's two eyes, the Creator gathered all the sweetest essences and finest qualities in the world. From the insignificant portions that fell to earth, he fashioned bees, deer, cakora birds, lotuses, fish, and blue water lilies. (100)

Beautiful-faced one, Your glance is sharp as a khañjana bird and darkened with collyrium. Proudly it shatters the fresh smile of the lotus, moves restlessly, and delights Acyuta; its sport puts every winged creature to shame. (101)

Hari, to perfect the union of the two dancing fish-kings that are Her earrings, the Creator placed within the true nectar lake of Rādhā's face two young daughters of the lord of fish in the guise of Her eyes, so that they might teach those dancers the graceful dance. Fearing that the restless pair might flee, he set the beautiful nets of Her ears on either side. (102)

Two progenitor bees dwell within the two lotus abodes of Rādhā's eyes and ceaselessly create a progeny born of the mind, for that brood continually streams forth in the guise of Her sidelong glances. (103)

Her two brows, spreading sideways, are surely twin viṣṇukrāntā vines. Their two dark blossoms shine in the guise of Her eyes. (104)

Is this the outer portion of a lunar crescent swallowed by Rāhu, bearing the faint, still mark left by the bite of his teeth? No. Shining here between the vines of Rādhikā's hair and brows is Her spotless forehead. (105)

Rādhā's forehead, lovely with rows of brows and curling locks, shines in triumph over the pride of the new crescent moon. Encircled above and below by lines of black bees, it resembles a fresh golden mādhavī leaf. (106)

'Her beloved is Kṛṣṇa alone, the mine of jewel-like virtues, and Her passionate love will be for Kṛṣṇa alone.' Is this the writing Brahmā placed within Her forehead, now made visible outside in the guise of a moon of proud vermilion? (107)

Her vermilion tilaka, wrapped in the red cloth of the line along Her hair parting, shines like a copper vessel of arghya for the god of love, complete with a flame and enclosed by the seal known as the veiling of joined hands. (108)

The maddened elephant of Śrī Kṛṣṇa's heart has entered the forest of Rādhā's hair. The path it followed, anointed with the vermilion ichor from its cheeks, shines in the guise of the parting in Her hair. (109)

Darkness and the moon dwell happily under Śrī Rādhā's shelter in the forms of Her hair and face. Although they have ceased to be enemies, their mutual suspicion has not left their hearts. Thus darkness fearfully stationed its army of bees along its frontier, while the moon placed its own formation of splendid crescent rays before it for protection. (110)

The row of bee-like curls shining above Rādhikā's face is greedy to drink the honey of that lotus. Or perhaps Love, the hunter, has suspended it as a net to capture the pair of deer that are Her eyes for the enemy of Aghāsura. (111)

The vine sprouts of Rādhā's mental dispositions attained identity with Kṛṣṇa through meditation upon Him. Made exceedingly fine by irrigation with the nectar of love, they have surely emerged outside in the guise of Her hair. (112)

By its own splendor, the hair of Vṛndāvana's queen nourished the beauty of yak-tail fans and the plumage of peacocks. It shone like the sovereign opulence of Viṣṇu. (113)

The exceedingly subtle rays from Kṛṣṇa's body that Śrī Rādhā gathered with Her mind and eyes have been amassed and reverently placed upon Her head, where they shine in the guise of Her hair bun. (114)

The braid of the maiden with gently bowed brows was joined by the Sarasvatī of radiance from its row of jewels and by the Gaṅgā formed from its garlands of pearls and flowers. Through its own dark beauty it became the Yamunā, and thus shone like the sacred confluence of three rivers. (115)

When the yak-cows and peacocks saw Rādhikā's beautiful hair loosened in play, they feared that their tails and feathers would be put to shame. As if overcome by embarrassment, the yak-cows retreated to the mountain and the peacocks to the forest. (116)

A spreading fragrance of kuṅkuma streams from all of Rādhā's limbs: from Her navel, brows, hair, and eyes as though from blue lotuses anointed with aguru and musk; from Her chest, ears, mouth, nose, two hands, and two feet as though from lotuses bathed in moonlight; and from Her armpits and nails as though from fine ketakī flowers drenched in liquid sandalwood. (117)

Noble Śrī Rādhikā, whose qualities delight Kṛṣṇa's senses, shines like none other than Rādhikā Herself. Her bodily limbs and the limbs of Her speech both shine with a nature that crushes every succession of comparisons. (118)

Śrī Rādhikā, who has no equal but Herself, shines like the fullness of sweetness possessed by Aghāsura's enemy. Yet that fullness of sweetness also shines supremely incomparable only when it resembles Śrī Rādhikā. (119)

'Friend, Rādhikā's love is beyond measure, the beauty of Her virtues is incomparable, Her wealth of loveliness has no equal, Her character is charming, and Her youth is utterly wondrous. How, then, could Kṛṣṇa, who recognizes every virtue, not come under Her control?' (120)

Where is Her perfect fidelity, and where the slander that calls Her another man's wife? Where is the overwhelming flood of Her love, and where these obstacles such as dependence upon others? Where is Her intense longing, and where the failure to attain constant company with the enemy of Bakāsura? Pulling at the very roots, this mysterious triad of thorns torments our hearts. (121)

Who alone is the birthplace of Kṛṣṇa's love? Rādhikā, and no one else. Who is His beloved of incomparable virtues? Rādhikā alone, and no other. Who has brought Him eternally under Her control? Rādhikā, and none besides Her. Who is able to fulfill His desires? Rādhikā, and no other here. (122)

Here in Vṛndāvana, Rādhikā shines forever sheltered beneath a blossoming punnāga tree, Her limbs blossoming as She rests against Madhusūdana. She is filled with fragrance and adorned with the finest painted leaf designs. (123)

She received no initiation or instruction in hearing and study from a teacher's mouth. Nevertheless, Rādhā became the instructor of Vraja's doe-eyed maidens in arts that astonish the women of all three worlds and bring the highest delight even to Śauri, the ocean of all arts. (124)

Although She treats the prescribed duties of a respectable woman as straw and abandons them, and although She leaves Her husband far behind, She remains perfectly faithful and possesses the noble conduct She desires. The Creator fashioned Rādhā with this wondrously paradoxical nature. (125)

In waking, dream, and deep sleep, Śrī Gāndharvikā's mind, body, speech, and every sense have no function other than uninterrupted absorption in Kṛṣṇa alone. (126)

Fish, deer, cakora birds, khañjana birds, lotuses, swarms of bees, volleys of Love's arrows, and blue water lilies are all defeated by the expert and natural dancing play of Rādhikā's eyes, which steals away Hari's treasure of composure. (127)

The humiliated ranks of cakora birds, vāpīha birds, and lotus ponds have withdrawn, as if from shame, to the sky, the forest, and the water. O Rādhike, whose whole being is fixed upon Kṛṣṇa alone, tell us the reason for this. (128)

O Rādhe, the cakoras, cātakas, and lotus ponds were exceedingly proud of the single-minded constancy within their hearts. When they beheld Your exclusive absorption in Kṛṣṇa, that pride disappeared. (129)

Among all young women praised in speech and found upon the earth, those endowed with the finest virtues are the essence. Above them stands Śrī Lakṣmī; above her are the cowherd maidens possessed of exalted love; and above them are the radiant group leaders headed by Candrāvalī. Yet above all these is Śrī Rādhā, for even Kṛṣṇa thirsts intensely for Her. (130)

Candrāvalī deliberately manifested her love, beauty, and virtues and thereby brought the enemy of Bakāsura under her control. Yet Śrī Rādhikā's own qualities shine forth naturally and make Him forget even Candrāvalī. Alas, what need is there to speak of any other woman? (131)

The assertion that Śrī Rādhikā, radiant with virtues, possesses not the slightest fault is untrue: crookedness dwells in Her hair, hardness in the pitchers of Her breasts, and restlessness in Her eyes. (132)

Friend, Rādhikā's two eyes are cakora birds, for they drink the moonlight of the smiles upon the moon of Kṛṣṇa's face. We infer this because the two bees of Kṛṣṇa's eyes descend thirstily upon the lotus of Her face. (133)

Even without ornaments, the daughter of Vṛṣabhānu blossoms joyfully beside Kṛṣṇa, adorned by Her emotions, and delights Her surrounding friends. Without Kṛṣṇa, however, Her thirsty heart causes Her to wilt despite all Her ornaments, and She makes the bodies and minds of those same friends grow pale. (134)

Kṛṣṇa appears before Her, on both sides, and behind Her. He is forever present in the movements of Her mind and within the field of Her sight, and He trembles in the reflections upon Her beautiful cheeks and breasts. Therefore it is true that Śrī Rādhikā is wholly pervaded by Kṛṣṇa. (135)

Defeated by the abundance of Kṛṣṇa's beauty and unable to retaliate against Him in the least, Love concluded that Rādhā was devoted to Kṛṣṇa and therefore directly tormented the helpless girl whenever He was beyond Her sight. (136)

When Mukunda touches Rādhikā, trembling, perspiration, horripilation, and tears arise in the bodies of Her friends. And when He joyfully drinks the honey of Her lips, those friends become intoxicated. How wondrous this is! (137)

By His noble virtues Kṛṣṇa is supreme among men, and by Her virtues Śrī Rādhikā is supreme among women. The Creator's fame for recognizing excellence dances in delight at having brought the two of Them together. (138)

Rādhā accepted from Kṛṣṇa the lovely and ample garland from His body, and in generosity at once gave Him Her jeweled necklace. Kṛṣṇa drank the honey of Her lips and gave Her the mark of His teeth. Receiving gifts from Them both, the sakhīs in return allowed the Divine Couple a little opportunity to behold one another. (139)

In union with Her beloved, the abundance of Her beauty becomes something altogether new. The gestures of Her body and eyes become different, the flood of joy within Her heart becomes different, and Rādhā Herself seems to become another Rādhā. (140)

Friend, you are a lotus pond whose fragrance delights the entire canopy of the directions and who is filled with the honey of tenderness and beauty. How could the bee abandon you and fly toward that ketakī flower? (141)

The beauty of the mādhavī vine is lovely only through Mādhava, the springtime, and Mādhava's beauty blossoms fully only through the mādhavī. Thus each causes the other's splendor to flourish, just as night and the lord of night, the moon, beautify one another. (142)

Seeing Rādhā so perfectly fashioned by some supremely skillful creator, Brahmā became ashamed. Wishing to create another young woman like Her, he selected the essence of everything he had made and fashioned a maiden from it. Yet not one equaled Her; instead, all his previous creation proved fruitless. (143)

After fashioning Rādhā's face, the Creator saw that the lotus and moon were filled with many defects. To reveal their impurity, he marked them with black bees and smeared them with darkness. (144)

Rādhā's virtues exceed all counting and singing and lie beyond even the expressive wealth of Sarasvatī's speech. You therefore understand that their greatness cannot be described. Let our attempts to recount them end here. (145)

Thus the sakhīs laughingly described every limb of His beloved in poetry adorned with figures of speech. As Kṛṣṇa watched Her eyes bloom, contract, and bend with bashfulness, He attained the highest satisfaction through both His sight and hearing. (146)

This is the Eleventh Sarga, consisting of descriptions of Śrī Rādhā's body, in the poem Govinda-līlāmṛta. This work arose from the association of Śrī Jīva, was composed by Śrī Raghunātha Dāsa as the blessed fruit of serving Śrī Rūpa, the honeybee at Śrī Caitanya's lotus feet, and was adorned by Śrī Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa. (Colophon 11)