Twelfth Sarga: Midday Pastimes

Twelfth Sarga

Vṛndā then said, 'O sovereigns of Vraja's forest, the six seasons, foremost among artists, have placed petitions at Your lotus feet. Please listen to them here together with the sakhīs.' (1)

'To give You pleasure, we servants have adorned this Vṛndāvana with immense effort, offering the entirety of our skill. O its Lord and Lady, please look upon it mercifully and make our labor fruitful, for the reward of a servant's exceptional craftsmanship is the sovereign's appreciative glance.' (2)

'O sovereigns, please also hear what Vṛndāvana's moving and unmoving residents, each dwelling at the site of a particular pastime, have submitted at Your lotus feet.' (3)

'A desire born of compassion has arisen within us to behold You both radiant in one another's company and to serve You with all that belongs to us. Please make that desire fruitful.' (4)

Just then the young brāhmaṇa arrived with Subala and said, 'Kṛṣṇa, Rādhā has dispossessed all the citizens of Vṛndāvana.' (5)

'By the beauty of Her own body She has stolen the forest's inner wealth of loveliness and sweetness. Its outward wealth of fruits, flowers, and other treasures has likewise been taken by Her sakhīs and brought here before us.' (6)

Nāndīmukhī approached the Divine Couple and said, 'May all be well with You and Your assembled companions. Auspicious pair, please allow the command that Bhagavatī issued here with a hundred blessings to travel into Your ears.' (7)

'The universal emperor Love, who wields a severe rod of punishment, has installed You both as equal feudatory rulers upon the throne of Vṛndāvana's forest kingdom and has appointed bees, cuckoos, and others as his spies.' (8)

'Therefore let no quarrel arise between You, for it would cause the loss of Your union and incur the emperor's displeasure. Live together in harmony and, by my command, happily enjoy the kingdom.' (9)

'Our mistress further told me, "If a dispute has already arisen between Them, then, Vṛndā, you have been chosen as judge. Deliberate carefully and quickly report to me who is at fault."' (10)

Hari then said to Nāndīmukhī, 'You know all of Her conduct. How can there be harmony between Us? Today this deceitful girl and Her friends have stripped My forest of all its wealth, and She has stolen My flute as well.' (11)

Kundavallī said, 'Hari, when You two, both filled with immense pride, went quarreling into the presence of Love, the universal emperor, what happened there? Tell us the truth.' (12)

Kṛṣṇa replied, 'I took Her before him and said, "This girl has plundered the forest. Restrain and punish Her, and compel Her to compensate Me for the loss."' (13)

'When he questioned Her, She answered, "Your countless cowherd boys and cows, greedy for the forest's fruits and flowers, have uprooted it through constant grazing. It is we who have nourished it with our own beauty and wealth."' (14)

'Her false words made the emperor grow lenient, and I saw that he was firmly partial toward Her. Although Her guilt was established, he rendered no judgment and instead referred the case directly to all of you.' (15)

Nāndīmukhī said, 'If the emperor was partial toward Her, then who punished Her by exacting the jewel of Her youth and left Her unable to speak?' (16)

Kṛṣṇa replied, 'At the king's signal, I asked Her along the road to give what was due to him. When She refused, I began to punish Her, but instead She forcibly punished Me.' (17)

With Her brows curving and Her throat choked by emotion, She pierced Him with the arrows of Her sidelong glances. Kundavallikā took great delight in this, until Rādhā struck her as well with the lotus of Her playful hand. (18)

Kṛṣṇa then removed the written leaf from His headcloth and placed it in Nāndīmukhī's hand. She first read it indistinctly, but the eager assembly members begged her to repeat it, and so they made her read it aloud clearly. (19)

'Blessings from the lotus feet of Śrī Love, universal emperor. This command is issued to the assembly members headed by Nāndīmukhī, Vṛndā, and Kundalatā: the wealth of the forest taken by Śrī Rādhā must be returned to its rightful citizens. You must also adjudicate the matter of the flute between Rādhā and Mādhava according to justice.' (20)

When the assembly questioned Rādhikā, Viśākhā stepped forward and said, 'She already declared before the king that She nourishes the forest with Her own beauty and opulence.' (21)

Lalitā said, 'Innocent girl, what need is there even to make that argument? The forest of Vraja is simply a reflection of Rādhā's beautiful form.' (22)

'What can the king do to us merely because his informers have approached him? We protect our own forest, and therefore we take its fruits and other produce.' (23)

'Nevertheless, if his command must be obeyed, then go ahead and behold the forest nourished by Vṛndāvana's queen as tenderly as She nourishes Her own intimate friend.' (24)

'We have never seen anywhere that flute which is consecrated to destroying the virtue of faithful women. If by good fortune we find it, we shall send it down to the ocean upon torrents of dark water.' (25)

Nāndīmukhī said, 'Kṛṣṇa, we must first determine whether Her statement that She has bestowed the forest's wealth upon its residents is true or false. The matter of the flute can be judged afterward.' (26)

Eager to wander in the forest, Lalitā placed Rādhā at the front and began walking through the grove. She said to the assembly, 'Come with me and see directly how Rādhā has nourished and adorned this forest with Her own beauty.' (27)

At once the birds, deer, trees, vines, leaves, flowers, and all else became a manifest, undifferentiated expanse of golden radiance. The assembly headed by the enemy of Aghāsura could distinguish the different objects only by the differences in their shapes. (28)

Standing before the assembly, Nāndīmukhī said, 'The daughter of Vṛṣabhānu spoke truly. Nourished by Her radiance, the forest has become a festival for the eyes of us all.' (29)

Kṛṣṇa said, 'Whenever She goes home, She takes the forest's entire wealth with Her. When She returns, She restores it out of fear of the king. Does Rādhikā know some magic that enables Her to do this?' (30)

All the sakhīs blossomed with joy and smiled. The young brāhmaṇa carefully brought Kṛṣṇa to the front, and Kṛṣṇa's abundant dark radiance mingled with Śrī Rādhā's golden glow. Spreading outward like the brilliance of emeralds, it pervaded the entire forest. (31)

Delighted, Śrī Madhumaṅgala said, 'Their radiant bodies have become beautifully variegated by mingling with one another. Have Rādhā and Mukunda, scorched by Love, united here in order to deceive him?' (32)

Tuṅgavidyā, sovereign among poets, smiled and addressed the assembly: 'Murāri's floods of radiance have been tinged by Śrī Gāndharvā's glow, and all of you have instantly acquired an emerald splendor. Have you not thereby become living examples of the poetic ornament in which one thing assumes another's quality?' (33)

The forest keeper moved ahead, gesturing with her hand as though about to speak. By providence the flute faced into the breeze, and a sound arose from its mouth. (34)

All the sakhīs were startled when they heard its sweet note. Kundalatā and her companions immediately reached the forest keeper, took the flute from her palm, and brought her before Hari, saying, 'Here is the thief.' (35)

Rādhā said, 'Friend, after placing the flute in Vṛndā's hand, your brother-in-law has been tormenting us. If you do not believe this, ask her where she obtained it. If she refuses to tell the truth, then she deserves punishment.' (36)

Vṛndā said, 'Kakkhaṭikā forcibly snatched the flute from Śaivyā's hand, brought it to the bower, and gave it to me in Nāndīmukhī's presence.' (37)

Kundalatā then placed the flute in Kṛṣṇa's hand. Overjoyed to recover it after so long, He raised it and played. (38)

The flute's resonance surged forth. It turned the minds of the women of all three worlds into aged bamboo reeds hollowed by the woodworms of love's disease, exchanged the natural properties of moving and unmoving beings, and caused all six rival seasons to arise simultaneously, while bathing the world in streams of nectar. (39)

From afar, the unfailing arrows of Śrī Kṛṣṇa's flute sound drove even women endowed with exceptional constancy mad with pride and passion. Even the world of beings that are not female became helpless beneath Love's fierce torment. This is no wonder, for the sound itself is the embodied form of Māra. (40)

The motionless mountain peaks melted at the flute's sound, and streams of water flowed in every direction. Thirsty flocks of birds and deer longed to approach, yet the same music left them inert. Though the water came to them of its own accord, they could not drink. (41)

The flute sound gave the lake's water the nature of stone, binding the female swans' feet and leaving their bodies motionless just as they desired to sport. Their lords stood nearby, themselves stunned and unable to move their bound feet. They could neither bring their mates a morsel of lotus fiber nor eat one themselves. (42)

Vṛndā then walked in front, showing her Lord and Lady how the forest had expanded with the particular splendor of every season, and she addressed Them. (43)

'O sovereigns, this forest is overwhelmed by love like a company of sakhīs. Its motionless beings manifest the ecstasy of stunned stillness, its moving beings tremble, and its stones perspire by streaming moisture. Its indistinct cries are choked with emotion, and the clusters of sprouts covering its body are horripilation.' (44)

'This forest shines with its body worshipfully adorned in ornaments fashioned from the beautiful flowers of all six seasons: bakula, vicakila, mango, śirīṣa, yūthī, nīpa, fine ketakī, jāti, lotus, bāṇa, lodhra, amlāna, bandhūka, kunda, and many others.' (45)

'O slayer of Bakāsura, blossoming mango trees shine here beside flowering mādhavī vines; śirīṣa trees stand with excellent mallikā blossoms, and nīpa trees with rows of splendid courtesan-like flowers. Seven-leaf trees bloom beside jāti vines, lodhra trees beside rows of unfading flowers, and varieties of kunda beside ranks of fruit-bearing plants. All long to worship You both.' (46)

'In one place the forest birds call with the bees; elsewhere dhūmyāṭaka birds sing with cāṣas, dātyūhas with peacocks and cātakas, swans with cranes, parrots with flocks of kikhī birds, and green pigeons with bharadvājas. Calling continually in love and joy, they seem to sing the fame of Your virtues.' (47)

'On a single splendid tree, one branch bears buds, another tender shoots, and another flowers; one is clothed in green leaves and another in pale leaves, while still others bear clusters of unripe, ripening, and fully ripe fruits. Thus the circle of trees is served by all six seasons, each offering its own qualities.' (48)

'Vṛndāvana's body is adorned by the retinues of the goddesses of all six seasons, each with her own sweet treasures. Laden with abundant articles of worship and overcome by love like an intimate sakhī, the forest ardently longs to attain the joy of serving You directly with all its wealth.' (49)

'Seeing You both arrive at her home, delighted Vṛndāvana dances through rows of vines swaying in the breeze and waves aloft a veil of rising flower pollen.' (50)

'She approaches You joyfully, carpeting the path with fallen flowers of many colors as though spreading out variegated cloth.' (51)

'Her fine moonstone courtyards exude water beneath the rays flowing from Your moonlike faces. With that water, accompanied by śyāmāka grass, sacred dūrvā, añcya grass, aparājitā flowers, and lotuses growing along the paths, she offers water for washing Your feet.' (52)

'She presents arghya with dūrvā grass, flowers, sprouts, and other auspicious ingredients. For sipping water she offers the liquid of her ponds, scented with tender lavaṅga buds and nutmeg growing along their banks.' (53)

'She offers dripping flower nectar as madhuparka. Cool, fragrant breezes, bent beneath drops of chilled water from the shade of clouds and resembling flowing water themselves, bring and offer water for Your bath.' (54)

'The splendors of her tender shoots, leaves, and heaps of many-colored flowers are reflected upon Your limbs, which surpass jeweled mirrors. With those reflections she offers beautiful garments suited to Your bodies and ornaments appropriate for every limb.' (55)

'The moving breeze blends the exquisite fragrances of sandalwood, musk, aguru, and saffron produced within the forest. Joyfully she anoints all Your limbs with them, and with mixtures of many kinds of pollen she offers scented powders for Your garments.' (56)

'Joyfully she places upon Your bodies half-clusters made of bakula flowers, a single-strand necklace of vicakila flowers, gostana ornaments of yūthī blossoms, ear ornaments of fresh and lovely mālatī flowers, hair ornaments of unfading blossoms, a waist-belt of kunda flowers, and many other flower ornaments.' (57)

'She offers many excellent flowers of her own growth, tulasī leaves and flower clusters, fresh shoots, and numerous garlands fashioned from them.' (58)

'Through the guise of restless lines of bees moving upon rising waves of exquisite fragrance, she offers incense. Through swaying fragrant fruits she offers lamps, and with her own sweet fruits she presents food offerings.' (59)

'With leaves from her own betel vines and areca palms, she offers tāmbūla prepared with camphor from the pith of plantain trees, cloves, cardamom, and other spices.' (60)

'With flowers of suvahā, bakula, and other trees falling of themselves, she showers flowers upon You while female and male parrots cry out, "Victory!"' (61)

'Today the forest joyfully performs ārati for You. Campaka branches swaying in the wind are her arms, their leaf-tips are hands, and rows of buds are lamps; the cries of creatures are instruments and the humming of bees is song.' (62)

'Again and again the wind raises and lowers her masses of branches. Bowing with flowers, fruits, and fresh leaves, she joyfully performs countless prostrations before Your lotus feet.' (63)

'She offers prayers through the calls of birds, accompaniment through the humming of bees, and song through the cuckoos' sweet fifth note. Parrots and śārikās recite Your stories, while dancing peacocks offer dance.' (64)

'Whirling winds swiftly lift canopies of flower pollen above You. From them drip nectarous drops of flower honey, and thus the delighted forest holds parasols overhead.' (65)

'From every side she fans You with vine-whisks and plantain-leaf fans stirred by the wind. By arranging this great festival, she satisfies everyone with an unending feast of bliss.' (66)

'O Mukunda, the gentle breeze is a skilled weaver. Casting its shuttle of roaming rows of bees back and forth, it seems to weave a rising canopy of flower pollen to shelter You both from the heat.' (67)

'O Lord and Lady, behold before You the region of the forest called Vasanta-kānta. Here spring, the sovereign of the seasons, shines with all his splendors, joyfully eager to serve You.' (68)

Delighted by the sight, Hari joyfully described the forest's beauty to His heart's beloved, for that beauty revealed His own sweetness. (69)

'O you whose teeth resemble kunda flowers, look! The bees have grown plump from feasting on the kunda's nectar and now regard it lightly. Greedy for fresh honey, they fly toward the mango tree whose crest swells with blossoms.' (70)

'O sweet-voiced one, behold the male cuckoos flying with their mates toward the mango tree's emerging buds. As if preparing to abandon a vow of silence, they cleanse their throats with the buds' astringent sap.' (71)

'Before us shines this vāsantī vine, its body embraced by rows of vines whose golden yūthī flowers are smiling faces; here is a line of blooming campakas, there a row of bakulas and a garland of tāpiñchas. Here stretches a lane of punnāgas, there a mass of fine tilakas, a row of mango trees, a line of vañjulas, and a succession of keśaras.' (72)

'O moon-faced, lovely-toothed one, the punnāgas glow beside saptalās, bakulas beside excellent rows of lavaṅga vines, kovidāras beside kubjā vines, and campakas beside ketakīs. Aśokas shine with rows of golden yūthīs, kiṁśukas with pāṭalīs, mango trees with vāsantīs, and keśaras with rows of white hundred-petaled roses.' (73)

'This forest is filled with atimukta vines, with those who are supremely liberated, and with pearls of surpassing purity. Therefore even makers of chariots, garland-makers, and seekers of liberation serve it.' (74)

'This forest has become the birthplace of Love's arrows, and its masses of vines and trees have become workshops where flower-arrows are fashioned. Swarms of bees descend upon each flower and, under the pretext of loud humming, seem like inspectors counting and declaring which arrows are sound and which are defective.' (75)

'A female bee saw her mate enter a glossy flower and mistook her own reflection upon it for another female bee meeting him. Though thirsty for nectar, she turned away in jealous anger.' (76)

'O lotus-faced one, seeing Us meet in the forest, the plantain trees display their new fruits like teeth and their sheaths like upper and lower lips. Look how they laugh in delight, their bodies trembling and contracting as profuse honey falls like tears.' (77)

'A young male bee delights in a hallīśaka dance among the vines, adopting graceful dance poses with the female bees. Secretly sending his beloved ahead, he slips away toward a cluster of lotuses.' (78)

Then Madhumaṅgala showed the beloved forest to the divine Couple and spoke. (79)

'O sovereigns of Vraja's forest, behold this charming summer region. Seeing You arrive before him, summer shines with his own treasures, eager to serve You.' (80)

'Seeing You both, this summer forest joyfully presents a dance with its swaying vine-tips. The calls of ṭiṭṭibha birds are kettledrums, those of dhūmyāṭas are great drums, the crickets sound small cymbals, the male and female cuckoos play vīṇās, cāṣa birds beat ḍiṇḍima drums, śārī birds offer praises, and rows of humming bees sing.' (81)

'Eager to give them to You, summer bears garments formed of excellent pāṭali blossoms, ear ornaments of śirīṣa flowers, and bodily ornaments of mallikā flowers.' (82)

'Desiring to serve You with well-ripened pīlu, karīra, āmalakī, rājādana, fine jackfruit, mango, bilva, vikaṅkata, jālaka, and palm fruits, this forest completely delights me.' (83)

'O jewel of the sun, perhaps fearing that the earth's heated borders and the blazing network of solar rays might make You languid, the vines lovingly cover You with their own bodies and fan You with fresh leaves. Behold them.' (84)

'This prolific plantain tree, surrounded by her offspring like a sow encircled by piglets, shines as she fondles them with leaf-hands and nurses them from her downward-bending flower-breast.' (85)

'O Hari, Your beloved sees a cuckoo thrusting its beak into a well-ripened mango and thinks, "What an exceedingly long nose!" Look how she lowers her face bashfully while her sakhīs smile before her.' (86)

'This tamāla tree shines amid excellent vines like the splendid son of the lord of the cowherd settlement among virtuous young women. Restless lines of bees sport among rows of luxuriant mallikā vines, performing a graceful hallīśaka dance upon the charming riverbank, while the flower clusters, serving as wrestlers for angry Kandarpa, smile faintly.' (87)

Hearing Madhumaṅgala's words, Rādhā and Mukunda's faces shone with smiles. They placed upon each other's ears clusters of śirīṣa flowers that Vṛndā had given Them. (88)

With His lotus hand, Kṛṣṇa arranged His beloved's curls, which were dusted with pollen. She in turn arranged the peacock-feather eyes upon His crown, then His curls and the ornaments blooming at the roots of His arms. (89)

Touching His beloved over the heart, Kṛṣṇa said, 'My dear, tormented on every side by summer's heat, I have fled for refuge within the mountain fortress of Your breasts. Do they possess the virtue of coolness?' (90)

'O beautiful one, Your necklace is strung with moonstones. Bathed in the flood of water produced when the bright rays of Your face rise upon them, the birdlike tips upon Your breast drink that water, lose the torment of heat, and sport with their beloveds atop the necklace's bridge.' (91)

Subala then said to Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa, 'Behold the charming rainy-season region of the forest ahead. Mistaking You for lightning and a raincloud, this flock of intoxicated peacocks, blinded by love, dances nearby.' (92)

'Behold the proud gaṇikā flowers here. Smiling, they draw the very restless bees away with their own fragrance, even though those bees sit in the laps of the protectresses of luxuriant mallikā vines.' (93)

'In this forest, vigorous with the rains, graceful rows of bees hover everywhere. Covered by dense clouds, it shines with yūthī flowers that gather the bees into companies.' (94)

'Here the sky is covered with clouds and the earth is flooded with water. Every direction is filled with blossoming arjuna trees, nīpas, and kadambas.' (95)

'Here rows of cuckoos joyfully warble, lines of dātyūhas call out, flocks of cātakas cry loudly, and companies of frogs resound on every side.' (96)

'Here a row of cranes cries out, a succession of peacocks thunders, a flock of koyaṣṭika birds sounds forth, and a line of waterfowl calls beautifully.' (97)

'Your sakhī the rainy season wishes to serve You. A bank of clouds is her dark-blue bodice, a line of cranes her pearl necklace, and Indra's bow the ornament displayed before her.' (98)

'The goddess of the rainy season offers at Your lotus feet long hanging garlands of kadamba flowers, excellent hair ornaments of kuṭaja blossoms, crowns of ketakī petals joined with raṅgaṇa flowers, and many necklaces of blooming yūthī and arjuna flowers.' (99)

'With ripe palm fruits she offers a comparison for the breasts anointed with saffron and musk; with ripe jambu fruits, for the shining rows of curls; and with ripe dates, for the joints of the fingers. O Kṛṣṇa, she declares these likenesses in You and Your beloved.' (100)

'Who but Kṛṣṇa possesses beautiful pastimes? Where but Vraja can such play be described?' The dātyūha birds seem to proclaim this as they call, 'Who else? Who else? Where else? Where else?' (101)

'Why speak of clouds that occasionally shower mere water somewhere, when Kṛṣṇa eternally creates the rains by pouring forth the dense rasa of His own pastimes? And what is that so-called rainy season, counted among the six seasons and lasting only two months?' Delighted frogs rebuke those clouds and that season in every direction through their resonant calls. (102)

'The streaming nectar acts like rain, rows of bees become clouds, and this grove of kadamba trees before us turns the day dark and overcast. Behold it.' (103)

'This peacock sports with his dearest mate. Seeing other peahens assembled before him, he covers his beloved with the expanse of his own tail feathers and dances with the others placed in front.' (104)

Thus Kṛṣṇa, a dark raincloud embraced by the lightning flash of Rādhā, nourishes the splendor of the rainy season. Fully delighting the cātaka birds of the sakhīs' eyes, He bathes the universe in the nectar of His own pastimes. (105)

Thus ends the Twelfth Sarga, following the midday pastimes, in Govinda-līlāmṛta, a poem manifested through the association of Śrī Jīva and splendid with Śrī Raghunātha Bhaṭṭa. It was composed by Śrī Raghunātha Dāsa as the fruit of service to Śrī Rūpa, the honeybee at Śrī Caitanya's lotus feet. (Colophon 12)